[Cairdwin]

Hello!

 
Well, I listen a lot to musik on my mobile ( music player: Power Amp) and I use frequently the camera for macro and so on. I am hesitating between LG G2 and HTC One.

 
I Like very much the clear sound and the design in the HTC One but the camera is really poor. The LG G2 seems to have a bit less quality in the sound when listen to the same track but there is sound reglages, maybe it is best to use Power Amp again, I've read somewhere that the LG has a special sound chip but something is not right

...... The camera is really good, especially for the macros when you zoom.

 
I use to read my books as well so the LG is more comfortable than the HTC but still, it's ok with the HTC.

 
What should I choose?

 
Can´t decide myself.
 
Help !!!

 
Cairdwin

 

[gustav29]

I don't know what DAC HTC has used in the One, but I have that phone and I can honestly say the audio quality is amazing for a phone. I use a pair of IEMs as well. Compared to ny old HTC device the One is considerably better. I've written to HTC asking what DAC they've used but no reply yet. (Also the camera is not that bad)

Sent from my HTC One using Tapatalk 4

 

[Cairdwin]

Hello!
Thanks for the answer! I'm gonna test HTC ONe again...

 

[sonitus mirus]

This site has nice reviews on these products with information regarding the sound quality.  It seems that the sound quality is very good with both, however the benefit of the internal amplifier of the HTC One makes it much louder, which might skew any direct comparisons being made in favor of the HTC phone.  
 
http://www.gsmarena.com/htc_one-review-912p7.php
 
http://www.gsmarena.com/lg_g2-review-982p8.php
 
From what I have read, the US version of the HTC uses a Qualcomm S4 SoC (System on Chip) with the proprietary audio hub WCD9310, but the international versions are using NVidia's Tegra 3 chip, and most of the reviews I have seen indicate that the US version is superior in audio quality.
 
http://www.androidpolice.com/2012/06/26/beats-me-why-htcs-amazing-sound-on-the-international-one-x-isnt-amazing-at-all-even-by-the-numbers/
 
Some numbers from http://www.gsmarena.com for the Sound Science engineers: 

 

Test	Frequency response	Noise level	Dynamic range	THD	IMD + Noise	Stereo crosstalk
HTC One	+0.11, -0.14	-92.4	91.2	0.0012	0.013	-92.4
HTC One (headphones attached)	+0.16, -0.07	-92.1	90.9	0.014	0.055	-70.8
HTC One X	+0.02, -0.08	-82.1	82.1	0.137	0.393	-80.7
HTC One X (headphones attached)	+0.10, -0.10	-80.6	80.6	0.174	0.459	-60.8
LG G2	+0.03, -0.28	-91.9	91.9	0.0097	0.011	-91.3
LG G2 (headphones attached)	+0.07, -0.03	-91.5	91.8	0.037	0.041	-54.3

 

[gustav29]

I think those specs are for last year's flagship the One X.
This year they dropped the X and it's just called the HTC One.
It's based on the Qualcomm snapdragon 600 chipset.

Sent from my HTC One using Tapatalk 4

 

[ryanjsoo]

I'm with the HTC one as well, the camera is actually pretty good, as long as you don't zoom, and low light is superb, for macros should be ok, focal distance is actually Vetter for close shots, the HTC uses the 9310 whilst the LG uses the 9330, these are the standard Qualcomm sound chips, LG has implemented the chip to include 192/24 playback but volume and output power is so-so, HTC apparently has a headphone amp built in, the sq is really very good and LOUD, but if you like zoom and landscape shots the Lg may be better....

 

[dj1001]

Go for the HTC one, It is the best android phone I've ever used. The camera is not junk, maybe not as good as the Galaxy S4 but not junk. It actually take some of the best indoor, low light, and macro pictures I've seen on a phone. The sound quality is very good, I actually leave the beats audio turned on and it doesn't bother me at all plus it makes the already fantastic internal speakers even better.
 
Not only is the HTC one beautifully designed and manufactured it i also being well maintained by HTC. I just got Android 4.4 yesterday and it is blisteringly fast. The HTC sense skin  over-top of android actually improves the user experience unlike all the other skins.
 
Get the HTC one you won't regret it. 

 

[interpolate]

I think the amplification stage and clarity are far more important than the headphones alone. If you have a rubbish source, the better the speakers it will only emphasize how crap it actually is. In my opinion, the LG G2 headphone amplification is a weak point whereas LG G3 and later should come equipped with a higher output with full aptX+ support enabled. Although this can be enabled when you root a LG G2 using adb shell commands.
 
There I go again, all technical blah blah blah

 

[bigshot]

Specs on amps and players generally FAR exceed the specs on headphones. You have it exactly backwards there.

 

[cjl]

  I think the amplification stage and clarity are far more important than the headphones alone. If you have a rubbish source, the better the speakers it will only emphasize how crap it actually is. In my opinion, the LG G2 headphone amplification is a weak point whereas LG G3 and later should come equipped with a higher output with full aptX+ support enabled. Although this can be enabled when you root a LG G2 using adb shell commands.
 
There I go again, all technical blah blah blah

Headphones will, in general, introduce far more distortion and errors than even a very cheap source and amp. If you're spending a lot of money on your electronics but haven't spent much on your transducers, you're wasting your money and focusing on entirely the wrong thing. Hell, if you're spending a lot of money on your electronics, regardless of your transducers, you should take a good long look at what you're buying and the reason you're buying it, since relatively inexpensive electronics reached audible perfection a while ago.

 

[interpolate]

All I know is you can't really rely on a mobile telephone being a good source for headphones/earphones. Unless you have golden ears and can tell the difference (furthermore even know the difference), it might be an issue.
 
I work with a lot of audio tracks where things in general are expected to be pretty much unprocessed to start with. So knowing the difference between the flattest sound and expected output is pretty relevant to me. Poor performing headphones are not a good way to do this.
 
Then there's what things sound like on speakers which entirely another story.

 

[bigshot]

My iPhone has specs as good as very good  standalone home CD players. I use it both with headphones and in my speaker rig and it is perfect. Maybe other brands of phones are different.

 

[interpolate]

There is no doubt about the quality of iPhone components being good. Others can be hit or miss.

 

[castleofargh]

I'm at a point where I care mostly for impedance, power output, and hiss. all in regard to the IEM/headphone I will use. I don't remember thinking that sound was bad if those were all in the green.
of course I love to touch myself looking at IMD, crosstalk, and FR, but in effect those are almost always at levels that I can't seem to really notice. 
on the other hand, using a 30ohm cellphone on a 16ohm IEM that might not sound amazing for several reasons. even though the cellphone may measure and behave very well into higher loads.
 
that's why I find it so silly when I read feedbacks on headfi about some DAP being the best or sounding bad, without any regard to the headphone used. to me it just goes to show that the guy doesn't know what he's talking about.

 

[interpolate]

Well I sometimes use my AKG K702 on the LG G2 just to hear things a little bit clearer and whilst the sound is neutral enough the output gain on the headphone amp is set too low. However here is  the thing, the DAC components and everything are SoC based. You can replace the actual sound driver on the handset when you root your handset and alter the system driver module. That's not something I want to get involved in. It seems LG held back some features in order to limit the abilities and sell more newer handsets. Economical Engineering.
 
Anyway I decided to go for one the FiiO X3 as the X5 is just a little out of my budget and either the 64GB or 128GB SD Card. I was reading a review and the guy stated the SD Card affected the sound quality; I find that hard to believe as it's digital information stored in a standard format.
 
It's a bank holiday weekend over here (in the UK), so I'll put the order through on Monday night.