Galaxy S audio versus iPod

[mattyjim]

Can anybody tell me how the Samsung Galaxy S (UK version) compares to the iPod (or iPhone of course) in terms of music playback (through headphones)?

I listen to a lot of music, and just had a really bad experience with the HTC Desire (lots of hiss and network interference).

The Samsung S looks the business, but poor audio will be a deal breaker when it comes to moving from my iPhone 3G.

Are there any music lovers out there with experience of these two devices?

 

[blazeplacid]

Im almost certain the captivate has support for FLAC.

What are most of your files formated in?? 320k MP3 seems to be the standard now.

I use Klipsch S4 head phones all day at work and its about the same sound as an ipod.

No background noise or any kind of unwanted additives.

 

[an_dre_as]

Swedish Android site Swedroid tested the Galaxy S with the Rightmark Audio Analyzer in their review.

The results
In comparison with other devices

I'm no audio expert so I don't really know what to make of those graphs, but Swedroid's conclusion (based on their own listening experience) was that the audio quality was roughly on par with the iPhone 3GS and the Sony Ericsson X10 (two devices recognized to have good audio playback quality), better than the others they'd tested (Desire, Nexus One and X10 mini), and saying that the Galaxy S had the most powerful audio output (signal level) of all tested devices (which may or may not be relevant to you depending on what headphones you use).

Personally I have no complaints with the audio quality of my Galaxy S.

 

[mattyjim]

Thanks for your replies!

@blazeplacid:
Most of my files are .mp3 (around 192kbps), although I tested the Desire with FLAC as well (which as I remember required a third party app from the Android market).
I'm not positive, but I think that the only Galaxy S handset available in the UK is different to the Captivate. If this is the case then hopefully they'll use the same audio chip or whatever, because if it sounds like an iPod then I'm sold!

@an_dre_as:
Well, I don't read Swedish (which is a real shame as that looks like one the most comprehensive handset reviews I've ever seen!), but as the iPhone and X10 are both supposed to be decent music phones then the Samsung S should also be awesome.

I'm no audio expert either, but looking at the graphs it's interesting to see what appears to be a large amount of deviation in the Desire.


Thanks to both of you for your help! I'll be off to test out a Galaxy S as soon as I can.......hopefully tomorrow

 

[jezbear43]

well ive just returned my htc desire and had a galaxy s and can tell you im blown away with the sound quality.its loud ,rich and utterly brilliant.

sons got an ipod touch and its better than that as far as my untrained ear can tell.

 

[ayrshiredude]

I had a HTC Hero for a while there and listened to it through a pair of Sennheiser cx300II earphones (I have lost my sure ec2s so these were a temp untill I find them) I thought the cx300II were not that good as the sound was hissy and pretty dull. When I got my Galaxy S I was amazed at the difference in sound quality using the same earphones. The sound is much crisper and more open. Bass is more defined and there is far more detail.

Obviously the Hero was just plain rubbish.

 

[big_mike]

its awesomely good but im using shure 110 headphones. not the standard ones bundled so im sure this helps.

 

[furstrated]

i got the Galaxy s, a rockboxed 5.5gen, and an itouch, used to have a 32gb 3gs
the galaxy s has better sq than the touch and almost up to the rockboxed ipod in sq. I think its got better sq than the 3gs, but i got rid of it shortly before getting the SGS so i wasnt able to do an A/B. I mostly listen to lossless on pc but had to reencode in 320 for the SGS, im going for more music vs lossless. I listen through a pair of triplefi10.
The SGS is very detailed and changed my mind about sound alterations via eq and effects. The 3gs got crappy eq and the preset is crap, so i never used those and thinks that eqing my music will make them sound crap or take away the original sound. The 5.1 srs on the Galaxy s made the already incredible soundstage of my triplefi10 even more incredible. the triplefi now sounds really 3d with better sound placement and in-between spaces. cant listen to music without the 5.1 anymore tho i still left the eq flat and effects are off

It confirmed that the galaxy s uses a wolfson dac from the wolfson site. the wolfson dac was used by apple in its older gen(5.5 and older ipods). I think the wolfson dac is better than the cirrus dac in the newer gen apple products
i personally think the SGS beats the 3gs and the touch

 

[xs56]

Spotify Premium on mine (160k ogg vorbis), with Sennheiser CX550 style II headphones =

Listened to plenty of ipods in the past and it sounds damn good to me. Don't feel the need for eq either. Oh and yes it goes bloody loud, I listen at about 30% and that's plenty for me.

 

[FadeFx]

guys check this out: Improving audio quality by disabling the default EQ applied with headphone - xda-developers
but dont forget, its not persistant atm, you need to apply the fix again after reboot

 

[snapper.fishes]

Hands down iPod.

Shouldn't that be damn obvious from the beginning? I love my Galaxy S, but it's not much of a music player.

 

[xs56]

Hands down iPod.

Shouldn't that be damn obvious from the beginning? I love my Galaxy S, but it's not much of a music player.

I don't think its that clear an issue. Lets not forget the biggest flaw of any ipod: itunes.

I can't stand bloated software installs and itunes is like a freaking virus on a pc. (lets not mention Kies!!)

The default Samsung media player on the SGS is ok but I've had Spotify on it since day one and its a great player that sounds great. With the 16gb of internal mem you can easily add/remove playlists and tracks that then sync automatically when in wifi range; drag tracks into the player online on the pc at work and listen to them on the way home . The navigation on the player is also very good. Lacks eyecandy but works very well. Costs money each month but is a fraction of what I'd have to spend on albums that I wouldn't listen to much anyway.

SGS plus Spotify plus decent headphones equals perfect mobile music player.

 

[mattyjim]

I got my Galaxy S yesterday, and I have to say that it's awesome!!

I'm using a pair of Sennheiser CX400 II's and the sound is every bit as good as my iPod Nano and 3GS (through the same headphones). I'll need to listen to a good few tracks before I reach my final verdict, but the first impressions are great, and in a completely different league to the Desire in terms of audio.

In terms of useability, it's fair to say that I don't find the default music player's interface to be quite as user-friendly as the 3GS, but it's hardly anything to moan about and I was aware that would be the case right from the beginning.

A lot of the reviews I've read seem to really go overboard on highlighting the flaws in the Galaxy S too, which I'm actually pretty amazed about having finally used one.

Seems odd that this phone doesn't grab more headlines :-s

 

[xs56]

Seems odd that this phone doesn't grab more headlines :-s

Well it is a thinking man's iPhone.

Glad you're pleased with it. I wouldn't give it up for anything. And looking at the videos of early Froyo ROMs it only gonna get better, but that's for another thread of course.

 

[Deleted User]

Hands down iPod.

Shouldn't that be damn obvious from the beginning? I love my Galaxy S, but it's not much of a music player.

Sorry, but what technical reason do you have to believe this should be "damn obvious" - implying a question that shouldn't even be asked?

When a device like the tiny Sansa Clip has some of the best audio quality in the portable music player market, and given that the actual electronics for audio playback are tiny - which means even very high quality chips can be used in phones - I can't imagine why you'd throw up your hands and walk away from anything that's not a dedicated music player.

In any event, he didn't ask "iPod vs. Galaxy S" - he asked if it would be on par with an iPhone 3GS.

 

[jezbear43]

I got my Galaxy S yesterday, and I have to say that it's awesome!!

I'm using a pair of Sennheiser CX400 II's and the sound is every bit as good as my iPod Nano and 3GS (through the same headphones). I'll need to listen to a good few tracks before I reach my final verdict, but the first impressions are great, and in a completely different league to the Desire in terms of audio.

In terms of useability, it's fair to say that I don't find the default music player's interface to be quite as user-friendly as the 3GS, but it's hardly anything to moan about and I was aware that would be the case right from the beginning.

A lot of the reviews I've read seem to really go overboard on highlighting the flaws in the Galaxy S too, which I'm actually pretty amazed about having finally used one.

Seems odd that this phone doesn't grab more headlines :-s

thats how i feel!!.had mine over a week now and its incredible.and i still think the sound quality is awesome.there isnt one thing this phone cant do brilliantly.its the best phone ive ever owned by a million miles.i had the htc desire for 2 weeks before swapping it for this and it isnt even close to comparison.and i was drooling after a desire since christmas.it was very good but the speaker was just not good enough.
the only critisism i could lay on it and it isnt really...........................................










i nearly dropped it a couple of times cause its very shiny,like a bar of soap!!!!.but it is really beautiful as well!!!!!!!

 

[gerberman]

Agree with all, awsome phone havn`t stopped playing with it in the three weeks I`ve had it.... I really spend to much time downloading apps to play with

 

[snapper.fishes]

Well, for once, what about the fact that the stock music player cannot differentiate between music and ringtones? Also, what about music management? Itunes might be bloatware, but it makes adding music to your phone a lot more easier than having to copy and paste the files yourself. Not to mention that since WMP removed their tag editor, we know have to resort to third party tag editor, while itunes has its own built in one.

Now about quality. When you play music from SGS, you can only use the 3.5 mm jack, which is no where as good as the quality of the iphone port. I seriously doubt that we will ever see a high quality speaker that can run from the micro-usb port. (okay, I know that OP only said headphones, but if he has an iPhone, he will probably go buy a speaker for it.)

Now as for spotify. Well, you can only use it when you are in UK, and only when you are within wifi range. If you are on the move away from wifi network, you will fill up your network usage quota rapidly. (Actually, can spotify even run on 3G speed?)

Lastly, this is just personally opinion, but it feels like the music quality of my 4 years old iPod video is better than my SGS.

 

[Markiz]

Now about quality. When you play music from SGS, you can only use the 3.5 mm jack, which is no where as good as the quality of the iphone port. I seriously doubt that we will ever see a high quality speaker that can run from the micro-usb port. (okay, I know that OP only said headphones, but if he has an iPhone, he will probably go buy a speaker for it.)

would you care to elaborate this? It really does not make sense to me.. Iphone also has 3.5 jack for headphones
(i'm not talking about the speakers, because i can not understand why would anyone buy special speakers for a handheld device, especially audiophiles)


also, iphone default headphones are a peace of crap. And 95% of people DO NOT buy new high-quality pair. so those people would definitely be better of with SGS.

you are simply going into the extremes and with some false assumptions too.

 

[ayrshiredude]

Now about quality. When you play music from SGS, you can only use the 3.5 mm jack, which is no where as good as the quality of the iphone port. I seriously doubt that we will ever see a high quality speaker that can run from the micro-usb port. (okay, I know that OP only said headphones, but if he has an iPhone, he will probably go buy a speaker for it.)

Thats hardly a major selling point of the Iphone/Ipod.

Now as for spotify. Well, you can only use it when you are in UK, and only when you are within wifi range. If you are on the move away from wifi network, you will fill up your network usage quota rapidly. (Actually, can spotify even run on 3G speed?)

So there is some app for the Iphone/Ipod that lets you stream music over 3g? Oops the Ipod doesn't have 3g cause its not a phone.

Lastly, this is just personally opinion, but it feels like the music quality of my 4 years old iPod video is better than my SGS.

Disagree. i am using a pair of Senheisser CX-300II and the sound is every bit as good on the SGX as it is on my dads Ipod Touch. I am not sure what sound difference there is between the standard apple earbuds and the ones that come with the SGS but that's not really a good comparison of audio quality of these devices.

Kinda sounds like the old Apple is better than anything because argument.

 

[xs56]

Now as for spotify. Well, you can only use it when you are in UK, and only when you are within wifi range. If you are on the move away from wifi network, you will fill up your network usage quota rapidly. (Actually, can spotify even run on 3G speed?).

Just a correction but once loaded with music you can disable all network usage. Wifi is only required for downloading music to the phone. Only caveat is to go online once every 30days so it knows your account is still active. Yes it streams over 3G.

However a moot point I guess cos its also available on the iphone as an app as well so not Android exclusive. Just a suggestion for people looking for a music player alternative. I think it sounds very good on my SGS.

 

[snapper.fishes]

would you care to elaborate this? It really does not make sense to me.. Iphone also has 3.5 jack for headphones
(i'm not talking about the speakers, because i can not understand why would anyone buy special speakers for a handheld device, especially audiophiles)


also, iphone default headphones are a peace of crap. And 95% of people DO NOT buy new high-quality pair. so those people would definitely be better of with SGS.

you are simply going into the extremes and with some false assumptions too.

Perhaps. There's possibly a few mistakes in there somewhere. Feel free to correct me if I am wrong. Though I am quite interested in where you got your 95% figure from. Sounds a little bit too high to me.

You don't have to buy a speaker just for the iphone - you can buy a dock which is compatible with your home audio system. But in terms of headphones, the quality is probably about the same due to limitations of the 3.5 mm jack.

Kinda sounds like the old Apple is better than anything because argument.

Well, for your information, I don't use Macs, and I hate the iPad. So definitely not an Apple fanboy here.

But surely you have to agree that Apple at least wins in the software department. Music management with the SGS is simply troublesome. Not being able to identify ringtones from music file really is an annoyance. I have plenty of miscellaneous sound effects in my SD card that I would rather not listen to while trying to relax.

 

[Markiz]

Perhaps. There's possibly a few mistakes in there somewhere. Feel free to correct me if I am wrong. Though I am quite interested in where you got your 95% figure from. Sounds a little bit too high to me.

I'm a student. From Croatia. With recession still shaking. So i guess i'm biased a bit
Yeah, 95 is to high. Still, for anyone not wanting to buy expensive extra headphones, samsung packs pretty good ones with their phones.

You don't have to buy a speaker just for the iphone - you can buy a dock which is compatible with your home audio system. But in terms of headphones, the quality is probably about the same due to limitations of the 3.5 mm jack.

True about a dock.. god i cant wait to finish college, find a job and be able to buy stuff.
Does FLAC support mean anything to audiophiles?
Actually when compared on the same device, samsung headphones are much better than iphone ones, especially if your listening music in urban areas (better noise isolation). 3.5 can transmit just fine sound if headphones are good.

Not being able to identify ringtones from music file really is an annoyance. I have plenty of miscellaneous sound effects in my SD card that I would rather not listen to while trying to relax.

so galaxy does that tooooo.. crap. why do they do that? is it so hard to limit where the app looks for the music?