Does Anyone Else Enjoy The Sound From Their Smartphone Speakers?

[MattHooper]

Just wondering how odd I may be on this question.

I've always been fascinated by portable audio, and have wished for better sound quality from phones for a long time. Even back when I had a Motorola Razr flip phone, which could play downloaded mp3s, it was neat to be able to just play a song and set the phone down and listen (usually while doing something else). I'm not a phone-geek and I'm pretty conservative in not bothering to upgrade really often. So it was from the Razr to an iphone 4, then iphone 7, and now iPhone 13.

When we'd travel I'd use acoustics to advantage, for instance when playing music I'd stick the phone in an open drawer in the hotel room, or sitting in the corner of a bookshelf, where I'd get a significant enhancement in volume from the acoustic loading.

But I have to say, for me the iphone 13 finally "did it" for me, in terms of sound quality from the speakers. First: stereo! Cool! Even more than that...dolby processing? I was shocked the first time I watched a trailer or something on youtube, turned my phone to landscape and the sound spread out around the phone. I didn't even know it had that feature until then.

But also, I continue to be impressed just in terms of sheer "how does a bumble-bee fly?" level of sound quality. A well recorded podcast voice can sound really clear and rich. Again, I often use acoustics to advantage, and placing the phone on a soft surface - a sofa or my bed - can take that slight edge off the sound/sibilance and produce an even more "organic" and naturally balanced voice.

When I watch some live youtube music performance videos on the phone (landscape mode) if it's well recorded I'm continually amazed at the level of detail and timbral nuance I seem to be hearing from such a frequency-limited transducer. There is a sort of beautiful see-through clarity that comes when there isn't much bass frequency to muddy the sound.
In fact, there are some music tracks which I have actually preferred on my iphone speakers, vs anywhere else I've heard them.

So...what are your thoughts? Am I the only one enjoying sound on a smart phone? I haven't heard sound from the Android phones and I wouldn't be surprised if some are competitive with or better than the iphone, sonically.

 

[Timcognito]

My old LG G8 sounded better than my iPhone 12. more bass

 

[HeadDoc12]

Just wondering how odd I may be on this question.

I've always been fascinated by portable audio, and have wished for better sound quality from phones for a long time. Even back when I had a Motorola Razr flip phone, which could play downloaded mp3s, it was neat to be able to just play a song and set the phone down and listen (usually while doing something else). I'm not a phone-geek and I'm pretty conservative in not bothering to upgrade really often. So it was from the Razr to an iphone 4, then iphone 7, and now iPhone 13.

When we'd travel I'd use acoustics to advantage, for instance when playing music I'd stick the phone in an open drawer in the hotel room, or sitting in the corner of a bookshelf, where I'd get a significant enhancement in volume from the acoustic loading.

But I have to say, for me the iphone 13 finally "did it" for me, in terms of sound quality from the speakers. First: stereo! Cool! Even more than that...dolby processing? I was shocked the first time I watched a trailer or something on youtube, turned my phone to landscape and the sound spread out around the phone. I didn't even know it had that feature until then.

But also, I continue to be impressed just in terms of sheer "how does a bumble-bee fly?" level of sound quality. A well recorded podcast voice can sound really clear and rich. Again, I often use acoustics to advantage, and placing the phone on a soft surface - a sofa or my bed - can take that slight edge off the sound/sibilance and produce an even more "organic" and naturally balanced voice.

When I watch some live youtube music performance videos on the phone (landscape mode) if it's well recorded I'm continually amazed at the level of detail and timbral nuance I seem to be hearing from such a frequency-limited transducer. There is a sort of beautiful see-through clarity that comes when there isn't much bass frequency to muddy the sound.
In fact, there are some music tracks which I have actually preferred on my iphone speakers, vs anywhere else I've heard them.

So...what are your thoughts? Am I the only one enjoying sound on a smart phone? I haven't heard sound from the Android phones and I wouldn't be surprised if some are competitive with or better than the iphone, sonically.

I, too, am amazed by the sound quality of speakers that, by definition, are as small as possible. I was an Android diehard until getting my iPhone 13 mini a year and a half ago, and there used to be some real competition around sound quality. I even seem to recall a phone that claimed to have a subwoofer (really just some kind of acoustic chamber in the back), and possibly another one that tried to use flat surfaces to significantly increase bass output. Currently, it seems like Asus and some others that make very large and/or gaming focused phones are the closest thing to "audiophile" phones, with the iPhone 14 Pro Max giving them a run for the money. In other words, physics rules, so size matters. Of course, anyone willing to spend even $700 on a phone, let alone much more, can probably justify the $90 or more for a decent Bluetooth speaker that will sound 100X better. I do plan to get the biggest iPhone 15 when it's released in the Fall, so I will try to do some kind of rough A/B comparison with my tiny phone and the new huge one. But I think we all know how it will go.

 

[ZolaIII]

And there is a phone with accessorie that is cooler and subwoofer with good speakers for what it is and more importantly 3.5 mm headphone out and very interesting bass enhancement (Dirac).

Asus ROG Phone 7 Ultimate review

Asus has always been a fan of carrying tech forward from generation to generation, and perhaps the best example is the display. Just like last year, the...

m.gsmarena.com

 

[GD Fan]

I guess I enjoy the sound from my smart phone speakers far more than from anyone else's...

 

[Trell]

Nope, but I do sometimes watch YouTube with it. The phone is an iPhone 12

 

[DWPress]

My partner's favorite. I walk into the house and she's got music or an audiobook or even a video going on her iPhone 8 while she's working (small batch chocolates in our kitchen) and it drives me nuts - sounds like a distortion box because the volume is all the way up. Adding insult to injury, I have the whole house set up in 3 zones for audio via Airplay including the kitchen. Before we got together 4 years ago she had never been with a "stereo junkie" before so she claims she just forgets she CAN have decent audio.

At least she's very appreciative of my system in my studio and joins me for listening sessions.

 

[Matt Bell]

I have a strong physical aversion to the distortion created by smartphone speakers. I can't use any smartphone on speakerphone or be in the same room as someone using one. The latest iPhones are no exception.

 

[amirm]

I shopped on that basis and landed on Samsung S23 Ultra. In direct comparison, none of the other Android phones sounded as loud and as full/clear. Its larger size allows that to happen combined with more powerful amp, etc. I listen to a lot of youtube on it and needed it to be loud to overcome the noise of my electric toothbrush and some. There is clearly some good DSP going on to make such small speakers sound this decent.

 

[nerdstrike]

The Pixel 2's front-facing speaker pair were kinda nice (for a phone), from before everything was edge-to-edge glass... The Pixel 6 on the other hand is loud but sounds terrible. I quite like the buzzing feeling I get if I cover the speaker hole with a finger?

 

[JohnnyNG]

The speakers on my iPhone SE (2020) and iPad Mini are more than good enough for nighttime podcast listening.

 

[Heatsink]

My partner's favorite. I walk into the house and she's got music or an audiobook or even a video going on her iPhone 8 while she's working (small batch chocolates in our kitchen) and it drives me nuts - sounds like a distortion box because the volume is all the way up. Adding insult to injury, I have the whole house set up in 3 zones for audio via Airplay including the kitchen. Before we got together 4 years ago she had never been with a "stereo junkie" before so she claims she just forgets she CAN have decent audio.

At least she's very appreciative of my system in my studio and joins me for listening sessions.

I'm just glad to hear I'm not the only one. Six Roon zones with quality amplification and (mostly) speakers, a full 7.1 home theater with a 100" projection screen, plus a living room tv with a solid sound system, and she spends 90% of her time watching/listening to her phone.

 

[restorer-john]

I use the iPhone speaker only for hands free calls. Sure, it is amazing for such a tiny speaker, but a 1970s pocket transistor radio sounds way better. People have just gotten used to dreadful audio from these thin slabs of glass and metal.

 

[JimFarrell29]

I have a cheap Realme 7 Pro and the Atmos sound is quite remarkable, giving a soundstage way wider than the phone itself - up to one foot on either side to my ears at least. I thought Atmos on phones was a ridiculous gimmick, but actually it really seems to help.
Also my Galaxy tab S8 Ultra has similarly great sound with Atmos processing.

 

[MaxBuck]

Just wondering how odd I may be on this question.

I've always been fascinated by portable audio, and have wished for better sound quality from phones for a long time. Even back when I had a Motorola Razr flip phone, which could play downloaded mp3s, it was neat to be able to just play a song and set the phone down and listen (usually while doing something else). I'm not a phone-geek and I'm pretty conservative in not bothering to upgrade really often. So it was from the Razr to an iphone 4, then iphone 7, and now iPhone 13.

When we'd travel I'd use acoustics to advantage, for instance when playing music I'd stick the phone in an open drawer in the hotel room, or sitting in the corner of a bookshelf, where I'd get a significant enhancement in volume from the acoustic loading.

But I have to say, for me the iphone 13 finally "did it" for me, in terms of sound quality from the speakers. First: stereo! Cool! Even more than that...dolby processing? I was shocked the first time I watched a trailer or something on youtube, turned my phone to landscape and the sound spread out around the phone. I didn't even know it had that feature until then.

But also, I continue to be impressed just in terms of sheer "how does a bumble-bee fly?" level of sound quality. A well recorded podcast voice can sound really clear and rich. Again, I often use acoustics to advantage, and placing the phone on a soft surface - a sofa or my bed - can take that slight edge off the sound/sibilance and produce an even more "organic" and naturally balanced voice.

When I watch some live youtube music performance videos on the phone (landscape mode) if it's well recorded I'm continually amazed at the level of detail and timbral nuance I seem to be hearing from such a frequency-limited transducer. There is a sort of beautiful see-through clarity that comes when there isn't much bass frequency to muddy the sound.
In fact, there are some music tracks which I have actually preferred on my iphone speakers, vs anywhere else I've heard them.

So...what are your thoughts? Am I the only one enjoying sound on a smart phone? I haven't heard sound from the Android phones and I wouldn't be surprised if some are competitive with or better than the iphone, sonically.

I like the sound when my phone plays "Love Shack" when my sweetie calls.

Otherwise, no, don't like it one single bit.

 

[Liya]

I have 13 Pro Max. While listening to Apple Music I go for 'small speaker' eq. it is better but could do with more bass.

 

[Chrispy]

Haven't used many portable systems over the years, my vehicles I suppose come into play the most and have had fairly capable ones in the last several vehicles. My favorite portable beyond the vehicle is the Cambridge Soundworks Model Twelve I've had for a long time, good for motel/camping type travel. A little more involved than a boom box, tho I did use one in an office for a while, but definitely not as good as the Model Twelve. Using tv or pad or phone speakers, hell no, that's just a waste of aural capacity. Maybe some portable bluetooth type speakers I've heard but not my preference when there's better easily had....I'd usually opt for headphones for real portability, and don't really like wearing those either.

 

[MattHooper]

I'm just glad to hear I'm not the only one. Six Roon zones with quality amplification and (mostly) speakers, a full 7.1 home theater with a 100" projection screen, plus a living room tv with a solid sound system, and she spends 90% of her time watching/listening to her phone.

Yup, same here. Fully renovated room with projection screen, gorgeous picture and surround sound, and I can count on one hand how many times my wife has watched a movie in the room over the last 12 years. Just ain't her thang. She'll watch all her junky shows, or movies, on her laptop. Fortunately my boys love joining for movies (and lots of friends).

 

[MattHooper]

I use the iPhone speaker only for hands free calls. Sure, it is amazing for such a tiny speaker, but a 1970s pocket transistor radio sounds way better. People have just gotten used to dreadful audio from these thin slabs of glass and metal.

I honestly don't find the audio dreadful. I mean, it's not like I'm not acquainted with good audio.

And even in the convenience realm, we have a Sonos One Gen 2 smart speaker for the kitchen/family room area, and yeah its far bigger, richer sound. But I still quite like the iphone speakers and enjoy some stuff more from the phone. I know. Nuts.

 

[ryanosaur]

Laughing...
I don't mind the audio on my iPhone, but I also recognize it isn't great. But I also don't expect it to be. When I do use it, it's usually more in quiet settings where I don't have access to other Speakers.

Funny thing...
Put the iPhone on your head with the Speaker pointing forward. It actually sounds much better!
And I'm being completely serious here. I don't even know why I did it the first time, but it happened.

On the other hand, I think there is also a nearness factor at play. The closer you are, the better music comes across. The Lady listens to her iPhone Speaker all the time and if I'm more than half a room away, the annoyance factor rises significantly as what SQ it does happen to have degrades.
Of course, there is also the factor of whether you like the music being played or not in that situation.