Develop Bugs

So much for beating the iphone...

I hate Apple with a passion and I was rather excited to have a viable (superior) alternative to the iphone with the Touch Pro2. Everything about this phone has been fantastic until just now when I plugged in my headphones. I'm something of an audiophile and thus use some decent headphones. In the course of my listening, here are my findings:
The Touch Pro 2 performs great with less sensitive headphones (like Beyerdynamic DT770 80ohm), but with sensitive headphones like Grado's it sounds like CRAP.
Even more disappointing, using sensitive high end earbuds like my Super.Fi Pro 5's reveal SIGNIFICANT and DISTRACTING electrical noise. If you listen to quiet music like some classical or jazz, you will definitely notice it. While annoying, at least with music, the music itself usually overwhelms the noise.
Unfortunately, watching a video is a completely different story. In short, watching a video on this phone is like Chinese Water Torture with the electrical noise easily heard 100% of the time.
It's simply unacceptable for a manufacturer to produce a device in this day and age that has this kind of interference. They should really test a $500 device with earbuds that cost more than $10.
The whole point of this phone is for power users, and power users like us are the exact demographic that would have expensive (usually high sensitivity) headphones.
The noise is worst in the left channel.
This is on a Verizon TP2 for reference. Is this possibly just a defective phone or do others experience the same noise? FWIW you probably won't notice it with normal ibud's.

I have a pair of Sony MDR-EX71SL Fontopia's and dont have any issue with device feedback or interference. While they arent as nice as your headphones, they do a pretty good job, and have been a fantastic match on my Sprint TP2. Video/Music, no difference. I did tweak the equalizer a bit (Audio booster in programs menu), but that was for personal preference, and my music tastes.
What add-on programs have you installed? There could be something that got screwed up...
Otherwise take it in to the store with another MP3 player that has the same mp3 on it as your tp2 and have the rep listen to both, and ask to try it on a demo phone they have there, I'm sure they'll fix you up.

headshok said:
I have a pair of Sony MDR-EX71SL Fontopia's and dont have any issue with device feedback or interference. While they arent as nice as your headphones, they do a pretty good job, and have been a fantastic match on my Sprint TP2. Video/Music, no difference. I did tweak the equalizer a bit (Audio booster in programs menu), but that was for personal preference, and my music tastes.
What add-on programs have you installed? There could be something that got screwed up...
Otherwise take it in to the store with another MP3 player that has the same mp3 on it as your tp2 and have the rep listen to both, and ask to try it on a demo phone they have there, I'm sure they'll fix you up.
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Hmmm, your Fontopia's look like they only have 100db sensitivity rating compared to 119db of my headphones. That could be why you don't hear the noise (please note that I'm not putting down your headphones, as sensitivity has very little to do with actual sound quality - it's simply an electrical measurement).

I can't hear any noise on my Sennheiser eh150's, nor on my 6.5" component speakers in my car.

Well... I'm surprised you would expect good sound quality from a device aimed squarely at the business market. The iPhone is designed for multimedia and does some businessy stuff on the side. The TP2 is designed for business use and does some multimedia stuff on the side. The performance is what you would expect, given that goal.

Shasarak said:
Well... I'm surprised you would expect good sound quality from a device aimed squarely at the business market. The iPhone is designed for multimedia and does some businessy stuff on the side. The TP2 is designed for business use and does some multimedia stuff on the side. The performance is what you would expect, given that goal.
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+1
If I want to listen to music I pull out my mp3 player and Shure's.

computerpro3 said:
Hmmm, your Fontopia's look like they only have 100db sensitivity rating compared to 119db of my headphones. That could be why you don't hear the noise (please note that I'm not putting down your headphones, as sensitivity has very little to do with actual sound quality - it's simply an electrical measurement).
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Well that sucks your not happy with the audio quality. I'd try to check the same song with your buds on another persons phone, and rule out a faulty device.
But if its not specific to your device I guess in this case more expensive isnt always better.
I'm very happy with the sound quality of my Fontopia's, I have a 16gb gen 2 ipod touch and I there is no quality difference between it and the TP2....

Absolutely no noise-floor issues here, using Shure se530s. In a direct comparisonj between my TP2 and the 3GS I would say the TP2 is easily as good, if not better.
Sounds like you have a faulty phone. Not to be patronising but did you try a different USB/3.5mm adapter? I had one that was very "crackly", swapped it and that was perfect.

barneypooch said:
Absolutely no noise-floor issues here, using Shure se530s. In a direct comparisonj between my TP2 and the 3GS I would say the TP2 is easily as good, if not better.
Sounds like you have a faulty phone. Not to be patronising but did you try a different USB/3.5mm adapter? I had one that was very "crackly", swapped it and that was perfect.
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Okay, your shures have the exact same sensitivity as my UE's, so it should be able to pick up the noise. Have you tested with video using HTC Album?
What about background hiss while music is playing?
My phone is starting to develop the oil slick problem so I might just swap it out anyway.

Also, just a note, the Verizon phone has the 3.5mm jack, so no need for a dongle. Internally though, I do wonder what the electronics look like, and if it's just a hardwired (though smaller) dongle.

I use the Sennheiser CX300-B ear buds and can definitely hear background hiss. I can hear it when I initially plug them in then, if I don't do anything the hiss goes away until it plays something. Sounds like when the amp turns on then I hear the hiss. I hear it for music, voice prompts everything. You can hear the same thing by pausing the music and you will hear a hiss for a couple seconds, then it goes away.
When I have music playing I cannot hear it, but do hear it during the quiet times of the song.
I've found this to be true with these earbuds for pretty much any player I use that is not dedicated to audio only. I always figured they just do not spend the $$ to put in good audio capabilities in the multi-use devices.
dave

If I listen to the FM radio I can definitely hear interference, usually listening to NPR (talk radio). Though not sure if it is slightly less then perfect reception or an actual sound issue. I feel as though the mini usb connector is less then ideal. It has a lot of wiggle. Wonder if that is part of the problem.
This is with the factory ear buds.. have yet to really listen to music on it, or with good ear buds.. or through my car stereo(where I usually listen to music with my phone)
OK, after typing all that I guess I am not sure if mine has this problem! LOL But I will leave this post here so I can update it after I use the sound output more.

I think it is laughable to use the word audiophile and earbuds in the same sentence.
Your best headphones for monitoring are over the ear
Don't have any issues with my Verizon unit. I have hooked it up directly to RXV3800, Sennheiser HD380, and M-Audio DSM2 and hear nothing I have not heard with other MP3 players including the ipod.

I noticed my Verizon TP2 had flatter sound than my mp3 player with the same phones, but after a little EQ adjustment in Nitrogen, they sound just fine.

You guys have way too much time on your hands to complain about those things.

dezoris said:
I think it is laughable to use the word audiophile and earbuds in the same sentence.
Your best headphones for monitoring are over the ear
Don't have any issues with my Verizon unit. I have hooked it up directly to RXV3800, Sennheiser HD380, and M-Audio DSM2 and hear nothing I have not heard with other MP3 players including the ipod.
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I find it's laughable that you don't know what you're talking about.
My earbuds are every bit as good as your headphones, and earbuds exist (like the UE11) that obliterate even the best studio monitors in detail, frequency response, linearity, immediacy, transient resoponse, etc. In fact, they obliterate studio monitors in literally everything MAYBE soundstaging and impact.
www.ultimateears.com
Besides, you completely missed the entire point of the thread by saying "Nope, everything good driving my low sensitivity headphones!"
For the umpteenth time, you will not be able to hear this noise with low sensitivity headphones (as I confirmed with my DT770's). This problem only relates to driving high sensitivity cans.

lovingHDTV said:
I use the Sennheiser CX300-B ear buds and can definitely hear background hiss. I can hear it when I initially plug them in then, if I don't do anything the hiss goes away until it plays something. Sounds like when the amp turns on then I hear the hiss. I hear it for music, voice prompts everything. You can hear the same thing by pausing the music and you will hear a hiss for a couple seconds, then it goes away.
When I have music playing I cannot hear it, but do hear it during the quiet times of the song.
I've found this to be true with these earbuds for pretty much any player I use that is not dedicated to audio only. I always figured they just do not spend the $$ to put in good audio capabilities in the multi-use devices.
dave
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This confirms what I was saying. The sensitivity of your earbuds is 112db, which is far higher than the other posters 100ish range.
It would appear that this might not just be a defective phone that I have, and that it could actually be a more widespread problem.

computerpro3 said:
This confirms what I was saying. The sensitivity of your earbuds is 112db, which is far higher than the other posters 100ish range.
It would appear that this might not just be a defective phone that I have, and that it could actually be a more widespread problem.
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Except that he claims to hear it on several devices, not just this phone. Also he claims to hear it only during the quiet parts, not during actual sound reproduction, whilst you hear it at all times...
It could be the adapter, a faulty phone, or just a phone not designed for high-end hedphones.
Good luck with this. I love high quality headphones but use bluetooth to listen to music (yes, I hear the difference, but when I have cables they always get wonky and stop working properly).
Now if the phone had KLEER technology I'd happily go for that

This sounds more like thread on bragging about your super duper headphones than anything to do with the TP2.
But maybe they arent so super duper if cheaper ones sound better.
Get past it, if you want a dedicated music player that lets you become immersed in 1024bit crystal clear audio go get whatever that is.
If you want a music player that sounds pretty damn good, can also take phone calls, browse the web, manage your schedule, send/receive emails and txt, take pictures, go buy a cheaper set of headphones.

why use expensive earpiece
why use all that fancy stuff .. can you really hear a difference? whats wrong with the set of stock headsets that come in the box with the phone?

[Q] Omnia 7 Poor Audio?

Is it me or is the audio quality from the omnia poor? or is it the headphones which are supplied with the handset? i wanted to try some headphones from a shop but they wouldnt let me...hygiene issues. anyone else have this problem. if headphones are the cause which pair are recommended no more than £30 for in ear.

I am very satisfied with the sound of Zune on my Optimus 7.
I suppose that with Zune all WP7 devices will approximately have the same sound quality.
The Omnia 7 is one of the best WP7 device, so I think you should not worry.
Try some AKG earphones for instance. I've got the K319 and they are simply amazing.
http://www.digitalversus.com/akg-k319-p374_5037_170.html
For an in-ear version, AKG K370.
Otherwise I find Sennheiser quite good also.

According to GSMArena, the Omnia has like 10dB less dynamic range than the Galaxy S, plus stereo crosstalk like hell.

And no equalizer?

The equalizer is a HTC specific feature. Since Microsoft ostensibly supplied all drivers, I suppose the DAC used in the HTC devices has a hardware DSP that can do all the SRS and EQ stuff, controlled by the HTC sound application.

I did read a review somewhere stating the Omnia sound quality is not as good as other WP7 phones.
It feels like every manufacture has cut corners on the first generation of WP7 phones.

Phone quality and earphone quality seem fine to me. The external speaker though tends to struggle only when watching videos and sometimes games with the volume set to low (about 1/30 - 3/30), what I mean by struggle is some sounds dont get through, it just mutes at some parts. Playing music seems find though.

davidebanks said:
Is it me or is the audio quality from the omnia poor? or is it the headphones which are supplied with the handset? i wanted to try some headphones from a shop but they wouldnt let me...hygiene issues. anyone else have this problem. if headphones are the cause which pair are recommended no more than £30 for in ear.
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Pick up some good in ear headphones. MEElec M6s are what I use.
And yeah, don't ever use the supplied headphones from your devices. They will almost always let you down.

Audio OMNIA 7
High quality audio and good volume level !
(after one week with it)

thanks for the feedback guys, most appreciated. ive managed to get hold of 2 pairs of headphones (whilst at work) and they are both much better than the ones supplied with the phone, even though they are not very good headphones. the only small issue now is that the omnia 7 isnt very loud at all. are there headphones that can improve this? the ones i used were 100db.

agp64 said:
I did read a review somewhere stating the Omnia sound quality is not as good as other WP7 phones.
It feels like every manufacture has cut corners on the first generation of WP7 phones.
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The review (Engadget) said the supplied headphones were no good (they really were nitpicking), if you put in a good pair of headphones it will sound great.

davidebanks said:
the only small issue now is that the omnia 7 isnt very loud at all. are there headphones that can improve this? the ones i used were 100db.
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Yes, as said before the AKG K319 definitely make the volume louder. No comparison.

Tom Servo said:
The equalizer is a HTC specific feature. Since Microsoft ostensibly supplied all drivers, I suppose the DAC used in the HTC devices has a hardware DSP that can do all the SRS and EQ stuff, controlled by the HTC sound application.
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Well yes, but my point was "you aren't buying a phone that doesn't have an equalizer for quality sound, are you?". If they didn't build it in they didn't really care to make it a good music player.
I know that true kosher audiophiles don't believe in equalizers and only listen to flac on Cowon players and such, but that's religious stuff I don't want to touch. In reality, with crappy headphones (and that means everything that costs less than $300), and even with decent tolerable ones an EQ is a must have thing. Especially with the kind of crap hardware OEMs like HTC and Samsung put in their phones.

I can't totally agree.
Good music players don't use Equalizer (but I can understand that people like to use it)
Samely a good motor does not need a turbo.

Well, like I said, if you listen to lossless audio on perfect hardware using high end headphones, and also have perfect hearing - sure, you don't need an EQ. With mp3s on HTC and Samsung phones it's a must have feature. It won't make miracles and won't make those phones decent players but can at least make the sound somewhat tolerable.

thanks for the input, ill definately be getting a new pair of headphones, engadget were right to nitpick because it really does show up as being a quiet phone.

By the way, did anybody try the in-ear Sennheiser CX 400-II on its phone?
http://www.sennheiser.com/sennheise...ssic-line_cxseries-in-ear-earphones-cx-400-ii
I heard they are pretty amazing. I am willing to purchase them, but if somebody could give me its feedback it would be nice

funny you should mention that, i was looking at getting a pair of the sennheiser CX 300 II but if 400 is better then i will do that instead.

Nice,
I will be happy to get your opinion on it.
PS: Don't buy it on the Internet. There are a lot of fake of this earphone.

arturobandini said:
I can't totally agree.
Good music players don't use Equalizer (but I can understand that people like to use it)
Samely a good motor does not need a turbo.
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Not sure how you work that out, given it makes an engine far more efficient, however that's a debate for a different type of forum!

[Q] HTC Desire: The Great Audio Debate

Well, after lurking XDA for about six months, I finally actually need to post about something. Also please note that I am not an audiophile by any means, I just listen to music a lot.
I have owned a Desire since its Australian launch, and it is unequivocally the best phone I have used since the venerable Nokia N95.
I also have an iPhone 3GS provided by my benevolent employer, which in general I don't particularly like.
There is only one thing about the iPhone that is going to make it hurt to give it back to my employer when I leave at the end of this month. Audio volume.
Specifically, when I have my Desire connected to an external amplifier such as the car stereo (a daily occurence) or the stereo in my loungeroom, while it sounds pretty good, it cannot match the iPhone for volume, or the general 'meatiness' of the sound, and in the car it means I have to turn the stereo's volume up way higher than I do compared to when I use the iPhone, while still not getting sound of the same quality.
I have looked at the Dell Streak based on positive comments about its audio quality, and I will buy one in a heartbeat if I can establish that its sound is noticeably louder and or better than the Desires.
My question is: Which Android phones have the best audio quality when connected to an external amp, and can any match the iPhone?
Or has anyone used both the Desire and the Streak for external audio that can give some feedback?
I have tried GSMArena, but their technical measurements of audio quality mean nothing to me.
Any help would be much appreciated!

Of all my phones so far, the only one that even comes close to matching if not exceeding the iPhones audio quality is the Samsung Galaxy S.

I have the exact same experience with my Desire. What helped me greatly was to install the music player PowerAmp, which is in the market. On the equalizer settings page increase the preamp slider to the point before it starts to distort. I still need to crank the volume a bit in my car but it's much better than before. The bass, treble & EQ also work very well. Hope this helps.

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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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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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.
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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

DAC part of Tegra 3 Chipset?

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
Sent from my R800i using XDA