Quad-core shootout: Four of a kind

Loudspeaker performance

As usual, we've tested how the loudspeakers on each of the phones perform. Three score Good marks with the HTC One X scoring Average, but really it's just under the threshold for getting the same rating as its peers. The Galaxy S III and LG Optimus 4X HD are slightly louder than the other two.

Speakerphone test	Voice, dB	Pink noise/ Music, dB	Ringing phone, dB	Overall score
HTC One X	65.1	66.0	75.8	Average
Meizu MX 4-core	68.5	65.5	75.1	Good
LG Optimus 4X HD	68.7	66.6	79.3	Good
Samsung I9300 Galaxy S III	75.1	66.5	75.0	Good

Audio quality

Two the four contenders fared excellently in the first part of our audio quality test. The Samsung Galaxy S III, and the Meizu MX 4-core produced excellent scores all over the field and you can be sure that they can suply perfectly clean sound to your home or car stereo. The Meizu MX 4-core clinches the top spot on this occassion due to its higher volume levels with the Galaxy S III sliding right below it in the ranking.

The HTC One X and LG Optimus 4X HD performance with no headphones attached was pretty mediocre and not suited to their high-end status. The HTC finishes a distant third due to its lower (but still rather poo) distortion levels and slightly higher volume. As for the Optimus 4X HD - we've seen $100 smartphones do better than it and that's as damning a verdict as it gets.

Adding a pair of headphones to the mix alters the picture and the Galaxy S III comes out on top. The Meizu MX 4-core doesn't produce as clean results, but it again offers higher volume levels, which makes it a close second. Once again the two Tegra 3-packing devices dissapointed, with the HTC One X still managing to do a little better than the LG Optimus 4XHD.

And here go the results for you to check out.

Test	Frequency response	Noise level	Dynamic range	THD	IMD + Noise	Stereo crosstalk
LG Optimus 4X HD	+0.02, -0.52	-74.8	74.8	0.345	0.318	-81.6
LG Optimus 4X HD (headphones attached)	+0.03, -0.51	-70.1	69.9	0.815	0.811	-64.5
Samsung I9300 Galaxy S III	+0.03, -0.05	-90.3	90.3	0.012	0.018	-92.6
Samsung I9300 Galaxy S III (headphones attached)	+0.11, -0.04	-90.2	90.2	0.0092	0.090	-53.1
HTC One X	+0.02, -0.08	-82.1	82.1	0.137	0.393	-80.7
HTC One X (headphones attached)	+0.10, -0.10	-80.6	80.6	0.174	0.459	-60.8
Meizu MX 4-core	+0.03, -0.04	-90.4	90.4	0.109	0.083	-90.3
Meizu MX 4-core (headphones attached)	+0.07, -0.01	-90.2	90.2	0.235	0.219	-55.0

LG Optimus 4X HD frequency response

Samsung I9300 Galaxy S III frequency response

HTC One X frequency response

Meizu MX 4-core frequency response

You can learn more about the whole testing process here.