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I really enjoy almost everything about the Focus. I bought it because I was so happy with my Zune HD.
I was underwhelmed when I plugged in my Grado headphones tho. Perhaps the Zune is just very high caliber, but It seems like I am missing some lows and the soundstage seems flat. Does anyone know what sort of Hardware went into this phone? If the hardware is good, is there anything I can do software or backend to make it sound better?
I have a second complaint. When I stick a headphone jack in the mic turns off, it probably is expecting an inline mic with the headphones. My problem is when I then go to pull out my headphones the phone doesn't notice and will continue to not hear. It takes two or three times reinserting and pulling out the headphones to remidy this. Is anyone else haveing this issue.
this is a known issue and will probably be addressed in the first or second update January-February. As of now the only thing you can do is adjust the default volume to be louder...there might be other things you can tweak regarding the root menu of the device. Check out the diagnosic codes thread.
Regarding the hardware i'm pretty sure its good hardware, I think that new apps will inhance the audio experience in our beloved phones.
Welcome to the forum, please do not start two of the same threads since it will clutter the forum.
Okay thanks. I saw the diagnostic thread. It was difficult to see what the values correlate with. How do you delete a thread? The double post was not intentional
The Zune HD uses a Wolfson Microelectronics audio chip, so that's top-tier level of audio quality.
The Focus uses the built-in Snapdragon audio codec, which just isn't as good, and unfortunately, it shows.
Raptor550 said:
I have a second complaint. When I stick a headphone jack in the mic turns off, it probably is expecting an inline mic with the headphones. My problem is when I then go to pull out my headphones the phone doesn't notice and will continue to not hear. It takes two or three times reinserting and pulling out the headphones to remidy this. Is anyone else haveing this issue.
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Click to collapse
Same problem here. But is worst, I connect the Focus to my Car Auxiliary jack to use it as a mega speaker, I mean, when someone calls I can hear them, but they can not hear me. The microphone is dead when I plug it in. Someone knows a fix for this?
After doing some comparison with my high-end DAPs, my Focus is being relegated to movie watching only...lol. It has low quality sound. I did have about 8GB of music on it and have deleted it all. There just is no need to use my Focus for music when it sounds the way it does. It isn't horrible...erm...in a sense, that is. Before I compared it I thought it was quite good...lol. Now, however, I just can't stand it.
The Focus is a nice phone and does a lot of good things and those are things it will continue to do.
I'm using Samsung Focus as MP3 player replacement, which is perfectly fine. No different from Samsung Captivate with Wolfson chip, at least to my ears.
I decided to give music on my Focus another go after the NoDo/Firmware update. It seems to have improved the sound quality...unless it's just a placebo effect. I think I can live with the SQ now and am putting my music back on it.
I'm wondering which ear phones those guys use that complain about audio issues.
I think without this additional information the comlaints are rather useless.
Sebo1985 said:
I'm wondering which ear phones those guys use that complain about audio issues.
I think without this additional information the comlaints are rather useless.
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In my case, I use high-end canalphones. Shure SE530, Klipsch Image X10/X5, Sleek Audio SA6, UE Triple fi-10 and so forth.
Yeah, that's really high end. With my Westone Um1 i'm satisfied with the overall audio performance, even when there is some hissing and and whirring with low volume. I'm interested if the sound improves with the firmware update, just have to wait a few more days.
Sebo1985 said:
Yeah, that's really high end. With my Westone Um1 i'm satisfied with the overall audio performance, even when there is some hissing and and whirring with low volume. I'm interested if the sound improves with the firmware update, just have to wait a few more days.
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I believe it does improve with the update. Before the update, the sound was undefined and muddy. After the update, it seems a lot less muddy and more defined.
MartyLK said:
I believe it does improve with the update. Before the update, the sound was undefined and muddy. After the update, it seems a lot less muddy and more defined.
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Interesting, I'll have to do a little testing.
I often use my Focus at work to demo PA gear and typically use a Proco iFace for connection. I've never A/B'd my Focus and Zune30, though.
It is so hard to do AB testing because even a half decibel difference in level balance can be taken as an improvement.
The best way is to do sweeps plugged into a soundcard and graph the differences. even then some distortions can be pleasurable. But at least you can test its reproduction faithfulness comparing the wave to the original song.
It would be really interesting for somebody to run sweeps before and after nodo and see if the are identical or not.
It is possible that its improved. Sadly my zune was stolen so I can no longer compare. I can tell it still lacks some depth and can get get overwhelmed in complex passages those could be powering issues tho. I'm guessing thats what you are describing as muddy Marty.
its a worse than my work machine and i know that was a little worse than my zune which is a little worse than my home marantz. But for anyone reading this, the focus's sound is probably good enough for most people and at least comparable to most phones I think if not a bit better (never heard an I phone tho).
I will say about the HD, it had a much higher then average sound output.
Guys just want to confirm is the volume of S II at full (using equalizer app) same as legendry Galaxy S. As per one review on the net, they claim music playback through headphones also show distortions and noise. Is it true? Can we expect clear and loud output from other earphones, or is it actually manufacturing issue. Report say that Galaxy S II features an inferior audio chip from yamaha than the superior Wolfenson DAAC.
This would be a deciding factor for me getting this phone, morever after spending 30K (in India) for this, user will definitely look for good music through headphones.
Plz dont be LOVE n HATE biased give genuine verdicts folks. It depends on you people. Though I know replies we get here are very genuine, but being a galaxy S user for a couple of months, I am a bit biased and think Samsung makes best android phones. But at this price point money comes first and every feature included should be top notch, atleast music throgh head-phones.
I've come to the SGS2 from a Nokia 5800, which was of course built primarily as a music playing phone.
Listening with earphones:
I think the sound quality of the Nokia was a *little* better. The Sammy sounds a little harsher at the top end. But I'm perfectly happy with my new phone.
I think the maximum volume is actually louder on the Sammy, I couldn't listen to the music at max in a quiet room, it'd be too much. I think there are tweaks available to make it even louder, if you feel the need.
As for sound quality at max volume - no problems with distortion - the slightly harsh top-end doesn't get any worse.
(For reference, I'm using some very cheap but fairly decent headphones - JVC Marshmallow in-ear, the same as I used with the Nokia. I've not tried the supplied headphones as I heard they're rubbish)
Listening with the loudspeaker:
The Nokia absolutely blows it away, but then it's probably got the best stereo speakers of any smartphone. The Sammy doesn't have the volume, and it sounds thin and harsh compared to the Nokia.
However, other reviews suggest it's better than it's main competition (the HTC Sensation)... so basically I've been spoiled by the Nokia, and the Sammy is perfectly serviceable.
Thanks to RostokMcSpoons
Guys I am very happy to receive the first reply I would like to see more 7 more replies as honest as RostokMcSpoons'. I would be even glad if I can get replies from the experts like the senoir members I guess.
Perfectly acceptable for me even using stock headphones .
Nokia 5800 >> SGS1 >> SGS2
jje
Is it same of same quality and volume level as Galaxy S I9000 or is different.
I cannot tell the difference but some have said the SGS1 was better .
jje
quality is much better than any htc or motorola phones i have used. you never have to turn the volume anywhere near the top. highs, mids and base are great as well.
I am overwhelmed and one straight comparison with galaxy S music would be Icing on the cake.
I've used my SGSII with both my cheap old Sony MDR-G42's and my much-loved open-back Sennheiser HD-238 Precision and both sounded surprisingly great.
I do read some people saying about quiet sound but that's always puzzled me as the output seems no quieter than say my Creative Zen MP3 player and certainly loud enough to drive both styles of headphone well enough.
Probably S II is a good buy, I believe I am going for it this weekend.
mobfest said:
Is it same of same quality and volume level as Galaxy S I9000 or is different.
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Volume is about the same. Sound quality through the HP out is decent enough, borderline good - it's good across the frequency range and has a decent amount of detail - if a bit congested. However, when Compared the the SGS1 with voodoo sound - it's nowhere near as good. No suprises there, as a SGS1 + Voodoo sound may have the best SQ of all mobile devices, including mp3 players (such as the ipod touch and sony walkmen). Please keep in mind that this subjective.
Having said that, the SQ is good and will definitely be good enough for most people - especially if you add poweramp to the mix.
Thank you for your response
I believe voodoo sound is a mod, is by any chance in future this mod can be ported for s II as well.
S II wins heart but very big in size
My doubt has finally come to an end the music through headphones is good enough (using creative ep-630), not used the default ones yet. But truly the EQ widget boosts the music.
Hello guys.
I live in Edmonton, AB, Canada and I honestly am not too worried about LTE.
I simply want the S4 with the better audio quality. I'm a head-fi'er!
Was wondering if anyone has compared the 9500 and the 9505 for audio quality? I'd get the phone purely based on that...
unregistered_ said:
Hello guys.
I live in Edmonton, AB, Canada and I honestly am not too worried about LTE.
I simply want the S4 with the better audio quality. I'm a head-fi'er!
Was wondering if anyone has compared the 9500 and the 9505 for audio quality? I'd get the phone purely based on that...
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the i9500 has the superior Wolfson DAC.
If it's just audio quality you're after get the i9500
ie ear
Obagleyfreer said:
the i9500 has the superior Wolfson DAC.
If it's just audio quality you're after get the i9500
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me too interest to audio in ear ....so:do we have mod for improve the i9500 sound ,i was told it has poor audio ....?
htc one:is better any way for in ear sound ?
tks gio.
The best mod is currently PureX Audio which isn't yet available for the 9500, but will be for the 9505 because its Qualcomm.
The HTC has the Qualcomm DAC and is actually pretty impressive. In ear quality is very similar to Wolfson, with the Wolfson having an ever so slight lead. But with the PureX mod, the HTC wins hands down.
Actually, according the gsmarena SQ tests both i9500 and i9505 are currently the best sounding smartphones ever: http://www.gsmarena.com/samsung_galaxy_s4_i9500_vs_i9505-review-930p5.php . I9505 is even slightly better than i9500.
It's very similar. Snapdragon is little better.
I have both versions and I find the I9500 a bit better.
Sent from my GT-I9500 using xda premium
Can you explain why? What's the difference?
Because on gsmarena they say different thing and that ear can't really "hear" difference.
I don't think you can go wrong with either. Considering the measurements, db and the issues both phones have with low impedance headphones I would get the i9505 for the lte. The performance is virtually identical in all aspects of the phone, minus the i9500 getting left behind in lte speedtests. Lol. Also, you may have an opportunity to flash pure aosp if your bootloader is unlocked on the i9505. I9500 loses there too.
Sent from my GT-N7100
*Emix* said:
Can you explain why? What's the difference?
Because on gsmarena they say different thing and that ear can't really "hear" difference.
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I have checked it if anyone is interested in it and can read my poor English. Sorry for that in advance.
Headphone was an AKG K-70. It is an old type entry level hi-fi headphone and not the best but quite enough to check the sound quality of smartphones. I can tell that it is much better than the delivered one in factory pack. Also I did not use any tone manipulation. Everything was flat.
Basically I was listening such music which contains acoustic instruments and lead vocals. The difference is recognizable. First of all I can tell that none of these phones has high-end sound quality but i9500 has better sound definitely. Listening music is enjoyable on it. You can forget that you are hearing a machine and can enjoy the music itself. The stereo sound picture is also wide and correct.
This is what I cannot tell about i9505. The balance of low and high frequency is very similar to i9500 but it has much narrow stereo room and lead singers have a lisp suddenly. Problem is getting worse as number of instrument is increased in the music. So basically let it enough.
I have not checked them with full artificial music. The real sound quality doesn’t matter in that case only the tone balance which is quite similar on both phones but I won't be able to live with sound of i9505 surly because of the hissing voice.
I hope it helps.
obladi63 said:
I have not checked them with full artificial music. The real sound quality doesn’t matter in that case only the tone balance which is quite similar on both phones but I won't be able to live with sound of i9505 surly because of the hissing voice.
I hope it helps.
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Did you try PureX mod?
renosj said:
Did you try PureX mod?
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No, I didn't. I don't find expression PureX in any menu point. Please help what you mean by this.
I used built in Music Player and turned off every stupid function which can modify the sound picture anyway. These are not capable to fix the problems. On the contrary these hide the problem. Like strawberry with sugar. It is sweet but...
obladi63 said:
No, I didn't. I don't find expression PureX in any menu point. Please help what you mean by this.
I used built in Music Player and turned off every stupid function which can modify the sound picture anyway. These are not capable to fix the problems. On the contrary these hide the problem. Like strawberry with sugar. It is sweet but...
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Click to collapse
With this mod should 9505 beat 9500 in audio quality.What about hissing in 9505, how often and strong is it when listen music? Did you try last stock firmware (Germany)? Because this firmware removes cracking sounds when use headphone with low independence on higher volume. And why do you have both versions (9505 and 9500), which one would you prefer (apart from sound quality)?
http://skynet-machine.appspot.com/forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2211163
renosj said:
With this mod should 9505 beat 9500 in audio quality.What about hissing in 9505, how often and strong is it when listen music? Did you try last stock firmware (Germany)? Because this firmware removes cracking sounds when use headphone with low independence on higher volume. And why do you have both versions (9505 and 9500), which one would you prefer (apart from sound quality)?
http://skynet-machine.appspot.com/forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2211163
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Well I checked the link. It is interesting but sorry I was not able to read through all 33 pages. Is there anybody who has experience with it on Samsung. Perhaps you? Can it be applied on the same way? I don't know when I will be able to try it but I will. On the other hand reading through the feature list I have doubt that it can help much. I think so that mostly analog part is responsible for the difference. Prepressing of the digital signal means placebo effect rather than significant improvement at this quality level. The difference was much more than we can expect from the pureX features. Nevertheless it should be checked.
So. Not hissing was the only issue but it was the most disturbing for me at least. It happens always if "sss" comes in the song. Sing, think, etc. It sounds like singer would have speech defective. Of course this problem affects other part of the music but it is most disturbing in the vocal.
The impedance of mentioned AKG is 100 Ohm which should be more than enough for high impedance headphone output as well.
Version i9500: XXUBMEA
Version i9505: XXUBMDM
I don't prefer any of these too. Both are very same. I am not involved in games but I use internet, photo, video, navigation and music mostly. So I need good sound and LTE too. I would change my 9500 to 9505 if sound would be comparable. Since my friend bought a 9505 few days ago I could compare them.
Otherwise I am very satisfied with 9500. Reading the news earlier I expected better sound quality but finally I am OK with it. This is the only place where I am still listening CD quality.
obladi63 said:
Well I checked the link. It is interesting but sorry I was not able to read through all 33 pages. Is there anybody who has experience with it on Samsung. Perhaps you? Can it be applied on the same way? I don't know when I will be able to try it but I will. On the other hand reading through the feature list I have doubt that it can help much. I think so that mostly analog part is responsible for the difference. Prepressing of the digital signal means placebo effect rather than significant improvement at this quality level. The difference was much more than we can expect from the pureX features. Nevertheless it should be checked.
So. Not hissing was the only issue but it was the most disturbing for me at least. It happens always if "sss" comes in the song. Sing, think, etc. It sounds like singer would have speech defective. Of course this problem affects other part of the music but it is most disturbing in the vocal.
The impedance of mentioned AKG is 100 Ohm which should be more than enough for high impedance headphone output as well.
Version i9500: XXUBMEA
Version i9505: XXUBMDM
I don't prefer any of these too. Both are very same. I am not involved in games but I use internet, photo, video, navigation and music mostly. So I need good sound and LTE too. I would change my 9500 to 9505 if sound would be comparable. Since my friend bought a 9505 few days ago I could compare them.
Otherwise I am very satisfied with 9500. Reading the news earlier I expected better sound quality but finally I am OK with it. This is the only place where I am still listening CD quality.
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Click to collapse
Thank you very much, I have to decide which version I buy, its hell for me. There is a link where comparing 9505vs9500 audio quality, its interesting that they highlight 9505 over 9500 a little bit. http://www.gsmarena.com/samsung_galaxy_s4_i9500_vs_i9505-review-930p5.php
I dont need LTE, i preferer better audio/camera. Iam afraid of overheating 9500, a lot of people complain for that. When browsing/watching movies, its ok? I know, I can not offer you anything else than thanks, but could you please compare 9505 vs 9500 camera quality(just photos)? Make few shots with sky a post them here in full-res, so I can compare it. In the previous version of FW was better 9500 because of more small details in picture and less noise in the sky. If possible, recommend to your friend update to newer FW, because it solves a lot of bugs (audio and camera as well). new FW for 9505 http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2312329
renosj said:
Thank you very much, I have to decide which version I buy, its hell for me. There is a link where comparing 9505vs9500 audio quality, its interesting that they highlight 9505 over 9500 a little bit. http://www.gsmarena.com/samsung_galaxy_s4_i9500_vs_i9505-review-930p5.php
I dont need LTE, i preferer better audio/camera. Iam afraid of overheating 9500, a lot of people complain for that. When browsing/watching movies, its ok? I know, I can not offer you anything else than thanks, but could you please compare 9505 vs 9500 camera quality(just photos)? Make few shots with sky a post them here in full-res, so I can compare it. In the previous version of FW was better 9500 because of more small details in picture and less noise in the sky. If possible, recommend to your friend update to newer FW, because it solves a lot of bugs (audio and camera as well). new FW for 9505 http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2312329
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I understand you. I was and am still in same boat. Not easy to choose.
I read the link but these data is so few. The only significant difference is the stereo crosstalk on that page. Believe me it can be even 40 or 30 and stereo picture still can be much better than the others. This info is good for nothing. However since it is less with 18 dB it means that analog electric circuit is really different in the two equipments and what I heard is really because of it basically.
Also you can read about the camera on that side. I agree with the tester that differences is due to software rather than hardware. Samsung (not only) does too many artificial post-process on their pictures which makes the comparison pointless more or less. I'll try to shot some pictures later but I don't know when we will be on the same version otherwise it really does not make sense. If phones could make raw picture ... may be. And don't forget that software updates come from time to time. If photo is so important to you, you should choose Samsung Galaxy S4 Zoom. Perhaps.
http://www.sammobile.com/2013/06/13/samsung-galaxy-s4-zoom-official-lifestyle-demo-video/
but you know well that really good picture can be shot only by using a good and big enough lens.
After all I decided to buy 9500. 1) It is Samsung. 2) May be better photo/video as I read it. 3) Better sound quality which is proved now. And this third point is important to me. What is the strange for me is that after discussion had started on the net about the two DAC I did not read a single line from Samsung in which they really prove that both are same good.
LTE? Well it is sounds good but what is the real benefit in it? May be the second hand i9505s will be more expensive with 10% two years later. But how much will this 10% be?
Overheating. I haven't had such bad experience. A bit lukewarm sometimes but SII was really warm comparing to this. But I have to tell you that I don't use games and did make only short videos max 10 min. And my FW was updated immediately after buying so I didn't have experience with problematic version. Also keep in mind that not only Samsung "overheats".
Further there is another thing. What do you intend to do? Do you want to experiment with different unofficial FWs or use and enjoy your equipment? I am already over this period and shortly I can tell that all these unofficial versions always can do one or two things better while other three or four are worse or missing. And updates are never ending. My life was to wait for when the next fix comes and then what was good earlier is wrong in recent update sometimes. No, I have had enough. I have learnt that the best and most stable version is always the factory. This is my opinion of course. It does not mean that I don't try other launchers or such but no more other FW.
So if sound quality is important to you and you listen a lot of music with acoustic instruments I wouldn't dare to recommend i9505 at all. I am sure that you and everybody will be disappointed. Although this problem is so unpleasant that may be I have to check an other piece whether it is just an individual problem or general. There is 1% chance for individual.
Music is important to me and I still chose the I9505. I have IEM's so it brings the best from the audio chip. The sound is brilliant. With power amp I brought out as much as I could. Brilliant bass and mids. I can't see how the 500 would be better as the sound is so rich and perfect
Sent from my GT-I9505 using xda app-developers app
imlgl said:
Music is important to me and I still chose the I9505. I have IEM's so it brings the best from the audio chip. The sound is brilliant. With power amp I brought out as much as I could. Brilliant bass and mids. I can't see how the 500 would be better as the sound is so rich and perfect
Sent from my GT-I9505 using xda app-developers app
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Power amp always modifies the content even in flat mode too so it is tipicaly not good for test anything. Of course if you are satisfied with your 505 is cool. Enjoy it! The difference is not or not so recognizable on pure electronic music or if you modify the sound balance anyway. Aslo I have to tell that I haven''t compared the phones with factory headphone. I didn't expect that any difference can be recognizable with that. It is too low quality for this purpose.
It seem that Samsung brought a lot of frustration among their top clients, those of us who are buying their newest flagship every year or two.
They should have made a single version of S4, but with all the differences between i9505 and i9500, now only if you own them both you can declare to be somehow pleased.
Regarding the audio, I'm on i9505 and the music is not bad at all. If the others on i9500 have a different experience, perhaps better than mine, while they have their headphones while traveling with the subway, that does not bother me in any way, since I enjoy my music on my device just as well.
Then again, it is a phone. For performance, in any area, one should buy a dedicated device. It is just the way it is and will be.
Just to outline once again, I simply love my i9505 and I enjoy the music I stored on the 64 GB Samsung uhs-I card.
Sent from my GT-I9505 using xda premium
There are some blogs and reviews that I've read, including that from GSMArena that says both the S5 and M8 are almost superb in sound quality, the M8 stands out because of the dedicated Speakers and Audio Hardware and better volume levels. For me, I don't care much for the Speaker, but it's the phones music quality thru the headset that counts for me. I was happy with the S3 back then, but was disappointed when I tried The S4 (i9500) which has the same Wolfson Audio Chip that the S3 has. Till AndreiLux used the Wolfson Audio Control in his Perseus Kernel, which vastly improved the audio quality of the S4. I was happy with that.
Now, there is a Sound Boost Mod available here. If I were to use that, would you think that it can be on the same level of the M8, or even surpass it?
Hoping for anyone's response to this.
Many thanks.
Call sound quality is good for me tbh. It's very clear so far even when i'm at a loud setting such as bar/clubs. Actually, just yesterday at a post run party in an event I attended, I was able to hear the people I was talking to, despite being in a semi-concert environment and the phone being inside a zip lock plastic bag. Speaker and default ring volume are crap though.
Sound quality is and never will be as loud and clear as the M8. However the S5 does have a better speaker than a lot of other high end smartphones.
But one thing that I got annoyed with is the back vibrating when using the speaker!! due to the rubber on the back to keep it waterproof.
Root the S5 & install Viper4Android and you will be satisfied, I'm currently using the HTC Beats Audio IRS on my S5 and it sounds great.
Thanks to the developer of Viper4Android!!
Man, I'm really enjoying my S8+, but the auxiliary output sounds terrible. Really muddled and overpowering bass. The adapt sound helps the ear buds for sure, but when I connect in my car, the adapt sounds worse than if it were off. Anyone have advice/similar experience? Id hate to buy a whole new head unit for a freaking headphone jack lol it sounds much worse than the LG G5, and even the G4 imo.
Yes indeed, the aux quality is a insolence. I'm wondering how all the young people with their stylisch and overpriced Beats Headphone accept this rubbish quality. The S8 is my frist Samsung.
However without AudioMod you cant enjoy music with the S8.
I use AryraMod - Viper4Android:
https://forum.xda-developers.com/s7-edge/themes/mod-aryamod-aio-soundmod-v3-t3552824
hannsheinz said:
Yes indeed, the aux quality is a insolence. I'm wondering how all the young people with their stylisch and overpriced Beats Headphone accept this rubbish quality. The S8 is my frist Samsung.
However without AudioMod you cant enjoy music with the S8.
I use AryraMod - Viper4Android:
https://forum.xda-developers.com/s7-edge/themes/mod-aryamod-aio-soundmod-v3-t3552824
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Ah, guessing you need root? Haven't even checked if that's possible for Verizon phones. Man, now I'm not sure if I actually want to return my V30. I'm not sure which is worse- a poor screen in low light, or bad audio.
Yes you need root.
Actualy I had decide that the S8 is my first phone that I dont root - because of Samsungs warrenty regulation. I even buy a mobile headphone amplifier but this only make the sobering sound louder.
Viper4Android or similar is the only way to improve the quality, sginificant.
S8 has actually a good output. Check GSM Arena tests. I have a pair of Sennheiser IE80 and they sound as good on my S8 than on my OP5, and better than my Pixel.
Also, no such thing as over powering bass. The frequency response is one of the flattest seen on a phone.
Sorry but I must dissent.
I demonstrate a few friends the difference between pure Samsung and Viper Sound via bluetooth and with the Sennheiser Momentum 2.0 and one from Teufel.
Everone shows the same reaction "wow - what a difference. Like day and night"
When I look in sveral forums is the unanimous opinion is that the Samsung Aux qualtiy is awful and this since many years.
hannsheinz said:
Sorry but I must dissent.
I demonstrate a few friends the difference between pure Samsung and Viper Sound via bluetooth and with the Sennheiser Momentum 2.0 and one from Teufel.
Everone shows the same reaction "wow - what a difference. Like day and night"
When I look in sveral forums is the unanimous opinion is that the Samsung Aux qualtiy is awful and this since many years.
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Sadly there is a difference between one's feeling of how it sounds like and the actually way it actually sounds, proven scientifically, with defined tests in a proper testing environment.
I tested a lot of phones with my pair of IE80, and the S8 sounds on part with all the comparative smartphones. And actually tests are showing it being actually a tad better than the pack. V30 being undoubtedly the best.
Paradoxxx said:
S8 has actually a good output. Check GSM Arena tests. I have a pair of Sennheiser IE80 and they sound as good on my S8 than on my OP5, and better than my Pixel.
Also, no such thing as over powering bass. The frequency response is one of the flattest seen on a phone.
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All I know is that it sounds worse than the LG G5 through Beats headphones, and when plugged into the aux jack of my car, it sounds horrible- my girlfriend noticed right away. Worse than her iPhone 6S. It's cool that Samsung lets you tweak audio settings, but they seem to sound completely different depending on what you're listening to them through (If I adjust to make it sound tolerable over headphones, it sounds like muddled garbage plugged into a car stereo, and vice versa). It seems you can either get it really tinny so you can hear every aspect of the song, or so much bass that it drowns out the clarity and treble - it's really difficult to find a balance :\
I think it's about time I finally replace my 8 year old car stereo that I've been ripping out and putting into my new cars for something that has bluetooth..
ryanpm40 said:
All I know is that it sounds worse than the LG G5 through Beats headphones, and when plugged into the aux jack of my car, it sounds horrible- my girlfriend noticed right away. Worse than her iPhone 6S. It's cool that Samsung lets you tweak audio settings, but they seem to sound completely different depending on what you're listening to them through (If I adjust to make it sound tolerable over headphones, it sounds like muddled garbage plugged into a car stereo, and vice versa). It seems you can either get it really tinny so you can hear every aspect of the song, or so much bass that it drowns out the clarity and treble - it's really difficult to find a balance :\
I think it's about time I finally replace my 8 year old car stereo that I've been ripping out and putting into my new cars for something that has bluetooth..
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Let's compare scientifically gathered numbers here :
Apple iPhone 6s (headphones attached) +0.10, -0.06 -93.8 93.9 0.0030 0.101 -68.2
LG G5 (headphones) +0.05, -0.01 -92.2 92.3 0.0029 0.037 -50.7
Samsung Galaxy S8+ (headphones attached) +0.03, -0.03 -92.5 92.5 0.0024 0.046 -77.3
And to quote GSM Arena :
"Stellar audio output
The Samsung Galaxy S8 matched its Plus sibling for clarity, delivering perfectly accurate output both with an active external amplifier and headphones. Even the increase in stereo crosstalk with headphones was barely noticeable and exceeding our expectations.
Somewhat surprisingly the smaller member of the flagship duo outdid its sibling in terms of loudness. The Plus was not quite itself, but the Galaxy S8 is among the loudest handsets out there, rounding up a great performance."
Let's see the frequency response now :
iPhone 6S :
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LG G5 :
Galaxy S8 :
As we can see here, LG G5 is the worse of the pack, with a cut-off way before S8 and iPhone even if it has the flattest frequency response. However such a different is not audible by human ears.
The iPhone has quite a wobbly frequency response, but manages to have a high frequency cut-off.
The Galaxy S8 is beating both of them, with almost perfectly flat frequency response and higher frequency cut-off, but it has a slight wobble across the whole frequency which makes it less studio-like than the G5.
Noise level wise, the iPhone is the clear winner, with a dB more than the others.
Dynamic Range, the iPhone is again the winner, with more than a point better than the two others, with the G5 being the worse.
Now comes the interesting part, harmonic distortion. For these who don't know what THD is :
"Total harmonic distortion (THD) and the inter-modulation distortion (IMD) measure the unwanted altering of the original audio signal. When an audio signal passes through a non-ideal, non-linear device (such as your smartphone), additional content is added to the original frequencies in the form of interference, which results in distortion. Distortion is the name given to anything that alters a pure input signal in any way. So, as you might have guessed, the lower the number in either of these fields, the better the audio output of your device."
The galaxy S8 has a THD of 0.0024, being the best among all the devices previously mentioned.
The stereo cross-talk on the iPhone is absolutely horrible, while the G5 and the S8 maintain a score close to 93.
I could compare other phones, but I'll just add one more, the One Plus 5 :
OnePlus 5 (headphones attached) +0.15, -0.08 -94.0 94.0 0.0033 0.139 -59.9
We can see that this phone has actually a worse frequency response than the phones we were taking about today, with, however a better noise level, and dynamic range than the others but worse THD and stereo crosstalk. Therefore it might not be the best when it comes to reproduce your song to the way it was actually recorded (even though if +0.15 and -0.08 across the whole range is probably not that noticeable) but it goes louder, and the sound differential is actually bigger, which could give a better feeling of quality than the two others.
So to make a long story short, and hopefully close this topic once and for all, no, the S8 does not have a worse output than the previously mentioned phones. It does NOT have muddy output, or over-powered bass. It has an excellent stereo cross-talk and the lowest Harmonic Distortion across the board. It's probably the best phone to reproduce your songs the way they are meant to be.
So why someone's opinion is different than the actual scientific results ?
Some may say placebo, but I tend more to think that it's related on how we actually listen to music, our equipment, and possible ear damage.
I have a pair of IE-80 which are quite high-end Sennheiser IEMs. They sound fantastic with my S8, however I cannot stand any stock sound anymore. Not because the stock output is bad, and as we've seen previously it is far from being so, it's just that I listen to a lot of EDM songs, and I like my bass a little punchier than what the stock output provides, or that any other phone provides for that matter. So I'm using ARISE on all my devices. Regarding the max noise level, I have a custom mixer_gain.xml that I'm using on my S8 which allows for much louder output, with the only downside is to add a bit more noise on quiet songs. But that's the way I enjoy my music.
If you really want to know more I invite anyone that is interested to check GSM Arena analysis, and compare the numbers on phones you might be interested in purchasing.
Hope this ends the "this phone has a terrible aux audio" story.
Peace !
I mean, scientific numbers are cool and all and I don't doubt them, but as a listener, it sounds muddled. I like to hear all the small, intricate details of each instrument in a song. That isn't easily accomplishable with this phone with the stock settings, and it takes a bit of playing around with those settings to get it to sound right. Searching around more, it sounds that others have found the same results. Maybe it's because I'm not listening to punch edm. I like ambient rock music with lots of guitars bass and percussion going, and sometimes the drums even sound like they're being smacked right against the microphone, leaving a kind of staticky sound as if the recording needed better pop filtering.
hannsheinz said:
Sorry but I must dissent.
I demonstrate a few friends the difference between pure Samsung and Viper Sound via bluetooth and with the Sennheiser Momentum 2.0 and one from Teufel.
Everone shows the same reaction "wow - what a difference. Like day and night"
When I look in sveral forums is the unanimous opinion is that the Samsung Aux qualtiy is awful and this since many years.
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I agree, the sound on this thing is low quality! I have also tried different phones and this is worse or as bad as the LG G5.
ryanpm40 said:
I mean, scientific numbers are cool and all and I don't doubt them, but as a listener, it sounds muddled. I like to hear all the small, intricate details of each instrument in a song. That isn't easily accomplishable with this phone with the stock settings, and it takes a bit of playing around with those settings to get it to sound right. Searching around more, it sounds that others have found the same results. Maybe it's because I'm not listening to punch edm. I like ambient rock music with lots of guitars bass and percussion going, and sometimes the drums even sound like they're being smacked right against the microphone, leaving a kind of staticky sound as if the recording needed better pop filtering.
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I listen to Phil Collins and this kind of artists as well, and I can hear the separation between every instruments perfectly, and I'm rediscovering music through that phone/iem combination.
The thing is, everyone's hearing is different, however it has been proven that this phone does sound good, and there is no deniability on that, the numbers are there.
Someone saying that this phone sounds bad is invalid. I'm not sure how I can make my point more than saying that I'd rather believe scientific results than someone's hearing.
Paradoxxx said:
I listen to Phil Collins and this kind of artists as well, and I can hear the separation between every instruments perfectly, and I'm rediscovering music through that phone/iem combination.
The thing is, everyone's hearing is different, however it has been proven that this phone does sound good, and there is no deniability on that, the numbers are there.
Someone saying that this phone sounds bad is invalid. I'm not sure how I can make my point more than saying that I'd rather believe scientific results than someone's hearing.
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I mean, my hearing is just fine. I can hear every single beep in the personalized adapt sound feature, so idk. I'll admit, I got to messing with settings even more and I got it to the point where it is sounding very good in my car. Still not *as* good as other phones, but I'll take it.
I don't know the correct terms, I'm not an audiophile, but it still seems like a bit of a "flat" sound at this point. There's a part in one of my favorite songs that has 3+ voices talking over each other simultaneously, and on other devices, I can hear the individual voices very clearly. It's a bit more difficult to differentiate between them now, even with my Beats headphones. But, hey, it's a 3.5mm, I'll take it and finally take the plunge into bluetooth soon.
Do you at least agree that the thing sounds bad unless you actually do go play with those EQ and adapt settings? Because I cannot stand the stock sound for the life of me, and I've never had to make adjustments in other phones before. To me that's a fail- it should at least be passable out of the box. Also- I'm a bit curious what you meant when you say the G5 sounds more "studio-like". Maybe that's the subtle difference bothering me? Idk, those numbers are gibberish to me, lol. I'm a musician but I know nothing about audio tech.
ryanpm40 said:
Do you at least agree that the thing sounds bad unless you actually do go play with those EQ and adapt settings? Because I cannot stand the stock sound for the life of me, and I've never had to make adjustments in other phones before. To me that's a fail- it should at least be passable out of the box. Also- I'm a bit curious what you meant when you say the G5 sounds more "studio-like". Maybe that's the subtle difference bothering me? Idk, those numbers are gibberish to me, lol. I'm a musician but I know nothing about audio tech.
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I do not listen to the phone stock, and I actually believe I have never used any android phone that did not have DSP manager or Viper4Android installed.
However since my HTC Desire, that is definitely the best listening experience I ever had on a phone.
I need a more bassy experience, and the stock EQ thing just cannot do that.
Thus, the tests that GSM Arena, and the data pulled from these tests are all done using the stock settings. without anything enabled.
Regarding the G5, it has the flatest frequency response (means that a sound at 25hz wont be louder than one at 1khz) which is what studio headphones, and studio components usually targets. But tbh, the difference is so small that I am not sure a human ear can discern that...
I am no musician however my father has a studio and wrote/produced sounds on Studio hardware, so I had the occasion to test out studio headphones, mics, speakers etc, so hopefully I got a good clue on what a good sound should "sound" like.
But there is something that troubles me here, is that the scientifically obtained results are proving by analysis and datas that the S8 is definitely good. So where does the issues lays out ? I guess we will never know.
If useing the s8 with aux make sure it isnt charging. I figured this out after a while. If you plug into the headphone jack first you will get louder and much clearer sound. If you plug your charger in first it will sound like ****.