Pixel 2 Audio Quality - how is it?

[Depresso]

I've been looking around for phones with good audio quality (because my contract for my iPhone SE runs out later this year and I don't really like the audio quality on that, both wired and Bluetooth), and the Google Pixel 2 caught my eye.
I've been doing some research on the Pixel 2's audio quality (and the XL by extension) and after a little while of not being able to find anything, I decided to go ahead and ask.

How is the audio quality on the Pixel 2/Pixel 2 XL, both Bluetooth and wired?

(Side note: I usually listen to music like Tool, Rush, etc.. So how is the Pixel 2 for listening to that kind of music?)
(Another side note: I recently got the Sony h.ear on 2 headphones, which feature the LDAC Bluetooth codec, which I've heard Android Oreo now supports across all devices. So how would Bluetooth audio be on the Pixel 2 with that taken into consideration?)

 

[bjrosen]

Bluetooth quality is excellent. The built in front facing stereo speakers are very good given the limitations of the phone form factor although no comparison to real speakers.

 

[Depresso]

Bluetooth quality is excellent. The built in front facing stereo speakers are very good given the limitations of the phone form factor although no comparison to real speakers.

That's good to hear! Any idea on wired performance with headphones?

 

[milehigherik]

That's good to hear! Any idea on wired performance with headphones?

You mean through the dongle? Sounds great on some wired sennheiser.

 

[GSDer]

I'd think that if your main concern was quality audio output you'd be looking at the LG V30 (or the older V20).

 

[libra89]

In my experience, the front facing speakers are quiet but sound good. The speakers don't seem to be the same volume. The sound of the SE speakers and the Pixel 2 are similar but the Pixel 2 has the edge for being front facing.

 

[milehigherik]

Hands on.... Really the only way.

 

[neil74]

Have posted this elsewhere but my experience is that using headphones both wired and bluetooth audio is pretty lackluster. Bluetooth is better than wired though which really should not be the case, have read reports of people picking up different usb-c dongles to improve so this may be worth consdiering?

There is no reason why bluetooth should not be decent and I just think that the built in eq on the pixel is not that great.

If audio quality is top of your iist it may be worth considering the V30?

 

[e30ernest]

There's a pretty good discussion on the dongle sound quality here:

https://forums.androidcentral.com/google-pixel-2-pixel-2-xl/844968-dongle-sound-quality.html

I listen to prog rock as well along with jazz fusion. Personally, I found the dongle better than my previous phones that came with 3.5mm jacks. Nice flat sound, good representation of bass and mids. Not as good extension on the Treble, but that makes it less fatiguing to listen to. It also has a very good noise floor so sensitive IEMs won't hiss. It works well for prog rock IMO.

The good thing about the dongle setup is that if you don't like the sound coming from the supplied dongle, you can always go aftermarket and still keep the phone.

 

[neil74]

BTW I have tried equaliser fx pro. Is better than the stock EQ but not a huge improvement. Also has annoying status bar icons and notifications that will not away!

 

[Mike Dee]

Have posted this elsewhere but my experience is that using headphones both wired and bluetooth audio is pretty lackluster. Bluetooth is better than wired though which really should not be the case, have read reports of people picking up different usb-c dongles to improve so this may be worth consdiering?

There is no reason why bluetooth should not be decent and I just think that the built in eq on the pixel is not that great.

If audio quality is top of your iist it may be worth considering the V30?

The audio on this phone is far from lackluster and I'm coming from a v20 and a v30 which of course are better.
If you're getting better Bluetooth audio from your pixel than wired there's something wrong with your phone or your setup.
I don't use the EQ that's built in or any EQ for that matter.
I use B&O earbuds or Audio Technica Over the ear headphones and get great sound.
I stream music from Spotify or Amazon Prime usually and I use Poweramp for my stored files which are mostly lossless files.
I have zero complaints with the audio on this phone.

 

[Eggmundo]

I listen predominantly to Hip Hop... can someone recommend a good pair of bluetooth headphones and/or earphones for the P2?

 

[Mike Dee]

I listen predominantly to Hip Hop... can someone recommend a good pair of bluetooth headphones and/or earphones for the P2?

It depends... Do you like a lot of bass or a cleaner sound?

 

[bjrosen]

I've been happy with Bose, I have a wired noise canceling bair and a bluetooth set without noise canceling. They now have noise cancelling Bluetooth headphones, if I were in the market now I'd buy those.

 

[Eggmundo]

It depends... Do you like a lot of bass or a cleaner sound?

Definitely a good clean bass but not overbearing. Don't want the mids and highs to be drowned out or lacking in detail!

I'd prefer in-ear Bluetooth earphones come to think of it.

 

[Depresso]

Alright, so the general consensus seems to be that the audio quality on the Pixel 2 overall is good/ok, but I should take a look at the LG V30 as well.
Ok, the V30 definitely sounds promising, but the one thing that concerns me about it is that LG are known for being bad with software updates. Is that something I should really be concerned about?

 

[Eggmundo]

Alright, so the general consensus seems to be that the audio quality on the Pixel 2 overall is good/ok, but I should take a look at the LG V30 as well.
Ok, the V30 definitely sounds promising, but the one thing that concerns me about it is that LG are known for being bad with software updates. Is that something I should really be concerned about?

Absolutely. And quality control. And a crap front camera.

 

[Vega007]

Interestingly enough, I prefer the sound I get from bluetooth and wired on my OnePlus 5T over what the Pixel 2 can produce. In my car is where I especially noticed the difference of the two, for some reason the 5T was just producing much fuller sound than my Pixel 2 did for the same songs.

 

[e30ernest]

Interestingly enough, I prefer the sound I get from bluetooth and wired on my OnePlus 5T over what the Pixel 2 can produce. In my car is where I especially noticed the difference of the two, for some reason the 5T was just producing much fuller sound than my Pixel 2 did for the same songs.

The Pixel 2 does have a flat frequency response. I'm not sure if the 5T shares that flat profile. Generally, you'd want that flatter sound since that would generally reproduce music as recorded more faithfully.

 

[idiotekniques]

I've used audio over BT with my FM car transmitter and JBL Flip 4 speaker - both sound just fine to me. Neither have apt-x but do use BT 4.0 - so far so good. No disconnects and sound just as good as my LG V20 via BT.

As far as wired audio, which was my main concern, I personally found the Google dongle to be lacking in sound. Keep in mind that the audio is now processed via a DAC located in the dongle, so different dongles can produce different sound. I am using a high end pair of IEM's on the go, and use a nice mid-fi dekstop setup at home so I can appreciate good sound, albeit sound that I like.

I came from an LG V20 so I had high expectations that were not met with the Google Dongle, and browsing on forums I think you will find others that felt the same. Good thing is it's an easy fix, as between $10-$20 you can buy a different third party dongle that can make a noticeable difference. I now find the sound more than good using the HTC dongle, the Razer dongle and one other one I found on Amazon.

I almost got the V30 but the Pixel 2 XL just had too many other good things to pass up, and at the end of the day I am more than happy with the audio SQ of the Pixel 2 XL. I thought I would miss the headphone jack a lot, and I do feel it would be more convenient, but it turns out dongling it is not as bad as I thought. It's just a tad bit more expensive, find the dongle you like, then buy a couple more as spares and stash them in places so you won't be without one, that's my MO at least.