Samsung signs a multi-year contract with Wolfson as 'primary audio partner' for the Galaxy phones and tablets

posted by Daniel P. / Apr 18, 2013, 4:38 AM

Samsung signs a multi-year contract with Wolfson as 'primary audio partner' for the Galaxy phones and tablets

You might not have heard about the Scottish firm Wolfson, but it provides some of the most advanced audio processing chips for mobile handsets, and there is an audible difference from devices with a Wolfson processor.

Samsung, in its eternal wisdom, has finally done the right thing, after dating Wolfson for the audio in some of its Galaxy line handsets, inlcuding the Exynos 5 Octa S4, and has now signed a multi-year contract with the Scottish firm, which includes intellectual property exchange, as well as a components deal.

Wolfson's CEO Mike Hickey said: "This is a significant milestone for Wolfson. Having worked closely with Samsung over recent years, this agreement is a testament to our strong IP portfolio and our growing partnership. We very much look forward to working closely together to continue to deliver exceptional audio in Samsung's smartphones and tablets."

source: Wolfson

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54 Comments

1. eisenbricher

Posts: 973; Member since: Aug 09, 2012

Awesome! I am an extreme audiophile and most of the recent smartphones don't satisfy my demands. Beats from HTC is nothing special. Wolfson is great.

posted on Apr 18, 2013, 4:50 AM 26

3. thelegend6657 unregistered

You can get the beats audio just about any smartphone once you are rooted . I have it on my phone it does makes the audio sounds better

posted on Apr 18, 2013, 5:07 AM 4

8. tedkord

Posts: 17453; Member since: Jun 17, 2009

You can get the equalizer from Beats on any phone, but Beats is hardware and software, so you don't get true Beats. But the other poster is right, Beats is all hype.

posted on Apr 18, 2013, 5:44 AM 5

13. thelegend6657 unregistered

what i meant is the equalizer is nice !

posted on Apr 18, 2013, 5:51 AM 3

26. eisenbricher

Posts: 973; Member since: Aug 09, 2012

Hardware matters the most, dude. And regarding the equalizer I believe PowerAMP's EQ is best for me.

posted on Apr 18, 2013, 7:47 AM 5

34. the_s2

Posts: 239; Member since: Nov 22, 2011

wolfson hardware+poweramp eq = awesomeness.

posted on Apr 18, 2013, 9:21 AM 4

47. HDShatter

Posts: 1021; Member since: Jan 17, 2013

Anyone that really cared about audio quality would avoid anything made by beats/monster/any other super overpriced crap brands like Bose.

posted on Apr 18, 2013, 3:27 PM 2

48. rjcnkc

Posts: 1; Member since: Nov 03, 2010

So, what brands do you perfer?

posted on Apr 18, 2013, 5:26 PM 0

50. thelegend6657 unregistered

The beats equalizer is free so i aint complaining . As for earphones i will take klipsch , Audio technica , Harman Kardon over beats , monster , bose anyday .

posted on Apr 19, 2013, 3:03 AM 0

18. Droid_X_Doug

Posts: 5993; Member since: Dec 22, 2010

Here is hoping that Wolfson chips make their way into the Note III. If so, the Note III will be one sweet phone.

posted on Apr 18, 2013, 6:16 AM 9

24. Piotrek007

Posts: 119; Member since: Dec 07, 2010

Yes, wolfson is doing really great... but you should all know, that it is not having full power at Galaxies series... In SGS IV it is stopped by software not to give full power, which automatically means it is not as loud as everyone of us would dream to be :( This is only bad point I see in it, ufc it's Samys fault as they did that on purpose. To be honest, the most surprising thing for me is new headphones that came with SGS IV !! Its

posted on Apr 18, 2013, 7:44 AM 0

27. Piotrek007

Posts: 119; Member since: Dec 07, 2010

" Those are dubbed HS330 and feature dual-speakers (8mm tweeter and 10mm woofer) for improved performance with both high and low frequency sounds. They offer better bass than just about any other pair of headphones you can find in a smartphone's retail package" Im happy that sammy is going futher not only in music quality but also with accesories upgrade !! Any dual-speaker headphones costs 70$ up on ebay !! I would love to see review of those headphones !!

posted on Apr 18, 2013, 7:50 AM 1

2. thelegend6657 unregistered

Dang , why Samsung use Yamaha on the GS2 ? Now i am stuck with it

posted on Apr 18, 2013, 5:06 AM 1

4. osmaankhaan unregistered

There's noo stopping to samsung's aggressiveness amd success

posted on Apr 18, 2013, 5:11 AM 9

5. Tsepz_GP

Posts: 1176; Member since: Apr 12, 2012

I sent this in as a tip, glad to see it was published! Great stuff by Samsung, the audio in my GS3 is incredible thanks to the Wolfson DAC it has, I'm glad they finally made it official :) Cant wait to get my GS4 even more now that I know it will also have a Wolfson DAC for sure.

posted on Apr 18, 2013, 5:36 AM 3

9. hipnotika

Posts: 353; Member since: Mar 06, 2013

galaxy s3 has too low sound :/ dont u listen beats htc's and apple iphone's sound ?

posted on Apr 18, 2013, 5:45 AM 2

14. thelegend6657 unregistered

Speaker on the Note 2 is a lot better than the one in the GS3 , seriously .

posted on Apr 18, 2013, 5:51 AM 1

25. Piotrek007

Posts: 119; Member since: Dec 07, 2010

Yes it is :( shamefully

posted on Apr 18, 2013, 7:45 AM 0

32. oister85 unregistered

Hey I have the s3 u.s version. My question is does the u.s version have the Wolfson quality.

posted on Apr 18, 2013, 8:58 AM 0

51. thelegend6657 unregistered

No it doesnt , the GS3 Snapgradon version doesnt

posted on Apr 19, 2013, 3:04 AM 0

6. roldxx

Posts: 50; Member since: Mar 27, 2013

this is the reason why im stuck with samsung, only android manufacturer that uses wolfson dac

posted on Apr 18, 2013, 5:39 AM 4

7. hipnotika

Posts: 353; Member since: Mar 06, 2013

beats is the best !

posted on Apr 18, 2013, 5:44 AM 2

40. SleepingOz unregistered

Really?!

posted on Apr 18, 2013, 10:56 AM 5

10. FlushGordon unregistered

I'm an audiophile and this is one of the primary reasons why I went with the Note 2....Wolfson is hands down the best.....when you're into Metal, Classical and Jazz you can hear the warm mids just fly and rip...something that BEATS or Cirrus is incapable of doing