[iGrOOveD]

Hi guys! This is my 1st post in Hi-Fi :-D Actually I was a guest for a long time, but this time I decided I join this great forum. Seriously, Hi-Fi is the best place for the audiophile, I mean it

 
I've been searching for the best android solution for my musical life and I realized this post is THE place I can ask my questions. I hope you can help me.
My question is: Is there a great difference between Galaxy S4 and S5 in terms of audio quality, both in headphones and in speakers? I didn't like the S3 sound (in headphones and speaker), because I definitely could hear a 'hissing' noise with 1/15 volume. I had a much worse experience with Lumia 920. After reading some websites, I realized maybe it's because of LOW SNR. According to GSMarena, Lumia 920's and GS3's SNR in headphones are -78.3 and -90.2 dB respectively. But my iPhone 4S has -91.3 SNR and I can barely hear that 'hissing' noise. So it makes me wonder:
Does a little increase in SNR REALLY have such huge effect on audio quality?
As for GS4 and GS5, only the Exynos versions are available in my country. On one hand, it seems great due to Wolfson chips they're using instead of Qualcomm SoC. On the other hand, I read somewhere (can't remember where?) that SNR is lower in the Exynos versions, meaning there might be a hissing white noise in headphones (Maybe it won't be noticable at all, but still). Now the price difference between GS4 and GS5 is a little high here, and I want to make sure that GS5 will be worth it. I dig music, and I certainly want to get the most out of my device, so I thought maybe I can bring my question here. Also, what the OP did with his GS5, can it be done with GS4, too? I don't like using amps with my phone, so I want to make sure it delivers the best it can

 
Sorry it got so long, beginner's luck!

 

[josephkarthic]

 
Sorry i'm having trouble figuring out exactly what you mean, do you mean the bass is not as strong?

Yes the bass is not strong and it has no volume while the mids and highs are good, but when wired the bass is good like the rest.

 

[iGrOOveD]

Seriously, any body?

 

[chailee80]

Seriously, any body?

I can't answer the technical part of your question sorry but i can tell you that to my ears the galaxy s5 sounds better than the s3 and s4. I have heard both models of the s5 and i honestly i could not tell any difference between them. The exynos model is technically better but they both sound very good and i've been able to power headphones up to 250ohms fairly well. If you want the best audio quality from a mobile phone i would suggest the older iphone 5s or the htc one m8/m9 or mini 2.

 

[milford30]

Seriously, any body?

 
That's rather rude, maybe you should do some real research and get your facts right first.
 
What you're talking is the THD+N ratio, which means a value of -80dB gives a 0.01% distortion, and -100dB > 0.001%. So it is not you're normal SNR..... In this case, the lower the better, i.e 920 will sound relatively bad.
 
The hissing (mainly) comes in with output impedance the s3 has around 2-3ohm output impedance. which means headphones/earphones under 16-24ohms will very likely hiss. Finding the output impedance of the phones are quiet hard, the S4 also has a higher output impedance. In general the lower output impedance, the better, but it usually comes as a trade off with power.
 
The easiest way to find out is post your headphone model and pray people who have the s5 also has that headphone, and can tell you if they hiss.

 

[iGrOOveD]

That's rather rude, maybe you should do some real research and get your facts right first.

What you're talking is the THD+N ratio, which means a value of -80dB gives a 0.01% distortion, and -100dB > 0.001%. So it is not you're normal SNR..... In this case, the lower the better, i.e 920 will sound relatively bad.

The hissing (mainly) comes in with output impedance the s3 has around 2-3ohm output impedance. which means headphones/earphones under 16-24ohms will very likely hiss. Finding the output impedance of the phones are quiet hard, the S4 also has a higher output impedance. In general the lower output impedance, the better, but it usually comes as a trade off with power.

The easiest way to find out is post your headphone model and pray people who have the s5 also has that headphone, and can tell you if they hiss.

Thanks man, that was what I've been looking for.
Oh and, sorry. I didn't mean to be rude, it's just that I had posted it for a few days and thought maybe the thread is closed or something.

 

[iGrOOveD]

I can't answer the technical part of your question sorry but i can tell you that to my ears the galaxy s5 sounds better than the s3 and s4. I have heard both models of the s5 and i honestly i could not tell any difference between them. The exynos model is technically better but they both sound very good and i've been able to power headphones up to 250ohms fairly well. If you want the best audio quality from a mobile phone i would suggest the older iphone 5s or the htc one m8/m9 or mini 2.

Well it's good to have quality sound from a mobile phone. I was just wondering if the mods and audio apps like poweramp won't work on phones with Qualcomm SoC codecs. I'll probabely do some more research and choose between S4 and S5.

 

[ZMan2k2]

Well it's good to have quality sound from a mobile phone. I was just wondering if the mods and audio apps like poweramp won't work on phones with Qualcomm SoC codecs. I'll probabely do some more research and choose between S4 and S5.

PowerAmp works well with my Qualcomm S5, and I'm getting the Cozoy Astrapi, a portable amp/DAC, just to see if I can squeeze a little more sound out of my phone. The Cozoy is so small, that it will fit in my IEM'S carrying case, so it's easy to transport.

 

[chailee80]

Yeh poweramp, neutron, jet audio and gone mad music players all work fine on the Galaxy s4/s5. The Qualcomm DAC is pretty good IMO and is on par with all the other flagship phones. The htc one phones are slightly better as they can drive headphones a bit louder than the rest.

 

[dazzerfong]

Yeh poweramp, neutron, jet audio and gone mad music players all work fine on the Galaxy s4/s5. The Qualcomm DAC is pretty good IMO and is on par with all the other flagship phones. The htc one phones are slightly better as they can drive headphones a bit louder than the rest.

I just found out that, if you root, you could more or less almost reach the same volume on the HTC One phones with an Xperia Z1 Compact. Provided they all use the same SoC, the internal components for most flagships are very similar, with the only restrictions being what the manufacturer has put in. Why I said you had to root was because Sony, for whatever reason, hardware-limited the amplifier, and you could increase the gain of it without changing the digital gain to it.

 

[ZMan2k2]

Hi all. I have a question regarding rooting the S5, and installing Viper4Android. I've never rooted a phone, so I wonder how it's done, and how you keep settings, SMS, etc. Is it safe? How much chance do I have at bricking my phone? It's a Bell Canada S5, and I understand it's a little different then American S5's.

 

[milford30]

Hi all. I have a question regarding rooting the S5, and installing Viper4Android. I've never rooted a phone, so I wonder how it's done, and how you keep settings, SMS, etc. Is it safe? How much chance do I have at bricking my phone? It's a Bell Canada S5, and I understand it's a little different then American S5's.

This should help:
 
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2783157

 

[ZMan2k2]

This should help:

http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2783157

Thanks. Headed there now.

*edit* Bah! Looks like towelroot won't work for me, and geohot works for Google now, shutting down exploits. No Viper4Android for me.

 

[ZMan2k2]

I think I've found a way to root my phone, but it trips KNOX. So, I'm not sure it's worth losing the warranty. Is there anyone here, who has rooted, installed Viper4Android, and found a big difference? If so, can you describe the difference?

 

[dazzerfong]

I think I've found a way to root my phone, but it trips KNOX. So, I'm not sure it's worth losing the warranty. Is there anyone here, who has rooted, installed Viper4Android, and found a big difference? If so, can you describe the difference?

Viper4Android does not, as people suggest, 'improve' sound. It just changes it. It's just an entire suite of post-processors for music, so when people say 'it improves a lot', what they meant was 'it changed it to my listening preferences.'