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Confirmed: the Galaxy S6 is impressively louder than the Galaxy S5 [VIDEO]

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At Samsung’s Galaxy S6 press event, we saw the company claim that the Galaxy S6 is 1.5X louder than the Galaxy S5. You may remember that the Galaxy S5 already had some pretty impressive audio. We cornered the two devices in a room and blared identical audio clips through them, hoping to make a determination once and for all.

Blown away. The Galaxy S6 wasn’t just louder… it was MUCH louder. Was it 1.5X louder? Although we had no mathematical way of measuring the audio levels and comparing decibels in this environment, you’ll have to trust us: even the video above doesn’t do the results justice.

S5-vs-S6-speaker-grill

These improvements are likely due in large part to engineering, hardware, and software improvements, but it’s hard to discount the location of the speaker and size of the speaker grill. The S5 featured a tiny speaker on the rear of the device, only propped up millimeters above the resting surface with a tiny dimple on the battery cover. This allowed the sound to vibrate and escape, but clearly not as well as the Galaxy S6 where the sound proudly trumpets from the bottom of the device without hesitation.

Samsung has done an amazing job at improving the audio on the Galaxy S6- it’s head and shoulders louder without compromising any audio quality. The pitch level seems a tad higher at first listen, but we need more time with the device to make a more complete determination of the overall audio quality. From what we hear so far? We’re loving it.

If audio is one of your primary purchase points when selecting a phone, you probably know that HTC has dominated this area with the HTC One M8 (and now the HTC One M9) and the Boom Sound feature. The Galaxy S6 definitely reduces the huge advantage HTC had in this area and we’re eager to eventually get a direct comparison between the two so we can issue a more final verdict.

Samsung Galaxy S6 vs S5 speaker DSC08688

For now, the Galaxy S6 audio improvements get two loud finger whistles up.

Rob Jackson
I'm an Android and Tech lover, but first and foremost I consider myself a creative thinker and entrepreneurial spirit with a passion for ideas of all sizes. I'm a sports lover who cheers for the Orange (College), Ravens (NFL), (Orioles), and Yankees (long story). I live in Baltimore and wear it on my sleeve, with an Under Armour logo. I also love traveling... where do you want to go?

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46 Comments

  1. I would still gravitate to front facing speakers like in the N6 and the HTC M9

    1. Agreed. Volume helps, placement is better.

      BUT I wonder if front facing speaker on the bottom ends up with icky food and nastiness in it?

      1. WTF are you doing with your phone? Using it as a table?

        1. Sir, you just provided the best comments in this comment thread.
          *takes hat off*

        2. Is that butthurt?

          1. Of course, it’s also gay butthurt, but I’m sure you came to the same conclusion.

    2. my N6 has the only speakers that rivals the boomsound speakers. they are AWESOME. I do not like the volume on it tho, its either too quiet, or you have to crank it all the way up. its weird. I wont buy another phone without front facing speakers now.

      1. What about the Z3 speakers? They are dual front facing speakers also.

        1. dude at my work has it, they are nice (better than most!) but in no way can they compete with my N6. I wish my N6 sounded as good as the boomsound, but they are pretty close in comparison.

          1. like the new pic! the Z3 is no slouch my friend. its almost like their volume can only get up to 80% compared to my N6.

          2. thanks it’s my anime styled self portrait… maybe Sony will beef things up with the z4 Ultra. I hope.

          3. i’m sure they will. I doubt they will back off of anything. even in their situation.

          4. Z3 most definitely stands it’s ground. i’m not sure what setting is different on their friends.

            https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dmy-lZjlz6M

            In some cases the M8 is slightly louder and seems to hold the bass edge.
            But the Z3 is right there and sometimes surpasses and generally is a little bit to moderately clearer.
            And this is with water protecting mebranes on the Z3.

            I’m curious for the M9 and Z4. And how the loud yet single speaker of the S6 stacks up.

          5. haha holy geez, they do sound better than the M8. That is crazy!

          6. I mean not by massive margins and the M8 still has it’s own advantages.
            For people listening to pop, rap, and similar music they will probably like the M8 better.
            I wonder if your friend just has an equalizer setting maybe?
            Or maybe the type of music you are listening to is better suited on the M8?

            Obviously since the strengths in music differ I give the edge to the Z3 overall. But depending on the use it’s not a clean cut all around win. Just cleaner and about equal in volume.

          7. u might be right….its so hard to accurately judge them. we played some busta rhymes songs, then switched it up to Sum 41 (random, right?) then played some country music. Just trying to get a vibe for what sounds better and they were both all over the place on consistency.

          8. Right? Haha variety is best way to go though. Probably music more suited for the slightly warmer and better bass offering of the M8.
            For me clarity and vocals take a little more importance. I listen to Nightwish/ReVamp a lot. Metal bands fronted by a singer that is a Dramatic Soprano. She belts Power Metal, Opera, and Rough/Growl vocals…..Such vocal types exceed 100-110 db vocally.
            It’s actually quite a pain as much a blessing. Trying to find speakers and headphones…or afford such sets that properly reproduce such sounds. Or devices/cards that output the proper audio.

          9. Um…if Z3’s are better than M8’s and M8’s are better than Nexus 6…Well then…I think we can figure this out.

          10. I think the sound is tinny and just loud with not a lot of bass. I’ve literally done this test with my friends Z3 that he has on tmo. in no way is that phone better than my nexus 6. my phone is more clear and has better bass. even he agreed.

          11. Yes. M8 has more bass. That’s not all there is in music though. And it’s more clarity than tiny. Hopefully both the Z4 and M9 address these issues with more headroom in volume.

            More bass, warmth, and range/clarity. With volume. Honestly none of the speakers really impress me. There have barely improved from 2009 speakers.
            They are just better than the single speaker offerings of others.

          12. if I made a list of best speakers out there, it would be M8, N6 then Z3. I think my response made it sound like they were not good, but I said in another response they were. And that is the trust, they are really awesome. I would say the M8 is a 9, my N6 is an 8 and the Z3 is a strong 8.8. I think they are pretty close but i just felt my nexus is just a hair better.

          13. I really hope the M9 and Z4 show us an advancement.
            Like I said I’m not really impressed with them from an overall point. The M8, Nexus 6, and Z3, among some others sound great and are better than what’s available…..

            But simply don’t seem like they have made large changes since my 2009 Omnia HD. Just marginal. It had decent clarity and reached into the 70’s mark of DB too.
            The M8 and Z3 are barely louder and only a couple steps better in quality.
            And they are about 5-5 1/2 years newer.

            Which also makes me wonder if Samsung had stereo speakers that good then. Why on Earth did they emit them from the S1 and onward? If the S6 is 50% louder than the S5 and they are all about design and winning people back…Why not turn this into a stereo sound again?
            That or give everyone the big F U and go quad.

          14. i dont get that either….I, for one, will never buy another phone that does not have stereo speakers, they are great! front facing is a must too. thats why the S6 is out of the running for my next phone (well that and crazy pricing). I Think samsung just does not want to go all out on every phone…it would leave no room for “improvement” the following year

          15. I will say Galaxies tend to cost more. But in fairness while still being a little over priced their hardware and software offerings and RnD are considerably more costly.
            Like the Amoleds. Their home grown and advanced displays. I think a Galaxy/Note display is the most expensive component in any device.
            The new 14nm chip, UFS storage, and all the features/security Touchwiz has.
            It takes more time and money to make and produce all of what they offer. And lots of it is developed by them.

            As much as the S6 is a beast above others they do hold themselves back from completely over taking. Now battery life will be very great. WAY better than people realize. Though still could always be better.
            If they had gone from 2,550mah 6.8mm body no SD slot…..Up to 3,000/3,2000mah 7.2-.74mm body with SD slot.
            That alone could have made the difference of millions of sales I’m sure. Even people who don’t like the non removable battery. And the battery life would be OUTSTANDING.
            And it would be barely any thicker. If they could have found a way to make the battery eject-able that would be even better. Though obviously not as easy or practical.

            Now on top of that kept USB 3.0, made that very loud speaker stereo or quad with a small trade off for bass, and kept water resistance…
            There would be almost nothing anyone could disagree with. Except the bias haters.
            Of course people will still always have different preferences.

          16. I love what they did with the processor. I was skeptical at first and was dogging them until benchmarks were released. Now I see how snappy it is! and yeah battery life should be great. I’m not sure why people throw fits about removable batteries. they dont last but 18-24 months and most people are on a different device by then anyways, so what does it matter? I bought my nexus cause of the turbo charger….15 minutes=50% charging. WINNING!

          17. Yeah. The 14nm Exynos is beast. And the SoC, memory, display, and radio chip used in the S6 are considerably more efficient then what’s in past Galaxies and even more so than what’s in M9 and others to come for the most part. So smaller battery will not be an issue. Though could have been better.

            It’s just because it has it’s uses and practical function. Just like Sd cards. It’s a very useful option that seems like it should be simple user right to have.
            And it can save a lot of headaches. Whether it’s switching out another battery for extended use, lock ups, or having to replace the back cover or battery.

            You can just order a new back or battery off line from retailers or ebay. Boom. Done.
            No self repairing, warranty worries, no sending away.
            And they tend to be better for the people who can do self repairs too.

            Keeping them non removable is just for making more profit I think.

            But yes. Fast charge helps. But only with fast chargers and if you are near an outlet. Powerbanks help too, but are more costly and bulky.
            And As far as I know it’s that 10-15 minutes will get you a couple hours of use.
            But 50% charge still took 30 minutes.

          18. But like you said…Those speakers. And yes they want to leave some headroom for improvement.
            No SD slot brings more sales to their higher gig offerings.
            And will make people very happy when Note 5 or S7 has it back.
            No speakers still means when they finally offer people will be excited.

            Thus is marketing business.

      2. Z3 speakers beat the M8 despite the water protecting membranes.

  2. Smh. Idiots wouldn’t have to waste more battery making it louder if the speaker was in the front.

    1. Why would they not need to make it louder if it was up front? Volume is a good thing. And on the bottom is almost as good.

      And where is this supposedly impacting battery?

  3. no method for measuring decibels? Ummm do you guys maybe have an android phone? I hear those have sensors. ;)

    1. Probably hard to do in a loud room (with many people)

  4. When reading the specs, what is the property to look for to compare loudness (of the external speaker) between phones? And how to classify the value of that property to be approximately as low, medium, low? Thanks in advance for any advice.

    1. The property you’re looking for is the Decibel value; the higher the value, the louder it is. If you search for Decibel levels, you can find a general consensus on what decibel levels are classified as low, medium, and low (sic). At the time of this writing, there have been no tests to measure the decibel levels of these devices. You are welcome and have a wonderful day, sir. ;-)

      1. I’m trying to figure out the Decibel number. They say 50% or 1.5 times louder. Which I already know that does not mean take 75DB and times it by .5.
        I tried looking up ways to calculate them the other day and it was a little more complicated than I expected.
        Are you familiar with this? Otherwise I’m just gonna have to take a moment where I have some time to spend to grasp it if I get to it before an actual test is done.

  5. Would this be a true comparison as the speaker on the s5 is face down which would muffle the sound a bit more compared to the s6 with the speaker being in the open allowing it to be louder. Now if you were to pit the s5 screen face down and the compare the sound the would give you more of a true comparison, wouldn’t it?

    1. People don’t tend to watch videos on their back. Also, he did flip it over and the results were similar to be on the front side

    2. He flips it towards the end of the video.

    3. My bad. I missed the end where he flipped it. LOL I understand that people don’t watch videos on the their backs. I am glad though that they moved the speaker for that reason so then the sound is always in the open instead of when you have it sitting down or holding it in your hand where then the speaker is muffled.

  6. Please, someone tell me that the headphone output is significantly better too. I don’t even need it to be up to HTC standards, I’d pay so much money for an s6 if that’s the case.

    1. HTC is not always the standard. And it should be thanks to the Wolfson Audio DAC and how much effort Samsung has put into the device. I heard the M8 harmen edition with bundled headphones and I was not impressed. Especially with all the hype of how amazing it is.
      Of course this was stock audio. With and without the built in EQ. I’m sure there are hacks that improve it significantly.

  7. Louder???…sounds like louder in the video but I can’t
    judge until and unless I have it. Although the device seems to be outstanding
    with features like curved edges screen from both ends, faster charging powered
    by quick charge 2.0 technology and directly compatible with wireless charging pad.

  8. In my opinion, at this point no stereo, no deal. It is rather ironic Samsung’s troll ads had one about front-facing speakers. While playing games with headphones does sound better, I sometimes consider it cumbersome having to put headphones on and on some phones the audio jack is in the way if you’re playing a game in landscape orientation. I know not everyone plays games with sound, but playing Smash Hit on my HTC Butterfly s with the BoomSound speakers is a new experience.

    1. I agree though I would still choose the S6 for it’s advantages. Though the lack of SD makes me want the Z3 or Note 4.

      And while I like stereo speakers and the M8 was nice. It just seems like even the M8 was not much better than my Omnia HD. A little louder and cleaner. But the Omnia HD is from early 2009.
      People think the Boom Sound is so amazing because there is not much offering in stereo speakers. Though it’s finally increasing.
      And honestly the Z3 has slightly better/cleaner audio while mostly matching the volume of M8 despite the water protecting membranes over the speakers.

      I’m curious to found out more about this single loud speaker of the S6 and how it compares to the Note 4’s 82-85DB rated speaker.
      And of course how this compares to the M9 and how it compares to the M8/Z3.
      I have to wait to make a final draw obviously, but the video I did see seemed to me like there was little improvement in volume with the M9. It was more just clarity/quality. Which is great. But not enough. Though it could have just been the volume. But if M9 is only just passing 80DB or just over I’m not impressed being that it’s barely passing 2009 tech in 2015.
      Though obviously stereo speakers even if quieter and even if the S6 has a little better range still has an edge in fullness of sound.
      Also waiting to see what the Z4 speakers bring.

      And I’m very curious about the headphone output with the Wolfson Audio DAC and the efforts Samsung has put into it.

  9. Can we confirm the audio hardware in this? Waiting for some nicer audio.hardware to be present? Burr Brown, etc…

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