yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[Nexus 4 General] Thunderbolt8:
how is the sound quality of the nexus 4 (+tuning tools) compared to that of the galaxy S1 (+tuning tools) and the HTC One?
[Nexus 4 General] Ace42:
I own both(look in sig). I have voodoo and viper mod on the vibrant and just viper on my nexus. The nexus is my preferred device, but the galaxy has more storage capabilities.
[Nexus 4 General] Thunderbolt8:
and compared to the HTC One as well? (edited my post above)
[Nexus 4 General] Ace42:
I don't own a one and have never used one before.
[Nexus 4 General] Jamal Ahmed:
I have both HTC One and Nexus 4 for some time now,but I think HTC One beats Nexus 4 in sound quality. Its better in HTC One
[Nexus 4 General] meangreenie:
I noticed loads of games have crackly scratchy sound now since 4.3... I thought I'd left this problem behind on the evo 3d.

For an example try original temple run.
[Nexus 4 General] saint_cow:
Viper! Works great. Also if you want to not touch anything and get massive bass and volume I seriously suggest buying some bluedio r+ headphones, absolutely brilliant for under $100
[Nexus 4 General] roughavoc:
Maybe my memory is failing me but in terms of sound quality doesnt it go SGS1 > SGS3 > Gnexus?
[Nexus 4 General] AwesomeTurtle:
That looks fairly accurate.

I laugh at how I immediately took to the gsmarena review of the Optimus G after learning that the Nexus 4 has most of the same innards, just to skip straight to the page with the audio quality evaluation; and boy, was I relieved (admittedly, I rely too heavily on gsmarena audio tests). I purchased a pair of Sony XBA-2s two weeks ago and I would hate to hear them underachieving. My current phone - Sony Xperia P - does a decent enough job, but- dammit I just have to have a Nexus.
[Nexus 4 General] MariusWildfire:
i'm curious how the audio recording quality is.. on my current s2 its very bad especially on live concerts ..
[Nexus 4 General] FriendlyFire:
I too am using Voodoo Sound right now (on my Nexus S) and the sound quality really is the only question left in my mind as to whether I should jump on the N4 or not. The NS DAC is truly amazing (especially with Voodoo Sound) and I'd be heartbroken to lose on sound quality in what's otherwise a major upgrade.
[Nexus 4 General] nikzDHD:
The audio quality is fine but depends on the actual dBm for the volume and how loud it will go. My sister has the HOS which has the S4 Dual DAC in it which should be very similar and it sounds better than my HTC One X.

So it should be fine and on par with the SGS3.
[Nexus 4 General] Azdian:
to people who complaining about the S III .. are you serious? no phone in the market now beats the Wolfson DAC in the S3

so if the Nexus4 was close to the S3, then i'll be happy

the GNexus sound quality was let down after using the Galaxy S 1 .. even the S2 with the Yamaha DAC performed better then the GNexus.
[Nexus 4 General] ScientificOne:
I would pay good money to have Voodoo Sound for this device, unfortunately, Supercurio appears to have discontinued further development...
[Nexus 4 General] Lt.Tealc:
the international SIII is perfect for my taste i think most of us are talking about the US GSIII "No wolfson" which i happened to have disappointing sound quality.
[Nexus 4 General] nikzDHD:
The USA version uses the S4 which has been praised in all the reviews I've read. Maybe volume is not as high but the output is clean.
[Nexus 4 General] Azdian:
only been praised when compared to OneX international.
[Nexus 4 General] moneyslap03:
Yea the Galaxy Nexus Sound Suuuuuuuuuuccckkeeeeeeeddddddd..... I live in nyc and take public transit, when listening to music i can hear other people talking while my music is being played. Luckily i had the PowerAmp app to boost sound..

Hopefully the Nexus 4 is capable of producing higher crisp sound similiar to the iphone, i would love to just use Google Play Music app without the need of poweramp
[Nexus 4 General] Rusl1TA:
True! The Galaxy S has a very good and loud speaker
[Nexus 4 General] ctenorman:
I can't help but notice that the LG Optimus G has a noise level in the low 80s. Given that I've got some very sensitive etymotic HF5s that number is a bit troubling. I can definitely hear hissing on my galaxy nexus with the HF5s, and it has a noise level in the low 90s. In fact, I wouldn't want background noise to be any louder at all. Am I the only one who's concerned about that 10db difference? I'm not worried about the phone being loud enough - I'm worried about it when it's quiet!
[Nexus 4 General] AwesomeTurtle:
The hell? The issue here is that you don't know what sound isolation is and/or the headphones/earbuds you're wearing aren't blocking out sound. Maybe you're just not wearing them right.

Also, to be the bearer of "bad" news, according to a few evaluations, the iPhone 4S and 5 gave the most pleasing results by a considerable margin. No, I'm not paid by anyone to say this, nor am I am Apple employee, nor am I an iSheep or whatever, nor have I ever even owned an Apple product (Yes, I have to say these things before some irrational derp says one or all of them). The closest second is the Galaxy S III.

And by the way, if those tests are any indicator, everything sounds like glitter and diamonds in comparison to the HTC One X. Just forget about Dre.
[Nexus 4 General] Bavilo:
All these post on xda about the Nexus 4 should get deleted immediately and the OPs should get banned.

Not only is the Nexus 4 NOT EVEN OUT YET, so no one will now for sure how good it actually is in what it offers. But people need to understand that it's still a PHONE, sure it's a Smartphone so it offers lots of things, but it's pretty much self explanatory that it's not going to be perfect at everything it has to offer. Sure as hell not for 350 bucks.

If people complain about how crappy the camera might be....then shut up and go get yourself Nikon for a few thousand dollars.

You guys *****ing avout the audio? Go get yourself a Colorfly or something similar for nearly 600 bucks.

You people are ruining xda once again with nonesense. Stop trying to fit your entire life into a smartphone. It's not gonna work.
[Nexus 4 General] jacklebott:
Wake up on the wrong side of the bed this morning?
[Nexus 4 General] Bavilo:
No I slept quiet well, why do you ask?

On a serious note. Ugh nevermind, xda will be xda.
[Nexus 4 General] eksasol:
I sort of agree. For $350 with all the other features I won't be disappointed. Since the Nexus isn't going to hold enough its moot for me anyway, I will either keep an unactivated Xperia Play or Vibrant as music player. The headphone being used is still a bigger factor.

Sent from my LG Nexus 4 32GB
[Nexus 4 General] Bavilo:
Thanks...at least someone who understands...
[Nexus 4 General] yahyoh:
flash syiah or non stock kernel and use headphone boost + bass boost ( but don't blown ur ears :laugh::laugh: )
[Nexus 4 General] AwesomeTurtle:
You're making this appear to be a much more serious matter than it actually is. I think that's where the "you're awfully grumpy" accusation came from.
[Nexus 4 General] qwahchees:
Isn't the point of technology supposed to simply our lives? Wouldn't it be nice to carry one thing that did it all? And there's nothing wrong with speculation, people just like to talk.
[Nexus 4 General] spences10:
How is a thread deemed official?

Does that automatically make this legit?
[Nexus 4 General] K Rich:
I could change it to "Sound Quality Thread", but that's boring and uninviting :p
[Nexus 4 General] rkantos:
Supercurio has an answer to this question too:

https://twitter.com/supercurio

WM1811 it is! :cool:

edit: mybad.. It was for the nexus 10
[Nexus 4 General] K Rich:
That's for the Nexus 10 with Exynos...
[Nexus 4 General] ctenorman:
Since many people are using the Galaxy Nexus as a comparison point, it's worth noting that a few things should be done to the galaxy nexus to get it up to full performance for comparison:

1. Install a rooted ROM like AOKP.

2. Install ALSA Mixer.

3. In ALSA Mixer Set "Headset Power Mode" to "High-Performance" and set "TWL6040 Power Mode" to "High-Performance". Open up each dialogue after making the change to ensure you put in the text properly and the mod stuck. You'll have to do this again after each reboot.

4. Install DSPManager if not already installed. Turn on Bass Boost to Slight setting or higher (seems to compensate for a little bit of low-end punch on headphones requiring a bit more power), and in the EQ increase the 4K levels by about 0.2-0.3db, and the 16K levels by about 0.5-0.75 db to fix the Galaxy Nexus's high frequency fall-off.

After making these mods, I find the galaxy nexus's sound to be very good. I prefer to add a bit more punch to my music with my bass-light Etymotics by turning on loudness compensation and throwing in a 62hz bump, but otherwise the sound is stellar.

With the above done, if the Galaxy Nexus isn't loud enough I can only think a couple of things are wrong:

1. The headphones you're trying to drive really do require an amp. If nearly max volume won't get them loud enough for a reasonable listening volume then they probably need way more juice than almost any portable device can provide to sound really good. A Fiio e6 would solve this if you want to keep the phones, or consider switching to other more portable phones. With a bit of EQ tweaking the Koss Portapros sound fantastic, are dirt cheap, and have a lifetime warranty, and Sennheizer's newer portable cans are pretty good too.

2. You're trying to put your headphones up too loud. If you're in a noisy environment and trying to drown out the sound around you with headphones, this is a recipe for disaster. You'll blow your hearing before too long, and then nothing will ever sound as good again (I say this as a musician who wishes he'd started wearing hearing protection sooner). Instead of overpowering the sound, block it out and then listen at an appropriate volume. Etymotics are outstanding for this, and the HF5 delivers outstanding sound quality at a pretty affordable rate (about $150, which is pretty good considering what hearing aids will cost later in life for damaging your hearing). They can be a little bass-thin without EQ, but with DSP manager they sound very bass-full by setting bass boost to slight, throwing a 3.5db bump in at 62hz, and putting loudness compensation to strong. Fine Volume control 2.0 is also very handy for getting the volume just right. I run these things under 25% power almost all the time and they're plenty loud for basically any situation.
[Nexus 4 General] orangekid:
lol I am so trying this, thanks for the advice.

I can't figure out this ALSA Mixer thing, if I click on "Headset Power Mode" it gives me my keyboard and I have no clue how to set it to "high performance" how do you work this crazy app?
[Nexus 4 General] ctenorman:
Lol, it is a little tricky! First off, you need root access. Assuming you've got that and you've granted root permissions to the app, tap again where the cursor is blinking and a keyboard will appear. Then you must type "High-Performance" without the quotes around it. It's case sensitive I believe, and it doesn't like spaces. But put exactly what's inside the quotes in, press OK, and it should stick. Open the setting again to make sure it took. Then repeat for the second setting.

DSP Manager requires a non-traditional install, instructions here: http://android.appstorm.net/how-to/music/install-and-configure-dsp-manager-on-any-rom/
[Nexus 4 General] orangekid:
I am rooted and DSP comes with my ROM, just this text input in ALSA thing is messing me up. How do I know if it stuck or not?
[Nexus 4 General] ctenorman:
Also, with respect to the conversations surrounding the phone as a music playback device, I understand both sides of the argument. For a long time I lived in the country where cell signals could be decidedly dodgy. In that instance I often just synced the rdio tracks I wanted to take mobile and listened, but I can understand the desire for more storage.

However, if you're living in a city/town, listen primarily where you have wifi with lots of data, or are happy living off of synced music, then a phone can do a pretty good job as a music player.

I think everyone's so excited about the headphone output of the Nexus 4 because it's the one thing that could make the Nexus 4 something other than the obvious phone to get for people who love stock android and love great audio. The phone is half the price of competing devices with no compromises - with the possible exception of audio quality. So if it works as a portable music player with great audio quality, then people could save $300 or so off their next device. And that's worth getting excited about I think. I know I am. :)

---------- Post added at 03:15 PM ---------- Previous post was at 03:13 PM ----------

When you open it again on the 4th line of text it will say "Item0: ". If it says "Item0: High-Performance" then you know it worked. If it says "Item0: Low Power" then you know it didn't work.
[Nexus 4 General] orangekid:
Like this?
[Nexus 4 General] ctenorman:
Yep, that's got it. It's not going to radically alter your life, but every little bit helps. :)

Oh, and make sure you change both the headset mode and the TWL setting.
[Nexus 4 General] estremodesign:
Soo sound good? or we waiting test?
[Nexus 4 General] orangekid:
Thanks, got 'em both.

Will listen to a FLAC on with my ATH M50s and see how that sounds :)

Then I'll compare that with the Nexus 4 when I get that.
[Nexus 4 General] Tibbz96:
I don't know if anyone has seen this yet, but in the comments section of this preview, the author responded to a question about the speaker with: "Loud and clear. Blows away the galaxy nexus speaker."

http://www.androidpolice.com/2012/1...e-bar-for-design-materials-and-build-quality/
[Nexus 4 General] jarjar124:
How do I install alsa mixer? After installing and giving root permission,it sits on the alsa mixer screen with a refresh button and nothing else
[Nexus 4 General] Logi_Ca1:
This is precisely the reason why I bought a Sansa Clip from Amazon for like $26.

Unfortunately, Android phones are generally worse than iPhones in audio quality. I did not want audio quality to be a limiting factor in deciding my next phone, so getting the Sansa is an easy choice. Awesome sound output and is able to drive high impedance cans with ease.
[Nexus 4 General] 96traxx:
Sound quality is GREAT btw.
[Nexus 4 General] intern:
To be fair, being able to blow away the GNex speaker isn't saying too much...
[Nexus 4 General] vido.ardes:
True but this guy (Ron Amadeo) is not afraid of being openly critical. He was the guy that wrote the awesome, very damning article about issues with Jelly Bean, which every Android fan owes it to themselves to read.

http://www.androidpolice.com/2012/09/18/ux-things-i-hate-about-android/
[Nexus 4 General] jasonwsc:
Since it is based on Optimus G, with the same chipset (S4 pro), the gsmarena review on Optimus G sound quality might help. Seems pretty good, I'm no audiophile though.

Here's the link: http://www.gsmarena.com/lg_optimus_g-review-835p7.php
[Nexus 4 General] HadenVR:
According to l0st.prophet's thread found at http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=1964850

The DAC is the same WCD9310 found in the US variant of the Galaxy S III.

Welp, as long as the DAC is better than the one found in the Galaxy Nexus, I got nothing to really complain about from that compelling price point :P..
[Nexus 4 General] PlanBSTi:
Is it really that bad(gnex) ? It's comparable to my mac book pro with my hd558s. With no audio mods
[Nexus 4 General] HadenVR:
Personally for me, the sound output was pretty low when was using stock audio which then was resolved by using available audio mods a while back.

Frankly speaking though, the bass could have some more work done but that may just be me wanting more bass xD.(most likely going to invest in a small portable amp soon)
[Nexus 4 General] G1ukos:
Is anyone going to actually make sound quality review of nexus4 right after release?
[Nexus 4 General] BTslo:
GSMArena probably will.
[Nexus 4 General] BaronInkjet:
All the Snapdragon processor phones seem to have the Qualcomm WCD9310 DAC -- US GSIII, Optimus, etc. Would it be reasonable to expect Nexus 4 to have similar specs to these devices? Or not?

Am I the only one amazed that not one review so far has even mentioned audio quality? :(
[Nexus 4 General] eksasol:
This has been confirmed by the first sticky thread of this section. Although I never heard it so I don't know how its supposed to sound. I guess it will be better than the one in the Galaxy Nexus.

Audio quality wouldn't even be a consideration factor for the majority of phone buyers so its won't feature much in review.
[Nexus 4 General] HadenVR:
Here's the specs companion between the devices you mentioned along with the Nexus 4

http://www.phonearena.com/phones/co...I-T-Mobile,LG-Optimus-G/phones/7531,7130,7458
[Nexus 4 General] BaronInkjet:
GSMarena audio tests. I'm sure the GS III in the Optimus article is international w/Wolfson DAC. US is w/Qualcomm.

US GS III:

http://www.gsmarena.com/samsung_galaxy_s_iii_us_version-review-774p6.php

Optimus G:

http://www.gsmarena.com/lg_optimus_g-review-835p7.php
[Nexus 4 General] PlanBSTi:
Ah, bass for me isn't a big deal. It is kinda quiet, agree. but quality isn't bad.
[Nexus 4 General] VictorNYC:
I agree that this thread might be getting ahead of it self .. I give it a month or so before a few Audio MODS are ready for this phone and while that will never improve a low quality speaker it will improve the software audio output on the headphones IF it really needs to be addressed witch hasn't been proved yet
[Nexus 4 General] thejosetree:
When it comes to talk about sound quality it's important to consider two factors:

- DAC (Provided by Qulacomm itself, very competent)

- Headphone Output (which is determined by the output impedance)

DAC is proved to be ok, Headphones Output has to be seen.
[Nexus 4 General] Warren_Orange:
I'm close to buying the Nexus 4 but the DAC is holding me back.

I have a Nexus S with Voodoo sound so I'm spoiled rotten :) Considering I spend most of my working day with my cans on listening to Google Music and Tunein on my Nexus S sound quality is of the utmost priority when I purchase my next phone.

From what I've been reading it doesn't look like it will be the Nexus 4, but I will reserve judgement until its actually released.
[Nexus 4 General] techmatlock:
I don't think this is an important focus Google has on Nexus devices from the fact that they're very affordable and cut costs where they can. The majority of people using phones aren't audiophiles and don't distinguish between good and bad. I believe the DAC will be good/great, however; I don't think it will be exceptionally good as some of you are hoping for. I use a fiio e7 anyways, but it would be nice on the go to have some clarity and boost. I'm coming from an HTC One X too, one of the worst sound output I've heard in awhile from a phone.
[Nexus 4 General] jtc276:
You could always use your Nexus S as a media player and the Nexus 4 as your daily driver. You probably won't get Wolfson quality out of the Nexus 4. To be honest, I'd also be concerned if I were you, too. I think everything should have Wolfson DACs :)
[Nexus 4 General] BaronInkjet:
Has there been any Qualcomm SoC powered phone that didn't have the (integrated) Qualcomm DAC? I don't recall one.
[Nexus 4 General] espionage724:
My main concern for audio from a mobile device is:

- Loud with internal speaker (loud enough to be an alarm clock)

- Possibly amplified headphone jack (or just loud enough to work I guess)

- Can record sounds with good quality

- Can hear voices clearly

Nothing too special I don't think anyway. I've messed with a SGT7 and Nexus 7, and both had pretty good audio, both input and output.
[Nexus 4 General] Lockeskidney:
i have yet to find a android phone that matches apples audio recording over video. i dont know why anyone cant match it
[Nexus 4 General] :
If anyone matched it they would be sued by Apple, lol.
[Nexus 4 General] smaghe:
Hi all,

I remember ICS was supposed to support usb audio. But then I never saw it supported on my GS2.

Do you know if this has been fixed in JB ?

Hopefully we can then have an external DAC.

Thanks
[Nexus 4 General] rumthin:
I just saw this tweet from supercurio.

https://twitter.com/supercurio/status/266822004076851200

:(
[Nexus 4 General] FriendlyFire:
Ugh. The lack of details is extremely annoying. I want to know whether it's a hardware issue, a software issue, or both...
[Nexus 4 General] yahyoh:
qualcomm DAC :(:(

nothing yet beat wolfson DAC :rolleyes:

Dman even my s1 sound wayyyyyyyyyyy better than my s2 ( with ****ty Yamaha DAC ) :eek:

edit : if its better than my s2 crappy DAC i will be very happy :D
[Nexus 4 General] Venekor:
My iPhone 4 recorded amazing Audio but my GS2 is horrible and cannot compare in the slightest.

I just wish'd Android hardware manufacturers would make better quality products as I am an Android user because the software is better.
[Nexus 4 General] BlueScreenJunky:
I wouldn't worry too much about that : There's a huge difference between supercurio saying the audio is not good from measurements, and a human being actually being able to hear a difference.

Anyway, as long as it's better than my current SGS2 international (which shouldn't be hard...) I'll be happy.
[Nexus 4 General] josjator:
Just in the case the audio is not good at all, are there good USB earphones with included DAC that we may use?
[Nexus 4 General] sarni84:
Qualcomm DAC is actually pretty damn good just because it can't be hacked or doesn't wanna be hacked does not mean it sucks my s3 sounds great with the s4 processor I'd imagine they did a better job on the quadcore pro
[Nexus 4 General] supercakefish:
As long as it's an improvement on the Galaxy S2 Yamaha I'll be happy.
[Nexus 4 General] stormtroopercs:
You got that right! +1
[Nexus 4 General] BaronInkjet:
And of course, supercurio couldn't possibly be biased -- only making products for Wolfson-based phones. :confused: :D
[Nexus 4 General] [hfm]:
I've never been upset with audio quality of any of my phones (g1, n1, g2, nexus s, galaxy nexus) and I like good quality ear buds. Currently using Klipsch s4a with comply tips. I used to spend much more on better quality headphones but I either lose or break them a little too often.

Unless you are an edge case audiophile elitist you will be just fine.
[Nexus 4 General] ceroglu:
Currently using TripleFi 10 with my GS3 and cant wait to have fully functioning DSP manager with CM10

.
[Nexus 4 General] @rbiter:
I became a wanna be audiophile after the n1. The n1 was horrible. The atrix was pretty good, the gnex almost as good the Wolfson 8994, and the Wolfson 1811 in Gtab 2 rocks my socks off. Anyways, here is to hoping the Qualcomm sound chip is at least as good, but hopefully better than the burr brown in the gnex. I can't believe how many OEM's don't put premium sound chips in their flagships. And the even the low and mid tier phones should have decent sound. The modern smartphone has many uses for sound and recording and skimping on the sound is unacceptable. And in no way do I have high expectations for the nexus 4. It is a mid tier phone with high end CPU/GPU. Hope the thd and noise floor are low. Hate distortion at high levels and hiss at low levels. Hopefully volume is adequate all the way around too.

BTW, has anybody verified if the nexus 4 has noise cancellation? I've seen a couple of reviews mention it does and an unofficial spec say so, but no confirmation or what noise cancellation chip is used. Wolfson or audience is preferred if so.

...
[Nexus 4 General] teckzilla:
http://soundcloud.com/anandtech/google-nexus-4-noise-rejection
[Nexus 4 General] thered1:
The Galaxy Nexus has a miserable speaker. That, in combination with the fact that it was artificially too low on the software side made it pretty bad. I use mmuzzy's ROM, so there's a software volume boost, but the speaker is tinny. I still have an OG Droid and that speaker puts the Galaxy Nexus to shame.

So interested to see how the Nexus 4 sound is like, but it'll be hard to tell until we get some demo units.