Best Smartphone for audiophile Part II (Updated: Jan 2020)

Aug 9, 2022 at 5:49 PM Post #4,756 of 5,363
Very detailed and interesting comparison, thanks for sharing your findings. Can you compare this new models (1 IV/10 IV) to the previous generation (1 III/5 III/10 III)?

You are welcome! I cannot, since I have never heard them. But, from memory, the display on the 10 IV looked significantly more natural (especially white colours) than the Xperia 1 II. Believe me, the flagship Xperia 1 IV is bad, audio wise. So bad, that it is not worth considering, compared to 10 IV, not to mention the absurd price. It became awkwardly absurd that the so-called flagships have poorer battery life and thermal problems, disgusting, blueish, unnatural-looking displays with PWM, no card slot, no headphone jack...this sounds like cheap, low-end phones, not flagships. Considering the price, it is almost upside down. While some midrangers have outstanding everything, like the 10 IV does. I am so tired of companies and reviewers praising the crappy, good for nothing (AM)OLED technology. A famous quote of a forum about eye strain is "all the designers and implementers of PWM should go to jail". They all praise the popping colours, but forgot to mention how unreal they are, and although configurable with presets...they look even more digital and artificial. Deep, true black, they say?! I have my reservations on this, but how about the white then?! The most important of them all, the white (if it is considered a colour at all). Good luck getting even a decent white at minimum brightness, especially with DC dimming on (which makes all other colours look pathetic). The display is always the most costly part of any smartphone. And manufacturers give you the crappiest displays, while throwing in some...software gizmos, which can be cloned on all smartphones they sell. Can they clone a good display?! No, sir, this is where they must pay for each individual display for every smartphone. And this is how the industry %&*^ you so badly, that it is worse than a horror movie. Why are the top-quality photo editing displays not OLED, since they cost 5 figures? There is a reason for this, but I won`t dig deep into it, as this is an audio thread. I just wanted to point some info on the worst lies in the industry. Some of us won`t buy OLED. Kudos to Nokia and other manufacturers who put their PWM frequency in the millions of Hz, not in the hundreds of Hz. According to Notebookcheck, even the Rog Phone 5 has PWM of 568 Hz at brightness below 23%.
 
Aug 12, 2022 at 3:27 AM Post #4,757 of 5,363
T.Now I do not know what to do to invest in this V or G series phone or maybe it is better to buy something like Fiio btr5 only if such a fiio btr5 ved had power to drive the headphones Hd600 or k702 I have a fiio btr1 and it plays very quietly at maximum volume
The lg V20 to v60 and g7 and g8 will have enough power to drive hd600 series. In fact, I have used beyer dt 880 (600 ohm) on v30 v60 and g8 and it can get loud to about 95 decibels at about 90% power
 
Aug 16, 2022 at 1:17 PM Post #4,758 of 5,363
Highly recommend to try LG V60.
To me, not only the sound is different from V10~V50 (V20~V50's sound are more or less the same. while V60 is very different), the screen is also much better than V30~V50.
And I am a photographer, V60's camera is my favorite, better than iPhones, Samsungs, Huawei, Xiaomi. I use Open Camera app, to bypass all phone's built-in processing. The result is very high resolution, high clarity, film like image free of any digital artifacts, correct color and lighting.

I managed to convince a seller on an internet site in Bulgaria to send me his used V60, AT&T version, to compare with my V10 H961N, with both running LG music app (V10 runs Android 7 V30A). It took weeks to convince him... I paid 5 bucks for the transport in both directions, as I returned it. I interrupted my vacations, which was costly, and went back home from 200 miles mainly to try the V60 and see the dentist. What do you know, I was late 30 min and the dentist said he cannot fix my tooth (the main reason I returned for). The things we do for (audio) love...
I saw many affordable V60 used. Some sellers warn about pink cast on the screen. Enabling Comfor view make it look pinkish, but I have no idea if this is the same. The menu was gestures only, I had just 15 min for testing (transport firm policy), but I begged them to let me test it for 30 min and I succeeded. It is a fingerprint magnet, more so than the G7, which looks disgusting. I liked the low-step volume control in the LG music app, which is not present on V10. The minimal brightness was much worse than the V10, I know from internet forums that PWM is around 360 Hz, which is not enough (G7 is a 1174 Hz). Indeed, I was impressed with the phone, although I prefer the screen on the G7, which is very far from colour accurate, but I still prefer the mLCD to the OLED (yuck).
The sound? Middle of the road between V10 and G7. Better bass, less tiring listen, more fun. Very surprising. A significant step up from the V50, which sounded god awful with HD 599 SE and Focal Listen Pro, compared to the V10. The bottom end was plenty on some songs, but the mid to upper bass on the V10 were better, separation, soundstage, tuning - much more enjoyable on the V10 in quality recordings - like those Russian folk songs with many violins, bagpipes and whistles. Switching to simple music like rock or EDM, and the difference between the two phones was smaller. Yes, V60 sounds definitely more analogue and neutral, compared to G7 and V50 (which sound plain digital and artificial, especially V50). V60 is slightly warm, less so than HTC 10 and Xperia 10 IV, which are too warm even for the sparkling treble in Focal Listen Pro. I liked the updated music app and controls, but I was unwilling to pay the price for the dirty used phone to the unpolite seller. Why did not he clean it before sending... I read that many US versions of V60 do not work well with some CDMA carriers, and all 3 Bulgarian ones are CDMA - based. I am not knowledgeable enough to know... With a cheap external charger / docking station and many batteries, I felt in love with the simplicity of V10, which I can open anytime without tools to change cards. I will fully discharge and recharge the crappy batteries, until they stop working. Thanks for the recommendation, it was well worth to check out the V60, unlike the V50 with its high-ppi, but awful screen. V60 is just on another level in every way. It was very surprising to me. I still think the V10 provides extreme bang for the buck, more analogue and less tiring listen than V60, especially in power-metal songs with short guitar effects in the soundstage, and it handles multiple instrumentals in a song better. I even think about finding an international or EU version of the V60 for experiments, but...it is very hard, maybe I should go for the Korean one. It costs some $ 300 refurbished, but I risk taxes too. Now I just need to find a V20 to compare to my V10 (V30 and V40 are out of the question due to low PWM around 250 Hz).
 
Aug 16, 2022 at 1:28 PM Post #4,759 of 5,363
BlackBerry KEY2 (AK 4376)

 
Aug 17, 2022 at 11:46 AM Post #4,760 of 5,363
Hi there, I got a Topping NX4 which I love and I have been driving it with my old Google Pixel 3A with no issues. I decided I want to get a device just to store and play my FLAC and DSD files collection with USB Audio Player Pro on an accessible Android device.

In my research I came to know that the LG VXX series and Asus RoG 5 are well regarded, but I have some questions which I hope you could help me with:

Does it matter which audio chip the cell phone has or if it can use UAPP’s Hi-Res direct driver if I will never use it to play music directly on the device but only through the NX4? I read that the LG V60 does not feature MQA or DoP, but it is not clear to me by the description if this only applies to the Android default music player or if it is hardware related and it won't even allow the NX4 to use those features.

If I only want to use the cell phone as dedicated audio player paired with the NX4 and the device comes locked, can I root it and install UAPP (which I previously purchased anyway) in an easy manner? Or is it better to get an unlocked phone even if I will never put a SIM card in it or make any calls on it? I am not sure if getting a locked cell phone would matter or if the ability to access any version of Android really makes a difference with UAPP.

For the device, I would like something small and light, responsive and not sluggish with great battery life for portability. Also, with storage expansion compatibility (like a MicroSD port). I do not care about headphone ports, camera and screen quality, brand or if it is old or new. This will be used just to play FLAC and DSD files thru the NX4.

Thank you for your time and answers.

I would recommend the Xperia 10 IV as @nimanchev has been comparing against other phones for us over the previous two pages since it not ony has good audio output despite not having a dedicated integrated DAC-AMP, but like the Galaxy M51 (big phone) has enough battery life to power DAC dongles like the NX5 without quickly draining the phone itself ~ up to 30% more battery life than the iPhone 13 Pro Max when playing back audio and/or video despite it being almost as light & compact as the iPhone 13 & 13 Pro.

Sony phones are also generally good for rooting and OS customization so that's another positive point for the Xperia 10 IV.

I will likely be waiting until next summer before buying a 10 IV myself despite them already being available on eBay in slightly used condition for $320 instead of $400 as I keep a lookout for any Samsung Galaxy M51 (40% more battery capacity) I can find for $290 to pair with my S9 Pro or RU6 to serve as a $500 Fiio M15 without having to pay $1,500.

I guess it won't make that much difference if the hardware inside the Xperia 10 IV is 30% more energy efficient than the iPhone 13 Pro Max and Galaxy M51, but I like to think a bigger battery would be nice 😁
 
Aug 18, 2022 at 11:37 PM Post #4,762 of 5,363
Sony XF1000 XM3
Xperia Pro-I
What more do you need ... 🤔
.
IMG20220818191834-02.jpeg
 
Aug 19, 2022 at 4:25 AM Post #4,763 of 5,363
The most profitable and sensible phone today is the LG V60
There can be no profit and no sanity in sound. A smartphone with a DAC and an amplifier is only a compromise.
 
Aug 20, 2022 at 1:01 AM Post #4,765 of 5,363
hello finally i bought a lg v60 and now i am looking for in-ear headphones for this phone I want to buy headphones that make full use of its potential price, say up to 300 €, can be used What can you recommend me?
Sennheiser ie300 works great with that phone. 7hz timeless would be a nice second.
The ie300 is a nice v shaped sound with great bass and sub bass very smooth mid and treble that is present but won't fatigue you over long listen sessions.
The 7hz has all the property of a plainer drive (fast and clear and good transparency). The only thing I don't quite like is a very forward bass tuning which can occasionally get in the way. But overall it is still a great option for the v60.
 
Last edited:
Aug 22, 2022 at 7:34 PM Post #4,766 of 5,363
I believe CCA beats Sennheiser at a much lower price. My CCA C12 is great in AUX mode - I just unplug the left headphone before connecting the audio jack in the phone (I tried unplugging the right, but it enters Normal mode). Jaw-dropping results with V10 and G7. So, somebody just needs to recommend a higher end CCA that is a worthy upgrade.
 
Aug 22, 2022 at 8:01 PM Post #4,767 of 5,363
actually, not the first, Onkyo released their first and only smart phone for asian market only (japan, hong kong, china and singapore), while it uses the decent but older dac es9018c2m, but uses a weak mid range cpu snapdragon 650 and poorly optimised Ui, meaning a sluggish experience, but it did have high end ish dap components and design such as 2.5mm balanced output, separated sheildied dac from the main board, hopefully, this asus rog 5 pro surpass it in sound quality, but rog 5 has design fault where the 2nd usb in the centre of the phone compromises the structural intergity of the phone and it bends and breaks easily (look at jerryrigit on youtube), best to get a durable and non bendable case for this phone, hopefully, their camera orientated forthcoming flagship will have this audiophile features - zenfone 8/zenfone 8 pro/zenfone 8 flip.

https://www.hk.onkyo.com/en/product-details.php?id=26
Zenphone 9 released, looks interesting 🤔
 
Aug 22, 2022 at 10:42 PM Post #4,768 of 5,363
hello finally i bought a lg v60 and now i am looking for in-ear headphones for this phone I want to buy headphones that make full use of its potential price, say up to 300 €, can be used What can you recommend me?
I mainly use my V60 with intime Sora 2 and I find the sound is accurate enough for my likings. I could imagine the air passing through the small hole of the bass drum when listening to the drum bass through the Sora2. It didn't sound as accurate listening to V60 with intime Nagi & Kira though they're slightly pricey compared to Sora2 but I really like them with my WM1A on 4.4 bal. Sora 2 is fairly cheap if you want to give it a go.
 
Aug 25, 2022 at 8:57 PM Post #4,769 of 5,363
I believe CCA beats Sennheiser at a much lower price. My CCA C12 is great in AUX mode - I just unplug the left headphone before connecting the audio jack in the phone (I tried unplugging the right, but it enters Normal mode). Jaw-dropping results with V10 and G7. So, somebody just needs to recommend a higher end CCA that is a worthy upgrade.
I got curious and bought a cca c12 myself and I have to say it is a very impressive iem for just $50. The treble and upper mid of the c12 is definitely better than the Sennheiser ie300. One thing I noticed is that the c12 is very sensitive and it can get really loud with very little power. Sometime it will pick up background static when a track stops (really not a big issue as it is only noticeable in quiet environment and the performance for a $50 can is quite amazing).

However, I do have a question. What is the purpose of going into aux mode for this iem? The c12 easily got to above 90 db or more with 20% power of g7 and v60. Is there anything special about aux mode on lg phone? I am really curious to know the answer and any help is appreciated!
 
Aug 25, 2022 at 10:05 PM Post #4,770 of 5,363
I got curious and bought a cca c12 myself and I have to say it is a very impressive iem for just $50. The treble and upper mid of the c12 is definitely better than the Sennheiser ie300. One thing I noticed is that the c12 is very sensitive and it can get really loud with very little power. Sometime it will pick up background static when a track stops (really not a big issue as it is only noticeable in quiet environment and the performance for a $50 can is quite amazing).

However, I do have a question. What is the purpose of going into aux mode for this iem? The c12 easily got to above 90 db or more with 20% power of g7 and v60. Is there anything special about aux mode on lg phone? I am really curious to know the answer and any help is appreciated!

That is for attaching to external amp via 3.5 cable. For example, if you use dynamic driver IEM/ hybrid IEM such as IE900 or oBravo Ra Cu. You totally need it.
 
Last edited:

Users who are viewing this thread

Back
Top