Best Smartphone for audiophile
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Jun 22, 2016 at 12:09 PM Post #3,226 of 7,916
I love my ZTE Axon. I upgraded from a Galaxy S4.

 


Which Axon? 7/Pro/Elite/Mini?
(Welcome to Head-Fi, sorry about your wallet :beerchug:)


The regular Axon. Not the 7, Pro,Elite, or Mini. Comes with a standard 2gb memory and 32gb storage. It comes with a pair if jbl iem. They are a bass heavy pair of iem. I use my vsonic vsd1s and shure 240 all the time and love it. Cowork brought his AKG 553 and even he was wowed. He connected the Fiio Aspen to the Axon. But both agreed that the Axon was more musical without the Aspen.
 
Jun 23, 2016 at 4:17 AM Post #3,230 of 7,916
   
I was very happy with the LG G2 for 2 years. The sound didn't suck and was rather good for a smartphone to my ears.
The Zopo speed 7 (mediatek) sucked; loose bloated bass with splashy highs. The LG G2 was actually balanced/neutral.

well i owned the LG G2 and it was awful
 
Honestly your post is making me think seriously you have an issue with your HTC10
 
Jun 23, 2016 at 4:37 AM Post #3,231 of 7,916
What model of LG G2 you owned? American one was bad (nerfed?). I have D802. Used it with Ultimate Ears Triple.fi 10 till May (died), now ATH-IM03. Both with same ComplyFoam 500. Poweramp 3 Alpha + Neutron. G2 was pretty good for smartphone in it's generation but I can't call it neutral.
 
Jun 23, 2016 at 4:37 AM Post #3,232 of 7,916
  well i owned the LG G2 and it was awful
 
Honestly your post is making me think seriously you have an issue with your HTC10

 
Unfortunately, I don't own a HTC 10 and I've never listened to one. I use a ZTE Axon mini atm, which sounds exactly like my LG G2 (F320 Korean version).
Find the Axon mini to be just a tad cleaner than my Sony laptop. The Dragonfly murders them all.
 
Jun 23, 2016 at 6:48 AM Post #3,233 of 7,916
  What do you guys think about the Lumia 930 in the audio departament? Realy like this phone and it has great photography wich I love too.
 

 
Lumia 930's sound is terrible.....
 
Noise floor is very high, so with sensitive IEMs (mine is UMPRO30) it lacks of detail and refinement.
And the driving power is limited, the sound lacks of dynamic with headphones (T5p and RS1i).
And so far none of the music player app I tried is as satisfactory as those on iOS or Android.
 
So overall, I won't recommend it if you're listening to music on your phone a lot.
 
Hope this helps :)
 
Jun 23, 2016 at 8:05 AM Post #3,234 of 7,916
 What do you guys think about the Lumia 930 in the audio departament? Realy like this phone and it has great photography wich I love too.
 

 
Lumia 930's sound is terrible.....
 
Noise floor is very high, so with sensitive IEMs (mine is UMPRO30) it lacks of detail and refinement.
And the driving power is limited, the sound lacks of dynamic with headphones (T5p and RS1i).
And so far none of the music player app I tried is as satisfactory as those on iOS or Android.
 
So overall, I won't recommend it if you're listening to music on your phone a lot.
 
Hope this helps :)


Thanks, man. Actually I don't listen a lot but I do listen, in fact the audio players on Android are far better and Windows lacks some HiFi audio implementation on it's models.
Today I'm using an Optimus G with it's original earpieces. Even than a Lumia 930 wouldn't be an upgrade? I'm intending to buy Xiaomi Hybrids to listen to music.

Sent from my Optimus G using Tapatalk
 
Jun 23, 2016 at 7:18 PM Post #3,236 of 7,916
Thanks, man. Actually I don't listen a lot but I do listen, in fact the audio players on Android are far better and Windows lacks some HiFi audio implementation on it's models.
Today I'm using an Optimus G with it's original earpieces. Even than a Lumia 930 wouldn't be an upgrade? I'm intending to buy Xiaomi Hybrids to listen to music.

Sent from my Optimus G using Tapatalk

 
I haven't tried the Optimus G so can't comment on how the two phones compare, but I don't recommend the 930 in terms of music playback anyways. And one thing I forgot to mention is the limited format supported by windows phone(no FLAC!)(not sure if there's a workaround).
 
And you mentioned the camera as well. While the image quality is decent, the major drawback is the extremely slow focusing speed by today's standard.
 
After all it depends on how much you're paying for the 930, but personally I'd go for the latest mid-price Android phones rather than the flagship windows phone two generations ago.
 
disclaimer: the 930 is my only phone for the past 2.5 years
 
Jun 23, 2016 at 8:39 PM Post #3,237 of 7,916
Thanks, man. Actually I don't listen a lot but I do listen, in fact the audio players on Android are far better and Windows lacks some HiFi audio implementation on it's models.
Today I'm using an Optimus G with it's original earpieces. Even than a Lumia 930 wouldn't be an upgrade? I'm intending to buy Xiaomi Hybrids to listen to music.

Sent from my Optimus G using Tapatalk

 
I haven't tried the Optimus G so can't comment on how the two phones compare, but I don't recommend the 930 in terms of music playback anyways. And one thing I forgot to mention is the limited format supported by windows phone(no FLAC!)(not sure if there's a workaround).
 
And you mentioned the camera as well. While the image quality is decent, the major drawback is the extremely slow focusing speed by today's standard.
 
After all it depends on how much you're paying for the 930, but personally I'd go for the latest mid-price Android phones rather than the flagship windows phone two generations ago.
 
disclaimer: the 930 is my only phone for the past 2.5 years


I don't listen to FLAC, with 32GB lossless audio would fill quickly. MP3 @320kbps has quality enough for the iems I use.

If you say so I won't buy the 930, it is a little over the Nexus 5 in price here in Brazil. But one thing a don't do is buy a mid-end phone over a high-end one even if the high-end one is older, it is not worth it.
That being said I'll go with Nexus 5 using JetAudio like now and buy the full version of the app.

Sent from my Optimus G using Tapatalk
 
Jun 24, 2016 at 4:25 AM Post #3,238 of 7,916
After using the LG v10 for a couple of weeks I can honestly say this is one fantastic all in one solution, phone/DAP, it has the 5 critical things plus many more, like accurate finger print scanner as a bonus, with a very crisp, sharp display. Which is very comfy on the eyes.

1. Removable battery, this is extremely rare solution these days (like rocking hoarse dung), and golden, I can carry triple the power in my pocket.. Why would any company by be silly enough leave it out?

2. Expandable memory, not only was 64gig supplied internally in this base model LG v10 h962, which is a steal at around $600.00 AUD delivered, but LG supplied an expansion slot to keep this v10 memory upgradeable, for many memory upgrades to come.

3. Build quality is tough, it feels solid in your hand, and with a case/screen protector the phone feels great, v10 has a reliable military like construction, very well thought out, industrial design.

4. Now this is really important, the phone/DAP just works, never freezes or crashes, it just keeps on humming, like a finely tuned beast, no need for updated UI, the software has been done well, with all the features any user would need.

5. The most important reason, the reason we are here, and that's how this thing sounds, and in nutshell, it's easy above anything I have heard in phones, it's a mid priced DAP killer, but with a phone... And a great phone at that.

I don't think any cell phone can touch it, not with these features in tail. (but I have not heard them all) well maybe the LG G5, and that's going to be one phone to look out for as well. But unfortunately looks and felt fragile.

I believe for the value, the V10 is king of the expandable memory phones, well maybe just for now. Grab one while you still can. LG may clue in to this unbelievable priced phone, and put the price back up.
Or even worse, stop production of this great value cell phone.
 
Jun 24, 2016 at 5:25 AM Post #3,239 of 7,916
After using the LG v10 for a couple of weeks I can honestly say this is one fantastic all in one solution, phone/DAP, it has the 5 critical things plus many more, like accurate finger print scanner as a bonus, with a very crisp, sharp display. Which is very comfy on the eyes.

1. Removable battery, this is extremely rare solution these days (like rocking hoarse dung), and golden, I can carry triple the power in my pocket.. Why would any company by be silly enough leave it out?

2. Expandable memory, not only was 64gig supplied internally in this base model LG v10 h962, which is a steal at around $600.00 AUD delivered, but LG supplied an expansion slot to keep this v10 memory upgradeable, for many memory upgrades to come.

3. Build quality is tough, it feels solid in your hand, and with a case/screen protector the phone feels great, v10 has a reliable military like construction, very well thought out, industrial design.

4. Now this is really important, the phone/DAP just works, never freezes or crashes, it just keeps on humming, like a finely tuned beast, no need for updated UI, the software has been done well, with all the features any user would need.

5. The most important reason, the reason we are here, and that's how this thing sounds, and in nutshell, it's easy above anything I have heard in phones, it's a mid priced DAP killer, but with a phone... And a great phone at that.

I don't think any cell phone can touch it, not with these features in tail. (but I have not heard them all) well maybe the LG G5, and that's going to be one phone to look out for as well. But unfortunately looks and felt fragile.

I believe for the value, the V10 is king of the expandable memory phones, well maybe just for now. Grab one while you still can. LG may clue in to this unbelievable priced phone, and put the price back up.
Or even worse, stop production of this great value cell phone.

1. It's good but only if you can charge battery separately from phone.
2. Good feature, 50% of smartphones use it. 600$ for not-so-new-flagman?
3. Not so tough as bulky. Too big for phone, not comfortable to use and not so tough as Motorola X Force.
4. Check it with Marshmallow and pray for N update. LG likes to drop support.
5. What phones did you heard? What headphones are you using? Did you compare it directly?
 
LG G5 is a failed product. Fragile modules connection, not good without HiFi-module, overpriced.
 
Jun 24, 2016 at 6:22 AM Post #3,240 of 7,916
1. Sure you can charge the battery in the external charging cradle.

(this is sold as a battery kit or separate). Batteries can be swapped out easily, and wireless charging is working very well $11 kit, for easy charging at nite top up, just drop it on and forget. Great feature.

2. Sure I agree, it shouldn't even be a point, but with so many phones leaving out external SD and external battery. I would have never thought this would happen in my lifetime.

3. I dropped this thing already it didn't smash like other phones I've had.It didn't leave a mark either, to me it's pretty tough with its stainless frame.
I agree it's huge and clunky, but I like its size now, it's not the sort of phone you can leave behind because you know when that bulge is in your pocket. But the v10 screen size is so nice for daily usage.

4. This is my first LG phone, I don't really care for the latest version of Android, I prefer stabiliy over the latest update, and to be honest there's not much of an update with MM.

Please be wrong about support. I am thinking there will, and should be a cult following with this legendary sounding phone, and LG release the bootloader's, so some decent ROMs can be made. But even as is for me on 5.1.1 and rooted. I'll be happy as a pig in mud for at least 6 months, no problems.

I've heard most of the Samsung offerings, and a few iPhone on demo, but no, Chinese smart phones. And I compare it against my Sony zx2. Which isn't the best comparison offerings. And as far as value goes $600.00 is a lot but with all the features and quality screen, you end up with some quality features. I would have payed more.
And finally I agree the g5 failed, even the display model had a cracked rear glass panel. The module draw, with a one sided locking mechanism is easily damaged. The non availability of the audio module in our local shop, and lockout of non compliant devices is a failure.
I think they may actually get clever and put the audio module inside the G6, and concentrate on external battery capacity, and durability.

The problem is squeezing all these features in one tiny and thin device. It ends up bloody huge, like the v10.

However compared to the massive DAP/bricks for sale, the v10 phones are very thin. But do not sound good as a dedicated high end DAP. It's still come a long way knocking most mid end DAP's I've heard out of the contest. But not the ZX2, the multiple layers, and tonal qualities are not comparable. I do my listening with the Rhapsodio Solar 10ba iem's (these are remarkable).
 
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