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[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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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).
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
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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
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

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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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.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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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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.

Front Facing Speakers Louder?

Is there a way to make the front facing speakers louder? I was expecting those speakers to blow away the iPhone 4S and the iPhone 6S (I briefly owned), because they only have one bottom speaker, but as far as I can tell the front facing stereo speakers on the Z5 are maybe only a bit louder, if not about as loud as the 6S (which was minutely louder than the 4S).

Only with root and upping the volume but that also would be down to you on how high you try it in case of speaker damage
Sent from my Xperia z5 by Tapatalk

I think you want an HTC if you want super great (phone) speakers.

Ah, ok. Thanks guys. Don't know how to root, and have no desire to trade in for anything else at this point.

Get yourself a Bluetooth speaker. Lol
Sent from my Xperia z5 by Tapatalk

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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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.
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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.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

jtwlbz said:
It doesnt seem loud. Comparing my iphone 7+ its lack of bass.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
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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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I went to verizon to check out the demo. Pixel lacks bass.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

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

Video and Sound Comparison reviews

Supersaf says "Google has ignored video quality, iPhone is far better for video... sound from the Pixel is tinny"
https://youtu.be/S9qNHYtNsik
There's definitely yet another Pixel sound problem going on in his video. Question is, is it just near range sound that's the problem (as is evidenced in his video) , or is it all sound?

Here's a direct comparison with the iPhone. The pixel's sound is terrible. How could they ship something this bad?
https://youtu.be/CQZo9SKj1zI

I received my Pixel 3 XL today and I just noticed that the sound is pretty bad while watching videos. I also have the iPhone XS Max, and that phone sounds amazing. On the Pixel 3 XL, the bottom speaker is noticeably louder than the top speaker, so while watching a video in landscape, it just doesn't sound right...it's really bad. I don't know if this will be a deal breaker for me or not, I'll have to try it for a few days and make up my mind. I also have tried the Note 9 and IMO, it sounded about as good as the iPhone XS Max. I have to say, I am a little disappointed in the sound quality of the Pixel 3 XL. Oh yeah, the vibration on the back of the phone is ridiculous also. If you had ear plugs in and felt the back of this phone, you would think that it has a pair of 12" Kickers inside.
Edit...I just tried my iPhone XS Max again, and the sound coming out of the speakers absolutely destroys the Pixel 3 Xl's sound, it's not even close. I wonder if Google can fix this with a software update? Probably not.

lyall29 said:
I received my Pixel 3 XL today and I just noticed that the sound is pretty bad while watching videos. I also have the iPhone XS Max, and that phone sounds amazing. On the Pixel 3 XL, the bottom speaker is noticeably louder than the top speaker, so while watching a video in landscape, it just doesn't sound right...it's really bad. I don't know if this will be a deal breaker for me or not, I'll have to try it for a few days and make up my mind. I also have tried the Note 9 and IMO, it sounded about as good as the iPhone XS Max. I have to say, I am a little disappointed in the sound quality of the Pixel 3 XL. Oh yeah, the vibration on the back of the phone is ridiculous also. If you had ear plugs in and felt the back of this phone, you would think that it has a pair of 12" Kickers inside.
Edit...I just tried my iPhone XS Max again, and the sound coming out of the speakers absolutely destroys the Pixel 3 Xl's sound, it's not even close. I wonder if Google can fix this with a software update? Probably not.
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This is my exact experience as well. The iPhone sounds like it’s got Dolby atoms built in its so much better. And yes google should be able to fix it with an update and it requires nothing more than tuning the audio drivers differently (which is software) however will they is an entirely different matter. So yes they can but I doubt it’ll ever change cause they won’t. A shame really
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

My experience so far with my pixel 3 xl video quality is 4k is the way to go. I've used 1080p with auto fps and without and when viewing it on my PC the black in the video is somewhat pixelated. That does not happen with my iPhone Xs Max. The pixels video stabilization is awesome though. Stabilization works with 4k also. In 4k there is no pixelation going on in dark areas. Also I'm using h265 option in camera settings so that 4k isn't as big as it would be with h264.