[White Lotus]

Loving this device as a source. Fantastic sound customization (if you're into that kind of thing), very clean sounding input, good separation, bass response is tight yet deep. No detectable hiss is coming from the internal amp.
 
This source is definitely comparable to the 3GS (which is saying a lot, if you do a quick search on these forums).
 
I'm yet to AB the two sources. But performance with my westone 3 so far is impressive.
 
Also: I'm not detecting any sort of "loudness" auto eq, I'm unsure if this issue is firmware specific or not.

 

[mardale]

Hi to all: my first post
 
I've just bought the galaxy s and am extremely happy to have moved from the 3GS to it. Contrary to other opinions here I am quite disappointed by the sound quality.
 
I should say at this point that I've based every purchase decision I've made on reviews and opinions from head-fi, so don't know too much about the details of what suits what, but I can say that I find the sound weak with poor amplification and the whole sound 'dulls' as the amp seems to struggle to find the power to extend any reasonable bass.
 
I'm using SE530s as IEMs with custom ACS tips and have moved from the 3GS (which isn't terribly inspiring) and the Sony X1060 which is simply incredible with the SE530s.
 
I also have a pair of SuperFi Pro 5s which actually sound a little better than the SE530s with the Galaxy.
 
So in professional opinions, is the Galaxy and SE530 a bad combination? Is it my ears? Am I just spoilt by the joy of the X1060 with the SE530s?
 
Is there a better set of IEMS for the Galaxy? Would an amp be the answer?
 
Any help would be very gratefully received - this is so close to a perfect phone....
 
Thanks,
 
Matt.

 

[Kirosia]

I was looking at gsmarena's audio comparison, and it seems to add to the whole "adding headphones fudges with the Galaxy S sound" thing. Have the guys at XDA found a permanent solution for this yet? 
 
 
"For this shootout we decided to do something more than our usual audio quality test and recorded each of the handsets twice. The first two rows of the table below contain the numbers we usually publish - this is the performance of the handset when plugged into an active amplifier (i.e. your car stereo or your home audio system). It's the best the handsets can deliver as there is no additional resistance they have to deal with.

The second two rows show the actual performance of the iPhone 4 and the Galaxy S when a pair of headphones is plugged. We used a pair of AKG headphones with impedance of 32 ohms. As you can see both handsets audio quality slightly deteriorated but it still remained perfect for almost all purposes practical.

The stereo crosstalk is the only area that took a serious hit (mostly so with the Galaxy S), so leakage between the channels is more pronounced but everything else is great. Still it's easy to notice that the iPhone 4 gets an edge when headphones are connected, which is the only thing that matters to most of the users. The creators of the iPod certainly knew what they were doing here."

Test	Frequency response	Noise level	Dynamic range	THD	IMD + Noise	Stereo crosstalk
Apple iPhone 4	+0.01, -0.07	-90.5	90.6	0.0041	0.011	-92.0
Samsung I9000 Galaxy S	+0.03 -0.04	-90.7	90.6	0.014	0.019	-90.6
Apple iPhone 4 (headphones attached)	+0.01, -0.07	-90.4	90.4	0.0036	0.092	-68.4
Samsung I9000 Galaxy S (headphones attached)	+0.40 -0.12	-90.7	90.6	0.018	0.329	-43.3

 
 

 
http://www.gsmarena.com/samsung_i9000_galaxy_s_vs_apple_iphone_4-review-500p6.php

 

[Covenant]

Quote:

I was looking at gsmarena's audio comparison, and it seems to add to the whole "adding headphones fudges with the Galaxy S sound" thing. Have the guys at XDA found a permanent solution for this yet? 
 

It's not a "permanent" solution, but this fix does the trick:
http://ip208-100-42-21.static.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=735918
 
It turns off the automatic EQ applied when headphones are plugged in.

 

[ixeo]

 
Quote:

Purchased one yesterday, Samsung Galaxy S in Hong Kong. I would think this is the same as the Korean version for the most part. 
 
I switched from the blackberry 9700 and I have to say this is much, much better. The customisable icons, functions, feel really makes android flourish. Comparing to my mums iphone 4, I do believe it's still slightly slower at times when running multiple apps and such. Using Launcher Pro, it has helped with the overalspeed of the phone but there are still some issues with lag at times. I'm not quite sure if I want to root the phone yet though...
 
Anyhow, I hope the FLAC issue could be resolved..but from what I heard these big manufacturers like Samsung really dosn't give a rats a$$ about updating their phones. This could all be different, however, since they are working in adjunct with google now. 

The reason for the lag is because Samsung chose the wrong filesystem. you can search the Market for OCLF (and please google OCLF to find how to use it) or http://project-voodoo.org/
These are both fixes by the community that solves that lag issue.
 
OCLF is easier to use, user-friendly. voodoo requires your phone to be able to enter the 3-button recovery menu (there have been reports that certain SGS cannot enter this menu).

 

[lonereaction]

I've been reading on the XDA thread that 2.2 no longer has the EQ applied. You guys might want to update to 2.2 if it's available, or flash it manually.

 

[tim3320070]

I have the Captivate and ran the fix above (disable EQ) but don't really hear a difference.The sound on this phone is pretty bright! Etchy treble, lots of hiss. I run the X10 which is not a bright IEM, until now. Bass sounds pretty good and there is plenty of volume. However, it's is not nearly as good as my $60 Fuze which sounds smooth and quiet in comparison. Another gripe is that I downloaded some WMA audiobooks from my library and they won't play due to copyright issue (this may not be the phone but they play fine on the Fuze).
The phone itself is great but this will not be my portable audio player. Maybe dull headphones will sound decent with it, or someone who likes a bright sound.

 

[rehabitat]

Rockbox it!  There is a fantastic community who are helping each other to get the most out of this device, not least of all the guy at project voodoo.
 
The potential here is huge: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=806195
 
I have on on the way  

  and I can't freakin' wait!

 

[Kirosia]

A bit off-topic, but Amazon is having a "one cent sale" on AT&T phones with a new two-year contract, so if anyone wants to pick up a Captivate (Galaxy S variant) ...
 
http://wireless.amazon.com/b/684177011?categoryCarrier=carrierAtt

 

[Antadil]

Sorry to bring this one up again ... Can anybody tell me about the amount of volume increments on the Galaxy S i9000? A crucial issue for me ...
 
Thanks!

 

[rehabitat]

Can't tell you the precise increments except to say that they are not subtle. Sounds about 1.5-2 db at a guess. It's one thing I don't like about the Galaxy. I'm hoping a dev will fix this.

 

[Jubei]

Am reading up on their site and haven't quite figured out how to proceed. I have noticed that the guys at Voodoo have just posted an app on Android Market.
 
Have you applied the changes already?
 
Quote:

Rockbox it!  There is a fantastic community who are helping each other to get the most out of this device, not least of all the guy at project voodoo.
 
The potential here is huge: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=806195
 
I have on on the way  

  and I can't freakin' wait!

 

[rehabitat]

Not yet but thanks for the heads up. I've been meaning to check o this for a while.  I'll have a look at this on the weekend and report back.

 

[kingtz]

Quote:

Am reading up on their site and haven't quite figured out how to proceed. I have noticed that the guys at Voodoo have just posted an app on Android Market.
 
Have you applied the changes already?
 
Quote:

Rockbox it!  There is a fantastic community who are helping each other to get the most out of this device, not least of all the guy at project voodoo.
 
The potential here is huge: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=806195
 
I have on on the way  

  and I can't freakin' wait!

 

If you flash to a 2.2 ROM like Cognition (for Captivate), it already comes with Voodoo, among other goodies. You can find it on XDA.

 

[rehabitat]

Thanks for the tip.  To date I have been frustrated in my attempts to install 2.2.  Kies won't recognise my Captivate so I uninstalled it and gave up for a while.  Time to try again, sans Kies pos.