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[Q] Improving Speaker Quality?

This is my first tablet so I have no idea how the TF speakers compare but I would consider them as adequate no more. The sound is great using headphones etc but I was wondering if there might be an app to boost the sound quality in general use without using phones/buds? Thanks for any help

You can fiddle around with this app to change a few settings and maybe make it sound better suited for your ears: https://market.android.com/details?id=com.smartandroidapps.equalizer

shotto said:
This is my first tablet so I have no idea how the TF speakers compare but I would consider them as adequate no more. The sound is great using headphones etc but I was wondering if there might be an app to boost the sound quality in general use without using phones/buds? Thanks for any help
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Click to collapse
I am in the same boat except I listen through a bluetooth speaker. I would love to just be able to take the tablet on the porch with me and not have to grab another speaker. Unfortunately I can't hear the built in speaker that well over my kids screaming outside.
To further the question is there anyone out there that maybe has really good and loud speakers. Just want to make sure we did not get faulty units. I have not experienced any of the other issues with "bleeding, creaking, etc.." but I guess I could have faulty speakers. Thanks for your help...

cardman827 said:
I am in the same boat except I listen through a bluetooth speaker. I would love to just be able to take the tablet on the porch with me and not have to grab another speaker. Unfortunately I can't hear the built in speaker that well over my kids screaming outside.
To further the question is there anyone out there that maybe has really good and loud speakers. Just want to make sure we did not get faulty units. I have not experienced any of the other issues with "bleeding, creaking, etc.." but I guess I could have faulty speakers. Thanks for your help...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
my TF isnt as loud as I would have thought too....acceptable but could be better.
i think there are some apps can help boost the volume.

stuntdouble said:
You can fiddle around with this app to change a few settings and maybe make it sound better suited for your ears: https://market.android.com/details?id=com.smartandroidapps.equalizer
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Click to collapse
Excellent, many thanks! Using that app seems to have boosted things by a decent amount

cardman827 said:
I am in the same boat except I listen through a bluetooth speaker. I would love to just be able to take the tablet on the porch with me and not have to grab another speaker. Unfortunately I can't hear the built in speaker that well over my kids screaming outside.
To further the question is there anyone out there that maybe has really good and loud speakers. Just want to make sure we did not get faulty units. I have not experienced any of the other issues with "bleeding, creaking, etc.." but I guess I could have faulty speakers. Thanks for your help...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is what I use with my Nook Color (which also does not boast the best internal speaker): Altec Lansing iM-237 Orbit Ultraportable Speaker for MP3 Players. It is loud enough for large patio and pool area and lasts seemingly forever on 3 AA batteries.

I ordered mine from Best Buy and it arrived yesterday. What I seem to have is a speaker imbalance...my right speaker sounds louder than the left.
Also, I have a very minor light bleed at the bottom of the display and if I hold it too tight or press down on it I hear minor creaks as well. Should I return it??

My right speaker seems to be louder as well, its listed in the "things that need to be fixed" thread. I also had the full memory problem and had to reset it back to factory. Today when i woke it up to play music I had no sound whatsoever!!! I powered it down then back up and it seemed to fix it.
I was also wondering if I should just return it and wait a month for new stock or hold on to it and hope they fix it in firmware upgrades. I really like the tablet but now am having second thoughts. I have 7 more days to decide...

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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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!
Click to expand...
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
Click to expand...
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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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Click to collapse
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.

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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Click to collapse
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.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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
Sent from my Nexus 5 using xda app-developers app

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

Wondering if Nexus 5 issues are fixable yet

I bought a Nexus 5 on day 1 and quickly returned it once i got it. The screen was so badly washed out it made my Nexus 4 look like a 4K TV, sound quality was just horrible and the defect was insane distortion and crackling coming from the speaker on many songs, I even posted about that here and i wasn't alone.
I returned it and decided to stick with my N4 for another year, since then the bluetooth, camera, and phone are all failing on my nexus 4, i can't focus the camera, bluetooth cuts out constantly and the phone hangs up for no reason with perfect service. So i badly need a new phone now. I hate to even consider another nexus from LG considering what's happening to my N4 but it's more expensive to get a new N4 or Moto X than it is a N5.
So i'm hoping that someone can tell me if through a rom, kernel, app that the washed out screen and terrible sound quality are fixable.
Simple as that. I'd be willing to give the N5 another shot if i can install something that will get the screen to look normal and sound to not sound so ungodly terrible. I had to do that on the Galaxy Nexus for over a year and if i have to do it again so be it. Better that than having a broken phone like i do right now.

Hi,
For the colors it's on the kernel side so you can try ElementalX, Faux123 or Franco kernels. They also have sound improvements, tunables via apps, like the colour control. Just take a look in the OP of the kernel threads.
There is also this mod for the sound: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2532788, I use it and it works great for me.

viking37 said:
Hi,
For the colors it's on the kernel side so you can try ElementalX, Faux123 or Franco kernels. They also have sound improvements, tunables via apps, like the colour control. Just take a look in the OP of the kernel threads.
There is also this mod for the sound: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2532788, I use it and it works great for me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the fast reply. So for the colors guess it's probably the same as the GNex where someone comes up with the perfect setting and we all use it?
And the sound mod sounds interesting. I do remember the volume being quite low yet still having terrible quality. Does that improve upon the quality at all? It was just shocking how my N4, hell my 3DS had better sound quality than the N5.

Cant comment on that mod but viper4android definitely improves quality
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

neok44 said:
Thanks for the fast reply. So for the colors guess it's probably the same as the GNex where someone comes up with the perfect setting and we all use it?
And the sound mod sounds interesting. I do remember the volume being quite low yet still having terrible quality. Does that improve upon the quality at all? It was just shocking how my N4, hell my 3DS had better sound quality than the N5.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, for example in Franco thread or in the Franco kernel FAQ thread you have a ton of profiles, it depends on your tastes but the "washed" screen is easily fixed.
For the sound mod it's mainly about louder sound, but for me it seems "clearer" (?), but I'm not a melomane then... maybe I have not the right ears
Like rootSU said if you really want a total control over the quality, try Viper4Android...

neok44 said:
I bought a Nexus 5 on day 1 and quickly returned it once i got it. The screen was so badly washed out it made my Nexus 4 look like a 4K TV, sound quality was just horrible and the defect was insane distortion and crackling coming from the speaker on many songs, I even posted about that here and i wasn't alone.
I returned it and decided to stick with my N4 for another year, since then the bluetooth, camera, and phone are all failing on my nexus 4, i can't focus the camera, bluetooth cuts out constantly and the phone hangs up for no reason with perfect service. So i badly need a new phone now. I hate to even consider another nexus from LG considering what's happening to my N4 but it's more expensive to get a new N4 or Moto X than it is a N5.
So i'm hoping that someone can tell me if through a rom, kernel, app that the washed out screen and terrible sound quality are fixable.
Simple as that. I'd be willing to give the N5 another shot if i can install something that will get the screen to look normal and sound to not sound so ungodly terrible. I had to do that on the Galaxy Nexus for over a year and if i have to do it again so be it. Better that than having a broken phone like i do right now.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Its been 2 years and key components are failing? that's no good for LG

Well finally got my N5 and franco kernel worked perfectly for the screen quality. Few presets i'm switching between as i try to find the right spot. So much better than it was on the GNex though.
Sound wise not too happy so far. the rom i'm using has DSP manager and i played around with that but couldn't really get anything to sound that much better, same with viper. The louder mod did work but actually almost made it too loud and the phone as is is actually pretty loud, not as loud as my N4 but it's good enough so far.
one thing i noticed with DSP manager and Viper is that they didn't seem to affect ringtones or anything other than the music app. Is there anyway to get them to do that, or any other form of system wide audio improvement that will affect 100% of all sounds through the speaker?

neok44 said:
Thanks for the fast reply. So for the colors guess it's probably the same as the GNex where someone comes up with the perfect setting and we all use it?
And the sound mod sounds interesting. I do remember the volume being quite low yet still having terrible quality. Does that improve upon the quality at all? It was just shocking how my N4, hell my 3DS had better sound quality than the N5.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
the displays inside the nexus 5 are all different. just like some chips can handle more undervolting than others. some will find one color preset better than another. franco has a couple dozen color presets from the community in his app that make testing very easy

RMA
My N5 works fine. Yours must have been defective. Also, there are lots of mods out there that allows you to change the screen color temperature out there so might as well give it a try if you still think it is problematic after RMA.

S8+ Sound!

Bought s8+ on the 6th, no problems till I played music while playing a game. No game in particular, they all do it. I'm a spotify user, enter an app and my volume decreases not by volume by button but physically, I have to maximize my volume to get back the sound I had before entering the application. Otherwise it's far too quiet. Not sure if a bug but there's no option to turn this off. Irritating. Anyone else know how to turn off?

I use spotify and other music apps but my sound it low with any headphones have volume full to max aswell
Sent from my SM-G955F using XDA-Developers Legacy app

rowbaggie22 said:
I use spotify and other music apps but my sound it low with any headphones have volume full to max aswell
Sent from my SM-G955F using XDA-Developers Legacy app
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I have the same problem. Don't think there's anything to be done about it, the DAC inside the phone is just not that good. Pretty disappointing to be honest.

ynrozturk said:
I have the same problem. Don't think there's anything to be done about it, the DAC inside the phone is just not that good. Pretty disappointing to be honest.
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Click to collapse
Sound stage is highly subjective. No two individuals will enjoy the same music genre nor the way its reproduced. Some listeners prefer heavy 'boom boom' base while others enjoy a 'bright higher pitched' overall tone, then there's the billions in between those extremes.
One has to be realistic with a mobile phone that performs so many tasks. We read an awful lot about the camera, got to the point where many look at the camera before they even consider signal strength etc? No mobile can, nor should, match a DSLR. Same with the sound reproduction. One cannot compare the quality of sound against a dedicated high res player like the Astel&Kern costing 3k or similar stand alone mobile players. It has to be a question of compromise.
I never use the camera. I do listen to music an awful lot that is why I have spent many thousands of € buying various dedicated high res players. Problem is obvious. Summer day in shorts who wants to carry an DSLR, Dedicated Digital audio player and a mobile phone?
The S8+ sounds fine when paired with decent head phones either on ear or over ear plus ear buds. Many are enjoying the AKG developed ear buds that came with the mobile. I DON'T like the AKG ear buds, that is personal taste though.
Non the less considering the S8+ does so many things so well I cannot fault its sound reproduction considering its a mobile phone
If you desire a true hifidelity portable sound then you are going to have to dig very deep into your pockets. Putting that proposition to one side the S8+ can produce a very acceptable sound for the masses including myself who is a hifi junkie.
Suggestion. Try a number of different head gear ranging from ear buds to on ear head phones. OBVIOUSLY when using the on ear or around ear head phones volume will be affected as the S8+ is not designed to power such head sets even though it does a bloomin good job! When using ear buds you can achieve a high volume. Bluetooth are another option though sound quality does degrade accordingly.
So, all in all its compromise but Samsung has balanced the equation rather well. Again personal taste will always be a major factor eg, I don't enjoy the sound stage LG mobiles produce even though many people do. If you are looking for an exceptional sound stage from a mobile phone try out the Sony range, they should be good being the masters of portable hifi from the off. I enjoy both the Sony and Samsung sound reproduction but give the edge to Sony on most occasions.
Ryland:good:

ynrozturk said:
I have the same problem. Don't think there's anything to be done about it, the DAC inside the phone is just not that good. Pretty disappointing to be honest.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Are you on the Exynos version as well? Maybe it's an Exynos problem, my Snapdragon S8+ has no problem running my Sennheiser HD700's, plenty loud at half volume. (Sounds pretty good too I might add)

Cautions said:
Bought s8+ on the 6th, no problems till I played music while playing a game. No game in particular, they all do it. I'm a spotify user, enter an app and my volume decreases not by volume by button but physically, I have to maximize my volume to get back the sound I had before entering the application. Otherwise it's far too quiet. Not sure if a bug but there's no option to turn this off. Irritating. Anyone else know how to turn off?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I had the same problem on my Oneplus 3T so I do not think it is hardware related. (I was playing pokemon GO while listening to music)

PoLoMoTo said:
Are you on the Exynos version as well? Maybe it's an Exynos problem, my Snapdragon S8+ has no problem running my Sennheiser HD700's, plenty loud at half volume. (Sounds pretty good too I might add)
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Yep, Exynos version.
---------- Post added at 09:29 AM ---------- Previous post was at 09:26 AM ----------
Ryland Johnson said:
Sound stage is highly subjective. No two individuals will enjoy the same music genre nor the way its reproduced. Some listeners prefer heavy 'boom boom' base while others enjoy a 'bright higher pitched' overall tone, then there's the billions in between those extremes.
One has to be realistic with a mobile phone that performs so many tasks. We read an awful lot about the camera, got to the point where many look at the camera before they even consider signal strength etc? No mobile can, nor should, match a DSLR. Same with the sound reproduction. One cannot compare the quality of sound against a dedicated high res player like the Astel&Kern costing 3k or similar stand alone mobile players. It has to be a question of compromise.
I never use the camera. I do listen to music an awful lot that is why I have spent many thousands of € buying various dedicated high res players. Problem is obvious. Summer day in shorts who wants to carry an DSLR, Dedicated Digital audio player and a mobile phone?
The S8+ sounds fine when paired with decent head phones either on ear or over ear plus ear buds. Many are enjoying the AKG developed ear buds that came with the mobile. I DON'T like the AKG ear buds, that is personal taste though.
Non the less considering the S8+ does so many things so well I cannot fault its sound reproduction considering its a mobile phone
If you desire a true hifidelity portable sound then you are going to have to dig very deep into your pockets. Putting that proposition to one side the S8+ can produce a very acceptable sound for the masses including myself who is a hifi junkie.
Suggestion. Try a number of different head gear ranging from ear buds to on ear head phones. OBVIOUSLY when using the on ear or around ear head phones volume will be affected as the S8+ is not designed to power such head sets even though it does a bloomin good job! When using ear buds you can achieve a high volume. Bluetooth are another option though sound quality does degrade accordingly.
So, all in all its compromise but Samsung has balanced the equation rather well. Again personal taste will always be a major factor eg, I don't enjoy the sound stage LG mobiles produce even though many people do. If you are looking for an exceptional sound stage from a mobile phone try out the Sony range, they should be good being the masters of portable hifi from the off. I enjoy both the Sony and Samsung sound reproduction but give the edge to Sony on most occasions.
Ryland:good:
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Thanks for your input. I know where you're coming from because I think the same. I'm a musician so audio is kind of a big part of my life. I don't buy a phone expecting it to have the power of my DAC's or amps at home - but I want it to be decent at least. The S8's isn't decent - far from it. I've thrown a number of headphones and IEM's at it and it still performs poorly - because the DAC inside is poor. It really is that quite simple. I don't expect it to run my Beyerdynamic T1's or anything, lol. But I do expect it to run my IEM Shure or Sennheisers at least decently, which it doesn't.
I also agree about the camera part. While I do appreciate a good camera in my phone, when I go out to take pictures I would much rather have my Sony A7RII with me, along with some Zeiss glass.

Ironic that once it was the Exynos versions (Note 3) that had premium audio (Wolfson DAC) while the Snapdragon phones languished. Now it seems it's the exact opposite, lots of complaints from the Exynos crowd and nothing but praise from the Snapdragon set. I personally have the US ATT version (SD835 + Aqstic DAC) and the sound quality is superb, both with full custom Shure SE-535Vs and Sennheiser HD-700s (directly driven from the phone). Definitely a step up from my S7E.
For reference I'm also a musician with a pretty good idea of what real instruments sound like (9ft Concert Grand in my living room).