[Iurisimo]

Does the S7 offer better sound quality and volume in comparison to an iPhone 6? at the moment plugging my ATH-M50x into the iPhone and the volume isnt that loud? sound quality isnt great either

I have both iphone 6 and s7 edge, and an audio technica m50. And i can tell that id rather listen to the iphone than s7. The thing i dont like about s7 are the hights, they sound harsh. Its pretty unpleasant to listen to it, especially on higher volumes. Like somebody said earlier its sound is like always asking you to set the volume lower. (i am using exynos version)

 

[ashman1986]

Between the x3 and the S7 edge, I'd just get an S7 edge. To hear a worthy difference between the new phones and a standalone DAP I feel like you'd need to compare it the a better DAP than an X3. Perhaps something like a Cowon Plenue D which can be had for relatively cheap and would offer a distinct better SQ you're looking for.

Is the Cowon Plenue D noticeably better than the X3ii? 

 

[Cyral]

When I connect my usb dac, Onkyo ha-200, to the samsung s7 I hear clipping and popping. I've also experienced this with the s6 (android 6.0)
 
The dac works fine with the note 4 ( android 5.1). Someone else has issues when connecting a usb dac to the samsung s7 ( or android 6.0)? Can't seem to fix it..

 

[AeroSatan]

  Is the Cowon Plenue D noticeably better than the X3ii? 

In my Opinion, Yes

 

[Paulus XII]

 
In my Opinion, Yes

 
Yes, too. With EQ.

 

[REXNFX]

  Is the Cowon Plenue D noticeably better than the X3ii? 

Sorry for the OT...how does the Plenue D compare to the ZX2? TIA!

 

[Paulus XII]

  Sorry for the OT...how does the Plenue D compare to the ZX2? TIA!

 
There's a long distance between those 2 players. It's almost like comparing Plenue 1 to Plenue D, although in my opinion Plenue 1 is superior to ZX2. My thoughts of those 2 Cowons at golden-ear.net try to clarify things up a bit better.

 

[RamblerBoy]

 

[Whitigir]

Lol, yeah right, if you have been obsessed about audio quality, then your phones products would have been echoing throughout the whole audiophile community like the V10, period.

 

[adpo]

It's a phone that's not even out yet and they've been really good at keeping it under wraps. Anything "known" about the new HTC is purely speculation. I'll give them the benefit of the doubt, since they've done good in the past, despite their rather lackluster products as of late.

 

[Whitigir]

It's a phone that's not even out yet and they've been really good at keeping it under wraps. Anything "known" about the new HTC is purely speculation. I'll give them the benefit of the doubt, since they've done good in the past, despite their rather lackluster products as of late.

Had they ever really build-in any dedicated high quality DAC+amp inside their phones ? Or are we strictly talking about the Boom sound loud speakers and software equalizer again ?

 

[adpo]

They haven't made any DAP or DAC/Amp killers, but I found the output from their phones with EQ disabled to be perfectly respectable from a smartphone. That said, the M10 isn't even out yet, so I just think it'd be nice if we could see how it actually performs before we start bashing it.

 

[Whitigir]

They haven't made any DAP or DAC/Amp killers, but I found the output from their phones with EQ disabled to be perfectly respectable from a smartphone. That said, the M10 isn't even out yet, so I just think it'd be nice if we could see how it actually performs before we start bashing it.

Not bashing it at all. I am saying, if they really cared about "audio quality", at the least they would have good DAC+AMP like the LG - V10. See ? That is not bashing at all. There is no way any smartphone with Software enhancement can get close to V10 in sound quality and power output, period. I am not bashing, only speaking the facts. Manufacturers more than often would advertise the special components to improve their phones quality. Especially something like a dedicated built in DAC/AMP like the V10. They voiced it up, ESS Sabres 9018 and ES9602 amp for high-res audio quality. Therefore, seeing HTC not even dare to disclose their DAC/AMP chip set, I doubt they really are obsessed over Audio quality

 

[adpo]

The thing is, they've barely disclosed anything, so you can't really substantiate any claims in regards to audio quality, positive or negative. IMO, I think they're going to try to go big and go hard with their next phone to make up for the lackluster response they've had on the M9. The competition now is stiff, so they have to nail this one out of the park or risk being an afterthought for another year. One way they could compete would be to implement better audio and try to take some market share away from LG's V10 and G5 w/ the B&O module; this would make sense from a marketing angle since they can leverage positive consumer perception regarding their sound quality from their previous phones.
 
Like I said, it's not even out yet and there are basically no leaks regarding any specs on the phone, so I'll give them the benefit of the doubt for now.

 

[loomisjohnson]

i fully agree with adpo--unless htc is wholly irrational they're going to try to massively up their game with the m10 or die trying. since the m10 reputedly has substantially the same form factor and screen size, the logical upgrades would be to camera, audio and battery life (there's already some leaks to the effect that the m10's software outperforms its peers, though the difference is unlikely to be significant in real-world terms). if the m10 ends up being only a minor refresh like the m9, htc is doomed--the s7 will eviscerate it.