We seriously need a sound quality-related thread for this phone.
I'll start first.
I think this phone's audio is OK, best I've seen by far, but not as detailed as I'd like it. I seldom change phones, so I will compare it (very neutrally) with my previous phone: Note 3.
The Note supports 24-bit/192 kHz, while this phone's international model supports 24-bit/96 kHz.
This phone's Boomsound software is actually a pretty good feature and raises just the right frequencies to the right extent, without distorting the authentic experience. But it was so loud/wild that it started to blow even my studio monitor Audio-Technica M50, which was something purely related to not up-to-the-mark coding, blowing off relatively neutral headphones.
But I just updated to 4.4.3 firmware, and they have actually improved a lot on that software deficiency. The headphones do not feel blown even at full volume, which is a giant leap considering how "sensitive" audio equalizers like BoomSound are to reach perfection. Sure, they still haven't reached perfection; audio loses detail nearly last 2 steps of volume, but it's nice to see they are actually improving on that.
Of course, I can turn off Boomsound anytime and be as authentic as anything, but for me boomsound is just a priceless software I'm yet to find in any mobile yet.
Note 3 had Adapt Sound, which is a great equalizer to tweak sound to the best too. But I like how you don't have to take an audiometry-like test just to improve sound on your phone in M8. (Not bashing Note 3's audio at all, just my preference).
I think I read in the official features of Android L that external DAC will be natively supported (correct me if I'm wrong), so I'm really looking forward to the future of audio in this phone.
P.s. I would give an arm and leg to try out Harmon Kardon mod for this phone, but I can't because of no S-Off. I really can't wait to hear the difference between Boomsound and Harmon Kardon myself. Well, until the day I can get the mod!
Sent from my HTC One_M8 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
Pay the 25 dollars...
OP, I think this thread is a good idea :good:
I hope that we will get some good input and development info here
P.S. HK on 4.4.3 is awesome!
Link: http://forum.xda-developers.com/htc...-harman-kardon-conversion-htc-one-m8-t2827439
erapmicks said:
Pay the 25 dollars...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Willing to pay, even tried all I could to pay them in *any* way but my country has no PayPal, and even a live chat with the developers could not find a workaround for the issue
I'm just refreshing their page everyday to see if new payment methods become available.
09Ram said:
OP, I think this thread is a good idea :good:
I hope that we will get some good input and development info here
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As a really really really enthusiastic audiophile who is trying all his can to learn music and stuff, I wanted views of everyone, pro or not, on this phone's audio. Can't wait to see how the feedback/discussions help us!!!
Sent from my HTC One_M8 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
Good stuff, you sound like you know your stuff What is your opinion of the stock earbuds that come with the phone?
WarCow said:
Good stuff, you sound like you know your stuff What is your opinion of the stock earbuds that come with the phone?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just like HTC's previous ear buds which came with M7, they lean towards a more bass-y sound. The sound is hence easier on the ears, and the best point about these earplugs is that they are at least able to playback all (OK, not all, but a lot more than any I've seen come from any phone) frequencies. This is most noticeable as the lower frequencies, the bass, is actually *booming* at lower volumes with these earplugs. Which is relatively hard to attain in earphones.
But apart from bass being good (which targets a more encompassing audience which likes bass-y music), the sound maintains its balance. It's not obsessively bass-y, and not too peaked at higher frequencies too.
The new 4.4.3 update made the audio more "muddier/bass-y/low frequency-focused", than I'd like though. It is, in my opinion, a downgrade from previous version. But yes, an upgrade in the part that the crucial frequencies aren't "blown" like the previous one.
Let me give you my point of view. How *I* like my music. I like it as authentic as possible. I'm what you might call an audio purist/fundamentalist person.
One last point about the earphones. The earphones are a bit fatiguing. They fatigue my ear more than other earphones I've tried, despite the easier, softer audio focus.
Sent from my HTC One_M8 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
Great thread! I do really enjoy good audio myself!
What I regret is that I converted my phone to Google Play Edition and that really changes how boomsound works. I am going back to Sense.
In my case, and I do not know why I am the only one that notices, but the soundstage goes on and off when listening to music and touching the home button. Stay away from GPE people.
In regards to the headphones I think they're pretty good too considering they're $6 earbuds. Lots of people say "Hey this earbuds suck" but what they do not know is that the plug size really MATTERS!!! If you don't choose the correct plug size any earbuds sound like crap.
I would really like to test the V-Moda Crossfade m-100 headphones on my phone, but I spent the money on a Samsung Gear Live I had the V-Moda Crossfade LP2s and sold them, they are great but bass-y (I don't have much time to use headphones), I use my car audio and my home theater system (MartinLogan speakers + Denon A/V receiver).
I converted my m8 to EU stock rom so I haven't tested it thoroughly yet. I did like the sound on .2 minus boomsound. BS was OK on some hip hop but overpowering on other genres. I've been working too much OT to test but has the mono USB audio out been fixed? I don't think many people noticed that that use external DAC s. Output through my JDS labs CD5 was mono but headphone out was still awesome. Has anybody noticed if it's been fixed?
Sent from HTC One_M8 using hofo app.
Sry in advance, too long post :<
Jamal Ahmed said:
This phone's Boomsound software is actually a pretty good feature and raises just the right frequencies to the right extent, without distorting the authentic experience. But it was so loud/wild that it started to blow even my studio monitor Audio-Technica M50, which was something purely related to not up-to-the-mark coding, blowing off relatively neutral headphones.
But I just updated to 4.4.3 firmware, and they have actually improved a lot on that software deficiency. The headphones do not feel blown even at full volume, which is a giant leap considering how "sensitive" audio equalizers like BoomSound are to reach perfection. Sure, they still haven't reached perfection; audio loses detail nearly last 2 steps of volume, but it's nice to see they are actually improving on that.
Of course, I can turn off Boomsound anytime and be as authentic as anything, but for me boomsound is just a priceless software I'm yet to find in any mobile yet.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How can you call this an Audiophile thread with these claims? (no offense tho).
Boomsound is the by far most horrible crap, you can use for headphones, if you truly want a high audio quality.
And i am not talking about, that you might "like" the different sounding, when the bass/treble is raised, and the mids are lowered.
I talk about the PURE quality of the sound. Its worse. It is. Noise and distortion are by worlds higher. With my Beyerdynamic T90 (yes, treble peak.. but still) and also with my pretty neutal Logitech UE 900 it was not listenable. The treble distorted in alot songs, it hurts in the ears etc.
I still DO think, if Boomsound would do the same, but NOT raise the treble, if would be by miles better as a "fun-setting". But like this, its not usable, tbh.
Also, if you want a sorce besides my ears: http://www.anandtech.com/show/8078/smartphone-audio-testing-htc-one-m8-and-samsung-galaxy-s5/2
Scroll down.
Comparing the THD+N ratio of BoomSound On to Off shows far more noise and distortion as well. If you want boomy bass, a harsh top-end, and no midrange, then use BoomSound. A better choice is to find headphones that suit your listening preferences more.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Jamal Ahmed said:
I think I read in the official features of Android L that external DAC will be natively supported (correct me if I'm wrong), so I'm really looking forward to the future of audio in this phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If I am not mistaken, this feature is supported by Android from version 4.3 onwards. So, witha Fiio E07k, E18~ you should be able to use it as a DAC. In the M8 audio quality thread on head-fi.org, one User uses the E18 with this, and can't disable Boomsound, while using an external DAC.
Jamal Ahmed said:
P.s. I would give an arm and leg to try out Harmon Kardon mod for this phone, but I can't because of no S-Off. I really can't wait to hear the difference between Boomsound and Harmon Kardon myself. Well, until the day I can get the mod!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Even if i do absolutely not share your opinion about Boomsound via Headphones, you might still be interested in my opinion in this comparison.
Boomsound:
Just a cheap EQ setting. Works well together with the external speakers, but is pretty crap for Headphones (maybe its fine with dull headphones, which dont have good treble/clarity. Maybe Shure SE 215, or some other basshead headphones).
I truly cant recommend it. And like i said, its NOT because the EQ setting changes the "true sound" (i like the Use of EQs to do some fine tuning if needed), but because using this raises the noise AND distortion by a good bunch. You can hear that strongly. At least i can.
PLUS, theres one big thing: This is just ONE strong agressive Preset of an EQ. Bass below 120 hz gets +5db, lower mids (120-1000 Hz) gets lowered by up to -5 dB, while the frequencies from 2000 up to 10k+ Hz) gets raised by 4,5db. Above 10k Hz its even above 5 dB).
This makes the difference Bass/treble, to the Mids from 0 dB to 10 dB, since +5 and -5 adds to 10. Thats a really hard difference.
So, in conclusion: Depending on headphones, this might sound better, or actually MUCH worse.
Bassy headphones, lets take your M50s, already have strong bass. Depending on frequency response, that bass could even "overlap" the mids, if the bass is too strong. you can see that on beats headphones. With Boomsound, the bass gets even more stronger, and the mids will get even more back in the background. Alot Headphones, that have a V-curve (and so naturally weaks in the mids) gets even weaker mids.
Also, depending on your headphones also as with the Audio files, the distortion gets raised by a little, or maybe by A LOT.
If you are not happy with your Headphone sounding, you should maybe try another Headphone.
If you just need some fine tuning, then you are by MILES better, if you just use PowerAmp, and its Equalizer, since it can react like a million times better to the individual frequency response of the headphones, and to your own personal taste. Boomsound here is more like "boom in your face. be happy with it, or cry"
Harman & Kardon Soundmod:
Now, this thing is alot different. This is actually Not an Equalizer, like Boomsound. H&K's "Clear-Fi" technology tries to take a strongly compressed Audiofile, and tries to recreate the missing parts.
So, it tries to raise the pure "compressed" audioquality of bad audiofiles.
I personally have mostly 256+ kbit/s MP3s, and Flacs. So, this technology wont help much. it sounds almost the exact same --> not really usefull. You just wont hear much of a difference, unless your Files have a bad quality. And if they do, then get better quality files, instead of such a software, that might not even work well enough.
But, this Soundmod disables Boomsound. Yes, you can find a "trick", where you change the Boomsound parameter from false to true in a script, and enabling it back in the menu. But, it will NOT be active. its like just menu decoration. The "boomsound" sign in the task bar will not be there - Not even with external speakers.
Boomsound is made ONLY for the External speakers, they work together quite well. Without Boomsound (ergo, with H&K soundmod flashed), the External speakers will sound much more thin/tinny. I have yet to find a way to have Boomsound for the speakers, and H&K Soundmod for headphones. Unless theres something new here, this is not possible together.
Lets go a bit deeper into the Audiophile theorycrafting:
H&K's "Clear-Fi", and its purpose might sound awesome. But it has its negative sights:
- It only helps on Crappy Audiophiles. Someone, who cares about audio quality will not use <128 kbit/s mp3s. At LEAST 192, but more 256-320 Kbit/s or even flac. So this will not help you, as the compression on 256+ is not strong enough, to make a difference (also, because most songs have a crappy quality from beeing badly mastered)
- The thoughts behind clear-fi are adressing the "problem" at the totally wrong spot. On most songs, it just does not matter, what file quality (bitrate etc) you use, because most songs are just really really crappy mastered in the studio. Its because alot people dont care about audio quality. so they use cheap crap, like beats headphones, logitech speakers for 30 bucks, and 10 bucks earphones etc. Crappy mastered/produced music sounds better on cheap devices, than a high quality master.
I mean, how are you supposed to "guess" the higher quality, if the artists arent producing high quality music?
I think, the following is a perfect comparison:
You create a 480p Movie, and try to upscale it into 1080p using a cheap software... Do you honestly think, that will raise the quality? I personally don't..
So, to make it pretty short: The worse your File quality is (and higher the file compression), the more "Clear-Fi" might make a difference.
The higher the file quality, the less difference this will make.
To get a high audio quality into your ears, you need a different priority:
1. The Song must be produced in a good/high quality. Much more important, than Bitrate. For example: Michael Jackson's Thriller album at 128 kbit/s will sound much better, than the new Linkin Park Album in 320 kbit+. (i like linkin park, but the new album has such an incredible low quality... its like zero fun listening to it, when you have really good headphones)
2. You need good headphones (Besides the master quality headphones are responsible for like 70-90% of the Audioquality. The REST comes from the DAC/AMP)
3. DAC / AMP Quality
The "Chain" is important. If just one part of it has a low quality, the whole chain will sound low.
good thread, I like quality audio too and use my M8 for music player, stream music at home etc
have a few high quality headphones like Sennheiser On Ear momentum, shure se215, hifiman re 400 and NAD HP50
with boomsound turned on, headphones sound awefull then I realised that it can be turned off with headpohone is connected, and with that off, sound quality is clean and crisp
I like neutral sound, true to source but maybe a bit high on treble....so far sound quality is good and is comparable to my previous note 3...note 3 was the best clean souding phone I hear so far though
any other suggestion to get a clean sound would be much helpfull
Long post (Darkseth), but ultimately just regurgitated from other audiophile nonsense. Boomsound is fine, and it's just elitist to claim it is anything else.
Most people like more bass in their music, most artists sound crap when played back without EQ. You can like it how it's meant to sound but artists want what THEY like, not what I like.
My favorite sound is poweramp music player with bass and treble cranked up, the mid tones almost removed as they sound rubbish with almost all music, and boomsound on top.
I am A1 qualified audiophile with qualifications from the school of knowing what I like
/bowing out and sorry if I derail anything.
The main reason for flashing the H/K mod is that it updates the adsp firmware to support 24bit 192kHz instead the 16bit 96kHz of the standard M8. Loaded up with hi-res flac files and through my Westone 4r's, the difference is night and day to me.
WESBAR said:
The main reason for flashing the H/K mod is that it updates the adsp firmware to support 24bit 192kHz instead the 16bit 96kHz of the standard M8. Loaded up with hi-res flac files and through my Westone 4r's, the difference is night and day to me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
do you hear any difference bwn 192kHz and 96kHz ? tried myself but no difference in quality and head-fi also has many reviewers say no difference but file size just increase a lot
Hey everyone, I'll say I'm an audiophile just because I like good quality, not because I have any knowledge, so this being said what do you guys have to say about ProjectERA?
HtcOneJon said:
Long post (Darkseth), but ultimately just regurgitated from other audiophile nonsense. Boomsound is fine, and it's just elitist to claim it is anything else.
Most people like more bass in their music, most artists sound crap when played back without EQ. You can like it how it's meant to sound but artists want what THEY like, not what I like.
My favorite sound is poweramp music player with bass and treble cranked up, the mid tones almost removed as they sound rubbish with almost all music, and boomsound on top.
I am A1 qualified audiophile with qualifications from the school of knowing what I like
/bowing out and sorry if I derail anything.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sarcasm? If yes, then thx for that giggle mate
thecrab93 said:
Hey everyone, I'll say I'm an audiophile just because I like good quality, not because I have any knowledge, so this being said what do you guys have to say about ProjectERA?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sounds like a good thing. I also had it flashed for a short time... Cant really claim, i heared a difference. But when you reboot into recovery, flash and reboot, thats too much time passed, to be able to really compare it.
You would need 2 devices, one with, one without ProjectERA mod, to really be able to compare it i think.
soo.... difficult to say.
Darkseth said:
Sry in advance, too long post :<
How can you call this an Audiophile thread with these claims? (no offense tho).
Boomsound is the by far most horrible crap, you can use for headphones, if you truly want a high audio quality.
And i am not talking about, that you might "like" the different sounding, when the bass/treble is raised, and the mids are lowered.
I talk about the PURE quality of the sound. Its worse. It is. Noise and distortion are by worlds higher. With my Beyerdynamic T90 (yes, treble peak.. but still) and also with my pretty neutal Logitech UE 900 it was not listenable. The treble distorted in alot songs, it hurts in the ears etc.
I still DO think, if Boomsound would do the same, but NOT raise the treble, if would be by miles better as a "fun-setting". But like this, its not usable, tbh.
Also, if you want a sorce besides my ears: http://www.anandtech.com/show/8078/smartphone-audio-testing-htc-one-m8-and-samsung-galaxy-s5/2
Scroll down.
If I am not mistaken, this feature is supported by Android from version 4.3 onwards. So, witha Fiio E07k, E18~ you should be able to use it as a DAC. In the M8 audio quality thread on head-fi.org, one User uses the E18 with this, and can't disable Boomsound, while using an external DAC.
Even if i do absolutely not share your opinion about Boomsound via Headphones, you might still be interested in my opinion in this comparison.
Boomsound:
Just a cheap EQ setting. Works well together with the external speakers, but is pretty crap for Headphones (maybe its fine with dull headphones, which dont have good treble/clarity. Maybe Shure SE 215, or some other basshead headphones).
I truly cant recommend it. And like i said, its NOT because the EQ setting changes the "true sound" (i like the Use of EQs to do some fine tuning if needed), but because using this raises the noise AND distortion by a good bunch. You can hear that strongly. At least i can.
PLUS, theres one big thing: This is just ONE strong agressive Preset of an EQ. Bass below 120 hz gets +5db, lower mids (120-1000 Hz) gets lowered by up to -5 dB, while the frequencies from 2000 up to 10k+ Hz) gets raised by 4,5db. Above 10k Hz its even above 5 dB).
This makes the difference Bass/treble, to the Mids from 0 dB to 10 dB, since +5 and -5 adds to 10. Thats a really hard difference.
So, in conclusion: Depending on headphones, this might sound better, or actually MUCH worse.
Bassy headphones, lets take your M50s, already have strong bass. Depending on frequency response, that bass could even "overlap" the mids, if the bass is too strong. you can see that on beats headphones. With Boomsound, the bass gets even more stronger, and the mids will get even more back in the background. Alot Headphones, that have a V-curve (and so naturally weaks in the mids) gets even weaker mids.
Also, depending on your headphones also as with the Audio files, the distortion gets raised by a little, or maybe by A LOT.
If you are not happy with your Headphone sounding, you should maybe try another Headphone.
If you just need some fine tuning, then you are by MILES better, if you just use PowerAmp, and its Equalizer, since it can react like a million times better to the individual frequency response of the headphones, and to your own personal taste. Boomsound here is more like "boom in your face. be happy with it, or cry"
Harman & Kardon Soundmod:
Now, this thing is alot different. This is actually Not an Equalizer, like Boomsound. H&K's "Clear-Fi" technology tries to take a strongly compressed Audiofile, and tries to recreate the missing parts.
So, it tries to raise the pure "compressed" audioquality of bad audiofiles.
I personally have mostly 256+ kbit/s MP3s, and Flacs. So, this technology wont help much. it sounds almost the exact same --> not really usefull. You just wont hear much of a difference, unless your Files have a bad quality. And if they do, then get better quality files, instead of such a software, that might not even work well enough.
But, this Soundmod disables Boomsound. Yes, you can find a "trick", where you change the Boomsound parameter from false to true in a script, and enabling it back in the menu. But, it will NOT be active. its like just menu decoration. The "boomsound" sign in the task bar will not be there - Not even with external speakers.
Boomsound is made ONLY for the External speakers, they work together quite well. Without Boomsound (ergo, with H&K soundmod flashed), the External speakers will sound much more thin/tinny. I have yet to find a way to have Boomsound for the speakers, and H&K Soundmod for headphones. Unless theres something new here, this is not possible together.
Lets go a bit deeper into the Audiophile theorycrafting:
H&K's "Clear-Fi", and its purpose might sound awesome. But it has its negative sights:
- It only helps on Crappy Audiophiles. Someone, who cares about audio quality will not use <128 kbit/s mp3s. At LEAST 192, but more 256-320 Kbit/s or even flac. So this will not help you, as the compression on 256+ is not strong enough, to make a difference (also, because most songs have a crappy quality from beeing badly mastered)
- The thoughts behind clear-fi are adressing the "problem" at the totally wrong spot. On most songs, it just does not matter, what file quality (bitrate etc) you use, because most songs are just really really crappy mastered in the studio. Its because alot people dont care about audio quality. so they use cheap crap, like beats headphones, logitech speakers for 30 bucks, and 10 bucks earphones etc. Crappy mastered/produced music sounds better on cheap devices, than a high quality master.
I mean, how are you supposed to "guess" the higher quality, if the artists arent producing high quality music?
I think, the following is a perfect comparison:
You create a 480p Movie, and try to upscale it into 1080p using a cheap software... Do you honestly think, that will raise the quality? I personally don't..
So, to make it pretty short: The worse your File quality is (and higher the file compression), the more "Clear-Fi" might make a difference.
The higher the file quality, the less difference this will make.
To get a high audio quality into your ears, you need a different priority:
1. The Song must be produced in a good/high quality. Much more important, than Bitrate. For example: Michael Jackson's Thriller album at 128 kbit/s will sound much better, than the new Linkin Park Album in 320 kbit+. (i like linkin park, but the new album has such an incredible low quality... its like zero fun listening to it, when you have really good headphones)
2. You need good headphones (Besides the master quality headphones are responsible for like 70-90% of the Audioquality. The REST comes from the DAC/AMP)
3. DAC / AMP Quality
The "Chain" is important. If just one part of it has a low quality, the whole chain will sound low.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I completely agree with you
best: H / K for MP3 and Boumsound for speakers
the speakers do have a bad sound without boumsound
Viper4Android is very good to improve the quality but I did not try on the M8
saj2001ind said:
do you hear any difference bwn 192kHz and 96kHz ? tried myself but no difference in quality and head-fi also has many reviewers say no difference but file size just increase a lot
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I can hear the difference. 192kHz has a little more sparkle to me, especially the highs. Probably an exagerration to say night and day but I can hear it.
I like 24 bit 192 kHz more because it is easier to use hi-end equipment on it, and still be as authentic as possible. Logically, low resolution would sound worse to worst as the quality of your equipment goes higher. Hi-res has one advantage, if any, that it assures you that if you have invested more in your equipment, it won't go to waste all the time you are listening to audio on mobile.
and AFAIK 24 bit 192 kHz is the max supported resolution by headphones of even a pretty high caliber.
Hey OP. What else did you notice out of the 4.4.3 updpate that is so diff from 4.4.2? Sorry for changing topic lol
I can't stand BoomSound as it makes the music sound horrible and unrealistic (it works for the external speakers though). It does very weird things with the sound with headphones. I did not like the Harman Kardon mod either. It just pumped up the highs and has too low bass. Ironically it too sounded very bad in my Harman Kardon CL headphones. Though better than BoomSound.
I rather go flat than use any of those mods and any "audiphile" would agree. It might be good for cheaper heaphones though.
However Viper4Android is another story. With it you can customise the sound without destroying it and give it a richer character. I am extremely happy with it.
Can anyone who has the Axon 7, let us know how the audio quality is with headphones. I'm stuck between this and the OnePlus 3, but I have a pair of Sennheiser Momentums and if the Axon 7 can blow people away with a good pair of headphones I might have to go for it!
connorhiller said:
Can anyone who has the Axon 7, let us know how the audio quality is with headphones. I'm stuck between this and the OnePlus 3, but I have a pair of Sennheiser Momentums and if the Axon 7 can blow people away with a good pair of headphones I might have to go for it!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm very interested in this my self. The audio of the Axon 7 is said to be very good but I have yet to see any comparisons of just how it stacks up to other devices.
The OP3 has very good audio out put also from what I have read. It's said to be on par or perhaps a bit better than the iPhone and just behind the HTC 10.
I would assume the Axon 7 would be superior to the OP3 and not sure how it compares to the HTC 10. Though PC Magazine's review mentioned the HTC 10 was louder with it 1V output from the headphone jack. I'm a little disappointed by this. If true, it doesn't meant the Axon doesn't sound better. It just won't drive hard to drive headphone as well. Not a problem for most people and IEM, but I have a few hard to drive on ears that could make use of the extra power.
It should offer excellent audio from both the dual front facing speakers, that get very loud, and the headphone jack. That plus the high res display that is Daydrean ready makes it my choice over the OP3.
here is a little write up I found:
https://community.zteusa.com/thread/2110
I am anxiously awaiting my Axon 7, but I can comment on the OP3's jack since you brought it up.
My OP3 blows away my Nexus 6. My completely stock OP3 has a stronger output than my N6, which had Viper4Android installed.
No reason why the Axon shouldn't be at least as strong as the OP3.
I hope those dual chips can output some serious power...
I'm happy to hear the OP3 has good audio output! I would probably buy it right now, but it seems Oneplus is having stocking issues... "Ships within 14 days" is what it says on their website, UGH!!
Don't really like his comparison videos, but for audio, this is one is pretty good. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lz92h5JJxfg
Of course, that's only over the speakers and not wired. Wired it should beat pretty much anyone, based on the chipset being used.
Okay, I think it was actually my fault that there was an audio problem. I have been using an app called Automatic Call Recording for a few months on a couple of other android phones. I had installed it on my Axon 7 while I was setting it up. I uninstalled it and now my audio seems to be better. Everything is quite loud and actually sounds great. I can't use the earbuds at max volume without hurting my ears. Just don't use that app and you should be fine lol.
"I received my Axon 7 today and I can honestly say I am very disappointed in the audio quality. I was expecting the dual speakers and included earbuds to output at least good audio, and somehow I can barely hear anything from either the dual speakers or the earbuds even at full volume. I am extremely disappointed. When I watch a Youtube video using the dual speakers I turn the volume up to max and still the audio is very quiet. I made a few phone calls and could barely hear the other person on the dual speakers, earbuds, or normal earpiece. Idk if there is something wrong with my Axon 7 specifically, or if maybe there will be a software update soon to fix this, but this is completely unacceptable."
r3xx3r said:
Okay, I think it was actually my fault that there was an audio problem. I have been using an app called Automatic Call Recording for a few months on a couple of other android phones. I had installed it on my Axon 7 while I was setting it up. I uninstalled it and now my audio seems to be better. Everything is quite loud and actually sounds great. I can't use the earbuds at max volume without hurting my ears. Just don't use that app and you should be fine lol.
"I received my Axon 7 today and I can honestly say I am very disappointed in the audio quality. I was expecting the dual speakers and included earbuds to output at least good audio, and somehow I can barely hear anything from either the dual speakers or the earbuds even at full volume. I am extremely disappointed. When I watch a Youtube video using the dual speakers I turn the volume up to max and still the audio is very quiet. I made a few phone calls and could barely hear the other person on the dual speakers, earbuds, or normal earpiece. Idk if there is something wrong with my Axon 7 specifically, or if maybe there will be a software update soon to fix this, but this is completely unacceptable."
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That's really odd. The PC Mag review said it was louder than both the HTC 10 and Alcatel Idol 4S. Have you tried messing with the audio effects?
EDIT: Never mind.
When I get my Axon 7 in the next 24 to 48 hours. I will post my initial impression of the Audio Quality/Power Output. My ASUS ZenFone 2 was average to slightly below in terms of power output. So I will know how good or bad the Axon 7 is in power output.
I was able to make my OnePlus One's dual mono speakers sound relatively decent with a lot more bass than they originally output (it was basically nonexistent until the volume is maxed out) using ViPER4Android. They sound almost like the iPhone speaker, which is decent enough in terms of bass and quality for a single bottom-firing speaker. I can only imagine what it can do with these dual front-facing stereo speakers.
Have the axon 7 and am had a little listening session last night.
Headphone ? : V-Moda M100.
Past phones with good DAC? HTC 10, Note 5 and S6 (Same DAC as note 5).
Compared to the others, the DAC delivers. It's a relatively flat sounding DAC so you get no shape in sound. Everything is clear and concise. The output is great. Drives the M100 fine but then again, it's a 32 ohm headphone. Using power amp (yes I like that better than neutron), I set it up to play music in 24 bit mode. Immediately with the AKM 4491 (axon DAC), you hear how crappy mp3s are. Even at 320kbps. High bit rate acc sound enter but with this phone, lossless shines. The difference is not like you'll dump your mp3 library but you'll enjoy lossless a lot more. Great stereo separation, fantastic noise floor, no white noise. Just clear clean audio. BTW this phone has two audio chips as mentioned however. One is for recording and the other for listening. The amplifier is the AKM 380. Overall very pleased with the sound. Better than the note 5 Wolfson DAC and hard to compare with the HTC 10 since I only owned it for a week.
Sent from my ZTE A2017U using Tapatalk
osmosizzz said:
Have the axon 7 and am had a little listening session last night.
Headphone ? : V-Moda M100.
Past phones with good DAC? HTC 10, Note 5 and S6 (Same DAC as note 5).
Compared to the others, the DAC delivers. It's a relatively flat sounding DAC so you get no shape in sound. Everything is clear and concise. The output is great. Drives the M100 fine but then again, it's a 32 ohm headphone. Using power amp (yes I like that better than neutron), I set it up to play music in 24 bit mode. Immediately with the AKM 4491 (axon DAC), you hear how crappy mp3s are. Even at 320kbps. High bit rate acc sound enter but with this phone, lossless shines. The difference is not like you'll dump your mp3 library but you'll enjoy lossless a lot more. Great stereo separation, fantastic noise floor, no white noise. Just clear clean audio. BTW this phone has two audio chips as mentioned however. One is for recording and the other for listening. The amplifier is the AKM 380. Overall very pleased with the sound. Better than the note 5 Wolfson DAC and hard to compare with the HTC 10 since I only owned it for a week.
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Very good. Finally an actual first impression.
USB Audio working on axon 7?
Please If any have some usb soundcard or DAC player to test it with OTG cable on Axon 7.
Thx
TomoBero said:
USB Audio working on axon 7?
Please If any have some usb soundcard or DAC player to test it with OTG cable on Axon 7.
Thx
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have the Fiio E17K. I will see if it works by tomorrow. It should most likely.
TomoBero said:
USB Audio working on axon 7?
Please If any have some usb soundcard or DAC player to test it with OTG cable on Axon 7.
Thx
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes. There's a dedicated USB DAC Audio Setting in the Developers Options.
Poweramp Alpha Build 703 works with Dolby Atmos.
Any issues using High-Res Output in the Poweramp Alpha?
wwyjoe said:
Any issues using High-Res Output in the Poweramp Alpha?
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Nope.
As a spotify user with ATH M50, will the DAC serve me well?
r3xx3r said:
Okay, I think it was actually my fault that there was an audio problem. I have been using an app called Automatic Call Recording for a few months on a couple of other android phones. I had installed it on my Axon 7 while I was setting it up. I uninstalled it and now my audio seems to be better. Everything is quite loud and actually sounds great. I can't use the earbuds at max volume without hurting my ears. Just don't use that app and you should be fine lol.
"I received my Axon 7 today and I can honestly say I am very disappointed in the audio quality. I was expecting the dual speakers and included earbuds to output at least good audio, and somehow I can barely hear anything from either the dual speakers or the earbuds even at full volume. I am extremely disappointed. When I watch a Youtube video using the dual speakers I turn the volume up to max and still the audio is very quiet. I made a few phone calls and could barely hear the other person on the dual speakers, earbuds, or normal earpiece. Idk if there is something wrong with my Axon 7 specifically, or if maybe there will be a software update soon to fix this, but this is completely unacceptable."
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I think we all know this comment is B.S. !..
Have the one plus 3 headphone jack output is amazing. Looking at the axon 7 though
Hello,
i'm having the HTC M9 and because of the great sound DAC (4490) i bought the Axon 7. It beats my HTC M9 in nearly every point but not in sound quality
If i disable on both phones every EQ and Sound Effect, just using direct output, the HTC M9 will win because its more clear and defined then the Axon 7. The sound of the Axon 7 is not bad but its imprecised/blurred.
So someone is having the HTC M9 too and can compare it with the Axon 7 too? Disable all Effects, EQ and set both to the same volume level and compare for example this music on both phones: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1fyDHNssXnY (please better serach for this song on Tidal or somewhere where you can get it in better quality, idk what quality its on yt but its not that good like the flac quality of Tidal)
I wonder if my Axon 7 is broken or ZTE did a bad job in implementing this DAC to its Android or if they added very bad OP-AMPs behind the DAC.. idk i simply can not understand whats going wrong.. i didnt expect that it would have worse sound then the M9.. In all other points its better.
Headphone is Beyerdynamic T1 Gen2 & Custom Street
My son had my old HTC M9 when I first got my Axon 7.... I thought there was no comparison, the Axon 7 won hands-down. Fuller low end, crisper top end, louder and no distortion. The headphone volume in the A7 is lower, but setting up a Dolby Atmos profile specifically for my earbuds, I could make it sound much better than the M9, although the M9 was louder (but I don't ever turn up all the way).
Now, in saying all that....When I disabled the Dolby Atmos and HTC Boomsound (or whatever the M9 has), the M9 sounded better. The Dolby Atmos is everything to the sound of the Axon 7 without that, it sounds horrible (unless you are rooted and use another audio mod, like V4a).
My biggest gripe with the M9 (M7 & M8 too, I've had them all) was there was no system wide EQ, like Dolby Atmos. Trust me, I don't like Dolby Atmos in general.... It randomly resets sometimes and will switch to "movie" when I'm listening to music, but it does sound good.
tele_jas said:
My son had my old HTC M9 when I first got my Axon 7.... I thought there was no comparison, the Axon 7 won hands-down. Fuller low end, crisper top end, louder and no distortion. The headphone volume in the A7 is lower, but setting up a Dolby Atmos profile specifically for my earbuds, I could make it sound much better than the M9, although the M9 was louder (but I don't ever turn up all the way).
Now, in saying all that....When I disabled the Dolby Atmos and HTC Boomsound (or whatever the M9 has), the M9 sounded better. The Dolby Atmos is everything to the sound of the Axon 7 without that, it sounds horrible (unless you are rooted and use another audio mod, like V4a).
My biggest gripe with the M9 (M7 & M8 too, I've had them all) was there was no system wide EQ, like Dolby Atmos. Trust me, I don't like Dolby Atmos in general.... It randomly resets sometimes and will switch to "movie" when I'm listening to music, but it does sound good.
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Yea exactly this i found out too.. with Dolby Atmos i can make the Axon 7 more sound like the M9. But without all effects and EQ stuff the M9 is the better one in sound quality.
I had crazy volume issues on my M9 while hearing flac music. All the time if the displays went off there was this crazy volume issues.
I think i will stay with the Axon and use the Dolby Atmos which really sounds not bad if you set it the right way(sadly this Dolby Atmos disable itself every time if i plug in my headphones... and yea this random resets and profile selections are horrible ). I don't like EQ stuff but the Axon is in all other points the better choise. Maybe I will use my Fiio E18 (connected via USB) again. With it I have the best quality so far
But good to hear that im not the only who found out that the M9 has without EQ, BoomSound,.. the better sound Also the M9 can drive the Beyer T1 (600Ohm) headphone better then the Axon 7 (the EU version can too but only in super mode... i hope ZTE will fix the volume limitation of the EU version and make it loud like the US version)
Currently i use this Dolby settings on the Axon 7 (but im still testing arround ^^):
http://forum.xda-developers.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=3952988&stc=1&d=1480458554
Lets see if there are other ppl who can confirm this too...
I have the HTC M9, Axon 7 and recently the V20. For headphone out, I always disable all enhancements etc. I used a selection of IEMs such as Sony EX1000, Westone UM30, JH Roxanne since these are all sensitive low impedance earphones.
I found the Axon 7 had worse audio than the M9. The M9 has elevated bass which was very noticeable but also was clearer than that of the Axon 7. What surprised me was when switching from standard to super in the headset HIFI settings on the Axon 7, the sound became worse, more muffled, less detailed, lower voume for the EX1000 and JH Roxannes. I later tested with a Sennheiser HD800 headphone that has 300 ohm impedance. This was my only headphone where the sound on Axon improved by switching to Super in the headset HIFI settings however iit was bbeing under powered by the Axon 7.
I also tested with UApp and poweramp to make sure the results were consistent across apps that could access the DAC.
Later I got a V20 and compared to the M9 and Axon 7 it is hands down much better. It's like a veil is lifted from the music. I can pickup details that were not audible or were muffled on the Axon 7. If you use an adaptor to fool the V20 toioi kick into high impedance mode then the Sennheiser HD800 will goto higher volumes than the M9 or Axon 7.
I am not sure what is going on with the Axon 7. Sure it is better than any other phone without a dedicated DAC but I expected better results from the AK4490 DAC.
Hmm after seeing this https://hifiduino.wordpress.com/2014/12/07/akm-verita-4490-dac/ im pretty sure that ZTE did badly implement the DAC into Android. This DAC has many many settings. For ex. they could enable filters which will make the sound more clear or add more bass etc. Maybe the US version sounds differnt then the EU version idk. I hoe ZTE will fix that in Android 7 and also add more options where we can change the DAC settings.
Maybe it's the DSD/DSP which is badly setup on the Axons AK4490/4461. Im testing arround with my Creative Soundblaster X7 and if i disable there the DSP (using direct mode) i get a very clear and good sound while playing flac files. I think there is something similar on the Axon 7 enabled. I think they want to make a better sound by using audioprocessing stuff but thats for me like all the other EQ stuff whichs destroys the natural/orignal sound ...i dont like it ...somehow the sound looses its clarity. It's very good recognizable if you listen to clasic/trailer music like the album "Tunes of Fantasy" from Florian Bur.
Hi experts,
I'm a long time Xiaomi user coming from Mi A1 thinking to buy this Mi 9T in US.
I'm not to happy with the A1 audio quality, especially over the headphones. I tried different brands, but not much luck. My GF has a note6pro, my family 5a..
Looking at the gsmarena site they are not impressed too with headphone test on this model, not sure it can be trusted though.
My main concern is the microphone and echo/noise canceling.
Can you guys give me a "real life review"?!
Check other thread, there many other (me included) confirm audio quality is suprisingly good, contrary to rumors. Maybe updates improved it?
I can say it is just as good as my amazing LG V20 with quad DAC! And the LG V series are the bechmark when it comes to android audio quality.
Only my problem is that volume is low, but AFAIK that is EU regulations, and should be easy to hack/fix, and would not apply anyway AFAIK for US version.
Just got my Mi 9T, and it is just STUNNING! A piece of art. I still catch myself staring at its beauty.
I would like to know about this too. And once again, there is NO EU regulation limiting volume. Manufacturers are meant to warn users when the volume is getting loud so they can confirm they want to proceed. If the phone companies can't read the rules, that's not the EU's fault. Enough with the fake news.
There's two modes of audio in the 9t "hi-fi" or regular.
I think that the option it's meant to switch from the audio chip modes, regular or performance (I think it's the best chip it has Qualcomm for audio, or at least they made it sound like that).
This performance mode uses more power, like 5 times more, and I am almost certain that gsmarena reviewed it without this setting on, that's why the poor results.
Look at this for more info of the chip.
https://www.qualcomm.com/products/wcd9375
Interesting for the consuption I didn't know ! and I can confirm that the sound quality is very good.
For the volume mine is very loud, impossible to put at max but it depend of your earphones impedance and many others things. (you have to play good quality sample music like FLAC and a good player like "AIMP" or "Poweramp" that can be "bit perfect"
Yes, I did a blind test against my creative Sound Blaster E1 (the phone supports DACs over USB C as well) and it is indistinguishable from that nice and proper DAC, IN THE HI-FI MODE. The source was lossless stuff from Tidal and the earbuds used were my trusty HiFiMan RE400a earbuds. I can verify that one has to listen at like two clicks below the full volume for everything to come through (i.e. the volume is a bit low, but baseline audio performance is excellent)
soumen08 said:
Yes, I did a blind test against my creative Sound Blaster E1 (the phone supports DACs over USB C as well) and it is indistinguishable from that nice and proper DAC, IN THE HI-FI MODE. The source was lossless stuff from Tidal and the earbuds used were my trusty HiFiMan RE400a earbuds. I can verify that one has to listen at like two clicks below the full volume for everything to come through (i.e. the volume is a bit low, but baseline audio performance is excellent)
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That's nice to hear.
mic
razielmcr said:
That's nice to hear.
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I would be also interested in the microphone handling in the topic of Audit quality. On Mi A1 ppl always complained when I was using a headset as the noise canceling part did not work. Same for Speaker mode..
Also why "Hi-Fi audio" is not on by default as it claims to increase audio quality.
Regarding the phone calls I can tell that my factory set 9T is poor. I cannot hear and understand what people say when calling. (Never had this on any phone before) Weird sound and some echo. And nowhere any audio settings in phone.
marko-mb said:
Regarding the phone calls I can tell that my factory set 9T is poor. I cannot hear and understand what people say when calling. (Never had this on any phone before) Weird sound and some echo. And nowhere any audio settings in phone.
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I don't have that problem. Phone calls are clear
Regarding audio quality over a headphone jack = it is worst audio quality I have ever tested from any smartphone be honest. I also know people who see it the same way. I went to Mi9T from Pocophone and never had this issue there - poco is still in my house, I gave it to my wife so I can really compare between the two. Tried both normal and hi-fi modes on Mi9T.
Audio over BT is fine on other hand - thats most important for me
I was testing audio quality on SONY WH-1000MX3
What could be the reason for this I dont know. The audio chip should be great. I have tried many versions of MIUI as well.
Tested right now with Beyerdynamic dt770 Pro 250 Ohm version. My source file is from deezer to have a better idea of an average quality of a song someone might listen to.
Hi-Fi is enabled and i can say that audio quality is pretty good. I wouldn't compare it to LG Quad Dac but the phone is powering 250 Ohm studio headphones very well.
People usually evaluate audio quality by the amount of bass. IMO its good enough.
@Nexus5-32GB I have the same impression. I came from a Zuk Z2 Pro and audio quality is poor. Bass is OK but mids and treble are too high. I'm using the same Senheiser MX-30G as always and the difference is noticiable even in Hi-Fi. My wife's Redmi 4A have better sound.
I am using poweramp music player to listen to music, and the audio quality is just superb! Previously I used google play music with mi sound enhancer and the audio quality is pretty mediocre compared to poweramp.
I tested hifi with AudioTechnica M50. It does make a difference and I feel it is a lot louder so much that I'm afraid of pushing volume to max. I like my hearing very much. You don't need portable amps with this phone for the most part. It's probably not audiophile approved or something like that but it sounds very full.
billiken_27 said:
@Nexus5-32GB I have the same impression. I came from a Zuk Z2 Pro and audio quality is poor. Bass is OK but mids and treble are too high. I'm using the same Senheiser MX-30G as always and the difference is noticiable even in Hi-Fi. My wife's Redmi 4A have better sound.
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What player are you using?
Using Google play the sound it's ****.
Using Tidal it's heaven, don't know why.
Exactly, if you use it right the sound is very good but if you listen mp3 with googlemusic, sure the best earphones can't do anything for you
razielmcr said:
What player are you using?
Using Google play the sound it's ****.
Using Tidal it's heaven, don't know why.
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I don't think it's a player issue 'cause I always use the same player. I always compare the sound using Spotify. I use Spotify on all my family devices.
billiken_27 said:
I don't think it's a player issue 'cause I always use the same player. I always compare the sound using Spotify. I use Spotify on all my family devices.
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Yeah, it doesn't make any sense, I know, but in my case that happend, playing throug play music was horrible and understandable that people complain about it, but with Tidal it's beyond anything i've heard.
Other users have notified that they too notice when playing through play music.
actually is awesome
brombadeg said:
Hi experts,
I'm a long time Xiaomi user coming from Mi A1 thinking to buy this Mi 9T in US.
I'm not to happy with the A1 audio quality, especially over the headphones. I tried different brands, but not much luck. My GF has a note6pro, my family 5a..
Looking at the gsmarena site they are not impressed too with headphone test on this model, not sure it can be trusted though.
My main concern is the microphone and echo/noise canceling.
Can you guys give me a "real life review"?!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Coming from a zte axon 7 I was really doubtful about the sound quality, but I'm impressed about it, it has a hifi logo on the box and sounds really good, with a couple of good headphones I can't listen no difference with the zte axon 7, also had a poco f1 and it sounds a thousand times better than the poco