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Mytouch 4G Back Speaker Sounds Terrible

I think I can deal with the screen problem I posted about, but I just don't know if I can get over the back speaker. Playing music through it sounds absolutely horrible.
I use my phone as an alarm clock in the morning which will play music. The terrible sound quality of the music coming from the phone is enough to wake me up and wanna just smash the phone. And no that, just because it wakes me up does not mean its a good thing. I really don't know what there is to do about this problem.
The actual problem is it sounds like there is no bass at all. I know that commonly phone speakers have yet to really add any kind of subwoofer into phones, but I don't think I have come across any speaker that sounds quite like this. It isn't enjoyable to listen to at all. It sounds like screeching. Its like the speaker just has the treble levels all the way up and the bass all the way down. So all I hear are high pitched shreeks instead of singing.
For the most part I load high quality music (320kbps) onto my phone, so I know that's not the problem. I have enjoyed listening to the exact same music files on my old Mytouch3G and also a Nokia 5310 and both sound much better. I don't know what it is that is making the music and speaker setting while in a phone call sound so bad.
I don't think HTC would put a terrible speaker back there. Is anyone else having this issue or should I take back my phone and see if the next one sounds better?

plugged_in_now said:
I think I can deal with the screen problem I posted about, but I just don't know if I can get over the back speaker. Playing music through it sounds absolutely horrible.
I use my phone as an alarm clock in the morning which will play music. The terrible sound quality of the music coming from the phone is enough to wake me up and wanna just smash the phone. And no that, just because it wakes me up does not mean its a good thing. I really don't know what there is to do about this problem.
The actual problem is it sounds like there is no bass at all. I know that commonly phone speakers have yet to really add any kind of subwoofer into phones, but I don't think I have come across any speaker that sounds quite like this. It isn't enjoyable to listen to at all. It sounds like screeching. Its like the speaker just has the treble levels all the way up and the bass all the way down. So all I hear are high pitched shreeks instead of singing.
For the most part I load high quality music (320kbps) onto my phone, so I know that's not the problem. I have enjoyed listening to the exact same music files on my old Mytouch3G and also a Nokia 5310 and both sound much better. I don't know what it is that is making the music and speaker setting while in a phone call sound so bad.
I don't think HTC would put a terrible speaker back there. Is anyone else having this issue or should I take back my phone and see if the next one sounds better?
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I think it is not the best speaker but still better than the N1 loudspeaker. I think it's an HTC problem not with your phone. But feel free to go to a t-mobile store and compare yours to another MT4G.

I agree it's a problem with the MT4G line and not individual phones, but HTC has made quality speakers on their phones. The Evo 4G is a perfect example of this.
CM6 comes with an equalizer you can use for sound so that might make things better. Personally I think sound drivers might be the issue more than hardware b/c if you listen to music on the MT4G thru headphones it sounds like listening to a recording of a recording.

itmustbejj said:
I agree it's a problem with the MT4G line and not individual phones, but HTC has made quality speakers on their phones. The Evo 4G is a perfect example of this.
CM6 comes with an equalizer you can use for sound so that might make things better. Personally I think sound drivers might be the issue more than hardware b/c if you listen to music on the MT4G thru headphones it sounds like listening to a recording of a recording.
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But I thought that the equalizer mod only worked for music through headphones and not through the actual speaker.

Wrong
Sent from my HTC Glacier using XDA App

ESKIMOn00b said:
Wrong
Sent from my HTC Glacier using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What do you mean? Or are you just being a douche and trolling....

The speaker is kinda crappy I agree. But a little better than the G2. If you lower the volume it is a little better but then hard to here. This is one issue I wish was better.

Have to agree....speaker sucked on the G 2 also
Sent from my HTC Glacier using XDA App

Don't know if it is just me but my speaker seems to have gotten better with use. Maybe broken in, who knows maybe it is just me settling for not perfect but i think it has gotten better with use. Maybe it is just wishful thinking.

speaker stinks on this phone and the G2. period. i have yet to use it for music thru headphones yet. but i dont use my phone as a media player unless its on the airplane or something like that.

I agree the speaker isn't great but it isn't that bad. Though I have to admit, the Vibrant had a great speaker. VERY loud and very clear.

Have you tried playing it thru external speakers? like ihome thru the 3.5mm jack? the sounds good enough, but every now and then it sends the phone haywire skipping track after track every two seconds and randomly dialing??

with the stock ROM its very ehh
once i fully rooted & installed Evil Desire HD port my speaker was really loud & clear!

It's good to have bluetooth speakers handy especially for both phone calls and audio.
(Creative T12w is the best bet for home use, but it doesn't have HSP/HFP)

jayizzbakk said:
with the stock ROM its very ehh
once i fully rooted & installed Evil Desire HD port my speaker was really loud & clear!
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Click to collapse
Can anyone confirm that this fixes the speaker? And if so, can we isolate the setting that fixes it to apply separately?

mingkee said:
It's good to have bluetooth speakers handy especially for both phone calls and audio.
(Creative T12w is the best bet for home use, but it doesn't have HSP/HFP)
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I have the Jawbone JAMBOX and love it. I use it in places where I used to listen to the speaker.
As for using the speaker, I guess I haven't used a phone where I was like "that's awesome!" The best it's sounded is having all my music adjusted to 95dB using MP3Gain, and the volume about 1 or 2 steps away from max.

That the only thing i hate about the Mytouch 4G... its not that big of a deal, but switching from the Touch Pro 2 (dual speaker) to the Mytouch 4g (one speaker) was a downgrade for me but hey you have to admit the phone freaking awesome!

tackleberry said:
speaker stinks on this phone and the G2. period. i have yet to use it for music thru headphones yet. but i dont use my phone as a media player unless its on the airplane or something like that.
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The G2 sounds way worse than the MT4G. Side by side, there is a HUGE difference.

alphakronik said:
The G2 sounds way worse than the MT4G. Side by side, there is a HUGE difference.
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I totally agree. I tried both side by side. Was still stuck on wanting a g2 but I had the choice to pay 200 for a g2 or 70 for mt4g. I'm glad I got this phone. I'm very satisfied with it.
Sent from my rooted iced glacier rom mt4g via XDA app

Its ok not that HORRIBLE, coming from a mytouch slide
Sent from my HTC Glacier using Tapatalk

How is the voice quality and sound on this phone??

I keep reading reviews knocking the sound quality and voice quality of this phone, and it's scaring me away from it. They say the speakerphone and earpiece speaker is very low and tin can sounding. Can you all share if this is true or not?

Some days it sounds like a tin can but others it's fine. My DX was a lot better sounding. People can hear me without any issues though. It's only on my end.

the speaker for the bolt is pretty quite wish it was a bit louder, as for call quality on stock and das BAMF for me its one of the better sounding phones i have owned

I found that the phone sounds crappy a lot of the time. The volume control range is too narrow, so the volume is either too loud at the lowest setting or too quiet on the highest. When you crank the volume all the way up you get a lot of distortion and noise. I was definitely surprised by the low quality of the phone on t-bolt. My clamshell from ages ago worked better.
Sent from my ADR6400L using XDA App

in call sound quality on mine is not that great,I get a crackeling noise at max volume which i never had before(also didnt notice till i dropped it a few days ago so may be the cause for me) but i almost always use bluetooth so its not really an issue for me the BT sound quality has been great for me.

well i have had 3 of them and so far all have been better than any blackberry or my htc imagio,the speaker is behind the kick stand that makes it quit but thru the headset and tethered to the car stereo its just fine. I drive a truck and its loud in here but all works well.
Sent from my ADR6400L using XDA Premium App

Unfortunately the TB is the worst sounding phone that I've ever owned... people on the other side say that I sound awful as well.

Yes it sounds bad and they know it!
I talked to HTC about the sound quality. They told me it was a software problem and would be fixed (Sure it will). They said to close the kickstand to make the external speaker sound better. Well if you can't hear it I suppose it sounds better. They said to turn the volume down so the ear piece sounds better. The phone also has a bad headphone amplifier. It distorts bad if you add a little base. This is my first HTC phone and it will probably be my last.

Wow, coming from my Droid X I have the exact opposite of what most of you are having.
No one has noticed that I have changed phones and I'm having an easier time understanding people on the other end.
I have a friend with a heavy Swedish accent that is much easier to understand now than he was on my X.

[Q] Loudspeaker hardware mod?

No matter how much we try to deny it, or try not to talk about it- we must all admit that the speaker output of the Sensation isn't amongst the best we've come across. I've missed calls numerous times (especially in a crowded street or so) just because I couldn't hear the ringer.
Yes, we do have apps such as Volume+ and PowerAmp which does seem to do an alright job- but still doesn't satisfy our need.
Here's my Q- Would installing a speaker from a different model/ phone have a better output? I understand that it might need additional software tweaks as well ( not to mention finding a suitable speaker which fits )- but is it possible?
PS. I'm not a sound crazy noob who just wants to impress people with a loud phone, I honestly can't hear it half the time.
Regards,
Tony

Would be interesting! This is my chief complaint with my phone.

I dont understand why this has not been touched yet. Its been the number one issue since day one, volume+ only helps with media.

Dacoit said:
I dont understand why this has not been touched yet. Its been the number one issue since day one, volume+ only helps with media.
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Sure has been. Any input from someone who has a better understanding of the internals of a Sensation would definitely be helpful. And I for one definitely wouldn't mind risking the warranty if it actually seems possible.
Which one of the HTC line would have the most powerful loudspeaker? I suppose those within the HTC family maybe an easier fit.

I think HTC Sensation has the same speaker as the HTC Droid Incredible 2, HTC Evo 3d(expected),HTC Freestyle & HTC Incredible S based to how they used the same picture for these phones speakers on www.repairsuniverse.com. Anybody know about the sound quality from these phones?

I've heard that the Evo 3D stores a pretty powerful sound output. Judging by the link, I'd say it might be a good fit on the sensation as well.
But I sure hope it isn't exactly the same speaker. That'd be like installing a Sensation XE speaker on the Sensation- Foolish.

The only thing i fear is that our phones have a weak speaker because of the design of the case. The hole for the speaker on the sensation is small and off center of the actual speaker. The Evo3d has a seemingly larger slits for the speaker and it seems to be on center so that might be the difference. Has anybody opened the phone and used the speaker without the plastic body and the battery cover in the way?

kevinliu2336 said:
The only thing i fear is that our phones have a weak speaker because of the design of the case. The hole for the speaker on the sensation is small and off center of the actual speaker. The Evo3d has a seemingly larger slits for the speaker and it seems to be on center so that might be the difference. Has anybody opened the phone and used the speaker without the plastic body and the battery cover in the way?
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Click to collapse
I had that suspicion earlier today as well. And I did try it out with the rear housing off. There really wasn't much of a difference- it might seem a bit louder with the back off, but at the same time it seems to pump more bass with it on.
I wouldn't mind trying out an EVO 3D speaker on mine to figure if it does make a difference, but I'd need someone to confirm that they aren't the same speakers as the sensation. Any additional info/ tips would be appreciated- Let me get this done and make myself a bit useful to the forum

If you are using an mp3 as a ringtone, that can be re-recorded at a higher output level. Not sure if there is an Android audio app that would let you do that directly on the phone, but certainly there are lots of audio apps for Mac and PC that will do the job.

stroobach said:
If you are using an mp3 as a ringtone, that can be re-recorded at a higher output level. Not sure if there is an Android audio app that would let you do that directly on the phone, but certainly there are lots of audio apps for Mac and PC that will do the job.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sure there are apps which would help increase output to a certain level, but still does't reach expected levels. For all having issues with the loudspeaker output- I'd recommend this thread for now: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1389756
All credits go to the OP of that thread- that sure was an amazing find! Worked well for me, and editing that particular file whilst installing a different speaker might help even better. Will get back on that as soon as I'm done with a project deadline.

I guess we all agree that the loudspeaker on the Sensation is woeful. I own a Touch Pro 2 and the dual speakers are LOUD. They are probably the loudest speaker phone that you can ever find from the entire HTC product line. Interestingly, the dual speakers are also designed such that the left speaker is behaving like the tweeter (higher pitch sounds) while the right speaker is the woofer (lower pitch sounds). It is very apparent when you cover up one and then the other while some music is playing.
I have ordered a spare speaker (meant for repairs) for the Touch Pro 2 and will be playing around with it to see if some hardware mods are possible to improve the Sensation's speakers. The delivery is expected to take 3 weeks to arrive.

I don't wish to dig up zombies, but I thought it better to continue an old thread than start a new one due to others insights.
Has anyone tried other speakers to see if they fit in the Sensation? I too have come from the Touch Pro2, and there was a tweak on it which made the speaker even louder (it was already quite loud!). I could hold a conversation, hands-free, in my car with the window down on the motorway no problem. And now, coming to the Senny, I'm almost embarrased to play music to anyone (unless using the headphones). I realise we can't get the TP2 speakers on the Senny (as there is more involved than just swapping a speaker - even if there was room for 2 larger speakers in the Senny).
Anyway. @darkytoothpaste, or anyone else, has there been any progress with the speaker hardware?

HTC Should improve their speaker systems on phones

Why the hell are HTC so bad at producing phones without decent speaker systems. Everything is soo tinny and cheap sounding (NO BASS)
I Currently own a HTC Sensation and its the same £500 (cost).
Its really bad

+1 really, i too hate it, bought sensation after looking at a great presentation of sensation's ad on HTC website where there was a word "multimedia + music" shown as animation, still can't believe HTC mentions this kind of performance as music oriented! I use my great old N70 m.e for music, what a sound it produces, makes me feel ashame for HTC!

I really don't get it. They're very good for some things, so when it comes to things like speakers, why on earth do they manage to stuff it up so much?

I also have an HTC HD7 phone and the rear speaker on that IS INCREDIBLY loud!! Sensation speaker is a joke.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus

The speaker and sense refreshing way too often are the reasons I'm going to look at a galaxy when the s3 comes out

Might not be the speaker.......
I noticed the same thing when I got my Sense 6 months ago. Since.... I have installed Volume+ from the Market. It helps, but it's not the cure all. Not sure if the limitations are the speaker, or the main board. I looked at the Galaxy S II, and the new Razr...... The sound is a little better, but to me.... the quality of the materials used on the HTC are sturdier. That's what sold me. The others felt really cheaply made. One thing I can say is none of them could touch the sound on my BlackBerry Bold. RIM makes a good product.

retraction......
I would like to retract my statement. It's definitely the speaker, and not the main board. HTC should really put some decent speakers in these phones. Especially with Beats audio installed. I'd be embarrassed to put my name in it. Sorry Dr. Dre.

I just bought a used Sensation, and I'm frankly considering sending it to HTC for repair. The volume is very low--there's no way I'd hear it in a crowded room. Would sending it for repair likely help? Or do all Sensations have garbage speakers?

inconceeeivable said:
I just bought a used Sensation, and I'm frankly considering sending it to HTC for repair. The volume is very low--there's no way I'd hear it in a crowded room. Would sending it for repair likely help? Or do all Sensations have garbage speakers?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's the same with all of them. It's still possible that yours is in need of repair and worse than normal, but even the new ones suck.

Agreed speaker sucks big time, at times like these I really start to miss my Nokia N900 and N95

g2's speaker is great. mytouch 4g's isnt that bad either. but my tmobile comet cheap go phones speaker is way better than sensation and mytouch 4g
sensations is just ridiculous i thought my phone was broken when i bought it

I have a cheap Samsung £20 something mobile, that i use when im at work & the in call speaker on this cheap mobile is better than the one on my HTC Sensation.
Having had the Galaxy S2 to, I can tell in call quality on that phones is miles better than the HTC Sensation, shame rest of it gave me problems hence moving over to HTC.
One thing that really annoying apart from the quality is the rattle ya get when speaker volume on full sometimes.
Basically HTC need to find a new supplier for speakers as the ones they using now are basically shocking to say the least.

i m also upset with my sensation external speaker....my frnd s2 speaker is awesome.

TBH i couldnt care much for a better speaker. What I want is a better mic. HTC's audio in video capture all have this sharp crunching effect..whatever you call that.
Searched everywhere if its possible with software/app fix or just hardware (mic) issue. Apparently since I couldnt find any software fix AND videos from n1, dhd and sensation all suffer from the bad audio, I can only say its cheap mic.
I so bad want a proper mic for video capturing but I love the fact that HTC doesnt cheap out on their phone's shell though. Feels like holding a premium device compared to say a...cheap plasticky samsung

They must have an old contract with a crappy factory because they didn't change since the N1!
Compared to sgs2 and Arc it's very crappy and tiny

It's annoying enough that I'm probably selling the phone. An amazing build doesn't mean anything if we can't hear the phone.
I have performance/lag issues as well...just pretty disappointing overall. Not sure how this phone got such good reviews from CNET, etc...maybe I really do have a bad one...?
Sent from my T9295 using XDA Windows Phone 7 App

I find the Sensations speaker is plenty loud enough to hear it ringing, and as for playing music on it there's a name for people who like playing music loudly on their mobile speakers in public and it rhymes with grunt.
Also, the stereo recording gain has been fixed in ICS4.0.3 / Sense 3.6 stock RUU.

My Moto Cliq makes Sensation's speaker look bad lol. Though HTC kinda fixed it on firmware upgrade. My Sensation almost had no sound when I first got it.
Sent from my HTC Sensation XE with Beats Audio using Tapatalk

Jedi2011 said:
I find the Sensations speaker is plenty loud enough to hear it ringing, and as for playing music on it there's a name for people who like playing music loudly on their mobile speakers in public and it rhymes with grunt.
Also, the stereo recording gain has been fixed in ICS4.0.3 / Sense 3.6 stock RUU.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Really? Thanks for the info!
But I am still on ARHD 3.6.13 which is a Sense 3.0 rom.
I still havent gotten the idea to move to Sense 3.6 because IMO its isnt much of an upgrade over 3.0
I'll wait for a stable version of ICS once the proper, official release of ICS from HTC is release!
Still appreciate that bit of info though. Thanks!

My phone external speaker is loud enough for my ringtone, and as for music.. I use headphones

Terrible speaker quality and distortion. Normal? or just defective?

So my Nexus 5's speaker is absolute garbage compared to my Nexus 5. the range is just non-existent and it has incredibly bad distortion during phone calls, and most music and videos.
Right now i'm ready to return the phone and spend another year with my nexus 4 over it, but before i do, i'm curious to know if mine might just be defective.
So to all the other owners, do you have distortion, pops and the like when making phone calls or having any audio through and how does it compare to your previous phones, especially any other Nexus 4 owners.
Right now my N4 sounds like my $150 desktop speakers compared to the N5.

neok44 said:
So my Nexus 5's speaker is absolute garbage compared to my Nexus 5. the range is just non-existent and it has incredibly bad distortion during phone calls, and most music and videos.
Right now i'm ready to return the phone and spend another year with my nexus 4 over it, but before i do, i'm curious to know if mine might just be defective.
So to all the other owners, do you have distortion, pops and the like when making phone calls or having any audio through and how does it compare to your previous phones, especially any other Nexus 4 owners.
Right now my N4 sounds like my $150 desktop speakers compared to the N5.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thats horrible, lets hope they are defective because i get my nexus 11/06 that would be a huge deal breaker if the speakers sounded like crap. coming from an htc one

HRodMusic said:
thats horrible, lets hope they are defective because i get my nexus 11/06 that would be a huge deal breaker if the speakers sounded like crap. coming from an htc one
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Yeah that's why i'm posting because i find it incredibly hard to believe that the Nexus 5, in 20 god damn 13 had worse speakers than my G1 from 2008. And just to test, i broke out my G1, MyTouch 3G and Nexus One, and played the same ringtones on each. No distortion on any device but the N5.
The Verge even said in their review that they had distortion on the speaker which almost leads me to think this is normal, and unacceptable.

HRodMusic said:
thats horrible, lets hope they are defective because i get my nexus 11/06 that would be a huge deal breaker if the speakers sounded like crap. coming from an htc one
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all reviews are saying the speaker is terrible. same with the camera. but they're comparing it to 600+ dollar phones, you get what you pay for, the bulk on the 350 dollars is going toward the processor and screen

Enddo said:
all reviews are saying the speaker is terrible. same with the camera. but they're comparing it to 600+ dollar phones, you get what you pay for, the bulk on the 350 dollars is going toward the processor and screen
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That is true, but my $300 Nexus 4 from a year ago sounds 100 times better than my $400 (32gb) nexus 5 from this year.
And also the whole $700/$350 thing is kinda bull****. Though that phone does cost $700 to buy, it costs the same as what a nexus costs, usually around $150-$200 to produce. Google just cuts out all the middle men and carrier BS to get the price to be that low. Yes they do make sacrifices but my damn G1 sounds better than my Nexus 5, so that has nothing to do with cost.

neok44 said:
So my Nexus 5's speaker is absolute garbage compared to my Nexus 5. the range is just non-existent and it has incredibly bad distortion during phone calls, and most music and videos.
Right now i'm ready to return the phone and spend another year with my nexus 4 over it, but before i do, i'm curious to know if mine might just be defective.
So to all the other owners, do you have distortion, pops and the like when making phone calls or having any audio through and how does it compare to your previous phones, especially any other Nexus 4 owners.
Right now my N4 sounds like my $150 desktop speakers compared to the N5.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, it's not just you, I thought it was me!
I came from an HTC One X and the call quality is terrible; a bit like what I imagine being a little bit deaf is like and when I'm playing a video or have a call on speaker, the thing buzzes and vibrates. Not good compared to my previous phone.

ugh. this isn't looking good. i really was hoping i was the only one. Hope we get a lot more replies here tonight.

Only one speaker?
On mine I noticed only one side is playing the music? anyone else?
I'm hoping it's something like a mic and speaker... and not a deffective

Aydthird said:
On mine I noticed only one side is playing the music? anyone else?
I'm hoping it's something like a mic and speaker... and not a deffective
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Click to collapse
thats correct. one side is the speaker and one is the mic. evidently this is normal practice on the iphone and many other devices. I just found out today.
Hows your quality though?
Two things i hear the crackle/pop on guaranteed is the ringing of a phone call and for some reason Lindsey Stirlings Crystalize, the first 30-40 seconds. lots of other examples but those two are the easiest and most noticeable i found.

neok44 said:
So my Nexus 5's speaker is absolute garbage compared to my Nexus 5. the range is just non-existent and it has incredibly bad distortion during phone calls, and most music and videos.
Right now i'm ready to return the phone and spend another year with my nexus 4 over it, but before i do, i'm curious to know if mine might just be defective.
So to all the other owners, do you have distortion, pops and the like when making phone calls or having any audio through and how does it compare to your previous phones, especially any other Nexus 4 owners.
Right now my N4 sounds like my $150 desktop speakers compared to the N5.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Aydthird said:
On mine I noticed only one side is playing the music? anyone else?
I'm hoping it's something like a mic and speaker... and not a deffective
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just got my white 32gb N5 today and indeed mine is suffering from similar issues. At first I was thinking my right speaker was DOA but I later learned it's not a speaker at all and is a mic - the N5 is a mono device. So, I played some music, an audio book and tried out some ringtones. A pop was audible on some ringtones and the audiobook. The sound gets pretty distorted when at the top two levels. I wonder if the pop is down to the audio coding because now I've downloaded higher quality files, the pop has gone away and distortion not quite as bad at high levels. Yet to try out a phone call over the speaker.

I've tested some music at 320 bit rate and hd video on youtube and the play store and same issues. and then no issues at all on the nexus 4.

Great I was so excited to purchase my first nexus phone. Ugh
Sent from my HTC One using Tapatalk

You know, I was at Pete's Coffee last night with my girlfriend and 2 people were talking next to us about this exact same issue. A man in his early 30s was talking to a buddy of his about the Nexus 5, and naturally, I zoned out from what my girlfriend had to say overheard their conversation.
They were talking about the Nexus 5 and how one of them who had the phone loved it, except he said the speaker was very poor quality.
Hopefully mine does not have this issue when it arrives this Thursday.

The Nexus 5's speaker is actually pretty darn good. Not quite HTC One level but damn close. It uses the same chip technology the HTC One has but only has a mono speaker on the bottom edge instead. It should be MUCH better than the Nexus 4, the Galaxy S4, or similar.
If it is sounding distorted, it is quite possibly a damaged speaker or chip, and should be RMA'ed. Reviews (unlike what some whacko said) have actually been pretty positive about the speaker.

Vincent Law said:
The Nexus 5's speaker is actually pretty darn good. Not quite HTC One level but damn close. It uses the same chip technology the HTC One has but only has a mono speaker on the bottom edge instead. It should be MUCH better than the Nexus 4, the Galaxy S4, or similar.
If it is sounding distorted, it is quite possibly a damaged speaker or chip, and should be RMA'ed. Reviews (unlike what some whacko said) have actually been pretty positive about the speaker.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Your now the second person i've seen to say that it's good. How much have you tested it though? phone calls? loud movies? music?
I want to keep this phone, or at least get a replacement, but i got about 5 people with me saying they have similar issues so it's getting harder to imagine that it's a defect.

My sound is pretty faint. I'll be lucky if I hear a text or call
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N900A using Tapatalk

I have played music from a couple different sources at full volume and I haven't heard any distortion.

I actually just watched a full review of the phone here in the General section, and he says the speaker is absolutely great! although he does not ever test in the video.

Been using mine all day. A bit of music and a fair few YouTube video and I've not noticed any problems at all. Nowhere near as loud as the Note 2 I'm coming from, but few phones are as loud as it. So far I'm happy with speaker quality
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

Well since some of you do not seem to have this issue I'm going to hope those of us with it just have defective units and i'm going to exchange mine.
If the one i get has the same issues though, i'll be sticking with my Nexus 4 for another year.