Is it my imagination, or does music sound better on the Captivate?

[Jake_Mongoose]

I've been an iPod user for years, even had an original iPhone, but for some reason, I think the music sounds a tad better on the Captivate? Anyone else notice this, or am imagining things?

 

[blazeplacid]

its about the same as an ipod/iphone really to my ears

im using Klipsch S4 in ears at work and some old school Pro25s at home

the quality is very good

 

[Dieabolical]

The music on the Captivate definitely sounds better than anything Apple branded, imo. I have had ipods/iphones before and know what those sound like. I use quality earbuds the retail for around 200.00 with all my music being 320kbs mp3 quality. I don't miss my iphone for music, thats for sure and especially itunes.

 

[getDange]

Apple is not known for sound/playback quality. Samsung has a history of producing GREAT MP3 players with great playback quality (p2, p3).

 

[RavenFox]

Your not the only one I've noticed it myself.

 

[Loremonger]

I was actually pleasantly surprised at the quality of the headphones and the 5.1 equalizer setting.

 

[xThaNaturalx]

If you're wearing headphones, the Captivate is much better quality than an iPod. If you're connected to anything with the headphone jack, you can turn your music player to full dolby 5.1 digital surround sound. There's a button in the "Music player" in the top right corner. It makes it sound amazing.

 

[mrspeedmaster]

I've been an iPod user for years, even had an original iPhone, but for some reason, I think the music sounds a tad better on the Captivate? Anyone else notice this, or am imagining things?

It has a Wolfson Audio DAC processor. Same one found on the older iPod Classic. It definitely sounds very,very,very good. It is the best sounding Android phone on the market due to the DAC processor. I say it is very comparable to the IPhone4. Supplied headphones are definitely better.

 

[Chew]

If you're wearing headphones, the Captivate is much better quality than an iPod. If you're connected to anything with the headphone jack, you can turn your music player to full dolby 5.1 digital surround sound. There's a button in the "Music player" in the top right corner. It makes it sound amazing.

When I press on that button, I get a message that says "5.1 channel can only be activated when sound effects are off".

OK, I go into the players settings and Effect doesn't have an "off".

Or is that talking about the overall phone sound effects? I never get notification sounds while I'm listening to the player anyway.

Edit: Never mind, I figured it out. Both Effects and Equalizer must be set to "Normal".

 

[DT]

It has a Wolfson Audio DAC processor. Same one found on the older iPod Classic. It definitely sounds very,very,very good. It is the best sounding Android phone on the market due to the DAC processor. I say it is very comparable to the IPhone4. Supplied headphones are definitely better.

Good info. I was going to say "it's generally about the DAC" but I didn't know the actual implementation.

 

[bmoliver]

Mine sounds as good as my old Creative Labs Vision M. Once I get a 16 GB SD card, I will transfer all my music files to the external card.

 

[ElTigre2323]

I feel like everything does sound very clear, but I actually prefer 5.1 surround sound to be off unless I'm watching a movie.

 

[BigCiX]

i have yet to try out the earbuds that come with the phone.

 

[Santiago.Correa]

The earbuds aren't anything to write home about, but I'm a bit of an audio geek so that's ultimately something of preference.

The Captivate is surprising for a phone, I was listening to a couple songs on some of my heavier duty headphones and was pleasantly surprised. Techno sounds really great on my car speakers as well. Sound is a little bit in your face for some tracks, but overall I like it a lot as a portable music player.

 

[xxmiscadxx]

agreed, i just switched over from the iphone 3g today to the captivate and the quality is so clear and sounds more crisp.

 

[peterpp]

Yes, my Capt sounds so much better than my sister's Iphone4.

 

[mesasone]

The Galaxy S does surprisingly well in RMAA testing... not quite up to the level of the iPhone 3GS, but above the iPhone4.

AS far as the music sounding "better" - well the Galaxy S phones do seem to be applying some kind of oddball EQ to low impedance loads (IE: headphones), though it doesn't seem to apply it to higher impedance loads (headphone amplifier, for example). You can set the EQ to +0dB across the board in the service menu. You'll have to Google it for more information.

 

[ConceptVBS]

Samsung has been known to produce stellar audio quality with their Yepp mp3 player lines and they still do. From an audiophile's perspective, they consistently rate high among mp3 players (iRiver as well).



Direct quote from gsmarena.com

Perfect audio quality

Like many other things about this handset, the audio output of the Samsung I9000 Galaxy S is downright impressive. The handset was reasonably loud and scored excellently on each and every reading in our test.
The signal-to-noise ratio is impressive and so are the flawless dynamic range and frequency response.
The distortion levels are also top-notch and generally there is nothing about the Galaxy S audio quality that we can frown at. And here go the results so you can see for yourselves.

http://www.gsmarena.com/samsung_i9000_galaxy_s-review-478p6.php

 

[Santiago.Correa]

I have noticed some sound anomalies, not bad persay, but different than what I typically hear out of my computer soundcard which I keep neutral. I would say that the effect makes music a little bit more "fun", it definitely isn't for analytical listening.

That being said, a few things I've found to sound great are bass, really tight and thumping. Female vocals are also great, try giving a listen to Regina Spektor or similarly talented female vocalists. Mids to highs are a bit too muddled for my taste, but that can be fixed to a certain extent with equalizers or an amp.

I've read around the forum that apparently the music player you use can give you significantly different playback experiences, so I'm wondering what you are all using as your media player? I'm using DT which is giving me a tighter, clearer sound than the native player in my opinion.

The Galaxy S does surprisingly well in RMAA testing... not quite up to the level of the iPhone 3GS, but above the iPhone4.

AS far as the music sounding "better" - well the Galaxy S phones do seem to be applying some kind of oddball EQ to low impedance loads (IE: headphones), though it doesn't seem to apply it to higher impedance loads (headphone amplifier, for example). You can set the EQ to +0dB across the board in the service menu. You'll have to Google it for more information.

 

[ranova]

I've heard otherwise regarding the sound quality of the SGS phone when you have headphones plugged into the 3.5" jack:
[REF] Headphones sound quality fix and improvements for Galaxy S - xda-developers

When you plug the 3.5mm jack out to a headphone device (any headphone)

- Headphone frequency response is modified.
My ears would say approx :
+6db from 35 to 200hz
-2db for 500hz to 5khz
+6db from 10khz to 12khz
+3db from 12 to 16khz

The result sounds like a strong loudness filter.
And you can say good bye to most of voice definition, instrument musicality, sound stage, stereo image and... listening pleasure

- Sound level is lowered in recent firmwares (not in stock JF3). I guess this is because i'm in France, and there is a law here to limit maximum sound level.
There is a side effect : this limit is done by lowering the analog level of the DAC output.
Great news is that for every in-ear isolating headphone like me, the noise level is much reduced compared to JF3

Should read the rest of that post, its interesting.

There is a tool to fix this really quickly:
Fix Galaxy S i9000 ALSA Headset Issue with MixGet | xda-developers

 

[mesasone]

I've heard otherwise regarding the sound quality of the SGS phone when you have headphones plugged into the 3.5" jack:
[REF] Headphones sound quality fix and improvements for Galaxy S - xda-developers



Should read the rest of that post, its interesting.

There is a tool to fix this really quickly:
Fix Galaxy S i9000 ALSA Headset Issue with MixGet | xda-developers

Something sounding "better" is a highly subjective statement. Give people access to an equalizer, and the first thing they tend to do a crack up the treble and bass to obnoxious levels and say it sounds better.

I'm not an analytical listener, but I do prefer to have the EQ zero'd out on the Galaxy S. Listening with TripleFi 10vi, and Monster Turbine Pro Copper, neither of which would be considered a neutral earphone.

 

[noc]

Being a previous owner of two iriver mp3 players and the samsung p2, I always regretted not keeping one of the others around when I got my ipod touch. It all depends on what type of music that you listen to as well. You do get louder output in external speakers with the ipod though, which is why I still carry that with me when I'm out on the road because I can't stand the radio.