[mainguy]

so I was wondering which phone to buy,
I don't really care about nothing but the sound, battery and it can't be laggy.

My leetv x800 has broken screen and battery lifetime of few hours, previously I used vivo xplay6 but even after changing battery it would drain it with astonishing speed.
I am very happy with x800 sound quality and it's warmth/liquid characteristic much more than xplay6's.

Please recommend me something that I would not consider much of a downgrade sound wise and wont break my wallet lol.
I do like my leetv sound characteristic.
I listen mostly on hifiman sundara nowadays, everything from idm, psytrance, ambient, dnb to jazz, blues, rock ,metal etc. But I mostly care about IDM and Psytrance as far as sound quality is concerned.

Honestly an iPhone with an apple dongle is just a superb option. Better than the xperia imo.

Other than that you have LG and ROG

 

[Brain Damage]

This looks interesting:

https://www.newswire.com/news/zorloo-introduces-dual-mode-zophia-wire-less-earphone-21593413

 

[unnamedplayer]

Honestly an iPhone with an apple dongle is just a superb option. Better than the xperia imo.

Other than that you have LG and ROG

not a big fan of apple as an everyday carry, and ROG is quite expensive,
but I've found used LG G7 in an excellent condition for about 100$, gonna try it out.

 

[oniel459]

not a big fan of apple as an everyday carry, and ROG is quite expensive,
but I've found used LG G7 in an excellent condition for about 100$, gonna try it out.

Can confirm the g7 is a great source, especially for $100

 

[imparanoic]

Honestly an iPhone with an apple dongle is just a superb option. Better than the xperia imo.

Other than that you have LG and ROG

imo, apple iphone with lightning cable is a poor sounding option for an audiophile orientated phone, especially it's insistance to use alac instead on flac, also doesn't even support ldac or aptx hd which sony xperia supports, also sd card esp for high res flac, while the xperia built in 3.5mm does sound that good, you add a simple dongle such ibasso dc02 for decent sound (directly, not need lighting to usb and usb to type c female which is needed for iphone)

 

[352178]

What can I say...another sleepless night, comparing LG V10 and G7 (US Version). My headphones are best-bang-for-the-buck ones, HD 599 SE (that triggers High impedance mode on both phones, but only with the original cables, long or short), and Focal Listen Pro. Comparing 24/192 and even some Eurodance EDM mixes that can only be found on youtube (awful download quality). It is quite shocking that I cannot choose one, but leaning towards the V10, for its fullness and musicality. I heard that it sounds cold, I do not hear that. The LG G7 is just...too digital sounding, especially on some Russain folk songs. The too many confusing filter options do not help either. I`d say the overal edge goes to the V10. Some intruments on the G7 sounds more natural, a lot more detailed, but only some of them. I do not get the whole "even picture" in my ears on the G7, not the smoothness, not the overal "fun and analytical at the same time" I get on the V10. The G7 sounds...well, more tiring to listen. Aggressive and dynamic (on rock / metal) at the same time. I scored both of them, bear mint, at ridiculously low prices. How I love the removable battery, toolless SIM, the wide display...And, best of all, no PWM (G7 has one at 1174 Hz @ 42% and below, according to Notebookcheck). I stocked on a few brand new HTC 10 phones, now I got too many phones. All of my phones need less than a minute for me to get accustommed to the sound signature, HTC 10 being the easiest, most musical, and still plenty detailed. G7 being the most digital, but the most revealing. Come to think of it, the V10 is right in the middle. There you have it, I finally made my mind!!! Yupeeee, I am happy. I bought a quality OFC short cable for HD 599 SE with a microphone...and both LG phones go into normal mode. Yuck! I can hear both V10 and G7 pushing for much higher end headphones. The G7 needs to be listened to at absurdly low volumes to get the max of it, as the highs are too prominent, revealing, but yet detailed, with "body". I compared it to my Yulong D200 (with quality cables)...and yes, the D200 destroyed it. Especially in the bass region, that is very full, very smooth, natural, controlled - you name it. I cannot identify frequencies, some of the experts here can identify dips and drops at certain kHz...which I find jaw-dropping, I am only a very dedicated amateur.

 

[Klingonac]

Does anybody knows which DAC is used on OnePlus N10, since the sound from headphone jack is amazing? Is it Qualcomm or is it OnePlus doing something extra here?

I compared it with BTR5 LDAC output (with best LDAC settings) and with AKG K240 MKII is very close to it. It is more wide, very crisp, and can drive 55 ohm headphones easily. Maybe little bit more musical, dynamic, and punchy but only small extent. BTR5 is a little bit more detailed especially in higher frequencies, but the difference is very small, can notice that only by focusing on certain frequencies while listening. The difference is probably a bit more pronounced in DAC mode on Fiio but haven't tested yet.

ASUS Zenfone 4 use Qualcomm processor for audio, and is anemic in comparison with Oneplus, even old HTC Desire 816 sounded better with SD400 (which allegedly has stronger amplifier inbuild).

There are enough comments on OP N10 headphone jack quality, I am not imagining as I thought so...

https://forum.xda-developers.com/t/n10-audio-performance.4220655/

 

[Kejusan]

Anyone still using an S9 or S9+?

I owned multiple LG phones as well as DAPs. I still prefer my S9+ over all of them. It sounds warmer than most LG phones and has a really beautiful sound. In addition to that it has speakers that are 10 leagues ahead of the LG speakers.

I'm still using an S9 phone but I'm looking to replace it soon and LG V series is under my consideration. Which LG phones are you comparing to S9? Are they cold/sterile sounding in any way?

I see the Xperia 1 and 5 seem to be reasonably popular here, has anyone tried the 10 III?

My wife owns the 10 II and comparing to my S9, it's nothing to shout about for the 10II. Not sure about 10 III though.

 

[lior777]

hey, i wanna to plug my old phone usb dac will drive me hifiman sundara..until 200$

anyone?

 

[imparanoic]

I'm still using an S9 phone but I'm looking to replace it soon and LG V series is under my consideration. Which LG phones are you comparing to S9? Are they cold/sterile sounding in any way?

My wife owns the 10 II and comparing to my S9, it's nothing to shout about for the 10II. Not sure about 10 III though.

samsung s9 is 2018 flagship with anantu 320,000, originally priced at US$800, can't really compare to 2020 lower mid range sony 10ii which priced US$450, antutu rating at 180,000, maybe you should compare to xperia 5ii or xperia 10ii which similar price of your s9, but sound quality is still so so

 

[Kejusan]

samsung s9 is 2018 flagship with anantu 320,000, originally priced at US$800, can't really compare to 2020 lower mid range sony 10ii which priced US$450, antutu rating at 180,000, maybe you should compare to xperia 5ii or xperia 10ii which similar price of your s9, but sound quality is still so so

Agreed. I was replying based on Deadleg's inquiry on 10iii, which I then tried to relate to my experience with my S9 vs my wife's 10ii on the sound quality department.

 

[imparanoic]

Agreed. I was replying based on Deadleg's inquiry on 10iii, which I then tried to relate to my experience with my S9 vs my wife's 10ii on the sound quality department.

if you want a phone that suppasses LG phones, should be Asus ROG5, while phone audio is second to none, camera is so so and has design fault which prone to phone bending and breaking in half easily, best to use a really good tough case for this phone to prevent this

 

[imparanoic]

Someone running android 10 on LG V40? I'm trying a pair of Technics AZ60 from a friend of mine that won't work with LDAC only in AAC mode
It's LDAC broken in A10 on LG?

maybe you need to go developers mode on your v40 and unlock manually ldac, i did this on my samsung tab s6 which has qualcomm chip

 

[Kejusan]

if you want a phone that suppasses LG phones, should be Asus ROG5, while phone audio is second to none, camera is so so and has design fault which prone to phone bending and breaking in half easily, best to use a really good tough case for this phone to prevent this

I already have a dedicated DAP for music listening but since I'm looking for a replacmement for my S9, one of my priorities is sound quality. I mainly listen to my phone from Bandcamp and Spotify, ocasionally from local FLAC and I'm aware of Android resampling but my priority isn't getting the bit-perfect playback. ROG 5 and Xperia 1iii is an overkill for me.

My current shortlist is as below :

1. Xperia 5ii
2. LG V50s/G8x
3. Zenfone 8

The dual screen option and battery on LG is a win for me but Zenfone's form factor is also a big thing for me. And we all know what Xperia brings to the table. Hope that I could have an indication on the SQ dept of these phones from anyone here.

 

[Quartex]

I already have a dedicated DAP for music listening but since I'm looking for a replacmement for my S9, one of my priorities is sound quality. I mainly listen to my phone from Bandcamp and Spotify, ocasionally from local FLAC and I'm aware of Android resampling but my priority isn't getting the bit-perfect playback. ROG 5 and Xperia 1iii is an overkill for me.

My current shortlist is as below :

1. Xperia 5ii
2. LG V50s/G8x
3. Zenfone 8

The dual screen option and battery on LG is a win for me but Zenfone's form factor is also a big thing for me. And we all know what Xperia brings to the table. Hope that I could have an indication on the SQ dept of these phones from anyone here.

I am using the Sony Xperia 5 III since October '21 and I'm very pleased with it. Battery is great, phone is quick and responsive and the camera is good. Most relevant for this forum: The sound is good. This includes standard commuting blue tooth (LDAC) connection with Sony WHs or WFs but also wired connection with HD files, including DSD, using the Sony Music app. But also, and this is important to me, with UAPP. To my ears, the UAPP DSD output quality is identical to the Sony Music app quality which seems a confirmation that UAPP's "Hires direct driver" does the trick for the mark III too.

I do have DAPs and dongles but leaving them at home and, instead using the phone for some quality listening with wired IEMs, is a good experience. Moreover, I can't complain about hissing with sensitive IEMs - I don't hear any. And finally adding a small amp leaves me with nothing to desire on the go.

To me, the fact that the X 5 III has a jack was only prio #4 - after #1 form factor, #2 battery and #3 camera. But I'm really happy with its sound, listening to it right now.

Before I forget: My one complaint would be that its blue tooth seems less reliable than e.g. Samsung's or Apple's. Not a disaster but in crowded areas a quick 1s disconnect can happen sometimes. (Of course it could be my setup and not the phone. I yet have to find out)