[daulagiri]

To each their own, I run an online software company and as such I am always using my phone.
My phones performance and longevity is key, which is why I use HTC's I haven't had one break down on me yet (knock on wood).

Knock on wood? Meh..

My Jewel dropped from moving motorbike (speed ard 30-40 km/h). Survived with just dents .

Not the best sound though.

 

[CactusPete23]

In reply to :  MUSTANG80's Statement

1. Mustang80
2. 
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"The Axon Mini has expandable storage, but not the 7 mini - Just wondering why the 7 mini gets all the attention?"


 
 
 
FYI:  I have the Axon 7 mini,  It is now running with a 200gb Micro SD card in it.....  So I can confirm that Axon 7 mini has expandable storage.

 

[vincik]

is there smartphone with good sound quality with headphones and warm signature? I have tried lg v10, iphone 6s and top tier from samsung and all sound boring, unnatural and neutral... something out there with focus on sound quality and warm, dark and musical sound signature?

 

[stenog]

is there smartphone with good sound quality with headphones and warm signature? I have tried lg v10, iphone 6s and top tier from samsung and all sound boring, unnatural and neutral... something out there with focus on sound quality and warm, dark and musical sound signature?

Serious, the HTC10 should tick all your boxes. There are 2 treads about it, just use the search engine.

Edit. You write headphones. Which ones do you have in mind ?. HTC10 can't drive most headphones properly. Iems is different.

 

[god-bluff]

Warm and dark is boring and unnatural to me

 

[Mustang80]

  In reply to :  MUSTANG80's Statement

1. Mustang80
2. 
3.  
4.  

"The Axon Mini has expandable storage, but not the 7 mini - Just wondering why the 7 mini gets all the attention?"


 
 
 
FYI:  I have the Axon 7 mini,  It is now running with a 200gb Micro SD card in it.....  So I can confirm that Axon 7 mini has expandable storage.

 
Strange it doesn't mention that in the specs. having said that - the official website is awful for ZTE. I was wondering why everyone praises the Mini 7 over the mini, as it seemed that the mini 7 didn't have expandable storage - but I guess it does.

 

[stenog]

Warm and dark is boring and unnatural to me

More warm than dark but musical .

 

[Mustang80]

Anyone have any experience of UMI's custom Audio Chip? They have some VERY reasonably priced phones!

 

[artpiggo]

is there smartphone with good sound quality with headphones and warm signature? I have tried lg v10, iphone 6s and top tier from samsung and all sound boring, unnatural and neutral... something out there with focus on sound quality and warm, dark and musical sound signature?

htc 10 or meizu pro 5

 

[Dynion]

I agree with Artpiggo that the Pro 5 is a marvellous choice. It sounds great in detail and brightness. The soundstage could be a bit bigger in my opinion.
 
Would it be an idea to change the first post of this topic into a list of phones that have a decent DAC inside sorted by brand? For me it's really hard to follow all developments. I know many, but the differences in dacs between versions of phones is something that i can't keep up with.
 
A list of decent audio phones from my side:
 
Meizu:
 
MX4 Pro (Tested, good performance)
Pro 5 (Tested, good performance)
Pro 6 (Tested, Decent)
Pro 6 plus
 
Xiaomi
Mi mix
mi note pro (Tested, disappointing in my opinion, but some people love it)
 
ViVo
Xplay 5 Elite
Xplay 6
 
ZTE
Axon 7
 
LG
V10 (Tested, decent performance)
V20
 
I will be missing tons of phones, but if we can create a decent way to show hifi-phones together, it is easier for Headfi'ers, but mainly for people new to this product segment.
 
Off course i know that people all have a different opinion about what sounds best, but i would consider it safe that a phone with a decent dac inside generally sounds a lot better than those without.

 

[Gojira]

I just listened to a few budget phablets and the results were interesting because I had not heard Intel or Spreadtrum SoC audio before. Intel SoC audio is the best I've heard. Clear and detailed (for a phone) and neutral with a higher volume level than I have ever heard from an SoC. I don't tend to like the idea of Intel SoCs because apps need to be recompiled to run natively on the Atom and probably most apps I use would run in emulation mode which can't be good, but in terms of SQ now I think Intel may be the best sounding SoC out there. Better than Qualcomm or Exynos and much better than Mediatek or Spreadtrum. The Huawei phablet I listened to had a Spreadtrum SoC and the audio was very loud on my highly sensitive (but cheap) IEMs but was bass boosted straight to hell.

So IMO the SQ order for SoC audio is Intel > Qualcomm / Exynos > Mediatek > Spreadtrum. I haven't listened to an iPhone so I can't speak to their SoC audio. Maybe it's great but at that price I'd prefer to go with dedicated DAC/AMP phones anyway. The actual phablets I listened to were an Asus Zenpad C 7.0 ($100 - 7" 1024x600 display), a Star Mobile Engage 7i ($70 - 7" 1024x600 display) which is basically a Filipino-Chinese clone of the latter, a Samsung phablet with similar specs, and a Huawei phablet with the awful sounding Spreadtrum SoC again with similar specs. The Samsung audio was pretty good but a bit too boomy / bass boosted. I prefer clarity and detail to head thumping boom-booms. Nevertheless I think comparing Snapdragon and Exynos audio would be interesting. They seem pretty close to me although I must admit that is the first time I've bothered listening to a Samsung because usually they are either too expensive for me or spec-poor compared to the competition.

Since phones with dedicated dac/amp chips start at something like $120 some may not see the point of bothering to compare the SQ of phones with SoC audio and I'd agree except that I am thinking in terms of the ultra-budget sub-$100 category where it's mostly Mediatek with the occasional Qualcomm or Spreadtrum or Intel thrown into the mix. For $50 (sale price) you can get pretty good portable sound with a fully featured 5.5" android phone thrown in with the ZTE Zmax 2 (Snapdragon 410) and for $60 (MSRP) I've managed to find a Korean-Chinese phone sold only here in the Philippines with above average SQ (using Mediatek MT6580 I think). There's also a battery efficiency argument to be made in favor of SoC audio paths. Although on some phones apparently the path is switchable, which seems nice especially with Qualcomm or Exynos audio in the SoC path.

 

[tusharthegamer]

My Lenovo X3 Lite is over 6 months old, used heavily every day, earphones plugged in and out regularly and so far, no problems. However, when it breaks down one day, I will have no heart attack. Expensive phones, no thanks!

i have vibe x3 and i am a heavy user... phone is still going strong with exceptional sound quality... the best money i have ever spent on a high resolution mp3 phone...

 

[pokipoki]

found a site which lists the audio controller of every smartphone
 
http://pdadb.net/index.php?m=device&s=query&d=detailed_specs#section163
 
section "Audio Subsystem", tab "Audio Controller", select your desired audio chip, (Asahi Kasei, ESS Sabre, Cirrus Logic etc)
 
then go back to top of page, click "Start Detailed Search" (green button) OR
scroll to bottom of page, section "Power Supply", tab "Nominal Battery Capacity", minimum (example 3001), to search for desired audio chip with minimum 3001mAh battery

 

[vincik]

thanks for tip... what about Huawei P9 Lite? I will just add, that i have on ear over head headphones, 42ohm, 53mm driver, closed up design, original price 400USD. i use them with fiio x5 2nd gen with +-40/120 volume on low gain, so not hard to get enough volume, but they sound much worse with players with D class or no amp like latest sony walkmans or smartphones. And i prefer them with warm and dark daps like astell junior or fiio x3 1st gen. im considering new fiio x5 3rd but only if it will be clear upgrade over x5 2nd and with moree musical and warm signature, because it is music player only and costs more than double of Huawei P9 Lite.

 

[garysohn]

Too bad I missed the v20 at B & H for $500. I do believe I would have jumped on it for that price. V30 will probably be 900 to 950. G6 with 821 will still be around $650.