Database Users

Samsung Galaxy S2 vs Htc Sensation Sound

Hi
I would appreciate your opinions between the Samsung Galaxy S2
and the Htc Sensation.
Sound and clarity are very important to such as/speakerphone/talking on the phone/media player sound/game sound. On a scale of 1-10(MAX) I would like to have sufficent/loud sound at 6 and not have to play it a full volume.
To give you and example I listened to the Htc Legend which has good sound but not very loud.(But better sound than the Samsung Galaxy S(I was surprised) I listened to the Atrix and was impressed with the volume/clarity of music.
I'm leaning towards the Htc Sensation but have no idea about the sound.
I don not intend to use a small amp with unit. I will purchase good headphone
Thanks for your help I look forward to your feedback.
Greg

Htc are known for speakers to sound tiny.
Sg2 is great, i work with barking dogs 10hrs a day and never any issues hearibg.
Sent from my GT-I9100 using XDA App

i tryed desire S(wifes) and yesterday also finally sensation...it has nothing to do with SGS2 in terms of quality -
- on low levels ok..they are almoust the same..but once u reach the higher sound levels SGS2 is leading...
so for me 1+ for SGS2

I think there is another post that asks this same question somewhere on here, but I second this question. I want speakerphone and video watching to be loud enough to cut through Asian street noise!

Bad news !!! Yamaha codec

Supercurio has confirmed that GNote has Yamaha audio codec , same as in galaxy note
Audio:
Codec: Yamaha C1YMU823 / MC-1N2 (Same as Samsung Galaxy S II)
FM radio receiver: Si4709 (Same as Samsung Galaxy S/Galaxy S II)
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1OSYgjDzPVaxzUIEOrc1RrPL2sWLJ5PziyEVt6Q7KeUs/edit?pli=1
This also appeared in engadget

I guess I came late to the party. Please explain what's wrong with it?
Sent from my GT-I9100 using xda premium

calin75 said:
I guess I came late to the party. Please explain what's wrong with it?
Sent from my GT-I9100 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, I'd like to know also. If it's just a music sound thing, it isn't a problem for me, I don't use it for music, but I know many do.

calin75 said:
I guess I came late to the party. Please explain what's wrong with it?
Sent from my GT-I9100 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
+1 [[[[[10chars]]]]]

This is actually a long story but in short
The Galaxy S II uses Yamaha audio hardware. The Galaxy S II's predecessor, the original Galaxy S, used Wolfson's WM8994 DAC.
Galaxy SI has wolfson codec , which was open source.
Supercurio a well known developer and audio expert here in XDA was able to create good sound output using his voodoo app.
In galaxy SII samsung replaced wolfson with yamaha and this was closed source.
The sound quality for audiophiles using galaxy sII was terrible. ( not to my ears as I am a certified non-audiophile )
Being closed source no further development was possible.
IN the words of supercurio "
DAC Distortion
With today’s Android audio implementation, all kind of media are sent to the DAC as a 44100 / 16bit / Stereo stream. Despite the usage of a fixed rate, Yamaha’s codec is not able to provide a very clean output.
Galaxy S II DAC output quality is limited by several kind of distortions. So far, no firmware was able to fix those despite early Korean updates describing “audio clarity improvements”.
When playing music, those artifacts are perceived as “lack of clarity”, “reduction of stereo separation”, “loss of detail” and “lifeless sound” (opposite of lively)."
The good news is that with new firmware releases many people have said that the sound quality of Galaxy SII is much better. So i guess its going to be better in GNote.
However we wont get Voodoo sounds improvements.
You can see the links below for more detail
http://project-voodoo.org/
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1053978
https://market.android.com/details?id=org.projectvoodoo.controlappdonate&feature=search_result

Isn't there a chance that the kernel/software might be slightly different and will fix the issue?
Besides I've got my hand on for few minutes and I didn't pickup anything being wrong with the sound quality. However I didn't have a chance to plug in my headphones so I might be wrong.

Fast answer
yamaha dac is pure crap if you listen music in headphones over 10€
GS2 + note = yamaha dac, so if you want to listen music with a little quality you need a dedicated mp3, the phone will not be suitable for that.

kersh said:
Fast answer
yamaha dac is pure crap if you listen music in headphones over 10€
GS2 + note = yamaha dac, so if you want to listen music with a little quality you need a dedicated mp3, the phone will not be suitable for that.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I see no problem with the sound thru headphones.
Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk

Honestly, supercurio must have super ears, cause i've been using my sgs2 as my primary mp3 for 6 months already and I have no complaints. But dude, thanks for ruin it for me. I won't see my sgs2 the same again. =(
Sent from my GT-I9100 using xda premium

calin75 said:
Honestly, supercurio must have super ears, cause i've been using my sgs2 as my primary mp3 for 6 months already and I have no complaints. But dude, thanks for ruin it for me. I won't see my sgs2 the same again. =(
Sent from my GT-I9100 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Lol, there are no facts, only interpretations. BTW Yamaha produces great electric pianos. Don't see how this is relevant but lol, maybe it helps to restore your hardware

For me the included white head set is worse than the SGS2 one (less bass) but when comparing with the SGS2 headset the sound of the Note seems better as the SGS2.
Especially the noise when scrolling lists and so on is gone for me. In combination with Poweramp as player I'm quite satisfied with the sound.

Niuseek said:
Isn't there a chance that the kernel/software might be slightly different and will fix the issue?
Besides I've got my hand on for few minutes and I didn't pickup anything being wrong with the sound quality. However I didn't have a chance to plug in my headphones so I might be wrong.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No need to fix if the sound is OK. Improvement/fix comes to something that is not good enough.

They're not that bad despite the dramatic title that this thread has
You do however need to pair it up with a good earbud/iem to get a lot out of it.
Currently i'm using phonak iems with the GS2 and it's been awesome experience so far

Unfortunately with a good pair of full sized cans, the difference is very noticeable.
Guess I will be skipping this phone. Pity... I was looking for an XL phone. Looks like its Galaxy Nexus or something from 2012 for me.
Sent from my SPH-D700 using xda premium

sauron0101 said:
Unfortunately with a good pair of full sized cans, the difference is very noticeable.
Guess I will be skipping this phone. Pity... I was looking for an XL phone. Looks like its Galaxy Nexus or something from 2012 for me.
Sent from my SPH-D700 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
um good pair of full size will make a difference in just about any mobile device. Even a voodoo'd SGS1 won't be able to drive a quality set of cans like akg701/702 or hd800

Sound on video record is better than sgs2. A big point.

A bit unrelated but I'd like to see integrated stereo speakers on such phones.
I remember some Nokia that had a quite great set of speakers turning them into a decent mini jukebox.
Use this size more Samsung!

For those non satisfied with the Yamaha DAC, why not investing in a high end Bluetooth headphone ?
Here you would not pass through the DAC of the Note but through the DAC of the headphone supposedly better...
I think that the note is capable of streaming audio with the Bluetooth connection.

DJKick_fr said:
For those non satisfied with the Yamaha DAC, why not investing in a high end Bluetooth headphone ?
Here you would not pass through the DAC of the Note but through the DAC of the headphone supposedly better...
I think that the note is capable of streaming audio with the Bluetooth connection.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Because there are not high end bt headphones with quality comparable as good iems.

Yes there are some, for example from Sennheiser but they are not cheap.
Anyway, one that says that there are noticeable differences without a good quality headphone is really making a subjective statement, since the non linearity and signal to noise ratio on an average headset even intra ears is usually horrible.
Even the best audiophile headphones have a THD that is only 0.02% at 1 kHz (about 74 dB). This is by far worse than even the crappiest DACs (some have less than 90 dB but the best ones have >100 dB THD).
Knowing this, in the combination DAC+Heaadphone, it is really the headphone that makes the difference in sound. The DAC non idealities are orders of magnitude below the headphone non idealities.

Beats audio

Has anyone tried this?
http://www.xda-developers.com/android/beats-audio-now-available-on-any-gingerbread-rom/
I'm on ICS currently but kinda a music buff so if this gives a significantly better results on gingerbread i might switch.any reviews?

Blueangel180 said:
Has anyone tried this?
http://www.xda-developers.com/android/beats-audio-now-available-on-any-gingerbread-rom/
I'm on ICS currently but kinda a music buff so if this gives a significantly better results on gingerbread i might switch.any reviews?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Beats Audio is just a parlor trick.

Just use an equaliser to crank up the bass and drop the mids..........then you'll have Beats without needing actual Beats!

Blueangel180 said:
kinda a music buff
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
so then you know about how over-hyped this whole "Beats" thing is in the market...

Agreed with all replies, and I'll take it a step further: what exactly are these libraries supposed to do for the sound output?
-the internal speaker is the same
-the internal digital-to-analog components are the same
-the output stage (amplifier) is the same
-the frequency response can already be manipulated with music apps
So I can't imagine what 'beats audio' or any other kind of software files
can do to improve the audio quality when the components that affect
the sound quality are all untouched.
Also a music buff- so I will assert the ONLY thing you can do to improve
the sound out of your Android phone is to extract digital audio from the
HDMI port, use a digital signal via fiber optic, etc (because 1s and 0s can't be
degraded, they can only shift in time) into a superior D/A
converter, to a superior pre-amp,amplifier and speaker arrangement.
The speakers are easily the largest factor now that electronics have
become so reliable.

Just do some research on a music player like player pro same thing
Sent from my MB860 using XDA App

Beats Audio is the biggest scam since Monster cables started being sold.

There is a difference in quality beats and monster in general are not a scam its for sure better quality sound or cable what ever is the difference in quality noticeable to most users? Probally not. With the beats head phones u can hear a huge improvement over most headphones. I don't think they are worth that kinda of cost. Just depends in the user tho
Sent from my MB860 using XDA App

Pbwizkid said:
There is a difference in quality beats and monster in general are not a scam its for sure better quality sound or cable what ever is the difference in quality noticeable to most users? Probally not. With the beats head phones u can hear a huge improvement over most headphones. I don't think they are worth that kinda of cost. Just depends in the user tho
Sent from my MB860 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Monster Cable = psychoacoustics
There are WAY better sounding headphones for less money than beats
headphones. I know, I have some. Not everyone likes the overbloated
bass, horrible resolution headphones that made me curse out loud in best buy.
Precise reproduction takes so much more than MOAR BASS. Precise reproduction
doesn't sound like mud. Precise reproduction doesn't rely on a washed-up
rapper to sell it. If you want serious headphones, check out head-fi.org.

O I am no saying they are the best out there. But if u turn down all the bass they do have a nice sound to them compared to a lot out there. I would prefer to have many other ear buds nut my ibeats were free and a crap ton better than any set of 10 to 30 dollar head phones
Sent from my MB860 using XDA App

SkullCandy Titanium >Beats
Sent from my MB860 using Tapatalk

Music Quality on the One

Sorry if this has been posted already. I searched and couldn't find.
How is the music quality on the One? Specifically with the headphones. The stereo speakers I am sure are better than other phones, but i dont see myself using them more often than the headphones, not even 5%.
The HOX music quality was reviewed by all to be very bad. Atleast on paper. Although i enjoy music on my HOX, but i know it is not as good as e.g. an IPod. With the audio mods by lyapota and others, the quality has improved substantially though. But as the HOX reviews say, hardware (sound card) deficiencies can't be completely overcome by software mods.
Hence the question. how is HTC One quality compared to the other music players you have used. Specifically compared to HOX and Galaxy SIII, and maybe iphone.
Any comments would be appreciated. Because for me, this is one of the deciding factors between S4 and One, and who knows maybe even IP5 .
Thanks in advance.

AW: Music Quality on the One
Renovate rom will bring you good music sound on headphones.
Otherwise beats audio should be better than on the one x.
But it's all based on personal opinion so you should check it out on your own.
Sent from my HTC One X using xda premium

We all have personal preferences but my early experiences are good.
Using my iems and the Sony MDR-1 it sounds pretty decent to me with Beats not providing the over bloated bass of the past versions.
It's good enough to not miss my previous iPhone music quality and certainly an improvement on my Nexus 4
Sent from my HTC One using Tapatalk 2

For those upgrading from SIII, or who have used both SIII and HOX. How is the music quality comparison between samsung and htc devices in general?
although i do know each model has a different sound card and music quality, be it models of samsung or of htc. but in general, the latest flagships.

Musical quality using headphones

Here's a question. Currently I am on an iPhone 5, and it looks like I'll be making the switch to the S4. But before I do, I need to be reassured of one thing.
I use my iPhone 5 as my main and only music player. I have a pair of $150 Monster Turbines, and I take my musical quality very seriously relative to the iPhone 5. My question is, does the S4 have ATLEAST the same or better SQ in all ranges?
Is this app dependent? ROM dependent? I'm new to Android, but not technically unsavvy by ANY means..
Just need to know..

I had the same worries as you did. I came from the iPhone 4, running an ATH-m50 setup up with a fiio e5 amp and switched over to the HTC one x+and have transitioned very smoothly. I recommend finding a player per your taste though.
Take a look at power amp and neuron player! I hope this helps.
Sent from my HTC One X+ using xda app-developers app

Well there is a feature called 'adapt sound' you go through a hearing test. After the test is done it auto EQ's the EQ's in the music player. I have monster inspirations (noise cancelling) and beyerdynamic T1. With adapt sound on in both cans there's better upper range clarity when differentiating between instruments. I like having the feature on. Makes the music more enjoyable of sorts.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using xda premium

There seems to be a lot of mixed opinions. It's not that the Qualcomm audio chipset is bad, it's actually quite good, but it up samples audio from 24bit/44khz to 48khz if I'm correct, which kind of degrades the quality a little. I doubt a $150 pair of headphones is gonna be affected by this though. Now if you were rocking some real hardcore audio equipment like $500+ custom monitors, then this might be noticeable.

Apple products still are on top when it comes to audio player quality. I doubt it'll be noticeable with your headphones
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337

Don't even think a second about sound quality. It's awesome with S4. I use shure se530 head phones. You want to tweak the sound you may use Power Amp. That is what i use. I tried Iphone (3/4/4S/5) several times and sound is better with Power Amp in Galaxy S3/S4(Snapdragon also). Without Power Amp you may not like the sound that much.

varunkumars said:
Don't even think a second about sound quality. It's awesome with S4. I use shure se530 head phones. You want to tweak the sound you may use Power Amp. That is what i use. I tried Iphone (3/4/4S/5) several times and sound is better with Power Amp in Galaxy S3/S4(Snapdragon also). Without Power Amp you may not like the sound that much.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Actually I recommend trying Gone Mad Music Player, so much better then Power Amp in my opinion

As many have said. Power amp is worth the purchase.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using xda premium

iphone 5 is a good music player of course.
in android some app can improve the SQ for us. such as poweramp and more.

If you can score an international version, it was supposed to get the much higher quality Wolfson audio chips:
http://www.sammobile.com/2013/04/18...-for-galaxy-range-of-smartphones-and-tablets/
I think the t-mobile version might also have the same hardware as the international version...?
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using xda app-developers app

I'm using Ultimate Ears Triple.fi 10 Pro Earphones with Westone cables. I find the S4 sound quality pleasing, but lacking in bass.

Screams from
d1esel daddy said:
I'm using Ultimate Ears Triple.fi 10 Pro Earphones with Westone cables. I find the S4 sound quality pleasing, but lacking in bass.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is a major problem for me, as 90% of my music is hip hop.
My monster turbines were designed to accentuate bass
I have a 15' sub in my car, that I LOVE to flex, and if it gonna be as bassy and clean as it is like my iPhone (on hip hop EQ) then we've got problems...

EpicMango said:
This is a major problem for me, as 90% of my music is hip hop.
My monster turbines were designed to accentuate bass
I have a 15' sub in my car, that I LOVE to flex, and if it gonna be as bassy and clean as it is like my iPhone (on hip hop EQ) then we've got problems...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The S4 isnt lacking in bass at all. It has more bass than my HTC Vivid did...and that was a "Beats"-advertised phone. The S4 has terrific sound quality for a phone. And if you want a nice EQ, get Poweramp. It is well worth the purchase. And if you enjoy bass, don't worry - you can crank the bass up insanely high with Poweramp.
I was very worried about audio quality before getting the S4. And I am absolutely satisfied.
Oh and before you go looking at the HTC One, there have been reports of bluetooth audio streaming distorting the high frequency sounds. The S4 doesnt have this problem.
Sent from my Galaxy S4.

Please read forum rules before posting
Questions and help issues go in Q&A
Thread moved
Thank you for your cooperation
Friendly Neighborhood Moderator

bobgodd said:
If you can score an international version, it was supposed to get the much higher quality Wolfson audio chips:
http://www.sammobile.com/2013/04/18...-for-galaxy-range-of-smartphones-and-tablets/
I think the t-mobile version might also have the same hardware as the international version...?
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Tmobile has exact same hardware as att...has been discussed in one of the official bootloader unlock threads
slapdaddy said:
The S4 isnt lacking in bass at all. It has more bass than my HTC Vivid did...and that was a "Beats"-advertised phone. The S4 has terrific sound quality for a phone. And if you want a nice EQ, get Poweramp. It is well worth the purchase. And if you enjoy bass, don't worry - you can crank the bass up insanely high with Poweramp.
I was very worried about audio quality before getting the S4. And I am absolutely satisfied.
Oh and before you go looking at the HTC One, there have been reports of bluetooth audio streaming distorting the high frequency sounds. The S4 doesnt have this problem.
Sent from my Galaxy S4.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I would definitely not say the s4 has terrific sound quality....you can't base it off the fact your vivid had beats as that's just a software eq...you've obviously never had a phone with a Wolfson dac....those phones have the best sound quality of every phone-,and with voodoo sound you can tweak it at the hardware level
When it comes to portable music....my infuse is my main player...it blows the s4 and HTC vivid sound quality out of the water
Now the s4 sound quality is acceptable and not bad in any way...just wouldn't say its terrific...this is coming from an audiophile with studio monitors and studio monitor headphones
BTW, I had a vivid too...think I remember your name
Sent from my SGH-I997 using Tapatalk 2

d1esel daddy said:
I'm using Ultimate Ears Triple.fi 10 Pro Earphones with Westone cables. I find the S4 sound quality pleasing, but lacking in bass.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am running the same setup (stock cables) and previously used a FiiO E6 amp when I had these with my Galaxy S 2... With the S4, I don't need the portable amp and like others stated, PowerAMP is my recommended player - well worth the purchase. I jumped onto PowerAMP right as soon as I found out that it does both FLAC and Gapless, and the interface is beautiful and easily links to the lockscreen (not rooted).
As far as audio quality, I love the V shape audio that PowerAMP(Techno preset) produces onto my IEM's and I also have an iPad Mini (I think Wolfsons audio chip) and yet still prefer the audio from the S4...
Audio becomes very subjective at this point, but I have NOT been disappointed with my S4 and audio quality - especially comparing it to my old Galaxy S II...

mg2195 said:
Tmobile has exact same hardware as att...has been discussed in one of the official bootloader unlock threads
I would definitely not say the s4 has terrific sound quality....you can't base it off the fact your vivid had beats as that's just a software eq...you've obviously never had a phone with a Wolfson dac....those phones have the best sound quality of every phone-,and with voodoo sound you can tweak it at the hardware level
When it comes to portable music....my infuse is my main player...it blows the s4 and HTC vivid sound quality out of the water
Now the s4 sound quality is acceptable and not bad in any way...just wouldn't say its terrific...this is coming from an audiophile with studio monitors and studio monitor headphones
BTW, I had a vivid too...think I remember your name
Sent from my SGH-I997 using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nope never had a Wolfson unfortunately. And I said terrific...for a phone lol. I have never had a phone with sound quality this good. And it will only get better with newer Sammy phones because of their deal with Wolfson. As for the Vivid, I remember reading your name a few times over there and yeah Beats is a software adjustment on the Vivid, but the sound quality was better on the Vivid than it was on my Inspire...and now better on my S4 than on my Vivid.
And yes I am an audiophile as well...I have studio cans and when it comes to absolute pure music quality, I use my desktop comouter as the setup is fantastic for a quality listening experience. But for a modern phone on the market. ..well I dont know of any quadcore phones that have a Wolfson chip...not yet anyway that is. I'm very sure this will change soon though...and its about time manufacturers started to pay more attention to the audio quality in their phones. There are those of us who need it...to basically survive lmao.
Bottom line for me is that there may be better phones out there for music quality, but they lack the horsepower of the S4. And there is a lot more that I do with this phone than just listen to music. The sound quality may not be Wolfson good, but it's definitely good enough and gets the job done very well as far as I'm concerned.
Oh and if someone is very concerned about music quality, there are external DACs that can be attached to the phone's micro USB port which are phenomenal. Though they are as big as the phone is, they work well lol.
Sent from my Galaxy S4.

slapdaddy said:
Nope never had a Wolfson unfortunately. And I said terrific...for a phone lol. I have never had a phone with sound quality this good. And it will only get better with newer Sammy phones because of their deal with Wolfson. As for the Vivid, I remember reading your name a few times over there and yeah Beats is a software adjustment on the Vivid, but the sound quality was better on the Vivid than it was on my Inspire...and now better on my S4 than on my Vivid.
And yes I am an audiophile as well...I have studio cans and when it comes to absolute pure music quality, I use my desktop comouter as the setup is fantastic for a quality listening experience. But for a modern phone on the market. ..well I dont know of any quadcore phones that have a Wolfson chip...not yet anyway that is. I'm very sure this will change soon though...and its about time manufacturers started to pay more attention to the audio quality in their phones. There are those of us who need it...to basically survive lmao.
Bottom line for me is that there may be better phones out there for music quality, but they lack the horsepower of the S4. And there is a lot more that I do with this phone than just listen to music. The sound quality may not be Wolfson good, but it's definitely good enough and gets the job done very well as far as I'm concerned.
Oh and if someone is very concerned about music quality, there are external DACs that can be attached to the phone's micro USB port which are phenomenal. Though they are as big as the phone is, they work well lol.
Sent from my Galaxy S4.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Couldn't agree with your post more
Sent from my SGH-I997 using Tapatalk 2