Samsung Blast for T-Mobile Cell Phone Review - Audio Quality
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Mark Brezinski Published on August 30, 2007 Comment on this |
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Samsung is mainly marketing the Blast as a texting device, but that still doesn't stop it from being a phone. As a phone, audio quality should be paramount. To test the audio quality we use our Head and Torso Simulator (HATS), to simulate a human ear and mouth. We also rely on a professional audio analysis program, SoundCheck. We test the quality of the sound the Blast sends, receives, and its sidetone, which is the amount of your own voice the phone plays back to you. If you want more information on our testing procedure, this article will help you out.
Sound Receive Frequency Response (5.56)
The Blast goes a bit outside the limits near the center of the graph, meaning it will slightly exaggerate the middle frequencies of those calling you. It also drops off at the ends, which means it will underemphasize lower and higher frequencies in voices. This could make them more difficult to understand, as the human voice spans a wide frequency range and most of this range needs to be accurately represented to be understood. The Blast was one of the lowest scoring phones we have tested for received sound; only the N73 was worse.
| Cell Phone | Samsung Blast | Apple iPhone(on AT&T) | Sanyo Katana DLX (on Sprint) |
| Score | 5.56 | 9.17 | 5.46 |
| Received Sound Frequency Response Graph (click to view) |  |
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| Cell Phone | Nokia N73(Unlocked) | Sprint Upstage(on Sprint) | Motorola Razr (on Sprint) |
| Score | 4.47 | 8.34 | 8.12 |
| Received Sound Frequency Response Graph (click to view) |  |
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Sound Send Frequency Response (4.86)
The Blast has the opposite problem when it comes to the sound it sends (such as you speaking into the phone); in this case, the standard we test against calls for the lower frequencies to have a lower response than the higher ones, but the Blast's sound is pretty flat across the spectrum. This means the Blast will put greater emphasis on low and mid-range tones and less on the higher pitches. This will make your voice sound slightly tinny or muted, depending on where your voice falls in the spectrum. Again, the Blast scored very low in this test.
| Cell Phone | Samsung Blast | Apple iPhone(on AT&T) | Sanyo Katana DLX (on Sprint) |
| Score | 4.86 | 7.58 | 7.80 |
| Received Sound Frequency Response Graph (click to view) |  |
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| Cell Phone | Nokia N73(Unlocked) | Sprint Upstage(on Sprint) | Motorola Razr (on Sprint) |
| Score | 6.22 | 7.36 | 7.88 |
| Received Sound Frequency Response Graph (click to view) |  |
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Handset Side Tone (8.44)
Side tone refers to how loudly the phone plays back your own voice. Side tone is supposed to keep you from yelling or whispering, as we naturally do these things depending on how loud you interpret your own voice. The ideal is -18 decibels. The Blast measured -19.56 decibels, which is pretty close. You won't feel the need to speak overly quietly or yell in your conversations, unless you want to.
| Cell Phone | Sidetone Measurement | Score |
| Samsung Blast | 19.56 | 8.44 |
| Apple iPhone | 8.80 | 0.80 |
| Sanyo Katana DLX | 20.23 | 7.77 |
| Nokia N73 | 21.66 | 6.33 |
| Sprint Upstage | 21.90 | 6.10 |
| Motorola Razr | 17.69 | 9.25 |
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