[club968]

I listen to it without all the sound processing stuff. That includes both the Dolby and the personal audio profile. You're right,i think it does boost the bass and the highs.

 

[NotARobot]

I thought I would write up some listening impressions comparing different levels of source. I used ATH-W1000X to do some listening.
 
Nokia 1020 < HTC 10 < iBasso DX100
 
Nokia sounds very good already. I would be perfectly fine with it, to be honest. I used it as a baseline for comparison.
 
HTC is clearer, blacker background and better separation compared to the Nokia. Bass is deeper and more impactful. However, the overall sound is still quite aggressive and in-your-face.
 
DX100 has a very silent background. Most notably, significantly more depth and separation compared to the HTC. The sound is not as two-dimensional, it feels less like a wall of sound and gives a greater sense of space. I guess this is what separates a very good source from an excellent one.
 
The only major difference I found is the depth (i.e. "wall of sound" vs "3-D space") going from the HTC to the DX100. Other than that, the differences in sound were very minor.
 
My conclusion, and in my opinion a general rule for everyone is that if you really want a better listening experience, you are probably better off upgrading your headphones until you feel that the source has become a bottleneck. You would probably need to go all the way up to a crazy level like SE846 for that to happen, though. In my case, since Windows Phone is on life support, I was considering a new phone anyway.
 
And while the HTC 10 sounds very good, probably better than most smartphones, it does not work miracles. A dedicated DAP is more sophisticated, but at the cost of spending a lot more money and carrying around another fat device with you. So there is the convenience/money/sound quality tradeoff as always.
 
Hope this helps.

 

[Mannen]

I bought an HTC 10 a couple weeks ago, one big reason for it was the claimed great audio quality. I always thought my iphone 6 sounded very good, though i mostly listened to my FiiO X3 & FiiO E11K since they sounded not much, but a bit better. I was confident that the HTC would sound better than the iphone, and hoped that it could even replace the X3 and E11K. I first listened with google music (flac files & boomsound off), and was very disappointed. Spotify on my iphone sounded much better. I then found out that the music app you use plays a big role in audio quality (i've always had iphones, so i've never had to consider this). I downloaded Poweramp and i got better sq no question, but i'm still not impressed (sounds different than the iphone, but sq is about equal IMO). I listened with the AKG K3003s, which are very sensitive IEMs. But if the iphone can make them sound good, shouldn't the HTC be able to as well? From what i've understood not all apps use the dedicated DAC and amp in the 10? How is this possible while still converting and amplifying the signal? As you can tell i'm a bit confused, i didn't think i would have to do this much research to get good sound out of this supposedly great sounding phone

 

[Rioter]

Try Neutron player.

 

[N0sferatu]

has anyone tried this little tweaking to get rid of BoomSound and replace with Dolby Atmos.  You'll need root.  I've just started playing with it.  
 
You'll find it here:
 
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2211163
 

 

[skyline385]

I am thinking of buying the HTC 10 but can anyone confirm whether Spotify or Google Play are supported by the discrete DAC? I stream all my music through my FLC 8S and being locked out of either one of those would be a dealbreaker for me.

 

[oryan_dunn]

  I am thinking of buying the HTC 10 but can anyone confirm whether Spotify or Google Play are supported by the discrete DAC? I stream all my music through my FLC 8S and being locked out of either one of those would be a dealbreaker for me.

I'm pretty sure everything runs through the DAC.  I've seen nothing that would indicate that there are two dacs/amps that are switched in/out based on which software you're using.

 

[Mannen]

Sorry for the late reply, but i tried neutron (trial version) and it was definately an improvement I didn't have time to come to a conclusion of just how much better it sounded, but i think i'll buy the app and maybe come back with an update. Thanks for the tip.

 

[Whitigir]

Here is another thread of HtC10

http://www.head-fi.org/t/807570/review-on-htc-10-and-sound-quality

 

[Mannen]

I just bought neutron and compared it to the Fiio x3 & E11k. The x3 wins by a very small margin. It sounds a little bit fuller and more dynamic than the HTC. I would say it's somewhere between an iphone 6 and the x3 in terms of sound quality, which makes me satisfied

 

[HardstyleLoco96]

Not the best photo but the HTC 10 paired with the Shozy Magic AMP/DAC & Fidelio X2 is simply amazing. Not the X2 I first heard......... Bass is less more quality over quantity as it tightens and becomes quicker. Mids come forward and more emotional simply awesome. Highs extend better and the soundstage becomes huge!!!!!!!! Using PowerAmp Alpha V3. But simply these X2 have true potential. Wow

 

[Jazzkammer]

Hi all, new to to the thread.
 
I did a search but didn't find any answers to my question, which is, namely:
 
Does the stock music player on HTC 10 allow browse-by folder?  If not, does an app like Poweramp (which does in fact have folder browsing) fully utilize the hi-res dac and amp, or does it bypass the dac/amp section and downsample the hi-res music like my Pioneer XDP-100R android DAP.   
 
My Pioneer XDP-100R infuriatingly has the loose 3.5mm jack problem, and I don't want to deal with fixing it because it's from Japan.  That and I need a new phone, since HTC 10 and a couple other phones out there are suitable as DAPS, I might as well kill two birds with one stone.  
 
But not being able to browse by folder with true hi-res output is a dealbreaker for me.  

 

[MajesticTwelve]

Originally Posted by Jazzkammer /img/forum/go_quote.gif
 
Does the stock music player on HTC 10 allow browse-by folder?  If not, does an app like Poweramp (which does in fact have folder browsing) fully utilize the hi-res dac and amp, or does it bypass the dac/amp section and downsample the hi-res music like my Pioneer XDP-100R android DAP.  

HTC 10 has Google Play Music as a music player so you'd install app like Poweramp anyway. AFAIK it fully utilizes the hi-res DAC and AMP because HTC 10 has only one DAC/AMP (not like for example the LG V10).

 

[oryan_dunn]

  HTC 10 has Google Play Music as a music player so you'd install app like Poweramp anyway. AFAIK it fully utilizes the hi-res DAC and AMP because HTC 10 has only one DAC/AMP (not like for example the LG V10).

​Yep, no "special" HTC music app any more.  Just GPM.  And GPM has a bug where two artists with the same album name (say BADBADNOTGOOD and Black Mountain both have albums titled "IV"), both those get thrown in one "album" in GPM.  I've reported that bug several times and it's still not fixed. Annoying since I listen to my music by album.

 

[RockStar2005]

Has anyone hear compared the HTC 10's audio quality with any $500+ DAPs? If so, please let us know how that experience went, and which one you liked more. 
 
Thanks!