Database Users

lineout audio quality

I really enjoy almost everything about the Focus. I bought it because I was so happy with my Zune HD.
I was underwhelmed when I plugged in my Grado headphones tho. Perhaps the Zune is just very high caliber, but It seems like I am missing some lows and the soundstage seems flat. Does anyone know what sort of Hardware went into this phone? If the hardware is good, is there anything I can do software or backend to make it sound better?
I have a second complaint. When I stick a headphone jack in the mic turns off, it probably is expecting an inline mic with the headphones. My problem is when I then go to pull out my headphones the phone doesn't notice and will continue to not hear. It takes two or three times reinserting and pulling out the headphones to remidy this. Is anyone else haveing this issue.

this is a known issue and will probably be addressed in the first or second update January-February. As of now the only thing you can do is adjust the default volume to be louder...there might be other things you can tweak regarding the root menu of the device. Check out the diagnosic codes thread.
Regarding the hardware i'm pretty sure its good hardware, I think that new apps will inhance the audio experience in our beloved phones.
Welcome to the forum, please do not start two of the same threads since it will clutter the forum.

Okay thanks. I saw the diagnostic thread. It was difficult to see what the values correlate with. How do you delete a thread? The double post was not intentional

The Zune HD uses a Wolfson Microelectronics audio chip, so that's top-tier level of audio quality.
The Focus uses the built-in Snapdragon audio codec, which just isn't as good, and unfortunately, it shows.

Raptor550 said:
I have a second complaint. When I stick a headphone jack in the mic turns off, it probably is expecting an inline mic with the headphones. My problem is when I then go to pull out my headphones the phone doesn't notice and will continue to not hear. It takes two or three times reinserting and pulling out the headphones to remidy this. Is anyone else haveing this issue.
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Same problem here. But is worst, I connect the Focus to my Car Auxiliary jack to use it as a mega speaker, I mean, when someone calls I can hear them, but they can not hear me. The microphone is dead when I plug it in. Someone knows a fix for this?

After doing some comparison with my high-end DAPs, my Focus is being relegated to movie watching only...lol. It has low quality sound. I did have about 8GB of music on it and have deleted it all. There just is no need to use my Focus for music when it sounds the way it does. It isn't horrible...erm...in a sense, that is. Before I compared it I thought it was quite good...lol. Now, however, I just can't stand it.
The Focus is a nice phone and does a lot of good things and those are things it will continue to do.

I'm using Samsung Focus as MP3 player replacement, which is perfectly fine. No different from Samsung Captivate with Wolfson chip, at least to my ears.

I decided to give music on my Focus another go after the NoDo/Firmware update. It seems to have improved the sound quality...unless it's just a placebo effect. I think I can live with the SQ now and am putting my music back on it.

I'm wondering which ear phones those guys use that complain about audio issues.
I think without this additional information the comlaints are rather useless.

Sebo1985 said:
I'm wondering which ear phones those guys use that complain about audio issues.
I think without this additional information the comlaints are rather useless.
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In my case, I use high-end canalphones. Shure SE530, Klipsch Image X10/X5, Sleek Audio SA6, UE Triple fi-10 and so forth.

Yeah, that's really high end. With my Westone Um1 i'm satisfied with the overall audio performance, even when there is some hissing and and whirring with low volume. I'm interested if the sound improves with the firmware update, just have to wait a few more days.

Sebo1985 said:
Yeah, that's really high end. With my Westone Um1 i'm satisfied with the overall audio performance, even when there is some hissing and and whirring with low volume. I'm interested if the sound improves with the firmware update, just have to wait a few more days.
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I believe it does improve with the update. Before the update, the sound was undefined and muddy. After the update, it seems a lot less muddy and more defined.

MartyLK said:
I believe it does improve with the update. Before the update, the sound was undefined and muddy. After the update, it seems a lot less muddy and more defined.
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Interesting, I'll have to do a little testing.
I often use my Focus at work to demo PA gear and typically use a Proco iFace for connection. I've never A/B'd my Focus and Zune30, though.

It is so hard to do AB testing because even a half decibel difference in level balance can be taken as an improvement.
The best way is to do sweeps plugged into a soundcard and graph the differences. even then some distortions can be pleasurable. But at least you can test its reproduction faithfulness comparing the wave to the original song.
It would be really interesting for somebody to run sweeps before and after nodo and see if the are identical or not.
It is possible that its improved. Sadly my zune was stolen so I can no longer compare. I can tell it still lacks some depth and can get get overwhelmed in complex passages those could be powering issues tho. I'm guessing thats what you are describing as muddy Marty.
its a worse than my work machine and i know that was a little worse than my zune which is a little worse than my home marantz. But for anyone reading this, the focus's sound is probably good enough for most people and at least comparable to most phones I think if not a bit better (never heard an I phone tho).
I will say about the HD, it had a much higher then average sound output.

Audio output reviews and opinions

Im interested in your opinions of the audio output through earphones or headphones.
Post some reviews, personal reviews
Here is a review i found that goes in depth about the M8 audio abilities
http://www.gsmarena.com/htc_one_m8-review-1062p7.php.
I took some time listening with yamaha eph -100s and the amp is powerful, nice sound stage and very clean. I think it sounds better with boom sound off on some tracks.

Coming from the Lg g2 i am really impressed with the volume and quality of the audio output to earphones

How loud is minimum volume?, I know the max is load but does that mean minimum volume is also high, I like listening to music quietly at night, is the base volume much higher than your other phones?

ryanjsoo said:
How loud is minimum volume?, I know the max is load but does that mean minimum volume is also high, I like listening to music quietly at night, is the base volume much higher than your other phones?
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It is pretty low, from my experience boom sound makes it a lot louder. It might be good to turn it off for night listening.

With my original HTC One M7, one of the speakers was always just a tad louder than the other (same with 1 replacment and an in-shop model I tested).
Has anyone with an M8 encountered this?

I often Played my one (m7) through my docking station via headphone to aux ... it was excellent sound. I tried the M8 today and had to turn down the bass and volume on my Dock. This is not a bad thing though, as the sound quality IMO is better. is has a deeper fuller sound to it. NO complaints from my end. This is just my opinion and hope it helps. The Docking station used is a Kickers iK500 :good:

Xzeven said:
With my original HTC One M7, one of the speakers was always just a tad louder than the other (same with 1 replacment and an in-shop model I tested).
Has anyone with an M8 encountered this?
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I have the m7, have the same ****ty problem, stops me from enjoying the amazing speakers.. Hopefully the m8 will be perfectly balanced..
Sent from my One using Tapatalk

car audio aux
running pandora, audio was clear through the car dock, boomsound EQ overwhelmed my systems bass capabilities with M7 settings on the bose head unit, had to adjust down the bass , if i had a dedicated sub and clipped the low levels to the 6x9's up front i dont think it would have even with max vol. after turning down the base level on the head unit it sounded as good or better than M7, or One-x w/beats EQ. no complaints over all just some re adjusting for the new EQ to match the car.
front speakers were loud and deep for their size, very impressed with their low level capabilities. the low volume was low enough for night listening both through head phones and int speakers.
my only question comes down to the head phones it came with, they sound good but feel like cheap plastic crap and are styled to look like fake beats by dre buds. why even include them in the box? i think its safe to say that if you are going to buy a flag ship device and care about head phones at all, you probably have a favorite pair of head phones already. just seamed pointless to cheapen the included equipment with BS ear buds...

r.wardell2 said:
running pandora, audio was clear through the car dock, boomsound EQ overwhelmed my systems bass capabilities with M7 settings on the bose head unit, had to adjust down the bass , if i had a dedicated sub and clipped the low levels to the 6x9's up front i dont think it would have even with max vol. after turning down the base level on the head unit it sounded as good or better than M7, or One-x w/beats EQ. no complaints over all just some re adjusting for the new EQ to match the car.
front speakers were loud and deep for their size, very impressed with their low level capabilities. the low volume was low enough for night listening both through head phones and int speakers.
my only question comes down to the head phones it came with, they sound good but feel like cheap plastic crap and are styled to look like fake beats by dre buds. why even include them in the box? i think its safe to say that if you are going to buy a flag ship device and care about head phones at all, you probably have a favorite pair of head phones already. just seamed pointless to cheapen the included equipment with BS ear buds...
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Judging by the fact that every review about the stock M7 & M8 buds have been met with nothing but praise seems to disagree with this comment. You'd be surprised how many people use the stock buds, and base their opinion on audio quality having used only the stock sets. It is a good thing in my opinion and I hope HTC continue to include headsets.

Galactus said:
Judging by the fact that every review about the stock M7 & M8 buds have been met with nothing but praise seems to disagree with this comment. You'd be surprised how many people use the stock buds, and base their opinion on audio quality having used only the stock sets. It is a good thing in my
opinion and I hope HTC continue to include headsets.
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I think most will agree that the m8 has great audio quality, but using the stock buds will no doubt greatly limit your ability to fully take advantage.

My Review
I gave my thoughts on audio experience in this video if your interested

daddydark said:
I think most will agree that the m8 has great audio quality, but using the stock buds will no doubt greatly limit your ability to fully take advantage.
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What I'm trying to say is that it is better that HTC supply their ear buds that are half decent, rather than not including ANY. As long as the ones they supply sound better than the majority of the competition then I don't see why anyone would have a problem with that. Better they make the effort rather than not in my opinion

r.wardell2 said:
running pandora, audio was clear through the car dock, boomsound EQ overwhelmed my systems bass capabilities with M7 settings on the bose head unit, had to adjust down the bass , if i had a dedicated sub and clipped the low levels to the 6x9's up front i dont think it would have even with max vol. after turning down the base level on the head unit it sounded as good or better than M7, or One-x w/beats EQ. no complaints over all just some re adjusting for the new EQ to match the car.
front speakers were loud and deep for their size, very impressed with their low level capabilities. the low volume was low enough for night listening both through head phones and int speakers.
my only question comes down to the head phones it came with, they sound good but feel like cheap plastic crap and are styled to look like fake beats by dre buds. why even include them in the box? i think its safe to say that if you are going to buy a flag ship device and care about head phones at all, you probably have a favorite pair of head phones already. just seamed pointless to cheapen the included equipment with BS ear buds...
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You might be the only person who complains about getting free things. I'd rather have the "alright" earbuds (I definitely use better ones) as a backup than not have them at all. I was overall satisfied in the few instances where I used my M7 earbuds considering they're just included earbuds that are typically awful from most other OEMs.

jtc276 said:
You might be the only person who complains about getting free things. I'd rather have the "alright" earbuds (I definitely use better ones) as a backup than not have them at all. I was overall satisfied in the few instances where I used my M7 earbuds considering they're just included earbuds that are typically awful from most other OEMs.
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This

jtc276 said:
You might be the only person who complains about getting free things. I'd rather have the "alright" earbuds (I definitely use better ones) as a backup than not have them at all. I was overall satisfied in the few instances where I used my M7 earbuds considering they're just included earbuds that are typically awful from most other OEMs.
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i agree that its better to have "alright" than none at all but as far as complaining about free... nothing is free, you paid for that **** one way or another. they sounded good in my opinion, detter than most OEM for sure, but they "felt" cheap. if i was a company that rests its worth on making only the highest quality most ascetically pleasing devices and to top that, one of my biggest selling points is my audio, i would have wrapped those drivers in a better quality material, or just left them out entirely and saved my self a few dollars per unit... even the cheapest sounding sealed ear buds you can buy at walmart have higher quality externals. they clearly spent money on the internals for the head phones but went el-cheapo on the feel, just pointless IMO.
did this take away from the device for me? no. but it was the only thing in the box that didn't immediately shout "quality!". presentation means a lot in marketing and how the average consumer feels about the device before they even turn it on. just look at how much companies spend on packaging. HTC probably spent more on the fancy shaped cardboard box than those headphones and the box has nothing to do with the quality of the device. but if that phone their charging $650+ for came out of generic brown box or a bubble pack, you bet your ass that would make people question it before they even turned it on.
if your an xda member you are already more educated in tech then the majority of consumers, and that's why it doesn't matter to you, but if you knew nothing about a device before you walked into the store you might care a little more about presentation.
im not trying to say any one is wrong or argue but thats my opinion, coming from a business and marketing stand point it didn't make sense.
sorry to continue off topic.

r.wardell2 said:
i agree that its better to have "alright" than none at all but as far as complaining about free... nothing is free, you paid for that **** one way or another. they sounded good in my opinion, detter than most OEM for sure, but they "felt" cheap. if i was a company that rests its worth on making only the highest quality most ascetically pleasing devices and to top that, one of my biggest selling points is my audio, i would have wrapped those drivers in a better quality material, or just left them out entirely and saved my self a few dollars per unit... even the cheapest sounding sealed ear buds you can buy at walmart have higher quality externals. they clearly spent money on the internals for the head phones but went el-cheapo on the feel, just pointless IMO.
did this take away from the device for me? no. but it was the only thing in the box that didn't immediately shout "quality!". presentation means a lot in marketing and how the average consumer feels about the device before they even turn it on. just look at how much companies spend on packaging. HTC probably spent more on the fancy shaped cardboard box than those headphones and the box has nothing to do with the quality of the device. but if that phone their charging $650+ for came out of generic brown box or a bubble pack, you bet your ass that would make people question it before they even turned it on.
if your an xda member you are already more educated in tech then the majority of consumers, and that's why it doesn't matter to you, but if you knew nothing about a device before you walked into the store you might care a little more about presentation.
im not trying to say any one is wrong or argue but thats my opinion, coming from a business and marketing stand point it didn't make sense.
sorry to continue off topic.
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I really don't think the average consumer would look at the earbuds and think "Wow. This totally ruins this unboxing experience for me." And, really, who cares what they look like? I own a pair of Sony MDR-V6's that sound better than probably any earbuds out there and let's just say that those things aren't the most aesthetically pleasing accessory in the world. They're made of nice, durable materials, but they're huge, bulky, and have a cord that is almost comically long (they're studio headphones). Did I care about any of that after I listened to music through them? Not at all. And, considering the included HTC earbuds will be the best pair a majority of consumers will ever own (yes, sadly), I'm sure they'll get over them being made of plastic.

jtc276 said:
I really don't think the average consumer would look at the earbuds and think "Wow. This totally ruins this unboxing experience for me." And, really, who cares what they look like? I own a pair of Sony MDR-V6's that sound better than probably any earbuds out there and let's just say that those things aren't the most aesthetically pleasing accessory in the world. They're made of nice, durable materials, but they're huge, bulky, and have a cord that is almost comically long (they're studio headphones). Did I care about any of that after I listened to music through them? Not at all. And, considering the included HTC earbuds will be the best pair a majority of consumers will ever own (yes, sadly), I'm sure they'll get over them being made of plastic.
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your probably right about them being the best the average consumer has ever had, guess i didn't think of it that way. i suppose im just a sucker for aesthetics, and feel. probably why i like HTC's products so much better than Samsung or LG, as capable as they may be.

impressed with the quality of the audio, great device!

Honestly love this phone. I love the front facing speakers. But audio out of BT and the headphone jack leave something to be desired coming from an iPhone5. iOS devices just excel with audio volume and quality. Over Bluetooth the highs don't sound crisp at all and the bass seems over processed or there is too much bass boost or something. Can't put my finger on it but I wish the quality was the same as the iOS devices. Aside from that I love the boom sound when watching movies or videos through the speakers
Sent from my 831C using xda app-developers app

Speakers are great.audio quality through the headphone jack is great especially with beats headphones. Bluetooth I can't speak for since I never use it.
Sent from my HTC One_M8 using xda app-developers app

Moto G 2014 Headphone Out Quality

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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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?
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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

Headphone Adapter Quality?

How is the headphone adapter that comes with the 6T? As much as I don't want to purchase the 6T because of the lack of headphone jack, it doesn't really make sense to get the 6 because there's no price reduction.

You should check around, the 6 is going for $439..
Sent from my ONEPLUS 6T using XDA-Developers Legacy app

j0hnee said:
You should check around, the 6 is going for $439..[/URL]
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I don't want to buy from those sites though. There's no warranty according to OnePlus. My 5T has some hardware issues with the GPS, charging port, and modem and it isn't a cheap fix.

Sound is average, If you really care about Audio Quality their is better devices out there.

liam_davenport said:
Sound is average, If you really care about Audio Quality their is better devices out there.
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What about this delay and battery life talk? Does that mean if I'm watching a video, the sound is delayed so it's out of sync?

geokilla said:
What about this delay and battery life talk? Does that mean if I'm watching a video, the sound is delayed so it's out of sync?
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I dont get a delay watching videos. I tried using bluetooth headphones and that was awful, PUBG was unplayable as there was a nearly second delay between action and sound with those, but the wired are fine thru the dongle. WHat I would say is that volume seems to be a little lower than I was expecting, but I've read that some dongles are better than others for that, e.g. the previous version of the pixel included dongle
And battery life is stellar, I'm a heavy user with 2 sims, and Im comfortably getting 2 days use out of a charge. Im really impressed with the phone so far after a week of use

Using UE900 IEMs, i have no issues with the audio quality. Can't really hear much of a difference between this and a Galaxy S7 Edge (wasn't the best audio output ever, so...). Source was Downloaded Spotify Premium content in highest quality.
Oneplus 6t can go louder however.
Before the S7 Edge i had an HTC One M8, with a fairly decent audio output (and low output impedance), i think it was slightly better, but yea. After a while, you simply get used to it, and don't hear anything wrong.
I have no issues. But i'm not someone who sits there in cramps trying to analyze every single Tone in existence just searching for any little Mistake. I put headphones on, and walk whereever i need to go, if i'm going anywhere without Car. Simply enjoy some music while on the go. Nothing more, nothing less. Anything else (in my opinion, when "on the go" at least) would've nothing to do with enjoying music anymore, if you focus your whole brain into analysing the audio quality everytime you listen to something. For comparisons early yea, but after that, it would not make much sense.
If you're the first kind, you might probably be happier with an LG Phone with their Quad DACs. Otherwise, especially if you use some cheaper headphones / IEMs, the only bad thing worth mentioning will be the "adapter-handling".
Audioquality however, is just fine. Not the best you could get. But good enough so there is no noise or whatever.

Sound Quality (Headphone Jack & Speakers)

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.