[artpiggo]

trends in smartphones change very rapidly...2 years is a life's time in smartphone market.

hifi is the hot game of 2015.
in 2016, everyone is fighting on fingerprint and dual camera, hifi is forgoten.
in 2017 we can expect curved oled, zoom dual cam to be the buzz word.

after iphone 7, i bet headphone vendors will include dac in their new products as a common practice, and smartphone vendors are less motivated to include 3.5mm jack anymore.

Good analysis.

 

[Sulbh]

  Having bought one and using it for more than a month now. I can not compare it to a dap in same price range but, when it comes to sound quality it is right up there with the best possible, it all depends on whether or not you like its sound signature, though that also changes with headphones, compared it to the big axon 7, iphone 6 and s7 edge , it has way more detailed and precise sound than either of them

I am just worried about snapdragon 617.Otherwise its very good phone atleast on paper.

 

[SeraphicWings]

Onkyo phone? Really? Interesting....

The Granbeat it's like a DP-X1, but with different DAC, watered-down volume level and have call function
 
Among the trend of slim and big smartphone, this one really stands out. But this thing is priced at 91.580 yen in e-earphone (roughly $820), quite expensive for a smartphone though

 

[gugman]

Hi everyone ! I really need your help ! I'm searching for a smartphone to buy under 350 euros(around 300 would be great) ! I've done a lot of search for many many hours (believe me ) reading reviews for sound and performance but i can't decide because  everyone has a different opinion for the same thing.I want a smartphone with  good sound quality and LOUD volume too (for headphones only i don't mind the speaker so i can listen to my favourite jazz music in the bus without disturb) ,sd card slot , good performance and flac compatibility.I prefer a model of 2016.I know i'm asking too much for my budget but i'd love to listen to your suggestions.I'm really sorry for my english...Thank you ! 

will have in about a week Gigaset Me Pro, will let you know how it sounds, price for it recently dropped to 299E

 

[lantian]

Till now had no problems with it, but it is not a high performance device by no means. My old htc one m8 was a about the same in terms of cpu performance but the axon feels snappier. Then again the HTC one m8 had a better gpu in it, then only part where this phone would be lacking.

 

[dlayman]

 
I am just worried about snapdragon 617.Otherwise its very good phone atleast on paper.

What are you worried about with the 617?  Its a solid 8-core mid-range SoC.  And the Axon Mini has't had heat issues.  The Moto G4 with this chip did, but it wasn't the chip's fault.  My phone runs the 616 and it stays cool as a cucumber and doesn't lag even with a heavy skin on it.

 

[RicardoB]

I am just worried about snapdragon 617.Otherwise its very good phone atleast on paper.

I sell carrier phones for a living part time so it's my job to know specs and I've been in love with tech since idk when, I mostly sell carrier devices like AT&T etc but on occasion I get customers that want to activate their unlocked devices so I get to test and ask questions, the 617 is a revamped 616 which just like the 808 and 810 had heat issues, I was worried personally because I've owned a few of those chips and had bad experiences....since I was going to buy the Mini before the big brother 7 and now you have been asking I did some reading and the mini has has no reports of overheating just a couple software bugs and sometimes poor battery life which could be solved with an update in the future, I just saw the mini on Amazon for $199.....thats a crazy good price....Passport 2.0 warranty from ZTE speaks for itself plus you usually have a return period I would say try it out for a week or so, tweak the audio etc and see if it's for you, it seems ZTE has good thermal design and I don't think for overall value anyone can touch ZTE right now

 

[RicardoB]

Le Max x900+ (latest firmware from Philippines) = no equalizer on SPOTIFY
And i cant use Viper4android because i cant install busybox

Try a different BusyBox maybe? There are many on Playstore. Also I've ran Viper without BusyBox on many devices with rooted stock ROM before but maybe EUI is different

 

[RicardoB]

The Granbeat it's like a DP-X1, but with different DAC, watered-down volume level and have call function

Among the trend of slim and big smartphone, this one really stands out. But this thing is priced at 91.580 yen in e-earphone (roughly $820), quite expensive for a smartphone though

Man that price....I believe it's mid range specs too

 

[djcarpentier]

Man that price....I believe it's mid range specs too

Ya. Not worth it. The only extra it has Is balanced out. The axon 7 mini has better specs.

 

[marcswede]

Onkyo is a small company compared to Vivo, ZTE and others who fork out every new model in tens of millions. They can't compete prize-wize with those companies.
 
I think 820 dollars is a fair price for a japanese high end DAP with full smartphone capabilities.

 

[djcarpentier]

its dap specs are virtually the same as the v20, with much worse phone specs.

 

[Golfhacker27]

Le Max x900+ (latest firmware from Philippines) = no equalizer on SPOTIFY
And i cant use Viper4android because i cant install busybox

This is a problem with other phones, for example the LG G range.

Most third party equalizer apps on the Google store either just don't work, or bring along bugs, crashes and adverts. Or they require manual switch on every time you use the phone.

The one that does work perfectly (at least on my G3 ) is Equalizer FX. Works seamlessly in background, good range of presets etc.

 

[marcswede]

  its dap specs are virtually the same as the v20, with much worse phone specs.

Still, I love the form-factor and that Onkyo makes a move into the phone market.
 
I Hope it's successful so Onkyo continues on this path. Then perhaps we will see smartphones from other audio companies in the future

 

 

[Golfhacker27]

Still, I love the form-factor and that Onkyo makes a move into the phone market.

I Hope it's successful so Onkyo continues on this path. Then perhaps we will see smartphones from other audio companies in the future  

Fully agree.
One thing that I would need to be convinced of is patches and updates for Android OS. If I am investing a higher price for good audio, it's going to be device that I will keep for longer, and thus don't want to be stuck with old OS and security concerns for years.

Would be nice to see Sony make an effort in this area. They are probably the best (only?) company with a foot firmly in both phone and audio player markets. It might even help them to find an edge (rather than their confused and lacklustre Xperia range).