I'm not an audiophile, so I wouldn't even know where to begin describing or measuring things like soundstage, brightness, etc...
But I have a very capable portable media player in the form of the Open Pandora... This device produces superb sound as the internals were designed and parts chosen by an audiophile.
Using my Sennheiser MX470 buds to compare the same track on both devices...
The Note 8.0 produces decent sound, but i don't know how else to say it... compared to the Pandora, the sound is a bit flat, in other words - i'm not immersed to the same degree as I am with the Pandora - where the sound appears to completely envelope me. Also I can hear more + finer detail with the Pandora...
But keep in mind the Pandora produces better sound than the AudioQuest Dragonfly Dac.
Here is a review of the Pandora's Sound capabilities and all relevant info:
http://www.head-fi.org/products/open-pandora/reviews/8570
But I never expected the Note 8.0 to compare. So far, in my limited experience, I haven't come across a single device that can beat the Pandora in the sound department.
All in all I am very pleased with the sound the Note 8.0 produces.
- it's clean, has a good range, plenty of volume, and plenty of detail in the high and low notes. If I didn't own a Pandora, I wouldn't know what I was missing.
Of course we still need a de facto audiophile to come test the sound quality and give the final word...
