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[Q] z3 Audio Quality

I have a galaxy s4 rooted with a sound modification called viper4android and i am wondering if the z3 (z3 unrooted) audio quality is better than my s4.

Go to GSMArena they have audio tests in their review for each phone measuring crosstalk, dynamic range etc.
Z3 is better than the S4 when it comes to the internal speakers.
The S4 with headphones/earphones is probably better according to their stats. But I doubt you'd notice the difference, unless you are an extreme audiophile.
Go to the bottom of page on each link, you will see the audio values for the given phones and their competition.
Results for Amp and Headphones below:
Xperia Z3
http://www.gsmarena.com/sony_xperia_z3-review-1140p7.php
Galaxy S4
http://www.gsmarena.com/lg_g2_vs_samsung_galaxy_s4-review-984p6.php

patrickbartalesi22 said:
I have a galaxy s4 rooted with a sound modification called viper4android and i am wondering if the z3 (z3 unrooted) audio quality is better than my s4.
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The Z3 sound quality is beyond incredible when using Walkman under Hi Res Audio conditions.
Hi Res Audio on the Z3 line has been mostly ignored by the press, NO idea why.
With Sony's better headphones, and WAVE music files, be prepared to never ever accept awful MP3 again.
So good, nothing else out there with Android touches this line... unless you grab the Walkman Xz1 that is.
( which I highly recommend )

DZH1 said:
The Z3 sound quality is beyond incredible when using Walkman under Hi Res Audio conditions.
Hi Res Audio on the Z3 line has been mostly ignored by the press, NO idea why.
With Sony's better headphones, and WAVE music files, be prepared to never ever accept awful MP3 again.
So good, nothing else out there with Android touches this line... unless you grab the Walkman Xz1 that is.
( which I highly recommend )
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The stats from GSMArena don't lie and using same headphones the GS4 is better, you are being subjective not objective. The Z3 is good but many phones are slightly better including the M8, GS4, GS5, LG G2/3.
The LG G2 also supported HD Audio since release in 2013.
Also there are many companies that make equal/better headphones.
I know you love the Z3 like all of us here but I'm trying to be objective for the OP.

abhinav.tella said:
The stats from GSMArena don't lie and using same headphones the GS4 is better, you are being subjective not objective. The Z3 is good but many phones are slightly better including the M8, GS4, GS5, LG G2/3.
The LG G2 also supported HD Audio since release in 2013.
Also there are many companies that make equal/better headphones.
I know you love the Z3 like all of us here but I'm trying to be objective for the OP.
Click to expand...
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I have that phone, can't STAND the sound through same headphones.. .. not even close.
At least IMO, as everyone has different hearing.
...But not even close.

You are not being objective (statistics) you are being subjective.
To each his own, but the rest of the bunch have a cleaner output I have yet to read a review where the Z3 is superior heaphone audio wise over the mentioned phones anywhere. If you find me an article please link it. It however is good but not M8/G3 level.
I suggest you read the testing methods in the links, either you are using bad headphones or a defective LG G2 if you find that much difference against the G2. The other phones I mentioned have cleaner output, according to audiophiles that I know.
I my own opinion however honestly can't tell the difference between any of them.

abhinav.tella said:
You are not being objective (statistics) you are being subjective.
To each his own, but the rest of the bunch have a cleaner output I have yet to read a review where the Z3 is superior heaphone audio wise over the mentioned phones anywhere. If you find me an article please link it. It however is good but not M8/G3 level.
I suggest you read the testing methods in the links, either you are using bad headphones or a defective LG G2 if you find that much difference against the G2. The other phones I mentioned have cleaner output, according to audiophiles that I know.
I my own opinion however honestly can't tell the difference between any of them.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The best test is to test them yourself. I have used almost all of the current flagships, hell i've owned most of them, and the Z3 is first of all better sound quality than the S4 with or without viper4android, but not as loud.
As for the rest, i'd argue the Z3 sounds better, to my ears as well.
This is of course with the headphones that come with it. I'm sure there's better headphones.
Review websites are never, ever objective or honest, ever.

Im just saying GSMArena uses equipment to measure/audio quality so I doubt their equipment lies, just look at the stats in the links.
Signal
Unlike you two, we TMO guys get no headphones with our phones.
I'm using a $60 MEElectronics M-Duo which is very good for its price range, and as good as some $100 headphones.
Audio Stats for GS4/Z3 Amp and headphones in images below:

Statistics aside - S4 doesn't come even close to Z3 with Noise Cancelling and DSEE HX turned on - which sounds amazing, especially when you listen to Hi Res tracks.

Akiainavas said:
Statistics aside - S4 doesn't come even close to Z3 with Noise Cancelling and DSEE HX turned on - which sounds amazing, especially when you listen to Hi Res tracks.
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I agree, HD Audio is nice but problem is large retailers like GooglePlayMusic, iTunes, etc do not even offer them yet, The only HD tracks I have heard are the Vienna Boy's Choir tracks which came with my LG G2, one of which is "Pick up your phone" :laugh:.
Unfortunately, until Apple's iPhone supports it I doubt many online stores will push HD out quickly. At least the major stores that is.

Thanks for your input and I have decided I will buy the z3 soon.

patrickbartalesi22 said:
Thanks for your input and I have decided I will buy the z3 soon.
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Enjoy! Its a great device, the statistical differences I mentioned are very minute in real world perception so you won't be dissapointed, not to mention the stereo speakers which is a nice upgrade from the GS4 (My sister has one).

Akiainavas said:
Statistics aside - S4 doesn't come even close to Z3 with Noise Cancelling and DSEE HX turned on - which sounds amazing, especially when you listen to Hi Res tracks.
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Click to collapse
DSEE is meant to "upscale" or attempt to rebuild compression losses, not to be used on losless formats.
DSEE Research Article: basically from testing it says DSEE just adds some made up highs, though if you like it or not depends person to person.
http://www.realhd-audio.com/?p=2240
Excellent article on HD Audio, by the creator of the Ogg Vorbis format.
http://people.xiph.org/~xiphmont/demo/neil-young.html

abhinav.tella said:
DSEE is meant to "upscale" or attempt to rebuild compression losses, not to be used on losless formats.
DSEE Research Article: basically from testing it says DSEE just adds some made up highs, though if you like it or not depends person to person.
http://www.realhd-audio.com/?p=2240
Excellent article on HD Audio, by the creator of the Ogg Vorbis format.
http://people.xiph.org/~xiphmont/demo/neil-young.html
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Click to collapse
I know that. Maybe I should have added "where applicable" Doesn't change the fact - hi-res audio + noise cancelling or low-res audio+noise cancelling+dsee - both give amazing results.
As you said before - it's a shame that so little hi-res music is available. I recommend trying David Helpling's "Found" album in Studio Master option ( flac, 24bit, 96khz ) - results are amazing.
It's actually shocking that iPhone 6 doesn't support hi-res audio, especially looking at Apple's years of commitment to music.

Akiainavas said:
I know that. Maybe I should have added "where applicable" Doesn't change the fact - hi-res audio + noise cancelling or low-res audio+noise cancelling+dsee - both give amazing results.
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True, good discussion though.

abhinav.tella said:
True, good discussion though.
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Click to collapse
Of couse
Anyway, @op - hope you will be happy with your Xperia Z3. I have been using it for two weeks now and so far it keeps impressing me on audio and battery life sides.

Akiainavas said:
Of couse
Anyway, @op - hope you will be happy with your Xperia Z3. I have been using it for two weeks now and so far it keeps impressing me on audio and battery life sides.
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Love it here as well, I'm sure OP will like it. I had the LG G2, the Xperia Z3 feels like a true worthy succesor to it, the LG G3 felt like a downgrade lower battery and lower contrast screen just so they could stuff a power hungry QHD, which is more a gimmick than useful.

abhinav.tella said:
a power hungry QHD, which is more a gimmick than useful.
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Tell me about it... I might be blind but I can't distinguish between pixels on my 1080p screen even if I keep it 1cm from my face... why the hell would I want to sacrifice so much gpu power and battery to display so many more pixels that won't really affect what I see... silly, isn't it ? But I'm quite sure we will see 4K displays soon enough, but wait another 10 years for a battery that lasts 3 days.

Akiainavas said:
Tell me about it... I might be blind but I can't distinguish between pixels on my 1080p screen even if I keep it 1cm from my face... why the hell would I want to sacrifice so much gpu power and battery to display so many more pixels that won't really affect what I see... silly, isn't it ? But I'm quite sure we will see 4K displays soon enough, but wait another 10 years for a battery that lasts 3 days.
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Click to collapse
Well some teenage researcher in California created a battery tech that allows full charge in minutes, so at least on the charging front things are improving.

What? The S4 has good audio quality? I thought it was absolutely garbage compared to the S3 when the same headphones are plugged in. Are you talking about the i9505 or i9500 because I am pretty sure the i9505 DAC in the Snapdragon is trash, whilst I can't comment on the Wolfson on the i9500 it was amazing on the i9300. I highly doubt Sony can come up with something worse than the i9505.

How does it fare against the HTC One M8?

I'm specifically interested in audio port quality and volume. If any one has experienced sound on both these devices, please do comment.

Prasad said:
I'm specifically interested in audio port quality and volume. If any one has experienced sound on both these devices, please do comment.
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I think almost everyone knows htc wins over xperia in audio...so decide cleverly both have their own features...

unmaskedfalesh said:
I think almost everyone knows htc wins over xperia in audio...so decide cleverly both have their own features...
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Click to collapse
Is there a newer gen phone in comparison to M8 audio at all?

The G3 is supposed to have audio output as clear as the M8 but no integrated AMP.

At this rate, you're better off waiting for the new flagships to come out. MWC 2015 is in March so new phones are just over the horizon such as Xperia Z4, Galaxy S6, G4, etc.
But to answer your question, HTC One's audio quality is better. I see that your sig says HTC One M7. If you're in the market for a phone now I'd go with the Z3 or Galaxy S5 just to have a different taste of android (unless your a big fan of Sense).

Prasad said:
I'm specifically interested in audio port quality and volume. If any one has experienced sound on both these devices, please do comment.
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Click to collapse
In general the M8 is louder (both speakers and headphone output) and overall the sound is more crisp and punchy, but you have almost no control over it. The only thing you can do is turn off BoomSound, there's no equalizer and no additional settings. So personally I found that for specific kinds of music it sounds awesome, but it's just not as versatile as I'd want it to be.
Speaking of the Z3, in comparison to the M8 it lacks volume and punchiness, but overall it's more balanced and offers much more settings you can play with. You have manual EQ, several sound profiles and surround settings, and the Z3 supports digital noise cancelling, if that's important to you.
So they both have pros and cons, it comes down to your personal preferences. Overall I'd choose the Z3 over M8, not only for sound quality, but because in many other categories the Z3 is just better than the M8.

melogray said:
In general the M8 is louder (both speakers and headphone output) and overall the sound is more crisp and punchy, but you have almost no control over it. The only thing you can do is turn off BoomSound, there's no equalizer and no additional settings. So personally I found that for specific kinds of music it sounds awesome, but it's just not as versatile as I'd want it to be.
Speaking of the Z3, in comparison to the M8 it lacks volume and punchiness, but overall it's more balanced and offers much more settings you can play with. You have manual EQ, several sound profiles and surround settings, and the Z3 supports digital noise cancelling, if that's important to you.
So they both have pros and cons, it comes down to your personal preferences. Overall I'd choose the Z3 over M8, not only for sound quality, but because in many other categories the Z3 is just better than the M8.
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Well as per my personal experience i would say the speakers in z3 is downside..its degrade over z2 which sounds n performs better... Using both i feel z3 speakers are inferior to z2 and also how much ever yhe quality of sound is..it should be loud enough fr that caliber of device although it's a water resistance device.. Sony should make it better...m8 is gud in audio..they hav built in amplifier so cant compare fully to z3..onlu thing i dnt like much about m8 is its ui..Xperia ui is best fr me..but if u really want better audio..go to store urself n see the difference.. Don't regret later..also u could wait for newer device launch...

I did some in-store testing by myself. While the M8 was noticeably louder, the Z3 sounded more accurate and crisp to my ears. I got the Z3 Besides, the Z3 is pretty much superior in all the other areas. And I really couldn't wait longer for the market to produce exactly what I want. Everyone knows that never happens.

Glad you like it, enjoy!

unmaskedfalesh said:
Well as per my personal experience i would say the speakers in z3 is downside..its degrade over z2 which sounds n performs better...
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Can't really say that from my experience... Z3 is definitely an upgrade from the Z2. In all honesty (speaking of speaker quality) the Z3 sounds even better than my M7.

melogray said:
Can't really say that from my experience... Z3 is definitely an upgrade from the Z2. In all honesty (speaking of speaker quality) the Z3 sounds even better than my M7.
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Personally, I couldn't care less about the external speaker quality. How often does one really use that anyway? It's the quality with headphones output that really matters to audiophiles

melogray said:
Can't really say that from my experience... Z3 is definitely an upgrade from the Z2. In all honesty (speaking of speaker quality) the Z3 sounds even better than my M7.
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Well it completely depends upon the personal taste..but Z3 has gone down with latest update..lets hope lollipop does it away..waiting for the update ..but as per M7 my roommate has M7 dual and his half audio is equal to my Z3's full audio at ClearAudio+ thats what i hate...removing XLoud was a bad move from Sony..imo
---------- Post added at 04:42 AM ---------- Previous post was at 04:38 AM ----------
Prasad said:
Personally, I couldn't care less about the external speaker quality. How often does one really use that anyway? It's the quality with headphones output that really matters to audiophiles
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Well its one reason i compromised. i am too not completely satisfied with any of the mobile phone but its not possible to get all..one or other we hav to ignore..

Mi 4C Sound Quality

Has someone tested the audio quality of the Mi 4C?
I mean the earphones one during call and with music.
I would like to know if it is comparable with Htc One M8...
Thanks!

not tested the earphones, but the built-in speakers are very loud!!

Thank you kelkelkel, could you please tell me when you'll try the headphones?

HarryCustom said:
Thank you kelkelkel, could you please tell me when you'll try the headphones?
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Click to collapse
unfortunately not any time soon, i left them in the box and have since traveled abroad.. relying on my trusty Shures

Speaker is better than M8. I havent try earphone yet!
Sent from my Mi-4c using Tapatalk

Stereo or mono speaker?

Speaker or Headphones?

The mi4c has superb sound. My headphones (beyerdynamic tp51p) really become alive. You'll not be dissapointed.

Finally I've tested the phone and the audio is low and poor, in my opinion.
I've tried three pairs of earphones. I think it is worse than my old Moto G 2013.
Anyway installing Cyanogenmod the volume is good and the sound is more crystalline.
So the problem is the Miui software...
We are still very far from the quality of HTC or even iphone.
Equalizer, earphones enhancing are honestly not very useful. In Cyanogenmod instead the equalizer runs well.
Anyway the price of the phone is very good but I can not recommend the purchase to audiophiles users or those who want a particular quality of listening .

HarryCustom said:
Finally I've tested the phone and the audio is low and poor, in my opinion.
I've tried three pairs of earphones. I think it is worse than my old Moto G 2013.
Anyway installing Cyanogenmod the volume is good and the sound is more crystalline.
So the problem is the Miui software...
We are still very far from the quality of HTC or even iphone.
Equalizer, earphones enhancing are honestly not very useful. In Cyanogenmod instead the equalizer runs well.
Anyway the price of the phone is very good but I can not recommend the purchase to audiophiles users or those who want a particular quality of listening .
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Strange.. Didn`t try CM, but with stock miui headphones sound just great! (5.10.22 weekly, Westone 4r)

damned91 said:
Strange.. Didn`t try CM, but with stock miui headphones sound just great! (5.10.22 weekly, Westone 4r)
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Stock? I've haven't found any earphones in the box.
Did you try to ear from Htc, S6 or iPhone? It is very different, I repeat, this is my opinion!
Didn't you noticed that the max volume is low yet?

I tend to agree with @HarryCustom, max sound quality is so so under miui even with the enhancements. No contest compared to my M8, both speakers or headphone. Waiting for sound mods when available since I have rooted it already.
Sent using xda premium

What about the volume mod, its here in this rom generator http://www.smiui.net/mi4c_libra.php

ermacwins said:
What about the volume mod, its here in this rom generator http://www.smiui.net/mi4c_libra.php
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've installed that rom, but I think the mod is not working, the audio is low yet.
It was a problem anyway because I've decided to use Cyanogenmod, in my opinion is more stable than Miui...

HarryCustom said:
I've installed that rom, but I think the mod is not working, the audio is low yet.
It was a problem anyway because I've decided to use Cyanogenmod, in my opinion is more stable than Miui...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Is that miui build more stable than the default Chinese one?

I am Italian, so I've received the phone with a modded stable rom with plenty of bloatware.
So I've flashed the Miui.eu rom and cooked Smiui.
I think all the roms are immature, but this a common problem when you buy a new android phone.
I've tested both Miui and Cyanogenmod for a week. In my opinion there are not so much difference in stability.
But maybe I excedeed saying that the other one is more stable, to tell the truth te only sure thing is that I think Cyano fits better for me.
I am sure only about one thing the sound is different and better with Cyanogenmod...

Are there any apps in the play store that can change the sound quality? Sounds like it has a lot of bass

Hi you can try Eizo Noozxoide, in my opinion is the best audio adjustment app.
Anyway if the audio is poor, is poor...

HarryCustom said:
Finally I've tested the phone and the audio is low and poor, in my opinion.
I've tried three pairs of earphones. I think it is worse than my old Moto G 2013.
Anyway installing Cyanogenmod the volume is good and the sound is more crystalline.
So the problem is the Miui software...
We are still very far from the quality of HTC or even iphone.
Equalizer, earphones enhancing are honestly not very useful. In Cyanogenmod instead the equalizer runs well.
Anyway the price of the phone is very good but I can not recommend the purchase to audiophiles users or those who want a particular quality of listening .
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Test Frequency response Noise level Dynamic range THD IMD + Noise Stereo crosstalk
Xiaomi Mi 4c +0.01, -0.04 -94.7 90.8 0.0026 0.0095 -95.3
Xiaomi Mi 4c (headphones attached) +0.03, -0.08 -94.4 90.6 0.0026 0.034 -47.6
Test Frequency response Noise level Dynamic range THD IMD + Noise Stereo crosstalk
Apple iPhone 6s +0.03, -0.04 -93.5 93.5 0.0016 0.0075 -73.2
Apple iPhone 6s (headphones attached) +0.10, -0.06 -93.8 93.9 0.0030 0.101 -68.2
Here are some actual values for the Mi4C (Running the Chinese version of MIUI) and iPhone 6s, and as you can see they perform practically the same, but the iPhone is louder (not shown here) and the stereo crosstalk with Headphones attached is more than a bit disappointing. How is the sound better with CyanogenMod? In what way? Can you hear more distortion or worse dynamic range in compared to other phones? I'm waiting for my Mi4C to arrive, and I'm somewhat the audiophile (though that's not why I bought this phone, it just has the least amount of compromises for the price).

xdadevet said:
Here are some actual values for the Mi4C (Running the Chinese version of MIUI) and iPhone 6s, and as you can see they perform practically the same, but the iPhone is louder (not shown here) and the stereo crosstalk with Headphones attached is more than a bit disappointing. How is the sound better with CyanogenMod? In what way? Can you hear more distortion or worse dynamic range in compared to other phones? I'm waiting for my Mi4C to arrive, and I'm somewhat the audiophile (though that's not why I bought this phone, it just has the least amount of compromises for the price).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi xdadevet and sorry for my terrible English, I am not an audiophile, not at all. I tried both on Miui.eu, the last rom available, and Smiu with volume boost patch (that seems to be not useful) and I noticed more distortion and worse dynamic range than on CM12.1 Alpha.
Maybe my phone has some issues, but this is what I've noticed. It's not very difficult to understand that, I can't need to be an audiophile to say it: for expample on both miui I can keep the headphones in my ears even with the maximum volume and, the sound is distorted , unclean and weak. On CM the sound is crystal clear , the equalizer works well and the phone sounds a little better than my old Moto G (always on CyanogenMod), at maximum volume I'm forced to take off the headphones. I was hoping that the Mi 4C sounded better anyway!
Using the sound enhancement by Xioami (all the profiles are for Xiaomi earphone, any other earbud has to use the general one ) ths situation is the same, you can ear a bit better, but volume and distortion are the same. I've tried a pair of Blox, Edifier H110 and Baldoor E100.
Maybe with another type of headphones you can change the situation, but I think there are some problems in Miui management of audio, as the sound quality has to be the same on CyanogenMod.
To conclude, we are very far from HTC , just yesterday I made a comparison between listening Mi4c with CM and an One M7 , I'm sorry , there is no comparison...
The rear speaker instead is good, better than other phones even if the phone is resting on a table.
I hope new roms could solve this issue and also the touch one.

Xperia XZ Audio Capabilities? Hi-Fi

Hello XZ owners!
I was wondering what the quality of the DAC is on this phone?
I'm looking for phones that have good quality sound/DAC like the axon 7 that doesn't require me to tweak with Viper.
I like the XZ because it's water resistant, micro SD, and allegedly has hi-fi DAC. And Sony is apparently somewhat dev friendly.
Considering selling my OnePlus 3 for this phone, or picking it up as a phone to take out on the weekends.
Any feedback is appreciated.

For me sound quality is as good as it should be. But sound is very subiective, i would recomend to take ur faverite music(flac or what ever format u prefer) on sd card, ur hf and go to retail store which is offering sony and try it by your self. I persoally didnt herd better music like xperia xz and sony mdr-zx770bn, aptx compression is what needed.

Well the volume is not the highest, quality wise its ok but not the best also, its not on the iPhone level lets say. But I'm no sound expert by any means, I'm just comparing sound on the same ear/headphones.
I believe Samsung, LG and HTC have better sound, but its been a while since I used them so I'm not sure.

I would say that since the Nougat Update its very good ! Im using Shure SE215 and I hear no hiss at all (Before Update a bit, after the update none (if only music is played )). Im also owning the A35 Walkman from Sony and I would say that the XZ is very good if you think about it as a Phone and not as a DAP, as a DAP It would be still very nice !

omarfarrah said:
Well the volume is not the highest, quality wise its ok but not the best also, its not on the iPhone level lets say. But I'm no sound expert by any means, I'm just comparing sound on the same ear/headphones.
I believe Samsung, LG and HTC have better sound, but its been a while since I used them so I'm not sure.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't mean to be disrespectful in anyway, but i think the consensus is HTC and LG have much better DAC than Samsung. It's somewhat subjective, but when you compare the v20 and HTC 10 and AXON 7, they have the best sound on flagship phones lately. Thanks for your input ?

Discussion on galaxy s8 sound quality with headphones

So I'm just using a galaxy s8 after having had a HTC 10 for a while. I can't get over how terrible the sound is with headphones! It's quieter, lacks the depth the HTC 10 has, and has no bass. Like seriously songs that on the HTC 10 have deep hard drums like they should sound weak on the galaxy s8. And it is so quiet on the galaxy even at max volume I'm not satisfied with the sound volume. I'd say the max on the galaxy is about 2 to 3 clicks down on the HTC 10.
Is this common? Like to me the audio difference with just the same basic apple earpods on both is so huge I can't even imagine what it would be like with quality headphones. It's like the difference between surround sound and tiny built in TV speakers bad.
HTC can't even hardly sell any phones these days... Haha all they have to do is open a booth with their phone and a Samsung phone playing music over headphones and every single person who hears it will be wanting a HTC. .

i second that. is there something that can be done about this though?

nascar48 said:
So I'm just using a galaxy s8 after having had a HTC 10 for a while. I can't get over how terrible the sound is with headphones! It's quieter, lacks the depth the HTC 10 has, and has no bass. Like seriously songs that on the HTC 10 have deep hard drums like they should sound weak on the galaxy s8. And it is so quiet on the galaxy even at max volume I'm not satisfied with the sound volume. I'd say the max on the galaxy is about 2 to 3 clicks down on the HTC 10.
Is this common? Like to me the audio difference with just the same basic apple earpods on both is so huge I can't even imagine what it would be like with quality headphones. It's like the difference between surround sound and tiny built in TV speakers bad.
HTC can't even hardly sell any phones these days... Haha all they have to do is open a booth with their phone and a Samsung phone playing music over headphones and every single person who hears it will be wanting a HTC. .
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user900 said:
i second that. is there something that can be done about this though?
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Click to collapse
I will third this.
The only thing that makes any audio out of this device bareable is viper4android.
If you can root. It is a must you can boost the gains and such to a point of ear splitting noise :good::good::good:

Try download app AMP player there you can boost and set all

TheMadScientist said:
I will third this.
The only thing that makes any audio out of this device bareable is viper4android.
If you can root. It is a must you can boost the gains and such to a point of ear splitting noise :good::good::good:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
FWIW, on a rooted rom that uses stock audio (with Dolby Atmos ported from S9, but NOT turned on), combined with viper4android and Neutron player (a combination I used on HTC 10 for a while), I don't hear any difference with the same headphones ...

nascar48 said:
So I'm just using a galaxy s8 after having had a HTC 10 for a while. I can't get over how terrible the sound is with headphones! It's quieter, lacks the depth the HTC 10 has, and has no bass.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Go to Sound Quality in settings & Adapt Sound while your headphones are connected with wire. Complete the audio test or just click all frequencies of the test. The loudness should be increased.
Boost bass with the equalizer. It sounds pretty decent tbh.
If you're using Bluetooth headphones & you are on Oreo, go to Developer Options in Settings. Then scroll down to Bluetooth Audio Codec & choose aac. Try other codecs if your headset supports them.
If you're using wired headphones & rooted, Viper4Android tweaks make a day & night difference to the music quality.
But the S8 sounds pretty decent once you adjusted all the sound options it has

user900 said:
i second that. is there something that can be done about this though?
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Click to collapse
Yes, if you are rooted. I've managed to, with a little effort, tune the sound to the quality level of my audiophile dac/amp with.
V4a is a big help but in my setup it's not the main event, and in fact now all I use it for is to run my DDC and to push up sub bass frequencies. I use the following:
1) sauron. This is the #1 most important and necessary mod to install. For most people's headphone setups, this mod alone is enough. I can't stress enough how much of a game changer this is. The ainur guys are operating on a whole other level with audio mods. It has to be installed and heard to truly understand.
2) JamesDSP. This is kind of a successor to v4a. It's worth noting that the main reason I have this is that it has a higher quality convolver algorithm than v4a does, as v4a has to support older devices that couldn't keep up. Also it's bass boost does much better for tight "punchy" bass.
3) Viper 2.6
The new rewritten v4a is the way to go nowadays. Just install it from xda labs and use the in app driver install. It even works with magisk! I take special care to not use the same fx in v4a as I do jdsp. I pretty much just use DDC and viper bass
4) Dirac
This is my newest addition and it's really brought everything together in a cohesive way that has blown me away. I had some problem areas in the upper end of the spectrum due to my specific IEMs when driving them off my current Bluetooth cable and Dirac fixed all of them. I will have more to say about this one later.
All of these mods utilize the audiomodlib/unity stack, so they all work fine together. They each have a specific purpose and I don't go overboard with dramatic alterations or stacking fx in the same part of the spectrum.

partcyborg said:
Yes, if you are rooted. I've managed to, with a little effort, tune the sound to the quality level of my audiophile dac/amp with.
V4a is a big help but in my setup it's not the main event, and in fact now all I use it for is to run my DDC and to push up sub bass frequencies. I use the following:
1) sauron. This is the #1 most important and necessary mod to install. For most people's headphone setups, this mod alone is enough. I can't stress enough how much of a game changer this is. The ainur guys are operating on a whole other level with audio mods. It has to be installed and heard to truly understand.
2) JamesDSP..
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Yep, forgot to mention that I use(d) Sauron both on HTC10 and S8.
JamesDSP never worked properly for me on HTC, haven't tried it on S8.

nascar48 said:
So I'm just using a galaxy s8 after having had a HTC 10 for a while. I can't get over how terrible the sound is with headphones! It's quieter, lacks the depth the HTC 10 has, and has no bass. Like seriously songs that on the HTC 10 have deep hard drums like they should sound weak on the galaxy s8. And it is so quiet on the galaxy even at max volume I'm not satisfied with the sound volume. I'd say the max on the galaxy is about 2 to 3 clicks down on the HTC 10.
Is this common? Like to me the audio difference with just the same basic apple earpods on both is so huge I can't even imagine what it would be like with quality headphones. It's like the difference between surround sound and tiny built in TV speakers bad.
HTC can't even hardly sell any phones these days... Haha all they have to do is open a booth with their phone and a Samsung phone playing music over headphones and every single person who hears it will be wanting a HTC. .
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I have found that going into the "Sound Quality and Effects" section and turning off all the extra crap like tube amp and UHQ Upscaler definitely helps with the volume, then going into the "Adapt Sound" sub menu in a very quiet room and letting it tailor the audio to the frequencies you can actually hear really makes a massive difference. I can actually get my s8 loud enough that I've used my headphones as (albeit quiet) speakers. This phone can get plenty loud. And if you listen to music stored on the actual phone (or SD) rather than streaming, PowerAmp's EQ and volume/tone settings can crank it up WAY louder. Samsung has had a history of using really decent DACs in their phones (I still have my original international Galaxy S with a Wolfson DAC that I use as a media player at the gym) so even with volume boosting apps the sound quality is usually great and not all distorted like most other phones get when boosted.

I beg to differ... I'm using Viper4Android and the bass tones can go so low I can hear 28hz and below really clearly (High ends are sharp too) overally more than loud enough. (Using Apple earpods) If you're using big driver over head earphones then what do you expect. You're never gonna be able to use the most out of them unless you get a powered DAC.

Hello there, i don't know if is the right place to ask but i searched a lot and i have no solutions:
I can't get sound through headphones, i recently installed a new jack port, they connect and i can play/pause videos/songs with the mic button but sound is never coming out. (Headphones work ok with other devices)
So i don't know if i can only use Samsung branded headphones or is it something more to do with software or motherboard issue.. I see a lot of people having problems with headphones sound but any fix solved for me.