[C_Lindbergh]

Sorry but no screen except the new iPhone compares to the Samsung. And the camera is not in the same conversation.
There is a reason Sony has become a niche brand in the phone world when they used to dominate it pre iPhone era.

To each their own. If my main goal was a very good phone for audio I would either go new Asus. Or find an older LG that had great DAC and still had good screen and camera and be way cheaper than your Sony.

The screen is way superior in my taste, the colors are much more accurate instead of "popping", but its a taste, each to their own. I guess nerds like me prefer the more accurate colours, werass the general public might prefer the "vibrant".

Like I said, the 3.5 mm jack is useful for other scenarios, but my main point is that Sony managed to keep everything that flagships usually came with, but still have a large battery in a slim format.

Also for audio, my other main point to support the Sony flagships on this forum/thread is the support for every single Bluetooth codec, most likely including the upcoming LC3+/Aptx Lossless on the 2023-series.

Asus phones decent, but not comprable to a Sony flagship, the Sony has way better camera software, Front-Facing Speakers, LED, SD-Card, Camera Shutter button etc. From my personal experience Asus phones tends to be very buggy too, but maybe it's changed nowadays.

Also the Sony has OLED not LED.
The reason Sd card storage was removed is 2 fold.

1. Not really supported in android and previously companies were coming up with work around.

2. Slow. New cameras on these phones should at 4k and 8k and many Megapixels. File sizes are bigger. Saving to a micro SD card is many orders slower which would greatly limit performance of the camera and video function.

1. What do you mean that Android doesn't support SD-cards lol? It supports it now and did back when almost every phone came with it

2. You can still use the extra storage for photos/audio and other files, for vidoes you'd either have to buy a very expensive SD-card or simply move them after shooting. Obviously SD cards are slower, but for photos it doesn't matter, for other files you can simply transfer them when you don't actively use your phone.

Also were did I say that the Sony has a LED-screen? With LED I was referring to the very underrated LED-notification light which also got the axe on every other phone brand.

Unfortunately, I don't think sony phones are subsidized by the major mobile carriers afaik so you have to pay full cost out of pocket

In my country there were great deals for the Sony's, both over the counter and with carries, at least during Black Friday I also remember the 5 IV having a great trade in deal at launch (+ 200 EUR for phone-trade in and including the Linkbud S which were roughly worth around 100 EUR as new on the used market).

In my opinon the Xperia 1/5 series are perfect for audio nerds like the people on this forum, mostly thanks to the SD-card slot, 3.5mm jack and the incredible Bluetooth codec support.

 

[PixelSquish]

I'm glad Sony has options for people that want it.

I prefer Google's pixels as they provide a fast smooth OS experience with no bloat and great cameras, which I need, and the updates I want. Google had some issues with some pixel releases, but the 7 series has really been on a different level. The 7 pro just works all around for me quite perfectly.

I used to have LG phones and I loved expandable storage and thought it was a must have (same with swappable batteries). Well for me, I was wrong. After yelling at the sky about that for a few years I have adopted just fine. Do I think the major phone manufacturers should give us more options? Yes.

But I certainly find I am getting everything I need out of these phones now with battery life and storage. I use AptX HD sometimes and AptX or LDAC other times. Hoping the pixel 8 takes on AptX Adaptive. I store a ton of music offline with Tidal (HiFi Lossless) or Spotify, whichever I am using at the time. I never find myself wishing, oh man I wish I had more music on here. I was totally wrong about my usage needs when thinking removable storage was the be all end all. And I think a crap ton of people ended up like me.

 

[erockg]

Giving the JBL Live Free 2 a spin this week. Wanted small buds for sleeping. First impression, wow, JBL has really improved their ANC tech. JBL has come a long way from their awful offerings a few years ago. These sound good. $99 from Best Buy. ANC, Transparency, wireless charging, EQ, Find My Buds and Multi-Point.

Okay, the honeymoon ended early. Couldn't use them for sleeping because they killed my ears. Also, EQ really messes with the sound. I've got better options in my collections. Leaning toward a return with these. Almost there JBL, but not yet. Maybe your next offering...

 

[C_Lindbergh]

I'm glad Sony has options for people that want it.

I prefer Google's pixels as they provide a fast smooth OS experience with no bloat and great cameras, which I need, and the updates I want. Google had some issues with some pixel releases, but the 7 series has really been on a different level. The 7 pro just works all around for me quite perfectly.

I used to have LG phones and I loved expandable storage and thought it was a must have (same with swappable batteries). Well for me, I was wrong. After yelling at the sky about that for a few years I have adopted just fine. Do I think the major phone manufacturers should give us more options? Yes.

But I certainly find I am getting everything I need out of these phones now with battery life and storage. I use AptX HD sometimes and AptX or LDAC other times. Hoping the pixel 8 takes on AptX Adaptive. I store a ton of music offline with Tidal (HiFi Lossless) or Spotify, whichever I am using at the time. I never find myself wishing, oh man I wish I had more music on here. I was totally wrong about my usage needs when thinking removable storage was the be all end all. And I think a crap ton of people ended up like me.

I highly doubt Pixel will add aptx lossless since they're now using modem/soc by Samsung. Which was one of the reasons I left team Google along with the fact that they decided to stop releasing smaller flagship phones.

I loved the Pixel 5...I'd go for a Pixel in an instant if Google made a true successor to it.

 

[Tomadock]

The Crystals and Spinfit CP100+ are my 2 favorite tips so far with the Mystiques.

Do you prefer one over the other? Looking for better comfort with a good enough seal for the bass.

 

[Not so fat head]

Noble Fokus Mystique Acquired

As an owner of the Noble Kaiser 10 IEM (and always loving them) I was pretty keen on giving their TWS earbuds a try. I didn't splurge on any of the earlier iterations but I figured I'd give the Mystiques a try. They just arrived in the mail. I've charged them, pared them and updated the firmware. So this is just going to be a very brief first impressions note.

So far, they fit better than any other TWS I've tried. I may not be as experienced as some others here but I have owned the Sony WF-1000XM3, Master & Dynamic MW08, Technics AZ60, Bang & Olufsen EX, Google Pixel Buds. The Mystiques were just so easy to insert and then twist in to fit / seal. I haven't even thought about changing the tips yet which is something I always do pretty immediately. I still may but the stock tips fit me quite well. I haven't had to fidget with them in my ears at all, which is shocking. I could easily see myself leaving these in for hours. We'll see if that brings forth any fatigue but I feel no amount of pressure or discomfort. All good!

The sound is amazing. I never thought TWS could sound this good. The B&O EX were the best I had heard up to this point in time. I can already tell that they have been dethroned by the Mystique. I won't get all analytical or use 'Head-Fi' speak here. All I can say (so far) is that these are extremely clear. I feel like I'm hearing everything I should and how I should. Right now I'm listening to Gary Numan's "The Pleasure Principle" and it just sounds phenomenal. The instruments are separated nicely and the sound is, for lack of a better word, "exciting". I'm happy with the bass, treble and mids. I'm sure I'll do some EQ experimentation later on but so far this is pretty blissful. I just switched to "In the Evening" by Led Zeppelin. Sounds friggin' fantastic. I'm also happy with the volume on tap. Okay, now I'm realizing that I've had to twist to tighten them in my ears because I felt like I was losing some bass. Interesting. Maybe other tips will be required. The stock tips may be just a tad slick.

The build design on the monitors themselves is great. Nothing cheap about these. My only complaint is the hinge on the case. I don't love the way it opens and closes. Whatever - that's such a minor thing. These feel a lot more 'expensive' than the B&O EXs to me. The case doesn't but the monitors do. The EX feels a lot more plasticky to me. Maybe it's just me. Plus, it makes me realize how much I don't really love the stems on the EX. I never really minded them but this is better for my ears. It's easier to adjust them if I need to do that. The stems do make it easier to take out, I suppose, but now I'm just nitpicking for the sake of nitpicking.

Anyway, I think that's all for now. Loving these. The EXs are now up for sale in the classifieds, haha. If you're interested, let me know. We'll work something out.

Thanks for listening to me ramble.

-- just switched the sleeves out for the Azla Sedna Crystals. Huuuuge improvement!

What????


The sound is amazing. I never thought TWS could sound this good.

-- just switched the sleeves out for the Azla Sedna Crystals. Huuuuge improvement!

 

[Not so fat head]

No offense meant... it's just the hype here, on this blog, is so over the top.

 

[tiagopinto]

Quick question for the tip rollers, please.

In Azla SednaEarfit, what’s the difference between Crystal and Xelastec? Being it for APP2 or other? Do they treat sound differently? Which are the latest? Which do you guys prefer?

Any other recommendations are welcome.

TIA!

 

[Canabuc]

The screen is way superior in my taste, the colors are much more accurate instead of "popping", but its a taste, each to their own. I guess nerds like me prefer the more accurate colours, werass the general public might prefer the "vibrant".

Like I said, the 3.5 mm jack is useful for other scenarios, but my main point is that Sony managed to keep everything that flagships usually came with, but still have a large battery in a slim format.

Also for audio, my other main point to support the Sony flagships on this forum/thread is the support for every single Bluetooth codec, most likely including the upcoming LC3+/Aptx Lossless on the 2023-series.

Asus phones decent, but not comprable to a Sony flagship, the Sony has way better camera software, Front-Facing Speakers, LED, SD-Card, Camera Shutter button etc. From my personal experience Asus phones tends to be very buggy too, but maybe it's changed nowadays.


1. What do you mean that Android doesn't support SD-cards lol? It supports it now and did back when almost every phone came with it

2. You can still use the extra storage for photos/audio and other files, for vidoes you'd either have to buy a very expensive SD-card or simply move them after shooting. Obviously SD cards are slower, but for photos it doesn't matter, for other files you can simply transfer them when you don't actively use your phone.

Also were did I say that the Sony has a LED-screen? With LED I was referring to the very underrated LED-notification light which also got the axe on every other phone brand.



In my country there were great deals for the Sony's, both over the counter and with carries, at least during Black Friday I also remember the 5 IV having a great trade in deal at launch (+ 200 EUR for phone-trade in and including the Linkbud S which were roughly worth around 100 EUR as new on the used market).

In my opinon the Xperia 1/5 series are perfect for audio nerds like the people on this forum, mostly thanks to the SD-card slot, 3.5mm jack and the incredible Bluetooth codec support.

Android doesn't Support micro SD cards. The individual phone manufacturer created in software workarounds to allow SD cards to function, but they are not negatively implemented in stock android. And the microSD card would be too slow given the new cameras to record directly to the card with all the processing that goes on as with at least phones with more than smaller megapixel accounts, or recording in 4K you need to have minimum speed transfer capabilities. When you are shooting a picture in 50 or potentially 200 megapixels writing to micro SD card would be rather slow as it might take me multiple seconds to save a single picture, thus slowing down the entire system

I am assuming, you don't have a lot of experience with Samsung phones because in the display settings, if you want true accurate colors, it is a simple switch from vivid to standard mode and you get exactly the colour representation. That is true SRGB accurate.
And yes, while Samsung has remove the actual LED notification light, they still offer many other means of displaying the fact that there is an a waiting notification on your screen be at through the always on display or flashing that occurs around the edge, panel of your screen, etc. as are very inexpensive or free apps that actually caused a pulsating colour to occur around the camera hole affectively reproducing that function.

Samsung phones probably have among the best speakers right now in an Android phone. My understanding of the ASUS phones are that because they are designed for gaming they have high refresh rate beefy batteries. They support every Kodak, including being the first ones to support APTX lossless.And while I don't think they're quality rivals that of Sony or Samsung, they probably also have great speakers as gaming phones.

By all means, I think the Sony phone seems to fit what you want and I hope you enjoy it, but I would not put it on a pedestal and put down other phones for lacking some of the features, which, for the most part have disappeared, because functionally they are becoming obsolete.Sony is now a niche phone seller. In fact here, where I am located in Canada. I cannot remember the last time I went into any cellular provider store and even saw an option to get a Sony phone.

And to be honest, if having a headphone, jack is so important to you, and you probably wanna have a good DAC system in it in which case you probably are going to be using some kind of adaptor anyway for any kind of wired earphone.

As for Kodex, does the Sony really have all of the APTX codecs, because their earbuds only support AAC and LDAC.
Samsung supports LDAC and its own Hi res codec as well as AAC and SBC. IT also has bluetooth 5.3 and at least has a chipset that can support Bluetooth LE and in fact has already enabled binaural recording on the buds2 pro which is an LE feature

Meaningful and timely software updates are very important to me, especially in the android space where security and other things keep changing, and where my Samsung has gotten several new features with each software iteration.

 

[C_Lindbergh]

Android doesn't Support micro SD cards. The individual phone manufacturer created in software workarounds to allow SD cards to function, but they are not negatively implemented in stock android. And the microSD card would be too slow given the new cameras to record directly to the card with all the processing that goes on as with at least phones with more than smaller megapixel accounts, or recording in 4K you need to have minimum speed transfer capabilities. When you are shooting a picture in 50 or potentially 200 megapixels writing to micro SD card would be rather slow as it might take me multiple seconds to save a single picture, thus slowing down the entire system

I am assuming, you don't have a lot of experience with Samsung phones because in the display settings, if you want true accurate codors, it is a simple switch from vivid to standard mode and you get exactly the colour representation. That is true SRGB accurate.
And yes, while Samsung has remove the actual LED notification light, they still offer many other means of displaying the fact that there is an a waiting notification on your screen be at through the always on display or flashing that occurs around the edge, panel of your screen, etc. as are very inexpensive or free apps that actually caused a pulsating colour to occur around the camera hole affectively reproducing that function.

Samsung phones probably have among the best speakers right now in an Android phone. My understanding of the ASUS phones are that because they are designed for gaming they have high refresh rate beefy batteries. They support every Kodak, including being the first ones to support APTX lossless.And while I don't think they're quality rivals that of Sony or Samsung, they probably also have great speakers as gaming phones.

By all means, I think the Sony phone seems to fit what you want and I hope you enjoy it, but I would not put it on a pedestal and put down other phones for lacking some of the features, which, for the most part have disappeared, because functionally they are becoming obsolete.Sony is now a niche phone seller. In fact here, where I am located in Canada. I cannot remember the last time I went into any cellular provider store and even saw an option to get a Sony phone.

And to be honest, if having a headphone, jack is so important to you, and you probably wanna have a good DAC system in it in which case you probably are going to be using some kind of adaptor anyway for any kind of wired earphone.

As for Kodex, does the Sony really have all of the APTX codecs, because their earbuds only support AAC and LDAC.
Samsung supports LDAC and its own Hi res codec as well as AAC and SBC. IT also has bluetooth 5.3 and at least has a chipset that can support Bluetooth LE and in fact has already enabled binaural recording on the buds2 pro which is an LE feature

Meaningful and timely software updates are very important to me, especially in the android space where security and other things keep changing, and where my Samsung has gotten several new features with each software iteration.

- Even with natural mode on the Samsung I found that the Sony was still far superior, many other Sony users seems to agree as well. Unlike you i've seen both screens side by side.

- Obviously there are workarounds for the LED, but it still a useful feature that every other OEM removed.

- The Samsung speakers aren't front facing, and yes the S23 was a huge improvement over the S22, the rumours says the Xperia 1 V (hopefully the 5 V too) will also get a huge upgrade in that regard, so lets see and crown the real champ later this year.

- Asus doesn't support Aptx Lossless, so Im not sure were you're getting your information from. Don't they they added LC3 either, weras the Sony already supports every single Aptx HD/Adaptive/LDAC and LC3, the 2023 should support Aptx Lossless as well.

- This is the third time I'm trying to tell you that the 3.5 mm jack is useful for other things than headphones, personally I've gone wireless anyway (BTR7 mostly)

- Yes I agree that the one of the few downsides of the Sony are the software support, but it isn't a huge deal to me as it was 3-4 years ago. Android is much more refined nowadays than it was back in the days. Barely noticed any difference when jumping from A12 to A13.

-SD-cards are still an awesome option to have for files that don't need maximum performance, like music or photos...

 

[james444]

I know this has probably been answered somewhere but are the HUAWEI FreeBuds Pro 2 and Oppo Enco X2 essentially the same?

Nope: https://www.head-fi.org/threads/goi...e-we-there-yet.861024/page-3165#post-17122098

But then there's also the brand new Oneplus Buds Pro 2, which presumably use the same Dynaudio driver as the Oppos and offer even more features than the latter:
https://www.oneplus.com/global/oneplus-buds-pro-2

 

[dweaver]

Thanks @james44 have read few other posts that state the sound difference between the two models. Given I can get the Oppo for almost $100 cheaper I do think I will focus on them. The Oneplus also look interesting but the reviews I have read say don't have volume control which bother me. But they sure look good.

I also struggle with needing larger tips though so will keep researching.

 

[james444]

Thanks @james44 have read few other posts that state the sound difference between the two models. Given I can get the Oppo for almost $100 cheaper I do think I will focus on them. The Oneplus also look interesting but the reviews I have read say don't have volume control which bother me. But they sure look good.

I also struggle with needing larger tips though so will keep researching.

The first time I bought them, I returned the Oppos because of the problem with larger tips. A few months later, I re-bought them because the offer was just too good to pass. I then discovered that I could shorten the stem of Spinfit CP100 tips (L or XL) to fit the case and use a tiny piece of cardboard wedged underneath the tip stem to keep the vent open. So there's a solution for Oppo Enco X2s and larger ears, as long as you're willing to perform a relatively simple mod.

 

[Canabuc]

- Even with natural mode on the Samsung I found that the Sony was still far superior, many other Sony users seems to agree as well. Unlike you i've seen both screens side by side.

- Obviously there are workarounds for the LED, but it still a useful feature that every other OEM removed.

- The Samsung speakers aren't front facing, and yes the S23 was a huge improvement over the S22, the rumours says the Xperia 1 V (hopefully the 5 V too) will also get a huge upgrade in that regard, so lets see and crown the real champ later this year.

- Asus doesn't support Aptx Lossless, so Im not sure were you're getting your information from. Don't they they added LC3 either, weras the Sony already supports every single Aptx HD/Adaptive/LDAC and LC3, the 2023 should support Aptx Lossless as well.

- This is the third time I'm trying to tell you that the 3.5 mm jack is useful for other things than headphones, personally I've gone wireless anyway (BTR7 mostly)

- Yes I agree that the one of the few downsides of the Sony are the software support, but it isn't a huge deal to me as it was 3-4 years ago. Android is much more refined nowadays than it was back in the days. Barely noticed any difference when jumping from A12 to A13.

-SD-cards are still an awesome option to have for files that don't need maximum performance, like music or photos...

https://www.aptx.com/products/asus-rog-phone-6#:~:text=The device supports Snapdragon Sound with aptX Lossless technology.

Check that phone out!

 

[nekonhime]

https://www.aptx.com/products/asus-rog-phone-6#:~:text=The device supports Snapdragon Sound with aptX Lossless technology.

Check that phone out!

That one is a downgrade from the 5 except the new chip and android version. I am looking for the 7 this year