[Tmel]

Can anyone tell me how the audio from earphones is in terms of both volume and quality? (Preferably in relation to M8/M9 if possible)

I'm not too fussed about the speaker as I always connect to my bluetooth speakers anyway so only earphones are an issue for me.

 

[somepedals]

Anyone else hear the hiss coming from the headphone jack? It's very noticeable with quiet music or anything spoken word, such as audiobooks and podcasts.

 

[psikey]

With my highly sensitive SE846's not hiss for music. Maybe its the actual recordings

Sent from my SM-N910F using Tapatalk

 

[Guppy_]

  Quick question if anyone can throw some insight?
Does anyone have a DAP that uses the same sort of chip set as the Samsung galaxy s6, such a fiio x1, x3, x5, ect..? (wolfson/cirrus logic)
Wondering how does it truly fair in terms of crisp, dynamic, well timed and bass reproduction? (providing the source is of good quality obviously) Saying that i'd highly doubt any audiophiles from here would have anything less than top quality? 

 
Thing is listen to a lot of classical, stringed and house music with a touch of rock.
Interested if this phone has what it takes?
 
currently using a non rooted Sony xperia z3 with sony xba 40's
many thanks guys! 

 
D.

IIRC reading in some thread, even though som DAPs used the same chip, AMP stage is vastly underpowered in smartphones.
 
I my ownership experience:
iPhone 3Gs
iPhone 4
Samsung galaxy s4 exynos (wolfson dac)
LG G3  qualcomm chip.
 
Creative Zen:m
Creative xfi2
DX90.
 
It was only after I purchased the DX90 here, that I realized how dull and lifeless my music was coming from smartphones (creative DAPs were just a little bit better in soundstage).

 

[kungfutofu]

Did the new 5.1.1 update improve the sound quality? Comparing the s6 to the iPad mini sounded very very similar with maybe the iPad being a smidgen warmer using the vmoda m80 and sennheiser hd239. I think the s6 is an improvement over my previous nexus 4 though my only complaint is that it doesn't go super loud for headphones with a high impedance. I feel pretty satisfied with the sound and do not experience any of the "high pitch vocals" other people seem to be reporting. 

 

[Kepller]

Tested both the S6 and S6 Edge and indeed, there was quite a significant difference between the 2. The sound quality on the S6 was garbage while the S6 Edge was more clear and balance.
 
S6 sounded extremely harsh with my westone 3. Male vocals had that sizzling high sound you would here when someone speaks through a cheap microphone. Bass was muddy to my ears.
 
The S6 Edge on the other hand, could match my Xperia Z1, only on the bass department though as i found it more control and detailed. When it comes to the treble however, my Z1 is still undefeated. Mids/Vocals are equal here, both Z1 and S6 sounded as good here.
 
It's just a pity that the Z3+ is not of a big improvement over the Z3 and the camera on the Z3+ is the exact same sensor on my Z1 which has already been defeated by the S6 Edge's camera. I'm considering to jump ship over to Samsung as the S6 Edge wins my 2 years old phone in every other areas such as the camera. Looking forward to hear more impressions regarding the S6 and S6 Edge. . While the camera is one of my priority, music/sound quality is my highest as i do not want to carry an additional device around.

 

[MostlyGordon]

My S6 SM-920I sound quality is great compared to Fiio X5, E10K and iPhone 5. I'd say the drive is a bit lacking, but it has that great Wolfson warmth I like. I have not tried an edge. I mainly listen at low volumes at work, so the drive is not an issue. I have used it with Porta Pros (mainly), Momentums and LOL HD 650s, yes they work but bass is a bit lacking. 

 

[TheRH]

Coming from a different standpoint, i have just picked up an S6 edge, to sit alongside the iphone 6+ and the HTC M9...

Will be a fun shootout

I'm going to have to agree with you Duncan, the sound quality without a DAC/Headphone amp is really good with the current update and PowerAmp player. 

 
Currently I'm using PowerAmp player in conjunction with a pair Audio Technica IM50's and using the 2015 HD Tracks (High level FLAC) as my reference playlist.

 

[Kepller]

  I'm going to have to agree with you Duncan, the sound quality without a DAC/Headphone amp is really good with the current update and PowerAmp player. 

 
Currently I'm using PowerAmp player in conjunction with a pair Audio Technica IM50's and using the 2015 HD Tracks (High level FLAC) as my reference playlist.

It has really improved after the firmware update? no more harsh sounding treble and sizzling male vocals?

 

[dmn228]

Having recently purchased a Galaxy S6 Active I wanted to weigh in on this topic. For background, in the past couple of years I have owned several smartphones including iPhone 5s, iPhone 6, HTC M8, Galaxy Note 3.

I posted on another thread last year that the 5s was reference sound quality at least as far as smartphones go. While the M8 has an impressive amplifier and can drive most any set of cans, for pure audio quality the 5s beat everything else I'd owned.

As the Eagles song goes, "there's a new kid in town". And a new king.

The S6 brings a new level of clarity and soundstage to the table. I suppose it's the Wolfson chip but I am not into technical specs. What matters is what I hear. I overwhelmingly prefer the S6 audio (headphones and Bluetooth) over any other portable audio device. I am literally rediscovering my music collection, which is all ripped at either MP3 320kps or AAC 256. And I am not using an external amp because I don't have any high impendence cans.

The external speaker is another story. It doesn't suck but it's nowhere near as good as the recent iPhones, or needless to say the M8. In short, it gets the job done for notifications, speakerphone calls, and the occasional YouTube video but I'd never want to be stuck listening to music, or an entire movie on the speaker. And I can't understand why Samsung insists on the rear placement of the speaker. Lay the phone flat on its back, and the already marginal sound quality takes another hit. Why not put it on the bottom like the S6? There's a reason Apple has had a speaker in that location forever.

In addition to the outstanding audio quality, the S6 Active has a number of great features including: massive battery, waterproof, shockproof (I am using a thin TPU case to protect from scuffs however), amazing camera, and fantastic screen resolution. Unfortunately, touchwiz is still not as fluid and buttery smooth as it should be considering the processor and RAM that's running it. My iPhone 5 is noticeably smoother. I guess you can't have everything.

 

[somepedals]

With my highly sensitive SE846's not hiss for music. Maybe its the actual recordings

Sent from my SM-N910F using Tapatalk

I can hear the hiss on all recordings including from Google Music, Audible.com, and various podcasts. I can hear the hiss with my 16 ohm Thinksound MS01's. With my 50 ohm HD595's I don't hear it. Do you have S6 or S6 Edge?

Edit: grammar

 

[TheRH]

It all has to do with recording of the original noise floor in recording. Google Music and Audible do not account for people using highly sensitive and low resistance headphones/earphones. I had the same issue with my ATH-IM50's (108 dbSPL/Mw and 10 Ohms) on sources that are similar. I primarily use PowerAmp when I seiriously listen to music, by defualt the noise fkloor on the S6 is pretty low even with lossy music (Google Music, ets). Using PowerAmo I can lower the preamp level and that reduces what floor noise there is, and is very enjoyable.

 

 

[somepedals]

I appreciate your help. I loaded up some lossless files ripped straight from CD's. Also I downloaded PowerAmp and tried adjusting the preamp levels. Still the hiss and fuzz are present. I've never had any problems with any of my Apple products (iPod, iPhone, and iPad) or from my computer using the same ear buds and same recordings. So it's not the source files. I really like PowerAmp though.

 

[TheRH]

I am not sure what to say, except that if a headphone is ultra low resistance, and high sensitivity, there will always be some noise floor (hiss). The noise floor for me is fairly low, and my IEM's are much more sensitive and have less resistance.

 

[Duncan]

If a low sensitivity driver has hiss between tracks (to eliminate it being the source material) then I would probably suggest that there is a fault in the device...

Either that, or I would suggest the user doesn't go near any banks as they're being robbed - those silent alarms can be a killer