I've noticed this too. I suspect it is, at least in part, due to the poor quality of the DACs on most phones. I used to own a Samsung Moment; trying to listen

I've noticed this too. I suspect it is, at least in part, due to the poor quality of the DACs on most phones. I used to own a Samsung Moment; trying to listen to music on it was almost unbearable due to the quality. It must have been dumping bits left and right during the conversion. I tried 320kbps Mp3s, Broadcast Wavs, Flac -- it didn't matter everything sounded like it was crushed down to a 32kbps. I'd be interested in seeing a phone dedicated to high quality playback of music. As a somewhat audiophile-ish guy, I would snatch up such a piece of technology.