GSMarena audio review - One (M7) General

http://www.gsmarena.com/htc_one-review-912p7.php
Unfortunately, it's not as helpful as it could be:
Only compares phone to other Qualcomm devices (no Apple, no Samsung/Wolfson). And they consistently ignore Qualcomm shortcomings in s/n to other devices.
Don't tell you if tests were made with/without Beats. Both would have been nice.
Would be nice if they did their Android tests with standardized player, e.g., Poweramp or Neutron. But no.

BaronInkjet said:
But no.
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/cancels order. Switches off the internet.

I read somewhere on the net, sorry I don't remember where, that the One audio is very much like the Nexus 4 - Through the earphone jack

@home said:
I read somewhere on the net, sorry I don't remember where, that the One audio is very much like the Nexus 4 - Through the earphone jack
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I hope not. Had a N4 of those for a few days, and it was among the worst music phones I've ever heard. I don't think it will be though.
p.s. Interesting to note how different the GSMarena was for N4 than what others found. It's review stats were not bad. Mine was much closer to the supercurio frequency response chart (See the N4 audio thread), with rapid treble falloff. After that, I take everything from GSM with a grain of salt.

Something to do with the snapdragon chip, I wish I could remember where I read it:crying:

Visited P4U in Market Street, Manchester, where they had a silver HTC One (unfortunately locked in a guard thingy).
The speakers were pretty impressive, compared to my friend's iPhone 4S, Galaxy Note 2 and my other friend's Galaxy S3...And of course much better than my Desire HD.
Only could test music that was already on the phone for demonstration purposes, so it wasn't really a direction comparison, but there's no doubt that the HTC One's dual front facing speakers are louder (duhh) but also clear.

The speakers and sound are so good IMHO that I have been using it to play radio and music around the house.
None of the on-board music seems to showcase the tone and range very well, but listening to some classical, talk radio and pop music just sounds amazing for a phone. You don't even have to crank it up to full volume to hear the quality of reproduction.
It's not going to replace your music system, but playing music in the kitchen or office for example with the speakers directly facing one person is very impressive.
This is one of the standout features for the phone, and I really get why they ate advertising it on TV.
Sent from my HTC One using xda app-developers app

I find the speaker test on gsm arena nonsense or they have a faulty device because the one is far louder than phones whihc they are tryign to claim it is on par with like the s3, one x or one x+ for example and it is far louder than a note 2. yet in certain test like rining for exmaple they claim to note is is louder no way.

Related

[Q] sound quality through headphones

I just spent some time at the local T-Mobile store checking this thing out in person. I'm very seriously thinking about picking one up but I have one thing I want to ask you guys that already have one....How is the sound quality when listening to music? If I get this phone, it will be my second android phone but my first htc. I currently have a samsung moment and I detest a lot of things about it. One of the things that bothers me is that I still carry around my outdated ipod because the sound quality of my moment is brutal. I never noticed with the generic ear buds that came with the phone but once I plugged in some quality cans, I realized the phone doesn't have any balls. My music sounds like I'm listening to cheapo headphones even though I have a pair of $100 dollar grados.
I'm a bit of an audiophile so if the thing can't sound high end, its a big drawback to me. I'm so tired of carrying an ipod in one pocket and the phone in another. Been doing that too many years and the idea of getting a smartphone was supposed to cure that need.
Thanks in advance for any feedback!
I have the JH5's.. will listen to music on my G2 for some time and report back. I'm pretty satisfied with the Galaxy S, that has good SQ. My iPad also has great SQ..
One major problem I have with most android phones is that they aren't loud enough. That's the main reason I still carry around my touch. I hope I am able to solve this soon...
Sent from my T-Mobile G2 using XDA App
This question was bugging me, as I have the G2 on my short list of phones I want, so I went back to the T-Mobile store today and asked if I could see their live demo unit and test music playback on it.
They didn't agree, not wanting me to put an sdcard with music on it in the demo phone, but one of the employees had his own G2 with music already on it. He let me plug my headphones in (Head Direct RE2, not the most spectacular, but not cheap $20 earbuds either) and played a few tracks.
It sounded pretty good for an HTC phone.
Now, granted, these MP3s were not very high quality. They were 128kbps encodes, probably not LAME encoded. But I'll say it definitely sounded better than the utterly bass-lacking Nexus One.
It doesn't sound half as decent as the Samsung Vibrant, though.
greengoldmello said:
One major problem I have with most android phones is that they aren't loud enough. That's the main reason I still carry around my touch. I hope I am able to solve this soon...
Sent from my T-Mobile G2 using XDA App
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that desire hd has dolby srs or whatever, should sound good. really hoping t-mobile brings it to the US.
greengoldmello said:
One major problem I have with most android phones is that they aren't loud enough. That's the main reason I still carry around my touch. I hope I am able to solve this soon...
Sent from my T-Mobile G2 using XDA App
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Exactly. I know in terms of specs the iPhones don't compare to Androids, but sound quality as I said is a big deal to me. I would tolerate a slightly slower phone for good sound.
As far as people noting that newer Samsung phones have good sound...that's nice to know but I've already decided I can never buy another Samsung phone for as long as I live. I'll spare you all the self-righteous diatribe but suffice it to say my Moment's lack of sound quality is only one of a number of issues I have with it.
That's why I have a Ipod touch 4G
Unfortunately this is all opinion so our opinion of good may not mesh with yours, however I use Klipsch S4s which have been reviewed by many different people as the best in the price range and better than many that cost twice as much...
I listen to FLAC all day on my G2 with these earphones at work and am happy with the quality.
Using the JH5's, the G2 sounds decent for average listening. Not as good as the iPad or iPhone 4, but good enough. It doesn't make the music sound bad, just the bass performance is not as good and its a bit focused on treble.
Kind of like the speaker for the phone.. sounds good but a little quiet.
Plenty loud IMO :/
I have to admit that my blackberry bold 9700 earphone jack yielded better results as far as pandora is concerned to my auxiliary port of my head unit (even with high quality)
Sent from my T-Mobile G2 using XDA App
I don't know about the G2, but the Vibrant has amazing sound quality through its headphone jack. When tested by gsmarena.com, it beat the iphone on a few sound quality tests and was about the same on all the others. I've never heard better sound quality on a phone and its very customizable and pretty loud.
It's decent. The bundled earphones are pretty good quality, and the controls work flawless, without any lag. Perfect for gym. IMHO if you're using your phone for listening to music anywhere else, you're doing it wrong. At home a hi-fi system is obviously better, in the car... why bother. Unless you have a non-existent (or super ****ty) system in the car, why would you listen to music using your phone?
clivo360 said:
I don't know about the G2, but the Vibrant has amazing sound quality through its headphone jack. When tested by gsmarena.com, it beat the iphone on a few sound quality tests and was about the same on all the others. I've never heard better sound quality on a phone and its very customizable and pretty loud.
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Yup, the Vibrant/Galaxy S uses a discrete Wolfson DSP ; thus its Sound Quality is superb. The iPhone 4 uses a discrete Cirrus Logic DSP, whereas HTC phones/Qualcomm do not have a discrete DSP, its integrated into the SoC.
So to answer his question, He's still going to have to carry around the iPod.
I've been using the included headset and am very happy with the sound quality and volume.
I haven't tested any other earphones yet.
On a related note, the speaker is only adequate. I wouldn't rely on it. Samsung phones seem to be much better in this regard.
Included headset sucks compared to the S4s, but to be realistic you can't expect HTC to waste money including a "good" headset when 95% of the buyers can't tell a difference or don't care. I hope they continue to include cheap headsets so I'm not paying a premium for a phone with a mediocre pair that I won't use anyway.
Are you using the stock music player to listen to FLAC? It doesn't seem to work for me. Neither does the cube player.
Audio quality isn't the best on this phone. I have a pair of Senn's CX500's and the bass gets distorted when listening to the default player. The mid's are okay and sometimes the highs get distorted also. This btw is coming from music with at least 192kbps bitrate on them.
But still love the phone!

Why do people complain about G2 Speakers?

I don't get it.
Try and follow the logic.
You want to hear some good quality music...
so you decide to use a cellphone's built in speaker instead of an audiophile headphone or portable speakers.
What is the point?
I mean, first of all, if you want to listen to HQ music on anything other than a dedicated mp3 player (iPod does NOT count, I'm talking about something like Samsung YP-P2 or YP-P3, or the Cowon S9), it is absolute redundant.
I can't even eloquently express my confusion at you people.
Like, obviously the cell phone speakers are naturally gonna be shiet compared to real ones, or even small little portable ones for that matter.
So if you use them, of course it is gonna be ****ty, so why complain?
And if you really do want high quality music, then you wouldn't be using a cellphone for media playback nor using the built in speakers to do the job.
It's like saying, oh man, this Toyota Corolla does soooo bad on the racing track.
Lol. Because complaining is fun, I guess.
I remember the ads for the desire hd claiming that it had "quality stereo sound." Anybody taken a test listen?
Sent from my HTC Vision using XDA App
Ok. There's some of us that aren't audiophiles. So we resort to our phones speaker. Of course you can't expect great ear busting speakers but I mean CMON! Htcs giving us what seems like desire hds blown out garbage. Not cool bro
Sent from my HTC Vision using XDA App
I wish they would start putting the speakers on the side, because its quite pointless to have the audio from a video or a game pointed away from you.
If you had a Touch Pro 2 before the Desire Z/ G2, you would understand the reason why I complain. I am not too fussed about the sound quality, It is the output that is too low both on the speaker and through the earphones.
lombardo8 said:
If you had a Touch Pro 2 before the Desire Z/ G2, you would understand the reason why I complain. I am not too fussed about the sound quality, It is the output that is too low both on the speaker and through the earphones.
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Aren't there kernels available for your phone that increase Max volume? And dsp manager works for eq. Dunno if dsp is in market, or just on the forum. Most roms I flash for my Evo come with it, and the kernels I flash come with audio gain.
Sorry, I haven't checked your guys forum, just accidentally stumbled across this thread.
sent from my EVOlving virus nugget
lombardo8 said:
If you had a Touch Pro 2 before the Desire Z/ G2, you would understand the reason why I complain. I am not too fussed about the sound quality, It is the output that is too low both on the speaker and through the earphones.
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I have to agree a bit here. I'm no audiophile, but enjoy listening to music. I don't expect any super high quality from a cell phone speaker. But you don't have to be an audiophile to notice the speaker quality is not great. And the main reason others complain is that other cell phones do it better. The HTC Touch Pro 2 is a very similar phone in many ways (same manufacturer, similar size, some of the same features like the landscape hardware keyboard) but has a somewhat better sounding speaker. So HTC did it better before. The Vision is a step forward in so many ways, but a slight step backward in terms of the speaker. And the sound quality applies to the speaker phone, not just playing music.
Although I would stop short of actually "complaining" about the speaker quality. Its still pretty adequate for the times I want to listen to music or use the speaker phone, and can't (or don't want to) connect to an external speaker or headphones. It doesn't really detract much at all from the fact that I absolutely love my Desire Z!
scottspa74 said:
Aren't there kernels available for your phone that increase Max volume? And dsp manager works for eq. Dunno if dsp is in market, or just on the forum. Most roms I flash for my Evo come with it, and the kernels I flash come with audio gain.
Sorry, I haven't checked your guys forum, just accidentally stumbled across this thread.
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Click to collapse
The speaker already sounds pretty tinny when the volume is maxed out. I don't know if increasing the max volume would do much, but distort the sound even more. But a decent equalizer might make the speaker at least sound better. DSP Manager is not a market app, it needs to be flashed. And I've read posts that the flashable DSP Manager doesn't work on the Vision. You either have to flash a custom ROM that includes it, or possibly do some heavy tinkering to get DSP Manager to work.
Its not really a speaker to begin with.
ITS A RINGER!!!
Its purpose is to make a NOISE that you can identify as the PHONE RINGING. That is ALL.
dhkr123 said:
Its not really a speaker to begin with.
ITS A RINGER!!!
Its purpose is to make a NOISE that you can identify as the PHONE RINGING. That is ALL.
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Uh, no. Smartphones for years have had speakers designed for playing music and for use as a speakerphone. Even most dumbphones have a speaker for speakerphone use. Obviously the small size is not meant to replace larger speakers. But its decent to use for playing music. Just not as good as many other phones.
when i use speaker phone they arent loud enough sometimes
when i use the phone normally to my ear the speaker isnt loud enough sometimes
any other questions?
not everyone is complaining about the "playing music" aspect.
redpoint73 said:
Uh, no. Smartphones for years have had speakers designed for playing music and for use as a speakerphone. Even most dumbphones have a speaker for speakerphone use. Obviously the small size is not meant to replace larger speakers. But its decent to use for playing music. Just not as good as many other phones.
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No, it isn't. Its a RINGER. NOTHING MORE.
dhkr123 said:
No, it isn't. Its a RINGER. NOTHING MORE.
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You think just saying something in caps magically makes it fact?
The phone is equipped with a speakerphone, therefore its a speaker. You're the only one here that thinks its a "ringer".
You can call it whatever you want. Doesn't change the fact that other phones have better sounding "ringers" including the past generation of similar HTC phone.
dhkr123 said:
No, it isn't. Its a RINGER. NOTHING MORE.
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What exactly is a ringer? Is this another term for a buzzer (like a piezoelectric or magnetic) that I'm not familiar with?
The last time I heard the term ringer as it applied to a design component was for the old mechanical bell ringers used in landline phones (a long time ago). And as far as I know, landline phones nowadays all use tone ringer circuitry connected to either a buzzer or a speaker. Also, buzzers cannot be used to produce music (they require a square wave to produce noise as opposed to the sine waves used by speakers).
I was also under the impression that all modern cell phones used a speaker (just with varying degrees of cost/quality of the speaker itself and the type of amplification circuitry used, if any at all).
For me, I'm complaining about the lack of volume when using the speakerphone in call. Music wise, it doesn't bother me, but phone call wise, it does.
Sent from my HTC Vision using XDA App
The speakers on the Galaxy S phones are actually good for audio/video playback.
They have to do something good....
I too noticed that my G1 had a far better loudspeaker, in both quality and volume once rooted and using Audiohack. The G2 speaker at about 3/4ths volume starts to sound like the speaker is blown. I tried everything and nothing seems to help this.
Try calling 611 for tmobile and put it on loudspeaker, I can almost guarantee it will be just about useless at anything over half. It is noticeably worse for actual conversation as opposed to music, but even music is far worse than the previous androids I've owned.
Any word on a physical mod to improve this?
Gigamaster89 said:
The speakers on the Galaxy S phones are actually good for audio/video playback.
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blunted09 said:
They have to do something good....
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They do. Hardware components. AMOLED Screens, decent speakers, Gorilla glass, great chips/GPUs. They just can't program for ****. Nor can they design an original looking phone - er, hello iPhone 3G/Samsung Galaxy S. Even their latest Galaxy Cooper is a blatant copy of the iPhone 4.
Gigamaster89 said:
The speakers on the Galaxy S phones are actually good for audio/video playback.
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Yes. Hardware wise you can't get anything better than a galaxy S. Software wise they suck If it wasn't for XDA they'd be worthless light bricks
Sent from my HTC Vision using XDA App

Moto G 2014 Headphone Out Quality

While I don't totally trust GSMArena's reviews, they are one of the few review sites that offer loaded headphone out measurements, and the Moto G 2014 caught my eye in that it seems to have a vastly improved headphone out compared to past models, which seems to be on par with the Quallcomm solutions used in LG G2, Nexus 5, while maintaining somewhat lower IMD.
A lot of times implementation is more important than the silicon, and I love to use my mobile as a portable music player, hence I am still hanging on to my old i9000, but I think it may be about time to move on.
So the question for this community is, how do people think this phone sounds? There are things like spurious processor noise and radio noise that won't show up on common measurement methods, but are obvious and annoying as heck (Nexus 7 1st gen's random buzzing comes to mind)
This affordable phone with a promising looking headphone out as well as SD card expansion capacity seems like a probable new music phone for me, any thoughts?
It doesn't sound as good as the i9000, unsurprisingly (I'd still be using one if it had a flash...), but for the price, it is pretty damn good. Mine doesn't exhibit any audible interference via the headphone jack; it's really clean compared to some China brand budget phones I've tried... The same cannot be said of the earpiece speaker, which picks up the radio when it is working hard due to poor reception. Hopefully it isn't radiating excessively at frequencies that would harm your health... I spoke to Motorola about it and they refuse to deny or confirm the issue, but I'm certainly not the only one.
Let's just say the output is good enough to merit using decent headphones. I found the quality was high enough to warrant buying a better pair of portable cans, and to be honest, I find the AKG K481s I subsequently bought have more obvious deficiencies than the Moto G, itself. I rather suspect that on a limited budget, the Moto G paired with decent headphones would definitely be up there with most flagships paired with cheaper headphones.
The headphone output of the Xiaomi Redmi 1S is also supposedly surprisingly good for a budget device. Either way, if you want to do more critical listening, Android 5.0 supports USB DACs...
@rufflove: Thanks for the detailed reply. By picking up radio you mean it's picking up on the local AM/FM radio?! That's rather interesting... If money was no subject LG G3 or Samsung Note 4 looks rather good in the headphone out department, but those are too rich for my blood. I am only interested in a well built phone with moderately good specs, but good headphone out and perhaps a okay camera.
USB DACs may be an option, but I am really not a fan of lugging another piece around, attached by wire. Similar quality to i9000 can be obtained through a Sansa Clip for a rather low cost.
Sorry, no, I mean the cellular radio interferes with the earpiece, especially when signal strength is poor...
If money were no obstacle, I'd be tempted by a Vivo Xshot or the LG G3 in particular for the best camera and audio.
Yeah, my housemate had a Sansa Clip -- incredibly good for the money. I used to have a Rio Carbon and was mortified when I lost it abroad... I'm not convinced any of this expensive new high sample rate kit is anything more than another way of fleecing people... On the USB front, I use a cheap Behringer UCA202 USB audio interface at home. They're unbelievably good value for money, though they have problems driving low impedance headphones... Great for hooking up portables to hifi gear.
I checked the GSM Arena review before getting an XT1068 and was still not convinced about how good headphone output would be, based on past experience of budget devices. But all I can say is that I was pleasantly surprised by the Moto G. The Redmi 1S seems to be the only other worthy competitor atm, but reports of the screen being too reflective put me off. That and the fact that I would have more confidence in Motorola than Xiaomi when it comes to build quality. There are a couple of very capable developers working together on the 1S, though.
Sound quality is not that good compared to previous phones (e.g Galaxy Ace 2 and Experia Mini). E.q makes little difference.
I take moto g2 because got more chance to get lollipop than sgs3. Some people says moto got better speaker than samsung. Camera i think better in s3. i use cameramx app.
Now about headphone sound quality. Its not what i needed. Too loud and sound is not clean at max volume. But i use playerpro and is ok. So if you need better quality find phone with dedicated audio chip, i mean like sgs3,4,5 or htc one m7,8. Some of them is my next phone when they will be still in store and get lollipop
I was blown away by Moto G's 2014 sound quality paired with decent headphones - I doubt any other device could do any better.
squidlr said:
I was blown away by Moto G's 2014 sound quality paired with decent headphones - I doubt any other device could do any better.
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Which headphones do u use...?
ifu said:
Which headphones do u use...?
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Sony ZX310
Sent from my XT1068 using XDA Free mobile app
nereis said:
While I don't totally trust GSMArena's reviews, they are one of the few review sites that offer loaded headphone out measurements, and the Moto G 2014 caught my eye in that it seems to have a vastly improved headphone out compared to past models, which seems to be on par with the Quallcomm solutions used in LG G2, Nexus 5, while maintaining somewhat lower IMD.
A lot of times implementation is more important than the silicon, and I love to use my mobile as a portable music player, hence I am still hanging on to my old i9000, but I think it may be about time to move on.
So the question for this community is, how do people think this phone sounds? There are things like spurious processor noise and radio noise that won't show up on common measurement methods, but are obvious and annoying as heck (Nexus 7 1st gen's random buzzing comes to mind)ual
This affordable phone with a promising looking headphone out as well as SD card expansion capacity seems like a probable new music phone for me, any thoughts?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I would put the sound quality of the Moto 2014 on the very good side. It may not deliver enough punch for demanding headphones (It's not a Cowon, like all smartphones) but the sound is very clear, noise free.
I use it as my main listening device coupled with a Graham Slee Voyager headphone amp and the sound is very very good.
Hmm. My ears must be failing me. My Moto G doesn't sound that good through any of my head/ear phones. For reference I use Senn HD 480, AKG K450 headphones and Shure E2c in ears. The in ears sound the best with the right material.
@V4lve
true dat but you should try furnace kernel and app for increasing volume
Also does anyone have a flashable zip for viper4android or beats bass which works with bluetooth

Audio on the note 4

Morning all, I've always had an android phone, more recently I've joined a well known financial firm and obtained a brand new iPhone 6 for literally nothing, which is essentially the anti Christ in my eyes, to my dismay I realised that not only was this phone everything I thought it wasn't it's also got superb battery life and is ridiculously louder than my note 4 with far better bass, my question is this, can lollipop sound be boosted, I'm currently on echo pop Rom, the audio with ael kernel doesn't work as it should by all accounts. But having owned an S3, I know Samsung phones are toned down when it comes to the audio.
My iPhone is pure stock, it's audio is amazing, both on headphones, Bluetooth and speaker volume.
All help appreciated.
@dladz IPhone? You know that santan will come for your soul tonight, right? But to get back on the subject, I have to agree on the sound, I personally think that with the same Headset the iPhone sounds better then the stock Note4. Battery life of the iPhone is the same or a little less then the Note4. Regards
My dogs names marley, weird. But I agree, the audio is superior. Samsung shouldn't hold their audio back, think they've always done that though. .
Hi, I would say that the audio from the note 4 is better than the iphone, but only when you are using google play music. This is because it is one of the few apps that doesn't use Samsung's software equaliser, The DAC on the snapdragon 805 is better than that of the iphones cirrus logic chip, plus it supports 24 bit 192 khz audio decoding on the chip. I'm surprised that there hasn't been more praise for the note 4's audio.
P.s. The Note 4 (SM-N910F) & SoundMagic E10 are a stunning combo.
Sent from my SM-N910F using XDA Free mobile app
I all bull****. Iphones audio quality is rubbish. No equalizers, viper audio is far superior.
Sent from the first Samsung Galaxy ever
I'm sure theres a few thread knocking around in the apps and themes section. They will probably up the default volumes by a bit by altering the default values in the system, then I would use Viper Audio, which I also agree is superior.
I literally could not believe the difference once Viper was installed and configured it blew me away.
Samsung may have a better way of decoding the audio but what good is that with a small shi**y speaker.
I think personally if you want a phone for its audio quality its HTC one all day.
Brava27 said:
I all bull****. Iphones audio quality is rubbish. No equalizers, viper audio is far superior.
Sent from the first Samsung Galaxy ever
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Click to collapse
Did you actually read what I wrote ? I have always hated apple. I got this phone for next to nothing, the only reason I chose it is because I've never has one, that being said I didn't start this thread to spark a debate, that's not what this is so if you want to come in here and moan on about apple and say the audio is terrible then don't, I asked a question, if you do not have an answer then kindly either remove your comment or don't write anything.
Viper audio is a good mod, as is acid sound mod too. However, at stock levels the iPhone is miles ahead. Even with the note 4 tweaked the iPhone was ahead. I haven't tried acid mod as I don't think it's available for the note 4 as of yet but besides that I think it's a lost cause.
jshq97 said:
Hi, I would say that the audio from the note 4 is better than the iphone, but only when you are using google play music. This is because it is one of the few apps that doesn't use Samsung's software equaliser, The DAC on the snapdragon 805 is better than that of the iphones cirrus logic chip, plus it supports 24 bit 192 khz audio decoding on the chip. I'm surprised that there hasn't been more praise for the note 4's audio.
P.s. The Note 4 (SM-N910F) & SoundMagic E10 are a stunning combo.
Sent from my SM-N910F using XDA Free mobile app
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Click to collapse
Agree with the chip, we know from HTC that great things can be done with it, however this isn't HTC it's Samsung and the speaker is tinny and low (at stock) I just compared the two devices with the same song..please try it next time you're in a phone shop, the difference is undeniable.
Haven't used sound magic, but I do own the 910f, at least until the M9 comes out anyway.
If acid mod comes out on the note 4 I have no doubt that the audio will vastly improve, last time I used this (or even needed it) was on my galaxy S3, the audio on that phone was similarly shocking, with that mod it was one of the loudest phones I've ever heard.
On your second point. I completely disagree with it, Google play makes no difference in this comparison.
I have tried, I also use power amp which is undoubtedly the best player to ever grace android.
mklass said:
I'm sure theres a few thread knocking around in the apps and themes section. They will probably up the default volumes by a bit by altering the default values in the system, then I would use Viper Audio, which I also agree is superior.
I literally could not believe the difference once Viper was installed and configured it blew me away.
Samsung may have a better way of decoding the audio but what good is that with a small shi**y speaker.
I think personally if you want a phone for its audio quality its HTC one all day.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There are a few threads, not the one I was looking for (acid mod) but again like you said it's a terrible speaker, also if you think about it, with HTC (besides the speakers) you have an active eq, software that adapts and adapts well, that's literally what the iphone has, they also own beats now too which is essentially what the eq was on HTC devices, I'm guessing that they might have used some code from the beats software for boomsound.
With viper , as much as it may help , it's not an active eq, it doesn't mould to the music the way the other two do, neither does acid.
Louder ? Maybe. Better audio quality ? I'm not so sure.
dladz said:
Agree with the chip, we know from HTC that great things can be done with it, however this isn't HTC it's Samsung and the speaker is tinny and low (at stock) I just compared the two devices with the same song..please try it next time you're in a phone shop, the difference is undeniable.
Haven't used sound magic, but I do own the 910f, at least until the M9 comes out anyway.
If acid mod comes out on the note 4 I have no doubt that the audio will vastly improve, last time I used this (or even needed it) was on my galaxy S3, the audio on that phone was similarly shocking, with that mod it was one of the loudest phones I've ever heard.
On your second point. I completely disagree with it, Google play makes no difference in this comparison.
I have tried, I also use power amp which is undoubtedly the best player to ever grace android.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I do like HTC for their boom sound speakers, but when I have my headphones on I'm more of an audiophile. It may be a selective carrier thing or just software variations but with play music (actually, after some testing, all non samsung audio player apps) have a much more natural and slightly louder sound. There must be some software sound enhancement trickery on the touchwiz side.
I do understand that sound is subjective, so what I hear others may hear differently. These are just my obeservations
jshq97 said:
I do like HTC for their boom sound speakers, but when I have my headphones on I'm more of an audiophile. It may be a selective carrier thing or just software variations but with play music (actually, after some testing, all non samsung audio player apps) have a much more natural and slightly louder sound. There must be some software sound enhancement trickery on the touchwiz side.
I do understand that sound is subjective, so what I hear others may hear differently. These are just my obeservations
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Try audiotechnica w5000's never heard anything quite like them before. Cost you an arm and a leg but the audio is phenomenal.
the solution is
doing a root an install Walkman player fuul ported from its Z3
really amazing Sony is with its sound technology
---------- Post added at 04:35 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:28 PM ----------
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2730431
crazydeepman said:
the solution is
doing a root an install Walkman player fuul ported from its Z3
really amazing Sony is with its sound technology
---------- Post added at 04:35 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:28 PM ----------
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2730431
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Haven't tried that before but I did own a Z1 which i rooted, the audio for me wasn't out of this world, the iPhone still has much better audio i'm afraid, htc definitely better audio.
Sony does have some plus points but don't think the audio is better mate.

Audio Quality - DAC

Hi All,
I want to know whether this phone will have a dedicated audio chip for great sound quality with headphones like the HTC M9 .
Everything else looks perfect for me with this phone...
Hope the sound quality will be great..
Reagards
Varun HB
hbvarun said:
Hi All,
I want to know whether this phone will have a dedicated audio chip for great sound quality with headphones like the HTC M9 .
Everything else looks perfect for me with this phone...
Hope the sound quality will be great..
Reagards
Varun HB
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't think anyone has reviewed the phone yet. All flagship devices seem to have great audio reproduction these days. I would keep an eye on GSMArena, they do really good audio reviews.
GSM had great things to say about Huawei's past phones as far as quality goes. The volume was their issue. "Excellently clean but quiet" on the Mate 7. "Excellently clean but averagely loud" on the P8. Which is an improvement from one year to the next
I'm curious to see if the Nexus 6P can match the HTC M9 in sound. All the 'hands on' videos I've seen make no mention of the sound... grrrr just wish someone can test the loudspeaker on this phone.
Nizzay! said:
I'm curious to see if the Nexus 6P can match the HTC M9 in sound. All the 'hands on' videos I've seen make no mention of the sound... grrrr just wish someone can test the loudspeaker on this phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
They will. The hands on was in a crowded room, probably not a good place to test speakers.
Sent from my Nexus 6 using XDA Free mobile app
Given that both this and the Moto X Pure have stereo speakers, I'm curious which one sounds better?
hbvarun said:
Hi All,
I want to know whether this phone will have a dedicated audio chip for great sound quality with headphones like the HTC M9 .
Everything else looks perfect for me with this phone...
Hope the sound quality will be great..
Reagards
Varun HB
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You could always try an external DAC / AMP. If you don't mind using bluetooth, the E3 and E5 dac/amps might work out well.
E5: http://amzn.com/B00MXJYDUO / http://us.creative.com/p/sound-blaster/sound-blaster-e5
E3: http://amzn.com/B00J79KNPM
If you can stand using a wired dac/amp, I love my http://www.headphone.com/collection...ppo-ha-2-portable-headphone-amplifier-and-dac
---------- Post added at 05:10 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:56 PM ----------
Now that I think of it, I've heard the Fiio stuff and even that would probably provide better audio for you. And these won't break the bank. The E6 is just an amp, but is super tiny. The E17K is a full DAC / AMP.
E6 Portable: http://amzn.com/B005HJWWW8
E17K: http://amzn.com/B00RPD7KP8
hbvarun said:
Hi All,
I want to know whether this phone will have a dedicated audio chip for great sound quality with headphones like the HTC M9 .
Everything else looks perfect for me with this phone...
Hope the sound quality will be great..
Reagards
Varun HB
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It has a hardware adsp so yes to dedicated chip
It doesn't have apt-x for bluetooth, so i'm going to assume it's just the built in that comes with the 810 and nothing special.
if audio is high on the wish list, might want to focus on the LG V10 that will have the ess sabre dac/headphone amp. unfortunately only one speaker and probably a higher retail price
http://www.marketwired.com/press-re...ution-audio-in-new-v10-smartphone-2060494.htm
hbvarun said:
Hi All,
I want to know whether this phone will have a dedicated audio chip for great sound quality with headphones like the HTC M9 .
Everything else looks perfect for me with this phone...
Hope the sound quality will be great..
Reagards
Varun HB
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
One M9 doesn't have a dedicated DAC.
It uses the one integrated in the Snap810.
Since the G1 I have been chasing a good camera and good audio. In my opinion the Nexus devices have not had either. As such I have gone through many non-Nexus devices trying to find one I'm satisfied with. Through various flagships if I am happy with the camera and audio I inevitably dislike (usually hate) something else about the device. This has resulted in an approximate 6 month upgrade cycle, which, is not particularly fiscally responsible. Over the last three years my original Nexus 7 continues to work without issue. The audio on the N7 is terrible so I don't use it for that. An N4 and N5 were sold after about 6 months because I did not like the camera/audio in those devices.
I would happily pay extra for a Nexus device with a dedicated DAC and headphone amplifier ala the LG V10. If the DAC and amplifier from the V10 were in the Nexus 6P I would be over the moon. For me the DAC/amp quality remains the largest open question with the Nexus 6P. I have mobile DAC/amps that I now only use at my desk as with IEMs the difference in sound quality is not worth the hassle when mobile/active. Anyway I hope in the future a very high quality dedicated DAC and amplifier combination comes to a Nexus device. Until then I really really hope the 6P makes me stop looking for something better for at least a year.
I've been using my HTC M9 > OTG > Fiio Andes > Shure se535s with great results. Much better audio than straight from handset to IEMs. Hoping for similar results with 6P. Volume is never an issue with the Fiio in the signal path.
I'm going to see how long i can stay stock Marshmallow with my next phone. Considering this, I was very torn between the N6P and V10. It would be fantastic to ditch the external amp/DAC and rubber bands with the V10. (ESS Sabre! F YEAH!) Not sure which phone will end up having the better camera. I also don't care for the LG UI at all! So, Having the latest updates and general nexus flexibility won the day. It was such a close decision that it still gnaws at me though.
Posted this in the Official Review thread but know it'll get more attention in this one.
Headphone Output Voltage (Volts)
Apple iPhone 6 1.017
HTC One M9 1.022
LG G4 0.764
Samsung Galaxy S6 0.54
Google Nexus 6P 0.34
Google Nexus 5X 0.287
Paltry numbers which is what I expected. Clean but soft. Great loudspeaker results though.
Loudspeaker Loudness (dB)
Apple iPhone 6 74.5
HTC One M9 72.8
LG G4 79
Samsung Galaxy S6 73.7
Google Nexus 6P 78.4
Google Nexus 5X 69.2
Went to the Phone Arena 5X Review Multimedia section and added the 6P to the list. Waiting for the GSMArena results now to get the full rundown.
mosincredible said:
Posted this in the Official Review thread but know it'll get more attention in this one.
Headphone Output Voltage (Volts)
Apple iPhone 6 1.017
HTC One M9 1.022
LG G4 0.764
Samsung Galaxy S6 0.54
Google Nexus 6P 0.34
Google Nexus 5X 0.287
Paltry numbers which is what I expected. Clean but soft. Great loudspeaker results though.
Loudspeaker Loudness (dB)
Apple iPhone 6 74.5
HTC One M9 72.8
LG G4 79
Samsung Galaxy S6 73.7
Google Nexus 6P 78.4
Google Nexus 5X 69.2
Went to the Phone Arena 5X Review Multimedia section and added the 6P to the list. Waiting for the GSMArena results now to get the full rundown.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not sure I'll care much about this but we will see
I'm coming from an m8 so maybe I'm spoiled but never had issues with past 5 phones using headphones.
Use good headphones and sound usually good. Rarely listen on full blast.
I like the speaker output on 6p though!
And I shouldn't hopefully notice a drop when I Bluetooth music/podcasts in car
Sent from my HTC One_M8 using Tapatalk
Disappointing
You caught my attention in the General thread and I was going to quote you over here. Where did you find the headphone output test results on the 6P? I did not see them on Phone Arena but may well have missed it. I am looking forward to GSMArena test results. Or at least I was. The numbers you posted show a weak amplifier was used. That indicates that audio system quality was given short shrift. As previously stated in this thread the DAC/Amp is my remaining concern for the 6P. The apparent improvement in the camera had me hopeful that significant improvements in the audio might be coming as well. For now that looks decidedly unsure.
mosincredible said:
Posted this in the Official Review thread but know it'll get more attention in this one.
Headphone Output Voltage (Volts)
Apple iPhone 6 1.017
HTC One M9 1.022
LG G4 0.764
Samsung Galaxy S6 0.54
Google Nexus 6P 0.34
Google Nexus 5X 0.287
Paltry numbers which is what I expected. Clean but soft. Great loudspeaker results though.
Loudspeaker Loudness (dB)
Apple iPhone 6 74.5
HTC One M9 72.8
LG G4 79
Samsung Galaxy S6 73.7
Google Nexus 6P 78.4
Google Nexus 5X 69.2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
sewannabe said:
You caught my attention in the General thread and I was going to quote you over here. Where did you find the headphone output test results on the 6P? I did not see them on Phone Arena but may well have missed it. I am looking forward to GSMArena test results. Or at least I was. The numbers you posted show a weak amplifier was used. That indicates that audio system quality was given short shrift. As previously stated in this thread the DAC/Amp is my remaining concern for the 6P. The apparent improvement in the camera had me hopeful that significant improvements in the audio might be coming as well. For now that looks decidedly unsure.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
http://www.phonearena.com/phones/Google-Nexus-6P_id9587/benchmarks
Whole list of benchmarks PhoneArena did on the 6P along with other recent phones and the ability to add additional phones.
The Fiio amp has a Wolfson DAC that is the same as in many flagship phones e.g. iPhone, Samsung, etc. I have had multiple older HTC flagships but not the M9 and in those devices they used a stronger amplifier with a crap DAC i.e. paying lip service to audio quality. Assuming the post above is correct and the M9 uses the Qualcomm integrated DAC that explains one component of the improved audio you experience. The Fiio amp also has a very modest amplifier, which, as you point out for IEMs is more than adequate for the purposes of volume. You do not mention amplifier distortion (generally inverse relationship to volume) and the Fiio amp you are using likely provides a small improvement in distortion. If my assumptions above are correct you why you experience improved audio is obvious. Of importance though there is absolutely no reason that you should have to carry another device to see this improvement. The Fiio Andes is a $100 device (component cost likely less than $20) that is effectively the audio system in the iPhone with possibly a slightly better amplifier.
I hope I am not coming across as a jerk here as that is not at all what I am trying to do. My device history is littered with these unecessary tradeoffs. The iPhone consistently delivers and Apple markets very good audio quality. When we consider Android manufacturers specs race with Apple (display, camera, etc) it is my opinion that audio regularly gets short shrift and that does not make sense to me.
tgearman said:
I've been using my HTC M9 > OTG > Fiio Andes > Shure se535s with great results. Much better audio than straight from handset to IEMs. Hoping for similar results with 6P. Volume is never an issue with the Fiio in the signal path.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I currently have the G4 and the UI is terrible and the camera is very inconsistent. HTC phones have been wildly inconsistent (signal, wifi, etc), the components fail (camera, speaker, etc), and their commitment to audio quality is more pomp than circumstance (e.g. Beats with a meh DAC and decent amp). Samsung's hardware is good but the UI is more obnoxious albeit more polished than LG's; I have not kept any Samsung phone more than a couple of months so I am not sure if I would get the component failures like I have with HTC. Motorola's have had great signal and have been very durable but have been locked down, had terrible audio quality, and poor camera performance. All devices have been flagship models. None of them have received quick or even consistent updates. If they were carrier versions of the device they are loaded with bloat. Thus, to get decent performance I have flashed many custom ROMs with very inconsistent results and myriad other issues associated with the more locked down devices. I have not tried the more niche device makers because of concerns about developer support although I am sure there are or have been some good ones if I would have looked more closely. Throughout the Nexus devices get consistent updates and continue to work well even when the component specs are in terms of tech ancient (e.g. Nexus 7). At one time I regularly used custom ROMs but as I no longer have the time to keep up with that path I have sought to move to stock over the last year or so.
That's all a long winded way of saying I want a stock Android device with an ESS Sabre DAC and ESS amplifier. I want the Android VS IOS spec war over display, camera, etc to come to audio quality as everyone will benefit. In summary, "ESS Sabre! F YEAH!".
Elnrik said:
I'm going to see how long i can stay stock Marshmallow with my next phone. Considering this, I was very torn between the N6P and V10. It would be fantastic to ditch the external amp/DAC and rubber bands with the V10. (ESS Sabre! F YEAH!) Not sure which phone will end up having the better camera. I also don't care for the LG UI at all! So, Having the latest updates and general nexus flexibility won the day. It was such a close decision that it still gnaws at me though.
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