Is the iPhone 4 the best phone for listening to music?

[JimFoster]

First post, here it goes. I own a SGS2 at the moment. I like it. But I don't rate it for listening to music through earphones. I am using some Sennheiser CX300s which are not the best but much better than any bundled earphones.

I've been reading about Wolfson DAC/headphone amp parts like the wm8994 and so forth. I believe the iPhone has used Cirrus parts for a few years.

So which phones deliver a good loud sound through the earphones? It annoys me that reviewers rarely cover these areas. And even the manufacturers don't really bother publishing audio specs. Music is a killer app for me.

I might have to move on to the iPhone 5 or a Nokia Windows Phone in a few months. The SGS2 is not a great mp3 player imho.

 

[Sir Ruben]

I have both handsets at the moment and can confirm that the iPhone4 produces the better sound via my CX500's (i think they are).

 

[shadowjeff]

Think the iphone 4 is the best music player right now. The sound quality through the headphone out is pretty decent and it's a much better music player than android phones.

 

[decafjava]

Agree iPhone 4 is the best right now but for goodness sake get some better earphones than the stock ones.

 

[Kyotoma]

The iPhone 4 is amazing with audio. I use a pair of Sennheiser CX475s and they deliver great quality and clarity via both streaming and use of the iPod app. Apple Lossless or WAV files ftw.

 

[dccorona]

Think the iphone 4 is the best music player right now. The sound quality through the headphone out is pretty decent and it's a much better music player than android phones.

as far as sound quality, the iPhone is NOT the best

it is however, the best in the category of smartphones

 

[amazingdm]

ABSOLUTELY NOT! No crossfade!

 

[itsmemuffins]

ABSOLUTELY NOT! No crossfade!

I guffawed.

 

[virtuatony]

I would have to say the best smartphone for listening to music is the iPhone 4, best sound quality, and tons of accessories.

I have owned/tested the Samsung Galaxy S II, Motorola Atrix 4G, HTC Desire HD, Palm Pre 2, iPhone 3GS, iPhone 3G, and the original iPhone.

To my ears listening un-amped with Shure SE530 IEMs or B&W P5s, the iPhone 4 is definitely the best sounding.

 

[Boeing747]

I guffawed.

dude omg i actually swiped at my screen and then tried again when that 'bug' didn't go away lol nice pic

 

[MxChino]

First post, here it goes. I own a SGS2 at the moment. I like it. But I don't rate it for listening to music through earphones. I am using some Sennheiser CX300s which are not the best but much better than any bundled earphones.

I've been reading about Wolfson DAC/headphone amp parts like the wm8994 and so forth. I believe the iPhone has used Cirrus parts for a few years.

So which phones deliver a good loud sound through the earphones? It annoys me that reviewers rarely cover these areas. And even the manufacturers don't really bother publishing audio specs. Music is a killer app for me.

I might have to move on to the iPhone 5 or a Nokia Windows Phone in a few months. The SGS2 is not a great mp3 player imho.

It's one of the best yes. The original galaxy s phones and nexus s all have the Wolfson wm8994 which is a very high quality Dac. With voodoo sound control they all sound FANTASTIC. Without voodoo they're just ok.

Keep in mind the galaxy s 2 does not have the Wolfson chip, it has a crappy yamaha. It's honestly the only thing about the phone that samsung went cheap on.

Back to the iPhone the sound quality with the stock player is above average and better than any touch or classic.

Now if you download the app equ things change drastically. With a full equalizer the music just comes alive. This is what I use and paired with my westone um3x it's just one step under pheonominal. While it's not quite as full sounding as a cowon it's damn close and the convenience of a phone and dap all in one you would have to pry it out of my cold dead hands.

 

[Savor]

http://macintoshhowto.com/itunes/which-ipod-has-the-best-audio-quality.html

If you are just comparing iPhones, the original iPhone is the best. The iPhone 3G has the Wolfson WG6180 and comes in second. The 3GS sounds terrible, but thankfully Apple improved the audio slightly for the 4G a bit but it’s still certainly not as good as the 3G was. The 5G will feature the wolfson chip again.

 

[bandofbrothers]

dude omg i actually swiped at my screen and then tried again when that 'bug' didn't go away lol nice pic

Me too !

How the heck do you get that ?

 

[yly3]

Best music phone in history is Nokia N91. Before you bash, do your homework. I had the pleasure of owning that phone and I still miss it. I wish Nokia made an update

On topic my Nano 6G has I think around 30-35% better audio quality than the iPhone 4. But totally different products. However I think the iPhone will be more than enough but I cannot say I am over impressed. It's all subjective.