Hey Guys,
I know there are a lot of people that are likely to be disappointed by the move to the Qualcomm DAC. However, I'd like to be fair about it for a moment.
I owned a Vibrant for 2 years, and have recently purchased the S3. I used both phones in my car.
Both connected to a Kenwood Epsilon X915 before being piped to my amps in the back and played through Infinity Reference and Infinity Kappa speakers as well as an MDX TS-8500 series sub.
The Vibrant's strong points were mostly enhanced by Voodoo Sound, so to play fair, this review is without voodoo sound as it isn't yet available for the S3 (Supercurio has yet to say if he was going to make Voodoo Sound available for this phone).
Vibrant Pros:
Amazing clarity
Sound card remained on at all times. (Reduced interference from ignition system)
Was louder than any other phone on the market for its level of quality.
Was able to disappoint any iPhone owner, or pretty much anybody else when they plugged their phone in to play a song to compare.
Vibrant Cons:
Ignition system interference while playing music from this phone was similar to the rest of the phones out there, it was enough to drive me insane during any quiet part of the song (This might be because I don't have resistor spark plugs, but never the less, a con to any normal user)
The low end did distort a little, it wasn't much but you could hear it.
The treble was very sharp, possibly too sharp.
Would cause my tweeters to crack and buzz around 3,000hz whenever any strong treble was played (could be more fault of my crossovers which the vibrant was highlighting)
Always left me with the craving to turn the volume higher.
S3 Pros:
Ignition system interference completely irradiated, I can't hear it at all.
The lows did not distort, at all, in fact they felt clearer and stronger, as if completing a better sine wave.
The treble wasn't quite as sharp, it has a warmer feel, but isn't weak by any means, nor so soft as to feel weak.
Zero distortion in lows, mids or highs that I can hear
Overall sound is warmer in general
The clarity of sound is still amazing, most definitely on par with that of the vibrant.
S3 Cons: The Samsung Nanny State
Soundcard turns off in about 1 second after a song plays, causing the ignition system noise to come screaming across the channels, crossfade is your only solution.
When unplugging the headset "Jack Safety" automatically drops the volume and you have to turn it back up to optimum line out volume. (might be an option for that, haven't explored deep enough)
All notifications interfere while playing music. (also probably an option to shut that up or turn phone on silent mode)
Remember! This review only covers the DAC in car audio lineout situations.
Overall I'd have to say I prefer the DAC in the S3 over the Vibrant for car audio.
What are your reviews of this DAC for your car?
Great news. I am glad that even though is another DAC than the expected, the audio quality still good.
Sent from my HTC Sensation 4G using xda app-developers app
edit, I read it wrong.
Only issues I have with Qualcomm dac is the signal to noise ratio. It has massive noise, so it's hard to ignore when listening to music that's soft or quiet.
BTW, I don't know if anyone tried the Samsung Bluetooth HS3000 (believed it uses apt-x codec) and the sound is as clear as it gets from my Yamaha EPH-20. I can't tell a difference between my GS3 and my Captivate with voodoo sound.
It seems the Qualcomm DAC may have some real potential.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using xda app-developers app
you do realize bluetooth sound wont be affected by the issues he is stating. the only time you would have his issues is with an aux input or through usb
The DAC is bypassed w/USB as well - USB is a straight digital path. The DAC is only driving playback through the headphone jack (or the speaker...for what it's worth.)
I've had several devices with Wolfson CODECs. I'm fine with the Qualcomm CODEC, and the S/N ratio bothers me not at all, though I'm mostly listening through headphones in inherently noise situations. I'm actually quite pleased with the sound output of the S3, mostly because it's strong enough to adequately drive my headphones.
Your noise might have to do with bad or different grounding between the battery, head unit, cigarette lighter power (if used). If I run the phone and don't charge it at the same time it usually is quieter. Some vehicle electrical systems are notoriously noisy. Performance ignition parts can be guilty too. If you want to chase down and try to quiet down noise, use a handheld am radio tuned in between stations. That picks up all kinds of interference and can help with diagnosing issues. A cheapo am radio at radio shack (preferably not digital tuner) works great! Walfart has them too. The antenna doesn't need to be extended at all to work for this scenario.
The noise is quite curious, if I use the FM radio or CD player of the head unit, there is no noise coming across the channel. I have been using a ground noise isolator with the aux in on this deck for many years, it helps a lot. I have made sure that the deck and the RCA ground are shared. Charging the phone usually decreases the noise as well, but that's more of the fact an idling switching power supply can be quite noisy.
However I do have some bad news, I was able to hear a little noise coming from the ignition system yesterday, it was probably from when the noise canceling from my amp didn't quite catch the extra noise and let it through. But it was only noticeable when looking for it. However, my Accord '99 has the worst ignition noise out of any car I have owned. So for most newer cars, I'm sure it will be unnoticeable.
I think this post has the word, 'noise' entirely too much
p3rljam said:
The noise is quite curious, if I use the FM radio or CD player of the head unit, there is no noise coming across the channel. I have been using a ground noise isolator with the aux in on this deck for many years, it helps a lot. I have made sure that the deck and the RCA ground are shared. Charging the phone usually decreases the noise as well, but that's more of the fact an idling switching power supply can be quite noisy.
However I do have some bad news, I was able to hear a little noise coming from the ignition system yesterday, it was probably from when the noise canceling from my amp didn't quite catch the extra noise and let it through. But it was only noticeable when looking for it. However, my Accord '99 has the worst ignition noise out of any car I have owned. So for most newer cars, I'm sure it will be unnoticeable.
I think this post has the word, 'noise' entirely too much
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My 2010 insight ex makes an awful racket when audio isn't playing, screeching and squelching up a storm. I'm still running the stock "premium sound system" because it is used for the key chip security reprogramming. But the s3 sounds great to me and I loved flac support right out of the box. Coming from my N1 this is amazing.
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda app-developers app
You might want to investigate if you have 'resistor' spark plugs available for your car. it's a 30 to 40 dollar upgrade and you have to replace the plugs eventually. From what I have been told, they make a huge difference. I'll be making the upgrade when I get a tuneup for my car soon. i'll report back with what changes are actually made.
However, I do hear a lot of new cars come with this style of spark plug already.
Related
http://pic.gsmarena.com/vv/reviewsimg/htc-hero/gsmarena_a001.png - this frequency responce graph doesn't look promising. I know that there are ways to correct it a bit on the Dream (where it is a little bit better to start off), but how about the Hero? I'm really considering of buying this phone, and the sound quality stuff could be a real deal breaker for me.
So I would appreciate any feedback on this, thanks.
honestly, ive never really noticed anything bad about the but ill check against a mates iphone 3g and report on the results, but i may not see him till next week
If you are not an audiophile like me, you could miss the points. What I am interested in, is the highs - close to 20KHz.
I would like to believe that the frequency responce graph I mentioned earlier does not represent how Heroes sound like. It's so choppy and lacks highs - they cut of at like 15KHz or so. Also, why is that graph so choppy? iPhones are just invincible in this aspect..
So I was just wondering if someone had managed to fix this with software modifications, especially after seeing threads like this.
Connected my hero to a decent separates system and it sounded great. It blew my friend's N95 away comparing the same tracks!
1. Check out the vertical axis on that graph. Considering that 3dB is about the smallest increment/decrement in intensity that the human ear can readily distinguish, that frequency response is actually impressively flat for a consumer device.
2. Check out the frequency response of your earphones. Or, if you hook it up to your expensive hi-fi sound system, your speakers. Your frequency response is NOT going to be limited by this device but by the speakers/headphones. To see what I mean, compare that graph, which for the most part stays within +/- 0.5 dB, with this one of a pair of good quality earphones, or this one of some excellent speakers. Note the peaks and troughs in excess of +/- 7dB in the earphones, and +/- 3dB or so in the speakers.
3. From the look of the graphs, I doubt they've used the same method to test both. I don't think you'd find them that different. Maybe one is a manufacturer's stated frequency response and the other isn't, or they were tested with different types of equipment.
Although not an audiophile myself I am pretty keen on getting the best sound quality I possibly can. Before I purchased the Hero I plugged in my own cans to check frequency response. I was actually pleasantly suprised how much depth was in the music.
Not immediately noticable however was a strange noise audible at the start and end of tracks, and in quiet sections - kind of like a hiss. Although this would probably only be audible in a decent set of cans (with a wide frequency response), as an audiophile where only the best sound will do this would surely annoy the hell out of you.
The other point to note is the lack of EQ on the Hero's music player, but as an audiophile I'm sure you would frown upon using EQ anyway.
g00nerz said:
Not immediately noticable however was a strange noise audible at the start and end of tracks, and in quiet sections - kind of like a hiss. Although this would probably only be audible in a decent set of cans (with a wide frequency response), as an audiophile where only the best sound will do this would surely annoy the hell out of you.
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I noticed that on my previous S60 Nokia but don't notice it on my new Hero. It's possible that differences in impedance or sensitivity between headphones might make this affect more noticeable on some headphones than others.
The other point to note is the lack of EQ on the Hero's music player, but as an audiophile I'm sure you would frown upon using EQ anyway.
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Absolutely right!
I wouldn't call myself an audiophile (who would?) but I do have a keen interest in the technical aspects of audio and equipment.
this is the only phone where i can say the audio is really bad. i have yet to try more than one set of wired headphones but the bt headphones i have make it sound much worse. i have had a few htc phones and this is the worst by far. mono actually sounds better than stereo. Maybe im just used to my e71's sound quality.
Oh Lol.
Audiophiles listening to music on their phones. There's absolutely no way anyone who genuinely has a critical ear would expect anything like high end (as in quality) reproduction of audio on a phone.
Either way, the Hero's got a crappy signal to noise ratio so best you move on before you get offended.
I wonder how accurate the test was for the 3GS because I have never seen a frequency response graph that flat (even my HiFi tube amp has more variations).
And if you examine the hero graph more closely, you can notice that it's really very good. It has minimal gain loss in low freq. and it spans almost linearly up to 16kHz. And that's like very good. I noticed myself that the sound quality was far better then on the iPhone. But that is just my subjective opinion. But you can take in consideration that I used some HiQuality AKG headphones to test them both.
LP
B
flexte said:
this is the only phone where i can say the audio is really bad. i have yet to try more than one set of wired headphones but the bt headphones i have make it sound much worse. i have had a few htc phones and this is the worst by far. mono actually sounds better than stereo. Maybe im just used to my e71's sound quality.
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Any audio quality problems with bluetooth headphones/headsets have nothing to do with the hero, because the Hero is not actually producing the sound you hear, it's just following the Bluetooth spec, so it's not relevant to the graphs posted at the top of this thread.
Just so we're clear. You may already have known this.
oblika said:
And if you examine the hero graph more closely, you can notice that it's really very good.
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Just as I said above. I think the 3GS graph there is bogus; there's no way that was measured using the same equipment. Most likely it is the 'theoretical' frequency response and the Hero's is 'measured'. And when you look at the Hero graph and pay attention to the Y axis, it is actually a very good, flat frequency response.
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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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
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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
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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.
Hey guys and ladies, I have been on a HTC One X since it was release and got this S4 last week. I have only one regret so far about this phone that is not really discused much. I ride my sportbike all the time and I notice the headphone sound on this Device is crazy cheap and low budget or something. I've tried about 4 different ROMs using Noozxoides sound mod, Faux Sound Mod etc. This is the only thing I regret about the phone everything is awesome but this. If anyone knows of a way to improve this and make this phone better let me know. But as it stands the HTC is by far better in the headphone sound area.. I can barely hear the music now (About 1/2 as loud as a stock HTC One X) -shurgs- /Rant :highfive:
thcue said:
Hey guys and ladies, I have been on a HTC One X since it was release and got this S4 last week. I have only one regret so far about this phone that is not really discused much. I ride my sportbike all the time and I notice the headphone sound on this Device is crazy cheap and low budget or something. I've tried about 4 different ROMs using Noozxoides sound mod, Faux Sound Mod etc. This is the only thing I regret about the phone everything is awesome but this. If anyone knows of a way to improve this and make this phone better let me know. But as it stands the HTC is by far better in the headphone sound area.. I can barely hear the music now (About 1/2 as loud as a stock HTC One X) -shurgs- /Rant :highfive:
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I can't compare to an HTC One X, but compared to my iPhone I don't notice much of a difference. Almost 50% volume on my S4 is enough to be almost too much with the earbuds.
As far as quality of sound I'd say it's almost comparable to my iPhone, using Spotify 320kbps ogg as my source for both.
blyndfyre said:
I can't compare to an HTC One X, but compared to my iPhone I don't notice much of a difference. Almost 50% volume on my S4 is enough to be almost too much with the earbuds.
As far as quality of sound I'd say it's almost comparable to my iPhone, using Spotify 320kbps ogg as my source for both.
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Well the Quality is there. It's the Volume that's kickin my ass. Hitting 70mph+ etc and the wind hitting me hard I can't hear crap. I think I need a Volume boost etc. I tried Volume + but no go. Going to try a few more tweaks I'm sure some will pop up soon.
there is a volume level hack where you replace some files; i did it and it works great; MUCH louder (loud enough to decently drive the 50mm drivers in my HDJ-2000's); try that. SIII and SIV have the lowest volume for headphones ive ever experienced; in all three of our vehicles getting aux volume loud enough for the head unit was difficult; it could hardly be heard even at full volume.
my Z has a 800w system in it; via AUX in it was incredibly low volume, low quality (buzzing/hissing from amp gain), and just plain bad. in the other two cars, we had reverted to burning CD's to listen to music; thats how low the volume was. i could use bluetooth in the Z, which was very loud and no distortion/issues, but until i stumbled across the volume hack/mod, i had just about given up on aux-in for her car and our truck.
appropriate thread below. Now with AUX the volume is MUCH louder (still a few db under my old Atrix 4G) but useable, and loud enough that at 3/4 to full, it hurts my ears with the HDJ-2000's. also, maybe consider a helmet that will allow for on-ear headphones (or better yet, over ear cans); the sound isolation alone will help boost perceived volume 15-20% easily.
i dont ride often, but last time i did, i used some cheap panasonic HTX-7 over the ear units over the ear units that i had sealed from wind noise (glued everything tight with some rubber cement and memory foam padding material), the GS4, and this hack, and i could hear it just fine over the wind and the gixxer. biggest problem was wind trying to rip the cans off my head (no helmet, driving it from storage unit to my garage). i have a buddy that has a helmet he modded to fit some nice sennheiser HD-25-II's in, but he rides an extremely quiet bike and also uses a portable headphone amp, which is also a possible solution for $40-$50. our gixxer is rather loud (previous owner did extensive exhaust work and its just annoying), and if i wasnt selling it, i would get something to shut it the hell up.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=41807048
Just got the Hi Fi DAC and at ridiculously low price of £50/$66 to boot!
Sounds awesome and the module itself is using the flagship ES9028 SABRE DAC and 9602 Headphone Amp: http://www.esstech.com/index.php/en/news/newsroom/ess-technology-comes-out-play-lg-g5
even the upcoming V20 is supposed to have the next level DAC down (ES9018)? correct me if i am wrong!
The sound is MUCH louder than the built in sound via headphone and the sound stage is brighter and more balanced, even on standard resolution tracks with spotify (i have a free year sub on Microsoft Groove and it sounds great on there too).
love the fact that it can operate as an external DAC and quite literally has saved me so much money. I was going to purchase a 32bit/192 Hi Fi grade DAC from Cambridge Audio to Drive my Cambridge Audio Amp and speaker setup at home. HiFi Stero grade DACS tend to use a Sabre or Wolfson DAC. I've saved myself over £500!!
This sounds amazing when hooked onto a laptop.
Was at a party and people were connecting their phones (mostly iPhones) to an external speaker via the headphone jack. this module was MUCH louder than all the rest and drove the speakers better with clearer sound quality.
Only negatives i have found so far are that the module can sometimes be shaky which causes it turn off and resync on the odd occasion. It runs quite warm when used and it does drain battery noticeably more than if i just used the on board sound. I always carry a fully charged spare battery anyway so not that fussed.
Thought id just share my thoughts so far and open a thread where other users can comment on their experiences.
mikey_sk said:
Just got the Hi Fi DAC and at ridiculously low price of £50/$66 to boot!
Sounds awesome and the module itself is using the flagship ES9028 SABRE DAC and 9602 Headphone Amp: http://www.esstech.com/index.php/en/news/newsroom/ess-technology-comes-out-play-lg-g5
even the upcoming V20 is supposed to have the next level DAC down (ES9018)? correct me if i am wrong!
The sound is MUCH louder than the built in sound via headphone and the sound stage is brighter and more balanced, even on standard resolution tracks with spotify (i have a free year sub on Microsoft Groove and it sounds great on there too).
love the fact that it can operate as an external DAC and quite literally has saved me so much money. I was going to purchase a 32bit/192 Hi Fi grade DAC from Cambridge Audio to Drive my Cambridge Audio Amp and speaker setup at home. HiFi Stero grade DACS tend to use a Sabre or Wolfson DAC. I've saved myself over £500!!
This sounds amazing when hooked onto a laptop.
Was at a party and people were connecting their phones (mostly iPhones) to an external speaker via the headphone jack. this module was MUCH louder than all the rest and drove the speakers better with clearer sound quality.
Only negatives i have found so far are that the module can sometimes be shaky which causes it turn off and resync on the odd occasion. It runs quite warm when used and it does drain battery noticeably more than if i just used the on board sound. I always carry a fully charged spare battery anyway so not that fussed.
Thought id just share my thoughts so far and open a thread where other users can comment on their experiences.
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Sounds awesome. Where did you buy this ?
Jonathan-H said:
Sounds awesome. Where did you buy this ?
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https://www.onedigitals.co.uk/lg-afd-1200-hi-fi-plus-with-b-o-play-black.html
including shipping £50
only works with European H850 only not the usa LG G5 or Asian variants
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
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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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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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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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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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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