[radiohead14]

  I just bought this phone in australia from our largest carrier 'telstra' and i am sad to say that i love everything about this EXCEPT the sound!
Coming from the htc one x and my daily rig being the NWZ F808 paired with atrio m7s and a headstage amp i noticed that the Z1C not only lacks volume but also bass. The drums and bass lines play with little bass extension, there is virtually no energy in the bass notes with this device. I cant understand why, i haven't heard anything this ridiculous since, well ever. Ive checked all the settings and even used the my go to music app, Gonemad music player with all the equaliser settings adjusted to enhance the bass and volume, still, nothing... Its not just my device though just this model, i checked with all the demo devices at all my carriers stores and they all sound the same.

Any ideas?

the app Viper4Android will solve your issue. must be rooted to use it tho

 

[NZtechfreak]

  the app Viper4Android will solve your issue. must be rooted to use it tho

 
...or a USB DAC/amp

 

[fueltank]

  I just bought this phone in australia from our largest carrier 'telstra' and i am sad to say that i love everything about this EXCEPT the sound!
Coming from the htc one x and my daily rig being the NWZ F808 paired with atrio m7s and a headstage amp i noticed that the Z1C not only lacks volume but also bass. The drums and bass lines play with little bass extension, there is virtually no energy in the bass notes with this device. I cant understand why, i haven't heard anything this ridiculous since, well ever. Ive checked all the settings and even used the my go to music app, Gonemad music player with all the equaliser settings adjusted to enhance the bass and volume, still, nothing... Its not just my device though just this model, i checked with all the demo devices at all my carriers stores and they all sound the same.

Any ideas?

 
What earphones are you using?
I got my phone from the UK, it's totally unbranded. Wonder if local firmware has tweaks, highly unlikely they'd tweak the sound part though.
You in Sydney?

 

[dc-k]

   
What earphones are you using?
I got my phone from the UK, it's totally unbranded. Wonder if local firmware has tweaks, highly unlikely they'd tweak the sound part though.
You in Sydney?

Mine also UK unbranded and sounds pretty good across the frequencies

 

[makavelijm]

Hey im using atrio m5s with m7 drivers. These have excellent sub bass reproduction. Im in brisbane, i wouldnt think they would change the sound either but its definitely not as loud as other devices.I would say it's about 35% quiter than every other phone ive tested it against in store(htc one, one mini, sg4 and the iPhone 5).

 

[fueltank]

Hey im using atrio m5s with m7 drivers. These have excellent sub bass reproduction. Im in brisbane, i wouldnt think they would change the sound either but its definitely not as loud as other devices.I would say it's about 35% quiter than every other phone ive tested it against in store(htc one, one mini, sg4 and the iPhone 5).

 
I'll test it tonight with HTC One and iPhone 5.
I'm using 1964 Quads though. From memory the impendance is 4x ohms. (43 IIRC)

 

[makavelijm]

I'll test it tonight with HTC One and iPhone 5.
I'm using 1964 Quads though. From memory the impendance is 4x ohms. (43 IIRC)

Thanks for doing that, hopefully im not crazy haha

 

[dc-k]

Hey im using atrio m5s with m7 drivers. These have excellent sub bass reproduction. Im in brisbane, i wouldnt think they would change the sound either but its definitely not as loud as other devices.I would say it's about 35% quiter than every other phone ive tested it against in store(htc one, one mini, sg4 and the iPhone 5).

my Z1C has outperformed my S3 and S4 in SQ and volume terms

 

[makavelijm]

my Z1C has outperformed my S3 and S4 in SQ and volume terms

damn it! I suppose my carrier had something to so with thia then, do you have the UK version version? What app did you use to play music with? Im using gonemad music player, my cloud player and soundcloud

 

[fueltank]

damn it! I suppose my carrier had something to so with thia then, do you have the UK version version? What app did you use to play music with? Im using gonemad music player, my cloud player and soundcloud

 
Have you tried using the stock player? (Walkman)
 
When I test tonight I'll be testing with the stock player (HTC) with all settings turned off. It will be flac files.
For the iPhone I'm not sure how or what I'll test with unless I convert to aiff... which I'm lazy to do.
 
Seeing as he is from the UK then yeah, I'd imagine he'd have UK version

 

[makavelijm]

Thanks dc-k, i'm beginning think it might have been something my carrier did on the rom build not sony.

 

[dc-k]

damn it! I suppose my carrier had something to so with thia then, do you have the UK version version? What app did you use to play music with? Im using gonemad music player, my cloud player and soundcloud

UK, stock "walkman" player, power amp and VLC mostly for day to day use and USB Audio Player Pro

 

[fueltank]

Thanks dc-k, i'm beginning think it might have been something my carrier did on the rom build not sony.

 
Just did a test with stock player with all enhancements turned off.
HTC One (no carrier branding)
Sony Z1 Compact (no carrier branding)
 
Test tracks (both flac):
- Diana Krall, 'S Wonderful Live in Paris
- Tool, The Pot
 
Gotta say overall the Z1 compact kicked ass. To me, it was just better. Clarity and mids were just outstanding compared to the HTC One.
The HTC One however did manage to drive my 1964 Quads to uncomfortable listening levels compared to the Z1C which was two notches from max volume (HTC One was about mid volume).
 
Z1C Build Number
14.2.A.1.114
Walkman version 8.1.A.03
 
HTC One Build Number
4A.21.3263.04_10.38m.1157.04L
 
Hope that helps in whatever way it might... but looks to be Telstra might have custom/older rom? Eitherway, use what sounds better to you I guess

 

[makavelijm]

   
Just did a test with stock player with all enhancements turned off.
HTC One (no carrier branding)
Sony Z1 Compact (no carrier branding)
 
Test tracks (both flac):
- Diana Krall, 'S Wonderful Live in Paris
- Tool, The Pot
 
Gotta say overall the Z1 compact kicked ass. To me, it was just better. Clarity and mids were just outstanding compared to the HTC One.
The HTC One however did manage to drive my 1964 Quads to uncomfortable listening levels compared to the Z1C which was two notches from max volume (HTC One was about mid volume).
 
Z1C Build Number
14.2.A.1.114
Walkman version 8.1.A.03
 
HTC One Build Number
4A.21.3263.04_10.38m.1157.04L
 
Hope that helps in whatever way it might... but looks to be Telstra might have custom/older rom? Eitherway, use what sounds better to you I guess

Thanks for taking the time to do that test, i will admit clarity on this device is outstanding but i just wish there was more volume. Anyway i will probably just wait to see if the kitkat update fixes this otherwise i will be putting a custom rom on this. Right now im using the z1c with a ZO2 amp and its pretty much how i want it now haha, sounds great just needs an amp.

 

[Baroninkjet]

Thanks for the test results post! If you have time, it would be great to see how they compare with same player, e.g., Neutron or PowerAmp.