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Help Galaxy Note audio quality

KorenDesign

KorenDesign

Newbie
I got my new note 2 weeks ago and as an audiophile I did this purchase without knowing about the audio limitation of the note.*
First I this it's outrageous that the sound is so poor. I found so little information about the issue so apparently people who really like audio don't get a note.*I like to listen to my music on flat mode. This prevents distorting the audio.
Bosting bass will also add bass where you don't need it. Like a guitar and will fill the audio with uneeded bass.*
I own several headphones an my favorite is Marshall Major. Even with this headphones I noticed a poor audio quality, the elements of the sound / music mixing up. The sound is a bit noisy and low in volume.
I've perched several players and no big improvement found. I've decided to use double twist for now becoas it is less horrible (looks good at least) .*I've heard about voodoo, I can't use it because my device is not rooted. If ill decide to root the device I'll loose my warenty.*So any advice will be highly appreciated here. I really love and enjoy my gNote so far the only downside is the audio.*I think it's ridiculous that there wasn't more noise about this.For me audio is one of the key features of any smartphone today.*So, please if anyone can advise on a real solutions, please do.*Best regards everyone.*
 
I wouldn't classify myself as an audiophile but I love music. I haven't noticed any issues with the audio quality of the note. I usually play music over bluetooth sync in my car and everything sounds great: deep bass and clear high end. I have noticed that when listening with ear buds if you turn the music down you can hear some background noise. However, turning the music up to an enjoyable level usually masks this noise as far as I can tell.

Anyway, best of luck to you. Maybe you could try listening through bluetooth and see if makes any difference.
 
I love music too but not as hardcore about sound quality as you, Koren. Sounds fine to me when I listen through earbuds or hooked into my car stereo.

Not sure what phone you think will provide studio quality sound.
 
Using blue tooth is a good solution, it will bypass the DEC digital to analog converter.
This is where we got a solution. The thing is, high end headphones usually don't come with bloutooth, they are also much more sensitive to noise because they cover a bigger range of frequency.

Beybe the solution will be to use a bluetooth to analog converter if exist.

I'll probably take the risk and root my device just to try the voodoo solution.

I'll report the results here.
 
Well Vice, my IPhone did a better job.

I wish I could seat with you and plug the headphones to the devices with the same song. You'll notice immediately that the sound separation is much better on the IPhone.
 
I must admit that as a lover of all kinds of music, I have no problem with the audio on my Note. It even plays the classical music with no distortion or background noise, so I think you might have gotten a bad Note.
 
Have you tried using any audio apps like an equalizer or WinAmp or even the trial version of Power Amp? I've had PowerAmp for years now because I wanted something better than the stock player on any any android phone I've had and having more control over the sound scratches my itch for better sounding music. I honestly haven't noticed the Note sounding any better or any worse than others once I put the right software on it.
 
Hi everyone thank you for your input.

I've tested the audio on my friends note, same issue here. We both have galaxy note international (n7000).

I also found more complaints online:
How good is audio quality on Galaxy Note?
Audio solution for Galaxy Note (poor DAC)

And there are many more.

So it appears to be a general issues with the note.

I also rooted my device (lost warranty) and installed voodoo from the market, that was supposed to solve the problem. It made my the output a little bit Lauder. The quality is still poor.

I'm really starting to feel that there is no solution for this.

Also as mentioned earlier using equalizer destroyes the sound even more. Bass should be clear and only where needed adding equalized bass will add the bass to instruments that don't need the extra bass. Yes it will improve the drums partially.

Also using a high quality headphones increase the issue because they are more sensitive.

This is a big deal, apparently not just for me. The more I dig the disappointed I get.

Maybe the LTE version is better.
 
KorenDesign said:
Well Vice, my IPhone did a better job.

I wish I could seat with you and plug the headphones to the devices with the same song. You'll notice immediately that the sound separation is much better on the IPhone.
Click to expand...

I still do have my iPhone4...i will have to test.
 
KorenDesign said:
Please let me know what you think. Might be interesting, maybe some notes are different or it's just me?
Click to expand...

I am thrilled with just about all aspects of the Note, audio quality included. Moreover, with a 32 gb sd card I can fit all my music on it. Something I could never do on my 16 gb iPhone.

If you want audio quality I've heard good things about the HTC OneX. I was deciding between that phone and the GNote and I went with the GNote for the s-pen. I'm glad I did.
 
LittlrRedDot said:
BTW, rooting your device doesn't mean you've lost your warranty.
Click to expand...
Actually AT&T does not have to honor the warranty if your phone is rooted, which is why if you have any issues pop up after rooting, it would be a good idea to unroot if possible before taking it to AT&T.
 
damewolf13 said:
Actually AT&T does not have to honor the warranty if your phone is rooted, which is why if you have any issues pop up after rooting, it would be a good idea to unroot if possible before taking it to AT&T.
Click to expand...

Well everybody knows that, I'm simply saying that he has a recourse to reset the flash counter and unroot should he ever need warranty work.
 
LittlrRedDot said:
Well everybody knows that, I'm simply saying that he has a recourse to reset the flash counter and unroot should he ever need warranty work.
Click to expand...
Actually, not everybody does know that, and that is why they come here, to learn, in a friendly environment.:)
 
I have the LTE version and am the biggest music enthusiast within the many cliques I frequent and coming from the Evo 3D this sounds much better. I use my phone for all of my music needs outside of my house and I've been going back and forth between the stock samsung music app and PowerAMP. I think the difference here is that I like to fiddle with EQ and you like everything flat, as you are an audiophile and I'm not quite there.
I have my Scion xB Pioneer system set to "Feel" which has a typical S-Curve EQ setting plus I usually put on a rock EQ setting on the stock music player. In PowerAMP I only use the Treble EQ since PowerAMP naturally has a lot of bass from the two tone knobs and having to use the limiter quite a bit it pulls all of the sound down anytime it peaks. I'd recommend using PowerAMP and fiddling with the pre-amp, as you can make a lot of changes while still keeping the EQ flat, since that is your preference. Good luck dude!
 
JunBringer said:
I have the LTE version and am the biggest music enthusiast within the many cliques I frequent and coming from the Evo 3D this sounds much better. I use my phone for all of my music needs outside of my house and I've been going back and forth between the stock samsung music app and PowerAMP. I think the difference here is that I like to fiddle with EQ and you like everything flat, as you are an audiophile and I'm not quite there.
I have my Scion xB Pioneer system set to "Feel" which has a typical S-Curve EQ setting plus I usually put on a rock EQ setting on the stock music player. In PowerAMP I only use the Treble EQ since PowerAMP naturally has a lot of bass from the two tone knobs and having to use the limiter quite a bit it pulls all of the sound down anytime it peaks. I'd recommend using PowerAMP and fiddling with the pre-amp, as you can make a lot of changes while still keeping the EQ flat, since that is your preference. Good luck dude!
Click to expand...

Thanks for sharing your settings. I'm going to try some of that with my PowerAMP to see how I like it also.
 
I plug mine into my car audio system and it sounds great bumping Skrillix. Most headphones regardless of brand or price tag simply suck and the reproduction quality of any cheap speaker will deteriorate over time. You should test the audio with a high quality system before concluding it's the Note itself.
 
Hello Everyone,

I've continued my research and found that the note suffers from the same DAC symptom as the SGS2.
So if anyone is looking for a solution with flat setting and high-fi monitor type headphones.

Here are my final setting:

Root your device, install voodoo and after every restart open Voodoo and boost by 3db. (un check the smart emp)

Use your stock player, go to settings - effects - select Music clarity.

This will not solve the issue, it's the biggest improvement I've reached, it was also reported to work with the SGS2.

Hopefully I helped someone.
 
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