Nexus 5 Earpiece and Call Quality vs. Nexus 4 - Nexus 5 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

There's been a lot of discussion of the speaker quality on the Nexus 5, but not so much about the earpiece.
I wondering in calls how the quality and volume of the earpiece on the Nexus 5 compares to the Nexus 4, for those who've had both phones. In loud settings the Nexus 4 has always been a little quiet for me. I know the N5 is not going to be like the HTC One (in this and all areas of audio quality), but I don't want to take a step backwards from the N4, which is already fine, but not stellar.
Thanks.

its a bit better than the n4. not a huge difference, but better regardless.

simms22 said:
its a bit better than the n4. not a huge difference, but better regardless.
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So the earpiece volume is a little louder than the N4? Or just the sound quality is better in the earpiece? Or both? Thanks.

Related

Official Sound Quality Thread

So, how does it fair to Galaxy S3? Does the Octo version comes with Wolfson audio chip?
So, Exynos version will have wolfson wm5102 sound chip afterall...
I want to know about the volume level - my Nexus 4 went back to Google due to the low aux volume. I aux out all the time and it's an absolute requirement for my phone to be able to output at a reasonable volume. The N4 is laughable in that department, and yes that's with hacks too. Someone please confirm the output volume via the headphone jack is LOUD and I'll be happy!
SMS92 said:
I want to know about the volume level - my Nexus 4 went back to Google due to the low aux volume. I aux out all the time and it's an absolute requirement for my phone to be able to output at a reasonable volume. The N4 is laughable in that department, and yes that's with hacks too. Someone please confirm the output volume via the headphone jack is LOUD and I'll be happy!
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GSM Arena's review said that the S600 S4 was clear, but had low output. They also said that the HTC One was much louder, which is why I'm almost considering it over the S4.
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Accourding to GSMArena, in the latest unit the speaker volume is pretty decent, even better than One.
When connected to the amplifier, the sound is superior than almost every phone available in the market. But the DAC is the embedded DAC of S600, so don't know why the difference can be that big.
http://www.gsmarena.com/samsung_galaxy_s4-review-914p8.php
Wolfson DAC in Exynos Octa maybe even better
The volume of the headphone output was one of my main complaints about Galaxy S III. No headroom at last year's flagship Samsung was not, in fact, using rebar headphones Etymotic hf5 maximum volume is not enough for comfortable listening to classical music (which usually has a wider dynamic range than other music genres). Fortunately, the Galaxy S4 solved this problem: using the same headphones and listening to the same records I've never had to turn up the volume to the maximum. Also, if the Galaxy S III was a telephone and a deep voice sounded muffled because of this, the Galaxy S4 boasts a more even tonal balance. In general, continuous improvement, anyway
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http://gagadget.com/cellphones/2013-03-27-obzor-samsung-galaxy-s4/
hung2900 said:
Accourding to GSMArena, in the latest unit the speaker volume is pretty decent, even better than One.
When connected to the amplifier, the sound is superior than almost every phone available in the market. But the DAC is the embedded DAC of S600, so don't know why the difference can be that big.
http://www.gsmarena.com/samsung_galaxy_s4-review-914p8.php
Wolfson DAC in Exynos Octa maybe even better
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They said the crosstalk was the only downside of the One and you'd need high tech equipment to even hear it. However, they also said that the S4 was still quiet when compared with the One/Butterfly, which is what the OP is focusing on the most.
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jtc276 said:
They said the crosstalk was the only downside of the One and you'd need high tech equipment to even hear it. However, they also said that the S4 was still quiet when compared with the One/Butterfly, which is what the OP is focusing on the most.
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Of course the One/Butterfly are louder, they have a separate inbuilt headphone amplifier like all of HTCs recent phones (I think it first appeared in their WP models from last year).
That isn't, in and of itself, a reason to get a One over an S4 necessarily - it still depends on your use-case scenarios and what headphones you use etc. The majority using fairly sensitive IEMs are not going to experience a great deal of benefit from the headphone amplifier. For those who are using harder to drive headphones and don't want to use an external headphone amp then it starts to make more sense.
NZtechfreak said:
Of course the One/Butterfly are louder, they have a separate inbuilt headphone amplifier like all of HTCs recent phones (I think it first appeared in their WP models from last year).
That isn't, in and of itself, a reason to get a One over an S4 necessarily - it still depends on your use-case scenarios and what headphones you use etc. The majority using fairly sensitive IEMs are not going to experience a great deal of benefit from the headphone amplifier. For those who are using harder to drive headphones and don't want to use an external headphone amp then it starts to make more sense.
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But the OP definitely stated that if the S4 is not very loud, it won't be the phone for him due to Aux purposes (I'm guessing in his/her car). And GSM Arena proved the One to be louder. So the better choice (in terms of sound) for the OP would be the One.
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Let's put it this way, set an alarm on the one and you won't sleep through it..
If the differences are slight, too slight to hear with standard headphones then the one is definitely better sound output wise than the s4.
Depending on what kind of user you are, this could make your choice fairly simple.
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jtc276 said:
But the OP definitely stated that if the S4 is not very loud, it won't be the phone for him due to Aux purposes (I'm guessing in his/her car). And GSM Arena proved the One to be louder. So the better choice (in terms of sound) for the OP would be the One.
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Click to collapse
Ah, the OP said nothing of the sort. I wasn't replying to anyone in particular, only trying to generally point out that there is more to consider than a straight numbers comparison of volume outputs.
NZtechfreak said:
Ah, the OP said nothing of the sort. I wasn't replying to anyone in particular, only trying to generally point out that there is more to consider than a straight numbers comparison of volume outputs.
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Whoops. You're right. I was referring to the third poster in this thread.
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I find it curious that GSMarena reviewed the snapdragon version, rather than the "real gsm" exynos version with wolfson. On S3 with Wolfson, increasing hardware volume levels takes about five minutes. Root and change one number in a text file. Not sure on the snapdragon one.
After hearing how different the Nexus 4 sounded compared to their review, I take anything they say with a grain of salt.
Supercurio's twitter feed is worth watching for commentary on audio quality also: https://twitter.com/supercurio
Indeed, GSMArena's sound tests need to be taken with a degree of scepticism, having been heavily criticized by people like Supercurio.
That's why i never quoted gsmarena's review in any part of my posts here and other thread... The test itself is "unproper" to begin with...
I got S3 and recently got HTC one and can confirm that its a best quality sound I heard in phone from speaker and headphone since 2002 and I have Bose headphone, urbets from dr dre and standard headphone in box and I found that htc's headphone got excellent clarity, loundness, deep bass and trable which is better than Bose headphone and as good as urbets of course in HTC one
Sent from my HTC One using xda app-developers app
onlinejobwork said:
I got S3 and recently got HTC one and can confirm that its a best quality sound I heard in phone from speaker and headphone since 2002 and I have Bose headphone, urbets from dr dre and standard headphone in box and I found that htc's headphone got excellent clarity, loundness, deep bass and trable which is better than Bose headphone and as good as urbets of course in HTC one
Sent from my HTC One using xda app-developers app
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I tried the HTC One in-store the other day, i agree the speakers on there is quiet good, but headphone wise, its not as good as compared to my Note 2. The Note 2 is much more cleaner and fuller audio quality without any tweaks, with wolfson audio kernel, the HTC One does not even come close.
ama3654 said:
I tried the HTC One in-store the other day, i agree the speakers on there is quiet good, but headphone wise, its not as good as compared to my Note 2. The Note 2 is much more cleaner and fuller audio quality without any tweaks, with wolfson audio kernel, the HTC One does not even come close.
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I agree,with some audio kernel , wolfson DAC is untouchable(with headphones)
sent from an Galaxy s3 GT I9300
Running perseus kernel 33.1 , XELLA 4.1.2 leaked build
forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1784401
Dont click,you might regret , I won't be responsible if you brick ur head
Did a blind and volume-matched test with the One and S4 (i9505 international version with the same DAC as the one). Listened on 12 and 16ohm IEMs and 32ohm cans.
First interesting thing was that the Samsung stock player is noticeably louder than PowerAMP (not yet tested other third party players). Around 10dB louder if PowerAMP has direct volume control off and ~5dB louder if PowerAMP is using direct volume control. Since we wanted to use the same player in both devices we had to drop the HTC One volume down three notches for them to match closely (only one step to match with the S4 stock player).
Turned off Beats on the One.
Noted with interest that when blinding was removed we both preferred the S4 sound over the One overall, better instrument separation and clarity, less fatiguing and harsh. Generally preferred the bass on the One, although the One was quite boomy. There was one MAJOR problem with the S4 though - crackling with prominent low bass frequencies. This was absent on the T5p at 32ohm, noticeable on the 16ohm IEMs, and very noticeable on the 12ohm IEMs. If this is output impedance related as it appears to be this would put the S4 (i9505) output impedance somewhere in the 4-8ohm range, making it impossible to recommend to anyone using more sensitive IEMs.
ADDIT: Confirmation from users of CIEMs re: crackling on the i9505.
WARNING: DO NOT BUY THE INTERNATIONAL S4 i9505 IF YOU USE SENSITIVE IEMS and plan to use it as a music player without taking advantage of USB audio. This is why you cannot trust any of the major sites audio reviews for handsets.
I now urgently need to test the i9500...
ama3654 said:
I tried the HTC One in-store the other day, i agree the speakers on there is quiet good, but headphone wise, its not as good as compared to my Note 2. The Note 2 is much more cleaner and fuller audio quality without any tweaks, with wolfson audio kernel, the HTC One does not even come close.
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Click to collapse
+1. Obviously Stereo speakers in itself makes it HTC One hands down the best in that department. But nothing beats Wolfson DAC for headphone audio quality IMHO.

Speaker quality is fine, but is not loud

Anyone else notice that their speaker is very quiet? Even at max volume the speaker is quiet compared to my Galaxy S3's speaker. It doesnt get very loud at all. The quality is fine though.
I actually prefer sound quality over extremely loud... and the Nexus 5's speaker sound quality is leaps and bounds better than the S3's incredibly tiny speaker. Yes, the N5's isn't gargantuan, but it's able to produce better sound i'm guessing due to it's orientation. Can at least FEEL the N5's speaker thumping away when touching the back panel. Hardly feel anything from the S3 even with your fingers practically ON the speaker.

[Q] Sound chip quality & support for 64-bit

So how's the sound chip compared to the Iphone 5s and other top smartphones ? I heard that since the chipset is SNP800 , the sound chip should be good too, but i'm no pro and have yet to try the headphone out.
Can anyone provide an explanation ?
2nd question (to avoid making 2 threads) :
I know kitkat 4.4 is only 32 bit now , but if for some reason Google releases android 5.0 in the future and it's 64 bit ...will the nexus chipset support it ?
1. Sound is good
2. Doesn't matter
[hfm] said:
1. Sound is good
2. Doesn't matter
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Not sure what you meant for the 2nd answer ?
64 bit computing hardly matters in the mobile space currently. Currently it is only relevant in marketing.
To answer the question. You are still using 32-bit hardware even if 64-bit capable software came out. Odds are Google will not release a 64-bit exclusive operating system in the near future.
Sent from my Nexus 5 using xda app-developers app
ravenwood27 said:
So how's the sound chip compared to the Iphone 5s and other top smartphones ? I heard that since the chipset is SNP800 , the sound chip should be good too, but i'm no pro and have yet to try the headphone out.
Can anyone provide an explanation ?
it ?
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According to the test done by GSMarena, the Nexus 5 sound quality is no where near iOS devices. It has similar sound performance compared to the LG G2 but lower volume output. http://www.gsmarena.com/lg_nexus_5-review-1011p7.php As the graph is shown, there is quite a lot of "wobbling" which isn't good compared to the iOS devices (link is the 5s sound quality: http://www.gsmarena.com/apple_iphone_5s-review-994p7.php). This is assuming you actually rip songs from CDs, download 320+ kbps (if you don't know what this is you don't download it), download from Google Play or iTunes, rather than using an app or random website to get free music. Otherwise it wouldn't matter what device you get to listen to music since the sound file wouldn't have enough detail to actually use the iPhone soundboard properly. From experience even the Voodoo sound board on the Galaxy S3+ (not sure about the S4) doesn't reach the levels of iOS devices especially on loudness and clarity. Otherwise for the casual listener, the sound quality on the Nexus 5 should be more than enough unless you're really serious about sound quality.
Edit: according to the benchmarks done on the same website, the Samsung S4 holds it ground fairly well but there is some wobble at later parts of the graph and that's just nitpicking. Won't be hearing the effects of that unless you have songs that are 500 kbps+ and are playing on a good speaker.
RoboWarriorSr said:
According to the test done by GSMarena, the Nexus 5 sound quality is no where near iOS devices. It has similar sound performance compared to the LG G2 but lower volume output. http://www.gsmarena.com/lg_nexus_5-review-1011p7.php As the graph is shown, there is quite a lot of "wobbling" which isn't good compared to the iOS devices (link is the 5s sound quality: http://www.gsmarena.com/apple_iphone_5s-review-994p7.php). This is assuming you actually rip songs from CDs, download 320+ kbps (if you don't know what this is you don't download it), download from Google Play or iTunes, rather than using an app or random website to get free music. Otherwise it wouldn't matter what device you get to listen to music since the sound file wouldn't have enough detail to actually use the iPhone soundboard properly. From experience even the Voodoo sound board on the Galaxy S3+ (not sure about the S4) doesn't reach the levels of iOS devices especially on loudness and clarity. Otherwise for the casual listener, the sound quality on the Nexus 5 should be more than enough unless you're really serious about sound quality.
Edit: according to the benchmarks done on the same website, the Samsung S4 holds it ground fairly well but there is some wobble at later parts of the graph and that's just nitpicking. Won't be hearing the effects of that unless you have songs that are 500 kbps+ and are playing on a good speaker.
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This is what I really dont get. I had an iphone 5s for a couple weeks and everything besides the earphones that came in the box sounded horrible. Zero bass, zero highs, just the mids. Also had the HTC one, which is supposed to have a great audio chip, and it did. That phone soudned the best out of all the phone's I've had. (I turned beats off, that is just pure junk). Compared to the HTC one, this phone is actually very good. I still get deep bass, and good highs with no distortion even at high volumes. With the iphone, anything higher than 50%, things got a bit crackly and distorted especially hooked up to my speakers.
OP: The sound chip, in my opinion (I listen to a LOT of music and am pretty much a huge audiophile.), is very good. As some users said, the pure loudness of it isn't that great, but the quality is very good. Not as good as the HTC one, but very close.
EDIT: Quote from GSM arena pretty much saying what I said.
The scores stay close to perfect even when you plug in a pair of headphones. The stereo crosstalk worsens a bit but the rest of the readings are virtually unaffected (frequency response actually improves a bit). Unfortunately, the volume levels remained just as uninspiring.
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aooga said:
This is what I really dont get. I had an iphone 5s for a couple weeks and everything besides the earphones that came in the box sounded horrible. Zero bass, zero highs, just the mids. Also had the HTC one, which is supposed to have a great audio chip, and it did. That phone soudned the best out of all the phone's I've had. (I turned beats off, that is just pure junk). Compared to the HTC one, this phone is actually very good. I still get deep bass, and good highs with no distortion even at high volumes. With the iphone, anything higher than 50%, things got a bit crackly and distorted especially hooked up to my speakers.
OP: The sound chip, in my opinion (I listen to a LOT of music and am pretty much a huge audiophile.), is very good. As some users said, the pure loudness of it isn't that great, but the quality is very good. Not as good as the HTC one, but very close.
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Click to collapse
The review on the website show that the HTC One has a excellent audio output but at best decent audio quality. The bass is overemphasized but nothing compared to the One X which was a disaster in terms of audio quality. Realized that the iPhone sound quality may sound worse to many people since it has a "flat" and stabilized audio quality which is what actually is looked for. Many companies tweak the audio to make it more "pleasing" to the masses and overshadow the bad soundboard which include bigger bass (blame Dr. Dre).
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RoboWarriorSr said:
The review on the website show that the HTC One has a excellent audio output but at best decent audio quality. The bass is overemphasized but compared to the One X which was a disaster in terms of audio quality. Realized that the iPhone sound quality may sound worse to many people since it has a "flat" and stabilized audio quality which is what actually is looked for. Many companies tweak the audio to make it more "pleasing" to the masses and overshadow the bad soundboard.
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I know flat sound is technically prefered in benchmarks and things, but I haven't met a single person that actually likes listening to it. Anyway, that was just my opinion. IMO, no matter how technically good the quality is on the iphone, I still think that it sounds horrible. And the software is hideous/crashed way too often.
EDIT: I see you have an iphone. Do you have a N5 as well, or are you just posting here? I'm not trying to be an idiot, just wondering if you have compared the quality between the two
N5 sound sucks.. I'm biased because I upgraded from a HTC one lol. Everything else is solid with my n5
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The built-in speaker is mediocre to crappy. The audio through other connections is quite good, IMO.
Sent from my Nexus 5
Ajfink said:
The built-in speaker is mediocre to crappy. The audio through other connections is quite good, IMO.
Sent from my Nexus 5
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Click to collapse
its a bug. http://www.androidcentral.com/nexus...one-and-software-may-be-hurting-what-you-hear
aooga said:
I know flat sound is technically prefered in benchmarks and things, but I haven't met a single person that actually likes listening to it. Anyway, that was just my opinion. IMO, no matter how technically good the quality is on the iphone, I still think that it sounds horrible. And the software is hideous/crashed way too often.
EDIT: I see you have an iphone. Do you have a N5 as well, or are you just posting here? I'm not trying to be an idiot, just wondering if you have compared the quality between the two
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I'm just basing this off the gsmarena benchmark and from previous experience. Not in my sig but I have a HTC Desire HD and Acer A100 running custom ROMs since both devices are not supported. I hopefully plan to get a Moto G since I kinda would like to get an android device that is current and not gimped by some developers *nvidia*. I tend to randomly post in random device forums usually trying to get up to date with new devices. I have listened to Galaxy S 3 and One X since my friends have them so I have an idea how they sound. Nexus 5 just came out so gsmarena was the only site that had soundboard benchmarks, but like I said it works more than enough for most people and the tweaks made are probably for the better. If you wondering I do prefer the "flat" sound since my speakers don't play well with equalizers especially the Beats one in my HTC. I also tend to listen to more instrumentals than the average listener so the "flatness" help bring out the other instruments in the background that usually would be hidden by the bass or treble.
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zephiK said:
its a bug. http://www.androidcentral.com/nexus...one-and-software-may-be-hurting-what-you-hear
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I really fail to see how that was overlooked. Hopefully they push it out sooner than later.
iPhone5 & 5s have a relatively high output impedance. They'll be a little more temperamental when used with third party buds.
I don't know if we have an impedance reading for the Nexus 5.
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk
If listening to music, just use Noozxoide E.
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk
There is definitely a bug wrt audio on the N5, but the speaker is also very crappy and so easy to completely obstruct (v similar positioning on iPhones and some Lumias)
iOStoAndroid said:
There is definitely a bug wrt audio on the N5, but the speaker is also very crappy and so easy to completely obstruct (v similar positioning on iPhones and some Lumias)
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Click to collapse
It's going to obstruct wherever they put it. Top, bottom or back especially if you put it in your pocket. The Optimus G had such a high speaker volume even though the speaker was just a small slit in the back and the back was flat.
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk
You obviously never used one of the devices I mentioned above then.
It's the only thing that stops the N5 being the perfect device (all right maybe a bit better battery life)
Phone call:
On Handset is good...no issues.
On Speaker is ok...on full volume sound distortion is evident.
On Headphones is good but other person can't listen clearly unless I hold headphone mic in front of my lips...or speak loud.
Music:
On Speaker is terrible.
On headphones (Klipsch S4A)...quality is really good for 320kbps mp3 files...I feel best audio quality is between 50% - 70% of volume level.

Speakerphone (loudness, clarity)

Proper etiquette aside (hint: don't use speakerphone while doing your "business" in a public bathroom), rate this thread to express how you think the Google Pixel XL's speakerphone performs. A higher rating indicates that you love it: it's loud and it's clear.
Then, drop a comment if you have anything to add!
Coming from the Moto X PE the one speaker at the bottom sounds so sad. I also am having to train myself not to cover it up on accident. For me it is way to quiet or too loud.
Coming from a Galaxy S6, the speaker on the Pixel is significantly louder and clear. I have not been jaded by an HTC set of speakers so I might be in the minority that thinks the Pixel speaker is great.
Coming from N6, I was worried that the XL's speaker will not be as loud. I can confirm that it is as loud, if not slightly louder, but the dual speakers on the N6 has more depth. Overall, I am not as worried as before.
The quality is good, could be louder.
The sound on my end is great, the people on the other end say it's muffled at times. Since I use speaker all day for conference calls I will have to return the Pixel XL
mtran13 said:
Coming from N6, I was worried that the XL's speaker will not be as loud. I can confirm that it is as loud, if not slightly louder, but the dual speakers on the N6 has more depth. Overall, I am not as worried as before.
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Click to collapse
This makes me feel better since I am coming from a N6 and absolutely love the speakers. I'm going to miss FFS, but at least a quality sound will comfort me.
Not loud enough...and sounds bad in comparison to other phones i've had in the past (even single speaker ones)
Speaker is pretty bad as far as media/games is concerned. RIP stereo. It's good for normal notifications though.
dreamtheater39 said:
Not loud enough...and sounds bad in comparison to other phones i've had in the past (even single speaker ones)
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You keep badmouthing the phone yet provide no information for comparison. What other phones have you had, even single speaker ones, that sound better?
This is very subjective anyway
My comparison is with the 6p. Single speaker comparison is the lg g3. The speaker is not terrible on the pixel, but just not as good as one would expect in such a high priced phone. Also, the placement is horrid since you accidentally keep blocking it while watching videos of playing games in landscape.
But otherwise, a fantastic phone which really define what great software and hardware can achieve
Its ok. Not nexus 6 good ofcourse. Its nice for notifications
I made a video comparison between the speakers on the Nexus 6p and the Google Pixel XL. Check it out.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eg12X1OWG1M
I typically run the phone through bluetooth when listening to music, however I must say that when watching videos I, like others have said, block the speaker. Coming from a Moto X Pure I don't think the speaker on the Pixel is quite as good. It's not bad per se, but I don't need the speaker to be spectacular when watching a video. Notification sounds are plenty loud for me. I haven't used the speaker phone option much, but when I have it has been fine.
I find the single speaker avg. I sometimes cover the speaker with a pinky or palm by accident and muffles just a slight flaw but not a deal breaker.
RIP my Nexus 6's front facing speakers. This is my only major gripe with this phone so far. So disappointing. Front facing speakers should be standard.
Max volume loudness seems about the same as my 6P. My 6P gets crackly at max volume, while the XL does not. Definitely less bass on the XL though.
Coming from the N6 it is not really a fair comparison because the stereo front firing was louder and clearer to me.
The Pixel XL speaker sounds OK and perfectly acceptable for notification. It would have been better if the earpiece was also used as a speaker and the location of the bottom firing speaker flipped with the mic for media.
Sent from my Pixel XL using Tapatalk
It sounds deeper than my note 7 did. I like it better. The only issue I'm having is my notification tones seem to only be about 2/3 the volume they should be. Example is, if I go to Zedge and preview a notification tone, it sounds fine. Set it as notification sound, and it's only about 2/3 of the volume it was in the preview. I have everything I can find turned to the max. Idk.
Jacobk85 said:
Coming from the Moto X PE the one speaker at the bottom sounds so sad. I also am having to train myself not to cover it up on accident. For me it is way to quiet or too loud.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ditto to this. MXPE spoiled me in sound quality. Why doesn't every phone have front facing speakers? We certainly got the bezel for it...

Speakerphone (loudness, clarity)

Proper etiquette aside (hint: don't use speakerphone while doing your "business" in a public bathroom), rate this thread to express how you think the Google Pixel 2 XL's speakerphone performs. A higher rating indicates that you love it: it's loud and it's clear.
Then, drop a comment if you have anything to add!
It doesnt seem loud. Comparing my iphone 7+ its lack of bass.
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jtwlbz said:
It doesnt seem loud. Comparing my iphone 7+ its lack of bass.
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I don't follow. The iPhone lacks bass? Or the Pixel? And how are you reviewing a phone that isn't out yet?
craig0r said:
I don't follow. The iPhone lacks bass? Or the Pixel? And how are you reviewing a phone that isn't out yet?
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Click to collapse
I went to verizon to check out the demo. Pixel lacks bass.
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jtwlbz said:
I went to verizon to check out the demo. Pixel lacks bass.
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thats pretty disappointing if it lacks bass. sure they're both front firing speakers but if the quality of the audio is subpar whats the point? would rather have less bezel in that case.
I went to Verizon today and sampled making sure the settings were maxed out and it contributed to my order cancellation.\
Weak, anemic, pitiful is all I can say.
It seems the idea of two speakers is all they have going for it.
I had a bad feeling viewing the release presentation. It sounded canned. Good Luck All.
I went by Verizon today and check one out. Listen to music full blast and it was plenty loud for my ears.
Went to the Verizon store today to finally check out the XL 2 in person only to find the display model battery dead due to a bad Verizon cable charger not working ? I did get to play with the regular Pixel 2 though. I turned the speaker up but it honestly did not seem loud. Actually felt like my Pixel XL speaker was much louder but I did not really test it properly so I'm still patiently waiting for these full reviews. My pre-ordered XL 2 should be here by Oct 30 and I am no doubt still excited about my purchase. Although the battery was dead the XL 2 looked and felt nice in my hand. The Pixel 2 does have some bezels however it's still a great phone! To be honest I love the size of the regular Pixel but like the bigger screen of the XL.
I checked one out at a V store this past weekend. Felt nice in the hand. Stereo sound was good but the loudness wasn't there. I mostly need loud in the car when using Google maps and after testing youtube out in the store then going out to the car and blasting the 7+ there was a noticeable difference. The 7+ is a lot louder. The front facing stereo speakers were noticeable with left/right sound but for my purposes I need more overall loudness. I'm afraid I would have the Pixel 2 XL cranked all the way all the time.
Well I guess we'll have to wait for ARISE sound mod, hopefully that will fix that
Maybe THIS video could be a reference.
Redrockzz said:
Maybe THIS video could be a reference.
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iPhone 8 easy win..
Front firing would make sense to be quieter vs bottom firing laying flat on a table.
The sound can bounce off a large solid area with bottom firing.
But the db range is clearly wider on the iPhone.
What people are calling quieter is actually just dull sound.
He really doesn't know much about audio but the clip helps. Thanks for posting.
Btekt comparison on youtube
Pixel 2 XL vs iPhone 8 Plus speaker comparison
The speakers are a huge plus for me. Not as loud as my 6P, but more clear and bass-y than they were. Still not perfect, but better than any other phone I've owned so I can't complain.
frap129 said:
The speakers are a huge plus for me. Not as loud as my 6P, but more clear and bass-y than they were. Still not perfect, but better than any other phone I've owned so I can't complain.
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How's the audio through headphones using stock eq?
kheltek said:
How's the audio through headphones using stock eq?
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Yeah, I would like to know that too, Pixel was OK-ish, not as loud s the Nexus 6
Once we get the phone, we can always go in (root) and change the audio level file.
Yeah I think it's fine. Once we get root , can use arise to increase speaker vokume
It's kinda like taking the average crappy bottom firing speaker and putting it in the front... With an additional one.. Not great. Not that good either. My pixel OG has a better, fuller sounding bottom firing speaker. They should have used two of those on the new pixel.
An interesting side effect is that you can feel the whole screen vibrating when the speaker is playing. It's too bad they can't use the display as a woofer.
Just ok: the iPhone 8 has better sounding stereo speakers. The Pixel 2 XL lack bass.
Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using Tapatalk

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