[Black Dog]

  Im going to be getting a chord mojo soon and will need a phone to go with it that can play dsd and other high quality formats.  Someone suggested I get a ZX5 but many of you are hating on the zx5.  Can the zx3 play dsd, should I get it instead of a zx5?  Is there some other phone I should get instead of either that can play hd music as well?

 
Got my Xperia Z5C a week ago, it is running 60% battery capacity on the second charge.
That's with light use, Stamina powersaving function activated, WiFi on.
Accidentally dropped it from hip-high and no probs or visible damage.
Great phone, almost vanilla Android, will dive into its audio capabilities coming week.

 

[Ike1985]

It also appears the htc on m9 plays DSD

 

[jagwap]

.
I have an ear infection, which has hopped from the left to the right side. During a few hours of clarity, it sounded pretty good, but I'll refrain from doing a review until the antibiotics work.

The ears are clearing. While it is not quite loud enough on my PM3s, initial impressions are it sounds good: clean, detailed with tight and defined bass. The pace is good like the Z2, suggesting no high pass filter.

I'll do a Z2 comparison when I get some time.

 

[SeeSax]

Listening to it as I type this, volume at 80% and it isn't all that loud. But DAMN does it sound good with my XBA-A3 hybrids. I think I'll forgive the volume for now. This setup sounds superb.

I'll try my EX1000s next.

-Collin-

 

[Feilong4]

I probably didn't catch this but does the Z5 have USB audio? I have the Z3V and I don't like how I have to open the flap and plug in an external DAC from the side.

 

[elektron]

  Im going to be getting a chord mojo soon and will need a phone to go with it that can play dsd and other high quality formats.  Someone suggested I get a ZX5 but many of you are hating on the zx5.  Can the zx3 play dsd, should I get it instead of a zx5?  Is there some other phone I should get instead of either that can play hd music as well?

 
What's the ZX5 (and the ZX3)?  Are you referring ot the Z5?  If so, I haven't seen anything to suggest that people here are actually "hating" it.
 
Both phones can play DSD.

 

[Whitigir]

No one hate the Z5, only dissapointed that Z5 has the same audio quality as Z3.

 

[Black Dog]

  I probably didn't catch this but does the Z5 have USB audio? I have the Z3V and I don't like how I have to open the flap and plug in an external DAC from the side.

Xperia Z5C has sealed Micro-USB, ready for plug in, no flaps etc.

 

[FYLegend]

Audio quality measurements from GSMArena for the regular Z5 have been posted:
http://www.gsmarena.com/sony_xperia_z5-review-1326p7.php
 
Not much different from the Z5 Compact unfortunately. With headphones there's a slight V shape, and some stereo crosstalk. Dynamic range not that great either.
 
Then again GSMArena's measurements aren't always accurate. I had the HTC Butterfly s which had pretty good measurements on GSMArena but it suffers from hissing and bass clipping distortion at high volumes (the audio quality itself is still great if you don't listen at high volumes). Snapdragon 600 Galaxy S4 had a similar problem which was fixed, but then again that phone had lower volume levels than the HTC.
 
I don't think Qualcomm's DAC is all that bad but it also depends on how the manufacturer manages it. For example HTC always seems to be able to get lower stereo crosstalk and higher volumes out of Qualcomm DACs compared to Sony (perhaps they have an amp). Just really disappointed about the HTC's lineup this year.

 

[elektron]

 
Not much different from the Z5 Compact unfortunately. 

 
Thanks for sharing, but why would you expect the two to be different if it's essentially the same phone enclosed in two different bodies?

 

[FYLegend]

   
Thanks for sharing, but why would you expect the two to be different if it's essentially the same phone enclosed in two different bodies?

I didn't expect any differences, but sometimes there may be differences between similar phones that use the same DAC.
 
I'd want a phone with a good DAC and stereo speakers. This year has been a big letdown.

 

[elektron]

 
I'd want a phone with a good DAC and stereo speakers. This year has been a big letdown.

 
"Phone" and "good speakers" is an oxymoron, don' you think? 

 

[FYLegend]

   
"Phone" and "good speakers" is an oxymoron, don' you think? 

My current phone has stereo speakers, and while I don't use them often when I'm outside, they are nice for watching videos or playing games at home. I know there's a lot of comments out there how they're unecessary and blaming them for HTC's bezel space (I don't think this is true), but I don't want to take the step back from that.  Besides, if the Nintendo 3DS can have stereo speakers, why not phones? Sometimes wearing headphones just to play a game is a bit cumbersome.
 
This year the trend has been thinner phones, smaller batteries etc.

 

[elektron]

  My current phone has stereo speakers, and while I don't use them often when I'm outside, they are nice for watching videos or playing games at home. I know there's a lot of comments out there how they're unecessary and blaming them for HTC's bezel space (I don't think this is true), but I don't want to take the step back from that.  Besides, if the Nintendo 3DS can have stereo speakers, why not phones? 

 
I've also happened to have stereo speakers on my last few phones and I agree that they do sound better, especially watching videos, but I can't see myself using them for the purpose of enjoying music.
 

 
Sometimes wearing headphones just to play a game is a bit cumbersome.

That's what bluetooth headphones are for, especially with NFC. 

  I especially love the ergonomics of the SBH80 for this purpose - you can wear them on your neck all day forgetting that they're there, and just pop them in when you need to listen to something or when a call comes in (not to mention their brilliant sound quality for the price).
 

 
This year the trend has been thinner phones, smaller batteries etc.

 
You think so?  I've found that the bezels and thickness have been gradually reducing over the years.  There are exceptions of course - the Z5 Compact being an especially notable one, as it has a slightly bigger bezel and is also thicker than the Z3. That said it still has no real competition and you can't beat a 2700 mah battery in a phone that size.

 

[synnnn]

 
You think so?  I've found that the bezels and thickness have been gradually reducing over the years.  There are exceptions of course - the Z5 Compact being an especially notable one, as it has a slightly bigger bezel and is also thicker than the Z3. That said it still has no real competition and you can't beat a 2700 mah battery in a phone that size.

it still has a screen to body ratio  better than the 4.7" iphone 6/6s
as reported by phonearena it is 70.64% over 65.71%