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Hey everyone,
Long time lurker, first time poster. I'd like to start a discussion on the various types of headphones that everyone has bought for use with their EVO (or other smartphone) and what their thoughts were - got any suggestions for EQ apps, settings for each type of headphone? Which ones work best for you? Which built-in controls are the most natural for you? etc etc etc.
So, I'll start.
The first thing I want to say is that I acknowledge there are a ton of places the audio could go sour between the original media (CD, DVD, blu-Ray, etc) to the final product coming through your headphones. The whole process will go like this for a typical user:
Buy CD
Import CD using audio program (iTunes/WMP/MediaMonkey/CDRip)
Put songs onto device
Listen to device with music app (usually stock)
Your mileage may vary (you may have your own custom extraction settings, bitrate settings, encoder settings, music apps, etc etc etc), but I want to focus on not necessarily the most accurate sound possible, but the most practical and "best-sounding-to-the-untrained-ear" sound. Personally, I have my own settings, and I have something of an affinity for music encoding and playback, but most of my friends are happy with Skullcandies (*shudder*)
So, after an extremely long ramble for the first, I'll tell you about my headphones:
1. Sennheiser HD280 Pro Over-The-Ear phones
These phones are great, and now sell for about $90 cheaper than when I bought them. They provide a nice sound, and even response using the stock app. I can adjust settings from DSPManager and they sound even better. However, as I've used them over the years, the sound has decayed slightly to become more "middy" and they don't have the original shimmer they had before. Also, they aren't very useful for travel, but they're great for listening at home with, although the big "pigtail" twisted cable looks strange hanging out of your pocket.
2. Klipsch Image S4 Enhanced Bass Earphones
A nice pair of in-ear headphones, they provide a colorful sound and nice overall response to a wide variety of music. They're a relatively cheap set of phones (probably for the holidays) and they sound great. Again, messing in DSPManager I can get an even better sound. These are very comfy headphones and look great, they feel great in the ear, provide nice isolation to keep the music in your ears and the outside out.
3. Sennheiser CX-300II-B Earphones
My favorites so far. I just got these a little bit ago at a bargain price ($30), and I haven't looked back. For being such small headphones, they provide a powerful punch and a great sound. They can take loud volumes with no distortion (until you add EQ). The fit is comfortable, they have a Y-shaped cord (so the right ear cable is longer than the left ear). They stay in place, and look great. They came with a nice magnetic case that keeps the buds safe and secure and super-portable for travel.
4. Sennheiser CX-300-B Earphones
I have these phones also, and they are almost identical to #3, just not quite as bassy.
I have some other phones, but they aren't worth mentioning (Apple headphones, skullcandies, and some other cheap ones). The sound just isn't good, even after significant modification with EQ and such.
For my music app, I use the "stock" app that comes with CM6.1 RC1, and I EQ with DSPManager. Lately, however, I've started using powerAMP (AWESOME APP - Look for it in the Market), the built-in 10-band EQ w/preamp is a must-have in music apps.
I know this is a lengthy post, just wondering if you all have any favorite headphones/music apps/eq settings for headphones?
Well my dilemma in using headphones is that I pretty much always need to be ready to take a call at any time and you can't take calls very well on stereo heaphones.
So, not being much of an audiophile I just pipe pretty lame music into my bluetooth headset using Super BT Mono software. It sucks for music but will do for talk radio.
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA App
I have a pair of Shure SE-115's. Didn't buy them, thankfully as the retail was around $130 at the time. Got them through a points system at work.
They are by far the best headphones I have ever had. I ride a motorcycle everywhere, and these are the only headphones I've ever had that can almost completely cancel out the sound of the bike at city to highway speeds.
They sound excellent in normal conditions as well. They have awesome bass and clarity, and they fit quite comfortably.
I have a pair of Shure E5Cs (I think they are called SCL5s now), a pair of Shure SE530s, and a pair of AKG k240s.
Can anyone recommend a a good pair of over the ear (not over the head) headphones with headset controls and a mic?
I loved my Shure E3Cs, but hated the cables. I really like my MEElectronics M11p+ set, especially the cables. The Shures may have sounded a touch better, but only slightly, and you can't beat the price especially with a coupon. Actually just won a set of their M6p phones, so I will see which ones I like better and keep the others as backup.
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA App
I use the M-Audio IE-30 and they sound fantastic on my EVO.
I use my Dr. Dre beats pro with the MIUI music app on my EVO, I have also sanded the back so it matches nicely with the evo and pros. I also have the 3500 mha battery from ebay with Calkulin's EViO 2 ROM v1.6.2 and I get over 25 hours with heavy usage and music and game playing. The Pros are about 400 dollars plus insurance and tax 500 from best buy. If you are rz member next Sunday they will be 350 during the special event sale. Hope any of this helps. Also I added my own icons and can be found here to match dr. dre take a look. http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=793055
mitchellvii said:
Well my dilemma in using headphones is that I pretty much always need to be ready to take a call at any time and you can't take calls very well on stereo heaphones.
So, not being much of an audiophile I just pipe pretty lame music into my bluetooth headset using Super BT Mono software. It sucks for music but will do for talk radio.
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA App
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You should try the Halo headset. It's sweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeet
How is your external speaker (eg speaker phone, music, etc) sound quality?
Got my Dinc2 on Friday and the sound quality is terrible. There's a buzzing sound almost as if the speaker is blown or loose.
My original Dinc had surprisingly good sound from the external speaker even at higher volumes.
just went from My Dinc to Dinc 2 today. the first song I played you can really tell the difference and see how bad the Dinc 2's speaker is compared to its original
Yeah, its really bad, it cracks/pops a lot too. When I hook it up to my car stereo thru a headphone cable, it cracks a lot too, I think maybe the way the phone processes audio isn't the best. Could be my cord though. I'm disappointed in the sound, other than that though, I love the phone. Came from Droid 2.
Sent from my ADR6350 using XDA App
There seems to be an overdrive issue (overdrive meaning pushing too much through the audio ports, be it headphones, bluetooth, or the speaker). I've noticed it seems to vary based on media volume controls, and HTC seems to have implemented a large array of media volume controls that step on each other.
This is one of the reasons I'm really looking forward to ditching Sense and getting back to CM. I need more predictable media controls.
sound issues
Came from a blackberry to the I2, it seems to me that I'm not getting the volume on notifications and what not, keep missing them. I did notice that the head phone jack was pretty sloppy when trying to use the head phones, had to tinker with it to get it to work, haven't found a good way to hook to my car stereo yet as it doesn't have Bluetooth or a way to plugin, any suggestions on good devices are welcome.
Mine definately sounds like it's in a tin can, but i don't have any popping. I think with the right audio manager to correct some of it, it should be fine once we get root.
Mine is pretty rough also. I was sorta shocked at the quality of it on such a nice phone
I guess I was lucky...mines pretty good
Sent from my ADR6350 using XDA Premium App
I am also very disappointed with the sound quality of the Dinc 2. Is it a software issue or a speaker problem? I just hope it can be fixed or it may be a deal breaker for me. HTC really blew this one.
i did notice that it can sound a little better by turning on the SRS enhancement mode but not good enough to satisfy me.
abtxpress said:
I am also very disappointed with the sound quality of the Dinc 2. Is it a software issue or a speaker problem? I just hope it can be fixed or it may be a deal breaker for me. HTC really blew this one.
i did notice that it can sound a little better by turning on the SRS enhancement mode but not good enough to satisfy me.
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Its gotta be a software issue, speaker and earpiece speaker sound pretty poor compared to Inc 1 at medium to higher volumes.. maybe update or custom roms will fix.. really my only complaint with this phone besides the custom options I've grown used to on sr4.0 and cm7
Sent from my ADR6350 using XDA App
I've found something interesting about this issue.
When playing from any media player playing local media, or playing from Slacker, I get problems with playback quality on the speaker and through bluetooth (not so much through headphones though). However, pure streaming media (such as DI FM's app) is clean and clear on the speaker and on bluetooth. This definitely smells of a software problem.
The I2 does have SRS support. Unfortunately the only SRS controls I've seen are in video playback, and it's just a toggle. I've read about other devices having audio quality problems with SRS and I wonder if this is what's going on. I've tried digging around to see if I can completely disable it, but no luck yet. Might have to dig in under the hood.
External speaker is a bit sub-par, but all other audio on mine (including earpiece speaker, headphones, and bt) sounds fine. I could see it being a software issue, though, based on the other replies here.
SRS can also be turned on through the stock music app. Sounds better but not great
Sent from my ADR6350 using Tapatalk
06stang said:
SRS can also be turned on through the stock music app. Sounds better but not great
Sent from my ADR6350 using Tapatalk
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That could be why I missed it there. I don't use the stock app.
So, thanks to the unlock finally being released, I'm running CM7 now. My bluetooth audio seems to have cleared up, no more overdrive effect coming through my car speakers. I don't think the external speaker is up to par, still, though. However, bluetooth audio definitely improved, at least so far. Needs more testing.
We received two Dinc2 last week at different day, first one sounds like rock in tin can, it buzz at higher volume, and the lower frequency range is horrid, lots of distortion. my 2nd Dinc2 sounds much better and do not have the same characteristics as the first one, but it is still not as good as the fascinate they replaced. I requested to get the first one replace and VZW is sending me another one, it's definitely not normal when I compare both Dinc2 side by side listening to the same clips, first one is significantly worst.
I wish the speaker was abit louder.. i haven't had any crackles or pops though.
Coming from my original dinc the higher volumes on the dinc 2 do cause a lot of crackling. Listening to the howard stern show I can't have the volume all the way up like I used to :/ .
Sent from my ADR6350 using XDA App
Its gotta be a software issue, speaker and earpiece speaker sound pretty poor compared to Inc 1 at medium to higher volumes..
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I mostly agree. When using the speaker phone, it is beyong horrid. However, when playing youtube videos, it is not nearly as bad. So the audio processing from these two different sources is completely different.
Well my old sony headphones that I use for the gym/running are on its last legs... I'm thinking to buy a pair of bluetooth headphones for this purpose. I looked online and ran across the Jaybird Freedom (JF3) headphones and they seem like they are pretty good. Does anyone have any experience with them? http://www.jaybirdgear.com/jf3/
what are some bluetooth headphones you guys have used and recommend/do not recommend? also any bluetooth dongles for a first gen ipod touch that you use/recommend?
I plan on using these bluetooth headphones with my phone (Nexus one), ipod touch (1st gen), and probably laptop (dell studio xps 16). Also using them for calls when driving...
any advice is greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.
bump... any help?
It might be me, but I can't even get music over bluetooth on my wildfire like I use to on my Nokia, so you may be stuck with a wired headset if from what I've experienced this may not work.
SAVE YOUR MONEY!!! Go to BestBuy, get the Rocketfish Behind-the-Head Bluetooth Stereo Headphones - RF-BTHP02 and buy the purchase protection plan. 2 years worth of brand new headphones!!!
I use this
Well i still use my old motorola bt0035 and they still work perfect not to mention the batt life its crazy on music 8 hr and stand by a couple off days
I've got a pair of the j3 and they are very good indeed. Look nice and feel great after you have sorted the earbuds out.
Sent from my GT-I9100 using XDA Premium App
I bought the jaybird headphones and like them so far.... only problem is that my ears aren't the same size and I cant seem to figure out the right size for my left ear. my right ear is small, but left feels smaller and I'm already using the smallest size. But while working out it felt like the left ear was going to fall out couple times, but when I got home and tried the medium size, it felt too big...
In my opinion, all the bluetooth headphones are suitable for running. LOL
I say the motorola S9-HD's
you can get em for $44 on newegg
Ok, so do these things just suck or is it something a good EQ could fix? they seem muffled and sadly my Klipsch headphones were the victim of my electric seats in my car so I don't have anything to compare them to. It seems like they sound better on my G2X, but Volume + seems to work on the G2X where it doesn't on my Galaxy S 2.
Oddly the free version of Volume + does seem to work, but it has no EQ settings. Anyone else noticed any issues here or have any advice?
Music is a big part of owning an android phone for me, if its gonna sound like crap over headphones then I'm gonna be hurting.
PowerAmp has some very nice EQ presets and controls. Now with Version 2.0 it is even better. I guess that Jugs ROM has DSP too for some sound tweaking.
Guess I'll DL DSP manager again I paid Volume+ and it was a great app for a while, guess I got my $0.99 worth for sure.
actually for once, these are very nice premium quality earplug headphones and functional, compared to previous ones from past phone releases, that were of low quality
AllGamer said:
actually for once, these are very nice premium quality earplug headphones and functional, compared to previous ones from past phone releases, that were of low quality
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And they don't sound muffled to you on the Galaxy S 2?
I think they sound better on my LG G2X so it makes me think it's a phone issue. I know it's not ROM as it carried over from the stock ROM to Juggs 1.1
what you are describing might the the audio chip people are complaining about all SGS2 using the yamaha instead of the worlfram whatever chip
have you tried hooking up the earplugs to another player?
i usually stream my music to by Stereo BT headset or car BT player
I don't like tons of treble, and especially hate the mid-highs. Compared to other OEM headphones bundled with phones, they're top notch. If you use SRS HD Audio Lab on your Windows computer, you can get some serious kickin bass out of them, bump up the highs and remove a ton of harshness.
i hate this type of headphones they just keep falling out of my ears lol...... I rather use the standard round ones from my htc lol
i too have small ear holes, so i can only use them for short periods of time, and when i'm not moving around, else they comes off on their own easily
i always buy the over the ear type, those that hangs on your ear
or simply use the big studio headset style which gives WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY better sound quality.
in that remark, seems like Sony is now being over taken by skullcandy
you see them EVERYWHERE these days, subway, bus stops, school yards specially, some work places, etc.
if you see anyone using a Sony, it's like WOW! a needle in a haystack
other brands like the german Scheiner (whatever spelling), those are also rarely seen in public now in days
I actually think these are decent earbuds. I use them from time to time on my laptop. I have some better quality sony ones that I use with the gs2 though.
can anyone provide me with the controls for the headset?
(ex: press twice to ff a song, etc)
Im thinking about buying the new LG optimus 4x. But I cant find a single review, that mentions the audio quality on this phone. But it has the Tegra 3 chipset, so if the DAC is part of this, I could check a one x, to get an idea of the audio quality. Would be great, if someone could help me out
Sent from my R800i using XDA
I'm sure if you asked in a phone shop they might let you plug your headphones in and listen to some of the pre loaded music files.
Sent from my HTC One X using xda premium
Hmmm, well then I need a good headset first here in Germany they never have the phones in shops, I am interested in so I have to rely on what the internet says
Sent from my R800i using XDA
the GS3 have a wolfsonn,no one know what have the HOX?
I don't know what's in the HOX but it pretty much sucks balls. You can even hear a *poof* when the music starts and a few seconds after it stops, not to mention the crappy sound itself.
@Gibeon - you must have a faulty phone as I don't get any of that
OP - Really is very reliant on the quality of your audio files I find, poor quality mp3's will sound TERRIBLE, worse than on some other phones. If it's high quality FLAC rips then the sound quality is really very good for a phone, better than the Desire I used to have for example and miles better than the iPod I used to have.
I have Denon in ear for going out and about with and a couple of quite high end (full size over ear) headphones and good quality files sound really good through them. The one thing I would say is that the output volume is not as high as some other phones I have tried, so you do need quite sensitive headphones if you like your music loud.
No idea what the DAC is but for me it's a great portable music player. No such thing as audiophile in any phone but it's definitely one of the better ones i have tried.
SartoriXX said:
@Gibeon - you must have a faulty phone as I don't get any of that
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Really? I've heard several cases of this behavior so I guessed it a widespread problem.
GSMarena has put the real specs to the test, here they are.
I also find the OneX sound much worse than on the desire. Beats only changes it from tinny to plasticky. It is so much worse, actually (both on stock earphones and via car stereo) that I no longer enjoy listening to music from the phone in my car, the sound gets on my nerves.
Instead of shelling out gazillions for having the name of a makebelieve gangster on their stuff, htc could have bought millions of decent audio chips and still give them a catchy name That would be the htc spirit I always liked.
Gibeon said:
Really? I've heard several cases of this behavior so I guessed it a widespread problem.
GSMarena has put the real specs to the test, here they are.
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I've seen the GSM Arena article, and I can only talk from personal experience based on my phone not yours. I do not have the issues you mention at all. Could be a bad batch of components hence why some are better than others. I've seen plenty of people say it's great quality, plenty of people say it's crap, so would seem to point towards that logically.
Gibeon said:
Really? I've heard several cases of this behavior so I guessed it a widespread problem.
GSMarena has put the real specs to the test, here they are.
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This is due to the player you're using. I swear by neutron. The ui might be a bit overwhelming for non audiophiles, but I'm getting some great sound with this app and beats disabled.
After some time with this phone, I'm finding the hox's sound to be quite different, but not necessarily of lesser quality compared to my old sgs1 with voodoo.
My advice would be to just change your music app and if you don't like neutron as I proposed, you could go with power amp or player pro with dsp pack.
On a final note, make sure you get your hands on a decent pair of headphones before commenting on the quality of a Dac. You can't really make any assumptions about these kinds of things if your basing your experience on a free or a $30 pair of ear buds.
Sent from my HTC One X using xda premium
mr_pio said:
I also find the OneX sound much worse than on the desire. Beats only changes it from tinny to plasticky. It is so much worse, actually (both on stock earphones and via car stereo) that I no longer enjoy listening to music from the phone in my car, the sound gets on my nerves.
Instead of shelling out gazillions for having the name of a makebelieve gangster on their stuff, htc could have bought millions of decent audio chips and still give them a catchy name That would be the htc spirit I always liked.
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Well mine has perfect sound , you either have a faulty phone or your expectations were unrealistically high.
Hydrony said:
Im thinking about buying the new LG optimus 4x. But I cant find a single review, that mentions the audio quality on this phone. But it has the Tegra 3 chipset, so if the DAC is part of this, I could check a one x, to get an idea of the audio quality. Would be great, if someone could help me out
Sent from my R800i using XDA
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The sound is not the best in the world but its much much better then Galaxy S with voodoo sound while playing at the highest volume, at highest its just awesome stable with this beatsaudio thingy tested using Sennheiser HD 555, mind you galaxy S3 has a cheaper version of op amp used in S1.
The HTC One X have the very best sound in every angle: microphone/speaker/headphones/ear speaker
The volume and quality through the headset is good, unfortunately the loudspeaker is rather poor and doesn't go very loud. Typical HTC though, their speaker components tend to be rather low quality.
LG tend to have alright speakers (The Optimus 2X went fairly loud), but I can't say whether the 4X's will be any good or not
EDIT: I realise you were specifically asking about the quality rather than the volume. The quality is pretty good, you wont be disappointed by it. The Galaxy S III supposedly has fantastic audio quality though, which is likely to be better than the One X's due to the fact that the One X uses 'Beats' (which sucks) and the SIII has a Wolfson Micro WM1811 which is apparently pretty awesome (http://www.wolfsonmicro.com/products/audio_hubs/WM1811/).
yeah right "ultra-low power" is just rubbish
schiphol said:
This is due to the player you're using.
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It's not. I've tried a number of different music players, different EQ's, different thread priority for the audio. All exhibit the same fundamental problems arising from a poor quality DAC. Heck, even the volume up/down sound causes the pop/crackle issue.
schiphol said:
On a final note, make sure you get your hands on a decent pair of headphones before commenting on the quality of a Dac. You can't really make any assumptions about these kinds of things if your basing your experience on a free or a $30 pair of ear buds.
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I've tried 5 different sets of headphones on my One X, some in ear, some open back, one Bluetooth. The same problems could be heard on all of them in varying degrees.
If your guys phones are rooted, flash the latest dspequalizer on this phone. Helps tremendously with sound quality. I agree with the person talking about flac files. You don't even need to have flac, just try to get high bitrate mp3s. I listen with Beyerdynamic headphones which take more power to drive, but it's enough for me and sounds great.
Sent from my HTC One X using Tapatalk 2
Nos0x said:
It's not. I've tried a number of different music players, different EQ's, different thread priority for the audio. All exhibit the same fundamental problems arising from a poor quality DAC. Heck, even the volume up/down sound causes the pop/crackle issue.
I've tried 5 different sets of headphones on my One X, some in ear, some open back, one Bluetooth. The same problems could be heard on all of them in varying degrees.
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I totally agree and I don't think my Grado SR60i's or Shure SE215's are to blame. Really, the quality just sucks on the HOX I own.
No biggie for me though, since I have a PMP for music.
Gibeon said:
I totally agree and I don't think my Grado SR60i's or Shure SE215's are to blame. Really, the quality just sucks on the HOX I own.
No biggie for me though, since I have a PMP for music.
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Of course the dac is not the best. The point I was trying to make is that I was able to eliminate most of the hissing and strange pops upon volume changes etc by switching to the neutron player leading me to be believe that these are not necessarily related to the Dac itself.
Sent from my HTC One X using xda premium
With my beats headsets i have excellent audio quality, didnt try the original one...and the sound from the speaker? Well i dont know what you expect, in my eyes it is good enough (i dont listen to music over it) ... and BTW, i use well ripped mp3s because over the beats headset you can hear every single detail in songs ... youtube is also great ...
I dont know, but probably i have a special OneX i dont have any single issue the guys so far had reported ... i am just confused now why i dont get a S-OFF device
As far as I know, the beats audio plugin is only a peace of software, isn't it? It has nothing to do with special hardware, its just an equalizer setting. But I'm confused some sites say, the one x's audio chip is the same, that is build in the one s, but the explanation of the Tegra 3 chipset says, that it is able to handle 7.1 surround sound, which means it includes an audio chip. I think I have to wait for reviews of the optimus 4x to solve this problem
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