Apple iPad Air vs. Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 2014: Center of gravity

Amazing audio quality

The Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 2014 Edition showed excellently clean audio output in our test and even managed to slightly outdo the iPad Air in terms of scores - it's the kind of difference that's within the acceptable testing error though and certainly not something that you can detect with your ears.

What you will be able to detect is the far higher volume levels on the Apple slate. While the Galaxy Note 10.1 isn't too bad, it's nowhere near the iPad Air standard.

Check out the table and see for yourself.

Test	Frequency response	Noise level	Dynamic range	THD	IMD + Noise	Stereo crosstalk
Apple iPad Air	+0.09, -0.29	-93.9	93.9	0.0016	0.0067	-89.9
Apple iPad Air (headphones attached)	+0.05, -0.32	-94.0	94.0	0.0040	0.015	-66.2
Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 2014 Edition	+0.01, -0.04	-95.5	90.6	0.015	0.016	-97.3
Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 2014 Edition (headphones attached)	+0.01, -0.05	-95.2	90.5	0.0086	0.043	-70.1

Apple iPad Air frequency response

Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 2014 Edition frequency response

You can learn more about the whole testing process here.

Winner: Apple iPad Air. The output is equally clean on the two slates, but the higher volume levels clinch this one for the Apple slate.

Loudspeaker

Both tablets have stereo speakers but they are positioned differently, which makes a big difference. On the Apple iPad Air, both speakers are at the bottom, which is a sub-optima placement - they are close together (you lose the stereo effect) and they are aimed in the same direction (the sound goes off to one side when watching movies).

Samsung placed the speakers on the left and right sides of the Galaxy Note 10.1 2014. They are not like the speakers on the Nexus 10 or the HTC One, which face in the same direction as the screen though. Still, you get a better stereo effect and the speakers are more powerful to boot.

Speakerphone test	Voice, dB	Pink noise/ Music, dB	Ringing phone, dB	Overal score
Amazon Kindle Fire	66.6	63.7	66.9	Below Average
Microsoft Surface RT	61.7	60.2	64.2	Below Average
Sony Xperia Tablet Z	66.0	64.6	70.1	Below Average
Apple iPad mini 2	65.7	62.1	72.3	Below Average
Apple iPhone 5s	68.7	66.3	69.2	Average
Google Nexus 10	68.3	66.1	67.8	Average
Asus Google Nexus 7	68.6	65.9	75.8	Good
Apple iPad mini	68.2	65.7	75.7	Good
Apple iPad 4	67.9	65.9	76.6	Good
Apple iPad Air	67.9	65.9	76.6	Good
Samsung Galaxy Note 3	70.5	66.6	78.0	Good
Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 2014	75.7	66.6	77.2	Very Good
LG Optimus G	74.6	71.3	82.7	Excellent

Winner: Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 2014. Better placement and louder sound make this a slam dunk.