OP
randomuser111
Technomancer
^
I know. Wish it just a tiny bit louder though. But having listened for quite a long time now, I feel the volume is more than adequate and I am very easily lost in the music
Anyways will post a sound quality shootout tomorrow between Sony Xperia S, Sony Walkman A series and Sony Walkman S series. That should help RedDragon too I guess.
And by the end of the month will update my review after the ICS update. Lots of exciting stuff on the way with ICS. Improved audio, walkman player, amazing new gallery app, much better battery life and improved performance and super smooth UI.
Xperia S audio quality review vs Sony Walkman
Finally done comparing my Xperia S with my Sony Walkman players
To be frank, when I first bought the Xperia S I didn't plan to transfer any songs to it as I knew the sound quality would not please me and I would continue to use my Walkman.
After getting it though, I did transfer a few songs to it just to check the audio quality. My first impressions were quite positive but I wasn't blown away to be frank. The volume was quite low compared to my Walkman and the bass was a little over powering on flat EQ.
Now its almost close to a month now since Ive had the S, and in the past 1 month I have listened to my Walkman for only 2 hours at max.
Of course the XS doesn't sound as good as my walkman but it still isn't bad at all and is excellent for a smartphone.
Let me start with the comparo without writing anything more which you are probably not interested to read anyway.
Sony Xperia S vs Sony Walkman A/S Flat EQ
With a flat EQ, the Xperia S does not sound significantly worse than the Walkman. The low frequencies are a tad bit more pronounced on the XS compared to Walkman and the highs are a little bright as well.
Overall presentation is good and I would even say the XS sounds more "enjoyable" than the Walkman with flat EQ.
Xperia S - 7.5/10
Walkman - 8/10
Sony Xperia S vs Sony Walkman A/S Custom EQ
With custom EQ on both, the difference between the two becomes apparent instantly. The bass is much tighter and powerful on the Walkman devices compared to Xperia S. XS is also much less loud ( XS max volume is equal to Volume level 19/30 on the Walkman devices)
The highs and mids are also much better on Walkman and the Xperia S seems more distant whereas the Walkman sound is more "in your ear" in a good way. Soundstage is also wider on the Walkmans by quite some margin.
Vocals are also nowhere as clear. Though I would say separation is quite good on the Xperia S, almost close to the Walkman devices.
Reading this you might be thinking the Xperia S is a crappy MP3 player, but no it isn't. It's a very good music player, just not in the same league as a Sony Walkman.
One good thing about the XS is that the audio quality grows on you the more you listen to it.
And it sounds very "fun" and "enjoyable".
One thing that I have to mention is the lack of hiss on the Xperia S. It has virtually no hiss, both of my Walkmans do have a slight hiss though. So in this respect the XS beats the Walkmans
Overall sound quality rating
Sony Xperia S 6.5/10 ( Relative to other phones 9/10)
Sony Walkman S 8.5/10
Sony Walkman A 9/10
Do keep in mind though the 6.5 score is relative to the Walkman devices, which have the best sound quality among all MP3 players except a few others from Cowon and some niche players. So compared to an Apple Ipod, the Xperia S is excellent and has almost as good sound quality.
Also there are mods available now for the Xperia S that improve the already excellent sound quality. The mods increase the volume and also improve the sound quality across the board, with tighter bass.
NOTE: You would need to unlock your bootloader and use a custom ROM to use the mods.
I know. Wish it just a tiny bit louder though. But having listened for quite a long time now, I feel the volume is more than adequate and I am very easily lost in the music
Anyways will post a sound quality shootout tomorrow between Sony Xperia S, Sony Walkman A series and Sony Walkman S series. That should help RedDragon too I guess.
And by the end of the month will update my review after the ICS update. Lots of exciting stuff on the way with ICS. Improved audio, walkman player, amazing new gallery app, much better battery life and improved performance and super smooth UI.
Xperia S audio quality review vs Sony Walkman
Finally done comparing my Xperia S with my Sony Walkman players
To be frank, when I first bought the Xperia S I didn't plan to transfer any songs to it as I knew the sound quality would not please me and I would continue to use my Walkman.
After getting it though, I did transfer a few songs to it just to check the audio quality. My first impressions were quite positive but I wasn't blown away to be frank. The volume was quite low compared to my Walkman and the bass was a little over powering on flat EQ.
Now its almost close to a month now since Ive had the S, and in the past 1 month I have listened to my Walkman for only 2 hours at max.
Of course the XS doesn't sound as good as my walkman but it still isn't bad at all and is excellent for a smartphone.
Let me start with the comparo without writing anything more which you are probably not interested to read anyway.
Sony Xperia S vs Sony Walkman A/S Flat EQ
With a flat EQ, the Xperia S does not sound significantly worse than the Walkman. The low frequencies are a tad bit more pronounced on the XS compared to Walkman and the highs are a little bright as well.
Overall presentation is good and I would even say the XS sounds more "enjoyable" than the Walkman with flat EQ.
Xperia S - 7.5/10
Walkman - 8/10
Sony Xperia S vs Sony Walkman A/S Custom EQ
With custom EQ on both, the difference between the two becomes apparent instantly. The bass is much tighter and powerful on the Walkman devices compared to Xperia S. XS is also much less loud ( XS max volume is equal to Volume level 19/30 on the Walkman devices)
The highs and mids are also much better on Walkman and the Xperia S seems more distant whereas the Walkman sound is more "in your ear" in a good way. Soundstage is also wider on the Walkmans by quite some margin.
Vocals are also nowhere as clear. Though I would say separation is quite good on the Xperia S, almost close to the Walkman devices.
Reading this you might be thinking the Xperia S is a crappy MP3 player, but no it isn't. It's a very good music player, just not in the same league as a Sony Walkman.
One good thing about the XS is that the audio quality grows on you the more you listen to it.
And it sounds very "fun" and "enjoyable".
One thing that I have to mention is the lack of hiss on the Xperia S. It has virtually no hiss, both of my Walkmans do have a slight hiss though. So in this respect the XS beats the Walkmans
Overall sound quality rating
Sony Xperia S 6.5/10 ( Relative to other phones 9/10)
Sony Walkman S 8.5/10
Sony Walkman A 9/10
Do keep in mind though the 6.5 score is relative to the Walkman devices, which have the best sound quality among all MP3 players except a few others from Cowon and some niche players. So compared to an Apple Ipod, the Xperia S is excellent and has almost as good sound quality.
Also there are mods available now for the Xperia S that improve the already excellent sound quality. The mods increase the volume and also improve the sound quality across the board, with tighter bass.
NOTE: You would need to unlock your bootloader and use a custom ROM to use the mods.
