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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.
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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
When a sound in a certain frequency appears on my phone it comes with an annoying hissing sound especially on the left channel. it drives be bananas! i already sent it back and got a replacement and the bug is still there. Work arounds that didn't work for me: switching to ATR, Another audio cable, Sound About(my headphones is also detected as actual headphones), making a call.
I'm desperate for a solution. I hope it gets fixed with lollipop but if not i rely on you guys.
I already posted this on reddit and i keep you guys updated if i get a valuable answer.
i would really appreciate it if you got anything to help me out with.
retsam00 said:
When a sound in a certain frequency appears on my phone it comes with an annoying hissing sound especially on the left channel. it drives be bananas! i already sent it back and got a replacement and the bug is still there. Work arounds that didn't work for me: switching to ATR, Another audio cable, Sound About(my headphones is also detected as actual headphones), making a call.
I'm desperate for a solution. I hope it gets fixed with lollipop but if not i rely on you guys.
I already posted this on reddit and i keep you guys updated if i get a valuable answer.
i would really appreciate it if you got anything to help me out with.
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Does it appear when using the headphones that came with the G3? And which headphones are you using?
in response
Xerionius said:
Does it appear when using the headphones that came with the G3? And which headphones are you using?
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i'm using the ath m50x from audio technica. ****ty in ear headphones including the lg earbuds doesn't have this problem since they're not very sensitive.
thanks for your help mate
by the way it works perfectly fine on the s5 and my computer
retsam00 said:
i'm using the ath m50x from audio technica. ****ty in ear headphones including the lg earbuds doesn't have this problem since they're not very sensitive.
thanks for your help mate
by the way it works perfectly fine on the s5 and my computer
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It's not about sensitivity, it's about impedance. Headphones with a low impedance always have this problem on the G3.
Unfortunately there is nothing you can do, except for using other headphones or soldering a resistor in row to your headphones, but that would ruin the HiFi-capabilities of the M50X.
In my experience, Headphones with 20+ Ohms work well, but it seems that the M50X (which have 38 Ohms) don't have a very linear impedance.
I've talked to LG about that issue, but their support doesn't know anything about anything. After a long discussion about it not being a defect, she just said that she will forward the complain to their engineers...
You're not the only one though
damn this is too bad. i hope it can be fixed with a software update unfortunately i can say that the support indeed is pretty bad at least from my point of view they doesn't seem to have any IT experience.
retsam00 said:
damn this is too bad. i hope it can be fixed with a software update unfortunately i can say that the support indeed is pretty bad at least from my point of view they doesn't seem to have any IT experience.
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It can't be fixed via software. It's a hardware issue.
I think a headphone amplifier unit should 'correct' the issue assuming my understanding of wikipedia is incorrect
Output Impedance
Many headphone amplifiers have an output impedance in the range of 0.5 - 50 Ohms. The 1996 IEC 61938 standard recommended an output impedance of 120 Ohms, but in practice this is rarely used and not recommended with modern headphones. High output impedance can result in frequency response fluctuations, due to varying load impedance at different frequencies. In 2008 Stereophile Magazine published an article that showed that a 120-Ohm output impedance could cause a 5-dB error in frequency response with certain types of headphones. However, the author of the article also states: ″The ramifications for subjective assessment of headphones are more troublesome because it is usually unclear what assumptions the manufacturer has made regarding source impedance. ″ [2]
More importantly, low output impedance can reduce distortion by improving the control that the source has over the transducer. This is often expressed as damping factor, with higher damping factors greatly reducing distortion.[3] One company shows a 45 dB improvement in THD+N at 30 Hz for their low-impedance amplifier compared to a 30-ohm amplifier.[4] For example, a 32 Ω headphone driven by a headphone amp with a <1 Ω output impedance would have a damping factor of >32, whereas the same headphone driven with an iPod Touch 3G (7 Ω output impedance) [5] would have a damping factor of just 4.6. If the 120 ohms recommendation is applied, the damping factor would be an unacceptably low 0.26 and consequently distortion would be significantly higher. Conversely, the same iPod Touch driving a pair of 120 ohm headphones would have a respectable damping factor of 17.1, and would most likely not benefit from the addition of a lower impedance headphone amplifier.
In addition to output impedance, other specifications are relevant to choosing a headphone amplifier — THD, frequency response, IMD, output power, minimum load impedance, and other measurements are also significant. However, most of these will be improved by lowering output impedance and hence improving damping factor.
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dryjoint said:
I think a headphone amplifier unit should 'correct' the issue assuming my understanding of wikipedia is incorrect
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That's right, a dedicated headphone amplifier would fix this, because the input impedance is typically very high.
But most heaphone amps in the lower price range decrease sound quality significantly.
The problem I'm facing..
There is noise+distortion+hissing during call but ignore-able
And when headphones are connected I cant understand or listen to any thing I only hear wired noises..
Any fix guys ?
Dont know if its technical or software based issue
if technical then I bet it could be faulty ic chips
omr911 said:
The problem I'm facing..
There is noise+distortion+hissing during call but ignore-able
And when headphones are connected I cant understand or listen to any thing I only hear wired noises..
Any fix guys ?
Dont know if its technical or software based issue
if technical then I bet it could be faulty ic chips
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To me that sounds like a hardware issue. I'd contact LG.
Xerionius said:
To me that sounds like a hardware issue. I'd contact LG.
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I sent my G3 to service center and today they gave me a new replacement phone, that one had indeed technical problem and the main board replacement wasn't available :highfive:
Title says it all. Post your suggestions and experiences with headphones that maximize the audio potential of this phone.
That quad DAC when wired and APTx when on BT.
CHH2 said:
Title says it all. Post your suggestions and experiences with headphones that maximize the audio potential of this phone.
That quad DAC when wired and APTx when on BT.
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I'm listening to my Sennheiser HD 598's right now using the quad DAC (high impedence). It is definitely driving them very well, I get my Audioquest Dragonfly black in tomorrow so I can try A&B comparisons with that vs the internal audio. I've also enjoyed using it with my Backbeat Pros but those do not have aptx.
I'm using my Beyerdynamic DT770 Pro 250 Ohm headphones, it's amazing. It's a step up from the V10, including the volume department (especially with high impedance headphones).
I'm currently listening music with the AKG K712s. No doubt an improvement from the V10. The best phone yet that truly brings out the detail in
WAV and FLAC formats. I swear this quad DAC reincarnated my cans
Should be getting my V20 some time today, I hope. I don't have anything truly God-tier, but I'm going to try to do a few comparisons if I can. I've got Shure SE215s on one hand (triple-flange tips) and Samsung earbuds for a baseline, compared to whatever LG's included in the box. In a few weeks, I can add the H3s to that list, but not until they arrive, and they won't arrive until I sign up for them on the 28th, so...
In the world of full-size cans, I don't have a solid baseline, and I'm not looking forward to the idea of spending $20 so I can have a pair of cheap cans I will never listen to again. So instead, all I've got are my Koss ProDJ100s and my V-Moda M100s.
But I'll try to give my thoughts when I can. (Also, posting so I make sure I remember that this thread exists.)
---
I didn't get to really sit down and do heavy listening. Phone arrived pretty late and my fiancee was a little sad so I didn't want to have my headphones blasting for an hour or two straight without being able to hear a word.
Noticing that there is a little more clarity (at least) between the on-off settings. Might be some EQ going on as well, though, which is not what I want. EQ is an easy way to make something sound more "clear" without actually making it clearer. My last car literally had a setting that I used that I considered the "clear" setting, and for everything other than podcasts. The bass was deeper, and yet more articulated, and the highs had sparkle. Every other setting was muddy.
So EQing to a muddy sound, and then having a "hi-fi" EQ that clears up the mud isn't good. Still, like I said, I don't actually know that to be what's going on. It's just a possibility I'm keeping my ears open for.
Audio technica ATH-M50x Have to say, I can't hear a difference at all toggling on and off using Poweramp/Spotify/USB Audio Player Pro or Car with Bose speakers setup. What can be the reason? I was thinking it would sound better (or as good) as V4A. Not close for me. Maybe my phone's defective?
vibrantliker said:
Audio technica ATH-M50x Have to say, I can't hear a difference at all toggling on and off using Poweramp/Spotify/USB Audio Player Pro or Car with Bose speakers setup. What can be the reason? I was thinking it would sound better (or as good) as V4A. Not close for me. Maybe my phone's defective?
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Not sure if they fix the issue were the DAC was only able to be used by the stock music player. On the PlayStore there's an app that allows the DAC to work with all music players. I think it's called lgv10fix something like that. You can tell when you turn the DAC when your music skips or mutes for a second.
j0a0a7 said:
Not sure if they fix the issue were the DAC was only able to be used by the stock music player. On the PlayStore there's an app that allows the DAC to work with all music players. I think it's called lgv10fix something like that. You can tell when you turn the DAC when your music skips or mutes for a second.
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Thanks. I found that and installed it but it's the same.
Sony MDR-EX800ST with Tape Mod via External (AUX) Audio Mode with adapter.
vibrantliker said:
Audio technica ATH-M50x Have to say, I can't hear a difference at all toggling on and off using Poweramp/Spotify/USB Audio Player Pro or Car with Bose speakers setup. What can be the reason? I was thinking it would sound better (or as good) as V4A. Not close for me. Maybe my phone's defective?
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There's probably nothing wrong with it.
Sound is an incredibly subjective topic.
?
Andrew025 said:
There's probably nothing wrong with it.
Sound is an incredibly subjective topic.
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So used to V4A nothing comes close.
I prefer PowerAmp Alpha...
Especially with my Sony MDR-100AAP in External Mode.
dragion said:
I prefer PowerAmp Alpha...
Especially with my Sony MDR-100AAP in External Mode.
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What's external mode, something on your headphones?
All Hi Res iem or headphones will do the job, but it's up to your ears to know what is best, as all headphones/iem all have their own sound stage, for me I use the Sony list in my sig.
I was actually considering getting a pair of the A-T 50x's but those Senn's look nice too. (I'm a big fan of over the ear.)
vibrantliker said:
What's external mode, something on your headphones?
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By plugging in the detachable headphone cable into the LG V20's headphone jack first before connecting the cable to the headphones, causes the Hi-Fi DAC to go into "An External Audio Device Is Connected" mode which produces a higher output compared to "Normal" mode.
dragion said:
By plugging in the detachable headphone cable into the LG V20's headphone jack first before connecting the cable to the headphones, causes the Hi-Fi DAC to go into "An External Audio Device Is Connected" mode which produces a higher output compared to "Normal" mode.
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I did not know that and will try it.
So excited to use my Custom Art Harmony 8 Pro, custom headphones with these. The V10 did a good job, I bet the v20 will be better!
For reference, here's the playlist I used to compare. I didn't want to spend all day doing tests, so this is mostly stuff I can listen to while I work, but trying to hit as many different sound signatures as I could. I don't have any classical in my collection, though probably I could have used some. I listened to most of the playlist (skipped around a little getting details) on my laptop for a little while before picking up the phone. Probably going to do some listening with the S4 mini I've got on loan from my wife, too. Would have been nice to compare the Note7, but it's already back in T-Mobile's hot little hands. Played using the
Acoustic Guitar
Leo Kottke (FLAC)
Vaseline Machine Gun
Watermelon
The Fisherman
Earl Klugh (MP3 320)
Alice in Wonderland
Moon River
Autumn Leaves (VBR V0)
Country/Folk
The New Lost City Ramblers (MP3 320)
Talking Hard Luck
Don't Let Your Deal Go Down
Old Fish Song
Charlie Daniels Band (MP3 320)
The Devil Went Down To Georgia
Uneasy Rider
Anais Mitchell (M4A VBR)
Epic, Part I
Hey, Little Songbird
Epic, Part II
Pop
The Killers (MP3 VBR, not V0)
Mr. Brightside
When You Were Young
Sia (FLAC)
Chandelier
Eye Of The Needle
Elastic Heart
Electronic
Super Eurobeat Presents: Initial D Special Stage Non-Stop Mega Mix (FLAC)
Killing My Love
Running In The 90s
Grand Prix
Kavinsky (MP3 320)
Night Call
Night Runner (OGG VBR)
After Hours
Nuclear Countdown
Hip-Hop/Trip-Hop
KA (MP3 320)
Just
Wax Tailor (FLAC)
Exordium
From the Dark
As for my thoughts:
First, I was surprised that as far as I can tell, LG hasn't included any headphones. That seems weird. I'm glad now that I have a million bajillion of the things lying around because if I just bought this off the shelf, it would be a long wait for LG to send me my "only" wired headset option. At least a few weeks. Disappointing, but not a deal-breaker by any means.
Started with the Samsung headset, Hi-Fi DAC off. It's not super comfortable, not at all isolating. I'm still listening to the last couple tracks and I can easily hear myself typing with the volume at around... well, in the Hi-Fi volume it would be 45. I should note that it goes much higher (I believe the highest is 65 or 75) but 45 is where I would typically listen to music. Louder than that started to strain my ears a little. Louder is generally better for detecting little things in a song, but I don't want to suffer, and I certainly don't want to suffer for the time it takes to listen to a 90 minute playlist 4 times at painful volume.
(Incidentally, someone above complained that it wasn't as good as V4A--I haven't listened to V4A in a long time, but my recollection was that it does 2 things: EQ and boost. All their stuff comes down to highly advanced adaptive EQ and a volume boost. Essentially an Instagram filter for your audio. That's all you really can do with a software solution, so I don't blame V4A's team, but what we're looking for with a hi-fi hardware DAC is closer to putting your glasses on if you're near-sighted: increased clarity without changing or coloring the sound any more than necessary, including volume changes. That's what your choice of headphones and your EQ settings are for, not your DAC.)
Moved to the Shures next. The SE215 has a slightly bassy sound, IMO, much better for dance music than e.g. the Koss cans. Not quite basshead cans. I was impressed by performance, and volume. I felt "comfortable" for the first half of the playlist before checking the volume and discovering it wasn't at 45, where I'd wanted it--I had it at 30! Turned it up to 45, and I was at a point where it wasn't quite uncomfortably loud. Which is to say, these things can push power to a pair of headphones no problem.
Equally surprised that the Koss cans didn't have an equivalent bump in volume from what I'm used to (which is maxed out on the Note7, and remember that I'm nowhere near maxed out on the V20). Oh, sure, I could have turned them up, but I didn't. Clarity was as-expected. Much better, I think, than the SE215s.
What I'm looking for here is silence and separation. On the country tunes, in particular, you end up with a mandolin, banjo, and guitar all fighting for 'space' on the recording, so I was listening to make sure I could make out guitar chords from banjo rolls from mandolin... whatever mandolin players do. I'm sure they're very important musicians. The other part I listened to carefully was the intro to Chandelier; There's an etremely isolated snare in the beginning, and it should fade to nothing, not fade to sort-of-nothing. I didn't get that with the Shures as much as I wanted, but I did get it with the Koss headphones.
V-Modas don't do much to change my opinion. The bass is defined, clear, not boomy. I'd say the V20 seems to have a fairly balanced sound signature, which makes sense because that more-or-less matches what I've heard about the B&O sound signature. If the V20 DAC was developed with their input, that would make a lot of sense.
So in the end, I'd agree with kms108:
kms108 said:
All Hi Res iem or headphones will do the job, but it's up to your ears to know what is best, as all headphones/iem all have their own sound stage, for me I use the Sony list in my sig.
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TheJesus said:
I'm using my Beyerdynamic DT770 Pro 250 Ohm headphones, it's amazing. It's a step up from the V10, including the volume department (especially with high impedance headphones).
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Can't wait to try my beyer's. Have exact same ones and custom one pros. Cop's are a more fun sounding headphone and a burning can push it. The 770's and cop's can put out mind rattling bass, and by that I mean rattle your chest, with the right content and amp. Can't wait to hear the sound signature of the 9218 with my assorted cabled gear.
Suggest me a good in-ear earphones under $100 with high impedance. I want to get rid of this horrible hissing noise.
This has nothing to do with impedance. I have in-ear headphones with 16 Ohm impedance (JBL T110) and there's noise as well. But I have on-ear headphones (Connect IT CI-235) and there's no noise at all. The issue is how much voltage can the headphones take. So I would recommend you to get some on-ear ones and if they're above 20 dollars they should do the job.
ProchyGaming said:
This has nothing to do with impedance. I have in-ear headphones with 16 Ohm impedance (JBL T110) and there's noise as well. But I have on-ear headphones (Connect IT CI-235) and there's no noise at all. The issue is how much voltage can the headphones take. So I would recommend you to get some on-ear ones and if they're above 20 dollars they should do the job.
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Someone said, we need to buy earphones with impedance of 32 Ohm or more. So when you buy better check impedance, it should be more than 32 Ohms.
Ritik99 said:
Someone said, we need to buy earphones with impedance of 32 Ohm or more. So when you buy better check impedance, it should be more than 32 Ohms.
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That is odd then. As I've said I have 16 Ohms and I don't have any noise at all. Well better take the extra precaution if your budget is 100 dollars
ProchyGaming said:
This has nothing to do with impedance. I have in-ear headphones with 16 Ohm impedance (JBL T110) and there's noise as well. But I have on-ear headphones (Connect IT CI-235) and there's no noise at all. The issue is how much voltage can the headphones take. So I would recommend you to get some on-ear ones and if they're above 20 dollars they should do the job.
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Thank you for the advice but imho, on-ear headphones are not that mobile.
ProchyGaming said:
That is odd then. As I've said I have 16 Ohms and I don't have any noise at all. Well better take the extra precaution if your budget is 100 dollars
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Actually I do have 16ohm impedance earphone. Sony EX-15AP. Hissing is very much audible.
It's really weird, I have never heard this hissing.
I even just tried a pair of free ones I was given free on a sightseeing bus, quality is rubbish but still no hissing, I get a crackle if I twist the jack but that's it.
Problem is combination of low impedance and high sensitivity - which is pretty much case for majority of IEMs. Bigger headphones are often less sensitive so they do not tend to have the hissing issue. For 100usd, I would suggest buying any headphones you like + iEMatch impedance adapter (https://ifi-audio.com/portfolio-view/accessory-iematch/) - particularly if you need mic/buttons.
Edit: per iEmatch manual, mic/buttons on headphones will be disconnected by this adapter, so better verify with Ifi company before purchase.
Budget version would be ChiFi headphones (KZ, Senfer, ..) + cheap impedance adapter, but beware that this combination doesn't allow usage of cable with mic/buttons. I am quite happy with the budget solution..
Just flash the hissing noise fix and you can use any earphones
JakobSWE said:
Just flash the hissing noise fix and you can use any earphones
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What's that? There was one "fix" flying around few months ago, but it did absolutely nothing (modified some parameters in mixer path xml file with no effect whatsoever). I would love to have something which actually works..
_mysiak_ said:
What's that? There was one "fix" flying around few months ago, but it did absolutely nothing (modified some parameters in mixer path xml file with no effect whatsoever). I would love to have something which actually works..
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That's actually what the "fix" does. It's a hardware issue so no soft fix
_mysiak_ said:
What's that? There was one "fix" flying around few months ago, but it did absolutely nothing (modified some parameters in mixer path xml file with no effect whatsoever). I would love to have something which actually works..
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There's a magisk module you can flash here in the forums. Om My phone it removes almost all hissing :good:
JakobSWE said:
There's a magisk module you can flash here in the forums. Om My phone it removes almost all hissing :good:
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Click to collapse
Link please? I saw and tried only one and that was useless - I even tried to decrease the headphones gain in the xml file by ~99% and it didn't do anything.
_mysiak_ said:
Link please? I saw and tried only one and that was useless - I even tried to decrease the headphones gain in the xml file by ~99% and it didn't do anything.
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https://forum.xda-developers.com/mi-a1/themes/mod-xiaomi-mi-a1-soundmod-dualspeaker-t3741675
I'm using the nougat version on flyme os. But I've tried om stock Oreo too and it removes almost all hissing for me. Go for the magisk version and be sure to get the right version.
JakobSWE said:
https://forum.xda-developers.com/mi-a1/themes/mod-xiaomi-mi-a1-soundmod-dualspeaker-t3741675
I'm using the nougat version on flyme os. But I've tried om stock Oreo too and it removes almost all hissing for me. Go for the magisk version and be sure to get the right version.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Unfortunately I hear absolutely no difference in the hissing or overal volume of headphones. I'd say it's only a placebo "fix".. On the other hand, decreasing the headphones gain via custom kernel masks the hissing quite effectively - hissing is still the same, but as you have to turn up the volume, Signal To Noise ratio increases as well and you can't hear the noise over music. Quiet songs/passages are still bad though.
arvind7955 said:
Thank you for the advice but imho, on-ear headphones are not that mobile.
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iam using ATH-M50X everywhere
But Otherwise i cant use In Ear with gum and so iam on the way to build my own In Ear Monitors :fingers-crossed:
_mysiak_ said:
Problem is combination of low impedance and high sensitivity - which is pretty much case for majority of IEMs. Bigger headphones are often less sensitive so they do not tend to have the hissing issue. For 100usd, I would suggest buying any headphones you like + iEMatch impedance adapter (https://ifi-audio.com/portfolio-view/accessory-iematch/) - particularly if you need mic/buttons.
Budget version would be ChiFi headphones (KZ, Senfer, ..) + cheap impedance adapter, but beware that this combination doesn't allow usage of cable with mic/buttons. I am quite happy with the budget solution..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I got interested on this. I looked for some cheap ones but there is something i dont get, there are 30, 70 or 150 ohms so i wonder which one i have to pick. And some of those even say that they dont work on mobile phones so... I get even more confused.
And want to know if you found some cheap ones with the mic/buttons function
_mysiak_ said:
Unfortunately I hear absolutely no difference in the hissing or overal volume of headphones. I'd say it's only a placebo "fix".. On the other hand, decreasing the headphones gain via custom kernel masks the hissing quite effectively - hissing is still the same, but as you have to turn up the volume, Signal To Noise ratio increases as well and you can't hear the noise over music. Quiet songs/passages are still bad though.
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Click to collapse
I guess it only changes the gain or amplifiction. But my piston 3 almost gets no hiss with that fix. Super noisy without.
Arthur King said:
I got interested on this. I looked for some cheap ones but there is something i dont get, there are 30, 70 or 150 ohms so i wonder which one i have to pick. And some of those even say that they dont work on mobile phones so... I get even more confused.
And want to know if you found some cheap ones with the mic/buttons function
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
70 ohm should be fine, it will remove pretty much all the hissing and keeps overal volume high enough. Or there is an even cheaper and more versatile alternative - cable with analogue volume control (https://www.ebay.com/itm/131489435905). By turning the volume down, you effectively increase the impedance and hissing disappears. And you can fine tune it to each headphone. Though still no mic/button control.. I have similar one with button and mic on the cable and it makes wonders, but I purchased it years ago and can't find it anymore. Try to look for one in your favorite shops, you might have more luck.
Edit: this one http://www.dx.com/p/3-5mm-male-to-f...one-volume-control-for-cell-phone-84cm-126278
JakobSWE said:
I guess it only changes the gain or amplifiction. But my piston 3 almost gets no hiss with that fix. Super noisy without.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No idea what it does, on my phone nothing audible. From the description it should do what custom kernel with sound control does - only mask hissing.
Just get a pair of Apple EarPods. They have an impedance of around 40-45 ohms and work great.
I wanted to start a thread discussing the performance of the headphone jack. I'm a bit disappointed considering Sony's audiophile history with their walkmans and LDAC codec.
Yes, I'm nit picking about a $13XX dollar phone but for this price, I was expecting a bit more that just average performance.
For comparison I do have a LG V40 with it's quad dac and it powers my audio technicas perfectly fine with High-Impedance mode.
On the MK ii, I don't get the full sound with out an external dac coming into play.
I'd like to ask other MK ii owners if having just a headphone jack is enough to power your earbuds/iems/headphones.
Going to do a bit more in detail research within a couple of days but I think Sony just wanted to slap a headphone jack just to say it has one.
Ps- I'm no audiophile but having a full sound for the headphones I have is a must.
Thank you! This thread is very interesting.
I have reduced hearing and I badly need a smartphone with high-output. My LG V30 with it's QUAD-DAC has no problem giving me enough volume even on my favourite pair Hifiman HE-4xx.
I was hoping that Sony 1 mk2 was an alternative, but maybe not................ ?
R800x_user said:
I wanted to start a thread discussing the performance of the headphone jack. I'm a bit disappointed considering Sony's audiophile history with their walkmans and LDAC codec.
Yes, I'm nit picking about a $13XX dollar phone but for this price, I was expecting a bit more that just average performance.
For comparison I do have a LG V40 with it's quad dac and it powers my audio technicas perfectly fine with High-Impedance mode.
On the MK ii, I don't get the full sound with out an external dac coming into play.
I'd like to ask other MK ii owners if having just a headphone jack is enough to power your earbuds/iems/headphones.
Going to do a bit more in detail research within a couple of days but I think Sony just wanted to slap a headphone jack just to say it has one.
Ps- I'm no audiophile but having a full sound for the headphones I have is a must.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You may want to make the distinction between headphone jacks that can and cannot drive high impedance headphones as a headphone jack that can't can still be good as in clear, little to no distortion with good response and sound reproduction.
In this case its more like LG's has gone out of their way to include a dac that can power high impedance headphones (which is rare in the first place, in addition to the jack being rare) so if high impedance headphones usage is a top priority, then sticking to LG would be recommended.
I have a Meizu Pro usb dac which has a good reputation. The volume of the Meizu is a bit higher, but the audio quality of the Sony is equal. You just have to increase the volume 2 or 3 notches. The Sony uses the Qualcom dac and excellent Cirrus amplifier chips. I use my Beoplay H6 over the ear headphones for listening. The volume being a bit lower is no problem for me, I still can get serious hearing damage if I want to.
The audio is detailed, excellent channel separation, noise is undetectable.
jwalesh96 said:
You may want to make the distinction between headphone jacks that can and cannot drive high impedance headphones as a headphone jack that can't can still be good as in clear, little to no distortion with good response and sound reproduction.
In this case its more like LG's has gone out of their way to include a dac that can power high impedance headphones (which is rare in the first place, in addition to the jack being rare) so if high impedance headphones usage is a top priority, then sticking to LG would be recommended.
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Click to collapse
Sho-Bud said:
I have a Meizu Pro usb dac which has a good reputation. The volume of the Meizu is a bit higher, but the audio quality of the Sony is equal. You just have to increase the volume 2 or 3 notches. The Sony uses the Qualcom dac and excellent Cirrus amplifier chips. I use my Beoplay H4 over the ear headphones for listening. The volume being a bit lower is no problem for me, I still can get serious hearing damage if I want to.
The audio is detailed, excellent channel separation, noise is undetectable.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah LG has done the headphone jack justice, but I was expecting a bit more out of the mark 2 for it's price point.
Like hi-res audio. I get it's mainly a photography oriented product. I mean I guess I got used to only using half of the volume steps provided by the LG phones.
I just had high expectations out of Sony in the audio department. Great camera. As for the dac mentioned above, i have a couple so I'm not too worried about getting any more of them. I have a couple of headphone I can try out besides my audio technicas.
The audio capability of the phone is lacking
Bluetooth volume is pretty poor even though it's decent quality
The 3.5mm Jack absolutely doesn't have that much power to drive much more than basic iem 8 to 16 ohm level. Can't push my 150ohm cans at all
Definitely louder than the previous phones. I'm just happy that the jack is back. I did notice a difference with bluetooth vs wired on WH1000XM4. Volume was definitely louder on bluetooth, but can really notice the difference in quality despite LDAC. But that's just me.
R800x_user said:
Yeah LG has done the headphone jack justice, but I was expecting a bit more out of the mark 2 for it's price point.
Like hi-res audio. I get it's mainly a photography oriented product. I mean I guess I got used to only using half of the volume steps provided by the LG phones.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
But it does have Hi-Res audio. Volume is a bit lower, but is also the curve of the volume control. With the LG the volume control is linear, with the Sony starts to increase real slow, until over half of the volume.
Sho-Bud said:
But it does have Hi-Res audio. Volume is a bit lower, but is also the curve of the volume control. With the LG the volume control is linear, with the Sony starts to increase real slow, until over half of the volume.
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Yeah volume has to be over half way to start making decent sound. Regular buds are fine though. I have some kz iems and it's fine with those. Just higher impedance isn't for this phone.
My Beoplay H6 headphones have an impedance of 30 Ohms. They work great with the Sony. I can't compare, these are the only wired headphones I have.
The audio quality is perfect with my XBA-N3AP or WH1000XM3
niaboc79 said:
The audio quality is perfect with my XBA-N3AP or WH1000XM3
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Oh snap, how are the XBAs?
Currently, I'm using AKG N700nc2( using them wired )
R800x_user said:
Oh snap, how are the XBAs?
Currently, I'm using AKG N700nc2( using them wired )
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XBA are amazing, well balanced and no extra bass like many earphones.
With an upgraded cable it's even better [emoji106]
Envoyé de mon XQ-AT51 en utilisant Tapatalk
niaboc79 said:
The audio quality is perfect with my XBA-N3AP or WH1000XM3
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I think using its headphone jack to push N3AP do not working perfect, the human voice is low, the sound ‘s analysis goes bad, compare to use usb-3.5 dac line. I use IE60.
highlightshadow said:
The audio capability of the phone is lacking
Bluetooth volume is pretty poor even though it's decent quality
The 3.5mm Jack absolutely doesn't have that much power to drive much more than basic iem 8 to 16 ohm level. Can't push my 150ohm cans at all
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Poor volume, I can still get hearing damage by the levels of volume here.
Sent from my [device_name] using XDA-Developers Legacy app
Monster_Dawn said:
I think using its headphone jack to push N3AP do not working perfect, the human voice is low, the sound ‘s analysis goes bad, compare to use usb-3.5 dac line. I use IE60.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I haven't tried with a dac, I will try to compare with my XA50ES
Envoyé de mon XQ-AT51 en utilisant Tapatalk
For everyone who isn't satisfied with the performance of the headphone jack:
https://forum.xda-developers.com/crossdevice-dev/sony/xnext-walkman-v1-0-xperia-1ii-5-ii-t4192117
Require a rooted device
[email protected] said:
For everyone who isn't satisfied with the performance of the headphone jack:
https://forum.xda-developers.com/crossdevice-dev/sony/xnext-walkman-v1-0-xperia-1ii-5-ii-t4192117
Require a rooted device
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Click to collapse
Apologies for replying to an old threat, but what became of this? The link is now dead unfortunately. Was it an actual improvement or deleted because it was non-functional? Thanks.
Coleh said:
Apologies for replying to an old threat, but what became of this? The link is now dead unfortunately. Was it an actual improvement or deleted because it was non-functional? Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Try to dm peter. I didn't have a chance to save this.
Sony Xperia 1 II most probably uses a Qualcomm audio codec. Can be their flagship Aqstic WCD9341, a dedicated audio chip. Only a proper tear-down will reveal the details. As I found out this audio chip contains a very good DAC section and can produce nearly 1 Vrms at headphone out when implemented in high performance mode.