SQ on Samsung S2 vs Iphone 4

Yes, we directly compared the two. When we printed the review in the magazine (August 2011 issue), the headline read: "The first Galaxy beat the iPhone 4... and this one's even better".

The performance difference is greater with video, but the sound excels, too - especially if you take advantage of the Samsung's ability to play FLAC files.

As noted in the in-mag and online review, however, do ensure you use decent headphones - and avoid ones with an inline Apple control.

[PS - I've moved this thread into a more applicable Forum for future reference]

Thanks Clare for your clarification, however I have one more question about the battery life of S2 while playing audio. I have read on several forums about poor battery life of S2 while playing audio files some users experience the device get very hot and at max it runs out of battery in 4-6 hours.

When WHFS&V reviewed the S2 were there any experiments done on battery life of S2 in video and audio mode? For me it's very critical as sometimes I have to commute on train for two hours one way, and if audio playback sucks the power out in 4-6 hours then I have very little use to do other stuffs. 

Thanks.

Some people claim the Wolfson WM8994 DAC in the original galaxy gives better audio than the Yamaha DAC in the S2. Some claim the iPhone gives the best sound quality over them both and others disagree. Earlier Apple products use wolfson DACs but the iPhone 4 uses the Cirrus Logic 338S0589. Again some people have preferred the Wolfson over the Cirrus and others not. They all sound like portable music players to me, no more no less. Some decent not too hard to drive headphones and they all sound alright. 

Some technical measurements on the iPhone and Galaxies here:

http://www.gsmarena.com/samsung_i9100_galaxy_s_ii-review-597p8.php

iPhone vs Galaxy audio quality from a hardware perspective

http://www.gsmarena.com/samsung_i9000_galaxy_s_vs_apple_iphone_4-review-500p6.php

I would say the battery life thing is complete rubbish based on day to day use (or may have been an earyl release software bug), but I will test. My S2 battery is on 84% at 16:30 and has started playing music at full power through headphones. I will get back to you later with how hot/drained it is.

OK so 3 hours later. The music was full blast through headphones. The phone was set for normal use with a couple of widgets and standard wallpaper. The battery level is 68% and the phone has no signs of heat. 

16% drop over three hours. It should give 18 hours of music. More if battery saving techniques are employed and the volume isn't blasting. Less the more you use your phone obviously. 

The iPhone should do more hours though. 

Thanks a lot for your input I guess the earlier comments I read on battery life could be due to earlier firmware issue or one-off set issue. Thanks again.