# iPhone 6 (& Plus) & iOS 8 Sound Quality Discussion



## sling5s

I had the iPhone 4 and my daughter has the iPhone 5S, now I have the iPhone 6.  
 So far I feel the iPhone 6 has the best sound.  It's warm but detailed. 
  
 The iPhone 4 and 5S with the iOS 7 sounded detailed but on the neutral and clean side.
 But now the iPhone 6 (& iOS8 of course) sounds a little warmer but slightly more detailed than both. 
  
 Anyone have their iPhone 6 or plus yet?  What are your impressions of the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus?


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## bcstyle

I have the iPhone 6 128gb space grey and I agree on the sound being warm but detailed.
 While 4S and 5 that I have sound neutral and detailed, the 6 brings about a reminiscence of iPhone 3GS's warm but detailed sound.
For that reason I think it pairs wonderfully with my Sennheiser Amperior.
  
I would like to know the impedance output of the iPhone 6 and if the 6+ has any differing sound characteristics.


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## sling5s

For my sensitive IEM like JH13pro, I use an impedance resistance adaptor (adds 75 ohms) so iPhone headphone jack output impedance issue is not an issue.  I've used the adaptor for 4, 5S and iPhone 6 and the 6 still sounds slightly warmer but more detailed.


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## mr.khali

A bit of a warmer sound is exactly what I was hoping for on the new iPhone.  Looking forward to receiving mine.  I am currently using an iPhone 4.


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## Wingsabr

I have the space gray iPhone 6+ and I'm very impressed with the sound quality. I'm using the BW P7 and I'll echo what others have shared about the sound........warmer, great depth and detail, and good staging. I listen with BW P7's.


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## kissmevn

I upgraded my Iphone 5 to ios 8 and wow, the sound became warmer and more detailed. So I suspect that they did something with the software more than with hardware


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## bcstyle

It's interesting to find pre 2010 members whom I presume being in this hobby for awhile, would of had many different experiences with audiophile daps still find music enjoyable on a phone. As for me I've had my share of daps but always kind of come back to iPhones as portability is best with phone and iem along with being very content with the sound quality.


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## The Fly

Got the iphone 6 over the weekend and have been really impressed with the SQ - I rarely used the iphone 5 for music preferring computer or ipod with Sony PHA1 but I've tried with Sennheiser Momentums, Westone 4Rs and Beyerdynamic DT1350 and it really does hold it's own. Particularly surprised that it does a good job with the DT1350s which I always felt needed a good amplifier powering them.


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## Baroninkjet

The other thread: 
  
 http://www.head-fi.org/t/733890/iphone-6-with-128gb


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## Pindi

Jus started playing around with the iPhone 6 plus and I'm not sure about the sound quality. I was using an iPhone 4 for a while and liked that. The 6 seems to have a wider soundstage but lacks the impact of the 4. The best way I can describe it is the 4 was a more forward sounding player. This is how I've felt using my vmoda m80s. I'll try it with my se535s and see but as it goes, I prefer the 4


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## Causality

Does anyone know if playing ALACs off the IPhone 6 will sound better when hooked up to a car's audio system as opposed MP3s through a FM transmitter? (Planning to upgrade to 6 from 4S around Christmas)


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## ZedsDead

I don't think it'll make much difference if they're both through the FM transmitter. The transmitter is definitely bottle necking your SQ


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## lustandwet

I tried the iphone 6 plus in an apple store today , I didn't find any differences between the new ones with my 5s .]
 Oh , BTW , I used se535 with it ..


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## fluidz

Isn't sending via fm digital? The sq of the iphone wouldn't make any difference.


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## joey99

pindi said:


> Jus started playing around with the iPhone 6 plus and I'm not sure about the sound quality. I was using an iPhone 4 for a while and liked that. The 6 seems to have a wider soundstage but lacks the impact of the 4. The best way I can describe it is the 4 was a more forward sounding player. This is how I've felt using my vmoda m80s. I'll try it with my se535s and see but as it goes, I prefer the 4


 
  
 this is exactly what I'm feeling at the moment .. I really enjoyed my music from my i4 but finding the i6 a bit bland and not exciting anymore.


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## qba3d

To be honest this is a disaster or at least shocking after iOS 7 to iOS 8 update. The sound is really degradated in a way. The separation is Lost , depth is gone, highs are rolled and so is the lowest bass.The dynamics are sort of gone? The roll offs are minor but separation is to my ears rather big problem as it led to not engaging music. It's just dulish, one more complex tracks music turns to mess a bit. Tried on Senn Momentum over ear, XBA-3, ath-im50 straight from iPhone 5s.
On IOS 7 it was sharp, a bit artificial in its digital presentation but at least fun to listen.

Maybe it's just me? Maybe it's just change that needs to grow on me?

Any one also could give it a listen?

All the best!
q


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## BigBobWillsFan

I have a new iPhone 6+ with 128 GB. Previously I was using an old 3GS. Using the same relatively inexpensive hardwired headphones, the volume, the clarity, the stereo separation and the high fidelity range were immediately noticeable and remarkably superior to that of the 3GS. Furthermore the more I listen to music, even streaming music on the 6+ the more I am impressed with the overall sound quality they have engineered into this new phone. I report this from the perspective of the home stereo audio file that I am, having invested many thousands of dollars in reference quality home stereo equipment.


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## MrGuzmanWhite

I just got the iPhone 6 Plus, and I can testify that there is a significant difference form the iPhone 5 I had before the change. The iPhone 6 + is clearly, warmer, and much more controlled of high frequencies spikes and aggressive highs, even with poor recordings. It seems to have more soundstage and perhaps instrument separation that the iPhone 5, but certainly the biggest difference is that it is warmer, and less edgy with some modern music. It kinds of smoothens out the sound without losing detail and clarity, but it becomes darker and warmer. Maybe more analogue type, if I may say this in that way (?).
  
 I have been testing it with "bright" headphones like the Beyern T70p, with the iPhone 5 it may be a bit too "hot" and aggressive, even sibilant with poor recordings, but with the iPhone 6 + it gains "body" to the music and loses the hot treble sufficiently to make it close to perfect.
  
 But besides the Beyern T70p, I can clearly notice being warmer with the Ety ER4P and the Beoplay H6, so in general it is a warmer source. I am not sure I like it more because I don't like warm and dark sound, but as my HPs have "high clarity" and are  on  the "bright side", they are compatible with the iPhone 6 +.
  
 A dark headphone with the iPhone 6 + may become a too dark.


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## mark2410

small request
  
http://www.head-fi.org/t/750941/has-anyone-done-a-comparative-iphone-5-vs-iphone-6-audio-quality-review


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## g5amo

This is my first post to Head-Fi ... I was drawn to this thread as I've just purchased a 128Gb 6 Plus. 
  
 I am very disappointed with the 6 Plus audio quality, almost all my (Apple Lossless) tracks lack the clarity and power of other iPhone's I've owned.
  
 My youngest daughter has a 4s, playing the same track on either (through Sennheiser 980's & Bose QC's) is like night and day. I converted some tracks to MP3 in iTunes and the results were the same. A serious lack of bass and mid-tones. I note a few posters on Head-Fi recommending either Accudio or EQ10 to improve the situation. I tried both and whilst slightly better, the overall performance is still poor for an iPhone costing this much.
  
 The other devices I have access to at home are an iPad Air and Samsung Note 3 (running Poweramp). The 4s native player in the 4s is still the best, the Note next followed by the iPad - but they are very close.
  
 The iPhone 6 Plus is a mile behind and it ain't a hardware fault either, my original 6Plus was replaced due to a structural fault and both sounded as bad.


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## CEE TEE

^Yep, I have felt the 4S is a little veiled but great with Leckerton UHA-6S Mk.II (AD4627-BRZ opamps).  For fast/easy listening, I do like to plug things straight into the 4S.  So far, I do not like the iPhone 6+ sound. 
	

	
	
		
		

		
			





 Agree with above. Luckily, I will keep my 4S around and use it as an iPod and back-up phone.  Will have to try 6+ > Geek Out after I have my Y-USB cable back.  That is my hope for good sound. Maybe the 6+ was tuned as a system with the EarPods?  I like the sound of the old earbuds better but hated the fit.  The new ones fit better but sounded warm/muddy the time I tried them. Maybe I should take them out of the box.


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## cattlethief

Ive got my 4s in the classifieds,it was ok,decent headphone out for on the move and better than there ipods,replaced the phone with the oneplus one,not as clean h/o but better when amped,I used the 4s mainly with the IFI nano DSD which was a good combo,will be sad to see it go.


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## Bill-P

I guess I'm about one of the few folks who think my 6+ is a bit on the airy/transparent side compared to my old iPhone 5?
  
 Sounds like it's a case of rolled treble (frequency response) versus better transient (speed/decay).
  
 The 6+ may have a rolled treble (or higher treble distortion) than the past iPhones, but I feel Apple did make the 6+ and the 6 a bit better as far as transient goes.
  
 Either way, my iPod Nano (and will soon get an iPod Touch 5th Gen) is my main portable listening device, so it doesn't matter much.


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## Akuan

I have iPhone 6 plus and it is my first phone that I plan on using it as music player device for travel.
This is also my first iPhone (and Apple) product.
I've been using dedicated players in the past from Rio and sandisk but they were aging so it was time to use my phone as a music player.
I used same MP3 320kbps files as before and I was really not impressed.
The sound was wide but not deep with high that seemed synthetic.
The real dissappointment was in clarity and separation on the midrange.
It also had that digital or electronic glaze that some audiophiles associate them with digital gear.
I re-rip CD with AAC with highest quality setting and even tried Apple lossless format and made almost no difference.
I used Etymotic ER4P earphones and Grado SR-60 headphones.
I compared it with Sansa clip player which is an inexpensive player and 6 plus just did not have midrange clarity and separation (it did sound wider and extended).
I also tested music with my previous HTC phone and it sounded almost as bad as 6+ with just tad better clarity.
Asked my wife to listen to both players and she agreed with me on sound quality.
We tried other older phones and iPhone 3 (or 3s?) had best sound out of all phones on hand.
My wife was so impressed with my little sandisk clip player that she ordered one last night.
I'm actually very surprised of many positive reviews on iPhone 6+ as music playe so I'm thinking I may have a defective one.


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## Baroninkjet

The iOS music player is not very good, IMO. Try Neutron, or there may be some others also. (Neutron is new to Apple, but has been a premium Android music player for years.) Also, try Tidal HQ streaming for CD quality streaming or Spotify with extreme quality. Either sounds better than most anything played on the iOS player to me.
  
 Another thing: Mine definitely improved some over the first few weeks. I was not particularly impressed in the beginning.


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## Akuan

Thanks for the suggestion of using a different music player app.
My iphone is about a month old.


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## Akuan

Here is an update.
It appears that my iphone headphone output was not "broken in".
It sounds better now after about 4 hours of use.
I have my phone for a month but never used earphone output until few days ago.
I compared it again with my other music player to make it was not a case of my ears getting used to it and my iphone 6+ sounds very competitive (although still not up to dedicated player quality).


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## Kreylix

Hard to imagine it improved due to "breaking in" - how did it know to go in the "improvement" direction rather than stay the same or worsen?
  
 I think it's just your brain becoming acclimatized to the sound.


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## Akuan

Well I did mentioned a possibility of "my ears getting used to.
I've been comparing it with my two dedicated players and it is not a day a night type of difference.
I imagine that there may be some electrolitc output caps in the earphone outputs.
Those type components are known change sound quality as they aged (or broken in).
I also think that it may had something to do with earphone plug contacts since I was re-plugging headphones a few dozens times.
Anyway I'm a experience audiophile and even I'm a little surprised at the apparent change.
It is only barely adequate for me so I'm still going to stick with dedicated music player and likely waste 50GB of space left on my iphone.


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## CEE TEE

I too did not like my iPhone 6+ at first.  At all.  Now it seems better and I was also wondering what happened!


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## willyvlyminck

sling5s said:


> I had the iPhone 4 and my daughter has the iPhone 5S, now I have the iPhone 6.
> So far I feel the iPhone 6 has the best sound.  It's warm but detailed.
> 
> The iPhone 4 and 5S with the iOS 7 sounded detailed but on the neutral and clean side.
> ...


 

 I am happy with the Sound of my iPhone 5s but the iPod Touch 5G, is that much better, you don´t Need an extra amp, more grunt and more controlled rhytm, only wish there was 128GB like on the iPhone 6


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## willyvlyminck

bigbobwillsfan said:


> I have a new iPhone 6+ with 128 GB. Previously I was using an old 3GS. Using the same relatively inexpensive hardwired headphones, the volume, the clarity, the stereo separation and the high fidelity range were immediately noticeable and remarkably superior to that of the 3GS. Furthermore the more I listen to music, even streaming music on the 6+ the more I am impressed with the overall sound quality they have engineered into this new phone. I report this from the perspective of the home stereo audio file that I am, having invested many thousands of dollars in reference quality home stereo equipment.


 

 In combination with the Grado GR10 i and  high Quality Music Streaming from Tidal / Wimp.it is a winner.


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## willyvlyminck

mrguzmanwhite said:


> I just got the iPhone 6 Plus, and I can testify that there is a significant difference form the iPhone 5 I had before the change. The iPhone 6 + is clearly, warmer, and much more controlled of high frequencies spikes and aggressive highs, even with poor recordings. It seems to have more soundstage and perhaps instrument separation that the iPhone 5, but certainly the biggest difference is that it is warmer, and less edgy with some modern music. It kinds of smoothens out the sound without losing detail and clarity, but it becomes darker and warmer. Maybe more analogue type, if I may say this in that way (?).
> 
> I have been testing it with "bright" headphones like the Beyern T70p, with the iPhone 5 it may be a bit too "hot" and aggressive, even sibilant with poor recordings, but with the iPhone 6 + it gains "body" to the music and loses the hot treble sufficiently to make it close to perfect.
> 
> ...


 

 The perfect Partner, at least fro me is the Grado GR10. John Grado´s son who did the testing ( in ears are his Project) mostly with an iPhone/ iPod.


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## Johnny Jumper

So, is it worth it to line out form the Lightning port to a portable DAC/amp?  I'm getting a pair of beyerdynamic T51i and the iPhone 6+ is my primary source.
  
 JJ


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## CEE TEE

^Soon I will be able to tell you what a Geek Out V2+ Infinity out of iPhone 6+ streaming Tidal sounds like.
  
 And I will compare it to my iPhone 4S that I keep as back-up and as a Tidal-streaming player into a Leckerton UHA-6S Mk. II with AD4627-BRZ opamps (using only the amp section).


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## willyvlyminck

johnny jumper said:


> So, is it worth it to line out form the Lightning port to a portable DAC/amp?  I'm getting a pair of beyerdynamic T51i and the iPhone 6+ is my primary source.
> 
> JJ


You could use the Beyerdynamic A200p in combination, but it doesn't bring much extra. A cheaper solution would be the IOS Relisten app as musicplayer with your iTunes library . This will really improve your sound. If cou have already the T51i you can use them, if not think of the Philips Fidelio M2L.


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## Gilles Dac

You'll have a lot bang for the & bucks if you bought an adequate cheap FiiO amp. OPPO's HA-2 is totally awesome. Finally a portable Dac/amp, that you can use as (wow - listen..) a DAC!!! Fabulous! Denon also have an alternative, but you're hearing impaired if you choose it over the brilliant, beautiful, fast-charging, extremely well balanced, classy HA-2 (by OPPO). I've got two similar Dac/preamps/head-amps with the same name. Norwegian brand - Chinese made. $65.00 & far better phones amp than Camridge Audio dac magic + to $400(!?'!??!)


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## Gilles Dac

Argon HA-2 "semi tube"(fake of another product with better Dac-specs) 





gilles dac said:


> You'll have a lot bang for the & bucks if you bought an adequate cheap FiiO amp. OPPO's HA-2 is totally awesome. Finally a portable Dac/amp, that you can use as (wow - listen..) a DAC!!! Fabulous! Denon also have an alternative, but you're hearing impaired if you choose it over the brilliant, beautiful, fast-charging, extremely well balanced, classy HA-2 (by OPPO). I've got two similar Dac/preamps/head-amps with the same name. Norwegian brand - Chinese made. $65.00 & far better phones amp than Camridge Audio dac magic + to $400(!?'!??!)


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## Gilles Dac

cee tee said:


> ^Yep, I have felt the 4S is a little veiled but great with Leckerton UHA-6S Mk.II (AD4627-BRZ opamps).  For fast/easy listening, I do like to plug things straight into the 4S.  So far, I do not like the iPhone 6+ sound.   Agree with above. Luckily, I will keep my 4S around and use it as an iPod and back-up phone.  Will have to try 6+ > Geek Out after I have my Y-USB cable back.  That is my hope for good sound. Maybe the 6+ was tuned as a system with the EarPods?  I like the sound of the old earbuds better but hated the fit.  The new ones fit better but sounded warm/muddy the time I tried them. Maybe I should take them out of the box.


6s isn't optimized for jack! Use Lightning


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