Realme GT Neo 5 (240W) Audio test

We subjected the Realme GT Neo 5 (240W) to 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:

• Ywo Speakers (Front Top, Side Bottom)
• No audio output Jack
• Dolby Atmos technology

Reproduction

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In SBMARK audio tests, the Realme GT Neo 5 (240W) delivered a decent overall performance and showed good improvements over the previous generation GT Neo 3 in both playback and recording. Our experts particularly liked the loud and clear recordings, but unwanted audio artifacts at high sound pressure levels mean the Realme isn’t a great option for recording loud content, like concerts or similar events. Wind noise performance was also still below par and would benefit from further improvement. Overall recording results were better when using the memo app, but also decent with the front and main camera apps.

In playback, the built-in speakers provided decent audio quality with good tonal balance, but our experts also noted a background hiss on some recordings. Playback results were on a very similar level for movie watching, music consumption, and gaming.

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.

In our tests, the Realme GT Neo 5 (240 W) delivered decent tonal performance. However, the tonal balance was rather midrange focused, and both bass and treble were lacking to an extent. Results were best at low volume, with the treble becoming more aggressive at maximum volume. The dynamic performances have been good overall, thanks to a good rendering of the attack, a good precision of the bass and a good punch. The built-in loudspeakers created a soundstage with only medium amplitude, but overall the spatial performance was good, with good localization of individual sound sources, realistic rendering of distance and excellent depth.

In terms of volume, the Realme has still left room for improvement. Maximum volume was average at best, and the device was too quiet at the lowest volume level, making it very difficult to hear weak passages in dynamic content, e.g. classical music. Also, the volume pitch distribution was inconsistent. Artifact results were average, with little distortion at maximum volume, especially in the upper-mid range, as well as very subtle compression. While playing, our testers also found that the bottom speaker was easily occluded, resulting in a muffled tonal balance.

Hear about the playback performance of the smartphone tested in this comparison with some of its competitors:

Here’s how the Realme Realme GT Neo 5 (240W) fares in playback use cases compared to its competitors:

Here are some sound pressure levels (SPL) measured while playing our sample recordings of hip-hop and classical music at maximum volume:

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:

On recording, timbre performance was good, with natural sounding vocals, although measurements showed a lack of high bass. The midrange was rendered quite well but at high SPLs, such as when recording a concert, our testers found the highs to be fuzzy and the compression resulted in a severe lack of midrange. The bass also lacked presence. In terms of dynamics, the envelope was good, but the signal-to-noise ratio was only average, with noise floor noticeable on most recordings.

When recording audio with the main camera app in landscape orientation, Realme offered great breadth and localizability of individual sound sources. However, some harsh sibilants meant it could be more difficult to pick out voices. When recording selfie video in portrait orientation, the stereo scene was made narrower, with unrealistic breadth and localizability. Distance performance was great, however, and volume performance was also very good, with high-volume recordings helping to increase speech clarity in most use cases. However, our experts also noticed some unwanted audio artifacts, including compression and pumping, as well as slight distortion when recording at higher volumes. All of these side effects became more intrusive at higher sound pressure levels. The tonal balance of the background was natural enough, but a resonance at 10kHz resulted in an unpleasant hiss.

Here’s how the Realme Realme GT Neo 5 (240W) fares in recording use cases compared to its competitors:

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:

In this audio comparison, you can hear how this smartphone handles wind noise compared to its competitors:

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