[dcjgomez]

   
Just fair warning, the Z4v will be sporting the Snapdragon 810, which has been known to have a host of problems. Beware. Also the Z3v can be rooted and rommed to 5.1

I have seen that the 810 seems to have overheating issues, which in turn can cause other issues unfortunately. Apparently there is a V2 to the 810 that supposedly corrects the problems the original had and Sony is using it in a few of their devices. Whether it is being used in the z4v is unknown to me...

 

[Whippler]

maybe this new thing?
https://www.marshallheadphones.com/mh_se_en/london-phone

 

[VeggiePopper]

My current contract ends next month. Since I am a Xperia fan, I' ve been looking forward to the Z3. But after reading this thread, I seem to be inclined towards the HTC one M9, as it seems to have the better audio (correct me if I'm wrong, but I understand that the Z3 only plays natively up to 96kHz due to the Snapdragon 801 while the 810 inside the M9 can play 192kHz natively, am I right?).

In my country, the M9 is about the same price as the Z3. After reading the specs for the Z3+, I found out that the M9 and Z3+ have the exact same specs (same CPU and GPU, same RAM, same flash memory, same screen resolution), so by buying the M8 basically I'm getting a Z3+ plus better audio for the price of the regular Z3.

... But the horrendous camera the M9 has, has made my have my doubts. I love my pictures and video clear and crisp, but I'm also looking for the best audio. Do you think the M9's audio is worth it to sacrifice a better camera? I haven't made my final decision, So I would like your opinions guys. Thanks in advance.

 

[spitf1r3]

My current contract ends next month. Since I am a Xperia fan, I' ve been looking forward to the Z3. But after reading this thread, I seem to be inclined towards the HTC one M9, as it seems to have the better audio (correct me if I'm wrong, but I understand that the Z3 only plays natively up to 96kHz due to the Snapdragon 801 while the 810 inside the M9 can play 192kHz natively, am I right?).

In my country, the M9 is about the same price as the Z3. After reading the specs for the Z3+, I found out that the M9 and Z3+ have the exact same specs (same CPU and GPU, same RAM, same flash memory, same screen resolution), so by buying the M8 basically I'm getting a Z3+ plus better audio for the price of the regular Z3.

... But the horrendous camera the M9 has, has made my have my doubts. I love my pictures and video clear and crisp, but I'm also looking for the best audio. Do you think the M9's audio is worth it to sacrifice a better camera? I haven't made my final decision, So I would like your opinions guys. Thanks in advance.

Mate, next month Sony will release 2 or 3 new flagships( S60, S70, Z5). Some said one of them could be Z5 Compact. Wait a little.

 

[HiyakeIchirou]

My current contract ends next month. Since I am a Xperia fan, I' ve been looking forward to the Z3. But after reading this thread, I seem to be inclined towards the HTC one M9, as it seems to have the better audio (correct me if I'm wrong, but I understand that the Z3 only plays natively up to 96kHz due to the Snapdragon 801 while the 810 inside the M9 can play 192kHz natively, am I right?).

In my country, the M9 is about the same price as the Z3. After reading the specs for the Z3+, I found out that the M9 and Z3+ have the exact same specs (same CPU and GPU, same RAM, same flash memory, same screen resolution), so by buying the M8 basically I'm getting a Z3+ plus better audio for the price of the regular Z3.

... But the horrendous camera the M9 has, has made my have my doubts. I love my pictures and video clear and crisp, but I'm also looking for the best audio. Do you think the M9's audio is worth it to sacrifice a better camera? I haven't made my final decision, So I would like your opinions guys. Thanks in advance.

Currently using a Galaxy S6 with Onkyo HF player + Fiio E11. This setup is powerful enough for my bass fix on the go (I use PRO700MKIIs). If you want a balanced phone with good camera but still able to give quality music you can try it. Or get any Samsung Phone running an Exynos chip which will be paired with a Wolfson DAC.

 

[maxjstern]

  maybe this new thing?
https://www.marshallheadphones.com/mh_se_en/london-phone

The sound and the features build around it will be pretty cool, but the rest is middle class, and the price is almost in the ranges only bitten fruits are wildering around in....
 
The Alcatel Idol 5.5 has even technicalities(sound and processing power) for half the price...
 
But if you have the money and the will to take compromises for superior sonic abilities and want differ from the crowd, you will find some kind of soulmate in the Marhsall London...

 

[PushT]

I see and appreciate the discussion going on here, but...  "Best smartphone for audiophile" - That is what the thread is called. Most audiophiles use high impedance headphones to listen to music (from a portable device). Can ANY phone drive a pair of high impedance headphones properly ? Has that question been answered ? Are there any comprehensive tests to be found ? Seems not so far. Only vague notions of how things may or may not sound. If you can make a portable DAC the size a half box of matches, it would be desirable to have it in a "smart" phone, no ?

 

[Whitigir]

I see and appreciate the discussion going on here, but...  "Best smartphone for audiophile" - That is what the thread is called. Most audiophiles use high impedance headphones to listen to music (from a portable device). Can ANY phone drive a pair of high impedance headphones properly ? Has that question been answered ? Are there any comprehensive tests to be found ? Seems not so far. Only vague notions of how things may or may not sound. If you can make a portable DAC the size a half box of matches, it would be desirable to have it in a "smart" phone, no ?

Well there are oceans of info about those stated above. But mainly Audiophiles stands for people who seek the most from their music under different tastes, and they would do whatever, pay whatever to seek out their hunger for their music taste. It doesn't necessary for the need of high impedance headphones.... Those are the things in the past.

Anyways, yes for adequate power, there is Meizu, and XIAOMI so far, but they are not usable in the U.S., unless 2G only and wifi.

 

[HiyakeIchirou]

I see and appreciate the discussion going on here, but...  "Best smartphone for audiophile" - That is what the thread is called. Most audiophiles use high impedance headphones to listen to music (from a portable device). Can ANY phone drive a pair of high impedance headphones properly ? Has that question been answered ? Are there any comprehensive tests to be found ? Seems not so far. Only vague notions of how things may or may not sound. If you can make a portable DAC the size a half box of matches, it would be desirable to have it in a "smart" phone, no ?

No. The DAC chip on most smartphones is about the size of your microSD card. Another thing is that smartphones are supposed to have many other functions besides audio playback so there's no point stuffing a half match box sized DAC into a smartphone. Have you seen how big DAPs are? Those are the kind of players which have that match box size of DAC with a huge amp.

 

[Duncan]

Portable IEMs / headphones are generally under 100 ohms, so what is defined as high impedance in this context?

 

[PushT]

I thought 100 ohms and up were high impedance headphones ?  I'm not a hardcore audiophile, so I couldn't tell you....

No. The DAC chip on most smartphones is about the size of your microSD card. Another thing is that smartphones are supposed to have many other functions besides audio playback so there's no point stuffing a half match box sized DAC into a smartphone. Have you seen how big DAPs are? Those are the kind of players which have that match box size of DAC with a huge amp.

Yes, well that doesn't make sense. You are literally speaking in two tongues here(Whitigir & HiyakeIchirou). On one hand we are past the point of high impedance headphones, but then there is not a future for merging technology and shrinking components into 1?  You don't want a dedicated audiophile smartphone ? In 5 years time you see yourself still carrying around your DAP do you ? Putting that extra cash into a dedicated audiophile phone instead of phone +DAC - Who wouldn't ?? You can only halt progress for so long, man.....It is not decided by your love for vinyl etc. If you are implying that fitting the DAC and amp is not possible I beg to differ.
If the future of portable headphones for smartphone is low impedance so be it ! I just don't think your reasoning was very relevant. If you read my post I refer to portable DAC as having half the size of a box of matches. It is clearly feasible to fit in the neccessary components with todays battery capacity and general component sizes, inside a phone.

 

[HiyakeIchirou]

I thought 100 ohms and up were high impedance headphones ?  I'm not a hardcore audiophile, so I couldn't tell you....


Yes, well that doesn't make sense. You are literally speaking in two tongues here(Whitigir & HiyakeIchirou). On one hand we are past the point of high impedance headphones, but then there is not a future for merging technology and shrinking components into 1?  You don't want a dedicated audiophile smartphone ? In 5 years time you see yourself still carrying around your DAP do you ? Putting that extra cash into a dedicated audiophile phone instead of phone +DAC - Who wouldn't ?? You can only halt progress for so long, man.....It is not decided by your love for vinyl etc. If you are implying that fitting the DAC and amp is not possible I beg to differ.
If the future of portable headphones for smartphone is low impedance so be it ! I just don't think your reasoning was very relevant. If you read my post I refer to portable DAC as having half the size of a box of matches. It is clearly feasible to fit in the neccessary components with todays battery capacity and general component sizes, inside a phone.

Looking at today's smartphones you can see for yourself that stuffing a dedicated DAC + Amp setup is nigh impossible. The amp alone will take up a lot of space, hence the size of today's DAPs out there. Another thing to consider is the power. If you're a basshead like myself you should know that playing bass takes up more power than playing treble. Your average DAP can do maybe 5-6 hours of music playback? Added together with cellular radio and all the other phone functions will mean that you need a bigger battery to support all these functions, which will defeat the purpose of a dedicated audiophile smartphone. You're right, maybe 5 years down the road they develop something, but until that happens that is how reality is like. I never said I didn't want a dedicated audiophile smartphone, just stating that it is currently impossible the way things are now.

 

[PushT]

Looking at today's smartphones you can see for yourself that stuffing a dedicated DAC + Amp setup is nigh impossible. The amp alone will take up a lot of space, hence the size of today's DAPs out there. Another thing to consider is the power. If you're a basshead like myself you should know that playing bass takes up more power than playing treble. Your average DAP can do maybe 5-6 hours of music playback? Added together with cellular radio and all the other phone functions will mean that you need a bigger battery to support all these functions, which will defeat the purpose of a dedicated audiophile smartphone. You're right, maybe 5 years down the road they develop something, but until that happens that is how reality is like. I never said I didn't want a dedicated audiophile smartphone, just stating that it is currently impossible the way things are now.

Ok. But if low impedance(high sensitivity) headphones are on the up, wouldn't that just make those audiophile phones pretty feasible right about.... now ? If you're talking higly commercial products e.g the HTC one M9. What kind of cans can it drive ?  And Meizu & Xiaomi(mentioned above) ?  There is supposed to be "oceans of info about those stated above" as stated here earlier, but I can find little in the manner of testing different impedance/sensitivity headphones with the aforementioned smartphones. Reviews barely touch on the matter, so that sea quickly turns into a pretty small pond....

 

[Toom]

 
Ok. But if low impedance(high sensitivity) headphones are on the up, wouldn't that just make those audiophile phones pretty feasible right about.... now ? If you're talking higly commercial products e.g the HTC one M9. What kind of cans can it drive ?  And Meizu & Xiaomi(mentioned above) ?  There is supposed to be "oceans of info about those stated above" as stated here earlier, but I can find little in the manner of testing different impedance/sensitivity headphones with the aforementioned smartphones. Reviews barely touch on the matter, so that sea quickly turns into a pretty small pond....

 
If you can't find specifications of phones on the internet, then try GSM Arena - it's quite a good site for comparisons.
 
Here's their M9 review, for example: http://www.gsmarena.com/htc_one_m9-review-1230.php
 
In the real world, you coluld also take your headphones into a store and try the handsets out.
 
Plus, why do you want to be lugging huge high impedence cans around with you in a portable scenario, where all the sonic benefits will be mitigated by environment and you'll look a bit, well, silly wearing them?  This is where IEMs come into their own, given they are designed to work in this exactly this context.
 
Don't forget also, with Android phones, you can root and mod their architecture to tweak the sonics and amp gain in most cases.  And even with iPhone, there are tips and solutions to help enhance the out of box experience.
 
Look, I'm not against those who want to spend mad money on esoteric grown up lego kits, but today's smartphones do a pretty bang up job of being the tech equivalent of swiss army knifes - great for most requirements on the go, including audio.

 

[PushT]

   
If you can't find specifications of phones on the internet, then try GSM Arena - it's quite a good site for comparisons.
 
Here's their M9 review, for example: http://www.gsmarena.com/htc_one_m9-review-1230.php
 
In the real world, you coluld also take your headphones into a store and try the handsets out.
 
Plus, why do you want to be lugging huge high impedence cans around with you in a portable scenario, where all the sonic benefits will be mitigated by environment and you'll look a bit, well, silly wearing them?  This is where IEMs come into their own, given they are designed to work in this exactly this context.
 
Don't forget also, with Android phones, you can root and mod their architecture to tweak the sonics and amp gain in most cases.  And even with iPhone, there are tips and solutions to help enhance the out of box experience.
 
Look, I'm not against those who want to spend mad money on esoteric grown up lego kits, but today's smartphones do a pretty bang up job of being the tech equivalent of swiss army knifes - great for most requirements on the go, including audio.

Phones become like you say, quite the swiss army knife of tech absolutely. Here's my scenario. I bought the new Denon AH-GC20 headphones  with bletooth aptX. It's practical, the sound is better with aptX and I can get the aptX codec on an Android also(with Denon app for music equalizer). But soundwise I love the Denons with cable + ANC also. They are great. So naturally I want something that can drive them with cable as well. They have an impedance of  100 ohms if I remember correctly. Indeed, I am more interested in electronics than anything analogue, but these sound great ! So what seemed like just an added bonus to begin with( I wanted bluetooth for phone, cable for home) now becomes an obsession to get a nice portable, wired setup ( without being totally fanatic about the sound quality) on top of the wireless.
I think I just may have to go try out the M9....