Sony Walkman vs. iPhone 3GS vs. Samsung Galaxy S as mp3/flac audio sources
Feb 19, 2011 at 9:41 PM Thread Starter Post #1 of 17
Nachmanowicz

Nachmanowicz

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Hey there ppl, I'm buying me a Klipsch S4 (maybe S4i) and I currently own a Sony Walkman 8GBs and a cr*appy LG Incite as a cell phone.I'm considering another cell phone and it would be sweet if it would make my mp3 player useless (less gadgets to walk around with). But I'm also concerned about the audio cards, which one of 'em will sound better? Cause if I lose too much sound quality by switching to either a Galaxy S or 3GS I'd stick with my Sony Walkman...Oh, and about the IEM, is the Klipsch S4 a good upgrade, I've owned the Senn CX300 and it was my first decent headphone, it really got me into a wholle new world. Thanks!
 
 
 
 
 
 
Feb 23, 2011 at 6:45 AM Post #7 of 17
I don't think any phone is going to have more than a $0.50 DAC chip in it...to get good sound, you need to bypass that chip and connect to a real DAC. Even with FLAC support, you're still limited by the built-in DAC.  It would be great if the phones added a digital out to bypass the DAC with an optical cable, but I don't see that happening anytime soon.
 
Feb 23, 2011 at 9:01 PM Post #8 of 17
Feb 24, 2011 at 8:47 AM Post #9 of 17
 
 
Wow it seems like the Galaxy S is the one to go for. About it's DAC, I dont think it would have any trouble powering a Klipsch S4 now, would it? I dont intend on using those big boys cans on my portable device.
 
Feb 25, 2011 at 7:51 AM Post #10 of 17

Should be fine.  I'm running ES10s now and they're magnificent.  The dev claimed he tried his 300ohm can and got decent volume ( probably crappy dynamics though)..
Quote:
nachmanowicz said:
 
 
Wow it seems like the Galaxy S is the one to go for. About it's DAC, I dont think it would have any trouble powering a Klipsch S4 now, would it? I dont intend on using those big boys cans on my portable device.
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Mar 10, 2011 at 8:43 AM Post #12 of 17
@shigzeo: keep laughing... instead of improving your equipment... :wink:
 
@Nachmanowicz: Kubernetes is right. Samsung Galaxy S is much better than 3G and imo also better than 4G. Very good audio hub. Among the best I have heard so far. Also no bass probs like with the Cowons. If you are looking for a neutral IEM, you should take the Shure SE425 into account. Work very well with the Samsung.
 
P.S.: There is only thing about the Samsung you should know: SOME people complain that they have lags when listening to flacs. Seems to be a ROM prob, but with flashing a newer version the probs go...
 
Hope that helps,
Marc
 
Mar 10, 2011 at 5:02 PM Post #13 of 17
go with the Galaxy S, I own one right now and a Cowon J3.
 
I have to say that the J3 is  better because of the equalizer and all that fancy BBE/ViVA stuff. But the SGS with voodoo kernal + voodoo sound is much better than Ipod/ipod touch (without equalizer app) (haven't tried with equalizer since I have a J3).
 
If you dont know how to flash phones and root android devices than it could take some time reading up on the SGS on the forums.
 
PS. The SGS has many flaws for a phone though, it requires fixes for GPS/Speed etc. Unless you're in a region that has the latest official froyo update 2.2.1 than you need to know how to flash custom roms to make the phone usable.
I used to joke how the phone was going to get me killed one day because sometimes it would take over a minute to load the app to make calls, which would be bad in an emergency 
 
EDIT::::::
 
I want to clarify, I own the Samsung Galaxy S GT-i9000 16gb. It is the Europe/Asian model of the phone. It is unlocked and non-carrier specific.
There are many versions of the SGS that are carrier specific, IE: Captivate, Fascinate, Epic4G, Vibrant, and maybe some others I haven't heard of.
 
Please take some time to read this link about more information about the different versions of the SGS
 
http://www.phonearena.com/news/US-carrier-versions-of-the-Samsung-Galaxy-S-explained_id12223
 
Reasons NOT to buy this phone:
1) SGS2 is coming out end of march
2) You NEED to be technologically inclined to make this phone good.
 
I DO NOT RECOMMEND DOING ANYTHING WITH YOUR PHONE IF YOU ARE NOT TECHNOLOGICALLY INCLINED. BECAUSE IT COULD BRICK YOUR PHONE.
 
Please be very careful if you decide to do anything with your phone like Rooting or flashing custom roms because it voids your warranty
 
Sorry if there was any confusion with my earlier post
 
Mar 11, 2011 at 9:32 AM Post #14 of 17
Hi SpecR1,
 
thanx for your post! is the SQ with the voodoo kernel really better then the original one?
 
First when I read about the voodoo kernel I also wanted to flash it. But when I read that it only makes the sound louder and gives you more opportunities with the EQ (which I both do not need) I did not do it concerning the risks.
 
So from your point of view: Is the voodoo kernel really an improvement in SQ? If so, in which point: depth, transparency, dynamics, focus, etc.? With what kind of head phones / IEMs do you listen?
 
Thanx
Marc
 
Mar 11, 2011 at 10:42 AM Post #15 of 17
Hi,
 
The voodoo kernal + sound makes it so it can go louder without losing sound quality while boosting all aspects of the sound (the stock SGS sound really sounded like crap to me). I didn't know that it changed the EQ because I also never touched the EQ with the SGS. So yes the voodoo kernal + sound is really a huge improvement in SQ over the stock SGS, but like I said, I stil prefer my Cowon J3 over SGS with voodoo sound. In addition to improving sound quality with a voodoo kernal, it also improves many other aspects of your phone, mainly speed, color, battery life, and opens the option to install "root" only programs. So I think flashing a voodoo kernal is highly worth it but only if you're tech savy.
 
I'm using the Brainwavz M2 atm but I ordered a pair of Sony EX1000s
smily_headphones1.gif

 
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