[psikey]

I'm not selling my Note 4 until I see if the S7 audio is as good or better.
 
Not expecting Mojo perfection but the S6 sounded garbage until some later firmware updates. The output voltage is never a major issue for me as I only listen with low impedance SE846's and never use full size headphones.  Do have some 50ohm Klipsch X10i's I can try but rarely use those since getting the Shure's. Does the S7 now play DSD without third-party app like the Z5? Don't recall the S6 did and the Note 4 doesn't.

 

[GarlicKnots]

My limited experience from testing at Best Buy yesterday with UE triple fi 10s and the preloaded low quality samsung track was that the bass was too pronounced to the point I couldn't finish the song. I hope that that was just the track.
 
Anyway, I asked the samsung rep what kind of audio it had and she went to her computer and said it was in house chip. Unclear whether it is the Lucky or the DS one or if they are the same.
 
I didn't really experience the volume issue since it was relatively quiet and the seal was good. I plan to go back later this weekend with an sd card loaded with my own music and do some simple testing against the s6, note 4/5 and whatever else Best Buy has in store. 
 
Otherwise I did like the phone.
 
f/Re

 

[TripleFi]

Do u live in Europe or America @GarlicKnots, cause Guys S7 Descriptions in US are senseless, cause its a worse implenteded DAC froM Snapdragon.

I live in Europe, Exynos is more interesting cause it has Lucky implented, but I don't expect much.

 

[Whitigir]

I've seen the LG G5, but I don't agree with the way it works. You need to plug in a (bulky) module for a better camera or better sound. That makes me wonder, why not give the smartphone a good camera and sound chip in the first place? If I need to carry an extra sound module, I might as well carry a high-end DAP besides my smartphone. Of course, I can keep the sound module plugged in, but the G5's looks (especially the rear and attached module) isn't my taste. I also wonder if the Bang & Olufsen module is good enough. B&O is a premium lifestyle brand. It focuses on making equipment look impressive on the outside.

The S7 is a fantastic phone, but it would be perfect if they implemented a decent DAC and amp.

Well, you can carry around a DAP with you, but you will neither get that powerful processing system like G5 nor the frequen upgrade in Android OS. Don't be looking down on Operating system, software, and compatibility. Many people have told me that different player software sounds the same....they do not, only that someone have yet the ability to witness the differences.

So the idea of the G5 is really awesome, you get a powerhouse that can be upgraded to up to date OS and 3rd party apps. You can swap out the module for future module and or higher quality module ? I am sure these module will work on the future G line of thee company as well.

Beside, this Module is a standalone DAC, just plug and play. I can use it with computer, iPhones, Samsung phones if I want to

 

[Whitigir]

Do u live in Europe or America @GarlicKnots, cause Guys S7 Descriptions in US are senseless, cause its a worse implenteded DAC froM Snapdragon.

I live in Europe, Exynos is more interesting cause it has Lucky implented, but I don't expect much.

The Global, and the Asia version of the phone are both sporting Exynos processor. Only the US is with SN820. The Global version works every where with a sim card

 

[GarlicKnots]

Do u live in Europe or America @GarlicKnots, cause Guys S7 Descriptions in US are senseless, cause its a worse implenteded DAC froM Snapdragon.

I live in Europe, Exynos is more interesting cause it has Lucky implented, but I don't expect much.

 
I'm in the US. I specifically asked the rep -- and this is where lack of knowledge of reps would come in though I tried to simplify -- if the audio chip in the US version using a different processor than the one in asia was also in-house and she stated yes which I figured at the time was wrong.
 
Looking at SeeSax' picture and DSP info it may not have been incorrect. 
 
Edit: and same info coming out of XDA on the DSP chip with the Qualcomm models http://forum.xda-developers.com/galaxy-s7/help/dac-galaxy-7-edge-t3320015/page2 see post 71

 

[loomisjohnson]

from what i've gleaned, the g5 hifi module doesn't add to the bulk of the phone (the camera module is bigger); i believe you can just leave it plugged in. i had planned on getting the s7 before reading collin's report, now i'm looking forward to the g5--i do want to hear how battery life is affected by all the gimmickry. i trust the mags and fganatics will start publishing test specs on the s7 and g5 very shortly.

 

[maxjstern]

  My limited experience from testing at Best Buy yesterday with UE triple fi 10s and the preloaded low quality samsung track was that the bass was too pronounced to the point I couldn't finish the song. I hope that that was just the track.
 
Anyway, I asked the samsung rep what kind of audio it had and she went to her computer and said it was in house chip. Unclear whether it is the Lucky or the DS one or if they are the same.
 
I didn't really experience the volume issue since it was relatively quiet and the seal was good. I plan to go back later this weekend with an sd card loaded with my own music and do some simple testing against the s6, note 4/5 and whatever else Best Buy has in store. 
 
Otherwise I did like the phone.
 
f/Re

You also have to include the sound signature of your in-ears in your consideration, maybe it is a "bad" pairing...
 
Since you visited a Best Buy, I would presume that you listened to the American Snapdragon version...

 

[psikey]

The weird thing is that the Note 4 Snapdragon sounds great (to my ears anyway) better than the S6/Z5 though Z3 did sound better (all with SE846's). So long as its as good as Snapdragon Note 4 or Exynos S6 I'll be happy enough, though S6 was rubbish when it first came out (fixed somehow in later firmware update). I never have issue with volume using SE846's so purely referring to sound quality.

 

[j2rock]

Ok.. all naysayers and non-believers step aside.

If you thought the S6 was a little loud, the S7 is slightly quieter (maybe 5%) at full volume. It could just be the quality of the DAC and amp sounding less compressed too.

As far as sound quality is the common question, the DSP Group DAC supposedly in the U.S. models does sound more detailed, less harsh, and less messy as opposed to the S6 DAC.

I was only able to listen to YouTube videos in store but they were HQ audio videos all on Master & Dynamic MH40's.. and the one thing that stood out from first listening to my A/B with my S6 Edge was the quality of the conversion of the DAC. As stated, more detail, slightly less 4-6khz (the trashy frequencies) and not as compressed as its predecessor.

It is a noticeable improvement and you will not be disappointed coming from earlier Samsung phones.

Thought I'd shed some light after reading from a few people on here that it was not a good DAC/amp combo.

Not the case.

 

[Whitigir]

Which version of S7 did you made the impression on ?

 

[j2rock]

Both S7 iterations have the same chips.

I listened to a Silver Titanium Edge.

 

[Steven R. Rochli]

Been confirmed to be the Qualcomm WCD9335 audio codec.
 
http://www.chipworks.com/about-chipworks/overview/blog/samsung-galaxy-s7-edge-teardown
 
As for sound quality, won't know until ATT gets off their.... and ships it.

 

[Whitigir]

There is a global version with Exynos, and it is more likely to be shipped with lucky DAC...Wolfson and Cirrus collaborated ?

 

[SeeSax]

Ok.. all naysayers and non-believers step aside.

If you thought the S6 was a little loud, the S7 is slightly quieter (maybe 5%) at full volume. It could just be the quality of the DAC and amp sounding less compressed too.

As far as sound quality is the common question, the DSP Group DAC supposedly in the U.S. models does sound more detailed, less harsh, and less messy as opposed to the S6 DAC.

I was only able to listen to YouTube videos in store but they were HQ audio videos all on Master & Dynamic MH40's.. and the one thing that stood out from first listening to my A/B with my S6 Edge was the quality of the conversion of the DAC. As stated, more detail, slightly less 4-6khz (the trashy frequencies) and not as compressed as its predecessor.

It is a noticeable improvement and you will not be disappointed coming from earlier Samsung phones.

Thought I'd shed some light after reading from a few people on here that it was not a good DAC/amp combo.

Not the case.

 
While I'm glad to read this, it simply isn't my experience. I notice less treble (perhaps the 4-6k "trashy" frequencies you refer to) and that makes the bass emphasis sound more prominent. I don't proclaim to have expert ears, but I have had nearly every flagship smartphone in the last four or five years and while some have really impressed me, this one simply did not. The beauty is that what sounds good to one person might not sound good to another, and I genuinely hope that everyone enjoys it more than I have. I absolutely love the phone and do not hate the audio, but it's just nothing special to me. I will be curious to see what GSM arena says about it and Phone Arena as well, but their tests are far from conclusive. In a nutshell, I simply prefer the sound signature and detail I get from my iPhone 6S. Thank you for your thoughts, but I will have to remain in the naysayers camp (which is a bummer). 
 
Are you going to purchase it? If you do, I would really love to hear your thoughts after using some of your own tracks or something not on YouTube. Nothing against YouTube of course and the HD videos sound fine, but maybe a FLAC stream from Tidal or something might change your mind? If you still feel it is a step above the S6 and other phones, then I am going to go back to the drawing board, retrain my ears, and eat my words like I promised I would do
 
Cheers. 
 
-Collin-