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

[reverbhifi]

I don't understand why a company would get rid of that as an option. good to know about the X200 Pro, I was actually leaning toward that initially.
I'll have to check their support page but I wonder how long the X100 Pro will get support??.

Well I have the Global X90 Pro and it has been very good with updates and in most cases ahead of the Samsung flagships. But I'm not sure about the number of years. But definitely a very solid flagship and brilliant sound. You need to make sure you grab some analog passive dongles though as thats the only way to use the internal DAC

 

[bronco1015]

Well I have the Global X90 Pro and it has been very good with updates and in most cases ahead of the Samsung flagships. But I'm not sure about the number of years. But definitely a very solid flagship and brilliant sound. You need to make sure you grab some analog passive dongles though as thats the only way to use the internal DAC

That's encouraging. Yeah Samsung has really sucked lately when it comes to updates it seems. My Friend's S25 Ultra doesn't even have the February security patch and is still rocking December 2024.
Even my Xperia 1V is up to date.
Do you have any recommendations for passive Dongles? I've usually just used my HA-2SE via USB OTG witha typeC to Micro USB cble for scenarios where I haven't used the Headphone jack.

 

[reverbhifi]

That's encouraging. Yeah Samsung has really sucked lately when it comes to updates it seems. My Friend's S25 Ultra doesn't even have the February security patch and is still rocking December 2024.
Even my Xperia 1V is up to date.
Do you have any recommendations for passive Dongles? I've usually just used my HA-2SE via USB OTG witha typeC to Micro USB cble for scenarios where I haven't used the Headphone jack.

Passive dongles are hard to come by and quite a mystery - ones I managed to source where the Moto Z ones, as well as the red&white OnePlus (meant for OP9 and earlier I believe). Both can be found on eBay and the OP one is on Amazon as well. You can get a few as they are cheap if they break/lost etc. If you use an external DAC like your HA-2SE the you will bypass the Hifi Mode and the internal DAC. Using the internal DAC insures nice integration with apps supported via that mode (and most now do including Qobuz and UAPP). This also means less battery consumption than an external dongle. And in case you use UAPP, seemless transition is possible between calls and music. I guess your best bet would be the X100 Pro (though no idea what DAC it uses, last one which the DAC spec showed on Vivo Global parameter page was the X90 Pro).

 

[jaifai]

Selling smartphone is a business. That is what it is. Now they have a new product known as crappy TWS which they need to sell customers to gain some extra bucks. How to force them? Outgoes the headphone jack in smartphones. Apple was "brave" enough to do it first. Others quickly followed. Fast forward few years we are left with few smartphones sporting a headphone jack. Bar a few gaming phones they are mostly available on only entry level phones.

The last two smartphones with near flagship grade performance sporting the GOLDEN jack were Redmi K50i/ Poco X4 GT (Mediatek Dimensity 8100) and Poco F5 (Qualcomm Snapdragon 7+ Gen2). I own both. The F5 is the better phone overall, K50i have better audio quality. As usual Xiaomi skimped with audio implementation of F5 while providing some attention to the older K50i. The later had HiFi mode, and with Mediatek audio codec was good for casual listening. The bass was a bit overpowering on K50i, but this can be sorted out with matching earphones.

However as of today, the phone that I always additionally carry for audio nirvana and some multimedia is the V60. This phone is the absolute pinnacle from LG stable and provides the ultimate balance between audio and general performance for my daily use case scenarios.

Belated response, catching up... : First, there's nothing "entry" about Sony's Xperia 1 nor 5 phones -by the by.

Also, my "ultimate balance" WAS when phones were not as LARGE as most are now, AND when some required-for-me-then had replaceable batteries: I always had at least two batteries for such phones, and with a spare in my pocket, I never needed to carry a power bank nor even a charging cable -in seconds I had a full charge and NEVER worried about battery life, which these days is a primary separator for shoppers and the swarm of reviewers. The V20 -one my first two angroid phones- is the last LG one that featured that (I lost that with my V30), and lastly for me, is my Microsoft 950. In the spirit of your first paragraph, we know have the power bank industry, with even modern backpacks now designed to serve it.

My Galaxy S10e is the last phone I have with both an audio jack and storage expansion; my latest daily -a Galaxy S22- has neither.

For audio, though, I've always relied primarily on DAPs (starting with wired-only, non-DAC, 8GB wonders), not phones; thus, I've never owned a dongle either.

 

[REXNFX]

Belated response, catching up... : First, there's nothing "entry" about Sony's Xperia 1 nor 5 phones -by the by.

Also, my "ultimate balance" WAS when phones were not as LARGE as most are now, AND when some required-for-me-then had replaceable batteries: I always had at least two batteries for such phones, and with a spare in my pocket, I never needed to carry a power bank nor even a charging cable -in seconds I had a full charge and NEVER worried about battery life, which these days is a primary separator for shoppers and the swarm of reviewers. The V20 -one my first two angroid phones- is the last LG one that featured that (I lost that with my V30), and lastly for me, is my Microsoft 950. In the spirit of your first paragraph, we know have the power bank industry, with even modern backpacks now designed to serve it.

My Galaxy S10e is the last phone I have with both an audio jack and storage expansion; my latest daily -a Galaxy S22- has neither.

For audio, though, I've always relied primarily on DAPs (starting with wired-only, non-DAC, 8GB wonders), not phones; thus, I've never owned a dongle either.

I'm betting your S10e sounds better than the S22 with any dongle.

 

[jaifai]

In 2025, who still uses LG V20?

I still own two, along with a V30, though the three are in my historical-device drawer (along with an extra battery or two and their charger, for the V20s).

 

[Results45]

GUYS GUYS GUYS I finally re-discovered the most comfortable and luxuriously soft-touch outer finish slow-rebound memory foam earbud/IEM tips on the market thanks to The Coffer Key/TV Ears on eBay!

.

eBay listing: https://www.ebay.com/itm/256513839600

Took me 4 years to find these wonderful tips again after first getting ahold of these during the pandemic as part of a sampling of earbud tips that came with a pair of IEMs - highest of high recommend.

 

[DougD]

In 2025, who still uses LG V20?

If I could find reliable replacement batteries I would. The last 3 have bloated to levels that make me unwilling to have the device in my pocket. (And damaged the V20 case.) I'm using a V60 but my impression is that the V20 sounded better when it was working.

 

[ExTubeGamer]

eBay listing: https://www.ebay.com/itm/256513839600

Took me 4 years to find these wonderful tips again after first getting ahold of these during the pandemic as part of a sampling of earbud tips that came with a pair of IEMs - highest of high recommend.

aaaaaaand they dont ship to europe ofc!

 

[sofastreamer]

The Bluetooth transmitter in the phone will affect the sound of wireless headsets. Currently, Bluetooth is inferior to wired but Bluetooth Lossless is now being rolled out so that may change.

When was your last comparison between ldac and wired and which transmitter did you use? Proper loudness regulation done etc?

 

[Livetaswim06]

Can someone answer this question which seems super basic but I can't find any answer to? If you connect a Samsung s23 ultra via USB c to a dac why does the volume control do anything on the Samsung? It would seem that all it sends is the digital bits that the DAC would convert to analog. So if that is the case what really does the volume control actually do?

Follow up I would assume to keep volume at 100 percent on the phone. Any other settings to watch out for?

 

[Results45]

aaaaaaand they dont ship to europe ofc!

Does this seller not ship to every country in Europe besides Russia, Ukraine, and Germany?

 

[tendou]

Hi, which brand of spmartphone usually don't play well with USB DAC dongle. I think I read that huawei and honor usually problematic? Isit true? Any other phone maker, phone series or model to avoid?

 

[REXNFX]

Hi, which brand of spmartphone usually don't play well with USB DAC dongle. I think I read that huawei and honor usually problematic? Isit true? Any other phone maker, phone series or model to avoid?

Honor are dire... I have to connect DACs via Airplay.

 

[andrewski]

Hi, which brand of spmartphone usually don't play well with USB DAC dongle. I think I read that huawei and honor usually problematic? Isit true? Any other phone maker, phone series or model to avoid?

In my experience, using Audioquest Dragonflies, LG phones (V20/G8) don't provide as much power as a laptop. I assumed this would be true of all phones until I got a Sony Xperia 1 V which clearly provides more power than the LG's, comparable to a laptop