Poor Quality from Audio Jack?

[perspicuity]

Hello! I'm new to posting here but I've read this site a bunch (every day, actually, I have no life). Anyway, I'm on my second Samsung Focus S... a device which I adore because of it's amazing screen. I have an HTC Titan too but the phone is just too gargantuan for me. I can't function with it one handed...

But to my issue, I've found the audio quality emerging from the Focus S to be quite poor. I use my phone to play music in my car via an auxiliary input. With an iPhone 4 or the HTC Titan if you have the device's volume at maximum and the stereo at 30-40, you're rewarded with rich thunderous sound and no distortion. With the Samsung, I have to turn the stereo to maximum (it tops out numerically at 60) and the sound is still lacking compared to my other two devices. Also, when you skip songs you get that annoying static thud sound that happens sometimes when you plug a device into an active speaker. It happens every song.

I've used different cords and plugged the both phones into different sets of speakers with the same dissatisfying results. Needless to say I'm a bit miffed. I want a Mango handset bad. My next choice is the Nokia 800 but thats a bit long to stay trapped on my iPhone also it has a smaller screen which I'm not thrilled about.

So. Anyone else have this issue? I've checked other forums and people with Galaxy S2 phones have complained of similar issues. Sorry for my first post here to be such a downer.
I do love everything else about the phone. I don't even mind how plasticy it is. I get terrible service inside my house (3G in the driveway but Edge in the kitchen... it's obnoxious) no other phone but this has been able to keep such a consistent signal. So if you want excellent service... get this phone.

 

[jeremyshaw]

Most likely, Samsung set their internal EQ settings too high. Just use something like 25/30 volume on the Samsung, and that should get rid of the disortion. I will admit, the Focus S, so far, seems to have a lower volume than my Focus did. Also, it probably doesn't use the same Wolfson DAC (assuming the Focus used the Galaxy S' same DAC).

 

[perspicuity]

But the problem is that at that noise level it's not robust sounding at all. Gah. I don't know what to do. Every Mango handset right now has a deal breaker for me. The Titan is too big and has a signal attenuation issue. The Lumia 800 has a small screen and a PenTile Amoled display which will drive me insane. And now my Samsung has the most disappointing performance on the audio front. Would a bluetooth setup sound better you think? Or is that worse?

 

[jeremyshaw]

Depends on the BT audio device, but I'd bet on it not being great. I dunno, maybe we would have to tweak the audio like on the Focus, lol (at least mine had unusual audio settings stock).

 

[timGSU]

Depends on the BT audio device, but I'd bet on it not being great. I dunno, maybe we would have to tweak the audio like on the Focus, lol (at least mine had unusual audio settings stock).

Yeah, I hated the audio on the original Focus.....way too quiet...and the hacks weren't 100% stable in my opinion.....just ruined the experience for me....sounds like the Focus S continues this to an extent. (although I use bluetooth in my car for voice/music)

 

[jeremyshaw]

On the android side, users already reported similar feelings (no pop, though), going from galaxy s to galaxy sii - our close, android cousins.

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[Blacklac]

I would guess the BT setup may fix the distortion sounds when skipping tracks. If not, it sure sounds like software.

Was the first one returned for this issue or something else?

 

[randywintle]

I don't experience those issues with Bluetooth in my car. Sounds wonderful and no popping.

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[jmerrey]

If you look around in the forums a bit, you'll see myself, and others, mentioning issues with the headphone jack. I think it's directly related to the shape of it, which is giving a very un-uniform connection.

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[jeremyshaw]

If you look around in the forums a bit, you'll see myself, and others, mentioning issues with the headphone jack. I think it's directly related to the shape of it, which is giving a very un-uniform connection.

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It should be noted, the ipod touch 4 has the same shape connection, yet doesn't have this issue... (among PMP, it's a very capable and high quality device).

 

[perspicuity]

Yeah. Ended up returning the device today. Really am super bummed. The phone was fantastic. I think I'm going to write a letter to Samsung. There's no reason a premium device should be producing crummy audio. I must be cursed though because my HTC Titan has a similar problem. When ever you open the Bing Search application while listening to audio through the headphone jack you notice an immense loss of sound quality to the point where it's unlistenable.

I've had the iPhone 4 for about a year. And I really want to switch to WP7 because the OS is built on a philosophy which jives better with my own way of thinking and managing tasks. However, the hardware thus far is making the experience a bit of a turn off. Though I am quite disenchanted with iOS, Apple's hardware experience is unimpeachable.

I may hold of on making another purchase until after CES because I feel like Nokia will make an announcement there.

 

[jmerrey]

That's interesting, I wasn't aware it was as "sloped" as the one in the focus s. I did go check out the android hardware equivalent at the at&t store; the jack is more sloped on the focus s. I will say the focus s is a nicer looking device.

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[jmerrey]

Not wanting to derail this thread, but can you compare the screen of the focus s and titan? Maybe in a different thread so as to keep this one on track ;-)

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[Blacklac]

Yeah. Ended up returning the device today. Really am super bummed. The phone was fantastic. I think I'm going to write a letter to Samsung. There's no reason a premium device should be producing crummy audio. I must be cursed though because my HTC Titan has a similar problem. When ever you open the Bing Search application while listening to audio through the headphone jack you notice an immense loss of sound quality to the point where it's unlistenable.

I've had the iPhone 4 for about a year. And I really want to switch to WP7 because the OS is built on a philosophy which jives better with my own way of thinking and managing tasks. However, the hardware thus far is making the experience a bit of a turn off. Though I am quite disenchanted with iOS, Apple's hardware experience is unimpeachable.

I may hold of on making another purchase until after CES because I feel like Nokia will make an announcement there.

Someone reported the update that was just released stopped this problem on their Titan. Sounded like the same issue you had, with the search feature.

 

[perspicuity]

Someone reported the update that was just released stopped this problem on their Titan. Sounded like the same issue you had, with the search feature.

Ah! Thanks. I will check on that immediately!

@jmerrey, if you're looking for a video comparison I sadly already returned the Focus S. I will say though that seeing them side by side the Focus S has a superior screen and I'm normally not a fan of the overly contrasted look of Super AMOLED screens but the RGB layout changed everything for me. The picture is just so crisp.

That being said the quality of the S-LCD on the Titan is amazing in its own right. Viewing angles aren't quite as good as the SAMOLED Plus screen but it's close. Also, in terms of contrast I'd say the S-LCD is a better than the iPhone 4. Not by much mind you but when right next to each other the Titan definitely has richer colors than the iPhone's IPS display.

One oddity I found in the Titan's screen after playing with the Samsung is that the glass on the Samsung feels more polished... like literally more polished your finger seems to glide across it without any effort while the Titan by comparison requires a smidge of effort to achieve similar scrolling results. It's not something that I would've noticed if I hadn't used both devices.

Now, to update my phone and see if my issue is remedied.

 

[jeremyshaw]

That's interesting, I wasn't aware it was as "sloped" as the one in the focus s. I did go check out the android hardware equivalent at the at&t store; the jack is more sloped on the focus s. I will say the focus s is a nicer looking device.

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I dunno, I have an iPod touch 4g right next to my Focus S right now (was shooting a few comparision shots of screen size/useability, form factor, opinions, etc).

I also had a TW Galaxy SII back in March or so, but I left that back home. Also was comparing to Focus, Atrix (both 4", both different forms of Pentile, lol...).

 

[jmerrey]

I'd be extremely happy if the issues (popping, pause/play/next track functionality) could be fixed via a software update, but at this point I'm skeptical...

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[kevm14]

Ok, so does the Titan have the same popping on track change as the Focus S when using the headphone jack into an external amp (car stereo, et al)?

 

[a4dp]

I've not tried it through an auxiliary input on a stereo, but it sounds great through my headphones. It also sounds fine through my sound bar connected with bluetooth.

 

[jeremyshaw]

I've not tried it through an auxiliary input on a stereo, but it sounds great through my headphones. It also sounds fine through my sound bar connected with bluetooth.

Yup, no popping via 3.5mm TRS output. I'll note there is popping on the phone's speaker, for even game sound effects (haven't noticed it recently, however - probably just because I don't have the volume up as much). Also a few other things I don't know how to effectively word out

Headphones (ATH-M50s) at ~5/30
Car at ~30/30.