[lwaysluking]

Hi guys,
Many of us who already own Privs have been sharing our observations/praises/complaints for the benefit of others.
A lot of us like to enjoy good sounding music through good headphones attached to our mobile devices, so I'd like to share my observations about the sound that comes through the Priv's headphone jack (please note that I DO NOT tend to use earphones that come standard in the box - they usually suck for "audio enthusiast" grade sound).
The internal sound quality of the Priv is quite wonderful, with really good musical detail retrieval, but there's a BIG caveat- the volume range has been set way too conservatively on the device. There seems to be a very good DAC (Digital to Analog Converter) in there, but the headphone output voltage seems like it's set too low for the listener to find a satisfying volume range (at higher volumes).
At very low volume, you can hear all of the instruments, and with a sense of clarity and depth. And surprisingly, the Priv drives several of my different headphone designs nicely, with a great balance to the sound (and some of these headphones don't sound that great on other devices). However, when you want to go louder, maximum loudness is reached too early and set too low on the Priv. You're left feeling that the volume slider should have been allowed to move up a little more. My friend feels the same way about his own BB Priv.
Most devices that double as good music players have a volume range that spans from "silence" to "low" volume to "higher" volume and finally to near the threshold of ear pain. This kind of volume range ensures that you can always find the right volume level for whatever headphone design you are using, combined with what you are playing (while, hopefully, protecting your hearing as well !).
I'm really hoping Blackberry is paying attention to these threads and finds a way to send just a little more output voltage to the headphone jack.
In my book, the Priv is a winner for sound quality, but the potential of the sound is being handicapped-the volume range is way too conservatively set.
Thanks for reading!

[xspiritdannyx]

BlackBerry has always included really nice Wolfson DAC's in their hardware. I wouldn't be surprised if the Priv had a Wolfson DAC too. I still use my Playbook just to listen to music because the DAC onboard's so nice compared to other tablets and phones.

[Al moon]

idk why but the only bb phone that sounded really good was my z10 all the others had good sound but just really low volume

[ceckland]

What headphones were you using?
I'm guessing BlackBerry just set it up expecting people to use headphones rated at ~32 Ohms.

[Nemix]

Ohms of your headphones could be the issue. This is louder than my Xperia z2 and z3 by a lot. Accidentally had it on loud when I hit play in my car and almost blew out my speakers...

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[DavideaNY]

Does the Priv have the Headphones Audio Boost like in BB10? That function increases the max output volume through the headset.. unfortunately "thanks" to Digital River I cannot dig into the option by myself..




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[Elango87]

BlackBerry has always included really nice Wolfson DAC's in their hardware. I wouldn't be surprised if the Priv had a Wolfson DAC too. I still use my Playbook just to listen to music because the DAC onboard's so nice compared to other tablets and phones.

Dint know that BlackBerry has Wolfson DAC in the phones... good to know...

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[ealvnv]

Does the Priv have the Headphones Audio Boost like in BB10? That function increases the max output volume through the headset.. unfortunately "thanks" to Digital River I cannot dig into the option by myself..

Posted via CB10

Nowhere to found as of yet.

[lwaysluking]

Agreed. The Wolfson DAC in the Playbook had a nice smooth sound.

[lwaysluking]

Yes, when I had it, my Z10 had a nice sound quality to it. I eventually became frustrated that I couldn't really sideload music streaming apps to it without having some kind of glitch along with it. Neutron player and the built-in music player ran very nicely on it though. Sound was very satisfying through good headphones.

[saxxman]

Can anyone find the impedance of the Priv headphone jack?

[joewoo]

Hey i'll buy your priv headphones since you don't use them

[DavideaNY]

Just got my hands on the Priv (finally!! Thanks to Amazon..) and I have to say the volume is not bad at all.. and comparable to the one I get from the Passport. I am using the Bose QC20. Not the best headsets but not bad ones either..


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[saxxman]

Just got my hands on the Priv (finally!! Thanks to Amazon..) and I have to say the volume is not bad at all.. and comparable to the one I get from the Passport. I am using the Bose QC20. Not the best headsets but not bad ones either..


Posted via CB10

So you're saying that the volume is higher on the Priv then it is on the Passport?

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[elira]

If you want to use high impedance headphones, you can use a portable headphone amplifier.

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[artemis-kun]

I'm using Sennheiser MM 70i's on my Priv, which have a 16 Ohm impedance, and I'm having good volume at maximum. I've had other devices that had definitely put out more volume on my headphones, though typically that was with a non-stock ROM of Android, though I found that maximum was too loud and not overly comfortable, so I like the max that I am getting on the Priv.

As for the actual sound quality itself, I've found that universally, nothing really gets things right for all headphones out there. Everything has weak and strong points, and for this reason, I've been a long time supporter of Poweramp, which gives very fine grained equalizer controls. Whenever I upgrade my headphones, or change to a new audio device, I re-tune the settings to find the ideal for that device. So, on that point, I find with my tuned setup on the Priv, the quality is as good as all other Android devices I've had in the past. Can't comment on how that compares to recent BB devices, however.

[gilroyneil]

Agreed, way too quiet. Have tried quite a few headphones 16-32 ohms. Not impressed at all. Deal breaker for me sadly.

[Grodecki]

Zero issues with 16ohm IEMs here. Plenty loud enough to completely silence the tube in London.

[weezul]

Seems the DAC / Pre-amp is same as my galaxy s5. Same volume for me driving in-ear buds ie blowing your head off at full volume. My headphones senn mm30g 16ohm work great, and all the buttons for volume and pause/play work as well. Double taps in poweramp work too.

[gilroyneil]

Without a objective dB out test this is all subjective but for me this is quieter than the iPhone 6, Nexus 6P and my old One Plus One.

This is with Xiaomi piston 2s and 3s, senheiser momentum in ears and Bose QC25.

It's not so quiet as to be clearly broken but it's about 5 - 10% quieter than those other devices for me.

[weezul]

What media players are you all using out of interest?

[gilroyneil]

Spotify, Google Music and since yesterday Apple Music.

[KPwndB]

Has anyone successfully got their DAC to run with the BB Priv? I have the Oppo HA-2 DAC/amp and both my music players (Neutron player and Onkyo HF audio player) will not play my music through my setup. The Onkyo HF audio player does not even register my DAC when I connect it to my Priv.

[DavideaNY]

I used the word comparable.. it is not louder but not lower either

[bonerp]

I'm using Bose soundlink 2 wireless headphones and they sound awesome. Plenty of extra oomph provided by the headphones control. Can't stick wires. So yesterday