Let's convince Samsung to fix the music sound quality on the Ativ S!

freestaterocker

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Ok, let me start by asking the mods to make this thread a sticky so we can get as many views as possible.

I recently posted a review of my brand new Ativ S in a thread requesting just that. The only fault I found with it, a major one for me, is how thin and anemic music sounds through anything plugged into the 3.5mm audio jack or connected via Bluetooth. I am a musician, and a lover of music. I believe music is the language of the soul. Like many other music lovers, I have I large collection of music that I want with me at all times, because I never know what I'll be in the mood to listen to. It is for this reason primarily that I chose Samsung's offering over the HTC 8X, the only other WP8 offered by my carrier. You see, 16gb was enough for my HD7, but my music collection has been growing lately at a pace I never could've afforded without my new Xbox music pass subscription. In short, I chose this phone for it's expandable storage, with the thought that my music collection wouldn't outgrow my phone's memory. The price I paid, in addition to the $100 higher subsidized price with the same storage out of the box, was a substandard listening experience, with no onboard eq, which both of the other WP8 OEMs offer, HTC in the form of selectable presets, and Nokia in the form of a fully adjustable 7 band graphic equalizer. Nokia had the same sound quality problem on the Lumia 800, and they fixed it with a simple firmware update after enough customers complained. They didn't make an EQ, they just made it sound better.

Here's the point of my rambling: if enough of us complain directly to Samsung about this issue, perhaps expressing the desire to buy a different device with better audio-or for those of us who own the Ativ, threatening to return it in favor of a Nokia or an HTC-they will act on it and fix the problem for all of us. I'll be doing my part. I just ask you to unite with me and do the same. Perhaps we will set a precedent that will lead to Nokia no longer being the only OEM to REALLY support their devices post-purchase.

I can't do it alone.
 

Ruined

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Two things
#1: Have you tested on a second device so you know for sure its not a product defect, or have you seen anyone else post this?
#2: the fact that it happens over Bluetooth is good, because it means it is likely a software issue and not an issue with the hardware headphone jack. It could be something as simple as eq or poor resampling.
 

freestaterocker

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Two things
#1: Have you tested on a second device so you know for sure its not a product defect, or have you seen anyone else post this?
#2: the fact that it happens over Bluetooth is good, because it means it is likely a software issue and not an issue with the hardware headphone jack. It could be something as simple as eq or poor resampling.

#1: I'm not the first to say this about the Ativ. There's a hands-on article on mobilesyrup.com comparing the 8X with it, and I believe he actually used the word "anemic" IIRC.

#2: I believe it is a software issue, and an easy to fix one at that.

I want us WP users to unite to try to get Samsung to make an already great device damn near perfect.
 

Ruined

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#1: I'm not the first to say this about the Ativ. There's a hands-on article on mobilesyrup.com comparing the 8X with it, and I believe he actually used the word "anemic" IIRC.

#2: I believe it is a software issue, and an easy to fix one at that.

I want us WP users to unite to try to get Samsung to make an already great device damn near perfect.

Well, I know how to do that. BEN THE PC GUY ON TWITTER!
 

Drewstwitts

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Just swapped my Lumia 820 for the Ativ s and to be honest I prefer the sound quality of the Ativ s more. Guess its a personal thing.
 

VelJharig

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I'd like to see an EQ utility on the Ativ S, but the actual level of detail in the high end is pretty decent for a device running a DAC as a secondary function. It's not great, but I've certainly heard worse, and it doesn't artificially exaggerate the low end to make it sound good in cheap earbuds while screwing up the sound balance of any decent gear. Hooked up to a pair of Adam A7X's the Ativ sounds passably good, though I'd like the option to fill out the lower end frequencies a bit more for my sound space. On a pair of Sleek Audio SA6 IEMs, it sounds better out of the box than my last 3 smartphones. I think it could actually sound pretty good with some EQ options.

Also, take a look at the audio section GSM arena posted in their review here: Samsung Ativ S review: A fresh start - GSMArena.com

It's not a bad device for smartphone audio, especially when compared to some of the same benchmarks run against the Lumia 920 and then compared to the Ativ: Nokia Lumia 920 review: The Luminary - GSMArena.com

Not as good as I'd like to see, but better than the Lumia from a purely frequency response perspective. Disclaimer: I have not listened to the 920 with any high end gear, so this is based on technical specs, not an actual critical listening session. In either case, I'd like to see some audio tweaking tools for it, but I don't think the Ativ S is highly deficient "as is."
 

LegendKillaXXI

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does anyone with an ATIV S get popping sounds between songs or changing sounds? Just wondering if my phone is defective. I get a distinct loud pop or cracking sound when changing between songs. It doesn't happen for all songs, but it is incredibly annoying when it does. I'm not sure if this matters, butI am using the xbox music pass. I am also able to replicate the same issue with my wife's phone.

edit: I should also add that after starting music up after pausing for 2-3 minutes, i get a loud pop every time.
 
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LegendKillaXXI

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So u just forget about the song? And what if its my fav song.

Sent from my RaZr on MIUI.

unfortunately for now, that's the case until whatever causing the issue is resolved. So far, I have yet to delete favourite songs, but I'm sure it's coming. I'd rather do that then hear the pop as it's usually louder than the music playing and hurts the ears
 

VelJharig

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unfortunately for now, that's the case until whatever causing the issue is resolved. So far, I have yet to delete favourite songs, but I'm sure it's coming. I'd rather do that then hear the pop as it's usually louder than the music playing and hurts the ears

Hmm... I haven't heard anything similar so far on my Ativ S. This is when hardwired, I presume, and doesn't occur with bluetooth streaming? Makes me wonder if your phone has an issue with the headphone jack.
 

LegendKillaXXI

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Hmm... I haven't heard anything similar so far on my Ativ S. This is when hardwired, I presume, and doesn't occur with bluetooth streaming? Makes me wonder if your phone has an issue with the headphone jack.

hardwired and external speaker, I haven't tried bluetooth. Are you using the Xbox Music Pass?
 

VelJharig

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hardwired and external speaker, I haven't tried bluetooth. Are you using the Xbox Music Pass?

Yup, I have an Xbox Music Pass, and have been using it fairly regularly with the Ativ S. No popping when switching tracks. I have been having issues with storage on SDXC UHC-1 cards (it periodically doesn't want to play tracks off the card), but no issues related to popping. If this same issue doesn't occur when you play tracks over bluetooth, I'd be tempted to return your Ativ as having a faulty headphone jack.
 

LegendKillaXXI

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Yup, I have an Xbox Music Pass, and have been using it fairly regularly with the Ativ S. No popping when switching tracks. I have been having issues with storage on SDXC UHC-1 cards (it periodically doesn't want to play tracks off the card), but no issues related to popping. If this same issue doesn't occur when you play tracks over bluetooth, I'd be tempted to return your Ativ as having a faulty headphone jack.

I was thinking about returning it, but I am starting to think it's just a bug at the end of the day. If it did it for all songs, I would return it instantly, but the majority of the music I have left works fine. I can live with whats on there now. Anyways, I like the phone too much to return it.

I also had problems with the memory card, but I haven't noticed tracks not playing. My issue was that Xbox Music kept duplicating the tracks every time I would do a reset of the phone. At one point, I would end up with 10-12 copies of the same song, even though when I looked at the SD card on my laptop, there was only one copy of the song. I eventually fixed that by formatting the card on my laptop rather than on the phone. I think the file system format on the SD card was incompatible. I'm happy that works as it was a battery killer
 

Mankku

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Hi! Happy owner for two days of this Ativ S, general impressions, really good! WP8 system works swell, fast and no hang ups. I'd like to know though how to get the apps closed the easiest way, it's quite worksome to push back button all the time to close all the apps, is there an app for this solution?

Regarding sound quality through headphones on the Ativ S,
- music plays really loud, best to keep it on 20/30 for most songs, for songs in low volume recordings you have to turn it up, volume stabilizer function would be good for this.
- flat bass volume, but really low base frequencies come through - wide frequency response? At home i listen to music through Shure SRH440 headphones - whose bass sound is flat, I'm used to this and I prefer it so. High frequencies are also sharp so it's important to listen to music at the right volume. Seems good for classic music and jazz.
- Too high a volume turns often to distortion.
- Stereo width good, and details good if at right volume

I haven't had time to listen so much music, but I'll keep you posted; been listening mostly to pop and rock music but I will listen to more classical and jazz stuff, which I reckon will sound quite good from this phone,regarding the good stereo width and clear detail.

One thing is clear, music is loud from Ativ S! :) But it's true that the base is thin on most songs - Smack my b**tch up from Prodigy still produces great base though.

Option for equalizer or at least volume normalisation would be great to add to this phones audio output. Still I'm really happy owning this phone, and WP8 system is great, but I'm waiting for Spotify to arrive, which I hope also will also play local files.
 

Mankku

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More and more I like the music quality from this phone, been listening to more diverse music and details are really good! When listening to music I've been listening for 20 years (eg. Jean-Michel Jarre, MIke Oldfield, Vangelis) I've noticed new sounds in the music! :)

Still some option for "enhancing" the volume and bass for less good coded MP3 / WMA files would be good to add to this phone. This would be good for some rock music songs?

One annoying thing though, do you others notice significant difference in volume output from local stored music and the music streamed from XBOX music? I did some comparison from local and online files and local ones seem more silent than those from Xbox Store (about 5-10 steps).
 

locoworks

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it may be the speaker on the device that gives bad sound. i transfered a ringtone file and the high notes distorted to angry mouse fighting sounds.
 

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