[Dukedudez]

Well, I can finally get a smartphone. I've had a crappy old LG phone for a long time and I can finally get basically any smartphone I want (that verizon carries). I really want to get one that I can use as a music player as well as phone. I'm not necessarily looking to replace my iPod Classic, but I would like to get one that sounds as good as that and I can put most of my music on it. I've been looking at the Samsung Galaxy Nexus, Samsung Galaxy S3, and the iPhone 4s. I've heard great things about all three, and I need the headfi opinion. To sum it up I'm looking for a phone with these things, in order from most important to least important:

1. Sound Quality/Music Player
2. Memory/Storage
3. Battery Life

 
Of course it needs to be a good phone as well, but the main focus for this thread is its use as a music player. Thanks in advance!
 
EDIT: I own a pair of Sennheiser HD280 Pros, ATH-AD700s, Cyclone PR1-Pros, and a PA2V2 amp.

 

[hima2809]

IMO the headphones you use have the most affect on the sound quality.
 
I have an iPhone 4 and a galaxy s2 and i was not satisfied with both of them sound quality wise. I was using them with my Klipsch S4i. 
 
Recently I bought the Shure SE 535s and the Westone 4Rs. And i was like "OMG What 

"
 
I am now using my iPhone 4 and gave the S2 to my brother.
 
I would suggest get the phone you like and buy a decent set of headphones.
 
Out of the 2 that I have I feel the iPhone 4 has a more crisper sound. 

 

[iamthem]

Quote:

Well, I can finally get a smartphone. I've had a crappy old LG phone for a long time and I can finally get basically any smartphone I want (that verizon carries). I really want to get one that I can use as a music player as well as phone. I'm not necessarily looking to replace my iPod Classic, but I would like to get one that sounds as good as that and I can put most of my music on it. I've been looking at the Samsung Galaxy Nexus, Samsung Galaxy S3, and the iPhone 4s. I've heard great things about all three, and I need the headfi opinion. To sum it up I'm looking for a phone with these things, in order from most important to least important:

1. Sound Quality/Music Player
2. Memory/Storage
3. Battery Life

 
Of course it needs to be a good phone as well, but the main focus for this thread is its use as a music player. Thanks in advance!

The S3 has a brilliant wolfson DAC, with a clean, distortion free output. Theoretically it's sonically identical to the S1, but I haven't done ABXing so I can't confirm.
 
Despite what people say, pretty much everything apple makes has great sound quality.
 
The Galaxy Nexus is.. alright. There is a bit of distortion and the frequency response isn't ruler flat like the S3 and 4s'. STAY AWAY FROM THE S2 though. There is so much distortion that I noticed as soon as I plugged in my TF10's. The S2 have a horrible warmish sound and the highs just sound plain weird. As a general rule of thumb, you don't want a coloured source.
 
Also, it's important to take into account the 4s' LOD capabilities. As far as I know, the iPhones are the only high-end smartphones with LOD capabilities. If you get an amp in the future to power large cans, a LOD is a must if you use your phone as a source.

 

[Dyaems]

SGS or SGS3 for samsung, and iphone4S ( not iphone4 ) for apple.

 

[proton007]

The S3 for US has a different (integrated) DAC, saw on engadget today.

 

[Dukedudez]

Now I'm leaning to toward the iPhone because it's the only one with the line out feature. And I should've mentioned this in my first post, but I own a pair of Sennheiser HD280 Pros, ATH-AD700s, and Cyclone PR1-Pros. I also own a PA2V2 Amp.

 

[DevilGin]

After hearing the S3 (UK model) and the Iphone 4 i felt the iphone went alot louder and sounded alot cleaner espcially at high volumes. Get the iphone the ability to use a LOD with it wit ha PA2V2 (current setup) is fantastic seriously. With my HD25 and D5000 its a great portable rig.