[elfary]

They have to be very very close sound wise. If you are not doing direct comparisons i don't think you could differentiate them. The 4S has 1 more ohm of output impedance which may lead to very slight tonal shift if you are listening through armatures but i don't think it can be audible on a real world scenario of any kind.
 
If you have the 4 or the 4S you just have the best sounding handset that money can buy in 2011.
 
These days i'm trying to decide whether to buy an iPhone 4S or Samsung Galaxy Note (What a screen size for reading). As an owner of an iPhone 3GS since 2009 i'm finding very hard letting go of iPhone's benchmark sound and lovely OS. Unfortunately no other manufacturer has been capable of achieve the channel separarion or the intermodulation distorsion that iPhones have.

 

[googleli]

I have all three of S2, 4 and 4S and the 4S does sound a bit warmish on my ES5 and UE18 Pro, but I have yet to test it on my T5p. I agree the S2 is no match though.

 

[nikp]

Quote:

If you have the 4 or the 4S you just have the best sounding handset that money can buy in 2011.
 

You just left out the SGS1.
 

 

[sulkoudai]

why did Samsung stop using the same components for the SGS2??

 

[googleli]

Any word on what chip they will use for Galaxy Nexus?

 

[sulkoudai]

Quote:

Any word on what chip they will use for Galaxy Nexus?

apparently the Galaxy Nexus sounds better than the original SGS, someone said that on Engadget comment page somewhere, i forgot where, but i do remember some one saying that.

 

[Anaxilus]

Quote:

The title of the thread is ludicrous. The best sound smartphone ever vs one of the worse.
 
Check the measurements for iPhone 4 and Galaxy SII at any site. Or try them with high end earphones. Or check focus.de (Great subjective assessments there. Almost always match objective data thus reviewer has great earphones (UE11) and golden ears.
 
Do whatever but please do not mislead anybody to think that iPhone 4 and Galaxy S II are even comparable sound quality wise. Samsung handset surpasses iP4 on many areas. Sound is not one of them.

The only interest I had in the SII was as a possible digital transport using ICS.  I stopped waiting on that development and could care less about the iPhone.  Grabbed a Nokia N8 and use it as a digital USB transport into my Leckerton UHA6S or whatever USB slf powered DAC is around.  Tired of the Android silliness and iPhone CLAS/HPP1 ridiculousness.  As transports they're practically still in Beta by comparison to Nokia.  Plus the camera kicks both in the nutz.  
 
 
Quote:

How about iPhone 4 vs iPhone 4S? Does anyone else feel that iPhone 4's sound signature is more neutral than the iPhone 4S?

The 4S has a higher measured output Z if I recall, not sure how the other measurements stacked up.  But the reports are the consensus is yes the 4S is slightly worse than the 4.
 

 

[newdm]

Quote:

You just left out the SGS1.
 

Hello @ all, this my first post at Head-Fi.
 
I am also looking for a smartphone with good audio quality for my triple.fi 10.
 
It seems like the Iphone 4 has the best reputation. It has great crosstalk-results, even with headphones attached. The output impedance is in the range of 0 ohm, so the frequency graph looks almost perfect. Unfortunately, the IP4 has no SD-Slot and despite the age of the hardware, the 32GB-Version is still quite expensive.
 
So, how does the affordable Galaxy I9000 with Voodoo compare to the Iphone 4? Is it really an alternative?
 
Thanks a lot.
 
 

 

[nikp]

Quote:

Hello @ all, this my first post at Head-Fi.
 
I am also looking for a smartphone with good audio quality for my triple.fi 10.
 
It seems like the Iphone 4 has the best reputation. It has great crosstalk-results, even with headphones attached. The output impedance is in the range of 0 ohm, so the frequency graph looks almost perfect. Unfortunately, the IP4 has no SD-Slot and despite the age of the hardware, the 32GB-Version is still quite expensive.
 
So, how does the affordable Galaxy I9000 with Voodoo compare to the Iphone 4? Is it really an alternative?
 
Thanks a lot.
 
 

The SGS1 uses a wolfson dac which is far more superior than iPhone 4's cirrus dac. 
 
EDIT: WTH!! (Welcome to Head-Fi) 

 

[newdm]

 
Quote:

 
EDIT: WTH!! (Welcome to Head-Fi) 

Thank you.

 
The I9000 uses a Wolfson Dac, but is that alone an indicator for the SQ?
 
If you compare the RMAA-results at GSM Arena, the iPhone 4 seems to be superior in frequency response and noise.
Also the gap in stereo crosstalk is relatively huge: -68,4 vs -43,3.
http://www.gsmarena.com/samsung_i9000_galaxy_s_vs_apple_iphone_4-review-500p6.php
 
(but i have no idea, if they tested a Galaxy I9000 with Voodoo for full Wolfson access....)
 

 

[Peyotero]

Ignore that graph regardless of voodoo. They used an outdated and flawed firmware. You ain't gonna see that bump shown on the graph for the SG1 with later frimwares. Should be flat even without voodoo.
Can't comment on the cross talk but here's a link to an article which mentions it http://soundexpert.org/news/-/blogs/audio-quality-of-galaxy-s?_33_redirect=%2F

 

[KaliKot]

The newer firmwares for the SGS2 have improved sound quality significantly, but it's still no match for an iPhone 4 or an SGS1 with Voodoo
 
I can vouch for a Voodoo'ed SGS1 as the best sounding handset i've ever heard.
 
I went through all 3 phones but I dont really use my phone for music anymore

 

[googleli]

Listening to my Beyerdynamic T5p straight out from iPhone 4S at this very moment... Not too bad actually...

 

[DrTone]

Quote:

The newer firmwares for the SGS2 have improved sound quality significantly, but it's still no match for an iPhone 4 or an SGS1 with Voodoo
 
I can vouch for a Voodoo'ed SGS1 as the best sounding handset i've ever heard.
 
I went through all 3 phones but I dont really use my phone for music anymore

I've installed pretty much every firmware update right up to K2 on my SG2, none improved the sound quality, never mind significantly.
 

 

[newdm]

@KaliKot & Peyotero:
Thanks for your opinions, the article from soundexpert.org is very helpful.
I am getting more and more convinced, that the SG I9000 might be the best choice for my needs.
(good SQ, possibility of memory extension, affordability)
 
One more question:
I read somewhere, that the I9000 has an output impedance of about 8 ohm (IP4 has nearly 0 Ohm).
Since a high ohm output can affect the frequency of multi-ba drivers, could the I9000 be a problematic match with universal/custom in-ears?