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Samsung M520 Cell Phone Review - Audio Quality

Alfredo Padilla Published on April 07, 2008 Comment on this

Intro Making/Receiving Calls Software Other Features

Tour & Design Messaging Battery Life Value & Comparisons

Audio Quality Organizer Connectivity Conclusion

Imaging Multimedia Hardware Ratings & Specs

General Audio
Since a cell phone is primarily used to make calls, it's important that it has good audio quality. A great calendar application and web browsing can't compensate for the inability to carry on a coherent conversation because of poor audio. Since this is an important test, we invested in HATS, a head and torso simulator, to simulate the human ear. Once HATS uses its perfect ears to hear the sounds output by the phone, we run the result through an electro-acoustic analysis program, SoundCheck. This, in the end, lets us know how well the phone performed according to industry standards. If this interests you and you'd like to learn more, feel free to peruse this article.

Summary
In terms of sending and receiving frequencies, the M520 is a top performer. The only audio quality issue we ran into was that the side tone was a bit lower than it should've been. Other than this minor qualm, the phone's audio quality shouldn't disappoint.

Sound Receive Frequency Response (9.12)
The Samsung M520 does an excellent job with received frequencies. As you can see, the blue line arcs through the two red limits without even coming close to crossing the limits. This means that every frequency received the proper amount of emphasis. Really we can't complain about the M520's performance.

Cell Phone	Samsung M520	Nokia 6555 (unlocked)	T-Mobile Shadow (on T-Mobile)
Score	9.12	8.16	5.68
Received Sound Frequency Response Graph (click to view)

Cell Phone	Samsung SLM (on AT&T)	Razr2 V8 (on T-Mobile)	Sony Ericsson W580i (on AT&T)
Score	7.49	9.16	7.65
Received Sound Frequency Response Graph (click to view)

Sound Send Frequency Response (8.21)
The phone doesn't perform as well sending out frequencies as it does receiving them. That being said, it still stays within the limits -- it just moves around a lot more within them. As you can see from the graph, lower and higher frequencies are both emphasized more than middle-range frequencies. This means bassier sounds and sibilance will sound slightly louder than normal speaking, but not by much. Overall, the phone still puts up good results.

Cell Phone	Samsung M520	Nokia 6555 (on AT&T)	T-Mobile Shadow (on AT&T)
Score	8.21	8.27	6.40
Received Sound Frequency Response Graph (click to view)

Cell Phone	Samsung SLM (Unlocked)	Razr2 V8 (on Verizon)	Sony Ericsson W580i (on Sprint)
Score	8.68	7.46	6.17
Received Sound Frequency Response Graph (click to view)

Handset Side Tone (6.33)
A phone's side tone is how loudly it plays you back your own voice, via the speaker. We use side tone to help judge how we sound on the other end of the line and adjust our volume. The ideal measurement, where you'll feel comfortable speaking, is -18 decibels. The M520 measured -21.67 decibels, which is a bit softer than it should be. This means you'll think you're talking more quietly than you actually are, causing you to elevate your voice. If those on the other side of the call complain about your volume this is probably the reason.

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