Database Users

Sound quality in speakerphone and headphone jack subpar.

Hi guys,
I recently purchased two G2's over the weekend for my wife and I and overall I am pretty impressed with it. We both unfortunately got loose hinges with ours that we may worry about getting fixed later but our big concerns are sound.
I used my speakerphone a lot and while I read the sound was tinny I was rather shocked once I used it. Not only is it tinny but the sound cuts in and out with the volume pegged. My CDMA Hero sounded much better and achieved a higher output.
Also the headphone jack seems overly bass filled and muffled. I used my pandora a lot played through my car stereo and this newer uber phone sounds worse than my hero. Have any of you experienced similar things? Are these problems a firmware update can fix or is it hardware related?
We love the G2 but the audio quality might be a deal breaker. Have 12 days to decide.
Sent from my T-Mobile G2 using XDA App

EDIT: I guess I jumped the gun, should've guessed that there was more coming... my bad.
Revised! Reviews showed the same experience with the speakerphone; unfortunately it's something we'll all have to deal with. There might be apps made to adjust sound ouput, but I believe it's mainly the hardware.
As for the headphone jack, I can't speak from any personal experience, but my audiophile of a friend simply uses a more powerful music app to adjust the sound to very fine details. I can't recall the app, but give that a shot.
Sent from my T-Mobile G2 using XDA App

Finger hit submit button before I was even started lol.
Sent from my T-Mobile G2 using XDA App

I agree with you on the speakerphone, but I was expecting this from experience with my N1.
As for the audio quality, I've found it to be much much better than my N1 as it was rather lacking in the bass department on the freq response graph and in the upper ends, though my headphones naturally make it flat. The G2 sounds much closer to a flat EQ, but it could be me and my headphones again.
Also, I believe the music app in question is MixZing as it is the only one out there with an EQ built in.

the speakerphone does leave something to be desired but it seems like after a week or so, it breaks into a more acceptable quality (not great but not terrible or a dealbreaker). As for the headphone jack, I've only used it with my grado sr80i so it sounds amazing as always =)

I read a few complaints about the speakers before I even recieved the phone. When I tried it out once I got it, I can't really hear a difference between the G2's speakerphone and the Slides. They both sound similar to me. I don't really have any complaints. Maybe I'm just getting old...

I had a BB9700 and all I have to say is that HTC speakerphones are HORRIBLE!
I love my new G2 but the speakers are probably one of the biggest turnoffs

I think I'm going to go back to my Samsung vibrant.
that phone was great.
I will miss the keyboard though

I'm not really one to use the speaker, but I did have some times having it on while listening to Pandora. I can't compare the quality to anything else, but I'm having no issues with it.
I just need another pair of Bose in-ear headphones and I'll be set! Last one, the wires toward the jack got loose and the sound is abysmal. Two years of service though.
Sent from my T-Mobile G2 using XDA App

I love this phone but omg, the speaker does S U C K ! My tp2 had a rockin speaker. I was playing with it earlier and man the sound it put out while playing music. Wish phone makers would stay with what's good. Put that speaker hardware in here? That'll be somethin.
Sent from my T-Mobile G2 using XDA App

scrizz said:
I think I'm going to go back to my Samsung vibrant.
that phone was great.
I will miss the keyboard though
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Click to collapse
The speaker on the G2 is awful, might be a dealbreaker. I'm tempted to switch to the Vibrant as well. My husband has the Vibrant and his video and speaker playback is outstanding, makes my G2 speakers sound like a screech box

I gotta say I was disappointed with my speakers on the G1... I'm a little disappionted with the speakers on this phone too.

I'll have to say that I like the G2 sound quality allot better than the G1 for sure. I am hearing impaired (but not completely deaf). The default ringer is waay louder and I am impressed that I can hear my phone further than I could with the G1! Before, people would tell me my phone is ringing when when i don't feel the vibrations for some reason.
As for the phone jack. It did make me smile when using it with my FM modulator in my car. My car stock system isn't that great to begin with but at near max volume, my speakers sounded distorted with the G1 (thought it was the FM transition). But with the G2, I noticed that it seems to 'bump' allot better at near high volume.. it seems to rock for me
Now I am not saying that the G2 is all that as for sounds, just that it is noticeably better than the G1 as according to my ears. I have not tried it as a speaker phone but most phones seem to suck at that to me anyhow.

video on how terrible the speaker is

just found a video on youtube that shows how bad the speaker is on the hd compared to a old n95

Yeah the speaker sucks, my old phone was the N95 and the speakers on that are a lot better than the DHD I have now.

who knows;9118124 just found a video on youtube that shows how bad the speaker is on the hd compared to a old n95
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I agree that the speaker on DHD is be low and "terrible" to people but I don't think it is fair to compare it to the nokia n95 which I think probably have one of the best speakerS (since it has 2 huge external speakers). Nokia is known for being a great music phone too.

aah, the N95, amazing sound. Used to have it for a long time, then got my first HTC (touch HD) and was extremely disappointed with the sound quality, and now that I got the desire hd, my ears got used to the crappy low-tech sound quality! well you cant have them all in one phone

wonder
I just wonder if there is HW problem with speaker or its simply limited by software ? because I really couldnt belive that it would be that big problem to add louder speaker..

To start with, I made that comparison video. So if you have any questions, feel free to ask!
I am utterly disappointed by the speaker quality of the Desire HD.
I fear that this is hardware related, as the speakers sound very high-pitched, without any low tones at all. Also, when at maximum volume playing high toned music, the sound starts to distort and crackle. As you can hear, you can hear the low tones pretty loud and clear on the N95, but on the Desire HD, you can't hear it at all. The volume is noticeably about 2.5x louder on the N95.
If you compare the Desire HD with the Galaxy S, you will quickly notice that the Galaxy S has even better speakers than the N95, with plenty of low tones, at a high volume. The volume of the Galaxy S is many times higher and clearer than the Desire HD.
All of this leads me to conclude that for a flagship phone as the Desire HD is, it really has crappy speakers, and I truly don't understand how they could make a ****up like this. How much would good speakers cost anyway? Cents?
I expect a flagship multimedia phone like the Desire HD is to have proper speakers, comparable or better than we had in the N95 time (the flagship multimedia phone 3+ years ago). Samsung seems not to have any trouble to achieve this, but for some reason HTC didn't -utterly unexpected-.
Now let me be clear: even with the bad speakers, the Desire HD is a much better choice than the Galaxy S for several reasons, but really, HOW THE HELL have they achieved to fail so miserably on this point?? I'll make another video soon to compare speakers of the Desire HD against the Galaxy S. Also check out the other video's in my channel, rate and comment!

I think in general HTC's phones have sucky speakers, even that new HTC 7 phone with that big speaker isn't that impressive.

tried poweramp and turned they volumes up on that and it just crackled looks like its gunna be a replacement speaker hopefully the samsung galaxy s is similar in design, if so ill try and make it fit lol

What a shame on DHD about that poor loudspeakers. I do not care about music because I am sure that most of people are using headphones like Sennheisser or something like that but about ring loudness and vibration feeling, it really sucks.
You pay so much to this phone and knowing that you will be left with those speakers are really annoying.

M
eozen81 said:
What a shame on DHD about that poor loudspeakers. I do not care about music because I am sure that most of people are using headphones like Sennheisser or something like that but about ring loudness and vibration feeling, it really sucks.
You pay so much to this phone and knowing that you will be left with those speakers are really annoying.
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The most Annoying thing is that I can't even hear it in my pocket as a matter of fact the speaker is so bad I even managed to miss 3 calls when the phone was layed speaker side down on the floor even though I was in the same room, really annoying

who knows said:
I even managed to miss 3 calls when the phone was layed speaker side down on the floor even though I was in the same room, really annoying
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Sorry but this seems a bit exagerated! You're saying that having the dhd on the floor and being you in the same room, you couldn't hear a phone call? Come on..you were looking to TV with highest volume, or listening to music with earphones, or something similar...otherwise, sorry, I can't believe you!
Anyway, apart from this, I admit the speaker is really CRAP. I hate this. Hopefully vibration is good enough to feel the phone vibrating in your pocket, because the speaker could make you miss calls when in a sound-crouded area.
p.s. did we all have N95s before the dhd?? I had the 8Gb and...its screen has gone! It had the greatest speakers I have ever heard anyway, so the comparison is not that fair. Most phones don't have good speakers, but the one on the dhd is really RIDICOLOUS!

ErMeglio said:
Sorry but this seems a bit exagerated! You're saying that having the dhd on the floor and being you in the same room, you couldn't hear a phone call? Come on..you were looking to TV with highest volume, or listening to music with earphones, or something similar...otherwise, sorry, I can't believe you!
Anyway, apart from this, I admit the speaker is really CRAP. I hate this. Hopefully vibration is good enough to feel the phone vibrating in your pocket, because the speaker could make you miss calls when in a sound-crouded area.
p.s. did we all have N95s before the dhd?? I had the 8Gb and...it's screen has gone! It had the greatest speakers I have ever heard anyway, so the comparison is not that fair. Most phones don't have good speakers, but the one on the dhd is really RIDICOLOUS!
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i was watching tv, and the phone was around 5/6 meters away and i didnt have vibration on.. to be honest i couldnt believe it myself i even rang the phone to see if any music was playing lol

so how is in-call volume? is it just external sound or in-call volume sucks too?

That extremely inaccurate, the speaker, if configured properly is very very good. I an audiophile, I love sound quality, I've experienced many devices. The Desire Hd stands out by far for the smartphone category. N97? Come on. I be owned one of these they were decent..
Sent from my Desire HD using XDA App

007K said:
That extremely inaccurate, the speaker, if configured properly is very very good. I an audiophile, I love sound quality, I've experienced many devices. The Desire Hd stands out by far for the smartphone category. N97? Come on. I be owned one of these they were decent..
Sent from my Desire HD using XDA App
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So that would mean that all of us have faulty speakers.
Someone else also said his speakers were great, so I guess a few people got decent ones.

Can we use SE Live View with this ? Does it have better speakers than this ? A option for not missing the calls ??
P.S- I m yet to buy DHD

007K said:
That extremely inaccurate, the speaker, if configured properly is very very good. I an audiophile, I love sound quality, I've experienced many devices. The Desire Hd stands out by far for the smartphone category. N97? Come on. I be owned one of these they were decent..
Sent from my Desire HD using XDA App
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Are you sure you are talking about de DHD? And how did you configure it properly, besides changing volume settings?

hansvk said:
And how did you configure it properly, besides changing volume settings?
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I don't know how he configured his DHD properly, but i think on DHD there're much more options to optimize sound quality than changing volume. I think abound de-/activate SRS and/or dolby mobile and there should be also an equalizer be integrated.
Think about that you shouln'd compare the quality of sound with any other devices than other smartphones or mobiles.

I've registered just to post a comment on the speaker quality. It's terrible. I'm not talking about headphones or the internal speaker. Specifically the loudspeaker. It's tinny, clips at higher volumes, and is worse than phones I had more than 5 years ago. I'm seriously considering sending the phone back on this basis.

Yep they are crap. I can't believe they've put something like this in one of the most expensive devices on the market.
Yesterday I was watching an episode of Family Guy and the quality of the sound was terrible. I thought it could be because of the codecs I used to convert the vid. I tried few mp3s (256bit) still crap. The louder I've put the volume the lower the quality went. Very very disappointing.
Still though... I love the phone and wouldn't change it for anything else. I wasn't expecting to get All-in-one device.

I prefer the speaker of the s3

I noticed that during loud crashes and explosion, the galaxy s4 speakers distorts while my s3 didn't. It seems like it has much more treble which seems to be what's causing the distortion. Anyone else notice the difference in sounds or is mine damaged out of the box?
This is only with the volume maxed.

esqueue said:
I noticed that during loud crashes and explosion, the galaxy s4 speakers distorts while my s3 didn't. It seems like it has much more treble which seems to be what's causing the distortion. Anyone else notice the difference in sounds or is mine damaged out of the box?
This is only with the volume maxed.
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The speaker is different i know. When i put my text tones on it, they sound like its more stereo but also in like a box or hall with some echo which i think is what causes the distortion.

kyhassen said:
The speaker is different i know. When i put my text tones on it, they sound like its more stereo but also in like a box or hall with some echo which i think is what causes the distortion.
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Well, thanks for the response, if they made it that way then there is nothing I can do about it. I just wanted to make sure that mine wasn't broken.

I think the speaker phone sounds awesome.
Sent from my SPH-L720 using XDA

it does sound awesome but compared to the SIII it does sound different. mine sounds like it echos for some things and then others it sounds incredible. i think its the bass and treble settings.

I think that they only tested it out for music. It sounds great during most music but any loud explosions or crashes is where the increased treble is the culprit. I wish there was an equalizer type setting where I could lower the treble.

esqueue said:
I think that they only tested it out for music. It sounds great during most music but any loud explosions or crashes is where the increased treble is the culprit. I wish there was an equalizer type setting where I could lower the treble.
Click to expand...
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Once the custom roms get going/they make them compatible with our device, I'm sure with DSP manager or Awesome Beats or any of the other sounds mods, you will be able edit the various sound options to your liking!
:thumbup:
Sent from my SPH-L720 using xda app-developers app

Speaker is the same as sgs3 to me
Sent from my SPH-L720 using xda app-developers app

I think the speakers are terrible. I switched from iPhone 4S to the GS4, and the GS4 sounds quiet and muffled.
Sent from my SPH-L720 using xda app-developers app

Turtle Beach
I prefer the new turtle beach XO7's

Lol, are you guys actually complaining about the sound quality of the built-in speaker during movies? It's not even designed to have the frequency response of a pair of $5 headphones, much less reproducing accurate explosions and crashes. Think about it, you have a tiny speaker that is pushing out sound loud enough to where you can actually hear it well enough from far away. It's there for one reason only, to have to ability to do a hands-free phone call.

sputnik767 said:
Lol, are you guys actually complaining about the sound quality of the built-in speaker during movies? It's not even designed to have the frequency response of a pair of $5 headphones, much less reproducing accurate explosions and crashes. Think about it, you have a tiny speaker that is pushing out sound loud enough to where you can actually hear it well enough from far away. It's there for one reason only, to have to ability to do a hands-free phone call.
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If you are going to respond to a 1 year old topic at least make sure that your response is somewhat relevant. This was made in comparison with the galaxy SIII. I was just making sure that my speaker wasn't broken. There was only one guy here comparing it to a ****ty iphone.
The guy before you doesn't even deserve a response. Since I'm commenting here, I'm sure that they messed with the sound on one of it's many updates as it doesn't distort anymore.

[Q&R] My first Week of the S4

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:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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

[Q] How is the headphones audio quality!?

Hello, I'm trying to decide between HTC One and LG G2, headphone audio quality is the factor what I take into consideration in my final decision, what is your experience with the headphone audio of LG G2?... what about of voice call quality?... does it have the problem about low volume?
Thanks!

citytrader said:
Hello, I'm trying to decide between HTC One and LG G2, headphone audio quality is the factor what I take into consideration in my final decision, what is your experience with the headphone audio of LG G2?... what about of voice call quality?... does it have the problem about low volume?
Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Still not own yet, but
head-fi

meld said:
Still not own yet, but
head-fi
Click to expand...
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Seems the audio is low...

What low? Volume?
Sent from my LG-E988 using xda app-developers app

meld said:
What low? Volume?
Sent from my LG-E988 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes the volume...

citytrader said:
Hello, I'm trying to decide between HTC One and LG G2, headphone audio quality is the factor what I take into consideration in my final decision, what is your experience with the headphone audio of LG G2?... what about of voice call quality?... does it have the problem about low volume?
Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Audio quality on the g2 is of a warm v-shaped curve. I dont know if there is eq on the phone already but the bass id definitely more full sounding than the s3 (i know you're talking about the one). Treble is brighter than the s3.
Voice quality is very good. Volume for me is ok. Just like the s3. I have very good hearing, so there might be a little bias.

Darkestred said:
Audio quality on the g2 is of a warm v-shaped curve. I dont know if there is eq on the phone already but the bass id definitely more full sounding than the s3 (i know you're talking about the one). Treble is brighter than the s3.
Voice quality is very good. Volume for me is ok. Just like the s3. I have very good hearing, so there might be a little bias.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I currently have the Galaxy S2 and for phone calls the volume is really low, playing music it's ok (much louder), the problem with all Samsung phones are you cannot find a compatible headphone and the one that comes with the phone is the worst quality I ever seen, so I wont buy anymore Samsung.
I use my phone to hear music when I do sports, for that is very important for me the quality of the sound of the headphones, and of course the loudness of the voice when it is on call.

citytrader said:
I currently have the Galaxy S2 and for phone calls the volume is really low, playing music it's ok (much louder), the problem with all Samsung phones are you cannot find a compatible headphone and the one that comes with the phone is the worst quality I ever seen, so I wont buy anymore Samsung.
I use my phone to hear music when I do sports, for that is very important for me the quality of the sound of the headphones, and of course the loudness of the voice when it is on call.
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don't forget it all depends on the headphone's you get. Bass heavy, neutral, warm and so on. I would never use stock headphones. Get something from vsonic, brainwavs, headroom, beyer blah blah blah.

OMG, I just tried listening to some Lindsey Stirling with a good pair of earphones (Klipsch). It sounds REALLY good. Good bass and the strings of the violin just pops. (Music is trance with violin) Volume is good, I had it at 60% and it's plenty loud.

Darkestred said:
don't forget it all depends on the headphone's you get. Bass heavy, neutral, warm and so on. I would never use stock headphones. Get something from vsonic, brainwavs, headroom, beyer blah blah blah.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That is the problem with Samsung, at least here in Mexico is very difficult to find a good headphone that works with my phone, I dont know if its the high impedance the S2 has or I dont know, this is a general problem of Galaxy series.
For the other side, in the S2 the volumen of mp3 is excelent, but the volume when you are in a call is terrible, in a very loud ambient is difficult to hear the other party and I dont have problems in my ears hehe...

Personally, I've found that the LG G2 through my Fiio amplifier and into my car sound system is easily the best sounding audio I have had out of box from an Android mobile phone ever. And I've owned pretty much every single one over the last 4 years. I am not an audiophile though, so take that with a grain of salt.

I got a chance to listen to mine a little while this afternoon. I think it is very good. In the next week or so, I will try a head to head vs GS3/Wolfson and see how they compare. It strikes me a a little bit warmer. HIghs may not be quite as transparent (w/ RE0s), but at the same time more natural. It is louder out of the box than I9300. I have not tweaked the hardware output levels so far, so don't know how far it can go. (The GS3 has a ton more power than they enable at the factory.) I could stand a little more volume with REOs (and they require some bass boost), but it is very close not changing anything. I expect must people with most headphones would have plenty of power. I've not tried with an amp, but I will.
I liked both Neutron and PowerAmp way better than the LG music player. I didn't try Google Play.

Just root the phone and then install viper4android mod. You won't be sorry. Best android mod out there and compatible with almost all rooted phones
Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk 4