sorry, my bad - I can't adjust, was trying really hard
my friend has a 5.5 note, I've used it for many days, just does not work out for me.
i have motox2014 now with 5.1 and I'm very happy ... so stuck with this size.
funny, that good-dac smartphone is 5.5+, a weird side-effect in my continuous search for one-device-only (DAP+phone not good)
so far I have on my list
HTC A9
Sony Z3
Htc M9
Samsung S6
ZTE Nubia Z9
any recommendations?
cheers!
lxlx,
I'm assuming you have no plans to use a portable amp/DAC with whichever phone you choose, correct?
If so, I would say go for the Sony Xperia Z3, which I happened to own for about a year and a half until about 2 weeks ago. I now have the Samsung Galaxy S7. If we're talking headphones, then the Z3, the S7 and M9 (I had the M8, which was basically the same as the M9) are all great options b/c all 3 have very solid amp/DACs. The only thing I'll say about the Samsung phones is, I notice on my S7 that when I'm on a call or listening to music through the speakers, there's this real SLIGHT "echoey bounce" to the sound, which I don't really like. It's not a big deal, because that has nothing to do with headphone listening, but if you're planning on listening to the phone speakers, you may notice that too. I did NOT have that issue with my M8 or Z3.
Before I got my Oppo HA-2 portable amp/DAC, I spent some time listening to music straight from my phone. This didn't go on for very long (fortunately), and I recall wanting to upgrade. So I tried out the $200 (at the time) iBasso DX50, thinking it would at least sound a LITTLE better than my Z3. After comparing both over the same set of songs on the same pair of headphones, I concluded that the DX50 sounded NO better than my Z3. So it went back. They say the FiiO X3 sounds just like the DX50, and even though I'd bought that at the same time, I didn't bother opening it, and just returned it with the DX50. It wasn't until I upped my spending limit to $300 and bought the Sony Walkman NWZ-A17 that I finally noticed a difference. So point here is took a $300 DAP to outdo my Z3. That tells you right there that the Z3's audio capabilities are not to be taken lightly (for a smartphone anyway lol). I've talked to at least one other reviewer (not on here) who had his own blog and said at the time (about a year ago) that the Z3 was the BEST smartphone audio quality-wise that was out there (at least for Android). He tested several others, and his conclusion was this:
[COLOR=222222]Z3[/COLOR][COLOR=222222] > One M8 > Note 4 > M7 > Note 3 = Z1 = Z2 >> G3[/COLOR]
[COLOR=222222]I should say one more thing though, although the G3 was rated dead last by that one reviewer, LG is about to release a real "gamechanger" of a phone for those who want "something more" with regards to Hi-Fi. The LG G5 is coming out in April, so right around the corner. It will be the FIRST smartphone of its kind to have switchable modules at the bottom of the phone, giving owners the option to use a better camera mod or for us, the Hi-Fi Plus mod, which will feature a great DAC & amp chipset. The DAC on the Hi-Fi Plus mod is even one step higher than the one on my HA-2 (9028 vs. 9018)! It will be compatible with all phones, so you can use as a third party device like I do with the HA-2, but it WOULD be easiest to just buy the G5 and put it on there. Only down side is the regular case for G5 won't fit since the mod makes the length SLIGHTLY bigger, but if you don't use a case it won't matter. (Someone MAY make a case for it though. We'll see.) Basically, the Plus mod + the G5 would make this BY FAR the best sounding smartphone in existence![/COLOR]
[COLOR=222222]Since the S7 Edge I got a couple weeks ago was too big for my tastes, I got the S7 instead. The G5 with the mod will be bigger than the S7 Edge, so that right there is why I'm not getting the G5, but wanted to initially. However, it's very likely I may get the Plus mod and just replace my $300 HA-2 with it if it sounds better, or if the Plus mod sells for under $200, if it sounds at least AS good as my HA-2, I may still buy it. Just have to see. More info
here. More info on the G5 itself
here. [/COLOR]
[COLOR=222222]Update: You can start pre-ordering the G5 by
the end of this month. T-Mobile
will also carry it with a special promo deal. I don't see the Hi-Fi Plus listed on LG's U.S. site, so I'm not sure what that means, but the "the end of this month" article does list a price of $160 (probably that low b/c they bought the 9028 chip in bulk), so should be soon. [/COLOR]
[COLOR=222222]Hope that helps![/COLOR]
