[Anice29]

  Thanks for sharing and I hope you can answer one question more, how is the power level? The Sony MDR-A1 is quite sensitive so how loud do you have to play for normal loudness levels and is it bearable at the max? Thanks in advance for your response.

Around 65% on the MDR-1A is loud enough for most situations and at max it is very loud but it can be bearable depending on the music style.
 
 

  Yeah, but I have to let it be imported. I do not see any european warehouses with inventory so it is an expensive gamble.

I also imported mine and I didn't have to pay any customs from that website since, from what they told me, they take care of customs charges from DHL.

 

[kharms]

another mail;
 
”Can I however repeat the query concerning Your model -Meizu mx4pro-!? Does that model not support DSD (DSF, DFF) audio?”
 

Sorry that MEIZU does not support DSD audio formats natively.
You could realize that via the third-party applications as you like.
 

 
implying Meizus all models 
 
 

LG is up next for email question ...

 

[ehjie]

  Actually, Native DSD is still unclear for most smartphone specs.
 
Most of smartphone can play DSD but mostly it is a downsampling version of it so its quality quite cannot be differentiated much.
 
Smartphone company still don't give a raise on native DSD much even though their DAC can support it natively.
 
Still a big step smartphone needs to go through in the future.

Yes, correct, some new 'phones specs can play DSD files... Something to do with ''Authorising'' the 'phone to play them, I suppose...

 

[TabCam]

Around 65% on the MDR-1A is loud enough for most situations and at max it is very loud but it can be bearable depending on the music style.


I also imported mine and I didn't have to pay any customs from that website since, from what they told me, they take care of customs charges from DHL.

Thanks for sharing that info. It implies that my Alpha Prime will be too hard to drive, unfortunately.
Think I can just concentrate on a smartphone with a good camera, 4k, 4G and battery life.

 

[Vidaluk0]

how does the HTC One A9 stand against the M9 and the LG V10?

I was reading the DAC in the LG V10 only works in the proprietary app, so, without turning the DAC on, the A9 sounds better?

 

[warrior1975]

I am not sure it can be an indicator for native dsd. It might implant in music program that if playing themusic.dsf/dsd, it will function hifi symbol+no eq avail.

We might need to see inside kernel whether there is something like dsd.decoder codec or not. If presence, it seems to be converted to pcm. But if not, it really a native dsd player.

I don't believe the kernel has been released yet, at least I haven't seen it on xda as of yet.

how does the HTC One A9 stand against the M9 and the LG V10?


I was reading the DAC in the LG V10 only works in the proprietary app, so, without turning the DAC on, the A9 sounds better?

Not true exactly, it is working in some other apps as well. There are also a couple of workarounds for getting it to work in other apps. Can't speak for the other phones, but the V10 is comparable to mid fi daps, and I'd even say some high fi ones as well.

 

[artpiggo]

Can we use PCM DAC to prove if it play natively or converted to pcm?

For example,
If there is sound out thru dac = it convert to pcm
If no sound out = it is native dsd

 

[Guppy_]

  how does the HTC One A9 stand against the M9 and the LG V10?

I was reading the DAC in the LG V10 only works in the proprietary app, so, without turning the DAC on, the A9 sounds better?

if the LG v10 is not using the Sabre DAC, it will be using the inhouse snapdragonSD808 (highish range chip) and its audio processor. while the A9 uses Snapdragon 617... I'm inclined to say, I don't think a mid range chip, will have the same audio codec as high end. So no, in both scenarios, the LG SHOULD sound better, albeit slightly lacking in amp department, if anything.

 

[fufula]

I currently own a Lumia 925, I'm quite happy with its audio-out. I'm on the lookout for a new Android or iOS phone that features good quality audio and a screen that is 5" or smaller.
 
Another thing, I looked at LeTV One and I like its looks, even though it's quite big. Does anyone know how it stands up to LeTV One Pro which I see being mentioned here a lot, SQ-wise?
 
Where do you guys get the detailed specs on phone audio chips etc.? These things are rarely mentioned in reviews and on sites like gsmarena etc.

 

[jasonb]

how does the HTC One A9 stand against the M9 and the LG V10?


I was reading the DAC in the LG V10 only works in the proprietary app, so, without turning the DAC on, the A9 sounds better?

The HiFi DAC/amp in the LG V10 also works with Tidal. There is no reason to not use the stock LG music app for stored music, and the ability to use Tidal with flac is also a huge plus. So for my I use the stock music player for stored music and I use Tidal as well.

 

[clarkydaz]

  I currently own a Lumia 925, I'm quite happy with its audio-out. I'm on the lookout for a new Android or iOS phone that features good quality audio and a screen that is 5" or smaller.
 
Another thing, I looked at LeTV One and I like its looks, even though it's quite big. Does anyone know how it stands up to LeTV One Pro which I see being mentioned here a lot, SQ-wise?
 
Where do you guys get the detailed specs on phone audio chips etc.? These things are rarely mentioned in reviews and on sites like gsmarena etc.

I think the pro has the hifi chip, wheras the regular version does not. My main gripe against those phones is they are maxed out at either 32gb or 64gb with no means of memory card. Silly decision for promoting hi res music

 

[artpiggo]

I think the pro has the hifi chip, wheras the regular version does not. My main gripe against those phones is they are maxed out at either 32gb or 64gb with no means of memory card. Silly decision for promoting hi res music

I couldn't agree more. Hope it will change in Le 2 pro/ max

 

[thepooh]

Yes, correct, some new 'phones specs can play DSD files... Something to do with ''Authorising'' the 'phone to play them, I suppose...

As far as codecs and sample rates are concerned, most flagships and high mid-rangers can support up to 24/96 out of the box since 2013.

However, only a few of them can support up to 192khz! Now regarding DSD, Sony has been the first to implement this format in the Z3, but the playback is not "native". Ask yourself if it's really worthy to waste storage with such big files when your physical output is only up to 48khz!? Only a couple of smartphones with ESS dacs such as Meizu Pro series and LG V10 can really be marketed as Hi Res players, considering that you'll be using iems and portable headphones directly from the headphone out, no one can really benefit from using Hi Res on any smartphone without a proper 24/192 dac.

I personally found that WAV and AIFF 16/44 sound better on smartphones than even Flac 24/192, which has a tendency to distort at high volume level, as you're forcing the hardware to go above the limits.

 

[Whitigir]

As far as codecs and sample rates are concerned, most flagships and high mid-rangers can support up to 24/96 out of the box since 2013.

However, only a few of them can support up to 192khz! Now regarding DSD, Sony has been the first to implement this format in the Z3, but the playback is not "native". Ask yourself if it's really worthy to waste storage with such big files when your physical output is only up to 48khz!? Only a couple of smartphones with ESS dacs such as Meizu Pro series and LG V10 can really be marketed as Hi Res players, considering that you'll be using iems and portable headphones directly from the headphone out, no one can really benefit from using Hi Res on any smartphone without a proper 24/192 dac.

I personally found that WAV and AIFF 16/44 sound better on smartphones than even Flac 24/192, which has a tendency to distort at high volume level, as you're forcing the hardware to go above the limits.

It is not as simple as numbers. High-reds will require sophisticated software and hardware all together to be able to play back at quality. Otherwise, they are simply ....just number that impress on paper.

 

[andrewski]

As far as codecs and sample rates are concerned, most flagships and high mid-rangers can support up to 24/96 out of the box since 2013.

However, only a few of them can support up to 192khz! Now regarding DSD, Sony has been the first to implement this format in the Z3, but the playback is not "native". Ask yourself if it's really worthy to waste storage with such big files when your physical output is only up to 48khz!? Only a couple of smartphones with ESS dacs such as Meizu Pro series and LG V10 can really be marketed as Hi Res players, considering that you'll be using iems and portable headphones directly from the headphone out, no one can really benefit from using Hi Res on any smartphone without a proper 24/192 dac.

I personally found that WAV and AIFF 16/44 sound better on smartphones than even Flac 24/192, which has a tendency to distort at high volume level, as you're forcing the hardware to go above the limits.

I highly disagree that my 16-bit .wav are a waste of space.