Audio quality: HTC default headset vs. Other wired vs. A2DP

[rkhomenko]

Guys,
I've bought a 2GB MiniSD just to realize the audio quality of my Qtek is not very good - 192Kbps WMA sounds like a 32Kbps on my laptop. I am currently using the HTC headset that comes with the phone. So the options are:
- Headset is bad
- 'Sound hardware' is bad
So, can anyone share his experience of listening to music on Wizard. Would buying a better headset (like KOSS or Sennheiser) with a jack adapter help? Or is it the phone sound hardware that sucks? What about A2DP?
Thanks,
Ross

[spoonter]

I've just bought a set of HP AD2P headphones off ebay:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ih=004&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWN%3AIT&viewitem=&item=140054575540

And they are excellent! Very impressed and excellent price (£23 inc delivery). Smaller and lighter weight than other bluetooth headphones I've seen. Came with AC adapter for the built-in lithion-iron battery. Apparently runs for about 8hrs.

I've also got a set of AKG K26 wired headphones (however you'll need a 3.5mm to 2.5mm adapter)

http://www.headphone.com/products/headphones/earpad/akg-k-26-p.php

The AKG K26 is renowned for fantastic bass so I was very surprised to find the HP ones were very comparable.

[Menneisyys]

Guys,
I've bought a 2GB MiniSD just to realize the audio quality of my Qtek is not very good - 192Kbps WMA sounds like a 32Kbps on my laptop. I am currently using the HTC headset that comes with the phone. So the options are:
- Headset is bad
- 'Sound hardware' is bad
So, can anyone share his experience of listening to music on Wizard. Would buying a better headset (like KOSS or Sennheiser) with a jack adapter help? Or is it the phone sound hardware that sucks? What about A2DP?
Thanks,
Ross

It's the A2DP implementation in AKU2 that sucks. Once a decent AKU3 (conversion) is released with built-in REAL AKU3 (not that of AKU2), the problems will go away.

Please make sure you check out the General forum here; I've posted several articles in there on these matters. Certainly worth a thorough read.

[zakhir_n]

I have recently bought a plantronics 590A stereo bluetooth headset and have been very happy with the sound. My only advice is do research on your headset before you make a purchase because although the quality is very good on the 590A, it has a blinking blue light that continuously goes on, which makes the headset look quite wierd. Anyway, in terms of quality, it has been surprisingly pretty good.

Even with the wired manufacturer headset I got with my 8125 the quality wasn't amazing, but was better that you described.

I also have bought an adapter and used my own headphones, and again, not great, but not that bad.

Something may be wrong with your hardware, or search the forum for various registry tweaks to improve sound quality. If you can, I would definetly see if you can get another phone (through warranty), because the sound should not be that horrible.

[TauTau]

now if this only had a microphone too....

[brins0]

Guys,
I've bought a 2GB MiniSD just to realize the audio quality of my Qtek is not very good - 192Kbps WMA sounds like a 32Kbps on my laptop. I am currently using the HTC headset that comes with the phone. So the options are:
- Headset is bad
- 'Sound hardware' is bad
So, can anyone share his experience of listening to music on Wizard. Would buying a better headset (like KOSS or Sennheiser) with a jack adapter help? Or is it the phone sound hardware that sucks? What about A2DP?
Thanks,
Ross

I think it actually has something to do with the fact that the sound hardware sucks... I feel that any amount of bass or treble over the norm (even as little as +2dB) causes the thing to distort badly...

My old HP h2210 had an excellent sound chip in it, and also, i'm used to the X-Fi in my PC, and some sennheiser HD595s, so of course, it will sound poo...

[Menneisyys]

now if this only had a microphone too....

The 590A does have a mike - if you meant that.

[Menneisyys]

I have recently bought a plantronics 590A stereo bluetooth headset and have been very happy with the sound. My only advice is do research on your headset before you make a purchase because although the quality is very good on the 590A, it has a blinking blue light that continuously goes on, which makes the headset look quite wierd. Anyway, in terms of quality, it has been surprisingly pretty good.

Try listening to any music that has *human singing* in it and compare it to the quality through wires (when you do the same by connecting the 590A to the Wizard with the wire that comes with the 590A) ;)

Unfortunately, the 590A, being probably the best stereo headsphone, is *very* sensitive to this kind of distortion.

[rkhomenko]

I've bought an AD-18 2.5mm to 3.5mm adapter from Nokia to try my Wizard with different wired headphones around my office.
First observation - the sound is much better with 'normal' heaphones (Seinheiser). I would switch to better conventional headphones immediately, however, the volume is really low and I don's seem to figure out how to get it up. Does it have to do anything with resistance? Was it the case for anyone else? May be it is the Nokia adapter causing trouble?

Ross

[Avatar28]

Actually, the audio hardware in the Wizard just sucks big time. I have a pretty high end audio system in my car. It also has a line input on the front for connecting an mp3 player or whatever (even though it already plays mp3 files). Anyways, I can connect my Wizard to that line in using a cable and the sound is really poor quality. Dynamic range is not very good and the high end is seriously cut off. I have to boost the crap out of it in TCPMP but still can't get it to sound right. I can play the same MP3 off a CD and the quality is much better, CD quality (I typically use high quality vbr encoding). I can take a cheapo $15 MP3 player we got for the kids and it has much better sound quality using the same cable and input so I know it's not there. I've also tried multiple 2.5mm->3.5mm adapters with no change. Different ROMs also don't seem to make a difference in it. I can only conclude, then, that it has to be the audio hardware.

I would like to find a device that uses the A2DP profile to sync with my phone and has a phono (headphone) or RCA output plug or jack so that I could hook it into my car stereo. Any one know of such a beast?

[jgermuga]

This is bad news. I have been digging around trying to find an adapter that would allow me to use the phone as my mp3 player, whilst allowing me to plug in an external powered mic, so I can can cradle the phone in a mount and get decent talk volume to my caller. In fact, I just order a 4gb card to get more of my library on the go.

I'll have to give my daughters iPod a try and see if there is any difference. As much as I hate iTunes, maybe I'll have to spring for a new iPhone. I would upgrade to the 8525, if not for the micro SD, which is yet another rant for me. It irks me to no end that every device I have seems to use a different card format. I think HTC is not doing right by the customer to go to the micro SD format. As it stands, I could not use my SX66 cards in my Wizard. I have a hard time believing the micro to mini would drastically change the form factor.

[kei118]

If you mean the voice portion is totally muddled... you either have a defective headset or a defective jack. I suspect that there's a short from the sound to ground...

[SavCom]

I would like to find a device that uses the A2DP profile to sync with my phone and has a phono (headphone) or RCA output plug or jack so that I could hook it into my car stereo. Any one know of such a beast?

Bit of an old post, but if anyone's interested, Connects2 does an adapter that is just as you describe. It is a BTAV01 Bluetooth interface for A2DP. Connects to any aftermarket radio with RCA connectors