Develop Bugs

Sound quality - DAC ??

I am considering switching from the SGS2 to the X. The sound quality while listening to MP3's on the S2 was average at best even with tampering with all the settings etc.
What is the quality of the sound like on the X ? Anyone know what DAC is inside ? I have a set of Shure E535's and want to make best use of them. If the quality is the same as the SGS2 i think i will use the bit i have saved and buy a Cowan Z2 and keep the SGS2.
Thanks for any advice

I'm interested in this myself. I've already ordered the phone though, as I need a new one.
I'm hoping I finally can put away my mp3-player, but I guess it will still be some years until a phone reach Cowon sound quality. :--/

finduz said:
I'm interested in this myself. I've already ordered the phone though, as I need a new one.
I'm hoping I finally can put away my mp3-player, but I guess it will still be some years until a phone reach Cowon sound quality. :--/
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The original Samsung Galaxy S and any other device with a Wolfson DAC came close, with Supercurios Voodoo app. Best sound on a mobile device! But SamsUng dropped the Wolfson for a Yahama DAC on the SGS2! Wonder what DAC the HOX has!

i'm no mod, but i already made a thread about this.
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finduz said:
I'm interested in this myself. I've already ordered the phone though, as I need a new one.
I'm hoping I finally can put away my mp3-player, but I guess it will still be some years until a phone reach Cowon sound quality. :--/
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Click to collapse
i don't think a phone is ever going to include good audio. the amount of people that actually use expensive headphones and lossless files are too small for the companies to care. i sold my Cowon D3 because they messed up trying to use Android 2.2 with insufficient hardware. i'm looking at the S9, J3, or X7 now. i'll use the beats audio eq bs until i have the spare 250-280.

brent8577 said:
i'm no mod, but i already made a thread about this.
---------- Post added at 12:01 PM ---------- Previous post was at 11:58 AM ----------
i don't think a phone is ever going to include good audio
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My good ol' Sony Ericsson w950 had a fantastic sound quality!

As a user of an iPhone with high end multidriver in ear monitors (Westone UM3x and Shure SE420) sound quality ranks very high in my list.
Thus i would appreciate if some owner of multidriver iems could chime in with an opinion on the headphone out sound quality. With all effects turned off. If the audio hardware is any good (low output impedance, low distorsion and low crosstalk) the sound should be very good (Just as it is off the iPhone headphone out) and no need of audio tweaking would be necessary.

elfary said:
As a user of an iPhone with high end multidriver in ear monitors (Westone UM3x and Shure SE420) sound quality ranks very high in my list.
Thus i would appreciate if some owner of multidriver iems could chime in with an opinion on the headphone out sound quality. With all effects turned off. If the audio hardware is any good (low output impedance, low distorsion and low crosstalk) the sound should be very good (Just as it is off the iPhone headphone out) and no need of audio tweaking would be necessary.
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Click to collapse
On every iPhone/iPod I've tried since their inception the DAC hasn't been the talking point, and flaked out when the eq is modified, even with a decent pair (sennys/shures) of 'phones.
I think buying a phone to replace a (good/non-ipod) portable player is a bad idea.
It's also entirely subjective; you could have a Cowon S9 and top-end in-ear sound-cancelling headphones, but if you're listening to 192kbps CBR mp3s you may as well be using your phone and a pair of £20 Porta-Pros - in most situations the source is the bottleneck, then the headphones, then the DAC. (IMO, of course)

qpop said:
On every iPhone/iPod I've tried since their inception the DAC hasn't been the talking point, and flaked out when the eq is modified, even with a decent pair (sennys/shures) of 'phones.
I think buying a phone to replace a (good/non-ipod) portable player is a bad idea.
It's also entirely subjective; you could have a Cowon S9 and top-end in-ear sound-cancelling headphones, but if you're listening to 192kbps CBR mp3s you may as well be using your phone and a pair of £20 Porta-Pros - in most situations the source is the bottleneck, then the headphones, then the DAC. (IMO, of course)
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I just asked for an opinion from a high end iem user about the HTC One X headphone out. Honestly I don't need your view on portable audio. But thanks for enlightening me.
Parameters like the impedance output impedance are nothing but subjective. iPhones output impedance is lower than 2 so they will always get a linear signal to your multidriver iem where a high z source like the galaxy S2 will get a pretty skewed signal that will ruin the frequency response of the iems.
Sound and electricty are sciences even if some people find it hard to believe and prefer esoteric approaches to the matter (That's specially true amongst Cowon fans

elfary said:
As a user of an iPhone with high end multidriver in ear monitors (Westone UM3x and Shure SE420) sound quality ranks very high in my list.
Thus i would appreciate if some owner of multidriver iems could chime in with an opinion on the headphone out sound quality. With all effects turned off. If the audio hardware is any good (low output impedance, low distorsion and low crosstalk) the sound should be very good (Just as it is off the iPhone headphone out) and no need of audio tweaking would be necessary.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There is way more to those 3 factors for sound quality, plenty of things have those but don't sound good.
Anyways for most multidriver IEMs to make the most out of the IEM you will want some sort of amperage, even my Cowon C2 isn't powerful enough to make some IEMs shine (power doesn't always need to equal volume, but power to drive with authority)
My Soundaudio Rocco-P however, at the same volume, blows the Cowon out of the water, and there was a time you could of gotten it only for $1 + shipping on head-fi
But the SGS > SGS2 that is IMO but neither hold a candle to the C2 or the Rocco.
To the OP the cowon is a fine DAC but if you just need music playback (and if you need FLAC) there might be better options in your budget
I'm still looking for portable setup that doesn't involve carrying a brick around that will power my modded Fostex T50RP
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qpop said:
On every iPhone/iPod I've tried since their inception the DAC hasn't been the talking point, and flaked out when the eq is modified, even with a decent pair (sennys/shures) of 'phones.
I think buying a phone to replace a (good/non-ipod) portable player is a bad idea.
It's also entirely subjective; you could have a Cowon S9 and top-end in-ear sound-cancelling headphones, but if you're listening to 192kbps CBR mp3s you may as well be using your phone and a pair of £20 Porta-Pros - in most situations the source is the bottleneck, then the headphones, then the DAC. (IMO, of course)
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First of all, many ipods and the iphones sound great, their EQ sucks but their SQ is quite good, really good if you pass the headphone out, and use the line out into an amp via a LOD.
They are not the end all of players though.
Porta pros are amazing IMO, they are one of my fav headphones under $100

Any update on DAC? Audio Quality?

Personally waiting for GSM Arena to do their audio test. Below from The Verge's review:
AUDIO
Audio quality on the One X is superb across the board. The earpiece offers clear, loud calls, and the rear-mounted loudspeaker does as well — for whatever reason, HTC's managed to make this placement of the loudspeaker work far better than Samsung did with the Galaxy Nexus, which produces exceptionally quiet, easy-to-muffle sound. Callers reported that I was easy to hear even in significant background noise and wind, a good sign that this phone's dual-mic noise canceling system is really well tuned.
The 3.5mm headphone jack outputs clean, noise-free music — clean enough that I was easily able to pick out the depressingly low bitrate of Rdio's tracks. Of course, the One X carries the Beats Audio branding, as most HTC devices are now expected to (HTC owns 51 percent of Beats, after all). I find it ironic that the One series' tagline is "Amazing Camera, Authentic Sound" when Beats' audio processing is anything but authentic — in fact, if anything, it intentionally diverges from the artist's intentions. Every time I hear music with Beats enabled, it just sounds like bass boost to me, which is a trick we've seen in various forms in portable audio products for at least 30 years.
I'm not saying some users don't appreciate Beats — it definitely makes music more "exciting" sounding — but if you're looking for "authentic" music reproduction, Beats definitely isn't the answer. Personally, I'll be leaving it turned off. And fortunately, it's easily toggled either from Settings or from the notification tray while music is playing. It should also be noted that Sense 4.0 (and Sense 3.6 as found on HTC's Android 4.0 upgrades for older devices) makes Beats processing compatible with any audio app, which is a big improvement; previously, it only worked with HTC's baked-in apps.

Now that a few people are receiving their One X's can anyone answer my question please
Daemos said:
To the OP the cowon is a fine DAC but if you just need music playback (and if you need FLAC) there might be better options in your budget
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Yeah its just music playback i want if i have to get another device. What do you think of the Cowon J3 ??

I agree nikzDHD about waiting for the GSM Arena review. I read the Verge review earlier and it sounds good though i would prefer a more detailed review on the subject.

darrenjdoc said:
Now that a few people are receiving their One X's can anyone answer my question pleaseYeah its just music playback i want if i have to get another device. What do you think of the Cowon J3 ??
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Honestly, I wouldn't trust the verge's gsmarena's or most other techsite's for their "audio quality" reviews.
just FYI. having fancy bar charts, graphs etc isn't the end all, having someone be able to compare it to another device, with tons of experience, using high end audio gear is MUCH more important.
Unfortunately phones usually don't get tested in audiophile type things and you are better at looking at audiophile forums and seeing if experienced members have used them.
I'm just saying for SQ, cowon isn't the best there is, but their EQ system is one of the best, but EQ can't replace energy, soundstage, or detail reproduction, all it does is emphasize certain regions of the sound changing the "sound signature" like I said my RoCoo P is superior to the Cowon but is far cheaper, but the UI sucks, and it's missing features, but I use it almost every day when I need to walk somewhere.
I suggest reading here: http://www.head-fi.org/f/15/portable-source-gear then after reading through there potentially asking your question there, but please do list your headphones, source type, type of music, and if you *need* eq or not.
It all depends on your budget and how large of a device you want to carry. I can recommend things like the ibasso DX100 or hifiman HM-801 which are basically almost as good as you can get in a portable audio player, but they cost more than a new phone, and they are very bulky.

um.. no disrespect/no intended banter to the above poster
but we simply just want to find out if the audio quality is sufficient for use of mp3s
in comparison to say the S2, which everyone knows has disappointing sound quality . Yes we all know the S1 had a good DAC etc, this thread is more so about the phones sound quality and not about how much of an audiophile we are etc.
I need to know as if it's good enough, I don't have to bring my Cowon J3 with me everyday to work as well : )

darrenjdoc said:
Now that a few people are receiving their One X's can anyone answer my question pleaseYeah its just music playback i want if i have to get another device. What do you think of the Cowon J3 ??
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I can't recommend the sansa clip enough. Cheap, good battery, flac support and even better with a portable amp! One of the best sounding players I've had.

thanhson87 said:
um.. no disrespect/no intended banter to the above poster
but we simply just want to find out if the audio quality is sufficient for use of mp3s
in comparison to say the S2, which everyone knows has disappointing sound quality . Yes we all know the S1 had a good DAC etc, this thread is more so about the phones sound quality and not about how much of an audiophile we are etc.
I need to know as if it's good enough, I don't have to bring my Cowon J3 with me everyday to work as well : )
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What is "sufficient"? What is "good enough"? It varies for different people.
If you want to know if it plays music, yes it'll play mp3s. If it's good enough to you or not, I can't say.
I can tell you this, in terms of SQ I'd rank what I've used as this SGS2 << SGS1 < rockboxed Sansa Clip/fuse (first gen) < Rockboxed earlier ipod < Cowon players < RoCoo P
This is of course FLAC, if we add mp3 playback I'd say the iphone/ipod touch fits in better than the SGS1 but can = sansa clip/fuse
These are also only what I'd consider portable DAPs.
The OP wanted to know if they should keep the SGS2 and get a J3 or get a one X instead and was focused on audio quality.
I just happened to say I think he could get better than the J3 for better SQ for the money. I'm just trying to help the OP.

Most people just want to carry one device, I've also got a rockboxed Sansa Clip its small enough to take anywhere and sound quality is very good. Again to OP Sansa Clip is the cheapest way of getting some good sound but good sound is only good if you pair it up with a good set of headphones to take advantage of it.
If only Supercurio lived in the UK I would of let him borrow my phone his analysis is very good.
Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk

I have a Sansa clip+ lying in a box that i haven't used in a long time and just rockboxed it. Teamed with my Shure E535's and a few flac albums this little guy sounds heads and shoulders above my SGS2. Actually shocked how such a small player can sound so good. Going to get a portable amp and this will save me a few quids. Many thanks for the replies

nice! Yeah a rockboxed clip+ is definately the way to go for small awesome sound. They are also basically impossible to beat at the price you can get a clip+ and fuze for
if you want my help, let me know how much you want to spend on an amp and i'll point you in the right direction
But basically in terms of portable (and affordable amps) ibasso, jds labs and fiio (if you get their higher end stuff)
Good luck with your search, hopefully you can find a good amp that pairs well with the 535's

sennheiser HD 518

Guys i am planing to buy sennheiser HD 518 and i have a confusion that these headphones will work great with our S3 or do i need an external amp for sound quality issues. thanks for ur help guys!!!

They should sound good. I have a pair of Audio Technica M50's and they sound great. Plenty of bass and the highs are just perfect. I also have the AC!D mod installed, and it makes a very big difference. The only two problems that I have is that at a low volume you can hear a hiss, but that's due to the amplifier in the phone. The second problem is that I have to download only high quality music. Anything besides high quality sounds like crap.

I just bought these last week and I'm no expert on head phones and such, but I can tell you straight they sound almost perfect to me, I don't think you'll be needing any external amplifier for it as they sound pretty great to me.

I have Sennheiser HD555 and I can say the sound quality is exceptional (very detailed and clear with 192kbps ogg). Don't worry the sensitivity because I only need to turn half way.

Headphone jack on TW sucks

Ok so I'm like a huge audio head and I can't get over the fact on how weal the headphone jack is on android phones
Compared to (dare I say it?) Apple products, our headphones are super weak
Of course we have apps tweaks yadayada, but is there a Definite Solution to making the Music sound Stronger on this phone
I tried power amp and the beats on the market and it doesn't do that much tbh
Any suggestions on how to make music sound better

maybe one of these http://www.amazon.com/Fiio-E3-BK-E3...e=UTF8&qid=1356923324&sr=1-1&keywords=fiio+e3

I have good pairs of headphones lol
I have beats Pros and Audio Technica ATH M50s,
Edit: saw there were a link to an AMP not headphones lol
I dont wanna carry that around tho
Sent From My SGH-T999 using Tapatalk 2

I actually like the volume of the s3. I use power amp and that's the best music player. I have the acid sound mod. My headphones are the Sol republic track HD and the audio from the phone is loud. Even connecting then to amps, the phone ***with power amp *** is really loud.
I also use high bitrate mp3s and apple lossless converted to from .flac
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda app-developers app

osmosizzz said:
I actually like the volume of the s3. I use power amp and that's the best music player. I have the acid sound mod. My headphones are the Sol republic track HD and the audio from the phone is loud. Even connecting then to amps, the phone ***with power amp *** is really loud.
I also use high bitrate mp3s and apple lossless converted to from .flac
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Might have to give that app another try
Sent From My SGH-T999 using Tapatalk 2

EclipzeRemix said:
I have good pairs of headphones lol
I have beats Pros and Audio Technica ATH M50s,
Edit: saw there were a link to an AMP not headphones lol
I dont wanna carry that around tho
Sent From My SGH-T999 using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Beats.....
The "Jack" on this phone is fine. I've tried several audiophile ear buds and headphones and find this phone with power amp to be pretty good. Music volume EQ is a decent app too if you want more bass and loudness.
Ditch the beats and get some vsonic or some klipsch and you'll see.

20degrees said:
Beats.....
The "Jack" on this phone is fine. I've tried several audiophile ear buds and headphones and find this phone with power amp to be pretty good. Music volume EQ is a decent app too if you want more bass and loudness.
Ditch the beats and get some vsonic or some klipsch and you'll see.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
AudioTechnica ATH M50s way better than my beats lol, but the music is still not as strong as other media devices :/
Sent From My SGH-T999 using Tapatalk 2

EclipzeRemix said:
AudioTechnica ATH M50s way better than my beats lol, but the music is still not as strong as other media devices :/
Sent From My SGH-T999 using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
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I'll have to test my cans on an Apple product and tell the difference. I know i had the same setting on power amp on a virgin mobile crappy phone and the difference was there.
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda app-developers app

Get a phone with vodoo sound
Sent from my LG-LG855 using xda app-developers app

Uhhhh my M50's get amped from my computer, iPod touch, and phone. On my Onkyo receiver I have the headphone at like +5db. You're obviously not that into audio.
I have the E6.

Give the Sony XB-500 a try. I've got these and they sound great. The sound is really punchy and clear and as always use poweramp with it.
Sent from my SGH-T999 using Tapatalk 2

psykhotic said:
Uhhhh my M50's get amped from my computer, iPod touch, and phone. On my Onkyo receiver I have the headphone at like +5db. You're obviously not that into audio.
I have the E6.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My headphone jack seemed to have something stuck inside? I cleaned it out and it sounds better
But I don't have a receiver, an amplifier or anything of that nature so I cant play around with that type of hardware.
Poweramp does do a diffrence when you play with the settings enough lol
Sent From My SGH-T999 using Tapatalk 2

zoppp said:
Give the Sony XB-500 a try. I've got these and they sound great. The sound is really punchy and clear and as always use poweramp with it.
Sent from my SGH-T999 using Tapatalk 2
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Click to collapse
Those have a little too much bass for me personally, they are good headphones for the price tho
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Guys, truth is the hardware isn't up to par on the audio side on this phone. That's been proven. I know that even without looking at the internals of this phone coming from another Android device.
However, the OP called himself an audiophile, but had a pair of Beats... Whatever, but he is correct. I wouldn't say "sucks", but not as good as it should have been.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium

Download Neutron Music Player. It's worth paying for!! Its sounds much better than power amp(my old player); its louder, offers better headroom/snr ratio, direct hardware control, and doesn't lose any clarity, when using EQ. Also, Check to see what setting your music is encoded at. 320kbps for MP3 is the highest setting, but I go with Flac. If you know the basics of setting up an EQ and want great sounding audio, then download neutron! It actually gives an accurate representation of the music, as opposed to most mods which are meant to "Enhance" your listening experience, but don't depict the true sound of the recorded audio. Whenever I mix down a new recording, I trust Neutron with my MDR's, SE215's, and grado's headphones for the true sound! For fun, I add about 3-5db around 40-50hz for some extra punch; especially when bumping some electronic or hip hop. Furthermore, I wouldnt recommend beats headphones. They're tuned strictly for hip hop and electronic music. They add all sorts of obnoxious EQing at 50-80HZ, 3khz, 5khz, 7khz, and 10khz, so they'll sound like garbage on any other genre of music. I attached a link of how sloppy the frequency response is on these so called, "Studio" headphones. If you're looking for a great headphone, check out head-fi.org. They offer reviews of over 266 headphone, arranged by price range. Let us know how you make out!
EclipzeRemix said:
Ok so I'm like a huge audio head and I can't get over the fact on how weal the headphone jack is on android phones
Compared to (dare I say it?) Apple products, our headphones are super weak
Of course we have apps tweaks yadayada, but is there a Definite Solution to making the Music sound Stronger on this phone
I tried power amp and the beats on the market and it doesn't do that much tbh
Any suggestions on how to make music sound better
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

One of the biggest reasons I choose Android over Apple is for the audio. Although the volume of music on Apple products reach unbelievable heights, the sound quality itself is not any better than what most Androids have to offer, even on their stock music players. Furthermore, why would you even want to listen to your music at top volume on an iPhone? You'll be deaf within a minute.
Our Galaxy S3 has absolute trash for presets. Listen to every single preset. You'll find that most of them will raise the volume of vocals when there's no background bass, and the vocals volume will lower when the bass kicks in again. It's annoying, it sounds as of you're putting your head next to a speaker, and shaking it around so that the music gets a wavy effect. Thankfully, Samsung gave us a beautiful option at the bottom of the list of those poor excuses for presets, called "Custom." In it is a 7 band equalizer that's actually very damn decent.
The Beats by Dre, although frowned upon, is perfect for the equalizer on the S3. I myself, am a basshead. I love my music to have some rumble and thump to it. Just play around with the bands until you find the perfect eargasm type sound. What I love on the S3, is that the volume is quite loud. With most phones, equalizing audio sacrifices a lot of volume. With this phone, my equalizing will barely phase the volume of my music.
When I equalize, it'll go something like this: The lowest (first) band will be set the highest, giving the music that precious deep rumble, but adding punch as well. The second band is set significantly lower than the first in order to retain that punchy bass. This makes the vocals sound more shallow though, but I dont care too much because I hate flat bass. The third band effects both bass and vocals about equal, so I set it to about midway between what the first and second bands are set at. This gives the vocal a deeper touch, but doesn't take too much away from bass punch. The middle band is what mainly effects vocals. I set it one below the third, because setting it too high gives the vocals a bit of an airy or dry sound to it. For the fifth band, I put it one higher than the third. The last two band are set higher than every band except for the first one. It livens up the treble so that the instrumentals don't sound boring.
My equalizer preset is extremely coloured, but that's just how I like it to sound. It's almost a V shaped equalizer I guess. Big bass, recessed mids, and high treble. I have the V-Moda Crossfade LP's for my headphones.
I dunno, this post might not have been of much help, but I just felt as if I should offer my 2 cents.

For some reason having beats makes you a complete moron now a days ?The reason I have beats is beacuase one of my fav genres is hip hop, and when it comes down to it, beats sound decent when it comes to rap/hip hop you cant deny it. For every thing else yes they are trash so I use my M50s.
Sent From My SGH-T999 using Tapatalk 2

EclipzeRemix said:
For some reason having beats makes you a complete moron now a days ?The reason I have beats is beacuase one of my fav genres is hip hop, and when it comes down to it, beats sound decent when it comes to rap/hip hop you cant deny it. For every thing else yes they are trash so I use my M50s.
Sent From My SGH-T999 using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
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Beats are the "trend". Most audiophiles don't take them or anybody that uses them seriously.
I've owned a pair and can honestly say my daily use creative aurvana buds sound better than any beats I've tried. Hip hop is my music of choice.
The Yamaha eph-100's are great for hip hop too..
$150 can get you some iems that are twice as good for half the price of beats.

20degrees said:
The Yamaha eph-100's are great for hip hop too..
$150 can get you some iems that are twice as good for half the price of beats.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
But he has the ATH-M50, which are seriously good headphones
I wasn't happy either with the S3 sound, having heard what a quality is, I bought the cheapest decent DAC - Fiio E7 and it sounds great with my M50's

Chipsybg said:
But he has the ATH-M50, which are seriously good headphones
I wasn't happy either with the S3 sound, having heard what a quality is, I bought the cheapest decent DAC - Fiio E7 and it sounds great with my M50's
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i might have to invest in a cheap amp then :/

My new Audiophile headphones problem.

Hello, I am very much kind of headphone lover guy.
Recently, I bought Beyerdynamic DT770 Pro 32Ohm (32Ohm version for portable users).
But the sound is not coming to its best. I plugged the same headphone to iPhone and it's working awesome. iPhone quality is same as it work on macbook and PC.
So, I was worried, is my headphone supportable on my Nexus 5 or I just have to invest in buying mp3 player.
I will provide link, where you all cann see the specifications and tell if that is supported on this device or not, because I am not that much of technical guy.
Headphone Link - http://north-america.beyerdynamic.com/shop/dt-770-pro-32-ohm.html
I have rooted my phone and is currently running on ElementX kernel and Chroma ROM.
Hope you guys can help me.
Thank you.

Is it quality that's bad or volume level? Or a bit of both?
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

More of a volume. The quality is good.

Try this - https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.n5rvb.nexus5realvolumebooster
Also i always use poweramp with the preset set on rock. Always find it the best sounding
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

Install any kernel management app, like kernel adiutor, and in sound menu raise headphone gain.

So I just did what you said. I already have paid version poweramp and installed volume booster, set it to 19 and 95 for headphone and speaker. Set my present to rock, but I was just little curious, are you also facing a little distortion in the sound or just me? Because I think, I can listen the distortion, maybe because these are kind of Audiophile headphones, so they are giving deep detail of every sound.
As far the volume matters, its 2.00AM, so very much silence environment but I can definitely feel the volume is increased.

How much did I set the headphone gain too?
I already installed the volume booster app, should I also gain on this app too?

Try these!!!!!
These are the "loudest" and best in-ear buds you can get!!!! http://amzn.com/B00WI79EK0 They are Zorloo "Z:ero". Forget about booster apps, eq apps, etc... This thing has a inline "DAC" it plugs into the "USB" port and not the 3.5mm jack. Read up on it!!! I have wasted money on many in the ear, over the ear, everything under the sun to get the best sound and these are my latest find. (Thanks to an article about the Nokia 808 and how people are pimping them out). I cant say enough how LOUD!!!!!!!!!! they are.
YOU WONT BE DISAPPOINTED!!!!
I think they are lurking under the radar because its not a "Brand" name like Shure, Whitestone, or any of the "high" end stuff people are used to paying 100's of dollars for. But the technology using "DAC" has been around and if your looking for something to drive your "over the ear" stuff maybe a usb cable micro to mini adapter and then a USB DAC Stick might work for you... I am sure you can also try to "hack" the "Z:ero" by cutting off the "ear buds" and then going to the local "radio shack" and getting a 3.5mm stereo input jack and soldering the four wires to it and you just made yourself a custom low cost "DAC"...
Just a quick review I google...
http://www.soundguys.com/zero-digital-earphones-review-5997/
Try them!!!

Install viper for android. It helps with the sound processing on the N5 immensely.

I was going to say something about the impedance, but my headphones are a higher impedance than that 35ohm, and I'm pleased with the quality and volume. I know you are not looking for just volume, you are looking for volume and quality. Something I found in the past with some of the Android EQ settings (didn't matter which app) some of the settings like bass boost, would actually lower the volume coming to my headset.
A good set of headphones shouldn't have to have any EQ settings changed at all, leaving it on flat should be the best, and for preference, you can always use flat as a reference.

Every headphones is different from others: if you want a boost in volume/quality, you should try an amplifier like FiiO E6 (http://www.amazon.it/FiiO-E6-Amplif...6?ie=UTF8&qid=1439893840&sr=8-6&keywords=fiio )
32 ohm is a bit high for a smartphone, so there is a possibility that Nexus can't handle that well.

I have a pair of 32 ohm dt770 as well as 32ohm mmx300 Beyerdynamic. They both work fine.
They definitely shine with a good headphone amp, but if you're running without one straight to a phone or laptop, definitely get 32 ohm. It's the lowest they make for mobile type uses.

Audio Quality?

I'm looking to buy a new phone. The audio quality is an important aspect for me..
Right now I have a Galaxy S6 which is OK. Not the best,not the worst.
Would it be a downgrade or an upgrade?Also,if anyone can compare it with the OP3(which is mediocre) ..that would be great.

Robert- said:
I'm looking to buy a new phone. The audio quality is an important aspect for me..
Right now I have a Galaxy S6 which is OK. Not the best,not the worst.
Would it be a downgrade or an upgrade?Also,if anyone can compare it with the OP3(which is mediocre) ..that would be great.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I cant speak for a comparison to the OP3, but I've heard very good things about the headphone jack (if thats the kind of audio quality you're looking for) on the moto z play, and I have actually used it with my ATH-M50x headphones and it works very well. Headphone jack plays loud and clear with no background hissing. Speaker quality, I think its pretty good, its fairly loud and sounds pretty good. If you really want amazing audio quality you can use the jbl moto mod which will give you very good sound and be really loud (I own one and I love it).

jon7701 said:
I cant speak for a comparison to the OP3, but I've heard very good things about the headphone jack (if thats the kind of audio quality you're looking for) on the moto z play, and I have actually used it with my ATH-M50x headphones and it works very well. Headphone jack plays loud and clear with no background hissing. Speaker quality, I think its pretty good, its fairly loud and sounds pretty good. If you really want amazing audio quality you can use the jbl moto mod which will give you very good sound and be really loud (I own one and I love it).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have some nice Momentum In-Ear ...I just hope it's loud enough .
Thanks

Anyone having issues with music sound quality through the headphone jack should try making sure the equalizer in the stock google play music app is completely off, and then disabling the app in settings. After that reboot the phone. For me it was a night and day difference...

metalmike6 said:
I didn't even have a chance to test this nor did I think about it until you asked. but I have a pair of Shure SHR440's they are amazing reference headphones. The sound coming out of this phone is well, it's... sound. Honestly if you're an audiophile look elsewhere. So far that's the only thing I really don't like about the phone. Like it's so bad I may return the thing. My ears are telling me that the sound is heavily compressed for some reason. The cymbals in every song sound all washy and weird like when you download a ****ty MP3 by mistake. The bass has no punch and the mids sound like your listening through a metal garbage can. For me personally it's near unlistenable but I enjoy good quality sound in my music and have a tough time listening when it doesn't sound the way it's supposed to. My LG G3 has better sound to a degree that's almost hard to imagine... I'm gonna keep running tests but I think it's the DAC in the phone itself. It just sucks. Like yeah it's loud. But that's all.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Idk what you are talking about. I am coming from a z3 and I like the sound quality from the 3.5mm. Have you tried using poweramp?

I was using player pro... I'll give Poweramp a try. But I will say this even on YouTube the sound difference through the jack is crazy noticeable between this and the LG G3 I literally just tested it. Also what lind of music are you listening to? Because if it's dance or hip-hop or any kinda pop you're not gonna notice much of a difference.
---------- Post added at 04:59 AM ---------- Previous post was at 04:46 AM ----------
So weird discovery? ... Rebooted the phone out of frustration but prior to rebooting I went into the google play music app disabled all the equalizer settings then disabled the app in settings. Upon reboot the sound quality seems better? Like a lot better? I have no idea why or how? But that seems to have done it. Also I did download Poweramp just for kicks and it's nice, I'll give it a shot for a while and see if it's worth buying.

Robert- said:
I'm looking to buy a new phone. The audio quality is an important aspect for me..
Right now I have a Galaxy S6 which is OK. Not the best,not the worst.
Would it be a downgrade or an upgrade?Also,if anyone can compare it with the OP3(which is mediocre) ..that would be great.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So far the best smartphone I owned in the audio department was the HTC One M9, with its frontal dual speakers, as they were stereo, loud and clear, it always blew me away whenever I saw YouTube, Netflix or listened to music (without phones). Listening to music using the audio jack (or Bluetooth phones) it was an OK experience, nothing extraordinary, compared to the previous smartphones I owned (obviously with improvements phones have over the years).
As the HTC One M9 is last year's phone, I'd be logical to look into HTC One M10 (or better), as it should have better processing and screen configurations (and if HTC is smart enough, they kept or improved the already awesome frontal speakers).
The Moto Z Play has just one frontal speaker and (for me) is good enough, nothing compared to the HTC, but packs a decent punch if you want to see a video or listen to an audio, but to really listen to music or videos out loud, I'd advise you buying the JBL Mod, I personally do not own one but I've read good reviews about it, and you'd have a little more battery, I guess this Mod also comes with its own battery to power the speakers
Sorry not to compare with the OP3, but I don't have enough knowledge with this phone to have a relevant comparison.
Hope this helped! Cheers!

metalmike6 said:
I was using player pro... I'll give Poweramp a try. But I will say this even on YouTube the sound difference through the jack is crazy noticeable between this and the LG G3 I literally just tested it. Also what lind of music are you listening to? Because if it's dance or hip-hop or any kinda pop you're not gonna notice much of a difference.
---------- Post added at 04:59 AM ---------- Previous post was at 04:46 AM ----------
So weird discovery? ... Rebooted thej phone out of frustration but prior to rebooting I went into the google play music app disabled all the equalizer settings then disabled the app in settings. Upon reboot the sound quality seems better? Like a lot better? I have no idea why or how? But that seems to have done it. Also I did download Poweramp just for kicks and it's nice, I'll give it a shot for a while and see if it's worth buying.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Some software glitch maybe.
I listen to metal and classical mostly, with a bit of jazz and blues. Opeth, Dt, Tool, The Aristocrats Yada Yada.

arides said:
So far the best smartphone I owned in the audio department was the HTC One M9, with its frontal dual speakers, as they were stereo, loud and clear, it always blew me away whenever I saw YouTube, Netflix or listened to music (without phones). Listening to music using the audio jack (or Bluetooth phones) it was an OK experience, nothing extraordinary, compared to the previous smartphones I owned (obviously with improvements phones have over the years).
As the HTC One M9 is last year's phone, I'd be logical to look into HTC One M10 (or better), as it should have better processing and screen configurations (and if HTC is smart enough, they kept or improved the already awesome frontal speakers).
The Moto Z Play has just one frontal speaker and (for me) is good enough, nothing compared to the HTC, but packs a decent punch if you want to see a video or listen to an audio, but to really listen to music or videos out loud, I'd advise you buying the JBL Mod, I personally do not own one but I've read good reviews about it, and you'd have a little more battery, I guess this Mod also comes with its own battery to power the speakers
Sorry not to compare with the OP3, but I don't have enough knowledge with this phone to have a relevant comparison.
Hope this helped! Cheers!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I only care about audio quality through the jack . How is that compared to your M9?

Robert- said:
I only care about audio quality through the jack . How is that compared to your M9?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The HTC One M9 is better equalized, the bass in the Moto Z Play is more noticeable, but if you get a third party app that best equalizes the Moto Z Play it'll be just as great.
I haven't downloaded such app yet, but it shouldn't be hard to find. And use your own phones, the one that comes with the Moto Z Play sucks big time (at least for me).
I'd also be better for you to have more feedback from other users of the Moto Z Play, as audio is a very particular subject which varies from person to person.

I would like to add that the Z Play doesn't support every audio format out there. The hardware decoder is weak therefore I'd strongly recommend the "Neutron" music app which comes with its own software decoder. Or even the JetAudio or basically any app with a S/W decoder.

metalmike6 said:
Anyone having issues with music sound quality through the headphone jack should try making sure the equalizer in the stock google play music app is completely off, and then disabling the app in settings. After that reboot the phone. For me it was a night and day difference...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Do I need to disable the Google Play Music app or Equalizer app?

Warkratos said:
Do I need to disable the Google Play Music app or Equalizer app?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hey man, what I did was go into the google play music app under settings and then equalizer, make sure its all set to OFF. then go and disable the Google Play Music app in system settings and then reboot...

Robert- said:
I only care about audio quality through the jack . How is that compared to your M9?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ya agree , i am using z play rooted with viper4android installed. & it sounds Best with 3.5mm jack it can beat any device if configure proper

Quickly tested the audio quality of my new Z Play against my old Note 4 910C with Wolfson audio chip.
I use a pair of Ultimate Ears Triple FI 10. (IEM's which costed about 300€ some years ago.) Listened to some fast Punk songs.
I would not call me an Audiophile - I can't hear a difference between 320 KBit MP3 and Flac. But of course between 128 kBit and 320 kBit.
So I do care about good audio quality.
I could not notice a significant difference between the Note and the Moto. Even if there was one I wouldn't be able to tell which one was better. Different headphones or a heavily compressed audio file will for sure make way much more of a difference.
To be sure I ordered this external DAC: http://hifimediy.com/tiny-dac
It's an external Sabre DAC with improved Jitter and noise level at a very tiny size. Curious to see if I find a difference, but I don't expect very much.
I think the Moto as all recent phones delivers a very neutral and loud enough sound output at pones that don't need to much pwer.

its good but not the best

Coming from the V10, it's definitely a step down but not bad. For over-ear or on-ear portable headphones that are designed to be efficient,it's not bad at all. For sensitive IEMs, the signal isn't clean enough, you can hear a background hiss and interference from the cell radio, etc. And of course driving higher impedance headphones well like the V10 can do is out of the question.

how is the external speaker? I have seen some reviews that say its average.. I know I want to make sure its decent...
I understand it can't compete with dual front facing speakers... but how does it compare to other similar speaker setup phones? I am glad it is at least front facing!

noisyriver said:
Quickly tested the audio quality of my new Z Play against my old Note 4 910C with Wolfson audio chip.
I use a pair of Ultimate Ears Triple FI 10. (IEM's which costed about 300€ some years ago.) Listened to some fast Punk songs.
I would not call me an Audiophile - I can't hear a difference between 320 KBit MP3 and Flac. But of course between 128 kBit and 320 kBit.
So I do care about good audio quality.
I could not notice a significant difference between the Note and the Moto. Even if there was one I wouldn't be able to tell which one was better. Different headphones or a heavily compressed audio file will for sure make way much more of a difference.
To be sure I ordered this external DAC: http://hifimediy.com/tiny-dac
It's an external Sabre DAC with improved Jitter and noise level at a very tiny size. Curious to see if I find a difference, but I don't expect very much.
I think the Moto as all recent phones delivers a very neutral and loud enough sound output at pones that don't need to much pwer.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did today also a small comparison with the 180 $ Sony walkman of my GF: Could not find a difference.
With high impedance headphones the Hifimediy Android DAC http://hifimediy.com/tiny-dac did a very good job to me. Tested it with 600 Ohm AKG K 141 - was still loud enough. Didn't seem to influence my battery.
So I have no concerns any more using the Moto as my portable audio device.

The sound signature thro' headphone jack is better than average. However, please don't buy moto z play if you love listening to music at lower volume thro' headphone jack. The background static, crackling sound is much higher as the radio antenna band is located very close to it ( a white band over usb type c port). Better the headphone quality more prominent is the static. I tried multiple in-ear headphones ( shure se 125 , Sennheiser cx 275s). It is design flaw.