Yes - you're right: it is very tinny. And no - there's no equaliser. The interesting thing about the Desire is that in some respects, it's the bees-knees; in others, it's pants. All the reviews seem to concentrate on the good bits, so people's expectations tend to be very high.

For example, see this allied thread.

 

Plug the headphones and all will be well, it's not made to annoy old ladies on the bus anyway and no one wants to hear your music so it's not really a problem.

 

True, but it is an example of how the Desire doesn't excel in all areas. I compared it to a Nokia and a Samsung, and it really doesn't sound great. If other manufacturers can manage it, why not HTC?

 

It has essentially perfect sound quality via headphones though, I'm with marcjohnson, could care less about the speaker...

Of course every phone has its weaknesses, and this is just one of the Desires, one I can definitely live with, but others mileage may vary of course...