As an audio-lover coming from HTC's and later the Google Pixel devices, the Xperia 5 II got me very excited not only for retaining Sony's signature dual front-firing speaker setup but also for re-introducing the headphone jack. I understand that I am very much in the minority here with my wants and needs but, having access to a wealth of audio gear and competing audio-focused smartphones, I thought it would be helpful to draw some attention to one of the 5 II's best-performing features that hasn't been given justice yet online. Jump to the speaker quality section to skip the rambles.
To add context, I've owned the Xperia Z2 and loved it overall. However, while it ticked a lot of boxes, I was left dissatisfied with the performance of each feature - i.e. the cam was noisy and slow, the speakers very tinny, the headphone out lacking volume and I haven't returned to Sony until now. Until then, I was content with HTC's approach, their Boomsound stereo speakers were much richer and louder, the headphone jack implementations up to the U11 were also very good; the 10 especially had a dedicated audio section which delivered a very low noise floor, albeit a higher output impedance which made it a no-go for expensive multi-driver earphones.
Before the 5 II, I owned the Pixel 3 and 4, the Pixel 4 I found to offer the best speaker quality with good sound chamber design providing nice fullness and volume albeit at the cost of no headphone jack and abysmal battery size and life. So of course, audio is a priority for me. I have a wide collection of high-end earphones and headphones and like to travel light without an additional DAP, dongle or BT receiver. The 5 II is an audio lover's dream with regards to its speaker quality/volume/setup and headphone jack output. It also comes across as a substantially more refined Android experience than past Xperia's I've used to the extent that it rivals Pixel smartphones in fluidity.
Speaker Quality -
Though not the best on the market, of the devices I've owned, the Pixel 4 actually has the best speaker quality in terms of max volume, frequency balance and bass extension and I would say any user would be satisfied with the performance. The speaker setup on the 5 II is immediately more immersive and symmetrical - I'm not a huge fan of the popularisation of downward-firing woofer + earpiece tweeter as I find the volume discrepancy between the two distracting. The stereo setup is a big plus here for media consumption, and something I missed from my old HTC's and the PIxel 3. The 5 II, thankfully, also has far better speaker quality than previous Xperia's.
They are no longer tinny in the slightest with a nice body and balance to the midrange. With Dolby on, you even get a little bass punch in addition to a healthy jump in volume. There's more depth and fullness on the Pixel 4, but the difference was not as big as expected and I can personally forgive that given the real symmetry and stereo separation of the dual front-firing setup. Max volume is also excellent, easily as good as the Pixel and the audio reproduction is clearer and more balanced in the midrange. As such, vocals are easier to discern e.g. listening to videos while showering. I also don't find the 5 II to distort as much at max volume, where the Pixel 4 earpiece speaker became peaky and distorted on the top few notches. So though the Pixel may measure louder in some reviews, in use, the 5 II has the same useable volume range and both easily sufficient for listening to/sharing videos and music in loud environments.
It would be great to see Sony continue to work on the speaker quality in future models with a bit more bass extension, but this is definitely not an area where potential buyers should feel concerned that the 5 II is lacking.
Headphone Jack -
Onto the headphone jack, I have read that Sony have utilised custom amplifiers in their phones rather than the in-built audio from the Qualcomm chipset in previous models, and I wouldn't be surprised if this was also the case on the 5 II. In my eyes, a good audio source should provide 3 fundamental qualities:
- A low output impedance
- Ample driving power with low noise floor
- Linear frequency response
The 5 II ticks all boxes and it ticks them well for IEMs especially. It has a relatively low output impedance, just a few ohms at most. I tested by hooking up the Xperia and my desktop amp (THX789 with 1-ohm impedance) to the Campfire Audio Andromeda (5-driver BA earphone) with an in-line switcher. This revealed a slight bass drop-off, but pretty similar audio balance overall, a very good result. The Andro is notoriously sensitive to source impedance meaning that the vast majority of other IEMs, even high-end multi-drivers such as those from Empire Ears, Shure, etc, will sound accurate and faithful to their design on the 5 II - whereas, a higher OI will result in a shift in the sound signature.
Similarly, it has a flat response when measured using right RightMark Audio Analyser (Dolby off) and a black background with zero hiss even on the sensitive Andro. Of course, the detail retrieval and soundstage are not as strong as the THX desktop amplifier, but this is one of the best phones I've used in terms of audio output; it is simply clean and balanced. Even the LG V30 with its ESS audio hardware is not vastly more resolving and its output impedance is only slightly lower (measured at 1.5ohms) so both are equally good choices for the audio conscious. Power output is on the lesser side but easily adequate. I required 60% volume to get the Focal Clear to a comfortable listening volume leaving plenty of headroom for listeners preferring higher volumes. The THX amp obviously had a tighter, more extended bass but surprisingly, the Sony was not too bad, delivering a balanced sound and good soundstage. There was no bass drop-off and good detail retrieval. Impressive for a phone driving a high-end full-size headphone.
TLDR -
I think this is a pretty impressive smartphone all around and it's good to see that being recognised by critics and users. I am not personally hugely enamoured by the camera performance coming from the Pixel but there's definitely potential there especially if you like to tinker in post. The screen with warm colour temp in creator mode is a sight to behold with great accuracy to boot, and the battery life and audio performance are both sensationally good. In fact, 2-day battery life is very achievable with 3hrs SOT per day, not something I could say about any phone that I've owned prior. So hope this write up helps hobbyists on the fence. If you're looking for a good all-rounder smartphone with a clean headphone out, this is a great option!
Thanks a lot for this comprehensive writeup!
I'm in a similar situation to you, except I jumped ship from my previous Xperia's a bit later, ending up with a HTC U11+. Unfortunately the USB port has became faulty, meaning that I can't use the Usonic earphones that came bundled with the device. Flashing Android 10 to the device using a GSI image also means I can't even use a dongle anymore. Rough.
I had already planned to get the Xperia 5 last year, but managed to keep using my U11+ because it is still lasting me all day and I was afraid of having to face a worse camera in the X5 compared to the U11+.
With this post I think I'm pretty sure I'll love the X5 ii, it confirms everything I was thinking and have seen, from the display quality, the audio chipset, the speaker performance, etc.
I'm curious, on your profile it says you're a Physiotherapist but your level of understanding of tech is quite advanced for someone without any formal design/engineering background. I'm studying Electrical/Electronic Engineering at the moment, but I can say that a lot of my knowledge is from before I started my degree studies.
Shrenade514 said:
Thanks a lot for this comprehensive writeup!
I'm in a similar situation to you, except I jumped ship from my previous Xperia's a bit later, ending up with a HTC U11+. Unfortunately the USB port has became faulty, meaning that I can't use the Usonic earphones that came bundled with the device. Flashing Android 10 to the device using a GSI image also means I can't even use a dongle anymore. Rough.
I had already planned to get the Xperia 5 last year, but managed to keep using my U11+ because it is still lasting me all day and I was afraid of having to face a worse camera in the X5 compared to the U11+.
With this post I think I'm pretty sure I'll love the X5 ii, it confirms everything I was thinking and have seen, from the display quality, the audio chipset, the speaker performance, etc.
I'm curious, on your profile it says you're a Physiotherapist but your level of understanding of tech is quite advanced for someone without any formal design/engineering background. I'm studying Electrical/Electronic Engineering at the moment, but I can say that a lot of my knowledge is from before I started my degree studies.
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Thanks! HTC made some great smartphones, wish they'd done better after the original One, such a goodie.
And yep, I studied Physio in my undergrad but tech/audio is my passion. I mostly lurk on forums reading the work of far more intelligent writers. On the side, I run an audio review website and through both I've picked up some knowledge - about audio especially.
I definitely am not a professional here in any way and love the perspective true pros bring to the industry, always a fascinating read. Hope you're enjoying your studies!
As a lurking audiophile, I wholeheartedly second this! I find that LG headphone jack still wins by virtue of having more volume steps. Sound quality wise, it is truly barely discernible given my portable usage of these two in my daily commutes.
Related
I was wondering if there is any way to tweak the audio quality of the Magic?
..it has cut-off bass frequencies, have a look at gsmarena.com review, I'm sure there's some way to tickle more performace out of it! Of course I've changed the headphones already
I too am interested in a volume increase or overall quality hack. was advised the g1 hack by meltus does not work on mytouch... Any info or suggestions to increase volume
I have the same question. Actually, it's stopping me from buying one and I will get Diamond2 instead, if no solution comes up soon...
Here is a link to the page of the review which criticizes the sound quality:
http://www.gsmarena.com/htc_magic-review-377p7.php
Here is a link to frequency responce graph from that review:
http://pic.gsmarena.com/vv/reviewsimg/htc-magic/gsmarena_a001.png
Here is a quote of what they say about it:
It has cut-off bass frequencies, probably due to some kind of high-pass filter meant to improve sound on small size headphones.
I'm planning to use high-end headphones which don't need any bass cut-offs and I'm wondering if this is a software thing, or a hardware low-pass filter?
For comparison, here's a link to Diamond2's frequency response graph:
http://pic.gsmarena.com/vv/reviewsimg/htc-touch-diamond2/gsmarena_a001.png
As you can see, even though lower frequencies are lowered a bit, it's not drastic by any means and is perfectly equaliseable.
Here is a quote of what they say about Diamond2 audio quality:
With the introduction of the Diamond2 HTC are making a huge step forward in matching the music phones' audio quality.
Please help us on this! I'm really sold to Android's UI philosophy and I'm ready to sacrifice 800x480 screen, better browsing experience with flash, exhange, wmp, etc. for it, but not audio quality..it's a deal breaker for me.
From personal test I found that the Hero sounds better than the Magic or Diamond2, a wider sound somehow with more "umpf", but if you're picky with sound-quality like me there's still no smart-phone around with Windows Mobile or Android which comares to the excellent sound-quality of the iphone 3gs or others..it's sad but true..
I'm not sure about the Samsung Galaxy sound quality, somehow I don't like the sound..like the extreme highs are missing..there's no EQ in Android, sadly, because I think upping the highs would improve the Galaxy with (my head phones at least)
I'm just talking about high pass filter, which cuts off bass.
I don't know if the high-pass-filter is hardware or software..
but I know that if you really have high-end head phones for 250€ or something..you're never going to be happy with any of the smartphones around right now..except the iPhone, the sad truth, I'm sorry..
I'm just talking about bass-cutting low pass filter (either software or hardware), which just removes any basses.
Diamond2 quality is more than decent for me.
yea, nobody seems to know if this is possible..it can't be very hard to hack! I know that Samsung improved their Omnia sound quality through a firmware update..so I hoped it was possible on any of the HTC devices..I'd be happy to have some improvement on a Diamond1, or a HTC Magic..
An EQ widget or app would be a gold mine in the market
phatmanxxl said:
An EQ widget or app would be a gold mine in the market
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Click to collapse
I doubt that EQ is enough. You would have to turn up lows on EQ to the maximum just to get a straight frequency responce graph, which is still not possible, because 20hz is just infinitely too low. And extreme EQ settings ALWAYS cause distortion...
I think the sound quality of this phone is just adaquete for use on the go. I am currently feeding a head-direct re2 (bass light) through a fiio e5 and I am fairly happy with the sound quality. Of course it can never compare to my home headphone set up with delicated DAC and a tube amp, but when you use those on the road there will always be enough noise leaking in to cover the lower spectrum. I do find it to have enough mid bass to make none analytical listening to be pretty enjoyable.
Adequate. It can be a lot better on other devices - be good.
If someone can get true line out in this phone, which should bypass any of the nonsense, I bet people will rejoice. Optical out would be nice too.
I'd say streaming over bluetooth will give you the best quality out of these phones right now..not sure if this is true though
emugpp said:
I'd say streaming over bluetooth will give you the best quality out of these phones right now..not sure if this is true though
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It is not.
I've tried this with my super old hermes, once i tweaked up the bluetooth and get rid of the skipping I had much better quality music through my Sony-Erricson Stereo-Bluetooth headset..
EQ and Audio Hack
Check these out.
http://forums.androidclubhouse.com/showthread.php?t=30
http://forums.androidclubhouse.com/showthread.php?t=82
These threads are basically for G1/Dream. I'm pretty sure it would work with Magic.
I'm very disappointed with my Magic audio, despite the audio quality, the Magic produces noise and interference. Using earphones like sennheiser cx-300 for example, at lower sounds and when the music stop, I can distinctly hear noise, and some sort of interference, like I hear when I plug the earphones to my old computer.
using my nokia device with same earphones and same mp3 the sound is perfect!
I'm using original HTC accessory (YC A300) to convert to 3.5mm and have original firmware version, android 1.5.
Anyone with same problem? I don't know if this is hardware problem or not.
Hi All, first post so please go easy on me........
I have a Leo coming in the next 2-3 days and wondered if anyone could offer an opinion on the quality of its audio playback (Mp3 and the like).
I have Sennheiser HD650 phones in my home, Benchmark DAC etc so i'd like to consider myself an audiophile of sorts - so please bear that in mind when answering.
Ive yet to read anything that is particularly enlightening about that aspect of the Leo, so something in depth would be great (Soundstage, Clarity etc etc)
Thanks, in advance, Shaun from the Uk.
No worries here, my friend. I have a pair of JH13 Pro and a pair of JH16 Pro custom IEMs as well as a Peachtree Audio Nova for home usage and the HD2 doesn't disappoint for on-the-go. It doesn't sound quite as good as the iPhone 3GS did but it does sound better than my old Milestone and Nokia phones (N95, N85, N97). I find Audio Booster very necessary since the HD2 tends to recess off the lower bass (sub-100hz) noticeably, so I just add a couple of dB to the bottom end.
Playback suffers from very slight hiss, but it's not a big deal. I don't think there's a portable player alive that doesn't hiss with the JH Audio earphones.
Relative to my phones other than the 3G and 3GS the Leo offers better 3D imaging and soundstage depth, with surprisingly holographic specificity. Detail resolution is actually very good, mostly comparable to the 3GS. The frequency response seems to be a little off-kilter as I mentioned the recessed lower bass. The treble is very polite and non-fatiguing (as opposed to grainy and etched on the Nokia phones) but I also suspect there may be a little recession going on up at the very top end as well; this doesn't bother me so much.
It is not quite up to the level of an excellent standalone MP3 player, but it is more than good enough to not make you think or worry about the differences.
Just the kind of information i was after, many many thanks.
Guys just want to confirm is the volume of S II at full (using equalizer app) same as legendry Galaxy S. As per one review on the net, they claim music playback through headphones also show distortions and noise. Is it true? Can we expect clear and loud output from other earphones, or is it actually manufacturing issue. Report say that Galaxy S II features an inferior audio chip from yamaha than the superior Wolfenson DAAC.
This would be a deciding factor for me getting this phone, morever after spending 30K (in India) for this, user will definitely look for good music through headphones.
Plz dont be LOVE n HATE biased give genuine verdicts folks. It depends on you people. Though I know replies we get here are very genuine, but being a galaxy S user for a couple of months, I am a bit biased and think Samsung makes best android phones. But at this price point money comes first and every feature included should be top notch, atleast music throgh head-phones.
I've come to the SGS2 from a Nokia 5800, which was of course built primarily as a music playing phone.
Listening with earphones:
I think the sound quality of the Nokia was a *little* better. The Sammy sounds a little harsher at the top end. But I'm perfectly happy with my new phone.
I think the maximum volume is actually louder on the Sammy, I couldn't listen to the music at max in a quiet room, it'd be too much. I think there are tweaks available to make it even louder, if you feel the need.
As for sound quality at max volume - no problems with distortion - the slightly harsh top-end doesn't get any worse.
(For reference, I'm using some very cheap but fairly decent headphones - JVC Marshmallow in-ear, the same as I used with the Nokia. I've not tried the supplied headphones as I heard they're rubbish)
Listening with the loudspeaker:
The Nokia absolutely blows it away, but then it's probably got the best stereo speakers of any smartphone. The Sammy doesn't have the volume, and it sounds thin and harsh compared to the Nokia.
However, other reviews suggest it's better than it's main competition (the HTC Sensation)... so basically I've been spoiled by the Nokia, and the Sammy is perfectly serviceable.
Thanks to RostokMcSpoons
Guys I am very happy to receive the first reply I would like to see more 7 more replies as honest as RostokMcSpoons'. I would be even glad if I can get replies from the experts like the senoir members I guess.
Perfectly acceptable for me even using stock headphones .
Nokia 5800 >> SGS1 >> SGS2
jje
Is it same of same quality and volume level as Galaxy S I9000 or is different.
I cannot tell the difference but some have said the SGS1 was better .
jje
quality is much better than any htc or motorola phones i have used. you never have to turn the volume anywhere near the top. highs, mids and base are great as well.
I am overwhelmed and one straight comparison with galaxy S music would be Icing on the cake.
I've used my SGSII with both my cheap old Sony MDR-G42's and my much-loved open-back Sennheiser HD-238 Precision and both sounded surprisingly great.
I do read some people saying about quiet sound but that's always puzzled me as the output seems no quieter than say my Creative Zen MP3 player and certainly loud enough to drive both styles of headphone well enough.
Probably S II is a good buy, I believe I am going for it this weekend.
mobfest said:
Is it same of same quality and volume level as Galaxy S I9000 or is different.
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Volume is about the same. Sound quality through the HP out is decent enough, borderline good - it's good across the frequency range and has a decent amount of detail - if a bit congested. However, when Compared the the SGS1 with voodoo sound - it's nowhere near as good. No suprises there, as a SGS1 + Voodoo sound may have the best SQ of all mobile devices, including mp3 players (such as the ipod touch and sony walkmen). Please keep in mind that this subjective.
Having said that, the SQ is good and will definitely be good enough for most people - especially if you add poweramp to the mix.
Thank you for your response
I believe voodoo sound is a mod, is by any chance in future this mod can be ported for s II as well.
S II wins heart but very big in size
My doubt has finally come to an end the music through headphones is good enough (using creative ep-630), not used the default ones yet. But truly the EQ widget boosts the music.
While I don't totally trust GSMArena's reviews, they are one of the few review sites that offer loaded headphone out measurements, and the Moto G 2014 caught my eye in that it seems to have a vastly improved headphone out compared to past models, which seems to be on par with the Quallcomm solutions used in LG G2, Nexus 5, while maintaining somewhat lower IMD.
A lot of times implementation is more important than the silicon, and I love to use my mobile as a portable music player, hence I am still hanging on to my old i9000, but I think it may be about time to move on.
So the question for this community is, how do people think this phone sounds? There are things like spurious processor noise and radio noise that won't show up on common measurement methods, but are obvious and annoying as heck (Nexus 7 1st gen's random buzzing comes to mind)
This affordable phone with a promising looking headphone out as well as SD card expansion capacity seems like a probable new music phone for me, any thoughts?
It doesn't sound as good as the i9000, unsurprisingly (I'd still be using one if it had a flash...), but for the price, it is pretty damn good. Mine doesn't exhibit any audible interference via the headphone jack; it's really clean compared to some China brand budget phones I've tried... The same cannot be said of the earpiece speaker, which picks up the radio when it is working hard due to poor reception. Hopefully it isn't radiating excessively at frequencies that would harm your health... I spoke to Motorola about it and they refuse to deny or confirm the issue, but I'm certainly not the only one.
Let's just say the output is good enough to merit using decent headphones. I found the quality was high enough to warrant buying a better pair of portable cans, and to be honest, I find the AKG K481s I subsequently bought have more obvious deficiencies than the Moto G, itself. I rather suspect that on a limited budget, the Moto G paired with decent headphones would definitely be up there with most flagships paired with cheaper headphones.
The headphone output of the Xiaomi Redmi 1S is also supposedly surprisingly good for a budget device. Either way, if you want to do more critical listening, Android 5.0 supports USB DACs...
@rufflove: Thanks for the detailed reply. By picking up radio you mean it's picking up on the local AM/FM radio?! That's rather interesting... If money was no subject LG G3 or Samsung Note 4 looks rather good in the headphone out department, but those are too rich for my blood. I am only interested in a well built phone with moderately good specs, but good headphone out and perhaps a okay camera.
USB DACs may be an option, but I am really not a fan of lugging another piece around, attached by wire. Similar quality to i9000 can be obtained through a Sansa Clip for a rather low cost.
Sorry, no, I mean the cellular radio interferes with the earpiece, especially when signal strength is poor...
If money were no obstacle, I'd be tempted by a Vivo Xshot or the LG G3 in particular for the best camera and audio.
Yeah, my housemate had a Sansa Clip -- incredibly good for the money. I used to have a Rio Carbon and was mortified when I lost it abroad... I'm not convinced any of this expensive new high sample rate kit is anything more than another way of fleecing people... On the USB front, I use a cheap Behringer UCA202 USB audio interface at home. They're unbelievably good value for money, though they have problems driving low impedance headphones... Great for hooking up portables to hifi gear.
I checked the GSM Arena review before getting an XT1068 and was still not convinced about how good headphone output would be, based on past experience of budget devices. But all I can say is that I was pleasantly surprised by the Moto G. The Redmi 1S seems to be the only other worthy competitor atm, but reports of the screen being too reflective put me off. That and the fact that I would have more confidence in Motorola than Xiaomi when it comes to build quality. There are a couple of very capable developers working together on the 1S, though.
Sound quality is not that good compared to previous phones (e.g Galaxy Ace 2 and Experia Mini). E.q makes little difference.
I take moto g2 because got more chance to get lollipop than sgs3. Some people says moto got better speaker than samsung. Camera i think better in s3. i use cameramx app.
Now about headphone sound quality. Its not what i needed. Too loud and sound is not clean at max volume. But i use playerpro and is ok. So if you need better quality find phone with dedicated audio chip, i mean like sgs3,4,5 or htc one m7,8. Some of them is my next phone when they will be still in store and get lollipop
I was blown away by Moto G's 2014 sound quality paired with decent headphones - I doubt any other device could do any better.
squidlr said:
I was blown away by Moto G's 2014 sound quality paired with decent headphones - I doubt any other device could do any better.
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Click to collapse
Which headphones do u use...?
ifu said:
Which headphones do u use...?
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Sony ZX310
Sent from my XT1068 using XDA Free mobile app
nereis said:
While I don't totally trust GSMArena's reviews, they are one of the few review sites that offer loaded headphone out measurements, and the Moto G 2014 caught my eye in that it seems to have a vastly improved headphone out compared to past models, which seems to be on par with the Quallcomm solutions used in LG G2, Nexus 5, while maintaining somewhat lower IMD.
A lot of times implementation is more important than the silicon, and I love to use my mobile as a portable music player, hence I am still hanging on to my old i9000, but I think it may be about time to move on.
So the question for this community is, how do people think this phone sounds? There are things like spurious processor noise and radio noise that won't show up on common measurement methods, but are obvious and annoying as heck (Nexus 7 1st gen's random buzzing comes to mind)ual
This affordable phone with a promising looking headphone out as well as SD card expansion capacity seems like a probable new music phone for me, any thoughts?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I would put the sound quality of the Moto 2014 on the very good side. It may not deliver enough punch for demanding headphones (It's not a Cowon, like all smartphones) but the sound is very clear, noise free.
I use it as my main listening device coupled with a Graham Slee Voyager headphone amp and the sound is very very good.
Hmm. My ears must be failing me. My Moto G doesn't sound that good through any of my head/ear phones. For reference I use Senn HD 480, AKG K450 headphones and Shure E2c in ears. The in ears sound the best with the right material.
@V4lve
true dat but you should try furnace kernel and app for increasing volume
Also does anyone have a flashable zip for viper4android or beats bass which works with bluetooth
So I just got my HTC U11 today and spent a few hours setting it up. I finally got around to trying out the phone's audio capabilities.
USonic - they sound good for out of the box earphones, but they're definitely not as good as my V-Moda Forza's. I could tell immediately. I doubt I'll use this.
DAC adapter - I'm conflicted. I'm still trying to decide whether or not the adapter sounds as good as my HTC 10. My initial impression is that it's not as good. The 10 has a cleaner, fuller soundstage. I'm really bummed about the BoomSound Dolby and tuning mode not being present on the U11. I've never really listened to the 10 without that mode on, so maybe that's the reason. The U11 doesn't sound bad though.
What do you guys think?
Good enough for 90%
Sent from my HTC U11 using Tapatalk
richteralan said:
Good enough for 90%
Sent from my HTC U11 using Tapatalk
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Pretty much this, most people will love it but I think anyone who had a HTC 10, an Axon 7, S7 Edge (Exynos, volume modded) will notice a bit of a step down. More so the AMP is weak rather than the DAC being bad (although Juan at PocketNow numbers show the DAC to be worse than the HTC 10, Axon 7, S7 Edge, iPhone 7).
I'm contemplating getting a Fiio K1
I just compared the sound quality between my 10 (without BoomSound on) and the U11, and they do sound quite similar.
This leads me to my disappointment -- why did they remove the BoomSound frequency tuning from the U11? It's nice that they have it for the USonic earphones, but why would you need to create multiple audio profiles for those earphones, if there's literally only one pair of earphones that can take advantage of that feature.
I'll have my thoughts later today using a dt770 as my comparison between the 10 and 11. They normally require more power than my HD600. I don't use high impedance/low sensitivity HPs with phones anyway but I figured I'd test.
djbutter said:
I just compared the sound quality between my 10 (without BoomSound on) and the U11, and they do sound quite similar.
This leads me to my disappointment -- why did they remove the BoomSound frequency tuning from the U11? It's nice that they have it for the USonic earphones, but why would you need to create multiple audio profiles for those earphones, if there's literally only one pair of earphones that can take advantage of that feature.
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Wondering this as well, you can't edit the audio profiles anyway so what is the point in having more than one profile
I've been happy about the audio quality so far. The problem I have is that we only get 1 of the DAC to 3.5mm adapter cables included. Now in order to use my music at home, in car, and at work I now have to carry the cable around with me. It is not ideal to have to carry around an adapter. Getting the included earphones is cool (sound okay) but would rather received a total of 4 adapter cables.
I went to order 4 more and found out that they are in pre-order status. I'll just have to wait until they come in. Once I have an adapter everywhere then I won't be so pissy about it. Really wish they would have kept the 3.5mm, then phone would be considered my best phone ever.
psawjack said:
I've been happy about the audio quality so far. The problem I have is that we only get 1 of the DAC to 3.5mm adapter cables included. Now in order to use my music at home, in car, and at work I now have to carry the cable around with me. It is not ideal to have to carry around an adapter. Getting the included earphones is cool (sound okay) but would rather received a total of 4 adapter cables.
I went to order 4 more and found out that they are in pre-order status. I'll just have to wait until they come in. Once I have an adapter everywhere then I won't be so pissy about it. Really wish they would have kept the 3.5mm, then phone would be considered my best phone ever.
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There really was no need to remove it, only to use a worse DAC/AMP in the adaptor.
GSM spoke highly of the headphone output. (http://www.gsmarena.com/htc_u_11-review-1620p6.php)
Great audio output
The HTC U11 did splendidly in the first part of our audio test. When hooked to an active external amplifier it delivered very loud and perfectly accurate output.
When headphones come into play the volume remains nicely high and the only reading to take a hit is stereo crosstalk. It's a moderate amount of damage there and will all the other aspects of the performance remaining excellent, it's a great showing overall.
HTC U11 (headphones attached)
Frequency response: +0.05, -0.11 (+0.05, -0.02)
Noise Level: -94.1 (-93.7)
Dynamic Range: -94.1 (93.8)
THD: 0.0017 (0.0018)
IMD + Noise: 0.0067 (0.105)
Stereo crosstalk: -94.5 (-53.7)
HTC 10 (headphones attached)
Frequency response: +0.01, -0.03 (+0.06, -0.09)
Noise Level: -93.2 (-92.8)
Dynamic Range: -93.2 (93.0)
THD: 0.0022 (0.014)
IMD + Noise: 0.071 (0.141)
Stereo crosstalk: -92.8 (-77.9)
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My own personal experience, I found my DT770 to sound great but was 2 notches of volume below the 10. The 10 at volume 13/15 was the U11 at 15/15. I definitely can hear the crosstalk difference GSM has measured. Heard that before I saw the measurements. Overall, I can definitely live with this. Just hope I don't put myself in situations where I need to charge and listen.
My first impressions are that I'm not particularly impressed by the Usonic earphones - but then I don't usually use the earbuds that come with a phone.
Given the reviews here, I was a bit surprised to find the sound from the U11 adapter sounds better on first hearing than I was getting from the HTC 10, but then I haven't yet done a proper A-B comparison - it could be I was playing it a bit louder, or 'new device' enthusiasm...
As I said it already the 3.5mm adapter lacks Boomsound and this make a big difference with HTC 10, HTC can implement it in the FW of the adapter but we need to let them know we want it.
mosincredible said:
GSM spoke highly of the headphone output. (http://www.gsmarena.com/htc_u_11-review-1620p6.php)
My own personal experience, I found my DT770 to sound great but was 2 notches of volume below the 10. The 10 at volume 13/15 was the U11 at 15/15. I definitely can hear the crosstalk difference GSM has measured. Heard that before I saw the measurements. Overall, I can definitely live with this. Just hope I don't put myself in situations where I need to charge and listen.
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Agreed. I can see the logic behind HTC's decision, and I actually don't disagree with it. They dropped the headphone jack but added noise cancellation and a decent pair of earphones. This targets that iPhone userbase that only uses the awful in-box white ear buds. It's definitely better value for the money for the average user.
Perhaps they needed to compromise on sound quality, but it still sounds pretty fantastic with the adapter. It may not sound as good as the 10 (honestly though it's pretty close), but I'm not mad about it.
Which Boomsound speaker mode do you guys prefer? Music it theater mode? I feel like music more is crisper while tester is a bit longer but muddier.
MinimalistChris said:
Which Boomsound speaker mode do you guys prefer? Music it theater mode? I feel like music more is crisper while tester is a bit longer but muddier.
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I use theatre mode all the time but yes it is muddier than music mode which sacrifices volume for better audio quality
About stereo crosstalk can you ''fix'' it with V4A?
Or there are no way to enhance stereo?
MinimalistChris said:
Which Boomsound speaker mode do you guys prefer? Music it theater mode? I feel like music more is crisper while tester is a bit longer but muddier.
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I usually use theatre mode. If I'm playing through the speakers, volume is more important to me.
On another note, I'm having this horrible issue with BT audio. When playing music in google play music through BT earphones (jaybird x2) or my home speaker (LG soundbar), occasionally there's a really loud, awful screeching noise!
Anyone else have this issue?
Otherwise, BT audio is noticeably improved over the 10!
djbutter said:
On another note, I'm having this horrible issue with BT audio. When playing music in google play music through BT earphones (jaybird x2) or my home speaker (LG soundbar), occasionally there's a really loud, awful screeching noise!
Anyone else have this issue?
Otherwise, BT audio is noticeably improved over the 10!
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Was listening with aptX in my car for a while today and I had no issues along with noticing no difference. Same volume level when connected to an Audioengine B1 that has a 2 volt output to my Audison bit-Ten. Wish I could do a quicker back and forth test with my 10 but I'd have to sync the Bluetooth over and over.
I have to admit that I'm a little bit worried about the sound quality on the u11. One of the things that I really enjoyed on the m8 m9 and the 10 was the Dolby audio enhancement. I have been using that in combination with power amp music player for years and you'd be surprised what kind of sound quality I get out of my Sennheiser HD 558's. I can hear the bass in music the way it is meant to be heard, almost felt, I don't hear that distorted bass sound that you tend to hear on lower end devices.
This may sound stupid to some people but if the sound quality is not at least the same as what I get on my 10 then I'm going to send the phone back. I just got done trying out a $300 pair of Bluetooth headphones with my 10 and I was not impressed, they were close in some areas but for $300 I want more than close. There is a cheaper pair that I have been thinking about trying with the 11 but I'm not sure that I'm going to want to invest all of this money just to be able to say I own the new flagship, and get half decent sound out of it with headphones, especially when for all intents and purposes I'm perfectly happy with my 10.
Right before the phone ended up shipping out to me I was debating on canceling my order because once the feeling of new shiny device wore off I started the question what about the new phone actually got me excited and to be perfectly honest the answer for me is really nothing. I think edge sense could be cool but the apparent lack of support from case manufacturers has me a bit scared as well. I have never owned an all glass phone before and I don't think you could pay me enough to use this phone without any full-body protection I understand that the camera is much better but honestly I don't see a problem with the one that I have. So this could be the first year that I actually hang on to my phone.
I just paired this phone with the Fiio K1 DAC. Much better audio experience. The HTC 10 apparently was better than the K1 by about 10% so the fact that the K1 sounds so good compared to the adapter is quite telling