Help in Purchase decision - LG V20 Questions & Answers

Guys I need your valuable opinion about the audio dac on this for NORMAL earphones like RHA s500. does it feel lot different as of compared to other phones on normal earphones or do we need High impedance headphone ?
Am in dilemma of purchase decision
Am a music lover

Getting fed better audio should benefit most decent headphones. Of course the higher quality headphones will see the most benefit and take full advantage of the V20's audio capabilities. You don't need high impedance to take advantage of the quad DACs capabilities. It just delivers more "juice" to higher impedance headphones that require more power to drive. Some specific lower impedance headphones may do better if you could manually turn on the high output mode, my Audeze iSine 10s for example, but in general it will be fine for most earphone out there.
Just tested my Axon 7 (also a with a high quality DAC/AMP on board) vs My LG G5 (standard built in audio) with some cheap but pretty good sounding earphone ($10 to $15 KZ ZST ). I can sounds cleaner and voices are a little "sweeter". It more noticeable with my more expensive gear.
If you're into audio the V20 or Axon 7 are the phones to get, but there should be other reason to select a phone as well. Unless you really really desire superior audio, I wouldn't make my buying decision based solely on that.
I can hear a difference. It clearer sounding and vocals are a bit sweater. If you not big into audio it may be a bit subtle, at least at first.

Related

Hi fi dac user thread

Just got the Hi Fi DAC and at ridiculously low price of £50/$66 to boot!
Sounds awesome and the module itself is using the flagship ES9028 SABRE DAC and 9602 Headphone Amp: http://www.esstech.com/index.php/en/news/newsroom/ess-technology-comes-out-play-lg-g5
even the upcoming V20 is supposed to have the next level DAC down (ES9018)? correct me if i am wrong!
The sound is MUCH louder than the built in sound via headphone and the sound stage is brighter and more balanced, even on standard resolution tracks with spotify (i have a free year sub on Microsoft Groove and it sounds great on there too).
love the fact that it can operate as an external DAC and quite literally has saved me so much money. I was going to purchase a 32bit/192 Hi Fi grade DAC from Cambridge Audio to Drive my Cambridge Audio Amp and speaker setup at home. HiFi Stero grade DACS tend to use a Sabre or Wolfson DAC. I've saved myself over £500!!
This sounds amazing when hooked onto a laptop.
Was at a party and people were connecting their phones (mostly iPhones) to an external speaker via the headphone jack. this module was MUCH louder than all the rest and drove the speakers better with clearer sound quality.
Only negatives i have found so far are that the module can sometimes be shaky which causes it turn off and resync on the odd occasion. It runs quite warm when used and it does drain battery noticeably more than if i just used the on board sound. I always carry a fully charged spare battery anyway so not that fussed.
Thought id just share my thoughts so far and open a thread where other users can comment on their experiences.
mikey_sk said:
Just got the Hi Fi DAC and at ridiculously low price of £50/$66 to boot!
Sounds awesome and the module itself is using the flagship ES9028 SABRE DAC and 9602 Headphone Amp: http://www.esstech.com/index.php/en/news/newsroom/ess-technology-comes-out-play-lg-g5
even the upcoming V20 is supposed to have the next level DAC down (ES9018)? correct me if i am wrong!
The sound is MUCH louder than the built in sound via headphone and the sound stage is brighter and more balanced, even on standard resolution tracks with spotify (i have a free year sub on Microsoft Groove and it sounds great on there too).
love the fact that it can operate as an external DAC and quite literally has saved me so much money. I was going to purchase a 32bit/192 Hi Fi grade DAC from Cambridge Audio to Drive my Cambridge Audio Amp and speaker setup at home. HiFi Stero grade DACS tend to use a Sabre or Wolfson DAC. I've saved myself over £500!!
This sounds amazing when hooked onto a laptop.
Was at a party and people were connecting their phones (mostly iPhones) to an external speaker via the headphone jack. this module was MUCH louder than all the rest and drove the speakers better with clearer sound quality.
Only negatives i have found so far are that the module can sometimes be shaky which causes it turn off and resync on the odd occasion. It runs quite warm when used and it does drain battery noticeably more than if i just used the on board sound. I always carry a fully charged spare battery anyway so not that fussed.
Thought id just share my thoughts so far and open a thread where other users can comment on their experiences.
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Sounds awesome. Where did you buy this ?
Jonathan-H said:
Sounds awesome. Where did you buy this ?
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https://www.onedigitals.co.uk/lg-afd-1200-hi-fi-plus-with-b-o-play-black.html
including shipping £50
only works with European H850 only not the usa LG G5 or Asian variants

high quality audio?

on samsung's website they say this, does it mean that it had a better DAC?
abdelha said:
on samsung's website they say this, does it mean that it had a better DAC?
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I don't know much about audio, that jargon does make it sound good though. Hopefully it translates to high quality sounding music.
It can be high quality processed but the sound may still be not so great. The s7 edge I had had horrible headphone output. At this point, I may consider Bluetooth headsets to overcome Samsung crappy dac
Sent from my ZTE A2017U using Tapatalk
I'm wondering if it's a reference to this technology: http://www.trustedreviews.com/news/...quality-tech-will-upscale-any-audio-to-32-bit
Wenbinbin2010 said:
I'm wondering if it's a reference to this technology: http://www.trustedreviews.com/news/...quality-tech-will-upscale-any-audio-to-32-bit
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Matches up completely with the Samsung info so looks like it. Hopefully it'll sound good enough. At least they are including better earphones this time. Won't replace the ones I already have but it's nice all the same.
abdelha said:
on samsung's website they say this, does it mean that it had a better DAC?
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DAC is sound hardware which enhance the clarify and quality of audio, Mention by Samsung website is playable format and bit rate which has nothing to do with high quality audio or DAC
Find more info on DAC here : http://www.ubergizmo.com/what-is/dac/
onlinejobwork said:
DAC is sound hardware which enhance the clarify and quality of audio, Mention by Samsung website is playable format and bit rate which has nothing to do with high quality audio or DAC
Find more info on DAC here : http://www.ubergizmo.com/what-is/dac/
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but higher bit rate means better quality...
abdelha said:
but higher bit rate means better quality...
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If bit rate is higher but audio chip is poor or not DAC than audio output is poor or not so great even if it high sampling rate , but is sound coming through DAC than Audio quality is much better than higher bit rate with normal or non DAC audio chip, Source need to be superior quality than medium itself
I'm not sure what you mean by "non DAC audio chip"? A DAC is a Digital to Analogue Converter (inverse of an ADC), so to convert digital music to sound there needs to be a DAC in the circuit somewhere. Absolutely true that there are different qualities of decoder, converter and amplifier, and you should not mistake specs for quality (a common error in other components, and actively encouraged by marketing), but all 3 elements will be present in any audio output circuit, whether the manufacturer draws attention to them or not.
Large Hadron said:
I'm not sure what you mean by "non DAC audio chip"? A DAC is a Digital to Analogue Converter (inverse of an ADC), so to convert digital music to sound there needs to be a DAC in the circuit somewhere. Absolutely true that there are different qualities of decoder, converter and amplifier, and you should not mistake specs for quality (a common error in other components, and actively encouraged by marketing), but all 3 elements will be present in any audio output circuit, whether the manufacturer draws attention to them or not.
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btw if you are not sure as you asked, let me clarify when I said "non DAC audio chip" I was actually tried to say " normal DAC" instead of Upgraded Quad DAC which is the first in the world and introduced with LG V20 and now in LG G6, in the case of S8 this is Normal (not non) DAC Audio chip, more info translated below:
'LG G6', Upgraded Quad DAC to get a music enthusiast
LG Electronics will upgrade its next-generation premium smartphone 'LG G6' with a quad DAC (Digital-to-Analog Converter). The new Quad DAC is supplied by ESS, a company specializing in high-performance audio chipsets.
The new quad DAC features fine control of left and right sound, enhancing sound balance and reducing noise.
,the more the sound distortion and noise are reduced more effectively, resulting in a clean sound quality. The quad DACs implement four DACs on a single chip, reducing the size by a factor of four and noise by up to 50% when using one DAC.
The new quad DAC applied to the 'LG G6' effectively controls the left and right earphones separately to control the left and right earphones separately. Also, by adjusting the balance of sound, listeners can feel the stereoscopic feeling of listening to music directly at the concert scene, Get rid of noise and deliver vivid impression
The LG G6 eliminates noise from loud as well as loud sounds, providing crisp, clean sound.
The new Quad DACs have increased circuit integration, lowering the negative distortion to 0.0002% of the luxury audio level and minimizing the loss of acoustic information. As the loss of information is less, the listener can hear a clean sound close to the original sound.
The path for transmitting sound signals inside the chip has also been widened. The ability to process large, high-quality sound sources quickly and accurately allows listeners to enjoy high-volume 32-bit hi-fi sources without interruption.
Ah, the curse of auto-correct I guess
Trouble is that you don't get the high quality DAC chip with the G6 unless you live in Korea, or at least Asia. If LG offered the 64GB + quad DAC version in Europe I'd probably have bought one, but we only get the most basic model.
Read somewhere that the audio is much better than the s7 headphones wise (which is great because I HATED the audio quality from the s7). It's said to be louder and sound better. Best thing to do is to head to best buy with good headphones and check it out
Sent from my ZTE A2017U using Tapatalk
And here I am just sad that they only include those uncomfortable in-ear headphones, I would have preferred non-sealing earbuds. Those AKGs won't come out of that box
The sound quality is simply incredible. I tested DSD files it's just mind-blowing
godzi1971 said:
The sound quality is simply incredible. I tested DSD files it's just mind-blowing
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Where did you test it? And where did you find dsd files? Lol
Sent from my ZTE A2017U using Tapatalk
I use the device right now, and I bought 3 albums on the internet
godzi1971 said:
I use the device right now, and I bought 3 albums on the internet
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Exynos or snapdragon?
GermanGuy said:
Exynos or snapdragon?
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Exynos 8895
how does it go against the htc 10 or the g6...
any comment on sound quality now that some people have theirs?

Audio Quality Thoughts

So I just got my HTC U11 today and spent a few hours setting it up. I finally got around to trying out the phone's audio capabilities.
USonic - they sound good for out of the box earphones, but they're definitely not as good as my V-Moda Forza's. I could tell immediately. I doubt I'll use this.
DAC adapter - I'm conflicted. I'm still trying to decide whether or not the adapter sounds as good as my HTC 10. My initial impression is that it's not as good. The 10 has a cleaner, fuller soundstage. I'm really bummed about the BoomSound Dolby and tuning mode not being present on the U11. I've never really listened to the 10 without that mode on, so maybe that's the reason. The U11 doesn't sound bad though.
What do you guys think?
Good enough for 90%
Sent from my HTC U11 using Tapatalk
richteralan said:
Good enough for 90%
Sent from my HTC U11 using Tapatalk
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Pretty much this, most people will love it but I think anyone who had a HTC 10, an Axon 7, S7 Edge (Exynos, volume modded) will notice a bit of a step down. More so the AMP is weak rather than the DAC being bad (although Juan at PocketNow numbers show the DAC to be worse than the HTC 10, Axon 7, S7 Edge, iPhone 7).
I'm contemplating getting a Fiio K1
I just compared the sound quality between my 10 (without BoomSound on) and the U11, and they do sound quite similar.
This leads me to my disappointment -- why did they remove the BoomSound frequency tuning from the U11? It's nice that they have it for the USonic earphones, but why would you need to create multiple audio profiles for those earphones, if there's literally only one pair of earphones that can take advantage of that feature.
I'll have my thoughts later today using a dt770 as my comparison between the 10 and 11. They normally require more power than my HD600. I don't use high impedance/low sensitivity HPs with phones anyway but I figured I'd test.
djbutter said:
I just compared the sound quality between my 10 (without BoomSound on) and the U11, and they do sound quite similar.
This leads me to my disappointment -- why did they remove the BoomSound frequency tuning from the U11? It's nice that they have it for the USonic earphones, but why would you need to create multiple audio profiles for those earphones, if there's literally only one pair of earphones that can take advantage of that feature.
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Wondering this as well, you can't edit the audio profiles anyway so what is the point in having more than one profile
I've been happy about the audio quality so far. The problem I have is that we only get 1 of the DAC to 3.5mm adapter cables included. Now in order to use my music at home, in car, and at work I now have to carry the cable around with me. It is not ideal to have to carry around an adapter. Getting the included earphones is cool (sound okay) but would rather received a total of 4 adapter cables.
I went to order 4 more and found out that they are in pre-order status. I'll just have to wait until they come in. Once I have an adapter everywhere then I won't be so pissy about it. Really wish they would have kept the 3.5mm, then phone would be considered my best phone ever.
psawjack said:
I've been happy about the audio quality so far. The problem I have is that we only get 1 of the DAC to 3.5mm adapter cables included. Now in order to use my music at home, in car, and at work I now have to carry the cable around with me. It is not ideal to have to carry around an adapter. Getting the included earphones is cool (sound okay) but would rather received a total of 4 adapter cables.
I went to order 4 more and found out that they are in pre-order status. I'll just have to wait until they come in. Once I have an adapter everywhere then I won't be so pissy about it. Really wish they would have kept the 3.5mm, then phone would be considered my best phone ever.
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There really was no need to remove it, only to use a worse DAC/AMP in the adaptor.
GSM spoke highly of the headphone output. (http://www.gsmarena.com/htc_u_11-review-1620p6.php)
Great audio output
The HTC U11 did splendidly in the first part of our audio test. When hooked to an active external amplifier it delivered very loud and perfectly accurate output.
When headphones come into play the volume remains nicely high and the only reading to take a hit is stereo crosstalk. It's a moderate amount of damage there and will all the other aspects of the performance remaining excellent, it's a great showing overall.
HTC U11 (headphones attached)
Frequency response: +0.05, -0.11 (+0.05, -0.02)
Noise Level: -94.1 (-93.7)
Dynamic Range: -94.1 (93.8)
THD: 0.0017 (0.0018)
IMD + Noise: 0.0067 (0.105)
Stereo crosstalk: -94.5 (-53.7)
HTC 10 (headphones attached)
Frequency response: +0.01, -0.03 (+0.06, -0.09)
Noise Level: -93.2 (-92.8)
Dynamic Range: -93.2 (93.0)
THD: 0.0022 (0.014)
IMD + Noise: 0.071 (0.141)
Stereo crosstalk: -92.8 (-77.9)
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My own personal experience, I found my DT770 to sound great but was 2 notches of volume below the 10. The 10 at volume 13/15 was the U11 at 15/15. I definitely can hear the crosstalk difference GSM has measured. Heard that before I saw the measurements. Overall, I can definitely live with this. Just hope I don't put myself in situations where I need to charge and listen.
My first impressions are that I'm not particularly impressed by the Usonic earphones - but then I don't usually use the earbuds that come with a phone.
Given the reviews here, I was a bit surprised to find the sound from the U11 adapter sounds better on first hearing than I was getting from the HTC 10, but then I haven't yet done a proper A-B comparison - it could be I was playing it a bit louder, or 'new device' enthusiasm...
As I said it already the 3.5mm adapter lacks Boomsound and this make a big difference with HTC 10, HTC can implement it in the FW of the adapter but we need to let them know we want it.
mosincredible said:
GSM spoke highly of the headphone output. (http://www.gsmarena.com/htc_u_11-review-1620p6.php)
My own personal experience, I found my DT770 to sound great but was 2 notches of volume below the 10. The 10 at volume 13/15 was the U11 at 15/15. I definitely can hear the crosstalk difference GSM has measured. Heard that before I saw the measurements. Overall, I can definitely live with this. Just hope I don't put myself in situations where I need to charge and listen.
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Agreed. I can see the logic behind HTC's decision, and I actually don't disagree with it. They dropped the headphone jack but added noise cancellation and a decent pair of earphones. This targets that iPhone userbase that only uses the awful in-box white ear buds. It's definitely better value for the money for the average user.
Perhaps they needed to compromise on sound quality, but it still sounds pretty fantastic with the adapter. It may not sound as good as the 10 (honestly though it's pretty close), but I'm not mad about it.
Which Boomsound speaker mode do you guys prefer? Music it theater mode? I feel like music more is crisper while tester is a bit longer but muddier.
MinimalistChris said:
Which Boomsound speaker mode do you guys prefer? Music it theater mode? I feel like music more is crisper while tester is a bit longer but muddier.
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I use theatre mode all the time but yes it is muddier than music mode which sacrifices volume for better audio quality
About stereo crosstalk can you ''fix'' it with V4A?
Or there are no way to enhance stereo?
MinimalistChris said:
Which Boomsound speaker mode do you guys prefer? Music it theater mode? I feel like music more is crisper while tester is a bit longer but muddier.
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I usually use theatre mode. If I'm playing through the speakers, volume is more important to me.
On another note, I'm having this horrible issue with BT audio. When playing music in google play music through BT earphones (jaybird x2) or my home speaker (LG soundbar), occasionally there's a really loud, awful screeching noise!
Anyone else have this issue?
Otherwise, BT audio is noticeably improved over the 10!
djbutter said:
On another note, I'm having this horrible issue with BT audio. When playing music in google play music through BT earphones (jaybird x2) or my home speaker (LG soundbar), occasionally there's a really loud, awful screeching noise!
Anyone else have this issue?
Otherwise, BT audio is noticeably improved over the 10!
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Was listening with aptX in my car for a while today and I had no issues along with noticing no difference. Same volume level when connected to an Audioengine B1 that has a 2 volt output to my Audison bit-Ten. Wish I could do a quicker back and forth test with my 10 but I'd have to sync the Bluetooth over and over.
I have to admit that I'm a little bit worried about the sound quality on the u11. One of the things that I really enjoyed on the m8 m9 and the 10 was the Dolby audio enhancement. I have been using that in combination with power amp music player for years and you'd be surprised what kind of sound quality I get out of my Sennheiser HD 558's. I can hear the bass in music the way it is meant to be heard, almost felt, I don't hear that distorted bass sound that you tend to hear on lower end devices.
This may sound stupid to some people but if the sound quality is not at least the same as what I get on my 10 then I'm going to send the phone back. I just got done trying out a $300 pair of Bluetooth headphones with my 10 and I was not impressed, they were close in some areas but for $300 I want more than close. There is a cheaper pair that I have been thinking about trying with the 11 but I'm not sure that I'm going to want to invest all of this money just to be able to say I own the new flagship, and get half decent sound out of it with headphones, especially when for all intents and purposes I'm perfectly happy with my 10.
Right before the phone ended up shipping out to me I was debating on canceling my order because once the feeling of new shiny device wore off I started the question what about the new phone actually got me excited and to be perfectly honest the answer for me is really nothing. I think edge sense could be cool but the apparent lack of support from case manufacturers has me a bit scared as well. I have never owned an all glass phone before and I don't think you could pay me enough to use this phone without any full-body protection I understand that the camera is much better but honestly I don't see a problem with the one that I have. So this could be the first year that I actually hang on to my phone.
I just paired this phone with the Fiio K1 DAC. Much better audio experience. The HTC 10 apparently was better than the K1 by about 10% so the fact that the K1 sounds so good compared to the adapter is quite telling

Help in Purchase decision based on Audio

Guys I need your valuable opinion about the audio dac on this for NORMAL earphones like RHA s500. does it feel lot different as of compared to other phones on normal earphones or do we need High impedance headphone ?
Am in dilemma of purchase decision
Am a music lover
G6 here am referring is Korean/Asian version with ESS hi-fi quad dac
I have the same phone. I dont really hear a huge difference with DAC on normal headphones.

Sound Quality (Headphone Jack & Speakers)

As an audio-lover coming from HTC's and later the Google Pixel devices, the Xperia 5 II got me very excited not only for retaining Sony's signature dual front-firing speaker setup but also for re-introducing the headphone jack. I understand that I am very much in the minority here with my wants and needs but, having access to a wealth of audio gear and competing audio-focused smartphones, I thought it would be helpful to draw some attention to one of the 5 II's best-performing features that hasn't been given justice yet online. Jump to the speaker quality section to skip the rambles.
To add context, I've owned the Xperia Z2 and loved it overall. However, while it ticked a lot of boxes, I was left dissatisfied with the performance of each feature - i.e. the cam was noisy and slow, the speakers very tinny, the headphone out lacking volume and I haven't returned to Sony until now. Until then, I was content with HTC's approach, their Boomsound stereo speakers were much richer and louder, the headphone jack implementations up to the U11 were also very good; the 10 especially had a dedicated audio section which delivered a very low noise floor, albeit a higher output impedance which made it a no-go for expensive multi-driver earphones.
Before the 5 II, I owned the Pixel 3 and 4, the Pixel 4 I found to offer the best speaker quality with good sound chamber design providing nice fullness and volume albeit at the cost of no headphone jack and abysmal battery size and life. So of course, audio is a priority for me. I have a wide collection of high-end earphones and headphones and like to travel light without an additional DAP, dongle or BT receiver. The 5 II is an audio lover's dream with regards to its speaker quality/volume/setup and headphone jack output. It also comes across as a substantially more refined Android experience than past Xperia's I've used to the extent that it rivals Pixel smartphones in fluidity.
Speaker Quality -
Though not the best on the market, of the devices I've owned, the Pixel 4 actually has the best speaker quality in terms of max volume, frequency balance and bass extension and I would say any user would be satisfied with the performance. The speaker setup on the 5 II is immediately more immersive and symmetrical - I'm not a huge fan of the popularisation of downward-firing woofer + earpiece tweeter as I find the volume discrepancy between the two distracting. The stereo setup is a big plus here for media consumption, and something I missed from my old HTC's and the PIxel 3. The 5 II, thankfully, also has far better speaker quality than previous Xperia's.
They are no longer tinny in the slightest with a nice body and balance to the midrange. With Dolby on, you even get a little bass punch in addition to a healthy jump in volume. There's more depth and fullness on the Pixel 4, but the difference was not as big as expected and I can personally forgive that given the real symmetry and stereo separation of the dual front-firing setup. Max volume is also excellent, easily as good as the Pixel and the audio reproduction is clearer and more balanced in the midrange. As such, vocals are easier to discern e.g. listening to videos while showering. I also don't find the 5 II to distort as much at max volume, where the Pixel 4 earpiece speaker became peaky and distorted on the top few notches. So though the Pixel may measure louder in some reviews, in use, the 5 II has the same useable volume range and both easily sufficient for listening to/sharing videos and music in loud environments.
It would be great to see Sony continue to work on the speaker quality in future models with a bit more bass extension, but this is definitely not an area where potential buyers should feel concerned that the 5 II is lacking.
Headphone Jack -
Onto the headphone jack, I have read that Sony have utilised custom amplifiers in their phones rather than the in-built audio from the Qualcomm chipset in previous models, and I wouldn't be surprised if this was also the case on the 5 II. In my eyes, a good audio source should provide 3 fundamental qualities:
- A low output impedance
- Ample driving power with low noise floor
- Linear frequency response
The 5 II ticks all boxes and it ticks them well for IEMs especially. It has a relatively low output impedance, just a few ohms at most. I tested by hooking up the Xperia and my desktop amp (THX789 with 1-ohm impedance) to the Campfire Audio Andromeda (5-driver BA earphone) with an in-line switcher. This revealed a slight bass drop-off, but pretty similar audio balance overall, a very good result. The Andro is notoriously sensitive to source impedance meaning that the vast majority of other IEMs, even high-end multi-drivers such as those from Empire Ears, Shure, etc, will sound accurate and faithful to their design on the 5 II - whereas, a higher OI will result in a shift in the sound signature.
Similarly, it has a flat response when measured using right RightMark Audio Analyser (Dolby off) and a black background with zero hiss even on the sensitive Andro. Of course, the detail retrieval and soundstage are not as strong as the THX desktop amplifier, but this is one of the best phones I've used in terms of audio output; it is simply clean and balanced. Even the LG V30 with its ESS audio hardware is not vastly more resolving and its output impedance is only slightly lower (measured at 1.5ohms) so both are equally good choices for the audio conscious. Power output is on the lesser side but easily adequate. I required 60% volume to get the Focal Clear to a comfortable listening volume leaving plenty of headroom for listeners preferring higher volumes. The THX amp obviously had a tighter, more extended bass but surprisingly, the Sony was not too bad, delivering a balanced sound and good soundstage. There was no bass drop-off and good detail retrieval. Impressive for a phone driving a high-end full-size headphone.
TLDR -
I think this is a pretty impressive smartphone all around and it's good to see that being recognised by critics and users. I am not personally hugely enamoured by the camera performance coming from the Pixel but there's definitely potential there especially if you like to tinker in post. The screen with warm colour temp in creator mode is a sight to behold with great accuracy to boot, and the battery life and audio performance are both sensationally good. In fact, 2-day battery life is very achievable with 3hrs SOT per day, not something I could say about any phone that I've owned prior. So hope this write up helps hobbyists on the fence. If you're looking for a good all-rounder smartphone with a clean headphone out, this is a great option!
Thanks a lot for this comprehensive writeup!
I'm in a similar situation to you, except I jumped ship from my previous Xperia's a bit later, ending up with a HTC U11+. Unfortunately the USB port has became faulty, meaning that I can't use the Usonic earphones that came bundled with the device. Flashing Android 10 to the device using a GSI image also means I can't even use a dongle anymore. Rough.
I had already planned to get the Xperia 5 last year, but managed to keep using my U11+ because it is still lasting me all day and I was afraid of having to face a worse camera in the X5 compared to the U11+.
With this post I think I'm pretty sure I'll love the X5 ii, it confirms everything I was thinking and have seen, from the display quality, the audio chipset, the speaker performance, etc.
I'm curious, on your profile it says you're a Physiotherapist but your level of understanding of tech is quite advanced for someone without any formal design/engineering background. I'm studying Electrical/Electronic Engineering at the moment, but I can say that a lot of my knowledge is from before I started my degree studies.
Shrenade514 said:
Thanks a lot for this comprehensive writeup!
I'm in a similar situation to you, except I jumped ship from my previous Xperia's a bit later, ending up with a HTC U11+. Unfortunately the USB port has became faulty, meaning that I can't use the Usonic earphones that came bundled with the device. Flashing Android 10 to the device using a GSI image also means I can't even use a dongle anymore. Rough.
I had already planned to get the Xperia 5 last year, but managed to keep using my U11+ because it is still lasting me all day and I was afraid of having to face a worse camera in the X5 compared to the U11+.
With this post I think I'm pretty sure I'll love the X5 ii, it confirms everything I was thinking and have seen, from the display quality, the audio chipset, the speaker performance, etc.
I'm curious, on your profile it says you're a Physiotherapist but your level of understanding of tech is quite advanced for someone without any formal design/engineering background. I'm studying Electrical/Electronic Engineering at the moment, but I can say that a lot of my knowledge is from before I started my degree studies.
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Click to collapse
Thanks! HTC made some great smartphones, wish they'd done better after the original One, such a goodie.
And yep, I studied Physio in my undergrad but tech/audio is my passion. I mostly lurk on forums reading the work of far more intelligent writers. On the side, I run an audio review website and through both I've picked up some knowledge - about audio especially.
I definitely am not a professional here in any way and love the perspective true pros bring to the industry, always a fascinating read. Hope you're enjoying your studies!
As a lurking audiophile, I wholeheartedly second this! I find that LG headphone jack still wins by virtue of having more volume steps. Sound quality wise, it is truly barely discernible given my portable usage of these two in my daily commutes.

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