Database Users

audioquality - really that bad? will 2.2 bring some improvements?

Hey Folks!!
I´ve read a lot about the very poor audio quality with the streak...what do you "initiated" guys can tell me about this (aside from the fact that they have positioned the audiojack on the SIDE of the device )? How would you rate the possibility to use this device as my no.1 mp3 player?
Will the update that everybody is waiting for compensate this issue?

Hi brooon
Well i don't know why you think the Streak has poor audio quality as that most certainly isn't my experience of using it to play my Music on and whilst i was on 1.6 i was more than happy using the Music player that was built into the Streak as i liked the Music Widget that came with it. Since moving to 2.1 and 2.2 Custom Roms i am using Lithium Player as like the Widget options it gives and i have no need for an EQ as have never used one on any device i use.
What is far more important IMO is how well you encode your Music as using low bit rates are never going to give you great results however good the hardware may be its restricted by to little information to work with when decoding it. All my Music is kept in iTunes although bought on Cd's and then transferred to it @256kbps AAC. The second most important factor is then your in ear phones as the supplied ones with any equipment are adequate at best IMO so dependant on your budget and the sound you like to hear upgrading your in ear or head phones is the other thing that will effect the quality of what you are listening to.
I listen to at least 2 hrs a day of Music either with my Shure EC2g's in ear phones plugged directly into my Streak or using my Nokia BH-500 and streaming the Stereo via Bluetooth to the same in ear phones and the sound is nothing short of stunning IMO. It produces a rich and full sound with good separation and sound stage with no need to use an EQ as IMO you shouldn't need to boost any frequencies as thats what a producer does when recording the Music for you to listen to in the recording studio.
So in answer to your question do nothing as I'm already running 2.2 and despite now using Lithium Player for the Widget options i have no issues with the sound quality my Streak delivers whilst listening to music or watching Videos.
Marc

brooon said:
I´ve read a lot about the very poor audio quality with the streak...[...]
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Where have you read it?
Streak has the best audio quality of all the devices I owned during last years. I was amazed when I first plugged the earphones and played some tunes.

Theres a lot of fud around.....
I'd agree with smoku it's the best (although the speaker isn't great maybe that's what he read)
I'm now using power amp for all my music needs, the eq in there really brings out the best of the sound quality on the streak... It even plays m4a and wma and can boost the sound level out of the rear speaker

This is a valid thread, thanks for starting it.
For my part I am interested in portable audiophile gear, Sennheiser IE8 with custom moulds, iBasso D10, iRiver H140, that sort of thing.
My music is encoded in FLAC and I haven’t yet tried the Streak as a music player. Possibly in part so as not to be disappointed and also I am waiting on final 2.2 or maybe even 2.3 so as to bring the platform to maturity and with it good quality media apps. The original 1.6 just seemed to be rough around the edges and with poor app support.
So the responses from Dogmann, smoku and fards are very encouraging and I shall give it go sooner rather than later.

i use the hf2,s from emotec and you need a diff player to play flac but the sound quality is ok just the standared head set that come with its pants

I think 2.2 has increased the sound quality for the speaker but still not good as HTC tilt2. The sound from earphone jack is good on both 1.6 and 2.2 for me.

im using a pair of klipsch images and the sound on my streak sounds horrible. I hear alot of popping and noise. You can even hear when the internal amp comes on when its about to start playing sound, and you can hear it turn off when sounds go off its rather noticable. I recently installed poweramp and the inbuilt eq does make the sound alot better. Maybe all our streaks aren't created equal id love to hear one that sounds good.

hi @all!!
Thanks for the comments and experiences, your impressions are really helping a lot here guys
shigga said:
I hear alot of popping and noise. You can even hear when the internal amp comes on when its about to start playing sound, and you can hear it turn off when sounds go off its rather noticable.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That´s what i´ve read several times in reports that i´ve found during my googletrip ...it seems like you´re not the only one suffering under these (audio)circumstances. I must say, Im very surprised about the positive impressions here (although I´m happy to read such things )?!?
Don´t you guys hear those "poppings" and noises, too? What could be the reason for such a variety of impressions? Any idea?

This thread comes straight from the android knockers over at ilounge! i've owned both, there's no difference! i read the same stuff before i got android.
The only thing about the stereo system on the streak is the incredibly stupid placement of the headphone jack on the side of the device, meaning it sticks out sideways when in your pocket, the 'designers' even thought that you would carry the streak around in your pocket in landscape mode

tbh I'm not an audiophile, I've been a musician for way too long
never heard popping or buzz... except intentional as part of whatever I'm listening to..

My Streak does sound real good, even when listening to classical music. And I am using it straight out of the box.

Crap statement. It's not spectacular, but for a mobile phone device it's very satisfactory. I use it as a player both in my car and when I'm on the train and it sounds phenomenal.

Obviously it is not spectacular, lol. How could the sound on such a small device ever be spectacular? I was comparing it to other mobile devices (my wife's iPhone 3G, my old HTCs) and I am pleasantly surprised.

I switched to bluetooth headphones and they deliver much better sound quality, than the original streak's earplugs.

HansTWN said:
Obviously it is not spectacular, lol. How could the sound on such a small device ever be spectacular? I was comparing it to other mobile devices (my wife's iPhone 3G, my old HTCs) and I am pleasantly surprised.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Didn't mean to directly attack your statement . I'm actually agreeing with you, I think the sound quality is good on the Streak, and I'm calling the "reviewers" who said that the sound is bad on the Streak crap.
Sorry for the misunderstanding.

Its weird there is such differing opinions on it.
I've owned two and returned both for bad audio. I even had an email from the executive support team saying they're aware of an audio issue!
I just wondered whether maybe, as mine were both from the very first Carphone Warehouse batch in Brighton that I got a bum lot!?

Just tried the demo display at my local best buy and brought my earbuds and it sounded equally as bad as mine. My captivate, aria and nexus sound so much better.

shigga said:
im using a pair of klipsch images and the sound on my streak sounds horrible. I hear alot of popping and noise. You can even hear when the internal amp comes on when its about to start playing sound, and you can hear it turn off when sounds go off its rather noticable. I recently installed poweramp and the inbuilt eq does make the sound alot better. Maybe all our streaks aren't created equal id love to hear one that sounds good.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is my only gripe with the audio quality. If you listen at low volumes, you can hear fuzz/hiss sounds. I also can hear the amp/DAC/whatever it is turning on and off when I start/stop my music. Course, you can crank up the music to drown out the noise, but I like to be able to hear what's going on around me when i listen to music (so the yard gnomes et al can't sneak up on me.)
If you're in a reasonably quiet room, try playing some music with headphones and the volume turned all the way down to 0 (yes, zero). I can hear audio noise over the sound of my apartment heater blowing air around.
side note: I've confirmed this with the earbuds that came with the streak, as well as a set that came with my old iphone. i'm guessing if you have less sensitive headphones, this will be less of a problem cause you'll be pushing the audio out at higher volume levels.

After the encouraging observations here I decided to finally check out the sound quality for myself. My reference portable rig is a pair of Sennheiser IE8’s with custom ear moulds, iBasso D10 Headphone amplifier with an optical digital interconnect to an iRiver H140.
The music I like tends to be recorded as low-fi, e.g. The National, Bon Iver, Cymbals Eat Guitars. Last night I loaded up a selection of Calexico on both the Streak and iRiver. While these are clean recordings they are certainly not Hi-Fi reference standard, you know, the sort of stuff that is used to demonstrate high end audiophile equipment.
Basically my subjective comparison is just me listening to the sort of music that appeals. The cognoscenti over at Head-Fi may well have finer tuned ears and a more analytical framework and disagree of course.
I approached this with some trepidation bracing myself for a degree of disappointment in the Streak as a music player. No way did I expect what I found.
To summarise, given the choice of listening to the iRiver/iBasso rig or the Streak I would probably select the former. However I would be hard pressed to actually explain why. Perhaps because it has the ability to go louder - though the Streak is quite loud enough.
TBH after a couple of hours listening to the same tracks back and forth on both devices, I couldn’t discern any difference. Dell has really come through on this device in so many ways.
Kudos also to PowerAmp which is a joy to use and a bargain at $5.
For reference, the last time I performed this exercise was to compare with my old iPhone 3GS and there was no doubt then that the iRiver/iBasso was superior. I can’t say the same with the Streak, the best I can manage is ‘neck and neck’.
I am sorry for those who are having audio problems but this shouldn’t be so and your device could be faulty.

(Q) Any hope for better audio output ?

Yes, i now there was several threads among, but this mine is becose i really suffer with this problem. Im disapointed spent a lot of money and for the device with any satisfaction with the sound quality. Im little bit disappoined with devs who are focusing on theming, roming, coloring etc, but things wich really sucks are so far beyond attentiion. So now, i can say.. i love my S2, for the display, speed, shape, 1 gb ram, 16 int.sd, but i hate it, hate Samsung for that in "the best sold result phone" put Yamaha chip not Wolfston like in the old brother S I. So give me some hope, anybody. Pls.

Well if you have as you say read the threads and posts with better sound tips then no one can help.
Faulty phone ??? Crap music ???
Im little bit disappoined with devs who are focusing on theming, roming, coloring
Its a hobby they dont get paid for its their choice probably most of them are happy with the sound i am . You can always put up a bounty for sound improvements .
$1000 for a starter .
My phone with stock player stock headphones and all music on AAC+ format compared to my Sony MP3 player fairly equal but quality slightly better via Sony in ear phones or Sennheiser headphones .
On initial test SGS 1 was only slightly better than SGS2 .
jje

Software changes can't fix hardware problems.
Use Poweramp as a player and get yourself a decent portable head phone amp, it's all you can do for the phone but it really helps.

Dr Tone said:
Software changes can't fix hardware problems.
Use Poweramp as a player and get yourself a decent portable head phone amp, it's all you can do for the phone but it really helps.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yeah I'm currently using PowerAmp with a set of Klipsch S4i's, rather satisfied with the quality...
Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk

Thx guys for posts, i use poweramp, tried Equalizer, Volume+, DSPManager as well and everytime sound is crappy and its not clear as on ex. HD2 my recent phone. There is no comparison with Galaxy S at all.
My headphones are not so bad i mean Nuforce NE700X.
However in " preliminary audio .. " thread i mentioned about sponsoring/donating devs about new drivers for Yamaha DAC or smth familiar voodoo sound in S2 but without any responce.

arkadius41 said:
Thx guys for posts, i use poweramp, tried Equalizer, Volume+, DSPManager as well and everytime sound is crappy and with clear as on ex. HD2 my recent phone. There is no comparison with Galaxy S at all.
My headphones are not so bad i mean Nuforce NE700X.
However in " preliminary audio .. " thread i mentioned about sponsoring/donating devs about new drivers for Yamaha DAC or smth familiar voodoo sound in S2 but without any responce.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
We've said it in the other thread, but the DAC isn't the primary problem it's the headphone amp. But for some reason everyone wants to focus on the DAC as the issue.
Someone could write a miracle DAC driver and this phone will still sound like crap because of the headphone output section blows.
Do yourself a favor and plug into someone's half decent headphone amp and you'll understand what I'm talking about.

Dr Tone said:
We've said it in the other thread, but the DAC isn't the primary problem it's the headphone amp. But for some reason everyone wants to focus on the DAC as the issue.
Someone could write a miracle DAC driver and this phone will still sound like crap because of the headphone output section blows.
Do yourself a favor and plug into someone's half decent headphone amp and you'll understand what I'm talking about.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I doubt most people know what's a headphone amp anyway.
Let's point them to Head-Fi and start their journey of audio bliss and financial bankruptcy

Audio SQ Stock vs CM10?

Hello there, is there any diference between audio qualify from headphones out stock vs cm?

This is the big question for me since I own a pair of NuForce NE-700M and plan to upgrade to Yamaha EPH-100, and roughly 90% of my smartphone usage is just listening to music. GSMArena shows stock playing with enjoyably low THD (I know some of you aren't too fond of their review process, though).

Deadeye* said:
Hello there, is there any diference between audio qualify from headphones out stock vs cm?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Stock has workarounds for the cheap buds that come with the Oppo - but Dirac HD is unnecessary for decent headphones and in fact ruins the audio quality if used with good headphones. So if you use decent wired headphones you should not hear much difference if any. Some A2DP (stereo Bluetooth) devices have issues with 4.2 due to the new Bluetooth stack, however I can't reproduce this with any of my A2DP headsets.

I listen often music at home and sometimes I have to use my headphones (Fidelio)
Tested CM on Oppo which I preferred used on my HTC Sensation, but on the Oppo I am especially due to the sound quality back to Stock because in my opinion is the overall sound much better, especialy with MP3 320 kbps which I normally use. Only issue is that Stock in combination with the Faux Kernel causes sometimes a few problems.. However I have clearly to recommend the Stock for Music Lovers.. but try it - because ears and sound preferences are different
And by the way DiracHD is not only to improve cheap earphones, don't forget you have not the power of a High-End Amplifier in your pocket therfore is such a sound improvement a good way to have a much better sound on good headphones as well....

Nelson Hawker said:
I listen often music at home and sometimes I have to use my headphones (Fidelio)
Tested CM on Oppo which I preferred used on my HTC Sensation, but on the Oppo I am especially due to the sound quality back to Stock because in my opinion is the overall sound much better, especialy with MP3 320 kbps which I normally use. Only issue is that Stock in combination with the Faux Kernel causes sometimes a few problems.. However I have clearly to recommend the Stock for Music Lovers.. but try it - because ears and sound preferences are different
And by the way DiracHD is not only to improve cheap earphones, don't forget you have not the power of a High-End Amplifier in your pocket therfore is such a sound improvement a good way to have a much better sound on good headphones as well....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, DiracHD only works with cheap headphones - more specifically, *only with the cheap headphones included with the device* - it is an EQ preset that offsets the deficiencies of the OEM earbuds. Use it with anything that doesn't have the exact same frequency response and you correct for problems that aren't there - effectively creating new problems that didn't exist.
Effectively it's an audio form of RF predistortion - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Predistortion - Applying predistortion to anything with distortion characteristics different from what the predistortion algorithm was designed for results in increased distortion.

Well, then you agree that there is a differece between..and it depends on the headphones!
This was finally the question..
There was also somewhere a previous discussion ongoing that not each headphone works well with DIRAC due some reasons you stated before which is clear and nothing new..
But as I said, for me personally it sounds much better. Maybe are my 180 Euro headphones made of cheap quality, my ears need a doctor or I'am a promotion victim

Nelson Hawker said:
Well, then you agree that there is a differece between..and it depends on the headphones!
This was finally the question..
There was also somewhere a previous discussion ongoing that not each headphone works well with DIRAC due some reasons you stated before which is clear and nothing new..
But as I said, for me personally it sounds much better. Maybe are my 180 Euro headphones made of cheap quality, my ears need a doctor or I'am a promotion victim
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I got rid of my stock firmware before I had a chance to try the Dirac stuff, but it sounds like it's very similar to Beats Audio, where a lot of the lower spectrum and possibly some of the highs are boosted. This generally makes a more "fun" sound for the casual listener but a lot of more analytical listeners will feel like it ruins the sound, especially if they own earphones that already have their preferred sound signature.

So basically: If your earbuds share a similar signature to the Find 5 included buds, you'll appreciate Dirac HD's effects. Elsewise, if Dirac happens to shape your buds' signature into something you enjoy, then more power to it.
Meh. My NuForce NE-700Ms are already plenty V-shaped (my only complaint being that I have to run 4khz into the ground because it can be harsh. I still recommend them to you out there looking for a quality pair of IEMs at a decent price)

Only for information:
With the Stock Music App, which is not really bad you can switch between DIRAC, Dolby or turn every sound improvement off. But you must plug your headphone in otherwise you have in the speaker mode only a possibility to select Dolby or turn everything off..
So you can compare a little bit better how it works for you...

Audio quality with headphones vs Iphone Z3C/Iphone 6s

Since I´m fairly interested in buying the X Compact, could anyone or did anyone compare soundquality (with headphones) of those phones?
I´m listening to music with my phone a lot, so this is one of the most important criterias. I would really appreciate some input about the quality with headphones plugged in and also connected with Bluetooth.
I know this is a really subjective matter, but maybe someone can figure out some differences there and try to describe it.
Also plz note that this is about actually testing, listening and using the phones WITHOUT an external AMP.
You can comment comparsions with similar phones ofc, too. thx!
Edit: damit can someone plz edit the title and delete the "Iphone" in fron of Z3C thx..

I havent tried this phone yet...but overall sound quality in Xperia phones is always better due to the sound enhancement options available in stock sony music app(walkman)

Kianush said:
I havent tried this phone yet...but overall sound quality in Xperia phones is always better due to the sound enhancement options available in stock sony music app(walkman)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well thats what you might think.., but Sony also produces way better cameras than those they put into their own damn phones.
So just because of some marketing "enhancement" options it does not mean the quality actually is better. I already read product descpretions myself, im really about actually testing. If anyone can find some serious test and not just some well placed product advertising you can also link it. I could not find more than 2 and they didn´t really describe how they tested it.
*Edit: Also already found tests of older Sony Xperia smartphones and those clearly proof that the quality is worse than in the Iphone and many others in the same pricing range.

Also considering that CD quality music (only got arround 2 FLAC albums yet xP) is beeing played. Sony obviously supports Highres-Audio, which the 6s does not.

majus22 said:
Well thats what you might think.., but Sony also produces way better cameras than those they put into their own damn phones.
So just because of some marketing "enhancement" options it does not mean the quality actually is better. I already read product descpretions myself, im really about actually testing. If anyone can find some serious test and not just some well placed product advertising you can also link it. I could not find more than 2 and they didn´t really describe how they tested it.
*Edit: Also already found tests of older Sony Xperia smartphones and those clearly proof that the quality is worse than in the Iphone and many others in the same pricing range.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
look I said I havent used x compact but I actually have used other phones as SP z2 z5C and I can assure you that that enhancement option is not just for marketing
I even port sony sound enhancements and walkman to my other phones like HTC e8 and galaxy s6 to use it when listening to my hard rock albums!

Looks ok to me
majus22 said:
Since I´m fairly interested in buying the X Compact, could anyone or did anyone compare soundquality (with headphones) of those phones?
I´m listening to music with my phone a lot, so this is one of the most important criterias. I would really appreciate some input about the quality with headphones plugged in and also connected with Bluetooth.
I know this is a really subjective matter, but maybe someone can figure out some differences there and try to describe it.
Also plz note that this is about actually testing, listening and using the phones WITHOUT an external AMP.
You can comment comparsions with similar phones ofc, too. thx!
Edit: damit can someone plz edit the title and delete the "Iphone" in fron of Z3C thx..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi,
I have actually tested the X compact with the headphones. To me, the experience is pretty much the same as Z5 (which I currently own). The sound quality seems to be very nice. I do not use any sound extensions cause to my ear they distort the sound drastically. I only play FLACs and WAVs through PlayerPro app. There is one concern with the sound though - loudness. With the sensitive in-ear headphones all is ok, but I own several headphones and, for example Sony MDR-10RC are not as sensitive and in some circumstances I would prefer more power. Also some German Maestro headphones which are not as sensitive would benefit from more power. It is a minor concern, though, most of other people would be absolutely satisfied.
Now regarding the iPhone. I do have an iPhone 6 (not s) and 7. Both play comparatively well with the headphones. I wouldn't distinguish any quality advantages of either the iPhone or the X compact. However, the file management with the iPhone is complicated. And it does not support external DAC's as Sony does with an OTG cable.
Regarding the external speakers - iPhone wins hands down. Even the iPhone 6, which is mono, provides a much fuller sound with noticeably better low end (deeper bass (if you can call it bass).
I am also not sure how Sony plays the "hi-res" files. The Music app did not play my FLACs so what is that "hi-res" then? I might lack some research in this area.

my xc plays flac files fine with the music app so does my z5c and even my old arc/anzu (2011) plays flac files using the same updated music app from sony.
it also plays ogg, acc, raw wav files, and whatever except wma, although I found references to enable experimental support in the media profiling files, I dont remember exactly which but I can find it again if anyone with root would like to try and uncomment it.
High-Resolution Audio refers to a collection of digital processes and formats that allow the encoding and playback of music using higher sampling rates than the standards used in CDs.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There is no single standard for High-Resolution Audio, but the most commonly used specifications are 24 bit/96 kHz (3.2x more data transmitted than CD) and 24 bit/192 kHz (6.5x more data transmitted than CD).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
in short sony and others will start selling highres 'rips' of the mastertapes which is recorded in much higher quality than cd.
imho sony has always been in front with audio in particular portable versions, heck they invented walkman, minidisc, the cd (along with phillips) and now possibly the next 'standard'. we will see heh. I dunno if iPhone can playback 24bit/192KHz? apple does have .aiff which is capable of hi-res, and supported by sony too.
https://www.sony.co.uk/electronics/hi-res-audio

Kianush said:
look I said I havent used x compact but I actually have used other phones as SP z2 z5C and I can assure you that that enhancement option is not just for marketing
I even port sony sound enhancements and walkman to my other phones like HTC e8 and galaxy s6 to use it when listening to my hard rock albums!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Allright thx for the information!
povilkami said:
Hi,
With the sensitive in-ear headphones all is ok, but I own several headphones and, for example Sony MDR-10RC are not as sensitive and in some circumstances I would prefer more power. Also some German Maestro headphones which are not as sensitive would benefit from more power. It is a minor concern, though, most of other people would be absolutely satisfied.
Now regarding the iPhone. I do have an iPhone 6 (not s) and 7. Both play comparatively well with the headphones. I wouldn't distinguish any quality advantages of either the iPhone or the X compact. However, the file management with the iPhone is complicated. And it does not support external DAC's as Sony does with an OTG cable.
Regarding the external speakers - iPhone wins hands down. Even the iPhone 6, which is mono, provides a much fuller sound with noticeably better low end (deeper bass (if you can call it bass).
I am also not sure how Sony plays the "hi-res" files. The Music app did not play my FLACs so what is that "hi-res" then? I might lack some research in this area.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So Sony has problems with the higher electrical impedance of real headphones or just loudness? What do you mean by more sensitive.
About the Filemanagement: I just figured out that I can Import all my Windows Media player playlists to Itunes so thats not too much of a problem.
But you can´t play FLACS on IPhones do you?
Since I have 98% of my music in CD quality yet, I don´t think it will make a big difference.

The Xperia might have better Bluetooth quality though.. anybody tried that?

majus22 said:
Allright thx for the information!
So Sony has problems with the higher electrical impedance of real headphones or just loudness? What do you mean by more sensitive.
About the Filemanagement: I just figured out that I can Import all my Windows Media player playlists to Itunes so thats not too much of a problem.
But you can´t play FLACS on IPhones do you?
Since I have 98% of my music in CD quality yet, I don´t think it will make a big difference.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It is just the loudness. All my headphones are low impedance so I am not sure if the Senheiser HD-600 would be appreciated. I could test those if there is interest and I would need to buy a 6.3mm to 3.5mm adapter.
Regarding the BlueTooth I have noticed that it played much better in a car than the iPhone6 (haven't tried the 7). Full bodied sound vs very lean. Specifically it was noticed with VW navigation system. With a Plantronics handsfree car device there was no notable difference. With Pioneer N-50 network player Sony has a noticebly more open and transparent sound.
Not sure about FLACs on iPhone because I gave up after a couple of atempts And I am not entirely sure what you mean by CD quality? As far as I understand its the format that matters, doesn't it? Else you just use the Cloud services (Spotify, Mixcloud), which tend to be far away from CD quality. Or is that iTunes?

povilkami said:
It is just the loudness. All my headphones are low impedance so I am not sure if the Senheiser HD-600 would be appreciated. I could test those if there is interest and I would need to buy a 6.3mm to 3.5mm adapter.
Regarding the BlueTooth I have noticed that it played much better in a car than the iPhone6 (haven't tried the 7). Full bodied sound vs very lean. Specifically it was noticed with VW navigation system. With a Plantronics handsfree car device there was no notable difference. With Pioneer N-50 network player Sony has a noticebly more open and transparent sound.
Not sure about FLACs on iPhone because I gave up after a couple of atempts And I am not entirely sure what you mean by CD quality? As far as I understand its the format that matters, doesn't it? Else you just use the Cloud services (Spotify, Mixcloud), which tend to be far away from CD quality. Or is that iTunes?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thx for the Bluetooth testing
Sadly you can not play FLACs with Itunes, you have to convert it to some other format, that´s supposed to be equal.
Cd quality is Wav/Wave for me, so that is way better than Itunes downloads, I didn´t and I won´t ever download anything form poor quality itunes store.
But as it stands right now, I´ll get a friends Iphone anyways, since it is cheaper and I really can´t get along with the easy scretched plastic of a 400$ phone, which still bothers me way to much. With an aluminium case I wouldn´t even think about getting another phone..

Anecdotally, XC is much better than iPhone (my experience). Also, using MDR-NC31 headphones from Amazon makes this phone fantastic. I get reasonable noise cancelling without a high price or the need to charge the headphones themselves.

JenItols said:
Anecdotally, XC is much better than iPhone (my experience). Also, using MDR-NC31 headphones from Amazon makes this phone fantastic. I get reasonable noise cancelling without a high price or the need to charge the headphones themselves.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Does the MDR-NC31EM headset noise canceling function work correctly in the X Compact? Do you listen well?
Because I have seen on the Sony website, which is compatible with Z3 Compact models, but does not mention the X Compact model.
I want to buy an in-ear headset that works and plays well with this smartphone.
Thanks!

Note 10+ ear buds / HORRIBLE, please advise.

For the first time since I got my Note 10+ I had a rather long phone call to make. For convenience I pulled out the AKG original supplied ear buds. I was horrified to realize the quality was so awful and the volume was so low (even with the hand set maxed out) i could not use them. After the phone call I tried a few media audio files and even connected to Youtube to see if it was a cell issue. IT WASN'T !
What I can hear is Teetsy-fly tinniness, NO base, little or no mids and volume? You would need to be in a closet to carry on any conversation while using these ear buds. They are a total loss !
All I can say is these ear buds are the worst i have EVER tried to use and I can say they are TOTALLY NOT USABLE FOR ANY USE.
Wondering if I have a bad pair (defective in some way) or if others are finding what I have ?
Please advise if you can.......

ohana said:
For the first time since I got my Note 10+ I had a rather long phone call to make. For convenience I pulled out the AKG original supplied ear buds. I was horrified to realize the quality was so awful and the volume was so low (even with the hand set maxed out) i could not use them. After the phone call I tried a few media audio files and even connected to Youtube to see if it was a cell issue. IT WASN'T !
What I can hear is Teetsy-fly tinniness, NO base, little or no mids and volume? You would need to be in a closet to carry on any conversation while using these ear buds. They are a total loss !
All I can say is these ear buds are the worst i have EVER tried to use and I can say they are TOTALLY NOT USABLE FOR ANY USE.
Wondering if I have a bad pair (defective in some way) or if others are finding what I have ?
Please advise if you can.......
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Go play with the equalizer and see if it sounds better to you. Also turn on Dolby Atmos.

ReconDonkey said:
Go play with the equalizer and see if it sounds better to you. Also turn on Dolby Atmos.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
All i can say is that besides what has been suggested above, it looks like it is faulty.
These AKG are imho very good (and i am rather difficult when it comes to sound quality), they are far better at least than the samsung iconX buds that i don't touch anymore.
Probably a problem with yours?? Or maybe you have some 3rd party sound apps ?

I'm very picky when it comes to sound quality, and I think the AKG earbuds sound pretty good (not as good as my Bose earbuds, but still). They get a little crunchy at high volume, but seeing as they get loud as hell, I don't use them maxed out lol.
Definitely sounds like a problem with your set. Probably just faulty, it's bound to happen with mass produced products. Maybe Samsung support can help you out somehow?

Your earbuds must indeed be defective, the ones that came with my note are good, not excellent, but good enough, as for max volume, you could try volume booster in playstore from developer goodev, it really works, system-wide, wired and bluetooth

Or buy the Samsung adapter and use your old ones

I agree with the OP, I was shocked how bad these were coming form AKG. I assumed since there were no comments on them here, that it was just accepted that they were crap. I don't really care as I only use my Icon X's and my Sony M3s but was surprised at the poor quality. I've turned on Dolby A, and adjusted bass up on the equalizer and there is no bass, the highs are soooooo tinny. I would never actually use these to listen to music except as last resort on a plane if my M3's died. Even my Icons are 100X better sounding than the AKG included.

gottahavit said:
I agree with the OP, I was shocked how bad these were coming form AKG. I assumed since there were no comments on them here, that it was just accepted that they were crap. I don't really care as I only use my Icon X's and my Sony M3s but was surprised at the poor quality. I've turned on Dolby A, and adjusted bass up on the equalizer and there is no bass, the highs are soooooo tinny. I would never actually use these to listen to music except as last resort on a plane if my M3's died. Even my Icons are 100X better sounding than the AKG included.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think yours are faulty OR 3rd party sound app messes with it, or a soft update that has not been done or whatever...
I'm a long time musician, i truely pay attention to sound quality and i think they are pretty good (for in-ears small earphones). I have the iconX 2018 and AKG are miles above them for sound quality.
Always thought iconX were crap btw... i like them because i can feel free, no wires, but your statement seems rather strange to me

Most likely you need to use the larger ear tips. No seal = no bass

mafy31 said:
I think yours are faulty OR 3rd party sound app messes with it, or a soft update that has not been done or whatever...
I'm a long time musician, i truely pay attention to sound quality and i think they are pretty good (for in-ears small earphones). I have the iconX 2018 and AKG are miles above them for sound quality.
Always thought iconX were crap btw... i like them because i can feel free, no wires, but your statement seems rather strange to me
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Icon X are not great sound, that's my point. The AKGs SUCK. My backup workout BT headphones,(wireless Jelly's) are better than these things.
BTW Icons sound much better with on board mp3 than over BT, which is how I use most of the time as I use my M3s when not in the gym
Ear caps have same seal as my icons, and I ran all the firmware upgrades. Defective? maybe, but that just shows poor QC from AKG.
again, I don't care as I don't use wired headphones EVER, just expected them to sound better.

ohana said:
For the first time since I got my Note 10+ I had a rather long phone call to make. For convenience I pulled out the AKG original supplied ear buds. I was horrified to realize the quality was so awful and the volume was so low (even with the hand set maxed out) i could not use them. After the phone call I tried a few media audio files and even connected to Youtube to see if it was a cell issue. IT WASN'T !
What I can hear is Teetsy-fly tinniness, NO base, little or no mids and volume? You would need to be in a closet to carry on any conversation while using these ear buds. They are a total loss !
All I can say is these ear buds are the worst i have EVER tried to use and I can say they are TOTALLY NOT USABLE FOR ANY USE.
Wondering if I have a bad pair (defective in some way) or if others are finding what I have ?
Please advise if you can.......
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You probably have a defective piece. Mine sound great out of the box. I have Galaxy Buds the wireless ones and to be honest, the AKG wired ones sound WAY better than my buds. I have Dolby Atmos on and tweaked the equalizer a bit.

eagleone1 said:
You probably have a defective piece. Mine sound great out of the box. I have Galaxy Buds the wireless ones and to be honest, the AKG wired ones sound WAY better than my buds. I have Dolby Atmos on and tweaked the equalizer a bit.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yep... I have been very surprised at the great sound these little AKG pull out. It is balanced and much details can be heard, miles better than my gear iconx 2018.
They are also way better as well as any piece of headset that came stock with my previous smartphones inc. samsungs.
Sound on youtube with AKG is very nice too, so is netflix etc. No problem with them, so you probably have faulty ones.

I think they sound decent I honestly prefer the AKGs I got with my S9+ however.

I think these ones soumd better than those my note8 came with, even the quality of materials feels a little better

To be honest, I feel the AKG earphones that come included are actually pretty good. Are they the best? No. Are they the worst? No.
Like others mentioned, probably a defective pair, software/config issue, source of music or even type of music can be causing the issue of poor sound quality. People who want to spend $50 or more for better sound quality, that great...but the included earphones are more than enough for the the general public. Yes, Samsung can include better earphones, but then they would probably increase the price of the Note 10. I would rather Samsung not include any earphones and give me a $10 discount, I'm sure the general public wouldn't agree with me on that.
To advise you...all accessories do have manufacturer warranty. IF they sound as HORRIBLE as you are describing, contact Samsung and they will replace with a new pair. Or you can spend money buying a better pair.