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New HTC One M8 audio review
Jun 29, 2014 at 7:48 PM Post #496 of 874
sound eq said:
  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
Click to expand...

 
 
People are susceptible to marketing and hype. I've worked in marketing so I know how people really are. It's best to read through the lines and find out truly what's best rather than what is of popular opinion. (50% of people have lower than average IQ's for example... you really need to not trust popular opinion at all).
 
Jun 30, 2014 at 9:00 AM Post #497 of 874
For those of you who ran Viper4Android on the Note 2,
 
When going from Note 2 running Viper4Android to the HTC One M8 (with or without Harmon Kardon and with or without Viper4Android), is there an audio quality difference?
 
Thank you. I'm thinking about upgrading from my Note 2 but only for the sound quality and wondering if it's worth it.
 
Jun 30, 2014 at 10:49 AM Post #498 of 874
I just came from a Note 2 with V4A.  But before using V4A on the Note 2, I had Cowon Z2 as a dedicated mp3 player which I bought solely because of Cowon's reputation for sound quality.  The Cowon didn't disappoint, it sounded pretty good, especially compared to the Note 2 which I thought had very mediocre sound quality on its own.  That changed when I installed V4A on the Note, which to me it transformed the sound into something better than the Cowon, so much so that I adopted it as my main music player.  Well let me tell you, I think the M8 sounds pretty decent on its own (no effects whatsoever), but with V4A it's another animal altogether, it's like it unlocks the potential of the phone to what it can truly be.  The M8 sounds a lot louder and cleaner than the Note 2 could ever achieve.  For example, I used to drive up V4A's Playback Gain Control on the Note to 4X just to make it loud enough, which would introduce some noticeable background noise.  The M8 does not need any additional gain, it's loud and clean with very little background noise.  Additionally, I find that the sound tweaks I made on the M8 are a lot less than with the Note 2, and it sounds so much better.  I ended up selling the Cowon, I don't need to carry it around when I get awesome sound from my M8.  Oh, and the Note 2 is for sale right now. 
 
So in a nutshell, I think it's worth it, especially if you install V4A on the HTC One.
 
Jun 30, 2014 at 10:29 PM Post #500 of 874
idoesitbetter said:
  I just came from a Note 2 with V4A.  But before using V4A on the Note 2, I had Cowon Z2 as a dedicated mp3 player which I bought solely because of Cowon's reputation for sound quality.  The Cowon didn't disappoint, it sounded pretty good, especially compared to the Note 2 which I thought had very mediocre sound quality on its own.  That changed when I installed V4A on the Note, which to me it transformed the sound into something better than the Cowon, so much so that I adopted it as my main music player.  Well let me tell you, I think the M8 sounds pretty decent on its own (no effects whatsoever), but with V4A it's another animal altogether, it's like it unlocks the potential of the phone to what it can truly be.  The M8 sounds a lot louder and cleaner than the Note 2 could ever achieve.  For example, I used to drive up V4A's Playback Gain Control on the Note to 4X just to make it loud enough, which would introduce some noticeable background noise.  The M8 does not need any additional gain, it's loud and clean with very little background noise.  Additionally, I find that the sound tweaks I made on the M8 are a lot less than with the Note 2, and it sounds so much better.  I ended up selling the Cowon, I don't need to carry it around when I get awesome sound from my M8.  Oh, and the Note 2 is for sale right now. 
 
So in a nutshell, I think it's worth it, especially if you install V4A on the HTC One.
Click to expand...

 
Perfect thank you.
 
Jul 1, 2014 at 6:25 PM Post #502 of 874
I've got an old Cowon X5 that I bought years ago for FLAC and OGG. The SQ and power to drive my Grado's is awesome. I'd still be using it but it won't hold a charge any longer. And the interface is rather dated. Now I use a Cowon i9+.

I'm thinking about a new DAP in the next 12-16 months and I'm watching Fiio and the Android option. Things change pretty fast. :)
 
Jul 1, 2014 at 11:36 PM Post #504 of 874
I have both the iPhone 5s and the HTC One m8 and they really do sound quite different with my ie800's...Not too sure which ones I prefer but the iPhone does seem to have more clarity from what I can tell so far.
 
Jul 2, 2014 at 3:11 AM Post #505 of 874
I have M8 for 3 months now. Previously I had M7 and I have tried headphone output on Galaxy S4, Note3, Nexus5, iPhone 4S. I also listen to music on FiiO X5, E18 and Sansa Clip Zip.
So what can I say? HTC One have very nice output. Better than M7, on par with Note 3 but more powerful. iPhone has nice output but more warmer, fuller sound. HTC is analitical, bit cold and thin but at the same time very clean and precise.
The most important thing is to find the right match for it. I have 12 IEMs, tried most of them with M8 and synergy is the key here.
The best match so far is NuForce NE700 (bassy and warm) and Musical Fidelity EB-50 (totally flat response, neutral). I think it's the impedance - HTC has high output impadance which combine with sound characteristics make it hard to find the right headphones.
It's not that other IEMs sounds bad, but you can't fully enjoy and appreciate this phone with any headphone. But when you find the right synergy it's great.
 
Here's my impressions with different IEMs:
Philips Fidelio S2 ( too weak output, sounds good when combined with FiiO E02)
Havi B3 Pro-1 ( too weak output, sounds better when combined with FiiO E02 but still not the right IEM for this phone)
T-Peos H200 (good match when it comes to power, average in general, sounds too analitical)
Xiaomi Piston 2 (ok match, nothing special though)
Sony XBA-H3 (good match I think, but I don't use that one on the move, so didn't really try it enough)
Rock-It R50 (average match, wouldn't recommend)
LG Quadbeat 2 (very good match, highly recommended)
Phonak Audeo 112 (nothing special, a bit too weak output, not enough bass quantity)
Klipsch X10 (didn't have enough time before it broke and haven't upacked X11 yet)
VSonic GR01 (I think it should be great but unfortunatelly I broke them)
TDK IE800 (too weak output, sounds good when combined with FiiO E02)
 
Don't have any any full size headphones to try. There's clipping on 2 highest volume levels, but that levels are too high for most IEMs with the exeptions of headphones with 2 dynamic drivers. Using amp fixes this problem (FiiO E02 for example).
 
I'm guessing there is always gonna be some problems with all smartphone headphone outputs - whether it's too weak, too distorted or something else. HTC One M8, LG G3, Samsung Galaxy S5, Sony Xperia Z2 and many others have the same DAC and the differences will always be small. Than again it does have more power and it's at least equally clean. I can recommend it without hesitation and I don't think there's anything better in smartphone world.
 
Jul 2, 2014 at 7:20 AM Post #506 of 874
After trying the European HTC One M8 i would not rule out the chance that output impedance is 9ohms as it was on the unit measured by some chinese audio web.
 
For some reason on both the TDK BA200 and the Westone 3 there seemed to be a bit less bass and a less fuller sound than off my iPhone 5s.
 
Take it with a grain of salt since it was a cursory listen (But with files that i know really well though)
 
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