Sony xperia XZ range audio quality

[aertus]

  Erm, you can't compare details and sharpness with the Samsung phones because they are over sharpen, over saturated and high contrast. What Samsung is lacking in the colour reproduction and white balance. It is even more obvious when you shot nature stuff like tress and mountains with the S7, green looks weird on it. 

agreed. It looks a damn water color painting looks pretty awful for such an expensive phone. And so tired of hearing that amoled is superior when it's not true. The improvements made on LCD it has proven to be the best right now until further advancements in OLED technology is achieved. We shall see what sharp does when it supplies apple with it. The whole 2k craze is a marketing scheme that works wonders when it comes to convincing people that they have the best display they get hung up over a number that doesn't mean anything. it's basing a spotscar only on how much horsepower it has and nothing else. 
 
@RockStar2005 I don't know man the XZ is pretty great who knows what sony will come up with next year. It's the overall best device. I'd def consider the HTC11..but LG? Not so much. Ugly design imo, and the UI is ugly too and not as great. I mean the LGG5 is an absolute atrocity of a design/phone. At least the LGV20 isn't as bad. 
 
I think if the XZ gets a 90 it will be impressive. I'm wondering if they are holding off from testing the iphone 7plus and the XZ so as not to hinder any sales of the new google phone? It seems like sales have been more than what they expected all the marketing for them has been working so far. It's been 3 weeks or so since the XZ came out no test  meh. 

 

[RockStar2005]

  Erm, you can't compare details and sharpness with the Samsung phones because they are over sharpen, over saturated and high contrast. What Samsung is lacking in the colour reproduction and white balance. It is even more obvious when you shot nature stuff like tress and mountains with the S7, green looks weird on it. 

 
I couldn't agree more my friend. lol 

 

[RockStar2005]

  agreed. It looks a damn water color painting looks pretty awful for such an expensive phone. And so tired of hearing that amoled is superior when it's not true. The improvements made on LCD it has proven to be the best right now until further advancements in OLED technology is achieved. We shall see what sharp does when it supplies apple with it. The whole 2k craze is a marketing scheme that works wonders when it comes to convincing people that they have the best display they get hung up over a number that doesn't mean anything. it's basing a spotscar only on how much horsepower it has and nothing else. 
 
@RockStar2005 I don't know man the XZ is pretty great who knows what sony will come up with next year. It's the overall best device. I'd def consider the HTC11..but LG? Not so much. Ugly design imo, and the UI is ugly too and not as great. I mean the LGG5 is an absolute atrocity of a design/phone. At least the LGV20 isn't as bad. 
 
I think if the XZ gets a 90 it will be impressive. I'm wondering if they are holding off from testing the iphone 7plus and the XZ so as not to hinder any sales of the new google phone? It seems like sales have been more than what they expected all the marketing for them has been working so far. It's been 3 weeks or so since the XZ came out no test  meh. 

 
Yes me too. Just this past Sat night I went to my cousin's (who just got the LG V20) Halloween party and a few ppl there were like oh Super AMOLED is so great and the viewing angles are better. I dunno about all that. lol Viewing angles on my XP seem just fine, although the guy who said that was referring to the V20's LCD screen. Maybe it's not as good there as the XP/XZ?
 
Next year? "Who knows" is right..........this was just posted today. Profits are better, but growth is down. The part that got my attention though was "as well as a reduction in smartphone unit sales in unprofitable regions where downsizing measures were implemented during the previous fiscal year." IMO, 

unprofitable regions = a few diff countries, including the U.S. lol That's based on recent Sony Mobile statements about scaling back their presence in certain countries, U.S. included. So I dunno man. I guess we don't agree on LG's looks. I like that they use all metal bodies like Sony and HTC (and well everyone NOW lol), and if the V20 was JUST SMALLER I'd consider buying it. Even though I'd still need an amp, I wouldn't need an amp/DAC anymore so could sell my Oppo HA-2 and just get an amp-only device for cheaper. And would sound better in my car too I'm sure. Right now my hopes are focused on the HTC 11, but if they take the second screen, Quad DAC, great camera and screen etc from the V20 and put them on the LG G6, I would easily be swayed over to LG. The UI seemed fine to me. Just have to remember to change Settings menu from group to list view. I agree on G5 though..........it was a nice idea, but ultimately the mod thing seems overrated. Just PUT a better camera, DAC etc IN the camera and be done with it! lol​

 

You could be right? I'd like to think though that DxoMark isn't the type to take orders or money like that lol, so I'm hoping it's just a timing or scheduling issue. Yeah it's been a month now since the XZ came out, so if they can't do it by the end of November, then that does seem odd, esp since the XZ seems like it's been made a bigger deal than the XP, which was reviewed of course.​

 

[aertus]

   
Yes me too. Just this past Sat night I went to my cousin's (who just got the LG V20) Halloween party and a few ppl there were like oh Super AMOLED is so great and the viewing angles are better. I dunno about all that. lol Viewing angles on my XP seem just fine, although the guy who said that was referring to the V20's LCD screen. Maybe it's not as good there as the XP/XZ?
 
Next year? "Who knows" is right..........this was just posted today. Profits are better, but growth is down. The part that got my attention though was "as well as a reduction in smartphone unit sales in unprofitable regions where downsizing measures were implemented during the previous fiscal year." IMO, 

unprofitable regions = a few diff countries, including the U.S. lol That's based on recent Sony Mobile statements about scaling back their presence in certain countries, U.S. included. So I dunno man. I guess we don't agree on LG's looks. I like that they use all metal bodies like Sony and HTC (and well everyone NOW lol), and if the V20 was JUST SMALLER I'd consider buying it. Even though I'd still need an amp, I wouldn't need an amp/DAC anymore so could sell my Oppo HA-2 and just get an amp-only device for cheaper. And would sound better in my car too I'm sure. Right now my hopes are focused on the HTC 11, but if they take the second screen, Quad DAC, great camera and screen etc from the V20 and put them on the LG G6, I would easily be swayed over to LG. The UI seemed fine to me. Just have to remember to change Settings menu from group to list view. I agree on G5 though..........it was a nice idea, but ultimately the mod thing seems overrated. Just PUT a better camera, DAC etc IN the camera and be done with it! lol​

 

You could be right? I'd like to think though that DxoMark isn't the type to take orders or money like that lol, so I'm hoping it's just a timing or scheduling issue. Yeah it's been a month now since the XZ came out, so if they can't do it by the end of November, then that does seem odd, esp since the XZ seems like it's been made a bigger deal than the XP, which was reviewed of course.​

looking at samsung s7 again today the display lacks detail preservation as well due to the oversaturation. Amoled really ruins thing I don' really like it. LCD is better imo. 
 
I don't like camera pumps thats why I don't think it's good looking. maybe its because nothing really comapres to the XZ in looks I guess. Btw sharp ceo announced apple will be getting OLED technology. Sony  wont be making OLED until 2018 so we likely won't see it for a while but I'm not convinced. LCD panels have accurate colors and great brightness outdoors with vivid colors. LCD over the years has proven effective. More Sound quality from sony too? Im guessing thye don't want to discourage pepole from buying their walkman line. 
 
Yeah, DXO would lose its reputation if it was ever found that it was corrupt so I don't think they would take money either. I think it's definitely time scheduling issues they have so many phones to test out: XZ, iphone 7 plus, LGV20? So yeah maybe it should come out soon around the same time as the iphone 7 plus. Meanwhile some reviews are arleady out on youtube and the XZ's color reproduction is completely umatched especially now with the RGBC sensor. colors are so lively and accurate. And colors are a huge part of photography. If you ruin the colors you ruin the entire pic no matter how sharp. 

 

[Hello1999]

XZ colour is really accurate and nice. Some footage are already floating around Youtube. 
 
Here are some raw footage shoot using the XZ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rpy0HsqJx-8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OOcxFMTvWAQ
 
Comparison with the S7 too
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kxtxRVdEYbQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G_ElZ3oxY58

 

[RockStar2005]

  looking at samsung s7 again today the display lacks detail preservation as well due to the oversaturation. Amoled really ruins thing I don' really like it. LCD is better imo. 
 
I don't like camera pumps thats why I don't think it's good looking. maybe its because nothing really comapres to the XZ in looks I guess. Btw sharp ceo announced apple will be getting OLED technology. Sony  wont be making OLED until 2018 so we likely won't see it for a while but I'm not convinced. LCD panels have accurate colors and great brightness outdoors with vivid colors. LCD over the years has proven effective. More Sound quality from sony too? Im guessing thye don't want to discourage pepole from buying their walkman line. 
 
Yeah, DXO would lose its reputation if it was ever found that it was corrupt so I don't think they would take money either. I think it's definitely time scheduling issues they have so many phones to test out: XZ, iphone 7 plus, LGV20? So yeah maybe it should come out soon around the same time as the iphone 7 plus. Meanwhile some reviews are arleady out on youtube and the XZ's color reproduction is completely umatched especially now with the RGBC sensor. colors are so lively and accurate. And colors are a huge part of photography. If you ruin the colors you ruin the entire pic no matter how sharp. 

 
Yeah.........F AMOLED/OLED! lol At least the Samsung version. 
 
I C about Sony and OLED. Yeah I agree that LCD/LED is better. That could be true.........that they want ppl to buy their Walkmans so they may be limiting the sound quality on their phones. My $299 Sony Walkman A17 DEFINITELY sounded at least a little if not a lot better than my Z3 did, but the $200 iBasso DX50? It simply just matched my Z3, it did not outdo it. So I guess $300 is a good starting point for DAPs or amp/DACs. Though now with the $199 Audioquest DragonFly Red v1.5 and 1 or 2 other amp/DACs, that may be changing? I've tested the $99 Black but not the Red. 
 
Yeah.......prob just timing issues. Yeah even though the Xperias are still 1080p, I will admit they still DO look outstanding!

 

[aertus]

  XZ colour is really accurate and nice. Some footage are already floating around Youtube. 
 
Here are some raw footage shoot using the XZ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rpy0HsqJx-8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OOcxFMTvWAQ
 
Comparison with the S7 too
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kxtxRVdEYbQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G_ElZ3oxY58

nice i've seen these videos too. Amazing video footage and amazing color accuracy from the xz the rgbc sensor is doing good for sony here. It's great that they always focus on user experience and not gimmicky stuff.  I feel like the XZ might actually top DXOmarks now especially with that video footage. 
 

   
Yeah.........F AMOLED/OLED! lol At least the Samsung version. 
 
I C about Sony and OLED. Yeah I agree that LCD/LED is better. That could be true.........that they want ppl to buy their Walkmans so they may be limiting the sound quality on their phones. My $299 Sony Walkman A17 DEFINITELY sounded at least a little if not a lot better than my Z3 did, but the $200 iBasso DX50? It simply just matched my Z3, it did not outdo it. So I guess $300 is a good starting point for DAPs or amp/DACs. Though now with the $199 Audioquest DragonFly Red v1.5 and 1 or 2 other amp/DACs, that may be changing? I've tested the $99 Black but not the Red. 
 
Yeah.......prob just timing issues. Yeah even though the Xperias are still 1080p, I will admit they still DO look outstanding!

honestly, it's not worth paying 200 dollars if the quality cannot even surpass your phones quality. I like the way my z3 sounds just needs more volume tbh. But like I said, it even tops my zune HD but the zune is very old and probably doesn't do good now. 
 
If im gonna spend 300 dollars on a music player it needs to blow away my phone otherwise not worth the money. 
 
 
Btw, I forgot to ask you. Can you give me that manual instruction on taking pictures with the z3 that you were talking about. I'm trying to learn manual mode as well. 

 

[akg fanboy]

I don't think the xz has a dedicated DAC. However, if the xz launched early 2016 instead of the xperia x, I think it would have been a very successful product. The image stabilization on the xz is really nothing short of amazing.

 

[RockStar2005]

 
honestly, it's not worth paying 200 dollars if the quality cannot even surpass your phones quality. I like the way my z3 sounds just needs more volume tbh. But like I said, it even tops my zune HD but the zune is very old and probably doesn't do good now. 
 
If im gonna spend 300 dollars on a music player it needs to blow away my phone otherwise not worth the money. 
 
 
Btw, I forgot to ask you. Can you give me that manual instruction on taking pictures with the z3 that you were talking about. I'm trying to learn manual mode as well. 

 
I agree. That's why I returned my $200 iBasso DX50 when I had my Z3 because it wasn't ANY better. The DragonFly Red though......it may be better than what the Z3 or XP can do. Or not. I'd have to test it out. It's gotten very high marks, so it's possible. The fact that it's newer might also mean they've found way to improve the sound without raising the price. I just try to keep my mind open to those kinds of possibilities. 
 
Yeah.......volume is an issue with smartphone listening. Even the LG V20 I thought was loud but I wished it got louder. My H6 headphones are pretty sensitive but not AS sensitive as my AKG K550 was. Sony Xperia phones and Walkmans too don't have the loudest voltage (audio) headphone output as the other phones do. The HTC 10 and LG V20 (V20 more) get much louder, but yeah the V20 still was close but not QUITE enough. So even if I got one of those phones now I could get rid of my $299 Oppo HA-2 amp/DAC but I'd still need a good amp for headphone listening. I'd prob choose the $124 FiiO E12 Mont Blanc for that. At least it'd be cheaper than HA-2. lol
 
Wow......you have the Zune HD too? I had one too. I LOVED that player, esp the HD Radio on it (I guess HD doesn't stand for High Def on there but something else). But I was afraid when Microsoft discontinued that line that I wouldn't get support for it, so I sold it. lol I would've sold it anyway when I eventually bought (and then later sold) my old Sony Walkman A17. 
 
To me the A17 WAS noticeably better than the Z3. I wouldn't say considerably though. But I buy and play a lot of Hi-Res music these days, so to me even "noticeably better" is still considerable. lol But that's me. It was a great player that A17 and I'd highly recommend it to anyone. I'm pretty sure it got louder than my Z3 too. 99% sure actually. So for that reason ALONE you may wanna consider buying it. (If you do, lemme know, and I'll give you some extra info you'll wanna know.) 
 
Oh the one I created for taking pics on the Z3 in Manual Mode? Yeah sure. I think you will find it MOST helpful.    

 

[RockStar2005]

  I don't think the xz has a dedicated DAC. However, if the xz launched early 2016 instead of the xperia x, I think it would have been a very successful product. The image stabilization on the xz is really nothing short of amazing.

 
I'm not sure either really. Not sure if the amp is integrated or dedicated either. See the article from my one other thread for more info. Here is an excerpt. It's not very clear. 
 

Spoiler: Warning: Spoiler!

Headphone audio however is particularly sad. We’re a long way removed from the classic days of Sony standing as a multi-media juggernaut. Both Xperia’s use the same hardware. A fairly weak AMP paired up with a DAC that sports numbers almost as bad as the built in DAC on the LG G5. For a premium phone line, it has some of the poorest signal to noise and distortion performance we’ve yet tested.

 
Wish they'd specified things more. I WAS told by someone I trust that the XP and the XZ have the exact same audio equipment too. Yeah I agree totally! I've read about that image stabilization and they say the same you did. So I guess Sony FINALLY put a worthy version of OIS on their phones. Happy to hear that! lol But they should clarify that it's OIS b/c some ppl may not know and think it doesn't have it or anything like that.

 

[aertus]

   
I agree. That's why I returned my $200 iBasso DX50 when I had my Z3 because it wasn't ANY better. The DragonFly Red though......it may be better than what the Z3 or XP can do. Or not. I'd have to test it out. It's gotten very high marks, so it's possible. The fact that it's newer might also mean they've found way to improve the sound without raising the price. I just try to keep my mind open to those kinds of possibilities. 
 
Yeah.......volume is an issue with smartphone listening. Even the LG V20 I thought was loud but I wished it got louder. My H6 headphones are pretty sensitive but not AS sensitive as my AKG K550 was. Sony Xperia phones and Walkmans too don't have the loudest voltage (audio) headphone output as the other phones do. The HTC 10 and LG V20 (V20 more) get much louder, but yeah the V20 still was close but not QUITE enough. So even if I got one of those phones now I could get rid of my $299 Oppo HA-2 amp/DAC but I'd still need a good amp for headphone listening. I'd prob choose the $124 FiiO E12 Mont Blanc for that. At least it'd be cheaper than HA-2. lol
 
Wow......you have the Zune HD too? I had one too. I LOVED that player, esp the HD Radio on it (I guess HD doesn't stand for High Def on there but something else). But I was afraid when Microsoft discontinued that line that I wouldn't get support for it, so I sold it. lol I would've sold it anyway when I eventually bought (and then later sold) my old Sony Walkman A17. 
 
To me the A17 WAS noticeably better than the Z3. I wouldn't say considerably though. But I buy and play a lot of Hi-Res music these days, so to me even "noticeably better" is still considerable. lol But that's me. It was a great player that A17 and I'd highly recommend it to anyone. I'm pretty sure it got louder than my Z3 too. 99% sure actually. So for that reason ALONE you may wanna consider buying it. (If you do, lemme know, and I'll give you some extra info you'll wanna know.) 
 
Oh the one I created for taking pics on the Z3 in Manual Mode? Yeah sure. I think you will find it MOST helpful.    

yeah sony actually has software limitation. Someone who removed the software limitation said it was louder than the iphone 6 plus. 
 
Dude I think the Zune HD and the Sony walkman at that time were wayyyy superior products to the overpriced Ipods. I reemember ZUNE HD getting unwarranted mockery and hate when everything about it was amazing including the incredible UI, battery, and sheer sound quality. It's louder, but the z3 has better sound seperation and wider soundstage than the zune. It's very old and I feel like sony deserves praise there. 
 
zune hd for most underrated tech product ever? Along with the sony player that came out during that year. 
 

   
I'm not sure either really. Not sure if the amp is integrated or dedicated either. See the article from my one other thread for more info. Here is an excerpt. It's not very clear. 
 

Spoiler: Warning: Spoiler!

Headphone audio however is particularly sad. We’re a long way removed from the classic days of Sony standing as a multi-media juggernaut. Both Xperia’s use the same hardware. A fairly weak AMP paired up with a DAC that sports numbers almost as bad as the built in DAC on the LG G5. For a premium phone line, it has some of the poorest signal to noise and distortion performance we’ve yet tested.

 
Wish they'd specified things more. I WAS told by someone I trust that the XP and the XZ have the exact same audio equipment too. Yeah I agree totally! I've read about that image stabilization and they say the same you did. So I guess Sony FINALLY put a worthy version of OIS on their phones. Happy to hear that! lol But they should clarify that it's OIS b/c some ppl may not know and think it doesn't have it or anything like that.

Son'y stabilization has always been ahead and they used EIS which is clearly superior to OIS in video because EIS doesn't have the wobbly effect of OIS. Idk what Sony is using now some sort of hybrid EIS/sensor shift but it's way ahead of the comptition. I'm not sure if it works for photos though but it takes good pictures better tahn the s7 so does it matter?
 
Heard someone say that the DAC in the XZ is of comprable quality to HTC10 not sure though since not many people have tested out the new XZ. maybe some reviewers who know about sound quality will though?

 

[akg fanboy]

  yeah sony actually has software limitation. Someone who removed the software limitation said it was louder than the iphone 6 plus. 
 
Dude I think the Zune HD and the Sony walkman at that time were wayyyy superior products to the overpriced Ipods. I reemember ZUNE HD getting unwarranted mockery and hate when everything about it was amazing including the incredible UI, battery, and sheer sound quality. It's louder, but the z3 has better sound seperation and wider soundstage than the zune. It's very old and I feel like sony deserves praise there. 
 
zune hd for most underrated tech product ever? Along with the sony player that came out during that year. 
 
Son'y stabilization has always been ahead and they used EIS which is clearly superior to OIS in video because EIS doesn't have the wobbly effect of OIS. Idk what Sony is using now some sort of hybrid EIS/sensor shift but it's way ahead of the comptition. I'm not sure if it works for photos though but it takes good pictures better tahn the s7 so does it matter?
 
Heard someone say that the DAC in the XZ is of comprable quality to HTC10 not sure though since not many people have tested out the new XZ. maybe some reviewers who know about sound quality will though?

EIS is superior for little micro stutters that mobile OIS cannot always get, that said, it must be properly implemented and it is not always superior. There are some downsides as seen on the google pixel phones which have tons of random stutters when making sharp turns or large movements such as running. It also suffers in low light performance without OIS. The xz still has the best implementation of EIS though and I would like to see it being compared against the pixel.

 

[club968]

Just ordered the XZ, wanna see how it compares to my HTC 10. I don't know that there is any comparison, but I was getting the itch to buy something new. With all the audio processing Sony develops for their equipment you'd think they would out the effort into some nice hardware. I'm nit expecting much, so maybe I'll be pleasantly surprised. I sure hope so.

I bought the international version. I was told it would work seamlessly with T-Mobile. It was also cheaper and had an extra 32gigs of storage and the fingerprint sensor.

Cheers...

 

[akg fanboy]

Just ordered the XZ, wanna see how it compares to my HTC 10. I don't know that there is any comparison, but I was getting the itch to buy something new. With all the audio processing Sony develops for their equipment you'd think they would out the effort into some nice hardware. I'm nit expecting much, so maybe I'll be pleasantly surprised. I sure hope so.

I bought the international version. I was told it would work seamlessly with T-Mobile. It was also cheaper and had an extra 32gigs of storage and the fingerprint sensor.

Cheers...

It would be very interesting to see how they compare, please tell us your impressions when they arrive!

 

[aertus]

  EIS is superior for little micro stutters that mobile OIS cannot always get, that said, it must be properly implemented and it is not always superior. There are some downsides as seen on the google pixel phones which have tons of random stutters when making sharp turns or large movements such as running. It also suffers in low light performance without OIS. The xz still has the best implementation of EIS though and I would like to see it being compared against the pixel.

Sony definitely has the better implementation. When the Z5 was tested even dxo said that its stabilization is far ahead of the competition. It has a higher score for stabilization of 93 vs pixel's 91. And there weren't any issues of stutters either. 

Just ordered the XZ, wanna see how it compares to my HTC 10. I don't know that there is any comparison, but I was getting the itch to buy something new. With all the audio processing Sony develops for their equipment you'd think they would out the effort into some nice hardware. I'm nit expecting much, so maybe I'll be pleasantly surprised. I sure hope so.

I bought the international version. I was told it would work seamlessly with T-Mobile. It was also cheaper and had an extra 32gigs of storage and the fingerprint sensor.

Cheers...

omg awesome. THe XZ is the realest flagship device sony has made and an absolute beauty with its unique metal. I mean HTC10 has durable metal. But who has a metal that actually shines and changes light as you view it from different angles?? ******* futuristic and fantastic. Do test it out. And good call on the international version I myself have the international version of the z3c on T-mobile as well. The only thing I complain about is weak signal and sometimes not being able to catch any singal at all not sure if T-mobile or just the phone itself.