[HonestAbe]

  Lumia 640
http://www.head-fi.org/t/776381/microsoft-lumia-640-lte#post_11805401

I'll have to settle for the 735 as my carrier is Verizon :/

 

[malifact]

If anybody is buying the Vivo X5 Max, try and get your hands on the Platinum Edition. It's a bit thicker but has a much higher capacity battery and more memory. The audio components are the same as the regular X5 Max. More information here:

http://www.gsmarena.com/vivo_x5max_platinum_edition-7277.php

 

[Rpg2]

If anybody is buying the Vivo X5 Max, try and get your hands on the Platinum Edition. It's a bit thicker but has a much higher capacity battery and more memory. The audio components are the same as the regular X5 Max. More information here:

http://www.gsmarena.com/vivo_x5max_platinum_edition-7277.php

Does the phone work with US LTE bands? Same question goes for the Meizu MX4 Pro. Both are supposedly good audio phones but with little to no support for North America.

 

[dcjgomez]

  Looking for a new phone that has as much storage capability as possible, decent sounding, and on the cheaper side. Any suggestions? Currently thinking about getting the Nokia Lumia 735 after reading this review:
http://www.head-fi.org/t/775074/nokia-microsoft-lumia-735-review-by-mark2410

I've had the 'Microsoft' Lumia 735 for a couple weeks now and IMO if you don't want to use it for anything else besides maybe texting, phone calls, and music (I know, I know that is what phones are supposed to be used for) then I think you will be a fairly happy camper. If you really want to do much of anything else with it then I don't know. The phone itself is a decent phone, but the Windows software is horrible (again IMO), the apps are really lacking. If you have an upgrade and you can swing it I would buy the phone outright, on Verizon it's less than $200, and I would use my upgrade on something else. If you're needing a cheaper phone because you aren't eligible for upgrade yet it will suffice, but you will probably be disappointed no matter what OS you are coming from. Just my .02 

 

[Mink]

but the Windows software is horrible

I like Windows Phone OS a lot! So clean and simple and very fluid, with very little to no lag.
That said, I am not a power user. I tried many apps, just for the fun but find myself not using them, not because the apps suck, but because I just don't find a need for them. In fact I only use my phone for ocassional web browsing, telephoning, messages, camera and mostly music. And with this the phone is rock solid and the OS looks gorgeous in its black theme.

 

[dcjgomez]

  I like Windows Phone OS a lot! So clean and simple and very fluid, with very little to no lag.
That said, I am not a power user. I tried many apps, just for the fun but find myself not using them, not because the apps suck, but because I just don't find a need for them. In fact I only use my phone for ocassional web browsing, telephoning, messages, camera and mostly music. And with this the phone is rock solid and the OS looks gorgeous in its black theme.

HonestAbe, if this describes you then I think the 735 would be an absolutely great phone! I suppose I should have been more clear when I said I thought the OS was horrible. There is very little outside support for the Windows Phone which is why for me I don't like it. I should have prefaced my comment by saying I was coming from a Note 4. I don't consider myself a power user, but the least amount of time I have to take my laptop out to do something the better. 
 
The phone is solid and if you can get past its limitations Windows OS can be a very good OS, I personally just need a bit more from my phone. Cortana is awesome though...

 

[malifact]

Does the phone work with US LTE bands? Same question goes for the Meizu MX4 Pro. Both are supposedly good audio phones but with little to no support for North America.

As far as I know, neither of them will work with US LTE bands. The specs pages on GSM Arena might be able to tell you for sure.

 

[HonestAbe]

  HonestAbe, if this describes you then I think the 735 would be an absolutely great phone! I suppose I should have been more clear when I said I thought the OS was horrible. There is very little outside support for the Windows Phone which is why for me I don't like it. I should have prefaced my comment by saying I was coming from a Note 4. I don't consider myself a power user, but the least amount of time I have to take my laptop out to do something the better. 
 
The phone is solid and if you can get past its limitations Windows OS can be a very good OS, I personally just need a bit more from my phone. Cortana is awesome though...

 
I don't mind the lack of support for apps, I'm just more curious about the sound of it as some have claimed it to be the best sounding smartphone out there right now.

 

[DougD]

IMO, the very best audiophile SQ you're going to get is to use a phone that supports USB-OTG, and connect it to a VG external DAC+Amp such as the iFi Audio Micro iDSD.
 
You get:
* a desktop A+ quality DAC that approaches as good as you can get for any amount of money,
* an A-quality amp that has flexible options and can drive almost anything, except prob the HiFiMan HE-6 and electrostatics, 
* the ability to play almost every kind of loss-less files up to 768 KHz in PCM and DSD-512 (*), and
* an extremely large battery, of 4800mAH., which in the case of the iDSD can be used to recharge the phone.
 
All the phone really needs is one or two external storage slots, which effectively makes capacity massive, and the previously mentioned USB-OTG support. 
 
Everyone has their own estimates on this, but for the sake of argument let's assume that, given a reasonable level of starting quality, 70% of your ultimate audible SQ comes from the quality of your music source and the transducers you use, headphones in this case, while 30% comes from the rest of the gear. And the perspective on this is that you're starting from theoretical perfection, and looking at the contribution of the individual parts of the system to loss of perfection. Using an iDSD or equivalent, your mobile solution doesn't have to have any compromises on the SQ from music source or your choice of 'phones (i.e., the 70%), and not much in the other parts of the audio chain (the rest ofthe 30%)
 
It's not the cheapest solution, but the thread title is "BEST smartphone for AUDIOPHILE." And you won't have to pay to replace this part of your system every two years as you upgrade your phone.
 
HTH
 
(* I've never seen a 768 KHz PCM file, and the few DSD-512 files I've found have been vendor demos. Not sure if this would play an SACD-ISO over USB-OTG.)  

 

[Marso]

I have an idsd nano paired with my Phone. And it Sounds Good and it's cheaper but not so powerful and customizable than the micro.

But I think I buy a moto x play or style anyone tried the old moto's straight out the headphone jack? Don't want to carry my nano with me the whole time.

 

[maxjstern]

I have an idsd nano paired with my Phone. And it Sounds Good and it's cheaper but not so powerful and customizable than the micro.

But I think I buy a moto x play or style anyone tried the old moto's straight out the headphone jack? Don't want to carry my nano with me the whole time.

The Motos are not that good, clearly fall behind Sony, HTC, Apple and the Samsung Exynos versions.

 

[Marso]

 
The Motos are not that good, clearly fall behind Sony, HTC, Apple and the Samsung Exynos versions.

okay. Thank you. than i have to carry my xDuoo x2 or Nano with me if i buy an Moto.

 

[thepooh]

I believe maybe wrongly that the previous post was referring to Windows 8, but that 10 is different...

Other than being a hideously closed source ecosystem, I must say that the Lumia 930 I had for a short while sounded very good

Today I received a new smartphone for office use, a Microsoft Lumia 640 XL to replace my year old BB Q10, the choice has been made because of the Integrated office suite, I was a bit sceptic about audio quality in this thing, until I inserted a 64Gb Samsung Evo micro SD full of about 7000 mp3/aac tracks of 256-320kbps in compression quality, most albums have been ripped through Itunes and some purchased from Itunes as well. I plugged my Shure SE846 and let it go on shuffle without changing anything in the EQ, guess what?

It's awesomely good! The SQ is comparable to some flagship androids such as the Lg G3 but the soundstage is way too narrow, the lows are very pronounced without bleeding on the other frequencies, quite good mids and acceptable highs. The power output is somewhat lower than let's say LG G3 and iphone 6 but louder than my Z3 by a notch. The user interface is very fluid and browsing through the music library with thousands of tracks is not laggy. Only thing to throw at it, it took about 15min to scan all the tracks on first usage.

Conclusion, this Lumia device surely won't satisfy demanding headfiers but will please the average Joe using sub $100 iems and sensitive on ear headphones. I tested it with the Shure along with a Sony XBA H3 and a Sennheiser Momentum in ear. It seems to have a better synergy with the lowest end Sennheiser than the " too critical" SE846 and H3. I really recommend this phone for people who don't care about the OS. Along with it, the 640 XL will be among the first devices to received Windows 10 with flac support. Finally we should see some audiophile grade Microsoft devices for the coming months.

 

[Mink]

Today I received a new smartphone for office use, a Microsoft Lumia 640 XL to replace my year old BB Q10, the choice has been made because of the Integrated office suite, I was a bit sceptic about audio quality in this thing, until I inserted a 64Gb Samsung Evo micro SD full of about 7000 mp3/aac tracks of 256-320kbps in compression quality, most albums have been ripped through Itunes and some purchased from Itunes as well. I plugged my Shure SE846 and let it go on shuffle without changing anything in the EQ, guess what?

It's awesomely good! The SQ is comparable to some flagship androids such as the Lg G3 but the soundstage is way too narrow, the lows are very pronounced without bleeding on the other frequencies, quite good mids and acceptable highs. The power output is somewhat lower than let's say LG G3 and iphone 6 but louder than my Z3 by a notch. The user interface is very fluid and browsing through the music library with thousands of tracks is not laggy. Only thing to throw at it, it took about 15min to scan all the tracks on first usage.

Conclusion, this Lumia device surely won't satisfy demanding headfiers but will please the average Joe using sub $100 iems and sensitive on ear headphones. I tested it with the Shure along with a Sony XBA H3 and a Sennheiser Momentum in ear. It seems to have a better synergy with the lowest end Sennheiser than the " too critical" SE846 and H3. I really recommend this phone for people who don't care about the OS. Along with it, the 640 XL will be among the first devices to received Windows 10 with flac support. Finally we should see some audiophile grade Microsoft devices for the coming months.

I don't find the soundstage of my Lumia 640 (non-XL) that narrow at all, it is similar to all the amps and sources I have tried in my audio life.
 
Off topic and as an aside:
In my opinion it is the pair of headphones that decides the soundstage for the biggest part...and the sound quality overall. Call me an audio sceptic, but I feel the importance of source and amp are vastly overrated. Headphones and speakers have a much bigger say in the overall audio picture. No I never tried an Astell & Kern or Calyx M player for instance, and I don't doubt they will sound better than my humble Lumia, but I find the sound of my Lumia so damn good that I am not bothered by the idea of better premium DAPs.

 

[thepooh]

I don't find the soundstage of my Lumia 640 (non-XL) that narrow at all, it is similar to all the amps and sources I have tried in my audio life.

Off topic and as an aside:
In my opinion it is the pair of headphones that decides the soundstage for the biggest part...and the sound quality overall. Call me an audio sceptic, but I feel the importance of source and amp are vastly overrated. Headphones and speakers have a much bigger say in the overall audio picture. No I never tried an Astell & Kern or Calyx M player for instance, and I don't doubt they will sound better than my humble Lumia, but I find the sound of my Lumia so damn good that I am not bothered by the idea of better premium DAPs.

I don't know how the regular size 640 sounds like but don't take it for granted in anyway, soundstage doesn't only comes through headphones but from both headphone plus dap. I own several devices and can do A-B comparisons on demand, the 640 XL delivers a very good SQ with emphasis on clarity but the soundstage is my concern, it's not that tiny but it's not wide neither, I would say on par with most mid range smartphones but narrower than flagships which is NOT bad considering it's non-flagship status. This device is better than most iPods out there and kick the Zune players out of the audiophile boundary. It won't be my daily driver but occasionally perfect for pairing with my wireless speakers in the office, with nfc as a God's gift in it, I have no more complaints