Sound quality apple vs Samsung

[Vegastouch]

This has absolutely nothing to do with the music player, and everything to do with S4's DAC. I'm speaking specifically about the Snapdragon model.

Spotify is how I consume 50% of my music (The rest is google play music), and the iPhone 4S and 5 just flat out sound better.

I'm hoping the sound issues get cleaned up a bit with 4.3, which should be dropping soon...I hope.

Your can get it or not but PowerAmp sounds way better than using the Google Music player. I don't like to stream but when I do which isn't often, I notice the difference right away. The PowerAmp player is also louder then the stock music player.

 

[Shanghaichica]

Tried the power amp app now and it's a lot better than the player pro app I was using. The only thing I prefer about the player pro is the look and feel but I can fiddle around with power amp and see if I can make it Better.

 

[Fanaticalism]

Tried the power amp app now and it's a lot better than the player pro app I was using. The only thing I prefer about the player pro is the look and feel but I can fiddle around with power amp and see if I can make it Better.

You can download themes for PA.

 

[srkmish]

Even with power amp android phones dont sound as good as apple. The sound clarity and crispness in apple is lot better

 

[Technarchy]

Even with power amp android phones dont sound as good as apple. The sound clarity and crispness in apple is lot better

The Nexus 7 with Spotify sounds better or equal to the iPhone with headphones

I don't think this is an android issue exactly. I just think it is sloppy Samsung coding messing with the DAC

 

[Tsuchiya]

Sound quality on this s4 is borderline upsetting.

Everything sounds so goddamn flat using Spotify no matter how I tinker with the settings.

I don't really want to change my entire phone because of it but I guess it's time to start carrying a more dedicated player around too.

Whoever decided what hardware went into this smartphone deserves a boot to the head.

 

[Shanghaichica]

Sound quality on this s4 is borderline upsetting.

Everything sounds so goddamn flat using Spotify no matter how I tinker with the settings.

I don't really want to change my entire phone because of it but I guess it's time to start carrying a more dedicated player around too.

Whoever decided what hardware went into this smartphone deserves a boot to the head.

When I first got my s4 I gave my ipod touch to a family member because I thought it would be surplus. After realising that s4 wasn't good enough as an music player I had to go out and buy an ipod touch again.

 

[Tsuchiya]

When I first got my s4 I gave my ipod touch to a family member because I thought it would be surplus. After realising that s4 wasn't good enough as an music player I had to go out and buy an ipod touch again.

I'm debating buying one, but £200 just for a music player plus the hassle of carrying two devices is a bit of a headache.

Overall I like the S4 and Android too much to just switch to another iPhone again too.

*sigh*

First world problems eh?

 

[Shanghaichica]

I'm debating buying one, but £200 just for a music player plus the hassle of carrying two devices is a bit of a headache.

Overall I like the S4 and Android too much to just switch to another iPhone again too.

*sigh*

First world problems eh?

Yeah tell me about it. As much as I may like certain features of iOS I.e music player, ecosystem etc I can't seem to make the switch back to an iPhone. I moaned about the galaxy note's 'shortcomings' so much and then went and upgraded to the S4 not the iPhone 5 I do love my S4 though.

I suppose you could get a nano or classic which are a bit cheaper. I think the only reason I got a touch again is because I have a lot of iOS apps that I've been buying for years and I couldn't store them all on my iPad mini, otherwise would have gone for a classic or nano.

 

[anderszz]

Sorry for the bump but do you know if this has changed with the Galaxy S5?

I have an old iPhone 4 and owned a Note 2 for a short time. Liked the "openess" with Android (Swiftkey for example) but the sound volume was too low both in call and when listening to music. I really like how you can expand your memory with a Galaxy S phone but I don't want a device sounding any worse than my iPhone 4.

 

[Robster3]

Sorry for the bump but do you know if this has changed with the Galaxy S5?

I have an old iPhone 4 and owned a Note 2 for a short time. Liked the "openess" with Android (Swiftkey for example) but the sound volume was too low both in call and when listening to music. I really like how you can expand your memory with a Galaxy S phone but I don't want a device sounding any worse than my iPhone 4.

I can tell you this much, i tried a S5 in store with music on speaker and the back of the phone was vibrating badly. Too much noise to tell what sound was like.

 

[bnmcj1]

That is really not up to discussion. Samsung phones with Wolfson DAC's are far superior to Apple's phones in the audio jack. Apple phones have only gotten worse. iPhone 4S is much much better than iPhone 5 in sound quality. Proven also through measurements.

 

[AppleRobert]

That is really not up to discussion. Samsung phones with Wolfson DAC's are far superior to Apple's phones in the audio jack. Apple phones have only gotten worse. iPhone 4S is much much better than iPhone 5 in sound quality. Proven also through measurements.

Samsung stopped with that chip but is suppose to start up again. The only Samsung phones that have the Wolfson that I know of are the GN2, SG3 international, the first Galaxy and the GS4 Octa.

I'm pretty sure the LG G2 has it.

 

[bnmcj1]

Samsung stopped with that chip but is suppose to start up again. The only Samsung phones that have the Wolfson that I know of are the GN2, SG3 international, the first Galaxy and the GS4 Octa.

I'm pretty sure the LG G2 has it.

The new S5 is with Wolfson DAC. Best out there. Unfortunately, I have a small screen outdated iPhone 5s.

 

[The Game 161]

FYI the note 12.2 sound quality is amazing

 

[AppleRobert]

The new S5 is with Wolfson DAC. Best out there. Unfortunately, I have a small screen outdated iPhone 5s.

LOL, I have a 5S as well. I didn't know the S5 had a Wolfson.

Want to talk about outdated, I use my Ipod Touch 1st gen for music because it has a Wolfson chip. It sounds better to me than the 5S. But I cannot use MOG and Spotify etc. on the IPT since that device only uses IOS 4.

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FYI the note 12.2 sound quality is amazing

Too much money for that one and besides I need to save cash to spend on my smartphone addiction.

 

[Technarchy]

The S5 DAC is easily improved over the USA S4 which was complete garbage.

Though the S5 has a slight synthetic tonality to it, while the 5S is more neutral. In the car and with headphones I think overall the S5 sounds better after tweaking the EQ.

 

[Irishman]

I thought the Wolfson DACs meant the galaxy devices typically had superior sound quality?

It certainly means they have a high-quality DAC.

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If your criteria for being a hi-fi guy is using an external dac/amp, then I'm speechless.

It's not a shocking conclusion to come to. It's not hard to beat the internal DACs found in portable devices, even without investing in hi-res files. The same can be said for the sound produced by computers. You just need quality speakers or headphones.

 

[Deadlake]

I believe that anandtech did some testing. iPhone came out well, due to having bigger internal amplifiers to drive headphones. You get what you pay for..

http://www.anandtech.com/show/7567/smartphone-audio-quality-testing/6

 

[Shanghaichica]

I believe that anandtech did some testing. iPhone came out well, due to having bigger internal amplifiers to drive headphones. You get what you pay for..

http://www.anandtech.com/show/7567/smartphone-audio-quality-testing/6

What does that mean? You get what you pay for the Galaxy S phones and the note phones are not cheap. In the past 2 years they have been even more expensive than the iPhone at launch.

 

[Deadlake]

What does that mean? You get what you pay for the Galaxy S phones and the note phones are not cheap. In the past 2 years they have been even more expensive than the iPhone at launch.

iPhone 5s cost more then nexus 5 and lg 2, s4 which where compared in the Anandtech review. No notes or galaxy s compared. The point is that they are all good phones, but built to a price, and from a hardware point of view all have an Achilles heel. The camera in the nexus 5, etc etc... The iPhone might have great hardware, but you trade os flexibility.

That's my point for something to cost less, then you have to be prepared to give up on some component, no free lunch. It's a machine there is a compromise.

From the Anandtech review the trade off for the S4 et al, is a less powerfully amplifier, but these phone cost less than the iPhone they where compared too.

 

[Vegastouch]

The iPhone costs more than all other phones. Doesn't make it the best at everything. The Samsung speaker sounds just fine and it is nice and loud.
I have a Nexus 5 and the camera is pretty decent. Not as good as the GS5 but it is improved from where it was at launch.

 

[Shanghaichica]

iPhone 5s cost more then nexus 5 and lg 2, s4 which where compared in the Anandtech review. No notes or galaxy s compared. The point is that they are all good phones, but built to a price, and from a hardware point of view all have an Achilles heel. The camera in the nexus 5, etc etc... The iPhone might have great hardware, but you trade os flexibility.

That's my point for something to cost less, then you have to be prepared to give up on some component, no free lunch. It's a machine there is a compromise.

From the Anandtech review the trade off for the S4 et al, is a less powerfully amplifier, but these phone cost less than the iPhone they where compared too.

The S4 may cost less than the 5S now, but at launch it cost more and it is not in the same price range as a nexus phone.

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The iPhone costs more than all other phones. Doesn't make it the best at everything. The Samsung speaker sounds just fine and it is nice and loud.
I have a Nexus 5 and the camera is pretty decent. Not as good as the GS5 but it is improved from where it was at launch.

No the iPhone doesn't cost more than all other phones. It holds value better than other phones but when launched the galaxy phones and Note phones cost just much as a 16GB flagship iPhone.

 

[Deadlake]

My throw away comment has moved this off topic, but looking at the Anandtech figures, the amplifier in the iPhone 5 has a higher amp rating for headphones then the other phones compared. All down to what characteristics you wish to have in a phone. The speakers in a phone don't really mean much to me from a music use case, since I use headphones all of the time.

 

[Shanghaichica]

My throw away comment has moved this off topic, but looking at the Anandtech figures, the amplifier in the iPhone 5 has a higher amp rating for headphones then the other phones compared. All down to what characteristics you wish to have in a phone. The speakers in a phone don't really mean much to me from a music use case, since I use headphones all of the time.

I haven't read the report but from my own experience I would agree that the has a better sound chip.