[leddra2k]

   
Hi leddra2k,
 
yeah, do keep an look out for Creative new flagship headphones - hopefully we can see something before year end .... 
another update on Meizu MX5 Pro - said to have hi-fi sound as well ... i really dun know what other magic potion they can put inside this time (please add in aptX)
 
http://www.gizmochina.com/2015/08/18/meizu-flagship-specs-leaked-in-detail-rumored-to-feature-exynos-7422-6-inch-2k-display/
 
LG has another new set of BT - more for causal wear - you can take a look as well ... my guess they will bundle this with LG G4 ( which i have something similar for LG G3 last year)
 
http://www.androidcentral.com/lg-announces-tone-ultra-mid-range-bluetooth-headset

 
Cheers dude I'll keep an eye on that! And woe the MX5 pro sounds sooo cool! Aptx would just finish the whole package and tick all the boxes! Fingers crossed!
 
Ahh yeah the LG Tone series they are pretty good for the price I hear but never listened to them myself!

 

[SmOgER]

Was there something in lollipop which affected how certain phones process the sound?
N5 on 5.1.1 really exceeded my SQ expectations. It's now ahead of MX3 in my book.

 

[obsidyen]

Anyone auditioned Note 5? I imagine it has the same sound as S6 since it has largely (or competely?) the same internal components inside.

 

[Duncan]

I wonder why the UK (which has been on the most part the launch base for Samsung phones) is not getting the N5 until at least 2016... Maybe so that they can add an mSD slot

 

[menamesringo]

Was there something in lollipop which affected how certain phones process the sound?
N5 on 5.1.1 really exceeded my SQ expectations. It's now ahead of MX3 in my book.

Agreed,
 
Been using the Note 5 for about a day now. Threw on my reference 24/192 album, Kind of Blue. The default music player detected the songs as 'UHQ' files, so I believe it may be playing natively at that resolution.
 
It sounds fantastic, best h/o on any smartphone I've ever used (Iphone4, GS3, HTC M7 & M8)  super clean signal but may lack power for larger headphones. Slightly less punchy and detailed than my X5, but outstanding for a mobile phone.
 
I have it paired with ATH-IM02, which are terribly picky iems. YMMV but I'm getting absolutely no hissing,interference or distortion.

 

[jomarr]

  Agreed,
 
Been using the Note 5 for about a day now. Threw on my reference 24/192 album, Kind of Blue. The default music player detected the songs as 'UHQ' files, so I believe it may be playing natively at that resolution.
 
It sounds fantastic, best h/o on any smartphone I've ever used (Iphone4, GS3, HTC M7 & M8)  super clean signal but may lack power for larger headphones. Slightly less punchy and detailed than my X5, but outstanding for a mobile phone.
 
I have it paired with ATH-IM02, which are terribly picky iems. YMMV but I'm getting absolutely no hissing,interference or distortion.

 
I'd get the Note 5 in a heartbeat but the lack of memory expansion irks me especially when it doesn't come with a 128GB version.
 
I'm leaning on the M9 or M8, still. Is the h/o sound of the N5 leaps and bounds better than the M8?

 

[menamesringo]

   
I'd get the Note 5 in a heartbeat but the lack of memory expansion irks me especially when it doesn't come with a 128GB version.
 
I'm leaning on the M9 or M8, still. Is the h/o sound of the N5 leaps and bounds better than the M8?

I know what you mean, I paid an extra $150 in my country for the 64 over 32. 
 
I've been a/b testing the same file on the N5 and the M8 the last half hour or so playing on Poweramp (Marvin Gaye - What's going on 24/192).
I haven't been the biggest samsung fan and I dont want to come across as justifying my purchase, but objectively the N5s DAC blows the M8 out of the water. The M8 is perfectly acceptable but compared to the N5 the M8 comes accross as muddy and congested. Whereas the N5 has a much blacker background and more discernible details.
 
That said though, I'm not sure if the M9 is using a different DAC and it could be better. What the HTCs have over Samsung are the front facing speakers...best external phone speakers hands down. IMO HTC also has the best UX of all the android phones I've used including stock android, so you won't be disappointed with a HTC.
 

 

[malifact]

How would you describe the sound signature of the N5? Is it warm, neutral or bright? I've just purchased some bright CIEMs and so I'm wary of source matching. Thanks.

 

[menamesringo]

I would say they are neutral leaning towards warm. It reminds me of a slightly less refined fiio x3ii if I remember that sound correctly. Definitely not as bright as the ibassos I've tried.

 

[menamesringo]

Just tested my 250ohm dt880s on the Note 5. Definitely not enough juice to power them adequately...just about listening volume when cranked to full. Will require amping for higher impedance cans.

 

[Whitigir]

I know what you mean, I paid an extra $150 in my country for the 64 over 32. 

I've been a/b testing the same file on the N5 and the M8 the last half hour or so playing on Poweramp (Marvin Gaye - What's going on 24/192).
I haven't been the biggest samsung fan and I dont want to come across as justifying my purchase, but objectively the N5s DAC blows the M8 out of the water. The M8 is perfectly acceptable but compared to the N5 the M8 comes accross as muddy and congested. Whereas the N5 has a much blacker background and more discernible details.

That said though, I'm not sure if the M9 is using a different DAC and it could be better. What the HTCs have over Samsung are the front facing speakers...best external phone speakers hands down. IMO HTC also has the best UX of all the android phones I've used including stock android, so you won't be disappointed with a HTC.

Blacker BG huh? Good! My N4 background is like a flee market

 

[SmOgER]

Agreed,

Been using the Note 5 for about a day now. Threw on my reference 24/192 album, Kind of Blue. The default music player detected the songs as 'UHQ' files, so I believe it may be playing natively at that resolution.

It sounds fantastic, best h/o on any smartphone I've ever used (Iphone4, GS3, HTC M7 & M8)  super clean signal but may lack power for larger headphones. Slightly less punchy and detailed than my X5, but outstanding for a mobile phone.

I have it paired with ATH-IM02, which are terribly picky iems. YMMV but I'm getting absolutely no hissing,interference or distortion.

Ha!
Sorry to burst the bubble, but I was actually referring to Nexus5 believe it or not, my mistake for not noticing this new Note5 trend here (not a fan of samsungs) :rolleyes:

 

[VeggiePopper]

Was the Note 5 already released? I thought it was just announced a few days ago. But then again, I'm not a Samsung follower, so I guess I'm just late to the party.

Anyways, I settled for the LG G4, just bought it last night. After weeks of pondering whether to get the Xperia Z3 or the HTC One M9,I decided I was going to purchase the Z3, but when I was already at the store, something caught my attention - a phone that looked like brown leather with beige stitching. Just like my beloved Momentums. Enter the gorgeous LG G4. While at the store, I looked for specs and reviews online. Apparently, with a 64-bit hexacore Snapdragon 808 processor, it outperforms all 2014's 32-bit flagships (including the Z3), and most 2015 flaships as well due to their dreadful Snapdragon 810. And the price, it costs just a few bucks higher than the Z3. A 2015 flagship for the price of a 2014 phone? What a steal, sign me in already! The catch? According to the reviews, while it can play natively hi-res music, it's not as great as the Z3 or the M9. Since it bests them at everything else, I made a compromise on audio and went for it. Being a Sony fan and coming from an Xperia T2 Ultra, it was a tough decision, but hey, we need to take risks.

Right now as I'm writing this, I'm testing it (last night I was not home, so I was unable to load my music into it) with Paul McCartney's Ram (my favourite hi-res album, not that I own many). To my ears it leans to the warmer side of the spectrum. So far, I'm liking the sound signature. Mids are rich, Paul and Linda's vocals sound so lively, guitars are punchy when they need to be, and my god, those drums!

My only gripe is that when seguing from
"Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey" to "Smile Away", there was a short silence. Alas, the stock player can't play gapless songs, something the Walkman app could do flawlessly on my old Sony. I suppose it can be easily fixed by installing a different app, but I was enjoying the stock player interface. Besides that minor detail, so far so good.

I'm still wondering how would my music sound had I went for the Z3 or the M9 though (both were available to try back in the store, but none had any hi-res file preloaded to test their true potential).

 

[Whitigir]

Z3 is currently still being famous regarding it sonic performance as of now, and LG G4 had been the big failure for LG just as much as M9 from HTC, and both company has already lay off people and also have a new flagship ready in development . Note 4 is doing alright, because it is dirt cheap now, Note 5 has no memory slots and people hate it....and also Samsung mobile is in deep mud....they can not compete with Apple in other markets, they do ok in the USA but sale is down as people in the states has slowed down their smartphone purchase frenzy. The last thing they worried about was iPhone 6S...so the Note 5 is early. From a source in VN the S6Edge + is supposed to be more polished in multimedia....not sure about Audio quality.

Now I am waiting on Sony next S-line phone

 

[maxjstern]

There is a another option in the phablet area: The Gionee Elife G8. It features Mediateks newest SoC(so no hotheaded Snapdragon 810) and has two seperate audio chips, ect....
In Europe it is definitly available and completely 4G functional, as it is rebranded as "Allview X2 Extreme." And has 64 inbulit ROM and a sd card slot and is dual sim (plenty of space for high-res files..)
 
Any impressions on the Xiaomi Mi Note pro or Meizu MX4 Pro?There are ony my watchlist... Should I wait for their sucessors?