Database Users

hows the audio quality on the HD?

Hey,
I was wondering how good the audio-quality is with some decent headphones? I have the Hermes with an adapter for ear-plugs, the sound is quite good for a phone, but not compared to a proper mp3 player..mind you, I'm a hifi-music guy and have quite good hearing (comparing headphones etc. no problem)

the audio is just fine and loud enough but not extremely loud! Dont worry. If it is a European device you can use diamond tools and disable the european union 100db sound limit.

that's good to know about the limiting..
and how is the quality, not just the loudness, like the base comes through clean, the sound is weighted equally and such? and when you turn the volume up, the signal stays clean (no clipping etc..my hermes does this)

The sound seems decent enough to me as well.

i'd imagine there would be clipping in a device like this, however I can't confirm at this point in time.

As anticipated, there are noticeable hisses.
Reference:
- 320kbps songs
- Sennheiser IE8 in-ears
- TF3D's audio booster on (R & B--on/off indifferent, really: hisses still there)
- system volume on last bar (i.e., lowest)
Overall, I find the HD alright. The siblence sounds become less obvious with the stock buds, but with in-ears they are expected (both with TF3D and Coreplayer). Needlessly to say, no phones are mp3 players--a little compromise is liveable.
-cheers

Crappy quality through windows media player and good ipod quality if played through the music touchflo3d tab.

mmm... that is odd... why the difference I wonder?

BANE said:
mmm... that is odd... why the difference I wonder?
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Click to collapse
probably the equalizer settings are better in the music tab.

Indeed i find WMP appalling on desktops as well, however you try to change the EQ.
The HD seems ok to me, i use Sennheiser CX-300 ear buds, the stock heaphones are a horrible shape and hurt my ears.

Does the HD have any way to output audio through the mini USB on the bottom? If so, one could hook up a cleaner audio signal, and if it's line out level, one can hook up an external amp.

Poor audio quality

When listening to tracks with any silence through my high quality headphones, I have noticed a large amount of noise generated by the Imagio's audio output circuitry. Figuring this was due to all the radios packed into such a tiny package, I listened to the same track with the phone in airplane mode: Same sound.
It also makes no difference whether the phone is charging or not.
The quality of the noise does change, however, depending upon what player I use (in addition to the HTC and WinMo players, I also have TCPMP). This leads me to believe that a purchase of Coreplayer may be in my future.
Anyone else noticed this? Can anyone compare the stock players to Coreplayer? I realize any audiophile would scoff at me for expecting clean sound from a cellphone, but my Q had excellent performance in this area!

Check the system volume level. I had the same issue until I lowered the level to 60%

I don't notice any noise with mine

Volume Issues

I am having issues with volume through the bluetooth audio. I am unable to find a mp3 player that has a preamp included in the equalizer. Is that not possible through android??? This is my first Android phone.
Is there a hack to boost volume?? Or is there a player that boosts volume??
I have to fix this fast...I work in a factory and need to hear my jamz

There's not a hack for it yet.

anyone know of a player with a preamp??

I was thinking the same thing, the volume is very low when playing music. I've tried with both my Bose In-Ear and Klipsch S4 headphones; both were barely audible above a lawn mower.

I agree volume is low,....waiting on an app, hack,...something.

so has there been any advances in volume boosting???
my main concern is my bluetooth volume...i need an mp3 player with a preamp or something that actually boosts system volume...
anyone????

I commited my volume hack to my github about a week ago, toast pulled it so now any kernel using ToastCFH's source will also have my audioboost code in it.
It in theory should boost the output volume of every interface on the device, but the only two that I've noticed to show a real increase are the phone headset (in call one) and the Bluetooth line out.
I don't know what kernels use it ATM but I know the FPS fix for Novatec panels implements it, just look around, most probably have it by this point since it seems like everyone is using toast's source.

Its not all BT that is quiet though. The Jawbone Icon is pretty quiet, as was the Blueant T1. BT audio through the LiquidAux is ok but not super loud. But the Moto H17txt is, well, louder than hell! Have to turn phone bt vol almost all the way down. 4 diff devices, 3 volume levels...

My concern is just with audio out through wired stereo headphones. I consider myself a self made audiofile and the dynamic quality of the audio output of the EVO is lacking IMO.

One way to go (audiophile quality, but pricey) is the Headroom total airhead. $99.
Runs on 4AA's and is 1/8" in and out.
You can find the older versions for less on e-bay.
I've got a headbanger amp, same basic thing as the Headroom.
Link also has some cheaper options like the boostaroo.
If you are DIY, there's instructions to be found to build the headbanger too.
JAson
Edit: Still can't post links so just google headphone amp and you'll be heading in the right direction.

Just an idea, google search "mp3 gain" this will normalize youre mp3s but you can also boost the volume by using a higher gain level when you normalize. This will clip the mp3 but i just kept a copy of the original file. I set mine to 110 percent then applied. Worked great.
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA App

Distortion at maximum volume.

Hello a7 users!
So the audio experience on this device is extraordinary. But unfortunately, I've been having some issues while listening to my music on auxiliary. There's ton of distortion when I go to max volume. This happens when using the included headphones, my jbl car stereo system, and my Bose quiet-comfort 25s when noise cancelling both on and off.
I'm not sure if this is a defect with my phone in particular or if it is an issue with others as well. It's not THAT big an issue, as I never go to max volume with headphones because I like my hearing, and in my car, I can just go one step down from max volume and control the audio level with my car's stereo.
I have the US variant in the sexy quartz grey.
I am thinking it might be my audio source might not be enough for the beast mode dac. I am using spotify [email protected] extreme quality and some WAV files I converted from youtube. (Which is probably not a good idea as it's not a true WAV.)
If anyone has suggestions, they would be greatly appreciated.

I believe this is normal behavior. My old HTC m9 did the same thing

gumbyx84 said:
I believe this is normal behavior. My old HTC m9 did the same thing
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Click to collapse
Oooh, that's unfortunate! Thanks for your input. :laugh:

A7 Dolby Atmos Speakers Hiss at Low Volume Only

First I need to add that I find the so much advertised two DACs of the Axon very highly exaggerated in terms of power. They are just too weak, even compared to my previous Note 3, both on headphones and speakers.
Second, they seem to not be able to be effectively used on almost any app since 98% of apps do not utilise them by default and one cannot change it.
If you tweak Dolby Atmos a bit you can get it to amplify the general audio output, both on speakers and headphones, and this is why I use it predominantly. I am on the B09 update on A2017G and it is still very buggy. No matter what setting I choose, i.e. Music, Voice, Game, Custom, when I leave the Dolby Atmos screen it drops sound for a second and always resets to Movie, no matter what. Also the sound regularly interrupts, especially when unlocking screen or doing things in the background, or just on its own.
What annoys me most however from when I bought the phone is that at very low or low volume (only on speakers), when there is speach or the music starts, there is some kind of hissing, ss/sh-ing sound corresponding to the words said or the tiny beats of the music played. It's like a background noise added on purpose simultaneously with special, mostly high frequencies, i.e. words, tiny/starting percussions or similar, no matter the Dolby Atmos setting. This noise stays apparently at all times, it just is not heard when more, mostly low and middle frequencies get in. This "noise" is not available when no Dolby Atmos is used, however the volume then drops by a few levels down. Good or bad, Atmos also adds some spatial effect to the sound, which is why I like it for...
Does anyone of you, an A2017G or A2017U user, observe similar behaviour on your device? Is Dolby Atmos working better for you, i.e. unconditionally steady settings, no low volume added speakers noise, no sound interruptions?
I also noticed browsers do not get use of the DACs/Dolby Atmos, i.e. YouTube, online videos, many video players. My favourite before Aimp was unable to do so also so I had to transfer to Jet Audio and PlayerPro, both of which can work with the Dolby.
Why did ZTE add (two) DACs when they couldn't be used by 95% of the apps and games by default and even manually, also there seems to be no gain in output at all? Was this the case with the Lenovo Phab2 Pro's Dolby Atmos? For the "regulated hiss" (not present on headphones at all) I cannot currently watch any movies on the phone with Dolby Atmos enabled, unless at very high speakers volume. It hisses so badly every time a word is pronounced or some subtle 'invisible' sound plays. The same is with playing music...

I dont use Dolby when I listen to music - it makes everything so much worse and much quieter. Listening to flacs on stock music player with Super HiFi on. No hisses on low or high sound levels. Silence is silent. as for speakers - no hiss also.
ZTE did not add 2 DACs for music, 1 is for music other one is for audio recording which is records at 128kbps. and quality.. I dunno it's quite clear, I had recorded a room full of people, with two girls singing and some people chatting in backgroud and I can hear everything. but sound itself if on the lower end, girls vocals are lower than they are, everything seems shifted to lower sound spectrum.
Tooks some time and checked spectrum of that sound file 50-2000Hz. everything over 2kHz is just a noise.
and a little edit: it records nothing less than 50Hz - total silence there.

The stock player is OK but it's lacking on features, also not sure if it can play video.
I have noticed the low volume speakers "noise" with Dolby on when watching movies using almost any player - VLC, BS, MX and more. If I go above 30-40% volume it seems to disappear, but more like you don't hear it and it stays. I say "noise" but it is like a hissing/ss-ing sound added to sole frequences only, i.e. speech only or single instruments. When more frequencies get in, you don't hear it. Weird these don't exist at all with the Snapdragon amplifier, i.e. when Dolby is off.
https://community.zteusa.com/thread/12853, here is a similar thread in the ZTE USA community. I believe it has something to do with the Axon's own amp or its software and happens at low volume only. There was a thread in Reddit exactly about what I am reporting but I can't find it now.
If you go to your phone's Music\Settings\Dolby Atmos app, then move all sliders up you will notice that it significantly increases the overall volume when Dolby is on. So it's not low, if you change it, it boosts up the volume by at least 30%. On another note, the Axon's mic recording quality is quite poor/muffled, even compared to the old Note 3, hopefully they will improve it at least a bit by some future update.
I bought the A7 exclusively for its audio capabilities so am disappointed that I have to report insufficiencies in this exact area.
Does your Dolby Atmos set itself to Movie only if you exit the Music app? Are there any drops in sound when it's on and you do something in the background?

There are two DACs. "AKM AK4961 DSP CODEC, which can be considered the primary chipset for Hi-Fi audio playback and recording. The AKM AK4490EN DAC is an independent Hi-Fi audio sampler". So AK4961 works in standard mode and AK4490EN in Super mode. ADC is only in AK4961.

You can consider rooting your device and install ViperFX or the whole A.R.I.S.E. sound system. That will solve all the problems with sound output. However the sound recording filtering is surprising, leaving only the vocal spectrum is not normal. There should be a setting somewhere.

I have the Chinese A2017 model running Oreo & have just noticed this hissing sound which can be heard at lower volumes when I keep speakers close to my ear. I don't hear any hissing sound using headphones. I wonder if it's always been there or it's a hardware/software issue. I'm probably gonna hard reset the phone to see if it goes away. Anyone could fix it?