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Can't hear phone call with aftermarket headphone

anyone have this problem. with all other phone i have before all of them i can answer or make a call while i am enjoying my music. d i9000 have no problem calling out or picking up, but the phone call can't be here through the headphone i have to unplug it and use the phone speaker. anyone can help me out here? many thanks.

dinfung said:
anyone have this problem. with all other phone i have before all of them i can answer or make a call while i am enjoying my music. d i9000 have no problem calling out or picking up, but the phone call can't be here through the headphone i have to unplug it and use the phone speaker. anyone can help me out here? many thanks.
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same here.. I wonder why....

anyone else have this problem? have anyone try with the oem samsung headset? we r stuck to use with the oem 1?

same here ... i think we need an option to say use headphones instead of headset which it is looking for .

The galaxy s seems to have a non standard alignment (probably because it isnt standardised) If i listent to music through headphones that have a mic on it doesn't sound right because i believe its playing through the wrong channels (trying to play sound through the mic probably!).
I think you're screwed, use a bluetooth headset instead.

I'm having the same problem. I couldn't understand why it wouldn't put voice calls through my own earphones (obviously without microphone). So I bought a Griffin Smarttalk adapter hoping this would sort it and I still have no luck. Even though this adds the three contacts to the headphone jack, still no calls will come through my earphones. Very frustrating. Whether or not this is a non-standard alignment, it should be fixable with software as the phone is able to play media through standard earphones. Why can't something so simple just work.

ok guys, heres the thing
the samsung headphone jack layout is four pole t/r/r/s left right mic ground i think
it will not recognize an aftermarket headset with iphone jack config where the ground and mic is reversed or t/r/r/s left right ground mic
the samsung pin layout is similar to nokia's
i had a problem with my triplefi10vi too
so i got my old nokia 5310 headset adapter with mic and used it.
the layout is SGS<-nokia adaptor wiith mic<-triplefi10 standard cable without mic<-triplefi10
worked perfect
i can control the playback and answer call with the nokia phone adapter and it all gets routed to my triplefi10 iems

Yikes, your solution sounds like a Rube Goldberg contraption. An adapter to an adapter to the headsets.
This really sucks. Would have been a deal breaker for me had I known about it before buying the Galaxy S without option to return unless defective.
I wish some of the 100's of glowing reviews on the internet about this phone had caught this. All my headsets work with iPhones, Nexus One, EVO 4G, iPods, my MacBook Pro, etc...the Samsung's the only one with issues. Ugh.
furstrated said:
ok guys, heres the thing
the samsung headphone jack layout is four pole t/r/r/s left right mic ground i think
it will not recognize an aftermarket headset with iphone jack config where the ground and mic is reversed or t/r/r/s left right ground mic
the samsung pin layout is similar to nokia's
i had a problem with my triplefi10vi too
so i got my old nokia 5310 headset adapter with mic and used it.
the layout is SGS<-nokia adaptor wiith mic<-triplefi10 standard cable without mic<-triplefi10
worked perfect
i can control the playback and answer call with the nokia phone adapter and it all gets routed to my triplefi10 iems
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

furstrated said:
ok guys, heres the thing
the samsung headphone jack layout is four pole t/r/r/s left right mic ground i think
it will not recognize an aftermarket headset with iphone jack config where the ground and mic is reversed or t/r/r/s left right ground mic
the samsung pin layout is similar to nokia's
i had a problem with my triplefi10vi too
so i got my old nokia 5310 headset adapter with mic and used it.
the layout is SGS<-nokia adaptor wiith mic<-triplefi10 standard cable without mic<-triplefi10
worked perfect
i can control the playback and answer call with the nokia phone adapter and it all gets routed to my triplefi10 iems
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So I'm wondering if it wouldn't be easier for those of us who don't have the parts you already do to get something like this: http://www.amazon.com/Headphone-Ada..._1_2?ie=UTF8&s=wireless&qid=1278989309&sr=1-2
and then just cut into it and cross the appropriate wires to give the proper t/r/r/s wiring. I think I'll run over to Best Buy and see if I can find something similar and give it a try.

I successfully made an adapter by taking a short 4-pole extension cord for iPhones and then cross-wired the mic and ground wires. On the iphone it's t/r/r/s (L/R/G/M) and on the Samsung it's t/r/r/s (L/R/M/G) - on the adapter I cut the cord open, then soldered the G->M and M->G.
Works great. Music volume perfect, headset works for mic and headphones in phone calls, and the mic switch answers/hangs-up the phone as well as pause/play music player.
I'm happily using my Etymotics HF2s on the Samsung with full functionality as I type this.
This is the kind of stuff I wish the industry would standardize on. iPhones, Nexus One, EVO 4G all wired the same, but apparently Nokia and Samsung wired the same different way. Silliness.

This does not sound good.

distortedloop said:
This is the kind of stuff I wish the industry would standardize on. iPhones, Nexus One, EVO 4G all wired the same, but apparently Nokia and Samsung wired the same different way. Silliness.
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Click to collapse
While I agree with you, honestly, the way I read this is you mean that Samsung and Nokia have it wrong. Which, on the surface, I just flatly disagree with. Now, anyone with facts can set me right, if Apple's interface is better from a quality standpoint then so-beit.
BUT...and this assume's I read your comment right, sense you essentially mean that since the iPhone, N1 & Evo 4G, then the two biggest cell phone manufacturers in the world have it wrong...Please keep in mind Apple is the new comer and that HTC, while having a long history with OEM builds that got rebranded, doesn't really have a long, storied history.

NO, what he is saying is that he wishes that all manufacturers would adopt the same pin-out. This would benefit everyone as then we could use any headset that we preferred especially as the Samsung is an in-ear type and they don't make and ear-bud type for the SGS which I would prefer. The SGS supplied headset would have been a deal breaker for me too if it was advertised prior to purchase.

peterfz30 said:
NO, what he is saying is that he wishes that all manufacturers would adopt the same pin-out. This would benefit everyone as then we could use any headset that we preferred especially as the Samsung is an in-ear type and they don't make and ear-bud type for the SGS which I would prefer. The SGS supplied headset would have been a deal breaker for me too if it was advertised prior to purchase.
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Correct, that was my only point as it was written. I don't care who is right or wrong, I just want my aftermarket parts on something this ubiquitous to be interchangeable.
Buying a cheap cable and rewiring it isn't a big deal for me, but for most consumers it's probably never going to happen. There must be some third party adapter that works for exactly this, but I didn't find any with some quick searches that I was sure would work.
alovell83 said:
While I agree with you, honestly, the way I read this is you mean that Samsung and Nokia have it wrong. Which, on the surface, I just flatly disagree with. Now, anyone with facts can set me right, if Apple's interface is better from a quality standpoint then so-beit.
BUT...and this assume's I read your comment right, sense you essentially mean that since the iPhone, N1 & Evo 4G, then the two biggest cell phone manufacturers in the world have it wrong...Please keep in mind Apple is the new comer and that HTC, while having a long history with OEM builds that got rebranded, doesn't really have a long, storied history.
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Click to collapse
Wow, I really don't want to get into a pissing contest debate over who has it right and who has it wrong. That's really the only thing you took away from my post?
My background, as indicated in the signature below is mostly Apple and HTC products, so of course from my point of view, that's the "correct" way. LOL.
Seriously, my only real point, as said above is that I wish this were industry standardized. There's probably some secret agenda out there to sell more headsets by not making them not easily swapped between other products. I can imagine most normal consumers whose Etymotics or Bose or whatever didn't work from one phone to another just buying a new pair that did. Lots more sales for the manufacturers that way.
Since we're Android users in this forum, if I were going to debate who has it right or wrong OFFICIALLY for Android, I'd point out that the HTC/Google Nexus One is the officially anointed chosen phone from Google, and the official "reference phone" to show manufacturers what Google thinks is the right way to do an Android device. Since the Nexus One has the t/r/r/s of L/R/G/M format, it is the official Google way to design an Android phone.
In reality, Google probably didn't pay that much attention to that kind of thing, or if they did, they chose to go with the iPhone pattern as part of some strategy. Apple probably went opposite the industry norm for the reason of just being jack-asses with their i/o ports and because Steve didn't want you using anything but Apple headsets.
That said, and five minutes wasted arguing a point I don't really care about, I'll let you say you won the debate and I'll acknowledge that Apple/HTC/Google as the newcomers must be wrong with their design.
It still doesn't change the fact that I wish this were standardized across the industry, whatever the standard is, which was all I said originally. Note that my original post that you quoted said:
"but apparently Nokia and Samsung wired the same different way"
not "but apparently Nokia and Samsung wired the same wrong way."
Big difference in the meaning of those two statements.
Take care!

dinfung said:
anyone have this problem. with all other phone i have before all of them i can answer or make a call while i am enjoying my music. d i9000 have no problem calling out or picking up, but the phone call can't be here through the headphone i have to unplug it and use the phone speaker. anyone can help me out here? many thanks.
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Click to collapse
that sounds like my old Treo 650 / 600
If you use Bluetooth, you wont have that problem

Don't forget htc only recently started to use standard 35mm jacks, before it was 25mm and mini usb. God how that annoyed winmo users like me
Sent back in time from my Samsung Galaxy SSS

ickyboo said:
Don't forget htc only recently started to use standard 35mm jacks, before it was 25mm and mini usb. God how that annoyed winmo users like me
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The explains the plethora of 3.5 to 2.5 adapters on the Amazon market.

i really hated those 2.5mm plugs it was always annoying, i still have about 5 of those adapters at home that i don't use
from the time when i used my Treo in a daily basis

distortedloop said:
I successfully made an adapter by taking a short 4-pole extension cord for iPhones and then cross-wired the mic and ground wires. On the iphone it's t/r/r/s (L/R/G/M) and on the Samsung it's t/r/r/s (L/R/M/G) - on the adapter I cut the cord open, then soldered the G->M and M->G.
Works great. Music volume perfect, headset works for mic and headphones in phone calls, and the mic switch answers/hangs-up the phone as well as pause/play music player.
I'm happily using my Etymotics HF2s on the Samsung with full functionality as I type this.
This is the kind of stuff I wish the industry would standardize on. iPhones, Nexus One, EVO 4G all wired the same, but apparently Nokia and Samsung wired the same different way. Silliness.
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Great man. Can you post a picture?i am looking for a non cord solution.
So with an angle. Would that be possible?
Ciao valentijn

How about just an ordinary headset
How about using just an ordinary stereo headset like I do on all of my Nokias an iPhones?
Samsung should recognize it doesn't have a microphone and use the built in one, like all other phones in the world.
I can'd say it's a deal breaker but is pain in ass.
I can only hope it is software related and can be fixed in the future.

[Q] Speaker Dock

Hi, i previously had an iphone for which i used a JBL On Stage Micro (v2) dock. Now i have a Sensation i was looking for a way of possibly connecting it to the docking station, it has a Audio in / Usb / Audio Out connectors at the back. So i was wondering;
1) what leads (if any) would i need to make this work
2) If i cant do above, what basic audio docks are out there that i can use with my htc sensation?
Thanks for your time

easiest method is to just get a male-to-male 3.5mm headphone cable, but that defeats the purpose of a "dock", but will still sound pretty much the same.
the only other option is prolly to mod and hack the **** out of that thing

Solidus_n313 said:
easiest method is to just get a male-to-male 3.5mm headphone cable, but that defeats the purpose of a "dock", but will still sound pretty much the same.
the only other option is prolly to mod and hack the **** out of that thing
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seems silly the lack of speaker docks for the galaxy s2 (my gf's phone) and the sensation. we only want something to take on holiday in a weeks time.
thanks anyway

well they did just come out, and from my experience, the ONLY company that has docks out at launch or earlier are apple speaker docks, but thats only cuz companies like altec, bose and monster have to pay out the ass for all of apples many, many patents
hopefully altec or imotion come out with a really nice HTC this-gen speaker dock, but im not holding my breath, they prefer to cover a broader, more consistant market :/

it's annoying that everyone makes all of these Apple docks bug none for any other cell phones

Thinking of in ear and/or over the air headphones upgrade

Hello fellow 6p users.. I'm thinking of upgrading either my Xiaomi Piston 3 or my AKG 518 headphones to something at the range of around 100€ .
But given the not so great audio quality of the 6p ,i was wondering if it's actually worth it.
I would be very grateful If you could advise me with some solid choices, I'm thinking at the moment the Momentum Sennheiser, either IEM or Over air.. Something with 3 buttons (play/pause and volume control and inline mic) that actually work.

Over air will not be that good, all the air will distort the audio
on a serious note Im using Shure SE215 with mine. as you know audio on 6p isnt great, Viper Audio is a must if you are serious about audio. Im using a headphone amp as well

Shot in the dark but I have these and loe them. Everyone that listens to them has been impressed with the quality.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B01AJ...cder+ghost&dpPl=1&dpID=51ISMYs9FcL&ref=plSrch

I'm not sure if this is on topic enough but I've noticed Bluetooth overall is very subpar and can be prone to interference (frequent cut outs when the phone's in my pocket or if I make a very short trip to the next room). This mainly applies to my headphones which have worked fine on several other devices. Of course this would be one of the only times I keep it in my pocket--when using headphones cutting grass, walking,etc.
I'm using viper. The volume and general sound quality are fine, not great be meets my standards. Only bring it up in case anyone happens to know how to improve it.

M50x for sure. Cant be beaten for the money

Wow,no sleep does bad things when typing,i clearly needed some air..
Back on subject, i would love to get M50x but i can't find a good deal either on Greece (my home country) or in Italy that I'm currently for vacation.. Cheapest i can find them is 150€ , which I'll might have ti spend in order to get a good over the air headset.. How is the build quality of the M50?
Thanks for the Bluetooth one,but i prefer wired headphones..
As for viper4android, i haven't rooted yet but i think i will soon in order to improve audio..

tagari said:
Wow,no sleep does bad things when typing,i clearly needed some air..
Back on subject, i would love to get M50x but i can't find a good deal either on Greece (my home country) or in Italy that I'm currently for vacation.. Cheapest i can find them is 150€ , which I'll might have ti spend in order to get a good over the air headset.. How is the build quality of the M50?
Thanks for the Bluetooth one,but i prefer wired headphones..
As for viper4android, i haven't rooted yet but i think i will soon in order to improve audio..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
@tagari m50x are greatly built, just bought a pair not too long ago. great set of headphones.

I'm not sure if you can get these in Greece, but they are iem that have a built inline dac/amp. The caveat is that it doesn't use the 3.5mm audio jack. It uses the usb-c port, via an adaptor. I got them for my N5 and now use them with my N6p. Works well and you can boost the volume up to the point that it's uncomfortably loud...
Z:ero Digital Earphone - Gold https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00YMMRAGE/ref=cm_sw_r_other_apa_38eoxb2HXPGGV
USB 3.1 Type-C to MicroUSB 2.0 Female OTG Adapter, Gray, pack of 2 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B018G6IK7E/ref=cm_sw_r_other_apa_N.eoxb94P8748
As for over the ear, I like using my sony mdrv6 with my FiiO q1... Via an otg adaptor...
Sony MDRV6 Studio Monitor Headphones with CCAW Voice Coil https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00001WRSJ/ref=cm_sw_r_other_apa_0ffoxbGG4WEVS
FiiO Q1 Portable USB DAC and Headphone Amplifier (Black) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0157DKAU4/ref=cm_sw_r_other_apa_qhfoxb656B6Z3
CableCreation Gold USB 3.1 Type C (USB-C) to USB 3.0 A Female Adapter Cable, USB-C OTG Cable,the New Macbook, Chromebook Pixel and More, 0.5ft Gold https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0144GCXY6/ref=cm_sw_r_other_apa_SifoxbVAGMDS5
As for players, I use paid versions of poweramp via the 3.5mm jack and onkyo hf player via the usb port...

Petition to keep the jack on the futur S8/S8 Edge !

Hello all i will publish a petition to keep the jack on the futur Galaxy S8, i will publish the petition in 1 hour, i just have to know if someone have already hear a petition like this thanks !
And sorry for my English, nobody are perfect haha
Let's try to change the world guy's haha !
https://www.change.org/p/samsung-petition-to-keep-the-jack-on-the-future-s8-s8-edge

my friend too late for this if even they decided to remove it!!!
now most likely the phone will be out if 3-4 months max,design is already prepared and in manufacturing and resting phase.... they will not change and start a whole new design. development, testing for just a petition.... this IS Samsung after all
- tapatalked - from my VANTABLACK S7 EDGE

Perfectdevil said:
my friend too late for this if even they decided to remove it!!!
now most likely the phone will be out if 3-4 months max,design is already prepared and in manufacturing and resting phase.... they will not change and start a whole new design. development, testing for just a petition.... this IS Samsung after all
- tapatalked - from my VANTABLACK S7 EDGE
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Even if we are more than 100 000 person ?

To late they start SD830 production this month

Shipoftheline said:
To late they start SD830 production this month
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I would be sad without haha
I have a Bose QC35, that exist a Jack 2,5mm to USB-C ?

There is always a convertor jack to use with old phones, we should welcome the new technology instead sticking with the old. It will take time to adapt though
Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk

Hopefully the adaptor will come with the phone and not be some $50 accessory lol.

Hopefully they give a decent wireless headset with the phone.
Sent from my SM-G935V using Tapatalk

Sucks to ditch it but Type C is the way forward for better audio

Slem34 said:
I would be sad without haha
I have a Bose QC35, that exist a Jack 2,5mm to USB-C ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You have bluetooth with your QC35, so no problem The sound remains awesome with Bose bluetooth... It's perfect on my QC30 anyway
And I don't really care if they remove the jack on the S8, i'm tired of Touchwiz (or Samsung Experience or whatever)

For those who don't know, no 3.5 jack means Sam doesn't need to put a decent DAC (or sound card as a more familiar term) into the phone. What remained is only a poor DAC that is enough to drive internal speaker. There is nothing called forward movement. It's purely cost cutting. If phone makers need to push forward wireless tech for headphones, first they have to make the transmission better with higher bit rates and no more stuttering. This way, users decide themselves if moving forward worth it or not.
Also, if headphones manufacturers decided to make type c headphone instead of 3.5, it means that each headphones must come with their own DAC instead of having just one on the phone itself. This way you cannot,ever than before, expect cheap but good headphones due to DAC cost.
Since Apple decision to ditch out headphone jack. I think it's the stupidest idea ever. The bottom line of producing sound into your ears is always in analog. No one cannot make hearable sound in digital format. I don't get it why do so many people agree with such an illusional digital shift paradigm.

romeokk said:
For those who don't know, no 3.5 jack means Sam doesn't need to put a decent DAC (or sound card as a more familiar term) into the phone. What remained is only a poor DAC that is enough to drive internal speaker. There is nothing called forward movement. It's purely cost cutting. If phone makers need to push forward wireless tech for headphones, first they have to make the transmission better with higher bit rates and no more stuttering. This way, users decide themselves if moving forward worth it or not.
Also, if headphones manufacturers decided to make type c headphone instead of 3.5, it means that each headphones must come with their own DAC instead of having just one on the phone itself. This way you cannot,ever than before, expect cheap but good headphones due to DAC cost.
Since Apple decision to ditch out headphone jack. I think it's the stupidest idea ever. The bottom line of producing sound into your ears is always in analog. No one cannot make hearable sound in digital format. I don't get it why do so many people agree with such an illusional digital shift paradigm.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Perfect answer ??

BigBen60 said:
You have bluetooth with your QC35, so no problem The sound remains awesome with Bose bluetooth... It's perfect on my QC30 anyway
And I don't really care if they remove the jack on the S8, i'm tired of Touchwiz (or Samsung Experience or whatever)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You're right, but I'm not a fan of bluetooth, I always use jack because in bluetooth you have:
1. Less autonomy
2. It f * ck you brain well.
3. You can steal your helmet much easier.
It makes me laugh when I think of the guy with an iPhone 7 (DAS 1.38kg / W) with its headphones bluetooth. He nicely bites his brain ?

romeokk said:
For those who don't know, no 3.5 jack means Sam doesn't need to put a decent DAC (or sound card as a more familiar term) into the phone. What remained is only a poor DAC that is enough to drive internal speaker. There is nothing called forward movement. It's purely cost cutting. If phone makers need to push forward wireless tech for headphones, first they have to make the transmission better with higher bit rates and no more stuttering. This way, users decide themselves if moving forward worth it or not.
Also, if headphones manufacturers decided to make type c headphone instead of 3.5, it means that each headphones must come with their own DAC instead of having just one on the phone itself. This way you cannot,ever than before, expect cheap but good headphones due to DAC cost.
Since Apple decision to ditch out headphone jack. I think it's the stupidest idea ever. The bottom line of producing sound into your ears is always in analog. No one cannot make hearable sound in digital format. I don't get it why do so many people agree with such an illusional digital shift paradigm.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
And if the space for headphone jack can be used for a second speaker?
Sent from my SM-G935V using Tapatalk

USB-C Port - Headphone Audio Quality ?

Hi.
I'm holding off on pre-ordering until I see some real world reviews.
A must have for me is very good headphone audio quality. I did have high hopes since the phone is made by HTC who have have a good reputation using dedicated quality DACs in their phones previously.
I can't find any information on the internet describing what to expect form an audio perspective apart from the dual speakers which don't really interest me.
Since the phone delivers audio over the USB-C port via a digital signal, am I correct in saying there will be no on-board DAC and sound quality will be solely driven by the headphones or/and the 3.5mm converter which contains something to decode the digital signal?
In-short, is the Pixel 2 Headphone audio likely to be inferior to something like the HTC 10 for example?

owens2000 said:
Hi.
I'm holding off on pre-ordering until I see some real world reviews.
A must have for me is very good headphone audio quality. I did have high hopes since the phone is made by HTC who have have a good reputation using dedicated quality DACs in their phones previously.
I can't find any information on the internet describing what to expect form an audio perspective apart from the dual speakers which don't really interest me.
Since the phone delivers audio over the USB-C port via a digital signal, am I correct in saying there will be no on-board DAC and sound quality will be solely driven by the headphones or/and the 3.5mm converter which contains something to decode the digital signal?
In-short, is the Pixel 2 Headphone audio likely to be inferior to something like the HTC 10 for example?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My understanding is all device currently out that uses USB C still sends an analog signal because it is still handled by an internal DAC. The Pixel 2 doesn't use an Internal DAC to push the signal and the adapter has a DAC inside of it to convert the signal. You can't by a pass through or it won't work. Apple current devices you can use any as long as it is supported, and some of them don't have DAC's inside. I actually think internal DAC's so be on the way out and it should drop the costs of devices. There's a lot better DACs out there, and are universal you can get the sound you want when you find the one for you. I prefer to not have a huge list of things just to buy a phone. I'd rather have like 5 things I am looking for and the rest I already have in my pocket if you know what I mean?
Someone told me that the iPhone adapter has a DAC in it but after seeing it I am a bit skeptical. I think it's their anti-cheap cable chip thing which is supposed to go into all cables to be certified by Apple.

Actually HTC devices without a jack only output digital audio, and I'm 99.9% certain the Essential is the same. Both of their adapters contain DACs and amps (I read an explicit statement from Essential that this was the case), and we know the HTC adapter works with the Essential phone. I don't know about Motorola; I've read there are compatibility problems between their adapters and some other manufacturers, but that may be because not everyone is applying the digital audio standard correctly rather than one being analogue.
Unlike USB-C Apple's Lightning port has no analogue outputs, so their adapter must have a DAC in it. Since they are using custom chips they may have integrated it with some of the other functions (same as the Qualcomm SoCs contain a DAC as well).
As for the original question, is the Pixel 2 wired headphone output likely to be inferior to a phone with a headphone jack: it will depend on the quality of the DAC and amp in the adapter you use (and we'll include "external USB DAC" as an "adapter" for this discussion). If the Google adapter is inferior it should be possible to find a better one (with more options as phones using this standard become more common). At this point I don't think anyone has any idea what the quality from the bundled adapter will be, though using the HTC 10 as your reference you set the standard higher than most phones with a jack (and certainly higher than the first generation Pixel). I've bought a HTC adapter to test with the Pixel 2, and assuming it is compatible I'll do some comparisons between that and the Google one when I have time (I won't be completely surprised if they turn out to be the same thing in different packages though, given HTC's involvement in the Pixels).

Large Hadron said:
Actually HTC devices without a jack only output digital audio, and I'm 99.9% certain the Essential is the same. Both of their adapters contain DACs and amps (I read an explicit statement from Essential that this was the case), and we know the HTC adapter works with the Essential phone. I don't know about Motorola; I've read there are compatibility problems between their adapters and some other manufacturers, but that may be because not everyone is applying the digital audio standard correctly rather than one being analogue.
Unlike USB-C Apple's Lightning port has no analogue outputs, so their adapter must have a DAC in it. Since they are using custom chips they may have integrated it with some of the other functions (same as the Qualcomm SoCs contain a DAC as well).
As for the original question, is the Pixel 2 wired headphone output likely to be inferior to a phone with a headphone jack: it will depend on the quality of the DAC and amp in the adapter you use (and we'll include "external USB DAC" as an "adapter" for this discussion). If the Google adapter is inferior it should be possible to find a better one (with more options as phones using this standard become more common). At this point I don't think anyone has any idea what the quality from the bundled adapter will be, though using the HTC 10 as your reference you set the standard higher than most phones with a jack (and certainly higher than the first generation Pixel). I've bought a HTC adapter to test with the Pixel 2, and assuming it is compatible I'll do some comparisons between that and the Google one when I have time (I won't be completely surprised if they turn out to be the same thing in different packages though, given HTC's involvement in the Pixels).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for your reply and I look forward to reading your findings.
I must say, I find this whole trend towards usb-c driven headphones not exactly consumer friendly. I've not seen a strong enough argument by any of the manufacturers to justify the change, rather than reclaiming space to cram in other tech. Having to carry around an adapter as well as my existing headphones is just plain inconvenient.
Had Google included a pair of quality usb-c buds in the package with the Pixel 2 (and an adapter) while promoting a better than average audio experience (as per the HTC 10) that would have been enough for me to commit and pre-order without hesitation. Perhaps I'm not the typical mobile user these days whose priority, after the basic capability of making a phone call is to listen to quality audio.

You will probably can get a better DAC than the one generally included in the phones SoC.
Any small DAC should have a similar quality to phones DAC.
Now the Type C is strong. I can even power a Fulla 2 DAC/AMP with my 6P.
Sent from my Nexus 6P

One of the reviews I've read today (can't remember which) stated that the HTC adapter does work with the Pixel 2. That's a positive sign with regards to standards, which is what's needed if we're to have more options.

So, any news about this topic?

I've been using the Pixel 2 since Thursday and the audio with the dongle is fine. If audio quality is really important, then get an external DAC. I have a Fiio E18 and the quality is exceptional.
Without decent headphones the audio output method is almost meaningless, especially if you use earbuds.
I recently got a pair of Audeze EL-8 Over Ear, Closed Back headphones and the audio from the Pixel 2 with or without the DAC is excellent (better with, of course).

The audio with the dongle is absolutely terrible. I spent some time listening to it this morning and was appalled at the quality. So much so that I came here specifically looking for a solution.

Blown 89 said:
The audio with the dongle is absolutely terrible. I spent some time listening to it this morning and was appalled at the quality. So much so that I came here specifically looking for a solution.
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Click to collapse
The solution is an external DAC: Audioquest DragonFly Black or Red are absolute hit.

https://www.phonearena.com/phones/Google-Pixel-2-XL_id10568/benchmarks
They said in the presentation that the dongle includes a DAC (I remember hearing it, please correct me if I'm wrong) Apparently the Pixel 2 sounds louder than most phones, close to iPhones. Don't know about the quality though...

omarfarrah said:
https://www.phonearena.com/phones/Google-Pixel-2-XL_id10568/benchmarks
They said in the presentation that the dongle includes a DAC (I remember hearing it, please tell me if I'm wrong) Apparently the Pixel 2 sounds louder than most phones, close to iPhones. Don't know about the quality though...
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Click to collapse
Yes, it will contain a DAC. It uses USB-C digital audio, so with the output being digital there must be a DAC in order to produce the analogue waveform needed by your headphones. The same is true for most if not all phones using USB-C audio (certainly the HTC U11 and Essential PH-1, and I've read others confirm that the HTC adapter works with both the Essential and the Pixel 2).

I've had the pixel 2 xl for a few days now. I've used my regular headphones through the usbc dongle. It worked ok the first time I tried it. But last night I couldn't get any sound through it. So I unplugged and replugged it back it. The dongle was really warm. I rebooted and tried it again. The audio did finally come through but there was a lot of static and again the dongle was uncomfortably warm.
Fidgiting with it seemed to change the audio but it was very finicky. Hoping it was just the dongle.

Blown 89 said:
The audio with the dongle is absolutely terrible. I spent some time listening to it this morning and was appalled at the quality. So much so that I came here specifically looking for a solution.
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Click to collapse
That is so disappointing. Do you think it might be dodgy dongle and have you asked Google for a replacement?
Can others confirm if the above is also your experience?

owens2000 said:
That is so disappointing. Do you think it might be dodgy dongle and have you asked Google for a replacement?
Can others confirm if the above is also your experience?
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Click to collapse
I was listening to some music I loaded at the Verizon store. Comparing it to the V30 made it sound even worse. I have a friend that's an audio engineer that tested his. His comments were "finicky trying to get it to work, once it does....sounds like garbage. would be fine for a podcast or probably mostly youtube content, but music blows."
FWIW I was listening with Futuresonic G10's

I have no idea what people here are tripping on when they say audio quality from the dongle sucks?? Maybe they have a defective piece. Just compared sound from my s7 with viper vs pixel, and obviously the s7 sounded better cuz, it has viper on it but honestly couldnt complain about the sound of the pixel. No way it was close to being terrible, no WAY. It was almost the same,once viper comes and a few tweaks are made, it will be just as good or very close to it. I tested with samsung headphones and even sennheiser over the ear headphones fwiw

BTW. They RMA'd the phone, when I told them about the dongle heating up.
Hopefully the next one will be better.

owens2000 said:
That is so disappointing. Do you think it might be dodgy dongle and have you asked Google for a replacement?
Can others confirm if the above is also your experience?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It is not my experience. Audio seems fine.

94wolfpack said:
BTW. They RMA'd the phone, when I told them about the dongle heating up.
Hopefully the next one will be better.
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Interesting. I'd have thought it would have been cheaper to send you a replacement dongle and see whether that fixed it, and replace the phone if not.

Blown 89 said:
The audio with the dongle is absolutely terrible. I spent some time listening to it this morning and was appalled at the quality. So much so that I came here specifically looking for a solution.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have the opposite experience. I download my Spotify library using the "extreme quality" setting enabled. Not sure what technical quality "extreme" is, but listening to The Beatles white album was amazing and sounded great. Could hear all the nuances, highs and lows.