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While I don't totally trust GSMArena's reviews, they are one of the few review sites that offer loaded headphone out measurements, and the Moto G 2014 caught my eye in that it seems to have a vastly improved headphone out compared to past models, which seems to be on par with the Quallcomm solutions used in LG G2, Nexus 5, while maintaining somewhat lower IMD.
A lot of times implementation is more important than the silicon, and I love to use my mobile as a portable music player, hence I am still hanging on to my old i9000, but I think it may be about time to move on.
So the question for this community is, how do people think this phone sounds? There are things like spurious processor noise and radio noise that won't show up on common measurement methods, but are obvious and annoying as heck (Nexus 7 1st gen's random buzzing comes to mind)
This affordable phone with a promising looking headphone out as well as SD card expansion capacity seems like a probable new music phone for me, any thoughts?
It doesn't sound as good as the i9000, unsurprisingly (I'd still be using one if it had a flash...), but for the price, it is pretty damn good. Mine doesn't exhibit any audible interference via the headphone jack; it's really clean compared to some China brand budget phones I've tried... The same cannot be said of the earpiece speaker, which picks up the radio when it is working hard due to poor reception. Hopefully it isn't radiating excessively at frequencies that would harm your health... I spoke to Motorola about it and they refuse to deny or confirm the issue, but I'm certainly not the only one.
Let's just say the output is good enough to merit using decent headphones. I found the quality was high enough to warrant buying a better pair of portable cans, and to be honest, I find the AKG K481s I subsequently bought have more obvious deficiencies than the Moto G, itself. I rather suspect that on a limited budget, the Moto G paired with decent headphones would definitely be up there with most flagships paired with cheaper headphones.
The headphone output of the Xiaomi Redmi 1S is also supposedly surprisingly good for a budget device. Either way, if you want to do more critical listening, Android 5.0 supports USB DACs...
@rufflove: Thanks for the detailed reply. By picking up radio you mean it's picking up on the local AM/FM radio?! That's rather interesting... If money was no subject LG G3 or Samsung Note 4 looks rather good in the headphone out department, but those are too rich for my blood. I am only interested in a well built phone with moderately good specs, but good headphone out and perhaps a okay camera.
USB DACs may be an option, but I am really not a fan of lugging another piece around, attached by wire. Similar quality to i9000 can be obtained through a Sansa Clip for a rather low cost.
Sorry, no, I mean the cellular radio interferes with the earpiece, especially when signal strength is poor...
If money were no obstacle, I'd be tempted by a Vivo Xshot or the LG G3 in particular for the best camera and audio.
Yeah, my housemate had a Sansa Clip -- incredibly good for the money. I used to have a Rio Carbon and was mortified when I lost it abroad... I'm not convinced any of this expensive new high sample rate kit is anything more than another way of fleecing people... On the USB front, I use a cheap Behringer UCA202 USB audio interface at home. They're unbelievably good value for money, though they have problems driving low impedance headphones... Great for hooking up portables to hifi gear.
I checked the GSM Arena review before getting an XT1068 and was still not convinced about how good headphone output would be, based on past experience of budget devices. But all I can say is that I was pleasantly surprised by the Moto G. The Redmi 1S seems to be the only other worthy competitor atm, but reports of the screen being too reflective put me off. That and the fact that I would have more confidence in Motorola than Xiaomi when it comes to build quality. There are a couple of very capable developers working together on the 1S, though.
Sound quality is not that good compared to previous phones (e.g Galaxy Ace 2 and Experia Mini). E.q makes little difference.
I take moto g2 because got more chance to get lollipop than sgs3. Some people says moto got better speaker than samsung. Camera i think better in s3. i use cameramx app.
Now about headphone sound quality. Its not what i needed. Too loud and sound is not clean at max volume. But i use playerpro and is ok. So if you need better quality find phone with dedicated audio chip, i mean like sgs3,4,5 or htc one m7,8. Some of them is my next phone when they will be still in store and get lollipop
I was blown away by Moto G's 2014 sound quality paired with decent headphones - I doubt any other device could do any better.
squidlr said:
I was blown away by Moto G's 2014 sound quality paired with decent headphones - I doubt any other device could do any better.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Which headphones do u use...?
ifu said:
Which headphones do u use...?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sony ZX310
Sent from my XT1068 using XDA Free mobile app
nereis said:
While I don't totally trust GSMArena's reviews, they are one of the few review sites that offer loaded headphone out measurements, and the Moto G 2014 caught my eye in that it seems to have a vastly improved headphone out compared to past models, which seems to be on par with the Quallcomm solutions used in LG G2, Nexus 5, while maintaining somewhat lower IMD.
A lot of times implementation is more important than the silicon, and I love to use my mobile as a portable music player, hence I am still hanging on to my old i9000, but I think it may be about time to move on.
So the question for this community is, how do people think this phone sounds? There are things like spurious processor noise and radio noise that won't show up on common measurement methods, but are obvious and annoying as heck (Nexus 7 1st gen's random buzzing comes to mind)ual
This affordable phone with a promising looking headphone out as well as SD card expansion capacity seems like a probable new music phone for me, any thoughts?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I would put the sound quality of the Moto 2014 on the very good side. It may not deliver enough punch for demanding headphones (It's not a Cowon, like all smartphones) but the sound is very clear, noise free.
I use it as my main listening device coupled with a Graham Slee Voyager headphone amp and the sound is very very good.
Hmm. My ears must be failing me. My Moto G doesn't sound that good through any of my head/ear phones. For reference I use Senn HD 480, AKG K450 headphones and Shure E2c in ears. The in ears sound the best with the right material.
@V4lve
true dat but you should try furnace kernel and app for increasing volume
Also does anyone have a flashable zip for viper4android or beats bass which works with bluetooth
Hi All,
I want to know whether this phone will have a dedicated audio chip for great sound quality with headphones like the HTC M9 .
Everything else looks perfect for me with this phone...
Hope the sound quality will be great..
Reagards
Varun HB
hbvarun said:
Hi All,
I want to know whether this phone will have a dedicated audio chip for great sound quality with headphones like the HTC M9 .
Everything else looks perfect for me with this phone...
Hope the sound quality will be great..
Reagards
Varun HB
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't think anyone has reviewed the phone yet. All flagship devices seem to have great audio reproduction these days. I would keep an eye on GSMArena, they do really good audio reviews.
GSM had great things to say about Huawei's past phones as far as quality goes. The volume was their issue. "Excellently clean but quiet" on the Mate 7. "Excellently clean but averagely loud" on the P8. Which is an improvement from one year to the next
I'm curious to see if the Nexus 6P can match the HTC M9 in sound. All the 'hands on' videos I've seen make no mention of the sound... grrrr just wish someone can test the loudspeaker on this phone.
Nizzay! said:
I'm curious to see if the Nexus 6P can match the HTC M9 in sound. All the 'hands on' videos I've seen make no mention of the sound... grrrr just wish someone can test the loudspeaker on this phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
They will. The hands on was in a crowded room, probably not a good place to test speakers.
Sent from my Nexus 6 using XDA Free mobile app
Given that both this and the Moto X Pure have stereo speakers, I'm curious which one sounds better?
hbvarun said:
Hi All,
I want to know whether this phone will have a dedicated audio chip for great sound quality with headphones like the HTC M9 .
Everything else looks perfect for me with this phone...
Hope the sound quality will be great..
Reagards
Varun HB
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You could always try an external DAC / AMP. If you don't mind using bluetooth, the E3 and E5 dac/amps might work out well.
E5: http://amzn.com/B00MXJYDUO / http://us.creative.com/p/sound-blaster/sound-blaster-e5
E3: http://amzn.com/B00J79KNPM
If you can stand using a wired dac/amp, I love my http://www.headphone.com/collection...ppo-ha-2-portable-headphone-amplifier-and-dac
---------- Post added at 05:10 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:56 PM ----------
Now that I think of it, I've heard the Fiio stuff and even that would probably provide better audio for you. And these won't break the bank. The E6 is just an amp, but is super tiny. The E17K is a full DAC / AMP.
E6 Portable: http://amzn.com/B005HJWWW8
E17K: http://amzn.com/B00RPD7KP8
hbvarun said:
Hi All,
I want to know whether this phone will have a dedicated audio chip for great sound quality with headphones like the HTC M9 .
Everything else looks perfect for me with this phone...
Hope the sound quality will be great..
Reagards
Varun HB
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It has a hardware adsp so yes to dedicated chip
It doesn't have apt-x for bluetooth, so i'm going to assume it's just the built in that comes with the 810 and nothing special.
if audio is high on the wish list, might want to focus on the LG V10 that will have the ess sabre dac/headphone amp. unfortunately only one speaker and probably a higher retail price
http://www.marketwired.com/press-re...ution-audio-in-new-v10-smartphone-2060494.htm
hbvarun said:
Hi All,
I want to know whether this phone will have a dedicated audio chip for great sound quality with headphones like the HTC M9 .
Everything else looks perfect for me with this phone...
Hope the sound quality will be great..
Reagards
Varun HB
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
One M9 doesn't have a dedicated DAC.
It uses the one integrated in the Snap810.
Since the G1 I have been chasing a good camera and good audio. In my opinion the Nexus devices have not had either. As such I have gone through many non-Nexus devices trying to find one I'm satisfied with. Through various flagships if I am happy with the camera and audio I inevitably dislike (usually hate) something else about the device. This has resulted in an approximate 6 month upgrade cycle, which, is not particularly fiscally responsible. Over the last three years my original Nexus 7 continues to work without issue. The audio on the N7 is terrible so I don't use it for that. An N4 and N5 were sold after about 6 months because I did not like the camera/audio in those devices.
I would happily pay extra for a Nexus device with a dedicated DAC and headphone amplifier ala the LG V10. If the DAC and amplifier from the V10 were in the Nexus 6P I would be over the moon. For me the DAC/amp quality remains the largest open question with the Nexus 6P. I have mobile DAC/amps that I now only use at my desk as with IEMs the difference in sound quality is not worth the hassle when mobile/active. Anyway I hope in the future a very high quality dedicated DAC and amplifier combination comes to a Nexus device. Until then I really really hope the 6P makes me stop looking for something better for at least a year.
I've been using my HTC M9 > OTG > Fiio Andes > Shure se535s with great results. Much better audio than straight from handset to IEMs. Hoping for similar results with 6P. Volume is never an issue with the Fiio in the signal path.
I'm going to see how long i can stay stock Marshmallow with my next phone. Considering this, I was very torn between the N6P and V10. It would be fantastic to ditch the external amp/DAC and rubber bands with the V10. (ESS Sabre! F YEAH!) Not sure which phone will end up having the better camera. I also don't care for the LG UI at all! So, Having the latest updates and general nexus flexibility won the day. It was such a close decision that it still gnaws at me though.
Posted this in the Official Review thread but know it'll get more attention in this one.
Headphone Output Voltage (Volts)
Apple iPhone 6 1.017
HTC One M9 1.022
LG G4 0.764
Samsung Galaxy S6 0.54
Google Nexus 6P 0.34
Google Nexus 5X 0.287
Paltry numbers which is what I expected. Clean but soft. Great loudspeaker results though.
Loudspeaker Loudness (dB)
Apple iPhone 6 74.5
HTC One M9 72.8
LG G4 79
Samsung Galaxy S6 73.7
Google Nexus 6P 78.4
Google Nexus 5X 69.2
Went to the Phone Arena 5X Review Multimedia section and added the 6P to the list. Waiting for the GSMArena results now to get the full rundown.
mosincredible said:
Posted this in the Official Review thread but know it'll get more attention in this one.
Headphone Output Voltage (Volts)
Apple iPhone 6 1.017
HTC One M9 1.022
LG G4 0.764
Samsung Galaxy S6 0.54
Google Nexus 6P 0.34
Google Nexus 5X 0.287
Paltry numbers which is what I expected. Clean but soft. Great loudspeaker results though.
Loudspeaker Loudness (dB)
Apple iPhone 6 74.5
HTC One M9 72.8
LG G4 79
Samsung Galaxy S6 73.7
Google Nexus 6P 78.4
Google Nexus 5X 69.2
Went to the Phone Arena 5X Review Multimedia section and added the 6P to the list. Waiting for the GSMArena results now to get the full rundown.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not sure I'll care much about this but we will see
I'm coming from an m8 so maybe I'm spoiled but never had issues with past 5 phones using headphones.
Use good headphones and sound usually good. Rarely listen on full blast.
I like the speaker output on 6p though!
And I shouldn't hopefully notice a drop when I Bluetooth music/podcasts in car
Sent from my HTC One_M8 using Tapatalk
Disappointing
You caught my attention in the General thread and I was going to quote you over here. Where did you find the headphone output test results on the 6P? I did not see them on Phone Arena but may well have missed it. I am looking forward to GSMArena test results. Or at least I was. The numbers you posted show a weak amplifier was used. That indicates that audio system quality was given short shrift. As previously stated in this thread the DAC/Amp is my remaining concern for the 6P. The apparent improvement in the camera had me hopeful that significant improvements in the audio might be coming as well. For now that looks decidedly unsure.
mosincredible said:
Posted this in the Official Review thread but know it'll get more attention in this one.
Headphone Output Voltage (Volts)
Apple iPhone 6 1.017
HTC One M9 1.022
LG G4 0.764
Samsung Galaxy S6 0.54
Google Nexus 6P 0.34
Google Nexus 5X 0.287
Paltry numbers which is what I expected. Clean but soft. Great loudspeaker results though.
Loudspeaker Loudness (dB)
Apple iPhone 6 74.5
HTC One M9 72.8
LG G4 79
Samsung Galaxy S6 73.7
Google Nexus 6P 78.4
Google Nexus 5X 69.2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
sewannabe said:
You caught my attention in the General thread and I was going to quote you over here. Where did you find the headphone output test results on the 6P? I did not see them on Phone Arena but may well have missed it. I am looking forward to GSMArena test results. Or at least I was. The numbers you posted show a weak amplifier was used. That indicates that audio system quality was given short shrift. As previously stated in this thread the DAC/Amp is my remaining concern for the 6P. The apparent improvement in the camera had me hopeful that significant improvements in the audio might be coming as well. For now that looks decidedly unsure.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
http://www.phonearena.com/phones/Google-Nexus-6P_id9587/benchmarks
Whole list of benchmarks PhoneArena did on the 6P along with other recent phones and the ability to add additional phones.
The Fiio amp has a Wolfson DAC that is the same as in many flagship phones e.g. iPhone, Samsung, etc. I have had multiple older HTC flagships but not the M9 and in those devices they used a stronger amplifier with a crap DAC i.e. paying lip service to audio quality. Assuming the post above is correct and the M9 uses the Qualcomm integrated DAC that explains one component of the improved audio you experience. The Fiio amp also has a very modest amplifier, which, as you point out for IEMs is more than adequate for the purposes of volume. You do not mention amplifier distortion (generally inverse relationship to volume) and the Fiio amp you are using likely provides a small improvement in distortion. If my assumptions above are correct you why you experience improved audio is obvious. Of importance though there is absolutely no reason that you should have to carry another device to see this improvement. The Fiio Andes is a $100 device (component cost likely less than $20) that is effectively the audio system in the iPhone with possibly a slightly better amplifier.
I hope I am not coming across as a jerk here as that is not at all what I am trying to do. My device history is littered with these unecessary tradeoffs. The iPhone consistently delivers and Apple markets very good audio quality. When we consider Android manufacturers specs race with Apple (display, camera, etc) it is my opinion that audio regularly gets short shrift and that does not make sense to me.
tgearman said:
I've been using my HTC M9 > OTG > Fiio Andes > Shure se535s with great results. Much better audio than straight from handset to IEMs. Hoping for similar results with 6P. Volume is never an issue with the Fiio in the signal path.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I currently have the G4 and the UI is terrible and the camera is very inconsistent. HTC phones have been wildly inconsistent (signal, wifi, etc), the components fail (camera, speaker, etc), and their commitment to audio quality is more pomp than circumstance (e.g. Beats with a meh DAC and decent amp). Samsung's hardware is good but the UI is more obnoxious albeit more polished than LG's; I have not kept any Samsung phone more than a couple of months so I am not sure if I would get the component failures like I have with HTC. Motorola's have had great signal and have been very durable but have been locked down, had terrible audio quality, and poor camera performance. All devices have been flagship models. None of them have received quick or even consistent updates. If they were carrier versions of the device they are loaded with bloat. Thus, to get decent performance I have flashed many custom ROMs with very inconsistent results and myriad other issues associated with the more locked down devices. I have not tried the more niche device makers because of concerns about developer support although I am sure there are or have been some good ones if I would have looked more closely. Throughout the Nexus devices get consistent updates and continue to work well even when the component specs are in terms of tech ancient (e.g. Nexus 7). At one time I regularly used custom ROMs but as I no longer have the time to keep up with that path I have sought to move to stock over the last year or so.
That's all a long winded way of saying I want a stock Android device with an ESS Sabre DAC and ESS amplifier. I want the Android VS IOS spec war over display, camera, etc to come to audio quality as everyone will benefit. In summary, "ESS Sabre! F YEAH!".
Elnrik said:
I'm going to see how long i can stay stock Marshmallow with my next phone. Considering this, I was very torn between the N6P and V10. It would be fantastic to ditch the external amp/DAC and rubber bands with the V10. (ESS Sabre! F YEAH!) Not sure which phone will end up having the better camera. I also don't care for the LG UI at all! So, Having the latest updates and general nexus flexibility won the day. It was such a close decision that it still gnaws at me though.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was sick and tired of the OG Moto G due to increasingly poor performance so it was time to upgrade. After much deliberation I decided to buy the HTC One M9 a rather unpopular choice it seems. However in my opinion there are many reasons to buy it even now.
1. At $450 this offered great value for money that rivals pretty much anything else you can buy right now in that price.
2. The build quality, looks and ergonomics are phenomenal. Yes if you previously used the M8 or even the M7 the design may not wow you but for those of us who are buying an HTC phone for the first time it's still quite magical. In my opinion this trumps the Galaxy S6 and Xperia Z3 in all design departments but of course this is subjective.
3. Near perfect screen. Now I don't really know what the fuss was about the screen being not as good as the M8. Maybe it isn't as I haven't used the M8 but it is nevertheless absolutely fantastic. I am VERY picky on display quality and I could honestly not ask for anything better from an LCD screen.
4. Absolutely STELLAR performance. I feel we focus too much on benchmarks and not on the real world performance. Not only does it zip through literally everything but the multi-tasking performance is literally second to none. It absolutely destroys the Galaxy S6 in this department and it really is as good as it gets. The NAND performance is also great something that's also not given as much importance as it should be.
5. Reasonable size. While it's taller than I would ideally like but at least it's not uncomfortably wide which means one handed use is very much possible.
6. Best audio experience bar none. The speakers aren't the loudest but they are loud enough that I never felt a need for more while watching videos or talking on speaker, the quality is excellent for mobile speakers and the placement is perfect. The output from headphones is just mind blowing, first phone I have ever used that can actually power my Sennheiser 598 headphones without feeling under powered.
7. Really good selfie camera. The use of the front camera has shot so exponentially in the last year that it deserves a mention if a phone does really good at it. Some of the most important and memorable moments are captured from the front camera these days.
Now on to a few not so good things.
1. Back camera is behind the competition. While I am sure you guys would know this already and this is one of the biggest reasons why people don't recommend this phone. I personally don't care so much about camera so I could accept this compromise. And yes the camera is not as good as most of the recent flagship phones but it isn't nearly as bad as is sometimes portrayed. It isn't going to take embarrassingly bad pictures and is not going to be destroyed by a random 3 year old phone. Daylight photography is actually pretty great in my opinion.
2. Run of the mill battery life. This is not really a negative because it isn't any worse than most of it's competitors but it would have been nice to have been a star performer in this category.
3. No fingerprint sensor.
4. The placement of the buttons is questionable. While I don't have any issue with the placement of the power button but what creates a problem is the presence of the 2 volume buttons right on top of it. I believe if they want all buttons on 1 side then they should use a volume rocker to eliminate any confusion, a textured power button isn't enough. However best configuration would be to have the volume buttons on the other side. Taking pics with the volume buttons is also problematic due to this.
So bottom line is in my opinion that if you can live without having the best back camera and fingerprint sensor then this phone is still a better deal than the Nexus 5X and Xperia Z5 Compact.
It is good to hear that you're also enjoying your phone. The numerous bad reviews I read before purchasing my M9 had me believing this was a dog of a phone. On the contrary, it is a pleasure to use on a daily basis. As a sound engineer the audio quality is second to none. It seems only Apple and HTC give serious attention to the audio output of their products.
The knives were definitely out for HTC...
well wait to androi MM they say the camera improved so much! =D
I am honestly happy with the camera. I guess maybe it's because I was expecting it to be incredibly bad due to all the reviews lol.
Sent from my HTC One M9 using Tapatalk
LLegion said:
well wait to androi MM they say the camera improved so much! =D
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Who is saying it will be much better? Do you have a link? I can see why battery life will improve with MM but I don't see why the camera would improve.
neo905 said:
Who is saying it will be much better? Do you have a link? I can see why battery life will improve with MM but I don't see why the camera would improve.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ya and if it did somehow then it would be a pretty big fail on the part of HTC that why it took that long.
Sent from my HTC One M9 using Tapatalk
Hi. My note 4 is making me insane with all the lag and etc and it's near dying! And the camera is broken(not physically)
First. Please don't answer this question if you've never used an iPhone/nexus
Does it lag(if you had v10 or g5)? People told me no about Samsung s7 and note 7 but they do lag! They told me no about note 4 too but it's laggier than a 10 year old computer with a failing hdd. The keyboard is insane
Second: does the DAC ACTUALLY make a difference? Specially for a half-avarage person. I'm not an audiophile but I do care about Audio quality. But for example on mynote 4 I can't tell the difference between flac and mp3 (@320kbps).
But I do hear a difference Between 120kbps and flac with my Sennheiser cx 1.00 on some songs. I currently don't have any good headphones but I'm going to buy audio Technica 500x or m40x
Also as I listen to music on low volume I don't need an AMP or anything. Heck I can tell the name of the song that's playing on the tv o on the background of a movie while I'm in my room listening to music with headphones xD
And there's no background noise on my note 4. Or my PC! I don't understand why people complain about noise on internal DACs
I heard on somewhere that the v10 it barely makes a difference in Audio other than high volume
Third: how is LG at delivering software updates? Is LG fast? Samsung is awful at update! Specially when they have 1000 versions of the same phone
My other choices are iPhone 7+ or Pixel xl (I'll buy iPhone as a last resort as I don't likr apple and IOS although it's smooth)
Thanks Awesome XDA community I Love this site!
kamranhaghighi said:
Hi. My note 4 is making me insane with all the lag and etc and it's near dying! And the camera is broken(not physically)
First. Please don't answer this question if you've never used an iPhone/nexus
Does it lag(if you had v10 or g5)? People told me no about Samsung s7 and note 7 but they do lag! They told me no about note 4 too but it's laggier than a 10 year old computer with a failing hdd. The keyboard is insane
Second: does the DAC ACTUALLY make a difference? Specially for a half-avarage person. I'm not an audiophile but I do care about Audio quality. But for example on mynote 4 I can't tell the difference between flac and mp3 (@320kbps).
But I do hear a difference Between 120kbps and flac with my Sennheiser cx 1.00 on some songs. I currently don't have any good headphones but I'm going to buy audio Technica 500x or m40x
Also as I listen to music on low volume I don't need an AMP or anything. Heck I can tell the name of the song that's playing on the tv o on the background of a movie while I'm in my room listening to music with headphones xD
And there's no background noise on my note 4. Or my PC! I don't understand why people complain about noise on internal DACs
I heard on somewhere that the v10 it barely makes a difference in Audio other than high volume
Third: how is LG at delivering software updates? Is LG fast? Samsung is awful at update! Specially when they have 1000 versions of the same phone
My other choices are iPhone 7+ or Pixel xl (I'll buy iPhone as a last resort as I don't likr apple and IOS although it's smooth)
Thanks Awesome XDA community I Love this site!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree about the Note 4 lag, as I have a Developer Edition of the phone. Even though I can wipe it and install a custom ROM, within a month it is acting slow and lagy. Im always having to click Close all open app.
When I tried out the Note 7 a few times in the store, I wasn't really impressed with it, and not big on the curved screen.
So I am also hold hope that the V20 will be a good upgrade (despite it will probably never get root access).
I'm interested in it for the camera, audio quality, notification display, and Android 7. As a previous owner of a Note 2 & 3, I have yet to see Samsung release updates in a timely manner.
The only thing I wish the V20 had was an AMOLED display, as I've really gotten use to those over the years.
FAUguy said:
I agree about the Note 4 lag, as I have a Developer Edition of the phone. Even though I can wipe it and install a custom ROM, within a month it is acting slow and lagy. Im always having to click Close all open app.
When I tried out the Note 7 a few times in the store, I wasn't really impressed with it, and not big on the curved screen.
So I am also hold hope that the V20 will be a good upgrade (despite it will probably never get root access).
I'm interested in it for the camera, audio quality, notification display, and Android 7. As a previous owner of a Note 2 & 3, I have yet to see Samsung release updates in a timely manner.
The only thing I wish the V20 had was an AMOLED display, as I've really gotten use to those over the years.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well according to YouTube it's fast and awesome!
But why wouldn't it get root? I personally find less and less reason to root as android gets better. I didn't even bother rooting my note 4 after an OTA.
Oh and I'm actually glad they didn't use amoled. All the AMOLEDs I've seen even at maximum brightness kins of leave a tail or lag at darks. It's like when I swipe in rhe gallery or scroll or watch movies etc. The blacks kind of leave a purpleish tint behind. It's a million times less than my s4 but still pretty anoyying (I sold my s4 and bought a Nexus 4 afterwards. Best decision I ever made)
Btw I also hope that they come with the earbuds in my country if not I would be very heartbroken and I would have to buy a headphone my self ( an 80$ headphone costs 185~$ in my country. No idea why headphones are so expensive)
i am currently using note 5 and i am ready to change my phone very very tired of deleting or transferring stuff because of the storage .The new V20 will be good specially with the audio but same thing as mentioned up i don't have good headphone i might go for Sony's MDR-100ABN but at the moment i don't care about the audio capabilities. The only thing is i like my phone to be rooted but i am worried about is the locked bootloader and the dead development section so i guess Pixel XL will be a safer option for me but again storage will be an issue for me.
Well. To me, the best smartphone Samsung has ever came up with is the Samsung Galaxy s5, the others are CR*P ... I still using my S5 but i think it is time to move on and LG v20 seems like a perfect candidate. I also have a LG G3 and it is even faster than my Galaxy s5. So, why wouldnt i love the V20 (that if it doesnt come with any issues of course lol). I do like AMOLED screen but i hate burn-in image, and i have developed burn in image on all my samsungs (s2, s3, s4 s5, note 2, note 3, and note 4) , yet with the G2, G3, G4, G5 and V10 I have never had burn in image. so i can sacrifice the pure black and the extreme contrast as long as i dont get burn in image. LOL AMOLED screens are way more expensive than IPS screens.
Anyway, i do believe that the V20 could be a great option. But i will buy it after 2 month of release, since this time i only have one chance to buy the phone. I willl wait to see if there will be root, roms and other developments, and no less important, if it comes with any major issues .
joseguillen1994 said:
Well. To me, the best smartphone Samsung has ever came up with is the Samsung Galaxy s5, the others are CR*P ... I still using my S5 but i think it is time to move on and LG v20 seems like a perfect candidate. I also have a LG G3 and it is even faster than my Galaxy s5. So, why wouldnt i love the V20 (that if it doesnt come with any issues of course lol). I do like AMOLED screen but i hate burn-in image, and i have developed burn in image on all my samsungs (s2, s3, s4 s5, note 2, note 3, and note 4) , yet with the G2, G3, G4, G5 and V10 I have never had burn in image. so i can sacrifice the pure black and the extreme contrast as long as i dont get burn in image. LOL AMOLED screens are way more expensive than IPS screens.
Anyway, i do believe that the V20 could be a great option. But i will buy it after 2 month of release, since this time i only have one chance to buy the phone. I willl wait to see if there will be root, roms and other developments, and no less important, if it comes with any major issues .
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I wad just taking another look at Motorola and moto z force sounds amazing!
Shatterproof display? Hot swappable battery? Maybe later a dac/amp mod!
Too sad that the mod acts as a power bank(afaik 80% wasted as heat and it just wears the unreplaceable internal battery further)
And I won't be able to buy a phone after a year. I assume it will take a year or a year and a half(I can handle 1.5years? Maybe) for it to lose so much capacity that I'll have to hug the wall! My note 4 has 2h SoT after 1.5 years but it's easily replaceable
I don't think there's a reason behind unreplaceable battery other than making us pay more. I mean come on lg does it good! So did note 4 and htc sensation(I know it's old. But it has an amazingly soft button for it to release and it's aluminum)
And how much space does a button waste?
Waterproofing however... S5 is waterproof and has a removable battery(Am I right?) But still...
I currently am using my S5 Active, have been for awhile. I actually bought it off eBay for $200 in brand new condition. This guy is definitely waterproof and has taken more than a dozen drops that i would consider iPhone screen shattering drops - still no scratches on my screen. Battery has been killing me recently though, can't last more than half a day (granted, I am texting and using fb messenger a lot). But other issues such as lag and random freezes have been occurring much more often now. But the nice thing is I have it rooted.
So I could care less about having a locked bootloader, but having a root for the V20 would be amazing. Still- I will be buying the v20 whether it is going to have a locked/unlocked bootloader and even if it won't have a root method. I think this phone is definitely more than a worthy upgrade especially from an S5.
does the DAC only work with the stock music player? what happens when using other music players or soundcloud, youtube,....?
On V10 the dac worked on all audio programs after MM update
Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk
ok thanks. i asked because on the Axon 7 it wasn´t so, right?
Not sure with the Axon.
There's an high impedance mode too but it depends on your headphones, I remember for the V10 I bought a little cable that automatically enabled high impedance on any headphones. The volume was amazing
Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk
NO! You will regret buying a LG phone! No root, no bootloader unlock and no custom ROM..You will be glad if it doesn't bootloop 6 months later..
had a g2 that was rooted and had tons of development and never boot looped... but thanks!
Sent from my Samsung Galaxy S7 using Tapatalk
well the Note 4 is one of the laggiest phones I have ever had. My current S7 Edge is not what I would call laggy at all. However it is not as fast as the Nexus 6 that I had.
for LG, i had the G2, G3, and V10. I liked the G2 but did not have it long. The G3 is still in use every day, but my son has it, so not my daily driver, but when I pick it up, it does not seem laggy. The V10 was not laggy, but it drank battery juice. I had to swap a battery around 5pm every day. That got annoying.
I was also considering the Moto Z Force, since it will be super quick. But then the V20 will be bigger and have some cool features, still a toss up for me
CadillacMike said:
well the Note 4 is one of the laggiest phones I have ever had. My current S7 Edge is not what I would call laggy at all. However it is not as fast as the Nexus 6 that I had.
for LG, i had the G2, G3, and V10. I liked the G2 but did not have it long. The G3 is still in use every day, but my son has it, so not my daily driver, but when I pick it up, it does not seem laggy. The V10 was not laggy, but it drank battery juice. I had to swap a battery around 5pm every day. That got annoying.
I was also considering the Moto Z Force, since it will be super quick. But then the V20 will be bigger and have some cool features, still a toss up for me
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I agree. S7E is "fast", but no way it feels as fluid as the Nexus, even just a Nexus 6. The LG phones has always been snappy for me, possibly due to the lighter skin on top.
For me, V20 has checked out almost all boxes for me. I could wish for a Samsung-like fast camera, but I can't live without the ultra wide angle now. The vibrator isn't as solid as the flagship counterpart (note, S7, iPhone 7). I would like front facing speakers, but it's not a standard feature. As with all phones, there are small things I can pick on, but for 95% of the phone, I couldn't be happier.
Back to the original question - Yes, I think it's worth it if you use it for music all the time. I can definitely hear a difference from the Quad DAC vs a normal phone or even a phone that has a wolfson DAC. I am only using some alright in ear monitor - Shure SE215 and Monster Turbine Pro.
I remember the audio on my V10 being fantastic, so I would assume the V20 will be even better
2 things that drove me nuts about the V10 and keeps me from considering the V20 is the battery life and the reception that the V10 got. I'm waiting for you all to get them in your hands and start reporting on these 2 things..
Battery is alright so far, things are still settling. Audio is fantastic!
Hi, I'm a musician and I hope I can clarify several things for you:
kamranhaghighi said:
Second: does the DAC ACTUALLY make a difference? Specially for a half-avarage person. I'm not an audiophile but I do care about Audio quality. But for example on mynote 4 I can't tell the difference between flac and mp3 (@320kbps). But I do hear a difference Between 120kbps and flac with my Sennheiser cx 1.00 on some songs. I currently don't have any good headphones but I'm going to buy audio Technica 500x or m40x
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A good DAC will definitely improve the sound quality, no matter the source is mp3 or lossless. However you must understand that for mp3 files a good DAC is totally overkill, which means the improvement would be limited, much less than the improvement of a lossless source. On the other hand, only several technologies like Sony's DSEE HX can improve/repair the quality of lossy files to a certain level and then output as Hi-Res audio.
Using higher quality equipment most of the time makes you aware more of the audio source quality differences, so that's why there is no turning back on equipment
Also as I listen to music on low volume I don't need an AMP or anything. Heck I can tell the name of the song that's playing on the tv o on the background of a movie while I'm in my room listening to music with headphones xD
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Yes an AMP amplifies the volume, but this is not it's only job. Every AMP has it's own acoustic characteristics and that's why there are AMPs of different price tags. An AMP also affects the tone color, spectrum balance, noise ...etc no matter you're listening at high or low volume. However if you actually always listen to music and all the outer sounds at the same time then perhaps it really doesn't matter to you.
And there's no background noise on my note 4. Or my PC! I don't understand why people complain about noise on internal DACs
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If you are speaking about the V20's advertisement of 130dB signal noise ratio (SNR), then actually the "noise" here means unwanted sound only during the signal process, which normal consumers won't care about.
If you are speaking about the noises that people sometimes can hear in the headphone or speaker, they actually have so many possible causes that takes examinations to resolve them, can't simply blame internal DAC.
V20's audio features is attractive enough for me to buy, not only the playback capability but also the HD recording feature. As for casual listeners it will definitely provide better listening experience, but it's full potential can only be discovered using high quality source files and good headphones. Oh, and perhaps a nice listening environment or a noise isolating/canceling headphone
^nice write up and welcome aboard!
Seems no one has yet made note of this Handsets audio capabilities...at least ive seen yet but I was very surprised to see listed 32bit audio :
Alert types Vibration; MP3, WAV ringtones
Loudspeaker Yes
3.5mm jack Yes
- 32-bit/384kHz audio
- Active noise cancellation with dedicated mic
Ive had galaxies in the past but none listed had hi-res capabilities till now and i was gonna get the V20 but figured i can go without the quad-DAC maybe on this since both use 32bit audio 192khz or above and get a handset that has all the hardware newest on the market instead hehe.
Lookin forward to hearing how it is...couldnt find reference to the specific DAC used.....not even sure how others are able to haha but would like to see how the V20 and S8 compare there.....the G6 also has 32bit audio but at 192khz FYI
where did you see that? My understanding was that even the NA G6 didn't get the quad DAC that was included with the Asian version.
shollywood said:
where did you see that? My understanding was that even the NA G6 didn't get the quad DAC that was included with the Asian version.
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No sir u misread my post =) the G6 and S8 both have only listed 32bit audio. S8 has 32bit/384khz and G6 has 32bit/192khz. Check gsmarena http://m.gsmarena.com/samsung_galaxy_s8-8161.php
http://m.gsmarena.com/lg_g6-8466.php
bayfisher1958 said:
demos are much clearer in sound and quality s8s
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Not quite sure what you mean there..... Are u saying the results given during a demo review won't be the actual given on a retail version? I admit hardware capabilities can be bogged down due to other factors like bloatware etc etc but that and most other issues conflicting can be rectified typically so... If thats what u were getting at above.... Then it's no problem really.
mcbright80 said:
Not quite sure what you mean there..... Are u saying the results given during a demo review won't be the actual given on a retail version? I admit hardware capabilities can be bogged down due to other factors like bloatware etc etc but that and most other issues conflicting can be rectified typically so... If thats what u were getting at above.... Then it's no problem really.
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I believe he was trying to say that he tried the S8, listened to something pre-installed aka a demo and it sounds better than what he has heard before, presumably on the previous model. I would hope/expect that the sound quality has improved, everything else has so why not.
mcbright80 said:
No sir u misread my post =) the G6 and S8 both have only listed 32bit audio. S8 has 32bit/384khz and G6 has 32bit/192khz. Check gsmarena http://m.gsmarena.com/samsung_galaxy_s8-8161.php
http://m.gsmarena.com/lg_g6-8466.php
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Sorry, my point was that those could be specs from Asian version of phone
shollywood said:
Sorry, my point was that those could be specs from Asian version of phone
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AHHHH!!!! Well I was WAAAAY off then in my interpretation lol. I did also call LG themselves to verify those parts of the specs and it is listed on Samsungs site that it's 32bit dsd64/128 and does not have it stated it only is on certain handsets or restrictions on countries. Only states dsd playback can be limited depending on format below.
Yeah I had to make sure it's audio quality was exactly as advertised before I ordered the S8... Not a fan of Samsungs phones so if I was to get it it better be packed with specs I wanted enough to override buying my other choices on top lol.
Anything beyond 24 bit/96 kHz is just marketing spec wars and doesn't matter.
mcbright80 said:
AHHHH!!!! Well I was WAAAAY off then in my interpretation lol. I did also call LG themselves to verify those parts of the specs and it is listed on Samsungs site that it's 32bit dsd64/128 and does not have it stated it only is on certain handsets or restrictions on countries. Only states dsd playback can be limited depending on format below.
Yeah I had to make sure it's audio quality was exactly as advertised before I ordered the S8... Not a fan of Samsungs phones so if I was to get it it better be packed with specs I wanted enough to override buying my other choices on top lol.
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It would be nice if they put out a standard device that had the same specs world wide, rather than us having to decipher which model has what etc. So you're taking the plunge and ordering??
Nitemare3219 said:
Anything beyond 24 bit/96 kHz is just marketing spec wars and doesn't matter.
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I have done the research up and down, sideways and backwards plus any other way around when concerning this argument and personally I can tell quite a few telltale differences in audio quality in formats, bit depth, bit rate etc etc and there IS noticeable differences.
The issue is, and reason, this debate is still ongoing is there are soooooo many factors/variables and/or conditions that come into play concerning any audio quality testing. It will impact what anyone finds in their results if they are even able to tell small, subtle variations in sound quality to the more obvious to start....if you have one person who is average and a layman to the technical information overall on audio then it wont make a diff or you have another who is fluent it changes the results substantially....then taking in account the soundbites format origin, how it was converted exactly from origin if it isn't lossless, what hardware/software was used to do so like using Audacity to convert/record/modify vs Soundforge, what computer/OS they used for conversion/modifications and testing with, were there any external DACs used, and audio cable connections used to route music, Headphone/speakers/bluetooth quality, etc etc its nutty....its super detailed, and change one variable in the overall process could effect things more than expected usually IE: reformatting a FLAC to MP3 then to AAC HE.
OH and i forgot that I found changing songs and stuff also will really give you more differences in results its crazy. I dont mean just change from certain genre types like classical or rock soundbites but from specific songs themselves can make a difference alone. I am still fiddling with options, formats and constantly changing songs of all types back and forth and back again while changing audio modifications one at a time....over and over and over and over.....seriously....so yes it does make a difference, it IS marketing BS in there too of course appreciate that level or need to but whether some audio bite is 24bit or 64bit or whatever is important, does make a difference in sound overall quality in the end but just may not be as important or useful depending on whom the audience or consumer is.
Besides....compared to the overblown bull of forever upgrading how many megapixels and such for phones the marketing on audio quality is barely a BLIP.....rarely do they ever put much info out on audio capabilities for those who would like it unlike camera capabilities. Every stupid review on any handset spends 1/4 of that review talking about how good the camera is on that handset, compares it to others WITH photos showing the degrees of differences in each handset, blah blah blah....just so some more narcissistic tards can have the best camera to take another 1000 selfies, pics of what they are eating or drinking at the moment or some other mundane crap they think is so relevant that everyone else HAS to see all the time....none of them know what any of the specs there are for more than the barest of reason but they give every detail though on review cause that sells.
Do these people need such high specs for their endless selfie takes...NOPE....unless you are a hobbyist into photography on whatever level/area or photography by trade then you won't really benefit from having 20 megapixels or apps that modify photos in such detail and so many really, esp if you don't fully understand those details. Its by far the hugest selling point on of any of the spec wars on phones than any other hardware part easily and all to get people to really need that upgrade for more megapixels cause more is better and they need more SELFIES and more megapixels is what the ads/salesmen say will give you that the best quality so the picture of their duckface pose or pic of what they are eating for lunch is clearer, crisper, and more detailed than the next persons on FB lol..and also warrants making handsets more expensive across the board for everyone even if they dont give a monkey a** about that addition....still gotta pay for it.
Don't let anyone talk about audio capabilities though cause that quickly gets little to no input or someone just pooing all over it cause its not important to them or they think its useless....=P.
shollywood said:
It would be nice if they put out a standard device that had the same specs world wide, rather than us having to decipher which model has what etc. So you're taking the plunge and ordering??
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Yup, already pre-ordered the S8.....so im looking forward to see how it performs. I was hesitant to by the LG as well for many factors as well really but i think this time around i made the best choice option overall in handsets.
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there may be differing audio quality between the SD835 and EXYNOS versions. SD variant has Aqstic most prob and the Exynos a home built LUCKY chip that actually out performed the S7 Snapdragon variant.
Now here's the thing, a DAC's sampling prowess isnt the indicator of quality. Its what amp, noise crossover cancellation and tuning is involved. If a DAC can support a Hi-Res sampling rate its all down to how its tuned and engineered into the phone.
mikey_sk said:
there may be differing audio quality between the SD835 and EXYNOS versions. SD variant has Aqstic most prob and the Exynos a home built LUCKY chip that actually out performed the S7 Snapdragon variant.
Now here's the thing, a DAC's sampling prowess isnt the indicator of quality. Its what amp, noise crossover cancellation and tuning is involved. If a DAC can support a Hi-Res sampling rate its all down to how its tuned and engineered into the phone.
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Yeah that's a whole bunch of variables to be considered that could be a deal breaker but I never can get that information across the board for any device. I never can find info on DACs for different phones like that..... Where did u get your info? I know bits of information about how all that works and to help find out a phones true quality of audio capabilities in the end but nothing complete.
I know that the Exynos version is for whatever reason always outperforming the SD variant but why the US consumers get the loser of the two is beyond me but really effed up.
I can only assume it's due to our regions having some sort of limitation/regulation on handsets capabilities like they do with our Internet.... Many places outside of US have home Internet service 3 or 4 times the speed we get.
Tidal vs spotify and every other music streaming app
Hey guys, after a week of use with the akg ear buds, and Beats solo 3 headphones I was extremely disappointed honestly felt it sounded worse than my s7 active and s5 tbh. Good clarity but terrible eq settings no matter what i tried. Needless to say I was upset for not buying the g6 especially since i own around 10 sets of headphones ranging between 99 and 800 dollars. After reading ever bit of info I could find I just could not figure out what the issue was . Well I have been a paying member of spotify for years and love it, huge fan BUT...... After a lot of research found out that tidal offers hifi audio forget the exact specs but 1600 or 1700 kbps flac. The first note that I played made me literally start laughing. This phone sounds incredible with all my headphones. Its really unbelievably clear for the size of this phone and hardware limitations. As far as,I know it's pretty hard to find dsd audio but for 19.99 you can get tidals hifi, I'm currently using tune free trial. If you haven't I recommend installing it and at least using the free 30 days. Catalogue is not quite as large as others subscriptions but I'm fairly pleased with the audio now. My g6 comes next week unfortunately I haven't put hands on one yet but can't wait to compare the quad dac with the (no one seems to know )s8 dac. I'll post my opinion of it after a few days of use. Again I don't think the issue is the hardware I believe it's just a matter of finding hi resolution audio.
michaelpianella said:
Hey guys, after a week of use with the akg ear buds, and Beats solo 3 headphones I was extremely disappointed honestly felt it sounded worse than my s7 active and s5 tbh. Good clarity but terrible eq settings no matter what i tried. Needless to say I was upset for not buying the g6 especially since i own around 10 sets of headphones ranging between 99 and 800 dollars. After reading ever bit of info I could find I just could not figure out what the issue was . Well I have been a paying member of spotify for years and love it, huge fan BUT...... After a lot of research found out that tidal offers hifi audio forget the exact specs but 1600 or 1700 kbps flac. The first note that I played made me literally start laughing. This phone sounds incredible with all my headphones. Its really unbelievably clear for the size of this phone and hardware limitations. As far as,I know it's pretty hard to find dsd audio but for 19.99 you can get tidals hifi, I'm currently using tune free trial. If you haven't I recommend installing it and at least using the free 30 days. Catalogue is not quite as large as others subscriptions but I'm fairly pleased with the audio now. My g6 comes next week unfortunately I haven't put hands on one yet but can't wait to compare the quad dac with the (no one seems to know )s8 dac. I'll post my opinion of it after a few days of use. Again I don't think the issue is the hardware I believe it's just a matter of finding hi resolution audio.
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You mean we have to use hires audio like flac to get the most out of it
How about driving heavy headphones ... Can it get loud
Definitely louder
Besides the clear improvement in quality it absolutely gets loud, I was maxing the volume out previously but using hifi I stop at the red on the volume meter. Any louder with my beats would definitely be detrimental to my hearing but I have taken them off and maxed it out. No distortion and ridiculously loud. I should say also that I use my solo3s and all my wireless headphones with the wire plugged in. That along with enabling the uhq setting makes a noticeable difference. If you aren't an audiophile tidal hifi provably isn't worth the extra money. But if you have to have the best audio available that's the best I've found so far.
Great... pls do compare with LG v20 or LG g6 and let us know
michaelpianella said:
Hey guys, after a week of use with the akg ear buds, and Beats solo 3 headphones I was extremely disappointed honestly felt it sounded worse than my s7 active and s5 tbh. Good clarity but terrible eq settings no matter what i tried. Needless to say I was upset for not buying the g6 especially since i own around 10 sets of headphones ranging between 99 and 800 dollars. After reading ever bit of info I could find I just could not figure out what the issue was . Well I have been a paying member of spotify for years and love it, huge fan BUT...... After a lot of research found out that tidal offers hifi audio forget the exact specs but 1600 or 1700 kbps flac. The first note that I played made me literally start laughing. This phone sounds incredible with all my headphones. Its really unbelievably clear for the size of this phone and hardware limitations. As far as,I know it's pretty hard to find dsd audio but for 19.99 you can get tidals hifi, I'm currently using tune free trial. If you haven't I recommend installing it and at least using the free 30 days. Catalogue is not quite as large as others subscriptions but I'm fairly pleased with the audio now. My g6 comes next week unfortunately I haven't put hands on one yet but can't wait to compare the quad dac with the (no one seems to know )s8 dac. I'll post my opinion of it after a few days of use. Again I don't think the issue is the hardware I believe it's just a matter of finding hi resolution audio.
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im assuming you've imported the Asian G6 variant, as the American version doesnt have the quad DAC right? Or is that just for europe?
Yup, wasn't certain about the U.S. version but I knew for sure the Korean version had it so went with that, kinda wishing I had done the same with my s8 but I was too impatient, that 6gb ram would've been nice to have.