Just ordered the 928 as a concession phone

[tvolpe86]

does anyone in here consider themselves an audiophile (not being snarky, serious question)? from what i've experienced, anything related to "beats" has been a bassy mess with terrible highs and mids due to being drowned out from the tinny, excessive and overpowering bass. have never played music from an 8x so i wouldn't know how much of the beats tech is just marketing and how much of it can be attributed to high quality (or low quality) sound, but after hearing the astounding difference between my old beats headphones (before i cared what made something sound good and what made something sound bad) compared to a much cheaper (cost), better pair of Grado Labs Alessandro MS1i's and selling off the beats on ebay, i'd venture to to say maybe the 928 sounds more neutral and you're all diggin' the extra bass from the 8x? a good pair of headphones and an EQ setting I'm sure would solve that problem. not bashing the 8x, just curious to know if the beats tech was actually done right (bass hits good without muddling up the other sounds like other beats products) on this device or if people who prefer it don't care to demand a more accurate and neutral sound as i'm assuming the 928 has (haven't played music from that either - just bringing up this point in case it is relevant).

 

[scottcraft]

Since the 8X and the 928 are the same price for an upgrade to me getting the 928 is a no brainer due to the camera and extra storage. I have an 8X and I don't think it's worth buying the 928 at full retail for me. I think an 8X owner would be better off waiting for there next generation of Nokia phones. I'm not saying the 928 isn't a nice phone because it is, but that's a lot of money to get a better camera and screen. Maybe if you place a lot of value on Nokia apps along with the screen and camera it would be worth it, it's just not for me.

 

[AR2186]

does anyone in here consider themselves an audiophile (not being snarky, serious question)? from what i've experienced, anything related to "beats" has been a bassy mess with terrible highs and mids due to being drowned out from the tinny, excessive and overpowering bass. have never played music from an 8x so i wouldn't know how much of the beats tech is just marketing and how much of it can be attributed to high quality (or low quality) sound, but after hearing the astounding difference between my old beats headphones (before i cared what made something sound good and what made something sound bad) compared to a much cheaper (cost), better pair of Grados Alessandro MS1i's and selling off the beats on ebay, i'd venture to to say maybe the 928 sounds more neutral and you're all diggin' the extra bass from the 8x? a good pair of headphones and an EQ setting I'm sure would solve that problem. not bashing the 8x, just curious to know if the beats tech was actually done right (bass hits good without muddling up the other sounds like other beats products) on this device or if people who prefer it don't care to demand a more accurate and neutral sound as i'm assuming the 928 has (haven't played music from that either - just bringing up this point in case it is relevant).

I'd say I'm an aspiring audiophile at this point, and while the Beats Audio is what you'd expect (as in, just a software equalizer tweak), the real difference is that the 8x has a built in amp that allows the output to go higher without distortion. I have a few different types of headphones (beats, Bose and Sennheiser) and the 8x sounds better to me on all of them. Its the best audio I've ever heard from a phone. I found the Dolby settings make the 928 sound worse

 

[Honestabebread]

I produce and record bands for a side job, but I'm not worried about that stuff on a phone. I have studio monitors and reference headphones for that. 928 is fine for day to day use.

 

[ryan.kruger]

I produce and record bands for a side job, but I'm not worried about that stuff on a phone. I have studio monitors and reference headphones for that. 928 is fine for day to day use.

Sweet. I love the studio. I'd been recording for a few years before I moved across the country with my wife. Fun times.

 

[Honestabebread]

I mean, it sounds as good as any other phone. It just pales in comparison to the 8X. And leave that Dolby crap turned off.

 

[vonchowder]

does anyone in here consider themselves an audiophile (not being snarky, serious question)? from what i've experienced, anything related to "beats" has been a bassy mess with terrible highs and mids due to being drowned out from the tinny, excessive and overpowering bass. have never played music from an 8x so i wouldn't know how much of the beats tech is just marketing and how much of it can be attributed to high quality (or low quality) sound, but after hearing the astounding difference between my old beats headphones (before i cared what made something sound good and what made something sound bad) compared to a much cheaper (cost), better pair of Grados Alessandro MS1i's and selling off the beats on ebay, i'd venture to to say maybe the 928 sounds more neutral and you're all diggin' the extra bass from the 8x? a good pair of headphones and an EQ setting I'm sure would solve that problem. not bashing the 8x, just curious to know if the beats tech was actually done right (bass hits good without muddling up the other sounds like other beats products) on this device or if people who prefer it don't care to demand a more accurate and neutral sound as i'm assuming the 928 has (haven't played music from that either - just bringing up this point in case it is relevant).

Golden ears here....:wink: general hifi audio (and vinyl) fanatic... more turntables than I know what to do with

I said it earlier, I think this is the best sounding portable audio I have heard. I do think it is a neutral sound and the built-in active EQ is quite good if you want to add more bass. For me, with a good set of headphones the 928 is awesome to listen to. I hear things never heard before and the stereo separation is unreal. I have toggled the Dolby on and off and prefer it off as it seems to muddy things slightly and removes some of the separation IMHO.

I haven't heard the Beats Audio on 8X, but am guessing it adds in bass through the hardware/software. If your accustomed to listening to bass-enhanced music and you listen to the 928, you might think it is less punchy. However, I would argue you are going to hear more detail and clarity on this than before and you can add bass through the eq if needed. For true and wannabe audiophile-types that care about the whole spectrum of sound, I think they will be impressed with the 928. My last phone was an HTC EVO and it sounds like garbage compared to this phone.

 

[tvolpe86]

I'd say I'm an aspiring audiophile at this point, and while the Beats Audio is what you'd expect (as in, just a software equalizer tweak), the real difference is that the 8x has a built in amp that allows the output to go higher without distortion. I have a few different types of headphones (beats, Bose and Sennheiser) and the 8x sounds better to me on all of them. Its the best audio I've ever heard from a phone. I found the Dolby settings make the 928 sound worse

doesn't the 928 also have a hardware amplifier?

 

[scottcraft]

I'm sure the 928 sounds fine, but unless the equalizer and dolby sound are significantly improved from the 822 it doesn't compare the the 8X. There are certainly areas the 8X could improve but sound through the headphone jack isn't one of them.

 

[AR2186]

doesn't the 928 also have a hardware amplifier?

it does, but seems to be only for the speaker

 

[dksf42]

Does the 928 record is stereo - seems like we have some audiophiles here?

 

[AR2186]

Appears to be mono in the test I just did