[mainguy]

I'm not sure about that. Most dongles and DAPs are not that good. I reckon the Quad DAC LG phones beat most of them. The ROG 5 might also (I haven't seen any measurements yet).
Besides, this thread has "best smartphone" in the title, not "best dongle."

You reckon the Rog dac beats daps? Im gonna take a wild guess and presume you're talking with 0 experience lol.

High end DAPs will absolutely decimate the Rog phone. There are DAPs which most people agree sound better than a Chord Mojo (wm1az). You're absolutely kidding yourself if you think an asus phone has anywhere near the fidelity and expert labour going into it compared to a Sony audio product. I doubt it'll beat most of them either, even cheaper DAPs are getting damned good these days. A secondhand AK70 or Sony Walkman will likely be a solid upgrade to the asus.

But if it makes you feel better about your purchase, sure dude.

 

[artpiggo]

Well. I shouldn't have made a statement at the first place.

However we cannot deny that nowaday we will have less competitor. We have only xperia and asus rog talking.

It is not the same day where we have a lot more brands. Really miss those day. The day I compare these from those and recommend users based on their preference and their budget.

Also with the rise of dongle, many DAP companies comes making dongle makes smartphone have tiny room left to talk about.

Considering the budget used for good sound to our ear. Just buy $100 dongle and you have more budget for iems and headphone.

I feel like if there are new users coming here expecting they can find good audio smartphone, I will say oh please go to usb c-3.5 thread instead.

I talked enough. Let's get back in the topic.

 

[Barusu Lamperouge]

I'm not sure about that. Most dongles and DAPs are not that good. I reckon the Quad DAC LG phones beat most of them. The ROG 5 might also (I haven't seen any measurements yet).
Besides, this thread has "best smartphone" in the title, not "best dongle."

It all depends on the implementation of the said hardware. Most smartphone manufacturers enable a fraction of true capabilities of these so called DACs because if they unleash the beast then the battery life and SoT will RIP. And no one wants a crappy phone that lasts 3 hours but sounds fantastic.

LG too didn't engage quad DAC mode by default people tricked it by using impedance adapter.

As far as dongle are concerned, I suggest you to try some good dongles like Sonata HD Pro, ibasso DC03/04, L&P W2, Fiio BTR5, Qudelix 5k etc. I don't think that generalized statement of dongles bad and 3.5mm jack by default good is true. Most of these features related to audio in smartphones are gimmicks. But, YMMV.

 

[Gee Simpson]

Considering going for the current BTR5 from AliExpress or waiting for the new version to hit at amp3, not sure. Currently I can't use my S21 Ultra for listening to music yet as it obviously has no headphone jack. Apparently the new BTR5 won't be much different, confirmed by FiiO themselves. They said it will cost slightly more for the new version. Here's the announcement and discussion on their official Reddit account: https://www.reddit.com/r/FiiO/comme...ooon/?utm_medium=android_app&utm_source=share

 

[Barusu Lamperouge]

Considering going for the current BTR5 from AliExpress or waiting for the new version to hit at amp3, not sure. Currently I can't use my S21 Ultra for listening to music yet as it obviously has no headphone jack. Apparently the new BTR5 won't be much different, confirmed by FiiO themselves. They said it will cost slightly more for the new version. Here's the announcement and discussion on their official Reddit account: https://www.reddit.com/r/FiiO/comme...ooon/?utm_medium=android_app&utm_source=share

It is not much different but they were forced to revise the model due to chip shortage at ESS. Everything is same except DAC. So you can get either of them and it won't be that different. Both chips are more or less same

 

[Gee Simpson]

It is not much different but they were forced to revise the model due to chip shortage at ESS. Everything is same except DAC. So you can get either of them and it won't be that different. Both chips are more or less same

Thanks. I can only only get the BTR5 from AliExpress, can't find it anywhere else, certainly not in the UK. The new one will be sold by amp3 but I don't know when it's going to be released.

 

[Barusu Lamperouge]

Thanks. I can only only get the BTR5 from AliExpress, can't find it anywhere else, certainly not in the UK. The new one will be sold by amp3 but I don't know when it's going to be released.

There's a sale next week get them with some sweet discount

 

[Gee Simpson]

There's a sale next week get them with some sweet discount

On AliExpress? Also is that from Monday for the whole week?

There's so many sellers for the BTR5, not sure which ones are reliable.

 

[jsmiller58]

I'm not sure about that. Most dongles and DAPs are not that good. I reckon the Quad DAC LG phones beat most of them. The ROG 5 might also (I haven't seen any measurements yet).
Besides, this thread has "best smartphone" in the title, not "best dongle."

Not sure I would agree with your assessment that most DAPs or dongles don't sound good. I have limited experience with DAPs but I think my R6 Pro is quite capable, and most of the dongles I own sound great with IEMs.

I would love a good smartphone that has a great headphone jack to replace my LG V30 because it is more convenient to carry a single device that a phone and DAP, and a phone is more reliable than a phone and dongle.

 

[Barusu Lamperouge]

On AliExpress? Also is that from Monday for the whole week?

There's so many sellers for the BTR5, not sure which ones are reliable.

I think it is from Monday to Friday i.e. 23-27 August. But I might be wrong with the last date.

 

[BnGMurphy]

Is the LG V50S better than the V50 (for audio)? I have seeen people in the thread say the S has a different DAC. But no opinions on which is better. Thanks.

 

[Gee Simpson]

I think it is from Monday to Friday i.e. 23-27 August. But I might be wrong with the last date.

Thanks. I'll keep a look out

 

[GuildnStern]

Is the LG V50S better than the V50 (for audio)? I have seeen people in the thread say the S has a different DAC. But no opinions on which is better. Thanks.

Recently got a ROG5 but i still own a V50S and i don't think there are differences between V50 and V50S DAC. Maybe a different tuning, because V50S was launched in Corea only. V60 has a different, newer DAC.

 

[BnGMurphy]

Thank you, but I have asking about cheapest and smallest possible phone And I am not a fan of a LG's Android.

I have an option to exchange my SR25 for Shanling M6 Pro. Would be a good option in terms of usability (Android performance)?

I have searched a lot for a small Android phones and they simply don't exist, so I stuck with a big one. If you aren't married to Android the best option imo is the first iPhone SE. Super cheap, very small. Otherwise Sony used to do Compact versions of their flagships e.g. XZ2 Compact. But still big next to an SE:

The Sony goes for around $250 used. The SE seems to go for around $100, even for the one with the most storage (no SD card slot).

Actually, the Sony is very small next to a Samsung S9, which is a fairly compact phone these days (costs about the same):

 

[etlouis]

You reckon the Rog dac beats daps? Im gonna take a wild guess and presume you're talking with 0 experience lol.

High end DAPs will absolutely decimate the Rog phone. There are DAPs which most people agree sound better than a Chord Mojo (wm1az). You're absolutely kidding yourself if you think an asus phone has anywhere near the fidelity and expert labour going into it compared to a Sony audio product. I doubt it'll beat most of them either, even cheaper DAPs are getting damned good these days. A secondhand AK70 or Sony Walkman will likely be a solid upgrade to the asus.

But if it makes you feel better about your purchase, sure dude.

I have the ROG5, it has pretty impressive sound if not a little too sterile in presentation and flat in soundstage. If you want timbre or depth, then a TOTL DAP is still the answer.

For the most part though, I don't think any dongle, or even entry-level DAPs can come close in terms of clarity and accuracy of the ROG5. Like 70% of a WM1A.

...

PS.... Phone is friggen huge AF lol