[Windmolinos]

I've abandoned LG for their lack of Android OS updates. Even best equipped phone without proper software is a brick.

My LG G7 is with Android 10, security patch July... What else do you need?

 

[RishiGuru]

I am not an audio purist ...

You do not need to be an audio purist to enjoy music on the first place. Music like religion follows different paths which leads to inner peace. Your peace comes from fiddling the granular level controls made available by PowerAmp music app to suite your own acquired taste. Five long years of using PowerAmp makes you stick to it like a glue. And for good reasons.

The amount of pain you are currently going through to enable PowerAmp to use the HiFi audio path on Vivo NEX 3S makes me sad. But maybe its is time for a change. Try something different like FiiO music app.

 

[Kalnet101]

If Fiio music app is allowed to use Vivo's internal audio HiFi path, then you can straight way use it. Make sure HiFi logo pops up on the notification bar while playing.

Yup, it's there. It seems to work natively and better in a way too.

 

[lucifero13]

Good day! What app on the Play Store I could use to know what dac my phone has?

 

[artpiggo]

Good day! What app on the Play Store I could use to know what dac my phone has?

Just use google and find the advertisement spec.

 

[oxblood]

Should I get a MX4 Pro off the second hand market in China just as a DAP, since its cheap and can run modern-ish Android to play music off my server. I have a USB DAC (ES 9018K2M) with the same chip as the Meizu but I don't love the sound I wonder if I should get it or try another phone with a different chip configuration. The Xplay 6 still costs quite a lot after all these years unfortunately.

 

[lucifero13]

Just use google and find the advertisement spec.

i would like to know if my model of lg v50 has dac, specifically the model LM-V450PM

 

[artpiggo]

Should I get a MX4 Pro off the second hand market in China just as a DAP, since its cheap and can run modern-ish Android to play music off my server. I have a USB DAC (ES 9018K2M) with the same chip as the Meizu but I don't love the sound I wonder if I should get it or try another phone with a different chip configuration. The Xplay 6 still costs quite a lot after all these years unfortunately.

meizu mx4 pro is very good transport since it has line out to external amp. I still have it. the meizu tuning is extraordinary that none of smartphone can perform same.

 

[artpiggo]

i would like to know if my model of lg v50 has dac, specifically the model LM-V450PM

LG V50 always has Quad dac same as their predecessor. unnecessary to check.

There isn't app that can detect the dac spec accurately. you may try cpu-z

 

[RishiGuru]

i would like to know if my model of lg v50 has dac, specifically the model LM-V450PM

ESS ES9218P SABRE

http://www.esstech.com/index.php/en...log-converters/sabre-hifi-mobile-dacs/es9218p

 

[CarolNowak]

meizu mx4 pro is very good transport since it has line out to external amp. I still have it. the meizu tuning is extraordinary that none of smartphone can perform same.

All meizu mx4 pro, meizu 5 pro, vivo x5max have the es9018k2m dac. I once thought to have mx4 pro but no memory card slot stopped me from buying. Then I got the x5max which set a standard for music quality with headphones for me. Then 5 pro got released next and i again got exited. it has the same dac of x5max and many audio tech.. blah blah balh. 5Pro also had card slot so i paid a lot for the 64 gb version. Unfortunately the phone died just after 2 years of use. Here we have no where to take to mend this meizu phones importaed from china. In those two years and hearing thousand of songs between x5max and 5pro i found both have distinct advantages. 5 pro is more softer sounding, better and fuller bass. Like xplay6. x5max have slightly less bass but mid to high tones are more revealing, you hear more details. x5max have slightly less max volume than 5pro. As i always repeat the balance of lows, mids and highs are very important for me. In that case x5max always had the upper hand and i always preffered the vivo over meizu. If the x5max got dead instead just like 5pro, i will be compelled to to buy another. For me x5max set a benchmark in phone audio, and for the next years all tried to better it, but it was only xplay5s that was able to bettered it. That too an improvement just by a hair margin over x5max. Now I hear the about nex s and x50pp that are great audio wise but until i listen, i doubt they are better than my x5max, xplay5s. So to me vivo has a better audi0 tuning and sound signature than meizu. This is my opinion however.

 

[triumsg]

ESS ES9218P SABRE

http://www.esstech.com/index.php/en...log-converters/sabre-hifi-mobile-dacs/es9218p

The current LG Velvet no longer has a top-end DAC like the LG G8 before it.

Can I check, would you know if any other phone manufacturer (Vivo, Oppo, Samsung?) currently produces any phone with one?

Many thanks.

 

[RishiGuru]

The current LG Velvet no longer has a top-end DAC like the LG G8 before it.

Can I check, would you know if any other phone manufacturer (Vivo, Oppo, Samsung?) currently produces any phone with one?

Many thanks.

While the audio chip used inside a smartphone have always been the main marker of audio performance, in actuality it is just part of the whole equation. Great audio quality from a phone comes from a multitude of factors like:

1) Audio chips (DAC, I/V converters & headphone amplifiers)
2) Power Supply
3) Overall audio topology/ circuit design used inside the phone
4) Shielding used to stop analog audio signal interference by digital circuits

For any audio chip to provide maximum performance, it requires un-adulterated power (in watts) straight from the phone battery. This is where high quality power supplies becomes very important which does this specific job. These power-supply circuits have dedicated paths to draw power straight from the battery. Power is then conditioned & filtered using high quality audio capacitors to provide power to audio chips. Providing stable maximum rated power to any audio chip will yield maximum performance from it. Next are the audio chips, like DACs which may require ancillary components like oscillators to provide correct information to DACs. Using a symmetrical audio circuit topology with high quality of circuit components in the entire audio chain is most important. Remember the audio is as good as the weakest link in the chain. So using high quality audio capacitors, resistors in the circuit is very important.

Finally, the generated analog audio signal emanated from the inbuilt DAC and passed through the converters & op-amps and finally to the audio jack needs to be properly shielded from the digital circuits in the phone. If not done properly it can induce noise to the final analogue audio signal degrading sound quality. If all these criteria's are met, chances are you having a great audio centric smartphone.

Taking LG out of the equation, I can think of Vivo & Meizu as the only two manufactures who are producing audio centric phones to-date. I will only be speaking of phones which are readily available.

Vivo divides its audio implementation into:

a) HiFi 2.0 Architecture (Best): This circuit design takes care of the all four factors mentioned above.

1) Vivo NEX S: Cirrus Logic CS43199 (DAC) + (3 X Analog Devices SSM6322)
2) Vivo X50 Pro Plus: Cirrus Logic CS43131
3) IQOO 5 Pro: Cirrus Logic CS43131 (IQOO is a sub-brand of Vivo)

b) HiFi 1.0 Architecture (Great): This takes care of some of the factors mentioned above.
1) Vivo X50 Pro: AKM AK4377A
2) Vivo NEX 3/3S: AKM AK4377A
3) IQOO 3: AKM AK4377A

As far as I know, Samsung and Oppo uses Qualcomm audio chips for their flagship devices. I own Meizu's last flagship with a headphone jack, the Meizu 16th of 2018. After that model they went the Apple way and omitted the audio jack. You now need to pay extra cash to buy a digital audio dongle. (USB to 3.5mm) from them for their latest flagship Meizu 17/ 17 Pro. However their best dongle is very good using Cirrus Logic CS43131 internally.

Meizu 16th to me is an example of audio done right on a smartphone. It uses an unknown WCD9341 audio chip from Qualcomm. The chip is actually the flagship audio codec from Qualcomm and mates with their flagship 8XX processor lineup. Spec-wise the WCD9341 is right there with AKM AK4377A, so Meizu being a manufacturer from audio background knew WCD9341 potential and did the basics right. They provided the WCD9341 ample power it needs to perform in its high performance mode with dedicated power supply (other manufacturers seldom do this as it requires more money to be spent on power supply circuit). Made a good circuit design to implement the WCD9341 and finally provided dedicated metal shielding to the chip and its circuits in the main PCB board. Voila, now have a Meizu 16th using an unknown WCD9341 audio chip with audio quality right up there with my Vivo X21UD having AKM AK4376A!!!

Similarly, the audio chips are same for both Vivo X50 Pro Plus & IQOO 5 Pro but the performance is different. IQOO took mostly the same design and audio chip from X50 Pro Plus but compromised on the power supply to save money. Hence the headphone output gain is much higher on Vivo than IQOO. On naked eye it will be assumed both have same performance as both uses the same audio chip which is not the case in reality. As I say, the devil is in the details.

 

[triumsg]

While the audio chip inside a smartphone has always been the main marker of its audio performance, in actuality it is just part of the whole equation. Great audio quality from a phone comes from a multitude of factors like:

1) Audio chips (DAC, I/V converters & headphone amplifiers)
2) Power Supply
3) Overall audio topology/ circuit design used inside the phone
4) Shielding used for less analog signal interference

For any audio chip to provide maximum performance, it requires un-adulterated power (in watts) straight from the battery. This is where high quality power supplies becomes very important which does this specific job. These power-supply circuits have dedicated paths to draw power straight from the battery. Power is then conditioned & filtered using high quality audio capacitors to provide power to the audio chips. Provide stable maximum power to any audio chip will yield maximum performance from the chip. Next are the audio chips, like DACs which may require ancillary components like oscillators which need to provide correct information to DACs. Using a symmetrical audio circuit topology with high quality of components in the entire audio chain is most important. Remember the audio is as good as the weakest link in the chain. So using high quality audio capacitors, resistors in the circuit is very important. Finally, the generated audio signal emanated from the inbuilt DAC and passed through the converters & op-amps to the audio jack needs to be properly shielded from the digital circuits in the phone. If not done properly it can induce noise to the final audio signal. If all these criteria's are taken proper-care of, chances are you have a great audio centric smartphone.

Taking LG out of the equation, I can only think of Vivo & Meizu as the only two manufactures who are producing audio centric phones to-date. I will only be speaking of phones which are readily available.

Vivo divides its audio implementation into:

a) HiFi 2.0 Architecture (Best): This circuit design takes care of the all four factors mentioned above.

1) Vivo NEX S: Cirrus Logic CS43199 (DAC) + (3 X Analog Devices SSM6322)
2) Vivo X50 Pro Plus: Cirrus Logic CS43131
3) IQOO 5 Pro: Cirrus Logic CS43131 (IQOO sub-brand of Vivo)

b) HiFi 1.0 Architecture (Great): This takes of some factors mentioned above.
1) Vivo X50 Pro: AKM AK4377A
2) Vivo NEX 3/3S: AKM AK4377A
3) IQOO 3: AKM AK4377A

As far as I know, Samsung and Oppo uses flagship Qualcomm audio chips for their flagship devices. I own Meizu's last flagship with a headphone jack, the Meizu 16th on 2018. After that model they went the Apple way and omitted the audio jack. You now have to pay extra cash to get a digital audio dongle from them to listen audio from their latest flagship Meizu 17/ 17 Pro. However the dongles are very good using Cirrus Logic CS43131 internally.

Meizu 16th to me is an example of audio done right on a smartphone. It uses the unknown flagship Aqustic WCD9341 audio chip from Qualcomm and sounds great. Spec-wise the WCD9341 is right there with AKM AK4377A, so Meizu being a manufacturer from audio background did the basics right. Provided the WCD9341 with all the power it needs to perform in its high performance mode (other manufacturers seldom do this as it requires more money to be spent in power supply circuit). Made a good circuit design to implement the WCD9341 and finally provided dedicated metal shielding to the chip and its circuits. Voila, now have a Meizu 16th using an unknown WCD9341 audio chip right there with my Vivo X21UD with AKM AK4376A!!!

Similarly, the audio chip is same for both Vivo X50 Pro Plus & IQOO 5 Pro but the performance is different. IQOO took the same design from X50 Pro Plus but compromised on the power supply to save money. Hence the headphone output gain is much higher on Vivo than IQOO. On naked eye it will be assumed both have same performance as both uses the same audio chip. As I say, the devil is in the details.

Appreciate your prompt reply!

Vivo Nex S appears to be a mid 2018 model .. quite hard to find.
The X50 Pro is very current and the X50 Pro+ has not been released in my area yet .. but the prices are .. wow!

It's sad that so few focus on the audio aspect.

Thanks again!

 

[artpiggo]

Appreciate your prompt reply!

Vivo Nex S appears to be a mid 2018 model .. quite hard to find.
The X50 Pro is very current and the X50 Pro+ has not been released in my area yet .. but the prices are .. wow!

It's sad that so few focus on the audio aspect.

Thanks again!

If you are on budget, go for usb c - 3.5/2.5 mm.

ibasso dc01/2/3, e1da 9038s, meizu HD pro dac etc.