[flashmp3]

  http://www.meizu.com/en/products/mx4pro/hifi.html
 
I doubt that a snapdragon DAC has better sound than ESS sabre :/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HTC_One_A9
 
Edit: even gsmarena readings speak against it.
 
http://www.gsmarena.com/htc_one_a9-review-1331.php
 
Not to mention is mid-range SD617. The only thing it has going for it is amp.

 
I think often people think about the DAC but not the AMP..............maybe the amp on the HTC is better to drive his headphones ! If you have a good DAC but a weak amp it won't sound good.......i think HTC as been on the TOP for audioquality thanks to the amp they are using cause again phones like HTC M8 were sharing the same DAC that others smartphones with weaker sq where using..............the amp is IMO the most important part cause it's the one that will provide the power to drive the headphones well.........

 

[thepooh]

My best "smartphone" setup for this sweet November 2015 ;

1. Huawei Ascend Mate 7 32Gb
2. Xiaomi Mi Headphones
3. Poweramp with slight raise in upper mids
4. 64Gb Transcend 300X Micro SD filled with about 60 albums from 24/44 to 24/192 purchased from Qobuz and HD Tracks
5. Fiio E11K (optional)

 

[ehjie]

   
I think often people think about the DAC but not the AMP..............maybe the amp on the HTC is better to drive his headphones ! If you have a good DAC but a weak amp it won't sound good.......i think HTC as been on the TOP for audioquality thanks to the amp they are using cause again phones like HTC M8 were sharing the same DAC that others smartphones with weaker sq where using..............the amp is IMO the most important part cause it's the one that will provide the power to drive the headphones well.........

....Makes sense... in a word Amp meaning it Amplifies; increase the strength of signal...

 

[Guppy_]

   
I think often people think about the DAC but not the AMP..............maybe the amp on the HTC is better to drive his headphones ! If you have a good DAC but a weak amp it won't sound good.......i think HTC as been on the TOP for audioquality thanks to the amp they are using cause again phones like HTC M8 were sharing the same DAC that others smartphones with weaker sq where using..............the amp is IMO the most important part cause it's the one that will provide the power to drive the headphones well.........

 
 

 
....Makes sense... in a word Amp meaning it Amplifies; increase the strength of signal...

Oh I agree, in terms of making the signal "stronger", that is precisely my point, what the amplifier is amping to begin with, is just that, adding enough juice, but not making up for the average sound quality of mid-range snapdragons.

 

[jasonb]

99% of people would be perfectly happy with the sound of the stock Snapdragon processors. It's only us 1% that can tell or at least claim to be able to tell the difference. 

 

[Whitigir]

99% of people would be perfectly happy with the sound of the stock Snapdragon processors. It's only us 1% that can tell or at least claim to be able to tell the difference. 

That is because insufficient gears (headphones or in ear monitors) which are not revealing enough. Or that you are not familiar with your whole track collections and library at the highest quality it can perform yet.

Ultimately, you need to know the highest quality of your most familiar track performances, where it excels, what subtle and or nuances details is there ? With the best gears, what is the sound field ? Soundstage ?....etc.

Once you get hold of all those above, the differences between snapdragon and dedicated DAC is night and days differences. Not to mention that I am not really a fan of Sabre ESS or Burbrown either. However I like Wolfson and cirrus DAC, to me these two specific brands offer better body and soundstage (really depends on the device that they were designed in, how it got implemented...etc). But that is me, and I also prefer Sony S-Master Primarily before any Wolfson or cirrus DAC.

 

[Guppy_]

  99% of people would be perfectly happy with the sound of the stock Snapdragon processors. It's only us 1% that can tell or at least claim to be able to tell the difference. 

I agree, i'm %1  (with bad hearin lulz).
 
True be told, i've done blind tests with non-audiophile friends of mine and they are blown away  by my etymotic er4pt against smartphones and daps, no volume normalizing, etc. a couple have been able to identify details, whilst some say the music sounds more "envolving/immersive/whole", the final comment is always though, they are comfortable with what they hear or simply dont want to spend money :lol:   
Mind you, this is also midrange snapdragon,  inhouse codec is not the same as high range snapdragon, though i'm not familiar with implementation, I think it's fair to say, they don't go all out in midrangers.

That is because insufficient gears (headphones or in ear monitors) which are not revealing enough. Or that you are not familiar with your whole track collections and library at the highest quality it can perform yet.

Ultimately, you need to know the highest quality of your most familiar track performances, where it excels, what subtle and or nuances details is there ? With the best gears, what is the sound field ? Soundstage ?....etc.

Once you get hold of all those above, the differences between snapdragon and dedicated DAC is night and days differences. Not to mention that I am not really a fan of Sabre ESS or Burbrown either. However I like Wolfson and cirrus DAC, to me these two specific brands offer better body and soundstage (really depends on the device that they were designed in, how it got implemented...etc). But that is me, and I also prefer Sony S-Master Primarily before any Wolfson or cirrus DAC.

Agreed.
 
My girlfriend had a web rip from a dubious source for adele 21... Once I put on my FLAC,  DX90, and oppo pm-3, she says she can't live with her iphone 6 any more (mind you the only difference being iphone 6 vs dx90). Her precise words were "my music now has that "spark" whereas from the iphone 6 it's just music.
That happend to me also, I used to be a firm believer of cellphone dacs... from S3 voodoo'd, S4 wolfson,  LG G3 snapdragon I always went back to my old creative zen vision:m, it wasn't until I heard the dx-90, that I trully figured out on all the details I was missing out (thank god I learned years ago flac  or at least VBR v0 as a minimum for ripping).
 
I'm no fan for any dac, sabre, cirrus, wolfson,  owned all of them,  as long as they are tweaked to be cold/analytical/neutralish I'm game.

 

[ehjie]

That is because insufficient gears (headphones or in ear monitors) which are not revealing enough. Or that you are not familiar with your whole track collections and library at the highest quality it can perform yet.

Ultimately, you need to know the highest quality of your most familiar track performances, where it excels, what subtle and or nuances details is there ? With the best gears, what is the sound field ? Soundstage ?....etc.

Once you get hold of all those above, the differences between snapdragon and dedicated DAC is night and days differences. Not to mention that I am not really a fan of Sabre ESS or Burbrown either. However I like Wolfson and cirrus DAC, to me these two specific brands offer better body and soundstage (really depends on the device that they were designed in, how it got implemented...etc). But that is me, and I also prefer Sony S-Master Primarily before any Wolfson or cirrus DAC.

....I really like what I'm reading here,,, coz they're True... those words - insufficient, Familiar or familiarity, subtle w/ nuances, Field, soundstage. and of course some DAC brands some of which go way, way back...May I add, Familiarity is really best when one had the experience of hearing by different sources from vinyl, cassette, CD and nowadays flac, DSD, etc.. As far as we can remember, who would think that Led Zeppelin IV is now an Audio reference? I never thought that the band leader of said album was an audio perfectionist. My case in point, this was my very first vinyl (I don't have much). Then I progressed to Cassette tape, next CD, then the ''soft copies''. Somehow, I got a CD remaster (2004). I transfer to flac for portability. The chase for ultimate sound still goes on...Again, true big brands in DACs really have to be in their proper places to be rendered relevant. Otherwise, they'll just be a name....

 

[thepooh]

Now lads... finally a game-changer for me:

Meizu 5 PRO Mini

A 4.7" version of 5 PRO??? Rock 'n' roll lads!!!

Hope it will have all the audio stuff that's in 5 PRO... Finally a mobile, compact smartphone (by today's standards) with proper audio stuff... I really hope that Meizu won't cut away the audio hardware from it...
If not, it will crush every smartphone with 5.0" or smaller display in terms of... oh well, everything. Especially in audio department.

The flagship Mediatek X20 on a mini version? That sounds weird !

 

[mx19]

The flagship Mediatek X20 on a mini version? That sounds weird !

Mini I hope is only for dimensions not for the stuff inside. I hope it's just like xperia z and z compact - just smaller body, rest is the same. I find all those >5.0 inch phones totally nonsense so meizu pro 5 in 140mm high body would be perfect for me.

 

[siteOwner]

Another new phone:

With the Vibe X3, Lenovo is emphasizing on the device’s audio features which include front-facing stereo speakers, Hi-fi 3.0, a dedicated ESS Sabre ES9018K2M or Wolfson8281 DAC, separate speaker amplifiers, three noise-cancelling microphones, and more.

The new device’s other features include a 5.5-inch 1080p display, a Snapdragon 808 hexa-core processor, 3GB of RAM, 32 or 64GB of internal storage, and support for expandable storage via microSD card. The X3 is also equipped with a 3600mAh battery, a 21-megapixel rear camera, an 8-megapixel front-facing camera, and a rear-mounted fingerprint sensor.

More: http://goo.gl/3ovZiL

Looks good on paper.

 

[Guppy_]

Another new phone:
More: http://goo.gl/3ovZiL

Looks good on paper.

Interesting, choice of two dacs?

 

[Guppy_]

Another new phone:
More: http://goo.gl/3ovZiL

Looks good on paper.

Actually, badly translated leak it appears:
 
ll three phones come with some serious audio prowess. There's a total of three Texas Instruments OPA1612 amplifiers, a Cirrus Logic WM8281 codec for noise and echo cancellation to handle the input from the three mics, and a high-end Sabre 9018C2M DAC as found in the LG V10. A Dolby Atmos certification sits proudly on the devices' backs. 
http://www.gsmarena.com/lenovo_vibe_x3_launched_in_china_in_three_versions-news-15033.php
 
Nice to see motorola design cues being kept 

 

[siteOwner]

Another new phone:

More: http://goo.gl/3ovZiL


Looks good on paper.

Actually, badly translated leak it appears:

Even better

 

[Sound Eq]

i really wonder which sounds better the vibe x3 or lg v10