smartphone for music quality
Jun 4, 2012 at 3:28 PM Thread Starter Post #1 of 20

amant

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looking to get a new smartphone in the next month, and i'm wanting to get one that can provide some decent music quality. I'm fairly new to higher end music quality just got the ATH m50s so i won't notice minor things. perfer to stick with android phones hopefully one with line out capabilities so when i upgrade in the future i can use an amp with it. thanks for all your help.
 
Jun 4, 2012 at 4:21 PM Post #4 of 20
owh you're in canada....
 
then i'm sorry to say your variant of S3 might not come with the wolfson dac
 
 
but the snapdragon S4 audio quality is receiving positive reviews as well
 
Jun 4, 2012 at 4:27 PM Post #5 of 20
s3 is a little on the pricey side anyway, thinking i might just go back to using a lower end phone and get another sensa clip plus. or see if i can find the s1 they had wolfson DAC i think.
 
Jun 4, 2012 at 4:30 PM Post #6 of 20
The Nokia Lumia 900, Samsung galaxy S II HD, galaxy Note, Sony Xperia S has great soundquality and they all are features loaded.
 
Jun 4, 2012 at 4:47 PM Post #8 of 20
Apparently, like a car make/model that comes with a 4-cylinder engine yet has a variant that has a turbo-charged V8. The Galaxy S2 comes in many forms and (it appears) so will the S3.
 
Jun 4, 2012 at 10:49 PM Post #10 of 20
A phone can work as a music player, but not the other way round. If you need a phone, no other choice. But you don't necessarily need a phone for music alone. You can get a decent phone with a sansa clip zip ($50) for music, in comparison to spending an additional 2 to 300 bucks just because a phone has a better dac / audio quality.
 
Jun 5, 2012 at 12:19 AM Post #11 of 20
Quote:
A phone can work as a music player, but not the other way round.

 
Wait, hold the phone (pun intended), I can't use my music player as a phone? I thought I could install an app for Wifi calling on my iPod Touch or Galaxy music player.
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Amant, I would recommend getting the Sansa Clip+ just to have --aside from the other decision.
Get the Clip+ first and then get THE smartphone (to top them all) when everyone here agrees on how great ONE particular phone is. And since hell would have long since frozen over, you could use your “phone” to play music exclusively because there would be no cell towers left.
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Jun 5, 2012 at 1:00 AM Post #12 of 20
Quote:
 
Wait, hold the phone (pun intended), I can't use my music player as a phone? I thought I could install an app for Wifi calling on my iPod Touch or Galaxy music player.
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Yes but its still not a phone. Its a media player that can make calls over a data network.
And as for the other point, I agree. 
 
Jun 5, 2012 at 1:19 AM Post #13 of 20
i'm just looking to see what i'll get the best bang for buck i spose. would like to have my phone double as my mp3 as it would keep it in one device but don't want to sacrifice much quality.
 
Jun 5, 2012 at 7:33 PM Post #14 of 20
I going to post some thoughts that should be taken with a grain of salt. I'm by no means knowledgeable on the technical aspects of phones.
 
I think Android phone SQ boils down to processing priority for third-party music players like Poweramp and others. It seems to me that when the music is sounding sharp/crisp, invariably, I can go to the task manager and the music player app is using between 18 and 30 percent of the processor (and that's regardless of single core/dual core).
 
The newer ICS hacked roms I've used on my T-Mo Galaxy S2 (lately) let you limit background processes. However, it also seem to allocate less processor power for apps probably to extend battery life. Meaning, even though you can lockout unwanted apps --your app of choice can only use a little of the processor. So far, Poweramp has never gone over 7 percent processor use.
 
The power allocation scheme of the newer Android ICS roms appears to be similar to Apple. I swear I can't tell the difference between a low bit rate mp3 and ALAC on my iPod Touch 3G. I think when there is little processing power for music there is less clarity. Plus, when you have a complex operating system,   music clarity will change from time to time. Additional programs make the problem worse.
 
The Sansa Clip+ sounds the same every time you crank it up,  and,  it pairs well (from its headphone out) to portable amps, small headphones, and IEMs. It's not super clear either, but for the cost, it is the best bang for the buck.
 
Jun 6, 2012 at 10:21 AM Post #15 of 20
My $0.02
I come from a family where everyone competes on technology. we have all had i-phones, samsung galaxy's, nexus, Ipads, Galaxy tabs, sony tabs, you name it.
Personally for me, the best Audio i have heard from a Portable Device, is the HTC ONE X.
Depending on the genre of music you listen too, there is an array of EQ settings (beats by dre - dont be turned off as they are just EQ settings which sound better than the EQ i had on my Samsung K3 player) you can adjust to get the sound you require.
Great for Rock, Hip Hop and Dance.
 

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