[colfax]

For whatever it is worth, at full volume on a silent track, using ATH-M50 and Shure 535, i did as much app switching, downloading, home button pressing, etc. as possible and could not reproduce the sounds noted above.  not sure if my headphones are just not sensitive enough to pick up any noise or if there is no noise to be heard. 

 

[a_recording]

I did read on Macrumors that there are two versions of the A9 processor, one by TSMC and one by Samsung. So perhaps one of them is more 'noisy' than the other?

 
This is an interesting idea. It would explain how some people hear something and some people hear nothing. Unfortunately the only way to work out what CPU I have is to install some unverified application. It might be worth trying a replacement in that case though.

 

[chowk]

I have an 6s 128GB and UE11 which are very sensitive IEMs and I can hear the noise as per the video (multitasking, control center).
 
Definitely more noticable with quieter tracks.

 

[zachchen1996]

I was really looking forward to getting the 6s Plus, guess I'll hold off and stay with the S6 Edge until this issue gets resolved.

 

[a_recording]

  I have an 6s 128GB and UE11 which are very sensitive IEMs and I can hear the noise as per the video (multitasking, control center).
 
Definitely more noticable with quieter tracks.

 
May I ask which country / region you bought your iPhone 6S in? So far everyone I've heard from who can reproduce the issue is in the Asia Pacific region. Then again it might just be overrepresentation (more people in APAC getting iPhones AND having sensitive earphones).
 
I think at this point it's necessary for people who can replicate this issue to start submitting their own support requests to Apple, which might prompt them to do some more investigation. I've got a call coming in later this afternoon.

 

[chowk]

Bought in UK
Model: MKQT2B/A

 

[jnorris]

To be frank, I don't doubt that Apple is lax in quality control when it comes to audio output.  Quality audio is absolute dead last on their list.  The fact that the audio sounds as good as it does is probably more attributable to China's state of the stock room than Apple's state of the art.

 

[gratefulbreen]

I just emailed Ken Rockwell and politely asked him to review the 6s (Plus).  I thought his review of the 6 was very helpful.

 
http://www.kenrockwell.com/apple/iphone-6-plus.htm

 

[obsidyen]

Apparently headphone output of 6s Plus is less powerful than that of the 6 Plus. Speaker output is also weaker. Why has Apple made audio worse this time when everything else got better?
 
http://www.phonearena.com/reviews/Apple-iPhone-6s-Plus-Review_id4089/page/3

 

[elfary]

Apparently headphone output of 6s Plus is less powerful than that of the 6 Plus. Speaker output is also weaker. Why has Apple made audio worse this time when everything else got better?
 
http://www.phonearena.com/reviews/Apple-iPhone-6s-Plus-Review_id4089/page/3

The difference in output voltage is neglectible. 0'03 volts means nothing.




If the tonality it's not right, then nothing else really matters.

 

[snip3r77]

Confirmed. But the caveat is that you won't hear it with 99% of music playing.

Using pretty much the most sensitive IEM I have had the pleasure of owning or auditioning, the FAD Heaven V (sensitivity >110 in case anyone was wondering, though I don't think sensitivity alone is the best metric for seeing what IEM is good for this kind of test tbh). This IEM made short work of the noise floor on the geek out. Literally unusable with that kit.

I can hear it:
Using App switcher. Initiating Spotlight search. Switching tabs in safari. Unlocking the phone. Pretty much any kind of a transition of apps or services.

Edit: in a dead quiet room at night, I can hear it with pretty much any interaction with the phone, including scrolling up and down.

That's what actually makes me disagree with him on it being hardware related, the extent of where it can happen and what triggers it. See above update.
I'm inclined to think it is. See my rationale above. Whether Apple will consider this worth fixing is another issue. But the odds of you having a sensitive enough IEM and hearing it while music is playing in anything but a dead quiet room is very close to nil imho.
This isn't a quality control issue IMO. Getting a replacement will do nothing to alleviate the issue.


[rule]

That all said, here's my 2 sentence summary on the sound compared to my 5S:

The sound is no longer as harsh. Sibilant IEMs in the 5S will exhibit it a lot less on the 6S.

Really, the sound reminds me more of the 4S than the 5S, being more grandiose and less pointed and dense, while keeping more of the cleaner imaging of 5S. It's more organic and less digital sounding than the 5S, i.e. closer to the 4S in general feel of the sound.

Also, as this was a question that came up for the 5S:

compared to the 5S and 4S (all US models), the 6S has very audibly more gain. I'm generally 1-3 clicks of the volume rocker lower on any given track on the 6S than I was on either of the previous two.

I'm looking forward to someone measuring the z-out. Here's looking at you gsmarena...

How is the bass on the 6s? I feel the 5s bass is a tad too much...

 

[Whitigir]

How is the bass on the 6s? I feel the 5s bass is a tad too much...

You are correct that 5s sounds warmer in the bass department and it carries onto the 6.... Don't know the 6s. I would like to know too

 

[Slaphead]

This is an interesting idea. It would explain how some people hear something and some people hear nothing. Unfortunately the only way to work out what CPU I have is to install some unverified application. It might be worth trying a replacement in that case though.

According to articles I've seen in the IT press and a teardown it would initially appear that the TSMC variant of the A9 is going into the 6s Plus and that the Samsung variant is going into the smaller 6s

However as pointed out by the articles a sample of two phones is no guarantee that this is truly the case.

 

[Whitigir]

According to articles I've seen in the IT press and a teardown it would initially appear that the TSMC variant of the A9 is going into the 6s Plus and that the Samsung variant is going into the smaller 6s

However as pointed out by the articles a sample of two phones is no guarantee that this is truly the case.

I see ! Thank you Lachlan for all the hard works of this design flaws. I always knew that you are pretty good in finding defects and flaws in your gears.

It seems many other forums and reviews have come to this conclusions. Now I believe it is Apple design flaws just as much as the 4S before on the loosing signals issues. This happened because Apple suddenly decided to use 3 Cirrus chips on the new phones ?

Anyways, this will be a no go, I will be gladly to hold onto my 5s and wait for the iPhone 7

 

[elfary]

Last thing i would have ever thought i'd write about in an iPhone thread is cpu noise bleeding into the headphone out.

All time low and hard to understand with all the experience Apple has under its belt.


If the tonality it's not right, then nothing else really matters.