[mainguy]

I just got the Xperia 1 III euro version, and the audio volume with a headset is good - I wouldn't want to listen at the maximum level. Tested on Empire Ears Phantoms and IMR Elysium.

It's ridiculously expensive for a phone, but I figured I can get rid of my DAP if this is a good solution. First impressions are good. And 256GB holds a ton of music.

Why not get a 1ii and a wm1a for the same price? WM1a will sound much better than the 1iii surely

 

[Chris Kaoss]

Why not get a 1ii and a wm1a for the same price? WM1a will sound much better than the 1iii surely

Did you've heard the MK3 for comparison?

Coming from a LG V30, the sound of the MK3 ( for my iems) is quite nice.
Warmer and very pleasant.
Perfect for the FD5, I'd say.

Well, it doesn't has the power to drive headphones to their full potential, but guess what?
Here comes the Mojo and R28 into play.

 

[Kejusan]

Why not get a 1ii and a wm1a for the same price? WM1a will sound much better than the 1iii surely

I do have WM1A and I'm thinking of the same thing to solve the 'portability issue' of 1A for jogging and working out. Although at first I was thinking of A45 but when soon I discovered this thread, Xperia seems to be a better option for me as I need phone replacement sooner. And in terms of my normal phone usage, Xperia 1/5 MkII seems to be a cheaper option then going to the newly released MkIII version.

I've read/watched a promotional review somewhere saying that the MkIII is equipped with improved 3.5mm jack compared to MkII. What improvement could it possibly be? And will it translate to significant improvement of sound or is it for durability purpose only?

 

[Sp12er3]

I just got the Xperia 1 III euro version, and the audio volume with a headset is good - I wouldn't want to listen at the maximum level. Tested on Empire Ears Phantoms and IMR Elysium.

It's ridiculously expensive for a phone, but I figured I can get rid of my DAP if this is a good solution. First impressions are good. And 256GB holds a ton of music.

And you can swap in an SD card to add more, heck even swappable cards for more musi. For cheap if you want to as you don't have to use a tool to eject it.

 

[Dankeschön]

I got a wireless Headphone also in a bundle with the Xperia 1iii.

The Sony wh-1000xm3, impressive noise cancellation... Sounds ok also on the go, I don't notice the boomy base that others by speak of, other than its the familiar V shape, but it's a bit digital sounding if any, but perfect on the go on the train and so on.

I'm going to buy the Sony MDR 1AM2, for rainy days, should be an upgrade over my BW P5 portable on ear... And should be a nice fit for Xperia 1iii.

And I want mic and control... And that's broken and discontinued on the BW.

 

[Sp12er3]

Try looking around for used MDR Z7, you may actually find some near the price of a new 1AM2

 

[Dankeschön]

140€ 160$ ish?

 

[Metalomaniac]

Why not get a 1ii and a wm1a for the same price? WM1a will sound much better than the 1iii surely

One of the main selling points was the ability to get rid of my DAP - to have only one device to carry around with me, to keep charged, to maintain. Not to mention the awful UI and disappointing (non-existing) firmward update support for Android DAPs.

 

[mainguy]

I do have WM1A and I'm thinking of the same thing to solve the 'portability issue' of 1A for jogging and working out. Although at first I was thinking of A45 but when soon I discovered this thread, Xperia seems to be a better option for me as I need phone replacement sooner. And in terms of my normal phone usage, Xperia 1/5 MkII seems to be a cheaper option then going to the newly released MkIII version.

I've read/watched a promotional review somewhere saying that the MkIII is equipped with improved 3.5mm jack compared to MkII. What improvement could it possibly be? And will it translate to significant improvement of sound or is it for durability purpose only?

I had the Mk ii as my main phone, the headphone jack in a wm1a (with mr walkmans wm1z firmware) sounds miiiiles better. Like, its obvious, not subtle audiophile schtick, enough for a layman to notice.

Id say the probability of the mkiii fully closing that gap is zilch

 

[Kejusan]

I had the Mk ii as my main phone, the headphone jack in a wm1a (with mr walkmans wm1z firmware) sounds miiiiles better. Like, its obvious, not subtle audiophile schtick, enough for a layman to notice.

Id say the probability of the mkiii fully closing that gap is zilch

Thanks for your feedback. I didn't expect it to close the gap with 1A, especially not with Mr Walkman's firmware. I'm weighing in either to get an Xperia MkII, MkIII or Sony A45 to compliment my 1A. Looking at purely sound quality, I'm guessing A45 will be the best choice because of MrWalkman's FW but it seems that with Xperia MkII/III I may still get decent 'audiophile' SQ with streaming and all other function of an android phone. If there's no significant improvement on audio department between MkII and MkIII then MkII would be a better choice for me.

 

[Dankeschön]

MK II battery is to small imho.
The MK3 is just enough, has 120hz tho but still?
The Xperia 5iii must be a better audio choice, with music better battery and gain from 1080p.

I also wanted the sick 4k screen and the free headphones, my old device was Xperia 5 loved it other than the small sized battery.

The battery on 1iii is ok.
But the audio and most other in 5iii I belive is the same as the 1iii plus you get very good battery and it's more compact, which is a plus on the go.

I belive the difference is the 4k screen, and a tracking camera sensor and wireless charging on the 1iii. And the size.

But battery is very good on 5iii. Because of the 1080p screen versus the 4k monster.

 

[dharmasteve]

I've had the Xperia 5 ii for some time. I also have the iFi hip-dac as a source and the HiBY R5 DAP. The sound quality of the Xperia 5ii with it's Cirrus DAC is excellent, and it is loud enough for most earphones, but for some harder to drive IEMs you would need to use nearly all the volume. The free headphones that come with it, in some countries, the Sony 910n hear on 3, are exceptional when used with the Sony Xperia 5ii. It's important to set them up to LDAC and do it correctly or it is easy to get a lesser sound quality, but when set up to best quality LDAC, with the Sony headphones app, they are really exceptional Bluetooth headphones. I would say that the 5ii are mildly behind the hip-dac and HiBY R5 sound quality wise, when using 4.4mm on them, but the 3.5mm on the Sony is excellent and of course the phone is way more convenient than the hip-dac or even the R5. YouTube sounds great on the 5ii as do Films. Great sounding phone.

 

[Dankeschön]

If you only care about the audio don't care of the 4k screen and bigger Size just go for the 5iii..
It's the same specs with same 888 chipset, the difference is screen resolution, a new high speed tracking camera sensor, wireless charging and double RAM.

The Camera and the camera Software is the same minus the high speed tracking sensor.
The battery is also the same with big plus for the 5iii because of the resolution.

 

[Metalomaniac]

I had the Mk ii as my main phone, the headphone jack in a wm1a (with mr walkmans wm1z firmware) sounds miiiiles better. Like, its obvious, not subtle audiophile schtick, enough for a layman to notice.

Id say the probability of the mkiii fully closing that gap is zilch

I had one of the mid-range Walkmans years ago, and the headphone jack became unusable after a few years in use - as in no music, it was so loose. Mk III feels stronger, but impossible to tell so early.

 

[Metalomaniac]

MK II battery is to small imho.
The MK3 is just enough, has 120hz tho but still?
The Xperia 5iii must be a better audio choice, with music better battery and gain from 1080p.

You can turn off the 120Hz feature to save battery. No idea how much of an impact that has, though.