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Help Comments On Audio (Music) Quality?

E

enojy

Newbie
Hello all! Like many current AT&T customers, I'm really excited to upgrade to the Galaxy 2 S in a few days. Up until now, it's been a dead ringer for a replacement to my iPhone 3G. However, after reading the incredibly-detailed review posted over at Anandtech, I noticed that they criticized the phone's audio quality. (My first post can't contain URLs, so if you'd like to read it, google it! :-)) While this may be a simple codec issue that can be resolved by using a different media application, I'm worried that it may be the hardware. I plan on using the S2 regularly as a music source, and if it'd be a downgrade from my 3G in that regard, I'd be hesitant to make the switch. Do any current owners of the S2 care to give their opinion of the audio quality, out of the box?
 
im not an audiophile, but i CAN tell the difference between good and bad audio. the SGS2 has a pretty good audio quality output, and i cant tell much of a difference between my ipod touch and the SGS2.. i havent used iphone. if u get a good pair of earphones, i think u should be happy with it :)
 
I use mine in the car through the official dock and I listen with Shure 420 in-ear phones. It's fine. I heard the DAC wasn't as good as X, Y, Z...but honestly I can't tell.
 
The music quality is absolutely fine. I came from an iPhone 3G and the Samsung (with a pair of sennheisers rather than the sonys I used with the iPhone) sounds better - more life in the music, a more natural and open sound. Obviously the main difference is the headphones. Incidentally the stock headphones aren't great.
 
i'm not impressed with the sound to be honest, you can adjust the EQ settings which makes it better but it's nothing to write home about. Compared to the Nokia N8 my fiancee has, the SGS2 sucks. But that's just one comparison, it's certainly usable and if you get poweramp it's fine.
 
Thanks for the quick replies, and for your opinions! As far as I know, the hardware/software involved with the iPod Touch is very similar (if not the same) to that of the iPhone 3G. So, if the two are comparable in terms of quality, then this is A-OK with me. My headphones are the quality bottleneck when I am on foot, but it gets docked to an external amplifier when I'm in the car (when audio quality truly matters to me, but not at an audiophile level of importance.) I'll try the included headphones out to see if they meet my needs, which aren't terribly demanding. If they don't satisfy, that just gives me an excuse to pick up a pair of Shures, and I'm always looking for more excuses to buy electronics :-) Finally, thanks for the tip about Poweramp. I've heard that the included music application leaves something to be desired, so getting Poweramp will be one of the first things I do.​
 
Nothing wrong with the music capabilities of the phone, and with the equaliser it can be adjusted to however you want.
 
its adequate.
ive come from the 5800 music express where it was very good sound.
this lacks bass but is loud enough for me. music and ringtone seems alot louder than when watching a movie or utube..... sometimes it helps to cup your hand at the back to "channel it forward" depending on the file. headset does the job,
im happy with the audio side of things.
 
Well i guess i'm considered an "audiophile" since music sound quality is very important to me.I bought an Onkyo receiver and PSB B6 bookshelf speakers earlier this year.And when i connect my Galaxy SII to my receiver via 3.5mm to RCAs with the android music player it sounds very good.With 5.1ch off ,equalizer -ROCK,and Sound effects - Normal.With headphones not connected to my receiver it could use more power/volume.But i have been using it plugged in my car stereo instead of my iPod and i'm satisfied.Oh,and the quality of the MP3's make a big difference.
 
Thanks everyone, for the replies. I ended up getting the Galaxy S 2 the day it released for AT&T, and purchased Poweramp not too long afterwards (seems to be the only player for Android that supports true gapless playback.) After some very minor equalizer tweaking, music sounds excellent through both headphones and in the car via auxiliary.
 
Sound quality comparisons between two devices obviously need to be done with the same headphones/speakers and with no artificial sound enhancement (completely similar equalizer effects between two different devices is probably difficult if not impossible to accomplish). Based on some of the posts in this thread it's a bit hard to tell if most people have been doing that?

Anyway, I haven't done any direct comparisons between my GS2 and my 2nd gen iPod Touch since I bought my phone a couple of months ago, but from what I remember of the sound differences - using Sennheiser CX-95 in-ear headphones and equalizer and other DSP effects off - they were quite minimal with the GS2 perhaps lacking a little bit of punch in the bass compared to the Touch, but on the other hand providing a slightly more detailed and clear sound.

Overall with a good recording and decent headphones or speakers the GS2 provides perfectly fine sound quality. Personally I don't use equalizer but prefer to just listen to the unprocessed music.

At one time I also wanted to try comparing GS2 sound quality to my main headphone setup which includes an external DAC, headphone amp and a pair of Sennheiser HD 650.
I didn't have the needed cables to connect my phone to the headphone amp though, and it simply doesn't have the power on its own needed to drive the power hungry HD 650, which endrd up sounding like a flat and anemic imitation of what they sound like with proper amplification.
 
Remember sound quality is nothing to do with the EQ settings or any other DSP effects on the phone, except the volume control. It's about DAC performance.

Load up an un-compressed file, use no EQ filtering/enhancement, and then make a comparison.
 
Miths000 said:
Sound quality comparisons between two devices obviously need to be done with the same headphones/speakers and with no artificial sound enhancement (completely similar equalizer effects between two different devices is probably difficult if not impossible to accomplish). Based on some of the posts in this thread it's a bit hard to tell if most people have been doing that?

Anyway, I haven't done any direct comparisons between my GS2 and my 2nd gen iPod Touch since I bought my phone a couple of months ago, but from what I remember of the sound differences - using Sennheiser CX-95 in-ear headphones and equalizer and other DSP effects off - they were quite minimal with the GS2 perhaps lacking a little bit of punch in the bass compared to the Touch, but on the other hand providing a slightly more detailed and clear sound.

Overall with a good recording and decent headphones or speakers the GS2 provides perfectly fine sound quality. Personally I don't use equalizer but prefer to just listen to the unprocessed music.

At one time I also wanted to try comparing GS2 sound quality to my main headphone setup which includes an external DAC, headphone amp and a pair of Sennheiser HD 650.
I didn't have the needed cables to connect my phone to the headphone amp though, and it simply doesn't have the power on its own needed to drive the power hungry HD 650, which endrd up sounding like a flat and anemic imitation of what they sound like with proper amplification.
Click to expand...

I also have hard to drive headphones.Sennheiser HD580 which are also 300ohm.I don't think there is a portable audio player that can properly power them to higher volume levels.I also feel it is pretty close to my ipod in sound quality.With a little less weight in bass.But the Galaxy has a great sound stage and very nice highs.
 
hawker said:
Just wondering, does dsp manager make any difference to sound quality?
Click to expand...

That depends on personal preference.Audio purists don't like altering the original sound.Personally i do like to have an equalizer option.Because music files differ from one to the next and also going from my home receiver to my car ,requires a little equalizing tweek.I recommend the android Pro Player.Excellent player.I think its better than Power Amp.And i think DSP colours the sound in an unatural way.
 
Is there a player that can sort music files by artists name under genre, rather than by song titles under genre? The stock music player and Power Amp both can't sort them the way as I wished.

Actually, I find the stock music player is good enough if you have a good quality headset.
 
I opted for PowerAMP because it's the only player I've found so far that does gapless playback.

All of my mp3s are of excellent quality. I don't take it to the FLAC level, though -- mp3 v0 is good enough for me!

I've only made very minor changes to the equalizer, just so music sounds a touch less flat in my car. If left alone, my subwoofer steals too much low frequency and drowns the highs out (to my ears, anyway.) Pulled the low end down a touch, high end up a touch, and more or less left mids alone. Music sounds excellent in the car now, even better than my iPhone 3G!
 
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