DxOMark audio testing has today been added to the company’s services. The company has so far made a name for itself as the go-to source for in-depth, objective tests of smartphone cameras, and now it hopes to achieve the same reputation in testing smartphone speakers and microphones.

DxOMark audio testing kicked off with five smartphones…

The company explained in a blog post why it has made the move.

The company tests playback performance against five criteria, and recordings against the same criteria plus how well it deals with background noise.

People use smartphones to record videos of family and friends, to shoot selfie videos, and to film concerts and other events. On the consumption side of things, they listen to music and watch their own videos as well as purchased content on their devices. The variation in audio quality between devices for both recording and output is huge, however, and there has been little guidance and information available for consumers who care about audio quality.

This is why we are introducing DXOMARK Audio—to provide comprehensive, neutral, and reliable test data about smartphone audio recording and output quality to consumers and other interested parties. We have developed a set of protocols for mirroring the ways consumers use their smartphones to record and consume audio content, along with a testing and benchmarking methodology that measures results in a reliable and repeatable way.

  • Timbre (frequency response, treble/midrange/bass, total balance, volume dependency)
  • Dynamics (attack, bass precision, punch, volume dependency)
  • Spatial (wideness, balance, distance, localization)
  • Volume (maximum, minimum, user volume consistency)
  • Artefacts (noise, pumping, clipping, user artefacts, other artefacts)
  • [Recording] Background noise (directivity, noise profile, artefacts)

Interestingly, the company says that it needs to include perceptual data from sound experts as well as measurements, but argues these are equally scientific.

DxOMark audio testing – initial results

And the results from the first round of DxOMark audio testing? Top ranking goes to the Huawei Mate 20 X, with a score of 75, just ahead of the second-placed iPhone. What’s surprising, though, is that the older iPhone XS Max takes second place, ahead of the newer iPhone 11 Pro Max.

The Mate’s stereo mics gave it a big advantage, so it’s interesting that the iPhones were so close behind.

You can see details of the testing process in the video below.