Mobile phone with good DAC
- Thread starter mailalok
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drgb
Active Member
Having listened to almost all "Music" oriented phones from the past few years, in my opinion nothing has ever sounded better than my Nokia N91 except the Vivo X5 Max; which according to me is the current king of mobiles when it comes to audio quality.
The phones' audio hardware has some of the best specifications ever seen on a phone. It uses a top-of-the-line Sabre ES9018K2M DAC that feeds the beefy Sabre ES9601 headphone amplifier and two additional TI OPA1612 op-amps.
The end result is the most neutral audio reproduction you can ever come across. I mean this thing is a marvel. No-matter what music, no matter what headphones. It just performs like a champ.
I can go as far as saying that it almost sounds as good as (if not louder) than my Fiio E17.
Currently its available for around 25k (not sure).
The phones' audio hardware has some of the best specifications ever seen on a phone. It uses a top-of-the-line Sabre ES9018K2M DAC that feeds the beefy Sabre ES9601 headphone amplifier and two additional TI OPA1612 op-amps.
The end result is the most neutral audio reproduction you can ever come across. I mean this thing is a marvel. No-matter what music, no matter what headphones. It just performs like a champ.
I can go as far as saying that it almost sounds as good as (if not louder) than my Fiio E17.
Currently its available for around 25k (not sure).
sarith
Active Member
It might sound funny..A humble set-up it is, I have Asha 501 and I liked it better when compared to other phones like Lumia 800, Xperia T1, Nokia 6303 (old) and Galaxy Duos in terms of music playback (.wav)
Asha doesn't have an EQ function and the output volume is limited compared to some other phones (never felt the need for more than 80% vol..normally plays @ 60%). Without EQ playback, Asha 501 + Sony MDR-XB600 sounded good.
Asha doesn't have an EQ function and the output volume is limited compared to some other phones (never felt the need for more than 80% vol..normally plays @ 60%). Without EQ playback, Asha 501 + Sony MDR-XB600 sounded good.
I'm not too surprised - I have the Nokia X2-01 (predecessor of Asha 20x, 50x, etc.) and it had excellent analog audio out, as well. I still use it as a reference DAC when comparing portable media players.
reignofchaos
Well-Known Member
Anything that has a snapdragon will have to use the inbuilt dac in the SOC - these are best avoided.
I know what you are referring to but my HTC One M8 is a snapdragon of course and it sounds quite nice for a phone. Best I have had from a phone actually, the Lenovo K900 is a close competitor but HTC wins.
reignofchaos
Well-Known Member
It might sound decent - good even. However there would be better solutions out there. My wife has an M8 and her ipod touch sounds significantly better than it - the ipod is way more neutral.
sarith
Active Member
That's intriguing. I would like to try X2-01. Before Asha 501, I have used Nokia C6-01 and N-72 which were quite good. The best Nokia I have used till date is 6233 music edition (Finland make..still have it).
I have an iPod classic and perhaps surprisingly it is almost a no contest, HTC sounds better, cleaner with Power Amp + ATH M50.
As far as the iPod touch is concerned, I had a couple and they were good, but would it be really that different from a classic? To my ears HTC wins.
for guys searching mob with good dac ... couple of well designed FLAC players have been available in india thanks to ecom revolution
fioo x-series 7k onward
Xdoo X2 : just 4K XDuoo X2 Digital Audio Player: Amazon.in: Electronics
Gadget Hero's RUIZU:2.5k
fioo x-series 7k onward
Xdoo X2 : just 4K XDuoo X2 Digital Audio Player: Amazon.in: Electronics
Gadget Hero's RUIZU:2.5k
reignofchaos
Well-Known Member
The touch is much much better than the classics. The classics had hard drive noise and that affected the workings negatively. The HTC has a bloated bass signature to my ears - the ATH M50 also sounds bloated to my ears so maybe neither of those is up my alley. Personal preferences differ greatly. I use an etymotic er4p which is diametrically opposite to the sound of the M50.
You are right about the bass, although to me it is not bloated. I like that full bodied presentation, so for me HTC fits better.
Now you have intrigued me, I will borrow the iTouch that I sold to my friend and compare it with the classic.
elt93
Active Member
iPhone 6 it is for me. Definitely blows my HTC One X out of the water through klipsch image s4 and sennheiser cx300 2
Crisp detailed and a nice and tight low end.
Crisp detailed and a nice and tight low end.
elt93
Active Member
iPhone 6 it is for me. Definitely blows my HTC One X out of the water through klipsch image s4 and sennheiser cx300 2
Crisp detailed and a nice and tight low end.
Crisp detailed and a nice and tight low end.
sarith
Active Member
How long it's been that you bought Klipsch image s4?
elt93
Active Member
The klipsch image s4 is 3 years old now. The sennheisers are a year old. I like the sennheisers more though....
D
Deleted member 45006
Guest
+1 for iphone 6, its a clear winner. I normally use a fiio x3 for normal listening . but I don't think unless u listen to hi res, fiio is needed if u have an iPhone. To me, soundstage on an iPhone is clearly wider. Also imaging is more precise. Though unlike elt93 mentioned, the low end is little loose(compared to x3). My setup is not pefect as both my klipsch s4i and AKG K551 are made for iPhone, and fiio might sound better with something else. But then I would be curious to try those on iPhone 
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