Audiophile Phones (Or phones with decent audio output)

Discussion in 'IEMs and Portable Gear' started by Rotijon, Apr 27, 2017.

  1. julian67

    julian67 Facebook Friend

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    My two penny's worth:

    I have the LG V20 and the Sony Xperia XZ1 (not the Compact). I bought the Sony to replace the LG. The LG as a DAP is extraordinarily good but as a phone it just got too frustrating: lack of timely updates (even security patches seem to be too much trouble for LG) and occasional issues with it deciding to consume all battery power and die. This is kind of important if you travel with e-tickets! I had learnt to also carry on long journeys my antique Samsung Galaxy Note II and spare battery as a back up ticket and Google Pay device. Yes, it was that unpredictable and unreliable. It felt like I was using a really nasty, unreliable generic android phone attached to an outrageously enjoyable and capable audio device.

    The Sony XZ1 is an utterly reliable phone. I have no idea what you might have to do to consume all battery power in a single day but I have not managed it yet (six months so far). It never crashes, it never misbehaves, it gets regular patches and version updates. I know everyone is supposed to desperately want a wrap around glass screen/body and a notch (why?) but I prefer a device I can drop/sit on/tread on etc (yes, I do all of these) so I'm more than happy with a metal body and bezels and a bumper case.

    The audio playback is very good but certainly lacks the power of the LG. If you have sensitive IEMs it is great. For example my Massdrop Nuforce EDC3s are surprisingly good out of the Sony, such that I don't think it lacks anything much compared to the LG or even a desktop amp. But as soon as I try my Vsonic GR07s or Koss Porta Pro or KSC75 or Sennheiser Momentum (circumaural headphone, not the IEM) it's immediately apparent that the Sony is at its very limits to drive modestly demanding portable headphones to a reasonable volume. It's not that there is a big sound quality issue, it's just power and levels. On the plus side the Sony can play pretty much any audio codec and format you like up to and including DSD without conversions. Of course, "can" doesn't mean "will always" because there is a system mixer but if you use Neutron or UAPP then you can bypass that and guarantee bit perfect playback.

    So now when I travel I just need the Sony and my EDC3s. At home I often prefer the LG V20 as a portable audio device (with UAPP it makes a great UPnP renderer).
     
  2. wormcycle

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    I am for LG, starting with V30 ThinQ if you can get it. This was the first time I bought a phone from a corner store in Toronto for 30% of the price and I am delighted. As a DAP I agree with @julian67, but I also love it as phone. My previous was HTC-10, I bought it for audio, paid a full price with a service provider and as a phone it was a garbage: BT and wifi hardly ever worked, lots of Bell Canada and HTC junk.
    LG V30 ThinQ is reliable, connectivity is seamless, adding UAPP will make it a perfect DAP. So yes LG, both for sound and as a phone.
    If you know how to do it, remove all the bloatware, that would make a phone even better.
     
  3. Thad E Ginathom

    Thad E Ginathom Friend

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    Is this bullcrap?

    recently, I heard something (I'm probably going to make it worse in the retelling) to the effect that head/earphones attached to a phone channel the harmful phone radiation straight into one's brains!

    Obviously nonsense. Except.... Duh... Is it?

    Right. I'm just off to steam my vagina. Oh wait, I'm a guy. I need a volunteer. In the name of scientific research!
     
  4. julian67

    julian67 Facebook Friend

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    It is nonsense indeed. If your phone's board has an FM tuner then it uses whatever is attached to the analogue headphone jack as an antenna. Otherwise the headphone jack is not a factor in anything except passing a (typically barely adequate) voltage to your IEM/headphone/amp.

    Anyway, have a nice time cleaning out your vajayjay. Pro Tip: save the holy yoni punani fempower magic juice for anyone you know who, when the offer of tea or coffee is made, prefers warm water. Also pee in it a little (only while fully hydrated as discolouration could lead to social awkwardness or even a custodial sentence).
     
  5. Syzygy

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    Reminds me of working in a restaurant. The restaurant standard for cleaning the griddle ("flat-top") was to use the scraping block, then finish with vinegar-and-water-soaked kitchen towel.

    We trained restaurant managers at our store, and the training manager was female. One night whilst a coworker was finishing cleaning the griddle, she walked by saying, "if it cleans the griddle that well, imagine what it does for your girlfriend"…and walked out of the room.

    All the guys cleaning the cook line just stood there with mouth agape, staring at each other in disbelief.

    --

    …and now, back to your regularly-scheduled discussion…
     
  6. Thad E Ginathom

    Thad E Ginathom Friend

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    My mouth is too agape!
     
  7. julian67

    julian67 Facebook Friend

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    Don't swallow.
     
  8. DigMe

    DigMe Friend

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  9. abraxas666

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    That would be a shame. My first lg phone 10 years ago, the G2X kinda sucked due to inestability issues and I "swore" to not buy another LG phone again. Fast forward to the V30 which I bought 4 years ago due to the audiophile apeal and was sincerly surprised by it. Thanks to the great experience I bought the LG V60 and use its dual screen experience when multitasking from bed.
    Hopefully they decide to keep the phone business and change aome of their business practices.
     
  10. HHS

    HHS Almost "Made"

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    Even if LG wasn't leaving the business it seems possible they were done with the "Quad DAC" regardless. It's been more than a year since the V60 was released and they seemed to be pivoting their smartphone design in a different direction with the Velvet and Wing
     
  11. shuto

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    Hey everyone. I have been using LG phones for several years now, for their better sound quality. I currently have an LG G7 Thinq.

    I previously owned the Mojo and ifi idsd Black Label. From memory, I believe both of those are noticeably better, but haven't used either in at least three years.

    Since I work from home now, I don't want to spend too much, but I would like something portable, or at least transportable, that would be better than my phone. Would something like the iFi Hip Dac or FiiO Q3 (both have an msrp of $150) be a noticeable improvement? I'm assuming the answer is no, but I'm curious what the group thinks. I wouldn't be driving anything power-hungry.

    This sounded a bit too specific for the all-purpose thread, but I'm happy to re-post there if that's more appropriate.
     
  12. bixby

    bixby Friend

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    @shuto

    Don't waste too much time over a replacement for the G7 ThinQ. I just acquired a second one in anticipation of LG being gone forever. The ThinQ sounds great and better than the hip dac I heard. Not sure about the fiio Q3 but another highly regarded dap (Plenue) did not beat the LG either.

    I too owned a Mojo and to me mobile was the worst use imaginable for it. Did not sound great fed from a phone and the damn USB connection with the phone in your pocket was a joke, kept disconnecting due to movement. Better left at home where it can do more good.

    Oops you said transportable, so I am assuming you would not be connecting to the phone, what is your source? What cans are you planning to use, that could be a big factor?

    I thought you were looking for on the go and perhaps using iems, so you may disregard the above if not
     
  13. shuto

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    Hey, thanks for the insight. I can provide more detail.

    The use case for something portable is that I would use it around the house or back porch and it would sound better than straight out of my phone.

    Sizewise I'd be fine with anything as small as a FiiO Btr5 or as big as an iFi idsd brick. So, bluetooth is nice to have but not critical. Such a solution would need to have an internal battery, since my phone's battery is starting to slow down and I'd rather get something with a dedicated battery.

    I currently have a Grado Hemp and a FiiO FH7, both of which are super efficient. I may upgrade the Hemp down the line to a better Grado (which will almost certainly be efficient) or a ZMF Aeolus/ Auteur, which will sit safely on my desk 95% of the time.

    I previously owned the Btr5, which I thought sounded fine, but sold it before I had my current Hemp/FH7 combo. I currently have a Jabra Elite Active 65T tws iem, which is super convenient but not good enough sonically. I also bought a FiiO UTWS3 (bluetooth dongle) to make the FiiO FH7 wireless, but it made the iems sound like garbage. This was really disappointing, since I like the FH7 and that would have been an ideal setup.

    This reminds me that I bought one of those impedance adapters when I bought the V10 or V20, which tricked the phone into high-gain mode. I haven't tried it with the ThinQ. I should probably try to track it down.

    I also have my old LG V20, but I think it's cooked. It might be fun to strap a portable amp to it, though I'd look like a massive dipshit if I do that.
     
  14. bixby

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    If you haven't been activating the higher power mode in the ThinQ, perhaps you can try that before plunking down on another brick to move around. In the moderately priced space I like the iFi bricks, Fiio not so much, but I have not listened to their newer models. I found most lower priced amps to sound worse or only different than the phone. If I were doing this and needed a good sounding amp with some power I would consider a JDS cmoy. Still surprisingly good with the right opamp.

    You can trick the ThinQ into giving you the higher power without a impedance matcher for your less than 150 ohm cans. I use a simple 3 foot 3.5mm extension cable made by Sony for about $8. I plug that into the G7 and start play then plug the cans into the extension. The phone senses the extension as an audio accessory and goes into higher power mode.

    Sorry I cannot help with specific recs on newer mid level amps, just stopped when I realized I certainly can live with the sound of the G7. Good luck in the journey.
     
    Last edited: Oct 20, 2023
  15. shuto

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    I think this is the correct answer. I can put that $150 to better use elsewhere for sure.

    2-channel power amps, here I come!
     
  16. HHS

    HHS Almost "Made"

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    You don't even need an extension cable to get into aux mode on LG phones if you're using headphones with detachable cables (so not a Grado or entry level Beyer), you just plug the cable into the phone before plugging it into your headphones. Extension cable does the same trick for headphone with permanent cables. Note that aux mode isn't delivering full power, it's the medium power output for the Quad DAC. High impedance mode is full power and you need to trick it into thinking you've attached a 50+ ohm headphone.

    Tricking it into high impedance should be possible by using a short extension cable, an impedance adapter and the headphone cable all in-line, then removing the impedance adapter from the chain. At least that used to work on the V10 and V20, but it's been a while since I tried that trick, not sure if it still works on their newer phones. Aux mode should be enough for most sub-50 ohm headphones other than some planars (I run my Aeon RTs in aux mode on the G8 but it's reaching the limits).
     
  17. shuto

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    Yes, that's how it worked on my V10 and V20 with the impedance adapter. If I can find it, I'll test and report back re. the G7 Thinq.
     

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