[Erukian]

HTC One M8 even better.

Do we have measurements of both phones somewhere comparing them?

 

[Hungryhoss]

  Do we have measurements of both phones somewhere comparing them?

 
http://www.gsmarena.com/samsung_galaxy_s5_vs_htc_one_m8-review-1067p7.php

 

[vwinter]

iPhone 5S Measurements

HTC One M8 Measurements

Both from the same measurement rig. RMAA measurements don't tell the whole story, but information is power so... there you go.

Might need to use a translation service.

 

[Erukian]

Should be interesting to see if the iphone 6 improves things when it (probably) lands in a few weeks.

 

[elfary]

iPhone 5S Measurements

HTC One M8 Measurements

Both from the same measurement rig. RMAA measurements don't tell the whole story, but information is power so... there you go.

Might need to use a translation service.

These are unloaded measurements. Hence of little use to explain the performance with headphones attached.

Anyway i have tried the M8 and while good it is not able to match the clarity of the 5s.


Password must contain at least one capital letter, the meaning of life, 14 of your favorite baby names, the Hamlet plot summary and a hug.

 

[pinoyman]

i am currently using iphone 5c plus astell and kern ak10 for my current set up while waiting for the ibasso dx90.
the sound with the es700, c5, heaven 6, cl are fantastic!!
 
more instrument separation and soundstage, less the harshness, better clarity and details too!

 

[Baroninkjet]

If there are any iFenceSitters in the US, Verizon has an amazing deal now -- including 32 and 64 GB models. Half price with new contracts. There service is actually reasonable, for the first time I can remember, also.

 

[Confusius]

Hey people,
 
Ive read so many posts here that the sound of the iPhone 5c/5s is outstanding! What I
think is, that its noticeably better than many other devices, even some laptops, but Im
not satisfied with its sound in combination with my HD 25s. I even use sonic max pro,
but the sound is not even close to my stereo system with the HD 25s. I hear a hiss and
the sound is not very full!
 
Does anyone know if I can get a portable device for under 500 bucks with a better sound?
My idea was an old android device, like the Nexus 1 with vodoo sound or a portable DAC/amp.

 

[pinoyman]

go to the DX90 route

 

[newzild]

Quote:
 
 

  Hey people,
 
Ive read so many posts here that the sound of the iPhone 5c/5s is outstanding! What I
think is, that its noticeably better than many other devices, even some laptops, but Im
not satisfied with its sound in combination with my HD 25s. I hear a hiss and
the sound is not very full!q

 
Which model of HD 25 are you using? And which model of iPhone (5s or 5c)?
 
I'm using HD 25 1-II headphones with the 5s and the sound quality is awesome - full, rich sound and absolutely no hiss whatsoever.

 

[cubeover]

From my experience, 5c has inferior sound to 4s. This is me, loving warmth of analog era.
5c has better resolution, so good that it allows you to resolve the inefficiencies in the digital encoding. It sound too digital to me, I can hear some modulation noise.
4s is warmer and more holistic, I cannot hear gaps or digital whistling, even in lower bitrates.
As much as I liked 5c smartphone part, I hated its music.
I also listened to 5s for about 30 minutes, and it is better thab 5c (punchier bass, there's more dynamic range and it felt powerful) but I found it lacking musicality in the same manner - there is brute power and resolution, but I was missing vocal immediacy, beauty and warmth. They both kind of "remoted" vocal emotions, whereas 4s with SQ5 gives me shivers as if they're singing right in my ear. Every miniscule emotional tone is there. Not so with 5c/s. It is sad really, that I cannot upgrade. I will try iPhone 6 next.
I do not listen to rock, mostly vocals and world pop (not mainstream/US).

 

[heatofamatch]

  From my experience, 5c has inferior sound to 4s. This is me, loving warmth of analog era.
5c has better resolution, so good that it allows you to resolve the inefficiencies in the digital encoding. It sound too digital to me, I can hear some modulation noise.
4s is warmer and more holistic, I cannot hear gaps or digital whistling, even in lower bitrates.
As much as I liked 5c smartphone part, I hated its music.
I also listened to 5s for about 30 minutes, and it is better thab 5c (punchier bass, there's more dynamic range and it felt powerful) but I found it lacking musicality in the same manner - there is brute power and resolution, but I was missing vocal immediacy, beauty and warmth. They both kind of "remoted" vocal emotions, whereas 4s with SQ5 gives me shivers as if they're singing right in my ear. Every miniscule emotional tone is there. Not so with 5c/s. It is sad really, that I cannot upgrade. I will try iPhone 6 next.
I do not listen to rock, mostly vocals and world pop (not mainstream/US).

 
I remember people making the same comparison between the "4" generation devices and the ones that came before, and saying the iphone 4/4S/ipod touch 4G are too cold.
 
This is also the same change that occurred between the ipod video and ipod classic. The earlier an ipod, the warmer/more analog the sound. And Apple has been consistently traveling on the road to a brighter, sharper sound.
 
Modulation noise is almost to be expected with class-D amps, the manufacturer's s execution will determine how much of it we hear. I thought Apple's execution is probably the best I've ever heard on a portable player, way better than some of the older ones Sony and Sharp have used, but as you can see from what I've written, everybody's got a different cup of tea.
 
For me, no modern device can render vocals as emotionally as certain Panasonic players from the 90s, so I don't expect to be wowed in that aspect. Sony and Apple's signature sounds are also designed to take vocals away from your ears (more so with sony), that's two strikes against the idea. So I tend to just focus on what they do best, which in Apple's case is resolution, which the 5C/5S and even the ipod shuffle does very well, like no other consumer-grade competition.

 

[_js_]

Hi everyone!  Just thought I'd post an update to this thread, since I've been using my iPhone 5S as my main listening source for well over a year now.
 
As some of you may remember, it was not a love-at-first-listen sort of thing!  LOL!  To my ears, the Senn PX-100's sounded less-than-good out of the 5S, despite the fact that to these same ears, they sounded quite good out of my iPhone 4.  However, once I got my Ety ER-4S's and my Senn HD-595's, it was a completely different story.  I am still very impressed (or rather, even more so than at first) with these pairings, and I am very happy listening to music from these combinations.  Unquestionably a step up in sound quality from my iPhone 4 / PX100 pairing.  And, from my somewhat brief comparison listening sessions, noticeably better than the iPhone 4 paired with either the ER-4S's or the HD-595's.
 
The iPhone 5S is clear, detailed, and powerful--IF you pair it with the right headphones.  Call it synergy, call it whatever, but it seems to play a big role in the iPhone 5S.  If you don't like the sound with a certain headphone, do try a different one, and then another one.  I suspect that your efforts will pay off.
 
Anyway, just thought I'd drop in on this old thread.  No interest in an iPhone 6, personally, and haven't heard anything (nor searched) regarding it's sound quality.

 

[elfary]

  Hi everyone!  Just thought I'd post an update to this thread, since I've been using my iPhone 5S as my main listening source for well over a year now.
 
As some of you may remember, it was not a love-at-first-listen sort of thing!  LOL!  To my ears, the Senn PX-100's sounded less-than-good out of the 5S, despite the fact that to these same ears, they sounded quite good out of my iPhone 4.  However, once I got my Ety ER-4S's and my Senn HD-595's, it was a completely different story.  I am still very impressed (or rather, even more so than at first) with these pairings, and I am very happy listening to music from these combinations.  Unquestionably a step up in sound quality from my iPhone 4 / PX100 pairing.  And, from my somewhat brief comparison listening sessions, noticeably better than the iPhone 4 paired with either the ER-4S's or the HD-595's.
 
The iPhone 5S is clear, detailed, and powerful--IF you pair it with the right headphones.  Call it synergy, call it whatever, but it seems to play a big role in the iPhone 5S.  If you don't like the sound with a certain headphone, do try a different one, and then another one.  I suspect that your efforts will pay off.
 
Anyway, just thought I'd drop in on this old thread.  No interest in an iPhone 6, personally, and haven't heard anything (nor searched) regarding it's sound quality.

 
Can recall your useful posts.
 
About to make a year with the 5s as well and still impressed by the clarity of its headphone out. Sounds as pure as it gets.
 
Have listened a few times to the 6 but i find the 5s a bit better (tighter bass and bit more balanced). Out of my Westone UM3x and TDK BA200 at least.
 
If it was not for the 128Gb i would have not bothered in testing the 6.

 

[_js_]

   
Can recall your useful posts.
 
About to make a year with the 5s as well and still impressed by the clarity of its headphone out. Sounds as pure as it gets.
 
Have listened a few times to the 6 but i find the 5s a bit better (tighter bass and bit more balanced). Out of my Westone UM3x and TDK BA200 at least.
 
If it was not for the 128Gb i would have not bothered in testing the 6.

Hey elfary!  How are you?  I was just reading in the iPhone 6 audio quality thread and was struck by a number of your posts, starting with this one:
 

  For what it's worth i have plugged my Westone UM3x and Westone W30 to many boutique bricks and dedicated amps and most of the time iPhone 5s was as good (or even better in more than a few instances). This perception of mine coupled with the fact that iPhone UI and battery mops the floor with those chinese bricks seal the deal for me: iPhone all the way.
 
THD+ Noise just does not get better than on an iPhone 5s, output impedance is low enough not to be a factor (2.1), channel separation is just stunning (-56 dBFS with an 8 ohm load) and it does not clip with low low loads. Hence unless you have volume issues i don't see the point in killing the convenience of the iPhone as a source.
 
There's certain beauty in the simplicity of plugging your in ear monitors into an iPhone and just getting lost in the dream.
 
The (not yellow) brick road is not for me. Sorry.
 
Just my 0.02

 
I don't have experience with the Westone's, but I can say for certain that there was very little benefit to using the JDS Labs C5D with my Ety ER-4S's.  The 5S alone was 95 percent as good!  And I just this morning realized that I had never paired my ER-4S's with my Apogee Duet, which I recently read was considered a good pairing.  So, I went ahead and did some back and forth listening, and dang if the 5S didn't go head to head with the Duet.  Again I would say that it was 95 percent as good as the Duet.  In both cases, I thought that I could tell a bit of difference in the treble--just a bit more smoothness with the Duet or C5D.
 
But perhaps that was just bias and I was fooling myself!  In any case, I totally agree with what you wrote in the other thread--quoted above.  There really is something about just plugging your IEM's into the iPhone and getting lost in the music.  So easy, so portable, so readily available.  And if you get lost in the music in addition to all that convenience?  Well, that's just really really great.  Add to that the advantage of having a smart phone, and the Apple ecosystem advantages, and, well, it's easy to see why many of us continue to use our iPhones to listen to music.
 
Anyway, thanks so much for your posts!
 
Interesting to know that according to Ken R., that OI of the 6 is 3.1 ohms, although people say that is high?  Anyway, the 2.3 ohms (or some say 2.1, I guess) of the 5S is quite respectable.