ok im no audiophile, but ive had some quality earphones like shure and klipsch driven through good portable so id like to think i know good sound.
when i got my note i was extremely happpy with it, but the moment i plugged my headphones in it was painful, a terrible listening experience. i tried poweramp and others and tweaked the eq but it was still a lot worse than my old htc desire z. i was ready to return it when i decided to root it and install a custom rom based on ice cream sandwich (stunner).
the music transformed into the best ive heard from a mobile device, the clarity and base were so incredibly improved i wondered if there really was a god who answered my prayers. when comparing to my friends new galaxy s3 therr is very little diffrrence, his maybe a tiny bit better balanced, but the note goes noticably louder.
weve compared our phobes using a range of AT headphones and others and the result is always as above.
if your gond to use the note as a pmp but dont want to root it then get the s3 because it comes with great audio out of the box, the note requires a root and custom rom to do that which can be a bit risky if done improperly.
Desire z is not a good match for your ba iems. (Since you mentioned you have good shure and klipsch I presume you use multi ba iems)
It probably dostorted huge amounts of frequency based on the htc's high impedance and you thought it was the correct sound of your iems. And you happened to like that? I don't know.
G note has a low impedance for an android phone and known to have a fairly good sound output. I don't really see how your comparison between gnote and gs3 worked because they output very similar sound. Gs3 will have advantage in its user eq system 'soundalive' but normal eq setting won't be too different beteeen gnote and gs3.
I don't know what your custom rom is but I highly doubt it changed a sound signature since the developers did not made any noticeable mod on gnote yamaha chipset. (I would have thought there was someting if you exampled with woolfson based phones) maybe recent roms include some htc beats software eq systems or other eq related apps maybe you enabled those?
My Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus has the same CPU and Yamaha audio chip as GS2 and GNote, and it sounds great. I don't know why people will assume non-Woflson Galaxy device will always sound bad but it certainly isn't that case with my own experience. Remember that the reason why Wolfson chip on GS1 doesn't sound as good as it can be at the first place is because Samsung doesn't utilize the right audio driver. That isn't the case for the Yamaha chip at all. Wolfson, as much as I like their DAC, isn't the be-all-end-all in this universe.
My Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus has the same CPU and Yamaha audio chip as GS2 and GNote, and it sounds great. I don't know why people will assume non-Woflson Galaxy device will always sound bad but it certainly isn't that case with my own experience. Remember that the reason why Wolfson chip on GS1 doesn't sound as good as it can be at the first place is because Samsung doesn't utilize the right audio driver. That isn't the case for the Yamaha chip at all. Wolfson, as much as I like their DAC, isn't the be-all-end-all in this universe.
The implementation will be likely different again in the 7.0 Plus, like is was in the Note compared to the SII. From memory the SII had out output impedance around the 10ohm mark, whereas the Note's was sitting at around 3ohm. There were differences in the volume out that was achievable with Voodoo Louder between the two because of differences in their implementation also (the Note could put out more volume). Not heard the 7.0 Plus, would be interested to do that sometime.
The implementation will be likely different again in the 7.0 Plus, like is was in the Note compared to the SII. From memory the SII had out output impedance around the 10ohm mark, whereas the Note's was sitting at around 3ohm. There were differences in the volume out that was achievable with Voodoo Louder between the two because of differences in their implementation also (the Note could put out more volume). Not heard the 7.0 Plus, would be interested to do that sometime.
I actually have Voodoo Louder as well, doesn't do much except, well, make it louder (buggy though). I personally think it is just a software restriction on Samsung's part that limits the volume to the EU standard. The thing about GT7+ is that it has dock connector with another set of audio out (not sure if it is a line-out or not). With LOD, it can output higher audio level than the headphone-out even without Voodoo Louder.
[edit] Just measured my GT7+ - the headphone-out output impedance is around 5.5ohm. The dock connector out's output impedance is about 450ohm. Judging from the high output impedance of the dock connector, I guess it is likely a line-out. Well, one more reason to pair an amp with it.
I bought a Galaxy Tab Plus from Amazon for $173 shipped (refurb, but practically new). I had to sell it after few days. I am currently using the original Galaxy Tab which imho is still a better tablet than the Plus.
Audio output: there is no comparison. The original tab has better clarity with better separation.
Screen: although specs are the same. The original tab still looks better to me. Don't ask me why, but it does.....
Worst of all is the honeycomb and lack of developer support. The original tab is capable of running the latest Android as long as the Nexus S continues to do so...
I am quite amazed at how good the Wolfson audio hub is, and how good the hummingbird still holds up. So amazed I decided to buy a Samsung Infuse as my phone and go to straight talk. I am loving the developers' support and beautiful music at the same time.
7+ will get updated to ICS before the end of the month, a bit late to the game but at least we are getting there. I have no complain to it, especially since it has the faster response of almost all 7 inches (tried 5 other models in store before buying).
I'm interested in getting a Galaxy Note to get out of the Iphone camp, to get 80Gb max with a 64Gb microSD, and thought I'd test the audio quality of the Tab 7+ I've had for many months now without taking a listen just to see what Samsung is doing in this department (Android 3.2). I plugged in some Westone UM3xs and put the 7+ side-by-side with my Ipod classic, hoping to find the 7+ much more spacious and 3D, something like my Iphone 4. The source material was a very ambient New Age CD ripped at 256 AAC, VBR.
First thing I noted was the high noise floor after the built in key click, followed by a noise gating. Maybe it was just a bad sample on the key click. Then the music started. Hmm, what was that stutter in the first note fading in. What was the stair stepping volume I was hearing? And there was the noise floor again, about what the 5G Ipods sounded like with back when they had the Wolfson codec chips.
Over to the Ipod Classic (6G). No problem. Nice, smooth music, no pumping of the intro fade in, no stair stepping.
After listening and adjusting the built in Samsung player, I downloaded the following players: Mixzing, Winamp, and PowerAmp. All were just the same with respect to the noise floor, stair stepping volume, and pumping.
The Galaxy 7+ seems to have a noise gate/compander in the output stage, I guess controlled by no more than 8 bits. The result is a non-natural sounding stair stepping of the volume throughout the music, and a compander that adds a pumping across most dynamic levels. About like an old Ensoniq Mirage sampling keyboard for those who might have heard one.
Before I get the Galaxy Note, it will get a thorough listen. And I'll work at upgrading the WIFI only 7+ to ICS to see if it makes a difference.
Haven't really listened to my 7+ that much since I only updated it yo ICS two days ago. However, a lot of the noise from Android seems to come from the very underperformed audio driver (which Mixzing, Winamp,PowerAmp etc are all using). I measured it against Neutron Music Player (which comes with its own audio core) and Neutron is much less noisy. I'll strongly recommend it if you haven't tried it before.
Haven't really listened to my 7+ that much since I only updated it yo ICS two days ago. However, a lot of the noise from Android seems to come from the very underperformed audio driver (which Mixzing, Winamp,PowerAmp etc are all using). I measured it against Neutron Music Player (which comes with its own audio core) and Neutron is much less noisy. I'll strongly recommend it if you haven't tried it before.
That explanation is very interesting and it would account for the high noise floor that i've heard on any Android i have tried with my UM3x (against the blackness of iPhones).
To assess the noise floor i follow the procedure of hittin' pause while music is playing and then for a few seconds there's a quite audible noise floor on every Android i tried (It can be awful and in the One X or bearable as in the Note) then when the amp shuts down the noise goes away. But always tried on stock players not with Neutron.
So this could be avoided by using Neutron player?
I heard before that it uses it's own audio engine and that it gives the real gapless that Android audio mixer can't give thus if furthermore it gives a lower noise floor it could be a very competent player (in spite of the awful interface).
I can't say it will be the case for every other Android device, but at least there is an audibly and measurable difference between Neutron vs. Stock and Poweramp (which still uses the stock audio core) in my 7+.
ClieOS, I upgraded to ICS on the 7+ and installed the Poweramp. The stair stepping is gone, but the noise floor is still high and there is still volume pumping. Note that I listen at very low levels with the UM3xs, and when the volume is turned up to where I find it uncomfortable, the volume pumping is quite reduced. Maybe it's my 7+ copy.
ClieOS, I upgraded to ICS on the 7+ and installed the Poweramp. The stair stepping is gone, but the noise floor is still high and there is still volume pumping. Note that I listen at very low levels with the UM3xs, and when the volume is turned up to where I find it uncomfortable, the volume pumping is quite reduced. Maybe it's my 7+ copy.
So you haven't tried Neutron yet? I really strongly recommend it. There is a trial version you can use for 5 days free, so just give it a listen. I still haven't (directly) listened to my 7+ much as I am using a really good BT headset (the Sony Wireless Smart Headset Pro) most of the time. On the other hands, I strongly recommend against Voodoo Louder, which totally mess up the audio driver.
On a side news, Samsung already announced there will be Jelly Bean for 7+
It's my understanding here that when using the Neutron the classic background "sssshhhh" that you can hear on almost any Android player after you hit pause while playing music is greatly reduced.
If so i might give a shot to the Note 2...
What do you mean with Voodoo Louder messes up the audio driver?
Causing distortion after installing, and continue to distort after uninstall. It changes the audio output way too high which resulted in clipping in almost everything. It is just lucky that I was doing the ICS update and decided to wipe the whole system, or else I would have gotten stuck on the distorted output.
Unfortunately units sold in Europe tend to have a capped output power thus unless you have sensitive iems volume problems are likely to arise. And once you have sensitive iems then the typical Android engine noise floor kicks in.
Guess that's why i'm still an iPhone user after all.
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