[Toom]

Be interested to see how this thing sounds.

 

[Shawn71]

  It is hardly acceptable. I mean, it will not be top tier audio, neither top tier smartphone, and is neither cheap. You can have an Alcatel idol 3 5.5" with better hardware and software, better DAC, and better amplification at 250$.... I sometimes ask myself why are companies still producing smartphones smaller than 5"..

coz that's the best fit screen size for smartphones (may be 5.5" max), as it's "still" a cellular phone (carry anywhere,just slide in your pocket/very high portability) and the next level is the so-called tab/tablets that has bigger screens less standard laptop's screen size and yet you need laptop bags,backpack etc to carry the tabs with you....

 

[gr8soundz]

I'll never understand why people insist that a screen has to be larger or smaller than any given size.
 
How would they fit the 2 front speakers and keep the phone from being a phablet with some arbitrary screen size? People used to laugh at how huge the 1st smartphones were that I had 15 years ago. Then small, thin phones were in. Now its ridiculous, oversized touchscreens on phones with no physical number pad. Everything is a fad and few people buy equipment based on what it'll actually be used for.
 
If the screen is big enough to be useful with the device then it shouldn't matter as long as the music/phone/camera/apps etc. are accessible. The insistence on over 5in, then the processor has to be a certain one, then add more ram to be mis-used, and so on just to drain the battery quicker. Then people will complain about the batt not being bigger or the device having too short batt life. Then if the batt is bigger (but not replaceable) people complain about that. Then the camera.......
 
People ignore the special hardware inside and the main reason phones like this exists. They'll spend so many 100s of dollars for a DAP but not a bit more for one with full phone capability. Then when companies like Sony or iBasso make an android player (with no phone) the price is too high; to hell with how good any of them sound (assuming the London's sound at least exceeds standard phones).
 
If any of the above is on your mind concerning the Marshall London (or a similar device) they're probably not for you. Or at least they weren't made with the casual public in mind.

 

[Albert7]

$600 is too pricey for a smartphone like this.

 

[gr8soundz]

  $600 is too pricey for a smartphone like this.

 
Might I suggest a Ponoplayer for $400 or perhaps the Sony ZX2 for $1100; no phone included since its not needed.
 

 

[Shawn71]

  $600 is too pricey for a smartphone like this.

but ready to accept with a fruit that is and 2 yr contract.....

 

[Dobrescu George]

Idol 3 uses an AK 4375 DAC inside. Pretty potent.
 
This phone in question costs 600$. this is not acceptable. I can get a note 4 for 375$, or an Idol 3 for 250$. 
 
Making an expensive smartphone with a small screen and outdated hardware is not to be excused because of anything. We dropped hardware keyboards so that we can use the entire screen for something. 
 
I am using my smartphone less for music and more for maps, games, reading sites. A smartphone is a multi purpose device, and making a bad one, with a more boosted audio, but still mediocre, is not an excuse for putting a price tag of 600$.
 
Buying a DAP means getting an excellent music experience out of a device, and that is why I pay for it. I am not looking for anything else when I buy a DAP, but music, and it does it at an extreme level. Having a smartphone means having a device to rely on in a multitude of situations. 

 

[smilemantts]

Rather than criticizing this device I'd like to say bravo to Marshall and their Swedish partner for making it.
 
Sony et al have dropped the ball on not rolling out more audiophile-friendly smartphones. The Marshall London may not be to everyone's taste, but it definitely is a big step in the right direction.
 
Looking forward to reading the reviews on audio quality, etc.

 

[Guppy_]

Haven't samsung phones with exynos processor included wolfson DACs (just not advertised and a severly underpowered amp)

 

[gr8soundz]

  Haven't samsung phones with exynos processor included wolfson DACs (just not advertised and a severly underpowered amp)

 
Exactly. Those DACs were under-utilized and almost no one knows exactly when or how often the DAC is in use.
 
The Idol 3 has my attention but I can't find any info on how its DAC is implemented.
 
Marshall's phone was just announced and I already know how its DAC will work.
 

 

[gr8soundz]

Materials and build make a big difference too.
 
The Alcatel is ALL plastic including the screen. Marshall's has Gorilla Glass 3, visibly much bigger speakers, a 2nd headphone jack, and a real volume wheel.
 
Plus the Marshall's 4.7in screen (not sure how that is small) is the same size and similar specs to the (still expensive) iphone.
 

 

[Dobrescu George]

 
Materials and build make a big difference too.
 
The Alcatel is ALL plastic including the screen. Marshall's has Gorilla Glass 3, visibly much bigger speakers, a 2nd headphone jack, and a real volume wheel.
 
Plus the Marshall's 4.7in screen (not sure how that is small) is the same size and similar specs to the (still expensive) iphone.
 

I am in a club that hates small smartphones. I fiind them really letdowns. I cannot use a small one, this is why I cannot get an iphone. maybe the plus version, but that is still small. too small. 
 
Idol 3 is all plastic, but the screen is dragontrail glass, it is about the same thing as gorilla 3, give or take. I fiind a smartphone like a personal assistant, it needs to do everything, because you are not going to want to carry two. 

 

[newtophones07]

for $600, the specs are a tad light. the battery being the major issue imo and the processor. smaller daps can get away with low level cpu's, you start adding large screen, phone capabilities and android---this will lag pretty hard.

 

[gr8soundz]

The London, imo, seems more like a DAP with a built-in android smartphone. Not the other way around.
 
Went through the same debate when I got a Nokia 808 (also around $600 at the time). Its a camera built around a small smartphone. Only a single-core with 512MB ram (low even for 2012) but it still has the best ever amoled screen and camera (at 41 megapixels) ever put into a phone device.
 
Most of us carry a smartphone that also happens to play music and do other things even though its far from great at those things. Marshall and, occasionally other manufacturers, have taken the initiative to build something the other way around. Risky because most people only ever look at the specs they're used to seeing and judge devices solely on that.
 

 

[interpolate]

The Nokia 808 was a remarkable telephone for the time, yet probably because it lacked the "Facebook features" everyone was being told to use, it failed in the marketplace. Then Microsoft bought them and the rest is history.