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As HTC provide the worse headphones ever, I thought I'd try my Samsung ones instead. They are also 4 pin, like the HTC ones, however they don't work properly, there is a weird echoy effect on vocals and bass seams almost non-existent.
Anyone know what's going on here? Is it the socket or the headphones?
I obviously need to buy some new headphones, will I have problems with non HTC headphones?
Philio25 said:
As HTC provide the worse headphones ever, I thought I'd try my Samsung ones instead. They are also 4 pin, like the HTC ones, however they don't work properly, there is a weird echoy effect on vocals and bass seams almost non-existent.
Anyone know what's going on here? Is it the socket or the headphones?
I obviously need to buy some new headphones, will I have problems with non HTC headphones?
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I have never used the HTC headphones - I just use a set of Sony earphones with a standard stereo jack and they work fine (although obviously no inline mic/controls)
I use apple headphones on my desire. They sound perfect and the middle button along with the microphone are working. Probably they have used a similar jack on the Sensation so if you can get some apple headphones, try it.
Sounds like it'll be ok then, thanks!
Philio25 said:
Sounds like it'll be ok then, thanks!
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Care to comment on how it sounds?
I highly recommend these, which I used as replacement headphones on my HTC Desire, and which work perfectly on my HTC Sensation.
They won the What Hi-Fi "Headphones under £50" award in 2010, and sound excellent. One word of warning, though, if you pay anything less than £30 (particularly around the £12 mark on eBay or from Amazon Marketplace sellers) then they are fakes.
http://www.play.com/Electronics/Ele...300-Mark-II-Precision-Headphones/Product.html
Turns out that the issue was the old Samsung SGS headphones, they only seem to work on the SGS properly.
I pinched my finance's SGS2 headphones and they work fine!
giorgisp said:
I use apple headphones on my desire. They sound perfect and the middle button along with the microphone are working. Probably they have used a similar jack on the Sensation so if you can get some apple headphones, try it.
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obviously not bothered about sound quality are you??
if you use any earphones provided by phones/mp3 players...then you can't complain about sound quality from the device.
Anything under £100 for earphones or £200 for headphones is bad sound quality.
Also, do you really think a phone provider would supply good quality expensive headphones? that'd just boost the price of the device...Seeing an ipod user using their white earhones makes me facepalm. They're the cheapest sounding earphones available. might as well just use the speaker whilst it's in your pocket.
Barff1984 said:
obviously not bothered about sound quality are you??
if you use any earphones provided by phones/mp3 players...then you can't complain about sound quality from the device.
Anything under £100 for earphones or £200 for headphones is bad sound quality.
Also, do you really think a phone provider would supply good quality expensive headphones? that'd just boost the price of the device...Seeing an ipod user using their white earhones makes me facepalm. They're the cheapest sounding earphones available. might as well just use the speaker whilst it's in your pocket.
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This is a whole different topic all together. There are also more factors than just the quality of the headphones which determine audio quality.
I read a lot of review about this headset and it is number one candidate to buy. The only thing I did not find how they work with U11 and overall wireless experience. In shops they have demo unit which does not work with U11(just does not connect). Did anyone try real ones? What is the wireless sound quality compared to wired?
I am using MDR-ZX550BN successfully with the U11 if that helps at all.
Sent from my HTC 2PZC100 using Tapatalk
I tried them and they work fine with the U11. Sound quality is OK but you don't really pick an ANC headphone if sound quality is of number one importance. General consensus on Head Fi and Reddit is that if you want premium audio and don't care for ANC then grab the P7 Wireless if you like bass or go with the DSR9BT if you prefer a flatter EQ.
The 1000x don't go as loud as some like but they are comfy, the ANC is amazing and the touch controls are pretty slick. Still I ended up sending them back since the volume output was worse than the U11 adaptor and there was a lack of punch and soundstage. They cost the same as the P7 Wireless too so it was a no-brainer really. Another issue was call volume wasn't too good. Battery life is very good
Galactus said:
volume output was worse than the U11 adaptor and there was a lack of punch and soundstage.
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Does that mean that wireless experience is worse than wired via adaptor? What is P7?
sergeymetallic said:
Does that mean that wireless experience is worse than wired via adaptor? What is P7?
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P7 Wireless are headphones. Do a google search.
The 1000x doesn't sound like a £300 headphone is all. The main focus is ANC and sound quality second.
I googled Bowers & Wilkins P7, will check them. And thanks for the advise.
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?
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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).
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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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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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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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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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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?
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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.
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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.
Can anyone tell me what the quality of the audio is like via the USB C dongle into in-ear headphones?
I'm coming from the HTC 10 and love the audio output on this device and what to know if HTC has managed to achieve similar levels of audio on the HTC u12+.
I came from the HTC 10 as well, and honestly, I think it sounds better using these than the headphones it came with. That Razer dongle with built-in DAC is amazing.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07798HM3H/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1
https://www.htc.com/us/accessories-b/#!pid=htc-10&acc=htc-pro-studio-earphones
holz75 said:
I came from the HTC 10 as well, and honestly, I think it sounds better using these than the headphones it came with. That Razer dongle with built-in DAC is amazing.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07798HM3H/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1
https://www.htc.com/us/accessories-b/#!pid=htc-10&acc=htc-pro-studio-earphones
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Thanks for letting me know about the audio quality via the Razor USB C dongle. This makes it even more tempting to pull the trigger and get the HTC U12+.
I've been toying between this and the Oneplus 6, due to the fact it's got a 3.mm headphone jack, but I'd be worried the audio wouldn't be too much and I'd need to start messing around with lots of mods to get it sounding good.
Just need to save a bit more now!
greenza said:
Thanks for letting me know about the audio quality via the Razor USB C dongle. This makes it even more tempting to pull the trigger and get the HTC U12+.
I've been toying between this and the Oneplus 6, due to the fact it's got a 3.mm headphone jack, but I'd be worried the audio wouldn't be too much and I'd need to start messing around with lots of mods to get it sounding good.
Just need to save a bit more now!
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Even with the current HTC USB-C-to-3.5mm dongle it sounds much better. Even better than on the U11. The Razor dongle, as far as I heard might add a little bit more to it, but that's kind of personal taste.
Using the JBL USB-C Reflect Aware ANC headphones currently. Those are damn great In-Ears.
Sent from my HTC U12+ using XDA Labs
I came from a HTC 10 and had a hard time finding something that sounds as good... The HTC oem 3.5 adapter is sold out everywhere so i haven't tried that one. I have tried 4 different adapters from Amazon, one generic and 3 that are supposed to include a decent DAC. The only adapter i have tried that was as good as the HTC 10 is the Razer adapter, in my opinion it actually sounds a little better.
jcallaway77 said:
I came from a HTC 10 and had a hard time finding something that sounds as good... The HTC oem 3.5 adapter is sold out everywhere so i haven't tried that one. I have tried 4 different adapters from Amazon, one generic and 3 that are supposed to include a decent DAC. The only adapter i have tried that was as good as the HTC 10 is the Razer adapter, in my opinion it actually sounds a little better.
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HTC Adapters in fact sounds different on U11 and U12+. It's weird, but it's better on the U12+.
Sent from my Huawei MediaPad M5 using XDA Labs
Pretty sure HTCs adapter is passtrough.
Maybe it just has an amp or something simple built in.
greenza said:
Can anyone tell me what the quality of the audio is like via the USB C dongle into in-ear headphones?
I'm coming from the HTC 10 and love the audio output on this device and what to know if HTC has managed to achieve similar levels of audio on the HTC u12+.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Currently testing the official adapter dongle... using MDR-1A and spotify highest quality.
I am incredibly impressed with the quality offered by HTC... The dongle appears very good at maintaining quality, as long as your set of headphones are also good quality.
I'm quite disappointed in the quality of the included USB-C earbuds (after so much marketing of U-Sonic and ANC I was expecting something better. HTC 10's included buds were much better.)
The included earbuds truly don't reflect the quality this phone is capable of.
1 complaint, not about the dongle, the U12+ native frequency signature is a lot on the bassy side (at times, though rarely, overpowering) and the sound stage separation could be slightly wider for my tastes. (Though I've been thoroughly spoiled by using Dolby Atmos on the HTC 10).
As mentioned this complaint isn't about the dongle but the phone itself.
So if you have a good set of headphones jump deep, you won't be disappointed.
Though if you do decide to save and buy an OP6, my best advice is take those savings and buy a very decent BT headphone, because BT audio has less loss of quality than 3.5mm, as the DAC and AMP are on the headphones themselves instead of cheap ones on the OP6.
Jorgp2 said:
Pretty sure HTCs adapter is passtrough.
Maybe it just has an amp or something simple built in.
Click to expand...
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Though I can't prove it without further research (which I will def do), I'm inclined to disagree.
The adapter requires an app to provide firmware updates... Generally speaking AMPs are too simple to need firmware updates.
Also, i'm looking at mine now... and the case is HUGE... I don't see why an AMP would need such a huge case
Now, my gf has an iPhone 7, and her adapter has a much smaller case, I'm inclined to say her adapter is a passthrough. Though not HTC. It looks like a DAC + AMP combo.
As I said, I can't prove it without a teardown, but logical analysis would guide me to the above conclusion.
Maybe it's Stockholm syndrome.... But the included headphones sound.... AMAZING!!! my initial impression is that usb-C provides far superior sound... I can't wait for someone to do a actual comparison... Also I can't tell if it's true or not but Sam mobile claims that because they're usb-C and have a power source that Samsung secretly included active noise cancelling . Thoughts?
The headphone do sound great to be honest, also I'm surprise when I plugged them in there was a firmware update.
punkcell said:
The headphone do sound great to be honest, also I'm surprise when I plugged them in there was a firmware update.
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Same I was like that's pretty cool
punkcell said:
The headphone do sound great to be honest, also I'm surprise when I plugged them in there was a firmware update.
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I didn't even try the included earbuds(usually never do). I have 3rd party 3.5 mm Hi-Res dongle which is pretty good.
If it takes firmware updates, then it reminds me of Essential phone's 3.5 mm dongle which also would update its firmware.
Charkatak said:
I didn't even try the included earbuds(usually never do). I have 3rd party 3.5 mm Hi-Res dongle which is pretty good.
If it takes firmware updates, then it reminds me of Essential phone's 3.5 mm dongle which also would update its firmware.
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You solid check them out... They obviously do t compete with my over the ears... But they have to be the best sounding included earbuds I've ever used by a big margin
I haven't even unboxed my headphones yet, I'm still using the AKG's from my Note 9 with a dongle since I like the flexibility to use them with my notebook at work.
I wonder if they make a USB-c to audio dongle to make it compatible.
Sent from my SM-N975U using Tapatalk
I find the included headphones lacking in base and volume I'm no audiophile but the htc dongle I blight and my jvc xx earphones are way louder with more bass shame as I was hoping for the akg ones to be better this time
I like the old headphones better.
I too feel that the bass is better then the USB c version. I think they dropped the quality a tiny bit.
I don't know maybe I am OCD but I feel that old note 9 headphones are better then the new one.
I am not that bothered about it anyways. I wanna try the ear buds and just hope they are much better then the wired headphones when looking at the price.
Ps. I am not saying the new USB c headphones are bad in anyways just saying the old ones sound better in my opinion.
Where are you all buying your dongles thanks
magichoward said:
Where are you all buying your dongles thanks
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Samsung should be selling one for $15 and there are other options on Amazon
I'm in Thailand can anyone recommend a good one from ebay as Amazon charge a fortune to deliver here thanks