[emrsny]

Thanks for all recommendations. What I want is a phone that has something like Snapdragon 835 and the latest camera technologies too, alongside good audio output; not to mention Android N. That's why I said 2017 flagship and listed my options. And it should also be considered that older models will have shorter lifetime due to not receiving updates after some time or due to planned obsolence.

I'm basically asking if the sound quality of HTC U 11 with the OEM adapter will be significantly better than the other two (S8 and G6) which will have the convenience of not using an adapter.

 

[artpiggo]

Thanks for all recommendations. What I want is a phone that has something like Snapdragon 835 and the latest camera technologies too, alongside good audio output; not to mention Android N. That's why I said 2017 flagship and listed my options. And it should also be considered that older models will have shorter lifetime due to not receiving updates after some time or due to planned obsolence.

I'm basically asking if the sound quality of HTC U 11 with the OEM adapter will be significantly better than the other two (S8 and G6) which will have the convenience of not using an adapter.

Wait for LG V30, xplay7 later this year then.

Otherwise htc u11 and nubia z17 would be nice option.

 

[s4tch]

Thanks for all recommendations. What I want is a phone that has something like Snapdragon 835 and the latest camera technologies too, alongside good audio output; not to mention Android N. That's why I said 2017 flagship and listed my options. And it should also be considered that older models will have shorter lifetime due to not receiving updates after some time or due to planned obsolence.

I'm basically asking if the sound quality of HTC U 11 with the OEM adapter will be significantly better than the other two (S8 and G6) which will have the convenience of not using an adapter.

just on a side note, afaik there are only two s835 phones on the market: xiaomi mi6 and the newly announced nubia z17. none of them have a headphone jack. i talked to a xiaomi freak buddy about the mi6, he told me that while the phone is very fast, nicely build and a joy to handle, the software is still not great, and the camera is pretty unreliable, too. i'd wait a couple of months before buying it, xiaomi will fix the software issues. as for the nubia, i've been eyeing the z9 and the z11, but reading through some zte boards, i had the impression that the os would never be as good as on a motorola or xiaomi.

my guess is that the oem adapter would sound meh. either you'd need to get yourself a usb dac (like the lg hifi plus module, which is pretty good for the money) or look for other solutions like a bt dac.

if audio would be a priority and i wouldn't want to carry a second device like a dac/amp, i'd try to find an lg g6 h870ds, which is dual sim (with a hybrid slot, so you have an sd card slot if you don't need the double sim feature) and has a quad dac. the general consensus is that the s8 is a better phone overall, though.

 

[s4tch]

I have not read much of this thread but would not a s7 edge { $480 inventory selloff from tmobile june 1, 2017 } with a portable amp ie chord mojo $500 or fostex hp-v1 $400 or HA-2se portable amp $300 be the best alternative if someone wants good sound from a phone. Expensive but buy the amp once then upgrade your phone every few years. I doubt any phones DAP/Dac would alone give truly exceptional sound. samsung s89 $700-$800 or lg would comes close to the cost of my suggestion

well, that's a good point. audiophile smartphones are niche products, no doubt about that. i'm thinking about getting an amp/dac like the xduoo xd-05 to boost the sq of my phone, too. but if you want one single swiss army knife gadget for audiophile geeks, a phone like the axon 7, xplay 6, v20 (etc) is the way to go.

 

[SAMplify101]

I've been reading through the separate pages for these models but couldn't find anything that compares my options so I'm just asking here.

My main source for music is Spotify (highest quality), so I'm not an audiophile by any means but being a musician my preferences when buying tech are mainly based on audio quality. I have an HTC One M8 that I've been using happily for almost 3 years and it's the best smart phone I've ever had. But after 2 years of use and the Android M update, some really annoying software issues showed up (phone dying with 15% charge and app permissions/app downloads resetting) and the battery life significantly decreased.

Therefore I'm looking for a new smartphone which can make me as satisfied and happily use with my headphones (Sennheiser M2 ieg, Shure SE215 and beyerdynamic DT 770 Pro 80). It should be a 2017 flagship with good overall performance and best audio quality, so which one is the best option? LG G6 without DAC, HTC U 11, Samsung Galaxy S8, Huawei P10. I know they aren't out yet but ZTE Axon 7s and OnePlus 5 may also be in the list.

I'm actually interested in getting the m8 for my dt770 80 ohm... how did they sound coming from the m8? These will be the hardest to drive headphones that I use on the go so if the 1.2 volts from the m8 can get the dt770 to loud levels... I'm golden.

 

[whizard]

Does anyone have any experience with a Xiaomi mi note 2. I have an LG V10 bu the battery life is appalling.

 

[masleev]

If $200 is your budget, go for Letv X800 from aliexpress.

Thanks again but i do not think I'd be able to cope up with such a large device, and nonetheless availability of the x800 is an issue considering international sites are kinda bête noire for me.

Since my highest priority in a device is the audio out quality since I do not use my smartphone much, would you recommend the fiio x3 2nd gen or the fiio x5 2nd gen(used) over something like an LG V10 or the letv x800. Do the Fiio's match up with the latter set of devices in terms of audio quality, though they obviously are immensely powerful in terms of driveability than the LG's and the LeTV's. I can grab the Fiio's at around ~$180. I can keep on using my current device(a moto g3) if the Fiio's have decent output at this range.

Thank you.

 

[crashbowman]

Thanks again but i do not think I'd be able to cope up with such a large device, and nonetheless availability of the x800 is an issue considering international sites are kinda bête noire for me.

Since my highest priority in a device is the audio out quality since I do not use my smartphone much, would you recommend the fiio x3 2nd gen or the fiio x5 2nd gen(used) over something like an LG V10 or the letv x800. Do the Fiio's match up with the latter set of devices in terms of audio quality, though they obviously are immensely powerful in terms of driveability than the LG's and the LeTV's. I can grab the Fiio's at around ~$180. I can keep on using my current device(a moto g3) if the Fiio's have decent output at this range.

Thank you.

I can't speak to your specific question about the Fiio's as I have not used them, but was more than impressed with the V10 as far as audio quality. The only smartphone I have enjoyed more in that area is my HTC 10. However, I personally would only use a V10 as a DAP and knowing that I was going to get absolute horrible battery life. If it was to also be used as a smartphone I would probably look at other options. I have used a lot of phones over the past few years and was more than disappointed in the V10 in every area except audio.

 

[Smartaudiophone]

anyone tested the Nubia Z11? it has an AKM chip like in Vivo X series

Nubia is overpriced crap with nice design. The Z11 sounds worse than many phones without any dedicated sound setup, it has tons of annoying software problems, their updates are completly useless and the camera also sucks. Also, despite the 6gb of ram, that phone lags like a snapdragon 810 device.
I had the Z9 and the Z11 and they both had the same problems. Don`t let yourself fool by the good specs, Nubia doesn`t have a clue how to use them.

 

[artpiggo]

Thanks again but i do not think I'd be able to cope up with such a large device, and nonetheless availability of the x800 is an issue considering international sites are kinda bête noire for me.

Since my highest priority in a device is the audio out quality since I do not use my smartphone much, would you recommend the fiio x3 2nd gen or the fiio x5 2nd gen(used) over something like an LG V10 or the letv x800. Do the Fiio's match up with the latter set of devices in terms of audio quality, though they obviously are immensely powerful in terms of driveability than the LG's and the LeTV's. I can grab the Fiio's at around ~$180. I can keep on using my current device(a moto g3) if the Fiio's have decent output at this range.

Thank you.

It depends on you whether you like fiio sound signature or not. I test fiio x3ii and it is okay - balanced, slight warm, has suffice bass impact but I think audiophile smartphone we mentioned here can do the same job or even better for newer model.

 

[Smartaudiophone]

Thanks again but i do not think I'd be able to cope up with such a large device, and nonetheless availability of the x800 is an issue considering international sites are kinda bête noire for me.

Since my highest priority in a device is the audio out quality since I do not use my smartphone much, would you recommend the fiio x3 2nd gen or the fiio x5 2nd gen(used) over something like an LG V10 or the letv x800. Do the Fiio's match up with the latter set of devices in terms of audio quality, though they obviously are immensely powerful in terms of driveability than the LG's and the LeTV's. I can grab the Fiio's at around ~$180. I can keep on using my current device(a moto g3) if the Fiio's have decent output at this range.

Thank you.

The FIIO devices have excellent audio quality. I can`t speak about the X5 2gen, but the X3 II and the first X5 do sound better than most smartphones, and yes, better than the LG V10. They are also both better sounding than the X900, which should be comparable to the X800. The sound is louder, cleaner and the soundstage is wider. The only problem with these devices is the sometimes very bright treble and a little lack of Bass, which can get hard on your ears if you listen to certain music for long times. This depends on the earphones though, and can be solved with the built in equalizer. The only Phone that sounds better to my ears than those Fiio`s, is the HTC10, with the Meizu Pro 6 plus coming very close to it. The V20 should also sound amazing, as does the B&O dac for the G5, which i own.
Anyway, if you`re going to buy a phone just for the SQ, i`d recommend the HTC10. It sounds freaking amazing.

If

 

[Gusse]

If s8 is still in your budget. Go for xplay6. Best camera and audio phone so far.

I will back that up

 

[masleev]

I can't speak to your specific question about the Fiio's as I have not used them, but was more than impressed with the V10 as far as audio quality. The only smartphone I have enjoyed more in that area is my HTC 10. However, I personally would only use a V10 as a DAP and knowing that I was going to get absolute horrible battery life. If it was to also be used as a smartphone I would probably look at other options. I have used a lot of phones over the past few years and was more than disappointed in the V10 in every area except audio.

It depends on you whether you like fiio sound signature or not. I test fiio x3ii and it is okay - balanced, slight warm, has suffice bass impact but I think audiophile smartphone we mentioned here can do the same job or even better for newer model.

The FIIO devices have excellent audio quality. I can`t speak about the X5 2gen, but the X3 II and the first X5 do sound better than most smartphones, and yes, better than the LG V10. They are also both better sounding than the X900, which should be comparable to the X800. The sound is louder, cleaner and the soundstage is wider. The only problem with these devices is the sometimes very bright treble and a little lack of Bass, which can get hard on your ears if you listen to certain music for long times. This depends on the earphones though, and can be solved with the built in equalizer. The only Phone that sounds better to my ears than those Fiio`s, is the HTC10, with the Meizu Pro 6 plus coming very close to it. The V20 should also sound amazing, as does the B&O dac for the G5, which i own.
Anyway, if you`re going to buy a phone just for the SQ, i`d recommend the HTC10. It sounds freaking amazing.

If

Thanks to all of you.
Seems like i should save my money for the htc 10 then since it sounds even better than mid-level DAPs, and I shall also consider the xplay 5/6 if it is available here in the future.

But does the HTC hold up its audio strength against the VIVOs? Or are the latter ones better?
Thank you.

 

[artpiggo]

Thanks to all of you.
Seems like i should save my money for the htc 10 then since it sounds even better than mid-level DAPs, and I shall also consider the xplay 5/6 if it is available here in the future.

But does the HTC hold up its audio strength against the VIVOs? Or are the latter ones better?
Thank you.

Same answer. It depends on sound signature you like.

It is like comparing chord mojo vs ifi micro idsd.

 

[varta]

Hello everyone! After some time I need to buy a new phone, and again I am struggling to find one that suits my needs without draining my bank account completely.
I need dual SIM capability, decent power, and size about 5.5". I am coming from Asus Zenfone 2 (ZE551ML), so I'd naturally like to feel an upgrade - also in the audio output department.
I'd also prefer to have a separate microSD slot along with dual SIM, but I guess such phone with good audio output doesn't exist at the moment nor will it exist in the near future
Currently, I'm looking mainly at the ZTE Axon 7, but I have read mixed reviews on its headphone output quality. I don't want the Axon 7 mini, mainly because of less internal memory.
Did anyone actually try the "big" Axon 7? Is it a good choice in this price group (<$500), or can you recommend something else?
I looked at Leeco, but audio only via USB-C adapter put me off...

Ok, sorry to spam again, but are there any other options now which aren't so huge? I mean I now have the Zenfone 2 which by itself is really big and I'd rather buy something a bit smaller than even bigger this time. Are there any options like that?