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Hi All,
I'm looking for a replacement for my battered Galaxy S3.
The Sony Xperia range attracts me because of it's water resistant feature - I use my phone outdoors a lot.
I have looked at the Z1 and Z1 compact but the major thing putting me off buying is reports of poor audio quality through the earphones.
I had the original Galaxy and also now the S3 and something the both had in common was excellent audio quality (Wolfson DAC).
I have read plenty of stuff on the web about the noise cancelling abilities of the Z2 but nothing about the audio quality itself.
Anyone out there care to enlighten me?
Thanks
I am thinking same thing. My I9300 is still OK, but ... Problem is I have yet to hear a Qualcomm phone with exceptional audio. But maybe. Or maybe if there is a big iphone...
One of my gripes with sony phones since the xperia play/arc/arc s is the audio volume, on the xperia s/t/z/z1 is not loud enough atall never mind loud speaker peeformance
I'm having similar worries, also coming from SGS3. I'm just about to get the Dunu DN-1000 iems and wondering if the Z2 will give the output they deserve. Waiting to hear about this.
SuperMarioGalaxy said:
I'm having similar worries, also coming from SGS3. I'm just about to get the Dunu DN-1000 iems and wondering if the Z2 will give the output they deserve. Waiting to hear about this.
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I'm happy with the sound from my Xperia Z using Ortofon e-Q7. I think having high efficiency iems helps keep the distortion low, as there is no need to turn it up to max volume.
I'm just comparing this to the One M8 which is my current phone, and to be honest this is almost as good, if not better than the M8 is almost all aspects. One thing which I'm curious about though, which is very under-reported in all media and all reviews, is how the audio quality is when recording very loud things during video recording. To me, there are only 3 phones which are capable of recording things like concerts, street music performances or other really loud things and not have the audio quality make you cringe - The Nokia 808, Nokia 1020 and the One/One M8. Those phones have special microphones which make recording things like music concerts absolutely possible without the sound distorting to a horrible degree.
So how is the Z3 in this respect? The Z2 was just as bad as any other phone other than the 3 I listed above, so I expect the Z3 is just as bad, but I'd like to find a definitive answer before passing judgement.
I GOT A Z2 AND WHEN I RECORD VIDEOS IN THE CLUB ( VERY LOUD BOOM) i use http://www.sonymobile.com/global-en/products/accessories/stereo-microphone-stm10/ and sound is better than any phone out there now if u try without it forget it bad hopefully it would work on the z3
Is the audio quality only bad with loud music /loud noise?? I wouldnt expect a camera phone to record a video at a concert with high quality audio to be fair but would be awesome if it could
To be honest man, with z2 forget about recording at really loud concerts, they somehow ****ed up software-wise recording mic gain...
I would love an answer to this as well...I'm excited for this device to be available stateside. I'm coming from owning galaxy phones since the SII and I would like a change. All the galaxy phones I've had were terrible at recording in very loud environments. My girlfriend's Iphone would do great.
[kEkA] said:
To be honest man, with z2 forget about recording at really loud concerts, they somehow ****ed up software-wise recording mic gain...
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almost any android sounds bad in loud environments( htc one m8 sounds decent) thats why sony came out the smp10 or whatever the name is for it using that microphone connect it to ur z2 sounds is amazing i show u i recorded this at a erasure concert http://youtu.be/Jj14G_-F24k and this one is in a club LOUD 4K btw http://youtu.be/4YRAmzn-APo all of those video were recorded using a z2 this one with a lumia 1520 http://youtu.be/5KVPxgIMwQU
Wondering about this one as well, read that the Z3 actually has different recording modes for audio including a concert one so it might actually finally be addressed! Usually the sensitivity is way too high for concerts with phones... But I haven't actually been able to find any results. Had the Lumia930 (and 920) which were also excellent for concerts...
And getting additional mics for me isn't really an option unfortunately...
Looked up the link: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=55458948&postcount=41
Yes, three audio recording modes now and auto. Not yet tried video in a loud environment, but have to assume it's better than the Z2 (not hard).
Smeghead_ said:
I'm just comparing this to the One M8 which is my current phone, and to be honest this is almost as good, if not better than the M8 is almost all aspects. One thing which I'm curious about though, which is very under-reported in all media and all reviews, is how the audio quality is when recording very loud things during video recording. To me, there are only 3 phones which are capable of recording things like concerts, street music performances or other really loud things and not have the audio quality make you cringe - The Nokia 808, Nokia 1020 and the One/One M8. Those phones have special microphones which make recording things like music concerts absolutely possible without the sound distorting to a horrible degree.
So how is the Z3 in this respect? The Z2 was just as bad as any other phone other than the 3 I listed above, so I expect the Z3 is just as bad, but I'd like to find a definitive answer before passing judgement.
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Lol. Didn't you know htc had to change there audio capture setup as they copied a patent by nokia so only early htc one phones were good at capturing loud music. Htc had to revise mics and capture of audio got worst with newer models.
http://www.dailytech.com/Nokia+Wins...+to+Sink+Struggling+Handsets/article30403.htm
ipmanwck said:
Lol. Didn't you know htc had to change there audio capture setup as they copied a patent by nokia so only early htc one phones were good at capturing loud music. Htc had to revise mics and capture of audio got worst with newer models.
http://www.dailytech.com/Nokia+Wins...+to+Sink+Struggling+Handsets/article30403.htm
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I thought HTC eventually came to some sort of agreement with Nokia and it's all been sorted now?
I know the LG G3 made a big deal of recording in loud environments, and when I tested video recording on that earlier in the year, I noticed it's extremely directional too,
I can only hope Sony has improved things massively, to have even added a menu option to let you choose.
ajftl said:
almost any android sounds bad in loud environments( htc one m8 sounds decent) thats why sony came out the smp10 or whatever the name is for it using that microphone connect it to ur z2 sounds is amazing i show u i recorded this at a erasure concert http://youtu.be/Jj14G_-F24k and this one is in a club LOUD 4K btw http://youtu.be/4YRAmzn-APo all of those video were recorded using a z2 this one with a lumia 1520 http://youtu.be/5KVPxgIMwQU
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I am sure that there is a way to fix that,
Few days ago I've been in a very very loud place, in a club. I wanted to send some recordings and since that person didn't have viber I did it via facebook messenger, I was more then surprised how good it recorded, and it made think that theres something wrong with software they are making, with the mic gain, but not with the OS or hardware itself.
I can't wait for someone to post their impressions of z3 in loud place.
I'm only gonna be sad that I won't be changing my z2 in next one or two years, which is perfect for me in any way, if z3 proves to be better and audio recording.
I would this weekend. I got a z3 in my hands I would try with and without the smp10
Don't forget to inform us please, if its gonna be positive im gonna think of selling z2 and getting z3 compact then.
Blaalad12 said:
Is the audio quality only bad with loud music /loud noise?? I wouldnt expect a camera phone to record a video at a concert with high quality audio to be fair but would be awesome if it could
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The M8 records concert sound absolutely great, and the M7 before it did it even better. I do not hold up too much hope of the Z3 doing the same as it is not quite the beast the M8 is.
As for Nokia patents, pretty sure that was sorted as M8 concert recordings sure sound like they use HDR mics.
After that I had a problem with distorted sound
Video shooting on my xperia z1
I solved it through PIMP MY XPERIA Z1
I reduced the microphone volume in five levels
And now he Recorder
Great
Before
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q9rTrkEnvjo
Listen to the recording quality in youtube
After
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q4Tf29RQXQE
pimp my z1...doest it work on...z3? (mic level volume control..?)
guybrush2099 said:
pimp my z1...doest it work on...z3? (mic level volume control..?)
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No need to use any "pimping". Simply play only the sound from the right microphone (VLC player has this option for example). Sony did a **** job with mics. Left is much worse than right. So when you mix it to stereo the result is pure crap. But if you play the sound only from the right mic, it's pretty good, it's mono of course, but at least it sounds a little bit like real world
guybrush2099 said:
pimp my z1...doest it work on...z3? (mic level volume control..?)
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yes new the mic is perfect
So..anyone tried to record in a loud environment with the Z3? How is it??
I record this video with Xperia Z3 , with low Sensitivity mic setting, and cinema fv-5 for touch focus, the audio output is low because i set mono recording (64kbps, 22khz), but if you put in stereo and aac-he, the output is (157kbps, 48khz), i think is very good in loud environments.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uqGVmbwmXqQ
So I have received my Z3 D6633 today. Luckily, XDA members had thread about which model work with tmobile in the US. Here are my impressions, and why I took a risk to purchase my Z3 despite my Z1 is only 1 year old.
I hear Sony rave about their high-res Z3 capability. I thought it was a marketing tool. I had been following Iphones, Galaxy, and lately Sony for portable music. They all had been very disappointing, until the Z3.
Now, my question was, how could Sony claim it ? Was it just a Software to color the music ? the Equalizer of some short ? I did a lot of research, and I was lucky that I found my answers.
From Sony "Z2 had the capability to play HD audio, but you will need a converter, where as the Z3 has it built in, as long as you have an HD head sets, then you can listen to your HD Music"
1/ Z3 use WCD9320 Audio Codec which is Qualcomm
2/ Z3 also use TFA9890 (2x) chips. Now, this is an DAC amp with each single one can sample the music rating at 8-48kHz. Two of these brings the Z3 to be able to sample up to 96kHz.
So how is this different from the other Android phones and or Iphone 6 ?
I am not a nerd with full knowledge of Music Technologies, but what I do get is
"It is a Phone together with a Portable Amp.....?" It may not be the S-Master chipset, but this is just already too good
Yeah, and that was the deciding factor for me to went ahead and made my purchase. Any other phones may claim to be able to play HD audio, but non of them have these good built-in AMP!! Z3 also has the software to restore loss bits from MP3 songs >.< Don't know how it work....tongue.gif
Xperia Z3 tear down picture can be found here
http://www.phonearena.com/news/Sony...ar-component-layout-is-easy-to-repair_id61323
TFA9890 DAC chip can be found here
http://www.nxp.com/documents/short_data_sheet/TFA9890_SDS.pdf
I will update as soon as my Z3 arrived. biggrin.gif
I didn't know where to post this, and I research about headphones a lot in this section. I thought I would post it here for whoever is curious about the Xperia Z3 Audio Quality.
Please feel free to fix my mistakes as if I misunderstood any of the new technologies. Thank you
Review
I am super impressed by the performance of Z3 with music playback "FLAC" or lossless files. I only have time to test this, and FLAC is the only source I have for now.
Details, details, details are everywhere. Low, Mid, High, all are more clear, more separated, sound fuller, and smoother. Now this is the comparison to the other cell phones.
Do you remember the time Sony had Walkman CD player ? Yes, this is it, but it is more technological advanced, as you can purchase, download songs, keep it over the cloud and ....etc. Even though this phone doesn't have the S-master chip set, but I assure you that you will not be disappointed.
For the last few years, I had been following, purchasing headphones, earbuds, headset, and ended up giving them away. I could never find a good pair of headset to make me love my music again as the CD walkman before. I kept on seeing oh how wonderful the music will be, and what you are losing out. Now, it doesn't matter what pair of headphone I have, Z3 will blast away, bring full details and music to my ears, I just need to play around with the EQ bands to my taste.
Thank you Sony, my heart is full of joys and tears. You had answered my prayers and thoughts
1/ Cell phone
2/ Portable music player
3/ Quality music without external amp
I am in love with the Xperia Z3. When the original Iphone came out, I was impressed with their ability to youtube, touch screen....etc. Now, I am impressed with Z3 high-res audio.
Conclusion, music are very detailed, full spectrum, full over take, full syncing and instrumental details are awesome. I am not an expert audiophiles, sound engineering, high-end rich person. But I do enjoy music, and sound system. If you love music, and always wonder what detailed music mean, you will love this new Xperia Z3.
**I had never combined external portable amp with any cellphone for music due to the inconvenience and on top of that I have a very good stereo system.**
Thanks for this awesome review. I'm getting more and more excited about the Z3 coming to T-mobile.
I got my Z3 yesterday and put 24/96 flac track and the same song as a direct CD rip and the difference was incredible! Only thing I would like was a bit more volume, but seeing as I rarely listen to music vis earbuds/headphones, I can't complain. Although I may start listening in this manner a lot more due to the hi-res capabilities, if I keep the phone? But that is for another thread...
The volume via headphones from the Z3 is about the same as the Z1/2. I agree that it could use a bit more volume, but with 2x chips TFA9890 I think the Z3 is capable of much more. Now we just need some one to hack it, and remove the limit. I think this limit is to make the battery last longer.
I wonder if the Voodoo sound hack work on it.
I too have been really impressed with the sound quality from the phone. Its night and day compared my S3, I dont usually appreciate sound modes etc but enabling "studio mode" made a massive difference especially when I was streaming music via BT in the car.
Next review
Connected to a 3.5mm jack to a 2000W amplifier. Uhm, what can I say ? It can totally be used as a High-res Audio player. That is all I can say. Totally worth it. The first and only smart phone to output this much details in music over the 3.5mm jack. I have tested many phones my family member went through, including all Iphone models, Galaxy....HTC. Now, I am not talking about how "LOUD" the music can get...remember this is a 2000W system. It can blow your roof off. I am talking about how "Detailed" the music can get to. Z3 is the worthy member to download and purchase FLAC songs and utilize my Stereo system
If you Z3 owners haven't tried this
Power Amp, get to Music FX and hold it for couple seconds it will allow you to utilize Walkman Equalizer and clean bass as well. Try it...muahahaha :good::good:
I agree the sound quality on the Z3 is absolutely excellent - Sony Win
For the headphone issue though, i'm afraid for the majority of us who won't be unlocking due to the camera issues (I say that as in the majority of people won't even be here let alone rooting), hacks to increase headphone volume are an utter waste of time.
I for one will just have to learn to live with quiet headphone volume - Sony lose
I will not be hacking my Z3 for headphones volume neither. I use it with JVC HA-FX40H purchased from Adorama online store. They are under 20$ and worth every pennies and 3x more :good:
I could always crank up the whole thing to almost deafen myself, but I wouldn't do that. Try Power Amp with Music FX within the app, the Power amp app open up almost 2x louder than the Walkman app
I am totally satisfied with Z3 as a premium smart phone, premium portable music player, and water proof....well, I won't be testing it :victory::victory::victory::victory:
How much louder are the speakers compared to the Z1? The Z1 has a big speaker grille on the bottom but the speaker is only on one small side of it(If you cover half the grille the sound is the same), which when I realized, made me very disappointed.
I like using my phone in the shower for music so just wondering.
Z3 vs Z1 loud speaker will be about almost 1.75x difference. You have better bass in the Z3 loud speaker. I don't use it too much, so I will not have much details about this. But in the Loud speaker department, which will throw away most of the music details and leave only bass and treble to play, you better buy M8. All the reviews and tests point to the HTC M8 being superior to Loud Speaker music playing.
Z3 is High resolution music play back, which I recommend a good pair of Headphones, doesn't have to be expensive, and you can enjoy what music really meant to be heard.
Enjoy
Sound quality is great but the volume is too low. Once we have root these types of things will be fixed.
Making the speakers louder with root won't damage the phone?
I am waiting for people unwittingly playing 128kb files and raving about HD quality
Z3 seems to be a nice device
Has anyone actually connected a USB DAC and tried USB audio with the Z3?
I am getting all kinds of crackling noises which is very annoying. Makes the phone next to useless since it has relatively little power to drive high end headphones.
This post
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=55735812&postcount=4
seems to indicate that the hi-res audio can only be output via the DAC. if its true, then it would be kind of a turn off.
But i think maybe he is incorrect. Because according to this
http://drippler.com/updates/share/xperia-details-hi-res-audio-explained
"Xperia Z2 was compatible with Hi-Res Audio but you needed a converter to listen to it. So in Xperia Z3, we’ve built that converter into the phone. If you have Hi-Res compatible headphones you can just plug them in to the headphone jack like any other pair and listen away."
So it seem that it doesn't require a DAC afterall.
No it doesn't require a dac. The required hardware and software are built into the phone.
Sent from my D6603 using Tapatalk
Okay so I transferred one or two stock pre installed FLAC files from the LG G2 that I had. Vienna Boy's Choir I think. Now using the DSEE HX i noticed a major improvement in the audio quality, tones were richer and more defined. That is just using my cheap sony earphones. I can't imagine what it would sound like wearing powerful quality headphones. Bear in mind that I am a noob when it comes to enjoying HQ music.
However, even a noob like me could notice that my Z3 was noticeably richer, bassier and had better fidelity than my iPhone 6+, using the same low cost earphones. Granted, I was just playing a random Maroon 5 track from youtube on both devices to control the variables as much as I could.
I'm really pleased with the audio quality also. However, I do share the same sentiments as others in this thread, it needs a bit more volume.
Bluetooth for me is a great experience. Headphones... I get about 1/5th of the power that I was getting from my note 3. Using a set of klipsch ear buds, does sony hate other brands of headphones or am I missing something? Anyone else having this issue?
Hello all audiophile Z5 owners!
How is the headphone output on this phone?
Is the quality good and loud?
Where can I find more specifications of the headphone jack and internal amp?
TordFuglstad said:
Hello all audiophile Z5 owners!
How is the headphone output on this phone?
Is the quality good and loud?
Where can I find more specifications of the headphone jack and internal amp?
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Click to collapse
I wouldn't say I was a proper audio file but the audio on the z5 is good its really clear and louder than previous Z phones but once again sony have missed the loudness trick.
After reading GSM arenas review of the C5 ultra and the M5 saying without headphones the volume levels were 'excellently high' and with headphones they fell to below average on the C5 and fell on the M5 too but it was so high on the M5 to start off with that that it still remained a good volume. So this means that the M5 is louder than the Z5 range, I had high hopes for the Z line then they tested the Z5C and it just got a average.
According to GSM Arena.
Audio quality has its ups and downs
The Sony Xperia Z5 Compact did a very good job in the first part of our audio quality test, where it's connected to an active external amplifier. The scores it got were great top to bottom but it only matched them with an average volume level so we can't quite call it perfect.
Plugging in a pair of headphones harm the stereo crosstalk but it remained decent, but it also introduced a bit of frequency response deviation and brought the volume down a notch. Not too bad of a showing, but certainly not one worth bragging about.
I can't consider myself an audiophile but I will say the Z5 audio is an.improvement over the Z5 in both clarity and volume. It doesn't approach ZTE Axon level of quality and HTC M9 volume but it is adequate for the casual listener. I have dsee hx switched on which disables all other audio settings.
how is the volume in z5 compare to z3
entra6 said:
how is the volume in z5 compare to z3
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louder than Z3 but imo could be louder yet still
RCJ89 said:
louder than Z3 but imo could be louder yet still
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Click to collapse
Exactly, well stated.
Coming from the Z1 it's a massive improvement on just about every level: Cleaner, wider and louder. It's very good, I'd say - I've certainly enjoyed listening to music on it very much!
"Loud enough"? How loud do you need it to be? Any louder than it is and I'm sure you'd hurt your hearing: it's plenty loud.
Timaustin2000 said:
Coming from the Z1 it's a massive improvement on just about every level: Cleaner, wider and louder. It's very good, I'd say - I've certainly enjoyed listening to music on it very much!
"Loud enough"? How loud do you need it to be? Any louder than it is and I'm sure you'd hurt your hearing: it's plenty loud.
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Tbh there are many phones alot louder than the Z5 and the whole sony range and people are not complaining. There are phones from HTC, Iphone, Note 4/5/Edge Plus and especially Xiaomi and Meizu that are alot louder.
RCJ89 said:
Tbh there are many phones alot louder than the Z5 and the whole sony range and people are not complaining. There are phones from HTC, Iphone, Note 4/5/Edge Plus and especially Xiaomi and Meizu that are alot louder.
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Of that I have no doubt but do people put those phones to max volume? Do they need to? The ability and necessity are two separate things.
The Z5 is plenty loud for just about any headphone need, so far as I can make out. I'd certainly never put it to max.
Allright, so I purchased the graphite black Z5 yesterday. I have done some quick listening to the audio out of the jack through my ATH IM50 in ear monitors and haven't broken in the hardware yet. But I can definitely hear a difference from the Z3. All over the sound is very clear, it seems like a good separation and I can definitely get some really smooth low tones and crisp higher tones as well. I haven't been fooling around with the EQ yet. But feel like I don't need to.
About the loudness, I feel it is louder than the Z3 and very much loud enough to run a pair of good IEM's like the IM50's. I am listening now and have the volume two down from maximum. Probably won't be as loud with some big headphones. But any a person with a little self respect will have a headphone amp for that purpose. :good:
Timaustin2000 said:
Of that I have no doubt but do people put those phones to max volume? Do they need to? The ability and necessity are two separate things.
The Z5 is plenty loud for just about any headphone need, so far as I can make out. I'd certainly never put it to max.
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Fair enough for me its the bigger expensive headphones that make the difference with less expensive headphones like in ear or on ear it is never loud enough, in a busy street i still can hear noise around me.
I know some people who do have them on max volume definitely. I always had my note 4 on max volume and my HTC M7 and my 6S but only with lesser expensive headphones on headphones £200 and over no need to but even when are not at max they are still louder than Z5 at Max volume. Each to their own at the end of the day but sometimes its not always practical for me to carry around my larger headphones so I use in ear ones than I can just put in my pocket.
Hi,
I'm also trying to squeeze perfect sound from android. I use this portable DAC
http://www.theabsolutesound.com/articles/audioquest-dragonfly-v12-usb-dac/
via USB OTG cable. For playback I use "USB audio player pro". It can stream very high resolution audio files. At the moment I'm listening music on Audio technica ATH M50x headphones.
Sound with external DAC is a way better than directly from audio jack
RCJ89 said:
Tbh there are many phones alot louder than the Z5 and the whole sony range and people are not complaining. There are phones from HTC, Iphone, Note 4/5/Edge Plus and especially Xiaomi and Meizu that are alot louder.
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Click to collapse
That's unfortunate. One of the reasons I sent back my iPhone 6s, and opted to get a Z5 Compact is because I didn't think the sound of the 6s was much of a step up from my iPhone 4s. I was hoping the Z5 would be louder and fuller, especially for in-ear headphones at the gym. Might just be the headphones I've been using though. Maybe an upgrade in that department would resolve any potential issues I might have with the Z5.
I use sennheiser mm50 ip in ear phones with poweramp set to rock preset and to me the sound is nice crisp quality at loud enough volume levels
Sent from my Xperia z5 by Tapatalk
@TordFuglstad & @Timaustin2000 I've been enjoying your camera works (on 'that' thread) very much. Maybe you guys could post on the 'regular' photo thread at times
Don't get me wrong, guys. Before dropping > $100 on a pair of cans, maybe an 'audiophile' should get a cheap $50 DAC first. But it's not very convenient - we all know. That's why I'm looking at LDAC for the first time (wireless SQ is usually terrible compared to wired). LDAC could still be over-hyped, I'm willing to give it shot for the first time. But I can't find too many LDAC headphones to choose from. Any suggestions?
I read that there is no custom DAC in the Z5 (vs. Z3), but they added LDAC support. Unfortunately, I can't find almost any headphones that support it. I was really hoping they would have added it to the SBH bluetooth line by now.
How does the audio quality compare to HTC Butterfly s (which I have now) or I9505 Galaxy S4? What about HTC M9 or iPhone 6?
I take GSMArena's results with a grain of salt. I bought the Butterfly s partly based on their review saying the volume was loud and that there was no distortion. Unfortunately, while the audio quality is great at medium-high volumes the bass distorts above 12/15, and there is hissing with IEMs.
My questions are 1) do these hiss? and 2) do they distort with bass? (test track would be Daft Punk - Touch)
I'm a hardcore SONY audiophile, and while the Z5 is fantastic, the Walkman ZX2 is still by FAR my favorite mobile music player when coupled with the XBA-Z5 in-earphones ( made in Japan ) and/or Z7 headphones ( made in Japan) by Sony,
followed in close 2nd place by the newer less pricey ZX100 Walkman, which is a step up from the A series.
Lol even the A series is stomping on the Z5. No point to compare it to the zx2/1/100
Sent from my E6653
Since I´m fairly interested in buying the X Compact, could anyone or did anyone compare soundquality (with headphones) of those phones?
I´m listening to music with my phone a lot, so this is one of the most important criterias. I would really appreciate some input about the quality with headphones plugged in and also connected with Bluetooth.
I know this is a really subjective matter, but maybe someone can figure out some differences there and try to describe it.
Also plz note that this is about actually testing, listening and using the phones WITHOUT an external AMP.
You can comment comparsions with similar phones ofc, too. thx!
Edit: damit can someone plz edit the title and delete the "Iphone" in fron of Z3C thx..
I havent tried this phone yet...but overall sound quality in Xperia phones is always better due to the sound enhancement options available in stock sony music app(walkman)
Kianush said:
I havent tried this phone yet...but overall sound quality in Xperia phones is always better due to the sound enhancement options available in stock sony music app(walkman)
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Well thats what you might think.., but Sony also produces way better cameras than those they put into their own damn phones.
So just because of some marketing "enhancement" options it does not mean the quality actually is better. I already read product descpretions myself, im really about actually testing. If anyone can find some serious test and not just some well placed product advertising you can also link it. I could not find more than 2 and they didn´t really describe how they tested it.
*Edit: Also already found tests of older Sony Xperia smartphones and those clearly proof that the quality is worse than in the Iphone and many others in the same pricing range.
Also considering that CD quality music (only got arround 2 FLAC albums yet xP) is beeing played. Sony obviously supports Highres-Audio, which the 6s does not.
majus22 said:
Well thats what you might think.., but Sony also produces way better cameras than those they put into their own damn phones.
So just because of some marketing "enhancement" options it does not mean the quality actually is better. I already read product descpretions myself, im really about actually testing. If anyone can find some serious test and not just some well placed product advertising you can also link it. I could not find more than 2 and they didn´t really describe how they tested it.
*Edit: Also already found tests of older Sony Xperia smartphones and those clearly proof that the quality is worse than in the Iphone and many others in the same pricing range.
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look I said I havent used x compact but I actually have used other phones as SP z2 z5C and I can assure you that that enhancement option is not just for marketing
I even port sony sound enhancements and walkman to my other phones like HTC e8 and galaxy s6 to use it when listening to my hard rock albums!
Looks ok to me
majus22 said:
Since I´m fairly interested in buying the X Compact, could anyone or did anyone compare soundquality (with headphones) of those phones?
I´m listening to music with my phone a lot, so this is one of the most important criterias. I would really appreciate some input about the quality with headphones plugged in and also connected with Bluetooth.
I know this is a really subjective matter, but maybe someone can figure out some differences there and try to describe it.
Also plz note that this is about actually testing, listening and using the phones WITHOUT an external AMP.
You can comment comparsions with similar phones ofc, too. thx!
Edit: damit can someone plz edit the title and delete the "Iphone" in fron of Z3C thx..
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Hi,
I have actually tested the X compact with the headphones. To me, the experience is pretty much the same as Z5 (which I currently own). The sound quality seems to be very nice. I do not use any sound extensions cause to my ear they distort the sound drastically. I only play FLACs and WAVs through PlayerPro app. There is one concern with the sound though - loudness. With the sensitive in-ear headphones all is ok, but I own several headphones and, for example Sony MDR-10RC are not as sensitive and in some circumstances I would prefer more power. Also some German Maestro headphones which are not as sensitive would benefit from more power. It is a minor concern, though, most of other people would be absolutely satisfied.
Now regarding the iPhone. I do have an iPhone 6 (not s) and 7. Both play comparatively well with the headphones. I wouldn't distinguish any quality advantages of either the iPhone or the X compact. However, the file management with the iPhone is complicated. And it does not support external DAC's as Sony does with an OTG cable.
Regarding the external speakers - iPhone wins hands down. Even the iPhone 6, which is mono, provides a much fuller sound with noticeably better low end (deeper bass (if you can call it bass).
I am also not sure how Sony plays the "hi-res" files. The Music app did not play my FLACs so what is that "hi-res" then? I might lack some research in this area.
my xc plays flac files fine with the music app so does my z5c and even my old arc/anzu (2011) plays flac files using the same updated music app from sony.
it also plays ogg, acc, raw wav files, and whatever except wma, although I found references to enable experimental support in the media profiling files, I dont remember exactly which but I can find it again if anyone with root would like to try and uncomment it.
High-Resolution Audio refers to a collection of digital processes and formats that allow the encoding and playback of music using higher sampling rates than the standards used in CDs.
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There is no single standard for High-Resolution Audio, but the most commonly used specifications are 24 bit/96 kHz (3.2x more data transmitted than CD) and 24 bit/192 kHz (6.5x more data transmitted than CD).
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in short sony and others will start selling highres 'rips' of the mastertapes which is recorded in much higher quality than cd.
imho sony has always been in front with audio in particular portable versions, heck they invented walkman, minidisc, the cd (along with phillips) and now possibly the next 'standard'. we will see heh. I dunno if iPhone can playback 24bit/192KHz? apple does have .aiff which is capable of hi-res, and supported by sony too.
https://www.sony.co.uk/electronics/hi-res-audio
Kianush said:
look I said I havent used x compact but I actually have used other phones as SP z2 z5C and I can assure you that that enhancement option is not just for marketing
I even port sony sound enhancements and walkman to my other phones like HTC e8 and galaxy s6 to use it when listening to my hard rock albums!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Allright thx for the information!
povilkami said:
Hi,
With the sensitive in-ear headphones all is ok, but I own several headphones and, for example Sony MDR-10RC are not as sensitive and in some circumstances I would prefer more power. Also some German Maestro headphones which are not as sensitive would benefit from more power. It is a minor concern, though, most of other people would be absolutely satisfied.
Now regarding the iPhone. I do have an iPhone 6 (not s) and 7. Both play comparatively well with the headphones. I wouldn't distinguish any quality advantages of either the iPhone or the X compact. However, the file management with the iPhone is complicated. And it does not support external DAC's as Sony does with an OTG cable.
Regarding the external speakers - iPhone wins hands down. Even the iPhone 6, which is mono, provides a much fuller sound with noticeably better low end (deeper bass (if you can call it bass).
I am also not sure how Sony plays the "hi-res" files. The Music app did not play my FLACs so what is that "hi-res" then? I might lack some research in this area.
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So Sony has problems with the higher electrical impedance of real headphones or just loudness? What do you mean by more sensitive.
About the Filemanagement: I just figured out that I can Import all my Windows Media player playlists to Itunes so thats not too much of a problem.
But you can´t play FLACS on IPhones do you?
Since I have 98% of my music in CD quality yet, I don´t think it will make a big difference.
The Xperia might have better Bluetooth quality though.. anybody tried that?
majus22 said:
Allright thx for the information!
So Sony has problems with the higher electrical impedance of real headphones or just loudness? What do you mean by more sensitive.
About the Filemanagement: I just figured out that I can Import all my Windows Media player playlists to Itunes so thats not too much of a problem.
But you can´t play FLACS on IPhones do you?
Since I have 98% of my music in CD quality yet, I don´t think it will make a big difference.
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It is just the loudness. All my headphones are low impedance so I am not sure if the Senheiser HD-600 would be appreciated. I could test those if there is interest and I would need to buy a 6.3mm to 3.5mm adapter.
Regarding the BlueTooth I have noticed that it played much better in a car than the iPhone6 (haven't tried the 7). Full bodied sound vs very lean. Specifically it was noticed with VW navigation system. With a Plantronics handsfree car device there was no notable difference. With Pioneer N-50 network player Sony has a noticebly more open and transparent sound.
Not sure about FLACs on iPhone because I gave up after a couple of atempts And I am not entirely sure what you mean by CD quality? As far as I understand its the format that matters, doesn't it? Else you just use the Cloud services (Spotify, Mixcloud), which tend to be far away from CD quality. Or is that iTunes?
povilkami said:
It is just the loudness. All my headphones are low impedance so I am not sure if the Senheiser HD-600 would be appreciated. I could test those if there is interest and I would need to buy a 6.3mm to 3.5mm adapter.
Regarding the BlueTooth I have noticed that it played much better in a car than the iPhone6 (haven't tried the 7). Full bodied sound vs very lean. Specifically it was noticed with VW navigation system. With a Plantronics handsfree car device there was no notable difference. With Pioneer N-50 network player Sony has a noticebly more open and transparent sound.
Not sure about FLACs on iPhone because I gave up after a couple of atempts And I am not entirely sure what you mean by CD quality? As far as I understand its the format that matters, doesn't it? Else you just use the Cloud services (Spotify, Mixcloud), which tend to be far away from CD quality. Or is that iTunes?
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Thx for the Bluetooth testing
Sadly you can not play FLACs with Itunes, you have to convert it to some other format, that´s supposed to be equal.
Cd quality is Wav/Wave for me, so that is way better than Itunes downloads, I didn´t and I won´t ever download anything form poor quality itunes store.
But as it stands right now, I´ll get a friends Iphone anyways, since it is cheaper and I really can´t get along with the easy scretched plastic of a 400$ phone, which still bothers me way to much. With an aluminium case I wouldn´t even think about getting another phone..
Anecdotally, XC is much better than iPhone (my experience). Also, using MDR-NC31 headphones from Amazon makes this phone fantastic. I get reasonable noise cancelling without a high price or the need to charge the headphones themselves.
JenItols said:
Anecdotally, XC is much better than iPhone (my experience). Also, using MDR-NC31 headphones from Amazon makes this phone fantastic. I get reasonable noise cancelling without a high price or the need to charge the headphones themselves.
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Does the MDR-NC31EM headset noise canceling function work correctly in the X Compact? Do you listen well?
Because I have seen on the Sony website, which is compatible with Z3 Compact models, but does not mention the X Compact model.
I want to buy an in-ear headset that works and plays well with this smartphone.
Thanks!