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Vivo iQOO 9 Pro Audio test

This device has been retested in the latest version of our protocol. Overall, sub-scores and attributes are up to date. For detailed information, check the What’s New article
OTHER AVAILABLE TESTS FOR THIS DEVICE

We put the Vivo iQOO 9 Pro through our rigorous DXOMARK Audio test suite to measure its performance both at recording sound using its built-in microphones, and at playing audio back through its speakers.
In this review, we will break down how it fared in a variety of tests and several common use cases.

Overview

The Vivo iQ00 9 Pro is aimed at gamers, with gameplay sensors built into the frame and a vapor-cooling chamber. It has two speakers, one at the top front and one bottom side. Its global score of 67 is just a slight improvement over the last device we tested in the same line, the iQ00 7 Legend, which earned a 66. As a playback device, the iQ009 lacks low-end and bass and does not sound very good at maximum volume, with a lot of artifacts among other problems. It works best when listening to podcasts or other vocal content at lower volumes. Spatial performance is a high point — with localizability that is a plus for gamers. As a recording device, the Vivo smartphone is functional but its timbre lacks bass as well as high-end and is overall not pleasing to the ear. It does a good job when using the memo app. It doesn’t work as well when recording in loud environments.


Key audio specifications include:

  • Stereo speakers, top front & bottom side
  • No headphone jack

Scoring

Sub-scores and attributes included in the calculations of the global score.


Vivo iQOO 9 Pro
117
audio
117
Playback
115

158

121

149

132

162

119

162

82

157

117
Recording
107

147

118

146

128

159

130

170

112

145

107

166

Please be aware that beyond this point, we have not modified the initial test results. While data and products remain fully comparable, you might encounter mentions and references to the previous scores.

Playback

Pros

Cons

  • Many artifacts, especially at maximum volume
  • Inconsistent and midrange-centered tonal balance

Recording

Pros

  • Good tonal balance when using memo app
  • Good intelligibility of voices in all apps, despite uneven tonal balance
  • Good wideness in life videos

Cons

  • Unrealistic background due to compression in selfie videos
  • Narrow wideness in selfie video
  • Aggressive tonal balance in high sound-pressure scenario

Test summary

About DXOMARK Audio tests: For scoring and analysis in our smartphone audio reviews, DXOMARK engineers perform a variety of objective tests and undertake more than 20 hours of perceptual evaluation under controlled lab conditions.
(For more details about our Playback protocol, click here; for more details about our Recording protocol, click here.)

The following section gathers key elements of our exhaustive tests and analyses performed in DXOMARK laboratories. Detailed performance evaluations under the form of reports are available upon request. Do not hesitate to contact us.

Playback

117

Vivo iQOO 9 Pro

163

Black Shark 5 Pro
How Audio Playback score is composed

DXOMARK engineers test playback through the smartphone speakers, whose performance is evaluated in our labs and in real-life conditions, using default apps and settings.

As a playback device, the iQOO 9 Pro is average overall, with its best qualities most evident at low volumes. Louder volumes bring its worst qualities to the fore. Although there have been some improvements from the iQOO 7, the 9 Pro still lacks low end and bass, and the top of the high end is limited as well. Midrange is inconsistent, with resonances in the lower midrange that impair lower vocals and some music. In dynamics, bass precision has been improved thanks to the slightly extended tonal balance. Attack is generally rounded and punch is average. Spatial performance is a bright point, with good wideness that aids localizability. Worth noting: The sound scene doesn’t rotate if you aren’t holding it top-down in landscape mode. While the volume performance is average, the minimum step is not loud enough and the top three steps are basically the same. When played at max volume, the Vivo device produces a lot of compression, distortion, and pumping.

Listen to the tested smartphone’s playback performance in this comparison with some of its competitors:

Samsung Galaxy S22 (Exynos)
Vivo iQOO 7 Legend
Vivo iQOO 9 Pro
Here is how the Vivo iQOO 9 Pro performs in playback use cases compared to its competitors:
Playback use-cases scores


Timbre

115

Vivo iQOO 9 Pro

158

Black Shark 5 Pro

The Timbre score represents how well a phone reproduces sound across the audible tonal range and takes into account bass, midrange, treble, tonal balance, and volume dependency. It is the most important attribute for playback.

Music playback frequency response


Dynamics

121

Vivo iQOO 9 Pro

149

Black Shark 5 Pro

The Dynamics score measures the accuracy of changes in the energy level of sound sources, for example how precisely a bass note is reproduced or the impact sound from drums.


Spatial

132

Vivo iQOO 9 Pro

162

Black Shark 5 Pro

The sub-attributes for spatial tests include pinpointing a specific sound's location, its positional balance, distance, and wideness.


Volume

119

Vivo iQOO 9 Pro

162

Black Shark 5 Pro

The Volume score represents the overall loudness of a smartphone and how smoothly volume increases and decreases based on user input.

Here are a few sound pressure levels (SPL) measured when playing our sample recordings of hip-hop and classical music at maximum volume:
Hip-Hop Classical
Vivo iQOO 9 Pro 73.1 dBA 73.7 dBA
Vivo iQOO 7 Legend 71.6 dBA 70.2 dBA
Samsung Galaxy S22 (Exynos) 73.8 dBA 68.7 dBA
The following graph shows the gradual changes in volume going from minimum to maximum. We expect these changes to be consistent across the range, so that all volume steps correspond to users’ expectations:


Artifacts

82

Vivo iQOO 9 Pro

157

Asus ROG Phone 5

The Artifacts score measures the extent to which the sound is affected by various types of distortion. The higher the score, the less the disturbances in the sound are noticeable. Distortion can occur because of sound processing in the device and because of the quality of the speakers.


Recording

117

Vivo iQOO 9 Pro

160

Honor Magic6 Pro
How Audio Playback score is composed

DXOMARK engineers test recording by evaluating the recorded files on reference audio equipment. Those recordings are done in our labs and in real-life conditions, using default apps and settings.

As a recording device, the Vivo iQOO 9 Pro is basic and functional with overall average performance. It doesn’t work particularly well recording in loud environments, like an electronic music concert. Recording with the memo app produces generally good results with a relatively homogenous tonal balance. In life and selfie video use cases, the tonal balance captured by the device is not pleasing to the ear. There’s not enough treble, and high-end extension is missing. The midrange is focused on the upper mids and lacks low mids, which makes voices sound slightly aggressive. Bass and low-mid warmth are lacking. Considering dynamics, the signal-to-noise ratio is correct in all use cases, although in loud environments the background noise is not sufficiently attenuated. The sound envelope is precise. Localizabiity is generally good in life and selfie videos despite the flaws in tonal balance. Wideness is quite good in life video but unsurprisingly less so in selfie video, which is a problem with most devices we test. Recording loudness was on the mark in all our use cases. As for artifacts, there is some observable compression in selfie videos and some clipping on shouting voices. In loud environments, pumping becomes a problem on some elements, like “s” syllables. Background restitution is generally good, although again the device falters in loud environments. where in selfie and life video, a noise-canceling algorithm triggers compression and some phasing issues.

Here is how the Vivo iQOO 9 Pro performs in recording use cases compared to its competitors:

Recording use-cases scores


Timbre

107

Vivo iQOO 9 Pro

147

Honor Magic3 Pro+

The Timbre score represents how well a phone captures sounds across the audible tonal range and takes into account bass, midrange, treble, and tonal balance. It is the most important attribute for recording.

Life video frequency response


Dynamics

118

Vivo iQOO 9 Pro

146

Black Shark 5 Pro

The Dynamics score measures the accuracy of changes in the energy level of sound sources, for example how precisely a voice's plosives (the p's, t's and k's, for example) are reproduced. The score also considers the Sound-to-Noise Ratio (SNR), for example how loud the main voice is compared to the background noise.


Spatial

128

Vivo iQOO 9 Pro

159

Vivo X Fold

The sub-attributes for spatial tests include pinpointing a specific sound's location, its positional balance, distance, and wideness on the recorded audio files.


Volume

130

Vivo iQOO 9 Pro

170

Black Shark 5 Pro

The Volume score represents how loud audio is normalized on the recorded files and the how the device handles loud environments, such as electronic concerts, when recording.

Here are the sound levels recorded in the audio and video files, measured in LUFS (Loudness Unit Full Scale); as a reference, we expect loudness levels to be above -24 LUFS for recorded content:
Meeting Life Video Selfie Video Memo
Vivo iQOO 9 Pro -24.8 LUFS -20.7 LUFS -20 LUFS -20.7 LUFS
Vivo iQOO 7 Legend -33.9 LUFS -29.3 LUFS -27.2 LUFS -28.8 LUFS
Samsung Galaxy S22 (Exynos) -28.9 LUFS -21.4 LUFS -21.2 LUFS -24.2 LUFS


Artifacts

112

Vivo iQOO 9 Pro

145

Black Shark 5 Pro

The Artifacts score measures the extent to which the recorded sounds are affected by various types of distortions. The higher the score, the less the disturbances in the sound are noticeable. Distortions can occur because of sound processing in the device and the quality of the microphones, as well as user handling, such as how the phone is held.

Listen for artifacts in this extract, which has been recorded in a busy home environment:


Background

107

Vivo iQOO 9 Pro

166

Black Shark 5 Pro

Background evaluates how natural the various sounds around a voice blend into the video recording file. For example, when recording a speech at an event, the background should not interfere with the main voice, yet it should provide some context of the surroundings.

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