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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.
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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.
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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?
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Click to collapse
I use Google Music.

wmdunn said:
This will take care of your sound/volume issues ...
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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
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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
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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?
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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.

One XL Audio DAC

Hopefully we got the One S DAC. Could someone that knows how, please check. One X (Intl) doesn't fair very well.
http://www.gsmarena.com/htc_one_s-review-746p5.php
http://www.gsmarena.com/gsmarena_lab_tests-review-751p4.php
The HTC One S performance in our audio quality test came as a really pleasant surprise to us. It appears that the Beats influence hasn't been limited to a single equalizer preset this time as the smartphone delivers the cleanest output we have seen from any device so far.
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There are discussions about this already, browse around to find your answer.
It's better than the international though.

The other discussions are buried in other threads like Cool underrated features. It's an important enough topic to have its own thread, or the thread can die if others don't think so.

vinuneuro said:
The other discussions are buried in other threads like Cool underrated features. It's an important enough topic to have its own thread, or the thread can die if others don't think so.
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I agree.

I've read somewhere that on the international version the audio processor/DAC is integrated in the Tegra SOC.
I'm also hoping that the North American One X / One XL is using the same audio hardware as the One S...

I haven't seen many posts of people that are concerned with audio quality.
I ended up purchasing a Rogers One X LTE here in Canada, to replace my Samsung Nexus S. I've been using Voodoo Sound with the Nexus S.
So how do they compare?
Well, after A/B'ing various material, the most important audible difference to me is the background noise (or hiss, if you prefer) that is definitely louder on the One X.
However, the only time I can really hear it is during near-silent passages (eg, at the beginning of a song that starts from complete silence). Also, at high volume levels, the noise in the Nexus S increases significantly and comes close to par. This is probably in large part due to Voodoo Sound on the Nexus S, which keeps the amplifier at its minimum level by maximizing digital volume first.
All in all, I'm still quite satisfied with the SQ, but will probably give the Galaxy S III a try.
Too bad we can't get the equivalent of Voodoo Sound with manual control over the amplifier on the One X...
For the record, I've been comparing the phones using Monster Turbine Pro Copper IEMs. Beats audio processing was obviously turned off. I also tried my ATH-AD700 cans, and with those the noise is completely inaudible even at max volume levels on the One X.

I hear absolutely no noise on my One X using Ultimate Ears Triple Fi 10 Pros. I absolutely love the sound quality of the headphone out, and I'm extremely picky when it comes to this.
Sent from my HTC One X using xda premium

To my ears it doesnt sound quite as good as my captivate with voodoo but I also think if a similar app was developed for this it would sound just as good.

americasteam said:
I hear absolutely no noise on my One X using Ultimate Ears Triple Fi 10 Pros. I absolutely love the sound quality of the headphone out, and I'm extremely picky when it comes to this.
Sent from my HTC One X using xda premium
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I have the exact same IEMs I can testify to that

crabnebula said:
I haven't seen many posts of people that are concerned with audio quality.
I ended up purchasing a Rogers One X LTE here in Canada, to replace my Samsung Nexus S. I've been using Voodoo Sound with the Nexus S.
So how do they compare?
Well, after A/B'ing various material, the most important audible difference to me is the background noise (or hiss, if you prefer) that is definitely louder on the One X.
However, the only time I can really hear it is during near-silent passages (eg, at the beginning of a song that starts from complete silence). Also, at high volume levels, the noise in the Nexus S increases significantly and comes close to par. This is probably in large part due to Voodoo Sound on the Nexus S, which keeps the amplifier at its minimum level by maximizing digital volume first.
All in all, I'm still quite satisfied with the SQ, but will probably give the Galaxy S III a try.
Too bad we can't get the equivalent of Voodoo Sound with manual control over the amplifier on the One X...
For the record, I've been comparing the phones using Monster Turbine Pro Copper IEMs. Beats audio processing was obviously turned off. I also tried my ATH-AD700 cans, and with those the noise is completely inaudible even at max volume levels on the One X.
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Good stuff. Compared to the voodoo nexus, how does the the One X do when it comes to detail, sound stage and instrument separation? assuming "beats" is off, does it have a colored sound signature or is it flat/accurate?
Thanks!

americasteam said:
I hear absolutely no noise on my One X using Ultimate Ears Triple Fi 10 Pros. I absolutely love the sound quality of the headphone out, and I'm extremely picky when it comes to this.
Sent from my HTC One X using xda premium
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Click to collapse
vioalas said:
I have the exact same IEMs I can testify to that
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Click to collapse
Well I can assure you it is clearly audible with my device and IEMs. I also tried with several cheaper IEMs I have around the house and I get the same result.
If I play a completely silent (computer generated) WAV file, the noise is inaudible, though I do hear the amplifier turning on and off. However the noise becomes obvious when any low signal is played, so it is noticeable in very quiet passages.

I hear no noise whatsoever through my Shure SE530 or E5C IEMs, or through my AKG K240MKII cans. Very happy with the sound from this phone.

omersak said:
Good stuff. Compared to the voodoo nexus, how does the the One X do when it comes to detail, sound stage and instrument separation? assuming "beats" is off, does it have a colored sound signature or is it flat/accurate?
Thanks!
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Click to collapse
Overall I'd say that apart from the noise, any differences are slight and won't detract from the listening experience. To me the frequency response is very similar to the Galaxy S (ie, flat), but mids/vocals sound a little more transparent.
Compared to Wolfson/Voodoo, the sound stage on the One X feels a little wider/more open and separation is perhaps a bit better too, but there is also a slight harshness/sibilance and the details are a little bit less refined. Again, the differences are small and I'm just giving you my own impressions.
If it weren't for the noise -- that apparently only I hear -- I'd be perfectly happy with the One X. I actually prefer it on some material because it just feels more transparent/open.
---------- Post added at 12:40 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:24 PM ----------
Regarding the noise.
Just an example of a track where I hear obvious hiss on the One X and nothing on the Nexus S :
Artist: Destroyer
Album: Kaputt
Song: Bay of Pigs
On this track hiss is easily audible for at least the first minute.
I'll try to post other examples from more mainstream stuff later on.

UPDATE: I repeated the below measurements with a new USB sound card (a Native Instruments Komplete Audio 6) and obtained a different result one the One X. Please see new post later in this thread.
---------------------------------------
For those of you who are interested, I used RMAA and my M-Audio Firewire 410 audio interface to record and analyze the following:
- Samsung Nexus S with Voodoo Sound
- HTC One X LTE with sound processing off
- HTC One X LTE with Beats audio on (headphone set to Other)
I used supercurio's new app that plays a RMAA test signal to do this. Also, I repeated each test twice to verify that my results were accurate.
Note that on the One X, the output level doesn't go beyond -10dB when volume is at maximum, so I adjusted the Nexus S to -10 dB, even though it can go higher.
I have no idea if my methodology is sound, but I'd say the frequency response speaks for itself.

crabnebula said:
For those of you who are interested, I used RMAA and my M-Audio Firewire 410 audio interface to record and analyze the following:
- Samsung Nexus S with Voodoo Sound
- HTC One X LTE with sound processing off
- HTC One X LTE with Beats audio on (headphone set to Other)
I used supercurio's new app that plays a RMAA test signal to do this. Also, I repeated each test twice to verify that my results were accurate.
Note that on the One X, the output level doesn't go beyond -10dB when volume is at maximum, so I adjusted the Nexus S to -10 dB, even though it can go higher.
I have no idea if my methodology is sound, but I'd say the frequency response speaks for itself.
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Click to collapse
Awesome, thanks!
So, the HTC is tuned for a non-flat response, no wonder it sounds so wrong to me. I wonder if this is software and can be fixed?
sassafras

The picture is a bit misleading because with beats off, it's still only a deviation of ~1 decibel. I don't think that is discernible by the human ear.

sassafras_ said:
Awesome, thanks!
So, the HTC is tuned for a non-flat response, no wonder it sounds so wrong to me. I wonder if this is software and can be fixed?
sassafras
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Deviations are fairly small (+/-1 dB), but no, it clearly isn't flat.
I suppose you could use an equalizer to flatten the response. Does anyone know of a system-wide equalizer?

ThisWasATriumph said:
The picture is a bit misleading because with beats off, it's still only a deviation of ~1 decibel. I don't think that is discernible by the human ear.
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This is correct, the human ear has trouble discerning differences of less than 3 dB. While far from perfect, the results seem reasonable and I would suspect would be fairly easy to correct with the right tools/methods.
I'm not exactly sure what Supercurio did with Voodoo sound, but on the Captivate you could adjust the levels via hex input in the service menu. I always suspected this is what Voodoo sound was doing, but never really followed up to find out. Perhaps we have a similar option available.

mesasone said:
This is correct, the human ear has trouble discerning differences of less than 3 dB. While far from perfect, the results seem reasonable and I would suspect would be fairly easy to correct with the right tools/methods.
I'm not exactly sure what Supercurio did with Voodoo sound, but on the Captivate you could adjust the levels via hex input in the service menu. I always suspected this is what Voodoo sound was doing, but never really followed up to find out. Perhaps we have a similar option available.
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Some studies suggest 0.5 to 1 dB in overall volume is discernible to certain people. Not sure about variations in a frequency response spectrum, but the easy way to check is to play around with an equalizer.
Still, I don't think it matters too much. I still find the One X has good sound, except for the annoying hiss.

FWIW, here is the methology GSM Arena uses for their audio quality tests: http://www.gsmarena.com/latest_features-review-171p2.php
Sadly, they didn't do audio testing in their review of the AT&T One X, but they did for the international One X and the One S.

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.
Click to expand...
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.
Click to expand...
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

Headphone volume question

Hello everyone. I currently have the Nexus 4 and wanted to know how the audio compares on the Nexus 5 to the Nexus 4. One problem I've had with the Nexus 4 is that audio through wired headphones is too low. I'm a little hard of hearing and the volume through the headphone jack has always been an issue on the N4 for me. When I use the same headphones on a different phone (tried on galaxy s4 and iPhone) the volume is much higher. Can anyone tell me how the volume on the N5 compares. Is it higher than the N4?
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JohnnyDanger said:
Hello everyone. I currently have the Nexus 4 and wanted to know how the audio compares on the Nexus 5 to the Nexus 4. One problem I've had with the Nexus 4 is that audio through wired headphones is too low. I'm a little hard of hearing and the volume through the headphone jack has always been an issue on the N4 for me. When I use the same headphones on a different phone (tried on galaxy s4 and iPhone) the volume is much higher. Can anyone tell me how the volume on the N5 compares. Is it higher than the N4?
Sent from my Nexus 4 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
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What I can tell you is that the volume is still low on the Nexus 5. Not sure how it compares with the nexus fuor, but I am already looking for a portable amplifier.
In an unrelated question, I'd like to know if the Nexus 5 supports higher frequency (96 khz) lossless audio like the LG G2.

Well that's a shame. That is a big factor in me getting it. I use my phone so much for music I really need decent volume.
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I dont know what you guys are talking about. I came from the note 3 and htc one and this is actually BETTER than both of them. Maybe not in pure volume, but the clarity is excellent. WAY better than the N4,

aooga said:
I dont know what you guys are talking about. I came from the note 3 and htc one and this is actually BETTER than both of them. Maybe not in pure volume, but the clarity is excellent. WAY better than the N4,
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For me, volume is just as important as clarity. I wish there was somewhere that I could actually test the Nexus 5. No one I know buys Nexus phones, so Im kind of stuck buying them and hoping I like what I get. Everything I read points to me liking it, but the volume is just a big concern.

JohnnyDanger said:
For me, volume is just as important as clarity. I wish there was somewhere that I could actually test the Nexus 5. No one I know buys Nexus phones, so Im kind of stuck buying them and hoping I like what I get. Everything I read points to me liking it, but the volume is just a big concern.
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If volumes important I'd hold off and see what the kernel devs come up with. As it stands with no audio mods I can turn the volume all the way up and keep the headphones in. It's loud enough for me but if your hearing impaired it's another story. Compared to other phones I've owned it's pretty low(for now). Some apps like rocket player pro already have a preamp that you can enable and it helps but until the gain can be adjusted further it might not be enough. More gain = more distortion but it's a trade off I'd be willing to make. With all that said I will tell you as far as music clarity goes out of the box this is a great phone. No EQs enabled and it sounds rad. Turn on the EQ and I'm very happy so far.

The headphone volume on the nexus 5 is a joke. Can you fix it? Of course. But wait, it distorts and adds a ton of hiss. I don't know what Google was thinking when they made it that low. Compared to my iphone 5s, my nexus 5 would be at 100% when my iphone would be at 50%. I promptly sent it back for this very reason

does the 4.4.2 update fix the low sound or not? mine is stock low but if i use one of those volume boost, its pretty good but ofcourse distorts ot 100%loudness, goes with the territory i guess

I'm coming from the Galaxy S3. The volume is lower than other phones I've used but I found it more than adequate for all purposes. I find myself pumping it to 100% when I need to get a bit of beat going in my ears and it is enough. I don't think I can listen to 100% volume with the google music app for longer than 2-3min and I do like loud music.
FWIW, with the S3 i never had it above 75% since it was way too loud.

cobyman7035 said:
does the 4.4.2 update fix the low sound or not? mine is stock low but if i use one of those volume boost, its pretty good but ofcourse distorts ot 100%loudness, goes with the territory i guess
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Nope, I was running 4.4.2 when I sent it back. This is probably hardware related and google can't really fix it. I remember most of the nexus devices being pretty low
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Install Viper4android. It will solve most of your audio problems. I'm very satisfied with the N5 audio now.

marleyfan61 said:
Install Viper4android. It will solve most of your audio problems. I'm very satisfied with the N5 audio now.
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I tried that the first day, it didn't do much. It might for others though
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Droid Army said:
I tried that the first day, it didn't do much. It might for others though
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Hmm....that's very odd. Which music player are you using? Did you go into the Viper settings and activate it? It's made a huge difference in sound volume and quality for me. Previous to installing it my sweets spot for volume was around 80%. Post installation and set up it's now at about 50-60%. You have to play around with the settings tho. If you google Viper4android settings you will find some very useful profiles.

If you're using the top volume levels with in ears then its no wonder it sounds too quiet for you now. Nothing will bring that hearing range back once its lost, there's a reason for the warning.
Cranking the volume to compensate for loud environments is just about the worst thing you can do to your ears. It doesn't cancel it out it adds it together.
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

bblzd said:
If you're using the top volume levels with in ears then its no wonder it sounds too quiet for you now. Nothing will bring that hearing range back once its lost, there's a reason for the warning.
Cranking the volume to compensate for loud environments is just about the worst thing you can do to your ears. It doesn't cancel it out it adds it together.
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk
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I never use top volumes, I had to on the nexus. On my iPhone I listen around 55-60%. The nexus has terrible volume, it isn't my ears
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Droid Army said:
I never use top volumes, I had to on the nexus. On my iPhone I listen around 55-60%. The nexus has terrible volume, it isn't my ears
Sent from my iPhone 5s using Tapatalk
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I am using Viper with JVC HA-FXT90 buds and I can get "stupid" level volume. It is not as loud or good with other earphones. I think the earphones are as much to blame as anything else.

rogem_kk said:
I am using Viper with JVC HA-FXT90 buds and I can get "stupid" level volume. It is not as loud or good with other earphones. I think the earphones are as much to blame as anything else.
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They're klipsh s4's. I've tried others with the same result. I'm sorry, compared to other devices the nexus is soft.
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Droid Army said:
They're klipsh s4's. I've tried others with the same result. I'm sorry, compared to other devices the nexus is soft.
Sent from my iPhone 5s using Tapatalk
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You don't have to be sorry. It's already been shown in the Anand review that the N5 has less max volume output then current flagships besides the G2.
However I still think with IEMs the max volume is louder then people should be listening to. Either you're Klipsch model has an unusually high impedance rating, no passive noise cancellation benefits or you're ears have just adjusted to higher volume levels. Just checked and the Klipsch S4 is rated at a fairly low impedance of 18 OHM.
This is going to be subjective of course but with Shure 115 in ears above 75% volume is painful since 4.4.2 These were advertised at the time as passive noise cancellation however and are rated at 16 OHM.

bblzd said:
You don't have to be sorry. It's already been shown in the Anand review that the N5 has less max volume output then current flagships besides the G2.
However I still think with IEMs the max volume is louder then people should be listening to. Either you're Klipsch model has an unusually high impedance rating, no passive noise cancellation benefits or you're ears have just adjusted to higher volume levels. Just checked and the Klipsch S4 is rated at a fairly low impedance of 18 OHM.
This is going to be subjective of course but with Shure 115 in ears above 75% volume is painful since 4.4.2 These were advertised at the time as passive noise cancellation however and are rated at 16 OHM.
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The ones I use are noise isolating which is really nice and one of the reasons I bought them. I do tend to listen to music a bit on the louder side; I like the punch of the bass with my ear buds. I'm guess my ears have adjusted to a little bit higher of a listening area but still a lot of devices sound significantly louder than the nexus 5
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low speaker volume HW or SW issue?

just got my nexus 5 after nearly a month of waiting. only had two days with it so far, but coming from an iPhone 5, the speaker volume is rather lacking. Compared the same exact music/sounds with my iPhone 5. iPhone practically stomped on volume loudness. the most bothersome of this issue is that ringtones, google voice, etc is not very audible, even at the nexus 5's highest volume. so, is this issue a software issue that can be fixed in an update? like has it been confirmed? im aware of the hardware mod on this forum, but id rather wait on voiding my warranty if I can, so im willing to wait if a firmware update CAN fix this.

unvaluablespace said:
just got my nexus 5 after nearly a month of waiting. only had two days with it so far, but coming from an iPhone 5, the speaker volume is rather lacking. Compared the same exact music/sounds with my iPhone 5. iPhone practically stomped on volume loudness. the most bothersome of this issue is that ringtones, google voice, etc is not very audible, even at the nexus 5's highest volume. so, is this issue a software issue that can be fixed in an update? like has it been confirmed? im aware of the hardware mod on this forum, but id rather wait on voiding my warranty if I can, so im willing to wait if a firmware update CAN fix this.
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According to this, it's a software issue but I don't know how anyone will know for sure until a software update comes out.

unvaluablespace said:
just got my nexus 5 after nearly a month of waiting. only had two days with it so far, but coming from an iPhone 5, the speaker volume is rather lacking. Compared the same exact music/sounds with my iPhone 5. iPhone practically stomped on volume loudness. the most bothersome of this issue is that ringtones, google voice, etc is not very audible, even at the nexus 5's highest volume. so, is this issue a software issue that can be fixed in an update? like has it been confirmed? im aware of the hardware mod on this forum, but id rather wait on voiding my warranty if I can, so im willing to wait if a firmware update CAN fix this.
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Being one of the people who did the HW mod, I'd say both. The HW is definitely not properly made, most notably the speaker hosing is sealed which doesn't allow the speaker to move air efficiently and so makes for a very lousy sound. There also have been some success in SW which makes me think that with 5min spent to do the HW mod and decent SW update the phone can finally become borderline usable as far as speaker goes.
Vibration is another issue...

Some success in software? Is this something I can try before resorting to he mod? (I will probably wait before going the latter route)
Vibration doesn't seem too much of an issue to me. Not sure though, haven't compared with my old phone, though I will say the haptic feedback (I think that's what its called) every time I click a button or use the keyboard, is kind of annoying lol
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unvaluablespace said:
Some success in software? Is this something I can try before resorting to he mod? (I will probably wait before going the latter route)
Vibration doesn't seem too much of an issue to me. Not sure though, haven't compared with my old phone, though I will say the haptic feedback (I think that's what its called) every time I click a button or use the keyboard, is kind of annoying lol
Sent from my Nexus 5 using xda app-developers app
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The sw mod really simple and easy, and yes you can restore the factory settings easy.
Check this topic:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2532788
Sent from my Nexus 7 using xda app-developers app

caslca said:
Being one of the people who did the HW mod, I'd say both. The HW is definitely not properly made, most notably the speaker hosing is sealed which doesn't allow the speaker to move air efficiently and so makes for a very lousy sound. There also have been some success in SW which makes me think that with 5min spent to do the HW mod and decent SW update the phone can finally become borderline usable as far as speaker goes.
Vibration is another issue...
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there is a reason speakers have a sealed back. it's to keep the sound on th erear of the speaker from cancelling the sound on the front. dipole speakers don't have a sealed back and they drop a very regular decibel every octave below the wavelength of the baffle. there isn't much room for a large baffle in a phone so the back is sealed instead to try to preserve what little bass a small speaker can create. but the bass the speaker can create is soo little you may not notice the loss and instead notice some gain from increasing speaker excursion and effectively having double the cone area.
there are also ported/bass reflex boxes that phase shift the rear sound wave through a resonant chamber and a port to extend bass by putting the rear wave in phase with the front for a small frequency window.
there are other designs. but not much that will fit in a phone. i wouldn't say the design of the phone is faulty, just ineffective on such a small scale. maybe a trasmission line design where there was a channel that snaked around all the free space in the phone would be better. a rear loaded horn would be louder but takes up a lot of space.
as far as software, well there is only so much voltage that the internal amp can drive the speaker with. they have to find a gain ratio where there is enough headroom at full volume for most content to play without clipping. music is very dynamic and the louder something is the more extra energy you need to create an equivalent apparent change in loudness. you can raise the gain on almost any well designed system and not experience clipping on 90% + of a song but there may be a section of a particular song where you lose headroom and drive it into clipping. they probably went on the safe side with the hardware gain to preserve the quality of the music. but by all means if you prefer more loudness use a software mod.
there are some things that you could do, like software compression where the gain drops on the parts that exceed the max loudness. but it can make the music sound less lively. or you can just let it clip and maybe eventually damage the amp and/or speaker but that's probably not even a problem on such a small scale.