yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[Galaxy S II Themes and Apps] supercurio:
A few explanations about it.

This is basically an EQ, between an V and a "Smiley Face Curve" (Wikipedia article)

As you show it there are high gains so the the response is very far from flat in the end.

I guess its both suits your preference and acts as a correction for the very particular headphones you use.

As a result the benefit you experience for your own usage cannot be reproduced on other.

Many consumer headphone exaggerate high and lows already, so increasing once again high and low frequencies will produce a very fatiguing sound, lacking musicality.

I think its important to seperate frequency corrections (like this combination of graphic equalizers) and sound quality improvements.

EQ can help get a more balanced sound from flawed headphones (can also do the exact opposite) but that's very different form what's done in Voodoo sound that actually reduces distortions levels, improves clarity by configuring the hardware with more accuracy, reducing hiss by using optimal amp levels etc.

Cool if it helps your usage, however it might "degrade" the end result as much as it helps, depending on the headphones used.

Unfortunately sharing this settings will be useful listeners using the exact same headphones as yours, so I would suggest you to specify which they are.
[Galaxy S II Themes and Apps] jastonas:
So, what would be the case with default sgsii headphones?

Swyped from my Galaxy S II using Tapatalk
[Galaxy S II Themes and Apps] chucknaldo:
Nice find. Working great for me! :D
[Galaxy S II Themes and Apps] will-i-am1977:
Sounds better , thanks, i play around if i need to
[Galaxy S II Themes and Apps] mkrmec:
It's a phone ... And the damn audio quality is great compared to Nexus One... We dont expect audiophiles to listen to music through headphones.
[Galaxy S II Themes and Apps] technetium99m:
My girlfriend found them useful as a makeshift hair tie...

Sent from my GT-I9100
[Galaxy S II Themes and Apps] jody2k:
Wonderful!! sounds amazing sound with amazing bass!!!
[Galaxy S II Themes and Apps] awesome-member:
Like supercurio said this Is not improving sq it's just colouring the sound. This EQ may work for chart music but try listening to blues or classical the recessed mid will make the music unworthy of listening. The goal is to make sound as neutral (flat) as possible(how the artist intended) not colouring it. Please don't think SQ of sgs2 is utter garbage. It's just not as good as sgs.but for most of us its perfectly fine.
[Galaxy S II Themes and Apps] KLoNe1:
And who cares if this doesn't 'improve SQ' like SuperCurio is saying? If Supercurio isn't keen on producing Voodoo Sound for SGS2, then sound colouring is the best we get right now...
[Galaxy S II Themes and Apps] KLoNe1:
PS. Ant chance to link to the free EQ app? I can't find it on Market or AppBrain. Cheers.
[Galaxy S II Themes and Apps] jody2k:
Colouring the sound or not see me care, best sound i've ever heard on phone mp3 music :)

Pulling down the pre-amp and turning up the bass and mid freq gave me a warm sound (does remind me at tube amp sounds!)

and i'm also a musician, I listen/play more harder genres, this program really rocks with my current headset
[Galaxy S II Themes and Apps] kalpik:
Ah the man himself :)

You are absolutely correct about everything. Actually I was using this type of curve even with Voodoo, so yes, like I said in the first post (You may need to adjust the Poweramp EQ and Preamp a bit according to your taste and headphone.), EQ curves are very personal! Someone might not like the same curve even on the same set of earphones that I own (Nuforce NE6)!

Let me be clear to everyone, this is NOT a "Voodoo" solution. But for me, the sound signature is now very close to how I had Voodoo set up on SGS1. Of course its lacking the loudness and clarity, but at least I don't go in a corner and cry when I listen to music on my SGS2 :p

Most had just settled with the SQ on their SGS2, this thread is just an attempt to get people playing with the EQ, and at least trying to get the sound they deserve from such an expensive handset! No harm done if it doesn't work :)

Hope everyone understands! :)

Also, let me remove the Voodoo reference from the thread title, so as to avoid any confusion!
[Galaxy S II Themes and Apps] kalpik:
Try with these settings, and then play around with Poweramp EQ if you don't like :)

True, if you're not disappointed with the SQ of SGS, this thread is not for you! I understand its a "desperate attempt", but what the hell, it works for me! Maybe it works for you too, maybe it doesn't! No harm done if it doesn't :)

Here you go: https://market.android.com/details?id=com.smartandroidapps.equalizer

Also added the link to first post.
[Galaxy S II Themes and Apps] Roman5:
Oh rly? Obviously you never heard of head-fi.org :)
[Galaxy S II Themes and Apps] nickporwal:
Nice Settings kalpik.I too find the sound quality of SGS2 lower than SGS. I still sometimes use my SGS to listen songs. :)..... As Supercurio said its not the perfect solution bt its what we have right now. Something is better than nothing. I am not an expert just a layman.
[Galaxy S II Themes and Apps] kalpik:
Same here buddy! Not an expert, just trying to share what I discovered :) Supercurio is the real pro :)
[Galaxy S II Themes and Apps] Rixsta:
You have done so much good work ... Please tell me you will make another voodoo sound for the SGS 2...
[Galaxy S II Themes and Apps] eRajesh:
Well, since the SGS2 is not getting Voodoo or any other tweaks to improve the SQ, this is the next best thing for us.
[Galaxy S II Themes and Apps] kalpik:
Unfortunately there is no "Voodoo" way to improve on the SGS2's sound. This is all we have!
[Galaxy S II Themes and Apps] Rixsta:
Thats terrible news :(
[Galaxy S II Themes and Apps] jody2k:
well well, there will surely be other mods, don't worry SG2 is a very active community
[Galaxy S II Themes and Apps] gebruikershaes:
Well.. The settings do seem to remove the rough sharp edges, but they also remove the mid tones, making it sound less musical, flat and dull. But still it's an improvement I guess, the sharp high tones gave me a headache earlier.
[Galaxy S II Themes and Apps] jody2k:
then boost your high and mids? if you turn up bass you also need to turn up the rest of it ^^

don't use settings of other people, as headphones differents also you need to set the EQ to your ear and setup
[Galaxy S II Themes and Apps] gebruikershaes:
I understand.. In wich case this thread is pretty pointless. It's not a method or guide or settings that make your phone sound better. The only message this thread is saying is: 'hey look you have an EQ, use it'..

I don't want to be rude, I understand the good intensions and I appreciate it, al least someone is making an efford, but this is not a solution.
[Galaxy S II Themes and Apps] kalpik:
The settings that make a real difference are in the Equalizer app. Most are unaware of the app! The Poweramp EQ is preference based! Set it according to your tastes/earphones :)

The message in this thread is mostly about the Equalizer app really.. Sorry if it was pointless to you :(
[Galaxy S II Themes and Apps] jody2k:
Agree, I tried everything to boost bass without quality loss of music, the dsp plugin did not do much

Then I tried this poweramp app and what the hell! this shizzle really works, don't know why though... I think it's because you can lower the pre amp that it gives more room to boost your EQ settings without hitches
[Galaxy S II Themes and Apps] kalpik:
Yep. Stock SGS2 distorts a lot even if you try to increase the bass even a bit.. But this sounds awesome to me!
[Galaxy S II Themes and Apps] hacksome:
Nice setup. I wish the sounds were a bit more punchy. Could be my headphones. Thanks Kalpik.
[Galaxy S II Themes and Apps] jody2k:
try to set the pre amp on the most minimum setting you can get, and boost the second most left bass (62 hz and 125 Hz ) this sould give you more punch, don't set the 31hz too high if you want punchy sound

Also don't forget to adjust you mid settings if you change bass values
[Galaxy S II Themes and Apps] jay_993:
This i suppose is the perfect answer. Varying eqs for my calm SE420 and my "powerful in comparison" senns. However, you should note that the use of equalizer apps' eq settings as well can get you less distortion. For instance, if only poweramp is used, the bass may be strengthened in only one area whereas equalizer app may bring general warm bass. For me, i put the amp at maximum and decrease all the eqs and fiddle from there. Not much, but enough to enhance the areas where my headphones lack in. Although i dont use other settings from equalizer app, if you are a party music fan, low percentage of virtualizer can be beneficial.
[Galaxy S II Themes and Apps] jay_993:
Only if you are a bass junkie, do this :p
[Galaxy S II Themes and Apps] kr00t0n:
Op's settings work great for dance music (I listen to House, Trance and Psy Trance) with my Shure SE110s, thanks!
[Galaxy S II Themes and Apps] marandas:
First of all, thanks for your sharing. I just install the 2 apps you mentioned and try to play around. But something I don't understand. It seems that they are 2 independent apps, how can they be used together at the same time? Or you just mean to use either of them and they can't be used at the same time?

thanks
[Galaxy S II Themes and Apps] kalpik:
Use them together! :)
[Galaxy S II Themes and Apps] clonednull:
Compared to stock settings this works awesome! Thx mate for the equalizer app link, I can hear now metal again with my device! (before tuning it all sounded like crappy ringtones :))
[Galaxy S II Themes and Apps] Rixsta:
Its no voodoo sound but it works pretty well ...not bad at all ...

Improvement on stock by quite a way :)

Thanks.....
[Galaxy S II Themes and Apps] simonk83:
Yep, much better. I use Nuforce NE7's, and had to turn down the 16K in the EQ to about half as the high hats were threatening to pop my eyeballs (very tinny). Sounds nice now though :)

Does it matter that we can't save the custom EQ in Equalizer (says you need the paid app to save)...
[Galaxy S II Themes and Apps] knightnz:
If your primary requirement is that music should have lots of bass, then you don't _really_ care about the quality. Go buy some Skullcandy headphones, or some Sennheiser HD212 Pro's that over-accentuate the lower frequencies and be happy.

If you want to be able to listen to the type of music you wouldn't hear at a club, then you might be more interest in actual quality.

You'll never get decent audio out of a standard pair of crappy <$30 earbuds. Some of the higher end >$100 ones, maybe. Unless you're wearing proper headphones with >1cm drivers, you're not going to get really good sound short of paying megabucks for ultra fancy noise-isolating buds.

I've got a pair of Sennheiser HD280's and some Grado Alessandro M1's, these are both at the bottom end of the "good headphones" scale but either will sound worlds better than all but the best earbuds.

Do yourself a favour, just buy some decent headphones. Even streetphones like the Senn PMX-60's are surprisingly good for the money. And if you're really worried, get a small headphone amplifier as well, like one of the little Fiio units.
[Galaxy S II Themes and Apps] Deadeye*:
Who has iphone 4 and GS2 whit this tweak maybe can compere? Im just curious which is better iphone 4 or GS2 whit this tweak? :)
[Galaxy S II Themes and Apps] cmd512:
I'm no audiophile, but my music sounds fantastic after these settings. Thanks kalpik, this is most useful before my international business trip! :)
[Galaxy S II Themes and Apps] kalpik:
I'm glad I could be of help!
[Galaxy S II Themes and Apps] KingFaisal:
This certainly did improve the SQ and gave me some insight into how I could further improve the SQ. I assume that you could also simply only use PowerAMP, rather than cause two EQs to interfere with each other and produce a new signal. DSPManager could also replace the Equalizer app.
[Galaxy S II Themes and Apps] kalpik:
That was the idea! For me, it sounds better when both are on! But you should fiddle around with whatever app you want! :)
[Galaxy S II Themes and Apps] BrendonWard:
Huge improvement :)
[Galaxy S II Themes and Apps] mrjeffery:
Didn't think I'd notice any difference, but its like night and day. Nice one!
[Galaxy S II Themes and Apps] MrHome:
works like charm
[Galaxy S II Themes and Apps] noobdeagle:
i found they sounded similar without the tweak, with the tweak i think gs2 sounds a little more balanced, however neither really sound amazing so i guess im still destined to carry 2 devices with me when a phone rivals cowon audio quality then ill stop carrying 2 devices :P

having said that if you have a decent portable amp it improves the sgs2 a fair bit with high quality headphones like high spec grado or equivalent
[Galaxy S II Themes and Apps] efjbdejong:
Does the equalizer-app work only on music?

Or also video,youtube? I need more lows in videos.

EJ
[Galaxy S II Themes and Apps] kalpik:
Works on *all* audio playing on your device! So yeah, will work on videos too!
[Galaxy S II Themes and Apps] ruffruff:
does this work over ad2p?

using a motorola s9hd now ... need some slight improvements over the sounds.
[Galaxy S II Themes and Apps] kalpik:
Not sure! Try and report back!
[Galaxy S II Themes and Apps] ruffruff:
ok. just got the s2, so i am going test drive it in normal settings mode and test drive this the day after.
[Galaxy S II Themes and Apps] BrendonWard:
Phone is stolen? nah, lol

I buy all my apps, the developers deserve all the money they can get. Just i see a post before mine someone asking for a cracked version.
[Galaxy S II Themes and Apps] mazam:
gs2 sounded much2 better now.. tq
[Galaxy S II Themes and Apps] paranoid2007:
I found these settings to work nicely for the standard Samsung music player. I'm not using the Equalizer app in addition.
[Galaxy S II Themes and Apps] Guitarfreak26:
anyone recommend a portable amp for with the GS2?
[Galaxy S II Themes and Apps] kalpik:
Fiio E5, works AWESOME with SGS2 :)
[Galaxy S II Themes and Apps] Guitarfreak26:
Would the sound be better than an ipod touch? and how practical is it to carry one around? ive never used an amp before but i just dont get the volume i want from the S2 atm
[Galaxy S II Themes and Apps] kalpik:
Yes, the sound will be better with the AMP and some equalizer (try my settings and play around!) Also, the thing is TINY! So very practical to carry around! Read some review over the internet :)
[Galaxy S II Themes and Apps] Guitarfreak26:
Using your settings now mate but I like LOUD lol.

is there much difference in e5 vs e7?
[Galaxy S II Themes and Apps] kalpik:
Hmm.. Not used an E7, so cannot say.. I have an E5, and I'm very happy with it! And its dirt cheap!
[Galaxy S II Themes and Apps] Guitarfreak26:
Definitely need something as I'm rocking expensive westone 3's

And the power just isn't there
[Galaxy S II Themes and Apps] kalpik:
Check out reviews man! See what will suit you best! :)
[Galaxy S II Themes and Apps] Guitarfreak26:
Ordered an E5 :D
[Galaxy S II Themes and Apps] execine:
Hello everyone,

I recently bought sg2 and stepped of from iphone (until iphone comes out with bigger screen :) ), and i spotted this thread.

I must say i always listen to music on the phone, also somewhat into quality listening.

I have to tell that the phone itself sounds great. at home i have sennheiser hd800 high end headphones, sg2 sound just as great as ipod touch, iphone. The problem is totally crappy samsung earphones which are totally worthless, buy a set of 80-100$ earphones and you will be amazed. Stock iphone earphones are 20x better. Making adjustments with EQ won't help in this case..

Tomas
[Galaxy S II Themes and Apps] kalpik:
We're not using stock earphones :)

Guess you didn't have the SGS1 before SGS2? If so, you won't know what we're talking about :)
[Galaxy S II Themes and Apps] Shinky0:
thks! works great for me. =)
[Galaxy S II Themes and Apps] execine:
Yes, i didn't use sgs1, but from what i hear on sgs2, i can tell that everything is good with it's sound. Bass is rich, voice clarity is amazing. Makes me think that sgs1 had over boosted sound thus sgs2 sounds worse, though it's really not the case. Sgs2 sounds like it should.

There are special cds assembled for testing out hifi equipment at home, in car etc. So basically when you listen to those tracks, you know what to look for (one who has experience with this).

Sgs2 sounds really good. The purposed smiley EQ curve is no good, loudness - too. People tend to like that because of more bass, more high freqs, but that does not mean it sounds better that way :) it sounds way off the way it was recorded...
[Galaxy S II Themes and Apps] themissionimpossible:
I completely agree... very few people in their life have ever listened to music through a hi-end hifi system, so they don't know how music must sound, they only can imagine!
[Galaxy S II Themes and Apps] jody2k:
Currently have a Luxmann hifi system and must say that I have heard better sound than SG2, but also I want to say that installing poweramp + equalizer did a huge difference in soundquality
[Galaxy S II Themes and Apps] washburn111:
Settings

Could you share your settings so that we could audition it because I'm still playing with the equalizer and have not yet settled to one setting. Thanks! :)
[Galaxy S II Themes and Apps] rab1412000:
the sgs2 sound good on the stock equalizer set to rock, with my koss portapros and woodies in-ears.

i wouldnt call it excellent but quite good for a smart phone. id rate my ipod an 8 and this a 6.5.

i like natural sounds, seperation and mid tone clarity. from the previous posts, it seems this tweak muddles mid tones. i will still try it however.
[Galaxy S II Themes and Apps] rab1412000:
i tried it and it sounds great for genres like rock. however im loosing a bit of seperation and midrange clarity when i listen to some acoustic, alternative and classical music.

personally, i prefer the builtin player set on rock with volume+ set to good quality and a bit of volume boost. works well with both headphones and stock speakers.

but of course the fist thing you have to do is get a good pair of headphones to match the device. i suggest some good quality earpieces with an impedance between 16 to 32 ohms. the sgs2 will most probably not be able to drive anything higher.
[Galaxy S II Themes and Apps] abhiwltya:
Hahahahhaah...lolz..nyc one man!!
[Galaxy S II Themes and Apps] Black Dwarf:
I'm using custom moulded earphones/in-ear monitors, and the audio fun the SGS2 is certainly no worse than the iPhone.

I also prefer a more unhappy face for my EQ, which is also how I have the EQ on my bass amp ;-)
[Galaxy S II Themes and Apps] rab1412000:
true. i think most complaints about the sound quality are a reflection of the crappy earphones more than the phone itself.
[Galaxy S II Themes and Apps] SohumD:
god bless you! i was severely starved of bass! sounds so so much better now
[Galaxy S II Themes and Apps] washburn111:
true

I've tried my normalized mp3 and FLAC files and played it on a Flat EQ and all seems well maybe besides the lack of volume that is because when I go past the halfway mark on poweramp I get some clipping.
[Galaxy S II Themes and Apps] afilopou:
@kalpik Great job!!!Dont have experience in sound but from day one found sound is S2 very bad.Changed settings(applied what you post) during playing a song and found huge difference.God or whatever bless you :-))))
[Galaxy S II Themes and Apps] hocgwai:
Can anyone recommend a line out for the sgs2? do they exists?
[Galaxy S II Themes and Apps] hocgwai:
Whether an amp would work well for you will depend on what earphones you are using. Head over to head-fi.org. They have pretty good recommendations.
[Galaxy S II Themes and Apps] rab1412000:
what is the bit rate of your audio? im not too sure, but it may be little too high. try using an mp3 with a bitrate of 320kbps or below.

it could also be caused by an impedance mismatch between your iem and sgs2, but you should be hearing the distortion throughout the whole volume range if this were the case.
[Galaxy S II Themes and Apps] rab1412000:
on a previous post i rated the sgs2 SQ at 6.5 and my ipod at 8. i want to correct that to sgs2 at 7 and my ipod at 8. so imho its just a little below my ipod, which i rate as excellent for a mobile device.

the e5 is quite small, and although i dont use one myself, ive seen some friends carry one around. however, i encourage you to read reviews on the fiio e5. some say it doesnt provide enough power to drive higher end headphones, some say it is more of a tone control device than a true amp.

there is an e7 that has better amp characteristics but it is both much bigger and more expensive. there is also the udac-2 that has had good reviews.

hope this helped :)
[Galaxy S II Themes and Apps] washburn111:
power amp

I removed poweramp and switched to cubed. Playing (at -1 max volume + no EQ) some Flac files at more or less 900kbps right now and so far I hear no distortion. Sounds clean to me so far anyways. I was wondering if there were sound improvements when I switched to KG1... because when I was in KF2 is was playing a bit with the EQ.
[Galaxy S II Themes and Apps] rab1412000:
interesting. im thinking more the apps effect than the fw though. it could be downsampling the audio, not sure.

on a side note, its nice to see a fellow pinoy on xda. is your kg1 the official samsung fw with gb 2.3.4?
[Galaxy S II Themes and Apps] washburn111:
It's the leaked 2.3.4. You should update your avatar :D

* Baka sa pag encode lang... :p
[Galaxy S II Themes and Apps] varunkumars:
Good job OP. It sounds great. I listen to lot of trance music in my SE530. I don't miss my Voodoo'ed captivate too much now.
[Galaxy S II Themes and Apps] OneDream:
Job well done, sir. The sound has improved significantly.
[Galaxy S II Themes and Apps] kalpik:
Glad to help you guys out! :)
[Galaxy S II Themes and Apps] henriquesb:
Does this setup improve on other apps and games than Poweramp?

In some other thread someone recommended Volume+, available on the market. Using that only with Virtual Room level set to 4 or above made a lot of difference in all games and videos for me. The other settings including Volume Boost and Bass Boost had no impact so I disabled them.

Sent from my GT-I9100
[Galaxy S II Themes and Apps] rab1412000:
even after i bought these two apps, all i use is volume+ set to +3 and good quality.
[Galaxy S II Themes and Apps] washburn111:
Thanks using volume+ and virtual room to +4. Sounds good with poweramp but not with cubed as of now. :p
[Galaxy S II Themes and Apps] noobsgs2:
Nice m8! works a bit
[Galaxy S II Themes and Apps] darkalchemist:
Well, I tried the Poweramp EQ tweaks and I must say they did work however I was looking for a bit more and when I saw the FiiO E5 mentioned here I looked it up and saw how cheap it was. I now have it in my hands and I am thoroughly impressed with it!! I might be going crazy but it drives up the volume very nicely and the sound I could swear is clearer to my ears!!!
[Galaxy S II Themes and Apps] kalpik:
Yep! FiiO E5 is great! Glad you're enjoying your expensive phone with the audio that you expect from it :)
[Galaxy S II Themes and Apps] ZhouZiBi:
thanks man! i love my samsung s2 more and more :D!
[Galaxy S II Themes and Apps] LocutusEstBorg:
Can someone knowledgeable say if a USB DAC is now possible on Android? The SGS2 really needs better SQ.

createdigitalmusic.com/2011/05/android-adds-usb-host-mode-open-hardware-development-with-arduino/
[Galaxy S II Themes and Apps] kalpik:
Supercurio is your man :)
[Galaxy S II Themes and Apps] JuniorGG:
I can only say that yesterday I tried hooking up my Topping TP30 to the phone, but it refuses connection saying "high power usb device connected".

Looks like unfortunately the DAC of the Topping requires more current than the Galaxy can provide.