[Offe]

Not sure if this has been answered, but no, the option is gone in Lollipop.

Ty, I talked to customer service that also confirmed this.

They also said that the option is not needed since the device itself recognises what setting to use. I hope that is correct information

 

[mannp]

Well that is promising news, but from my testing with my Hugo, it is Sony customer service up to their normal incompetence trick again.
 
The Z3C continues to play through its speakers regardless of what I try.
 
It doesn't swap to the Hugo when its connected.
 
It would be good if you got their details if you could ask them how to get it too work

 

[dansingsbuzz]

Am I missing something here? if the volume is too low wouldn't you need to buy a external/portable amp, not dac?

 

[Doku]

I have the Z3 Compact. I got it off Clove.co.uk for less than $500 shipped on launch day, and it came with extras like a case and charger. 
 
I'm amazed by the quality of the audio on this phone. It also supports AptX for less lossy bluetooth streaming. And it plays higher than CD quality audio like DSF file. I got the DSD 64 of Soundgarden's superunknown and it sounds great on the phone. 
 
Biggest negative is that max volume isn't actually as loud as I want it sometimes. 
 
All in all, A+++ would buy again. Even my wife wants to dump her iPhone and use this phone. 

 

[ebrian]

Hi guys, I recently picked up a Z3 because my corporate plan was offering it for $99 (2 year contract).  I thought it was just my imagination that the sound was better than my Nexus 4, but after reading this thread now I can see it's not just a classic cast of new-toy syndrome.  
 
Really love the way this phone pairs with my iem's (listed in my sig).

 

[joelk2]

would i need an amp to go with this phone?
 
i was looking at getting a Fiio X1 to pair with my RHA M750's but im due a phone upgrade so was thinking of combining the both and use my music for my music (currently using a nexus 5 but it doesn't sound too great tbh)
 

Drivers	Handmade Dynamic (model 560.1)
Frequency range	16-22,000Hz
Impedance	16 Ohm
Sensitivity	100db
Rated/max power	1/5mW
Weight	36g
Cable	1.35m, reinforced, OFC
Connections	3.5mm, gold plated

 

[alxspl]

Hi again.
 
So I went ahead and rooted my z3c (Lollipop 5.0.2), following the instructions from a well known forum. Bootloader is locked, no DRM key loss as far as I can tell.
I tried installing viper4android. Neither the direct apk download, nor the one from play market have worked. It kept asking to install the driver and reboot each time you started v4a.
I found a flashable zip for nexus5 as a last resort and yay, it worked. However it is still not stable for lollipop. By not stable I mean you might sometimes get an error message like "Audio service has stopped working" or something like that. This doesn't mean that v4a itself has stopped, it is running permanently until you disable it yourself. You might get this message if you try and go to the Sound Settings, which you won't be able to do. This occurs even while running v4a in compatibility mode.
 
Anyway, all I can say is I don't regret going through with it. The Expert UI interface offered by V4A gave me enough tools to tinker with, I still haven't found my favorite sound settings which would go well with all the genres I listen to, but I'm close and it's far better than any other EQ I've tried.
 
As far as loudness goes, I have all the loudness I need on the XB-500 I use, them being 40 Ohm. Same goes for the in-ears SoundMagic E10 (16 Ohm).
I'm sure you can squeeze enough volume without needing an additional amp using the Playback Gain Control & Master Gate (Limiter) settings from v4a.
 
P.S. Out of curiousity tried editing mixer_paths.xml, couldn't directly using ES File Explorer, wouldn't save. And also wasn't sure I was editing the right lines.

 

[Doku]

I don't use one, but it isn't very l

  would i need an amp to go with this phone?
 
i was looking at getting a Fiio X1 to pair with my RHA M750's but im due a phone upgrade so was thinking of combining the both and use my music for my music (currently using a nexus 5 but it doesn't sound too great tbh)
 

Drivers	Handmade Dynamic (model 560.1)
Frequency range	16-22,000Hz
Impedance	16 Ohm
Sensitivity	100db
Rated/max power	1/5mW
Weight	36g
Cable	1.35m, reinforced, OFC
Connections	3.5mm, gold plated

I don't use one, but it isn't the loudest for sure. I'm usually at max or 1 less than max volume. 

 

[Doku]

T-Mobile briefly took these off the market, now they are back in about $130 cheaper if you want one. 
 
The Z4 is about to be announced tho, and if you'd rather have the compact (which is actually a better phone IMO) you can get it imported from Clove for about $100 less: http://www.clove.co.uk/sony-xperia-z3-compact

 

[Murre]

Any tips on DAC/amps for the Z3 with sennheiser momentums? The only problem I have is that the volume is low, the volume was already low on my S5. But Sonys limit is even lower and haven't found a good app to boost it (that probably distorts the sound as well I guess?).

 

[mellio]

Hello,
 
First of all let me thank members who talked in detail about the Z3 at a time when I was about to change my phone, I made the move and do not regret it. This is my first nice-sounding portable digital device (I don't consider the iPods I've had over the years to have been good-sounding devices; I don't know about the more recent models). It delivers a truly high-end sound in my opinion, even though of course there are higher-end devices. It's good enough for me at this time.
 
I wanted to comment about the Walkman app. I concur with some posters that it is the best sounding Android player. It fell out of favor with me for a few days due to some bit-perfect ripped from CD FLAC files which sounded "blanketed". I went back to Poweramp because of the equalizer, which is way more customizable. In cases like that the limited Walkman equalizer is almost useless. But I just found that for such problematic files the AudioClear+ setting in Walkman achieves just about the same thing as fiddling with Poweramp's equalizer, making those files listenable. I don't know how they do it but it works. Still, a proper equalizer with more bands and a preamp and a save function on the Walkman app would be a nice addition.
 
EDIT: growltiger's message below notwithstanding - he may be a much more experienced user of DAP devices than I am. My experience is different.
Since writing the above, I have achieved much better results.
On a whim I decided to re-rip my CDs using dbpoweramp instead of EAC - fortunately I had only ripped about 10. I had read almost everywhere that they were equivalent, well I've found that not to be true at all, as dbpoweramp is miles better. My ripped files now sound as good as the FLAC files I had bought online. Those gave me a useful reference point as to how good the z3 could sound. Now I get the same great sound with FLAC files ripped from my own collection. dbpoweramp is straightforward, I only enabled one effect, Replay Gain as it seemed recommended by various sources. Then I tried two new things in the Walkman app: 1) enable a setting called in my French interface "Réglage dynamique", which may or may not be a translation of "Replay Gain"; 2) in the headphones options, select the Sony headphone model that looked most like mine, and WOW, any remaining slight "blanket" effect I had on some files, GONE; this in effect acts as EQ. The headphones I use a lot these days are some Griffin Woodtones; I had wanted to get the wood in-ears everybody was raving about a few weeks ago, but they were not available for export, I found the Griffins instead.
The problem I think before was that excellent CDs had yielded good FLACs, and average recordings, worse (hardly listenable) FLAC files. With the dppoweramp ripping and the new settings, the excellent recordings, like the Lucinda Williams masterpiece Car Wheels on a Gravel Road, sound absolutely gorgeous; the average recordings sound excellent and perfectly listenable, with every detail present. I mean it's a totally different experience from what I was used to. It's high-end sound to me, audio bliss.
 
Oh and another thing: I simply don't understand the criticisms about the volume output because I've found zero issues there... To me it's adequate. I have the volume set at 60% most of the time; 100% would be deafening.

 

[kramer5150]

My iPhone contract finally expired and I did not hesitate to pick up this phone a few days ago.  Plays my bloated lossless and compressed MP3 library fine with the OEM Walkman app player.
 
My phone is a Z3V (Verizon) model for North America.
 
The volume level does seem a bit lower than I was expecting.  Listening to DSOTM through my SennGrado-Gcush as I type this and the volume is at a very "modest" level... even with it turned up to about ~65%.  Does this sound like it has a volume limiter throttling it back?
 
How do I tell if my phone has the volume limiter thing?

 

[cuiter23]

  My iPhone contract finally expired and I did not hesitate to pick up this phone a few days ago.  Plays my bloated lossless and compressed MP3 library fine with the OEM Walkman app player.
 
My phone is a Z3V (Verizon) model for North America.
 
The volume level does seem a bit lower than I was expecting.  Listening to DSOTM through my SennGrado-Gcush as I type this and the volume is at a very "modest" level... even with it turned up to about ~65%.  Does this sound like it has a volume limiter throttling it back?
 
How do I tell if my phone has the volume limiter thing?

 
AFAIK Sony players (including their Walkmans with the S-Master HX Amplifier) seem to be low on power. 

 

[growltiger]

I have only come to the idea of using my phone for music because, having bought a Z3 for general phone functionality,  my iBasso DX50 decided to stop working (headphone jack came apart inside,for the second time).  What to do?  While researching the options for repair or replacement, it seemed obvious to slip an SD card into the Z3 and plug in the Shure S535 phones.  
 
Despite Sony's advertising claims about  HD sound (and the capacity to play lossless files, which had been a marginal selling point), at first I was surprised that that, being a phone, the sound was anything other than pathetic. Using either the Walkman app (more below) or a free music player that appears to use the native Sony software modules (same equaliser, menu of surround sound effects etc), the sound was reasonably musical.  Compared with dedicated music players of even a few years ago, really not bad.  But after a few hours. the deficiencies became clear. Though warm, the sound was pretty mushy, the entire sound stage being heard through a thin layer of soup, and completely lacking in layering, or precise location of instruments.  This was with all "effects" and equalisation switched off.  I experimented with the surround options, to see if this induced a better spatial illusion, but all I got from it was a added reverb and a few db of extra loudness. 
 
So, while researching my next DAP purchase, I came to this thread.  A lot of the assumptions behind the debate were not really ones I shared (including the premise that even a top-class phone can be a satisfactory music player). It certainly doesn't strike me as sane to buy a £400 phone and then root it, in the near certain knowledge that some functionality will be lost and the warranty invalidated. On the other hand, I could see that there was more genuine audio technology in the Z3 than I had realised,  and serious people were prepared to  compare it to at least a Fiio X1.   Despite this, the sound was like soup.
 
A breakthrough came, thanks to a sane voice on this thread, which referred to the possibility of downloading different player apps, specifically Neutron.  This removed the soup, banished the unwanted warmth of the Walkman app, and created a layered soundstage with pinpoint location (specifically the winds and the different string sections in a Mozart piano concerto).  The phrasing of the individual parts came to life, and the logic of the performance emerged.  An hour or two of A v B listening established that this was not some sort of placebo effect. On the other hand, thought decent, the sound was pretty lean. It could be criticised for being a bit more digital, less musical, than is ideal. It is not as good as I had been getting from my DX50.  But at least the music can be heard, and enjoyed.   And, as mentioned earlier in the thread, Neutron does contain an independent virtual volume slider that has more stops on it than the rather coarse physical volume control on the Z3.    It is surprising that a media technology company like Sony should, apparently, have so little understanding of what the end-user wants from the product;  their software approach entirely masks the potentialities of the hardware. 
 
Where does this leave me?   The Z3+Neutron combination is good enough to save me from buying an entry-level DAP as a stop-gap.   On days when only one device can be carried around, this is going to be quite satisfactory. For under £5 additional outlay, that is pretty good.   The combination is not good enough, on the evidence of my ears, to be the solution. So I shall continue to search for a dedicated DAP that makes a more complete job of realising the musicality, as well as the analytical structure, of the music that is on my files. 

 

[cuiter23]

  I have only come to the idea of using my phone for music because, having bought a Z3 for general phone functionality,  my iBasso DX50 decided to stop working (headphone jack came apart inside,for the second time).  What to do?  While researching the options for repair or replacement, it seemed obvious to slip an SD card into the Z3 and plug in the Shure S535 phones.  
 
Despite Sony's advertising claims about  HD sound (and the capacity to play lossless files, which had been a marginal selling point), at first I was surprised that that, being a phone, the sound was anything other than pathetic. Using either the Walkman app (more below) or a free music player that appears to use the native Sony software modules (same equaliser, menu of surround sound effects etc), the sound was reasonably musical.  Compared with dedicated music players of even a few years ago, really not bad.  But after a few hours. the deficiencies became clear. Though warm, the sound was pretty mushy, the entire sound stage being heard through a thin layer of soup, and completely lacking in layering, or precise location of instruments.  This was with all "effects" and equalisation switched off.  I experimented with the surround options, to see if this induced a better spatial illusion, but all I got from it was a added reverb and a few db of extra loudness. 
 
So, while researching my next DAP purchase, I came to this thread.  A lot of the assumptions behind the debate were not really ones I shared (including the premise that even a top-class phone can be a satisfactory music player). It certainly doesn't strike me as sane to buy a £400 phone and then root it, in the near certain knowledge that some functionality will be lost and the warranty invalidated. On the other hand, I could see that there was more genuine audio technology in the Z3 than I had realised,  and serious people were prepared to  compare it to at least a Fiio X1.   Despite this, the sound was like soup.
 
A breakthrough came, thanks to a sane voice on this thread, which referred to the possibility of downloading different player apps, specifically Neutron.  This removed the soup, banished the unwanted warmth of the Walkman app, and created a layered soundstage with pinpoint location (specifically the winds and the different string sections in a Mozart piano concerto).  The phrasing of the individual parts came to life, and the logic of the performance emerged.  An hour or two of A v B listening established that this was not some sort of placebo effect. On the other hand, thought decent, the sound was pretty lean. It could be criticised for being a bit more digital, less musical, than is ideal. It is not as good as I had been getting from my DX50.  But at least the music can be heard, and enjoyed.   And, as mentioned earlier in the thread, Neutron does contain an independent virtual volume slider that has more stops on it than the rather coarse physical volume control on the Z3.    It is surprising that a media technology company like Sony should, apparently, have so little understanding of what the end-user wants from the product;  their software approach entirely masks the potentialities of the hardware. 
 
Where does this leave me?   The Z3+Neutron combination is good enough to save me from buying an entry-level DAP as a stop-gap.   On days when only one device can be carried around, this is going to be quite satisfactory. For under £5 additional outlay, that is pretty good.   The combination is not good enough, on the evidence of my ears, to be the solution. So I shall continue to search for a dedicated DAP that makes a more complete job of realising the musicality, as well as the analytical structure, of the music that is on my files. 

 
I would be surprised if Sony made their phones sound as good as their DAPs. The ZX2 alone could buy 3 Z3's. It's either they devalue their phones or their DAPs or both.