Database Users

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

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

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

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

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

nativestranger said:
That's odd. Engadget tested the audio on the US version and commented that it's impressive. Another member here found it amazing with only the supplied headphones. So I am pretty sure it's a Wolfson. But if this turns out to be the Qualcomm chip, I think it will be a deal breaker for many members here.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not having a Wolfson chip doesn't mean the sound quality will be bad - this isn't Galaxy S II Yamaha levels of doom & gloom. Other Snapdragon S4 devices like the HTC One S have tested very well for audio quality and response (Amusingly much better than HTC's flagship One X with its Tegra 3 onboard audio - Beats branding really is a sham), so I can't imagine the US SIII variants will be any different.
Sent from my GT-I9300 using xda premium

onslaught86 said:
Not having a Wolfson chip doesn't mean the sound quality will be bad - this isn't Galaxy S II Yamaha levels of doom & gloom. Other Snapdragon S4 devices like the HTC One S have tested very well for audio quality and response (Amusingly much better than HTC's flagship One X with its Tegra 3 onboard audio - Beats branding really is a sham), so I can't imagine the US SIII variants will be any different.
Sent from my GT-I9300 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well said.

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

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

Wolfson audio chip - Will the Galaxy S4 have it?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

GT-I9500 vs GT-I9505 for audio quality

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...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did you try PureX mod?

renosj said:
Did you try PureX mod?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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...
Click to expand...
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
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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.
Click to expand...
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
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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

How is the music quality (through earphones) on Lg G2?

I loved the sound quality of Galaxy S3 , due to wolfson DAC in it.
How does LG G2's music quality stand out against it?
I usually listen to Electro.
I'm only talking about the earphones.

I have a sennheiser Momentum and the sound is very clear in the lg g2, i always listening to Hardstyle ?
Sent from my LG-D802 using xda app-developers app

Sound is great for me. Klipsch x10.
LG G2

Sound quality is really nice. I was experimenting with the same earphones, and s4, HTC droid DNA and Note 2. Quality is the best in G2.
Sent from my VS980 4G using xda app-developers app

Melodycd said:
Sound quality is really nice. I was experimenting with the same earphones, and s4, HTC droid DNA and Note 2. Quality is the best in G2.
Sent from my VS980 4G using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Listening through Shure 535s it sounds better than my note II with Wolfson

Wow! nice.
I just ordered a 32 GB model and getting super hyped.
i hope you guys aren't praising it out of fanboyism

Wow! nice.
I just ordered a 32 GB model and getting super hyped.
i hope you guys aren't praising it out of fanboyism

eggman89 said:
Wow! nice.
I just ordered a 32 GB model and getting super hyped.
i hope you guys aren't praising it out of fanboyism
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
TBH: I kinda hated LG before this phone. I'm no lg fanboy but I now think they make great phones.

I've not been a huge fan of LG but so far I am quite pleased with this phone.
I've listened to audio with both my SRH440's and my CX 475's. Both sound quite good. I'm impressed it's got the guts to power the SRH's.

eggman89 said:
Wow! nice.
I just ordered a 32 GB model and getting super hyped.
i hope you guys aren't praising it out of fanboyism
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
well is not that thick . i dont think is good for electronic music since is very treble oriented ... theres a mod you can do to increase volume because the sound doesn't go loud to power certain headphones
i tested the LG G2 and the S4 and the S4 sounded better , rich sound with more bass .
The LG G2 is thin sounding:good: but with really good clarity

kalki1 said:
well is not that thick . i dont think is good for electronic music since is very treble oriented ... theres a mod you can do to increase volume because the sound doesn't go loud to power certain headphones
i tested the LG G2 and the S4 and the S4 sounded better , rich sound with more bass .
The LG G2 is thin sounding:good: but with really good clarity
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'll take the clarity, because the other stuff can be fixed with an EQ. This is the first phone I've had that completely eliminates alternator whine with the phone charging and just goes to show the lengths LG went to to isolate the DAC. That plus Viper4Android equals a superior listening experience in my eyes (or ears).

eggman89 said:
Wow! nice.
I just ordered a 32 GB model and getting super hyped.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have had it for 2 weeks and I'm still super hyped First LG phone here and I really didn't expect much. But I like it more every day.

I like the sound with my headphone.
Also I like the headset the phone came with. And I like the sound over speakers. I must be honest, I don't like the phonespeakers even if I have installed the volume mod.
Sent from my LG-D802 using xda app-developers app

I'm using the UM Merlin customs with the LG G2.
As an audiophile, I regularly compare players to see which has the best compatibility with my customs and I'm stoked to have found the G2. By far, it has the least background noise/feedback due to EM interference in a phone. Using in-ear monitors, you can hear the processor and other internal components and generally there was a bit of noise coming from my S3. With the G2, such noise is virtually eliminated. The G2 uses the wolfson 5110 DAC which really decreases the noise and increases the soundstage, balance, and clarity tremendously. I would say the audio quality on this device is comparable, if not, greater than the Cowon music players I have used in the past.
Truth be told, the only reason I chose this phone was because of the audio quality. Hearing is believing.

hamisgood said:
I'm using the UM Merlin customs with the LG G2.<snip>
The G2 uses the wolfson 5110 DAC
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nice IEMs. I've been trying to settle on a custom for a while now. Still wearing universals (SE535 at the moment). I'll probably pull the trigger in 2014. Thinking 1964s or UMs.
What's your source for Wolfson info? When I was researching, I only found reference to the Wolfson in early rumors. The later, more confirmable info I gathered pointed to a Qualcom DAC. I haven't yet seen a proper teardown with BOM.

Excellent, but...
The sound is excellent with a good set of earphones, but the bundled "improved" Quadbeats 2 are pure crap, never seen anything worse (atleast my Quadsbeats 2)

I've been wondering this too. The only headphones I have are a pair of iPhone earbuds that my wife isn't using anymore. The sound isn't bad, but the volume seems much lower on it than my S3. I was wondering if the quality of sound is dependent upon the type of headphones you're using.

MarvinSpr said:
I must be honest, I don't like the phonespeakers even if I have installed the volume mod.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Same here

Vertigo06 said:
I've been wondering this too. The only headphones I have are a pair of iPhone earbuds that my wife isn't using anymore. The sound isn't bad, but the volume seems much lower on it than my S3. I was wondering if the quality of sound is dependent upon the type of headphones you're using.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So many variables here that it's cumbersome to discuss on a forum. To say that sound quality depends on headphone type is at once wholly true and woefully inadequate.

cggorman said:
Nice IEMs. I've been trying to settle on a custom for a while now. Still wearing universals (SE535 at the moment). I'll probably pull the trigger in 2014. Thinking 1964s or UMs.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
JH has just opened preorders for the 12 driver Roxanne which I might be looking at (in the near future) once I test run it.
cggorman said:
What's your source for Wolfson info? When I was researching, I only found reference to the Wolfson in early rumors. The later, more confirmable info I gathered pointed to a Qualcom DAC. I haven't yet seen a proper teardown with BOM.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have yet to see a stripdown as of yet, but various sources point the DAC to be the wm5110. Until there is a full strip, I doubt it would be possible to verify but it is quite likely as there is definitely a significant reduction of noise.
"Fully-differential internal analogue architecture, minimal analogue signal paths and on-chip RF noise filters ensure a very high degree of noise immunity." - Wolfson PB 5110 Datasheet
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sources: http://www.enjoythemusic.com/news/0813/
http://www.head-fi.org/t/681818/lg-g2-android-phone-first-24-bit-192khz-phone-dac
http://www.alpha-audio.nl/wordpress/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/Wolfson-wm5110.pdf

Galaxy S5 sound quality

For those that sound quality through earphones is very important
I9300XXUGNA5, Boeffla 5.2, Earsonics SM3v2

Does anybody know which DAC comes with the S5? Is it a Wolfson?
I9300XXUGNA5, Boeffla 5.2, Earsonics SM3v2

Agaranda said:
Does anybody know which DAC comes with the S5? Is it a Wolfson?
I9300XXUGNA5, Boeffla 5.2, Earsonics SM3v2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If the SOC is Qualcomm, the answer is no.

The traditional question is whether the Exynos and Snapdragon versions will use different DACs and, if so, which ones.
Will we ever see the fruits of the deal that Samsung signed with Wolfson?

Exynos is pretty much guaranteed to carry Wolfson. Qualcomm uses their own DAC in their soc's. If it's anything like the s4 Qualcomm vs Exynos situation then they should both be excellent. Most audiophiles hardly hear a difference between the two. The real advantage of Wolfson comes with audio mods
Sent from my HTCONE using xda app-developers app

With the S5 being water resistant, I wonder if it will effect the loud speaker? Will it make it sound more muffled?
Sent from my SM-N900T using Tapatalk

busab said:
With the S5 being water resistant, I wonder if it will effect the loud speaker? Will it make it sound more muffled?
Sent from my SM-N900T using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You bring up a good point and this too is one my concerns, based on every other water resistant device released, loud speaker quality and loudness has been s***. With the HTC M8 releasing with supposedly upgraded BoomSound, it would be counterintuitive for Samsung to further themselves from the quality of HTC's speakers just to provide water resistance.
Sent from my SGH-I337M using Tapatalk

It seems like Samsung could do themselves and us a favor and make the Exynos compatible with USA LTE carriers and give us all the Wolfson DAC.

The S5 will not feature the best sound repoduction available for music, thats pretty sure, but I'm primarily interested in listening through headphones in which case the choice of which headphone to use contributes to like 95% of the sound quality obtained.
The Qualcomm chipset will have reasonably low noise and distorsion and ok ability to drive phones, its no Wolfson, but it wont exactly cripple a pair of good cans. Not so good cans will always sound inferior on ANY phone. And all the rivals use Qualcomm as well so S5 will only be worse than it's own kin and Iphone. HTCs Beats I can totally live without as I am all in for natural sound ie HiFi ie no coloring of the source. Beats is ALL coloring the source, some like it but I don't.
Rooting will probably be necessary though, to unlock the max volume restriction.
I would have liked a dedicated solution, but I can live with the SOC ....

MultiLockOn said:
Exynos is pretty much guaranteed to carry Wolfson. Qualcomm uses their own DAC in their soc's. If it's anything like the s4 Qualcomm vs Exynos situation then they should both be excellent. Most audiophiles hardly hear a difference between the two. The real advantage of Wolfson comes with audio mods
Sent from my HTCONE using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
no its not guaranteed , Note 3 with Exynos use Yamaha DAC :|

yahyoh said:
no its not guaranteed , Note 3 with Exynos use Yamaha DAC :|
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
LoL I guess the Qualcomm SOC at least has better sound than those Yamaha DAC:s

xeizo said:
LoL I guess the Qualcomm SOC at least has better sound than those Yamaha DAC:s
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yeah newer Qcom DAC's are not that bad actually

busab said:
With the S5 being water resistant, I wonder if it will effect the loud speaker? Will it make it sound more muffled?
Sent from my SM-N900T using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If it's as good as the speaker on the S4 active then it should be fine as that's pretty loud

RCJ89 said:
If it's as good as the speaker on the S4 active then it should be fine as that's pretty loud
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Since the S4 Active was never released in Canada, I have never had a chance to try it out. How does the speaker compare to the regular S4?
Sent from my SGH-I337M using Tapatalk

msavic6 said:
Since the S4 Active was never released in Canada, I have never had a chance to try it out. How does the speaker compare to the regular S4?
Sent from my SGH-I337M using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oh right, no worries. well I had the s4 and my gf has the active and the active is louder both speaker and in headphones

BaronInkjet said:
If the SOC is Qualcomm, the answer is no.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
oh. i thought the note 3 had one lol

RCJ89 said:
Oh right, no worries. well I had the s4 and my gf has the active and the active is louder both speaker and in headphones
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, that's good to hear, I know my dad's Z1 speaker sounds like absolute garbage when compared to the S4.
Sent from my SGH-I337M using Tapatalk

msavic6 said:
Well, that's good to hear, I know my dad's Z1 speaker sounds like absolute garbage when compared to the S4.
Sent from my SGH-I337M using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Fingers crossed the s5 is as good

I tried a Galaxy S5 for four days.
Sound quality trough earphones is worse, by far, than it is with the S3 plus Boeffla.
Returned.
I9300XXUGNA5, Boeffla 5.2, Earsonics SM3v2

Is apt-x confirmed at least?
I use my sennheiser apt-x headphones or hs3000 in the main with my s3 so that circumvents the problem a little