LG G5 vs Samsung Galaxy S7: A rebel and a stunner

Loudspeaker

Not much going on here, just the usual single-speaker setup. The LG G5 at least rates Good and beats the Galaxy S7 in all three tests.

The Samsung scored a Below Average, with the biggest difference in the ringtone test, smallest in the voice test. Xperia Zs get poor loudness ratings too, so this is likely down to the waterproofing.

Speakerphone test	Voice, dB	Pink noise/ Music, dB	Ringing phone, dB	Overall score
Samsung Galaxy S7	67.2	64.6	66.6	Below Average
LG G5	68.7	66.2	73.2	Good

Innovation: Nothing to see here. That is until LG comes up with a Loudspeaker module (the speaker grille is at the bottom, suggesting upgrades are possible).

Refinement: Nope.

Winner: LG G5. The cumulative difference adds up and can be pretty significant depending on the ringtone you use.

Audio output

Both the LG G5 and the Samsung Galaxy S7 delivered perfectly clean output in the first part of our audio test. When used with an active external amplifier, the flagships performed as you’d expect with no weak points whatsoever. The G5 loses in terms of loudness and even using the B&O module doesn’t quite help it match the Galaxy S7 output.

When we plugged in our standard headphones, the Galaxy S7 pulled ahead in terms of clarity thanks to its superior stereo separation. The optional B&O module helped put the two on par and in this case it even matched the loudness of the S7. When it's on its own however, the G5 just can’t quite keep up.

Test	Frequency response	Noise level	Dynamic range	THD	IMD + Noise	Stereo crosstalk
LG G5	+0.01, -0.04	-92.6	92.6	0.0051	0.0096	-93.3
LG G5 (headphones)	+0.05, -0.01	-92.2	92.3	0.0029	0.037	-50.7
LG G5 (B&O)	+0.05, -0.01	-93.2	93.3	0.0012	0.0069	-92.9
LG G5 (B&O)(headphones)	+0.05, -0.01	-93.6	93.6	0.0014	0.0090	-72.1
Samsung Galaxy S7	+0.01, -0.04	-92.5	92.6	0.0027	0.0078	-92.7
Samsung Galaxy S7 (headphones)	+0.05, -0.05	-91.9	92.1	0.0044	0.063	-73.4

LG G5 frequency response


Samsung Galaxy S7 frequency response

You can learn more about the tested parameters and the whole testing process here.

Innovation: LG G5's ability to improve the built-in DAC with an external one proves valuable, but expensive. Still, audiophiles will enjoy knowing exactly what DAC they are listening to.

Refinement: Both makers have made big strides in mobile audio quality, but LG needs to work on the AMP (the G5 is too quiet).

Winner: Tie. The Samsung flagship offers better stereo quality with headphones and louder output in both test cases. But the gap is not huge and the LG G5 is still a solid performer. It also outplays the Galaxy S7 with a feature or two, among which the optional B&O module.