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[Q] Sound quality through earphones

How good is the sound quality through a pair of decent earphones? I saw the RMAA tests GSMArena did and it showed excellent results. I currently have a Desire and the sound quality through my sony earphones is pretty mediocre. So is this a good deal better?

Put it this way, if you follow instructions here to install to Voodoo sound hack you will be very impressed. Using Etymotic ER4 earphones I find the sound quality is easily as good as my X-series Sony Walkman with far more volume as well.
Sent from my Nexus S using XDA Premium App

Do you find your ER4 sound a bit "flat"? At least I have to apply a bit bass boost + some eq at the two lower frequencies with my ER4. Just curious though, would you recommend enabling the "Tune Speaker for Music" option? I've been testing different combination of settings (voodoo + CM7 dsp settings), so far I haven't settled on a setting I'm completely satisfied with.

can u please link me to that voodoo kernel? i saw two threads regarding it:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=949292
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=876132

ammarmalik said:
can u please link me to that voodoo kernel? i saw two threads regarding it:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=949292
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=876132
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Here are some kernel options that include Voodoo Sound (v5) and Voodoo color mods.
Netarchy optimized kernel with Voodoo Sound:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=936219
Supercurio stock kernel (Voodoo Dev):
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=876132
Morfic optimized kernel with Voodoo Sound:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=973125
OG stock kernel with Voodoo Sound:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=949292
You should download the Voodoo Control App from the market as well.

Si_NZ said:
Do you find your ER4 sound a bit "flat"? At least I have to apply a bit bass boost + some eq at the two lower frequencies with my ER4. Just curious though, would you recommend enabling the "Tune Speaker for Music" option? I've been testing different combination of settings (voodoo + CM7 dsp settings), so far I haven't settled on a setting I'm completely satisfied with.
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Click to collapse
I don't find any need for eq at all - in fact eq degrades the sound quality - do you have ER4P's or ER4S as they have slightly different frequency response? I have P's which are more portable device friendly.
Tune speaker is for non earphone use - just try it and decide for yourself.
Sent from my Nexus S using XDA Premium App

phillevy said:
I don't find any need for eq at all - in fact eq degrades the sound quality - do you have ER4P's or ER4S as they have slightly different frequency response? I have P's which are more portable device friendly.
Tune speaker is for non earphone use - just try it and decide for yourself.
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I have an ER4P. I find lows rather weak with my ER4P without any eq or boost. This is compared to a Rockbox powered MP3 player without any eq/boost at all. Can you please elaborate how eq degrades the sound quality, eg. distortion? I do notice easily audible noise when Bass Boost is set to moderate or extreme though. I guess I'll leave at least Tune Speaker option on for now, I think I started to prefer it on.

Si_NZ said:
I have an ER4P. I find lows rather weak with my ER4P without any eq or boost. This is compared to a Rockbox powered MP3 player without any eq/boost at all. Can you please elaborate how eq degrades the sound quality, eg. distortion? I do notice easily audible noise when Bass Boost is set to moderate or extreme though. I guess I'll leave at least Tune Speaker option on for now, I think I started to prefer it on.
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I find eq just makes things sound less natural with overbloated bottom frequencies. Another possible explanation for our different observations may be that I have custom ear molds?
Sent from my Nexus S using XDA Premium App

phillevy said:
I find eq just makes things sound less natural with overbloated bottom frequencies. Another possible explanation for our different observations may be that I have custom ear molds?
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Aaah I see! Well I don't know how much difference custom ear molds make, this is something only you would have the experience. I've also tried my friend's UE Triple.Fi 10, its lows were a lot stronger even without eq, so eq would be unnecessary with his earphone.
Another explanation could be that we have completely different taste.

phillevy said:
I find eq just makes things sound less natural with overbloated bottom frequencies. Another possible explanation for our different observations may be that I have custom ear molds?
Sent from my Nexus S using XDA Premium App
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Ooooo I have the er4p as well. Are the custom earmolds worth it?
Sent from my MIUI Nexus S from the XDA Premium app.

Voodoo and skull candy. Can't go wrong
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kenvan19 said:
Ooooo I have the er4p as well. Are the custom earmolds worth it?
Sent from my MIUI Nexus S from the XDA Premium app.
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For me not a massive difference in sound but so much more comfortable.
Sent from my Nexus S using XDA Premium App

Si_NZ said:
Aaah I see! Well I don't know how much difference custom ear molds make, this is something only you would have the experience. I've also tried my friend's UE Triple.Fi 10, its lows were a lot stronger even without eq, so eq would be unnecessary with his earphone.
Another explanation could be that we have completely different taste.
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Everyone's tastes are different - my son told me today that my setup sounded too bright for him. Also I got a new set of on ear headphones today (B & Ws) and they needed a lot of eq adjustment - sounding equally as fantastic as the ETY's now though!
Sent from my Nexus S using XDA Premium App

I have klipcsh s4 and they sound great on stock ns. I also like the ue triplefi but I broke those long ago at the bud and have some ue metrofi 10 I think (they've discontinued stuff so I get confused trying to remember their legacy models, I def don't get the cheap ones ) that sound great on stock but the wire is broken at the jack and they cut out sometimes need to fix those.
Shure makes some diesel buds. I have a pair of old ec2's that are still kicking after all these years but they sound horribly cold without eq. With eq they sound great. But man do they have fantastic build quality. Nice long sturdy cords, tough plugs and connection points, came with foam tips.
No matter what you're using I suggest comply foam tips, they made all the difference for the s4's. The tips they came with were weak.
Sent from my Nexus S using Tapatalk

[hfm] said:
I have klipcsh s4 and they sound great on stock ns. I also like the ue triplefi but I broke those long ago at the bud and have some ue metrofi 10 I think (they've discontinued stuff so I get confused trying to remember their legacy models, I def don't get the cheap ones ) that sound great on stock but the wire is broken at the jack and they cut out sometimes need to fix those.
Shure makes some diesel buds. I have a pair of old ec2's that are still kicking after all these years but they sound horribly cold without eq. With eq they sound great. But man do they have fantastic build quality. Nice long sturdy cords, tough plugs and connection points, came with foam tips.
No matter what you're using I suggest comply foam tips, they made all the difference for the s4's. The tips they came with were weak.
Sent from my Nexus S using Tapatalk
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Awww I miss my old ec2s...my dog chewed up my last pair

I think it so great we are discussing high end earphones to use with our phone - this was the last thing I thought I'd be using with my NS. Credit to supercurio and Netarchy!
Sent from my Nexus S using XDA Premium App

I use a pair of bose mie2 mobile headset for 140 dollars, and the quality is just fantastic. And it is for phones, so has a insanely high quality inline Mic, button control, etc. Best thing I bought for my phone by far.

charlieb620 said:
Voodoo and skull candy. Can't go wrong
Sent from my Nexus S using XDA Premium App
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thats what im using... skull candy titans. skull candy titans + voodoo = ear orgasms

irishrally said:
Here are some kernel options that include Voodoo Sound (v5) and Voodoo color mods.
Netarchy optimized kernel with Voodoo Sound:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=936219
Supercurio stock kernel (Voodoo Dev):
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=876132
Morfic optimized kernel with Voodoo Sound:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=973125
OG stock kernel with Voodoo Sound:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=949292
You should download the Voodoo Control App from the market as well.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Og's is expertly recommended, battery life and voodoo sound to the maximum
JD
Sent from my Google Nexus Magic Wand S

At the moment I'm listening to 24 bit FLAC files downloaded from B&W's website - stunning but each track is about 50mb! I'm beginning to crave for that missing SD card slot
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Any non voodoo sound enhancement

So I've been sorting through a butt load of voodoo sound relates threads and I've already accepted the grim reality of not having voodoo sound from supercurio (Stupid Yamaha DAC). I was wondering if there's anything that enhances sound? Even just a teeny bit. I'd really appreciate it
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I727 using XDA App

Voodoo?

I'm curious as to what voodoo is. I keep hearing its name and I kind of understand it. Would it boost my speaker volume? I don't listen to music on my phone as I have an iPod for that. So would I benefit from this? How do I go about adding it? I am on HellFire 1.8 bye too. I'm sorry if this has been asked already I did a search and didn't see anything.
Sent from my LG-P999 using XDA App

If you don't listen to music on your phone, it doesn't really make a difference for you. On the G2x, it just increases headphone volume. But if you did want it, install Voodoo control from the Market, plug in some headphones, and enable it. From there, you can increase the Max dB settings to increase/decrease volume.
Sent from my MIUI G2x

Thanks for the quick reply. Do you have any suggestions for a good and safe volume boost? My speakers seem really quiet.
Sent from my LG-P999 using XDA App

Not just volume...it also changes the dynamics of the sound production.... http://project-voodoo.org/
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gpmartinson said:
Not just volume...it also changes the dynamics of the sound production.... http://project-voodoo.org/
Sent from my LG-P999 using xda premium
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On Galaxy S phones, it has a huge increase in sound quality. On the G2x, it only affects volume, based on personal experience. From the Market description:
Market description said:
Introduces LG Optimus 2x and T-Mobile G2x support.
‪11.‬Sound quality is not yet optimal on these devices: needs a lot of work to fix LG issues in their audio implementation and then add more quality optimizations.
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Sent from my MIUI G2x

volume+ for boost on speakers I believe, and ya I only notice volume with voodoo with headphones no real sound improvements in my opinion.

The DSP Manager lets you tweak the sound as well and I noticed a big improvement in quality using that. It comes with HFP
Pin it to Win it.

Don't give false info...u can't just install the app. You have to have a kernel that enables it. The app just controls it
Sent from my LG-P999 using XDA App

Smallsmx3 said:
Don't give false info...u can't just install the app. You have to have a kernel that enables it. The app just controls it
Sent from my LG-P999 using XDA App
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From the Market for Voodoo Sound app.
Description
This app controls Voodoo sound for Galaxy S, Nexus S phones Galaxy Tab and Asus Transformer running custom kernels implementing Voodoo patches.
If you don't want or cannot flash a kernel, my commercial app "Voodoo Control Plus" has the ability to load Voodoo Sound with only root.

Stock CM kernel does not support Voodoo, but Faux's does.
Just FYI

thefulleffect89 said:
I'm curious as to what voodoo is. I keep hearing its name and I kind of understand it. Would it boost my speaker volume? I don't listen to music on my phone as I have an iPod for that. So would I benefit from this? How do I go about adding it? I am on HellFire 1.8 bye too. I'm sorry if this has been asked already I did a search and didn't see anything.
Sent from my LG-P999 using XDA App
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The only benifit to the g2x that i know of is the increase in dB which is helpful for using with a tape player adapter in a car stereo and driving headphones with slightly higher Ohms.
Also, I get louder volume on the tape adapter which helps with avoiding static by not having to turn the volume up so high.

Beats vs Voodoo Sound?

In general, wouldn't Voodoo Sound tweaks result in better sound quality than the Beats Audio tweaks? ...considering that the Voodoo sound is specific to our hardware...

PharmNerd said:
In general, wouldn't Voodoo Sound tweaks result in better sound quality than the Beats Audio tweaks? ...considering that the Voodoo sound is specific to our hardware...
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Completely different. Read around Page 6 of the Beats thread. "convo" between Dman and Dan.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I997 using Tapatalk

I would much rather be able to customize the sound with voodoo control plus the actual changes voodoo makes is way more than just an equalizer overlay. IMO the Beats mod is great if you don't have voodoo. But ****, if you've got Supercurio's awesome work available to you, fkin use it!

Use Both!
Using them Both actualy. And the sound is awesome!!! but one thing i noticed is that after flashing the Beats Mod i have to slide the Dynamic Range slider to 20% and select Sub-Bass to get awesome results. With the Voodoo i get extreme bass and with the beats mod i get clearer sound. Definitively a great combo!!
One thing, if you dont like the sound, its better to have a Nandroid backup because the mod replaces and adds a lot of lib files that is hard to revert(at least for me)

My choice... disable voodoo... beats is better...
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I997 using xda premium

I've been pretty happy using the "Rock" EQ preset in the Galaxy Music Player + Voodoo sub-bass with 100% dynamic range. Sounds nice through my Ultrasone HFI-780 cans.
I'm guessing Beats would give similar results to this in other apps like Pandora. (?)

As discussed in the other thread, they can't really be compared that well, because they do different things. Voodoo tweaks the DAC (hardware) settings for optimal and clean sound output. It also allows you to use the hardware EQ for bass boost, and coupled with something like DSP Manager allows you to tweak the hardware EQ that can adjust sound without compressing, modifying it, or using CPU cycles to do the EQ work.
Beats is a software EQ that does a few tricks to make you think you perceive the music as sounding better. It uses CPU cycles and therefore battery power to apply the EQ, and software EQ will never have the quality that a hardware EQ has.
You very definitely could use both if you wanted to, though any audiophile would (aside from warning you a bout Beats) frown at having your audio modified multiple times before being output, especially through a software EQ, and really any EQ at all.
Now, that said, it really comes down to what sounds best to you. If you don't have a pair of headphones that can even handle high quality music, you probably wouldn't notice the difference that much if at all. Perhaps you don't care about pure clean sound quality and think Beats sounds better to you. Try them both out and see what sounds best to you. There's no better or worse when it comes down to opinion, but you will get cleaner sound with Voodoo and no Beats.

tried beats hated it got voodoo it kicks ass it gave me atleast twice the volume pair that with player pro with the dsp add on with a 10 band eq and ul rock

Voodoo it you won't be sorry.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium

Has anyone actually scientifically tested this particular MOD and verified it isn't simply placebo?
I am personally more inclined to trust Supercurio's opinion and take on this.
Interesting stuff..

dman3285 said:
My choice... disable voodoo... beats is better...
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I997 using xda premium
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My ROM has beats in it and I agree
My Sensed up infuse sent this

PharmNerd said:
In general, wouldn't Voodoo Sound tweaks result in better sound quality than the Beats Audio tweaks? ...considering that the Voodoo sound is specific to our hardware...
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Click to collapse
they are two completely different things. no reason not to run both.
voodoo is the driver for the headphone amp. and can increase recording and playback bitrates and allows you to set recording sensitivity and gives access to the analog volume setting so you havw more than 15 volume steps on the headphones.
beats is some libs that enhance the sound. it's either an equalizer or reverb type room emulation or something, I haven't tried it yet. it isn't nessesarily bad that its designed for another phone but id rather use it with cm7 if it works since Samsung has some of their own filtering and it would be best to not pervert the sound too many times...

Everything I've heard indicates that Beats on Samsung devices is nothing but placebo effect. Even if working, at best it's a ****ty audio EQ preset - just use another player that has an audio equalizer and tune it to your liking.
Voodoo Sound actually has driver optimizations to the DAC to improve jitter and SNR, among other things.
I basically avoid any firmware that has Beatsoff Audio included like the plague. It is a sign that the firmware developer is throwing random **** in that hasn't been tested.

Entropy512 said:
Everything I've heard indicates that Beats on Samsung devices is nothing but placebo effect. Even if working, at best it's a ****ty audio EQ preset - just use another player that has an audio equalizer and tune it to your liking.
Voodoo Sound actually has driver optimizations to the DAC to improve jitter and SNR, among other things.
I basically avoid any firmware that has Beatsoff Audio included like the plague. It is a sign that the firmware developer is throwing random **** in that hasn't been tested.
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+1
Beatsoff (lulz) is hardly anything more than a marketing gimmick.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using XDA

don't forget voodoo also has compression profiles for video recording . Let's you record in loud environment with out that horrible distortion.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I717 using XDA

I prefer voodoo because when I flash beats on my infuse, I can't hear the difference clearly. Voodoo is much better for me because I'm a basshead ^^
however when I flash beats on my friend's xperia x10, the sound is better (not as much as voodoo)

I'm biased on this topic as my ROM has Beats integrated into it and I've never used Voodoo sound.
But I say, to each their own Everyone will always have a difference in opinion and let's all just be thankful we actually have options instead of just one product to use!
Peace out with the grease out,
Malicious.
Sent from My Infuse Running on Malvariousv1.1

My first ROM originally had it for the infuse
Sent from my revolutionized Samsung infuse

Want a cookie?
Sent from my Infuse running Malvarious v1.5(coming soon)

Just installed beats... and even with plugged up ears (im sick) the sound was great! I usually think like entropy, do not flash unless intended for device. But, I was suprised how well this worked. Thanks.

Replacement of voodoo for sgn

Hello guys,
Is there any app like voodoo for SGN which improves Sound quality....

Try Voodoo Louder

But it's not as effective as Voodoo Sound... Any other app plz

Voodoo louder completely ineffective and waste of $ in ICS. Volume+ works

Try the beats-engine from the board. Its also in the ultimate tweaks installer for easy install and boosts the sound quality a lot. Bass is a little too much in my opinion.

theflippa said:
Try the beats-engine from the board. Its also in the ultimate tweaks installer for easy install and boosts the sound quality a lot. Bass is a little too much in my opinion.
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+1 on the bass, music player with eq can be lowered but video player is the problem.
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