Nokia Smartphone Speakers: The BoomBox factor!

I saw enaugh reviews and they were ok with the speakers. i dont want to make my decission just cause of one guy (steve). also if the speakers are really not so loud it maybe can be fixed in a firmware next time.

Just got the N86 the other day an the Speakers on the N86 easily get beaten by my N95 8gb as the speakers on the N95 8gb are superb,got a decision to make is it worth keeping the N86 or stay with the N95 8gb,as with the 4th quarter of this year coming up will Nokia be releasing a much better camera mobile in the near future,as i signed up for the N95 then the N95 8gb was announced,so will Nokia release a 12 mega-pixel camera mobile or a Touch Screen 8 mega-pixel mobile,so got 12 days to make the right choice

Sorry to put a dampener on everyone's enthusiasm here but there are cases when they can be a real pain in the derriere. Part of me says it should be illegal to sell phones that can play music back through their own speakers to under-21s because there are few things more annoying than sitting on a bus having to listen to horrible "music" (in quotes because I'm not always sure that's what it is) being played back full pelt by some yobbo sitting in the back of the bus.

The E90 speakers are awesome. I use them to listen to internet radio and podcasts all the time.

My friend says that the speakers on his N97 are quite frankly crap. He is going back to his 5800XM.

My 5800's speakers are loud, but also distort and sound horrible at loud volumes with anything even close to a decent bass line. Hell, I can even get some of the standard ringtones to distort if I have the volume up to one from highest. They may be loud, but they're complete trash. I actually thought this was a flaw in my handset when I first got it, so I returned it and got another... much to my surprise it was just the 5800's way of doing things.

Dear steve,

This is the best review ever done and i dont see any other websites doing these type of reviews. smartphones are not phones anymore, they are multimedia computers now. so sound quality and reproduction assessment is a must if youre planning on a multimedia phone.

slitchfield wrote:Yes, N95 8GB has the same speakers as the classic, not surprisingly, it's essentially the same device.

3.5G? Probably different networks? I've got a fair smattering of SIM cards here...

Re: E90 - it's 'stereo' speakers are quieter than the N95 but louder than the N97's.... Guess I should find a way of quantitatively measuring all this. Anyone able to lend me a sound meter? 8-)

S60 3rd edition only shows 3.5G when it is using it (when there is an active data connection). In S60 5th it shows up when it is available.

yade wrote:S60 3rd edition only shows 3.5G when it is using it (when there is an active data connection). In S60 5th it shows up when it is available.

Hi,

Yeah, speakers are very important to me. I use them my 5800 for music around the house quite a lot. I live in shared accomodation so I can't leave my music playing in one room and just turn the speakers up. It's really useful for when I'm in the shower, cooking or cleaning.

The 5800 has much better speakers that I expected. The volume is really good, and the quality is the best I have heard from something so little.

Thank you very much for this review. I purchased two different N85s and kept taking them back because I thought something was wrong with the speakers. Like many here I like to listen to my music while doing other things (showering, dressing in hotel room, etc.) My N95 8GB speakers are great in comparison to the N85. I was wondering if they were going to change them in the N86 - guess not. Don't know if this is going to keep me from purchasing the device but it is disappointing.

Thanks again,
-Javan

@ Steve

I have a few friends who use 6233 exclusively for listening to songs / radio in loud noisy places. Not so much because of quality but because of the high volume level the 6233 stereo speakers provide. How does the 6233 compares against these giants ?

Steve, I am quite happy with the volume level of my e90, but I often find myself cupping my hand around the back to reflect the sound to increase the volume, especially in the mid and high frequencies.

Which phones have front facing speakers and are they compromised in any way? IINM, the 5800's new sibling is like this - any good, do you think?

Unregistered wrote:For that matter - how do they compare to the N800/810 speakers

The speakers in the N810 (haven't tested the N800) are way better than both the N95 and 5800. the only problem is that they are not very loud. The phones have much louder speakers, but they lack the bass and mid-tones that the N810 have.

Thanks all, I've now added another 5 phones to the test, making 9 in all. Surprising results all round, really....

The music phone has the best speakers, well blow me down with a feather :tongue:

You should maybe add E71. It has very impressive speakers!

MWEB wrote:The music phone has the best speakers, well blow me down with a feather :tongue:

The marketing is irrelevant, IMHO. The 6220c is almost as good and that's just an el-cheapo Nokia.

The fact remains that the N97 and N96 are both marketed heavily according to being good for multimedia, yet they have the worst and quietest speakers.

Steve thank you. Good article. (don't tell me I criticize all the time 😉

slitchfield wrote: Anyone able to lend me a sound meter? 8-)

I thought the n95 came with one...

Wow, my 5800 speakers are not very loud at all and I would rank them down in the 5 or 6 range. The N97 I have is noticeably louder than the 5800, but neither is as loud as the N95. I must have a fault 5800 or something.

I personally use the stereo speakers for listening to podcasts in the car since I never have experienced a FM transmitter that gives me good clear sound over the airwaves.

guys can you also compare N73 me
and 6233(dont look shocked that i suggested 6233 in a s60 comparison ,it has one of the best dual speakers i have seen)

I am also curious where the E71 (and E61) fit into the picture, so to speak. Though mono, I am quite amazed by how good those devices sound for their size.

I'll have to try my own comparison of the devices to which I have access (which doesn't include any of the ones here, unfortunately, though I don't believe that any of them could please me more than my E71).

I definitely care... I listen to LastFM every day and most nights when I go to bed. the sound on the 5800XM is amazing, even at low volumes it's crisp and clear.

There should also be a sound quality rating or more comment. I dont understand how the e90 got the same loudness rating as the n95 8gb. I have both and the n95 is louder and much better quality. the e90 gives a tinny sound. Definitely a feature hardly talked about but one of top of my list.

I may have overlooked differing information on this but I seem to recall earlier N series models with the FM transmitter not functioning in speaker phone mode through the radio.
Will the N86 allow using the phone in speaker phone mode while broadcasting an FM signal with video out so calls, streaming and interactive presentations are available to a larger audience?

I want to be able to take calls during my whack vid house partays.🙄

Or just use the phone hands free while it's plugged in to the van's monitor base station and streaming audio to the vehicles radio.

I just saw on Symbian-Guru an article claiming the N97 is louder and less distorted than the 5800. I'm confused: who is right here?

I actually asked thıs questıon ın the N97 Q&A thread but ıt dıdn't get answered...😞

Mr Litchfield ......wuD u pLeaSe tEll wHere wuD d n79 lie in the table ?????

please

please

I've noticed that the sound quality differs from the player you use on your phone. I'm using 6124 for about 1 year, not with it's default player(because it sounds poor) but with lcg jukebox and recently with power mp3.