We put the OnePlus 11 through our rigorous SBMARK audio test suite to measure its performance both when recording sound using its built-in microphones, and when playing audio through its speakers.
In this review, we’ll analyze how it performed in a variety of tests and several common use cases.
Overview
Key audio specs include:
- Upper front fire, lower side fire
- No audio jack output
Reproduction
Pros
- Decent overall spatial performance
- Almost free of artifacts
Against
- Overall tonal balance focused on the midrange
- Weak dynamic performance
Registration
Pros
- Good timbre and intelligibility
- Good overall wind noise performance
- Large recording volume
Against
- No audio zoom despite an option in settings
- Limited logging size
The OnePlus 11’s audio performance was generally quite decent, especially when recording. The playing experience was mostly free of artifacts, but the tonal balance could have used a little more high-end and low-end as the timbre sounded very midrange focused. In the dynamic area, the device also lacked sharpness and punch. Spatial performance was good, on the other hand, despite a small amplitude.
The strength of the OnePlus 11 was its overall recording capabilities, performing very well in all attributes and especially in timbre. The tonal balance provided a bright, lively treble in urban and open-air settings, with a slightly duller sonority in quiet, indoor settings. Dynamic performance was very good, especially with the main camera. The device also offered great recording volume in every use case and performed well in high SPL conditions such as concerts. It also proved to be quite resilient in light or strong winds when using the camera app, thanks to finely tuned algorithms. However, in memo recordings, the device underperformed when faced with strong winds. Finally, the OnePlus 11 was unable to provide audio zoom capabilities despite being equipped with an option.
Trial summary
Learn about SBMARK audio tests: For scoring and analysis in our smartphone audio reviews, SBMARK engineers perform a series of objective tests and undertake more than 20 hours of perceptual evaluation under controlled laboratory conditions.
(For more details on our playback protocol, click here; for more details on our recording protocol, click here.)
The following section compiles the key elements of our extensive testing and analysis performed in the SBMARK laboratories. Detailed performance evaluations in the form of reports are available upon request. Do not hesitate to contact us.
How the audio playback score is composed
SBMARK engineers test playback through smartphone speakers, the performance of which is evaluated in our labs and under real-life conditions, using apps and preset settings.
Hear about the playback performance of the smartphone tested in this comparison with some of its competitors:
Recordings of smartphones playing some of our songs at 60 LAeq in an anechoic environment via 2 microphones in AB configuration, at 30 cm
Here’s how the OnePlus 11 fares in playback use cases compared to its competitors:
Playback of use case scores
The Timbre score represents how well a phone reproduces sound across the audible tonal range and takes into account bass, mids, treble, tonal balance, and volume dependency. It is the most important attribute for reproduction.
Frequency response of music reproduction
A 1/12-octave frequency response graph, which measures the loudness of each frequency emitted by your smartphone as it reproduces a pure sine wave in an anechoic environment.
The Dynamics Score measures the accuracy of changes in the energy level of sound sources, such as how accurately a bass note or impact sound of drums is played.
Secondary attributes for spatial testing include pinpointing the location of a specific sound, its positional balance, distance, and amplitude.
The volume score represents the overall volume of a smartphone and how smoothly the volume increases and decreases based on user input.
Here are some sound pressure levels (SPL) measured while playing our sample recordings of hip-hop and classical music at maximum volume:
| hip-hop | Classic | |
| One Plus 11 | 73.6 dBA | 72.5 dBA |
| Apple iPhone 14 | 74.8 dBA | 71.9 dBA |
| Google Pixel 7 Pro | 73.1 dBA | 68 dBA |
The following graph shows the gradual changes in volume from minimum to maximum. We expect these changes to be consistent across the range, so that all volume steps match user expectations:
Music volume consistency
This line graph shows the relative loudness of the playback versus the user selected volume step, measured at several volume steps with correlated pink noise in an anechoic box recorded 0.20 meter on axis.
The artifact score measures the extent to which the sound is affected by various types of distortion. The higher the score, the less noticeable sound disturbances are. Distortion can occur due to the sound processing in the device and the quality of the speakers.
Playback Total Harmonic Distortion (maximum volume)
This graph shows total harmonic distortion and noise over the audible frequency range.
It represents the distortion and noise of the device playing our test signal (0 dB Fs, Sweep Sine in an anechoic box at 40cm) at the device’s maximum volume.
How the score of the audio recording is composed
SBMARK engineers test recording by evaluating recorded files on reference audio equipment. These recordings are made in our laboratories and under real-life conditions, using apps and default settings.
Here’s how the OnePlus 11 fares in recording use cases compared to its competitors:
Use case scoring
The Timbre Score represents how well a phone captures sounds across the audible tonal range and takes into account bass, mids, treble, and tonal balance. It is the most important attribute for registration.
Video frequency response of life
A 1/12-octave frequency response graph, which measures the loudness of each frequency captured by your smartphone while recording a pure sine wave in an anechoic environment.
The Dynamics Score measures the accuracy of changes in the energy level of sound sources, such as how accurately plosives in a voice (p, t, k, for example) are reproduced. The score also considers the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), such as how loud the lead voice is compared to the background noise.
Secondary attributes for spatial testing include locating a specific sound’s location, positional balance, distance, and amplitude on recorded audio files.
Directness of registration
Smartphone directivity graph while recording test signals using the camera app, with the main camera. It represents the acoustic energy (in dB) on the angle of incidence of the sound source. (Normalized to 0° angle, in front of the device.)
The loudness score represents how loud audio is normalized on recorded files and how well the device handles noisy environments, such as electronic concerts, while recording.
Here are the sound levels recorded in the audio and video files, measured in LUFS (Loudness Unit Full Scale); for reference, we expect volume levels to be above -24 LUFS for recorded content:
| Encounter | Videos life | Selfie videos | Memorandum | |
| One Plus 11 | -24.3 LUFS | -18.1 LUFS | -16.8 LUFS | -17.3 LUFS |
| Apple iPhone 14 | -23.8 LUFS | -22.5 LUFS | -20.5 LUFS | -18.7 LUFS |
| Google Pixel 7 Pro | -29.8 LUFS | -19.2 LUFS | -17.1 LUFS | -22.4 LUFS |
The Artifacts score measures the extent to which recorded sounds are affected by various types of distortions. The higher the score, the less noticeable sound disturbances are. Distortions can occur due to in-device sound processing and microphone quality, as well as user handling, such as how the phone is held.
In this audio comparison, you can hear how this smartphone handles wind noise compared to its competitors:
matrix(3) {
[“OnePlus 11”]=> string(58) “resources/OnePlus/11V2.1/OnePlus11_MicrophoneArtifacts.m4a”
[“Apple iPhone 14”]=> string(62) “resources/OnePlus/11V2.1/AppleiPhone14_MicrophoneArtifacts.m4a”
[“Google Pixel 7 Pro”]=> string(64) “resources/OnePlus/11V2.1/GooglePixel7Pro_MicrophoneArtifacts.m4a” }
Recordings of a voice sample with slight background noise, facing a 5 m/s turbulent wind
Background evaluates how smoothly various sounds around a voice blend into the video recording file. For example, when recording a speech at an event, the background shouldn’t interfere with the main vocal, but should provide context of your surroundings.
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