[hakbas]

Hello!
I am thinking about, if it is worth, to get a HI-FI music player under 200$, or buy a Smartphone with a good sound quality. For the Smartphone i could spend up to 700$. The HTC U12+ has 32bit/384kHZ for example and that is more than most music players under 200$, which have 24bit/194kHZ.
I only listen to FLAC and MQA music files and via bluetooth headphones.

Also what are important things to look for in a music player for a higher music quality? Some players have 32bit/384kHZ vs. 24bit/194kHZ. Some have DAC, others have 2DAC etc. I don't know what those things mean, but i guess 32bit/384kHZ would be better than the latter.
Thanks!

Edit: I use the Neutron Music Player for my Smartphone.

 

[hakbas]

bump

 

[Qualcheduno]

Hello!
I am thinking about, if it is worth, to get a HI-FI music player under 200$, or buy a Smartphone with a good sound quality. For the Smartphone i could spend up to 700$. The HTC U12+ has 32bit/384kHZ for example and that is more than most music players under 200$, which have 24bit/194kHZ.
I only listen to FLAC and MQA music files and via bluetooth headphones.

Also what are important things to look for in a music player for a higher music quality? Some players have 32bit/384kHZ vs. 24bit/194kHZ. Some have DAC, others have 2DAC etc. I don't know what those things mean, but i guess 32bit/384kHZ would be better than the latter.
Thanks!

Edit: I use the Neutron Music Player for my Smartphone.

Well, if you're listening to music only via bluetooth headphones, the most important thing is the support of the LDAC audio codec, on the smartphone and on the headphones. With BT, the quality of the dac and the amp on the smartphone/dap doesn't matter, because the conversion of the digital data into analog signal it's done by the headphones themselves.

 

[hakbas]

Well, if you're listening to music only via bluetooth headphones, the most important thing is the support of the LDAC audio codec, on the smartphone and on the headphones.

I post the HTC U12+ specs and highlight important things:

SOUND
- Alert types Vibration; MP3, WAV ringtones
- Loudspeaker Yes, with stereo speakers
- 3.5mm jack No
- 32-bit/384kHz audio
- Active noise cancellation with dedicated mic

COMMS
WLAN Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, dual-band, Wi-Fi Direct, DLNA, hotspot
Bluetooth 5.0, A2DP, aptX HD, LE
GPS Yes, with A-GPS, GLONASS, GALILEO, BDS
NFC Yes
Radio No
USB 3.1, Type-C 1.0 reversible connector

So the HTC U12+ has 32bit/384kHz audio and Bluetooth 5 with aptX. Nothing about LDAC however.
The LG V30, which is known for its superb audio quality is even worse as it has 32bit/192kHz audio.

Is there a smartphone or Music Player under 200$ you can recommend me for HI-FI music listening via Bluetooth?
Thanks!

 

[Qualcheduno]

I post the HTC U12+ specs and highlight important things:

SOUND
- Alert types Vibration; MP3, WAV ringtones
- Loudspeaker Yes, with stereo speakers
- 3.5mm jack No
- 32-bit/384kHz audio
- Active noise cancellation with dedicated mic

COMMS
WLAN Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, dual-band, Wi-Fi Direct, DLNA, hotspot
Bluetooth 5.0, A2DP, aptX HD, LE
GPS Yes, with A-GPS, GLONASS, GALILEO, BDS
NFC Yes
Radio No
USB 3.1, Type-C 1.0 reversible connector

So the HTC U12+ has 32bit/384kHz audio and Bluetooth 5 with aptX. Nothing about LDAC however.
The LG V30, which is known for its superb audio quality is even worse as it has 32bit/192kHz audio.

Is there a smartphone or Music Player under 200$ you can recommend me for HI-FI music listening via Bluetooth?
Thanks!

https://www.htc.com/us/smartphones/htc-u12-plus-spec/ here it says both LDAC and aptx-HD are supported.
About the whole 32/384 audio thing, it's completely useless, for the several reasons:
-LDAC downsamples everything to 24/96
-you're going to use the DAC of the headphones, not the one on the player
-even if you're going to use wired headphones, everything above 24/96 (I'd even say everything above 16/44.1) is overkill and it's just gonna be a huge waste of space.
About your second question, the Shanling M0 is a solid offering at 99 usd https://www.head-fi.org/threads/new...ransport-and-ess-sabre-es9218p-fw-2-1.874859/
I don't have it, but I owned a Shanling M1 and I was very happy with it.

 

[hakbas]

Well, if you're listening to music only via bluetooth headphones, the most important thing is the support of the LDAC audio codec, on the smartphone and on the headphones. With BT, the quality of the dac and the amp on the smartphone/dap doesn't matter, because the conversion of the digital data into analog signal it's done by the headphones themselves.

Also is'nt LDAC only for Sony? So if i don't use Sony Headphones i should be fine right?

 

[hakbas]

https://www.htc.com/us/smartphones/htc-u12-plus-spec/ here it says both LDAC and aptx-HD are supported.
About the whole 32/384 audio thing, it's completely useless, for the several reasons:
-LDAC downsamples everything to 24/96
-you're going to use the DAC of the headphones, not the one on the player
-even if you're going to use wired headphones, everything above 24/96 (I'd even say everything above 16/44.1) is overkill and it's just gonna be a huge waste of space.
About your second question, the Shanling M0 is a solid offering at 99 usd https://www.head-fi.org/threads/new...ransport-and-ess-sabre-es9218p-fw-2-1.874859/
I don't have it, but I owned a Shanling M1 and I was very happy with it.

Thats very interesting. I reach 16bit/44.1kHz with my current 4 year old Sony Xperia Z3 and Neutron App player with FLAC files.
Why do people even buy those pricey Bluetooth IEM's, if they can go up to only 24/96?

 

[Qualcheduno]

Thats very interesting. I reach 16bit/44.1kHz with my current 4 year old Sony Xperia Z3 and Neutron App player with FLAC files.
Why do people even buy those pricey Bluetooth IEM's, if they can go up to only 24/96?

Because bit depth and sample rate are only a part of the equation. You also have to factor in other things like the quality of the conversion, battery life, comfort, build quality and finish.

 

[hakbas]

Because bit depth and sample rate are only a part of the equation. You also have to factor in other things like the quality of the conversion, battery life, comfort, build quality and finish.

Okay very interesting. How can i check the quality of the conversion?