[chocomel]

Hi, I at the moment have an ipod touch which I use to listen music to.

Is there a difference between a Iphone/Ipod touch/ Htc One X audio? Or it's all similar and there is no real difference?

I'm planning on buying the HTC One X+ and also using it as mp3 player, but would be lame if the quality was worse than the ipod touch/iphone.
 
Thanks in advance.
 

 

[NinjaBoot]

I have both the iPhone 5 and the One X, The One X's beats audio is just a set of EQ curves (which can be turned off and on) and are not that special.
 
I use Spotify's paid service and use both extreme settings which is supposed to deliver 320k audio. IMO the HTC does a pretty good job as a mp3 player, not great but good enough. Inline controls will only pause and resume, skip starts a call and volume has no effect which is a bummer. BT audio seems to work really well in my car and LTE is a nice bonus for streaming. The battery life is excellent, screen is AMAZING and it is no slouch in the horsepower category (it is truly a magnificent phone 8.5). 
 
I do feel that the iPhone has and does a much better job at being more universal player, and receives apps and services WAY BEFORE android. I am also a fan of Apple Lossless Audio, mainly due to the fact that i am a Mac user and have Apple T.V's and Classic iPods etc.
 
Hope this helps, feel free to PM me if you have any specific questions that you might have. 

 

[chocomel]

Hi thank you for your response. So if you look purely at the audio quality of (for example spotify streaming) comparing the Iphone 5 to the One X, is there a difference in audio quality (Assuming the beats audio is turned off), or there is no difference?
 

 

[NinjaBoot]

The even with the beats switched off the HTC is not as natural as the iPhone. But with the filter on it makes natural hp's like the triplefi 10's more "fun".

 

[NinjaBoot]

Sorry I used natural when I meant neutral...
 
And to expand on the sound of the HTC (without the EQ) its wider, brighter, midrange is slightly recessed with somewhat elevated lows. It is what I think most would consider to be lively or fun sounding.
 
And I like the One X/TripleFi combo, although I can't imagine the Beats on Beats pairing...
 

 

[NZtechfreak]

For me the One X SQ was a big step down from the iPhone.

 

[chocomel]

That's too bad...are any other android smartphones better?

 

[NZtechfreak]

Of current high-end models the Galaxy S3/Note 2 (international) are your best bet. On stock software straight out the headphone out I still favoured the iPhone, but with a custom kernel or USB DAC it has plenty of scope for improvement.

 

[chocomel]

I dont really know what to think anymore because there are alot of conflicting views:
Example: http://www.engadget.com/2012/10/02/iphone-vs-rivals-audio-tests says Samsung Galaxy III is really bad.
 
Yet in this test: http://www.gsmarena.com/samsung_galaxy_s_iii_us_version-review-774p6.php
Samsung galaxy III international is almost equal to the Iphone 4s..
 
And this test again says Samsung galaxy III is much worse than Iphone 5
http://www.head-fi.org/t/624280/iphone-4s-galaxy-s3-measured-performance-in-decibels#post_8648252
 
What to make of this?

 

[NZtechfreak]

Quote:

I dont really know what to think anymore because there are alot of conflicting views:
Example: http://www.engadget.com/2012/10/02/iphone-vs-rivals-audio-tests says Samsung Galaxy III is really bad.
 
Yet in this test: http://www.gsmarena.com/samsung_galaxy_s_iii_us_version-review-774p6.php
Samsung galaxy III international is almost equal to the Iphone 4s..
 
And this test again says Samsung galaxy III is much worse than Iphone 5
http://www.head-fi.org/t/624280/iphone-4s-galaxy-s3-measured-performance-in-decibels#post_8648252
 
What to make of this?

 
The Engadget piece has a number of significant limitations, the most damning being not volume equalising their test (the reason why in their subjective 'quality' ranking the phones are basically listed in order of loudest volume --> quietest). 
 
GSMArena's tests are flawed, again not really to be relied upon.
 
As I said, I still favoured the iPhone, but if you use things like the Siyah kernel and its audio-tweaks (and maybe someday Voodoo Sound), then the S3 improves significantly. You also have the option of a separate DAC/amp with the S3 to further improve sound.

 

[chocomel]

I just tested the HTC Desire C and wow the sound difference between my ipod touch (about 3 years old I think this one is, dunno the version, it's without camera) is pretty big. I used my sennheiser CX 400 II to test and..
The ipod touch has a much better more full sound imo. I also have noticable noise during quiet parts of the songs on the HTC Desire C.

Makes me really wanna stay away from HTC mobiles.