[VeXun]

I would highly recommend an HTC one m8 over an iPod touch. I find the m8 to have a better sound than my 4g iPod touch. Also the BoomSound speakers on this phone are amazing for videos and other multimedia and casual listening.

 

[lucadoc]

Thanks but i'm not at all interested in speaker output, only headphones with flac

 

[Robgo]

I bought an M8 recently. While it sounds alright and probably much better than other mobile devices, it's definitely not as nice sounding as my HRT Microstreamer. Even with boom sound turned off it's still too boomy/thick sounding. I'm just glad I can now store 70+ gigs of flac files now, Volume output is very good like others mentioned but I'm not a fan of the sound signature so I'll stick with the HRT MS. 

 

[DisCHORDDubstep]

Whoa, I thought a guy who mentioned an HTC W8 on this forum earlier was just joking around, but it turns out there is an HTC W8 coming out... Well, I would get the HTC W8, but HTC hasn't updated their windows phone software yet on their current models. They are not devoted to creating windows phones quite yet. Even Samsung updates more often than HTC! Kind of sad... I want the front facing stereo boom sound speakers they are putting on it... The thing is that they are putting the dual front facing cameras on it, which really makes no sense, because I would totally pick the 2X 4Mp camera with cheap Chinese made lenses over a 41mp camera with xenon flash, lossless zoom, and Carl Zeiss Lens Optics. Lol. Its almost just stupid that they would announce the dual cameras, when Nokia, the king of phone cameras has 20mp Carl Zeiss lensed cameras standard on high end models, and 8.7mp Carl Zeiss lensed cameras on middle-upper end models, and the best camera phone in history other than the Nokia pureview 808, the Nokia Lumia 1020 with a 41mp camera... I get advertising boomsound, but... Cameras? On a non-Nokia windows phone? Advertising?... Sorry for long ramble. I just wish HTC would put at least a tiny bit of effort into their windows phone line. Their androids are amazing, but wp8's lack... Pm me for a convo on it, and i hope HTC gets serious and brings over the same sound quality that's on the m8. Here's the link. http://m.wpcentral.com/htc-w8-rumored-boomsound-duo-cameras (and that's not the w8 in the picture there. That's the HTC 8X windows phone. Its their last released model. There hasn't been any pics of the w8 released, but i hope it looks like the m8)

 

[kantana]

Whoa, I thought a guy who mentioned an HTC W8 on this forum earlier was just joking around, but it turns out there is an HTC W8 coming out... Well, I would get the HTC W8, but HTC hasn't updated their windows phone software yet on their current models. They are not devoted to creating windows phones quite yet. Even Samsung updates more often than HTC! Kind of sad... I want the front facing stereo boom sound speakers they are putting on it... The thing is that they are putting the dual front facing cameras on it, which really makes no sense, because I would totally pick the 2X 4Mp camera with cheap Chinese made lenses over a 41mp camera with xenon flash, lossless zoom, and Carl Zeiss Lens Optics. Lol. Its almost just stupid that they would announce the dual cameras, when Nokia, the king of phone cameras has 20mp Carl Zeiss lensed cameras standard on high end models, and 8.7mp Carl Zeiss lensed cameras on middle-upper end models, and the best camera phone in history other than the Nokia pureview 808, the Nokia Lumia 1020 with a 41mp camera... I get advertising boomsound, but... Cameras? On a non-Nokia windows phone? Advertising?... Sorry for long ramble. I just wish HTC would put at least a tiny bit of effort into their windows phone line. Their androids are amazing, but wp8's lack... Pm me for a convo on it, and i hope HTC gets serious and brings over the same sound quality that's on the m8. Here's the link. http://m.wpcentral.com/htc-w8-rumored-boomsound-duo-cameras (and that's not the w8 in the picture there. That's the HTC 8X windows phone. Its their last released model. There hasn't been any pics of the w8 released, but i hope it looks like the m8)

Interesting, I have both the M8 and the Samsung S5 since their release last month.  I have received 3 updates from HTC and 1 from Samsung.  The S5 had a broken video hardware acceleration at release which crippled 3rd party video players.  It took them 7 weeks to release the fix.  Not sure if this is indicative of updates from either company but HTC have seemingly done more frequent releases for their latest flagships.
Back to SQ from the HO, the M8 gets my vote for IEMs, much higher driving voltage and higher volumes so more head room for harder to drive IEMs.  Neither M8 nor S5 will drive high impedance cans like HD800 with authority.  However, I do much prefer my daps like DX90/100/AK240 for listening to music but the M8 is an upgrade from the other android phones out there and dare I say better than IOS products as well.  Just need to temper expectations of SQ as these phones do not match a dedicated dap for SQ.

 

[weissshay]

How is the M8 stands up to sony's Z2 walkman ?

 

[maibuN]

Can anyone please measure the output impedance of the one m8? Has somebody the possibility to compare it with the iphone 4 (which has very low impedance) ?

 

[heatofamatch]

  Has somebody the possibility to compare it with the iphone 4 (which has very low impedance) ?

 
I've got an iphone4, but Apple screwed me over with the iOS7 update (among many other things), so I made the emotional decision to avoid Apple at all costs for my new phone. That was the first step of a shopping process that ended with me choosing the M8.
 
However if I were to put my emotions aside (quick, applaud me for the ability! LOL), I'd say the iphones are still probably the best sound quality for "non-audiophile" smartphones. People like me make a big deal out of the M8 because I think it's a non-audiophile android phone that finally matches the iphone for overall sound quality. But if I had no misgivings about Apple I'd say just stick to Apple.
 
To help you understand the sonic difference between an iphone and the M8... I'm going to quote 2 reviews from What Hi-Fi. The iPhone4 is very similar in sound to the 5S, but the digital amp on the 5S sounds even sharper.
Quote (M8 review):

 It’s a full-bodied, well-balanced sound with decent levels of detail, but it doesn’t quite top the very best from the...iPhone 5s when it comes to timing...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.

 
Quote (iPhone 5S review):

Tracks like Hey Now from London Grammar are detailed, lively and smooth and whereas on the G2, there seems to be something missing, the 5s is a much more engaging, interesting listen.  
Something like Long Lost by Classixx shows a level of subtelty with music and voices that can't quite be matched by other flagship smartphones. 

 
After reading that I auditioned the M8 with Long Lost by Classixx, with all sound effects off, and it does seem a little "slower", not as crisp or exact as the iPhone 4. But I enjoyed the M8 for its sheer power and the fact that it's that sound quality combined with the customization possibilities from Android.
 
The M8 has no difficulty driving any of my headphones well, but I don't have anything that requires a low output impedance to drive well.

 

[maibuN]

Thanks for your help. I like the iphone 4 overall and especially for its good sound and low output impedance but I would like to have much more storage space for music and a bigger screen.
 
I would appreciate to read some more impressions of the m8's sound quality with Multi-BA CIEMs which require low output impedance

 

[ryanjsoo]

http://www.anandtech.com/show/8078/smartphone-audio-testing-htc-one-m8-and-samsung-galaxy-s5/3, Very nice indeed.

 

[maibuN]

It has very high thd at high frequencies. Is that a serious problem?

 

[heatofamatch]

  It has very high thd at high frequencies. Is that a serious problem?

 
If I were in your shoes I'd ask myself: has it been easy for me to hear faults like this in the past? I'm not trying to be bitchy... It's an honest consideration in a situation like this, to try and work out if it's an issue for you. To try and rank all the negative factors in the order that they actually affect you, otherwise it could end up like a very popular joke: an average person reading WebMD trying to self-diagnose, and think he's gonna die very soon.

 
I think the Anandtech test is very revealing -- it corresponds with the issues Duncan and others have run into when they pushed the M8's volume above 13/15. (you may need to go back and read every page of this thread) It also offers a solution: drop the volume a step or two, because it should more than enough power for your headphones anyway, which is true in my case.
 
The reason I said the iPhones are still pretty good is because iPhones often do better in objective testing. Including this year's phones, none of them really have test results that compare with the iPhone (with the Vivo 3S possibly being an exception), but subjectively your ears may be more tolerant than your mind is willing to be.

 

[Baroninkjet]

 
The reason I said the iPhones are still pretty good is because iPhones often do better in objective testing. Including this year's phones, none of them really have test results that compare with the iPhone (with the Vivo 3S possibly being an exception), but subjectively your ears may be more tolerant than your mind is willing to be.

 
It's sad, really. I really have no love for Apple, but with consistent camera, a larger screen and now 3rd party keyboard compatibility it is looking like my next device.

 

[DisCHORDDubstep]

It's sad, really. I really have no love for Apple, but with consistent camera, a larger screen and now 3rd party keyboard compatibility it is looking like my next device.

its still extremely overpriced lol. Camera= buy a Nokia, larger screen= buy a Nokia Lumia 1520, and 3rd party keyboard= buy a Droid. Just stay away from apple. There's a reason the iPhone is in the top 5 most overpriced consumer electronics.

 

[jk47]

   
It's sad, really. I really have no love for Apple, but with consistent camera, a larger screen and now 3rd party keyboard compatibility it is looking like my next device.

see the audio review of the htc one m8, link above to anandtech.
however, i don't see how anyone can plan on using a phone as an audio source except on a very casual, and limited-use basis.  if you use it for music for extended stretches of time, you're going to kill the battery.