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beats audio vs iphone.. which sounds better???

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dan330

Extreme Android User
everyone says that the iphone plays music and sounds better...


I have an evo and listen to music via my $50 headphones while I workout.. this is good but not as good as what is produced by the iphone and good headphones. mine still sound a little weak and shallow.

so.. my question: how does the htc's new Beats Audio phones compare to iphone's sound quality? is it at least in the same league?
 
I would imagine they engineered it with better audio drivers with the intent to compete with the iThings, so it better be in the same league at the least.
 
Dunno where you get the idea that iphone is somehow the yardstick to measure against. I cant comment on the quality of beats audio, but ipods have always had pretty crappy audio quality compared to mp3 players produced by most other manufacturers (e.g. sandisk, cowon, creative, iriver, sony).

It seems to me that anyone that makes half an effort will easily outdo the iphone's audio quality.
 
iPhones have LOUD audio, that basically masks all the other inconsistencies it has. For the record, the old Nokia 5800 has better quality in terms of audio than the iPhone 3GS and I think even the i4, its just that the Apple products are louder.
 
I have been using an iPod Touch since 2007, and used different generations of it then. I was pleasantly surprised that my Nexus S sounded better through the headphones. Subsequently I checked other Samsung phones, including the Galaxy S and S2, and found indeed, Samsung sounded better. Must be some DAC they use.
 
hi, beats on the xe compared to my old desire is way way better sound quality, a lovely rich deep sound.. however, i didnt get on with the in ear buds.. too intrusive, i switched back to my normal headphones, not a patch obviously... THEN.... someone mentioned mortplayer, i downloaded it, using the old desire headphones you get the most amazing deep sound, its a tricky interface at first, but theres various EQ options, bass booster ,revurb etc.. sounds stunning on a normal set, god knows how good it wud be using ibeats..... hope this helps...

admob
 
so.. iphone does not really sound better than the highend android phones?

they are just louder? with speaker and headphones?

i am a victim of apple marketing?
 
dan330 said:
so.. iphone does not really sound better than the highend android phones?

they are just louder? with speaker and headphones?

i am a victim of apple marketing?
Click to expand...

Louder through headphones, but lower quality than others. I can't speak for other HTC phones, but against Samsung high end phones, I'd take Sammy headset quality. Speakers is debatable. Some higher end Androids have worse speakers.

You can try looking at the GSMArena audio quality comparisons if you like.
 
I have a 4th-gen iPod Touch, and I always thought the sound was really good, even with the stock headphones. Plug a pair of Sennheisers in and it will rock your world.

Admittedly, though, I can't tell the difference at all in audio quality between the Touch and my HTC Inspire. Either they're equivalent or I just haven't an audiophile's ear. I know they are both noticably better than the ancient Sandisk I had before I got the Touch.
 
ok..
if....

current highend phones are equal to iDevices....with respect to sound reproduction quality...
then does "beats" put the htc phones one step up from idevices and other highend phones?
 
Both Apple and Monster are known as notoriously poor performers in the audiophile community. Granted, I haven't listened to music critically on an iPhone, I can speak out about the sound quality of the iPod Classic 6th gen (which I own), and it is completely average sounding. iPods were generally the poorest performing MP3 players on the market (although the iPhone/iTouch line uses a different sound card if I'm not mistaken). Samsung, Creative, and Sony were the cream of the crop when it came to MP3 player sound quality.

A friend was telling me that all smartphones essentially use the same sound card these days though, which would mean they all sound the same. The only differences in that case would be noticed with use of a custom EQ (which the iPhone lacks, and is a big deal if you plan on controlling your sound). I haven't looked into the hardware so I have no idea if this is true or not.

Monster is probably the most despised headphone brand among any audiophile/DJ. It's not so much that their products sound bad, but that they are priced ridiculously high. Entry-level Monster headphones are typically in the class of $40-50 headphones, yet they retail for $200 (and are marketed as belonging to this high-end price category, which they don't even begin to sniff).

In summary, it's unlikely that the iPhone or HTC will sound better than any other phone out there (if anything, they might actually sound worse). You can make any Android phone sound top-notch by just tinkering with the custom EQ.
 
UssjTrunks said:
Both Apple and Monster are known as notoriously poor performers in the audiophile community. Granted, I haven't listened to music critically on an iPhone, I can speak out about the sound quality of the iPod Classic 6th gen (which I own), and it is completely average sounding. iPods were generally the poorest performing MP3 players on the market (although the iPhone/iTouch line uses a different sound card if I'm not mistaken). Samsung, Creative, and Sony were the cream of the crop when it came to MP3 player sound quality.

A friend was telling me that all smartphones essentially use the same sound card these days though, which would mean they all sound the same. The only differences in that case would be noticed with use of a custom EQ (which the iPhone lacks, and is a big deal if you plan on controlling your sound). I haven't looked into the hardware so I have no idea if this is true or not.

Monster is probably the most despised headphone brand among any audiophile/DJ. It's not so much that their products sound bad, but that they are priced ridiculously high. Entry-level Monster headphones are typically in the class of $40-50 headphones, yet they retail for $200 (and are marketed as belonging to this high-end price category, which they don't even begin to sniff).

In summary, it's unlikely that the iPhone or HTC will sound better than any other phone out there (if anything, they might actually sound worse). You can make any Android phone sound top-notch by just tinkering with the custom EQ.
Click to expand...


so.. this new "beats audio" is just marketing shim-sham?????
no real benefit to it?
 
dan330 said:
so.. this new "beats audio" is just marketing shim-sham?????
no real benefit to it?
Click to expand...

HTC isnt exactly known for its media capabilities, so this would probably put them on equal footing with a high end Samsung phone + Good quality headset (Sennheisers for example).
 
dan330 said:
so.. this new "beats audio" is just marketing shim-sham?????
no real benefit to it?
Click to expand...

I don't know, I haven't listened to one of the new HTCs yet. Monster headphones are just marketing shim-sham. However, this seems to deal with the actual sound card in the phone too, so it might actually offer an improvement. I'm always skeptical of anything Monster makes though.

EDIT: Never mind, it still uses a standard HTC sound card, the Beats Audio profile is actually just an EQ setting, which would mean you're not actually gaining anything that you couldn't have achieved yourself with a custom EQ on any Android device.

This article sums up the Beats technology nicely (scroll down to the software section):

HTC Sensation XE with Beats Audio review -- Engadget

Summary:

If we take a step back from all these charts and consider the fundamental value of what Beats Audio achieves, then we have to come down squarely on the side of the skeptics. No matter how much effort we put into testing this thing, the fact remains that these 'sound profiles' are just EQ settings. You can achieve exactly the same effect using PowerAMP, which costs $5 and allows you create your own EQs.
Click to expand...
They end up calling it a gimmick.
 
UssjTrunks said:
I don't know, I haven't listened to one of the new HTCs yet. Monster headphones are just marketing shim-sham. However, this seems to deal with the actual sound card in the phone too, so it might actually offer an improvement. I'm always skeptical of anything Monster makes though.

EDIT: Never mind, it still uses a standard HTC sound card, the Beats Audio profile is actually just an EQ setting, which would mean you're not actually gaining anything that you couldn't have achieved yourself with a custom EQ on any Android device.

This article sums up the Beats technology nicely (scroll down to the software section):

HTC Sensation XE with Beats Audio review -- Engadget

Summary:

They end up calling it a gimmick.
Click to expand...

Yes, this mobilephone, because HTC take over Beats, so it comes out to improve the sound quality of mobile phone. But I read an article to test the sound improvement of this Mobilephone, most people feedback that not so good as they look forward to. The earphone of Beats is great, but the sound quality is not so good from this machine.
 
I like Dr Dre and all that, but I think the "Beats by Dre" is a total crock. Props though, because I'm sure he has made a TON of money off of it.
And when it comes down to it, I wouldn't expect too much from a driver that is less than .5"x.5" anyway.
And like the article says, EQ settings and tuning are the key to sound quality.
 
UssjTrunks said:
Both Apple and Monster are known as notoriously poor performers in the audiophile community. Granted, I haven't listened to music critically on an iPhone, I can speak out about the sound quality of the iPod Classic 6th gen (which I own), and it is completely average sounding. iPods were generally the poorest performing MP3 players on the market (although the iPhone/iTouch line uses a different sound card if I'm not mistaken). Samsung, Creative, and Sony were the cream of the crop when it came to MP3 player sound quality.
Click to expand...
+1. When I first started using an iPhone (2G), the sound was cringe-inducing compared to what I was used to hearing from my Toshiba Gigabeat MP3 player and Sony PSP. Granted, after the iPhone 2G and 3GS, I kinda stopped using my iPhone as a music player (only use it with Pandora now) so I don't know if they've improved sound quality in the later models.
 
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