[soor]

Im worried! Just read this in another review: Just walking around listening to a pre-downloaded podcast (so not causing a constant 3G/4G download stream), the phone’s back got a little toasty. Not ‘cripes my pants are burning up’ hot, but warmer than I’d like.
 
 
http://www.stuff.tv/sony/xperia-z5/review
 
After that im seriously thinking of canceling my preorder and go for a z3 instead or just wait for snapdragon 820.

 

[okiru880]

I'm also struggling to find any information about the amp. There no mention that an S-Master amp is being used and if it was then I'm sure that it would have been promoted. Also, Army-Firedawg hasn't clarified what info they've seen in relation to the DAC.

I've asked Sony to provide the Voltage output of the headphone out, they're treating this as an FOI request and I should hopefully have something soon. In the meantime, if anyone is able to post their own measurements that would be great.

 

[Whitigir]

I'm also struggling to find any information about the amp. There no mention that an S-Master amp is being used and if it was then I'm sure that it would have been promoted. Also, Army-Firedawg hasn't clarified what info they've seen in relation to the DAC.

I've asked Sony to provide the Voltage output of the headphone out, they're treating this as an FOI request and I should hopefully have something soon. In the meantime, if anyone is able to post their own measurements that would be great.

There is no S-Master in Z5. It is a smartphone, and building class D amp into it is not something anyone want to do

 

[soor]

Just went in to a store and there it was - Sony compact z5, and I put my hand on it, it was warm, finger warm, only by standing on the shelf. Then the question is how warm will it be after a couple of hours music listening. Maybe its a god thing, it can keep my hands warm during this upcoming winter.

 

[luhesan]

Bad bad news... 

Audio quality has its ups and downs

The Sony Xperia Z5 Compact did a very good job in the first part of our audio quality test, where it's connected to an active external amplifier. The scores it got were great top to bottom but it only matched them with an average volume level so we can't quite call it perfect.

Plugging in a pair of headphones harm the stereo crosstalk but it remained decent, but it also introduced a bit of frequency response deviation and brought the volume down a notch. Not too bad of a showing, but certainly not one worth bragging about.

 

Anyway, here go the results so you can do your comparisons.

Test	Frequency response	Noise level	Dynamic range	THD	IMD + Noise	Stereo crosstalk
Sony Xperia Z5 Compact	+0.01, -0.04	-95.9	89.7	0.0033	0.012	-94.4
Sony Xperia Z5 Compact (headphones attached)	+0.35, -0.11	-95.0	89.4	0.0061	0.214	-52.0
Sony Xperia Z3 Compact	+0.02, -0.08	-85.2	85.2	0.013	0.022	-85.3
Sony Xperia Z3 Compact (headphones attached)	+0.10, -0.01	-85.4	85.4	0.020	0.045	-45.1
Sony Xperia M5	+0.06, -0.06	-94.1	93.9	0.0086	0.013	-93.4
Sony Xperia M5 (headphones attached)	+0.53, -0.30	-93.5	93.4	0.033	0.506	-54.1
Apple iPhone 6s	+0.03, -0.04	-93.5	93.5	0.0016	0.0075	-73.2
Apple iPhone 6s (headphones attached)	+0.10, -0.06	-93.8	93.9	0.0030	0.101	-68.2

 

 

[obsidyen]

I'm not surprised. Snapdragon 810 dac is terrible. No software can change that. Sony should have used a proprietary dac. So with Z5 eliminated, it's either LG V10 or iPhone 6s for me.

 

[Whitigir]

I'm not surprised. Snapdragon 810 dac is terrible. No software can change that. Sony should have used a proprietary dac. So with Z5 eliminated, it's either LG V10 or iPhone 6s for me.

Snapdragon DAC has always been terrible.....except only the one on Xperia Z3, which surprised me. I don't know what S3 did so different, but even Note 4 Snapdragon didn't sound that good, or even Nexus phone.

 

[Whitigir]

Unfortunately, Sony mobile has been called upon due to Z5 not heating up as expected. They will have until the end of 2016 to do some innovations, creations, ideas....etc. otherwise, they will face termination as a decision.

I don't understand it...Sony has the best of engineer into Walkman and stuff...why not a Walkman phone ?

 

[elektron]

Bad bad news... 

 
I apologise if I'm missing the obvious but what is the source for this data?
EDIT: fount it on GMSArena.
 

Snapdragon DAC has always been terrible.....except only the one on Xperia Z3, which surprised me. I don't know what S3 did so different, but even Note 4 Snapdragon didn't sound that good, or even Nexus phone.

 
If it performed really well with an external amp doesn't that mean exactly the opposite, i.e. that the SnapDragon DAC is actually very good and the phone's amp section is the weakest link in its audio circuitry chain?  This is actually good news for those of us who mostly use good BT headphones that use their own S-Master amp isntead (MDR-1ABT anyone?).

 

[luhesan]

I apologise if I'm missing the obvious but what is the source for this data?


If it performed really well with an external amp doesn't that mean exactly the opposite, i.e. that the SnapDragon DAC is actually very good and the phone's amp section is the weakest link in its audio circuitry chain?  This is actually good news for those of us who mostly use good BT headphones that use their own S-Master amp isntead (MDR-1ABT anyone?).

GSM Arena
http://m.gsmarena.com/sony_xperia_z5_compact-review-1318.php

HTC One M9 has a Qualcomm 810 too so I can't understand why are so differents

 

[jagwap]

It seems the output impedance may be higher on the Z5 than the Z3. Hence the bump in the bass if the headphone load is higher impedance there.

What bugs me about GSM arena reviews is that they mention the output level, but never give a figure. We'll have to wait for phonearena to review it to see that, or I'll measure it if mine arrives this weekend.

 

[soor]

Just went in to a store and there it was - Sony compact z5, and I put my hand on it, it was warm, finger warm, only by standing on the shelf. Then the question is how warm will it be after a couple of hours music listening. Maybe its a god thing, it can keep my hands warm during this upcoming winter.

Recived the phone yesterday. It got very hot during inital setup. But now its cool like it should be. I belive it might be due to the thermal pasta that burnt in.

I like the z5 alot.

Now im waiting for Bt 4.1 headsets and The new xba-300ap to hit The market.

 

[elektron]

Now im waiting for Bt 4.1 headsets and The new xba-300ap to hit The market.

 
Have you tried the Z5 with any other headphones at the moment?  We're all anxious to hear about the sound quality compared to other phones you've used?
 
People often make the mistake that 4 is better than 3.  However the BT 4.0 and 4.1 standards were specifically developed for wearable devices /  internet of things, and wouldn't make any difference to the sound compared to BT 3.0.
 
If you are after the best available sound quality over Bluetooth you're in luck because the Z5 has LDAC - the highest spec BT codec available.  If I were you I would strongly consider the MDR-1ABT - Sony's flagship BT cans and the only headphones with LDAC support in existence today.  They also have AptX and SBC, of course, so you can use them with any BT device.

 

[synnnn]

has anyone tested the LDAC vs aptx?
I have the 1RBT mark2 and I cannot ascertain whether the in-built amp or the bluetooth protocol is the weaker link

 

[soor]

   
Have you tried the Z5 with any other headphones at the moment?  We're all anxious to hear about the sound quality compared to other phones you've used?
 
People often make the mistake that 4 is better than 3.  However the BT 4.0 and 4.1 standards were specifically developed for wearable devices /  internet of things, and wouldn't make any difference to the sound compared to BT 3.0.
 
If you are after the best available sound quality over Bluetooth you're in luck because the Z5 has LDAC - the highest spec BT codec available.  If I were you I would strongly consider the MDR-1ABT - Sony's flagship BT cans and the only headphones with LDAC support in existence today.  They also have AptX and SBC, of course, so you can use them with any BT device.

I wasnt clear enough in my last post. I got the z5 compact model, not the z5. I have been listening to hq streaming through spotify with a pair of sony mdr-1a and sennheiser hd 598 headphones for a couple of hours. The only phone that i can compare the z5 with is an iphone 5 and the sound is so much bigger and more spacious in the z5 in all aspects even with clearaudio+ turned off. When its turned on it rules, the voices gets centered with all instruments well positioned in space. I think i get enough volume in my ears, if it would produce more, i would probably become deaf in the near future.
 
The camera is very very good with a very very good autofocus. I do find the fingerprint sensor a little bit to sensitive for my big fingers, resulting in alot of opening failures. I bought sonys orignal case and it makes the phone look more expensive. One problem i have is that the protective lid easily gets in the way when im trying to put my finger on the sensor button. The battery is a clear winner and it last for two days, as they promise. The reason i choosed the compact and not the z5 is the size of it, i want it to fit in my palm, and that it does. Even my doughter is impressed by the phone and she takes alot of photos and listens to alot of music, she own an iphone 6, by the way. 
 
I want BT 4.1 because it seems to demand less power and by that the battery will last much longer. Sounds like music to my ears