Best Audio Cell Phone - 2017

By Matt Staker. Last updated Mar 3, 2017.

The ReviewGist pick for the smartphone with the best audio for early 2017 is the Samsung Galaxy S6. The S6 has been tested by GSMArena to have the highest signal-to-noise ratio of 95.6 dB and stereo crosstalk of 94.5 dB. The S6 has also been reviewed to have a great sound quality by experts at PCMag, GSMArena and PocketLink which has made it our pick for the smartphone with the best sound quality.

Our Research Methodology to locate the Best Audio Smartphone
Testing results that objectively measure the audio quality of smartphones are hard to come by. Currently, only GSMArena does an actual test of the sound quality of every smartphone and we have relied heavily on this data to pick the best. GSMArena puts out two specs to measure audio: Noise Ratio and Stereo Crosstalk.

• Noise Ratio, short for Signal-to-Noise ratio, is a measure of how accurately cell phone can reproduce a sound signal. Noise Ratio measures range from -100 dB to 0 with -100 dB indicating the highest signal-to-noise ratio and consequently the best possible noise reproduction.
• Stereo Crosstalk is an indication of the stereo capability of the phones sound system. The Stereo capability is the ability to cleanly reproduce sounds from both high and low channels - the better the stereo ability, the more the sound clarity. Again it ranges from -100 dB to 0 with -100 dB indication a near perfect stereo capability and highest sound clarity.

For our primary filter to pick out the cellphone with best sound quality we limited our Noise Ratio levels to be atleast -94 dB and Stereo Crosstalk to atleast -90 dB. Note that both these values are in the negative, so all our picks have a range of Noise Ratio from -100 dB to -94 dB and Stereo Crosstalk from -100 dB to -90 dB.

All CellPhones with Noise atleast -94dB and Crosstalk atleast -90dB »

Note that both Noise Ratio and Stereo Crosstalk figures taken for this research refer to the sound quality produced by the cellphone as measured using a standardised headphone. This results in an accurate assessment of the relative sound capability of each device.

After we applied our primary filters to measure sound quality we got a list of around 30 smartphones released in the recent past. We then went about looking through the reviews for each one to see how they have been rated by experts for their sound quality. Note that very few reviewers are able to accurately pass judgement on the sound quality of a cellphone as this is very subjective measure, even more so when comparing between cellphones. What we looked for instead, was if a reviewer has flagged any smartphone from our list to have a clearly subpar sound quality and if so, removed it from our selection.

Our selection of the Samsung Galaxy S6 as the cellphone with the best sound quality was cemented by what the following experts said:

 The ear speaker to the top of the phone sounds good, so we had no problem making and receiving calls, although the reception isn't the strongest around.

 Call quality is good, if not great.

 Video playback performance is just fine, and even the speaker is crisp and clear despite being shoved into such a slim body.

Runner up for the Best Audio Cellphone and the Best Budget Smartphone for Audio

Our pick for the second best phone for audio quality and the budget phone for best audio is the Xiaomi flagship - The Xiaomi Mi 5. The Mi 5 is one of the best budget Android phones out there and comes with a very robust industrial design sporting the Gorilla Glass 4. The screen is at a manageable 5.15 inches, the battery at a respectable 3000 mAh and a decent 16 megapixel camera round of the flagship experience on the Mi 5.

The Xiaomi Mi 5 scores very well in the audio department which makes it the best budget smartphone to buy with great audio. It has a GSMArena signal-to-noise ratio of 95.4 dB and stereo crosstalk of 95.3 dB, both of which are one the highest amongst all budget devices. Reviewers have also stamped the superior audio quality of the Mi5:

 Call quality is excellent and the earpiece speaker is sufficiently loud.

 Voice calls were another highlight, with my brother asking me if I’m reviewing a new phone because I sounded better than usual4.

 Audio quality is excellent with an external amplifier, and with headphones plugged in.

However, that being said the speakers on the Mi5 reportedly leave something to be desired:

 The Mi 5 speakers are poor, with heavy distortion.

 Music sounds distorted, even at low volumes, and there's no bass or detail in vocals.