Database Users

Great Audio Playback on Xperia Play

I am really impressed by the audio quality of the Xperia play. I originally bought it last year purely for running emulators but have recently started using it for audio and video playback. I have been surprised by the great quality of the audio playback. When i started listening to my MP3's with the stock audio player/headphones i had a double take. Everything sounded really crisp, the clarity/bass was really good and the stereo seperation was really noticible. I was playing the same tracks that i listened to over and over again on other devices but it was as if i was wearing a £300 pair of headphones as the detail suddenly stood out.
I have bought and swappped various phones in the past and currently have an Iphone 5 as well. None of my previous handsets including the Iphone 4,Galaxy S3 as well as the current Iphone 5 can touch this phone for audio playback using the stock headphones. The stereo seperation in particular is so much better than the Iphone. When i looked at reviews for the Xperia Play GSMarena mentioned that there was lots of crosstalk with the Play however i don't agree, i can actually notice the stereo better on this handsetmore than any MP3 player i've ever had.
Does anyone else agree, I know its subjective. This is the only Sony phone i've purchased and was wondering if all the Xperia devices have a similiar sound chip.

Wow that's really good to hear !
Your right it does have superior sound quality. The speakers are proper loud and crisp when played without earphones,

I agree, it's the best audio I've gotten from any media player I've currently tried. For as long as my Play functions, it will always live as my music player. With Xloud, even the speakers are brilliant, which is a rare plus

Actually, the Galaxy S and SIII use Wolfson DAC like the iPhone, and when coupled with Voodoo compatible kernel it is very good sounding. See included attachment.
However, I have to say the Xperia does have excellent sound quality and decent camera as expected from Sony. I do like the smooth sound signature.
Either a Play or Samsung Vibrant would make a good 'music player phone' without spending too much. In the end the earphone you're using is the still most important factor. I can't justify using stock eabuds no mattee how good the source is. From this list of earbuds, I have the Blox TM7 and the Sennheiser MX580: http://www.inearmatters.net/p/earbuds-roundup.html. The MX580 is very good sounding, I think its recently discontinued though. Though earbuds do have very high diminishing qualities compared to larger headphones.
Sent from my Nexus S

i too agree i have beats and xloud installed on my play and compared to my friends ipod, iphone4s and my others S3 they can not touch my phone especially with the speakers i just drown out there phones... and my brothers droid x sound through the head phones sound degreated withe the same exact song with same bitrate.....overal this phone is a media beast

Was looking for xperia pro forum and came across this thread.
My xperia pro would be coming in a day or two. Will it have the same audio quality as that of xperia play?

I also agree, the quality is very good, and even without Xloud the volume is pretty loud.

Does using xLOUD damage the speakers ?

sufy1000 said:
Does using xLOUD damage the speakers ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It shouldn't unless you always have your Vol. At max
Sent from my GBTweaked V7.1 R800x using Tapatalk 2

sufy1000 said:
Does using xLOUD damage the speakers ?
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Click to collapse
'Twould be quite silly to implement harmful software into stock firmware, wouldn't it? xLOUD should be harmless

I hadn't really thought about it but I suppose the quality is good for a smartphone.

Well, the sound in my XP is not pure
I think it is ROM related

I love the audio too, but I wish they would have an srs or Bongiovi sound plugin that you could download from the store.
Sent from my R800x using Tapatalk 2

Agree, compare to my old gaming phone, n-gage, that has good audio playback too.
Sent from my R800i using xda app-developers app

Yes !
Though for my enjoyment, all of my previous phones have had great audio quality. (nokia 6151, nokia N81 8GB and now Xplay)
The sound quality with builtin speakers was horrible at first (I listen heavy stuff, sounds were messed up and muffed and it hurted my ear) but woth 2.3.4 XLOUD its "seems like" xperia play "manipulates" songs better
My only complaint is that using anything else than stock earphones with stock eqvalisator setup sounds mediocre at best and you cant tweak them by yourself... Only preset values.

me like audio xperia 2
personally i think it has the best sound with the stock earphones and also with bluetooth headset the sound is incredible.
ive had many mp3 players before creative ,zune player, samsung galaxy player(wich isnt bad either)
and together with the poweramp mediaplayer for me this is the best music player sofar imo.
glad to know there are others who feel the same way i do:good:

[Q] Loss of audio quality on custom roms

Hi, first time android owner here. I recently switched to the CM nightly builds, which I am loving, however I have noticed the audio quality has dropped of dramatically since switching from the standard oppo fw. Now I am streaming my music from google play which AFAIK was unaffected by the dolby sound and the dirac audio features of the oppo ROM. Is this something that should be expected? Its bad enough that Id rather not listen to music at all. Also is there a possibility of porting the audio features of the standard Oppo ROM to the current CM builds?
At this point I think id rather use a buggy, less functional oppo rom with great sound quality and that just sucks:crying:

I'm a music lover and have pretty good ears, I really like cm10.1 and other roms but the reason I left it (besides being a beta tester) is because of lag that happens after a few hours and also because of the issue with audio quality. Yeah it looses quality. Oh and camera quality as well
Sent from my Oppo Find 5

I haven't noticed much of a drop in quality, but I didn't stay on stock for long. Maybe I'll switch back to stock on the next beta and see what the audio and camera are like. I have no camera on my current ROM.
Sent from my Find 5 using Tapatalk 2

I should mention I'm also streaming over blue tooth when making this comparison.

earphones
osmosizzz said:
I'm a music lover and have pretty good ears, I really like cm10.1 and other roms but the reason I left it (besides being a beta tester) is because of lag that happens after a few hours and also because of the issue with audio quality. Yeah it looses quality. Oh and camera quality as well
Sent from my Oppo Find 5
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Well didi you try to listen music with different earphones ? Shipped earphones can only work ith dirac "ON".
I tryed to use Oppo earphones on HTC and they sounds poor. Also I found poor sounding Find 5 with HTC beats audio earphones.
If you find some conclusion pls let me know, because I'm not willing to use custom rom ..... for now. :victory:
THX

Grimmy91 said:
And do you think that oppo has a better audio than htc or with the beats EQ the One is better ? Maybe with using some good headphones like AKG sennheiser etc...
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I have had both HTC One X, and the Droid DNA and I think Oppo sounds better. I don't know about the New HTC One with Boom-Sound though?

Grimmy91 said:
And do you think that oppo has a better audio than htc or with the beats EQ the One is better ? Maybe with using some good headphones like AKG sennheiser etc...
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Click to collapse
Oppo is champ !!! But they(OPPO & DIRAC) made calibration with shipped earphones.
When u use other earphones u must disable DIRAC
otherwise sound is crap.
DIRAC sounds good only with shipped earphones and far far better than anything eles !
I am big audiopile and so far there was no phone to listen music on.
http://www.cabasse.com/cabfx2012/ba...ic-on-wall-baltic-on-base-santorin-30?lang=en
I own a pair :victory:

whynotbgd said:
Oppo is champ !!! But they(OPPO & DIRAC) made calibration with shipped earphones.
When u use other earphones u must disable DIRAC
otherwise sound is crap.
DIRAC sounds good only with shipped earphones and far far better than anything eles !
I am big audiopile and so far there was no phone to listen music on.
http://www.cabasse.com/cabfx2012/ba...ic-on-wall-baltic-on-base-santorin-30?lang=en
I own a pair :victory:
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Click to collapse
Completely agree. Dirac sounds horrible with anything other than the stock earphones.

osmosizzz said:
Completely agree. Dirac sounds horrible with anything other than the stock earphones.
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Click to collapse
Sounds like Dirac is nothing more than marketing bull**** to describe an EQ preset that works around crummy earphones... Kinda like HTC's Beats Audio (which is just a crappy EQ preset too).

No No No
Entropy512 said:
Sounds like Dirac is nothing more than marketing bull**** to describe an EQ preset that works around crummy earphones... Kinda like HTC's Beats Audio (which is just a crappy EQ preset too).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's not bull.... and for sure this is not just an EQ preset like HTCs Beats Audio.
Most of brands use branded cost effective solution (EQ based) to impress customers but Oppo does not.
DIRAC correct phase to firms up the bass, removes resonances, focuses the stereo image and makes voices stand out like you never have heard them before.

whynotbgd said:
It's not bull.... and for sure this is not just an EQ preset like HTCs Beats Audio.
Most of brands use branded cost effective solution (EQ based) to impress customers but Oppo does not.
DIRAC correct phase to firms up the bass, removes resonances, focuses the stereo image and makes voices stand out like you never have heard them before.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
All marketing mumbojumbo for "cheesy postprocessing and/or lame EQ preset"
The fact that it only works to "fix" Oppo's cheap earbuds is a clear sign that it is just an EQ preset designed to compensate for the deficiencies of cheap earbuds.
All of the research I've read indicates that DIRAC serves to do only one thing: Compensate for cheapo earbuds to make them sound better. It will make good earbuds/earphones sound like crap, and is unncessary with them.
When you can get Monoprice 9927s for <$10:
http://www.monoprice.com/products/p...=10823&cs_id=1082303&p_id=9927&seq=1&format=2
http://lifehacker.com/5991079/monoprice-improves-on-the-best-7-headphones-youll-ever-buy
http://thewirecutter.com/reviews/best-headphones-under-30/
And Comply foam replacement tips for $15:
http://www.complyfoam.com/
http://www.amazon.com/Comply-T-400-Isolation-Earphone-Medium/dp/B002NUJ2RM/ (for the non-waxguard version, waxguard is $20 for three pairs)
It's pointless to waste time working around crappy cheap OEM buds.
Edit: In general, Comply foam tips are one of the best "bang for your buck" upgrades for any earbud (except ones that already have foam tips)

Yeah, honestly, this crap is like the same BS they pull with Pixel count in cell cameras.
I have some very nice Westone buds that sound amazing on any phone I've had. Turn off all the garbage and you get yourself a hell of an audio experience. These guys feel like they have to provide some audio gem in name because these bloody devices are phones, not good quality audio gear. If you want to bump your audio experience, go get a portable amp and melt your brain.
The Oppo and CM sound great. Only need I have for the DSP is to tweak the sound of the speaker for voice calls.

Is there a different type of bluetooth used by cm compared to stock Oppo ROM? I read something about different compression formats like apt-x. Perhaps cm just needs a bluetooth overhaul.

crackalac87 said:
Is there a different type of bluetooth used by cm compared to stock Oppo ROM? I read something about different compression formats like apt-x. Perhaps cm just needs a bluetooth overhaul.
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I have had no issues with Bluetooth with my Sony bluetooth headset.
Google completely replaced the entire Bluetooth stack with 4.2

crackalac87 said:
Is there a different type of bluetooth used by cm compared to stock Oppo ROM? I read something about different compression formats like apt-x. Perhaps cm just needs a bluetooth overhaul.
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Click to collapse
I used to have the s3 and apt x enables headphones and the sound quality is just on another level! Standard bluetooth SBC suports stereo up to 345kbps but idk why, for the most part, they end up sounding bad in most cases. Apt-x lets better audio pass though with minimal compression.
read these two wikies
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SBC_(codec)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apt-X
now for dirac, it may just be an eq thing but idk. speaker sound much better with audio calls and just playing music. there is bass, and mids added (looking like an eq thing as of now). When it comes to music listening, without any mod, cm10 doesnt sound that great. With the V4A sound mod, it sounds really good. V4A sound mod on stock rom helps but not too much. IDk what oppo has done, butif there is no specific hardware thing within the phone that is activated with any rom, then i guess it;s an eq thing? anyone correct me if im wrong

osmosizzz said:
I used to have the s3 and apt x enables headphones and the sound quality is just on another level! Standard bluetooth SBC suports stereo up to 345kbps but idk why, for the most part, they end up sounding bad in most cases. Apt-x lets better audio pass though with minimal compression.
read these two wikies
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SBC_(codec)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apt-X
now for dirac, it may just be an eq thing but idk. speaker sound much better with audio calls and just playing music. there is bass, and mids added (looking like an eq thing as of now). When it comes to music listening, without any mod, cm10 doesnt sound that great. With the V4A sound mod, it sounds really good. V4A sound mod on stock rom helps but not too much. IDk what oppo has done, butif there is no specific hardware thing within the phone that is activated with any rom, then i guess it;s an eq thing? anyone correct me if im wrong
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm positive it's an EQ thing. Might be able to achieve similar results by playing with DSP Manager

I feel like the audio quality improved on the external speaker with cm10.1

osmosizzz said:
speaker sound much better with audio calls and just playing music. there is bass, and mids added (looking like an eq thing as of now). When it comes to music listening, without any mod, cm10 doesnt sound that great.
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Click to collapse
Entropy512 said:
I'm positive it's an EQ thing. Might be able to achieve similar results by playing with DSP Manager
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm having big battery issues with my Galaxy S2 and was considering the switch to the Find5, the good sound quality being one of the strongest argument for me so the fact that Dirac is only an EQ to compensate crappy earbuds is kinda bumping me out
A long long time ago I used to listen to music on a iAudio X5 / Shure E4g combo, with great quality (the integrated EQ helped, but still wow, great sound). Now I'm on the GS2, and it's fine with a pair of Ultimate Ears 400vi but I'm not coming back to crappy earbuds, so if the only plus of the Find5 in the audio corner besides the speaker is an EQ then I guess I'll have to wait until the next big cheap thing
What do you think? Considering Oppo opened its sources from the start is it possible that the sound capabilities of the stock rom get ported to other roms like CM?
osmosizzz said:
With the V4A sound mod, it sounds really good. V4A sound mod on stock rom helps but not too much?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How does it work on CM? Gotta test that right away on my S2

You definitely have to play with v4a until you get the right sound for you. And sound settings varies from headphone to headphone
Sent from my Find 5 using Tapatalk 4 Beta
---------- Post added at 05:01 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:00 PM ----------
May be an eq thing but stock ROM produces better sound and louder volume. Bass is also stronger on stock ROM.
Sent from my Find 5 using Tapatalk 4 Beta

whynotbgd said:
When u use other earphones u must disable DIRAC
otherwise sound is crap.
DIRAC sounds good only with shipped earphones and far far better than anything eles !
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
took your statement and did a test myself on stock rom and on firefly (international) , found some good music and hooked up the stock headset in the find 5, sounds great with DIRAC , as you said, then switched headset after have playing music in a periode, then tested with DIRAC enabled on my beats audio headset (stock from htc sensation xl), and sound was still really good, not much diffrent, only beats had more bass , but that headset is also a inear headset, which usually gives more bass.
Then just today, after flashing a codefireXperimental rom, as name say, not released at all, and then tested both headsets again, this time, ofc without DIRAC, but nothing else, no audio mods at all. and stock headset is a little bit more bad in cfxp than in stock with DIRAC, but not at all as in other custom roms ive tried. then switched to beats headset, very little diffrent here, from stock rom with DIRAC and now in custom rom.
After all, i think that audio quality ,cant only be blamed at DIRAC , if you look in this link , its pretty impressive who uses DIRAC, so im sure its not crap only
whynotbgd said:
Shipped earphones can only work ith dirac "ON".
Also I found poor sounding Find 5 with HTC beats audio earphones.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thats not true, it works fine without DIRAC enabled, and after testing my own beats headset with dirac and without in custom roms, i dont hear at all that the sound is more bad with Dirac than it is without, infact i like the audio more with my find 5 and beats audio, even in cfxp, than i do with beats audio on my htc sensation xl.

Earphone sound output/quality discussion

So there's a lot of discussion going around about the device, minus the sound output. Can the users (if there are any audiophiles out there) please share your reviews about the music quality output from the device. This is purely with earphones plugged in and not the boomsound speakers. How is the bass, treble, mids, highs, etc. How is the earphones quality that is provided with the m8.
The z2 seems to be getting mixed reviews, hence i am eager to know about the m8. I know gsmarena has posted a review but i wanted more inputs from actual users. Will appreciate any inputs.Thanks.

The M8 reviews all say good things about the headphone output. Personally I think it's fantastic, highs, lows and mids are all very clear and well balanced. The M8 drives a lot higher voltage output compared to the M7 too, I read someone who measured it.

kartoonz said:
So there's a lot of discussion going around about the device, minus the sound output. Can the users (if there are any audiophiles out there) please share your reviews about the music quality output from the device. This is purely with earphones plugged in and not the boomsound speakers. How is the bass, treble, mids, highs, etc. How is the earphones quality that is provided with the m8.
The z2 seems to be getting mixed reviews, hence i am eager to know about the m8. I know gsmarena has posted a review but i wanted more inputs from actual users. Will appreciate any inputs.Thanks.
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Click to collapse
the_scotsman said:
The M8 reviews all say good things about the headphone output. Personally I think it's fantastic, highs, lows and mids are all very clear and well balanced. The M8 drives a lot higher voltage output compared to the M7 too, I read someone who measured it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I can confirm that the output quality is amazing. Partly due to there being a 2.5v amplifier next to the headphone jack, is this correct regarding the amplifier?
i don't miss beats much as the m8 has sound just like it and due to hardware not an equalizer

Yea the m8 has an amplifier for both headphone jack and loud speakers
And yes this phone has the best stock audio quality I ever had with an phone...
Gesendet von meinem HTC One_M8 mit Tapatalk

One-M8-Master said:
Yea the m8 has an amplifier for both headphone jack and loud speakers
And yes this phone has the best stock audio quality I ever had with an phone...
Gesendet von meinem HTC One_M8 mit Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
and yes i damn well think i agree with you on that one!!
ot, didnt u used to be one-x-master? how do you change your name???

exocetdj said:
and yes i damn well think i agree with you on that one!!
ot, didnt u used to be one-x-master? how do you change your name???
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Click to collapse
Haha yea my name was one-x-master before I just asked a moderator if I can change the name he said yes I said which name and he gave that name to the admins of xda and because I don't have the one x anymore the name was a bit strange then xD
Gesendet von meinem HTC One_M8 mit Tapatalk

One-M8-Master said:
Haha yea my name was one-x-master before I just asked a moderator if I can change the name he said yes I said which name and he gave that name to the admins of xda and because I don't have the one x anymore the name was a bit strange then xD
Gesendet von meinem HTC One_M8 mit Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
cool, thanks mate

thank you all for sharing your views... so then m8 has the best sound output as of now, period... sounds great to me and +1 another reason to upgrade...
BTW are you guys using the stock earphones or other brands?

kartoonz said:
thank you all for sharing your views... so then m8 has the best sound output as of now, period... sounds great to me and +1 another reason to upgrade...
BTW are you guys using the stock earphones or other brands?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I, too, can confirm that the sound output quality on headphones and speaker are phenomenal on this device - even without any sound mods flashed.
Tested the HTC in ear buds and as well as a sennheiser headset and a pair of pro Beyerdynamic headphones. All sounded absolutely clear and nice, even on Google Play Music All Access streaming.
So far, I am VERY pleased with audio quality on this baby.

i purchased and use regularly a set of jaybirds bluebuds (wirless stereo ear bud type headset) when at work. i havent used these since getting my htc m8 (used them with my htc one x) only just paired them. reading this thread i decided to try the included wired headset that are usually rubbish. long story short, they are incredible. i can honestly say that they sound like im in my lounge room listening to my harmon kardon amp and denon dvd player with the bass of my 15 inch sub. they sound that good. just a shame about the wire.

wow so many good reviews... htc seemed to have nailed the sound department with this phone...

Perfect speakers, useing earphones is very good the loudest output I've heard.
Sent from my HTC One_M8 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app

Does anyone have a slight hissing sound when playing music on low I can hear it. Or after music is done playing its there.
Also, if I'm playing music and I turn the volume off I can hear hissing through the loud speakers
I have a small dead pixel, and I didn't want to return it just for that.
Sent from my HTC One_M8 using Tapatalk

Would there be a need for vIPER4Android with this phone? Is it even compatible?
Sent from my Markox/Gustavo_s powered KitKatted S2

I use a Pair of Logitech ue900 (399bucks on Logitech), with Quad Drivers (and those are pretty sensible on bad outputs, or too high output impedance).
I hear absolutely nothing which lets me wich for a better quality. You will probably have to buy in-ears/headphones for around 700-1500 bucks so you might complain.
I read on head-fi.org, that viper4android is just an Equalizer which mostly raises the amount of bass (NOT the quality of bass), and most people think "more bass = better soundquality". So tonality gets changed. A bit like when you activate "Boomsound" on the settings with headphones plugged in. This raises bass, treble, and the volume level, and in direct comparison (mostly with bad/cheap headphones) it might sound better.
But its not, the soundquality gets worse with that.
I personally use this: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=39672554
But i cant tell you, if it really improves the audio quality. I only tried a half song with my ue 900, and i didnt really heared a difference. Maybe because the difference is too small, or that you HAVE to have a 2nd device to compare both at the same time, to hear any difference.
i also didnt heared any hiss or any distortions.
But i think.... Alot people are not turning "BoomSound" OFF, so the Treble is way too much, and this can be that hiss, people are complaining about.

Thread name changed
Since I think this thread really belongs here in General, I changed the thread title to a statement instead of a question. Please continue and act like I wasn't here.

xxquicksh0txx said:
Does anyone have a slight hissing sound when playing music on low I can hear it. Or after music is done playing its there.
Also, if I'm playing music and I turn the volume off I can hear hissing through the loud speakers
I have a small dead pixel, and I didn't want to return it just for that.
Sent from my HTC One_M8 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
was this problem also not present on the m7? thats a bit of concern if its so on the m8... have you tried another pair of earphones?
Darkseth said:
I use a Pair of Logitech ue900 (399bucks on Logitech), with Quad Drivers (and those are pretty sensible on bad outputs, or too high output impedance).
I hear absolutely nothing which lets me wich for a better quality. You will probably have to buy in-ears/headphones for around 700-1500 bucks so you might complain.
I read on head-fi.org, that viper4android is just an Equalizer which mostly raises the amount of bass (NOT the quality of bass), and most people think "more bass = better soundquality". So tonality gets changed. A bit like when you activate "Boomsound" on the settings with headphones plugged in. This raises bass, treble, and the volume level, and in direct comparison (mostly with bad/cheap headphones) it might sound better.
But its not, the soundquality gets worse with that.
I personally use this: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=39672554
But i cant tell you, if it really improves the audio quality. I only tried a half song with my ue 900, and i didnt really heared a difference. Maybe because the difference is too small, or that you HAVE to have a 2nd device to compare both at the same time, to hear any difference.
i also didnt heared any hiss or any distortions.
But i think.... Alot people are not turning "BoomSound" OFF, so the Treble is way too much, and this can be that hiss, people are complaining about.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
+1 its similar to the beats on the one x... it just increases the loudness... of course the bass itself is not that bad but are you saying that boomsound is amplifying the sound similar to beats??

I only had "Beats Audio" via Mod on my desire HD like almost 2 years ago. So i cannot give you an exact comparison. But yes, it should be pretty similar.
At least, on my headphones (Beyerdynamic T90 / UE 900) with boomsound activated, it was un-listenable, because of TOO heavy treble (due to boomsound). Without the treble changes on that setting, it might even be nice, to make the sound on neutral headphoens more fun when needed.

I haven't tried the earphones that come with the device ('cause I already had a pair I use and I've never used a pair of packed-in earphones in the past), but the audio quality through my Sony earphones are fantastic. I switched BoomSound on and off and it does make it noticeably better if you're comparing them "side-by-side" like that, and despite what others say, I didn't notice it raising bass all that much. It felt like the audio got a bit less tinny and...hollow, and sounded like it was more surrounding my head, instead of sounding like it was coming from the sides and slightly farther away. A very...untechnical explanation, but that's the way I heard it.
Some extra tinkering in PowerAmp and having moved from an iPhone 5 to this baby, the pure giddy bliss I dive into every time I listen to music with this device is unimaginable.
Earphone sound quality-wise, you can't get much better than this.

Fraught said:
I haven't tried the earphones that come with the device ('cause I already had a pair I use and I've never used a pair of packed-in earphones in the past), but the audio quality through my Sony earphones are fantastic. I switched BoomSound on and off and it does make it noticeably better if you're comparing them "side-by-side" like that, and despite what others say, I didn't notice it raising bass all that much. It felt like the audio got a bit less tinny and...hollow, and sounded like it was more surrounding my head, instead of sounding like it was coming from the sides and slightly farther away. A very...untechnical explanation, but that's the way I heard it.
Some extra tinkering in PowerAmp and having moved from an iPhone 5 to this baby, the pure giddy bliss I dive into every time I listen to music with this device is unimaginable.
Earphone sound quality-wise, you can't get much better than this.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The "Surrounding more around my head," is the sound stage. So a better sound stage is a good thing.
Sent from my HTC One_M8 using Tapatalk

Audio through headphones surprisingly good

I'm not going to lie. Coming from an iPhone and a Galaxy S6 (my Moto G is sort of an interim phone while I sell those two to afford new stuff this fall), I expected the Moto G to sound considerably worse. And yeah, it's not quite as good. But it's certainly far from the worst I've had and I've only owned expensive devices in the past. The bass is punchy, the treble is fairly decent, and the volume levels aren't awful (although I may increase mixer_paths at some point to gain a couple levels). I've actually been listening through fairly decent earbuds for the past 40 minutes or so to various types of music (alternative, acoustic, heavy stuff, rap) and I could definitely live with this sound quality if I had to.
It is pretty damn amazing what ~$200 buys you today.

I've noticed this too! Big upgrade from my n4, no more distortion!

the earphones are 'good' for the price ... cant expect more at this price point

My ear is in a full moon party.
Yeah, this is awesome.
I'm using CM12.1 With a Dolby Atmis and Jet player.
After a hour to configure the player, my brain explode with the results.

Quality-wise, yes...very good. Volume-wise, I'd say it's extremely subpar. It's easily the lowest volume of any device I've ever had. Speaker volume is phenomenal...headphone volume is god awful!!! And I'm comparing this to my Nexus 4, just as the OP says.

You can mention the speaker which gives a quite punchy sound compared to many phones from this category which are mostly ear hurting with middle and high frequencies only...

If anyone's looking for a little boost without messing with viper, etc, I made a mixer_paths.xml mod here
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=3217132

I'm getting the same thing. The audio through my IEMs (Hifiman RE-400 for active/gym stuff and Yamaha EPH-100 for normal listening) is freakin' excellent, but the volume is indeed low.

AwesomeTurtle said:
I'm getting the same thing. The audio through my IEMs (Hifiman RE-400 for active/gym stuff and Yamaha EPH-100 for normal listening) is freakin' excellent, but the volume is indeed low.
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The mod thread I linked above makes headphone volume LOUD!!! It can go a few notches higher, but I think it sounds great, personally...it also boosts speaker volume pretty much to its limit. It may get slightly distorted occasionally, but it's definitely a good bit louder, as well!

Motorola has done an excellent job. the sound is excellent. the happy moment. :highfive:

Walkman
You can install Walkman to get the best out of the earphones.

hi guys, i have already bought the moto g3.. but the earphone is very very low. Is there any problem with my device or is in general of these phones problem ?? Could we fix it?

giwrgos21 said:
hi guys, i have already bought the moto g3.. but the earphone is very very low. Is there any problem with my device or is in general of these phones problem ?? Could we fix it?
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There's a button on the side of your phone that can fix it
Sent from my MotoG3 using XDA Free mobile app

Audiophiles out there!

Hello all audiophile Z5 owners!
How is the headphone output on this phone?
Is the quality good and loud?
Where can I find more specifications of the headphone jack and internal amp?

TordFuglstad said:
Hello all audiophile Z5 owners!
How is the headphone output on this phone?
Is the quality good and loud?
Where can I find more specifications of the headphone jack and internal amp?
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I wouldn't say I was a proper audio file but the audio on the z5 is good its really clear and louder than previous Z phones but once again sony have missed the loudness trick.
After reading GSM arenas review of the C5 ultra and the M5 saying without headphones the volume levels were 'excellently high' and with headphones they fell to below average on the C5 and fell on the M5 too but it was so high on the M5 to start off with that that it still remained a good volume. So this means that the M5 is louder than the Z5 range, I had high hopes for the Z line then they tested the Z5C and it just got a average.

According to GSM Arena.
Audio quality has its ups and downs
The Sony Xperia Z5 Compact did a very good job in the first part of our audio quality test, where it's connected to an active external amplifier. The scores it got were great top to bottom but it only matched them with an average volume level so we can't quite call it perfect.
Plugging in a pair of headphones harm the stereo crosstalk but it remained decent, but it also introduced a bit of frequency response deviation and brought the volume down a notch. Not too bad of a showing, but certainly not one worth bragging about.

I can't consider myself an audiophile but I will say the Z5 audio is an.improvement over the Z5 in both clarity and volume. It doesn't approach ZTE Axon level of quality and HTC M9 volume but it is adequate for the casual listener. I have dsee hx switched on which disables all other audio settings.

how is the volume in z5 compare to z3

entra6 said:
how is the volume in z5 compare to z3
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louder than Z3 but imo could be louder yet still

RCJ89 said:
louder than Z3 but imo could be louder yet still
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Exactly, well stated.

Coming from the Z1 it's a massive improvement on just about every level: Cleaner, wider and louder. It's very good, I'd say - I've certainly enjoyed listening to music on it very much!
"Loud enough"? How loud do you need it to be? Any louder than it is and I'm sure you'd hurt your hearing: it's plenty loud.

Timaustin2000 said:
Coming from the Z1 it's a massive improvement on just about every level: Cleaner, wider and louder. It's very good, I'd say - I've certainly enjoyed listening to music on it very much!
"Loud enough"? How loud do you need it to be? Any louder than it is and I'm sure you'd hurt your hearing: it's plenty loud.
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Tbh there are many phones alot louder than the Z5 and the whole sony range and people are not complaining. There are phones from HTC, Iphone, Note 4/5/Edge Plus and especially Xiaomi and Meizu that are alot louder.

RCJ89 said:
Tbh there are many phones alot louder than the Z5 and the whole sony range and people are not complaining. There are phones from HTC, Iphone, Note 4/5/Edge Plus and especially Xiaomi and Meizu that are alot louder.
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Of that I have no doubt but do people put those phones to max volume? Do they need to? The ability and necessity are two separate things.
The Z5 is plenty loud for just about any headphone need, so far as I can make out. I'd certainly never put it to max.

Allright, so I purchased the graphite black Z5 yesterday. I have done some quick listening to the audio out of the jack through my ATH IM50 in ear monitors and haven't broken in the hardware yet. But I can definitely hear a difference from the Z3. All over the sound is very clear, it seems like a good separation and I can definitely get some really smooth low tones and crisp higher tones as well. I haven't been fooling around with the EQ yet. But feel like I don't need to.
About the loudness, I feel it is louder than the Z3 and very much loud enough to run a pair of good IEM's like the IM50's. I am listening now and have the volume two down from maximum. Probably won't be as loud with some big headphones. But any a person with a little self respect will have a headphone amp for that purpose. :good:

Timaustin2000 said:
Of that I have no doubt but do people put those phones to max volume? Do they need to? The ability and necessity are two separate things.
The Z5 is plenty loud for just about any headphone need, so far as I can make out. I'd certainly never put it to max.
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Fair enough for me its the bigger expensive headphones that make the difference with less expensive headphones like in ear or on ear it is never loud enough, in a busy street i still can hear noise around me.
I know some people who do have them on max volume definitely. I always had my note 4 on max volume and my HTC M7 and my 6S but only with lesser expensive headphones on headphones £200 and over no need to but even when are not at max they are still louder than Z5 at Max volume. Each to their own at the end of the day but sometimes its not always practical for me to carry around my larger headphones so I use in ear ones than I can just put in my pocket.

Hi,
I'm also trying to squeeze perfect sound from android. I use this portable DAC
http://www.theabsolutesound.com/articles/audioquest-dragonfly-v12-usb-dac/
via USB OTG cable. For playback I use "USB audio player pro". It can stream very high resolution audio files. At the moment I'm listening music on Audio technica ATH M50x headphones.
Sound with external DAC is a way better than directly from audio jack

RCJ89 said:
Tbh there are many phones alot louder than the Z5 and the whole sony range and people are not complaining. There are phones from HTC, Iphone, Note 4/5/Edge Plus and especially Xiaomi and Meizu that are alot louder.
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Click to collapse
That's unfortunate. One of the reasons I sent back my iPhone 6s, and opted to get a Z5 Compact is because I didn't think the sound of the 6s was much of a step up from my iPhone 4s. I was hoping the Z5 would be louder and fuller, especially for in-ear headphones at the gym. Might just be the headphones I've been using though. Maybe an upgrade in that department would resolve any potential issues I might have with the Z5.

I use sennheiser mm50 ip in ear phones with poweramp set to rock preset and to me the sound is nice crisp quality at loud enough volume levels
Sent from my Xperia z5 by Tapatalk

@TordFuglstad & @Timaustin2000 I've been enjoying your camera works (on 'that' thread) very much. Maybe you guys could post on the 'regular' photo thread at times
Don't get me wrong, guys. Before dropping > $100 on a pair of cans, maybe an 'audiophile' should get a cheap $50 DAC first. But it's not very convenient - we all know. That's why I'm looking at LDAC for the first time (wireless SQ is usually terrible compared to wired). LDAC could still be over-hyped, I'm willing to give it shot for the first time. But I can't find too many LDAC headphones to choose from. Any suggestions?

I read that there is no custom DAC in the Z5 (vs. Z3), but they added LDAC support. Unfortunately, I can't find almost any headphones that support it. I was really hoping they would have added it to the SBH bluetooth line by now.

How does the audio quality compare to HTC Butterfly s (which I have now) or I9505 Galaxy S4? What about HTC M9 or iPhone 6?
I take GSMArena's results with a grain of salt. I bought the Butterfly s partly based on their review saying the volume was loud and that there was no distortion. Unfortunately, while the audio quality is great at medium-high volumes the bass distorts above 12/15, and there is hissing with IEMs.
My questions are 1) do these hiss? and 2) do they distort with bass? (test track would be Daft Punk - Touch)

I'm a hardcore SONY audiophile, and while the Z5 is fantastic, the Walkman ZX2 is still by FAR my favorite mobile music player when coupled with the XBA-Z5 in-earphones ( made in Japan ) and/or Z7 headphones ( made in Japan) by Sony,
followed in close 2nd place by the newer less pricey ZX100 Walkman, which is a step up from the A series.

Lol even the A series is stomping on the Z5. No point to compare it to the zx2/1/100
Sent from my E6653