For those of you like me who cannot afford a Korean LG G6 or Onkyo Granbeat I just noticed that the Ramos MOS1 Max seems to be out of stock and discontinued by Ramos before any headfier could get hold of one. What a shame. That could have been an interesting phone/phablet and was selling for...

I don't think there's much point to wireless charging if the phone has to be close to the charging device. If it is non-mobile then it is non-mobile whether there is a physical cable involved or not. Some people (for instance MIT/MagMIMO) are working on a longer range wireless charging solution...

In the ultrabudget SoC audio category I just found a very interesting entry, but it will be of no benefit to almost everyone reading this because it's a Filipino brand that is only available in the Philippines. Basically another Asus Zenpad knockoff with an Intel SoC, but with a very neutral...

I just listened to a few budget phablets and the results were interesting because I had not heard Intel or Spreadtrum SoC audio before. Intel SoC audio is the best I've heard. Clear and detailed (for a phone) and neutral with a higher volume level than I have ever heard from an SoC. I don't tend...

Oops. I forgot the X3 Lite had Mediatek. Yikes. I don't understand how that phone can sound so good with a Mediatek SoC but then it also has this.   I have listened to a lot of cheap phones with Mediatek SoC audio and they nearly always sound underpowered, weak, and just lifeless when playing...

Earlier in this thread we investigated the x3 vs x3 lite issue and the conclusion was reached that the x3 lite does not have the same chips. In fact it seems that the only thing it has besides the Qualcomm SoC audio path is the Wolfson codec. I'm not completely clear on what that codec thing...

Without dedicated audio chips the phone will just have audio that depends on the SoC. Usually that means either Qualcomm or Mediatek. Qualcomm has much better audio than Mediatek, and there may be some difference as well between different Qualcomm chips. Dedicated chips have at least the...

Well there is the Xiaomi Mi Note for $160 but I guess it depends on what you mean by 'big' and 'well known'. No idea if Xiaomi is available in Poland.

The iPhone 7 is a good phone? In what sense? It's just very expensive.

Apparently there is no DAC in the adapter. It just passes through the Qualcomm audio. If you want to use their DAC you must also use what they call their "earphone" as well.

Are you asking about the first gen Le 1 series (x800/x900) or the 2nd or 3rd gen phones that lack a headphone jack? If the latter than the consensus in this thread is that the newer models just use the Qualcomm SoC audio path for the 3.5mm USB-C adapter. So the audio quality will be the same as...

The Kingzone K1 Turbo also appears to have that Yamaha YDA165 chip. It appears that the Yamaha chip is just an amp though. Probably the Kingzone phones just use the SoC DAC to feed the Yamaha amp.

Definitely search this thread for Axon 7 if you haven't already. I thought there were complaints. Some kind of reports of something bad. Maybe not about the sound. I can't remember exactly but it seemed serious.

If you read at least the last say 10 pages you might get a lot of answers to these questions, but I doubt any of these phones has 'outstanding' sound quality probably mostly limited by power constraints for a headphone amp in a tiny low power chip. I believe the consensus about the Le Max 2 is...

For that kind of money I think I'd rather get a Xiaomi Mi Note and an HD800.

That's the problem with Vivo in general. Their phones always seem overpriced. Does anyone even know the price for the Xplay 6? Outside of India where could you actually buy one anyway? Here in the Philippines we only have some of the Y and V series. No Xplay.

  Yes the Xplay 6 is very interesting. It actually has a Yamaha chip. Would love to have that phone. I believe your Lenovo entry is inaccurate. Yes I know we've already been through this, but if you've been following the thread the consensus seems to be that the X3 Lite does not have the ESS...

http://www.gigaset.com/hq_en/gigaset-me-black/   Another one for your list Gouryella, but the amp seems to be a mystery. It's also cheap enough to make it onto my list, but at $180 it costs $20 more than a Xiaomi Mi Note, $25 more than the LeTV x800, and an amazing $60 (50%) more than the PPTV...

Go to page 364 and look for a post from GouryellaIV with his list of phones that are known to have non-SoC audio. Most other phones will have sound that depends mostly on whether their SoC is from Mediatek or Qualcomm with Qualcomm having far superior audio, but with maybe some rare exceptions...

At that price I think it is pretty much a 'must-buy'. I would guess the store doesn't realize that it has special audio or they would ask at least twice that much and at least see if it sells. Although maybe they did do that and it didn't. I haven't listened to the phone personally but it is...

  It is for me. Most phones with Qualcomm SoC audio are not quite loud enough for my hearing. Mediatek SoC phones have a maximum volume level where I have trouble understanding normal speech. I have to listen very carefully to understand it and music is not enjoyable at all. Maybe when I was 15...

Ok then low impedance and medium sensitivity. Will higher drive current matter?

And low impedance high sensitivity? I will be listening with Zero Audio Carbo Tenore (16 ohms, 102dB/mW) mostly.

  More drive current and yet a lower maximum volume when driving headphones?

Well I prefer the simplicity of just plugging my headphones into the headphone jack, but maybe a very small external device like the Dragonfly would be ok. In terms of phone functions my current phone, the Flash Plus 2, is actually ok. It's only the perma-bass-boosted EQ and intermittent...