[Slavomirs]

Hi, I am considering IEMs for use with my Xperia Z3 like Beyerdynamic Byron, Sony MDR-EX650, or may be more expensive
Sennheiser Momentum M2 In-Ears if they are worth their higher price ... Do you have any experience with them? Thank you.

 

[shahkhan]

Z3 can not drive high impedance iems, like my vsonic gr07B e.g which is 50ohms. Keep that in mind while buying iems.

 

[Lazer72]

Z3 Compact + RHA MA750i 
Really good. 

 

[shahkhan]

Lg v10, vivo x5 and iphone6 etc sounds brighter and sibilant, and i want a warmer sounding smartphone as a source. What would you suggest in that regard?

 

[InfyAsiX]

Thanks to those who put their reviews and comparisons up on the Z3 in the past. They really helped me confirm and decide on the Z3 back then. I figure I should give some useful information back to the forum in return.

I adore the sound my Z3 Compact provides with Poweramp v3's Hi-Res Sony DSEE-HX 24bit 96khz upscaling support. Before using Poweramp I used Sony's music app which was the only way to utilise DSEE-HX. You can see it's functioning for example through detailed CPU process monitoring apps. There's an extra audio related CPU process using up significant processing power. Sony's music app is a bit flatter with less seemingly range in comparison.

For those disappointed with volume restrictions, I think you can increase the gain or digital volume by editing a few lines in a file with root access. If you're willing to do some configuring on an unlocked bootloader and custom kernel, I don't modify digital volume but modify the analog gain according to the headphone's sensitivity.

Using EliteKernel found on XDA Forums for it's FauxSound mod. It's possible to change the analog gain using a kernel settings app such as Kernel Adiutor. Even better is on Adiutor's donate version you can create setting profiles which I use to set a minimum, medium and maximum gain shortcuts. Using Tasker I then default to minimum gain on plugging in and have created a submenu with the three shortcuts for quick changing. As commonly known analog gain should be kept to the minimum required for the volume desired. By setting it up this way my IEMs and louder headphones are automatically set, while quieter headphones require a quick change to medium or maximum gain. This also means I have finer volume control within the normal digital volume control range for the type of headphones.

A few other nifty tricks related to Android is being able to use an Xposed module "Physical Button Music Control" for track control as well as fast forward or rewinding on the same buttons using double tap, triple tap, hold, etc. I think there's a few ways to set volume steps but I use Gravitybox to set it to 41 compared to the default 15.

It all may sound like a lot of effort but it makes all the difference to creating the best all in one portable media device! If anyone wants more information or help PM me.

 

[Slavomirs]

Z3 can not drive high impedance iems, like my vsonic gr07B e.g which is 50ohms. Keep that in mind while buying iems.

And what about AKG N60NC, which are 32 ohms? Would Z3 drive them properly?

 

[soundofmed]

anyone tried the B&O H6's with the Z3?

 

[ebrian]

Does anyone know what the next best progression is after the Xperia Z3? I have read about the LG V20 as the most recent best Audio phone, but that thing is massive, I mean it's basically a phablet. The V30 is probably even better, but that thing is about $1500 CAD right now. Not a very realistic chance that I'll be able to get that.

I wondering if anyone has ever put together a top 10 cellphone list based on audio quality. I see a lot of them online but they are always sorted by year. I'd want to know the best in terms of all-time.. so where would the Z3 rank amongst the top phones released this year, and last year, etc.

 

[YJX94]

There's not really that many. The best that's available now is the V30 followed by the V20. There's also the HTC U11, LG G6, ZTE Axon 7, Samsung Galaxy S8 and so on. Check out their individual reviews as well.

And check these:_

https://www.reddit.com/r/headphones/comments/5xpnmy/best_phone_for_audiophiles/

https://www.reddit.com/r/headphones/comments/68dx59/best_smartphone_for_audio/

 

[mafyou12]

About the headphone jack issues with these phones...
I had warranty service done on my Z3 Compact for most of my headphones not being recognized. The same thing is starting to happen again (out of warranty). I'd like to be able to keep using this thing, even when I get another phone at some point. Has anyone worked out a simple repair or workaround for the jack issue? I noticed that my headphones and cables with slightly longer connectors work well (some other, stubbier ones are not recognized at all... and some others need to be wiggled around a bit).

Maybe there's an adapter that would work well for this (3.5mm male to 3.5mm female). Something like the below. Wondering if anyone has tried using anything like this. If so, what specifically did you use? It's hard to spot which adapter might have a long enough connector since really all of these things are supposed to be the same length.

 

[Kyrts]

Man I just have been reading over at the Onkyo DP-CMX1 Granbeat thread people complaining about their headphone socket not working, well what can I say, I mean that Onkyo thing is in a different league altogether and even them can't get that headphone socket to work right...

Having said that, I wouldn't want such a cable adapter hanging from my phone all the time, and the phone being taken out of pockets and all this cable hanging there would probably strain the headphone socket more.

What I would be interested to know is if anyone had examined the faulty headphone socket after having it replaced in order to identify exactly why it failed. Was something loose inside, or some metal part broke, or some metal part lost its tension and did not touch the respective part of the jack properly or whatever happened in there in detail.

Having this information could lead to a long term fix or at least satisfy everyone's curiosity about why this thing breaks like that.

For the time being, best thing I can offer myself is a link to the Onkyo DP-CMX1 Granbeat thread...

https://www.head-fi.org/threads/onkyo-dp-cmx1-granbeat-dual-dac-balanced-phone-dap.819411/page-42

 

[InfyAsiX]

I've replaced four I think now across a few Z3Cs, I've lost count. It's hard to tell exactly the cause. Probably the metal contacts inside wear down. Would require cutting it up with some precision and knowledge to recognise a fault. The part isn't expensive to replace, when it even includes the proximity and light sensor. Cheapest recently I checked is from Aliexpress. I rely on the Z3C for outdoor activities (quite rough on the jack) and as my daily phone for the foreseeable future so I've got spares on hand for its ease of failure. The repair requires taking apart most of the phone as it's behind the motherboard.

 

[mafyou12]

I wouldn't want such a cable adapter hanging from my phone all the time

Beats nothing... but I'm with you there, I was hoping there would be a small, 1-piece adapter for this use.

I've replaced four I think now across a few Z3C

Wow. Since my last post, my Z3C's rear camera died and I managed to harm the screen somehow while replacing its adhesive. Are the newer Sony phones built any better? I see that for audio quality, LG has a lot of attention. Are those durable? For the moment I'm back to my iPhone 4S, which is still in great shape! Doesn't sound so great though.

 

[aertus]

Beats nothing... but I'm with you there, I was hoping there would be a small, 1-piece adapter for this use.



Wow. Since my last post, my Z3C's rear camera died and I managed to harm the screen somehow while replacing its adhesive. Are the newer Sony phones built any better? I see that for audio quality, LG has a lot of attention. Are those durable? For the moment I'm back to my iPhone 4S, which is still in great shape! Doesn't sound so great though.

2017 sony phones are the best since z3 came out. Also it seems that z3c is the lower quality built compared to the z3 which is better quality.

 

[InfyAsiX]

Also it seems that z3c is the lower quality built compared to the z3 which is better quality.

Experiences I've read have the headphone jack in Sony phones failing commonly in the particular era, not just the Z3C. Haven't read about recent model users to know about now.

Personally I stress mine with the jack plug jamming against my bike when mounted.