Best Smartphone for audiophile | Page 92 | Headphone Reviews and Discussion - Head-Fi.org

TabCam · Nov 9, 2015 at 4:45 PM

It looks like the Motorola Droid Turbo 2 / X Force is a viable smartphone with decently loud (0.982V) headphone output. Anybody knows about the recent Motorola X phones (Style/Play/Pure) sound quality wise? Can't seem to find anything about the used dac or amplifiers. I hope for native 44.1 support but suspect 48 as most Android phones have just that.

maxjstern · Nov 10, 2015 at 9:16 AM

tabcam said:
It looks like the Motorola Droid Turbo 2 / X Force is a viable smartphone with decently loud (0.982V) headphone output. Anybody knows about the recent Motorola X phones (Style/Play/Pure) sound quality wise? Can't seem to find anything about the used dac or amplifiers. I hope for native 44.1 support but suspect 48 as most Android phones have just that.

They just use plain Qualcomm DACs. They are decent, as you said, but nothing more or less...
I think they have native 44.1 support, as it is a very common sample rate(CD)... (open for corrections here)

rawrster · Nov 10, 2015 at 9:26 AM

tabcam said:
I have, and a number of other phones like the Qiku Q Terra, Meizu 5 Pro, LG G4/V10, Motorola X Style/Pure and play. I love to have it all, very decent camera, 4G (especially 800MHz), NFC, powerful HP output, at least HD resolution and 16GB ROM and decent battery life. I also like to have 4K video, 64GB ROM and dual SIM. Most phones have a few but fail on all. If you have IEM's headphone output is not important and then the Sony is a viable alternative. My MrSpeakers Alpha Primes get a lot of action at work so I like to have a phone with decent output.

Currently I am leaning towards either the Motorola Style or Play. The Style does not have a decent battery life and the Play does not have 4K video. Still not sure so did not pull the trigger.

I really like the look of the Sony xperia phones. I saw someone using it a few days ago when I was on the bus and I was trying to figure out what it was. They don't sell it here in the USA at least not from a carrier. I can get an unlocked version on amazon however I'm going to Taiwan and Korea next month and I should be able to try them out there. It does come with a good screen size for me. I'm not a fan of the screens getting bigger and bigger and the LG G3 that I use now is borderline at times. If all else fails the LG G4 is still a good option for me. I own the LG G3 and it is a good phone. I'm switching my phone carrier and my current phone won't work with the new one so it's time for an upgrade.

mx19 · Nov 10, 2015 at 1:37 PM

Now lads... finally a game-changer for me:

Meizu 5 PRO Mini

A 4.7" version of 5 PRO??? Rock 'n' roll lads!!!

Hope it will have all the audio stuff that's in 5 PRO... Finally a mobile, compact smartphone (by today's standards) with proper audio stuff... I really hope that Meizu won't cut away the audio hardware from it...
If not, it will crush every smartphone with 5.0" or smaller display in terms of... oh well, everything. Especially in audio department.

Guppy_ · Nov 10, 2015 at 3:49 PM

man, gsmarena audio review is sorely dissapointing... they have all the tech and equipment to go in depth, yet they down. they down even mention the DAC

http://www.gsmarena.com/meizu_pro_5-review-1336p2.php

Guppy_ · Nov 10, 2015 at 3:49 PM

mx19 said:
Now lads... finally a game-changer for me:

Meizu 5 PRO Mini

A 4.7" version of 5 PRO??? Rock 'n' roll lads!!!

Hope it will have all the audio stuff that's in 5 PRO... Finally a mobile, compact smartphone (by today's standards) with proper audio stuff... I really hope that Meizu won't cut away the audio hardware from it...
If not, it will crush every smartphone with 5.0" or smaller display in terms of... oh well, everything. Especially in audio department.

no mention of the dac though.

R0blo · Nov 10, 2015 at 4:43 PM

I just received my HTC A9 to replace my oversized and frustratingly buggy Meizu MX4 Pro. The A9 kills the MX4 Pro sound wise in every way, no contest WOW. Im about to pit it against the Burson Conductor, yeah its that ******* good.

TabCam · Nov 10, 2015 at 5:27 PM

r0blo said:
I just received my HTC A9 to replace my oversized and frustratingly buggy Meizu MX4 Pro. The A9 kills the MX4 Pro sound wise in every way, no contest WOW. Im about to pit it against the Burson Conductor, yeah its that ******* good.

With what IEM/HP are you listening? The Meizu MX4 Pro has a serously loud output, double that of the A9. Don't know about the SQ unfortunately.

I lately follow both gsmarena.com and phonearena.com. Combined they paint an interesting picture of the SQ of phones. The Sony Xperia 5 is no contender for someone looking for decent (>.9V) HP output.

Unfortunately, the A9 is in europe 599 including taxes. Would love to pay the $399 even if I have to add european taxes to that.

maxjstern · Nov 10, 2015 at 5:42 PM

Gsmarena now has reviewed the Meizu Pro5, praising its (extremely) loud and clear output!

http://www.gsmarena.com/meizu_pro_5-review-1336p6.php

R0blo · Nov 10, 2015 at 5:46 PM

tabcam said:
With what IEM/HP are you listening? The Meizu MX4 Pro has a serously loud output, double that of the A9. Don't know about the SQ unfortunately.

I lately follow both gsmarena.com and phonearena.com. Combined they paint an interesting picture of the SQ of phones. The Sony Xperia 5 is no contender for someone looking for decent (>.9V) HP output.

Unfortunately, the A9 is in europe 599 including taxes. Would love to pay the $399 even if I have to add european taxes to that.

Im using Focal Spirit Classics, Westone W3, HD598 and ultrasone 780, so nothing too demanding. Im doing A/B testing on the loudness and there is no difference, the A9 sounds much much better and equally as loud.

edit: im using the 'Auto' intelligent match of the Hi-Fi sound of the Mx4 Pro

ehjie · Nov 10, 2015 at 11:49 PM

r0blo said:
I just received my HTC A9 to replace my oversized and frustratingly buggy Meizu MX4 Pro. The A9 kills the MX4 Pro sound wise in every way, no contest WOW. Im about to pit it against the Burson Conductor, yeah its that ******* good.

hTC SQ is its Raison D'etre in the smartphone business. It keeps on improving in this department. There are some more coming next year. But for now we really should be very happy with this model.

visanj · Nov 11, 2015 at 3:24 AM

r0blo said:
I just received my HTC A9 to replace my oversized and frustratingly buggy Meizu MX4 Pro. The A9 kills the MX4 Pro sound wise in every way, no contest WOW. Im about to pit it against the Burson Conductor, yeah its that ******* good.

May I know if its possible for you to compare with any other smartphones like iPhone 4s, HTC One M8, Galasy S (Voodoo) or Galaxy S3? Just to get some idea where A9 stand

or if its that good, then can you also compare with any FIIO DACs/DAPs?

maxjstern · Nov 11, 2015 at 2:30 PM

Lenovo will release a new "Hi-Fi" phone. (if someone likes the brand; check out the Vibe Z2 Pro.)

http://www.gsmarena.com/lenovo_teases_vibe_x3_launch_on_november_16-news-14953.php

mx19 · Nov 11, 2015 at 3:16 PM

maxjstern said:
Lenovo will release a new "Hi-Fi" phone. (if someone likes the brand; check out the Vibe Z2 Pro.)

http://www.gsmarena.com/lenovo_teases_vibe_x3_launch_on_november_16-news-14953.php

Great! another big as f... aircraft carrier. I know, I know... some people like big phones, but seriously for me anything bigger than 5.0" is just unpractical. and cause of that I have very high hopes for Meizu 5 Pro Mini. That's the thing I dream about.

Guppy_ · Nov 11, 2015 at 4:56 PM

r0blo said:
I just received my HTC A9 to replace my oversized and frustratingly buggy Meizu MX4 Pro. The A9 kills the MX4 Pro sound wise in every way, no contest WOW. Im about to pit it against the Burson Conductor, yeah its that ******* good.

http://www.meizu.com/en/products/mx4pro/hifi.html

I doubt that a snapdragon DAC has better sound than ESS sabre :/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HTC_One_A9

Edit: even gsmarena readings speak against it.

http://www.gsmarena.com/htc_one_a9-review-1331.php

Not to mention is mid-range SD617. The only thing it has going for it is amp.

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