Sound quality over headphones?

MortalSynz · Sep 21, 2013

I'm going back and forth between the G2 and HTC One, but one of the important selling points for me is sound quality over headphones, internal speakers do not matter as much to me. I know the HTC One has built-in Beats and would be superior, but maybe compared to the iPhone/iPod, how does the LG G2 (on VZW if that matters) stack up against the competition?

A big reason I switched to the iPhone was for the sound quality and just overall better media management than my old GS2, but I'm so tired of the iPhone and really want to switch back to an Android device. Thanks ahead of time for your input.

dan409 · Sep 21, 2013

MortalSynz said:
I'm going back and forth between the G2 and HTC One, but one of the important selling points for me is sound quality over headphones, internal speakers do not matter as much to me. I know the HTC One has built-in Beats and would be superior, but maybe compared to the iPhone/iPod, how does the LG G2 (on VZW if that matters) stack up against the competition?

A big reason I switched to the iPhone was for the sound quality and just overall better media management than my old GS2, but I'm so tired of the iPhone and really want to switch back to an Android device. Thanks ahead of time for your input.

Just picked up the G2 last week. Previously had a GS3 and HTC One. Unfortunately in my experience the HTC was the loudest and best sounding, followed by the S3 and then the G2. G2 just doesn't have much volume and the audio effects adjustments don't seem to do much to change that.

nitramus · Sep 22, 2013

I don't have the G2 yet but waiting for it here in Canada. I don't really like the apps that come with the phones when it comes to sound. That it why I like better using a good media app to fix the sound as you like and I find most of the time that it does a better job. But again when it comes to hardware there could be/are some difference that you can not change.

Adauth · Sep 22, 2013

Beats is nothing but a marketing gimmick. Lots of apps in the play store can give you the same options. Poweramp is a good example. Recent/new smartphones are all going to deliver pretty much the same great sound quality. Besides if you don't have a great headseat you're not going to be able to appricate any minor differences anyway.
The G2 also has some hardware advantages in the sound department.
"The G2 is the first phone on the market to feature 24 bit/192kHz Hi-Fi audio playback. this can reproduce studio-like audio quality, superior to what you

darkestred · Sep 22, 2013

dan409 said:
Just picked up the G2 last week. Previously had a GS3 and HTC One. Unfortunately in my experience the HTC was the loudest and best sounding, followed by the S3 and then the G2. G2 just doesn't have much volume and the audio effects adjustments don't seem to do much to change that.

You don't think the headphones are loud enough or the external speaker? Because depending on which type of headphones you're using (usually iems with low impedance) the headphones will make you deaf at the highest setting. And if they aren't loud to you then you may need to get your ears check because you're damaging them. If you meant the external speaker - nevermind

Look. I'm going to say this again. If you care about external speakers the HTC are better than the g2. The g2 are better than the s3. You can make the g2 speakers louder with root and editing a taiko snd file.

As far as headphones. You need a good pair of headphones and a dac/amp to really hear any benefits of the 24/192. As well as significant increase in audio. Good headphones will help but the dac/amp will make the listening experience that much better. Not needed but something to think about.

Beats as the poster said is nothing more than a marketing gimmick which can achieve same results with eq'ing and audio effects from other apps.

The g2 is probably the best or near the top in terms of its internal dac and audio. The sound is v-shaped and the bass is produced much cleaner than the s3.

You can't go wrong with either phone.

MortalSynz · Sep 23, 2013

Awesome replies and tidbits of info. Thank you guys! After more research the past few days, I've decided on the LG G2

jikhead · Sep 23, 2013

If anyone is looking for an awesome set of headphones, I'm about to purchase these. These are custom in-ear-monitors with triple drivers (one each for the low, mid, and high frequencies). Custom monitors are expensive and after more than a year of off-and-on research and delaying my purchase, I've decided on this brand. There are so many brands out there and I personally believe that most are likely using the same internal driver components. If you want one from these guys, there are other driver options and there's a 15% coupon on their Facebook page if you search for it.

AT-3 | Gorilla Ears

stef7 · Sep 23, 2013

Not to hijack your discussion, but some thoughts... I try to avoid mechanically cycling the earphone jack of any phone I own. One alternate is to use an A2DP receiver (very inexpensive on eBay) and transmit audio via Bluetooth to headphones, earphones, stereo, or amplified speakers.

Also aren't some headphones Bluetooth these days?

Remember too that there are equalizer downloads. Some players like Mixzing have them built in.

I would also be cautious of prolonged earphone use at high levels.

STSinNYC · Sep 27, 2013

To use any smartphone for quality listening I would suggest from experience that you will want to install an audiophile app such as Neutron and of course you need quality phones. I installed Neutron and listening with Grado SR-60s, good quality recordings sound fine to me. I tried a 24/96 file of classical music, it sounded very good. I concur with Darkestred that for real audiophile listening, you need a DAC, headphone amp etc. You may be surprised how good the G2 music output will be if you install an audiophile app, use it effectively, and use quality earphones. I would rather have good quality hardware setup with neutral sound that I can adjust rather than having an engineer program the way he/she thinks it should sound.

spinedoc · Sep 27, 2013

I definitely notice worse sound than my iphone 5. My BT stereo headset doesn't sound great, it sounds tinny and weak with the G2. A BT phone headset sounds worse, weak sound. To add insult to injury you are stuck with the LG voice app when you hit your BT button. So far this is one of the very few negatives on this phone, but Ota definitely a negative.

MortalSynz · Sep 30, 2013

Thanks STS, I'll give Neutron a try. I've been messing with some equalizers in an attempt to improve quality. I'm not so much of an audio "geek" that I require a bunch of extra hardware, I just wanted better quality than what it provides at a stock level. Also (@stef) when I say quality, I don't mean high volume, I mean stronger bass, better mids and cleaner highs.

I received the device last Friday and really have only been messing with it since yesterday, but so far I'm loving it and don't regret the purchase even though I'm still messing with the audio.

dan409 · Sep 30, 2013

darkestred said:
You don't think the headphones are loud enough or the external speaker? Because depending on which type of headphones you're using (usually iems with low impedance) the headphones will make you deaf at the highest setting. And if they aren't loud to you then you may need to get your ears check because you're damaging them. If you meant the external speaker - nevermind

Look. I'm going to say this again. If you care about external speakers the HTC are better than the g2. The g2 are better than the s3. You can make the g2 speakers louder with root and editing a taiko snd file.

As far as headphones. You need a good pair of headphones and a dac/amp to really hear any benefits of the 24/192. As well as significant increase in audio. Good headphones will help but the dac/amp will make the listening experience that much better. Not needed but something to think about.

Beats as the poster said is nothing more than a marketing gimmick which can achieve same results with eq'ing and audio effects from other apps.

The g2 is probably the best or near the top in terms of its internal dac and audio. The sound is v-shaped and the bass is produced much cleaner than the s3.

You can't go wrong with either phone.

I was talking about the headphone volume. I have owned the HTC One and Galaxy S3 and the sound is definitely not as loud. I do not blast my music,but mp3's are not recorded at the same level. I could compensate very easily with the HTC or S3 to get the sound to a good listening level, can't do that with the LG.
The speaker volume is also much lower while using GPS navigation or speakerphone. Never had a problem hearing spoken directions with HTC or S3, G2 forget it, can't hear them.
Anyways, speaker volume was fixed by rooting and adjusting taiko-snd files. Still haven't found any setting for the headphones though. I am sure the author of the post for the taiko-snd files will figure it out eventually !
I should mention that the S3 is rooted and with a Rom that does contain a volume boost hack built in. Don't get me wrong, I love the phone, just looking for a bit more flexibility controlling the volume.

spinedoc · Oct 4, 2013

I tried this from over at XDA dev forums and it improved my bluetooth stereo sound a decent amount.

If u are rooted, get terminal emulator from playstore, and do steps 2 on down. Exapmle:

Try to enable AptX codec:
1. adb shell
2. su
3. setprop persist.service.btui.use_aptx 1
Check that property was changed:
4. getprop persist.service.btui.use_aptx
You should get "1"

Reboot the phone and check bluetooth sound quality

PowerPlayGraphix · Oct 5, 2013

I plugged mine in to a set of high-end Audio Technica last night and they sounded INCREDIBLE. Beautiful, rich sound. Very smooth. I've used it with other standard headphones and bluetooth and it sounded better on those as well (better in comparison to previous phones not necessarily the One).

My recommendation, if you have a good pair of headphones, take them to a corporate verizon store, pull up the same music file on Play music or Youtube on both and listen and compare.

Sound quality over headphones?

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