Earbuds/headphones on samsung galaxy s2 - Galaxy S II General

Hi
Equipment Info
I need some assistance in getting Ear buds/Headphones for my S2.
I realized today I need to set a limit on the $ I spend $200US as this is a phone and not my home stereo system. I believe their is a point where its overkill( Westone UM3x/Earsonics SM3) And the big downside to ear buds is you can't return them(Canada) So I think I'll go with headphones but not to big/bulky something like this size>
T50-P HEADPHONES BY BEYERDYNAMIC.
I'm considering ear buds in the $200 range such as Etymotic Hf5 or ER-4pt. I'm open to your suggestions.Its very important the headphones/earbuds are efficient and don"t require lots of volume for minimal sound. Great sound whether I listen to Pink Floyd or Van Morrison.
Music Info
Music source CD >Wav to PC to >S2.
Prefer Classic Rock/80s
Will install Winamp/ Volume+
Thanks for your time/help
Greg

shure se215 best under $200 especially for rock and pop

You're looking for headphone/earphone, i thought you were looking for headsets Anyway, for headphones reviews and recommendations i propose you go to: http://anythingbutipod.com/archives/headphones/. They kind of having golden ears and objective reviews IMHO and hence, the name of the site will tingle you a lot don't you think?
As for me, i'm using phone adapter (Audio Technica AT 335i - $30 here in my country) combined with Ultimate Ears SuperFi 3 Studio (white version - $115 also here). Well, originally the phone adapter AT335 was designed for iP**** and alike but i can testify it worked fluidly for both my new SGS2 and my old 'demised" Streak5.
Only how you press the button differ. One click for Play/Pause/Stop, long click for next track, double click for voice command. Plus the voice quality when you speak is more than acceptable. Lovely, i rest my case in quest for earphones/adapter.
Edit: deleted the direct link, sorry I haven't noticed mods warning. Thx.

i've got v-moda vibe duo with my SG2 - I payed AUS$79.00 on ebay from a UK store about 5 weeks ago.
It has a great bass response but you will need to jack up the midtones and treble little bit to make it sound balanced. I play music through PowerAMP, which has a decent equaliser with preamp.. Winamp offers similar equaliser so you shouldn't have too much trouble making it sound clean and balanced.
The button on the headphone has two functions. Pressing it will stop and start play, holding it down will fast forward to next track.
The mic on it is pretty decent too.
I hear sennheiser mm30i are very good too - especially the mic. I was going to buy it but couldn't find one in australia so I went with the v-moda. But I think the buttons on sennheiser only works on iphones.

on my sgs2 with poweramp and volume+, my 30usd 60ohm koss portapros sound fantastic.
however my 16ohm 40usd woodees sound lousy with poweramp/volume+ and actually sound better using the stock music player.
for poweramp/volume+ combo i recommend getting headphones/iems that have an impedance of 24ohms or better but not exceeding 100ohms.
although im not familiar with all the models, all of the brands recommended above are very good. your best bet would be to try them out with your sgs2.
good luck

Related

Best bluetooth headphones?

Looking for a great set of bluetooth headphones, that work as a hands free too.
I had a set of Nokia-bh501 's and they were pretty good. But audio quality was a bit crap. Tinny and baseless, but for phone calls they were king.
The Jabra 3030, motoralla s9 and the ericson ds220 were recomended by the threads
http://www.shopbot.com.au/default.asp?kw=Jabra+BT3030&position=search
http://www.shopbot.com.au/default.asp?kw=HBH+DS220&position=search
http://www.shopbot.com.au/default.asp?kw=Headphones+S9&position=search
So far, the jabra 3030's are the only ones with full play, pause, forward back etc... controlls and their quality, and battery life were praised.
Any others I should know of?
Try these:
http://www.amazon.com/Plantronics-P..._m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=054NY98WRYHE8C5ZPNSJ
Funny thing, I had just made a post about them in another thread:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=401545&page=12
They have full controls, and long battery life too.
I love mine, wouldn't trade the for any others.
SRF
I really like the Motorola S9's. Good sound quality for music but not so good for the phones calls. The mic isn't that clear either. But they are great for sport activities and the like and pretty discreet. However the battery life isn't the best. They have skip forward, skip backward and play/pause controls too.
Have you seen the Itech Clip Radio D? I am also looking for someone that is using it to get some impression.....
Stereo, Radio, Oled display.
bye
fusto
Try Bluerek ST1
I,v just got the Bluetrek ST1
Stereo Bluetooth Head set with also can be used for calls.
There have play/pause forward back and volume buttons and also a call buttion for use with voice commander to voice dial or track sellect via voice, works great so far and have reall good music playback.
There was also on offer at have price with was a bonus, I was worried the the sound quilaty or loudness would be a problem after switching from a wire set of head phones, but theres been no problems and are much better then i was hoping for.
hopes this helps.
al
p.s. got mind from play.com in the uk for £17.99 thats half price highly recommeneded.
Anyone have the Motorla HT820's? I got some for Christmas and I like them a lot but I was wondering if there's any way to improve the audio quality when listening to songs. It's good, but you can still her some high pitched crackling in the music.
The HT820s are among the best around for audio quality. I just set an equalizer in Coreplayer to tune it to my preference. Also check A2DP settings to be sure you use high quality.
The high-pitched noise is pretty common in average quality MP3s, maybe the previous headphones were too crappy for you to notice it but now the HT820s are so good you do hear these defects
Despite not having tried the other two (bias suggestion), i would go for the Motorola s9s. They're worth every penny i put into them.
kareem9nba said:
Despite not having tried the other two (bias suggestion), i would go for the Motorola s9s. They're worth every penny i put into them.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I would not recommend the Motorola S9 even though I really liked mine. I used it with my phone, Skype and speech recognition, but after one year, the battery was worn off enough to make the sound (in and out) really bad. And since it was older than a year, the warranty was no longer valid so I couldn't get the battery replaced. So the S9 is great but unfortunately after a year is useless.
Hmm, thanks for the heads up . I think i'm going to call them up and ask for an exchange in case my battery does go bad.
It's the same kind of batteries that's used in all those kinds of devices, and they should last longer. If yours went bad after a year it was probably faulty. I would believe this is just an isolated case, nothing to do with all units of that model, and something that could also happen on any other model.
octavia said:
I would not recommend the Motorola S9 even though I really liked mine. I used it with my phone, Skype and speech recognition, but after one year, the battery was worn off enough to make the sound (in and out) really bad. And since it was older than a year, the warranty was no longer valid so I couldn't get the battery replaced. So the S9 is great but unfortunately after a year is useless.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I wish that my S9s had lasted that long!
I used them (all 3 pairs) down the gym, and they lasted between 1 and 2 weeks each. They do not handle sweat ingress at all well, which is pretty lousy considering the way they're marketed.
Then had a pair of Jabra BT620s. Sound quality wasn't as good, and my only issue was that I looked like a total eejit whilst wearing them.
So picked up a pair of Jabra BT3030s. Pretty good sound quality, but they failed in exactly the same way as the Motos - had them clipped to my tee shirt whilst running. Bit of sweat got into them (they're supposedly waterproof), and bzzzt - they failed.
Nokia BH-501 is good but fragile
Hi,
For twelve months now I have been using the Nokia BH-501 headsets. I am happy with audio quality for both music and calls. Mostly I am happy with the price, as they go for less than $US50 here in Australia for some reason, while any other headphones with the same function have been priced much higher.
The main drawback I have found is that they break. No matter how careful I am, they develop stress fractures just back from the earpiece, after about a month of daily usage.
I am currently onto my third pair... I use plastic tape to keep them together, and they work fine...
Saving up for a more durable set of headphones now, but making do in the meantime.
I'll watch this thread for more suggestions from the experts.
Cheers.
____________________________________________________
Hermes 100
WM6.0, official Hutchinson SEA ROM
4Gb RAM
fcasini said:
Have you seen the Itech Clip Radio D? I am also looking for someone that is using it to get some impression.....
Stereo, Radio, Oled display.
bye
fusto
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have this and out of the S9 and the 10 other models and types that I have I use the Itech Clip. Now I did go get some nice KOSS noise canceling ear buds that make everything much better. I have this one http://www.itechdynamic.com/en/products_spec.asp?cid=2&pid=02042
I prefer Sennheiser MM 200, perfect for sound quality.
Im using Motorola S705..
Sound quality over calls is much quieter than music for some reason but overall it sounds OK
just lacks a bit of bass. Decent.
Really Great stereo bluetooth headsets..SONY HBH-DS205
If any of u guys are looking for great Stereo Bluetooth Headsets, "SONY HBH-DS205" are really graet one..very light weight, Great sound quality( no one can beat Sony for that), The best is, u can use any other earphones, in case if u doesnt like the one it comes with...so, thats great. I am using the music player software, "PocketMusic Player Bundle 5", which supports everything, like A2DP, equaliser, remote controls, etc...
I used bluetooth stereo headset from O2 atom..it's really nice, the sound, the style..it can play, forward, backward..the only problem it only available on white..
Hey guys i'm looking at getting a Bluetooth stereo headset for when i go workout and want to listen to music. I was looking in to the Motorola S9 but i have read some reviews stating that they tend to break when you sweat a lot. Also I kind of wanted a headset that had two individual piece and not one piece that with plastic that wraps around your head (For benching purposes). Anyone have some good recommendations?
I am more than happy with Jabra 8010. They are convertible, so I don't have to have wear 2 pieces if I know I'll be making just some calls (even though you can and the call is coming from BOTH pieces unlike that pos Jaybird I've shipped back the same day) There is no fancy blue LED blinking all the time which I HATE. Why it is there on the most BT earphones anyway?
But it has nice and unobtrusive OLED display which shows quite a few informatopn like caller ID, call history or phonebook. You can change also settings like whether you wear the "master" on your right or left. Also it has an EQUALIZER. But unless you WANT it to be on or if call is incoming, it'll show caller ID. Othervise the display's off.
Switching between modes is a snap with pushing one button you get headset, press it again and you have A2DP. Dedicated on-off switch you dont have to press and hold like many others but just slide it back and it's off, slide it fwd and it's on.
I LOVE jogwheel as a volume control. Volume change is immidiate. it's like turning a volume knob on the radio. Convinient and quick.
Battery life is beyond my expectations as it can play over 6 hours of stereo music straight and the sound is IMHO better than Moto820 (I used to have before and which ones lasted me 2 months of sporadic use) and DEFINITELY better than overpriced Jaybirds. Don't get me even started on those. Just let me say that don't remember to be so dissapointed with a purchase.
Call quality is excellent too especially when I wear both pieces. I HAVE VOICE IN MY HEAD!
And I never had any complaints from the other party s well.
My only complaint is about wearing. Don't get me wrong. They are comfortable and very lightweight. Sometimes I even forget I'm wearing it.
But the way those earloops were made, it takes some twisting and adjusting to have them exactly where you want them to be.
They are not gym proof. They holding too loosely on your ears for that.
For everyday use, walking around, in your car i.e. when there is someone else who don't like your kind of music, and so on they are excellent.
AND because they don't make them anymore, you can find them on the net for as low as $28 free shipping.
It it is a long time since I purchased so well-rounded overall no-fancy-nonsense product in general.
Too bad they took them off the market. My guess is they were loosing money.
My .02

Any audiophiles around, using their Streak as a music source ?

I was hoping to use this device as my music source but now that I've got it, I am highly disappointed. I expected it to be at least equal to my netbook's sound card but somehow it didn't perform.
Currently I am using Head Direct RE-0 with the Streak. Well these are high impedance IEMs and this may be the reason why I am not getting a good output so I am planning to try some other IEMs and thats precisely why I created this thread.
Can you guys recommend me something, if you've tried or already using them.
Did anyone try the Monster Turbines with the Streak ? Dell itself is selling these so I am hoping someone might have bought them. Can I get some impressions ?
I know I may be asking too much but and expecting too much from this device, but "One Device For All" was my thought behind buying this device.
BTW I've tried some other audio tools in the market (read poweramp) but the SQ of default player is way better so sticking to that and thus my only option left is another pair of IEMs. Suggest me some
Think you hop over to headfi for your quest which you might have a better chance of finding answers. I personally still using imod > amp > custom instead of a phone to achieve "audiophile" quality.
I have already posted my observations here on a similar thread a few months ago, so please bear with me if I don't repeat myself.
My interest in responding is that you have the very same IEMs as me. I also have IE8s with custom moulds which formed the basis my original post so I thought to try again with the RE0s in the light of your comments.
My experience with the RE0s is good, though my preference lies with the IE8s. I use PowerAMP with equaliser set to Off and my files are FLAC.
Having spent much time on HeadFi I know that these things can be subjective, so to each his own, but I am very pleased with the Streak as an audio player.
FWIW my reference is iBassoD10 and iRiverH140 with optical digital interconnect.
^^^
I am glad to hear that and thanks a lot for your observations.
Somehow to me the sound signature of PowerAmp did sound thin and with the already "not so warm" RE-0, the overall experience wasn't that great.
Another thing is that I am not in a position to spend a lot on the IEMs so IE8 won't be possible for me.
Can you suggest me something under 100USD or max 150USD, that you think can work great with the Streak ?
look around amazon. i got my ie8s for about 200 bucks US
I also use an audio technica portable headphone amp (one of those pocket ones) improves the sound quality a lot more
Somehow to me the sound signature of PowerAmp did sound thin and with the already "not so warm" RE-0, the overall experience wasn't that great.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I would agree exactly with that. It is as if the Streak produces the wrong characteristics for the RE0.
I was very impressed when I used the Streak with the IE8s but less so with the RE0.
It is a sidetrack, on the other hand the Sansa Clip works well with the RE0. This sort of synergy is great when it works out in our favour and frustrating when it doesn't.
If you like I could try the Streak/RE0 combination with a Fiio E5 amplifier.
rebski said:
It is a sidetrack, on the other hand the Sansa Clip works well with the RE0. This sort of synergy is great when it works out in our favour and frustrating when it doesn't.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I would prefer to use this device as my main source since I hate carrying multiple things all the time. Thats why looking for just an IEM upgrade to fix everything
rebski said:
If you like I could try the Streak/RE0 combination with a Fiio E5 amplifier.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes please, if thats not much of a trouble. Would be highly appreciated.
This is a rather quick impression with the E5.
With the Bass Boost On the mid/lower range is much more filled out and emphasised and overall is preferable. However the treble correspondingly suffers which is not preferable. With the Bass Boost Off I would prefer the unamp’d Streak.
Contrary to the opinions over at HeadFi I am not a fan of amp’d headphone out signal. The only way it makes sense is to have a dedicated Line Out, preferably digital. Otherwise what is being amplified is the signal from an inferior source amplifier.
Maybe someone will make a PDMI Line Out Dock, now that would be something.
If you can get the E5 cheap enough it might be worth trying, I paid £7.50 for mine so can’t complain and worth it just to have the option available. But £17 seems a bit steep. Though you can get them on eBay for about £12. It is easy to get into a law of diminishing returns with these things.
Personally I would just accept the nature of the Streak/RE0 combination and enjoy the open spaciousness and clarity and see the lack of bass as a tradeoff. Not all music needs a strong bass.
Hi,
Personally I find that whatever I use as earphones, I have a hard time accepting the noise level on the streak. When playing music at a medium volume, the noise is really very very present.
I suppose there is no work around is there? Doesn't this bother you for serious listening?
Hi
You surprise me there. What do you mean by noise level? I don't understand.
My Streak is pefectly quiet apart from the the music that is playing.
^^^
I get that noise as well. Its there as long as the music application is working and goes away when the app is closed. Sure is irritating.
I've found another way to get my music working.
Found this app foobar2000remote control or something. If this works on my streak, I can just put away my audio rig away, snap on the earphones and lie down on my bed, leaving myself to the music. All the foobar controls will then be accessible from my streak.
But again, this app is not working YET for me. I was able to test it out on http, on my netbook. Just that the streak is still being able to communicate with my netbook's foobar.
Soon !!!!
rebski said:
Hi
You surprise me there. What do you mean by noise level? I don't understand.
My Streak is pefectly quiet apart from the the music that is playing.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
O dear! You're a luck mann! I have a noise in the background whenever playing. When I put the music in pause, the noise disappears after a second (automatic mute control I think), but as soon as I play again, the nois is there, very present! It is a constant level of noise, independent of the volume I set the music to. When I set volume to max, the music is so loud (too loud!) that I don't hear the noise anymore. But when setting it to say 70 perecnt, the noise is too presnt. Its ok-ish... but it definetly is not good (no hifi installation or decent MP3 player produces that much noise).
Any idea where this might come from? How come you have no noise???
Thanks
I also have the noise problem. I am using a UM3X and the quality is good enough except the background noice is very annoying. Is there anyway to cancel the background noice?
gadaga said:
O dear! You're a luck mann! I have a noise in the background whenever playing. When I put the music in pause, the noise disappears after a second (automatic mute control I think), but as soon as I play again, the nois is there, very present! It is a constant level of noise, independent of the volume I set the music to. When I set volume to max, the music is so loud (too loud!) that I don't hear the noise anymore. But when setting it to say 70 perecnt, the noise is too presnt. Its ok-ish... but it definetly is not good (no hifi installation or decent MP3 player produces that much noise).
Any idea where this might come from? How come you have no noise???
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I really am sorry that so many have this as an issue. I only began using my Streak as a music player with DJ_Steve's 2.2 early builds. What version Android are you on?
Could it be Os related I wonder. I am on DJ_Steve's latest 1.7 build.
gadaga said:
O dear! You're a luck mann! I have a noise in the background whenever playing. When I put the music in pause, the noise disappears after a second (automatic mute control I think), but as soon as I play again, the nois is there, very present! It is a constant level of noise, independent of the volume I set the music to. When I set volume to max, the music is so loud (too loud!) that I don't hear the noise anymore. But when setting it to say 70 perecnt, the noise is too presnt. Its ok-ish... but it definetly is not good (no hifi installation or decent MP3 player produces that much noise).
Any idea where this might come from? How come you have no noise???
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I too get this background noise, as well as a subtle "click" sound when the audio output is turned off/on. I've been contemplating Bluetooth headphones as a work around...
Sent from my Dell Streak using XDA App
This really sucks.. Why are we having this hiss noise? I'm on build 347, stock from dell. It's only been couple days since I got mine.
I saw in DJStreak's mod, there's volume boost mod, but my earphone volume levels are perfectly fine. So I don't think I need any boost feature. It's just the background hiss noise. It stays on the same level of noise whether I up the volume or play music in low volume.
Everything is fine on my streak,no hiss electricity sound.Still,I think my philip mp3 can do a better job than the streak.
Sent from my Dell Streak using XDA App
No hiss for me either. I'm on 351. Didn't try with 347 when I got the Streak last week.
There are several things going on here, I think.
1. The majority of Dell's hardware is identical to the Nexus One, Incredible, etc. Those generation phones probably used the same hardware. That hardware is not particularly impressive when it comes to providing clear headphone audio. Its is possible that some phones are better than others, but unlikely. It is probably due to Reason #2.
Here is the RightMark test for the Nexus: http://www.swedroid.se/rightmark/Google Nexus One/googlenexusone.htm
Here is an iPhone 4 + couple of other phones: http://www.swedroid.se/rightmark/optimus2x/rightmark.htm
The iPhone has a lower noise floor and overall cleaner headphone amp (harmonic distortion esp).
2. The circuit buzz we hear mostly shows up with high end/high sensitivity headphone and in-ear monitors. I think it is a lot less noticeable with basic earbuds.
Also, everyone has a different level of hearing.
To conclude, no - this phone is not a good source for FLACs with good headphones. It is good enough for Pandora streaming and MP3s. If you are serious about portable sound quality, I would look for a dedicated DAP of some kind. It hurts me to say, but to this day many phones haven't matched the Apple headphone amp/DAC chips. I would love to finally own a phone where I can consolidate all my geeky needs.

Cheap earphones that work well

This post is mostly for people in Greece who have the Iconia and are looking for a headset. When I first got my Iconia, I tried it with a pair of generic earphones I had, but the sound volume was really really low. I tried it with a second and it was the same. So I looked around, trying to find something that worked and was well priced.
So, if you have had the same problem, the one that solved it for me was the simple Turbo-X Mic iME earphones , from Plaisio. They are only 7.90 € and really worth it, the volume and the sound quality are both very good, plus the ear bud is very comfortable. They are also directional, so there is not a lot of noise leak that could annoy others around you. The set also has a microphone and an adaptor for use with a pc.
V-Moda Bass Freq headphones are the best bang for the buck. $12 shipped on ebay and they deliver huge bass, great quality sound and manage to isolate outside noise incredibly well for basic bud headphones. I've owned about a half dozen pairs since i discovered them in 2007. Highly recommended if you're in to the bud style.
Skullcandy headphones are good too they have different tiers low end to high but there $20 low ends actually sound very good.
Sony also makes a very inexpensive earbud that has surprisingly good range and great bass while still sounding "transparent".
MDRE828LP is the model, and they are generally less than 20 dollars US, often less than 10.
http://www.amazon.com/Sony-MDR-E828LP-Fontopia-Earbuds-Winding/dp/B00008VF63
in my opinion
the word "cheap" and "headphones" are a dangerous combo.
Sure - a pair of cheap headphones that happen to be louder then other cheap headphones might work for you - but for the price of a few cheap pair of headphones you can get something that will make you happy for many years.
Purchased a pair of Aerial7 tank midnight and I am amazed. I love loud industrial metal music, I crave loudness, and with my tanks plugged into my a500 I can not deal with more then half volume.
Sure, if you are playing loss crap quality mp3 rips of music, a discount pair might make you happy. But if you care about audio quality or actually listen to loss less audio formats, the difference between a generic pair of discount headphones and something with some actual quality is a night and day difference. Really, how many pairs of cheap throw away headphones have we all burned through? At least in my experience - I feel that money can be saved by purchasing something that will amaze you for years.
My current headphones: http://www.aerial7.com/product/tank/midnight/
I agree with entropy to a certain extent. I was able to find a pair of authentic Studio Beats for less than half price, and they blew my mind, definitely my main set....however, there is always room for some cheaper second strings.
If I don't want to have the large bulk of over-ear headphones, then I normally pull out my Kanen knockoffs. They have decent bass, good build quality...and fairly unique style (they are actually wooden). I got mine on sale for $3 (yes, three dollars including shipping to Canada), but even regular price they're less than five.
...apparently I can't yet post external links....try to figure out the url though
"triple W dot" focalprice DotCom /EP268X/Kanen_KM92_Wooden_Inear_Headphones.html
question:
Every time I useTuneIn,djradio or winamp i have sound on the headphones and the tab.
There is a manipulation to do to have only on the headphones?
sorry it's ok now
I don't have a tablet yet (considering buying the Iconia A500) but I figured I'd drop in and offer my thoughts on headphones
I personally have a pair of AKG K242HD's along with a pair of SoundMAGIC PL-30's. I use my 242's at home but wanted a pair of relatively cheap high quality earphones for travel and mobile usage. One thing you want to be careful of is that many of the high end headphones are designed for home and studio usage and so most mobile devices do not have enough power to run them at high volume. One of the cheaper sets such as the ones mentioned by entropy.of.avarice would probably be fine, but try to avoid headphones advertised for studio usage without hearing them first.
Personally I would recommend hifiheadphones.co.uk/sennheiser-cx300ii-precision-headphones-pink-cx-300ii-prodid-1136.html or hifiheadphones.co.uk/soundmagic-pl30-inear-sound-isolating-earphones-in-white-prodid-2073.html. Both retail for around £30 and are perfectly fine for someone looking to buy their first pair of decent headphones. One thing you'll want to watch out for is that there were a lot of fake CX300's around, so make sure if you buy them you buy from a reputable retailer.
Finally, if you have the money to spare you can also byu a headphone amplifier such as the iBasso that will allow you to boost the volume and quality of sound coming out of your device
As I said, I don't have a tablet yet so I can't vouch for how they'll sound coming out of one but I'd imagine it'd be just fine
I'd also take the time to look into how to set up a graphic equaliser, as they can make poorer earphones sound much better
This post probably made no sense as I'm writing it at 3AM and barely awake but I'll check over it later, feel free to ask if anyone has any more questions and I'll see if I can help
~Rach

Audio Quality Thoughts

So I just got my HTC U11 today and spent a few hours setting it up. I finally got around to trying out the phone's audio capabilities.
USonic - they sound good for out of the box earphones, but they're definitely not as good as my V-Moda Forza's. I could tell immediately. I doubt I'll use this.
DAC adapter - I'm conflicted. I'm still trying to decide whether or not the adapter sounds as good as my HTC 10. My initial impression is that it's not as good. The 10 has a cleaner, fuller soundstage. I'm really bummed about the BoomSound Dolby and tuning mode not being present on the U11. I've never really listened to the 10 without that mode on, so maybe that's the reason. The U11 doesn't sound bad though.
What do you guys think?
Good enough for 90%
Sent from my HTC U11 using Tapatalk
richteralan said:
Good enough for 90%
Sent from my HTC U11 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Pretty much this, most people will love it but I think anyone who had a HTC 10, an Axon 7, S7 Edge (Exynos, volume modded) will notice a bit of a step down. More so the AMP is weak rather than the DAC being bad (although Juan at PocketNow numbers show the DAC to be worse than the HTC 10, Axon 7, S7 Edge, iPhone 7).
I'm contemplating getting a Fiio K1
I just compared the sound quality between my 10 (without BoomSound on) and the U11, and they do sound quite similar.
This leads me to my disappointment -- why did they remove the BoomSound frequency tuning from the U11? It's nice that they have it for the USonic earphones, but why would you need to create multiple audio profiles for those earphones, if there's literally only one pair of earphones that can take advantage of that feature.
I'll have my thoughts later today using a dt770 as my comparison between the 10 and 11. They normally require more power than my HD600. I don't use high impedance/low sensitivity HPs with phones anyway but I figured I'd test.
djbutter said:
I just compared the sound quality between my 10 (without BoomSound on) and the U11, and they do sound quite similar.
This leads me to my disappointment -- why did they remove the BoomSound frequency tuning from the U11? It's nice that they have it for the USonic earphones, but why would you need to create multiple audio profiles for those earphones, if there's literally only one pair of earphones that can take advantage of that feature.
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Wondering this as well, you can't edit the audio profiles anyway so what is the point in having more than one profile
I've been happy about the audio quality so far. The problem I have is that we only get 1 of the DAC to 3.5mm adapter cables included. Now in order to use my music at home, in car, and at work I now have to carry the cable around with me. It is not ideal to have to carry around an adapter. Getting the included earphones is cool (sound okay) but would rather received a total of 4 adapter cables.
I went to order 4 more and found out that they are in pre-order status. I'll just have to wait until they come in. Once I have an adapter everywhere then I won't be so pissy about it. Really wish they would have kept the 3.5mm, then phone would be considered my best phone ever.
psawjack said:
I've been happy about the audio quality so far. The problem I have is that we only get 1 of the DAC to 3.5mm adapter cables included. Now in order to use my music at home, in car, and at work I now have to carry the cable around with me. It is not ideal to have to carry around an adapter. Getting the included earphones is cool (sound okay) but would rather received a total of 4 adapter cables.
I went to order 4 more and found out that they are in pre-order status. I'll just have to wait until they come in. Once I have an adapter everywhere then I won't be so pissy about it. Really wish they would have kept the 3.5mm, then phone would be considered my best phone ever.
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There really was no need to remove it, only to use a worse DAC/AMP in the adaptor.
GSM spoke highly of the headphone output. (http://www.gsmarena.com/htc_u_11-review-1620p6.php)
Great audio output
The HTC U11 did splendidly in the first part of our audio test. When hooked to an active external amplifier it delivered very loud and perfectly accurate output.
When headphones come into play the volume remains nicely high and the only reading to take a hit is stereo crosstalk. It's a moderate amount of damage there and will all the other aspects of the performance remaining excellent, it's a great showing overall.
HTC U11 (headphones attached)
Frequency response: +0.05, -0.11 (+0.05, -0.02)
Noise Level: -94.1 (-93.7)
Dynamic Range: -94.1 (93.8)
THD: 0.0017 (0.0018)
IMD + Noise: 0.0067 (0.105)
Stereo crosstalk: -94.5 (-53.7)
HTC 10 (headphones attached)
Frequency response: +0.01, -0.03 (+0.06, -0.09)
Noise Level: -93.2 (-92.8)
Dynamic Range: -93.2 (93.0)
THD: 0.0022 (0.014)
IMD + Noise: 0.071 (0.141)
Stereo crosstalk: -92.8 (-77.9)
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Click to collapse
My own personal experience, I found my DT770 to sound great but was 2 notches of volume below the 10. The 10 at volume 13/15 was the U11 at 15/15. I definitely can hear the crosstalk difference GSM has measured. Heard that before I saw the measurements. Overall, I can definitely live with this. Just hope I don't put myself in situations where I need to charge and listen.
My first impressions are that I'm not particularly impressed by the Usonic earphones - but then I don't usually use the earbuds that come with a phone.
Given the reviews here, I was a bit surprised to find the sound from the U11 adapter sounds better on first hearing than I was getting from the HTC 10, but then I haven't yet done a proper A-B comparison - it could be I was playing it a bit louder, or 'new device' enthusiasm...
As I said it already the 3.5mm adapter lacks Boomsound and this make a big difference with HTC 10, HTC can implement it in the FW of the adapter but we need to let them know we want it.
mosincredible said:
GSM spoke highly of the headphone output. (http://www.gsmarena.com/htc_u_11-review-1620p6.php)
My own personal experience, I found my DT770 to sound great but was 2 notches of volume below the 10. The 10 at volume 13/15 was the U11 at 15/15. I definitely can hear the crosstalk difference GSM has measured. Heard that before I saw the measurements. Overall, I can definitely live with this. Just hope I don't put myself in situations where I need to charge and listen.
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Agreed. I can see the logic behind HTC's decision, and I actually don't disagree with it. They dropped the headphone jack but added noise cancellation and a decent pair of earphones. This targets that iPhone userbase that only uses the awful in-box white ear buds. It's definitely better value for the money for the average user.
Perhaps they needed to compromise on sound quality, but it still sounds pretty fantastic with the adapter. It may not sound as good as the 10 (honestly though it's pretty close), but I'm not mad about it.
Which Boomsound speaker mode do you guys prefer? Music it theater mode? I feel like music more is crisper while tester is a bit longer but muddier.
MinimalistChris said:
Which Boomsound speaker mode do you guys prefer? Music it theater mode? I feel like music more is crisper while tester is a bit longer but muddier.
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Click to collapse
I use theatre mode all the time but yes it is muddier than music mode which sacrifices volume for better audio quality
About stereo crosstalk can you ''fix'' it with V4A?
Or there are no way to enhance stereo?
MinimalistChris said:
Which Boomsound speaker mode do you guys prefer? Music it theater mode? I feel like music more is crisper while tester is a bit longer but muddier.
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Click to collapse
I usually use theatre mode. If I'm playing through the speakers, volume is more important to me.
On another note, I'm having this horrible issue with BT audio. When playing music in google play music through BT earphones (jaybird x2) or my home speaker (LG soundbar), occasionally there's a really loud, awful screeching noise!
Anyone else have this issue?
Otherwise, BT audio is noticeably improved over the 10!
djbutter said:
On another note, I'm having this horrible issue with BT audio. When playing music in google play music through BT earphones (jaybird x2) or my home speaker (LG soundbar), occasionally there's a really loud, awful screeching noise!
Anyone else have this issue?
Otherwise, BT audio is noticeably improved over the 10!
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Click to collapse
Was listening with aptX in my car for a while today and I had no issues along with noticing no difference. Same volume level when connected to an Audioengine B1 that has a 2 volt output to my Audison bit-Ten. Wish I could do a quicker back and forth test with my 10 but I'd have to sync the Bluetooth over and over.
I have to admit that I'm a little bit worried about the sound quality on the u11. One of the things that I really enjoyed on the m8 m9 and the 10 was the Dolby audio enhancement. I have been using that in combination with power amp music player for years and you'd be surprised what kind of sound quality I get out of my Sennheiser HD 558's. I can hear the bass in music the way it is meant to be heard, almost felt, I don't hear that distorted bass sound that you tend to hear on lower end devices.
This may sound stupid to some people but if the sound quality is not at least the same as what I get on my 10 then I'm going to send the phone back. I just got done trying out a $300 pair of Bluetooth headphones with my 10 and I was not impressed, they were close in some areas but for $300 I want more than close. There is a cheaper pair that I have been thinking about trying with the 11 but I'm not sure that I'm going to want to invest all of this money just to be able to say I own the new flagship, and get half decent sound out of it with headphones, especially when for all intents and purposes I'm perfectly happy with my 10.
Right before the phone ended up shipping out to me I was debating on canceling my order because once the feeling of new shiny device wore off I started the question what about the new phone actually got me excited and to be perfectly honest the answer for me is really nothing. I think edge sense could be cool but the apparent lack of support from case manufacturers has me a bit scared as well. I have never owned an all glass phone before and I don't think you could pay me enough to use this phone without any full-body protection I understand that the camera is much better but honestly I don't see a problem with the one that I have. So this could be the first year that I actually hang on to my phone.
I just paired this phone with the Fiio K1 DAC. Much better audio experience. The HTC 10 apparently was better than the K1 by about 10% so the fact that the K1 sounds so good compared to the adapter is quite telling

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.......
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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.
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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.
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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
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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.
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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.

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