[Aerosheet]

Performance of the hardware.  Basically destroys my N5 with all kinds of different software.

Holy s***...

So, what hardware does it have that makes it so good at distributing sound quality?

 

[elfary]

Well. N5 is objectively a middle of the road performer audio wise. As Anandtech left clear a few weeks back.
 
No surprise the M8 mops the floor with it.
 
Which would be a surprise to me was that it had more output power than a 5s with the headphone limit set to 1.2

 

[ryanjsoo]

HTC use to boast about their 2.55v class D inline amp back in the days of the butterfly where HTC made a name for itself in the audio industry (not with beats audio which everyone knew was rubbish) but they seem to have stopped that with their newer phones, and although they don`t state it in ads and such, looking at specs and a certain reviews, it seems they still implement some form of custom inline amp, which is nice since noise levels and volume are much improved over other phones with the same chipset and thus dac. 

 

[drbluenewmexico]

  HTC use to boast about their 2.55v class D inline amp back in the days of the butterfly where HTC made a name for itself in the audio industry (not with beats audio which everyone knew was rubbish) but they seem to have stopped that with their newer phones, and although they don`t state it in ads and such, looking at specs and a certain reviews, it seems they still implement some form of custom inline amp, which is nice since noise levels and volume are much improved over other phones with the same chipset and thus dac. 

my new HTC one M8 has best phone sound quality i have ever heard in a phone.  gain is tremendous and dac is good in it.
some phones like Harmon Kardon HL sound fantastic out of phone with no additional amp, others like PBS MU1 still need an amp
to bring out bass cohesiveness. as for IEMS Zero Audio CARBON SINGULOS sound silky and smooth
right out of phone and impressed me compared to tests out of old One and MAX.
As stand alone sound source, built in stereo sound system is very musical and listenable.
Neutron and Poweramp software clarifies sound to great degee and is recommended.  
Considering new Filo E18 dac amp (Kundun) for usb out dac upgrade.  anyone have any experience with this device and H8???
overall A rating for sound system in the H8 and its use as a sound source to quality headphones.

 

[live1]

i tested the m8 again today i didn't hear any clipping at full volume.i was checking for it

 

[Duncan]

Hmm...  Strange - even stranger, it isn't on bass (where you would expect it) it is on vocals / instruments - like little minute popping noises...
 
Just taking down one notch clears it up...
 
Could be a synergy fail between the M8 and IE800 (either way, taking down one notch is still plenty loud enough for most people, and the M8/IE800 unamped combination does sound VERY nice regardless)...
 
Very happy

 

[Aerosheet]

Hmm...  Strange - even stranger, it isn't on bass (where you would expect it) it is on vocals / instruments - like little minute popping noises...

Just taking down one notch clears it up...

Could be a synergy fail between the M8 and IE800 (either way, taking down one notch is still plenty loud enough for most people, and the M8/IE800 unamped combination does sound VERY nice regardless)...

Very happy

I haven't heard any popping noises with my IE800 for the Nexus 5 (sounds like that are pretty much nonexistent), so it could be the cause of the source player itself.

 

[Aerosheet]

Well. N5 is objectively a middle of the road performer audio wise. As Anandtech left clear a few weeks back.

No surprise the M8 mops the floor with it.

Which would be a surprise to me was that it had more output power than a 5s with the headphone limit set to 1.2

What other smart phones have superior sound quality to the Nexus 5, and which ones are inferior?

 

[dbdynsty25]

What other smart phones have superior sound quality to the Nexus 5, and which ones are inferior?

Out of the phones I've tried.

Better: HTC One M7, Galaxy S3 and S4, Galaxy Nexus, and LG G2

Worse: every Motorola

 

[Bananaheadlin]

Out of the phones I've tried.

Better: HTC One M7, Galaxy S3 and S4, Galaxy Nexus, and LG G2

Worse: every Motorola

You've tried quite a few flagship phones!

 

[dbdynsty25]

You've tried quite a few flagship phones!

My wife calls it a problem.

 

[ForceMajeure]

@dbdynsty25  Do you still own the mdr7520, if so how is it pairing with the m8 (though it shouldn't have problem driving it)?

 

[adithya88]

I've got the international version of the Galaxy S3 with the Wolfson chip and I'm running BOEFFLA sound on it.
 
I love the sound from it but I'm looking to upgrade and I wanted to know if the HTC One M8 is as good as that or better (I'm also considering the Xperia Z2).
 
I'm right now using the Earsonics SM3v1 and the Denon D600 (the S3 drives them both well).

 

[dbdynsty25]

  @dbdynsty25  Do you still own the mdr7520, if so how is it pairing with the m8 (though it shouldn't have problem driving it)?

 
I do not...gave em to my bro (at a discount of course) because he liked em even more than I did.  Maybe next time he visits I'll check em out again.

 

[Aerosheet]

Out of the phones I've tried.

Better: HTC One M7, Galaxy S3 and S4, Galaxy Nexus, and LG G2

Worse: every Motorola

 
Wait, I thought that the LG G2 and the Nexus 5 had the same DAC?  It was said to be implemented in the Snapdragon 800 processor.  Anyway, do you find the Nexus 5 sound quality decent nonetheless even if there are better smartphones in sound?