Motorola W315 Prepaid Cell Phone Review - Audio Quality
For a cheap phone, the W315 had surprisingly good audio quality, performing well in all of our audio quality tests. To do these, we use a combination of a professional audio analysis program,
SoundCheck, by Listen, Inc. and a Head and Torso Simulator, or H.A.T.S., by Brüel & Kjær. This same combination is used by cell phone manufacturers in product testing. For our tests we use the phones as a handset held to the ear. We keep a more detailed description of our audio tests
here.
Sound Receive Frequency Response (9.34)
The W315 did well in this test, with the frequency response of the sound that the phone received (such as someone talking to you over it) falling well within the limits we est against (the phone's frequency response is in blue, the limits are in red). This means that voices coming over the line should sound accurate and be easy to understand, whether it's Barry White or Tiny Tim calling.
Sound Send Frequency Response (8.72)
The W315 also did well in this test, which measures the frequency response of the phone for the sound it sends (such as you talking into it). Again, the blue line represents the measured frequency response of the phone, and the red lines represent the limits we test against, with the response of the W315 sailing cleanly between the limits. This means that your voice should be accurately picked up and transmitted by the phone to the person on the other end. Whether this is a good or a bad thing we leave for you to decide.
Handset Side Tone (9.40)
Side tone refers to how much of your own voice the phone injects back into the speaker so you can hear how loud you are speaking. Side tone is important, as people naturally speak louder when they can't hear their own voice. The ideal side tone volume is 18 decibels, and the W315 is only a touch off at 17.4. This means that if you start yelling, it'll be your fault, and not the phones.
