Speakerphone (loudness, clarity) - Samsung Galaxy Tab S3 Real Life Review

Proper etiquette aside (hint: don't use speakerphone while doing your "business" in a public bathroom), rate this thread to express how you think the Samsung Galaxy Tab S3's speakerphone performs. A higher rating indicates that you love it: it's loud and it's clear.
Then, drop a comment if you have anything to add!

Speakers are audible, but I don't really care for them. There's a static hiss whenever the DSP is enabled to power the speakers (they don't always remain on, guess this is to save power, but can hear it over the audio). Very weak levels, don't want to enable other tools via root because I'm not sure how sensitive these are to damage from overamplification (would rather just use headphones). Directional rotation is a gimmick because QC on audio is half baked. The Xperia XC is louder and it has smaller speakers, what gives?

SPEAKERS are just okish. NOT BAD but not good either.
Enviado do meu SM-T820 através de Tapatalk

volcolm said:
Speakers are audible, but I don't really care for them. There's a static hiss whenever the DSP is enabled to power the speakers (they don't always remain on, guess this is to save power, but can hear it over the audio). Very weak levels, don't want to enable other tools via root because I'm not sure how sensitive these are to damage from overamplification (would rather just use headphones). Directional rotation is a gimmick because QC on audio is half baked. The Xperia XC is louder and it has smaller speakers, what gives?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sound effects settings do properly. Tuned by AKG is no joke. Speakers are great!

Kizznyc said:
Sound effects settings do properly. Tuned by AKG is no joke. Speakers are great!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oh it sure is a joke when they don't work correctly (a few units had crackling audio which is a defect in the flat cell either not having proper contact in the device or improper seal). "Tuned by AKG" literally just means EQ -- all these devices use the same sealed flat cell-speaker and the technology hasn't changed one bit over the years. Side firing speakers are a bit of a fail IMHO. Should have been ducted to the front for proper immersion. This is not good sound design, and I can tell you as someone whom engineers a little as a hobby.

Speakers are just fine for me. Even at a low volume when streaming TV I can clearly hear the person talking. At high volume it is solid with no distortion.

Related

So much for beating the iphone...

I hate Apple with a passion and I was rather excited to have a viable (superior) alternative to the iphone with the Touch Pro2. Everything about this phone has been fantastic until just now when I plugged in my headphones. I'm something of an audiophile and thus use some decent headphones. In the course of my listening, here are my findings:
The Touch Pro 2 performs great with less sensitive headphones (like Beyerdynamic DT770 80ohm), but with sensitive headphones like Grado's it sounds like CRAP.
Even more disappointing, using sensitive high end earbuds like my Super.Fi Pro 5's reveal SIGNIFICANT and DISTRACTING electrical noise. If you listen to quiet music like some classical or jazz, you will definitely notice it. While annoying, at least with music, the music itself usually overwhelms the noise.
Unfortunately, watching a video is a completely different story. In short, watching a video on this phone is like Chinese Water Torture with the electrical noise easily heard 100% of the time.
It's simply unacceptable for a manufacturer to produce a device in this day and age that has this kind of interference. They should really test a $500 device with earbuds that cost more than $10.
The whole point of this phone is for power users, and power users like us are the exact demographic that would have expensive (usually high sensitivity) headphones.
The noise is worst in the left channel.
This is on a Verizon TP2 for reference. Is this possibly just a defective phone or do others experience the same noise? FWIW you probably won't notice it with normal ibud's.
I have a pair of Sony MDR-EX71SL Fontopia's and dont have any issue with device feedback or interference. While they arent as nice as your headphones, they do a pretty good job, and have been a fantastic match on my Sprint TP2. Video/Music, no difference. I did tweak the equalizer a bit (Audio booster in programs menu), but that was for personal preference, and my music tastes.
What add-on programs have you installed? There could be something that got screwed up...
Otherwise take it in to the store with another MP3 player that has the same mp3 on it as your tp2 and have the rep listen to both, and ask to try it on a demo phone they have there, I'm sure they'll fix you up.
headshok said:
I have a pair of Sony MDR-EX71SL Fontopia's and dont have any issue with device feedback or interference. While they arent as nice as your headphones, they do a pretty good job, and have been a fantastic match on my Sprint TP2. Video/Music, no difference. I did tweak the equalizer a bit (Audio booster in programs menu), but that was for personal preference, and my music tastes.
What add-on programs have you installed? There could be something that got screwed up...
Otherwise take it in to the store with another MP3 player that has the same mp3 on it as your tp2 and have the rep listen to both, and ask to try it on a demo phone they have there, I'm sure they'll fix you up.
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Click to collapse
Hmmm, your Fontopia's look like they only have 100db sensitivity rating compared to 119db of my headphones. That could be why you don't hear the noise (please note that I'm not putting down your headphones, as sensitivity has very little to do with actual sound quality - it's simply an electrical measurement).
I can't hear any noise on my Sennheiser eh150's, nor on my 6.5" component speakers in my car.
Well... I'm surprised you would expect good sound quality from a device aimed squarely at the business market. The iPhone is designed for multimedia and does some businessy stuff on the side. The TP2 is designed for business use and does some multimedia stuff on the side. The performance is what you would expect, given that goal.
Shasarak said:
Well... I'm surprised you would expect good sound quality from a device aimed squarely at the business market. The iPhone is designed for multimedia and does some businessy stuff on the side. The TP2 is designed for business use and does some multimedia stuff on the side. The performance is what you would expect, given that goal.
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Click to collapse
+1
If I want to listen to music I pull out my mp3 player and Shure's.
computerpro3 said:
Hmmm, your Fontopia's look like they only have 100db sensitivity rating compared to 119db of my headphones. That could be why you don't hear the noise (please note that I'm not putting down your headphones, as sensitivity has very little to do with actual sound quality - it's simply an electrical measurement).
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Click to collapse
Well that sucks your not happy with the audio quality. I'd try to check the same song with your buds on another persons phone, and rule out a faulty device.
But if its not specific to your device I guess in this case more expensive isnt always better.
I'm very happy with the sound quality of my Fontopia's, I have a 16gb gen 2 ipod touch and I there is no quality difference between it and the TP2....
Absolutely no noise-floor issues here, using Shure se530s. In a direct comparisonj between my TP2 and the 3GS I would say the TP2 is easily as good, if not better.
Sounds like you have a faulty phone. Not to be patronising but did you try a different USB/3.5mm adapter? I had one that was very "crackly", swapped it and that was perfect.
barneypooch said:
Absolutely no noise-floor issues here, using Shure se530s. In a direct comparisonj between my TP2 and the 3GS I would say the TP2 is easily as good, if not better.
Sounds like you have a faulty phone. Not to be patronising but did you try a different USB/3.5mm adapter? I had one that was very "crackly", swapped it and that was perfect.
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Click to collapse
Okay, your shures have the exact same sensitivity as my UE's, so it should be able to pick up the noise. Have you tested with video using HTC Album?
What about background hiss while music is playing?
My phone is starting to develop the oil slick problem so I might just swap it out anyway.
Also, just a note, the Verizon phone has the 3.5mm jack, so no need for a dongle. Internally though, I do wonder what the electronics look like, and if it's just a hardwired (though smaller) dongle.
I use the Sennheiser CX300-B ear buds and can definitely hear background hiss. I can hear it when I initially plug them in then, if I don't do anything the hiss goes away until it plays something. Sounds like when the amp turns on then I hear the hiss. I hear it for music, voice prompts everything. You can hear the same thing by pausing the music and you will hear a hiss for a couple seconds, then it goes away.
When I have music playing I cannot hear it, but do hear it during the quiet times of the song.
I've found this to be true with these earbuds for pretty much any player I use that is not dedicated to audio only. I always figured they just do not spend the $$ to put in good audio capabilities in the multi-use devices.
dave
If I listen to the FM radio I can definitely hear interference, usually listening to NPR (talk radio). Though not sure if it is slightly less then perfect reception or an actual sound issue. I feel as though the mini usb connector is less then ideal. It has a lot of wiggle. Wonder if that is part of the problem.
This is with the factory ear buds.. have yet to really listen to music on it, or with good ear buds.. or through my car stereo(where I usually listen to music with my phone)
OK, after typing all that I guess I am not sure if mine has this problem! LOL But I will leave this post here so I can update it after I use the sound output more.
I think it is laughable to use the word audiophile and earbuds in the same sentence.
Your best headphones for monitoring are over the ear
Don't have any issues with my Verizon unit. I have hooked it up directly to RXV3800, Sennheiser HD380, and M-Audio DSM2 and hear nothing I have not heard with other MP3 players including the ipod.
I noticed my Verizon TP2 had flatter sound than my mp3 player with the same phones, but after a little EQ adjustment in Nitrogen, they sound just fine.
You guys have way too much time on your hands to complain about those things.
dezoris said:
I think it is laughable to use the word audiophile and earbuds in the same sentence.
Your best headphones for monitoring are over the ear
Don't have any issues with my Verizon unit. I have hooked it up directly to RXV3800, Sennheiser HD380, and M-Audio DSM2 and hear nothing I have not heard with other MP3 players including the ipod.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I find it's laughable that you don't know what you're talking about.
My earbuds are every bit as good as your headphones, and earbuds exist (like the UE11) that obliterate even the best studio monitors in detail, frequency response, linearity, immediacy, transient resoponse, etc. In fact, they obliterate studio monitors in literally everything MAYBE soundstaging and impact.
www.ultimateears.com
Besides, you completely missed the entire point of the thread by saying "Nope, everything good driving my low sensitivity headphones!"
For the umpteenth time, you will not be able to hear this noise with low sensitivity headphones (as I confirmed with my DT770's). This problem only relates to driving high sensitivity cans.
lovingHDTV said:
I use the Sennheiser CX300-B ear buds and can definitely hear background hiss. I can hear it when I initially plug them in then, if I don't do anything the hiss goes away until it plays something. Sounds like when the amp turns on then I hear the hiss. I hear it for music, voice prompts everything. You can hear the same thing by pausing the music and you will hear a hiss for a couple seconds, then it goes away.
When I have music playing I cannot hear it, but do hear it during the quiet times of the song.
I've found this to be true with these earbuds for pretty much any player I use that is not dedicated to audio only. I always figured they just do not spend the $$ to put in good audio capabilities in the multi-use devices.
dave
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Click to collapse
This confirms what I was saying. The sensitivity of your earbuds is 112db, which is far higher than the other posters 100ish range.
It would appear that this might not just be a defective phone that I have, and that it could actually be a more widespread problem.
computerpro3 said:
This confirms what I was saying. The sensitivity of your earbuds is 112db, which is far higher than the other posters 100ish range.
It would appear that this might not just be a defective phone that I have, and that it could actually be a more widespread problem.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Except that he claims to hear it on several devices, not just this phone. Also he claims to hear it only during the quiet parts, not during actual sound reproduction, whilst you hear it at all times...
It could be the adapter, a faulty phone, or just a phone not designed for high-end hedphones.
Good luck with this. I love high quality headphones but use bluetooth to listen to music (yes, I hear the difference, but when I have cables they always get wonky and stop working properly).
Now if the phone had KLEER technology I'd happily go for that
This sounds more like thread on bragging about your super duper headphones than anything to do with the TP2.
But maybe they arent so super duper if cheaper ones sound better.
Get past it, if you want a dedicated music player that lets you become immersed in 1024bit crystal clear audio go get whatever that is.
If you want a music player that sounds pretty damn good, can also take phone calls, browse the web, manage your schedule, send/receive emails and txt, take pictures, go buy a cheaper set of headphones.
why use expensive earpiece
why use all that fancy stuff .. can you really hear a difference? whats wrong with the set of stock headsets that come in the box with the phone?

Sound quality on the 10

Well I'm going to be talking about my speaker performance on the 10 compared to my previous phone the HTC One M8.
I don't know how HTC thought the 10's sound quality via the speaker was acceptable. I mean don't get me wrong the clarity of the sound from the speakers blows the m8 away for miles. It's hard to listen to the M8 without thinking how bad the clarity is imo. BUT the 10 is not as loud. The 10's tweeter on the front sometimes over powers the sub on the bottom and makes the song sound thin and tinny. I even tried flac files and still same thing. Not every song does this but a lot do. It doesn't have the force or drive like the M8 does. It seems like left (tweeter) and right (sub woofer) channels of song. You put the left and right together to get the full sound of the song. The M8 I believe has the left and right channels of the song on both speakers. That makes it more fuller an louder.
The M8 is pretty mushed at high volume meaning, it feels like all the instruments in the song are mashed together and thrown at you imo which is why I think the M8 doesn't have great clarity at all.
I'd like to say having clarity over mushed but louder and fuller sound is better but honestly I don't know anymore BUT hey the 10 has great headphone audio and other great features that make it worth having over the M8.
Let me know what you think and hopefully you guys have a better experience with sound meaning, there is a possibility that my device's speaker are defective lol.
Coming from an M8, I would say the HTC 10 definitely clearer but not as loud as the M8. However, it feels HTC worked on sound quality versus just making it loud.
It's a worthy trade-off. Using two different speakers for highs and lows is a brilliant idea and it really shows. I prefer listening to music at a mild volume for clarity versus loud somewhat distorted.
There were phones that were louder than the M8 but not as clear which is what BoomSounds trademark is.
On the 10, I can hear leaves rustling, fire popping, and other ambient noise that has never sounded so crisp, distinct, and natural. I feel like its the ATH-M50 of mobile sound with his balance.
Sent from my HTC6545LVW using Tapatalk
try music mode its almost stereo
I'm glad I wasn't the only one that felt the speakers sounded a bit tinny, especially at max volumes. It seemed a bit underwelming compared to my Nexus 6p. At moderate volumes however, it sounds decent. Lots of clarity.
Has anyone installed V4A and tried volume boost or increasing gain?
and i hate that boom sound doesn't work when using soundcloud google play yes and apple music no soundcloud wtf
Heisenberg420 said:
Has anyone installed V4A and tried volume boost or increasing gain?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No since vzw got no root yet BUT poweramp has a volume booster and it is doing wonders.
How's sound quality through headphone... Is it upto the hype
Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk
saj2001ind said:
How's sound quality through headphone... Is it upto the hype
Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The headphone jack is awesome and the audio profiles are badass. Creating profiles is done using two options: "Answer questions" which asks your age, styles of music you generally listen to, etc., and "Listen to frequencies" which generates a much more detailed 5-band EQ. The latter is much better because you can tune it based on what you can actually hear in either ear - it plays a frequency tone in the left headphone, you adjust the volume until you can barely hear it, then it plays a higher tone, you adjust volume, etc., and then it repeats the process for the right ear.
This is beneficial since boosting certain frequencies is often more useful (and less harmful to your hearing) than just cranking up the overall volume. No one has "perfect" hearing and hearing loss is often not uniform across the normal range of audible frequencies, nor is it necessarily uniform from left ear to right ear. In my case, my left ear required a little extra bass and highs while my right ear needed extra mid-range.
You can also use this to adjust the headphone output to specific listening environments you encounter. For example, creating an audio profile while on an airplane should be able to compensate for the engine noise. Later this morning I'll be setting up a profile with my lawnmower running outside, so I'm looking forward to hearing the results.
My only complaints are UI related:
1. The audio profiles are buried about 3 levels deep in Settings. When you plug in headphones, you get the "HTC BoomSound with Dolby Audio" card in the notification shade. Tapping the card takes you to the main Settings app, where you tap "HTC BoomSound with Dolby Audio" again, then "Personal Audio Profile", then choose or create your profile. Would have liked something a little simpler to use, or at least have the notification card go directly to the BoomSound settings instead of requiring an extra tap.
2. There doesn't appear to be a way to edit a profile or view its settings after you create it. You can enable it or you can delete it. -- EDIT: This is incorrect; I am an idiot. You tap in the profile to edit it.
3. The audio profiles are completely hidden when the headphone jack is not in use. You can't even see the profiles you've created. Tapping on "HTC BoomSound with Dolby Audio" in Settings just toggles the speakers between Music Mode and Theater Mode.
tl;dr - lives up to the hype. Maybe even better than hyped.
Source: have mixed audio (both live and recording settings) for >10 years, did my testing with a pair of Audio-Technica studio headphones.
I've got a pretty good system in my car and I just tried it out a few minutes ago. It sounds amazing! I'm coming from an M8 with V4A and it sounds about the same in some respects and better in others. I created a profile with frequencies and the difference after doing so was definitely noticeable. I like that they even have a high quality sample with a toggle so you can compare very easily. I do miss the Clarity setting and the equalizer in V4A, but overall I am extremely pleased!
What I'm running, for reference:
Arc Audio XDI 600 amp
Focal i165 fronts
JBL 3-way 6x9 rears
12" Diamond Audio sub
Regarding the "Personal Audio Profile", I understand you can create multiple profiles yeah? Can you give those profiles custom names?
I for example would probably like to do at least three different "listen to frequencies" profiles: for my Piston 3's, the HTC hi-res buds and for my superlux hd-330's.
Would be nice if you can name them however you want ;D
Also is there an option somewhere within the settings to disable the 16>24 upsampling bs?
Checked out the 10 at Verizon side by side to my M8. Played same YouTube song. 10 is clearer but, very tinny and I can't here it over the surrounding noise, tried both modes. The M8 at least I can hear it and can't believe people say you can't hear the stereo separation, you can if you turn the device side ways. Over all having the choice I would pick the two front facing speakers all day long. I think HTC blew it hear, at least there is a work around with Bluetooth speaker. This is a amazing device except for the speakers and lack of IR blaster. I will still get the 10 mainly for the dev support this will get.
Swiped from M8 with RooT privileges
robbo10 said:
Checked out the 10 at Verizon side by side to my M8. Played same YouTube song. 10 is clearer but, very tinny and I can't here it over the surrounding noise, tried both modes. The M8 at least I can hear it and can't believe people say you can't hear the stereo separation, you can if you turn the device side ways. Over all having the choice I would pick the two front facing speakers all day long. I think HTC blew it hear, at least there is a work around with Bluetooth speaker. This is a amazing device except for the speakers and lack of IR blaster. I will still get the 10 mainly for the dev support this will get.
Swiped from M8 with RooT privileges
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If they could, I am sure they would have kept the front facing speakers, but that would have meant bigger bezels, on-screen navigation keys and fingerprint scanner at the back. That would have killed the device from the outset, so the current speaker configuration is the best compromise.
lagittaja said:
Regarding the "Personal Audio Profile", I understand you can create multiple profiles yeah? Can you give those profiles custom names?
I for example would probably like to do at least three different "listen to frequencies" profiles: for my Piston 3's, the HTC hi-res buds and for my superlux hd-330's.
Would be nice if you can name them however you want ;D
Also is there an option somewhere within the settings to disable the 16>24 upsampling bs?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1) You can create multiple profiles and name it whatever you want.
2) Upscaling bit-depth from 16 to 24 will NOT do any harm in theory (loseless), yet upsampling sample rate to a non-integer multiple of original may trigger a process called SRC, for example 44.1Khz -> 192Khz, which might cause some minor accuracy problem, but it's still transparent to human ears.
giorgoxxi said:
If they could, I am sure they would have kept the front facing speakers, but that would have meant bigger bezels, on-screen navigation keys and fingerprint scanner at the back. That would have killed the device from the outset, so the current speaker configuration is the best compromise.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Probably true, the fingerprint scanner is to close to the bottom, kinda of a stretch one handed, if it would have been put were the HTC logo is on the M8 would have been more comfortable and possibly squeezed the lower speaker. You can't have everything in life so you make due...lol
Swiped from M8 with RooT privileges
robbo10 said:
Probably true, the fingerprint scanner is to close to the bottom, kinda of a stretch one handed, if it would have been put were the HTC logo is on the M8 would have been more comfortable and possibly squeezed the lower speaker. You can't have everything in life so you make due...lol
Swiped from M8 with RooT privileges
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Still because of htc keep the boomsound setup. If you look closely at samsung s7, you will notice samsung hide their display circuit at the top, beneath the logo. But samsung's top speaker is a very very small one, meanwhile htc used 2 large speakers , top and bottom.
So basically htc had to move the fingerprint sensor a bit lower.
TeroZ said:
1) You can create multiple profiles and name it whatever you want.
2) Upscaling bit-depth from 16 to 24 will NOT do any harm in theory (loseless), yet upsampling sample rate to a non-integer multiple of original may trigger a process called SRC, for example 44.1Khz -> 192Khz, which might cause some minor accuracy problem, but it's still transparent to human ears.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1) Thanks for the confirmation.
2) Excuse me for using the wrong term, but you didn't answer the question. Surely it can't be so hard? Is there an option or is there not?
lagittaja said:
1) Thanks for the confirmation.
2) Excuse me for using the wrong term, but you didn't answer the question. Surely it can't be so hard? Is there an option or is there not?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry I just forgot to answer that while explaining. No, there's no switch. And I couldn't even confirm the 16->24 conversion exists, official site state that they used a 24-bit capable dac, but didn't mention anything about upscaling/upsampling. If you have the source please don't hesitate to tell me.
HTC Nexus 9 I believe. That device had dual front facing speakers and those were really thin and on the edge of the screen, so I think they could have done something. With the 10, a volume booster makes it sound better but still tinny on the tweeter.
If you really want to hear a good example, play the song "vengeful one" by Disturbed, the intro is the tinniest sound you'll ever hear on the tweeter.
TeroZ said:
Sorry I just forgot to answer that while explaining. No, there's no switch. And I couldn't even confirm the 16->24 conversion exists, official site state that they used a 24-bit capable dac, but didn't mention anything about upscaling/upsampling. If you have the source please don't hesitate to tell me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, you can switch BoomSound on/off entirely, but who knows if that changes the bit depth.
Your question about the audio profiles was already answered, but here are some screenshots of the profiles I made and what their EQs look like. I used the "listen to frequencies" method for all of them.

Any audiophiles can comment about the DAC?

I am not a audiophile, by any means at all.
On multiple occassions I have seen comments about the Moto Z Play DAC and how about it is actually decent to good.
Can anyone confirm or deny this? For curiousity's sake really.
It does the job is all i can say.
coolkingler1 said:
I am not a audiophile, by any means at all.
On multiple occassions I have seen comments about the Moto Z Play DAC and how about it is actually decent to good.
Can anyone confirm or deny this? For curiousity's sake really.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
AFAIK DAC is part of SoC and Qualcomm always produced good ones.
Odoslané z XT1635-02 pomocou Tapatalku
coolkingler1 said:
I am not a audiophile, by any means at all.
On multiple occassions I have seen comments about the Moto Z Play DAC and how about it is actually decent to good.
Can anyone confirm or deny this? For curiousity's sake really.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am one.
It is good. See https://forum.xda-developers.com/moto-z-play/themes/music-players-one-standout-dac-to-192k-t3533577
Audiophiles are a group comprising about .1% of male population. Search for Medical Research ~ 2001, male hearing anomaly/acuity
Audio output is pretty average overall. DAC seems to be fairly accurate (it's just Qualcomm's standard offering, not a discreet DAC like the V10/V20 or Axon 7 have), but there's audible interference from the cell radio and other components with sensitive in-ears and output power is unremarkable
I should add
Output is adequate if you use a low impedance, high efficiency bud. The Apple earpod is not as bad as most reviewers pan it to be. I keep it upside-down and fitted tightly in ear canel.
I have even carved out the plastic to let the bass reflex ports pass while tightly fitted (lol we can't messing to improve audio!)
aviwdoowks said:
I should add
Output is adequate if you use a low impedance, high efficiency bud. The Apple earpod is not as bad as most reviewers pan it to be. I keep it upside-down and fitted tightly in ear canel.
I have even carved out the plastic to let the bass reflex ports pass while tightly fitted (lol we can't messing to improve audio!)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The Apple Earpod is probably a good choice because it's actually not very low impedance for an earphone (it's 45 ohms), but it is fairly sensitive (109 dB), so it's in a nice middle zone. You get a sensitive in-ear that's 32 ohms or even 16 ohms and you will start to hear the noise floor, interference and some distortion on the Z Play's headphone output. It's not bad for a phone by any means, but it's not especially good either.
I used an external DAC with the Z Play for a while (Fiio E18), but even that would pick up some noise from the call radio if I didn't have it in airplane mode (which I couldn't do all the time). I finally had to get a separate audio player to get the sound quality I wanted.
thisisjason said:
The Apple Earpod is probably a good choice because it's actually not very low impedance for an earphone (it's 45 ohms), but it is fairly sensitive (109 dB), so it's in a nice middle zone. You get a sensitive in-ear that's 32 ohms or even 16 ohms and you will start to hear the noise floor, interference and some distortion on the Z Play's headphone output. It's not bad for a phone by any means, but it's not especially good either.
I used an external DAC with the Z Play for a while (Fiio E18), but even that would pick up some noise from the call radio if I didn't have it in airplane mode. I finally had to get a separate audio player to get the sound quality I wanted.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hmmm
Yes I do not hear any noise with these buds.
Neither do i hear any clipping.
So how is sound at very low impedance in airplane mode without a DAC? What player do you use? Have you tried UAPP without a DAC?
aviwdoowks said:
Hmmm
Yes I do not hear any noise with these buds.
Neither do i hear any clipping.
So how is sound at very low impedance in airplane mode without a DAC? What player do you use? Have you tried UAPP without a DAC?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I did try UAPP. It's very listenable in airplane mode, some system noise (processor maybe?) but the cell radio is the biggest culprit so airplane mode helps. Compared to the V10 or the Pioneer XDP-100R (which is the DAP I bought to use at work) it does sound more compressed and congested, instrument separation isn't as good and it's not quite as clean, but the frequency response seems fairly neutral and it's better than most of the previous smartphones I've had (the Oneplus One especially was pretty bad for audio). Without a discrete DAC/amp like the V10 it's as good as I would reasonably expect. It also doesn't have much power, but that wasn't a big deal for me since I only intended to use it with IEMs (usually Cardas A8s).
thisisjason said:
I did try UAPP. It's very listenable in airplane mode, some system noise (processor maybe?) but the cell radio is the biggest culprit so airplane mode helps. Compared to the V10 or the Pioneer XDP-100R (which is the DAP I bought to use at work) it does sound more compressed and congested, instrument separation isn't as good and it's not quite as clean, but the frequency response seems fairly neutral and it's better than most of the previous smartphones I've had (the Oneplus One especially was pretty bad for audio). Without a discrete DAC/amp like the V10 it's as good as I would reasonably expect. It also doesn't have much power, but that wasn't a big deal for me since I only intended to use it with IEMs (usually Cardas A8s).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did you see my thread in our app section
https://forum.xda-developers.com/moto-z-play/themes/music-players-one-standout-dac-to-192k-t3533577
Try UAP with bitrate set to variable and no DAC. Do you have some good dsfs?
But you must play from OTG... See thread
aviwdoowks said:
Did you see my thread in our app section
https://forum.xda-developers.com/moto-z-play/themes/music-players-one-standout-dac-to-192k-t3533577
Try UAP with bitrate set to variable and no DAC. Do you have some good dsfs?
But you must play from OTG... See thread
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'll give it a try

Speakerphone (loudness, clarity)

Proper etiquette aside (hint: don't use speakerphone while doing your "business" in a public bathroom), rate this thread to express how you think the Sony Xperia XZ Premium's speakerphone performs. A higher rating indicates that you love it: it's loud and it's clear.
Then, drop a comment if you have anything to add!
Why use only the bottom speaker for speakerphone? I have two other phones in the house... Moto X Pure and the ZTE Axon 7... both of these have dual front facing speakers and use both of them for speakerphone. The sound quality is much better than on the XZ Premium. Why not use both?
But it uses both...
Yes thats my question too. Why use only one speaker when in speaker phone.
Sent from my G8142 using XDA-Developers Legacy app
Artyomska said:
But it uses both...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No it does not. Does your XZ Premium use both speakers when on speakerphone? Mine does not and I have read of many others who complain about the same thing???
Artyomska said:
But it uses both...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nop. Not even on Skype calls.
From what I heard it's some legal thing to avoid Sony being sued. Notice that the speaker that's working is the bottom one. This is to avoid a situation where you're on the call not using speaker phone and proximity sensor fails the speaker phone switches itself off. Apparently the volume from the speaker phone could damage your hearing and Sony wants to avoid the legal issues.
I understood the problem wrong, so sorry for my assumption. You are all right, only the bottom speakers works. Just tested it.
It's easy to remedy that. Add a security feature where you need to confirm when you're switching to speaker. Removes the liability from them since you are going to confirm it.
The speaker quality is very good but the volume is quite lower than at the first days. I have the phone 1, 5 months.
The speaker quality has actually improved in the Oreo update. Sound is noticeably louder.
iArvee said:
The speaker quality has actually improved in the Oreo update. Sound is noticeably louder.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Second this, oreo helped quite a bit on mine. easily a few DB louder
How does it compare to Xperia Z5, XZ1 and Axon 7?
Also, has headphone jack output improved as well?
In Oreo does the sound emitted by the right speaker still sound like it's coming out of a tamagotchi when compared to the left speaker?
The left speaker always sounded normal.
I believe this flaw is present in all models of the xperia lineup. I'm actually surprised not more people are complaining about this issue.
iArvee said:
The speaker quality has actually improved in the Oreo update. Sound is noticeably louder.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
In my opinion the sound has become worse since Oreo. Right after the update I noticed a more shrill sound. Before the update it was clear, not loud but perfectly tuned.
With the update they made the speakers produce the same output level but before Oreo the top speaker was louder than the bottom one and since they sound different, the sound signature is different.
iArvee said:
The speaker quality has actually improved in the Oreo update. Sound is noticeably louder.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just curious, what firmware are you on? I flashed the FR firmware and the speaker quality is fine but it is still very quiet, especially in comparison to my Z5 Premium which was significantly louder. If there is any background noise at all I can't hear anything out of the XZP, that being said most of the time I am using a bluetooth headset and the audio quality over bluetooth is very good.
Ellio74 said:
In my opinion the sound has become worse since Oreo. Right after the update I noticed a more shrill sound. Before the update it was clear, not loud but perfectly tuned.
With the update they made the speakers produce the same output level but before Oreo the top speaker was louder than the bottom one and since they sound different, the sound signature is different.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You have to let the speakers calibrate, which is probably why you noticed a shrill sound. You can check if your speakers are calibrated in the service test menu.
reiriop said:
Just curious, what firmware are you on? I flashed the FR firmware and the speaker quality is fine but it is still very quiet, especially in comparison to my Z5 Premium which was significantly louder. If there is any background noise at all I can't hear anything out of the XZP, that being said most of the time I am using a bluetooth headset and the audio quality over bluetooth is very good.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm on the customized PH. Indeed the speaker volume is still lower than the Z5 (I had the Z5C in the past), but nevertheless still louder than the first release of the XZP.
Updated yesterday and I don't really notice that the speakers are any louder. I still have to use Speaker Boost from the play store to get the volume I need.
iArvee said:
You have to let the speakers calibrate, which is probably why you noticed a shrill sound. You can check if your speakers are calibrated in the service test menu.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I checked this and it's calibrated. I have 2 XZ Premium, one with Nougat and the other on Oreo, and I really prefer the sound before Oreo, everything seems better (apart from volume, I didn't test that).
jaseman said:
Updated yesterday and I don't really notice that the speakers are any louder. I still have to use Speaker Boost from the play store to get the volume I need.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Same, for me both Nougat and Oreo sound is the same, not any louder.
I've noticed however the speakers are not balanced.
The upper speaker is lower than the bottom, not equal!
Hopefully soon someone will release a sound mod which not only increases speaker quality and output, but also stereo speakers when using loudspeaker for phone calls and other audio such as Skype, WhatsApp, etc.

[DISCUSSION] Headphone Jack performance

I wanted to start a thread discussing the performance of the headphone jack. I'm a bit disappointed considering Sony's audiophile history with their walkmans and LDAC codec.
Yes, I'm nit picking about a $13XX dollar phone but for this price, I was expecting a bit more that just average performance.
For comparison I do have a LG V40 with it's quad dac and it powers my audio technicas perfectly fine with High-Impedance mode.
On the MK ii, I don't get the full sound with out an external dac coming into play.
I'd like to ask other MK ii owners if having just a headphone jack is enough to power your earbuds/iems/headphones.
Going to do a bit more in detail research within a couple of days but I think Sony just wanted to slap a headphone jack just to say it has one.
Ps- I'm no audiophile but having a full sound for the headphones I have is a must.
Thank you! This thread is very interesting.
I have reduced hearing and I badly need a smartphone with high-output. My LG V30 with it's QUAD-DAC has no problem giving me enough volume even on my favourite pair Hifiman HE-4xx.
I was hoping that Sony 1 mk2 was an alternative, but maybe not................ ?
R800x_user said:
I wanted to start a thread discussing the performance of the headphone jack. I'm a bit disappointed considering Sony's audiophile history with their walkmans and LDAC codec.
Yes, I'm nit picking about a $13XX dollar phone but for this price, I was expecting a bit more that just average performance.
For comparison I do have a LG V40 with it's quad dac and it powers my audio technicas perfectly fine with High-Impedance mode.
On the MK ii, I don't get the full sound with out an external dac coming into play.
I'd like to ask other MK ii owners if having just a headphone jack is enough to power your earbuds/iems/headphones.
Going to do a bit more in detail research within a couple of days but I think Sony just wanted to slap a headphone jack just to say it has one.
Ps- I'm no audiophile but having a full sound for the headphones I have is a must.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You may want to make the distinction between headphone jacks that can and cannot drive high impedance headphones as a headphone jack that can't can still be good as in clear, little to no distortion with good response and sound reproduction.
In this case its more like LG's has gone out of their way to include a dac that can power high impedance headphones (which is rare in the first place, in addition to the jack being rare) so if high impedance headphones usage is a top priority, then sticking to LG would be recommended.
I have a Meizu Pro usb dac which has a good reputation. The volume of the Meizu is a bit higher, but the audio quality of the Sony is equal. You just have to increase the volume 2 or 3 notches. The Sony uses the Qualcom dac and excellent Cirrus amplifier chips. I use my Beoplay H6 over the ear headphones for listening. The volume being a bit lower is no problem for me, I still can get serious hearing damage if I want to.
The audio is detailed, excellent channel separation, noise is undetectable.
jwalesh96 said:
You may want to make the distinction between headphone jacks that can and cannot drive high impedance headphones as a headphone jack that can't can still be good as in clear, little to no distortion with good response and sound reproduction.
In this case its more like LG's has gone out of their way to include a dac that can power high impedance headphones (which is rare in the first place, in addition to the jack being rare) so if high impedance headphones usage is a top priority, then sticking to LG would be recommended.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sho-Bud said:
I have a Meizu Pro usb dac which has a good reputation. The volume of the Meizu is a bit higher, but the audio quality of the Sony is equal. You just have to increase the volume 2 or 3 notches. The Sony uses the Qualcom dac and excellent Cirrus amplifier chips. I use my Beoplay H4 over the ear headphones for listening. The volume being a bit lower is no problem for me, I still can get serious hearing damage if I want to.
The audio is detailed, excellent channel separation, noise is undetectable.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah LG has done the headphone jack justice, but I was expecting a bit more out of the mark 2 for it's price point.
Like hi-res audio. I get it's mainly a photography oriented product. I mean I guess I got used to only using half of the volume steps provided by the LG phones.
I just had high expectations out of Sony in the audio department. Great camera. As for the dac mentioned above, i have a couple so I'm not too worried about getting any more of them. I have a couple of headphone I can try out besides my audio technicas.
The audio capability of the phone is lacking
Bluetooth volume is pretty poor even though it's decent quality
The 3.5mm Jack absolutely doesn't have that much power to drive much more than basic iem 8 to 16 ohm level. Can't push my 150ohm cans at all
Definitely louder than the previous phones. I'm just happy that the jack is back. I did notice a difference with bluetooth vs wired on WH1000XM4. Volume was definitely louder on bluetooth, but can really notice the difference in quality despite LDAC. But that's just me.
R800x_user said:
Yeah LG has done the headphone jack justice, but I was expecting a bit more out of the mark 2 for it's price point.
Like hi-res audio. I get it's mainly a photography oriented product. I mean I guess I got used to only using half of the volume steps provided by the LG phones.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
But it does have Hi-Res audio. Volume is a bit lower, but is also the curve of the volume control. With the LG the volume control is linear, with the Sony starts to increase real slow, until over half of the volume.
Sho-Bud said:
But it does have Hi-Res audio. Volume is a bit lower, but is also the curve of the volume control. With the LG the volume control is linear, with the Sony starts to increase real slow, until over half of the volume.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah volume has to be over half way to start making decent sound. Regular buds are fine though. I have some kz iems and it's fine with those. Just higher impedance isn't for this phone.
My Beoplay H6 headphones have an impedance of 30 Ohms. They work great with the Sony. I can't compare, these are the only wired headphones I have.
The audio quality is perfect with my XBA-N3AP or WH1000XM3
niaboc79 said:
The audio quality is perfect with my XBA-N3AP or WH1000XM3
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oh snap, how are the XBAs?
Currently, I'm using AKG N700nc2( using them wired )
R800x_user said:
Oh snap, how are the XBAs?
Currently, I'm using AKG N700nc2( using them wired )
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
XBA are amazing, well balanced and no extra bass like many earphones.
With an upgraded cable it's even better [emoji106]
Envoyé de mon XQ-AT51 en utilisant Tapatalk
niaboc79 said:
The audio quality is perfect with my XBA-N3AP or WH1000XM3
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think using its headphone jack to push N3AP do not working perfect, the human voice is low, the sound ‘s analysis goes bad, compare to use usb-3.5 dac line. I use IE60.
highlightshadow said:
The audio capability of the phone is lacking
Bluetooth volume is pretty poor even though it's decent quality
The 3.5mm Jack absolutely doesn't have that much power to drive much more than basic iem 8 to 16 ohm level. Can't push my 150ohm cans at all
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Poor volume, I can still get hearing damage by the levels of volume here.
Sent from my [device_name] using XDA-Developers Legacy app
Monster_Dawn said:
I think using its headphone jack to push N3AP do not working perfect, the human voice is low, the sound ‘s analysis goes bad, compare to use usb-3.5 dac line. I use IE60.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I haven't tried with a dac, I will try to compare with my XA50ES
Envoyé de mon XQ-AT51 en utilisant Tapatalk
For everyone who isn't satisfied with the performance of the headphone jack:
https://forum.xda-developers.com/crossdevice-dev/sony/xnext-walkman-v1-0-xperia-1ii-5-ii-t4192117
Require a rooted device
[email protected] said:
For everyone who isn't satisfied with the performance of the headphone jack:
https://forum.xda-developers.com/crossdevice-dev/sony/xnext-walkman-v1-0-xperia-1ii-5-ii-t4192117
Require a rooted device
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Apologies for replying to an old threat, but what became of this? The link is now dead unfortunately. Was it an actual improvement or deleted because it was non-functional? Thanks.
Coleh said:
Apologies for replying to an old threat, but what became of this? The link is now dead unfortunately. Was it an actual improvement or deleted because it was non-functional? Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Try to dm peter. I didn't have a chance to save this.
Sony Xperia 1 II most probably uses a Qualcomm audio codec. Can be their flagship Aqstic WCD9341, a dedicated audio chip. Only a proper tear-down will reveal the details. As I found out this audio chip contains a very good DAC section and can produce nearly 1 Vrms at headphone out when implemented in high performance mode.

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