[halcyon]

In a recent issue of German Connect magazine (mobile phones) they tested the audio quality of most music mobiles. Almost all Nokias were universally bad, with bad roll-off both in highs and esp. in bass.

In contrast most SE music phones had a flat frequency response, with no discernible roll-off at low impedances.

Now, FR is surely not the end of the discussion when it comes to sound quality, but a bad -10dB or more roll-off at 60Hz is nothing to scoff at.

I'd take a look at SE models, if sound quality was the deciding factor.

Yes, as a Finn and a long time user of Nokia phones, I'm sad to give a recommendation like this, but facts are as they stand.

 

[Sparky191]

If you look at GSM arena, the latest Nokia are said to have very good SQ.

Reviews vary a lot across different mags, websites.

 

[Deep Funk]

You know a good headphone can make a big difference? Still, maybe 320 kbps WMAs are better.

What if I could rockbox my Nokia 6303?

 

[T.W.G]

My personal favorite if you're looking for a realy good sounding music phone:

Bang & Olufsen Serenata with Earset 3!


You can get those phones on ebay for about 400,- Euros

 

[nue]

Thanks for all responses thus far, though I'm of the opinion that halcyon might be onto something. My current phone has only so so music capabilities, seeing as how it falls flat on its face when attempting to drive my Klipsch Custom 2's or CX55s. Strangely enough, it sounds decent through my HD280s and when it's used as a DAP for my car through the AUX, give or take on par with my S:Flo. Still, it's a strike against them for having such fussy tendencies.

I'm not a big fan of SE's as all the older versions more or less required you to buy an adapter for usage since they "conveniently" don't stick a standard 3.5mm jack. Just something else I'd rather not have on my person. Probably will give the ROKR a look but having owned Motorolas of yore makes me hesitant to touch anything made by them.

Meizu M8's always intrigued me but the firmware and support just aren't there yet.

 

[Sparky191]

SE W995 has a 3.5mm but I'm sure you know that. I didn't think the SQ was more than ok on it. For music I would want proper buttons. Touch screens are just not as handy for music controls. IMO. The SE have decent controls.

 

[Firefighter]

You Know I just recently purchased Nokia 5800. What attracted me was the price/performance chart. And Out of the blue, I tried its music player with my IE8s and to be honest with you the sound was very good, of course not as good as the Sony X series but still left a good taste on me. Especially the songs preloaded on the phone blew me away. It has precoded EQ settings as well, which are much better responsive than Iphone or Ipod. So, I loaded some of my 320kbps songs and gave it another try, and still found the music quality pretty impressive. It also has 3.5mm adapter to support any headphones.

You might check one out, its a symbian phone and with its latest 4.0 update it has full kinetic capability. I'm telling you this phone is really worth much more its price.

Give it a try..

 

[Tordenskjold]

Phone + DAP + nothing more - does such a thing exist?
 
So... I find myself in the odd situation that my trusty old Sansa Fuze and my phone (in case that matters: Samsung SGH X820) died on the very same day. I have no idea about the modern smartphone-crap, but need a mobile phone for work and a DAP for...everything else. Went to an electronics store and found myself overwhelmed with crap I don't need. In essence I want a good DAP that also works as a telephone. Does such a thing exist? I'll live with any other junk I don't need and even a (god, I hate them) touchscreen (if really unavoidable), as long as I in whatever manner (SDHC?) can get the memory up to 32GB and plug my CX500s in there. Is there an actual phone that works as good as a real DAP? Runtime: my old fuze got 12 hours maximum, 20h or more would be nice. 
 
Ideas?