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Honestly, it blew me away, that this phone can rival my portable audio player in the sound quality.
I put in .WAVs (converting from .FLAC -> .WAV, since .FLAC isn't supported with Inspire) and was blown away at the sound quality that this little thing can push out.
I downloaded the equalizer app, and was quite pleased with the way it sounded.
My portable system:
I consider myself an audiophile, with a Hifiman and Sony NWZ-X series portable audio player, connected to a iBasso portable AMP, connected to a Shure SE530, with custom earmold.
If you want flac support try poweramp music player.
I take back what I said.
After a full two days worth of playing around with the PowerAmp app (setting the EQ like I want it to), it's average at best.
The sound breaks at high trebles, and the sound, in general, sound very "cold".
I would not replace my everyday DAP with this.
Printerscape said:
I take back what I said.
After a full two days worth of playing around with the PowerAmp app (setting the EQ like I want it to), it's average at best.
The sound breaks at high trebles, and the sound, in general, sound very "cold".
I would not replace my everyday DAP with this.
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I was wondering why you thought the Inspire's SQ was so great, but didn't want to rain on your parade with my opinion. It is quite mediocre, isn't it? Even my previous iPhones were noticeably better and louder. FWIW the earbuds I used to compare them are the UltimateEar TripleFi 10 Pro's.
The audio is not the best on this phone but I personally noticed a difference with the ota update.
Sent from my phone using XDA Premium App
henrybravo said:
I was wondering why you thought the Inspire's SQ was so great, but didn't want to rain on your parade with my opinion. It is quite mediocre, isn't it? Even my previous iPhones were noticeably better and louder. FWIW the earbuds I used to compare them are the UltimateEar TripleFi 10 Pro's.
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Yea, that post was back when I listened to it for < 5 minutes =P.
niezek said:
The audio is not the best on this phone but I personally noticed a difference with the ota update.
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Using a custom rom, so can't really use the OTA update.
I, unfortunately, concur here. Highs sound slightly robotic and the low notes are muddy (on stock EQ and ICS). The Galaxy S2 I've been using for a while is much more accurate. (Using Klipsch s3)
UPDATE: Big mistake. It was the ROM, not the hardware. Sounds equally as great as my S2 with a stock ROM.
The sound on this phone is actually very good. (even with a stock rom)
I use the SONY MDR-XB500 extra bass head phones. (don't waste your time with ear buds)
Using Melchizedek_1.5.1_Alpha with DSP manager has tremendous bass.
Clean crisp sound with thundering bass....
Coming from the Captivate, I was used to the excellent sound quality it provided with it's Wolfson WM8994 DAC processor.
Sadly, I can't say the same for the Skyrocket. The floor noise and the whining from CPU cycles is downright annoying on quieter songs with sensitive IEMs. Audio sounds mushy, more focused to lower end of the spectrum with more bass (and sloppy bass at that), Mid-Bass wasn't any better. Overall, lacks clarity and definition. In general, I've heard better sound come out of cheapy chinese mp3 players.
On the other hand, the Captivate is an EXCELLENT music player (Audiophile quality). I used it with my headphone amp and my Senn HD-600s and it was my primary source.
If you ever get a chance to listen to a Galaxy S device with WM8994 DAC w/ Voodoo enabled. 128x oversampling on a nice pair of cans and then to the Skyrocket, you'll know what I'm talking about.
Samsung, I'm Very disappointed. I know the average consumer doesn't care and wouldn't care but how could you DOWNGRADE??? How could you make a multi-media product and are not able to isolate the (AT THE MINIMUM) interference from the cpu!!! The whines, the clicks, the hissing, is downright ANNOYING and screams CHEAPNESS!
Glad I kept my Captivate, atleast it's serving me well as a source player.
I've noticed the bad sound as well
Been doing some looking around and seems like same issues can be found in the Galaxy S II....pretty much throughout the whole GSII lineup.
More than likely due to the Yamaha chip Samsung decided to go with.
Yeah I noticed that too, it was there with my old Xperia X10 and seems worse with the Skyrocket. Its not much of an issue to me since I listen to bassy music but it gets annoying when I listen to Trance during low bass intervals. All you hear is hisssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss ssssss
Only workaround is bluetooth
DSP manager in ics themed roms helps. The Voodoo developer just released voodoo louder for the galaxy s II but the hd and lte versions are not supported. Hopefully he will get around to it since it uses the same yamaha processor as the gsII, just a different processor. Why did Samsung have to make so many changes to the same lineup...
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Personally i dont see supercurio doing anything mod wise for this phone.... i have asked before.
his rebuttle was its not exynos so no go.
plain and simple, maybe if he some how got the device i could see that.
the2rrell said:
Personally i dont see supercurio doing anything mod wise for this phone.... i have asked before.
his rebuttle was its not exynos so no go.
plain and simple, maybe if he some how got the device i could see that.
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He has the T-Mo SGS II, which has the same chip set.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I727 using xda premium
I would agree for the most part with the stock mp3 player.
That said I installed poweramp and on my HDJ-500 headphones from pioneer it sounds incredible.
Kills my old HTC Incredible S
Longcat14 said:
He has the T-Mo SGS II, which has the same chip set.
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Then hey I'm not against improvement...
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power amp improves the sound and cleared up most of my complain too.
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Yeah. This is where Samsung Galaxy line really sucks at. It is not unbearable for casually listening on the go. I used to consider myself an audiophile. But the difference is that I love my Galaxy S2 over my priority for audio fidelity.
If you really wanted to get lost in your music by sitting in a dark, silent room, and really have nothing between you and your visualization of music, this is absolutely not the device to do it with. The iPhone wasn't the perfect device for this either, but at least the iPhone can seemingly play noise free music, unlike the Galaxys.
It sounds like it is raining outside and a tea kettle has reached boiling point from a far but audible distance.
I think mp3 players in general, including the iPod and iPhone, have made me lose my love for music. Music feels like it lacks soul. It is probably because the soul moving subtle near inaudible parts of music has been filtered out for us by data saving codecs.
Lucidmike said:
Yeah. This is where Samsung Galaxy line really sucks at. It is not unbearable for casually listening on the go. I used to consider myself an audiophile. But the difference is that I love my Galaxy S2 over my priority for audio fidelity.
If you really wanted to get lost in your music by sitting in a dark, silent room, and really have nothing between you and your visualization of music, this is absolutely not the device to do it with. The iPhone wasn't the perfect device for this either, but at least the iPhone can seemingly play noise free music, unlike the Galaxys.
It sounds like it is raining outside and a tea kettle has reached boiling point from a far but audible distance.
I think mp3 players in general, including the iPod and iPhone, have made me lose my love for music. Music feels like it lacks soul. It is probably because the soul moving subtle near inaudible parts of music has been filtered out for us by data saving codecs.
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Click to collapse
Haven't heard the original Galaxy S series with Voodoo Sound, have you?
Supercurio (probably the biggest audiophile of all audiophiles) made new sound drivers for the Galaxy S series, that basically make it the best sound chip in the market (Wolfson Microelectronics FTW).
It bests anything, including the iPhone, without a problem.
Headphones, etc make a big difference. I'll be ordering something from headroom, http://www.headphone.com/index.php but, I'm not spending a ridiculous amount of money.
Going with the different players and DSP manager just masks the problem by using eq at the software level. The floor noise and cycle whine is a hardware caused issue, a poorly designed system where the headphones/codec are not shielded well.
It's not just the floor noise and whining. Overall the DAC lacks substance. sounds are muffled, There's no definition in the mid bass. upper spectrum lacks detail etc etc.
You'd never know and hear this unless you hear a GOOD source with a good DAC first.
MiMart, headphones do make a difference, obviously. My senns HD-600s are one of the best out there. But it'll only perform as good as the power/source you provide it.
Sensitives IEMs don't stand a chance on this phone in my opinion. Especially something isolated and sensitive like the Etymotic er6i's.
I'm just looking for something better than craptastic in ear buds the phone came with. Agreed software, and good headphones can only do so much with a so so quality audio.
Longcat14 said:
Haven't heard the original Galaxy S series with Voodoo Sound, have you?
Supercurio (probably the biggest audiophile of all audiophiles) made new sound drivers for the Galaxy S series, that basically make it the best sound chip in the market (Wolfson Microelectronics FTW).
It bests anything, including the iPhone, without a problem.
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You beat me to it! My Captivate with Voodoo Sound was the bomb. When I got the Skyrocket I compared the two and the Captivate killed it. Used it as a WiFi media player for a few weeks and then needed money so I sold it. Wish I kept it!
I've heard no Voodoo coming for the Skyrocket. Thank you Yamaha chip set!
The more I listen with the included ear buds, the more I find the audio is lacking. I've tried multiple music players, with the same song (flac) with different setting for the eq all with the same lack luster results. I want to get better head phones, not sure if it is worth the money to spend a bit of $100 or not.
Beside the inclusion of the LTE, i believe samsung has cheapened out A LOT on this phone. A lot of people are experiencing screen issues with this model (mine included and i returned it for a different one that still has similar problems) The camera while fine in an areas that are well lit, is utterly worthless in the dark. Even my old SE k800i had better optics in the dim settings than this pos. My microUSB cable has even failed.. i mean wtf how does that fail!? it barely charges and when you connect the phone to the computer, neither devices recognizes each other. When I change the cable for my old SE microusb connect everything works fine.
I cannot recommend this phone to anyone. As soon as there are other LTE devices out there im going to book it.
I haven't owned a Galaxy S series phone before the SkyRocket, so I can't compare. I will, however, say that the sound quality out of the SkyRocket is... mediocre at best and pretty bad at worst. That said, if I want ideal sound quality why would I be using a 3.5mm stereo jack? I'll be using digital signals to get it as close to the amp as I can, and that means bypassing all of the parts of this device that are less than stellar.
Bluetooth, in this case, is what we want. A Google search for A2DP enabled bluetooth stereo adapters turns up plenty of options for those that want to go that route.
Sure the SkyRocket could have used better components. But seriously, why complain? For casual listening it is more than enough, and for premium listening I wouldn't touch a 3.5mm stereo jack if you paid me.
ADDITION: You can also give the audio output quality over MHL/HDMI a try. Not sure what pathways that goes through, but it may provide better quality than the stereo-mini jack.
I'd really appreciate it if someone who has either a Galaxy Nexus or HTC One or both could post a YouTube video that shows how the loudspeaker on the Nexus 5 compares to these two phones. I currently have a Galaxy Nexus and am trying to decide whether to purchase an HTC One or a Nexus 5, and the GNex's loudspeaker sucks. It is important for my next phone to be MUCH louder! I'll go with the N5 if the loudspeaker is decent; the One is my backup plan, so a comparison between all three (turned up to the max for each) would be really helpful. Thanks.
xda_681231085 said:
I'd really appreciate it if someone who has either a Galaxy Nexus or HTC One or both could post a YouTube video that shows how the loudspeaker on the Nexus 5 compares to these two phones. I currently have a Galaxy Nexus and am trying to decide whether to purchase an HTC One or a Nexus 5, and the GNex's loudspeaker sucks. It is important for my next phone to be MUCH louder! I'll go with the N5 if the loudspeaker is decent; the One is my backup plan, so a comparison between all three (turned up to the max for each) would be really helpful. Thanks.
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i got the nexus 5 today and the volume levels are my only worry so far.
i got n7 music player app and levels are very low, but playing music with 'Play Music' app they seem louder.
Video however seems extremely low so far (on Play movies app) and i think headphones may be needed for me to watch my movies on it
dferg said:
i got the nexus 5 today and the volume levels are my only worry so far.
i got n7 music player app and levels are very low, but playing music with 'Play Music' app they seem louder.
Video however seems extremely low so far (on Play movies app) and i think headphones may be needed for me to watch my movies on it
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This will definitely work. My N10 suffers from low volumes and this app makes it a super star. There's also a free version that works great, but to get the equalizer presets the paid is the way to go.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.TEST.android.lvh
There's another thread in this section about the speaker where a lot of people are saying the speaker volume is kind of low. One person said the Nexus 4, even with its speaker on the back of the phone, was better. Others say the Nexus 5 is a little better than the 4.
People are also pointing out that despite the two apparent speaker grills on the bottom of the phone, it is not stereo. There's just one speaker. The other grill is the microphone. (Since you don't need a whole big grill for the microphone, it's seems like the phone was deliberately designed to create the false impression of dual speakers.)
I think if volume and speaker sound quality is really important to you, you should seriously consider the HTC One. Many reviewers say they are some of the loudest and possibly best speakers ever in a cell phone. It's definitely one of the things that tempts me about the One.
I just recently bought an S6 and it seems then when playing videos via Youtube the voices seem to have a robotic sound to them. Is this a defect and should I request a replacement phone? I heard that the S6 had way better speakers than my old iphone 5 but so far this doesn't seem to be the case at all.
RicFlair75 said:
I just recently bought an S6 and it seems then when playing videos via Youtube the voices seem to have a robotic sound to them. Is this a defect and should I request a replacement phone? I heard that the S6 had way better speakers than my old iphone 5 but so far this doesn't seem to be the case at all.
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Definitely sounds like a defect. Or maybe a software issue with processing the 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
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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.
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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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Click to collapse
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).