Samsung Note 7 phone, with Exynos&Lucky or Snapdragon&Aqstic DACs discussion thread

[whitedragem]

Alright the Note 7 is out (has been for a bit in some world circles), or is about to be out,.. and whilst there was a thread with a few posts discussing it 'coming out'... clearly a dedicated webpage like headfi will 'wind up with'; forum commentators arguing and discussing the worth and/or validity of using this phone as a Transport, or as a Dedicated Source.

The only reason I take a moment to reintroduce this topic; the 'Note 7 for audio playback'; is that it would prove very helpful for forum readers to be introduced to what variant any users option is based on..
So I suggest that we either list our phone model in the first or last line of any comment posted.
It will allow for forum readers trying to discern specific differences to know what the forum writers experience is drawn from.

Arguably the DAC setup used in both Note 7 variants (snapdragon and exynos chipsets) is the same as what was done for the Samsung S7/Edge.
So a lot of talk for those phones would be relevant, no doubt, for the new model.

Anyhow with that...

So I start of this discussion (or moderators; merge the threads and delete this comment) with talk about the Exynos variant (European) which features the 'Lucky DAC'.

 

[whitedragem]

Note 7 Exynos European (volume limited) with Lucky DAC


Wow!
This phone rocks;

Rock. Not a strong area for digital playback chains..
Just had A Perfect Circle album play through and I have to say everything I throw at this player is brilliant.

Have had two issues, An 'Afro Celt Sound System' track seemed a little compressed in sound stage and musicality (but to be fair, I believe I have lost all my 'masters' of this music, and it likely is a compressed file...), and an Enya track felt a little held back. But this would be in comparing to proper hifi playback.

As a small portable DAP, the Note 7 keeps surprising me.
I am using some B&W P7 headphones, which although are a 40mm driver, the way they are designed is actually quite a hard load to push and 'make musical'. Not all headphones scale well with better equipment, these certainly do....

The Note 7 has given me the freedom to enjoy these headphones anywhere (not hooked up to my PC/Asus Xonar).
My Note 4 was a 'snapdragon' chipset device (before they went offboard for the DAC like the present Samsung S series and Note uses). The Note 4 could not sufficiently power these headphones- and I listen at soft levels...

The Note 7 sounds so much better than I thought an unmodified phone could.

The amount of times I have distinctly head layered lyrics previously missed (on albums I have been enjoying for decades), using the same sound files I am familiar with.. this has shown how revealing a digital playback device these phones are capable of being.
And the best thing: It is musical as well.

I am truly toe tapping most of the time. Phat guitars on rock albums have their sound 'restored' to what I expect great equipment to deliver.
I am 'over the moon' that my phone, without outboard components, can render music files so 'musically'.

Positioning (even vertical) is exceptional. Front to back positioning cues required a little 'burn-in' to truly develop, and has only gotten better over time. No music feel like a 'wall of sound'. Sure I could argue that it does feel like a filter or veil is holding it back from playback equipment levels 4-6 times the price.. but I would say that it is definately 'good enough' for the average consumer of music.

Dynamics and resolve is a league better than I expected a Samsung phone to deliver. (Yes, even Wolfson chipset DACs),.. the volume that this phone is giving allows it to deliver proper sound without 'dips' (like my Note 4 did).

I would confirm that this phone is the business. It often achieves that 'glass' that good playback equipment offers.
Violins and pianos and rock guitars and vocals.. Phat bass and delicate nuances...

Wish I had some Florence and the Machine to really punch these headphones hard...
I have an eclectic taste in music, and so far I would confirm I have played a stack of different genres through this phone.
Generally only been choosing great recording over the last week.. and I reconfirm I believe the Afro Celt Sound System file is the only non flac file on the phone...
The proof of the pudding is in the eating; when albums repeat, I listen to them again. The musicality is right on!

 

[whitedragem]

Alright I am going to try and 'chill' a bit with regards to frequently writing up my Note experience...

Just like to offer some updated listening reports; Beth Orton "Stolen Car", this track is one of the best renditions I have heard since purchasing the album 15 years ago.
Afro Celt Sound System (album 2, track 1); it is the subtleties in the drum and the feel of the skin that reveals, whilst a lot of other stuff is going on, this 'Phone' is churning out pure music!

Presently listening to Blues Brothers (soundtrack), and the quality of playback on horns and panning etc across the tracks is a noticable 'cut above', many many units I have heard this album playback on.

Will have to cue up a best of Supertramp and a few other 'bigger bands' to see if this thing can get caught out like I feel I may have experienced with a highly layered Enya track. As it is the only example of this phone not delivering the best headphone experience I have ever known from a 'one box' unit, I find myself feverish to update the net.

If other people are not noting the musicality of Note 7s- it makes me wonder whether software is the next thing I need to look at; as my experience with my Nexus S, ws that Voodoo modding the sound, and turning on a few oversampling features etc, really allowed that phone to shine. Whilst it never quite had enough grunt to decode FLACs with Voodoo enhancements turned on (complex parts of songs would get caught out), I do recognise that tuning output through software is pretty easy to do.

Whilst I don't feel this Note could actually be improved upon, I have seen (heard) with my own ears just how much getting software/frontend right makes a huge difference.

Getting back to blues brothers; there is a lot of diversity in the recordings on this album, in terms of mic positioning and band/layout. The airspace on all instruments,.. the weight of all instruments, the accuracy and subtlety; this phone is resolving above what I feel the price point should have given.

This is nearly what I would expect a Sony top tier walkman to resolve, and those things are designed to outperform all other 'mainstream' /mass market stuff..

Anyhow if the Note 7 represents the state of digital playback in the present time period, then I can finally recant my rants about how we have had nearly twenty years of striving towards mediocrity.

"Hear my voice" (James browns choir') - certainly do!

 

[Solarium]

Very nice review! I'm debating between upgrading from my iphone 6 plus to the Note 7 or the Samsung S7 Edge. Given that they both use the same DAC/amp, it would be safe to say they have identical performance?

 

[CraftyClown]

Thanks Whitedragem,
 
much like Solarium I am considering either the Note 7 or the s7 edge, so this is really useful

 

[beowulf]

This has been one of the worst months my wallet has experienced in many years. I have both a Note 7 (EU/Exynos version) and a HD800S ordered (and apparently taking forever to be delivered). I doubt they will pair well together, but who knows...

 

[Jalo]

I started to use Note 2 four years ago and upgraded to Note 4 two years ago.  I just received my Note 7 a week ago (all AT&T US versions) and to me the audio performance between Note 7 to Note 4 and Note 2 is night and day.  I am using it with my Campfire Andromeda and I have to say whether I still need my AK 380 cu did cross my mind. Very very improved sound q.  Sound stage and clarity is the best of any Samsung phones I have heard including many iphones.  I think the Andromeda contribute a big part to it but still it can satisfy many headfiers without have to go to an outside Dap. Also the fact that Samsung throw in a free 256 Gb micro SD card (worth around $200.00 in US) doesn't stop your urge to get one either.  I loaded UAPP full version and loaded 110 gb of music including redbook, hires, and DSD and movies and I feel like I don't need anything else.  The lightest set up I have in years that did not disappoint me.

 

[beowulf]

  I started to use Note 2 four years ago and upgraded to Note 4 two years ago.  I just received my Note 7 a week ago (all AT&T US versions) and to me the audio performance between Note 7 to Note 4 and Note 2 is night and day.  I am using it with my Campfire Andromeda and I have to say whether I still need my AK 380 cu did cross my mind. Very very improved sound q.  Sound stage and clarity is the best of any Samsung phones I have heard including many iphones.  I think the Andromeda contribute a big part to it but still it can satisfy many headfiers without have to go to an outside Dap. Also the fact that Samsung throw in a free 256 Gb micro SD card (worth around $200.00 in US) doesn't stop your urge to get one either.  I loaded UAPP full version and loaded 110 gb of music including redbook, hires, and DSD and movies and I feel like I don't need anything else.  The lightest set up I have in years that did not disappoint me.

 
Very interesting, didn't expect anything else from the Qualcomm Aqstic, same as the HTC 10. Hope the Cirrus/Wolfson chipset sounds as good.

 

[Solarium]

Alright the Note 7 is out (has been for a bit in some world circles), or is about to be out,.. and whilst there was a thread with a few posts discussing it 'coming out'... clearly a dedicated webpage like headfi will 'wind up with'; forum commentators arguing and discussing the worth and/or validity of using this phone as a Transport, or as a Dedicated Source.

The only reason I take a moment to reintroduce this topic; the 'Note 7 for audio playback'; is that it would prove very helpful for forum readers to be introduced to what variant any users option is based on..
So I suggest that we either list our phone model in the first or last line of any comment posted.
It will allow for forum readers trying to discern specific differences to know what the forum writers experience is drawn from.

Arguably the DAC setup used in both Note 7 variants (snapdragon and exynos chipsets) is the same as what was done for the Samsung S7/Edge.
So a lot of talk for those phones would be relevant, no doubt, for the new model.

Anyhow with that...

So I start of this discussion (or moderators; merge the threads and delete this comment) with talk about the Exynos variant (European) which features the 'Lucky DAC'.

  I started to use Note 2 four years ago and upgraded to Note 4 two years ago.  I just received my Note 7 a week ago (all AT&T US versions) and to me the audio performance between Note 7 to Note 4 and Note 2 is night and day.  I am using it with my Campfire Andromeda and I have to say whether I still need my AK 380 cu did cross my mind. Very very improved sound q.  Sound stage and clarity is the best of any Samsung phones I have heard including many iphones.  I think the Andromeda contribute a big part to it but still it can satisfy many headfiers without have to go to an outside Dap. Also the fact that Samsung throw in a free 256 Gb micro SD card (worth around $200.00 in US) doesn't stop your urge to get one either.  I loaded UAPP full version and loaded 110 gb of music including redbook, hires, and DSD and movies and I feel like I don't need anything else.  The lightest set up I have in years that did not disappoint me.

 
I hear there's a difference between the Exynos vs Snapdragon chipsets, in that the Exynos has a dedicated DAC vs Snapdragon does not. If the US version of the Note 7 indeed have such high quality audio, the S7 Edge should too since they use the same chipset right?

 

[Jalo]

   
I hear there's a difference between the Exynos vs Snapdragon chipsets, in that the Exynos has a dedicated DAC vs Snapdragon does not. If the US version of the Note 7 indeed have such high quality audio, the S7 Edge should too since they use the same chipset right?

I never had the opportunity to listen to the Exynos chipset so I cannot comment on it but the Note 7 is much improved and I do not know if it is due to the Snapdragon or other tuning.

 

[jay567]

I've said this on the phone audiophile thread and I'll say it here too. Note 7 Exynos at least is easily is some of the best sounding portable device out there.

 

[jay567]

  I started to use Note 2 four years ago and upgraded to Note 4 two years ago.  I just received my Note 7 a week ago (all AT&T US versions) and to me the audio performance between Note 7 to Note 4 and Note 2 is night and day.  I am using it with my Campfire Andromeda and I have to say whether I still need my AK 380 cu did cross my mind. Very very improved sound q.  Sound stage and clarity is the best of any Samsung phones I have heard including many iphones.  I think the Andromeda contribute a big part to it but still it can satisfy many headfiers without have to go to an outside Dap. Also the fact that Samsung throw in a free 256 Gb micro SD card (worth around $200.00 in US) doesn't stop your urge to get one either.  I loaded UAPP full version and loaded 110 gb of music including redbook, hires, and DSD and movies and I feel like I don't need anything else.  The lightest set up I have in years that did not disappoint me.

Not surprised you say this because the Note 7 was the best sounding phone I heard when I was in Korea.

 

[jagwap]

OK, I'm interested in this one too. The exynos version. The exynos version has the separate DAC, in the past by Wolfson, who know their stuff. It also had a capacitor-less headphone amp built in. I hear Wolfson are still involved on this one. I also heard Samsung bought them for this reason, but as Cirrus Logic bought Wolfson a few years ago this seems unlikely.

This is not the same as the snapdragon version sold in America. The exynos version is in Korea, Europe, and most of south east asia. Qualcom are marketing their SD820 as having a new DAC, and it could be pretty good based on HTC10 reviews. But the HTC10 has an additional headphone amp.

I'm interested in the differences between the models' audio, but I can buy either in Hong Kong and I'm more likely to pick up an exynos version for the audio, and also the lower stutter and longer battery life.

 

[Solarium]

OK, I'm interested in this one too. The exynos version. The exynos version has the separate DAC, in the past by Wolfson, who know their stuff. It also had a capacitor-less headphone amp built in. I hear Wolfson are still involved on this one. I also heard Samsung bought them for this reason, but as Cirrus Logic bought Wolfson a few years ago this seems unlikely.

This is not the same as the snapdragon version sold in America. The exynos version is in Korea, Europe, and most of south east asia. Qualcom are marketing their SD820 as having a new DAC, and it could be pretty good based on HTC10 reviews. But the HTC10 has an additional headphone amp.

I'm interested in the differences between the models' audio, but I can buy either in Hong Kong and I'm more likely to pick up an exynos version for the audio, and also the lower stutter and longer battery life.

I've read many reviews at least regarding the S7 Edge snapdragon vs exynos, that the exynos has superior audio. The only thing preventing me from getting either the exynos S7 Edge or the Note 7 is that I heard that a few bands that AT&T uses are missing in those versions, and that you won't get LTE speeds during phone calls.

 

[jagwap]

I've read many reviews at least regarding the S7 Edge snapdragon vs exynos, that the exynos has superior audio. The only thing preventing me from getting either the exynos S7 Edge or the Note 7 is that I heard that a few bands that AT&T uses are missing in those versions, and that you won't get LTE speeds during phone calls.

Well while you guys continue to use imperial measurements, write the date in the wrong order, and use the wrong LTE bands, you're going to have to remain disconnected from the rest of the world for a little longer.