[Ruebezahl]

..because there is just one
So, hi there and welcome in my first thread in this forum.
I know, there is a damn long thread about audiophile phones, where I've already written some posts, but as it is a thread, where a few persons post their questions, I thought it would be better, to post a new thread.
To the situation:
At the moment I'm using a Xiaomi Redmi 4 Prime phone for everything these things are designed for. But the main problem is, that the camera quality isn't good and I have a problem, because it isn't a "global" version, so one of the FDD-LTE frequences, we are using here in germany, is missing and of course this frequency is from the provider I'm using. I like my number and I run my little business with that number, so changing numbers and providers is a bit of an act, that I'm not interested in.
So long story short, I want a new one. It has to run with the LTE 20 (800Mhz), it has to have a good working camera and of course, it has to have an 3,5mm audio jack. MicroSD card-Slot is a damn nice feature, but when the onboard memory is 128GB I can life without that. Also it would be damn nice, if I don't have to charge that phone every night (and hello Samsung!). My Redmi 4 comes through 2-3 days and it would be nice, if the new one could handle the same.
I don't know what sound hardware my Redmi4 is using, but I'm quiet happy with it, or let's say, I don't know anything better. Never had a problem with music that wasn't loud enough or strange sounding issues, but at the moment I'm not using high quality IEs, to be honest they are "just" two sets of Philips SHE8xxxs. But some KZ IEs are on their way and I'm planning to get myself a iBasso IT01, which seems to be quiet nice for the music I'm listening (I'm a metalhead, but listen to other mostly handmade music, too). My beloved Audio Technica ATH-M50X is just for listening to music at home.
At the moment it is week 3 or 4, where I read tests and check phones and slowly I'm getting to a point where I think, well, this search has to end. To be brutally honest, I don't like LG phones. I had 2-3 of them in the last 10 years and they weren't very good, when it comes to battery life... Everytime the battery was quiet dead, when the warranty of the phones were off, but they were changable, nowadays smartphones don't have that "feature" anymore, which is sad.
Samsungs have to be charged every day (we have them in company and my friends have the same problem), also I don't like their android system.
At the moment I'm thinking of a Nokia 8, because it is quiet cheap for a ex-"flagship" and I really like that copper. Also a OneNote 6, a Honor 10 View, an Asus Zenforce 5Z or something like that would be cool. Budget would be around 500€.
On the other side I'm not sure, if it would make sense, to buy a little headphone amp, when I find out, that the phone isn't so good on the "playing music" side. I never used a headphone amp and don't know, what is needed and what not. For me a usb-driven-device, that is connected to the usb of the phone makes more sense, to have something like a "outsourced" audio card. Because when I have a crappy signal, that comes out of the jack, why it would make sense to get an amplifier, that brings that signal to more loudness?! Just asking, as I said, I don't know that stuff, that's just what comes into my mind
The only problem I see in a outsourced audio card is: Will it be seen as something like that from the phone? Also, I would prefer to not have to carry a ton of equipment with me, "just" to listen to music in a nice quality.By the way, I'm using MP3s in 320kbit.
As you might see, I don't know what is the best way to go and i would be thankful, if you could help me out. If something is unclear, feel free to ask me and sorry for that wall of text

Ah yes, I've forgotten to say something: it would be damn helpful, if the phones you suggest are still available

Thank you!

Cheers
Chris

 

[megabigeye]

I don't know if it's available where you are, but I used to have the Essential Phone and I liked it a lot.
Good:
Flagship phone for $500
"128GB"
Stock Android
small frame, big screen
very frequent software updates
company that seems to give a damn about its users and customers-- e-mails are quickly replied to with actual, useful information.
Battery lasts two days at least. I could get it to go for three sometimes.
Fast charger included

Meh:
Camera isn't the best, but they're constantly doing updates to the app
no headphone jack and dongle doesn't sound great (doesn't matter if you're going to use an outboard DAC)
"only" 100GB available to user
clip-on accessories available, currently including a 360 camera ($49) and allegedly a high-end DAC in the future
no wireless charger (I couldn't care too much less about this, but the inclusion of a fast charger more than makes up for it, in my book.)

Bad:
Not waterproof. This is what killed my phone.
No MicroSD

I got the Galaxy S 9 as a replacement after I stupidly brought the Essential into a massive rain storm. It's also a really good phone, but like you said, the battery only lasts a little more than a day with light use. Using Nova Launcher is good for not having to look at Samsung's ugly, slightly annoying launcher. Also, you can hide Bixby with Nova.

The only problem I see in a outsourced audio card is: Will it be seen as something like that from the phone?

What do you mean by this? I think most DACs (that aren't specifically iOS only) should work natively on most Android phones (assuming device host mode is supported, which it should be on flagships), and there are apps (like USB Audio Player Pro) that can help get the most out of a DAC. You should look into the AudioQuest Dragonflies. They're thumbdrive-sized and either one should improve on the sound of most phones. I have the Dragonfly Red and it sounds amazing and easily drives even my big headphones. If you wanted, to avoid some hassle you could probably even leave your headphones plugged into it, so long as you have a safe place to store it. One of my reasons for getting the DFR was so that I wouldn't have to worry about getting a phone that sounds good.

 

[Ruebezahl]

The Essential Phone is just available by getting direct from US. Doesn't sound that bad at all, but when the camera quality isn't that good, it doesn't seem to be a real upgrade to my Redmi 4.

"
The only problem I see in a outsourced audio card is: Will it be seen as something like that from the phone?
What do you mean by this?"

You understand that correctly. My fear was or is, that I'm buying a DAC and the phone can't work with it. But at all, using a DAC would bring some of the phones, that don't have an audio jack, back to the list of being interesting and yeah, the worry that I will have a phone, that sound crappy, is gone. Perfect, so I might go that way

 

[megabigeye]

I've been looking a little bit and this is what I've found...
Essential Phone is available in Germany, at least on amazon.de for about 550 euros.
It's available for a ridiculously low price on amazon.com (US site). Definitely worth that price if you can get it shipped (and customs, etc., doesn't screw you). Wow. That price makes me feel like a fool for spending twice as much on my Samsung.
It supports LTE 20 (listed under "Modes"), so if you get an unlocked one (which it should be unless you get it from Sprint Mobile), it should be compatible with your carrier.
The clip-on 360 camera is available for $36USD on Amazon, $49 from Essential, and 149 euros on amazon.de (it originally retailed for $199). From the reviews I've read, it takes good photos.
It's already shipping with/updating to Android 9 Pie. This is amazing to me. When I first got mine in January, it was running 7, a few months later it was updated to 8.1, and now it's on 9. I'm hopeful that my S 9 will get Android 9 eventually, but I doubt it'll be updated beyond that. The Essential got two major updates in seven months. Wow. Andy Rubin is the founder and CEO of Essential and is also the co-founder and ex-CEO of Android... I mention this to point out that he knows and cares about Android, and it shows in his phone.

Personally, I think it's worth its price, even in Euros. At the American Amazon price, it is a ridiculously good bargain.
If you decide to look into this phone more, be careful of older reviews... The Phone is updated so much that it's practically not even the same phone it was several months ago.

Anyway, I'll stop raving about this phone. If you don't want it, you don't want it. I just know that I wouldn't dismiss it so quickly.

 

[Ruebezahl]

Yeah, I've found out that a little after my reply here, too.
Jeez, now I'm really into getting one, because I think, it really looks damn nice and as you said, the updates have improved the system, also the cam, which still isn't top, but better then it was.
Also it would be possible to get the phone directly from Essential, with the cam and a set of inears for 399 USD, which isn't that bad. Only problem is, that they only accept credit cards as far as I have seen. Paypal would be more my cup of tea.
But I've seen, that there are persons on ebay here in germany, that got that phone at amazon prime day, where it was 250 USD new and sell it now, unopened, for around 350-400€, which would be cheaper than getting it trough customs by myself...
Funny, I wanted to have a smartphone with audio jack, a big battery and a good cam, and now I'm looking for a Essential Phone

 

[megabigeye]

Personally, I'd be wary of people reselling through ebay. Double check that they're good sellers, offer warranty, accept returns, etc.

Also, a couple negatives I forgot to mention in all of my excitement is that the phone and speaker don't sound very good and the cell reception isn't the best. Reception isn't the worst, but not as good as my S 9 or my wife's iPhone 6S. And the sound through both earpiece and speaker is tinny and sharp.

I should also mention that I'm a pretty light user, so while I can get the battery to last three days, you might not if you're using it for business.

You might also check out the Google Pixel 2, which seems largely similar, except:
smaller screen
better camera
waterproof
more expensive.
I'd also be surprised if the Google customer experience is as nice as with Essential.
I've also seen mention of the Pixel 3 coming out sometime soon, but I don't know when that is.

 

[Ruebezahl]

Well, I am no poweruser, that's why I can work 3 days with my phone. Sometimes being online in Facebook, Instagram and stuff like that, listening to music, play music in my car via bluetooth. I don't use the speakers of the phone often, because they don't sound very good.

Yeah, I'm not so sure about that ebay thing. It would be cheaper and I would have a bit of a security via paypal, but I would prefer to buy directly from a shop. When you know one, that accepts paypal and has the phone for a fair price...

At all, I think the Essential would be a cool phone, but I still have some others in my mind and try to figure out, which one would be the best. Problem is, that I would prefer not to have to buy another device, just to have nice sounding music, but it seems, that the most manufactors don't care that much about that point, what is a real bummer imho. Luckily my phone still works, so I don't need to make a decision in the next minutes

 

[Ruebezahl]

So, after some sort of research I found out, that it is a bit a pain in the... well, you know where... to get the Essential phone here, without paying over 400€, more likely around 450€, without having the 360 cam and with the need of an extra DAC. That's the reason why I decided to take a Nokia 8. Snapdragon 835, 4 GB Ram, 64GB internal memory, MicroSD-Port, audio jack port... With a 64GB MicroSD Card, a case and a display protection I paid a bit more than 300€, so enough budget left, when the sound quality via the audio jack is too bad... and another cool thing, I really love the copper finish of that device
Thanks for your help and if somebody is interested, I would make an update, when the phone is here and I am able to say something about audio quality etc.

Cheers

 

[megabigeye]

Sounds good. I loved my Nokia 3589i ages and ages ago. Not at all the same, I realize, but I loved that phone so much that it makes me irrationally want another Nokia. Multiple times I dropped that phone while riding my bike in traffic-- the faceplates, battery, and body would all skitter across the pavement, and then I'd snap it all together and it'd be hardly the worse for wear! If only phones nowadays were so durable!

Hope your new phone works for you!

 

[grunger]

Go with xiaomi again.. you may get a mi5s. It has decent price and built in Qualcomm dac for audio ..I have mi5s and it has no problems with riding my headphones..Getting a dac like Dragonfly is a matter of choice, if you d like to improve your audio experience througout a phone ,dragonfly is mostly recommended with audiophile communities..

 

[Ruebezahl]

Thanks for your reply, but I've already choosen the Nokia 8 and ordered one