Will Android's audio ever rival an iPod?
 

I need to start off here. I hate Apple. I've owned one Apple product in my life, and it was a 20GB iPod like...8 years ago. After my iPod, I used my Mogul as my primary audio device, then my Touch Pro, and they were wonderful. I moved on to the TP2 and noticed it couldn't produce low end very well, and the bass sounded distorted, even with an audio booster. I assumed it was just the phone stinking, and I replaced it with an Epic, which I honestly think is the greatest phone ever.

I was horrified to learn there was no EQ available, so after much searching I found Astro Player, then the superior MixZing...and while there was an EQ available, it was still lacking. I started to think my speakers were going, even though when my friends would bring an iPod in it would sound wonderful, so I simply replaced my car speakers. And what do you know...the bass is still terrible.

Here lies my problem: I'm pretty sure some newer phones, including the Epic, has done something to diminish the audio output. I don't know if there's a chip or something, but while my Epic sounds good, it is physically incapable of producing top notch bass. I listen to a lot of heavier stuff, but even when my girlfriend plays terrible pop, the difference between my phone and an iPod playing the same song is overwhelming.

The best way to categorize the problem is this: when the bass comes in, there is no punch, meaning no vibration of my car, even at it's high. The iPod will rattle my rearview mirror and make it vibrate, while the Epic just produces this weird buzzing sound.

I'm not some idiot who can't differentiate between audio qualities...I've been involved with music my whole life, including some engineering, recording, etc. I can tell there is a difference, and I'm trying to figure out why. If it's a hardware limitation, fine. I'll go buy an iPod. But if it's something I can do something about, I want to know how.

Re: Will Android's audio ever rival an iPod?
 

what format are you putting on the Epic?

Re: Will Android's audio ever rival an iPod?
 

.mp3.

Re: Will Android's audio ever rival an iPod?
 

There are some settings on the other Galaxy S phones via dialer that let you up volume on the other Galaxy S phones..there might be something similar but as of yet we have no access to it..maybe with Froyo :/

Also..what is th bit-rate of the audio? is it stereo or multichannel?

Re: Will Android's audio ever rival an iPod?
 

Ah, that'd be helpful. Also, the BR ranges from 128-320. The 320's still sound like crud. It's pretty much the bass...it's always distorted for the really low end.

I'm just wondering if they changed something in phones...I mean it makes no sense that the TP would be perfect and the TP2 would have this problem...maybe some standardization changed and the Epic followed suit? I've also read of other people having this problem on Android phones, but it seems that it's such a small problem the average listener will never notice, making it expendable. No one ever talks about it, and when I've brought it up before I just got the whole "get better speakers" deal.

Re: Will Android's audio ever rival an iPod?
 

After a long ride home, I think I can sufficiently characterize the problem.

A bass drum is typically recorded into two main tracks, one being the triggered track that is the "click" sound you hear, and the other is the actual bass drum, which produces a "boom." The problem with a lot of old recordings is the bass drum was a mere vibration, which led to the insertion of the audible "click" to allow the listener to actually hear the individual clicks, while experiences the overall "boom."

My problem is that while the click is perfectly reproduced and audible, the boom is hollow and has no depth, and actually ends up sounding like a click. It actually sounds like kicking a cheap wooden door. Playing the same song (same file even) through an iPod produces the boom at full depth, which leads to vibration, whereas playing it through my Epic makes it sound like a hollow kick and that my speaker is going to break.

Therefore, this leads me to believe the Epic is incapable of reproducing quality, undistorted low end. I hope this makes sense, I've been having a hard time actually putting this into words.

So...hardware or software limitation?

Re: Will Android's audio ever rival an iPod?
 

Do you have headsets that support 5.1 audio? is this a problem on the headsets as well or only the speaker?

Re: Will Android's audio ever rival an iPod?
 

Unfortunately I don't, I pretty much only listen to music in the car and I have a crappy set of Skull Candy's to kick around with when I'm in the library at school or something. I'm not very well versed in the whole Dolby surround stuff...could it be that this phone was made to be played through a better system and that explains the lack of quality on run of the mill ones?

Re: Will Android's audio ever rival an iPod?
 

I'm not exactly saying that...But with testing the headsets you can maybe tell more of whether it is a hardware issue or software...

Re: Will Android's audio ever rival an iPod?
 

a good test would be for someone to test the difference between the 3.5mm and hdmi/dlna audio.

Re: Will Android's audio ever rival an iPod?
 

I think the bottom line is that these are phones first. Apple puts more of an emphasis on their music than Android. So, my guess would be that its an issue that is probably a combo between Androids OS as well as the hardware. Most people won't hear a noticeable difference so it probably isn't going to be addressed any time soon.

you don't necessarily have to get an Ipod though, you could look into getting a Zune as well as other mp3 players

Re: Will Android's audio ever rival an iPod?
 

Actually...Samsung is going directly at Apple with the Galaxy S..so much that they even releasing a Galaxy S media player to compete with the iTouch...unless ofcourse they figured these days most people use them with headsets or with external speakers..but still...

Re: Will Android's audio ever rival an iPod?
 

Yea, that's my reasoning. These are competing with the iPhone more than the iPod, but I'm pretty sure the iPhone would sound fine. I don't associate with people with iPhones so I wouldn't know haha.

Re: Will Android's audio ever rival an iPod?
 

I commented on this quite awhile ago when I got my new EVO.

I believe it comes from the low quality DAC (digital audio converter) that phone makers are using these days. They are designed for low-power simple headphone use, and are probably severely lacking when compared to the DAC's found in more audio-centric equipment.

SnR ratio, flat frequency reproduction, and jitter all come into play here.
I can bet you that DAC found in these devices are budget designs coming from mass-manufacturers. (aka China)

Maybe look into finding a digital way to connect your phone to your car stereo, and let the DAC's in your head-unit do the work.

Not much else you can do besides that.

Edit: Maybe a portable headphone amp would help in this situation, it really helps when using my less sensitive cans on the go.

I would recommend you one but i'm having a brain aneurysm at the moment lol

Re: Will Android's audio ever rival an iPod?
 

Wow, this is what I was looking for. I assumed it was something much more than an audio booster, but you actually can support it.

Would a headphone amp steal the signal away the internal DAC and redo it or simply adjust the signal from the crappy DAC? I'd be willing to fork out a little to take care of this, and the headphone amp sounds like it could be the answer.

I just have no idea how you could bi-pass the phone's output and connect it digitally. Bluetooth?

Re: Will Android's audio ever rival an iPod?
 

Ok, so I just ran the audio through this little Jabra bluetooth 3.5mm adapter/remote thingy and it actually sounded a little better! It was still a bit distorted, but I noticed it was louder. Is that how you bi-pass it?

Re: Will Android's audio ever rival an iPod?
 

Apologies for not getting back to you sooner, I lost track of the thread.

The jabra 3.5mm adapter most likely does not have any amplification in it. If it sounds different to you it is most likely placebo effect. You thought it would be different, so it is. Follow?

A headphone amp won't redirect the audio signal away the DAC in the phone, but it takes the signal from the phone DAC and boosts it according to specs of the amplifier. This usually leads to a much tighter and punchier bass, and more definined mids and highs. Some headphone amps have knobs where you can control the equalization to your liking.

Bluetooth can be a very viable option, A2DP supports digital streaming which basically sends the file to your car head unit and lets the car do all the decoding/DAC work. There are exceptions where A2DP is limited to a low-quality codec, so beware. The best you can do it try.

Unfortunately this is just something the iSeries does better. They have the "dock" connector which can be used for to connect digital audio into a car, completely eliminating this issue.

Portable Headphone Amps - Head-Fi.org is a good resource to check out for this kinda stuff.

Icon Mobile
HeadAmp Audio Electronics
Mystify PortAmp
iBasso

This one is supposed to be real good but you have to build it yourself, or find a pre-made one. eBay maybe? The Mini³ Portable Stereo Headphone Amplifier