[Duncan]

I do still have 'issues' with the sound popping, but - combination of hearing same distortion on other handsets, and lowering gain by 2db seems to have alleviated on the most part...
 
Also, don't listen above 87% (Neutron) to virtually kill any remaining pops...
 
Trouble being that the phone only really comes alive at 14-15/15 on the volume - trance has never sounded so good with the IE800s...
 
Hey kids, don't try this at home, you could fry your eardrums, and - you only get one set!

 

[elfary]

You guys just talkin' theoretically or do you have some actual impedance numbers on the attenuator?  It is obvious (by inclusion) that the Shure people would disagree about the effects.

Westone includes the inline attenuator as well but is meant for other (lo fi) applications not to fight hiss from a so-called hifi amplifier.

Anybody that knows about the impedance swings of balanced armature iems would avoid that added resistance that ruins the tonal balance the iem was designed for aside from introducing phase issues. So you get rid of the hiss and of the sound quality as well.




I don't trust anyone who smiles before 9 am

 

[truckdriver]

Westone includes the inline attenuator as well but is meant for other (lo fi) applications not to fight hiss from a so-called hifi amplifier.

Anybody that knows about the impedance swings of balanced armature iems would avoid that added resistance that ruins the tonal balance the iem was designed for aside from introducing phase issues. So you get rid of the hiss and of the sound quality as well.




I don't trust anyone who smiles before 9 am

 
The attenuator does affect the sound, but not in a way that can't be restored with EQ. On the other hand, you can literally hear the feedback effect (without the attenuator) in quieter passages of songs that distort musical notes (that is, with some sensitive IEMs). Pick your poison.....

 

[elfary]

   
The attenuator does affect the sound, but not in a way that can't be restored with EQ. On the other hand, you can literally hear the feedback effect (without the attenuator) in quieter passages of songs that distort musical notes (that is, with some sensitive IEMs). Pick your poison.....

 
Since i treasure simplicity and ergonomy my poison on the go is the iPhone where background is pitch black even with my ultra sensitive Westone UM3x and Westone 3. The 5s with multidriver balanced armature iems sounds darn good to my ears.
 
Anyway back on track. As the M8 becomes available here i will try the headphone out carefully and i'll report back.

 

[truckdriver]

   
Since i treasure simplicity and ergonomy my poison on the go is the iPhone where background is pitch black even with my ultra sensitive Westone UM3x and Westone 3. The 5s with multidriver balanced armature iems sounds darn good to my ears.
 
Anyway back on track. As the M8 becomes available here i will try the headphone out carefully and i'll report back.

 
My iPod Touch 5G has a quiet background as well, but the foreground (the actual music) is only so so. The soundstage is not good. It's a poison of its own. I guess the imperfections are why we find ourselves on the HTC One M8 thread (shopping around). I can say that the Note 3 sounds better than my iPod Touch 5G by a good margin (using my SE846).
 
But, as you say, back to the HTC One M8.

 

[h-man]

Yep the attenuator works fine with the one m8 and the 535s. Also spotify is perfectly gapless on the M8 (as it was on the M7 and wasn't on the GS4 which I had), which is a great boon for those of us who like prog rock or electronic compilation mixes.

 

[h-man]

Just been doing more A/B-ing between m8 and 5s. With attenuator, m8 does sound pretty great but to these ears 5s still shades it.

 

[Duncan]

Question is h-man - why / how in your mind?
 
I have a feeling that you might well say that the midrange is the 'clincher' for you - that the M8 sounds a little 'thick'?
 
That is my impression between the two - but, for me (if that is the case) that midrange warmth of the M8 adds a nice texture to vocals / instruments that is lacking in the 5S...
 
Please let us know, and we'll see between the two of us that have heard both, we can make up a little scenario for which handset would be best for which type of listening style / person...

 

[sprocket1597]

Thought I might put my 2c worth in...
 
Running a pair of Sennheiser pcx-450 straight off the stock M8, I can hear popping/clipping on a repetitive bass note. Volume on the phone is set 3 clicks down from max. I tried turning off cpu limiting, and tried turning on airplane mode, but neither made any difference. Turn the volume down to 50% and the clipping disappears. Of course its also just a bit to quiet for my liking.
 
Also tried running it through a Fiio E7 and its crystal clear. So definitely a limitation of the M8's built in amp.

 

[truckdriver]

  Question is h-man - why / how in your mind?
 
I have a feeling that you might well say that the midrange is the 'clincher' for you - that the M8 sounds a little 'thick'?
 
That is my impression between the two - but, for me (if that is the case) that midrange warmth of the M8 adds a nice texture to vocals / instruments that is lacking in the 5S...
 
Please let us know, and we'll see between the two of us that have heard both, we can make up a little scenario for which handset would be best for which type of listening style / person...

 
You guys should include the headphone/earphone used. I had the HiFiMAN HM-802 and with the standard amp card (not IEM card) the "thick" sound was nice with the Q701, but a tad grainy with the 535.

 

[Bananaheadlin]

Also tried running it through a Fiio E7 and its crystal clear. So definitely a limitation of the M8's built in amp.

Might be a stupid question, but for phones in general, is it the DAC that is the limiting factor, or the amp? As in would adding an amp help, or is the DAC the greater limiting factor?

 

[awayeah]

Might be a stupid question, but for phones in general, is it the DAC that is the limiting factor, or the amp? As in would adding an amp help, or is the DAC the greater limiting factor?

In phones I think the most limiting factor is the number of sensors and other hardware that can mess up the headphone output. But in this case (where HTC manage to implement great output without any distortions) it's DAC. Amp will only amplify flaws of DAC - it can improve on sound stage, it will definitely add more power if such is needed but in the end if DAC is bad amp will not make it better.
BTW I bought the M8 yesterday and there's no clipping - I only tested it with T-Peos H200. I tried it on almost max volume on several songs (max volume is unbearable - this output is great and very powerful).
Anyway amazing sound (with BoomSound turned off), totally black background great imaging and details. I still have m7 so I'll compare those 2.
I have like 14 iems and will test most of them in search of these sound problems you guys are hearing but so far so good.
I think I'll get rid off my Fiio E18 - there's no point in using it with such a great smartphone.
I'm still waiting for my X5 - when it'll arive I do a compasion as well.

 

[Baroninkjet]

Plug in a pair of headphones and the improvements are subtler. It’s a full-bodied, well-balanced sound with decent levels of detail, but it doesn’t quite top the very best from the Sony Xperia Z1 and the iPhone 5s when it comes to timing.

You’ll get slightly more punch from Sony’s handset too and the iPhone is a touch more precise, but it’s an overall perfectly listenable sound that should see you right for sound on the go.

 
http://www.whathifi.com/review/htc-one-m8

 

[foxtronaut]

So I'm back after some talks with HTC, Verizon Support, and a change of headphones.
 
Of course both parties offered no real insight into my headphone jack, or if headphone jack problems have been reported by other users.
 
BUT my new Brainwavz B2s sound way better than my Ety HF5s did on this device. Swapping out the Shure Olives helped somewhat as well. Less shrill.
 
Something I'm still grappling with is an odd boost I notice on the vocals of my device. It has a tendency to boost the vocal volume over guitars/other instrumentation (I listen to indie/rock/folk). A quick A/B with a Macbook shows that there is something definitely going on here. On the Macbook the volumes are... flatter.
 
It kinda feels like an artificial software boost, but my BoomSound is off.
 
Volume stays around 12-13 at all times.

 

[Sanlitun]

   
http://www.whathifi.com/review/htc-one-m8

 
To each their own, I gave away my Z1 after hearing the M8.