Beats Audio on HTC One

[Ted Ockels]

Hey,

Been lurking this forum for about a month trying to decide on S4 or One and leaning heavily on the One.... for today

My question is, for anyone who has experience with beats audio on any device or for this one specifically, how good is it? Is there a noticeable difference in quality of music? All I know at the moment is that the beats audio amplifiers are for both the speakers and headphones and that it works when using music on the hard drive as well as apps like pandora. Is this a gimmick or is it something more?

Thanks guys!

 

[adriandb]

I can't speak to this phone specifically, but the reviews say the audio is good from the on device speakers and that it's loud.

In general, the Beats Audio headphones, at least the non-top end ones, get horrible reviews.

 

[ChazTyldsley]

On the phone speakers themselves it's genuinely impressive. Really loud volume for a phone and the audio quality itself is the best I've heard from built-in phone speakers. I've only had the phone a couple of days so I've yet to hear how it sounds with earphones and in the car - will have to report back on that one for you.

 

[indomie]

Hi Ted... I'll give my experience as I actually just yesterday discovered that my wife's phone (HTC Evo LTE) has Beats Audio & decided to give it a spin. My hopes were not terribly high as Beats doesn't have the greatest reputation in audiophile circles. Considering my low expectations, I was pretty impressed. There is definitely a noticeable sound difference. The sound was much fuller. The bass was more emphasized, but not over the top.

From my limited understanding, Beats is really just a non-adjustable equalizer setting. If you're the type of person who likes to plug a pair of headphones in & listen to some tunes on your phone on the go, I think you'll be happy.

From what I've heard regarding the One, the Beats also really helps the speaker system work well. On my wife's Evo LTE, Beats is only implemented through the headphones.

 

[Ted Ockels]

Hi Ted... I'll give my experience as I actually just yesterday discovered that my wife's phone (HTC Evo LTE) has Beats Audio & decided to give it a spin. My hopes were not terribly high as Beats doesn't have the greatest reputation in audiophile circles. Considering my low expectations, I was pretty impressed. There is definitely a noticeable sound difference. The sound was much fuller. The bass was more emphasized, but not over the top.

From my limited understanding, Beats is really just a non-adjustable equalizer setting. If you're the type of person who likes to plug a pair of headphones in & listen to some tunes on your phone on the go, I think you'll be happy.

From what I've heard regarding the One, the Beats also really helps the speaker system work well. On my wife's Evo LTE, Beats is only implemented through the headphones.

That describes my listening style perfectly. I really think that this is a feature that people don't talk about much when reviewing this phone.

Thanks guys.

 

[vamp07]

Beats audio is nothing more then a marketing ploy. The one does have great if not the best smartphone speakers.

 

[XenIneX]

Beats is a not-terribly-pleasant bass-heavy EQ curve. Its best feature is that you can turn it off.

Want good sound? Buy good headphones.

 

[JasW]

Beats audio is nothing more then a marketing ploy. The one does gave great if not the best smartphone speakers.

Absolutely correct. It's nothing but a gimmick, and that"s being polite.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I317 using Tapatalk 2

 

[Russ Smith]

Beats is a not-terribly-pleasant bass-heavy EQ curve. Its best feature is that you can turn it off.

Want good sound? Buy good headphones.

Works well on the Ones external speakers rich sound, not too bassy, don't like it on headphones. Shame there's not options for various EQ presets rather than just on and off.

Sent from my HTC One

 

[Robert Martindale]

I use power amp on my HTC and used it on my galaxy s, 10 band equaliser seems to sound good.

 

[mcpricex]

Beats audio is nothing more then a marketing ploy. The one does have great if not the best smartphone speakers.

I would be very interested to know which phone you think has better on board sound than the One?

People seem to be basing their opinion of the One's sound system on the reputation of the Beats brand, yes their headphones are bass heavy and the only thing more incredible than their over inflated price tag is the amount of hype that goes with them, but the One is not a pair of earphones and until you have the phone in your hand along with a comparison, it is hard to describe effectively.

I have done a hands on comparison with a Samsung S3 and an iPhone 4s, and I can assure you that there is a world of difference between them. Volume, clarity and depth of sound are all in a different league when using the built in speakers. With headphones it is a little more difficult to judge as the phones themselves make such a difference, bad headphones sound bad no matter what the source but good ones can improve a poor source up to a point. Now just exactly how much of that is down to Beats is debateable, personally I wouldn't be surprised if the standard audio was tuned down to give a more impressive impact when you flick the switch, but like the whole Beats issue itself, it is not really relevant.

The only thing that matters is that the One sounds awesome, just the fact that the speakers face you makes a huge difference, beats or no beats. For headphone use then as with any phone, crummy headphones will sound crummy, but a decent pair will give you an excellent experience for a modest outlay. If you want true audiophile quality then to be frank, you shouldn't be listening to mp3's on a phone.

My advice is to take your current phone to a store and compare for yourself, then make your own judgement.

Edit - The vast majority of reports I have read speak very highly of the included earphones, I don't use in ear phones much so haven't given them much of a chance, but I did check them out and they sounded fair. It would take a little time to get them burned in properly and to check out a variety of music to form a proper opinion, but for day to day use I would say you could do much worse.

 

[vamp07]

I agree with you.

Sent from my HTCONE using Tapatalk 2

 

[madlaw1071]

I have the One and the S4. Without headphones the One with Beats Audio produces the best sound of any phone available. With headphones the playing field is much more level. As previously stated, Beats is a software gimmick that can be replicated and/or improved upon by other OEMs and apps like WinAmp, etc. I use Rocketfish BT headphones on both phones and they are about dead even in terms of quality. The S4 is slightly louder IMO.

 

[adriandb]

I'm one of those of a certain age. I'd never use a loudness control or the Beats setting with headphones, but I have to admit the Beats setting really makes the One's speakers shine.

Exactly! The speakers do sound better with most of the rock music I've listened to with Beats enabled. But as soon as I plug in my Shure ear buds I have to turn it off.

Also, I'm not sure how I just posted before the person I quoted. That's some interesting math there forum software.

 

[kbp08tls]

Those of us of a "certain age" will recognize Beats as a glorified version of the old-school "loudness" button you used to find on home and auto receivers. That said, what you get out of it is highly dependant on the kind of music you listen to and the quality of your headphones.

I have a decent set of UE in-ear headphones, and I tend to keep all of my mp3's at 320 kbps converted from FLAC if at all possible. I actually like the Beats EQ, when de-tuned slightly with PowerAmp (I have to nudge the bass and mid-bass down slightly to take a bit of the "mud" out of the sound). I feel like it gives a little bit of life to the music.

As noted earlier, we are talking about playing mp3's on a phone, so no-one should be expecting anything close to audiophile quality sound. It just boils down to your own personal preference.

 

[Gathomblipoob]

Also, I'm not sure how I just posted before the person I quoted. That's some interesting math there forum software.

You're one of those ex-iPhone guys like me. We're automagical. See?

 

[Gathomblipoob]

Those of us of a "certain age" will recognize Beats as a glorified version of the old-school "loudness" button you used to find on home and auto receivers. That said, what you get out of it is highly dependant on the kind of music you listen to and the quality of your headphones.

I have a decent set of UE in-ear headphones, and I tend to keep all of my mp3's at 320 kbps converted from FLAC if at all possible. I actually like the Beats EQ, when de-tuned slightly with PowerAmp (I have to nudge the bass and mid-bass down slightly to take a bit of the "mud" out of the sound). I feel like it gives a little bit of life to the music.

As noted earlier, we are talking about playing mp3's on a phone, so no-one should be expecting anything close to audiophile quality sound. It just boils down to your own personal preference.

I'm one of those of a certain age. I'd never use a loudness control or the Beats setting with headphones, but I have to admit the Beats setting really makes the One's speakers shine.

 

[JRLasVegas]

I have a set of UR Beats by Dre. And I get incredible base. I also took one of the studio beats and unplugged it from the best buy sound testing system and plugged it into my phone and it was better on my phone in regards to clarity. I could hear more sounds from the phone than I could from the sound system at best buy, however I don't know what type of sound system best buy had it plugged into because it was behind a wall where there were multiple headsets plugged in. I was the only person using the sound system at the best buy store.

HTC One>galaxy>iPhone

 

[TheyStoleMyName]

Beats audio is nothing more then a marketing ploy. The one does have great if not the best smartphone speakers.

The phones external speakers are great, loud, clear, and full sounding. The headphones speakers are also very good imo. Beats audio is partly owned by HTC. They sound very good but with a lil to much bass but clear with very little distortion. The One sounds better than any other HTC phone I've owned ans most other smartphones gs3, one x plus, gn2, Sony tl, iPhone 4, atrix 1-2, lgog and lumia 900. If ur a audiophile then this might not be for u because there is no adjustable eq. But it still sounds great. The headphones a not as loud a an iPod classic but still very loud.

I'm not a huge fan of beats audio, it's not a gimmick or marketing ploy. Beats has a custom amplifier made by the help of monster and there own eq. It's not for everyone but by all means it's not a marketing trick.

Sent from my HTC One using Android Central Forums

 

[Darvlsh]

The fact that you don't know that "base" isn't the low end audio frequency and that its spelled "bass" leads me to believe that you don't know what your talking about...