Database Users

Audio Quality - DAC

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

No Bluetooth Apt-X HD support for GS7E

Just found out no Apt-X HD for S7E.
http://www.trustedreviews.com/opinions/what-is-aptx-hd
I was thinking of getting the LG tone platinum and Apt-x HD is one of its selling points. Apparently the new LG phones will have it.
You would think since Qualcomm owns the technology we would have it in our phones or at least the Qualcomm versions.
Sent from my SM-G935T using Tapatalk

TBH, I would not worry or make it a buying point of a phone. The codec sounds good (although unnecessary for wireless listening and most probably inflated) but with the compression required over BT there is always going to be a trade off.
If you want good fidelity listening then a phone and Bluetooth cans is not the way to go anyway.
Oh and on top of that, after a quick search I could only find a single pair of headphones that allegedly support it which were on Amazon and no reviews about them etc...

chippyuk said:
TBH, I would not worry or make it a buying point of a phone. The codec sounds good (although unnecessary for wireless listening and most probably inflated) but with the compression required over BT there is always going to be a trade off.
If you want good fidelity listening then a phone and Bluetooth cans is not the way to go anyway.
Oh and on top of that, after a quick search I could only find a single pair of headphones that allegedly support it which were on Amazon and no reviews about them etc...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As an audio engineer, and music composer who works with various forms of audio codecs, the difference between 16 and 24 bit in .wav files is almost unnoticeable, and that's with proper studio equipment. That's not to undermine that with apt x the extra headroom might provide a higher quality stream, but for streaming to your colored car audio system, regular old aptX is 100% fine.

I was hoping for more headroom in the dynamic range with Apt-x HD and now with the lackluster wired headphone performance on the SGE7. It's just a bit of a letdown
I ordered the SanDisk 200 gig. The goal was to finally replace my Ipod Classic 160.
Thanks for your input.
Sent from my SM-G935T using Tapatalk

I have Bluetooth UHQ on the S7 activated and paired with Samsung Level One Pro that support the Bluetooth UHQ. It does sound better but needs more resources.

Shame, no 2016's technologies, no Quick Charge 3.0, no Apt-X HD, no USB Type-C... and you know what ? S8 will have all of this but the S8 will not have the 2017's technologies so , no very mega Quick Charge 4.0, no Apt-X Ultra HD, no USB Type-D . Ok I trolled the last phrase, but maybe my troll will be realistic.

minoch said:
Just found out no Apt-X HD for S7E.
http://www.trustedreviews.com/opinions/what-is-aptx-hd
I was thinking of getting the LG tone platinum and Apt-x HD is one of its selling points. Apparently the new LG phones will have it.
You would think since Qualcomm owns the technology we would have it in our phones or at least the Qualcomm versions.
Sent from my SM-G935T using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I had the LG Tone which are identical minus the "HD". Nothing special TBH. I hope the new version is better!

Does the Exynos supports apt-x?
Update : yes, it does But does it support aptx HD?

It doesn't support Aptx-HD, then again, I don't think there is any current headset that do.

calm your tits
For get apt-x HD, the only important part is APT-X itself.
This is already CD quality with no lags (almost), HD is 8 bit more yes, but you most likly not even notice the difference between 16 and 24 bit.
well if youre an audio professional you might be able to tell the difference, true but this is a science on its own.
but for this you need capable equipment and the audiosource too.
both you probably aint gonna have mobile neither do you really need it.
the HD addition is in first line a marketing thing, and given that there only a handful , and i mean literally a handful, useable mobile apt-x headphones and headsets out there it wont matter at all. hell the best around ear set unter 500$ is sennheiser which means it looks very grim for high soundquality mobile devices anyway.
important is only that apt-x finally get distributed and lets hope headset and phone manufacturer finally put it in by default. then again most wont profit much due to their poor builds anyway - looking at bose here
btw those heaedset that already support HD - forget it. they may technically able to transfer the data but their audio hardware including drivers wont cut it to really use it

minoch said:
Just found out no Apt-X HD for S7E.
I was thinking of getting the LG tone platinum and Apt-x HD is one of its selling points. Apparently the new LG phones will have it.
You would think since Qualcomm owns the technology we would have it in our phones or at least the Qualcomm versions.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Honestly mate, APTX HD is a complete waste of time on a phone, and probably on anything. The ONLY thing 24 bits are going to do is give you a lower noise floor. Let me say that again, so that it sinks in. The ONLY thing 24 bits is going to give you is a lower noise floor. That's it, period.
But since 16 bits already gives you a 96dB s/n ratio, that means that at any sensible listening levels, the noise is *way* below ambient background noise (unless you are listening at high volume in a perfectly silent room).
Then there's the small matter of the phone's electronics which perhaps produce more than -96dB of noise anyway, not that you can hear -96dB noise in any real world listening environment.
24 bit is a waste of time for consumer audio. For studio work and multiple overdubs, then yes perhaps. Other than that, it's all snake oil.

Im going from an s5, that has the aptx codec (not aptx hd from what i read), to a exynos s7, that doesn't have aptx. My question is, will the difference in sound quality be noticeable? My bt headphones aren't nothing special and are cheap (mpow swift) but they do support aptx and i have been happy with the sound quality using my s5, so i was wondering if i will notice any difference.

griffin_1 said:
Im going from an s5, that has the aptx codec (not aptx hd from what i read), to a exynos s7, that doesn't have aptx. My question is, will the difference in sound quality be noticeable? My bt headphones aren't nothing special and are cheap (mpow swift) but they do support aptx and i have been happy with the sound quality using my s5, so i was wondering if i will notice any difference.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There's plenty of reasonably high-end and well regarded headphones that don't support aptx, and yet some cheapies that do. Conclusion: if it's not a critical for the high-end headphones, then you shouldn't miss it with your "nothing special" headphones.

S7 Edge (US version, Snapdragon) on Android 7 (Nougat) had always aptX support, besides the native Samsung UHQ HD audio. Actually every phone with Snapdragon that I have tested (Motorola) had aptX since Qualcomm bought off CSR plc in 2015. Tested personally with Developer Mode, Bluetooth HCI Snoop log and decoded with Wireshark on PC.
And now, with Android 8 (Oreo) gained LDAC support too (Sony), thanks to Google. See the attached pic.
PS: The difference between codecs can be appreciated only when playing FLAC files.

Wired headphones audio quality

I have not found any reviews on audio quality. I only use the flac format for my audio collection so it would be nice if the mate 9 delivers good quality output.
Any ideas, links to specific audio reviews?

There was one review on YouTube that mention the audio quality of the mate 9 but as far as I know there is no significant improvement from the mate 8 which produced excellent clarity and lowest noise.

I'm pretty sure that they upgraded the dac

blackspp said:
I'm pretty sure that they upgraded the dac
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I assume so. Let us wait for audio reviews.

blackspp said:
I'm pretty sure that they upgraded the dac
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Emerald Core said:
I assume so. Let us wait for audio reviews.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Check this out:
http://www.notebookcheck.net/Huawei-Mate-9-Phablet-Review.182825.0.html
:good:

That's extensive. One needs a master in smartphone sciences to comprehend all that

If you are really into audio get a portable DAC. Lg or ZTE.
Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk

https://www.youtube.com/results?q=Huawei+Mate+9&sp=EgIIAkgA6gMA

intruda119 said:
https://www.youtube.com/results?q=Huawei+Mate+9&sp=EgIIAkgA6gMA
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for sharing that link.
That's seriously **** if audio's important. For me it is so now what...
What makes it worse is the LC V20 will come to Europe in midget form. Sheit!!

However, going back to the extensive gsmarena test:
Audio output is solid
When plugged into an active external amplifier, the Huawei Mate 9 posted excellent scores top to bottom, hinting at perfectly accurate audio reproduction. Its loudness was just above average so no real reasons for complaining here.
Headphones only cause a small drop in volume so it’s only average and a contained hike in stereo crosstalk. Overall the output remains very clear and while it’s not quite the best performer out there the Mate 9 certainly won’t let you down in any significant way.
http://www.gsmarena.com/huawei_mate_9-review-1520p7.php

Let me tell you that it wouldn't replace my external DAC/AMP. Mate 9 is a very good sounding compared to current competition. I wished if they could integrated a branded dac. The phone simply excels in every other aspect.
I think V20 is still the best in headphone quality as a stand alone. I haven't tested the V20 but I guess the specs say it all ?

blackspp said:
Thanks for sharing that link.
That's seriously **** if audio's important. For me it is so now what...
What makes it worse is the LC V20 will come to Europe in midget form. Sheit!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
blackspp said:
However, going back to the extensive gsmarena test:
Audio output is solid
When plugged into an active external amplifier, the Huawei Mate 9 posted excellent scores top to bottom, hinting at perfectly accurate audio reproduction. Its loudness was just above average so no real reasons for complaining here.
Headphones only cause a small drop in volume so it’s only average and a contained hike in stereo crosstalk. Overall the output remains very clear and while it’s not quite the best performer out there the Mate 9 certainly won’t let you down in any significant way.
http://www.gsmarena.com/huawei_mate_9-review-1520p7.php
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Exactly what I was going to say, GSMArena made a deep test and the audio part seems "decent", which for me is more than enough. If you really care about audio, maybe LG V20 or Axon 7 would be the way to go.

Big phone small sound..
https://youtu.be/3Gb9OicXcTo

cultofluna said:
Big phone small sound..
https://youtu.be/3Gb9OicXcTo
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I saw that as well, but I have read some other reviews and the say that audio is pretty good, and stereo sound is as well.
Is the only review that says that audio is crap on Mate 9, besides is known that PocketNow, The Verge and BGR are Apple fans. If it's not Apple, is not good enough.

Vivi Xplay 6 is potentially going to be one of the best sounding smartphones this year

cultofluna said:
Big phone small sound..
https://youtu.be/3Gb9OicXcTo
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Emerald Core said:
Vivi Xplay 6 is potentially going to be one of the best sounding smartphones this year
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
"The Mate 9's audio capabilities are equally beefy — up to a point. The phone combines a rear-firing loudspeaker with the main earpiece in a dual-speaker setup, similar to the HTC 10 or Huawei P9 Plus. At max volume level, the output is louder than you'd ever want it to be, which is great if you're showing someone a video in a crowded bar. But above around 50 percent volume, playback becomes increasingly tinny, with some distortion creeping in.
Fortunately, we've found that wired audio output is excellent with this phone. The 3.5mm jack (yep, it has one of those) is capable of driving demanding studio headphones with just as much power as the HTC 10."
http://www.androidcentral.com/huawei-mate-9

Galaxo60 said:
"The Mate 9's audio capabilities are equally beefy �¢?? up to a point. The phone combines a rear-firing loudspeaker with the main earpiece in a dual-speaker setup, similar to the HTC 10 or Huawei P9 Plus. At max volume level, the output is louder than you'd ever want it to be, which is great if you're showing someone a video in a crowded bar. But above around 50 percent volume, playback becomes increasingly tinny, with some distortion creeping in.
Fortunately, we've found that wired audio output is excellent with this phone. The 3.5mm jack (yep, it has one of those) is capable of driving demanding studio headphones with just as much power as the HTC 10."
http://www.androidcentral.com/huawei-mate-9
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I know all of that because I owned a Mate 9. It sounds excellent in both headphones and speakers. Speakers sound louder than ip7 but less detailed. As for headphones, it sounded better than my HTC 10.

blackspp said:
I have not found any reviews on audio quality. I only use the flac format for my audio collection so it would be nice if the mate 9 delivers good quality output.
Any ideas, links to specific audio reviews?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i test with my pi audio mr2
it still carry the huawei signature sound
-full body
-bassy but not bloated
-frontal vocal
-kinda remind me of what makes fiio x5 different than x3
my only complaint:
-theres lack of decay or reverbation.for example, snare drum or any hollow instrument doesnt sound as hollow as it should
like many review such as gmarena said; its no dap replacement, but its one of the best offered by smartphone
lg v10 or v20 might be better
and imo, dap like fiio x3 sound better

According to this review, the Mate 9 is at the bottom of the barrel for flagship devices:
I mean for most people it will be good enough but no DAC/amp replacement. It won't be able to drive demanding headphones. One thing that I can say is that the measurements made by the reviewer does not match what the audio codec in the Kirin 960 is capable of. So unless there is a hardware bottleneck somewhere it would be possible to improve it through software if Huawei wanted to. High performance audio usually results in higher power consumption so the current state of the audio quality might be a compromise between performance and battery life.

Trixanity said:
According to this review, the Mate 9 is at the bottom of the barrel for flagship devices:
.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, whatever the reviewers say or measure, my M9 sounds pretty good on my Bose cans, no complaints whatsoever!

How is the sound quality in the NON QUAD DAC version?

Hi guys, just want to know how is the sound quality in the NON QUAD DAC version. Is it good enough? Maybe like the HTC 10, Axon 7 or Galaxy S7 sound quality? I know it must be worse than the QUAD DAC version, but how much worse? Is it still worth it or if i'm looking for a good sound smartphone i should look for another one? Where i live the version being sold is the 32GB H870.

Same as like LG G4. Over compressed weak output.
My only hope:Root-custom kernel.soundmode (Imperium G4 rom included)

kabirjedi said:
Same as like LG G4. Over compressed weak output.
My only hope:Root-custom kernel.soundmode (Imperium G4 rom included)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's that bad? It doesn't has a more simple DAC? It's using the Qualcomm one?

Mate! The HTC 10 sound quality is worlds apart from this phone. I have the g6 and am returning it due to the weak audio output. Don't know why LG gave us Europe nothing. Oh well.
Sent from my LG-H870 using Tapatalk

godofpornings said:
Mate! The HTC 10 sound quality is worlds apart from this phone. I have the g6 and am returning it due to the weak audio output. Don't know why LG gave us Europe nothing. Oh well.
Sent from my LG-H870 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's sad to hear. I'm not going to buy it then.

I think it sounds pretty good.
General consensus is that it sounds just a bit worse than the V20's Quad DAC and better than Galaxy S7, close to HTC M10's quality. Most users and reviewers are impressed.
I believe it does have a DAC. At least i've read that somewhere but i'm not 100% sure.
Offcorse it all depends on headphones. If you have cheap, ****ty headphones no amount of DAC can help you.

WstrKuNoužč said:
I think it sounds pretty great.
General consensus is that it sounds just a bit worse than the V20's Quad DAC and better than Galaxy S7, very close to HTC M10's quality. Most users and reviewers are impressed.
I believe it does have a DAC. At least i've read that somewhere but i'm not 100% sure.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Its not anywhere near HTC 10 audio quality.
Sent from my LG-H870 using Tapatalk

godofpornings said:
Its not anywhere near HTC 10 audio quality.
Sent from my LG-H870 using Tapatalk
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I don't own HTC 10 so i can't know that BUT i did see a lot of ppl on forums saying and agreeing it's pretty close to it quality wise.

WstrKuNoužč said:
I don't own HTC 10 so i can't know that BUT i did see a lot of ppl on forums saying and agreeing it's pretty close to it quality wise.
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No no no. The HTC 10 has a built in DAC and a amp which really makes the music stand out compared to any other phone I have ever owned. Too bad I sold it after a year and upgraded to the g6.
The g6 is a amazing phone only let down by the audio output. If they put the quad DAC in all units then that would of made this phone godly.
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godofpornings said:
No no no. The HTC 10 has a built in DAC and a amp which really makes the music stand out compared to any other phone I have ever owned. Too bad I sold it after a year and upgraded to the g6.
The g6 is a amazing phone only let down by the audio output. If they put the quad DAC in all units then that would of made this phone godly.
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As i said i think it does have DAC. It is true that the output volume is not as high as M10's BUT that also depends on headphones.
If you got a pair of good headphones it's gonna sound great and loud. The headphones that come with G6 are pretty crappy tho...
All-in-all M10 is an audiophile phone so it's probably designed for high and low quality headphones meaning even crappy headphones sound okay-ish or at least a lot better than on other "normal" phones.

WstrKuNoužč said:
As i said i think it does have DAC. It is true that the output volume is not as high as M10's BUT that also depends on headphones.
If you got a pair of good headphones it's gonna sound great and loud. The headphones that come with G6 are pretty crappy tho...
All-in-all M10 is an audiophile phone so it's probably designed for high and low quality headphones meaning even crappy headphones sound okay-ish or at least a lot better than on other "normal" phones.
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Yeah that's true. I'm using the hi Res headfones I got from the HTC 10. The g6 has no DAC. The sound quality is very poor for a flagship phone for £600 I must say. But each to there own.
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I use the free vlc player and the 10 level equalizer along with my library of flac music. I run it onto my fender audio system (jetta) via Bluetooth and the sound is incredible. Deep bass, great mids and vocals. The sound with the headphone jack into the aux port isn't noticably better. I highly recommend vlc's free player, I had no idea that it would sound so good. Just play around with each equalizer level till your music sounds the way you want it to. Make sure you start with the levels flat, then go from there. I also put my music on a 128gb Samsung microsdxc card which I purchased on Amazon for only 30.99 I also highly recommend this card. Not as fast as more expensive cards but sound quality can't be beat. Model MB-MP128D. Peace..

Sound is OK it's not bad. But compared to my V10 the sound pales. Not as clean output or wide/deep sound signature.
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LOL. Every digital device that outputs sound has to have a DAC (Digital to Analog Converter), it just converts those 1 and 0 binary codes to electric signal. It's just the quality differs due to price. Some DACs have enough power on their own to drive small headphones, what sets "audiophile" smartphones apart is the addition of an Amp, it takes the electric signal from DAC and amplifies it to drive more power to large headphones with high impedance.

Is there any point in keeping my g5 for its b&o dac or not I have a s8 now well law has had it 6months

Can I use Google headphone adapter from Pixel 2 on my LG G6? Dac and Amp inside Google's headphone adapter is pretty good and powerful, same as Iphone 7 headphone adapter. I bought G6 few days ago (version without Quad DAC) and I think this should be one of possible alternatives for great sounding headphones quality.

Windforce0511 said:
Can I use Google headphone adapter from Pixel 2 on my LG G6? Dac and Amp inside Google's headphone adapter is pretty good and powerful, same as Iphone 7 headphone adapter. I bought G6 few days ago (version without Quad DAC) and I think this should be one of possible alternatives for great sounding headphones quality.
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Yes,
I use the adapter from an Essential PH-1

Normal one doesn't sound very good but with quad-DAC it is outstanding IMO.

quadacless g6 sound big nothing....

tech_head said:
Yes,
I use the adapter from an Essential PH-1
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How is it compared to Google's one? I know adapter from Google is sounding 99% same as one from Iphone. I haven't tried Google one yet, but one from Iphone is very powerfull and have wide sound stage. I don't know where tu buy it btw..

Stupid mistake I made choosing Bluetooth Dac/Amp

I was looking for a relatively cheap Bluetooth DAC that could do the job for me. One of my friends were using a AK XB10, which I tried a few years ago when he first got it. The DAC performs great when paired with most of the phone I was using. But I forgot Aptx HD are a Qualcomm IP and it didn't work with my G950N with Exyons SoC (but strangely Aptx works)
I only found out the problem after I use the DAC for 15 minutes. the sound quality is really disappointing. And I started to google a bit and learn the Exynos don't have Aptx HD, and all the way the xb10 is using Aptx. The difference was so huge that my 24bit flac sounds worse than 192kbps MP3. And sadly the AK xb10 didn't support LDAC.
So now I have to buy another Bluetooth DAC now.

Type2501 said:
I was looking for a relatively cheap Bluetooth DAC that could do the job for me. One of my friends were using a AK XB10, which I tried a few years ago when he first got it. The DAC performs great when paired with most of the phone I was using. But I forgot Aptx HD are a Qualcomm IP and it didn't work with my G950N with Exyons SoC (but strangely Aptx works)
I only found out the problem after I use the DAC for 15 minutes. the sound quality is really disappointing. And I started to google a bit and learn the Exynos don't have Aptx HD, and all the way the xb10 is using Aptx. The difference was so huge that my 24bit flac sounds worse than 192kbps MP3. And sadly the AK xb10 didn't support LDAC.
So now I have to buy another Bluetooth DAC now.
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Check out the FiiO BTR3, it supports LDAC which should work regardless of processor since it's in base android and also theoretically higher quality than aptx.

TheTofu said:
Check out the FiiO BTR3, it supports LDAC which should work regardless of processor since it's in base android and also theoretically higher quality than aptx.
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I bought the earstudio ES-100 from Amazon, now waiting for it to arrive. It is slightly more expensive than the BTR3 and xb10 , but reviews suggested it should sounds better.
Speaking of LDAC, I read a article online about LDAC vs aptx HD, turn out that most of the time LDAC is default at 660kbps, not the advertised 990kbps. And the sound quality when using 660kbps is not necessarily better than atxp HD.

Type2501 said:
I bought the earstudio ES-100 from Amazon, now waiting for it to arrive. It is slightly more expensive than the BTR3 and xb10 , but reviews suggested it should sounds better.
Speaking of LDAC, I read a article online about LDAC vs aptx HD, turn out that most of the time LDAC is default at 660kbps, not the advertised 990kbps. And the sound quality when using 660kbps is not necessarily better than atxp HD.
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While true, you can also go into developer options and pick a specific bitrate to use, and considering it's going to be in a car with maybe 2-4ft of range i don't see 990kbps having issues.
The article makes it sound like it's a great big hassle for regular users, but I posit that regular users won't notice any difference in quality if they're just playing "high quality" Spotify, and if you do care enough to play files at high res you should be familiar enough with tinkering to tap a few buttons.
Now the better argument is whether the earstudio actually sounds better than the FiiO, and basing off of reviews that compare the two directly that answer seems to be that it's not better but a little different, though it does have some nifty features that the FiiO lacks.
Then again with it being in a car it likely won't matter since they're more useful for headphones.
What I wish someone would do is make something like either of those devices but without a battery so that it doesn't stay connected when the car is off.

TheTofu said:
While true, you can also go into developer options and pick a specific bitrate to use, and considering it's going to be in a car with maybe 2-4ft of range i don't see 990kbps having issues.
The article makes it sound like it's a great big hassle for regular users, but I posit that regular users won't notice any difference in quality if they're just playing "high quality" Spotify, and if you do care enough to play files at high res you should be familiar enough with tinkering to tap a few buttons.
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I first found out the problem with XB10 after I dig into the developer menu and found no aptx HD. I think that article is for those who don't really knows what Bluetooth audio should perform in the real world. And also a informative read for me, since I only had a rough idea of Bluetooth audio standard before.
Now the better argument is whether the earstudio actually sounds better than the FiiO, and basing off of reviews that compare the two directly that answer seems to be that it's not better but a little different, though it does have some nifty features that the FiiO lacks.
Then again with it being in a car it likely won't matter since they're more useful for headphones.
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Think in a bit more on that, it might be just down to which amp works better with which iem. Since I had no where to test the earstuio, I can only cross my finger and hope it works well with my Westone w4r.
BTW, I wish my car is quiet enough so I can care about bluetooth audio quality. The tyre noise is just bad that it doesn't matter anymore. And only two door speaker doesn't help ether.
What I wish someone would do is make something like either of those devices but without a battery so that it doesn't stay connected when the car is off.
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I think some sony head unit already support LDAC and didn't cost much more than your FiiO, if car audio is all you want. And you don't have to amplify the signal twice (or is there a line out on the FiiO? Idk)

Type2501 said:
I first found out the problem with XB10 after I dig into the developer menu and found no aptx HD. I think that article is for those who don't really knows what Bluetooth audio should perform in the real world. And also a informative read for me, since I only had a rough idea of Bluetooth audio standard before.
Think in a bit more on that, it might be just down to which amp works better with which iem. Since I had no where to test the earstuio, I can only cross my finger and hope it works well with my Westone w4r.
BTW, I wish my car is quiet enough so I can care about bluetooth audio quality. The tyre noise is just bad that it doesn't matter anymore. And only two door speaker doesn't help ether.
I think some sony head unit already support LDAC and didn't cost much more than your FiiO, if car audio is all you want. And you don't have to amplify the signal twice (or is there a line out on the FiiO? Idk)
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Fair enough about road noise, I'm hoping to fix some wind noise at some point. Tires are already as good as can be pretty much, without being wasteful, you always want the best you can get though, it's arguably the most critical part of your car in emergency situations (having enough grip to break and stop, emergency lane change, or accelerate and gtfo)
Issue with the head unit is that most modern cars are notoriously hard to put head units in. My car is a 2012 and I need like 2-3 different adapters that add an additional 80-120 to the cost, plus the time to install, all to get a piece of my dash to stick out like a sore thumb since it's not a factory look.
And even then, the head unit itself would cost at least 100, whereas a simple USB powered dongle with just line-out and minimal processing I think could easily be made and sold for maybe 50 to max out bluetooth quality, and it would be easy to take with me to another car rather than having to break down the dash just to get the head unit out.
Personally I'm eagerly hoping and awaiting for SBC HD (aka SBC Dual Channel Audio) to be merged into AOSP and released as part of either Android Q or whatever comes next, as this would increase the max bitrate to 512kbps for all bluetooth devices made since 2007 whereas devices made after 2015 would have effectively any birate they want while using the SBC Codec. Free audio quality upgrade for pretty much all devices, especially those not supporting AptX or better.
For more info see: https://forum.xda-developers.com/android/software-hacking/improve-bluetooth-audio-quality-t3832615
I will likely attempt patching the library myself if rooting ever becomes available for the S9+