[logicalform]

Hey guys, 
I currently have a Cowon S9 and I love the SQ I get from it. I also own an Evo 4g and love that as well. The problem is that the Evo sounds like complete and utter crap, while the Cowon sounds amazing (as expected). This is my second Cowon player and I am definitely spoiled at this point. I hate having to have two devices with me, however, and the rave reviews I've heard about the Galaxy line's SQ (with the voodoo kernel installed) have gotten me interested in getting the Nexus S 4g when it comes to Sprint to eliminate the need for carrying multiple devices.
 
My question, then, is how the voodoo'd Galaxy line compares to a Cowon player (the S9 in my case). For anyone who has been fortunate enough to have heard both of these setups, I'd love your (preferably DETAILED) opinion (even if you haven't heard them both but have anything interesting to add, I'd love to hear that too). For some background, I currently have some Grado SR80s that I listen to at home, some cheaper Sennheisers that are mostly for on the go, and also some Beats in-ears that I use mostly on the run as well (and there's probably about a 90% chance I'll be adding to that list soon... I have a problem like most of us here do...)
 
Thanks in advance for any help anyone can offer.
 
(BTW, I'm aware there are other threads similar to this, but I wanted a little bit more detailed info specifically regarding the Cowon/Galaxy comparison)
 

 

[tangwailam]

Mmm, I always wanted to ask the same question as I don't want to carry too many gadgets around. Hopefully someone can help.

 

[a_tumiwa]

i have Galaxy S Vibrant, the sound is suck, usually i love samsung product, but this one is worse than their DAP (P3, M3, etc) , i think if you want to focus music then just buy a DAP than a mobile phone
note: i have J3, and had S9 before, IMO they are better than Galaxy S Vibrant

 

[Ricardo Dawkins]

My Galaxy Vibrant sounds way better than my Zune 80.
I use the stock Android 2.1 ROM with PowerAmp or Music Player Pro with the DSP plugin setting my EQ with Bass and Treble Boost preset.

 

[logicalform]

Two very different opinions here.
Anybody try the voodoo sound enhancements?

 

[happybuns]

I have the galaxy S with the voodoo sound kernel. With the power amp app, it sounds really really good. using the bass dial on power amp, the bass goes really low without taking away from the highs. Although,coming from a sony x, the highs and mids while clear sounds slightly harsh and a little "all over the place" (please excuse my lack of audiophile parlance ) if i didnt have my sony x, would have happily used the galaxy s as my dap. would rate the galaxy s at a 7/10 with my sony at a 9.5/10

 

 

[king.mark]

I can help you guys, I own both a Cowon S9 and a Galaxy S i9000 with Voodoo Sound.
Just compared a few songs on both devices using my Westone 4 and I could not tell them apart.
Both sound very similar, there might be very small differences in clarity and soundstage but nothing worth thinking about.
Voodoo Sound has this cool feature that lets you use the phones volume buttons to control the analog gain of the Wolfson chip.
The HTC phones usually have bad audio quality, just have a look at GSMArena, they do audio quality tests in their reviews.
 
 

 

[logicalform]

Thanks for the info, king.mark. Were you using any bbe enhancements on the S9 when you compared them? If not, does turning them on change your opinion at all?

 

[scytheavatar]

http://www.swedroid.se/test-av-lg-optimus-2x/

BTW, you might want to consider getting the LG Optimus 2x. It features the same Wolfson WM8994 as Galaxy S and Nexus S but according to this review measures better than those 2 phones.

 

[guxin1129]

sound from most of mobilephones' suck.but you can try rockbox for android!rockbox is amazing!though ,i still feel a professional player like cowon better.

 

[king.mark]

Quote:

Thanks for the info, king.mark. Were you using any bbe enhancements on the S9 when you compared them? If not, does turning them on change your opinion at all?

I compared them without any sound enhancements running.
The BBE effects are not bad, I used them a lot before found Head-Fi and my headphones became crazy expensive
Nowadays I prefer not to use any effects, as they tend to make the music sound artificial and don't add to the clarity, the only thing I sometimes do is add a bit of low bass to give the music more punch.
The Wolfson Chip in the Galaxy S has a Hardware EQ (very nice) and 3D effect (BBE is better) build in.
Samsung doesn't use them right but luckily there is an app called Galaxy Tuner, it lets you set both in fine steps.

 

[king.mark]

Quote:

http://www.swedroid.se/test-av-lg-optimus-2x/

BTW, you might want to consider getting the LG Optimus 2x. It features the same Wolfson WM8994 as Galaxy S and Nexus S but according to this review measures better than those 2 phones.

http://www.gsmarena.com/lg_optimus_2x-review-564p8.php
 
In this review the LGs measurements are quite different and stereo crosstalk is bad ...

 

[logicalform]

The Optimus 2x does look like one heck of a phone and it's impressive that it packs a Wolfson as well, but I don't think there will be any Sprint availability for it from what I've seen (i'm stuck with Sprint for the time being).
I must say, though, the fact that Samsung isn't the only phone manufacturer now taking audio quality somewhat seriously seems like a positive sign. Hopefully this trend will continue amongst higher end phones. 

 

[gsusdavid]

Hi,
My main hobby is listining to music. I spent more than 30 years replacing hi-fi equipment to the latest models. I ma now retired and I still have some top of the line audio components like Pioneer turntable (Tangital drive) PLL-1000, BIC cassette deck fully electronic, two speed frequency responce is 20 to 25Khz, Pioneer reel-to-reel RT-909, a pair of monitor Yamaha Speakers NS-1000 and another pair of Pioneer speakers HPM-100, Yamaha amplifer CA-1000 class-A and class-B operation, and finally a main-amp and pre-amp Yamaha M4 and C4. I started with a stereo system then upgraded to 7-channel, then I moved to AC3 and dolby digital system.
I have also invested in the following portable system equipment: Cowon S9 (32GB), Cowon iAudio9 (16Gb) Fiio E5 and E7 and Monster Copper pro earphones, Monster Miles Davis earphones.
I can assure you that the Cowon products are the best choice for hearing the music. The reason is that they apply some unique sound enhansment that no other company has. This is the BBE+. since I am a technician I am not going into detail but this BBE+ process recreates the missing frequences and also the harmonics of the MP3's files and the result is that the lost frequences doe to compression will be all created and so, the rinal result will be as if one is playing a DVD/CD.
You can query about my portable components. One thing before I go I have the equilizer and all the other setting of the Cowon S9. If you like you can contact me and i will send you the settings.
Portable system I am using: cowon S9 + Fiio E7 + Miles Davis earphones with double flange earpads.


 
Quote:

Hey guys, 
I currently have a Cowon S9 and I love the SQ I get from it. I also own an Evo 4g and love that as well. The problem is that the Evo sounds like complete and utter crap, while the Cowon sounds amazing (as expected). This is my second Cowon player and I am definitely spoiled at this point. I hate having to have two devices with me, however, and the rave reviews I've heard about the Galaxy line's SQ (with the voodoo kernel installed) have gotten me interested in getting the Nexus S 4g when it comes to Sprint to eliminate the need for carrying multiple devices.
 
My question, then, is how the voodoo'd Galaxy line compares to a Cowon player (the S9 in my case). For anyone who has been fortunate enough to have heard both of these setups, I'd love your (preferably DETAILED) opinion (even if you haven't heard them both but have anything interesting to add, I'd love to hear that too). For some background, I currently have some Grado SR80s that I listen to at home, some cheaper Sennheisers that are mostly for on the go, and also some Beats in-ears that I use mostly on the run as well (and there's probably about a 90% chance I'll be adding to that list soon... I have a problem like most of us here do...)
 
Thanks in advance for any help anyone can offer.
 
(BTW, I'm aware there are other threads similar to this, but I wanted a little bit more detailed info specifically regarding the Cowon/Galaxy comparison)
 

 

 

[logicalform]

Thanks for the input, gsus. I agree that nothing can touch bbe (at least nothing that I've heard so far) and that's been my main sticking point in sticking with my S9. I guess I'll have to keep my S9 around for a while... I do still really want a phone with at least half decent sound, though, as I often find myself in situations where I'd like to listen to some music but don't have all my gadgets around.