[Darkseth]

  Hi all, also got my (German, unbranded preorder from O2) One m8 and one of the reasons was the rave reviews about SQ.
So, the problem is that I still haven't found a sweet spot with its configuration, compared to my (dearly departed) S3.

The s3 would sound all-around great with aosp, poweramp and no EQ on Soundmagic IEMs (tested with mp21 headset and pl-50) or my px-100-IIi Senns.

Now, with the m8 (still on stock rom), poweramp, no EQ and Boomsound off, while some genres sound great, guitar heavy music sounds a bit off in the mids and highs. At first I thought it was just the (HTC branded) bundled beats replica that was the issue, so I tried with my px-100-IIi and a shiny new pair of Shure se215s.

Still similar results. I can't entirely place it, but guitars sound a bit shrill. Lowering the volume and playing with the EQ somewhat remedies that, but the lows also loose their punchiness quickly after you go under 60% vol. Disabling Poweramp's direct volume control feature has somewhat improved the stock rom audio, but I'm seriously starting to get concerned that I'm missing something (possibly my hearing, hopefully a setting, potentially bad media quality?).

Anyone else listening to post-rock, stoner, etc. on their m8s that could offer some insight here? I do hope that I do not have to take my device back to O2 for an exchange.

Is "Boomsound" activated?

 

[foxtronaut]

   
I'am the person who posted on the xda forums and I can confirm that the latest htc update doesnt fix the problem. ( Before I was on 1.12)
 
I also tested my old sennheiser hd 418 headphones and had the same result. However I didn't  experience the poppin/clipping noise with the stock htc earpods. But using the earpods at 80% + is way too loud and painful for my ears. 
 
 
Hopefully you get some useful info from the HTC support. Till about  75-80% volume the sound of the headpones is great though Definitely as good as the iphone 5s I had before.

 
Yeah, I've been complaining about the issue in the Verizon XDA forum (bawksybrown).
 
Another question before I call HTC: 75% volume is way too loud for other users, right? On my 16ohm Eyts I have to keep the volume at least 60% or higher for usable sound. Then it starts clipping at 80%. I feel the issues are somehow related.

 

[live1]

so its only the uk m8 that has no issues at full volume then?

 

[live1]

so its only the uk m8 that has no issues at full volume then?

 

[Cyral]

   
Yeah, I've been complaining about the issue in the Verizon XDA forum (bawksybrown).
 
Another question before I call HTC: 75% volume is way too loud for other users, right? On my 16ohm Eyts I have to keep the volume at least 60% or higher for usable sound. Then it starts clipping at 80%. I feel the issues are somehow related.

Yes, for instance normal earpods are a lot louder at 75% than my 80 ohm headphones. 
 
The volume without clipping is decent though, but I like to have the extra oomph. Still bothers me that the iphone 5s at max volume is a lot louder than the 75% of the htc one m8, with no clipping whatsoever.
 
It´s disapointing  when you read that the htc one m8 has are more powerful output ( in voltage ) than any other smarthphone but in order to keep the sound clear you can´t set the volume on max, in my case.

 

[Simma]

Depending on the material (for example, my ripped vinyl needs to play much louder of course), on my Momentum Over-Ears, I tend to listen at about 75% (sometimes even more), which is exactly the level where the crackling starts to appear occasionally. On my in ears, I can barely go above 60%, so there's a lot less, if any, audible noise.

 

[foxtronaut]

Yeah I realized that Faux kernel was playing with my volumes. On a more stock setup my Etys max out around 75%. DT770s around 90%.
 
Talked to HTC support, they couldn't really offer any insight into the popping except for an offer to 'repair' my device.
 
But they don't swap devices, and I don't have the luxury of 10 days without a phone.

 

[Simma]

Another thing: Is everyone else also getting small sound glitches with each press of the volume keys?

 

[live1]

nope all uk htcm8 are flawless using hp.

 

[fixxxer667]

Is "Boomsound" activated?

Nope. I have tried playing around with it, but in general it's off.

 

[Duncan]

nope all uk htcm8 are flawless using hp.

Ahem... I'm in the UK
 
Anyhow, from XDA - my thoughts...
 
'Hmm... I think I've answered this for BOTH XDA and Head-Fi... Listening to tracks that are prone to distortion on the M8 on both the N9005 and iPhone 5S (which really do sound quite poor compared to the M8 in terms of dynamics / power!) the same distortions are apparent there too, albeit a lot quieter (due to less volume / headroom) - so, I'm now thinking it could just be that the M8's headphone out is 'that good' that it highlights poorly encoded iTunes+ / self ripped FLAC / .WV files...
 
I will cross post this to both forums, so that others who hear these distortions can try this out for themselves - to listen very carefully and see if they can hear same anomalies on other players / phones... So, might just be a case of too much of a good thing (quality / power) is actually a bad thing (and could've obviously affected the M7 too, seeing that HTC implemented the same amp design there too), which means I was deluding myself yesterday saying changing regional settings seemed to lessen the effect - Placebo huh...
 
Bright side though, other than picking up on poor quality rips / masters, this cements my thoughts that the M8 and Sennheiser IE800 combo is pretty darned great, and highlights that the 5S and N9005 are pretty humdrum sounding '

 

[Cyral]

Haha, never would've thought that too much power was a bad thing, makes me almost happy with the clipping...
 
I just tested some flacs and mp3 320 tracks but still experience the same clipping. But I can confirm that it indeed seems to occur more in the lower region.
 
For instance the track Formidable from stromae starts with mostly high tones and till  about 90-95% I can't hear any clipping at all, where I can normally hear them at 75-80%.
 
So low tones do improve the unwanted noise.
 
But did the change in region really decrease the clipping? I would love to know that.
 
Ps. I'am in the Netherlands

 

[warawara]

Too much power right now on the M8 sounds amazing to me. In the gym, I usually listen at 90%-100% on my Moto G and it doesn't sound quite nice with my GR07 BE. Looks like I'll be highly considering the M8 as my next upgrade.

Also, how is the Music app on the phone? Is it any different/better than Google's Play Music app?

 

[Bananaheadlin]

Uh oh. That was my concern about this phone with my Shure 846s. 

Just a tiny bit for me, but I'm hoping others can confirm or deny with their experiences too!

 

[dbdynsty25]

Too much power right now on the M8 sounds amazing to me. In the gym, I usually listen at 90%-100% on my Moto G and it doesn't sound quite nice with my GR07 BE. Looks like I'll be highly considering the M8 as my next upgrade.

Also, how is the Music app on the phone? Is it any different/better than Google's Play Music app?

 
That's hilarious...that's the exact phone I was using at the gym before I got the M8...same exact headphones too...GR07BE...I love them with the M8 now.  My Nexus 5 just sits alone on my desk...unused.  haha.
 
The HTC music app is fine...I still prefer Google Play Music tho.