Why audio quality of Samsung Galaxy S3 is bad?

[zamorin]

Hi,
 
The audio quality from my Samsung Galaxy S3 is quite bad compared to the audio quality of my Laptop (HP). I thought the S3 audio will be good since it uses the Wolfsten WM8994 audio chip. My laptop sounds much better with its Soundmax/ Intel chip. Why is that?
 
Galaxy S3 config:
1. Player: PowerAmp
2. IEM: Crossroads Bijou3
 
Laptop Config:
1. Player: Foobar2000
2. IEM: Crossroads Bijou3
 
 
If anyone knows why, please let me know. Thank you.

 

[zamorin]

Sorry, I meant Wolfsten WM1811

 

[cel4145]

I am a Galaxy Note 2 owner, and I had understood that the S3 has pretty good audio quality. So I am surprised that your laptop sounds better because typically laptops don't sound that great.

Have you tried the Neutron music player? Some people feel it has better SQ than PowerAmp.

 

[Migou67]

Quote:

Hi,
 
The audio quality from my Samsung Galaxy S3 is quite bad compared to the audio quality of my Laptop (HP). I thought the S3 audio will be good since it uses the Wolfsten WM8994 audio chip. My laptop sounds much better with its Soundmax/ Intel chip. Why is that?
 
Galaxy S3 config:
1. Player: PowerAmp
2. IEM: Crossroads Bijou3
 
Laptop Config:
1. Player: Foobar2000
2. IEM: Crossroads Bijou3
 
 
If anyone knows why, please let me know. Thank you.

 
You can also give a try to Noozxoide EIZO-rewire™ PRO, it has done wonders on my Note2 (also a Wolfson), it's compatible with your S3, no root, is free and you can use it with any player : http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2039716

 

[zamorin]

Hi,
 
Thank you for the response.
 
I've already tried  Noozxoide EIZO-rewire and also used their player with custom ROM in tandem. I've also tried to disabled the PowerAmp's 'Direct volume control' to use the Noozxide settings but it didn't make much of a difference.Today I tried the GS4's default player and it was just a little better than GS3(with PowerAmp settings) 
 
I'm just curious why my laptop sounds a lot better than the GS3 with wolfsten chip. Thanks.

 

[Migou67]

If you have been activated Noozxoide under Preferences/sound then you have to keep carefully your Laptop 

 
Seriously, the implementation of the headphone amp is maybe very well done on this laptop, impedance matching can also play a role ...

 

[zamorin]

I tried the trial version of Neutron player but I found the PowerAmp better for its UI and bought the full version. The laptop I'm using is a basic one with some Soundmax/ Intel chip.

 

[zamorin]

>Seriously, the implementation of the headphone amp is maybe very well done on this laptop
 
 
But this is just a very basic laptop (HP Probook 4410s) and it sounds better than the GS4 even.

 

[Migou67]

I dont know the quality of this DAC (ADI SoundMAX AD1984A), sorry but I can't tell you why[size=small] [/size]

 

[cel4145]

Well, when you say that the quality of the S3 is "quite bad," what do you mean? In what way?

 

[zamorin]

The sound is constraint. The instrument separation is not clear unlike the sound I get with my laptop. The treble also seems to be inadequate in comparison. The IEM I'm using is supposed to be bass heavy but the bass sounds much nicer on my laptop than the GS3. I'll be getting another IEM soon. Plan to compare them again once I get them.

 

[lin0003]

The SGS3 is pretty good for a phone but if you have heard other sources, you will think that it is crap. Maybe get the Sansa Clip+ or something? It's crap because the DAC is fairly bad and music actually sounds quite grainy out of it and you can really tell that it is bad when using a good IEM. 

 

[zamorin]

I was thinking the same. Maybe compared to mobile phones, the SG3 might be good but cannot match the SQ of a normal laptop. One of the reasons I bought the GS3 was because of its Wolfsten chip and the good reviews it was getting for it's SQ.

 

[lin0003]

Quote:

I was thinking the same. Maybe compared to mobile phones, the SG3 might be good but cannot match the SQ of a normal laptop. One of the reasons I bought the GS3 was because of its Wolfsten chip and the good reviews it was getting for it's SQ.

I heard that the SGS4 has much better SQ? Anyway, I think that the 3's SQ is still pretty good for a phone and better than my computer. However,  a really cheap player such as a Sansa is much better than both. 

 

[zamorin]

Maybe I should get the Sansa. I tried the GS4 but I found it just marginally better than the GS3.