[bcarr112281]

  There is so much subjective hand waving and snake oil in this field i'd personally like to see more universally measurable objective metrics about SQ So it can become a commodity, i can buy a pair of perfect $20 headphones and call it a day

 
Oh, yes--I agree completely!
 
Incidentally, here is an objective analysis of the "regular" One M8's audio performance, courtesy of AnandTech.

 

[Robgo]

I listened to my HTC M8 this morning for about an hour without the dac then plugged my dac in afterwards to really get a good taste of the HTC M8 sound. Here's how it compares to my HRT microstreamer. I only left a brief review before of what I thought. I used it without boomsound (though I switched on boomsound for a couple of minutes for comedic effect). I'm using SE535's with a grey damper mod. (Similar sound to the SE535 reds/Japanese version). This is pretty much a no holds barred review and perhaps not very fair review of the sound because I do really like my HTC M8 phone.
 
 
Sound is quite shrill. It's bright and tinny sounding but at the same time mids are quite pushed forward. Bass detail is pretty good but the sound is very flat and congested. There is hardly any depth between the instruments and it sounds very sterile. It's a very fatiguing sound and sounds pretty weak compared to the HRT microstreamer. Volume isn't the cause. It gets plenty loud enough but the sound characteristics just seem anaemic and cold compared to my HRT Microstreamer.
 
After plugging in the HRT microstreamer. The sound is much warmer. Much more natural. There is depth and more open and natural sounding soundstage. (I dislike when the sound-stage is exaggerated, which is a reason I prefer sennheiser cans to beyer). I can crank the volume higher and it isn't fatiguing. I enjoy the music much more. When I say warm, I don't mean coloured. There is a ton of detail and more detail than the M8 on it's own. It sounds way better. This setup doesn't compete with the HD650 I owned a couple of wears ago with a tube amp and soundcard with changable dacs. But it's really good for portable.

 

[jk47]

  I listened to my HTC M8 this morning for about an hour without the dac then plugged my dac in afterwards to really get a good taste of the HTC M8 sound. Here's how it compares to my HRT microstreamer. I only left a brief review before of what I thought. I used it without boomsound (though I switched on boomsound for a couple of minutes for comedic effect). I'm using SE535's with a grey damper mod. (Similar sound to the SE535 reds/Japanese version). This is pretty much a no holds barred review and perhaps not very fair review of the sound because I do really like my HTC M8 phone.
 
 
Sound is quite shrill. It's bright and tinny sounding but at the same time mids are quite pushed forward. Bass detail is pretty good but the sound is very flat and congested. There is hardly any depth between the instruments and it sounds very sterile. It's a very fatiguing sound and sounds pretty weak compared to the HRT microstreamer. Volume isn't the cause. It gets plenty loud enough but the sound characteristics just seem anaemic and cold compared to my HRT Microstreamer.
 
After plugging in the HRT microstreamer. The sound is much warmer. Much more natural. There is depth and more open and natural sounding soundstage. (I dislike when the sound-stage is exaggerated, which is a reason I prefer sennheiser cans to beyer). I can crank the volume higher and it isn't fatiguing. I enjoy the music much more. When I say warm, I don't mean coloured. There is a ton of detail and more detail than the M8 on it's own. It sounds way better. This setup doesn't compete with the HD650 I owned a couple of wears ago with a tube amp and soundcard with changable dacs. But it's really good for portable.

i'm curious if you compared it to any dedicated portable daps- dx50, dx90, x3, x5, etc

 

[Robgo]

I've used fiio amps in the past an a nuforce dac 2. I am a bit of a cyclical head-fier. I often get into music/head-fi stuff but will lose interest over more important things and sell my gear off. But I haven't used a hugely extensive amount of products. I bought a cheap cmoy several years ago and that got me into messing around with this stuff. I had a pair of HD650's, a really nice tube amp, and a dedicated soundcard that I could change the opamps on (all sold off) that I use as a benchmark for everything else now. That said, the fiio amps, nuforce 2 dac and everything else I've used portable have disappointed me badly. The best portable amp of this type that I've really been happy with since first hearing is the HRT Microstreamer. I bought it to replace a Xonar U3 just to experiment and see if I could really hear a huge difference and I'm happy with it. I'm using the HRT as a benchmark for portable stuff now (my se535 and hrt ms doesn't sound as good as my old HD650s and tube amp but it's still pretty good and a big step up from most portable stuff).

 

[elfary]

I managed to briefly try an M8. Found plenty powerful and quite detailed but its output impedance worries me. I could not asess it since i listened with the TDK BA200 (that has an impedance stabilizer) but i would not write off the 9ohms measured on the chinese unit.

Overall i prefer my USA iPhone 5s but this M8 has left me intrigued. Will do further listening with the UM3x.


Password must contain at least one capital letter, the meaning of life, 14 of your favorite baby names, the Hamlet plot summary and a hug.

 

[DoKaTSuYa]

I read that M8 and M7 sound the same, they kept the same output, right ?

 

[Roscoeiii]

That is not my understanding

 

[Robgo]

From a mid/high end audio perspective the HTC M8 headphone sound is still mediocre compared to an HRT Microstreamer but so is every other phone.

 

[DoKaTSuYa]

Yeah and compare to a computer ? because my One sound better thanks to PowerAmp than my new Vaio Flip by Sony for instance (which sound great), they all sound good, but equalizer of PowerAmp is really impressive, no distorsion if you find the perfect settings (on google).
 
I think you all compare every devices with the native sound and native music player of each of them.

 

[DisCHORDDubstep]

Yeah and compare to a computer ? because my One sound better thanks to PowerAmp than my new Vaio Flip by Sony for instance (which sound great), they all sound good, but equalizer of PowerAmp is really impressive, no distorsion if you find the perfect settings (on google).

I think you all compare every devices with the native sound and native music player of each of them.

Lumia 925 built in eq doesn't have any distortion either at any level, and I can slap on 20db@50hz.

 

[DoKaTSuYa]

I don't how you compare, imagine, you take differente Android phones, but download the same app on each (PowerAmp), and put the same equalizer etc... they will not sound the same ? i did it, that's sound really really similar...

 

[Robgo]

  Yeah and compare to a computer ? because my One sound better thanks to PowerAmp than my new Vaio Flip by Sony for instance (which sound great), they all sound good, but equalizer of PowerAmp is really impressive, no distorsion if you find the perfect settings (on google).
 
I think you all compare every devices with the native sound and native music player of each of them.

 
I'm comparing it to a mid level/somewhat high end usb dac. In all honesty it sounds pretty horrible in comparison. It's still an awesome phone though and I love it. I'm being objective about things because I love the phone but the sound over headphones is nothing special. The speakers (without headphones) are pretty amazing for a phone though. Sometimes I'll sit the phone in the centre of my kitchen and play music over it's speakers while I'm cooking. Works well enough for background music. Something most phones can't boast. Pretty much since I've bought a USB dac everything else is unlistenable now. I would say the same thing about any phone's sound so it's not a knock to the HTC M8 at all. Phone sound just can't compare to dedicated dacs right now. I bought the HTC m8 after I bought the dac and I thought maybe I could cut out the added effort and bulk of using a dac but I still keep using it because the sound is way better with a dac.
 
I'm new to both owning a dac and the m8 so I thought I'd weigh in my opinions without being biased since it's an audiophile forum.

 

[elfary]

Tried an M8 again today.

I think it is good but somehow there's some richness and clarity loss when compared to my iPhone 5s.

Output impedance it's something i'm still not sure about since Westone 3 are not picky about it. As are not the TDK BA200 that i used on my first foray into the M8.

The UI response time surprised me for good. A very solid smartphone in my book. The iPhone of Android universe.




Password must contain at least one capital letter, the meaning of life, 14 of your favorite baby names, the Hamlet plot summary and a hug.

 

[Sound Eq]

very weird every time something new is released everyone raves how good it is, then after a month or two all of a sudden all i read is complaints

 

[Duncan]

very weird every time something new is released everyone raves how good it is, then after a month or two all of a sudden all i read is complaints

I complained about it from the beginning (distortion), but tonally, quite adept IMO for a phone.