[ultimoamore]

I'm looking for an android phone to upgrade my old Huawei Sonic.
I'm upgrading for "regular" phone performance (CPU, RAM, display) and audio performance.
 
I'm not an audiophile by any means, but my understanding is that only the phones with the Wolfson DAC are worth buying if you really want something decent audio-wise.
 
Am I wrong? Or some other phones are good enough in the audio department?
 
(I'm asking because with the Wolfson I can only buy a Galaxy S3, which is expensive, or a S or Nexus, which I find overpriced in the used market).

 

[Pogbellies]

What did you have before, or what did you use to listen to music, what type of music and sound do you prefer?

What type of headphones/earphones are you/will you be using?

A lot depends on your expectations.

 

[eric0531]

I don't get the obsession with Wolfson DACs.

There is a lot more that goes into the quality of audio on a device than what DAC is used. Technically there can be a crappy implementation of a Wolfson DAC just as there can be an excellent implementation of a different DAC.

 

[ultimoamore]

I listen to a lot of different types of music (from classical to R&B). I'll be using Shure SE535 (paid used 100€, super-deal... I was looking for the SE215 when I found the SE535 for that amazing price).
 
Any phone suggestion?

 

[raysclim1568]

i know that samsung note 3 are capable to play 24bits music which indicate that they uses better dac in their phone.

Sent from my SM-N9002 using Tapatalk now Free

 

[ultimoamore]

Samsung S3, Note and S all have the Wolfson DAC.
I was looking at cheaper alternatives (if any)

 

[ultimoamore]

That's it? No suggestions???

 

[nazrin313]

LG G2 no doubt

 

[ultimoamore]

LG G2 no doubt

yep but that's even more expensive than the S3

 

[nazrin313]

yep but that's even more expensive than the S3

Yeah but you get more outta the s3, its faster, bigger screen, great UI, great sound.. Basically its a monster of a phone

 

[ultimoamore]

Yeah but you get more outta the s3, its faster, bigger screen, great UI, great sound.. Basically its a monster of a phone

 
I understand; but I want to spend less than a S3, and get a decent sound (even if not on a par with the S3).
Basically, I wanted to know if any of the cheaper phones have decent sound quality

 

[nazrin313]

   
I understand; but I want to spend less than a S3, and get a decent sound (even if not on a par with the S3).
Basically, I wanted to know if any of the cheaper phones have decent sound quality

Bet you can find a second hand G2 for the price you want...believe when I say, its the best android phone out there (with the Note 3)

 

[Pedro Oliveira]

Hi guys.... Same issue here.... I currently have a xperia arc s and want to upgrade to something that is overall better and that provides amazing sound quality while using headphones or iems.... Budget os 300 euros.... I started by wanting a moto g, than i wanted a xperia z (the first one), yhan i thought of a nexus 5.... :-D i also thought of xperia z ultra that is currently being sold in portugal for 280 euros but that size is probably going to annoy me after a while....

What do you guys think?

Cheers...

 

[ryanjsoo]

Any HTC device after the original butterfly, I have se535 Ltd and they sound a bit thin with lacking bass on my Itouch 4g and galaxy s4 but full and clear on my m8. It has hiss but no more than my iPod which has a cirrus renowned for clean output. I personally prefer the m8 over the s4 and iPod but some may prefer otherwise, I believe it has a superior implementation of the Qualcomm dac over all other snapdragon 800/801 phones. I have also trialed the m7 or HTC one and it also sounds quite nice.

 

[Pedro Oliveira]

Hum.... but htc's usually cost more than 300.... at least the m7 and m8..... any other sugestions?
Is the moto g very bad with audio? How about the Z line from SOny Xperia?