Related
Are you guys having any problems with stereo sound quality playback or
sound quality (both ends) during calls?
I'm getting a black Jawbone for handling calls but I would like to be able to
listen to music or watch video on the commute to and from work without
having the 'train/subway' in my head.
Is the S9 from Motorola good at pairing up with the Hermes (X01HT in my
case) and holding the connection? Do all the remote features on the S9 headset
work with the S9/Hermes pairing?
Thanks in advance for any advice you may have.
hey man. the s9 are great...the best stereo headset hands down! its like jaw dropping. the controls on the side is very sensitive. its not like an actually button besides the talk/end button. the audio controls are like touch control. HOWEVER, the actual headset for phone calls is horrible...most stereo headsets use both sides to listen to the caller...however this one only allows hearing the caller on the LEFT ear...that is the only downside. if you're coming from the jawbone...it is night and day...but for music/video purposes its great. i use it for my ipod now
truciet said:
hey man. the s9 are great...the best stereo headset hands down! its like jaw dropping. the controls on the side is very sensitive. its not like an actually button besides the talk/end button. the audio controls are like touch control. HOWEVER, the actual headset for phone calls is horrible...most stereo headsets use both sides to listen to the caller...however this one only allows hearing the caller on the LEFT ear...that is the only downside. if you're coming from the jawbone...it is night and day...but for music/video purposes its great. i use it for my ipod now
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Cool, I was worried about stereo sound quality over BT since BT isn't known
for great sound quality to begin with. I have heard that the S9 are only
average for calls but that's going to be the Jawbone's job.
So all the button features like answer/end, volume up/down, play/pause
and forward/back tracks all work with the Hermes based phone?
I love the S9. the audio and the controls all work wonderfully.
The phone aspect isn't really good, it picks up a lot of background noise and it can be a bit difficult to annunciate into it.
As a music headset it is GREAT. great sound. Louder than it needs to be and great frequency range
I use the S9 quite a bit. The sound quality is fantastic and the volume can get quite loud. You'll often see me at starbucks listening to streaming internet radio with my S9/8525.
As far as call quality, it's not too bad. you only get call audio out of the left earbud, since the mic is in the right one. There's pretty good compression going on with the mic, so you really don't have to raise your voice at all. However, callers on the other end complain about background sound if I'm in a noisy place, so use it accordingly.
( I use the JawBone also, especially for long calls where background noise would be unacceptable. )
Radimus said:
I love the S9. the audio and the controls all work wonderfully.
The phone aspect isn't really good, it picks up a lot of background noise and it can be a bit difficult to annunciate into it.
As a music headset it is GREAT. great sound. Louder than it needs to be and great frequency range
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Louder than needed is always better than "I wish it could be louder". I was
hoping that it would not be underpowered. Thanks for bringing that point up
as I didn't read that in any of the online reviews out there. Plus, I always
think those reviews aren't so 'real life' anyways. Here on XDA-developers
you get the 'actual real life' reviews with no worries that someone is getting
paid to prop the product up for profit.
Call quality is a concern but I figured into that an ordered a Jawbone based
on the great reviews its received here on XDA.
Thanks for your input.
roboHaxx said:
I use the S9 quite a bit. The sound quality is fantastic and the volume can get quite loud. You'll often see me at starbucks listening to streaming internet radio with my S9/8525.
As far as call quality, it's not too bad. you only get call audio out of the left earbud, since the mic is in the right one. There's pretty good compression going on with the mic, so you really don't have to raise your voice at all. However, callers on the other end complain about background sound if I'm in a noisy place, so use it accordingly.
( I use the JawBone also, especially for long calls where background noise would be unacceptable. )
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's really good to hear that the S9 is NOT underpowered volume wise.
You can always turn it down but it really does suck when the sound is weak.
I would figure some of that loudness maybe due to what looks like a really
good fit (seal) of the headset to the ear causing a good block of surrounding
sounds.
It's too bad about call quality because that is usually one of Motorola only
strong points in most of their products. Oh well, I guess the other one being
looks has been achieved with the S9.
The background noise issue is the same reason I'm getting the Jawbone. I
have had the same complaint with the OEM wired headset that came with
the X01HT. People just don't want to talk to you when it gets hard to
understand you. Plus it really just doesn't help if you're trying to handle
a situation that needs no extra stress added like that loud background
noise. It's too bad because the caller's voice comes in nice and clear through
those OEM stereo headsets. Sometimes it's kind of creepy because it's too
clear and it sounds as if they're right in your head.
Thanks for your input.
I had the s9 for about a month. It was great for music and video via Coreplayer. No skipping on my 8525 with the lastest rom. Call quality was decent, but I bought it for the music. Now, the bad news, my S9 just died on me a couple days ago and wouldn't charge. I finally got it to work ,sortof, but the controls on the right side don't respond. Called Motorola and got a return authorization. Will be sending it back. Hope it was just a fluke. Just some info. With coreplayer the S9 controls play/pause skip/ff didn't work. But volume and phone control worked.
guamlaw said:
I had the s9 for about a month. It was great for music and video via Coreplayer. No skipping on my 8525 with the lastest rom. Call quality was decent, but I bought it for the music. Now, the bad news, my S9 just died on me a couple days ago and wouldn't charge. I finally got it to work ,sortof, but the controls on the right side don't respond. Called Motorola and got a return authorization. Will be sending it back. Hope it was just a fluke. Just some info. With coreplayer the S9 controls play/pause skip/ff didn't work. But volume and phone control worked.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did you buy direct from Motorola? I just placed an order from an 'online shop'
so I hope I don't have any problems down the road. If I do, I hope I can deal
with MOTO directly since they 'sometimes' tend to be a bit more on the ball.
Plus most online shops will tell you to go directly to the manufacturer to deal
with warranty issues anyways so you never know who's handling warranty.
Good luck with the warranty exchange and I hope it all works out for you.
Thanks for the heads up on the non-functioning buttons with Coreplayer.
I did want to point out a few details before I posted my review of them over at mobilitysite
Pro: USB charging... 1 cable to rule them all
Pro: only 1 blinking light, relatively subdued and it is facing the back of your neck while worn
Pro: will turn itself off after an hour if I fall asleep or an otherwise careless
Con: my fat fingers aren't really sensitive enough to find the little controls while worn
Con: it doesn't quite feel right on my big fat head... don't know if it is because it has to spread out a bit to get around my head or if I'm just not used to it. In any case it is very secure and isn't going to slip off.
Con: No way of determining battery life.. is it good for an hour or 8 hours?
Con: not quite flexible enough to store or a clip for a lanyard, although it is an easy fix to tie something to it
Radimus said:
I did want to point out a few details before I posted my review of them over at mobilitysite
Pro: USB charging... 1 cable to rule them all
Pro: only 1 blinking light, relatively subdued and it is facing the back of your neck while worn
Pro: will turn itself off after an hour if I fall asleep or an otherwise careless
Con: my fat fingers aren't really sensitive enough to find the little controls while worn
Con: it doesn't quite feel right on my big fat head... don't know if it is because it has to spread out a bit to get around my head or if I'm just not used to it. In any case it is very secure and isn't going to slip off.
Con: No way of determining battery life.. is it good for an hour or 8 hours?
Con: not quite flexible enough to store or a clip for a lanyard, although it is an easy fix to tie something to it
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for breaking it down into pros vs cons.
I did not know that the S9 would shut it self down after an hour of inactivity.
That's cool since it should extent battery life a bit. The blinking LED is
hopefully not too noticeable by others, I hope.
Yeah, I've heard that the buttons can be a bit of a pain to deal with simply
because of the way they are made. I guess I'll just see how I rate in finger
size when I get these S9s sometime next week according to the website I
ordered them from.
AquiEsta! said:
Did you buy direct from Motorola? I just placed an order from an 'online shop'
so I hope I don't have any problems down the road. If I do, I hope I can deal
with MOTO directly since they 'sometimes' tend to be a bit more on the ball.
Plus most online shops will tell you to go directly to the manufacturer to deal
with warranty issues anyways so you never know who's handling warranty.
Good luck with the warranty exchange and I hope it all works out for you.
Thanks for the heads up on the non-functioning buttons with Coreplayer.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I bought my S9 from an online shop as well, so i'm hoping that motorola wont give me a hard time when I turn it in for repair. In the meangtime I just ordered a sony hbh-ds-970 as a backup.
guamlaw said:
I bought my S9 from an online shop as well, so i'm hoping that motorola wont give me a hard time when I turn it in for repair. In the meangtime I just ordered a sony hbh-ds-970 as a backup.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's going to be Christmas in June for me when the Jawbone and the S9 arrive
this week and next week. Hopefully I won't have trouble with either one
of them because warranty returns are such a PITA.
Here is the link to my junior review...
http://www.mobilitysite.com/boards/...-s9-stereo-bluetooth-headphones-unboxing.html
Radimus said:
Here is the link to my junior review...
http://www.mobilitysite.com/boards/...-s9-stereo-bluetooth-headphones-unboxing.html
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nice review and pictures.
"geek jewelry" ROFLMA
For me its a 7.5 out of ten. Two things i dont like, it hurts my left ears just a little if i keep it in there for long, and that you only hear from the left side when talking on the phone... other from that i'm ok with it.
S9 - Not perfect, but very nice
The Motorola S9 is a really nice little headset.
I find it a bit weak on bass, but I’m coming from a Motorola V3i (non-iTunes) with Motorola wired USB stereo headset, and that is one of the most impressive low cost sets of ear buds I’ve ever worn. Not sure how they did that! Note that Motorola wired USB headsets do NOT work on the Hermes, which is a shame, because the HTC wired headset is real junk.
The only glitchy things I’ve seen so far with the S9 and the Hermes / 8525 are:
After hanging up a call, music resumes, but sometimes skips badly for 10-20 seconds. A couple times pressing answer has given only a hum in the left ear, and no ability to talk or listen. Hopefully, the final versions of the Win Mob 6 Bluetooth stack will take care of this.
The S9 ships with 2 different sets of rubber “nubs” to cover the speakers. The default ones that come installed are small, and can be removed and rotated to really direct the sound into your ear as best as possible for different sizes and shapes of ears. In a little bag, you will find a spare set of the default nubs, but ALSO a larger set that have a very soft rubber membrane that floats over a harder rubber inner tube. Some users may find these more comfortable, as they do not intrude into your ear as far.
Personally, I don’t mind the fact that it switches to left ear only for voice calls, I’ve never been all that keen on that “you’re inside my head” sensation of stereo headsets when used for monaural voice.
Remember that on a stock Cingular ROM with Win Mob 5, this headset will basically sound like “mono”, not stereo, but that’s not Motorola’s fault, it's M$'s atrocious BT stack!
Good points:
- really, REALLY light, yet stays in place no matter what
- AV and phone controls work properly with HTC Hermes & Windows Mobile
- Rubber ear nubs direct sound into your ears without need for itchy foam covers
- Really soft touch activation of volume and FF/REW buttons (prevents displacment of the headset while adjusting the most common controls)
Not so good points:
- No indication of how much battery charge is left
- A little weak on bass response
- Not enough tactile difference to easily distinguish between play and answer buttons vs volume and FF/REW buttons
- Picks up room noise really badly in phone mode - works best in quiet(er) locations.
haiti525 said:
The Motorola S9 is a really nice little headset.
I find it a bit weak on bass, but I’m coming from a Motorola V3i (non-iTunes) with Motorola wired USB stereo headset, and that is one of the most impressive low cost sets of ear buds I’ve ever worn. Not sure how they did that! Note that Motorola wired USB headsets do NOT work on the Hermes, which is a shame, because the HTC wired headset is real junk.
The only glitchy things I’ve seen so far with the S9 and the Hermes / 8525 are:
After hanging up a call, music resumes, but sometimes skips badly for 10-20 seconds. A couple times pressing answer has given only a hum in the left ear, and no ability to talk or listen. Hopefully, the final versions of the Win Mob 6 Bluetooth stack will take care of this.
The S9 ships with 2 different sets of rubber “nubs” to cover the speakers. The default ones that come installed are small, and can be removed and rotated to really direct the sound into your ear as best as possible for different sizes and shapes of ears. In a little bag, you will find a spare set of the default nubs, but ALSO a larger set that have a very soft rubber membrane that floats over a harder rubber inner tube. Some users may find these more comfortable, as they do not intrude into your ear as far.
Personally, I don’t mind the fact that it switches to left ear only for voice calls, I’ve never been all that keen on that “you’re inside my head” sensation of stereo headsets when used for monaural voice.
Remember that on a stock Cingular ROM with Win Mob 5, this headset will basically sound like “mono”, not stereo, but that’s not Motorola’s fault, it's M$'s atrocious BT stack!
Good points:
- really, REALLY light, yet stays in place no matter what
- AV and phone controls work properly with HTC Hermes & Windows Mobile
- Rubber ear nubs direct sound into your ears without need for itchy foam covers
- Really soft touch activation of volume and FF/REW buttons (prevents displacment of the headset while adjusting the most common controls)
Not so good points:
- No indication of how much battery charge is left
- A little weak on bass response
- Not enough tactile difference to easily distinguish between play and answer buttons vs volume and FF/REW buttons
- Picks up room noise really badly in phone mode - works best in quiet(er) locations.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for your review. You filled a few more of the blanks that I was trying
to figure out. I hope the bass response won't be an issue for me but then
again I like to 'feel' my bass and these are just headphones so I don't expect
be getting 'rocked' by them is what I'm telling myself long before they arrive.
OMG!!! BASS and lots of it!!! I am using GSPlayer with the sound settings
VERY tweaked to my taste and even with BassBoost at minimum I am getting
more bass then I would have imagined possible with a BT stereo headset.
Of course you must have really good, clean 192KBps or better MP3s to begin
with and if you ripped them yourself at 320KBps, then you're just enjoying
better then can be expected results with a BT stereo headset.
Me likely!
Once I manage to wipe the stupid smile off my face I will be back to
update my findings for anyone still on the fence thinking about getting
one of these Motorola S9's and needing a slight shove.
I put on the large silicon ear fittings and the bass is incredible.
With the latest ROM's and improved BT drivers I am now able to leave the phone next to the wall about 12 feet behind the basketball goal and shoot pro 3-pointers all day without skipping a beat. And that's while streaming with iPlay from my desktop at home. The microphone isn't the best but if someone calls you can talk, get rid of them, and get back to shooting and jamming in no time. We're getting there...
Is the Galaxy S II worth upgrading to from a Desire HD? Other than the extra camera and the processor I don't see much of a difference. Help me out cause I'm on the fence.
I wouldn't buy an SGS2 but if it comes with a plan it's a nice upgrade
Yes
Sent from my GT-I9100 using XDA Premium App
d19375 said:
Is the Galaxy S II worth upgrading to from a Desire HD? Other than the extra camera and the processor I don't see much of a difference. Help me out cause I'm on the fence.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
as you can see in my signature i come from a desire hd as well. compared with the dhd the sgs2 is superior in almost all things:
WAY better screen (although some people have problems with yellowish tint, dead pixels, ...),
far more processing power,
better cam,
WAY better internal speaker and sound quality (you can use the speaker phone with almost no distortion with high volumes),
nice look and feel (first i feared the "plastic" look, but i got used to it and like it now),
much less weight,
to name only what comes to my mind!
so if you trust me, switch to the SGS2, you won't regret it!
d19375 said:
Is the Galaxy S II worth upgrading to from a Desire HD? Other than the extra camera and the processor I don't see much of a difference. Help me out cause I'm on the fence.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
IT's worth it. This device...2GB ROM, 1GB RAM, 1.2Ghz Dual Core which android isn't even completely reeady for yet. The GSII won't be outdated for a long time. Yes, there are the quad cores at year end and about this time next year, but the GSII will still be able to keep up. Don't see more than 1GB RAM in a phone any time soon!
Yes upgrade .
jje
Thank you people for your replies, as I too am seriously considering the upgrade.
I have heard a lot of positive things about the speaker.
The one thing, is music quality through headphones, compared to the DHD. I listen to a lot of music and love the SRS. I use PowerAMP, and understand you can use an equalizer as well.
Your thoughts on music quality through headphones?
Much appreciated
Sent from my Desire HD using XDA Premium App
muzens said:
Thank you people for your replies, as I too am seriously considering the upgrade.
I have heard a lot of positive things about the speaker.
The one thing, is music quality through headphones, compared to the DHD. I listen to a lot of music and love the SRS. I use PowerAMP, and understand you can use an equalizer as well.
Your thoughts on music quality through headphones?
Much appreciated
Sent from my Desire HD using XDA Premium App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The headphones fit nicer in the ear, because they're the soft rubber (circular-squidgy) style, compared to my old HTC hard earphones with only a thin layer of foam for softness.
However the quality still isn't that good, but then again I am comparing to Bose in-ear headphones which I've gotten used to over the past year.
The quality compared with my iTouch playing a song bought from iTunes, is better. I didn't think it would be but playing Poppiholla - so it's got the bass, treble and a range of different sounds, is better. Of course, the improvement is barely noticeable, but one thing I really do like, is the fact at the top right of the player there's a 5.1 surround sound button. This actually works. I could hear the sound of the song change and it sounded really good. It felt as if it were coming from behind me.
So yes, the quality of sound through ear-phones is damn impressive. I just tested it now. (also if you're playing music, you can tap the home button or unlock the screen and a small widget/console/3 buttons slide in from the top making it easy to skip, rewind/go back or pause the music)
daivik said:
The headphones fit nicer in the ear, because they're the soft rubber (circular-squidgy) style, compared to my old HTC hard earphones with only a thin layer of foam for softness.
However the quality still isn't that good, but then again I am comparing to Bose in-ear headphones which I've gotten used to over the past year.
The quality compared with my iTouch playing a song bought from iTunes, is better. I didn't think it would be but playing Poppiholla - so it's got the bass, treble and a range of different sounds, is better. Of course, the improvement is barely noticeable, but one thing I really do like, is the fact at the top right of the player there's a 5.1 surround sound button. This actually works. I could hear the sound of the song change and it sounded really good. It felt as if it were coming from behind me.
So yes, the quality of sound through ear-phones is damn impressive. I just tested it now. (also if you're playing music, you can tap the home button or unlock the screen and a small widget/console/3 buttons slide in from the top making it easy to skip, rewind/go back or pause the music)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you very much for the reply, I use a pair of Shure SE210's which I am very happy with. It was just that I had heard lots of comments about the speaker but little about the sound quality through a decent pair of head/earphones.
Thanks again
muzens said:
Thank you very much for the reply, I use a pair of Shure SE210's which I am very happy with. It was just that I had heard lots of comments about the speaker but little about the sound quality through a decent pair of head/earphones.
Thanks again
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I can say that both are good. I was streaming off my NAS Box this morning. Sound quality from it was really good. I had it below half volume and the speaker was a surprisingly good quality, and I was listening to rock (which if I tried to do the same on my Desire, would be very distorted)
Of course the loud speaker comes down to a fair bit of personal opinion, the fact that is on the back, but it's on the bottom of the back - the slightly thicker bit - which is in contact with the surface you put it on. I think it's the sound bouncing back off the surface that actually creates a good sound. Used it on a wooden table and table cloth and the sound quality was good on both.
So, I got my One yesterday and I've been playing around with it quite a bit since then. I have to say that the speakers didn't really blow me away, but they are a lot better than most phones I have heard. I think it is quite silly of HTC to be bombarding the TV with commercials about the speakers when the camera is a better feature in my opinion. Anyways, I tried the included headphones and was pretty disappointed with them. They felt cheap as hell and I thought that the sound coming out of them was pretty crap. Thankfully, I recently purchased a pair of Klipsch Image x10s so I threw them on and I was very impressed with the sound coming out of the phone. It is super powerful. I am listening at 75-80% right now and it is almost painful. The Beats audio "enhancement" is pleasureable to me, but in reality is just adding some low end emphasis to the EQ settings. Still, it results in a fuller sound and I am porbably going to leave it on permamnently given how night and day the difference is through the BoomSound speakers without it. I know a lot of people have been saying that the audio quality wouldn't be as good as the S4 because that has the holy Wolfson DAC, but I have to say that I think the audio coming out of the One is clean, crisp, and has no appreciable noise as far as I can tell. What do you guys think?
Ya my wife usually makes fun of all my android phones when it comes to audio output volume / clarity compared to her iPhone. For the first time ever she was very impressed. That's as unbiased as it gets.
Sent from my HTC One using xda premium
NikAmi said:
So, I got my One yesterday and I've been playing around with it quite a bit since then. I have to say that the speakers didn't really blow me away, but they are a lot better than most phones I have heard. I think it is quite silly of HTC to be bombarding the TV with commercials about the speakers when the camera is a better feature in my opinion. Anyways, I tried the included headphones and was pretty disappointed with them. They felt cheap as hell and I thought that the sound coming out of them was pretty crap. Thankfully, I recently purchased a pair of Klipsch Image x10s so I threw them on and I was very impressed with the sound coming out of the phone. It is super powerful. I am listening at 75-80% right now and it is almost painful. The Beats audio "enhancement" is pleasureable to me, but in reality is just adding some low end emphasis to the EQ settings. Still, it results in a fuller sound and I am porbably going to leave it on permamnently given how night and day the difference is through the BoomSound speakers without it. I know a lot of people have been saying that the audio quality wouldn't be as good as the S4 because that has the holy Wolfson DAC, but I have to say that I think the audio coming out of the One is clean, crisp, and has no appreciable noise as far as I can tell. What do you guys think?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree. though I would argue the speakerphone is better than the camera, relative to my last phone at least, the note 2. speaker was pretty loud on that, but quality was bad. The one is louder and more clear for me, while I'm kinda meh about the picture quality.
attached files related.
first is with a 15w florescent bulb lighting my room at night and -2 sharpness, and the second is with my monitor being the only ambient light in night mode. Good? Yes. Better than my note 2 was? probably. Great? Eh.
though on a note: I was surprised in the second one: the photo is actually a little brighter than the scene was to my actual eyes. somewhatimpressed/10
I'm debating to move to the Z2 and I would very much appreciate any feedback from Z2 owners who have experience with the Note 3.
I am looking at the sound quality of the noise reduction in the headphones and the camera, which are two of the primary draws for me.
How does the sound and camera and overall speed compare in real world use?
donalgodon said:
I'm debating to move to the Z2 and I would very much appreciate any feedback from Z2 owners who have experience with the Note 3.
I am looking at the sound quality of the noise reduction in the headphones and the camera, which are two of the primary draws for me.
How does the sound and camera and overall speed compare in real world use?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Former Note 3 user here! In a nutshell, the Z2 is better.
Read my full honest review here - https://www.dropbox.com/s/mpxhmrbqc7dy6nk/Xperia Z2 FULL Review.txt
stanley08 said:
Former Note 3 user here! In a nutshell, the Z2 is better.
Read my full honest review here - https://www.dropbox.com/s/mpxhmrbqc7dy6nk/Xperia Z2 FULL Review.txt
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the response.
Does the 20.7 MP superior auto hack reduce the quality of the shots over the standard 8MP size superior auto mode?
Those gaps you mentioned in the review have me worried. I would have thought Sony would have that worked out by now, after the Z1 had the same problems.
How can anyone trust the water resistance like this?
stanley08 said:
Former Note 3 user here! In a nutshell, the Z2 is better.
Read my full honest review here - https://www.dropbox.com/s/mpxhmrbqc7dy6nk/Xperia Z2 FULL Review.txt
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I will be picking this phone up tommorow, have you noticed any serious over-heating or 4K camera recording issues? i.e phone random rebooting while recording video?
I was a former note 3 user and moved on to Z2.
A lot better software stability. More premium design and better handling regarding the smaller size compared to note 3. Unique amongst all samsung users. Waterproof mania and I've been using phones under water since xperia z. People informing they used it even with gaps and it's safe. Any pen stylus can be used and there is one made for sony (sony stylus es22). Camera is outstanding. 4k download is fun. Noise reduction is real. No need for opening flaps as magnetic charging does the job. Sound quality is really good inspite of the waterproof design. Only missing the IR blaster.
Overall u will never regret the switch!
Sent from my D6503 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
sevoflurane said:
I was a former note 3 user and moved on to Z2.
A lot better software stability. More premium design and better handling regarding the smaller size compared to note 3. Unique amongst all samsung users. Waterproof mania and I've been using phones under water since xperia z. People informing they used it even with gaps and it's safe. Any pen stylus can be used and there is one made for sony (sony stylus es22). Camera is outstanding. 4k download is fun. Noise reduction is real. No need for opening flaps as magnetic charging does the job. Sound quality is really good inspite of the waterproof design. Only missing the IR blaster.
Overall u will never regret the switch!
Sent from my D6503 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yea I have both devices at the moment I will play around with both to see what I like most. but I think I will take the sony z2 over the note 3. The screen on the z2 is a lot better then the note 3 the colours are much better. The note 3 is a good phone but the z2 wins on a few more things then the note. As for the gaps tho on the z2 it is true you do get them I had to go through 3 of them before I got one with out gaps. But im very happy with it. And it is still waterproof even with gaps. But when paying 900 for a phone I do not expect there to be gaps between the frame and screen. Some people will be fine with it and some will not. But I can honestly say out of all the other phones I have had they have never had gaps between the frame and screen
donalgodon said:
TThose gaps you mentioned in the review have me worried. I would have thought Sony would have that worked out by now, after the Z1 had the same problems.
How can anyone trust the water resistance like this?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
A lot of people with gaps of different sizes (including me) have taken the bullet and tested the waterproofing of the phone and we have all concluded that no gap has ever compromised the waterproofing. I've yet to see a report of someone saying the gap compromises the waterproofing of the phone. This is probably due to the construction of the phone as the plastic injection molding goes deeper into the phone and then sandwhiched by the glass.
christoph_2013 said:
I will be picking this phone up tommorow, have you noticed any serious over-heating or 4K camera recording issues? i.e phone random rebooting while recording video?
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Click to collapse
I personally have experienced over-heating only when recording 4k video for longer than 7 minutes. I think for most, if not all, of the over-heating cases the camera app just shuts off. I don't think anybody's phone ever rebooted due to over-heating from recording 4k.
christoph_2013 said:
I will be picking this phone up tommorow, have you noticed any serious over-heating or 4K camera recording issues? i.e phone random rebooting while recording video?
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I have not tried 4K recording, because i know i don't need it. But TBH, i never use my Video recorder really. Lol.
sevoflurane said:
I was a former note 3 user and moved on to Z2.
A lot better software stability. More premium design and better handling regarding the smaller size compared to note 3. Unique amongst all samsung users. Waterproof mania and I've been using phones under water since xperia z. People informing they used it even with gaps and it's safe. Any pen stylus can be used and there is one made for sony (sony stylus es22). Camera is outstanding. 4k download is fun. Noise reduction is real. No need for opening flaps as magnetic charging does the job. Sound quality is really good inspite of the waterproof design. Only missing the IR blaster.
Overall u will never regret the switch!
Sent from my D6503 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
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Very well said. IR blaster would have been nice. But oh well!
donalgodon said:
Thanks for the response.
Does the 20.7 MP superior auto hack reduce the quality of the shots over the standard 8MP size superior auto mode?
Those gaps you mentioned in the review have me worried. I would have thought Sony would have that worked out by now, after the Z1 had the same problems.
How can anyone trust the water resistance like this?
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Haven't tested this mod excessively but i believe it would be noisy. Will tell u when i test. And AFAIK, water resistance is ok even with gaps.
donalgodon said:
I'm debating to move to the Z2 and I would very much appreciate any feedback from Z2 owners who have experience with the Note 3.
I am looking at the sound quality of the noise reduction in the headphones and the camera, which are two of the primary draws for me.
How does the sound and camera and overall speed compare in real world use?
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I am a former Note 3 user - Also reviews would differ depending on the Note 3 variant used.
I have used N9005 LTE and I wont say switch is great. Handset is having lots of issues as discussed by users worldwide. Software crashes which is a common problem and thats the reason Sony till date has real poor reviews for the same. Phone is surely bulky and heavy compared to Note 3. Battery life is pretty much equivalent so no dramas there. Note 3 never heats (N9005 only) even with an hour of game play - Z2 surely does with 5 min camera usage too. Sound Output of Note 3 is way louder compared to Z2. Camera Z2 has a real good one No doubts about that. Build Quality also is pretty superb.
Sent from my D6502 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
donalgodon said:
I'm debating to move to the Z2 and I would very much appreciate any feedback from Z2 owners who have experience with the Note 3.
I am looking at the sound quality of the noise reduction in the headphones and the camera, which are two of the primary draws for me.
How does the sound and camera and overall speed compare in real world use?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I owned the Note 3. Bitterly disappointed with it despite its being a very able mobile. It just didn't work for me. In terms of camera, cant help not my area of expertise. Now sound reproduction is another matter.
In terms of portable sound reproduction Sony started the ball rolling with their Walkmans decades ago. The quality of sound reproduction on most Sony mobile devices is above average to top quality IF one uses dedicated head phones. Here we go..........Headphones or speakers can only reproduce what the amplifier amplifies so the source and amplification are vital. Sony is a leading manufacturer in this area in terms of mobile sourcing and amplification, they have many years of experience and have more or less pioneered portable sound. To this end what we have in the Xperia range is very good amplification and when used with a hi-fidelity headphone those phones are able to take full advantage of the excellent source.
The Xperia Z2 comes with the Sony MDR-NC31EM noise cancelling head phones I am listening to them as I type this and yes they are more accomplished than the stock headphones bundled in most mobiles, better by far BUT..........There are far better still. I am not keen on ear bud type head phones. I prefer an over the ear 'open back' headphone like the Sennheiser PX-100-11. They simply amaze every time I use them and have become a reference point in reviewing other headphones despite their meagre price of around 40.00€ :good:
.
In terms of the ear bud type the Sennheiser CX-300-11 make the Sony ear buds sound amateur. Now if you can afford say 80.00€ the AKG K452 are designed for Android devices and are based on the award winning 450 and 451's They are also portable and come with their own carry case, they are closed back and not ear buds. The AKG can reproduce frequencies between 11-29500Hz, that's from very low base to very high treble! In comparison the Sony MDR's only manage 20-20000Hz meaning they cannot produce the full spectrum of sound frequencies the Z2 is capable off. I am generally not a fan of Sony headphones.
Please do accept that the type of sound you enjoy will not be the same as others. There are numerous brands of head phone and you are bound to find one that you enjoy. Main point is here the Samsung you mention on headphones produced a very decent sound BUT the Sony does produce a greater band width and more open stage to the music. As for the speakers or speaker on the phones themselves, neither are worth even listening to, having written that the Sony again leaves the Sammy dead in the water.
I hope I have been of some small help to you?
Best wishes, Ryland
Well I went the other way, in that I bought a Z2 and gave it up for a Note 3. I will echo what everyone else is saying, the Z2 makes a mockery of the Note's sound, especially with those bundles headphones. Nothing I do to the Note will bring the audio close to the Z2's, I'd be very interested to hear from a Note user that managed to make good on the Note's audio.
The Z2's screen is better but I wouldn't say to a degree that I wouldn't let it impact on the decision to pick it up. We're talking about a significantly smaller screen with that damn navigation bar in place of the buttons. The camera on the Z2 is where it really shines for me. Photos and videos are simply phenomenal. If this matters to you then it's a no-brainer seriously.
It really depends if you're like me and stuck in your ways. I use the Note for work and constantly using the S-Pen for drawing layouts and switching to calculator, I also like my physical buttons. It didn't take me long to switch back for those reasons but I really struggled with the decision to give the Z2 to my girlfriend due to the quality of the audio and video/photo capture. The Z2 is a solid handset it just depends what you want to use it for I guess.
Karnax_ said:
Well I went the other way, in that I bought a Z2 and gave it up for a Note 3. I will echo what everyone else is saying, the Z2 makes a mockery of the Note's sound, especially with those bundles headphones. Nothing I do to the Note will bring the audio close to the Z2's, I'd be very interested to hear from a Note user that managed to make good on the Note's audio.
The Z2's screen is better but I wouldn't say to a degree that I wouldn't let it impact on the decision to pick it up. We're talking about a significantly smaller screen with that damn navigation bar in place of the buttons. The camera on the Z2 is where it really shines for me. Photos and videos are simply phenomenal. If this matters to you then it's a no-brainer seriously.
It really depends if you're like me and stuck in your ways. I use the Note for work and constantly using the S-Pen for drawing layouts and switching to calculator, I also like my physical buttons. It didn't take me long to switch back for those reasons but I really struggled with the decision to give the Z2 to my girlfriend due to the quality of the audio and video/photo capture. The Z2 is a solid handset it just depends what you want to use it for I guess.
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Indeed. It depends on ones prioritise and what one does with the mobile.
I was disappointed with the Note 3. My own fault, I made a pre sale purchase and was the first customer in this country to own one. What horrified me about the Note 3 was the plastic leather back with plastic stitching then the plastic chrome sides. No way could I live with the feel of that mobile despite its many other qualities.
Music is important to me and the Samsung on this occasion was awful. The original cost was 1100€ for the Sammy and the Gear watch. With that sort of outlay I expected better materials and construction than the Sammy offered.
If you need the S-pen the Sammy Note is THE phone to own. In that respect its rather unique.
I think when we purchase something we are going to use and hold every day we need to feel pride of ownership and with those plastics made to look like other materials no way could I stomach it. Maybe if the Note 4 is made from decent high end materials I would take another look at the Samsung range BUT as music is important to me it sort of rules out the present Samsung range.
Its great to have all this choice though :highfive: .
Ryland
Ryland Johnson said:
I owned the Note 3. Bitterly disappointed with it despite its being a very able mobile. It just didn't work for me. In terms of camera, cant help not my area of expertise. Now sound reproduction is another matter.
In terms of portable sound reproduction Sony started the ball rolling with their Walkmans decades ago. The quality of sound reproduction on most Sony mobile devices is above average to top quality IF one uses dedicated head phones. Here we go..........Headphones or speakers can only reproduce what the amplifier amplifies so the source and amplification are vital. Sony is a leading manufacturer in this area in terms of mobile sourcing and amplification, they have many years of experience and have more or less pioneered portable sound. To this end what we have in the Xperia range is very good amplification and when used with a hi-fidelity headphone those phones are able to take full advantage of the excellent source.
The Xperia Z2 comes with the Sony MDR-NC31EM noise cancelling head phones I am listening to them as I type this and yes they are more accomplished than the stock headphones bundled in most mobiles, better by far BUT..........There are far better still. I am not keen on ear bud type head phones. I prefer an over the ear 'open back' headphone like the Sennheiser PX-100-11. They simply amaze every time I use them and have become a reference point in reviewing other headphones despite their meagre price of around 40.00€ :good:
.
In terms of the ear bud type the Sennheiser CX-300-11 make the Sony ear buds sound amateur. Now if you can afford say 80.00€ the AKG K452 are designed for Android devices and are based on the award winning 450 and 451's They are also portable and come with their own carry case, they are closed back and not ear buds. The AKG can reproduce frequencies between 11-29500Hz, that's from very low base to very high treble! In comparison the Sony MDR's only manage 20-20000Hz meaning they cannot produce the full spectrum of sound frequencies the Z2 is capable off. I am generally not a fan of Sony headphones.
Please do accept that the type of sound you enjoy will not be the same as others. There are numerous brands of head phone and you are bound to find one that you enjoy. Main point is here the Samsung you mention on headphones produced a very decent sound BUT the Sony does produce a greater band width and more open stage to the music. As for the speakers or speaker on the phones themselves, neither are worth even listening to, having written that the Sony again leaves the Sammy dead in the water.
I hope I have been of some small help to you?
Best wishes, Ryland
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Very helpful indeed. My question is this: Sennheiser CX-300-11 does not allow the noise cancelling features built into the device to function, but how do they compare in terms of noise reduction/isolation on their own?
The others are out of my price range at the moment, but the Sennheiser CX-300-11 might get me by.
donalgodon said:
Very helpful indeed. My question is this: Sennheiser CX-300-11 does not allow the noise cancelling features built into the device to function, but how do they compare in terms of noise reduction/isolation on their own?
The others are out of my price range at the moment, but the Sennheiser CX-300-11 might get me by.
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Let me put is this way. When my dear to my heart wife starts to tell me off..............I just pop those in and its bliss.
They come with several sizes of rubber ear bud. When they are in the ear you cannot hear a word outside.
Noise cancelling is not always a good thing. This means the source of the music is not pure. The less distortion your music has the more natural the sound. Processing the sound, as in noise cancelation, is not something I would consider its much like the use of graphic equalisers they just made a mess of the original sound. Sony produce a very good source so I would not want it processed.
The Sennheiser is a very respectable head phone and through me many of my friends and family now own them. I fail to see how one could go wrong with an ear bud that price? I think you will be rather surprised. :highfive:
Let me know what you decide to do.
Ryland
Ryland Johnson said:
Let me put is this way. When my dear to my heart wife starts to tell me off..............I just pop those in and its bliss.
They come with several sizes of rubber ear bud. When they are in the ear you cannot hear a word outside.
Noise cancelling is not always a good thing. This means the source of the music is not pure. The less distortion your music has the more natural the sound. Processing the sound, as in noise cancelation, is not something I would consider its much like the use of graphic equalisers they just made a mess of the original sound. Sony produce a very good source so I would not want it processed.
The Sennheiser is a very respectable head phone and through me many of my friends and family now own them. I fail to see how one could go wrong with an ear bud that price? I think you will be rather surprised. :highfive:
Let me know what you decide to do.
Ryland
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I think I'll go for the Sennheiser CX-300-11 because it seems like a great option for me. I would prefer buds for portability. I wasn't aware of the model, but I do know and trust the brand.
How sensitive are they? I mean, can they be driven properly by the Note 3's sound hardware for the meantime while I decide what device (if any) to replace it with?
I'm torn between the LG G3, G Pro 2, or the OnePlus One, but the latter is not available without invite, and the former are rather expensive Korean imports at the moment.
I went from the Note 3 to the HTC One M8 (for a few days) to the Xperia Z2 and couldn't be happier. I feel it's a huge upgrade for me, notably not having to deal with TouchWiz. Sony's Android UI is far nicer in my opinion. Battery life seems to be better than my Note 3 as well.
I came from the Note 2, but have used my friends' Note 3's extensively. Phone is really nice, the build quality, responsiveness, battery life, and stability are all nice. I did have a problem with my GPS in that it couldn't find my location once but restarting the phone fixed it. However, I will point out that the Note 2 and 3 are better for two handed texting, and the Z2 is great for 1 handed swyping. The speaker phone, because of the water proofing, is quieter and not as clear on the note 2, but has comparable quality to the note 3 speaker (although note 3 is louder). Z2 does get points for front facing speakers though, but flipping the note 2 face down while on speaker gave both parties better results.
Using the Neutron music app, (disgusting UI, but the BEST in sound quality) I found that the note 2 has better sound quality. There is a slight background noise, but that is diminished with moderate volume. Through hi-fi headphones, the note 2 has a better lows, the bass hits harder, with no bleed into the mid or high range. The Z2 has a bit of a bright but overall balanced sound. If you are a basshead then the note 2 is more preferable/fun to listen to but the Z2 is cleaner.
As for the UI, Sony has done a great job with keeping everything simple and clean. It's fast, responsive, and I have had no problems with lagging or hang ups. However, Samsung gives you more customization and even though it feels bloated some times, it lets me do what I need quickly and easily. Like changing the vibration intensity, blocking calls with acceptations, changing brightness in the notification area w/o going to the second tab, tapping the brightness icon, and then changing it. Stock Sony is limited, like stock Android.
Notification light under the speaker is sweet, I just wish it could be a little brighter/customizable. Screen is smaller and easier to reach across, but is lightly mitigated by the bezel size and ergonomics. The blacks are REALLY good for an IPS screen, and I don't notice much of a difference from the true blacks on the AMOLED screen, the colors are accurate yet still vibrant, which is great. The one thing lacking on the Sony screen is the viewing angles, which are OK and the screen is kinda reflective, but I can still see if I max the brightness under the brightest day.
Hi all, I still have a Google Pixel 2 and I am looking to upgrade my phone for a long time! I tried the Samsung Galaxy A52 5G earlier this year. But unfortunately, it had a few issues such as: (1) under screen optical fingerprint sensor was very unreliable and often did not register my fingerprint, (2) the vibration motor was very low quality and it did not have the good quality snappy haptics feel of more premium phones like my Pixel 2. It felt so cheap. And (3) audio quality in phone calls was bad. There was too much noise and crackling sounds in phone calls.
So, I returned the A52 5G. Now, looking at the Nord 2, I am quite excited. I really hope this phone is great! Does it have the same issues as I mentioned above about the Galaxy A52 5G? Specifically, does it have a bad vibration motor or a good vibration motor like in a premium phone? Secondly, is the under screen optical fingerprint sensor good? Or is it finicky and do you need to place your finger multiple times to register a fingerprint? And is the call quality good?
Please let me know so that I can make a good decision regarding this purchase. Thanks!
Haptic feel is excellent but the noise the motor makes can be irritating for some people
Under screen fingerprint sensor is okay, sometimes it fails but not very often (i'd say 5-10% of the time). Compared to other phones it's not the best but by far it's not the worst. And it's extremelly quick to scan when finger is correctly applied.
Call quality and noise cancellation is very good if you have good signal.
Pouic said:
Haptic feel is excellent but the noise the motor makes can be irritating for some people
Under screen fingerprint sensor is okay, sometimes it fails but not very often (i'd say 5-10% of the time). Compared to other phones it's not the best but by far it's not the worst. And it's extremelly quick to scan when finger is correctly applied.
Call quality and noise cancellation is very good if you have good signal.
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Hi Pouic, thanks for the quick reply! That is good to know. What do you mean by the motor making a lot of noise? And does the haptics feel very precise or is it very muddied like some very vague and strong vibration? Essentially what I am trying to figure out is if the haptics feel very gentle and precise like the vibration of an iPhone or premium Android phones. The Samsung A52 5G had a very bad vibration motor.
And I guess it is to be expected with under screen fingerprint sensors unfortunately. And good to know that call quality is good.
I wanted to know what other accessories OnePlus provides in the box. Does it come with a screen protector and case? And if I were to buy this phone would you recommend the 8 GB RAM model or the 12 GB RAM model? I feel 12 GB is too much but I am not sure.
The noise of the motor is audible and coming from an older phone or budget phone you'll find the noise very pleasant or very irritating, personally I like the noise , it's very sharp and high pitched like if it was coming from the speaker. I had previously the Oneplus 5 and haptic feedback was not great att all (like your A52 I suppose.)
Haptic is very precise, I use the Swiftkey keyboard and set the keypress vibration at 20ms and it's very nice to type text with it.
In the box I received a screen protector (already applied on screen) but it's a very simple plastic protector, it does the job but unlike glass screen protector it is very prone to dust and scratches. Also it comes with a bulky transparent cover (I already ordered another more slim and black) and a pair of wired usb-c earphones
I have the 8Gb/128Gb and even with a lot of apps opened ram management is very good. But if you want a lot of storage you have to go to the 12Gb/256Gb version since there is no option with 8/256 .
Pouic said:
The noise of the motor is audible and coming from an older phone or budget phone you'll find the noise very pleasant or very irritating, personally I like the noise , it's very sharp and high pitched like if it was coming from the speaker. I had previously the Oneplus 5 and haptic feedback was not great att all (like your A52 I suppose.)
Haptic is very precise, I use the Swiftkey keyboard and set the keypress vibration at 20ms and it's very nice to type text with it.
In the box I received a screen protector (already applied on screen) but it's a very simple plastic protector, it does the job but unlike glass screen protector it is very prone to dust and scratches. Also it comes with a bulky transparent cover (I already ordered another more slim and black) and a pair of wired usb-c earphones
I have the 8Gb/128Gb and even with a lot of apps opened ram management is very good. But if you want a lot of storage you have to go to the 12Gb/256Gb version since there is no option with 8/256 .
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Hi Pouic! Glad to know these things. I myself use swiftkey will checkout your tweak. I'm also looking for a good cover can you share link of the one you ordered?
Ajois said:
Hi Pouic! Glad to know these things. I myself use swiftkey will checkout your tweak. I'm also looking for a good cover can you share link of the one you ordered?
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I received this one this week : https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005003069040262.html?spm=a2g0s.9042311.0.0.7e8c4c4dcAhFP8
Very basic (and cheap) but it does the trick, a bit slippery tho but I can live with that since it's a little bit thinner that the original one
Also I have this one still delivery pending : https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005001710885495.html?spm=a2g0s.9042311.0.0.7e8c4c4dcAhFP8
Haptics is very good on Nord 2. Much stronger feedback when typing compared to Nord 1. Also better than Poco F3. I like it a lot.
Pouic said:
The noise of the motor is audible and coming from an older phone or budget phone you'll find the noise very pleasant or very irritating, personally I like the noise , it's very sharp and high pitched like if it was coming from the speaker. I had previously the Oneplus 5 and haptic feedback was not great att all (like your A52 I suppose.)
Haptic is very precise, I use the Swiftkey keyboard and set the keypress vibration at 20ms and it's very nice to type text with it.
In the box I received a screen protector (already applied on screen) but it's a very simple plastic protector, it does the job but unlike glass screen protector it is very prone to dust and scratches. Also it comes with a bulky transparent cover (I already ordered another more slim and black) and a pair of wired usb-c earphones
I have the 8Gb/128Gb and even with a lot of apps opened ram management is very good. But if you want a lot of storage you have to go to the 12Gb/256Gb version since there is no option with 8/256 .
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Haha I LOVE Noisy vibrations, reminiscent of the old Nokia 3310/6510/8310 days. Man truly, those were the days :'(
Pouic said:
I received this one this week : https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005003069040262.html?spm=a2g0s.9042311.0.0.7e8c4c4dcAhFP8
Very basic (and cheap) but it does the trick, a bit slippery tho but I can live with that since it's a little bit thinner that the original one
Also I have this one still delivery pending : https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005001710885495.html?spm=a2g0s.9042311.0.0.7e8c4c4dcAhFP8
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Cool I'll check them out, thanks!