We subjected the Xiaomi 12T Pro 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:
- Three speakers (top and bottom, top front)
- No audio jack output
- Dolby Atmos technology
Reproduction
Pros
- Decent dynamic performance
- Audio artifacts very well under control
Versus
- Inconsistent tonal balance, weak bass and dull highs
- Inaccurate distance rendering
Registration
Pros
- Pleasantly natural tonal balance
- Good dynamic performance
- Excellent spatial performance
Versus
- Not suitable for recording at high sound pressure levels
- Lack of bass in tonal balance and slight excess of lower treble
In our tests, the Xiaomi 12T Pro offered a decent audio experience, but it just fell short of the best. Overall, its audio performance was very similar to the standard 12T, with just a few differences here and there.
In playback, the 12T Pro performed best for listening to music and playing games, scoring slightly lower for watching movies. Testers liked the dynamics, with good attack and punch as well as overall accurate bass, and the almost artifact-free experience. However, they also noted an inconsistent tonal balance, with weak bass and dull highs. The distance of the instruments and vocals in the soundstage was also not rendered correctly.
As a recording device, the Xiaomi 12T Pro performed quite well in all use cases, but it’s not a great option for recording loud events, for example at concerts. The recordings also exhibited a lack of bass and slightly excessive treble. That said, tonal balance was overall pleasing, the recordings showed good dynamics in all situations, and a large recorded sound stage contributed to an overall excellent spatial rendition.
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.
In playback, the Xiaomi 12T Pro delivered a natural timbre, but our testers noted a lack of treble and slightly weak bass. The device also worked well for dynamics, with good attack delivery, decent punch, and overall accurate bass. The envelope lacked precision, though. The Xiaomi speakers created a medium width, with a stereo scene that could be a bit narrow. Localization of individual sound sources was also average, but that was an improvement over the 12T model. However, in some cases the vocals sounded too distant and the sound stage lacked depth.
The Xiaomi delivered good volume at maximum volume, but the first volume level was too low, making it difficult to understand voices. Artifacts were one area where the 12T Pro really excelled, with just some minor distortion and compression at max volume. In normal use, speaker occlusions did not occur, or at least had no negative impact on sound quality, resulting in an overall artifact-free listening experience.
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 Xiaomi 12T Pro 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 dependence. 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 | |
| Xiaomi 12T Pro | 74.1 dBA | 69.8 dBA |
| Xiaomi 12T | 74.8 dBA | 69.4 dBA |
| Xiaomi 12S Ultra | 72.6 dBA | 69 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.
In our tests, the 12T Pro performed relatively better as a recording device than for playback. The tonal balance of the recorded audio material was pleasant and quite natural, thanks to a very clear and natural midrange. However, our testers noted a lack of bass and a slight excess of treble. In terms of dynamics, the Xiaomi delivered a consistent envelope rendering across all use cases, with great transients and attack sounds as well as explosive treble.
The recorded sound scene was very wide when recording video with the camera app or using the memo app, but diminished slightly when holding the phone in portrait orientation for selfie video. However, it was easy to locate individual voices and instruments in all use cases, and the remote rendering was also quite realistic. Also, the device offered a pretty good recording volume. On the downside, our testers found that recording at high sound level pressures, such as at concerts, would result in significant changes to the original audio signal.
We also noticed some audio recording artifacts, including slight compression when recording loud content with the selfie camera and distortion with loud content, such as screaming.
Here’s how the Xiaomi 12T Pro 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:
| Match | Videos life | Selfie videos | Memorandum | |
| Xiaomi 12T Pro | -30.3 LUFS | -21.8 LUFS | -20.2 LUFS | -25.3 LUFS |
| Xiaomi 12T | -27.9 LUFS | -21.3 LUFS | -19.5 LUFS | -21.4 LUFS |
| Xiaomi 12S Ultra | -28.3 LUFS | -20.8 LUFS | -19.1 LUFS | -20.4 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:
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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