Galaxy Nexus- Close But No Cigar

[booboolala2000]

The audio quality is a problem for the GNex across the board. The only thing that varies is how much it bothers the user. Some people don't have sensitive ears and are just plain tone deaf. They don't notice the audio quality issues and that is why they say my phone sounds just fine.

No audio issues here. If you are speaking of audio issues through streaming music then I might agree, sometimes with bad data. Anything played back FROM the device is crystal clear.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk

 

[PetuniaCarlyle]

No audio issues here. If you are speaking of audio issues through streaming music then I might agree, sometimes with bad data. Anything played back FROM the device is crystal clear.

Like I said, some people are just tone deaf.

I have a GNex and am not getting rid of it. The first one had a bum speaker and mic. This one doesn't have the crackling/popping the other one did and the mic hasn't cut out on me (yet). However, the audio quality is not great on this phone, either. Nor was the audio quality high on any of the display phones in 2 corporate stores that I visited that had multiple GNex on display when compared to the Razrs and the Rezounds next to them.

Nonetheless, the GNex has many other positive attributes. But I don't use my phone for business. If I did, I don't think I would keep this phone due to the audio quality.

 

[PetuniaCarlyle]

To the OP - thank you for your well-reasoned and thorough review. I am sure you realized that no matter how well-reasoned and fair your review was, if at the end of the review you did not conclude that the GNex was the best thing since sliced bread you were going to upset some of the GNex owners.

 

[booboolala2000]

To the OP - thank you for your well-reasoned and thorough review. I am sure you realized that no matter how well-reasoned and fair your review was, if at the end of the review you did not conclude that the GNex was the best thing since sliced bread you were going to upset some of the GNex owners.

Thorough? "Verizon is the only carrier that works at his house" and he is coming from an iPhone 3? Explain how a GSM only phone works on Verizon?

I understand that the GNex isn't for everyone, but some people are expecting too much at this point in time. The phone will get better with updates. Also as a self proclaimed Android vergin the OP is more than a little behind the curve, doesn't discredit his post as much as his own addmissions but does explain some of his "problems". My suggestion is to tap the app launcher and just use that. Close as ios as you will get I'm afraid.

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[Jaycemiskel]

If the majority of people are saying that there's no problem in sound quality then there probably isn't. Not everyone can be tone death. I'm by no means an audiophile but it sounds just as good as my DROID 3 and sometimes better so are you saying quality on that phone is horrid too?

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[PetuniaCarlyle]

If the majority of people are saying that there's no problem in sound quality then there probably isn't. Not everyone can be tone death. I'm by no means an audiophile but it sounds just as good as my DROID 3 and sometimes better so are you saying quality on that phone is horrid too?

I have never used a Droid 3, so I can't comment. But what I can tell you is that my mom's iphone sounds a lot better than my GNex. And her iphone's camera takes much better indoor pictures than my GNex.

The camera I don't care about but the sound quality on a phone, yes, I care about it.

I like my GNex's screen and that I can customize it and that it is a 4G device. And I will never have an iphone. However, I am not going to say the GNex is perfect when it is not.

 

[PetuniaCarlyle]

Thorough? "Verizon is the only carrier that works at his house" and he is coming from an iPhone 3? Explain how a GSM only phone works on Verizon?

Hmm, that is odd. Maybe he moved during the time he had the iphone to his new house. I am not living in the same house I was living in in 2008.

 

[darreno1]

The op post is totally BS. A musician using the supplied headphones. Most people never use the provided headphones. We all know the provided headphones are sub par. If the op said he tried is own decent quality headphones and had an issue, then I might have respected the post.

This is exactly what came to mind when I read his post. The supplied ear buds are crap. I have some decent ones and on the GNex they sound outstanding! The fact that he would judge the sound quality using those are a little perplexing.

The only audio issue I've run into is the lower than usual volume level and I've pretty much gotten used to that. Still hoping it will be addressed in an update though.

As for the camera, from what I've seen the GNex takes just as good pics as any other in daylight. At night, the flash causes issues with focusing sometimes and just like any other cell phone camera, it suffers from quality issues.

BTW I took several low-light shots recently at a birthday party with a friend's iPhone 4s and they came out like crap (noisy, slightly out of focus, overexposed). I didn't see the quality that everyone seem to crow about but then again, I'm a amateur photographer and use a DSLR frequently.

 

[booboolala2000]

Like I said, some people are just tone deaf.

I have a GNex and am not getting rid of it. The first one had a bum speaker and mic. This one doesn't have the crackling/popping the other one did and the mic hasn't cut out on me (yet). However, the audio quality is not great on this phone, either. Nor was the audio quality high on any of the display phones in 2 corporate stores that I visited that had multiple GNex on display when compared to the Razrs and the Rezounds next to them.

Nonetheless, the GNex has many other positive attributes. But I don't use my phone for business. If I did, I don't think I would keep this phone due to the audio quality.

I am a classicaly trained musician that can read and play music. I hear fine, probably better than you. The OP, who obviously isn't hear, lol, any more had problems with the audio quality. I was pointing out that in his post he commented about audio quality with Slacker Radio. He never even bothered to try listening to music stored on the device. Hence a moron. If it ain't on the device then don't blame the device. So before you claim to be an audiophile or a tech person I would exhaust all possibilities.

Flute, Saxophone and Trombone.

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[blazin247]

This is exactly what came to mind when I read his post. The supplied ear buds are crap. I have some decent ones and on the GNex they sound outstanding! The fact that he would judge the sound quality using those are a little perplexing.

The only audio issue I've run into is the lower than usual volume level and I've pretty much gotten used to that. Still hoping it will be addressed in an update though.

The sound quality (not volume- the volume sucks...by the way what was that app suggested for increasing the volume? Not Volume+, there was another.) is pretty decent, but I can definitely tell a difference when I switch to my iPod Touch. I'm probably one of the tone deaf, but even I can hear a difference and I have pretty great IEM's.. Actually, and ironically, the best sounding MP3 player I own is my little cheapo Sansa Clip...not sure why.

 

[darreno1]

The sound quality (not volume- the volume sucks...by the way what was that app suggested for increasing the volume? Not Volume+, there was another.) is pretty decent, but I can definitely tell a difference when I switch to my iPod Touch. I'm probably one of the tone deaf, but even I can hear a difference and I have pretty great IEM's.. Actually, and ironically, the best sounding MP3 player I own is my little cheapo Sansa Clip...not sure why.

What app are you using to listen with? There are several good apps in the Market that make a difference - one that comes to mind is Winamp. Also are you using an equalizer? There are many variables to consider.

 

[PetuniaCarlyle]

I am a classicaly trained musician that can read and play music. I hear fine, probably better than you. The OP, who obviously isn't hear, lol, any more had problems with the audio quality. I was pointing out that in his post he commented about audio quality with Slacker Radio. He never even bothered to try listening to music stored on the device. Hence a moron. If it ain't on the device then don't blame the device. So before you claim to be an audiophile or a tech person I would exhaust all possibilities.

Flute, Saxophone and Trombone.

Well I am an otolaryngologist, circus performer AND an Indian chief who can hear subsonic frequencies. LOL!

Seriously, this phone has its positive attributes, but audio quality ain't one of them.

 

[NewAge]

I am a classicaly trained musician that can read and play music. I hear fine, probably better than you. The OP, who obviously isn't hear, lol, any more had problems with the audio quality. I was pointing out that in his post he commented about audio quality with Slacker Radio. He never even bothered to try listening to music stored on the device. Hence a moron. If it ain't on the device then don't blame the device. So before you claim to be an audiophile or a tech person I would exhaust all possibilities.

Flute, Saxophone and Trombone.

Sent from my Xoom using Tapatalk

I was going to comment on this same fact.

He uses Slacker and Tune? And says it sounds crappy on Gnex but Pandora on iPhone sounds great? Well at least do a similar comparison and try Pandora on android because it sounds great imo.
Slacker is crap. I have no problems with music quality on Google music, Pandora, Youtube. Phone quality is average after coming from Motorola, but acceptable for sure.

 

[blazin247]

What app are you using to listen with? There are several good apps in the Market that make a difference - one that comes to mind is Winamp. Also are you using an equalizer? There are many variables to consider.

I've got a few. I didn't like the UI of Winamp so I don't use it, but I also have powerAmp, MixZing, Google Music, etc. I like the UI of MixZing the most, but powerAMP has the best settings options and equalizer.

 

[davidnc]

While I have yet to see a phone yet that is perfect in every single category,I do read the other threads regarding phones I do not have.
However, yup there is an however lol .For me the Nexus is working as close to perfection as I would expect of a phone being so new. I personally do not have an issue major enough to complain about actually none unless I nix pic , obviously opinons will vary .....they always do

 

[caineo]

I appreciate your comments, and share many of them. EQ wouldn't help the major sound issue, which was one of clarity. Phone calls sounded 25% "under water" no matter how strong my carrier signal- on both GNex phones. EQ might well have helped the low end on the music.

I fully expect, as Ahnold would say, "I'll be back." This is just what works for me at this time.

 

[jamisont]

Like I said, some people are just tone deaf.

I have a GNex and am not getting rid of it. The first one had a bum speaker and mic. This one doesn't have the crackling/popping the other one did and the mic hasn't cut out on me (yet). However, the audio quality is not great on this phone, either. Nor was the audio quality high on any of the display phones in 2 corporate stores that I visited that had multiple GNex on display when compared to the Razrs and the Rezounds next to them.

Nonetheless, the GNex has many other positive attributes. But I don't use my phone for business. If I did, I don't think I would keep this phone due to the audio quality.

first. i dont care about personal opnions on something, arguing about that is just wasting of time and energy..
but.. OP claimed he was a high tech career dude and a musician. and the way he addressed the issue is purely amateur of amateur. he could have shared some of his knowledge (if there's any) on this issue with his professional point of view, instead he just jumped to conclusion and how sux it is.

and you. u could think the sound quality on GNex is bad, thats ur pure opnion but ppl who dont agree with u a deaf?

maybe you should tell supercurio how deaf he is.

#GalaxyNexus #VoodooSound features I'll be able to implement (hardware) Analog HP gain, Mono switch. High perf instead of low power mode.

Concretely, with #WM8994 #VoodooSound, I feel the sound more "fluid" especially mids, also with better stereo separation. Something unique

#GalaxyNexus sound is great&everything (in High-perf mode!) but after a quick comparison I still like WM8994 #VoodooSound magic touch better

By black I mean no hiss, no noise, nothing at all. #GalaxyNexus might become the ultimate performer with isolating and sensitive in-ears.

Even better: when playing with #GalaxyNexus analog headphone amp gain it becomes totally black even with very sensitive in-ears. Awesome.

Yeah! I found analog headphone amp gain registers for #GalaxyNexus. and it works! A few more dB can be squeezed out of the amp.

For me the fact that #GalaxyNexus has a good audio potential is really a relief

Another #GalaxyNexus audio strong point: it catches no noise from my crappy USB hub. No CPU noise whatsoever either

.@elfary74 note: minus this tone appearing when there's no signal played. I consider stock #GalaxyNexus audio performance > iPhone/iPad SQ.

Yeah! 15s of music listening with #GalaxyNexus tells me there's a very nice potential here! (and it's quite good already)

 

[jamisont]

Well I am an otolaryngologist, circus performer AND an Indian chief who can hear subsonic frequencies. LOL!

Seriously, this phone has its positive attributes, but audio quality ain't one of them.

and you think rezound sound quality is good? lmao. that was main reason Y didnt bother with rezound. it sux other than rap/hiphop.


sensation XL with Ibeat
Test Frequency response Noise level Dynamic range THD IMD + Noise Stereo crosstalk

HTC Sensation XL +3.35, -0.42 -85.2 87.2 0.025 0.084 -75.1
HTC Sensation XL +3.77, -0.54 -80.2 81.2 0.072 0.569 -64.2 (with headphone)

Test Frequency response Noise level Dynamic range THD IMD + Noise Stereo crosstalk
Samsung Galaxy Nexus +0.11, -0.69 -90.6 90.6 0.0085 0.014 -91.8
Samsung Galaxy Nexus +0.41, -0.61 -89.5 89.5 0.097 0.267 -63.5 (with headphone)

Now I hope u can explain how ibeat is better than GNex when it comes to audio quality.

ps: do urself a favor.. go head-fi.org and search for ibeat/galaxy nexus/ or rezound.
its funny to find ppl who claim they're pros but dunno basics even. i came across a semi pro photographer claiming GNex's camera was horrible on other forum but he doesnt know anything about lens.. funny isnt it?

 

[blazin247]

JamisonT, you are getting a bit too bent out of shape. I think the point the OP was making, albeit in a convoluted manner, was that while the phone is good, it's just not "up to par" for him. And that's fine. It's his opinion. Yes, he shouldn't have made a big fuss about being a musician, etc., but ultimately, it's his opinion. I don't think ANYTHING on the GNex is horrible except the cell signal, and while that is fact and not opinion for myself and many others, it's not representative of the whole user base. The point is, don't get so worked up over an opinion you disagree with, even if they are trying to pass their opinion off as fact based on their resume. I could very well be tone deaf, but I, personally, do not think the sound that comes out of my GNex on my pretty decent IEM's is near the quality that I hear out of my iPod touch or Sansa Clip. There could be twenty different explanations for this (faulty hardware, software settings, imperfections in the track, etc), but the end difference is the same, and is my opinion on the matter. Relax.

 

[bignaz]

Your complaining about the sound with the included ear buds? lol. They were free what do you expect.

I got a degree in Electronics Engineering and i work at a place manufacturing very high end audio i cant disclose the names but its very high end.

Sound with Volume + is fine. Stock without it i found the phone to still be loud enough when playing music with headphones. I never used the stock earbuds that came with the phone because they suck. I tested my Bose QC15 and without volume + it was loud and clear. Sounded pretty nice. Audez'e LCD-2 Planar Magnetic and Audio-Technica ATH-M50S sounded great. However most people are playing mp3's and what not that has been compressed to death.

If you want perfect audio you not going to be playing mp3's on your phone with stock ear buds. Your going to go down and buy a top tier $200+ headphones and the other necessary equipment to enjoy the music. Perhaps you should of got a HTC Rezound for the super high end "Beats" lol im joking beats is crap.


With the right settings listening to formats that were not compressed to death and some headphones that are not crap my Gnex sounds awesome.


On a side note the Gnex sucks because i can not replace the op amps with higher quality amps QQ. I'm so mad how can i provide high end dj services at party's with my phone without the ability to do this. I'm taking my Gnex back right now this think sucks. It has no reason to not provide me with the same sound quality as a $4,000 receiver wither its a phone or not.