Possibly the greatest feature of the new HTC 10 is its audio quality, which is in part thanks to the triumphant return of BoomSound. Although it’s now mainly reserved as a software enhancement, there’s still plenty to be had from the exclusive feature.
If you’re the proud owner of a HTC 10, you’ve probably noticed that BoomSound has made a return. The phone doesn’t include the two huge speakers on that past models had, but it does have separate subwoofer and tweeter components that emphasise the frequencies better. In fact, it probably has one of the best smartphone speaker setups on the market, but that’s really only touching the surface of what’s on offer here.
You’ve likely seen the BoomSound notification which lurks on the screen whenever your watching a video or listening to music. Most people probably won’t even bother to touch it, but the truth is that this iteration of the sound enhancing technology has quite a bit to offer under the hood.
Boom shake the room
If you hit the BoomSound option in the settings, you’ll be treated to a couple of fresh options to further tailor your listening experience. Dolby headphone effects is a technology used within the BoomSound setup to enhance the stereo field and make things sound ‘larger than life’. Clicking on this will reveal further personalisation options, mostly appropriate for HTC headphone users. You’ve got tailored settings for the HTC buds, HTC in-ears and the HTC Pro Studios (which come exclusively with the 10). Those who own a pair of third-party cans will need to opt for the ‘other’ setting, which appears to be far more subtle in its sound refinement than the others on the list.
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The second option at your disposal is Personal Audio Profile, which can be setup for many different types of headphones and inputs. Setting up a profile is quick and easy, though it’s advised that you do it in a quiet environment for best results. If you choose the ‘quick’ option, you’ll be asked a series of questions about your age and listening habits, then the software will process all this and offer a tailored listening experience according to the results.
If you choose the more accurate option, you’ll be subjected to various sounds at different frequencies. You’ll need to adjust the volume slider until you can just barely hear each sound; this needs to be done twice for both the left and right ears. After going through the bands, the software will give you a comparison of the before and after, showing the areas that have changed. It turns out that my ears are pretty decent, since the BoomSound software only needed to adjust the high frequencies by a tiny amount. Either that or my headphones are of a good quality. Probably the latter.
Worth the effort
In the before and after comparisons, there’s a definite improvement in the sound. We’re sure that BoomSound offers some form of audio enhancement in the background as well, though it seems to be unobtrusive enough that it won’t horrifically accentuate everything to ear piercing levels. All-in-all, the software is a definite success and well worth the time.
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