Has anyone figured out how to actually user our DAC? - LG V20 Questions & Answers

It is driving me crazy that we can get this thing to output at 24bit/192k Hz or even just 24bit/96k (I would be perfectly fine with 96k as I can honestly barely tell the difference between 96 and 192).
I was listening to some 24bit vinyl stuff on my phone and I could help but wondered why it sounded "dull" for lack of a better term. Back into PC and all of a sudden all of the high end clarity is back (relieved to know I am not going deaf).
But this leads be to the question, our phones must be downsampling to 48K. Even Neutron says it can only sample 48hz so what the deal? I know the DAC in this phone is supposed to support something absurd like 32bit/356k Hz but it seems like it is only outputting 48K.
Is it just me, or are my ears lying to me lol???

You are correct. The phone downsamples and converts everything to 48khz pcm. Nobody who buys this phone seems to care about it and LG is not in any hurry to correct it.

mlknez said:
You are correct. The phone downsamples and converts everything to 48khz pcm. Nobody who buys this phone seems to care about it and LG is not in any hurry to correct it.
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I rather suspect that the large majority of V20 owners don't have any true hi-res music files
.

douger1957 said:
I rather suspect that the large majority of V20 owners don't have any true hi-res music files
.
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If it's true hi res at DSD (DIFF), WAV 24/96 at least, or flac 24/96 or the very least flac 24/48, and with a good quality headset, IEM or CANS, you should hear the differences, forget the B&O one's, they don't make much differences, then you know the quality. Never compare the V20 with any standalone DAP, maybe low quality one's.

kms108 said:
If it's true hi res at DSD (DIFF), WAV 24/96 at least, or flac 24/96 or the very least flac 24/48, and with a good quality headset, IEM or CANS, you should hear the differences, forget the B&O one's, they don't make much differences, then you know the quality. Never compare the V20 with any standalone DAP, maybe low quality one's.
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I use a pair of AKG k240s when I am out and about. I use my Q701s often, but I was really eager to try the k501s with the v20, and I am really sad this phone isn't utilizing the DAC properly.
(I'm an AKG guy btw haha)

shadowxaero said:
I use a pair of AKG k240s when I am out and about. I use my Q701s often, but I was really eager to try the k501s with the v20, and I am really sad this phone isn't utilizing the DAC properly.
(I'm an AKG guy btw haha)
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My V20 seems to be using it, with the hifi dac toggled on and off , I can clearly hear the differences, when compared to my G5 hifi DAC, it sound slightly better, but only a marginal better, I think it all comes down to the quality of the components use, either way my sony ZX 2 sound way better, but my xperia X performance does not compare to the LG.
Ilike sony, you can see my IEM collection below in the sig, going to pickup a pair of MDR EX1000.

kms108 said:
My V20 seems to be using it, with the hifi dac toggled on and off , I can clearly hear the differences, when compared to my G5 hifi DAC, it sound slightly better, but only a marginal better, I think it all comes down to the quality of the components use, either way my sony ZX 2 sound way better, but my xperia X performance does not compare to the LG.
Ilike sony, you can see my IEM collection below in the sig, going to pickup a pair of MDR EX1000.
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To me it just sounds like when I toggle the hi-fi mode it is just pushing more voltage. Just a glorified "gain" control lol. It gets louder but no clearer and still sounds a bit hollow. when I compare to my sound blaster z direct stereo mode the v20 is crap. And it's saddening because we all know it has the hardware to be so much more. Some one get an LG rep in these forums lol.

shadowxaero said:
To me it just sounds like when I toggle the hi-fi mode it is just pushing more voltage. Just a glorified "gain" control lol. It gets louder but no clearer and still sounds a bit hollow. when I compare to my sound blaster z direct stereo mode the v20 is crap. And it's saddening because we all know it has the hardware to be so much more. Some one get an LG rep in these forums lol.
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I think it sound more that louder, it has a slight differences in tone.

shadowxaero said:
To me it just sounds like when I toggle the hi-fi mode it is just pushing more voltage. Just a glorified "gain" control lol. It gets louder but no clearer and still sounds a bit hollow. when I compare to my sound blaster z direct stereo mode the v20 is crap. And it's saddening because we all know it has the hardware to be so much more. Some one get an LG rep in these forums lol.
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I have to admit that this is true when compare between my Xonar and the phone. I am very disappointed and the only reason I keep it cuz v10 is so slow now. Better Audio for audiophile?? my ass, just louder, all sounded like mp3, so why must we use flac. Not to mention the camera is super dull for late 2016.

mlknez said:
You are correct. The phone downsamples and converts everything to 48khz pcm. Nobody who buys this phone seems to care about it and LG is not in any hurry to correct it.
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I see you love to spread misinformation.
Sent from my LG V20 using XDA Labs

shadowxaero said:
It is driving me crazy that we can get this thing to output at 24bit/192k Hz or even just 24bit/96k (I would be perfectly fine with 96k as I can honestly barely tell the difference between 96 and 192).
I was listening to some 24bit vinyl stuff on my phone and I could help but wondered why it sounded "dull" for lack of a better term. Back into PC and all of a sudden all of the high end clarity is back (relieved to know I am not going deaf).
But this leads be to the question, our phones must be downsampling to 48K. Even Neutron says it can only sample 48hz so what the deal? I know the DAC in this phone is supposed to support something absurd like 32bit/356k Hz but it seems like it is only outputting 48K.
Is it just me, or are my ears lying to me lol???
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Go into LG world, HiFi and grab true high res music and play it in stock LG music app. You will see how well it works.
Sent from my LG V20 using XDA Labs

Any player will play those files... however, every player is decimating the files down to 48khz prior to sending them to the DAC because the phone is reporting that 48khz pcm is the only available ability of the DAC.
---------- Post added at 09:54 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:53 PM ----------
BROKEN1981 said:
I see you love to spread misinformation.
Sent from my LG V20 using XDA Labs
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Your player is playing the files, but before it sends the info to the DAC, it is decimating them to the best reported rate, which is 48khz pcm.

BROKEN1981 said:
Go into LG world, HiFi and grab true high res music and play it in stock LG music app. You will see how well it works.
Sent from my LG V20 using XDA Labs
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I'm not sure what your on about, I have 24bit/192k files already, why do I need LGs? I also have tracks I have recorded at 24bit/96k and personally mixed and mastered my self. I know how down sample audio sounds.
The problem isn't the files its the fact that the DAC isn't outputting anything higher than 48k. I'm not sure if you have any other DACs you can test with but that fact that there is a major difference between my sound blaster z and the v20 is proof enough that the DAC isn't functioning as it should.

Hearing is not a one sound fits all.
The DAC Hi-Fi on the V20 does an excellent job compaired to many other phones out there.
At least with my V20 I can hear the over all better quality of playback when turning on Hi-Fi. The music is much more rich. And tones that I have never heard in music before can now be heard.

shwnr11 said:
Hearing is not a one sound fits all.
The DAC Hi-Fi on the V20 does an excellent job compaired to many other phones out there.
At least with my V20 I can hear the over all better quality of playback when turning on Hi-Fi. The music is much more rich. And tones that I have never heard in music before can now be heard.
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That doesn't change the fact that many of us bought this device for specific reason. Once of the biggest reason for me personally was because the ES9218 has some really impressive specifications. If supports DSD and yet converts to PCM. I have a problem with that, it isn't functioning as it should. It supports 32 bit stereo at an outrageous 384Khz and yet decimates everything to to 48Khz. So that means for those of us who have invested in good pair of cans, we are upset.
I am glad you think is sounds good and I don't want to take away from your experience but it does not change the fact that 24bit 96/192khz files sound like crap coming out of this phone compared to a DAC outputting the signal correctly.

shadowxaero said:
I am glad you think is sounds good and I don't want to take away from your experience but it does not change the fact that 24bit 96/192khz files sound like crap coming out of this phone compared to a DAC outputting the signal correctly.
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What are you using to play your files.
You mentioned neuron, but what about the stock player?
Its very possible that its not the phone that's the issue. But the software / player your using could be the problem instead.

Just received my male to female adapter today and all i got to say is Wawwww. I am hooked...

shwnr11 said:
What are you using to play your files.
You mentioned neuron, but what about the stock player?
Its very possible that its not the phone that's the issue. But the software / player your using could be the problem instead.
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I have used the stock player, poweramp, neurtron, JetAudio lol all of them down-sample the audio. The phone is definitely the issue. If you have another DAC that outputs at 192kHz you would be able to tell very easily that the v20 is down sampling to 48kHz

shadowxaero said:
I have used the stock player, poweramp, neurtron, JetAudio lol all of them down-sample the audio. The phone is definitely the issue. If you have another DAC that outputs at 192kHz you would be able to tell very easily that the v20 is down sampling to 48kHz
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Your software could be down sampling. Not the hardware.

shadowxaero said:
That doesn't change the fact that many of us bought this device for specific reason. Once of the biggest reason for me personally was because the ES9218 has some really impressive specifications. If supports DSD and yet converts to PCM. I have a problem with that, it isn't functioning as it should. It supports 32 bit stereo at an outrageous 384Khz and yet decimates everything to to 48Khz. So that means for those of us who have invested in good pair of cans, we are upset.
I am glad you think is sounds good and I don't want to take away from your experience but it does not change the fact that 24bit 96/192khz files sound like crap coming out of this phone compared to a DAC outputting the signal correctly.
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@shadowxaero -
@beavis5706 mentioned in his testing of the V10 that:
"I have done some more tests given the information provided here and I have come up with some answers. An interruption when switching the DAC on/off signifies a player that can output true hi-res. I did some test recordings on Audacity through the input on my laptop with a music file that has known frequency response up to 88,200Hz. The players that can output true hi-res (the ones that interrupt with DAC on/off) play those frequencies all the way up with no cutoff. The players that cannot (no interruption with DAC on/off) are using Android's internal resampler and are getting resampled to 48kHz (24,000Hz frequency response).
The players I have found that can output true hi-res are ZPlayer, PlayerPro, Shuttle+ (thank you stupc), LG stock music player, Google Play Music and ES File Explorer media player.
Having said that my ears tell me that all players work with the DAC. However only the ones I have listed above can output true hi-res. The rest, while they do still sound good and do benefit from the DAC, are not outputting true hi-res and are instead being resampled to 48kHz." (from post #7 of http://forum.xda-developers.com/lg-v10/general/music-apps-using-dac-t3252596)
My understanding is that this is likely true for the V20 as well, as really only the OS and the hardware changed and it's extremely likely that LG did as little changes as possible considering their rocky start with the LG V10, which has the exact same re-sampling issue.
So that's 6 music player apps that actually bypass the down-sampling on the V10 and probably the V20, but the only way we can know for sure on the V20 is if someone with a similar test bench to @beavis5706 can replicate his work on the V10 testing music player apps on the V20.
So who has a good sound card, test tones over 24 KHz in a hires file, and Audacity or the like?

Related

media player with equalizer?

need one. standard media player is flat as all get out. recommendations?
flat? really. i jam mine in my truck and its bassy as hell lol. have to turn down my sub somtimes to make it sound right.
Will this player handle .wav music files? or is there one that will?
extra bass doesn't mean extra good. perhaps your speaker setup is appropriate for the onboard equalizer. mine isn't. i want adjustability
timothydonohue said:
need one. standard media player is flat as all get out. recommendations?
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I dont think there is anything decent out there as I wouldnt mind an equalizer though I would describe the output from the device as punchy and really quite dynamic. What sort of headphones or system are you plugging into it? The headphones it comes with are somewhat weak....
The Jones said:
I dont think there is anything decent out there as I wouldnt mind an equalizer though I would describe the output from the device as punchy and really quite dynamic. What sort of headphones or system are you plugging into it? The headphones it comes with are somewhat weak....
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i haven't tried my closed circumaural (sennheiser 280 pro), but my sennheiser in ear buds usually sound decent enough, and are a lot less cumbersome. however, everything on this sounds completely flat. my zen has an equalizer that allows me to set everything up perfectly. much more dynamic, and appropriate for me. i have partial hearing loss :/
No EQ . Not possible with androids sdk from what i understand.
There is one application that tries this but it is horrible.
Definitely ones of my biggest peeves of android.
galaxys said:
Will this player handle .wav music files? or is there one that will?
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i can confirm that the music app on board the nexus one handles wav files.
until (and if) andless handles flac files, I'm going to listen to wav files. sure, they take up quite a bit of space, but man do they sound sweet.
for what it's worth, i like the sq. that said, i use custom iems and can max out the volume with no discomfort. that definitely means that the n1 isn't the loudest dap ever.
aleitry said:
i can confirm that the music app on board the nexus one handles wav files.
until (and if) andless handles flac files, I'm going to listen to wav files. sure, they take up quite a bit of space, but man do they sound sweet.
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Very Cool...that makes me a very happy camper!
There is an equalizer program on the market.
It's something like Platinumeq with audio player.
It works very well and has about 15 sliders to adjust as well as 30 or so presets.
However it is £18!! but worth a download and try to see if the sound can be improved, I find it pretty damn good actually.
Amdathlonuk said:
There is an equalizer program on the market.
It's something like Platinumeq with audio player.
It works very well and has about 15 sliders to adjust as well as 30 or so presets.
However it is £18!! but worth a download and try to see if the sound can be improved, I find it pretty damn good actually.
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Click to collapse
You mean this?
http://www.androlib.com/android.application.jp-cyberfort-audioplayerwithgeqplatinum-ztCm.aspx
http://www.androidzoom.com/android_applications/multimedia/audio-player-witheq-platinum_bdli.html
Rashkae said:
You mean this?
http://www.androlib.com/android.application.jp-cyberfort-audioplayerwithgeqplatinum-ztCm.aspx
http://www.androidzoom.com/android_applications/multimedia/audio-player-witheq-platinum_bdli.html
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Those are the only ones Im aware of and they most certainly did some ass backwards hack. The sound is absolutely terrible , random skipping in songs , a resource hog even on the N1 after a day or two.
Unless you are just using stock or cheap-o earbuds the sound will get distorted badly.
Anything remotely close to quality headphones and youre going to hear alot of distortion. Wouldnt recommend at all.
dont need EQs. stock headphone are junk (sound flat). use better headphones and it will be like night and day difference in sound quality. i have like $30 dollar headphones which is cheap and they already make huge difference.
That's the one.
I found it worked rather well on my Hero?
Maybe I'm lucky or easily pleased..
kolyan said:
dont need EQs. stock headphone are junk (sound flat). use better headphones and it will be like night and day difference in sound quality. i have like $30 dollar headphones which is cheap and they already make huge difference.
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Quite the contrary.
The better the headphones the more the need for an EQ.
Every headphone (and speakers for that matter) have there own characteristics. The more expansive the sound range becomes the more EQ can come into play. On top of that every user has there own preferences and there own sources of music.
Thats like saying every TV should have the same stock video presets regardless of the source.
For low end and budget headphones theres not much range to work width making EQ barely noticeable.
Amdathlonuk said:
Maybe I'm lucky or easily pleased..
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lol Perhaps.
Meltus here and the guys from coreplayer among others have been adamant that Google hasnt given access to the sources needed for a proper EQ.
What sucks is that Coreplayer also got shunned by Apple for the same reason. Those guys do great work yet are limited to WinMo.
I tried my set of high quality headphones with my N1, and the N1's sound is simply terrible no matter what music player is used. No dynamic range, incredibly flat sounding, no bass what so ever. This is in desperate need of an EQ no matter what. At least bluetooth stereo is better.
told ya, lol
I agree the nexus one isn't fantastic with my Ultimate Ear triple FI's, but hey it's a phone. The iphone is horrid too. When i am home I just use my Sansa Fuze to get some solid sound. If i use the nexus one(which I do), I just remember it's a phone and tolerate the worse sound. I honestly tend to use my cheaper headphones to compensate as well.
If you care about sound this much, I am sure you already have a high quality mp3 player. If you not, 75 bux will get you a 8gb fuze+16gb micro sd card, and this should suffice with limited pocket space taken!
Tried to listen to some music for the first time now, just to check out the horrid flat sound with no bass.
Launched Spotify, put on my Boss Quietcomfort 2's (granted, not the most neutral headphones around...) and selected a song with some bass etc.
Plenty of bass for my ears, even with Spotify which doesn't exactly have the highest bitrate around (160kbps mp3 or ogg, can't remember). Decent sound which couldn't be called flat even if you threw a rock at it.
Might be pre-EQ'ed a bit for all I know, but it doesn't sound bad at all.
Couldn't check out the built in media player since I deleted all the mp3's that were pre-installed on the SD-card
Even the G1 sounds better over headphones than the N1. Kinda sad.

[WANTED : How to play Hi res (24 bit / 192Khz) musics on our Xperia Z1? HELP]

This thread might have been discussed before but I could not find any link.
Our dear phones come with Snapdragon S800 so it has the Qualcomm DAC. Other Android devices equipped with this DAC and processor like Galaxy Note 3 and LG G2 can play Hi res files. Z1 definitely has a best SQ output than the Note 3 IMO, I was not convinced by the Note 3's sound.
It has just the power my hungry cans need, it packs clarity, soundstage and dynamic bass, amps make it shine even more, implementation of theDAC is wonderful. Coming from an iPhone 5 (and lot of iPhones before) it was hard to find something that could actually feel like an upgrade in sound quality.
What is lacking in our devices to get them capable to read Hi Res files without downscaling bitrates to 16bit/44Khz? What is this kernel driver limitation, can't it be bypassed or modified to work like those of the Galaxy Note 3 and LG G2?
Try PowerAMP which it have his own decoder:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.maxmpz.audioplayer
P.S. Wrong section
zigory said:
Try PowerAMP which it have his own decoder:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.maxmpz.audioplayer
P.S. Wrong section
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Thank you I'll give a look at it (Neutron might be a good player too). Do you think it can do the trick on its own? I wonder if it can bypass the "stock driver" limitation.
How can I change this thread to the good section?
Snapdragon 800 doesn't have native 24bit 96khz decoding, its the LG G2 that has a different DAC and custom kernel to support it. Your assumption is wrong, you can never listen to native 24bit 96khz audio on Xperia z1 or any other s800 processor phone like Note 3, Nexus 5. Poweramp and other players will basically bring it down to 16bit 48khz (or 44khz).
I'm an audiophile and all i can tell you is 16bit can sound really sweet provided DAC is well designed. I've tried LG G2 and audio sucked big time due to bad DAC quality. Z1 sounds way better than G2 or Nexus 5, and even Note 3. Z1 just falls behind Htc One which gets higher weightage coz of much higher volumes. My only complaint with Z1 audio was volume until I found the volume boost mod.
Journey from 96khz to DSD (1.4Mhz) is for audiophiles and not for normal listeners. Manufacturers like LG create a buzz by using it, but they epicly fail at delivering the basics.
taranfx said:
Snapdragon 800 doesn't have native 24bit 96khz decoding, its the LG G2 that has a different DAC and custom kernel to support it. Your assumption is wrong, you can never listen to native 24bit 96khz audio on Xperia z1 or any other s800 processor phone like Note 3, Nexus 5. Poweramp and other players will basically bring it down to 16bit 48khz (or 44khz).
I'm an audiophile and all i can tell you is 16bit can sound really sweet provided DAC is well designed. I've tried LG G2 and audio sucked big time due to bad DAC quality. Z1 sounds way better than G2 or Nexus 5, and even Note 3. Z1 just falls behind Htc One which gets higher weightage coz of much higher volumes. My only complaint with Z1 audio was volume until I found the volume boost mod.
Journey from 96khz to DSD (1.4Mhz) is for audiophiles and not for normal listeners. Manufacturers like LG create a buzz by using it, but they epicly fail at delivering the basics.
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I'm listening 24/96 content since z1 shows up in store ...I wrote that (just try to find) and it's sounds great ...for future don't give advices till you try something by your own ...and its for sure z1 output is great and it's not quiet -it's natural gained ...I had never listened with highest volume ...and I'm using denon ahd1100 32Ohm series
espe0 said:
I'm listening 24/96 content since z1 shows up in store ...I wrote that (just try to find) and it's sounds great ...for future don't give advices till you try something by your own ...and its for sure z1 output is great and it's not quiet -it's natural gained ...I had never listened with highest volume ...and I'm using denon ahd1100 32Ohm series
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Click to collapse
Did you read it all? I'm sure you didn't. Just coz Z1 can play 24/96 doesnt mean it has a DAC which is 24/96khz. Any oldie android phone can play 24/96, it will be scaled down to 16/44 16/48 by hardware. It sounds better coz its probably a lossless 24/96 FLAC , which always sounds better than lossy mp3.
I've played 24/192khz FLAC on Z1 and it plays fine but its useless to do so.
I use 50ohm headphones and volume is too low without mod.
espe0 said:
I'm listening 24/96 content since z1 shows up in store ...I wrote that (just try to find) and it's sounds great ...for future don't give advices till you try something by your own ...and its for sure z1 output is great and it's not quiet -it's natural gained ...I had never listened with highest volume ...and I'm using denon ahd1100 32Ohm series
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In the future, learn to know things before you preach! Even my 5 year old S1 played 192kHz 24bit audio through Neutron but had to convert to yuck 44kHz/16bit though using voodoo sound made everything sound extraordinary for a phone.

M8 - Audiophile thread

We seriously need a sound quality-related thread for this phone.
I'll start first.
I think this phone's audio is OK, best I've seen by far, but not as detailed as I'd like it. I seldom change phones, so I will compare it (very neutrally) with my previous phone: Note 3.
The Note supports 24-bit/192 kHz, while this phone's international model supports 24-bit/96 kHz.
This phone's Boomsound software is actually a pretty good feature and raises just the right frequencies to the right extent, without distorting the authentic experience. But it was so loud/wild that it started to blow even my studio monitor Audio-Technica M50, which was something purely related to not up-to-the-mark coding, blowing off relatively neutral headphones.
But I just updated to 4.4.3 firmware, and they have actually improved a lot on that software deficiency. The headphones do not feel blown even at full volume, which is a giant leap considering how "sensitive" audio equalizers like BoomSound are to reach perfection. Sure, they still haven't reached perfection; audio loses detail nearly last 2 steps of volume, but it's nice to see they are actually improving on that.
Of course, I can turn off Boomsound anytime and be as authentic as anything, but for me boomsound is just a priceless software I'm yet to find in any mobile yet.
Note 3 had Adapt Sound, which is a great equalizer to tweak sound to the best too. But I like how you don't have to take an audiometry-like test just to improve sound on your phone in M8. (Not bashing Note 3's audio at all, just my preference).
I think I read in the official features of Android L that external DAC will be natively supported (correct me if I'm wrong), so I'm really looking forward to the future of audio in this phone.
P.s. I would give an arm and leg to try out Harmon Kardon mod for this phone, but I can't because of no S-Off. I really can't wait to hear the difference between Boomsound and Harmon Kardon myself. Well, until the day I can get the mod!
Sent from my HTC One_M8 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
Pay the 25 dollars...
OP, I think this thread is a good idea :good:
I hope that we will get some good input and development info here
P.S. HK on 4.4.3 is awesome!
Link: http://forum.xda-developers.com/htc...-harman-kardon-conversion-htc-one-m8-t2827439
erapmicks said:
Pay the 25 dollars...
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Willing to pay, even tried all I could to pay them in *any* way but my country has no PayPal, and even a live chat with the developers could not find a workaround for the issue
I'm just refreshing their page everyday to see if new payment methods become available.
09Ram said:
OP, I think this thread is a good idea :good:
I hope that we will get some good input and development info here
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As a really really really enthusiastic audiophile who is trying all his can to learn music and stuff, I wanted views of everyone, pro or not, on this phone's audio. Can't wait to see how the feedback/discussions help us!!!
Sent from my HTC One_M8 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
Good stuff, you sound like you know your stuff What is your opinion of the stock earbuds that come with the phone?
WarCow said:
Good stuff, you sound like you know your stuff What is your opinion of the stock earbuds that come with the phone?
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Just like HTC's previous ear buds which came with M7, they lean towards a more bass-y sound. The sound is hence easier on the ears, and the best point about these earplugs is that they are at least able to playback all (OK, not all, but a lot more than any I've seen come from any phone) frequencies. This is most noticeable as the lower frequencies, the bass, is actually *booming* at lower volumes with these earplugs. Which is relatively hard to attain in earphones.
But apart from bass being good (which targets a more encompassing audience which likes bass-y music), the sound maintains its balance. It's not obsessively bass-y, and not too peaked at higher frequencies too.
The new 4.4.3 update made the audio more "muddier/bass-y/low frequency-focused", than I'd like though. It is, in my opinion, a downgrade from previous version. But yes, an upgrade in the part that the crucial frequencies aren't "blown" like the previous one.
Let me give you my point of view. How *I* like my music. I like it as authentic as possible. I'm what you might call an audio purist/fundamentalist person.
One last point about the earphones. The earphones are a bit fatiguing. They fatigue my ear more than other earphones I've tried, despite the easier, softer audio focus.
Sent from my HTC One_M8 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
Great thread! I do really enjoy good audio myself!
What I regret is that I converted my phone to Google Play Edition and that really changes how boomsound works. I am going back to Sense.
In my case, and I do not know why I am the only one that notices, but the soundstage goes on and off when listening to music and touching the home button. Stay away from GPE people.
In regards to the headphones I think they're pretty good too considering they're $6 earbuds. Lots of people say "Hey this earbuds suck" but what they do not know is that the plug size really MATTERS!!! If you don't choose the correct plug size any earbuds sound like crap.
I would really like to test the V-Moda Crossfade m-100 headphones on my phone, but I spent the money on a Samsung Gear Live I had the V-Moda Crossfade LP2s and sold them, they are great but bass-y (I don't have much time to use headphones), I use my car audio and my home theater system (MartinLogan speakers + Denon A/V receiver).
I converted my m8 to EU stock rom so I haven't tested it thoroughly yet. I did like the sound on .2 minus boomsound. BS was OK on some hip hop but overpowering on other genres. I've been working too much OT to test but has the mono USB audio out been fixed? I don't think many people noticed that that use external DAC s. Output through my JDS labs CD5 was mono but headphone out was still awesome. Has anybody noticed if it's been fixed?
Sent from HTC One_M8 using hofo app.
Sry in advance, too long post :<
Jamal Ahmed said:
This phone's Boomsound software is actually a pretty good feature and raises just the right frequencies to the right extent, without distorting the authentic experience. But it was so loud/wild that it started to blow even my studio monitor Audio-Technica M50, which was something purely related to not up-to-the-mark coding, blowing off relatively neutral headphones.
But I just updated to 4.4.3 firmware, and they have actually improved a lot on that software deficiency. The headphones do not feel blown even at full volume, which is a giant leap considering how "sensitive" audio equalizers like BoomSound are to reach perfection. Sure, they still haven't reached perfection; audio loses detail nearly last 2 steps of volume, but it's nice to see they are actually improving on that.
Of course, I can turn off Boomsound anytime and be as authentic as anything, but for me boomsound is just a priceless software I'm yet to find in any mobile yet.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How can you call this an Audiophile thread with these claims? (no offense tho).
Boomsound is the by far most horrible crap, you can use for headphones, if you truly want a high audio quality.
And i am not talking about, that you might "like" the different sounding, when the bass/treble is raised, and the mids are lowered.
I talk about the PURE quality of the sound. Its worse. It is. Noise and distortion are by worlds higher. With my Beyerdynamic T90 (yes, treble peak.. but still) and also with my pretty neutal Logitech UE 900 it was not listenable. The treble distorted in alot songs, it hurts in the ears etc.
I still DO think, if Boomsound would do the same, but NOT raise the treble, if would be by miles better as a "fun-setting". But like this, its not usable, tbh.
Also, if you want a sorce besides my ears: http://www.anandtech.com/show/8078/smartphone-audio-testing-htc-one-m8-and-samsung-galaxy-s5/2
Scroll down.
Comparing the THD+N ratio of BoomSound On to Off shows far more noise and distortion as well. If you want boomy bass, a harsh top-end, and no midrange, then use BoomSound. A better choice is to find headphones that suit your listening preferences more.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Jamal Ahmed said:
I think I read in the official features of Android L that external DAC will be natively supported (correct me if I'm wrong), so I'm really looking forward to the future of audio in this phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If I am not mistaken, this feature is supported by Android from version 4.3 onwards. So, witha Fiio E07k, E18~ you should be able to use it as a DAC. In the M8 audio quality thread on head-fi.org, one User uses the E18 with this, and can't disable Boomsound, while using an external DAC.
Jamal Ahmed said:
P.s. I would give an arm and leg to try out Harmon Kardon mod for this phone, but I can't because of no S-Off. I really can't wait to hear the difference between Boomsound and Harmon Kardon myself. Well, until the day I can get the mod!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Even if i do absolutely not share your opinion about Boomsound via Headphones, you might still be interested in my opinion in this comparison.
Boomsound:
Just a cheap EQ setting. Works well together with the external speakers, but is pretty crap for Headphones (maybe its fine with dull headphones, which dont have good treble/clarity. Maybe Shure SE 215, or some other basshead headphones).
I truly cant recommend it. And like i said, its NOT because the EQ setting changes the "true sound" (i like the Use of EQs to do some fine tuning if needed), but because using this raises the noise AND distortion by a good bunch. You can hear that strongly. At least i can.
PLUS, theres one big thing: This is just ONE strong agressive Preset of an EQ. Bass below 120 hz gets +5db, lower mids (120-1000 Hz) gets lowered by up to -5 dB, while the frequencies from 2000 up to 10k+ Hz) gets raised by 4,5db. Above 10k Hz its even above 5 dB).
This makes the difference Bass/treble, to the Mids from 0 dB to 10 dB, since +5 and -5 adds to 10. Thats a really hard difference.
So, in conclusion: Depending on headphones, this might sound better, or actually MUCH worse.
Bassy headphones, lets take your M50s, already have strong bass. Depending on frequency response, that bass could even "overlap" the mids, if the bass is too strong. you can see that on beats headphones. With Boomsound, the bass gets even more stronger, and the mids will get even more back in the background. Alot Headphones, that have a V-curve (and so naturally weaks in the mids) gets even weaker mids.
Also, depending on your headphones also as with the Audio files, the distortion gets raised by a little, or maybe by A LOT.
If you are not happy with your Headphone sounding, you should maybe try another Headphone.
If you just need some fine tuning, then you are by MILES better, if you just use PowerAmp, and its Equalizer, since it can react like a million times better to the individual frequency response of the headphones, and to your own personal taste. Boomsound here is more like "boom in your face. be happy with it, or cry"
Harman & Kardon Soundmod:
Now, this thing is alot different. This is actually Not an Equalizer, like Boomsound. H&K's "Clear-Fi" technology tries to take a strongly compressed Audiofile, and tries to recreate the missing parts.
So, it tries to raise the pure "compressed" audioquality of bad audiofiles.
I personally have mostly 256+ kbit/s MP3s, and Flacs. So, this technology wont help much. it sounds almost the exact same --> not really usefull. You just wont hear much of a difference, unless your Files have a bad quality. And if they do, then get better quality files, instead of such a software, that might not even work well enough.
But, this Soundmod disables Boomsound. Yes, you can find a "trick", where you change the Boomsound parameter from false to true in a script, and enabling it back in the menu. But, it will NOT be active. its like just menu decoration. The "boomsound" sign in the task bar will not be there - Not even with external speakers.
Boomsound is made ONLY for the External speakers, they work together quite well. Without Boomsound (ergo, with H&K soundmod flashed), the External speakers will sound much more thin/tinny. I have yet to find a way to have Boomsound for the speakers, and H&K Soundmod for headphones. Unless theres something new here, this is not possible together.
Lets go a bit deeper into the Audiophile theorycrafting:
H&K's "Clear-Fi", and its purpose might sound awesome. But it has its negative sights:
- It only helps on Crappy Audiophiles. Someone, who cares about audio quality will not use <128 kbit/s mp3s. At LEAST 192, but more 256-320 Kbit/s or even flac. So this will not help you, as the compression on 256+ is not strong enough, to make a difference (also, because most songs have a crappy quality from beeing badly mastered)
- The thoughts behind clear-fi are adressing the "problem" at the totally wrong spot. On most songs, it just does not matter, what file quality (bitrate etc) you use, because most songs are just really really crappy mastered in the studio. Its because alot people dont care about audio quality. so they use cheap crap, like beats headphones, logitech speakers for 30 bucks, and 10 bucks earphones etc. Crappy mastered/produced music sounds better on cheap devices, than a high quality master.
I mean, how are you supposed to "guess" the higher quality, if the artists arent producing high quality music?
I think, the following is a perfect comparison:
You create a 480p Movie, and try to upscale it into 1080p using a cheap software... Do you honestly think, that will raise the quality? I personally don't..
So, to make it pretty short: The worse your File quality is (and higher the file compression), the more "Clear-Fi" might make a difference.
The higher the file quality, the less difference this will make.
To get a high audio quality into your ears, you need a different priority:
1. The Song must be produced in a good/high quality. Much more important, than Bitrate. For example: Michael Jackson's Thriller album at 128 kbit/s will sound much better, than the new Linkin Park Album in 320 kbit+. (i like linkin park, but the new album has such an incredible low quality... its like zero fun listening to it, when you have really good headphones)
2. You need good headphones (Besides the master quality headphones are responsible for like 70-90% of the Audioquality. The REST comes from the DAC/AMP)
3. DAC / AMP Quality
The "Chain" is important. If just one part of it has a low quality, the whole chain will sound low.
good thread, I like quality audio too and use my M8 for music player, stream music at home etc
have a few high quality headphones like Sennheiser On Ear momentum, shure se215, hifiman re 400 and NAD HP50
with boomsound turned on, headphones sound awefull then I realised that it can be turned off with headpohone is connected, and with that off, sound quality is clean and crisp
I like neutral sound, true to source but maybe a bit high on treble....so far sound quality is good and is comparable to my previous note 3...note 3 was the best clean souding phone I hear so far though
any other suggestion to get a clean sound would be much helpfull
Long post (Darkseth), but ultimately just regurgitated from other audiophile nonsense. Boomsound is fine, and it's just elitist to claim it is anything else.
Most people like more bass in their music, most artists sound crap when played back without EQ. You can like it how it's meant to sound but artists want what THEY like, not what I like.
My favorite sound is poweramp music player with bass and treble cranked up, the mid tones almost removed as they sound rubbish with almost all music, and boomsound on top.
I am A1 qualified audiophile with qualifications from the school of knowing what I like
/bowing out and sorry if I derail anything.
The main reason for flashing the H/K mod is that it updates the adsp firmware to support 24bit 192kHz instead the 16bit 96kHz of the standard M8. Loaded up with hi-res flac files and through my Westone 4r's, the difference is night and day to me.
WESBAR said:
The main reason for flashing the H/K mod is that it updates the adsp firmware to support 24bit 192kHz instead the 16bit 96kHz of the standard M8. Loaded up with hi-res flac files and through my Westone 4r's, the difference is night and day to me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
do you hear any difference bwn 192kHz and 96kHz ? tried myself but no difference in quality and head-fi also has many reviewers say no difference but file size just increase a lot
Hey everyone, I'll say I'm an audiophile just because I like good quality, not because I have any knowledge, so this being said what do you guys have to say about ProjectERA?
HtcOneJon said:
Long post (Darkseth), but ultimately just regurgitated from other audiophile nonsense. Boomsound is fine, and it's just elitist to claim it is anything else.
Most people like more bass in their music, most artists sound crap when played back without EQ. You can like it how it's meant to sound but artists want what THEY like, not what I like.
My favorite sound is poweramp music player with bass and treble cranked up, the mid tones almost removed as they sound rubbish with almost all music, and boomsound on top.
I am A1 qualified audiophile with qualifications from the school of knowing what I like
/bowing out and sorry if I derail anything.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sarcasm? If yes, then thx for that giggle mate
thecrab93 said:
Hey everyone, I'll say I'm an audiophile just because I like good quality, not because I have any knowledge, so this being said what do you guys have to say about ProjectERA?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sounds like a good thing. I also had it flashed for a short time... Cant really claim, i heared a difference. But when you reboot into recovery, flash and reboot, thats too much time passed, to be able to really compare it.
You would need 2 devices, one with, one without ProjectERA mod, to really be able to compare it i think.
soo.... difficult to say.
Darkseth said:
Sry in advance, too long post :<
How can you call this an Audiophile thread with these claims? (no offense tho).
Boomsound is the by far most horrible crap, you can use for headphones, if you truly want a high audio quality.
And i am not talking about, that you might "like" the different sounding, when the bass/treble is raised, and the mids are lowered.
I talk about the PURE quality of the sound. Its worse. It is. Noise and distortion are by worlds higher. With my Beyerdynamic T90 (yes, treble peak.. but still) and also with my pretty neutal Logitech UE 900 it was not listenable. The treble distorted in alot songs, it hurts in the ears etc.
I still DO think, if Boomsound would do the same, but NOT raise the treble, if would be by miles better as a "fun-setting". But like this, its not usable, tbh.
Also, if you want a sorce besides my ears: http://www.anandtech.com/show/8078/smartphone-audio-testing-htc-one-m8-and-samsung-galaxy-s5/2
Scroll down.
If I am not mistaken, this feature is supported by Android from version 4.3 onwards. So, witha Fiio E07k, E18~ you should be able to use it as a DAC. In the M8 audio quality thread on head-fi.org, one User uses the E18 with this, and can't disable Boomsound, while using an external DAC.
Even if i do absolutely not share your opinion about Boomsound via Headphones, you might still be interested in my opinion in this comparison.
Boomsound:
Just a cheap EQ setting. Works well together with the external speakers, but is pretty crap for Headphones (maybe its fine with dull headphones, which dont have good treble/clarity. Maybe Shure SE 215, or some other basshead headphones).
I truly cant recommend it. And like i said, its NOT because the EQ setting changes the "true sound" (i like the Use of EQs to do some fine tuning if needed), but because using this raises the noise AND distortion by a good bunch. You can hear that strongly. At least i can.
PLUS, theres one big thing: This is just ONE strong agressive Preset of an EQ. Bass below 120 hz gets +5db, lower mids (120-1000 Hz) gets lowered by up to -5 dB, while the frequencies from 2000 up to 10k+ Hz) gets raised by 4,5db. Above 10k Hz its even above 5 dB).
This makes the difference Bass/treble, to the Mids from 0 dB to 10 dB, since +5 and -5 adds to 10. Thats a really hard difference.
So, in conclusion: Depending on headphones, this might sound better, or actually MUCH worse.
Bassy headphones, lets take your M50s, already have strong bass. Depending on frequency response, that bass could even "overlap" the mids, if the bass is too strong. you can see that on beats headphones. With Boomsound, the bass gets even more stronger, and the mids will get even more back in the background. Alot Headphones, that have a V-curve (and so naturally weaks in the mids) gets even weaker mids.
Also, depending on your headphones also as with the Audio files, the distortion gets raised by a little, or maybe by A LOT.
If you are not happy with your Headphone sounding, you should maybe try another Headphone.
If you just need some fine tuning, then you are by MILES better, if you just use PowerAmp, and its Equalizer, since it can react like a million times better to the individual frequency response of the headphones, and to your own personal taste. Boomsound here is more like "boom in your face. be happy with it, or cry"
Harman & Kardon Soundmod:
Now, this thing is alot different. This is actually Not an Equalizer, like Boomsound. H&K's "Clear-Fi" technology tries to take a strongly compressed Audiofile, and tries to recreate the missing parts.
So, it tries to raise the pure "compressed" audioquality of bad audiofiles.
I personally have mostly 256+ kbit/s MP3s, and Flacs. So, this technology wont help much. it sounds almost the exact same --> not really usefull. You just wont hear much of a difference, unless your Files have a bad quality. And if they do, then get better quality files, instead of such a software, that might not even work well enough.
But, this Soundmod disables Boomsound. Yes, you can find a "trick", where you change the Boomsound parameter from false to true in a script, and enabling it back in the menu. But, it will NOT be active. its like just menu decoration. The "boomsound" sign in the task bar will not be there - Not even with external speakers.
Boomsound is made ONLY for the External speakers, they work together quite well. Without Boomsound (ergo, with H&K soundmod flashed), the External speakers will sound much more thin/tinny. I have yet to find a way to have Boomsound for the speakers, and H&K Soundmod for headphones. Unless theres something new here, this is not possible together.
Lets go a bit deeper into the Audiophile theorycrafting:
H&K's "Clear-Fi", and its purpose might sound awesome. But it has its negative sights:
- It only helps on Crappy Audiophiles. Someone, who cares about audio quality will not use <128 kbit/s mp3s. At LEAST 192, but more 256-320 Kbit/s or even flac. So this will not help you, as the compression on 256+ is not strong enough, to make a difference (also, because most songs have a crappy quality from beeing badly mastered)
- The thoughts behind clear-fi are adressing the "problem" at the totally wrong spot. On most songs, it just does not matter, what file quality (bitrate etc) you use, because most songs are just really really crappy mastered in the studio. Its because alot people dont care about audio quality. so they use cheap crap, like beats headphones, logitech speakers for 30 bucks, and 10 bucks earphones etc. Crappy mastered/produced music sounds better on cheap devices, than a high quality master.
I mean, how are you supposed to "guess" the higher quality, if the artists arent producing high quality music?
I think, the following is a perfect comparison:
You create a 480p Movie, and try to upscale it into 1080p using a cheap software... Do you honestly think, that will raise the quality? I personally don't..
So, to make it pretty short: The worse your File quality is (and higher the file compression), the more "Clear-Fi" might make a difference.
The higher the file quality, the less difference this will make.
To get a high audio quality into your ears, you need a different priority:
1. The Song must be produced in a good/high quality. Much more important, than Bitrate. For example: Michael Jackson's Thriller album at 128 kbit/s will sound much better, than the new Linkin Park Album in 320 kbit+. (i like linkin park, but the new album has such an incredible low quality... its like zero fun listening to it, when you have really good headphones)
2. You need good headphones (Besides the master quality headphones are responsible for like 70-90% of the Audioquality. The REST comes from the DAC/AMP)
3. DAC / AMP Quality
The "Chain" is important. If just one part of it has a low quality, the whole chain will sound low.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I completely agree with you
best: H / K for MP3 and Boumsound for speakers
the speakers do have a bad sound without boumsound
Viper4Android is very good to improve the quality but I did not try on the M8
saj2001ind said:
do you hear any difference bwn 192kHz and 96kHz ? tried myself but no difference in quality and head-fi also has many reviewers say no difference but file size just increase a lot
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I can hear the difference. 192kHz has a little more sparkle to me, especially the highs. Probably an exagerration to say night and day but I can hear it.
I like 24 bit 192 kHz more because it is easier to use hi-end equipment on it, and still be as authentic as possible. Logically, low resolution would sound worse to worst as the quality of your equipment goes higher. Hi-res has one advantage, if any, that it assures you that if you have invested more in your equipment, it won't go to waste all the time you are listening to audio on mobile.
and AFAIK 24 bit 192 kHz is the max supported resolution by headphones of even a pretty high caliber.
Hey OP. What else did you notice out of the 4.4.3 updpate that is so diff from 4.4.2? Sorry for changing topic lol
I can't stand BoomSound as it makes the music sound horrible and unrealistic (it works for the external speakers though). It does very weird things with the sound with headphones. I did not like the Harman Kardon mod either. It just pumped up the highs and has too low bass. Ironically it too sounded very bad in my Harman Kardon CL headphones. Though better than BoomSound.
I rather go flat than use any of those mods and any "audiphile" would agree. It might be good for cheaper heaphones though.
However Viper4Android is another story. With it you can customise the sound without destroying it and give it a richer character. I am extremely happy with it.

Sampling Rate - Are we taking full advantage of Quad DAC feature ?

The B&O earphones which we received along with our phone is a decent one. But in my experience it does not make any difference unless the song is in hifi flac format.
The LG "life's good" track (3mins) in the phone is 24 bit and has 192 khz sampling rate and it sounded amazing through the B&O head set. The size of this 3 minute track is almost 100 mb.
However, I downloaded a few samples of 24bit/44.khz flac files and its corresponding 320kbps Mp3 versions and felt no difference between them while hearing.
24 bit/ 192khz track = 100mb
16 bit /44.1khz track = 20 mb
mp3 320 kbps = 8 mb
Does that mean to experience the full effect of DAC the songs got to have high sampling rate? Also some of the flac files which were 16 bit did not even have the "hifi" badge in the playlist. What does the other users here think about this?
I can definitely hear a difference between a HiFi FLAC song from Tidal and one from another streaming service. Whether it is better or not is subjective to each person, but there definitely is a difference in sound.
SaintCrispin said:
I can definitely hear a difference between a HiFi FLAC song from Tidal and one from another streaming service. Whether it is better or not is subjective to each person, but there definitely is a difference in sound.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah that i agree. I have subscribed to both Google play music and TIDAL HIfi . When i alternate a track between the two services I feel tidal version to be more soothing were as google play version is more loud.. But does than mean we experience those additional little details or the so called mind blowing Hifi effect ? NO, I don't think so. There isn't much difference at all.
Just listen to a track on Tidal, then go back listen the LG life's good track again. That will show you the true Hifi quality.
manu0888 said:
Yeah that i agree. I have subscribed to both Google play music and TIDAL HIfi . When i alternate a track between the two services I feel tidal version to be more soothing were as google play version is more loud.. But does than mean we experience those additional little details or the so called mind blowing Hifi effect ? NO, I don't think so. There isn't much difference at all.
Just listen to a track on Tidal, then go back listen the LG life's good track again. That will show you the true Hifi quality.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
To me, there definitely is a difference. Tidal FLAC is a more natural sound alongside MQA. I hear the same songs in a whole new light which I appreciate. The mind blowing experience also depends what speakers or headphones you choose while listening.
SaintCrispin said:
To me, there definitely is a difference. Tidal FLAC is a more natural sound alongside MQA. I hear the same songs in a whole new light which I appreciate. The mind blowing experience also depends what speakers or headphones you choose while listening.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I did not say there isn't any difference. I admit Tidal is a little better. But just not better enough. That's why i referred to the LG track. I honestly do not think the additional 10 $ per month for Tidal over GPM is worth it. Or maybe it's just me.
I can only speak for myself. The phone will support a 256G SD card. I don't stream anything. I load 24\192 and DSD files and use one of the 4 known players that make use of the quad dac. I listen headphone\iem's that have over 50ohms impedance. I smile a lot, I dance in the street. The V20 is a happy musical engine that powers joy. IMHO streaming music is like getting a hand job, through a small glory hole, from a faceless stranger, with missing fingers. (YMMV) You can hum along but what is the point when you have such a great device. Life is Good When you Play more..
dartinbout said:
I can only speak for myself. The phone will support a 256G SD card. I don't stream anything. I load 24\192 and DSD files and use one of the 4 known players that make use of the quad dac. I listen headphone\iem's that have over 50ohms impedance. I smile a lot, I dance in the street. The V20 is a happy musical engine that powers joy. IMHO streaming music is like getting a hand job, through a small glory hole, from a faceless stranger, with missing fingers. (YMMV) You can hum along but what is the point when you have such a great device. Life is Good When you Play more..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What are the 4 known players that make use of the quad dac?
dartinbout said:
I can only speak for myself. The phone will support a 256G SD card. I don't stream anything. I load 24\192 and DSD files and use one of the 4 known players that make use of the quad dac. I listen headphone\iem's that have over 50ohms impedance. I smile a lot, I dance in the street. The V20 is a happy musical engine that powers joy. IMHO streaming music is like getting a hand job, through a small glory hole, from a faceless stranger, with missing fingers. (YMMV) You can hum along but what is the point when you have such a great device. Life is Good When you Play more..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
lol, true that.. I have ordered a Samsung Evo+ 256 gb card... Once i get hold of that it's bye bye to Google and Tidal..
By the way from where did you get the 24/192 tracks from? torrents? I thought they were hard to find?
R U speaking about trackers? I know nothing about such sites. SE you were speaking t__r__nt projects? There is nothing there. I Did See Delightful people there that were on only 24 years old and weighed 192 LB's . They sounded lovely.
dartinbout said:
R U speaking about trackers? I know nothing about such sites. SE you were speaking t__r__nt projects? There is nothing there. I Did See Delightful people there that were on only 24 years old and weighed 192 LB's . They sounded lovely.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Man, from where did you download the 24bit/192 ghz songs from? Is there a website from where i can purchase or download them?
manu0888 said:
The B&O earphones which we received along with our phone is a decent one. But in my experience it does not make any difference unless the song is in hifi flac format.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Which B&O ear buds are you talking about? There are a few variants like the budget version that came with the H990's or the H3's.
Sent from my LG-H990 using XDA-Developers Legacy app
somemadcaaant said:
Which B&O ear buds are you talking about? There are a few variants like the budget version that came with the H990's or the H3's.
Sent from my LG-H990 using XDA-Developers Legacy app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was referring to the one that came with the phone.

Audio quality

Hi experts,
I'm a long time Xiaomi user coming from Mi A1 thinking to buy this Mi 9T in US.
I'm not to happy with the A1 audio quality, especially over the headphones. I tried different brands, but not much luck. My GF has a note6pro, my family 5a..
Looking at the gsmarena site they are not impressed too with headphone test on this model, not sure it can be trusted though.
My main concern is the microphone and echo/noise canceling.
Can you guys give me a "real life review"?!
Check other thread, there many other (me included) confirm audio quality is suprisingly good, contrary to rumors. Maybe updates improved it?
I can say it is just as good as my amazing LG V20 with quad DAC! And the LG V series are the bechmark when it comes to android audio quality.
Only my problem is that volume is low, but AFAIK that is EU regulations, and should be easy to hack/fix, and would not apply anyway AFAIK for US version.
Just got my Mi 9T, and it is just STUNNING! A piece of art. I still catch myself staring at its beauty.
I would like to know about this too. And once again, there is NO EU regulation limiting volume. Manufacturers are meant to warn users when the volume is getting loud so they can confirm they want to proceed. If the phone companies can't read the rules, that's not the EU's fault. Enough with the fake news.
There's two modes of audio in the 9t "hi-fi" or regular.
I think that the option it's meant to switch from the audio chip modes, regular or performance (I think it's the best chip it has Qualcomm for audio, or at least they made it sound like that).
This performance mode uses more power, like 5 times more, and I am almost certain that gsmarena reviewed it without this setting on, that's why the poor results.
Look at this for more info of the chip.
https://www.qualcomm.com/products/wcd9375
Interesting for the consuption I didn't know ! and I can confirm that the sound quality is very good.
For the volume mine is very loud, impossible to put at max but it depend of your earphones impedance and many others things. (you have to play good quality sample music like FLAC and a good player like "AIMP" or "Poweramp" that can be "bit perfect"
Yes, I did a blind test against my creative Sound Blaster E1 (the phone supports DACs over USB C as well) and it is indistinguishable from that nice and proper DAC, IN THE HI-FI MODE. The source was lossless stuff from Tidal and the earbuds used were my trusty HiFiMan RE400a earbuds. I can verify that one has to listen at like two clicks below the full volume for everything to come through (i.e. the volume is a bit low, but baseline audio performance is excellent)
soumen08 said:
Yes, I did a blind test against my creative Sound Blaster E1 (the phone supports DACs over USB C as well) and it is indistinguishable from that nice and proper DAC, IN THE HI-FI MODE. The source was lossless stuff from Tidal and the earbuds used were my trusty HiFiMan RE400a earbuds. I can verify that one has to listen at like two clicks below the full volume for everything to come through (i.e. the volume is a bit low, but baseline audio performance is excellent)
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That's nice to hear.
mic
razielmcr said:
That's nice to hear.
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I would be also interested in the microphone handling in the topic of Audit quality. On Mi A1 ppl always complained when I was using a headset as the noise canceling part did not work. Same for Speaker mode..
Also why "Hi-Fi audio" is not on by default as it claims to increase audio quality.
Regarding the phone calls I can tell that my factory set 9T is poor. I cannot hear and understand what people say when calling. (Never had this on any phone before) Weird sound and some echo. And nowhere any audio settings in phone.
marko-mb said:
Regarding the phone calls I can tell that my factory set 9T is poor. I cannot hear and understand what people say when calling. (Never had this on any phone before) Weird sound and some echo. And nowhere any audio settings in phone.
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I don't have that problem. Phone calls are clear
Regarding audio quality over a headphone jack = it is worst audio quality I have ever tested from any smartphone be honest. I also know people who see it the same way. I went to Mi9T from Pocophone and never had this issue there - poco is still in my house, I gave it to my wife so I can really compare between the two. Tried both normal and hi-fi modes on Mi9T.
Audio over BT is fine on other hand - thats most important for me
I was testing audio quality on SONY WH-1000MX3
What could be the reason for this I dont know. The audio chip should be great. I have tried many versions of MIUI as well.
Tested right now with Beyerdynamic dt770 Pro 250 Ohm version. My source file is from deezer to have a better idea of an average quality of a song someone might listen to.
Hi-Fi is enabled and i can say that audio quality is pretty good. I wouldn't compare it to LG Quad Dac but the phone is powering 250 Ohm studio headphones very well.
People usually evaluate audio quality by the amount of bass. IMO its good enough.
@Nexus5-32GB I have the same impression. I came from a Zuk Z2 Pro and audio quality is poor. Bass is OK but mids and treble are too high. I'm using the same Senheiser MX-30G as always and the difference is noticiable even in Hi-Fi. My wife's Redmi 4A have better sound.
I am using poweramp music player to listen to music, and the audio quality is just superb! Previously I used google play music with mi sound enhancer and the audio quality is pretty mediocre compared to poweramp.
I tested hifi with AudioTechnica M50. It does make a difference and I feel it is a lot louder so much that I'm afraid of pushing volume to max. I like my hearing very much. You don't need portable amps with this phone for the most part. It's probably not audiophile approved or something like that but it sounds very full.
billiken_27 said:
@Nexus5-32GB I have the same impression. I came from a Zuk Z2 Pro and audio quality is poor. Bass is OK but mids and treble are too high. I'm using the same Senheiser MX-30G as always and the difference is noticiable even in Hi-Fi. My wife's Redmi 4A have better sound.
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What player are you using?
Using Google play the sound it's ****.
Using Tidal it's heaven, don't know why.
Exactly, if you use it right the sound is very good but if you listen mp3 with googlemusic, sure the best earphones can't do anything for you
razielmcr said:
What player are you using?
Using Google play the sound it's ****.
Using Tidal it's heaven, don't know why.
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I don't think it's a player issue 'cause I always use the same player. I always compare the sound using Spotify. I use Spotify on all my family devices.
billiken_27 said:
I don't think it's a player issue 'cause I always use the same player. I always compare the sound using Spotify. I use Spotify on all my family devices.
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Yeah, it doesn't make any sense, I know, but in my case that happend, playing throug play music was horrible and understandable that people complain about it, but with Tidal it's beyond anything i've heard.
Other users have notified that they too notice when playing through play music.
actually is awesome
brombadeg said:
Hi experts,
I'm a long time Xiaomi user coming from Mi A1 thinking to buy this Mi 9T in US.
I'm not to happy with the A1 audio quality, especially over the headphones. I tried different brands, but not much luck. My GF has a note6pro, my family 5a..
Looking at the gsmarena site they are not impressed too with headphone test on this model, not sure it can be trusted though.
My main concern is the microphone and echo/noise canceling.
Can you guys give me a "real life review"?!
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Coming from a zte axon 7 I was really doubtful about the sound quality, but I'm impressed about it, it has a hifi logo on the box and sounds really good, with a couple of good headphones I can't listen no difference with the zte axon 7, also had a poco f1 and it sounds a thousand times better than the poco

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