Related
i'm looking at maybe buying a set of buds/canals for around AUD100. would this price point give a noticable improvement in sound quality over the stock buds?
i mainly play 192kpbs mp3's.
thanks.
The HD2 buds are crap, as with most prepackaged ones.
EDIT: However, the remote is useful. If you have a soldering iron you could solder the cables just over the remote to a pair of new ones that fit better (I did it with the extra iPhone cable that came with my Beats by Dr. Dre (Monster), great success!)
chribruu said:
The HD2 buds are crap, as with most prepackaged ones.
EDIT: However, the remote is useful. If you have a soldering iron you could solder the cables just over the remote to a pair of new ones that fit better (I did it with the extra iPhone cable that came with my Beats by Dr. Dre (Monster), great success!)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Cool! I would LOVE to try these too with my Beats... but I would rather get an extra Beat's cable to do it... can't bear to cut the ones I got. The Beats cable remote will still answer calls and pause music... any idea where I can order an extra?
The 'earbuds' that come with the HD2 are even worse than the Apple whites. Which should tell you everything you need to know.
They are horrible. It's like sticking a fruit pastel in your ear.
eskasi said:
Cool! I would LOVE to try these too with my Beats... but I would rather get an extra Beat's cable to do it... can't bear to cut the ones I got. The Beats cable remote will still answer calls and pause music... any idea where I can order an extra?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't know where to buy an extra in your case, but they do exist. Saw them at an Apple store where I live. I'd guess eBay is a good bet.
well i ended up buying some over-ear headphones. i mainly use them when the tv is being used by someone else and i want to listen to music/games, or for watching movies later at night.
i couldnt really hear alot wrong with the stockies though. they got a bit untrolled during mid-range heavy stuff, at loud volume, and not very strong bass, but i thought they sounded ok. horrible size and shape for my ears though.
i went with sennhieser hd25 sp2's. they seem pretty good overall and keep out backround noise at home.
Do other headphones work as antenna for the radio?
i have an issue with my HD2 that if i plug in a normal set of headphones (standard 3 pole 3.5mm jack) the phone starts randomly making calls
has anyone else had this ?
i would love new headphones as the standards are utter crap
rumpelpumpel007 said:
Do other headphones work as antenna for the radio?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
the ones i bought do. very well. id guess, like most fm radios, any piece of conductive metal would tranmit and receive a signal.
rumpelpumpel007 said:
Do other headphones work as antenna for the radio?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
no unless you can find another pair with a fm reciver that fits into a 3.5mm jack
so a normal set of headphones = no
The receiver is not in the headphone itself, so that should not make a difference at all.
i tested the stock earbuds today and i can't say that they are very bad in sound quality. but the music is not loud enough for me! will some other earbuds gain some level? sorry for my english...
the stock earbuds dont get loud enough for me sometimes, but they fit snugly for me and i like the design. i especially love the little remote on the wiring.
unfortunately, they dont really make the earbuds any better. i have had my hd2 for about three weeks now and my left bud is giving me sound issues. i gotta twist the jack a few times and wiggle it around to get sound back into it. its quite annoying.
do you guys know of any good earbuds with the remote on it?
the stock earbuds dont get loud enough for me sometimes, but they fit snugly for me and i like the design. i especially love the little remote on the wiring.
unfortunately, they dont really make the earbuds any better. i have had my hd2 for about three weeks now and my left bud is giving me sound issues. i gotta twist the jack a few times and wiggle it around to get sound back into it. its quite annoying.
do you guys know of any good earbuds with the remote on it?
donalgodon said:
The receiver is not in the headphone itself, so that should not make a difference at all.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have some Etymotic HF2 haedphones and they work with the radio.... No problems with them. Sound quality is great and athough not bass heavy they are very open and natural with very clear seperation. They do work best with the foam ear tips over the silicone ones supplied and looking at getting some Comply foam tips as I want to use these on my bike and also keep out the road noise. The standard ones are OK and work very well.The sound is better for me using the foams so the better shaped Comply ones are my next purchase......
The Etymotic HF2's have been much better than any one's I have tried so far and comfortable if you are used to wearing ear plugs....
adam_r said:
i have an issue with my HD2 that if i plug in a normal set of headphones (standard 3 pole 3.5mm jack) the phone starts randomly making calls
has anyone else had this ?
i would love new headphones as the standards are utter crap
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=637502&highlight=HD25
joshuaadude said:
the stock earbuds dont get loud enough for me sometimes, but they fit snugly for me and i like the design. i especially love the little remote on the wiring.
unfortunately, they dont really make the earbuds any better. i have had my hd2 for about three weeks now and my left bud is giving me sound issues. i gotta twist the jack a few times and wiggle it around to get sound back into it. its quite annoying.
do you guys know of any good earbuds with the remote on it?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
someone on page one said it will be possible to solder ur own buds to the remote. i am going to try that (will make some picture's) and report back, maybe ill even create my own topic if everything works out ok
I dont understand how you guys can listen to music on your HD2 - the headphone output is extremely noisy!!!
Whether I put in stock earbuds, Westone UM2s, or Audio-Technica CK100 trips it's just crap.
chris_ah1 said:
I dont understand how you guys can listen to music on your HD2 - the headphone output is extremely noisy!!!
Whether I put in stock earbuds, Westone UM2s, or Audio-Technica CK100 trips it's just crap.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
its perfect with my philips in ear buds! i did used audio booster bass booster tho
So I just got my Nexus S yesterday, I love it, but... right about now, I'm feeling extremely dumb. Either that, or I have a horrible ear canal for listening to music.
I've tried everything to get the earbuds that came with the Nexus S to stay in my ear, but it just won't work. I've even watched YouTube videos to figure out how to get it to fit my ear. Something's wrong. No matter how deep in the ear canal I stick the earbuds, they won't stay for longer than 5 seconds. The slightest movement causes them to fall off.
Am I doing something wrong, or is this a common problem?
Is there a way to reduce the radius on the earbuds so I can try fitting them better in my ear? I really want to start using these standard headphones. They look extremely nice, and the rubber tips really enhance the sound, at least for the few seconds I manage to hold it in my ear. I don't want to go back to using my crappy Motorola ones. Help!
I was like this at the start when i first started to use in-ear earphones. I had to kinda force them into my ears. It was annoying at first but now its natural. Dunno if you are the same as me though
same problem here! I cant figure those damn things out lol. I had to go back to my iphone headset.
What headphone models have been comfortable for you?
Sent from my Nexus S using XDA App
Had this same problem with the last few handsets I've had. The solution I found was to get some of those foam pads for the earbuds. The friction between the foam and your skin keeps the earbuds solidly in your ear. Without the foam, my earbuds constantly fell out which drove me insane.
i have small ears too, i hate ear buds headphones as it causes a lot of pain after 15 min when using over sized ear buds, which are "normal" sizes for big ear peoples
very few products over mini ear buds (normal sizes for us), like a couple of Sony Bluetooth headsets i found in the past.
so i always use headsets that have an ear hook
I find the cable causes the most problems, If I have the cable exiting downwards, I cannot push the earbud in far enough. The only way to get a good fit is to turn them upside down and have the cables looped over the top of my ears.
Haadkoe said:
Had this same problem with the last few handsets I've had. The solution I found was to get some of those foam pads for the earbuds. The friction between the foam and your skin keeps the earbuds solidly in your ear. Without the foam, my earbuds constantly fell out which drove me insane.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Do you mean those black foam pads that used to come with iPods? Do you know where I can find one nowadays? Or is there an easy way to improvise?
And thanks for the response guys, assured me that I'm not the only one to have problems with earbuds.
If you're using in-ear headphones there are 2 solutions:
Comply Foam Tips - Super comfortable but a little bit too expensive for me considering you have to change them every month (or two).
Sony Hybrid Tips Comes in 4 different sizes so you can mix-and-match if your ear canals are not the same size. Very comfortable and durable.
NOTE: There are some "Replacement Sony Silicone Ear Tips" on eBay, most (or all) of them are not the genuine ones. Quality wise is OK but the material is harder than original Sony Hybrid Tips so they may not as fit and comfortable as the real ones.
I thought it was just me I'm living with em until i have enough cash to buy a nice new pair of cans.
Sent from my Google.
you can get some rubber ear bud, the one that came standard is too big for me, so i got some sony ones, they are quite expensive, but you can get the non sony one's, works just as good, but much cheaper.
non sony one set USD 0.64
sony from most country set of 3 (S.M.L) USD 10
sony from japan two set either XS, SS, S, M, L and other sizes in between USD 5.75
Try
I am an earbud addict, try these J3Ms: http://earbudreview.org/earbud-reviews/jbuds-j3j3m-earbud-review/ They come with different earbud pieces so if you have a big ear (it seems like), then you can swap them out for the big earbud pieces.
Thanks for all the suggestions guys, but is there anything I can do with these default ones?
EonHawk said:
Thanks for all the suggestions guys, but is there anything I can do with these default ones?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
as mention, get some new earpads.
suksit said:
If you're using in-ear headphones there are 2 solutions:
Comply Foam Tips - Super comfortable but a little bit too expensive for me considering you have to change them every month (or two).
Sony Hybrid Tips Comes in 4 different sizes so you can mix-and-match if your ear canals are not the same size. Very comfortable and durable.
NOTE: There are some "Replacement Sony Silicone Ear Tips" on eBay, most (or all) of them are not the genuine ones. Quality wise is OK but the material is harder than original Sony Hybrid Tips so they may not as fit and comfortable as the real ones.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I can vouch for comply tips. I use them with klipsch s4.. Outstanding.
Sent from my Nexus S using Tapatalk
To be honest the standard HTC headphones are some of the worst I have seen.... So I was wondering if any if u guys have experimented with other earphones? Please suggest me some good quality earphones for regular use which do not need care... I just dump everything in my bag as a result of which I have a collection of broken earphones and stuff.... Any help is appreciated ... Thanks!
Oh and yes.... Preferably those in ear kind of earphones!
Sent from my HTC Incredible S using Tapatalk
How much are you willing to spend on headphones? I recommend checking this thread out, it's how I decided on which headphones I was gonna buy (all the reviews are sorted by price range) http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread...compared-xears-nature-n3i-xe200pro-added-8-01
any comments on skull candy or Sony? I stuck between these two.... Anything that falls between 10-20 $ ....
Sent from my HTC Incredible S using Tapatalk
Are you talking about the Sony MDR-EX082 / MDR-EX85 he reviewed? I used to have them and I enjoyed them. Great sound isolation, comfort, and sound quality+bass. The only thing I didn't like about them is that the wires linking the earbuds aren't symmetrical (Right earbud's wire is longer than the left one).
In total agreement about the HTC headphones.
I'd love to join you and get a new pair, but I really crave ones with a compatible remote control on them. Y'know, the buttons to allow you to skip track and a mic to answer calls with.
Does anyone know if these are standard in anyway? Anyone had any success stories with a pair working on the Inc S?
Stay away from headphones designed for "iphones" as the fwd and back buttons don't work with the Incr S (or most HTC's). I remember trying a few and maybe the play/stop only worked on a few. Also, I was told that maybe HTC did something differently with some of the more recent phones including the Incr S vs the old Desire, adding to headphone control compatibly issues... I ended up with some Klipsh ProMedia In-Ear http://www.klipsch.com/promedia-in-ear-headset which are essentially the S4 but with a single button and mic. It will stop and start music and handle calls. If you get the "headset button" app you can then set double click, triple click, etc... I've got mine set to fast fwd on double click and rwd on triple click.
Sound-wise, I thought that they sounded the best in that price range. There are lot of good phones at various price points and it all depends on your personal taste (and don't forget comfort...). Best to find a shop that allows you to demo them.
edit: one niggle I have with the Klipsh Promedia is that the button/mic piece sits just around my shirt collar (when I wear a dress shirt) and if I turn my head, sometimes it gets caught and tugs on my right ear phone. They also come with lots of tips to get a right fit. But I use comply foam tips as I always find foam tips the most comfortable and secure for my ears, and I like the sound slightly better with the foam tips (bass seems less boomy).
Sennheiser CX 300 II. not very expensive and decent sound quality, give it a try..
I am using Shure E215 which the sound quality is very impressive.
Anything sennheiser
Ok, do Sony mdr zx 100 work??
Sent from my HTC Incredible S using Tapatalk
Sennheiser
I prefer Sennheiser CX 200 Street II.
+ good quality: i use it for sports
+ perfect sound: in ear = bass
+ fits perfect: 3 different adaptors for your ear are included
+ price: 20€ @ amazon
- 3,5mm plug: For IS a plug with no 90° would be perfect
I use Sony mw600 by earphone,not bad.
Sent from my HTC Incredible S using Tapatalk
I use Klipsch S4i's, and they're ****in awesome.
Pretty good noise isolation & deep and powerful bass
I really can recommend those lil basterds
Btw, the control buttons are working on stock rom, but with cyanogenmod they don't..
klipsch image s4 is good
I have two choices of a pair of headphones.
1)Sennheiser HD 438
2)Razer Orca
Well both of them look nice. The orca have similar specs to the hd 438 and only USD59.99. But does not have a travel case. But the hd 438 has. Which one should i choose?
Sent from my HTC Incredible S using XDA App
I have Sennheiser with bass boost, for not in-ear nice bass
As stated, Sennheiser/klipsch are the way to go. My favourites are Image s4 for klipsch and CX-400-II precission for sennheiser, any of those and you wont be disappointed.
I tried them all and they are all uncomfortable. You have to get the ultimate ear 500vi with remote control. Not only do they sound much better than sure, klipsch headphones but are way cheaper at around 60$. They are very sturdy, no tangle, and come with comply foam ear tips which are the most comfortable things you can put in your ear(they also isolate sound and give a richer base. Did I mention they have the best warranty in the business, they will send you a free pair if ever you encounter any problem!!
http://www.amazon.com/Logitech-Ulti...G2XW/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1324688458&sr=8-2
Danneby said:
As stated, Sennheiser/klipsch are the way to go. My favourites are Image s4 for klipsch and CX-400-II precission for sennheiser, any of those and you wont be disappointed.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Also using sennheiser cx400 ll. 40bugs. Best choice
Sent from my HTC Incredible S using XDA App
Here Xears XSR330PRO
For someone coming from an iPhone to the Note 2, one of the most distressing things is the lack of earphones with functioning volume buttons. I say this because everyone with an iPhone is used to having a big selection of working headsets that have these controls. Because of the wide variety of android phones and their conficting standards, manufacturers have evidently decided it not worthwhile trying to make android compatible earphones with volume controls since they have assumed they'd have to be device specific, and instead opted for a few single button ones. I found this amazing, incomprehensible and unacceptable. You see, I live with my earphones. Besides listening to music or streaming podcasts, I take all my calls with earphones so that I can keep my hands free, and reaching constantly into my pocket to change the volume won't do.
After a laborious search, I've found earphones that work with my Note 2 (ie 3 button ones with volume controls as well as the pause/play button), but they all have issues or problems from my point of view. Nevertheless, the simple answer starts with looking for ones made by HTC or Samsung. Unfortunately, the ones I found from HTC have really cheap speakers and place the mic/controls near your belly button! They also place the mic at the point where the speaker wires branch rather than the typical spot 6" from the right earpiece on its own wire, so winding up the extra wire is an awkward solution at best (I tried it, ughh!) The Samsung OEM ones that should have come with the phone (I'm on ATT and as everyone knows, they didn't include them in their packaging), are fine with respect to the placement of the mic, but the sound may be iffy for some and I find the volume controls too small and poorly placed - I'm often hitting the wrong button. For me though, there was also another worse problem. I know I'm in a minority here, but I can't stand in-ear sound isolating earbuds. (Note: by in-ear, I mean the type that have flexible plastic tips that snug down into the ear canal a bit.) I find them uncomfortable after a very short time, and when I take calls, I feel like I'm speaking under water, or like I have my fingers in my ears. I actually prefer hearing the environmental sound a bit rather than cutting it off. Stupid me, I just prefer the plain old iPhone earphones (not the new earpods). They're cheap, have ok sound with moderate bass, and do what I want. All you others who don't agree with me, don't despair since what I propose applies equally to you.
My final solution to this nasty impass was to clip off the HTC or Samsung earphones and solder on my old iPhone earpieces. I'm writing all this because I know there are a lot of people more or less in my situation, and I just want to encourage people that it really is not hard at all to do this if you're able to solder at all. And afaik, the same applies to people who prefer in-ear buds, or even hi quality ones. Most earpieces are pretty easy to disassemble - one might have to score/lever the joint a bit, but basically you just give a twist with a pliers to the piece nearest your ear that has the grill or holds the in-ear piece, and the speaker and its wired connections can be pulled out of the housing and have its connections exposed. I was confused at first by the iPhone earphones since when I clipped the wire and examined it, there seemed to be four wires going to each earpiece. I spoke to an audio engineer for advice (who designed circuits, cables etc for the audio industry for 40 years) and his basic take on it was the quality is all in the speakers not in the switch, so you really can just swap them, and the extra wires are just twisted around to support the functioning wires structurally - each speaker really has two wires.
Luckily for me, it cost me nothing extra to try this as I had already bought three different working sets off eBay at $5 - $8 each and I had my old iPhone ones (actually two broken sets - I just used the good speaker from each). Anyway, if anyone's interested below are pics of the three Note 2 compatible types I bought (use them to find ones to buy since links change). Remember, in the end I only needed them for the plug, working switch/mic, and wires - the speakers are thrown away. And also pics of a disassembled iphone earpiece as well as a finished hybrid. The one I did uses the white HTC earphones as a base. I of course shortened the wires going to the earpieces. I don't mind the Samsung one once in a while, so I plan to order another and when it arrives, alter it as a spare hybrid like the other - with iPhone earpieces.
There are several other ones out there that would probably do as well as the ones I bought, but they all have in-ear type earpieces so I didn't order them, and I can't vouch for their volume controls working. I'd guess several will. Sometimes android earphones apparently use the outer buttons to advance or rewind (next track/previous track) so watch out for those. I don't see the point of them since double click/triple click does that for me with all the audio players I've tried (Walkman, PowerAmp, Player Pro) and the volume controls are more important to me anyway. It's also difficult to tell from the eBay pictures if the mic/controls are near the belly button or not, and after buying two that had this design, I didn't feel like trying more at random. If anyone has ordered other ones and found the buttons work (FOR VOLUME CONTROLS!) and especially if they have the better, single wire mic layout, I'd be interested if you'd post the name and pics of what you've tried and found works.
Soldering tips: dip the wire ends in a tiny bit of alcohol and briefly burn off the nylon support strands and coating with a cigarette lighter before tinning the ends and then soldering. If you are timid, cut the wire near the speaker (1") rather than desoldering it. You can then test the whole thing out by twisting wires together rather than straight away soldering your new wires to the speakers. The joint can still be coiled up and hidden in the earpiece housing. It will also keep clear what color wire goes where and if you aren't good with soldering (like me) that also has the advantage of not risking making a total mess of the contacts on the speakers straight away! The "standard" earphone color code is Red pair on Right channel, Blue or Green on Left.
On a related issue on audio on the Note 2, I'd like to mention that I had to use the volume mod (I edited my own default_gain.conf - root required) so that the phone call volume, as well as streaming audio such you get with news apps, was high enough for me - though I also increased the volume for music as well. Also, I recommend using the Equalizer app from the Play store rather than Beats Audio to add some extra bass etc to the earphones since unlike Beats, it is a system wide EQ, so you can improve the sound of podcasts and phone calls as well as your music! Using it necessitates disabling all other EQs.
Love the Note 2 and this forum! Good Luck and I hope this helps someone!
Sorry, I only made it half way to the 2nd paragraph. That's a long post.
Didn't read you long post but from the title I use some MEE i9p's the mic works fine but since they don't have a volume button cant answer that part.
Dumbo53 said:
I say this because everyone with an iPhone is used to having a big selection of working headsets that have these controls. Because of the wide variety of android phones and their conficting standards, manufacturers have evidently decided it not worthwhile trying to make android compatible earphones with volume controls since they have assumed they'd have to be device specific, and instead opted for a few single button ones.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Isn't Apple the odd one out here? Their inline remotes don't work in other devices, but an inline remote that works for android also works for blackberry devices. The inline remotes made for android devices all work for each android device.. what the buttons actually do is a different story. Oddly, for samsung, the ff and rw buttons control the volume in their devices instead.. but I think this is a more ideal usage of it. Since if you get a rom that has hold volume for ff or rw, you'll have double usage of the buttons. On HTC devices, they work as intended (ff and rw actually ff and rw).
I use these scull candys and they function properly...
Ok. So out of the replies so far most stated they didnt read it all since its rather lengthy. Props for honesty guys. I did read all of the post. The OP has done his or her homework and confirmed a few suspicions and answered a few questions I had about earbud controls. Along with a very educated way of asking us to give feedback on successful full volume controls and what breand or models we found worked.
I have been useing the Samsung buds that came with my wifes S3. So yea full control on every rom I have used thus far. Hybrid and Jedi.
Great post OP. Everyone else read the entire post before replying.
I just got the Motorola S11 Flex HD (Bluetooth headphones). They are sweat proof and designed for running and working out. They have a power button, multi-function button, a volume up and down button. I enjoy the freedom of being wireless, especially when running/working out.
Audio quality is ok, probably no worse than the standard headset the come with most devices. They don't compare to my quality headphones (Shure SE530, Klipsch X10). I'm sure you lose some audio quality when making the device sweat proof.
What I wasn't expecting was the built in mic to work as well as they did. I've made three phone calls and they all said I sounded fine and in fact better than my previous BT headset. Now this wasn't in windy or noisy conditions, but still better than I expected.
iahk said:
Oddly, for samsung, the ff and rw buttons control the volume in their devices instead.. but I think this is a more ideal usage of it. Since if you get a rom that has hold volume for ff or rw, you'll have double usage of the buttons. On HTC devices, they work as intended (ff and rw actually ff and rw).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's why I use a 3-button Samsung headphone set and a music player that uses long-press (or multi-press) of the answer/end button to skip tracks.
iahk said:
Isn't Apple the odd one out here? Their inline remotes don't work in other devices, but an inline remote that works for android also works for blackberry devices. The inline remotes made for android devices all work for each android device.. what the buttons actually do is a different story. Oddly, for samsung, the ff and rw buttons control the volume in their devices instead.. but I think this is a more ideal usage of it. Since if you get a rom that has hold volume for ff or rw, you'll have double usage of the buttons. On HTC devices, they work as intended (ff and rw actually ff and rw).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Its because Apple made the 3rd pin on the headphone jack just a little lower so you can't use their headphones anywhere else except on an Apple device. It forces all the other OEM's to follow suit hence the "lack" of support for Android. Another silly game of having proprietary devices. Haven't you noticed that with there new "lightning" connector? The world is using microUSB Apple for goodness sake!
Because of that, I decided to drop the inline button management and went back to the old school way of doing things (manually), Klipsch Image X10's baby.
If I ever do decide to manage my music, I'll use a stereo bluetooth device with built-in audio controls.
Guys, I just bought these for $6.99, voila volume controls. Compared to the OEM ones that came with my friend's Sprint Note 2 and they are identical. Wish I could use my Klipsch over-ears but hey, these sound decent for the price.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA0AW0FR3561
Sorry to all if my message got lost by making my post too long. The really short version of it is you can have your cake and eat it too. Afaik, the volume controls/mic on Apple or Samsung or Htc earphones all do the same thing but in slightly different ways and don't influence the sound quality of the speakers. It is pretty easy to clip off the cheap earphones from a Note 2 compatible set and replace them with the higher quality earpieces of your choice. The hybrid earphones I made are identical as far as my ears can tell to the unaltered Apple ones. I am really happy with them. If I found another set with much better quality (not inear ones), I wouldn't hesitate to do the same again.
So, themyst, you could simply cut off the Klipsch earpieces and solder them on to a Samsung set of wires if you wanted to, though I would be cautious and try carefully opening an earpiece assembly first to verify that there are only two wires going to the speaker before cutting anything!
@[-]awkeye, I could be wrong here, but I really don't think the incompatibility of iPhone headphones with Android has anything to do with the 3rd pin of the plug. I attach below a photo of the Samsung earphone jack (left) right next to the Apple one (right) for you to look for yourself. I think they are both standard 4 pin plugs.
My audio engineer friend believed that the problem is a proprietary IC on the tiny circuit board that controls the switch and mic. The two different switches I guess send different amounts or types of current (have a different impedance?) back to the phone. My guess is that it should be possible to interpret the Apple signals within Android via a software fix of some kind, though it might have to be low level, ie part of the OS.
In any case, I have also read that Android earphones themselves don't follow any standard and that causes a further problem for third part manufacturers. The first and fourth pins for example have their wires swapped in some Android models. So the wires that lead to the pins can be different, the switches can be different, but the wires that lead to the speakers should all be the same, or at least that was the case for all the earphones I cut up. It's part of the reason I made this post -- to try to get more definitive answers on this whole subject. If anyone comes across a different speaker wiring design, I would be interested to know.
If you want true 'hands free', then go bluetooth style.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I317 using Tapatalk 2
Yes I agree, a bluetooth headset with volume controls would be great, even ideal, though personally I don't like the wrap around designs. I suppose they are made that way to work with jogging. Perhaps I could get used to it as long as it didn't cut off the outside sound like your typical in-ear buds. Ideal for me would just be unobtrusive speakers that fit in your ears without any wires, but then how would you control the volume etc?
There are bluetooth ear buds with noise cancellation as well as volume control.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I317 using Tapatalk 2
Dumbo53 said:
Sorry to all if my message got lost by making my post too long. The really short version of it is you can have your cake and eat it too. Afaik, the volume controls/mic on Apple or Samsung or Htc earphones all do the same thing but in slightly different ways and don't influence the sound quality of the speakers. It is pretty easy to clip off the cheap earphones from a Note 2 compatible set and replace them with the higher quality earpieces of your choice. The hybrid earphones I made are identical as far as my ears can tell to the unaltered Apple ones. I am really happy with them. If I found another set with much better quality (not inear ones), I wouldn't hesitate to do the same again.
So, themyst, you could simply cut off the Klipsch earpieces and solder them on to a Samsung set of wires if you wanted to, though I would be cautious and try carefully opening an earpiece assembly first to verify that there are only two wires going to the speaker before cutting anything!
@[-]awkeye, I could be wrong here, but I really don't think the incompatibility of iPhone headphones with Android has anything to do with the 3rd pin of the plug. I attach below a photo of the Samsung earphone jack (left) right next to the Apple one (right) for you to look for yourself. I think they are both standard 4 pin plugs.
My audio engineer friend believed that the problem is a proprietary IC on the tiny circuit board that controls the switch and mic. The two different switches I guess send different amounts or types of current (have a different impedance?) back to the phone. My guess is that it should be possible to interpret the Apple signals within Android via a software fix of some kind, though it might have to be low level, ie part of the OS.
In any case, I have also read that Android earphones themselves don't follow any standard and that causes a further problem for third part manufacturers. The first and fourth pins for example have their wires swapped in some Android models. So the wires that lead to the pins can be different, the switches can be different, but the wires that lead to the speakers should all be the same, or at least that was the case for all the earphones I cut up. It's part of the reason I made this post -- to try to get more definitive answers on this whole subject. If anyone comes across a different speaker wiring design, I would be interested to know.
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Interesting, but I don't have any plans cutting up my 100 headphones. I can't believe some manufacturer in China hasn't made Samsung / Android compatible control adapters yet!
I have the zagg buds and they seem to work granted no forward / back but the button will play/pause and mute when in calls.
themyst said:
Guys, I just bought these for $6.99, voila volume controls. Compared to the OEM ones that came with my friend's Sprint Note 2 and they are identical. Wish I could use my Klipsch over-ears but hey, these sound decent for the price.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA0AW0FR3561
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Well, if you like Klipsch, there is an Android-friendly solution, the S4a which even has a companion app for controlling what the buttons do and various other things.
If you want to use your own conventional headphones, there are options that don't require any re-wiring. My N2 works very nicely with my Jabra Clipper, a Bluetooth device that comes with a mike and a 3.5mm socket. It allows you to use any earphones as both a media device and a phone headset. Just the opposite of having to re-wire the headset to your N2, this allows you to go wireless and keep your phone in a pants pocket or bag. Its battery recharges with the same microUSB connector as the N2's.
In fact, the earphones that come with the Clipper aren't too bad themselves. But I use the Clipper with pre-Android Klipsch S4 earphones and I'm very happy with the result.
Both the Clipper and the Klipsch S4a are widely available, including on eBay.
Neither the Jabra nor S4a have volume controls...
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I317 using xda app-developers app
Dumbo53 said:
Neither the Jabra nor S4a have volume controls...
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I317 using xda app-developers app
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I have a Jabra Clipper and I use its volume controls all the time. Yours must be broken.
Actually, they're generic +/- controls (which the S4a has as well, as does the Sony MW600 which I have also owned). You can determine in software whether the buttons are used for volume or for previous/next. I use mine for volume.
el56, no, I don't have either - I was just wrong! Thanks for the clarification. This is the kind of info I was hoping to hear about. If we get some more, I'll add a list to the thread (Volume enabled earphones). I've looked at the Klipsch (S4a) in the stores several times but never saw it out of the package and was under the impression it had no volume controls. It looked like it had one button to me, and actually I wasn't all that interested in them anyway. I'd bought a pair (S4i?) for my iPhone a year or so ago and wasn't impressed with the sound - they sounded tinny to me. I wondered in fact if they were defective but I didn't take it further. But more importantly they were the in-ear type which I can't use for long stretches or for phone calls.
I guess I didn't understand what the Jabra was, and I never even heard of the Sony, so thanks for pointing them out also. If I get it now, they are really a different category device - not earphones, but sending units that they plug into. I particularly like the idea of having an FM radio (which I guess comes with the Sony). How does the mic work though? If it's part of the unit and not on the wires, isn't it awkward to hold that up to your mouth. Nevertheless it looks worth trying out. So far, yours is the best response I've gotten to this post! Thanks again.
With regard to sound the Samsung Note 10.1 gets it. The HTC One gets it. But the Samsung Note 2 doesn't.
What am I talking about? Putting the speaker on the front. On my Note 2, when I'm watching a video I have to curl my right hand around the back to deflect the sound to the front. After all, it's ME that needs to hear the sound not the guy in front of me.
So, why hasn't some case maker come up with a simple case mod that doesn't have a speaker opening in the back of but, instead channels the sound to the front. Kinda like cupping my hand does. It'd be a simple thing to do and would instantly get my dollars.
There's a number of speaker adapters for iPhones and iPads that do just that but nothing for the Note 2. Why not build it right into the case?
Have you seen such a case?
TabGuy said:
With regard to sound the Samsung Note 10.1 gets it. The HTC One gets it. But the Samsung Note 2 doesn't.
What am I talking about? Putting the speaker on the front. On my Note 2, when I'm watching a video I have to curl my right hand around the back to deflect the sound to the front. After all, it's ME that needs to hear the sound not the guy in front of me.
So, why hasn't some case maker come up with a simple case mod that doesn't have a speaker opening in the back of but, instead channels the sound to the front. Kinda like cupping my hand does. It'd be a simple thing to do and would instantly get my dollars.
There's a number of speaker adapters for iPhones and iPads that do just that but nothing for the Note 2. Why not build it right into the case?
Have you seen such a case?
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Mophie has done this for the iPhone with their battery cases.
Most likely not many people are doing this for the Note2 because it does add quite a bit of length or bulk to the phone. Your best bet would be to look at battery cases, since those add bulk anyways and most of the people who buy those don't care about the size. I have not seen anything like that though.
Do such things actually improve the audio or is it all a placebo effect?
DaBountyHunter said:
Do such things actually improve the audio or is it all a placebo effect?
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Personally, I don't find that huge of a difference. The audio quality on the note 2 is great, and I sort of think if you set it flat on a table the sound bounces of the table and you get a better disbursement of sound.
However, the issue on the iPhone was the speaker is at the bottom of the phone. If you game, you cover the speaker up with your hand. I can see that being an issue for the N2 as well. The mophie case curved the speaker to the top, so pretty much you could game and not cover up the speaker with your hand.
The Note 2 sound isn't all that great IMO. really wish they would implement something like what HTC is doing with the one as it blows our phones sound away.
I say that using a BT speaker most of the time when at work, but being out and about it would be nice to have a louder speaker and it be in the front.
I know zerolemon extended battery case that just came out funnels the sound and supposedly seems louder. Placebo effect or not, that I am not sure.
Fancy pants Note ||
JesseMT4G said:
The Note 2 sound isn't all that great IMO. really wish they would implement something like what HTC is doing with the one as it blows our phones sound away.
I say that using a BT speaker most of the time when at work, but being out and about it would be nice to have a louder speaker and it be in the front.
I know zerolemon extended battery case that just came out funnels the sound and supposedly seems louder. Placebo effect or not, that I am not sure.
Fancy pants Note ||
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I actually find the Note to be the loudest phone I've owned. Certainly much louder than my Galaxy Nexus.
I have a ZeroLemon battery and case. It's jus a hole Stauffer back.
TabGuy said:
I actually find the Note to be the loudest phone I've owned. Certainly much louder than my Galaxy Nexus.
I have a ZeroLemon battery and case. It's jus a hole Stauffer back.
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It's hardly any louder than my s3, have tested it side by side and while louder, it isn't a huge difference. When checking the HTC One it was huge with the One coming out on top.
Don't get me wrong, love my Note 2, just wish it was louder.
You have the 9300 extended battery with TPU case? The other reviews say it helps with sound. I don't know, don't have it, just going by other threads.
Fancy pants Note ||
JesseMT4G said:
It's hardly any louder than my s3, have tested it side by side and while louder, it isn't a huge difference. When checking the HTC One it was huge with the One coming out on top.
Don't get me wrong, love my Note 2, just wish it was louder.
You have the 9300 extended battery with TPU case? The other reviews say it helps with sound. I don't know, don't have it, just going by other threads.
Fancy pants Note ||
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Yes, I have the case. But I hadn't tested the sound until you pointed that out. And, surprisingly, it does make the sound much louder from the front.
Good deal!
Fancy pants Note ||
JesseMT4G said:
It's hardly any louder than my s3, have tested it side by side and while louder, it isn't a huge difference. When checking the HTC One it was huge with the One coming out on top.
Don't get me wrong, love my Note 2, just wish it was louder.
You have the 9300 extended battery with TPU case? The other reviews say it helps with sound. I don't know, don't have it, just going by other threads.
Fancy pants Note ||
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I think there are mods to change the dB level output of the speaker, although too high and you might blow it. AC!D Rom makes the sound output on this thing a lot louder and crisper. Might just be me though, but I have a few friends who have the note 2, played the same song, and mine was noticeably louder.
I personally look at it in a different way. Tablets is something you can use as entertainment for more than one person. With Note 2 - it's a private entertainment thing, and I care more about quality of headphones rather than quality of speakers. Just a personal preference, I guess. I actually watch a lot of tv/movies on it in bed, and in that case I'm more than happy with my bluebuds x
vectron said:
I personally look at it in a different way. Tablets is something you can use as entertainment for more than one person. With Note 2 - it's a private entertainment thing, and I care more about quality of headphones rather than quality of speakers. Just a personal preference, I guess. I actually watch a lot of tv/movies on it in bed, and in that case I'm more than happy with my bluebuds x
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I am quite the opposite, when out and about my Note 2 is my everything device to where I hardly use my Nexus 7, especially since I can't teather to it, unless I Root and haven't done that for awhile.
Now at home I rock the Nexus 7 quite a bit, as well as the kids, lol!
I am at work right now and tablet is just sitting in my work bag all lonely, haha!
The Note 2 is an amazing device, so much I hardly miss the Nexus 7.
Fancy pants Note ||
I don't understand why samsung doesn't improve on the speakers of their phones. I LOVE my N2, but I think on a high end device they should now be at a point where they have dual/stereo front facing speakers. I don't expect 'amazing' sound, but they are now used for personal mult-media and some 'good' sound should come with the package...I applaud HTC for their efforts on that part!