So today I bought a new pair of headphone. Nothing special just a pair of budget ones (Sennheiser CX 300 ii). I used them first on my iPhone 6 + and then on my macbook. It was like night and day the difference. Now obviously the macbook will have a better soundcard than the iphone but I think the iphone should perform better. I read when the iPhone was just about to be released that it apparently lacked HD audio or something like that. Is that something they could add in?
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Subpar audio quality on iPhone 6?
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No they can't. Your phone might be defective. The sound on the 6/6+ is about on par with the other iPhones-4, 4S, 5, 5S. Decent.
Go to an Apple store with your headphones and see how the display phones sound.
Make sure your headphones are fully seated in the iPhone. Sometimes that last click takes some pressure.
Actually I don't know if it is placebo or not, but i've used the earphones for a little while now and it sounds a lot better. The mac has a little better clarity in the sound though and more treble. I was probably too quick on making this thread haha.
I think the audio quality on the iPhone 6 is the best yet. And I've been using the same pair of earphone (Ultimate Ears Super.fi 5 Extended Bass) with every iPhone since the 3G.
Audio quality on all iPhones have never been that good. It's actually one department I never see Apple addressing or boasting about. Seems like they just don't care.
Same here, the 6+ has very good sound thru speaker.
It is good thru earpiece also, but you have to the sweet spot.
That's objectively untrue. Apple has been using custom Cirrus Logic DAC's in the iPhone & iPad for years and the amp in the iPhone 6 is among the best in the industry (in a mobile phone -- for true audiophiles only an external will do).
From Anandtech's Review, Audio Section: http://www.anandtech.com/show/8554/the-iphone-6-review/11
Definitely not. I won't waste my time listing it out for you, but many other smartphones come with better audio. If you don't already know, do a google search 
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Definitely not. I won't waste my time listing it out for you, but many other smartphones come with better audio. If you don't already know, do a google search
Absolute truth. Some devices out there are AMAZING. Like literally mind blowing amazement that anything could sound so good. The original Galaxy S was one (after rooting to get around Samsung's disabling of the chip (WTF?!?)). Sadly that audio hardware didn't make it into subsequent versions. Apple sound is OK, at best, and with lack of any good software EQ options, meh.
I will just go by my ears as opposed to reviews.
This is exactly it! With speakers, what is said on paper doesn't necessarily mean you're going to like it. Your ears don't lie
Really? I think I'll disregard your opinion.
Software EQ Lordy
So you have a nice analog all valve EQ inline between your iPhone and your class A final stage? Do you hand wind your speaker coils with 24 carat gold wire?
My goodness, what do you do for capacitance? Large laser aligned stainless steel plates sealed in hard vacuum in the basement? Whoa. I guess you connect everything with Monster Cables and listen only with the most expensive Beats headphones. And have a Bluetooth.
Gee what would I know about sound compared to you? Sorry, I'll just bud out and go back to messing with my old violin once and a while.
While I assume you said all that technical jargon to prove a point, I truly am curious on whether you researched the DAC used by apple in their phones. If so, are they any good?
The only reason why I ask is because you two seem to be one of the rare situations where you claim the iphone doesn't have good sound quality. The reason why Im curious about this is because generally, unamped, the iphone (including past) are lauded to be one of the best phones to listen to music through. The community at head-fi thinks so as well which Im sure has multiple people who can understand your jargon, which I personally dont
edit: also I am familiar with people hyping up the wolfson that was in the galaxy S. For every person that said the wolfson was super amazing, there were people who said the Cirrus Logic CLI1560B0 in the 4s was comparable or even better.
edit 2. again this isn't an attack. I genuinely am curious on whether or not you're super versed/technical when it comes to DAC's. If you are, I was hoping you could explain to me the quality of the new 6 (Cirrus Logic 338S1201) compared to the prior models.
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Yea, I figgured.
At least your not as bad as those dudes who can't stand to have anything between them and the purest sound waves and have to have groups of pre-pubescent unblemished virgins following them around in white robes, caroling - whipping them once and a while to give the sound "that edge."
iPhone 5S had better sound from the headphone jack than the 6/6plus IMO.
5S was loud, bass was punchy, very powerful, and clear.
6 has... more echo, like exaggerated stereo, and sound is a little more flat. Bass softer too.
I think they "tuned" the headphone jack to produce great sound with Beats headphones, which I think have their own built-in amp and sound modification processor of some kind.
All just my theory, but the 6/6+ definitely doesn't sound the same as prior models...
5S was loud, bass was punchy, very powerful, and clear.
6 has... more echo, like exaggerated stereo, and sound is a little more flat. Bass softer too.
I think they "tuned" the headphone jack to produce great sound with Beats headphones, which I think have their own built-in amp and sound modification processor of some kind.
All just my theory, but the 6/6+ definitely doesn't sound the same as prior models...