Coolpad Changer S1 Review: Define Youth with Sound Quality and Design

2016 was a year of major changes for Coolpad. Coolpad made comprehensive adjustments in four aspects: brand upgrade, product strategy, channel transformation, and user operation. Whether it is changes in management or content, it proves that Coolpad is actively embracing the era of the Internet of Things. The Changer S1, born from Coolpad's changes, is a powerful proof of this. The Changer S1 has changed its appearance in terms of body design, hardware configuration, and system content. This is the idea that Coolpad wants to express: change.

Flagship configuration, first-class workmanship

Coolpad Changer S1 does not adopt the ID borderless design that emphasizes "screen off aesthetics", and the black borders of the screen are ideally controlled. Relatively speaking, I prefer this design. Mobile phones are used, not for viewing. The visual experience when the screen is on should be more important.

The lower part of the body retains the traditional Android "three diamond buildings" and is hidden. In the middle is the USB Type-C interface. It is worth mentioning that the headphone jack of the S1 is also designed on the USB interface, which further improves the integrity of the body. The back of the body adopts the traditional three-section structure design.

Coolpad Changer S1 uses Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 processor, and in terms of memory/storage, 4/6GB LPDDR4 RAM + 64/128GB UFS2.0 ROM are available. I believe that almost everyone knows how powerful the Snapdragon 821 processor is.

After running "Honor of Kings" for a long time, the phone did not become noticeably hot or stuck. This configuration is fully capable of meeting daily use.

Coolpad Changer S1 uses a 16-megapixel Sony IMX298 rear camera. The performance of Coolpad Changer S1 in photography is not only due to the advantages of Sony IMX298 sensor, but also due to the good tuning of Coolpad. In terms of photography performance, Coolpad Changer S1 has no obvious gap with mainstream manufacturers.

HARMAN + CDLA Experience Beyond Hi-Fi

The phone accessories are very luxurious, and the AKG N18 thousand-yuan headphones are very conscientious. While mainstream mobile phone manufacturers are trying to reduce the number of mobile phone accessories, Coolpad's approach really makes users feel affordable.

First of all, it should be said that the Coolpad Changer S1 is equipped with headphones not just to enrich the accessories, but also to cater to the powerful sound quality of the S1. Coolpad cooperated with Harman to add Harman Kardon sound effects to the S1, paired with powerful AKG headphones, plus CDLA full digital lossless audio, which solved the user's shortcomings in sound quality experience in one stop.

Harman/kardon is a very famous top audio brand. The company also owns several famous audio brands such as JBL, Becker, AKG, Infinity, Mark Levinson, Lexicon, Revel and Studer, which can be compared with BOSE. Harman audio often appears in some luxury models. The typical Rolls-Royce Phantom series and BMW, Land Rover and other models are equipped with Harman equipment. It is not an exaggeration to say that Harman is the leader in the audio industry.

Coolpad Changer has built-in Harman sound effects and supports Harman Clari-Fi audio compression restoration technology. The Clari-Fi system contains a patented prediction model that can intelligently and accurately restore the audio elements lost during the compression process based on the current compressed audio file. It will not blindly increase the music balance, enhance the bass or use other rendering effects to cover up the sound quality defects of highly compressed files, nor will it require users to use special equipment to play high-definition files in a specific format, thereby distorting the expected music experience.

Harman's improvements in sound quality, coupled with the addition of the LiveStage virtual surround sound algorithm, allow users to have a better sense of presence when listening to music, especially when listening to live versions of songs, with better on-site restoration and a more distinct sense of layering.

After Harman explained, we can understand why the gift was AKG headphones. In 1994, AKG became a brand of Harman International Industries, Inc. Since Coolpad chose to cooperate with Harman and wanted to give away headphones, Harman must not forget its own AKG company. This is a normal business phenomenon. So what is AKG like?

AKG headphones are as famous as Sennheiser, Beyerdynamic, Grado and Audio-Technica in the world. AKG's important characteristics are that the three-band shape is restrained and emphasizes texture, the analysis is calm and accurate, and it looks noble. In addition, AKG's high frequency is unique. Therefore, with AKG's tuning of headphones and Harman's tuning of sound quality, Coolpad Changer S1 must have a very good performance in music performance.

CDLA standard digital headphones can transmit audio digitally through Type-C at 90dB, which is 20dB higher than the traditional 3.5mm headphones. The sound field effect provided is more open and the on-site effect is better. Compared with the traditional 3.5mm headphone interface, CDLA can transmit music to the headphones in the form of digital signals, skipping the process of digital to analog signals, reducing the loss of sound quality, and this standard is also regarded as the terminator of the 3.5mm headphone interface.

The iPhone's Lightning headphone jack is actually very similar in principle to Coolpad's CDLA. In fact, both integrate the original 3.5mm DAC and headphone amplifier chip into the adapter, changing the output method from the phone to the headphones to a digital signal instead of an analog signal.

Enjoy the rich audio-visual EUI ecological resources

Coolpad Changer S1 is equipped with LeTV's EUI system. Thanks to the advantages of LeTV's ecosystem, the film and television ecosystem composed of a large number of film and television programs and movies allows you to enjoy rich entertainment content while lying in bed. Whether you are a sports fan or a comedy fan, LeTV's super ecosystem can give you great satisfaction.

Have you ever encountered such a situation in your life: you suddenly hear a piece of music in a cafe or restaurant that is very much like your current mood, and you want to download it. But when you open the mobile player to search for this music, you find that this song has no copyright and cannot be downloaded. At this time, "ten thousand horses galloping through" in your heart. You really need a good music player for daily listening to music, at least the music library should be comprehensive and easy to download!

The music player built into the Coolpad Changer S1 cooperates with Xiami Music, which guarantees a very good music library. After binding a LeTV membership, you will also be given a two-month Xiami Music VIP membership, and more paid music and lossless music can be downloaded for free, which is very convenient to use without having to deliberately download third-party music software.

Home theater in bed for lazy people

Lying in bed, I am bored and want to watch a movie or video. It is uncomfortable to hold my hands up all the time, and I can't hear the sound because I put them down. I can only wear headphones or keep holding them up, which is very uncomfortable. And now some music or videos can be played in two channels with headphones, but the mobile phone can't play the two-channel effect at all. When played through a speaker, part of the sound is missing, which is very annoying.

The Coolpad Changer S1 is equipped with dual speakers and adopts an integrated large sound cavity design, which are placed at both ends of the body. And both speakers use an independent smart amplifier function, which can increase the volume while still achieving low noise and high dynamic sound quality output at the maximum loudness of the speaker. No longer worry about blocking one speaker and not hearing the sound or losing the sound of the left and right channels. Such a configuration can create a stereo effect when watching TV series or movies, which is very good to use. It performs very beautifully in dealing with some wider scenes, and the sound effect is great for watching symphony performances. This sense of hearing is incredible on a mobile phone. In a smaller space, the stereo effect makes people feel like they are on the scene.

Essential for travel Enjoy the quietness of a noisy trip

The Spring Festival is coming soon, and the Spring Festival travel rush is about to begin. In order to go home for the Spring Festival, I always go to the station in advance and wait for a long time. What should I do when I am bored? I turn on my headphones to listen to music, but how can a noisy station be a good place? There is no space to enjoy music in a messy station. If you want good sound quality, you need good headphones, and you also need a mobile phone with good sound quality.

Coolpad Changer S1 comes with a pair of custom-made headphones from AKG. With AKG's powerful headphone foundation, this headphone has a very good performance. Even in a noisy station, you can still enjoy your own music time. Music is not easy to describe. It is a matter of personal opinion. I personally prefer rock music. Since Coolpad Changer S1 has integrated too many advanced music technologies, it performs very well, even better than ordinary Hi-Fi phones.

Take "Hotel California" for example, during the music playback, first of all, the sense of presence is very strong. It is a bit exaggerated to say that you are at the scene, but it is already very good; then the sense of layering is very good, and the position of musical instruments in the song can be clearly distinguished; the detail analysis is very good, the applause, and some faint sounds are all very well performed in the headphones; the treble is beautiful but not harsh, the only flaw is that the bass is not deep enough, but such performance is close to perfect compared to a mobile phone without Hi-Fi.

As the first flagship model of Coolpad after changing its brand, Coolpad Changer S1 performs very well in all aspects, especially in terms of music experience, which is highly praised in the industry. The AKG thousand-yuan earphones that come with it quickly open up the overall cost-effectiveness with other flagship phones.

I believe that the reason why Coolpad named the phone "Changer" is to make substantial changes. Whether it is the beautiful body design, excellent music experience or powerful ecosystem, it is defining youth. It can be seen that Coolpad phones will focus on young people in the future. After all, young people are the main force of the mobile phone market.

As a winner of Toutiao's Qingyun Plan and Baijiahao's Bai+ Plan, the 2019 Baidu Digital Author of the Year, the Baijiahao's Most Popular Author in the Technology Field, the 2019 Sogou Technology and Culture Author, and the 2021 Baijiahao Quarterly Influential Creator, he has won many awards, including the 2013 Sohu Best Industry Media Person, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Beijing Third Place, the 2015 Guangmang Experience Award, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Finals Third Place, and the 2018 Baidu Dynamic Annual Powerful Celebrity.