Database Users

Galaxy note dac?

Any idea about the dac looking the firmware, or any other source?
I really hope that samsung has learned the lesson of the S2 and we can get the wolfson again. That make the note the perfect phone for about 2 years.

Very likely to be the Yamaha one given the amount of components shared. Unfortunately.

Audio is supposed to be excellent.

Sebring5 said:
Audio is supposed to be excellent.
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Why do you think that?
The audio of the S2 is pure crap, if they don't change the dac, it will be the same.

kersh said:
Why do you think that?
The audio of the S2 is pure crap, if they don't change the dac, it will be the same.
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Click to collapse
Comments from people who have had their hands on the device.

sauron0101 said:
Very likely to be the Yamaha one given the amount of components shared. Unfortunately.
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Could you elaborate that?
Just put my hands on the note in a show room..I like it!
But if the sound is not at least as good as the sgs1's , thats a deal breaker for me...
Tx

betoNL said:
Could you elaborate that?
Just put my hands on the note in a show room..I like it!
But if the sound is not at least as good as the sgs1's , thats a deal breaker for me...
Tx
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1323764

Tx..
I already had found that thread and even posted over there

S2 Audio
I've been reading here and at other sites that the sound quality from the Galaxy S2 is inferior. I've had the S2 for two months now and must say the audio quality is very good. I came to android from an iPhone 4 and find the music quality to be as good if not better. I'm not an audiophile, although I used to be when money was not an object. I did find that when using power amp that I could get a higher volume output with better quality. I stopped using power amp with the advent of Google music and I'm finding quality to be just amazing with Google. I tried it head-to-head with power amp and found it to be better. I don't know if Google is modifying the music to minimize the problems with the DAC that you guys are talking about, but it seems that way. Most of my music is played either on Bose headphones or Nokia 905 Bluetooth headphones. The music I listen to varies greatly from pop, R&B, rock and jazz, all of which sounds phenomenal on galaxy S2. So all I can say to the average user expecting good quality sound from their phone that the S2 is more than capable of doing that. But if you're a demanding audiophile I guess that's not the case from what I've read.

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
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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
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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
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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.
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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.

Music dac = junk or good?

This is my main concern. Who decided to have flac support advertising with such bad sound in the 2? Post what the 3 has here.

I think it will be the the same thing, probably Yamaha. Cutting cost is the name of the game after all. At least we don't have to deal with Beats Audio and I hope Samsung don't jump on that band wagon.
I don't know what exact DAC does Sony phones use, but my Xperia Play have suprprisingly good sound quality.
You might also be interested in the Meizu MX which will also have the same quadcore Exynos as the SIII and pentaband, with 32 or 64gb. Meizu have a reputation of good sound quality. You'll be hard press for any community development on it though.

the DAC is indeed something ive been concerned about.. the SGS1 had a better DAC than the S2.. hopefully another year will make better DAC's cheaper. tomorrow is the big release, but the DAC wont be talked about, things like this never are.. it wont be till we have them in hand and run tests on them ourself that well know what were looking at.. thats how it was with the S1, and the S2 as well..
but i plan to get the S3 the day it comes out, and will be testing the DAC myself, and supercurio will be analyzing my results to see what he can do as well, as he doesnt plan to buy the S3 right away

There could be WM dac coming. From Supercurio:
https://twitter.com/#!/supercurio/status/197717329877024768
Galaxy Tab 2 has it:
https://twitter.com/#!/supercurio/status/197721233704484865

Rytkonen said:
There could be WM dac coming. From Supercurio:
https://twitter.com/#!/supercurio/status/197717329877024768
Galaxy Tab 2 has it:
https://twitter.com/#!/supercurio/status/197721233704484865
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Click to collapse
That would be awesome

This is my actual main concern with the S3.
I really want them to get a good audio chip in there.
Currently using my S1 with my digizoid ZO2 & Audeo PFE 232's (yes those £400 earphones)

TotallydubbedHD said:
This is my actual main concern with the S3.
I really want them to get a good audio chip in there.
Currently using my S1 with my digizoid ZO2 & Audeo PFE 232's (yes those £400 earphones)
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Click to collapse
Like wise using my GSS purely for music. With Supercurios Voodoo it's good enough for me on high end IEMs. Would be a plus to the pocket if this has Wolfson as well. Fingers crossed!

I'm glad that Samsung decided to put Wolfson back into their devices.
The Wolfson on the Hummingbird (Galaxy S and Nexus S) is freaking awesome, especially for EDM.
Voodoo Sound + DSP Manager = a rave in my ear.

jk0l said:
I'm glad that Samsung decided to put Wolfson back into their devices.
The Wolfson on the Hummingbird (Galaxy S and Nexus S) is freaking awesome, especially for EDM.
Voodoo Sound + DSP Manager = a rave in my ear.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Totally agree. It's like porn but for your ears. Only reason I'm carrying an SGS.

Rytkonen said:
There could be WM dac coming. From Supercurio:
https://twitter.com/#!/supercurio/status/197717329877024768
Galaxy Tab 2 has it:
https://twitter.com/#!/supercurio/status/197721233704484865
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It has Wolfson WM1811:
http://twitter.com/#!/supercurio/status/198149523724439553
http://twitter.com/#!/supercurio/status/198151127534018560

rd_nest said:
It has Wolfson WM1811:
http://twitter.com/#!/supercurio/status/198149523724439553
http://twitter.com/#!/supercurio/status/198151127534018560
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+1
Definately has Wolfson DAC, that seems even better than the GS1 series
Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk 2

simone201 said:
+1
Definately has Wolfson DAC, that seems even better than the GS1 series
Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk 2
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From supercurio's analysis:
Like WM8994 in Galaxy S / Nexus S, except:
1x stereo DAC instead of 2x.
2x 2W Speaker amp instead of 2x 1W

rd_nest said:
From supercurio's analysis:
Like WM8994 in Galaxy S / Nexus S, except:
1x stereo DAC instead of 2x.
2x 2W Speaker amp instead of 2x 1W
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes it should have more output power...with great DAC quality (that seems already not bypassed)
Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk 2

rd_nest said:
From supercurio's analysis:
Like WM8994 in Galaxy S / Nexus S, except:
1x stereo DAC instead of 2x.
2x 2W Speaker amp instead of 2x 1W
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How could this hurt us?

simone201 said:
Yes it should have more output power...with great DAC quality (that seems already not bypassed)
Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk 2
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Can you explain on this? I need to read more about it, so can't comment on it. Do you see any flaw in this design?
cheers!

http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1633685

Duplicate thread, see here

US variant of the GS3 uses Qualcomm's WCD9310 for audio, not the Wolfson

Not sure if that's already been posted.
http://www.reddit.com/r/Android/comments/vmzl9/us_variant_of_the_gs3_uses_qualcomms_wcd9310_for/

That's odd. Engadget tested the audio on the US version and commented that it's impressive. Another member here found it amazing with only the supplied headphones. So I am pretty sure it's a Wolfson. But if this turns out to be the Qualcomm chip, I think it will be a deal breaker for many members here.

You know they have their own section now right? And yes it has been posted a few times already.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/forumdisplay.php?f=1667

Its not wolfson.
Confirmed AGAIN by supercurio.
It's using onboard dac.
He's gonna look into voodoo sound for it though.
https://mobile.twitter.com/supercurio/status/217631114334973952
Sent from my GT-I9300 using xda premium

nativestranger said:
That's odd. Engadget tested the audio on the US version and commented that it's impressive. Another member here found it amazing with only the supplied headphones. So I am pretty sure it's a Wolfson. But if this turns out to be the Qualcomm chip, I think it will be a deal breaker for many members here.
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Click to collapse
Not having a Wolfson chip doesn't mean the sound quality will be bad - this isn't Galaxy S II Yamaha levels of doom & gloom. Other Snapdragon S4 devices like the HTC One S have tested very well for audio quality and response (Amusingly much better than HTC's flagship One X with its Tegra 3 onboard audio - Beats branding really is a sham), so I can't imagine the US SIII variants will be any different.
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onslaught86 said:
Not having a Wolfson chip doesn't mean the sound quality will be bad - this isn't Galaxy S II Yamaha levels of doom & gloom. Other Snapdragon S4 devices like the HTC One S have tested very well for audio quality and response (Amusingly much better than HTC's flagship One X with its Tegra 3 onboard audio - Beats branding really is a sham), so I can't imagine the US SIII variants will be any different.
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Click to collapse
Well said.

onslaught86 said:
Not having a Wolfson chip doesn't mean the sound quality will be bad - this isn't Galaxy S II Yamaha levels of doom & gloom. Other Snapdragon S4 devices like the HTC One S have tested very well for audio quality and response (Amusingly much better than HTC's flagship One X with its Tegra 3 onboard audio - Beats branding really is a sham), so I can't imagine the US SIII variants will be any different.
Sent from my GT-I9300 using xda premium
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Yes, but that's not where the disappointment comes from. The disappointment comes from a developer knowing a type of hardware, Supercurio with the Wolfson DACs, and has extensive study of how to optimize it already even before its release. And not having the DAC makes a big delay in any kind of professional support for it.
$0.02

I LITERALLY don't know if the i747m S3 that I use has a Wolfson DAC. That's all.

Wolfson audio chip - Will the Galaxy S4 have it?

So i was just wondering if Galaxy S4 will have the Wolfson audio chip in it? I remember from Note 2 that the speakers quality was outstanding for my ears from a phone. Now i have iPhone 5 and its speaker is really good too. Anyone here know will S4 have it?

SaneQ said:
So i was just wondering if Galaxy S4 will have the Wolfson audio chip in it?
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+1
sent fromXperia sT21i
Everything stock

Pretty sure the snapdragon 600 variant GS4 will come with Qualcomm's own audio chip, perhaps the same one found in my US GS3 (WCD9310).
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using xda app-developers app

illmatic24 said:
Pretty sure the snapdragon 600 variant GS4 will come with Qualcomm's own audio chip, perhaps the same one found in my US GS3 (WCD9310).
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using xda app-developers app
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Yes, confirmed by @supercurio.
No details about the Exynos version yet.

hot_spare said:
Yes, confirmed by @supercurio.
No details about the Exynos version yet.
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Click to collapse
I don't think we needed confirming that Qualcomms own SOC uses its own DAC lol... especially considering this has been the case for every SOC it has made.
As far as the E5... we will have to see. It is either a Wolfson or a Yamaha. Depending on which it will either sound better or worse then the Qualcomm one.

illmatic24 said:
Pretty sure the snapdragon 600 variant GS4 will come with Qualcomm's own audio chip, perhaps the same one found in my US GS3 (WCD9310).
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using xda app-developers app
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Click to collapse
And how good is that compared to Wolfson etc? Good enough?
Sent from my LT18i using Tapatalk

Maedhros said:
I don't think we needed confirming that Qualcomms own SOC uses its own DAC lol... especially considering this has been the case for every SOC it has made.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I could be wrong, or maybe I misinterpreted the leaked data sheets and other info, but, AFAIK the WCD9310 is a discrete chip, as used with the MSM8960 in ATT HTC OneX LTE, OneS and Evo 4g LTE. (And I guess US GS3 ?)
Yes, the chip may have some "special Qualcomm connections" with the AP/SOC. but still a separate chip.
Is Qualcomm now integrating WCD93xx or whatever internally, inside the physical SOC now ?
I urge caution when reading some Qualcomm press releases and mini document blurbs. Read them literally and you'd think their WCN36xx BT/WiFi/FM combo chips are physically inside the SOC, but they aren't, they just have super special high speed Qualcomm connections that puts part of the (WiFi/BT baseband ?) functionality inside the SOC, with the RF stuff in the 3660/3680 chip.
Anytime a chip is external, of course, there's a possibility the phone OEM didn't go with the all Qualcomm chip reference design. Same with the combo chips where it seems Broadcom remains king. The Qualcomm WCN36xx has missed many major design wins now, despite the huge popularity of the high end Qualcomm SOCs, and it's close integration with same.

This kills me as I live in the US and now I will be stuck with the lame Qualcomm audio. I still am using a Nexus S because I refuse to upgrade to a phone unless it has a Wolfson audio chip.
Being a loyal Galaxy phone user, it's really offensive that Samsung goes cheap with the US versions.

dman777 said:
This kills me as I live in the US and now I will be stuck with the lame Qualcomm audio. I still am using a Nexus S because I refuse to upgrade to a phone unless it has a Wolfson audio chip.
Being a loyal Galaxy phone user, it's really offensive that Samsung goes cheap with the US versions.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't think they went "cheap", and the audio in Qualcomm-based handsets isn't really that bad at all. I have an HTC Vivid and the audio sounds fine. I think their main focus was LTE connectivity when choosing Qualcomm chips for the US market.
I do understand what you mean by wanting top-quality audio though. But the audio quality isn't "bad" by any means. Don't let that dissuade you from enjoying what looks to be a great phone.
Sent from my HTC Vivid.

qsacage said:
And how good is that compared to Wolfson etc? Good enough?
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Click to collapse
It's the same DAC used by the DNA/Butterfly and One. It's scored well. The difference being the HTC devices have h/w amplifiers. So sound quality should be the same but loudness may vary.
GSMArena on the One...
The HTC One audio output is almost identical to that of the HTC Butterfly, which is great news really as the former HTC flagship really aced our audio quality test. In fact the two Beats-powered smartphones offer arguably the best audio quality in the smartphone world right now.
The HTC One did great in the active external amplifier part of the test, posting great scores all over the field. In addition it had volume levels higher than all of its direct competitors, save for the aforementioned HTC Butterfly, which it only matched.
More impressively, there's next to no degradation when you plug in a pair of headphones. The stereo crosstalk rises a tiny bit, but that's the only affected reading. Volume levels remain at the same high level, too. This is the second smartphone in a row where HTC makes the Beats audio logo stand for something other than a simple equalizer, but as we said last time, the wait was probably worth it.​
N2 with Wolfson for comparison...

Well the USA device foes cost about 150 less compared to the international version.
Sent from my GT-I9300 using xda app-developers app

Nexus 10 (exynos 5250)uses Wolfson DAC,so there is a chance that s4(exynos 5410) will also use WolfsonDAC
sent fromXperia sT21i
Everything stock

i9100g user said:
Nexus 10 (exynos 5250)uses Wolfson DAC,so there is a chance that s4(exynos 5410) will also use WolfsonDAC
sent fromXperia sT21i
Everything stock
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's quite a reassuring news. I just hope they won't jinx it with Yamaha.

Galaxy S4 uses Wolfson WM5102
François Simond ‏@supercurio 4h
Thanks to a #VoodooReport sent by @Faryaab I can confirm #GalaxyS4 GT-I9500 uses very high specs @wolfsonmicro WM5102
https://twitter.com/supercurio/status/315952191812820992
https://twitter.com/supercurio/status/315953474363858945

"with a catch"
There's always a catch
I hope supercurio can convince Samsung to fix it.

The wolfson audio chip has become more like a myth. The usa s3 didnt have it but still its audio quality was superb.
Sent from my Nexus 4 using xda premium

persheshhater said:
The wolfson audio chip has become more like a myth. The usa s3 didnt have it but still its audio quality was superb.
Sent from my Nexus 4 using xda premium
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Click to collapse
Well, the audio chip in the latest Snapdragons is very good. Its just that, according to audio experts (supercurio!!!) Wolfson DAC is a bit better than the Snapdragon/Krait one!! Both are better than the Yamaha turd !!
Its all relative you see !!

sukant08 said:
Well, the audio chip in the latest Snapdragons is very good. Its just that, according to audio experts (supercurio!!!) Wolfson DAC is a bit better than the Snapdragon/Krait one!! Both are better than the Yamaha turd !!
Its all relative you see !!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Maybe but even if it wasnt of course supercurio would still say wolfson is a bit better(conflict of interest.)
Sent from my Nexus 4 using xda premium

Reported on another thread GT-I9500 uses Wolfson WM5102, from a VoodooReport sent to supercurio.
IMO we still don't know GT-I9505 for sure. Could be same Wolfson, could be Qualcomm, or something else (doubtful).

Read the published stats. No Snapdragon has ever got better than 80ish S/N, while Wolfson/Samsung is about 90, about the same as Apple.
From Wikipedia:
The 16-bit compact disc has a theoretical dynamic range of about 96 dB[11] (or about 98 dB for sinusoidal signals, per the formula[10]). Digital audio with 20-bit digitization is theoretically capable of 120 dB dynamic range; similarly, 24-bit digital audio calculates to 144 dB dynamic range.[7] All digital audio recording and playback chains include input and output converters and associated analog circuitry, significantly limiting practical dynamic range. Observed 16-bit digital audio dynamic range is about 90 dB.[11]