[RicardoB]

  Just got a USB host adapter for my Pro 3 so I could do some comparisons.
 
Subjectively, the stock 3.5mm DAC is way better than the PCM2707 DAC I built a long time ago. In fact, it is almost as good as my OpenDAC HD! (All three DACs were driven from the Pro 3, with the OpenDAC HD connected via a USB to S/PDIF adapter.)
 
The OpenDAC HD indicator stays cyan, indicating that the output is stuck at 48kHz. That, however, might be a limitation of the USB to S/PDIF adapter I'm using. Even with that in mind, there's no real subjective difference between the OpenDAC HD driven off the Pro 3 and the OpenDAC HD driven off my PC.
 
Probing around with dmesg doesn't reveal anything about what chip it uses, other than that it's USB 2.0 and is detected as "LeTV LeEco_CDLA_DH1". The scope trace with a 10 ohm load shows no detectable droop but a significant overshoot that doesn't seem to have any effect on audio quality.

There's a little of what I believe to be residual carrier of around 6MHz or so. Not much but it was enough that I had to play with the scope settings to get a stable trace. That combined with the astoundingly small size of the DAC and lack of droop leads me to believe it might not be a traditional DAC/amp at all but rather a miniature digital amplifier using Delta Sigma.

 
Thank you for this post, so would you say the Pro 3 is worthy to be among the best? Could you compare it to any of the devices mentioned in this thread as having good portable audio?

 

[nicoch46]

maybe EU can have the new V20S  soon

 

[jagwap]

Which smartphones can drive cans like hd 650 and hd800s without an external amp? What about the new vivo xplay 6 or lg v20?

The V20 can as it senses the high impedance and ups the output. It won't be loud and it won't compete with a good desktop rig, but it will be usable in a quiet environment.

 

[god-bluff]

Which smartphones can drive cans like hd 650 and hd800s without an external amp? What about the new vivo xplay 6 or lg v20?

None

If you have to use only a mobile I think you may consider some easier to drive but equally good sounding phones in the same price ranges.

Respectively from Focal: the Spirit Classic and Elear

 

[NiHaoMike]

   
Thank you for this post, so would you say the Pro 3 is worthy to be among the best? Could you compare it to any of the devices mentioned in this thread as having good portable audio?

Definitely unbeatable for the price point. I don't have any other high end smartphone to compare against, but (its included stock DAC) being so close to the OpenDAC HD for audio quality is something I did not expect.
 
I could not find a reputable source for the stock DAC by itself, only the ones that are built into headphones. (The few places I found claiming to sell it for $5 or less are most certainly fakes.) I theorize that the stock DAC actually costs enough to make (at least for now) that it could not be sold for what a normal consumer would consider a reasonable price. That situation will likely change in the future as demand for tiny USB DAC chips increases and helps push down the cost. (The majority of the cost of making a chip is R&D. Once that's done, it costs almost nothing to manufacture the chips, especially when they're likely using a 65nm or other "outdated" process.)

 

[rbc3585]

Hi everyone!
So I want to invest in a phone as a portable audio solution, but unlike most people here, I'm after a really small pocketable one (don't care about screen, camera or gaming). Must have bluetooth apt-x, dual band wifi for use with a chromecast audio, micro sd slot and marshmallow or nougat, and ideally decent battery life. I probably wouldn't stack it with an external dac/amp, but I don't have any particularly demanding headphones either. I've narrowed my choices down to the xperia z3 compact, xperia z5 compact and galaxy s5 mini (which apparently uses the same wolfson dac found in the exynos version of the s5). My preference would be the z5 compact, but I've heard it has issues with bluetooth low energy. Does anyone have experiences with any of these phones, or suggestions for other small phones that might be suitable? If I can't find something small I might just go with the galaxy s5.
Thanks in advance for any help!

 

[artpiggo]

Hi everyone!

So I want to invest in a phone as a portable audio solution, but unlike most people here, I'm after a really small pocketable one (don't care about screen, camera or gaming). Must have bluetooth apt-x, dual band wifi for use with a chromecast audio, micro sd slot and marshmallow or nougat, and ideally decent battery life. I probably wouldn't stack it with an external dac/amp, but I don't have any particularly demanding headphones either. I've narrowed my choices down to the xperia z3 compact, xperia z5 compact and galaxy s5 mini (which apparently uses the same wolfson dac found in the exynos version of the s5). My preference would be the z5 compact, but I've heard it has issues with bluetooth low energy. Does anyone have experiences with any of these phones, or suggestions for other small phones that might be suitable? If I can't find something small I might just go with the galaxy s5.
Thanks in advance for any help!

Z3 compact best ergonomics (-w-)b

 

[Whitigir]

except there is nothing actually stopping you from doing both, USB constantly gives power no matter what. It's what makes it possible to charge your phone while you transfer files to your computer. It's also what powers stuff like mice, keyboards, portable hard-drives and so on. While I don't particularly like doing it you can for the most part get away by using a otg splitter that is designed to power and transfer at the same time.

Did anyone find such adaptor like he mentioned above ? OTG and charging to micro USB together ?

 

[Gojira]

For around $200 or less for good non-SoC audio it seems we have few options with at least one headfier vouching for the sound quality. Some of the inexpensive options, particularly the untested/untried brands, may have serious reliability problems and may also use DACs and amps which although separate are actually worse in SQ than Qualcomm SoC audio. My Flash Plus 2 is a perfect example. Worse than Qualcomm SoC audio and very unreliable with poor quality control. It's nice if a phone can last more than 6 weeks without breaking. In less than 2 months I am already shopping for a new phone. So we should not forget the advantage of buying from a company with at least some history of manufacturing reliable devices.
 
1) Lenovo (reliable/proven) Vibe/Lemon X3 Youth/C78 @$125: 5.5" 1080p, Mediatek octacore, 2GB/16GB, 3400 mah, Lollipop (5.1), discontinued but still widely available.
2) Bluboo (unproven/unknown afaik) Maya Max @ $136-$150: 6" 720p, Mediatek octacore, 3GB/32GB, 4200mah, Marshmallow [note: only dual band UMTS-3G--most phones have quad band]
3) LeTv / LeEco Le 1 Pro x800 @ $155: 5.5" 2k, Snap810 octa, 4GB/32GB, 3000 mah, Lollipop, discontinued but still easily available
4) Xiaomi Mi Note (non-pro series 1 only) @ $160: 5.7" 1080p, Snap801 quad, 3GB/64GB, 3000 mah, Lollipop, discontinued but still available to some degree
5) LeTV/ LeEco Le Max x900 @ $215: 6.3" 2k, Snap810 octa, 4GB/32GB, 3300 mah, Lollipop, discontinued but still easily available

Honorable mention to the Vivo Y51 @$120: 5" 960 x 540, Snap410 quad, 2GB/16GB, 2350mah, triband UMTS, no LTE except in India I think, discontinued afaik but widely available here in the Philippines. I have personally listened to this phone and it has excellent sound compared to most phones I have heard, but I have not listened to any of the phones mentioned in this thread. I have no idea what is inside, but the sound is so good that it seems impossible that it could be the native Qualcomm SoC sound. From what I have heard Vivo has highly questionable reliability, but their phones with "Hifi" as a feature are the best sounding phones I have heard so far. Unfortunately their phones tend to be behind in features and overpriced. They seem more dedicated to sound quality than maybe any other phone manufacturer so hopefully they can improve their features and pricing to be more competitive. It is unfortunate that not all of their phones have the 'hifi' sound.
 
Promising but untested phones:
1) PPTV King 7 @ $120: 6" 2k, MT octa, 3GB/32GB, 3610 mah, Lollipop
2) Ulefone Vienna @ $140: 5.5" 1080p, MT octa, 3GB/32GB, 3250 mah, Lollipop
 
I find the King 7 to be particularly interesting. A 6" 2k phablet with an ESS Sabre ES9018K2M DAC and a Maxim MAX97220 amp (Fiio Q1) for only $120. I wish I had bought that one instead of my horrible sounding Flash Plus 2 phone. At the very least I would have had a 2k display for the same price as the 1080p one. What swayed me was that Alcatel/TCL/Flash had a reputation and a presence where I currently live, but I had never heard of PPTV. Hopefully someone will get a chance to listen to the PPTV soon so that the bang-for-buck list can be completed. The Ulefone has an NXP dac/amp. The same brand of amp in my Flash Plus 2 which doesn't seem to get higher volume than a Qualcomm SoC amp. So I'd guess the PPTV is a better bet and cheaper too.
 
The Umi Super/Max has been mentioned/suggested here but it was also trashed and uses a totally unknown Awinic DAC.
 
Prices based on aliexpress.
 
Update: It seems that "Vibe X3 Lite" is actually an alias for the Lenovo Vibe K4 Note or A7010 which is an entirely different phone from the X3C78 that was reviewed here. Youth or Lemon is the correct name rather than Lite. If you search for "Vibe x3 lite" on aliexpress you will get the correct model though: the C78/Youth version of the Vibe/Lemon X3.

 

[dw1narso]

ah... I'm not aware about this thread...
 
I post my founding on Vivo V3 on this link: http://www.head-fi.org/t/826215/looking-for-affordable-android-phone-with-quality-audio-check-vivo-v3

 

[Gojira]

If you don't mind me asking how much did you pay for your Vivo V3? Here in the Philippines they seem awfully overpriced at around $200 USD: about the same price as the LeTV Le Max X900 with it's AKG design and custom ESS chip and 6.3" 2k display. I haven't listened to the V3 but I did listen to the Y51 and was quite impressed with the sound. Once I get my new phone I plan to do direct comparisons with the Vivo Y51 and V3 because they are the only commonly available phones here with good sound which aren't also high end flagship phones well beyond my price range.

 

[dw1narso]

  If you don't mind me asking how much did you pay for your Vivo V3? Here in the Philippines they seem awfully overpriced at around $200 USD: about the same price as the LeTV Le Max X900 with it's AKG design and custom ESS chip and 6.3" 2k display. I haven't listened to the V3 but I did listen to the Y51 and was quite impressed with the sound. Once I get my new phone I plan to do direct comparisons with the Vivo Y51 and V3 because they are the only commonly available phones here with good sound which aren't also high end flagship phones well beyond my price range.

 
The price is actually about $200-$225 in Jakarta/Indonesia, but I got it for free... part of 1 year phone plan..
 
LeTV only available as black market phone in Indonesia and the price charged high at $360...

 

[s4tch]

[COLOR=212121]I am looking for a phone that has a good compromise between, power, sound and price.[/COLOR]
The lg v10 and meizu pro 5 are too expensive considering their performance.


A phone like the LeEco, but with a jack and which is followe for the updates.

i just bought a meizu pro 6. power: i don't play games, cpu is strong enough. it is a smooth running phone. 4gb ram is more than enough. sound: not a v10, lacks the power of a truly good dap, but sounds way better than a generic phone. plenty of detail, good separation, great dynamics, a lot more powerful than my xiaomi mi3. a bit on the warm side, and sounds better to me than my ipod 5.5g. price: 64gb version costs 300€ on amazon.fr, and the 32gb version costs even less.

battery life could be better, but a good overall package otherwise.

 

[artpiggo]

The price is actually about $200-$225 in Jakarta/Indonesia, but I got it for free... part of 1 year phone plan..

LeTV only available as black market phone in Indonesia and the price charged high at $360...

Use Aliexpress

 

[Whitigir]

The problem with Chinese brand phones is that they are not compatible to most USA LTE bands and limited connectivity for within the US sad....I hope HTC 11 will be even a bigger boy in audio quality