[Bananaheadlin]

I did a quick search around and it seems like Faux Sound is one of the most popular options out there. I'm not sure how it works (adjust digital gain?), but would that decrease sound quality in any way?

Decided to search for a volume minimizer because with my sensitive JH16, the sound even at the lowest level is quite loud!

Anyone know the answer to this?

 

[FYLegend]

  That the M8 clips slightly at maximum volume is annoying (but whoever would want to listen that loudly wouldn't probably care too much anyway!!) - but, knocking the volume back a step or two, playback quality is very clean...

When does it start to clip? I have the HTC Butterfly s and the overall audio quality is very good. However, using 16 ohm IEMs at 12/15 of the volume, it starts clipping with bassy notes. During Android 4.2 it was an awful crackle that was very obvious, but after the 4.3 update it's a more subtle pop. With my Panasonic HTX7 (40 ohm) it only starts to crackle slightly at 14/15. On my iPad 2, I noticed a similar crackle but it is only present at the maximum volume with IEMs (which is still a lot louder than any smartphone I've heard). I think HTC had some problems with its headphone amps as some other people also reported the same problem. Using PowerAMP with limiter and DVC resolves this problem but introduces occasional "popping" (similar to audio skip on older phones), so I just got used to listening to music at lower volumes with the stock player. I assume the stock player uses a different audio thread so it doesn't skip as easily, but there's no way of using a third-party equalizer with it.
 
Does a third-party equalizer work for the M8's stock player?
 
Take a listen to the slow breakdown of Touch by Daft Punk and see if it crackles. Of course, the M8 uses a new DAC but crackling or clipping is not uncommon on Android devices at high volumes, as well as hissing.

 

[ehjie]

HI, I believe this is in response for the increase in storage space by HTC. Safe bet, I suppose. For users wanting to increase mobile storage, an expandable micro sd fits the bill & up to 128 gb this time for the M8. I visited some forums b4 yearend of 2013 re. the same. For more than a year using my 1x+ w/ 64 gb, I'm one of those users wanting more storage space. Flac takes up a lot of space but very much rewarding, sonically.

 

[elfary]

  When does it start to clip? I have the HTC Butterfly s and the overall audio quality is very good. However, using 16 ohm IEMs at 12/15 of the volume, it starts clipping with bassy notes. During Android 4.2 it was an awful crackle that was very obvious, but after the 4.3 update it's a more subtle pop. With my Panasonic HTX7 (40 ohm) it only starts to crackle slightly at 14/15. On my iPad 2, I noticed a similar crackle but it is only present at the maximum volume with IEMs (which is still a lot louder than any smartphone I've heard). I think HTC had some problems with its headphone amps as some other people also reported the same problem. Using PowerAMP with limiter and DVC resolves this problem but introduces occasional "popping" (similar to audio skip on older phones), so I just got used to listening to music at lower volumes with the stock player. I assume the stock player uses a different audio thread so it doesn't skip as easily, but there's no way of using a third-party equalizer with it.
 
Does a third-party equalizer work for the M8's stock player?
 
Take a listen to the slow breakdown of Touch by Daft Punk and see if it crackles. Of course, the M8 uses a new DAC but crackling or clipping is not uncommon on Android devices at high volumes, as well as hissing.

 
Very interesting. Thank you.
 
A few weeks back i tweaked my european iPhone 5s headphone amp. Since then it is as loud as an iPad Air...and it does not clip even maxed out with iems (Which is as loud as hell).
 
It scares me that the M8 clipping can escalate the lower the load. If my memory serves me well the Qualcomm Galaxy S4 had some nasty clipping with low loads at launch.
 
This kind of issues remind me that iPhones (audio wise) never have this kind of issues (skips, hiss or clipping).

 

[live1]

the sgs4 clipping was fixed in the end.but i didn't hear the m8 clipping.but if some are clipping at high volume that would piss me off.and the extra volume is not useable

 

[FYLegend]

the sgs4 clipping was fixed in the end.but i didn't hear the m8 clipping.but if some are clipping at high volume that would piss me off.and the extra volume is not useable

Yes and the Butterfly s has the same chipset as that version of the S4. I did contact the problem with HTC but they suggested it was probably a defective amp. That said, I've only heard one user say they didn't have this problem at high volumes.
 
The breakdown from Touch by Daft Punk:
https://app.box.com/s/71ernfnfrucms6iggetk

 

[Migou67]

Viper4Android work on the M8 !
 
Both FX 2.3.2.6 and XHiFi 2.1.0.2 confirmed working on HTC One M8. Push as system app
 
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2191223&page=1249

 

[live1]

tested 3 m8 today at full volume no clipping at all.

 

[Bananaheadlin]

I'm not sure if it is just my JH16 is too sensitive or not, but is anyone else experiencing hiss when music is playing (and a few seconds afterwards while the amp is still on)?

 

[Duncan]

tested 3 m8 today at full volume no clipping at all.

Sorry. not been around much lately...
 
I think, as someone mentioned above that my original term of 'clipping' might not quite be right, it could be CPU utilisation issues, as sometimes its there, sometimes its not...
 
What 'phones did you use with your testing? (same phenomenon was heard by me on the M7 as well FWIW, better way to describe the noise is like vinyl crackles)

 

[FYLegend]

 
Sorry. not been around much lately...
 
I think, as someone mentioned above that my original term of 'clipping' might not quite be right, it could be CPU utilisation issues, as sometimes its there, sometimes its not...
 
What 'phones did you use with your testing? (same phenomenon was heard by me on the M7 as well FWIW, better way to describe the noise is like vinyl crackles)

Yeah that's pretty much what the clipping sounds like on my Butterfly s, but it always occurs at the exact same bassy parts of a song. On a third-party music player like PowerAMP you can remove this clipping but there is a different type of crackle that does not always happen, but when it does it's usually at the same part of the song as well (but random spots, not when there is bass or not).
 
None of these issues happened on my previous phone (HTC One X+), whose max volume is slightly lower than the Butterfly s (but I always listened to it at its max). HOX+ audio quality was decent, reviewers noted it was much better than the original HOX but lacking compared to the One, highs are somewhat rolled off and you don't get much dynamic range.

 

[Duncan]

Hopefully problem solved
 
Rooted, cleared LPA / Audio Tunnelling, installed newest version of Viper4Android...
 
Holy moly, thought it was good (popping aside) before... now...
 

 

[foxtronaut]

  Hopefully problem solved
 
Rooted, cleared LPA / Audio Tunnelling, installed newest version of Viper4Android...
 
Holy moly, thought it was good (popping aside) before... now...
 

 
Does removing LPA etc make a difference for audio quality? My M8 sounds kinda muddy, wondering if its this or just a bad unit.

 

[Duncan]

Hmm...
 
I'm not sure as I installed v4a at the same time...
 
Certainly a lot of energy now. moreso than before (but that is probably the v4a effect)...
 
Taken me two days to get the v4a driver to stick so personally do not want to uninstall it just in case I lose it again...
 
If rooted, get build.props from the play store and give it a go, just the two LPA entries, and the one for tunnel.audio to swap, and you're all good

 

[elfary]

Straight from an XDA member:
I have only one complaint about the audio output.



When I'am using the phone with the Beyerdynamics dt 770 ohm headphones it sounds great till like 75-80% volume ( using neutron / in the stock player like 3 ticks from max volume). At around that percentage I can hear some clipping/popping sounds.



I didn't experience this with the iphone 5s. The problem is, the volume might be good enough for normal lower ohm headphones, but the loudness at about 75% is lower than max volume at the iphone 5s.



Can this be fixed by an update or is it a hardware problem?



I don't trust anyone who smiles before 9 am