Best Smartphone for audiophile

[artpiggo]

  Okay, thanks, that's actually a bummer if it's true

 
You get phone with snap820 for less than 300 USD which is already good.

 

[Gotty]

   
You get phone with snap820 for less than 300 USD which is already good.

Sure, the value is crazy, but it would be a nice addition to have a good sound. I have a portable DAC+Amp that I can use with an OTG cable but the whole thing becomes very bulky. And carrying around a DAP when you already have a phone is also a bit inconvenient.
 
On another note, are you sure about the Max 2? Did you test it or you're just speculating? I might post about it when the phone gets to me (which is not gonna be soon) if it's untested.

 

[artpiggo]

  Sure, the value is crazy, but it would be a nice addition to have a good sound. I have a portable DAC+Amp that I can use with an OTG cable but the whole thing becomes very bulky. And carrying around a DAP when you already have a phone is also a bit inconvenient.
 
On another note, are you sure about the Max 2? Did you test it or you're just speculating? I might post about it when the phone gets to me (which is not gonna be soon) if it's untested.

 
I just assume. Not test this 2nd gen yet. Your review is valuable for us.

 

[Gotty]

   
I just assume. Not test this 2nd gen yet. Your review is valuable for us.

Ok then, I will make a little comparsion when the phone gets to me

 

[artpiggo]

Since I think most of people are interested in Letv/LeEco phone. Let me share a bit. When you order from Aliexpress, you can tell them to install chinese rom so that you can have OTA support
 
But when you received, you just need to install google playstore by yourself by following this link instruction
 
http://www.angelone-mobile.com/article/12/การติดตั้ง-google-play-store-ให้โทรศัพท์-letv
 
Restart phone once and wait for few hours if you cannot open playstore after first install.
 
Hope this will help Happy using.
 
P.S. This method applies to xiaomi phone as well.

 

[Gojira]

Le Eco does not seem to be advertising Le HiFi anymore in their second and third series phones and of course removing the headphone jack is just like a huge fuch you to anyone who cares about sound quality. So I think LeTV/LeEco has abandoned the audiophile market as irrelevant just like many other manufacturers have done in the past. It's just sad how little companies care about niche markets. They only care about the big numbers. This is one reason I want to pick up an x800 before they are all gone. I just wish I had more money to do that right now. Hopefully some more people can listen to and review it. There aren't enough people yet to really vouch for Le Eco's SQ to make me fully comfortable pulling the trigger.
 
There is also a new LeEco phone called the Cool1 which is interesting. It has a headphone jack and 4000mah battery and was only released in August, but I don't know if it has the same ESS DAC and amp that the x800/x900/x910 (1 Pro/Max/Max Pro) had. It probably doesn't, but it may still  have an external dac and amp. Also remember I think only the x900/x910 have the AKG LeHifi audio. If you want that I hope you like phablets. I would like to get more detailed information from LeEco about such things. Especially as to whether the new Cool1 has dedicated sound chips and which ones. It seems that LeEco does not really want to discuss sound quality anymore in their advertising. Probably their marketing people told them no one cared and it was irrelevant.
 
If actually buying one of these be sure not to get the 'US' ROM. Go for either the Chinese or Indian one as they were the only ones officially supported. Letv would of course prefer you to buy it from them directly through their online store and those phones have the Chinese rom by default. In the support forum they do ask where you bought your phone. So keep that in mind. The x800 and I think x900 were never intended to be sold in the US or Europe. LeEco really does not support you at all if you have an unofficial rom.
 
Also note that there seems to be a problem with malware on these phones. Not sure if all or only some and not sure if the Chinese rom also has them, but something to keep in mind. Also keep in mind the lack of US LTE and microSD support. I want more of us to buy these phones so we can get more reviews, but be careful not to get surprised. I was just checking the LTE support. Only 3 standard FDD (b1/3/7) bands and then some of the higher TDD bands that I think only India (b40) and China (and a few others) use. It does seem to cover LTE in India, Malaysia, Laos, and the Philippines though which are my main concerns. Those 3 bands should probably give you pretty good LTE in most of Southeast Asia. It also has full quad band 3G/UMTS/HSPA+. So 3G connectivity should work pretty much anywhere in the world. If only LTE were as globally standardized as UMTS. It probably doesn't matter to most of you, but I sometimes live in the US and sometimes in Asia. So I can't just buy one phone and get LTE in both places unless I spend a lot of money on a phone.

 

[Gojira]

  Hey guys, I see that some people are praising some of the Letv/Leeco phones for their SQ. And a few days ago I ordered the Leeco Le Max 2 model (the snapdragon 820 5.7" version) for around 230$ which seems like a freaking steal.
 
Am I right to assume that it has the same DAC as the other versions? It has the same Type-C (jesus WHY) and something-HiFi-2 audio, but its hard to tell what that really means. 

The problem is they removed the headphone jack (and presumably the dac and amp) to be replaced with a digital interface of their own which they call CDLA   Apparently they believe that DACs and amps belong in the headphone itself rather than in the playing device. And of course the only headphone that actually has its own DAC and amp (and CPU and their proprietary connection) is their own. So apparently there is no analog output at all.  Jesus. What a bunch of dicks those guys are. From heros to zeros in my eyes at least. I almost hate to support them by buying an x800, but they did make what may be one of the best sounding mobile phones in the world even if they now regret doing so. I'll give them some credit for that at least.
 
It is a bit confusing because I think they may include a CDLA to 3.5mm jack conversion device which has its own DAC and amp, but from reviews I've read the sound from that device is not very good even by non-audiophile standards and in your case there isn't much point since you already have an external DAC+amp setup. If I wanted to use an external DAC/amp as LeEco now seems to want everyone to do (but in their headphones of course) I would just do that and then just buy a cheap phone with SoC sound and plug into the usb port. 
 
Did you realize it lacked a headphone jack or really any sort of analog output before you bought it? I'd suggest returning it unopened if you can or selling it if you can get a decent price. As long as you don't open the package you may be able to just sell it online for nearly the same price you bought it for. I'd really like to buy my next phone from someone with a return policy. I'd certainly be willing to pay a 15% restocking fee rather than trying to sell some relatively unknown Chinese phone on ebay or whatever. I don't think any review is really going to be all that enlightening because it is mostly a review of their special headphones rather than the phone itself.

 

[artpiggo]

@Gojira Wow, you read quite a lot and get most detail about the phone. Keep doing this favor for us continuously! ))

 

[Gojira]

  is leeco same brand as letv? there are many leeco and letv phones like:-
 
LeEco Le Max 2 Pro
LeEco Le Pro 3
LeTV Le 2 Pro
Letv Le Max
 
which is the best letv or leeco phone for earphone sound quality?

The only safe bets right now are the Le 1 pro (x800), Le Max (x900), and Le Max Pro (x910). Not sure about the Le 1s (x500) or Le 1 (x600), but they seem to sell for nearly the same price as the Le 1 Pro so I don't see the point at this time. Still I would like to find out if the x500/x600 have dedicated audio chips since all of these phones have been discontinued I think. The one new phone is the Cool1 which may or may not have good audio. I want to try to find out what it has for audio chips if any. I plan to contact LeEco about it soon. Keep in mind that not many headfiers have listened to these things and people have different taste in sound. Whether or not the x800/900/910 really beats something like the Meizu Pro 5 or MX4 or one of the Vivo phones is something that I think awaits more testing. Although I don't think Vivo is really an option for most people. When I get to India I will test them thoroughly though. They would be a more interesting option if they could raise the non-audio specs on their phones. They really lag behind Chinese manufacturers in terms of specs for their price. Although things might look better up in the Meizu Pro 5 price range of around $400.

 

[Dobrescu George]

That's a lot of information!
 
By curiosity: Huawei Mate8 would fare better than LeEco or xiaomi, no?

 

[artpiggo]

  That's a lot of information!
 
By curiosity: Huawei Mate8 would fare better than LeEco or xiaomi, no?

 
no. Huawei is specialized in camera more than sound.
 
Recommend ZTE nubia Z11 if you want try something new. lol. never test it though but I receive good feedback.

 

[fairx]

How about Lenovo vibe x3 lite aka k4 note? Any assessment yet? Same dac as in Marshall London iirc

 

[Gotty]

 
The problem is they removed the headphone jack (and presumably the dac and amp) to be replaced with a digital interface of their own which they call CDLA   Apparently they believe that DACs and amps belong in the headphone itself rather than in the playing device. And of course the only headphone that actually has its own DAC and amp (and CPU and their proprietary connection) is their own. So apparently there is no analog output at all.  Jesus. What a bunch of dicks those guys are. From heros to zeros in my eyes at least. I almost hate to support them by buying an x800, but they did make what may be one of the best sounding mobile phones in the world even if they now regret doing so. I'll give them some credit for that at least.
 
It is a bit confusing because I think they may include a CDLA to 3.5mm jack conversion device which has its own DAC and amp, but from reviews I've read the sound from that device is not very good even by non-audiophile standards and in your case there isn't much point since you already have an external DAC+amp setup. If I wanted to use an external DAC/amp as LeEco now seems to want everyone to do (but in their headphones of course) I would just do that and then just buy a cheap phone with SoC sound and plug into the usb port. 
 
Did you realize it lacked a headphone jack or really any sort of analog output before you bought it? I'd suggest returning it unopened if you can or selling it if you can get a decent price. As long as you don't open the package you may be able to just sell it online for nearly the same price you bought it for. I'd really like to buy my next phone from someone with a return policy. I'd certainly be willing to pay a 15% restocking fee rather than trying to sell some relatively unknown Chinese phone on ebay or whatever. I don't think any review is really going to be all that enlightening because it is mostly a review of their special headphones rather than the phone itself.

Yeah, I really hate the fact that there is no 3.5mm jack on the phone, but at least it comes with an adapter. The type-C audio standard supports analog output afaik so the adapter can just be a cable basically if the phone has a DAC. So it's still unclear if the newer Leeco phones have a decent DAC and amp or not, you are right that they're pushing this idea that the headphone itself should have their own DAC. As far as revieiws go, I've read/watched quite a few and most say that the audio quality is decent or good but you never know since most phone reviewers don't really know much about audio.
 
Oh and I definitely knew that the phone lacked the 3.5mm jack when I ordered it. I didn't really look for a DAP in the first place, I need a new phone. Good audio would be a nice bonus, but not the first priority. And also the Letv x800 and x900 have some big disavantages to me. The x800 seems to have a terrible battery life (although the capacity is almost the same as x820) that hardly even lasts a day and the x900 is way too big.

 

[MusicFi]

This is probably the wrong forum to ask but does anyone know a good smartphone forum where I can ask smartphone related questions?

 

[Dobrescu George]

  This is probably the wrong forum to ask but does anyone know a good smartphone forum where I can ask smartphone related questions?

 
Probably this forum 

?
 
Depends on how specific your questions are, there's a lot of data over GSMarena and notebookcheck to read that will answer many questions. 
 
And a lot more to read over at XDA if you have questions that can't be answered here, btu you can probably shot a few questions in this thread about phones