[Q] Sound quality compared to Sansa Clip+ - Nexus S Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

Nexus S with Voodoo control
compared to
Sandisk Sansa Clip+ with Rockbox system
Which is better?
Does anyone has both of them?

while i did had a sansa some times ago (now it's dead ), i can tell you sansa (or any PMP) is better better in audio quality than a "mixed" device like a smartphone.
reason is, they've dedicated hardware to do that job, they just play music, and they do it via hardware decoding, most of the times, and they are designed to work for hours and hours with a single battery charge.
phones, instead, have to deal with other processes, like calls, wifi, and so on; moreover, they work software side, and playing music will drastically reduce battery time
however, there's always a big variable: headphones.
you could have the best player in the universe, but with a crappy pair of earpiece, there's no ifs or buts

Thanks for reply.
I see, and decide to buy a Clip+ for my UE TF10.
Besides, I just looked up Sardinia on GoogleMaps, it's really a big island that I haven't noticed before. I have been travelled in Rome for 2 days.

ozone89 said:
while i did had a sansa some times ago (now it's dead ), i can tell you sansa (or any PMP) is better better in audio quality than a "mixed" device like a smartphone.
reason is, they've dedicated hardware to do that job, they just play music, and they do it via hardware decoding, most of the times, and they are designed to work for hours and hours with a single battery charge.
phones, instead, have to deal with other processes, like calls, wifi, and so on; moreover, they work software side, and playing music will drastically reduce battery time
however, there's always a big variable: headphones.
you could have the best player in the universe, but with a crappy pair of earpiece, there's no ifs or buts
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The largest downside of a mixed device such as the Nexus S would have much more to do with various forms of interference coming from the other chips and electronics all huddled up next to each other, and possibly from heat too. You won't find a difference between "software" and "hardware" decoding here either, the clip simply uses a SoC much like the Nexus too, just much smaller with less features.
Playing music drastically reduces battery time on the Nexus S without Deep Idle enabled, with it there is a much less severe battery drain though. On newer Tegra3 devices, for example, battery drain is even less as only a much weaker, and more efficient, core is used to decode audio (a relatively easy task), saving even more power.
As you said though, sound quality is only as high as the weakest link - from the bitrate to the dac, amp and ear/headphones. I absolutely love the Sansa Clip+ though, there is nothing that compares to it's capabilities, price point, portability, etc. I intend to get one (or two) sometime soon, if not just to have one permanently hooked up in the car and as a backup, even though my Nexus S is my main source of music.

radianter said:
Thanks for reply.
I see, and decide to buy a Clip+ for my UE TF10.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
you're welcome, GLaD i've helped
radianter said:
Besides , I just looked up Sardinia on GoogleMaps, it's really a big island that I haven't noticed before. I have been travelled in Rome for 2 days.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ahaahah, you're not the only one!
hope you haven't taken seriously my sig, it's just a joke referred to the fact that sardinian language is officially recognized as such, as opposite to other italian dialects it has autonomous roots (wikipedia will help) XD
Sent from my Nexus S using XDA

Well I have both, and what I'd say is Clip+ is better when using with low impedance headphones. On the other hand, I feel Nexus S with Voodoo Sound driver performs better with higher impedance headphones e.g. Hifiman RE-0 provided they're playing the same FLAC file

radianter said:
Thanks for reply.
I see, and decide to buy a Clip+ for my UE TF10.
Besides, I just looked up Sardinia on GoogleMaps, it's really a big island that I haven't noticed before. I have been travelled in Rome for 2 days.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i am also using a tf10 i think nesus with voodoo is great but if u wan quality why sansa with rockbox? my as well hifi-man? or cowon?
Sent from my Nexus S using Tapatalk 2 Beta-4

ozone89 said:
you're welcome, GLaD i've helped
ahaahah, you're not the only one!
hope you haven't taken seriously my sig, it's just a joke referred to the fact that sardinian language is officially recognized as such, as opposite to other italian dialects it has autonomous roots (wikipedia will help) XD
Sent from my Nexus S using XDA
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
@[email protected] You have confused me successfully
I'm a Chinese currently at europe and don't have much geography knowledge of europe. I know there are two islands, one of France and one of Italy, but I just know their's names today ~~

kong said:
Well I have both, and what I'd say is Clip+ is better when using with low impedance headphones. On the other hand, I feel Nexus S with Voodoo Sound driver performs better with higher impedance headphones e.g. Hifiman RE-0 provided they're playing the same FLAC file
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for reply.
I just checked that Hifiman RE-0 is a 64 Ohms earphone. It's amazing that Nexus S can drive a earphone directly with such a high impedance. Can you get enough volume from this combination?
So, in your opinion, the output power of Nexus S is greater than Clip+, right?

xjerlzx said:
i am also using a tf10 i think nesus with voodoo is great but if u wan quality why sansa with rockbox? my as well hifi-man? or cowon?
Sent from my Nexus S using Tapatalk 2 Beta-4
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for reply.
I just want a small and portable player when I doing running exercise. For this reason, Clip+ is good to me, and it has FM

radianter said:
Thanks for reply.
I just checked that Hifiman RE-0 is a 64 Ohms earphone. It's amazing that Nexus S can drive a earphone directly with such a high impedance. Can you get enough volume from this combination?
So, in your opinion, the output power of Nexus S is greater than Clip+, right?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah I believe so... I never have to raise the volume bar above 50% most of the time.
BTW, here's a post that you may find interesting. It also talk about TF10 a little bit

Related

LG Optimus 3D Audio Quality

Hi,
How good is the SQ of O3D? Is it comparable to iP4/SGS 2?
Thanks!
Sent from my GT-I5801 using XDA App
The speakers aren't great and I think it's pretty bad at recording sound, especially in a loud environment.
Works well with headphones though
Hmmm....So did you tried any 3rd party headphones or only using those that came bundled with O3D?
Sent from my GT-I5801 using XDA App
I'm using high-end headphones, but the ones that came with it looked OK. I never expect much from what constructors put in the box...
Sent from my LG-P920 using XDA App
Wow you guys got headphones with your O3D. We didn't get that with the Thrill!
I havent even opened the headphones that came with it. Ive used it with several different sets of cans though, including sony vf-150s and beyerdynamic dt-770ms and it sounds pretty great on all of them.
One flaw ive noticed with audio is that the phone creates a loud pop when the audio driver kicks in at the beginning of playback. Quite annoying if you ever plug it into a PA system.
Sent from my LG-P920 using xda premium
BigCiX said:
Wow you guys got headphones with your O3D. We didn't get that with the Thrill!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
We got an HDMI cable though.
Killer Bee said:
We got an HDMI cable though.
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Lol at first I was like :/ but then I was all
Headphones are really good, speakers are loud and good. But, recording voice quality is horrible when there is a noise or lound voices, so, that is just what annoyes me.
The sound coming out of the speakers is tiny and according to this review, the quality of the sound coming out of the headphones is one of the worst they've heard :S. They rate it as excellent if you plug it in your car or PA system...
LG earphones+poweramp with dance preset and bass and treble knob turned to middle= best earphones compared to every other earphone that comes bundled with any other mobile!
ofutur said:
The sound coming out of the speakers is tiny and according to this review, the quality of the sound coming out of the headphones is one of the worst they've heard :S. They rate it as excellent if you plug it in your car or PA system...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think you are misreading what they are stating. Here is the exact quote:
GSMARENA said:
When headphones come into play, however, the stereo crosstalk takes a really serious hit - it gets relegated from excellent to one of the worst we have seen.
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Click to collapse
What they are saying is that the stereo crosstalk, when using headphones, dips to one of the lowest levels they have seen. This is not the same as saying that "the quality of sound coming out of the headphones is one of the worst they have heard."
In addition, if you look at the comparison chart, the only phone in that list that is significantly better then all the rest is the HTC Sensation.
speaker quality compared to iphone4: bad. very bad.
speaker loudness compared to iphone4: much much better.
i prefer the optimus 3d. i have x-mini mobile speakers if i really want to listen to my phone.
naplesbill said:
I think you are misreading what they are stating. Here is the exact quote:
What they are saying is that the stereo crosstalk, when using headphones, dips to one of the lowest levels they have seen. This is not the same as saying that "the quality of sound coming out of the headphones is one of the worst they have heard."
In addition, if you look at the comparison chart, the only phone in that list that is significantly better then all the rest is the HTC Sensation.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No offence, but I think that you don't know what stereo crosstalk is. -44.1 is pretty bad. Vinyls give you around -30.
Look at the numbers for Apple which is still a reference when it comes to pocketable audio players.
ofutur said:
No offence, but I think that you don't know what stereo crosstalk is. -44.1 is pretty bad. Vinyls give you around -30.
Look at the numbers for Apple which is still a reference when it comes to pocketable audio players.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am not debating that. I just felt the need to point out the difference in verbage, which insinuated something different than what was actually stated. I understand the value of the crosstalk measurement, but it's not the only measurement involved. Sorry if you felt offended.
Additionally, look at the other devices compared and you will see that it wasn't the worst of the pack. It looks almost par with the GSII in most regards. Of course, I don't think that is such a great thing either.
I also noticed that in the chart for Apple, that the original Galaxy S is worse than the Optimus 3D as well.
I agree with you and I apologize . My original statement was misleading. The crosstalk is one of the worst, but overall the quality of the sound coming out of the O3D was rated as being average.

Dissapointed with stock nexus S sound??

I heard alot about nexus S sound with voodoo but is stock really supposed to be rather average? While the sound "quality" seems really good the volume levels are just not good enough. My bose headphones sound so weak compared to an iphone, what gives??
Even an HTC desire had higher volume. Is voodoo supposed to make it much louder? Why cant we have it without rooting?
Update: I just tried my headphones on an iphone and well it isnt as loud as I remember it was. Whats happened is that I got spoiled by the headphone amp in my PC soundcard and thus perceived the nexus sound to be really weak in comparison. I had not yet used my headphones on a phone since getting a soundcard.
Obviously I cant expect the nexus to beat my PC and it actually compares really well with the iphone 4. I am sorry guys I feel really stupid for making this topic.
Disappointed? Not in the very least. I'm actuall extremely pleased and actually very ****ing surprised of the quality... even without Voodoo enhancements.
I had a Desire before this and that had a very tinny and high-mid/high heavy focus. It was very unpleasant watching videos let alone listening to music.
When I first heard the Nexus s (stock gingerbread at that time) I was in awe. The sound was very clear and loud. It even appeared to produce unnaturally powerful and clear low frequencies for a speaker this size.
I think something is very wrong with your phone if you prefer the Desire's sound.
My 2¢.
Later edit: I just now realize you were actually complaining about the sound volume and not the quality, but still I can't say I find it quieter than the Desire.
However, you are right. Voodoo can boost the volume quite a bit.
Oh no you completely misunderstood, the speaker on the nexus S is really good and destroys the desire. I am talking about sound through full size headphones.
Perhaps you need a headphone amplifier.
With Voodoo, the sound quality is exceptional, but quality has nothing to do with volume. In fact, turning up the volume in the phone too far will have a negative impact on the sound quality (distortion).
There are a number of factors affecting the perceived volume of a pair of headphones. Driver efficiency and impedance are the main ones; some output devices are designed for headphones which require high voltage and others for current.
The Nexus S with Voodoo, in airplane mode, playing high quality FLAC media, plugged into an amplifier, sounds pretty darn good through my AKG K271 MKII cans. Also pretty stellar through Meyer PA.
Gambler_3 said:
Oh no you completely misunderstood, the speaker on the nexus S is really good and destroys the desire. I am talking about sound through full size headphones.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, I missunderstood, thus my later edit.
And I agree with d-h. I'm only using a pair of sennheiser cx300 but I can never turn it all the way up (I even set the limit at 3dB, rather than 5dB). I keep the volume around 1/2 to 3/4 of the way and that's plenty loud... even in noisy environments.
zgomot said:
Yes, I missunderstood, thus my later edit.
And I agree with d-h. I'm only using a pair of sennheiser cx300 but I can never turn it all the way up (I even set the limit at 3dB, rather than 5dB). I keep the volume around 1/2 to 3/4 of the way and that's plenty loud... even in noisy environments.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You have voodoo? What music player you use?
And as for headphone amplifier I never used one for other phones I mentioned. While sound quality has nothing to do with volume but without headphone amp, volume tends to be the biggest bottleneck on a smartphone. Since nexus S is hailed as one of the greatest smartphones sound wise I expect it to drive my bose headphones atleast as good as other phones.
This will take care of your sound/volume issues ...
Gambler_3 said:
You have voodoo? What music player you use?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I use Google Music.
wmdunn said:
This will take care of your sound/volume issues ...
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Click to collapse
I have poweramp 2.0, it can make things really loud but there is slight distortion on anything above the default level. I know my headphones can get ridiculously loud without distorting so it's the hardware limitation on the phone.
Gambler_3 said:
I have poweramp 2.0, it can make things really loud but there is slight distortion on anything above the default level. I know my headphones can get ridiculously loud without distorting so it's the hardware limitation on the phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I use Volume+ on my head phones all the time, and there is no distortion. If you don't want to try it, that's fine ... I was simply trying to help.
wmdunn said:
I use Volume+ on my head phones all the time, and there is no distortion. If you don't want to try it, that's fine ... I was simply trying to help.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have downloaded it will try it for sure but was just saying.
Gambler_3 said:
I have downloaded it will try it for sure but was just saying.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hope it works for you ... it has made a huge difference for me in all areas of device volume settings.
I just tried my headphones on an iphone and well it isnt as loud as I remember it was. Whats happened is that I got spoiled by the headphone amp in my PC soundcard and thus perceived the nexus sound to be really weak in comparison. I had not yet used my headphones on a phone since getting a soundcard.
Obviously I cant expect the nexus to beat my PC and it actually compares really well with the iphone 4. I am sorry guys I feel really stupid for making this topic.
hey peeps get ur facts right. loudness doesn't equate to quality. nexus s with voodoo is fine and awesome details better then iPhone. note. MOST HEADPHONES REQUIRE AN AMPLIFIER.
Gambler_3 said:
I just tried my headphones on an iphone and well it isnt as loud as I remember it was. Whats happened is that I got spoiled by the headphone amp in my PC soundcard and thus perceived the nexus sound to be really weak in comparison. I had not yet used my headphones on a phone since getting a soundcard.
Obviously I cant expect the nexus to beat my PC and it actually compares really well with the iphone 4. I am sorry guys I feel really stupid for making this topic.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's all good, Bud ...
Why don't you just download voodoo?
Sent from my Nexus S using Tapatalk
Yes the speaker volume is rubbish but the Samsung galaxy and Nexus S have the best audio hardware compared to any top phone out at the moment. They rock a really top spec Wolfson audio chip.
Sent from my Nexus S using XDA App
Warren_Orange said:
Yes the speaker volume is rubbish but the Samsung galaxy and Nexus S have the best audio hardware compared to any top phone out at the moment. They rock a really top spec Wolfson audio chip.
Sent from my Nexus S using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Does the Galaxy Nexus rock the same audio chip?
Sent from my Nexus S
While we are on this topic, I have voodoo installed for the color hack. What settings should I use for music? What do you guys use?
Nevermind, I just found out how to use the volume boost. I'm happy!
zgomot said:
Does the Galaxy Nexus rock the same audio chip?
Sent from my Nexus S
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The Galaxy Nexus has some Yamaha chip. Not nearly as good as the Wolfson in our NS, so it's not something to be really proud of - it's not shocking though. SGS and Nexus S are the two android phones with the best headphone output to date.
rocket999 said:
While we are on this topic, I have voodoo installed for the color hack. What settings should I use for music? What do you guys use?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
All of the settings in voodoo (aside from mono and bass boost) are there to enhance audio quality and processing. Feel free to turn on all features, just leave mono unticked and you can set bass boost to your preferred level of course. This shouldn't use noticeably more power or CPU usage either, if anything at all.

dac/sound quality ?

I've done a bit of searching but hvaen't been able to find much info. Does the tf700 have a decent dac (i know the speakers are said to be weak; but how about audio out to headphones/iem ) ?
Should it be on par/worse/better than the tf101 ? Hum. Actually i don't even know if the dac is built into the tegra 3 line or if asus picks the chip.
jake21 said:
I've done a bit of searching but hvaen't been able to find much info. Does the tf700 have a decent dac (i know the speakers are said to be weak; but how about audio out to headphones/iem ) ?
Should it be on par/worse/better than the tf101 ? Hum. Actually i don't even know if the dac is built into the tegra 3 line or if asus picks the chip.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My infinity wont be here until tomorrow but I did some tests with my TF201 before I sold it and it sounded just fine. Just as good, if not better than my mac mini HTPC. I was using power amp and 320K MP3's to a good ONKYO amp and JBL speakers....
Got my. 700 today. Really a slick tab overall, but the speaker is terrible,especialy coming from the a700. At least i get smooth playback now. Too quiet and tinny to even consider close to functional, definately requires an audio out of somesort.
Edit suppose i should mention im already using equalizer to boost it.
Sent from my ASUS Transformer Pad TF700T using xda app-developers app
First of all, I'm not an audiophile person.
Just testing now playing flac from built in music player on Beyerdynamic DT 770 Pro 80 ohm.
On full volume on the tf700 it is loud enuf, but it seems to my untrained ear that it cant really drive the headset to the max on the bass side.
Hmm. Just did a side-by-side comparison with my computer (using some 3-4 years old logitech 2.1 setup) and the bass seems better on the infinity then on my computer. A richer sound. And it drives the headset generally better. I'm really suprised by that actually.. Maybe time to by a DAC for my computer I guess.
Actually, the DAC is a basic one and, as on every "mainstream" hardware, it lacks a lot of bass (I tried it through custom in-ears). However, what really made me throw the idea of using it as a true nomad player is the constant background noise that is especially strong (as on every phone). I don't know how to name this phenomenon in English (in French it is called "souffle", meaning blow or whistle) but it really ruins the experience on sensitive in-ears (and especially with quiet music).
Bottom line : it's better than a phone, (and even most MP3 players) but it is not made to drive high-end monitors.
What I would love to see, and I will try to give it a look, is the ability to use an USB DAC on this tablet. After all, it shouldn't be impossible (especially if we get another OS to run on it).
Ok. I ended up picking one of these. I have a tf101 to compare. The tf101 speakers are a lot louder (this surprise me as the tf101 is already a bit soft); with my iem (a161) the tf101 gets marginally louder (I think) but the tf700 is clearer more concise. I did not try any sort of equilizer or other widget that might adjust the sound quality. The media is very high audio. I forget the bit rate but it is excessively high track from blu-ray.
Ralganaziel said:
Actually, the DAC is a basic one and, as on every "mainstream" hardware, it lacks a lot of bass (I tried it through custom in-ears). However, what really made me throw the idea of using it as a true nomad player is the constant background noise that is especially strong (as on every phone). I don't know how to name this phenomenon in English (in French it is called "souffle", meaning blow or whistle) but it really ruins the experience on sensitive in-ears (and especially with quiet music).
Bottom line : it's better than a phone, (and even most MP3 players) but it is not made to drive high-end monitors.
What I would love to see, and I will try to give it a look, is the ability to use an USB DAC on this tablet. After all, it shouldn't be impossible (especially if we get another OS to run on it).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
For audio via USB, you will have to wait for the Jelly Bean update as it was one of the major feature that was added to it. ICS does not support audio out via USB.
Nice! I ordered Ann Asus Xonar Essence One just ten minutes before reading this. :-D
ajamils said:
For audio via USB, you will have to wait for the Jelly Bean update as it was one of the major feature that was added to it. ICS does not support audio out via USB.
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Click to collapse
That's a great news you are giving me... Can't wait to see Jelly Bean on my Transformer !
Ralganaziel said:
That's a great news you are giving me... Can't wait to see Jelly Bean on my Transformer !
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
JB/USB Audio is one of the reasons I got Nexus 7. Now just waiting for the micro USB OTG cable to arrive so that I can test it out with Fio E17.
thephreak99 said:
Nice! I ordered Ann Asus Xonar Essence One just ten minutes before reading this. :-D
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Awesome piece of equipment!
ajamils said:
For audio via USB, you will have to wait for the Jelly Bean update as it was one of the major feature that was added to it. ICS does not support audio out via USB.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oh! That's a great news... but still it is a big question if my external USB dac (Arcam rDAC) will "understand" Android system... manufacturer of DAC has to release drivers for Android ...I guess???
Talking about TF700's volume level... it is far lower than most of other android/iOS devices I've heard (TF101, iPad 2, HTC desire, samsung galaxy s2...)... ...it makes me fuzzy a bit.
Yes the external speakers are the worse ever; shame on asus. Using IEM's max volume is nearly same as tf101 but mine has low impedance. Were you talking about the use of IEM/headphones or the external speaker.
SurferLTU said:
Oh! That's a great news... but still it is a big question if my external USB dac (Arcam rDAC) will "understand" Android system... manufacturer of DAC has to release drivers for Android ...I guess???
Talking about TF700's volume level... it is far lower than most of other android/iOS devices I've heard (TF101, iPad 2, HTC desire, samsung galaxy s2...)... ...it makes me fuzzy a bit.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
SurferLTU said:
Talking about TF700's volume level... it is far lower than most of other android/iOS devices I've heard (TF101, iPad 2, HTC desire, samsung galaxy s2...)... ...it makes me fuzzy a bit.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
WTH is wrong with Asus. Why can't they put decent speakers on a "high end" device?
I agree that the rear facing speaker is unfortunate. I certainly had issues with getting the proper sound from it and covering the speaker with my hand. I also had it completely stop working until I rebooted.
I've spent the last hour or so streaming music on a fairly slow wifi connection via Play Music and DI Radio to my LG BT headset. Overall I've found the sound quality to be an improvement from my SGS2 but I do notice the very occasional and small skip or missed note. I'm not sure if this is an issue with my wifi being slow or my headset. I guess I'll keep on eye on this over the weekend and see how the sound performance is on a different headset and jambox w/ fast wifi or locally stored music.
With other laptops that I have I use the USB connections through a Dragonfly DAC to bypass to bypass their internal DAC's which are generally not very good. The Asus sound to a decent amp is not good (no resolution or detail in the upper midrange and above using either the earphone jack or USB with the external DAC). The only answer, it seems, is to use another computer for music, which I now do.
I've been using a fifo 10 (usb dac) with my computer but to be honest since sandy bridge most dacs on computers are decent enough. As for this tablet sold it a long time ago - i have a 12 inch samsung pro but it is now dated and looking for a new 12 inch tablet but no one makes a decent one. 10 inch doesn't work for myself. Either I want 8 inch for around the house or 12 inch for travel.

(Headphones) Good finding that I want to share with you...

Yep, as the title says, I found a good pair of headphones with mic that you may like, it's nothing new, but nothing that I could find in the Nexus 4 forum either...
Here it is! "Sony MDR-ZX300AP/L" made specifically for Android phones (according to Sony's website).
Weird side note: they are OMTP (according to Sony chat representative), and AFAIK, Nexus 4 is CTIA, so I decided to grab a CTIA<-->OMTP adapter, which only inverts the 2 cables that differ from CTIA/OMTP, funny thing is, when I connected the headphones with the adapter, they worked perfectly (also tested the mic), then I decided to give it a try without the adapter... guess what... they worked too (plus mic)! WTF they were not supposed to work....
Anyway, I decided to share this finding to you, I have to specify that mine is the latest revision (AFAIK) from Nexus 4 *White*, so I'm totally clueless if they changed something in the hardware to make them compatible with both CTIA/OMTP...
I also paired the headphones with a computer adapter, so now I have a computer headset (mic works too!) "StarTech MUYHSFMM 3.5mm 4 Pin to 2x3 Pin 3.5mm Headset Splitter Adapter - F/M"
Final notes, mic quality is 4 out of 5, not the best, not bad, there are other color(s) available, definitely sturdy and yet comfortable pair of headphones, build quality totally explains the price (it can be either good or bad, depends of your point of view, very good IMHO)...
CAN'T POST PICTURES (YET!), SORRY
hulkmxl said:
Yep, as the title says, I found a good pair of headphones with mic that you may like, it's nothing new, but nothing that I could find in the Nexus 4 forum either...
Here it is! "Sony MDR-ZX300AP/L" made specifically for Android phones (according to Sony's website).
Weird side note: they are OMTP (according to Sony chat representative), and AFAIK, Nexus 4 is CTIA, so I decided to grab a CTIA<-->OMTP adapter, which only inverts the 2 cables that differ from CTIA/OMTP, funny thing is, when I connected the headphones with the adapter, they worked perfectly (also tested the mic), then I decided to give it a try without the adapter... guess what... they worked too (plus mic)! WTF they were not supposed to work....
Anyway, I decided to share this finding to you, I have to specify that mine is the latest revision (AFAIK) from Nexus 4 *White*, so I'm totally clueless if they changed something in the hardware to make them compatible with both CTIA/OMTP...
I also paired the headphones with a computer adapter, so now I have a computer headset (mic works too!) "StarTech MUYHSFMM 3.5mm 4 Pin to 2x3 Pin 3.5mm Headset Splitter Adapter - F/M"
Final notes, mic quality is 4 out of 5, not the best, not bad, there are other color(s) available, definitely sturdy and yet comfortable pair of headphones, build quality totally explains the price (it can be either good or bad, depends of your point of view, very good IMHO)...
CAN'T POST PICTURES (YET!), SORRY
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can always upload, can't you?
kpjimmy said:
You can always upload, can't you?
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I'm completely a noob (here at XDA), but, I uploaded the photos to my photobucket account and when I used the image insertion feature, there was a warning message saying no external URL links until the 10th post...
hulkmxl said:
I'm completely a noob (here at XDA), but, I uploaded the photos to my photobucket account and when I used the image insertion feature, there was a warning message saying no external URL links until the 10th post...
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There should be a manage attachment's section when you post to attach/upload pics. I guess if you uploaded them, you probably are on a diff computer? But it's fine. Thanks!
kpjimmy said:
There should be a manage attachment's section when you post to attach/upload pics. I guess if you uploaded them, you probably are on a diff computer? But it's fine. Thanks!
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Click to collapse
No its his account he hasn't even posted 10 posts yet that's why.
Sent from my Nexus 4 using xda app-developers app
XxLostSoulxX said:
No its his account he hasn't even posted 10 posts yet that's why.
Sent from my Nexus 4 using xda app-developers app
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Click to collapse
Oh I thought you can always upload but new members couldn't post links until after 10 posts. My bad.
By the way if you want good IEMs:
Westone 2/UMX 3
Klipsch S4/X10
VSonic GR07 BE
Atrio MG7 Pro
I can name a lot but those 4 are good and price wise not too expensive.
Sent from my Nexus 4 using xda app-developers app
XxLostSoulxX said:
By the way if you want good IEMs:
Westone 2/UMX 3
Klipsch S4/X10
VSonic GR07 BE
Atrio MG7 Pro
I can name a lot but those 4 are good and price wise not too expensive.
Sent from my Nexus 4 using xda app-developers app
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Click to collapse
Jesus, you must be quite the audiophile.
By "not too expensive" I was expecting to find something not too much more than the meelectronics stuff.
Guess the S4 is reasonably priced
ziddey said:
Jesus, you must be quite the audiophile.
By "not too expensive" I was expecting to find something not too much more than the meelectronics stuff.
Guess the S4 is reasonably priced
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
the S4 is great, have a pair and love them.
Thinking about moving up tho...
ziddey said:
Jesus, you must be quite the audiophile.
By "not too expensive" I was expecting to find something not too much more than the meelectronics stuff.
Guess the S4 is reasonably priced
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Click to collapse
Haha when it comes to quality and sound I go for the good stuff. That's actually least expensive when you compare them to 300+ they do fairly great and for the Price you can't beat them.
Sent from my Nexus 4 using xda app-developers app
XxLostSoulxX said:
Haha when it comes to quality and sound I go for the good stuff. That's actually least expensive when you compare them to 300+ they do fairly great and for the Price you can't beat them.
Sent from my Nexus 4 using xda app-developers app
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Click to collapse
You can consider yourself an audiophile if you start spending more than $100dlls on headsets/accessories to listen music... I'm not saying it is negative!, just pointing out that there is certain price threshold where people with an educated ear need something better than the average $30-$50 headsets... (audiophiles )
For mere mortals such as me... this headset is very good, I'm still able to distinguish a weak spot in a range of frequency but I'm ok with that, bass is also a little weak for my taste but there is no microphone version of the XtraBass variant of this headset...
Talking about headsets, it surprised me to find out how other people prefer/user other more expensive headphones in their cellphones, poor DAC cannot even power such a high impedance! they need a FiOS amplifier to power them up... gosh... talking about obsessions...
There is a good reason of why many headsets/headphones have weak spots or poor bass, and this is obviously because they were designed to power up from weak sources (such as your cellphone's DAC), of course newer cellphones have improved a lot in this department allowing users to throw higher balls on the park (S4 by example)...
hulkmxl said:
For mere mortals such as me... this headset is very good, I'm still able to distinguish a weak spot in a range of frequency but I'm ok with that, bass is also a little weak for my taste but there is no microphone version of the XtraBass variant of this headset...
Talking about headsets, it surprised me to find out how other people prefer/user other more expensive headphones in their cellphones, poor DAC cannot even power such a high impedance! they need a FiOS amplifier to power them up... gosh... talking about obsessions...
There is a good reason of why many headsets/headphones have weak spots or poor bass, and this is obviously because they were designed to power up from weak sources (such as your cellphone's DAC), of course newer cellphones have improved a lot in this department allowing users to throw higher balls on the park (S4 by example)...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
LOL, I am no audiophile. I just like my music to be clear and hit bass nice and crisp. But I do have the V-Moda M100's in my collection lol. I use that on my N4 mostly, but I use the M100s on my N7 and laptop at home.
When I want in ears, my go to ones used to be the Sol Republic Amps HD. Great headphones for the price and are tangle free. I just got some Munitio NINES 9mm in ears and the bass just blows me away. I am not a bass heavy listener, so I had to lower the volume on a lot of my devices lol. I gave my wife the Shure SE215 clears for a flight recently and she thanked me because she needed them when on a flight where there were a bunch of minors on a flight without parents and of course were loud. The lady next to her asked if how she could deal with all the noise and my wife said...what noise? I had my headsets in. They were clear so you can hardly see them if you aren't looking so that is a plus lol.
Bottom line, there are lower end headphones like the google ones, or sony ones that do the deed well on its own. I am not saying they shouldn't be used, far be it. I say try it and if you are happy, then that's all that matters right?
kpjimmy said:
LOL, I am no audiophile. I just like my music to be clear and hit bass nice and crisp. But I do have the V-Moda M100's in my collection lol. I use that on my N4 mostly, but I use the M100s on my N7 and laptop at home.
When I want in ears, my go to ones used to be the Sol Republic Amps HD. Great headphones for the price and are tangle free. I just got some Munitio NINES 9mm in ears and the bass just blows me away. I am not a bass heavy listener, so I had to lower the volume on a lot of my devices lol. I gave my wife the Shure SE215 clears for a flight recently and she thanked me because she needed them when on a flight where there were a bunch of minors on a flight without parents and of course were loud. The lady next to her asked if how she could deal with all the noise and my wife said...what noise? I had my headsets in. They were clear so you can hardly see them if you aren't looking so that is a plus lol.
Bottom line, there are lower end headphones like the google ones, or sony ones that do the deed well on its own. I am not saying they shouldn't be used, far be it. I say try it and if you are happy, then that's all that matters right?
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Click to collapse
You are damn right, you gotta use whatever makes you happy, if it costs more than $100dlls.. the heck with it! buy it for the sake of happiness.

The Audio Thread

Since I didn't find anything in General I decided to open a thread about audio quality.
I've noticed the speaker produces quite compressed output (which I dont like).
Whats your experience?
Do you think we can get voodoo sound?
Jack Barrett said:
Since I didn't find anything in General I decided to open a thread about audio quality.
I've noticed the speaker produces quite compressed output (which I dont like).
Whats your experience?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The external speaker's been beaten up pretty badly in the "remorse" thread. You can see some of the objective testing results and a lot of discussion here...
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2458640
Do you think we can get voodoo sound?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Here's an old article published by Francois Simond (supercurio) talking about audio on the SGS2 including some of the challenges and his work-arounds. You'll notice there's not a single mention of the external speaker. That's because Voodoo is designed to improve high-end audio output for audiophiles and people that listen to non-compressed media with high-end gear. People that listen to 128 kbit/s MP3's over $50 headphones wouldn't notice supercurio's tuning and/or could accomplish the same results with the stock output and a s/w equalizer. Audiophile standards and high-end performance have nothing to do with external speaker output whose range is too narrow and impedance too low for anything to help. Hence it never being mentioned in supercurio's work.
http://www.anandtech.com/show/4686/samsung-galaxy-s-2-international-review-the-best-redefined/13
Objective testing shows the N3's external speaker to be plenty loud but the subjective general consensus is that the N3’s output is lacking depth and detail. And that’s because of the new speaker design Samsung’s introduced. Some people are fine with it while it bothers the crap out of others.
External Speaker is crap, S3 sound much more better, i'm very disappointed.
Sent from my SM-N9005 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
Extermal speaker on n3 exynos is much better for me than note 2.
Sent from Note 3 (The beauty & beast)
Note II
Note 3
BarryH_GEG said:
Note II
Note 3
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Click to collapse
You post those clips and charts etc. They mean nothing to me, in.my experience You Tube media is a far far better audio experience in the Note 2 than the 3. Its clear as day, I don't know why you keep chiming in to defend the Note 3 speaker, I really don't. Its cack. But I'm learning to deal with it.
JCM800 said:
You post those clips and charts etc. They mean nothing to me, in.my experience You Tube media is a far far better audio experience in the Note 2 than the 3. Its clear as day, I don't know why you keep chiming in to defend the Note 3 speaker, I really don't. Its cack. But I'm learning to deal with it.
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Click to collapse
Your opinion is legend. If you read anything I posted above I didn't even offer my opinion. It's odd you feel so strongly about people reaching any opinion that differs from yours.
BarryH_GEG said:
Your opinion is legend. If you read anything I posted above I didn't even offer my opinion. It's odd you feel so strongly about people reaching any opinion that differs from yours.
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Click to collapse
I respect differing opinions. I respect you Barry, you're very intelligent, I like your style. But, ill argue with anyone that implies the Note 2 isn't better speaker wise than the Note 3 until the cows come home.
JCM800 said:
I respect differing opinions. I respect you Barry, you're very intelligent, I like your style. But, ill argue with anyone that implies the Note 2 isn't better speaker wise than the Note 3 until the cows come home.
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Click to collapse
I'm no smarter than anyone here and probably less so in quite a few areas. Don't confuse writing well with intelligence.
I totally agree that the speaker on the N3 has less depth and detail than the N2; it's hard not to notice when they are side-by-side. The volume's pretty much the same so the only area you and I disagree on is the importance of depth and detail as it applies to an external speaker. It bothers the crap out of some people and others seem not to mind as much. People that care a lot about the sound quality from their external speaker could be disappointed with the N3 and should probably check it out in person before buying it. So see, you and I agree on a lot.
JCM800 said:
I respect differing opinions. I respect you Barry, you're very intelligent, I like your style. But, ill argue with anyone that implies the Note 2 isn't better speaker wise than the Note 3 until the cows come home.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Have you tried Viper`s FX sound mod yet? I`ve noticed a great difference with a YouTube clip of Warpaint playing Jubilee at reading.Before Jenny`s bass was indistinct and not as powerful as usual.After the mod it sounded more like the Jenny i know.
BarryH_GEG said:
I'm no smarter than anyone here and probably less so in quite a few areas. Don't confuse writing well with intelligence.
I totally agree that the speaker on the N3 has less depth and detail than the N2; it's hard not to notice when they are side-by-side. The volume's pretty much the same so the only area you and I disagree on is the importance of depth and detail as it applies to an external speaker. It bothers the crap out of some people and others seem not to mind as much. People that care a lot about the sound quality from their external speaker could be disappointed with the N3 and should probably check it out in person before buying it. So see, you and I agree on a lot.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yep, we've struck mutual ground finally. Volume, if anything I think the N3 has the upper hand, but along with the extra output comes higher frequencies in all aspects of external output. If that could be calmed down, then I wouldn't really be complaining - more depth, less highs, would be a winner then. Perhaps Sammy could adjust through an update? Perhaps they're not even bothered?
---------- Post added at 04:19 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:05 PM ----------
ttav said:
Have you tried Viper`s FX sound mod yet? I`ve noticed a great difference with a YouTube clip of Warpaint playing Jubilee at reading.Before Jenny`s bass was indistinct and not as powerful as usual.After the mod it sounded more like the Jenny i know.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That sounds like it could be the ticket! I haven't rooted yet, and tbh not sure about installing Viper - is it a case of downloading, ticking unknown sources and opening it? Think its time I had a look at that, I love my Note 3 bar the You Tube audio experience, and general thinness of the audio as we all know lol.
JCM800 said:
Yep, we've struck mutual ground finally. Volume, if anything I think the N3 has the upper hand, but along with the extra output comes higher frequencies in all aspects of external output. If that could be calmed down, then I wouldn't really be complaining - more depth, less highs, would be a winner then. Perhaps Sammy could adjust through an update? Perhaps they're not even bothered?
---------- Post added at 04:19 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:05 PM ----------
That sounds like it could be the ticket! I haven't rooted yet, and tbh not sure about installing Viper - is it a case of downloading, ticking unknown sources and opening it? Think its time I had a look at that, I love my Note 3 bar the You Tube audio experience, and general thinness of the audio as we all know lol.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well i`m rooted but the install is pretty uncomplicated. Download the latest zip from here http://vipersaudio.com/blog/?page_id=48
Use Winrar or any suitable program to extract the file to a folder of your choice (the default is downloads which is ok).
Plug your phone in and copy the ViPER4Android_v2301_ Android_ 4.x.apk file to your phone.You will need to tick unknown sources before installing apk.
ttav said:
Well i`m rooted but the install is pretty uncomplicated. Download the latest zip from here http://vipersaudio.com/blog/?page_id=48
Use Winrar or any suitable program to extract the file to a folder of your choice (the default is downloads which is ok).
Plug your phone in and copy the ViPER4Android_v2301_ Android_ 4.x.apk file to your phone.You will need to tick unknown sources before installing apk.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks mate, sounds doable! Just need to root really, am.away from PC until Monday now, but think its time to bite the bullet. Love my Note 3 apart from audio, would be great to scratch that itch finally.
JCM800 said:
Thanks mate, sounds doable! Just need to root really, am.away from PC until Monday now, but think its time to bite the bullet. Love my Note 3 apart from audio, would be great to scratch that itch finally.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hope it goes well for you
BarryH_GEG said:
The external speaker's been beaten up pretty badly in the "remorse" thread. You can see some of the objective testing results and a lot of discussion here...
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2458640
Here's an old article published by Francois Simond (supercurio) talking about audio on the SGS2 including some of the challenges and his work-arounds. You'll notice there's not a single mention of the external speaker. That's because Voodoo is designed to improve high-end audio output for audiophiles and people that listen to non-compressed media with high-end gear. People that listen to 128 kbit/s MP3's over $50 headphones wouldn't notice supercurio's tuning and/or could accomplish the same results with the stock output and a s/w equalizer. Audiophile standards and high-end performance have nothing to do with external speaker output whose range is too narrow and impedance too low for anything to help. Hence it never being mentioned in supercurio's work.
http://www.anandtech.com/show/4686/samsung-galaxy-s-2-international-review-the-best-redefined/13
Objective testing shows the N3's external speaker to be plenty loud but the subjective general consensus is that the N3’s output is lacking depth and detail. And that’s because of the new speaker design Samsung’s introduced. Some people are fine with it while it bothers the crap out of others.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Im perfectly aware of that but if we find the audio config files we can try editing. (I dont intend to root soon, but...)
Tried on headphones (not $8, but studio headphones) - sounds ok. The limiting effect is not present on headphones.
I'm running viper sound and the moderate volume hack.
It's defiantly reasonable sound quality when you find the right irs file and settings for your taste.
Not a bad result out of a somewhat mediocre speaker.
Sent from my SM-N9005 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
For the speaker I don't think there is much hope because Sammy dumped a lousy one inside. If the hardware is below par it is very difficult to remedy even with software. It's a trade off when we bought the Note 3 over say, the HTC One. The stereo speakers on it are amazing.
On the other hand there's more potential for the headphone out to be improved.
Sent from my SM-N9005 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
I installed the viper mod yesterday, it makes a difference once you tweak it. This vid has a good walkthrough of installing it as well as some messing around with different settings while music is playing.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CQavUOzRV6E
I'm not an audiophile (and if i was my phone wouldnt be my source of music) so with viper mod it sounds good enough for me, for what little I use the phone to listen to audio.
Faux Kernel with Faux Sound is out...
Gonna Knox my phone today just for the sake of his kernel....
Bye Bye Virginity! LoL
Sent from my SM-N9005 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
Jeshter2000 said:
Faux Kernel with Faux Sound is out...
Gonna Knox my phone today just for the sake of his kernel....
Bye Bye Virginity! LoL
Sent from my SM-N9005 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Is this faux sound better than viper sound. I've never heard of it?
Sent from my SM-N9005 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app

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