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Review: Nexus 5 as a Music Player

Hello All !!!
I dont know if this is right forum to post this. This is my first review so please excuse any mistakes/blunders
I own both Nexus 5 and Galaxy Note 2(N7100), and from past 2 weeks I have been testing sound on both the phones. Following is the setup:
Headphones Used:
1. Monster Miles Davis Tribute
2. Monster Turbine Pro Copper
3. Shure SRH440
5. Sennheiser Momentus Over the ear(Not the on ear model)
6. HiFiman RE0
Music Used:
Please note all the albums were Flac Lossles 16bit
1. Miles Davis - Kind of Blue
2. Slint - Spiderland
3. Godspeed You Black Emperor! - Lift Yr. Skinny Fists Like Antennas to Heaven!
4. Steve Reich - Music for 18 Musicians
5. Burial - Untrue
6. Broken Note - Terminal Static
Player Used: PowerAmp Pro (Flat equalizer)
Observation:
Before I begin, I would like to say that this is my subjective opinion which may vary from person to person.
Galaxy Note 2:
I love this phone. Been my daily driver from past one year. The ability to expand the memory and replaceable battery is amazing. More memory means more music for me :good: I only listen to flac so this is a huge plus for me.
This phone drives all headphones pretty well. Although one might feel that Momentus and RE-0 were kind of dull as compared to the other headphones. The sound seemed veiled.
So I changed the kernel to NEAK. This kernel have utility to increase the volume and some other fancy adjustments like oversampling etc. I was skeptical what changing kernel would do, and boy was I wrong. Not only did the volume increase but sound became fuller and had solid character. Instruments were perfect, texture was amazing and the bass wasn't sloppy anymore but controlled and very punchy. :victory:
Nexus 5:
Nexus 5 is totally a different beast. Coming from Note2 I was excited about this phone. The build quality and weight was quite better than Note2. I loaded up the albums and fired up the PowerAmp. From the start I could feel something was amiss. Although the resolution of the instruments was good and overall response of the headphones and music was not bad; but I was not blown away. Even after increasing the preamp volume to full, the headphones could not reach their full potential except Pro Coppers. So I broke out my trusty Fiio E5 portable headphone amplifier and sound did improve. After long listening sessions everyday my brain accepted the sound signature of this phone and by the end of 4th day I quite liked the sound.
In the end I had comparisons in a way that I listened the tracks going back-n-forth on both the phones. I definitely like my Note2 with NEAK kernel. But if you take out the kernel from the comparison, difference between the quality is not that huge although the sound from Note2 is lush compared to Nexus5. Both phones lack amplification to drive some headphones to their full potential.
For average Joe: If you are using lossy music and use headphones which are mediocre, then this phone is pretty good for you. You wont be able to tell the difference between sound quality of Nexus and any other phone.
For my Audiophile friend: To be honest this phone will leave you wanting for more. Although Nexus have good DAC but amplification is poor. I would recommend you to grab a good but cheap headphone amp and you should be good. Although 32 GB is real deal breaker if you you use lossless music. For that OTG cable comes to rescue. I would also recommend getting your hand on a kernel/utility which improves sound. I have not come across any yet.:fingers-crossed: Also battery becomes a concern when using such utility/kernal.
My rating: 3.5/5
Pros:
Exceptional pricing
Good DAC
Build Quality
Ability to play Hi-Res FLAC
Cons:
Poor Amplification
Lack of expandable storage (You can use OTG cable though)
Poor Battery (Especially if you will be using utility to improve sound)

Sound quality is so subjective. Some people like how Denon sounds and others like Yamaha. And then there are those who like Bose!
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

Nice review. Can you use OTG w/ a E18 Kunlun?

kenbhaji said:
I would also recommend getting your hand on a kernel/utility which improves sound. I have not come across any yet.:fingers-crossed: Also battery becomes a concern when using such utility/kernal.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Try this:
Volume Mod
Report back.

The Note 2 has the Wolfson DAC. It totally crushes anything Qualcomm has.
No contest. I have the S3 and have had a host of Qualcomm based devices, but for sound quality, nothing has ever touched the Wolfson DAC on a smartphone.

Mi 4C Sound Quality

Has someone tested the audio quality of the Mi 4C?
I mean the earphones one during call and with music.
I would like to know if it is comparable with Htc One M8...
Thanks!

not tested the earphones, but the built-in speakers are very loud!!

Thank you kelkelkel, could you please tell me when you'll try the headphones?

HarryCustom said:
Thank you kelkelkel, could you please tell me when you'll try the headphones?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
unfortunately not any time soon, i left them in the box and have since traveled abroad.. relying on my trusty Shures

Speaker is better than M8. I havent try earphone yet!
Sent from my Mi-4c using Tapatalk

Stereo or mono speaker?

Speaker or Headphones?

The mi4c has superb sound. My headphones (beyerdynamic tp51p) really become alive. You'll not be dissapointed.

Finally I've tested the phone and the audio is low and poor, in my opinion.
I've tried three pairs of earphones. I think it is worse than my old Moto G 2013.
Anyway installing Cyanogenmod the volume is good and the sound is more crystalline.
So the problem is the Miui software...
We are still very far from the quality of HTC or even iphone.
Equalizer, earphones enhancing are honestly not very useful. In Cyanogenmod instead the equalizer runs well.
Anyway the price of the phone is very good but I can not recommend the purchase to audiophiles users or those who want a particular quality of listening .

HarryCustom said:
Finally I've tested the phone and the audio is low and poor, in my opinion.
I've tried three pairs of earphones. I think it is worse than my old Moto G 2013.
Anyway installing Cyanogenmod the volume is good and the sound is more crystalline.
So the problem is the Miui software...
We are still very far from the quality of HTC or even iphone.
Equalizer, earphones enhancing are honestly not very useful. In Cyanogenmod instead the equalizer runs well.
Anyway the price of the phone is very good but I can not recommend the purchase to audiophiles users or those who want a particular quality of listening .
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Strange.. Didn`t try CM, but with stock miui headphones sound just great! (5.10.22 weekly, Westone 4r)

damned91 said:
Strange.. Didn`t try CM, but with stock miui headphones sound just great! (5.10.22 weekly, Westone 4r)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Stock? I've haven't found any earphones in the box.
Did you try to ear from Htc, S6 or iPhone? It is very different, I repeat, this is my opinion!
Didn't you noticed that the max volume is low yet?

I tend to agree with @HarryCustom, max sound quality is so so under miui even with the enhancements. No contest compared to my M8, both speakers or headphone. Waiting for sound mods when available since I have rooted it already.
Sent using xda premium

What about the volume mod, its here in this rom generator http://www.smiui.net/mi4c_libra.php

ermacwins said:
What about the volume mod, its here in this rom generator http://www.smiui.net/mi4c_libra.php
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've installed that rom, but I think the mod is not working, the audio is low yet.
It was a problem anyway because I've decided to use Cyanogenmod, in my opinion is more stable than Miui...

HarryCustom said:
I've installed that rom, but I think the mod is not working, the audio is low yet.
It was a problem anyway because I've decided to use Cyanogenmod, in my opinion is more stable than Miui...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Is that miui build more stable than the default Chinese one?

I am Italian, so I've received the phone with a modded stable rom with plenty of bloatware.
So I've flashed the Miui.eu rom and cooked Smiui.
I think all the roms are immature, but this a common problem when you buy a new android phone.
I've tested both Miui and Cyanogenmod for a week. In my opinion there are not so much difference in stability.
But maybe I excedeed saying that the other one is more stable, to tell the truth te only sure thing is that I think Cyano fits better for me.
I am sure only about one thing the sound is different and better with Cyanogenmod...

Are there any apps in the play store that can change the sound quality? Sounds like it has a lot of bass

Hi you can try Eizo Noozxoide, in my opinion is the best audio adjustment app.
Anyway if the audio is poor, is poor...

HarryCustom said:
Finally I've tested the phone and the audio is low and poor, in my opinion.
I've tried three pairs of earphones. I think it is worse than my old Moto G 2013.
Anyway installing Cyanogenmod the volume is good and the sound is more crystalline.
So the problem is the Miui software...
We are still very far from the quality of HTC or even iphone.
Equalizer, earphones enhancing are honestly not very useful. In Cyanogenmod instead the equalizer runs well.
Anyway the price of the phone is very good but I can not recommend the purchase to audiophiles users or those who want a particular quality of listening .
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Test Frequency response Noise level Dynamic range THD IMD + Noise Stereo crosstalk
Xiaomi Mi 4c +0.01, -0.04 -94.7 90.8 0.0026 0.0095 -95.3
Xiaomi Mi 4c (headphones attached) +0.03, -0.08 -94.4 90.6 0.0026 0.034 -47.6
Test Frequency response Noise level Dynamic range THD IMD + Noise Stereo crosstalk
Apple iPhone 6s +0.03, -0.04 -93.5 93.5 0.0016 0.0075 -73.2
Apple iPhone 6s (headphones attached) +0.10, -0.06 -93.8 93.9 0.0030 0.101 -68.2
Here are some actual values for the Mi4C (Running the Chinese version of MIUI) and iPhone 6s, and as you can see they perform practically the same, but the iPhone is louder (not shown here) and the stereo crosstalk with Headphones attached is more than a bit disappointing. How is the sound better with CyanogenMod? In what way? Can you hear more distortion or worse dynamic range in compared to other phones? I'm waiting for my Mi4C to arrive, and I'm somewhat the audiophile (though that's not why I bought this phone, it just has the least amount of compromises for the price).

xdadevet said:
Here are some actual values for the Mi4C (Running the Chinese version of MIUI) and iPhone 6s, and as you can see they perform practically the same, but the iPhone is louder (not shown here) and the stereo crosstalk with Headphones attached is more than a bit disappointing. How is the sound better with CyanogenMod? In what way? Can you hear more distortion or worse dynamic range in compared to other phones? I'm waiting for my Mi4C to arrive, and I'm somewhat the audiophile (though that's not why I bought this phone, it just has the least amount of compromises for the price).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi xdadevet and sorry for my terrible English, I am not an audiophile, not at all. I tried both on Miui.eu, the last rom available, and Smiu with volume boost patch (that seems to be not useful) and I noticed more distortion and worse dynamic range than on CM12.1 Alpha.
Maybe my phone has some issues, but this is what I've noticed. It's not very difficult to understand that, I can't need to be an audiophile to say it: for expample on both miui I can keep the headphones in my ears even with the maximum volume and, the sound is distorted , unclean and weak. On CM the sound is crystal clear , the equalizer works well and the phone sounds a little better than my old Moto G (always on CyanogenMod), at maximum volume I'm forced to take off the headphones. I was hoping that the Mi 4C sounded better anyway!
Using the sound enhancement by Xioami (all the profiles are for Xiaomi earphone, any other earbud has to use the general one ) ths situation is the same, you can ear a bit better, but volume and distortion are the same. I've tried a pair of Blox, Edifier H110 and Baldoor E100.
Maybe with another type of headphones you can change the situation, but I think there are some problems in Miui management of audio, as the sound quality has to be the same on CyanogenMod.
To conclude, we are very far from HTC , just yesterday I made a comparison between listening Mi4c with CM and an One M7 , I'm sorry , there is no comparison...
The rear speaker instead is good, better than other phones even if the phone is resting on a table.
I hope new roms could solve this issue and also the touch one.

which is the best ear phones you used?

Tell me what ear plugs you guys use,
Suggest me some.
Does the quality of audio in ear plugs change of we use after flashing Dolby??.

Since you asked earbuds and not headphone
it is Creative EP-630 (deep base )

Brainwavz Proalpha - great detail, not huge beats, but detail on whole frequency scale.
Yes, with Dolby, it will change, it will sound more "amusingly", but sometimes will lack in detail. I recommend only PowerAmp(or noozy, Neutron) and V4A
PS: sorry for commenting on your post, I've clicked on different buttton.

im using iem ATH clr 100, with v4a preinstalled in my rom (miui polska)
its cheap but i really enjoyed the sound quality

I use the Edifier H180 earphones and a KZ ATE in ear monitor. Both are cheap and very good. I don't use Dolby or any other enhancements.

Cowon em1

i use beyerdinamic mmx102ie, not the best tho
but fairly enough. and i don't use enhancement
tried 215spe and feels better, but still just so so

i using iem over ear, basic ie200, good bass, good fitting, good price
no need sound mod anymore..

In my honest opinion, Sony XB50ap is the best earphone i ever heard. I tried many earphone/headphone, on each i could find few things which were not the best compared to sony XB50ap.
Not only it has excellent bass, its mid and high are clear and distinct, you could hear all the notes and different pitch clearly and uniquely.
It has best noise isolation, and the sound intensity is the best of non active earphone i ever heard. Meaning, you could set low playback volume you could still hear it loud and clear.
A perfect earphone.
I use ISO equalizer band on Winamp for testing with EQ, since its ISO band behavior on other devices/player is near equal.
But, the best combo was with MAXX audio mod for Lenovo K3 note, default dolby app was useless like most sound enhancing apps on phone.
Maxx audio with default equalizer, with bass and treble knob set at required level, give best sound experience. If only someone would work on maxx audio to make it work on Redmi 2.
PS: only negative, may be bit big on size and thus everyone may not like it. Cost i think is not bad considering quality and what you can get from other brand.
---------- Post added at 11:08 AM ---------- Previous post was at 11:06 AM ----------
trust me dude, just get Sony XB50ap. You won't regret it. Make sure you buy it from authorized source and not some counterfeit item.

Using Panasonic HJE125s, really good earphones for cheap price

Sennheiser CX180 Street II, the music sounds good. I'm not an expert in music but if an earphone gives decent output, it's good enough for me

I was previously using stock Samsung headphones with my HM2014818.
With XTREMEMUSIC and V4A, it already sounded insane and one thing was clear to me that, the details of the sound being delivered, i.e. the highs mids and lows to be technical, are much of the concern of the underlying software itself, than good quality of headphones. Each headphone has atleast a good amount of frequency response which is enough to unleash the full power of the vibration being sent to it. If the vibration itself is dumped, no hardware can do enough.
I recently bought Sony MDR XB650BT, which sounds obviously slightly more dynamic due to its bigger drivers, gives deeper bass due to the XB, better fittings and all, but everything else is almost pretty same.
So my point is, before going to buy an extremely expensive hardware for listening to better music, make changes to the software itself. There are a whole bunch of soundmods available at XDA, try any or all of them(though my personal favorite has always been the XM, but that's part of another story ), and then decide.

I use Creative E600....whivh i consider the best budget earphone!

To me, Phillips is the best sound quality or Sony.

mi capsules are also good

sennheiser makes me comfortable with good ups,mid, and downs.

im using beats tour
Sent from my Wingtech Redmi 2 using XDA Labs

I am using the audio technica ATH CLR 100 for more than 6 months now. Really nice pair of ear phones for the price. Even though the cable used looks and feels cheep, for my usage (Kinda rough) I've failed to damage it

Right now, using Cowon EM1 and AudioTechnica CKX7iS. Love the CKX7iS. Wasn't satisfied with the performance of EM1 initially, but I removed the filter and switched the buds with that of another old AudioTechnica's and bam, it's amazing now.
Used Dolby long back and didn't like it. The audio enhancements that come with stock MIUI works great. I've seen similar outputs only in Viper Audio, with some IRs.

Well i am on mi stock earphone mi in ear headphone pro gold that is quite costly but sounds good i mean great i can't even imagine like that one sound quality. It is very important to know sound quality before you buy any earphone or headphone

Audio Quality? (3.5mm Jack Output)

Can anyone offer impressions of the audio quality, of the 3.5mm jack output?
The SD 845 should provide a decent DAC, but the question is: How good is the audio amplifier feeding the 3.5mm jack output? (Power, distortion, S/N, etc.)
Wondering if this might be one place OP economized to reduce cost. Don't see any discussion about it anywhere...
TIA...

Any info or comments on OP6 3.5mm jack audio quality would be appreciated.
TIA....
...

I only have cheaper in-ears and they sound as bad as everywhere else If you really need a good output maybe consider the G7

My apple ear buds sounded just fine with the OP6 but the sound volume is a bit low when i use the aux out with my car stereo. My iPhone 6 had a better audio output on my car stereo compared to OP6. I will do more tests and try to come to a proper conclusion.

I normally use a Dragonfly red DAC but for science I used the 3.5mm jack. Unfortunately it sounded very average at best, kind of flat and narrow sound stage. Tested it with a pair of Shure 535.

roniistar said:
My apple ear buds sounded just fine with the OP6 but the sound volume is a bit low when i use the aux out with my car stereo. My iPhone 6 had a better audio output on my car stereo compared to OP6. I will do more tests and try to come to a proper conclusion.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's useful info, thanks.
Seems like iPhones have audio output that is good or better, so that is a good comparison.
Weak output is exactly what I am concerned about with the OP6. I believe the DAC function is handled by the SD845 which should be pretty good, but the power amp section between that and the 3.5mm jack is where OP may have reduced cost with lower spec hardware.
Weaker output will increase distortion, at normal listening levels the amp has to operate closer to max output which increases distortion.
I had a phone once with cheap audio HW feeding the 3.5mm jack, and I will not do that again. I had high hopes for the OP6, oh well.
What's striking about the OP6 is that there is virtually no mention anywhere about the 3.5mm audio output quality. A few bits here and there about the speakers, but all phone speakers sound tinny, more or less, audio quality is poor with all phone speakers, that's not where quality is ever good so who cares?
....

I got to test the audio jack comparing to my OP3, using Sennheiser IE-8 IEMs. Now, you could probably get different results with other headphones, but these are very easy to drive, and the audio output was just so low compared to the OP3. I kind of also agree to the post above saying the soundstage being flat/narrow. Honestly I don't want another phone since OnePlus checks almost all of the smartphone boxes for me, but I gave up on the OP6 after doing that test.

I am using SONY wh-1000xm2 both with mini jack cable and over BT LDAC coded. In both conditions sound is rich and crips yet sligtly louder over BT.

MeggaMortY said:
I got to test the audio jack comparing to my OP3, using Sennheiser IE-8 IEMs. Now, you could probably get different results with other headphones, but these are very easy to drive, and the audio output was just so low compared to the OP3. I kind of also agree to the post above saying the soundstage being flat/narrow. Honestly I don't want another phone since OnePlus checks almost all of the smartphone boxes for me, but I gave up on the OP6 after doing that test.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks, another review indicating sub-par audio output power on the OP6 headphone jack.
I'm out, my V30S is on the way. (B&H has a really good deal right now, and bootloader unlock & root are available.)
...

Tinkerer_ said:
That's useful info, thanks.
Seems like iPhones have audio output that is good or better, so that is a good comparison.
Weak output is exactly what I am concerned about with the OP6. I believe the DAC function is handled by the SD845 which should be pretty good, but the power amp section between that and the 3.5mm jack is where OP may have reduced cost with lower spec hardware.
Weaker output will increase distortion, at normal listening levels the amp has to operate closer to max output which increases distortion.
I had a phone once with cheap audio HW feeding the 3.5mm jack, and I will not do that again. I had high hopes for the OP6, oh well.
What's striking about the OP6 is that there is virtually no mention anywhere about the 3.5mm audio output quality. A few bits here and there about the speakers, but all phone speakers sound tinny, more or less, audio quality is poor with all phone speakers, that's not where quality is ever good so who cares?
....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
According to iFixit, OnePlus 6 has WCD9341 chip on board which is pretty decent DAC
LINK

masi0 said:
According to iFixit, OnePlus 6 has WCD9341 chip on board which is pretty decent DAC
LINK
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I saw that, but the info on that "codec" (DAC etc.) by Qualcomm is not clear with respect to power amplification. WCD9341 appears to be integrated to the Snapdragon 845, and it would seem that analog audio power amplification of the output of the DAC itself would best be done outside of the SD845 because of heat dissipation and possibly EMI. Which means that a separate power amp section is used if this is so, and that is the place that OP might skimp.
Multiple anecdotes in this thread about weak audio on the OP6 3.5mm jack also support this likelihood.
I don't have a stake in this anymore, ordered a V30S. Headphone jack audio quality is more important than raw speed to me, and the V30S also has other advantages, for a B&H discounted price not much higher than OP6 right now.
...

let's be honest - if you want good sound quality buy AudioQuest Black or Red and use it with good/decent headphones.
Despite I cant complain on headphone output/i use mailny Sony over LDAC I am planning to get one external DAC anyway

masi0 said:
let's be honest - if you want good sound quality buy AudioQuest Black or Red and use it with good/decent headphones.
Despite I cant complain on headphone output/i use mailny Sony over LDAC I am planning to get one external DAC anyway
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The problem with separate DAC like the Dragonfly is that... it is a separate DAC, with an extra $200 cost (Red). Using it with a phone on the go would require some kind of rigging e.g. Velcro. And that is the smallest/lightest example I think.
The ESS DAC in the V30(S) is said to perform similarly to DACs like the Dragonfly. It has a few caveats, like auto-detect load > auto-adjust output. There are a couple ways to address that stupidity though.
Not plugging for B&H, but their limited-time discount V30S price delta vs. OP6 is less than the price of a Dragonfly Red, and that also brings USB 3.1, a micro SD slot, and IP68.
Bowing out from OP6 thread now. Good luck.
....

I am getting familiar with this a/b config tree....I will optimize the sound system, to a point that not even mainland will recognize it...... also, will try to make it dual speaker, when output=speaker.
untl then,
TURBO.

TURBO2012 said:
I am getting familiar with this a/b config tree....I will optimize the sound system, to a point that not even mainland will recognize it...... also, will try to make it dual speaker, when output=speaker.
untl then,
TURBO.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That sounds interesting. Looking forward. All the best.

IMO you can't even listen to any phone w/out V4A. My OP6 sounds awesome with this installed and the power output was surprising.

I only shared how it is compared to the OP3 - now, you can surely software mod it, bit if the HW is limited, there's little you can do there - but to each their own. I value headphone output/quality too much so I'll just grab the next LG V40 when it comes out and don't bother with any trickery/external DACs/Amps.

Speaker is louder than my HTC10 (not quite as good sound quality but ok), earphone quality using black player and Jays-a-Jays heavy bass earphones is fine, I'm pleasantly surprised

vibrantliker said:
IMO you can't even listen to any phone w/out V4A. My OP6 sounds awesome with this installed and the power output was surprising.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Mind sharing the installer!? And process too?
P.S. - I hope you did it without twrp!

I've also noticed quite a difference between power output on the OP6 compared to the OP3, sadly.

Vivo Nex audio DAC performance?

Well it says that it supports Hi-Fi audio. But how Hi-Fi is it? What DAC is inside? In particular, I would like to know how the sound quality is from the 3.5mm audio jack compared to Hi-Fi mode of LG v30, my current phone. I simply cannot get a phone that downgrades my audio experience, you know?

Andrew Lin said:
Well it says that it supports Hi-Fi audio. But how Hi-Fi is it? What DAC is inside? In particular, I would like to know how the sound quality is from the 3.5mm audio jack compared to Hi-Fi mode of LG v30, my current phone. I simply cannot get a phone that downgrades my audio experience, you know?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Go for htc u12 plus
It jas the same impressive sound like v30

rowihel2012 said:
Go for htc u12 plus
It jas the same impressive sound like v30
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It doesn't even have 3.5 jack. HTC makes my heart hurt...
Anyone else?

You find your answer here :
http://eng.soomal.com/edoc/10100000237.htm
Cirrus Logic CS43199

Andrew Lin said:
It doesn't even have 3.5 jack. HTC makes my heart hurt...
Anyone else?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Its mind blowing through wired headset. I have used Lg G4 and V20 (both had dac) , Nex's sound output is at par with them or maybe even more.

Noticed that Nex plays the hifi and dsd mode only if played in imusic app and with DSD format file....tried all other formats including FLAC but the DSD nor HIFI modes get enabled...

The V30 gets way louder, I have headphones that trigger the Quad DAC on the V30 and I used volume at 70%, on the nex I use it at 100% and still wish that it would go a bit louder, sound quality is about the same, but V30 is superior no doubt, I compare the DAC on the Nex with the Note 8 or S8.

Vivo has always excelled in the audio side. They implement it very well

Louder is not better always . Please understand. Unless your earphones don't need that much output then activating quad dac is no use. A quote from respectable audiophile member from head-fi who used to test a lots of phone
"Listening to nex s is sweeter mid than lg v30. NexS provides better Imaging and fuller soundstage. Nex S is warmer than lg v30 thus making music more natural. Nex S provides more bass detail while lg v30 focus on treble and character brighter."
If you have heavy or high impedance headphones only then quad dac makes a sense. Low impedance heavy headphones don't drive enough well on LG cos of not activating quad dac

ben cherian said:
Louder is not better always . Please understand. Unless your earphones don't need that much output then activating quad dac is no use. A quote from respectable audiophile member from head-fi who used to test a lots of phone
"Listening to nex s is sweeter mid than lg v30. NexS provides better Imaging and fuller soundstage. Nex S is warmer than lg v30 thus making music more natural. Nex S provides more bass detail while lg v30 focus on treble and character brighter."
If you have heavy or high impedance headphones only then quad dac makes a sense. Low impedance heavy headphones don't drive enough well on LG cos of not activating quad dac
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Could you tell me some high impedance headphones will work great with my vivo nex ?

rowihel2012 said:
Could you tell me some high impedance headphones will work great with my vivo nex ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Beyerdynamics DT 880 250ohms version, Sennheiser HD 600series(600,650) . It doesn't need to be always high impedance headphones. You should choose headphones according to your music taste. Even the most rated headphones doesn't always have high impedance but generally around 32-80ohms. So don't make impedance as a deciding factor for buying headphones. I know it because i was thinking same as you did now.

using vivo next s with Beyerdynamics DT 990 pro 250ohms . sound great but use it with app named poweramp. it takes volume and quality to the next level( you can control gain in it and allmost everything)

lortwarCECH said:
using vivo next s with Beyerdynamics DT 990 pro 250ohms . sound great but use it with app named poweramp. it takes volume and quality to the next level( you can control gain in it and allmost everything)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Does it support hi fif dac?

rowihel2012 said:
Does it support hi fif dac?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yes it does

I have not compared with V30, but I am an audiophile and my AKG 240STUDIO sounds amazing with these headphones I agree what someone else said its a balanced sound with focus on midrange, high end is just enough detailed, I really love this sound, it sound even better then My Mi MIX that sounded wonderful in headphones too. The reason why phones dont include headphone jack is just lazyness they dont want to put effort into the art of creating a good sound. **** wireless audio! and long live the headphone jack with its superior sound quality.
---------- Post added at 08:51 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:47 PM ----------
lortwarCECH said:
using vivo next s with Beyerdynamics DT 990 pro 250ohms . sound great but use it with app named poweramp. it takes volume and quality to the next level( you can control gain in it and allmost everything)
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Honestly... to just a high ohm headphones with a smartphone is just stupid to me.... Beyerdynamics are known to be some of the most hard to drive headphones, they really need a good headphone amp to sound good, and that is little but too much to ask for a smartphone. I own the Beyerdynamics DT1350 they are more suitable for smasrtphone since its low ohm and more easy to drive, with higher ohm headphones you will hear more sound artifacts because they are hard to drive for a smartphone amp.
By the way, have you tried the app AIMP ? From what I knew this is the best sounding media player on android. And its free, feel free to compare them if you want in terms of sound quality.
and to use any kind of volume boost is a no no, then you just need a stronger amp.. for podcast etc you can use volume boost but not for music then you will just destroy the sound.

blackinfinity said:
I have not compared with V30, but I am an audiophile and my AKG 240STUDIO sounds amazing with these headphones I agree what someone else said its a balanced sound with focus on midrange, high end is just enough detailed, I really love this sound, it sound even better then My Mi MIX that sounded wonderful in headphones too. The reason why phones dont include headphone jack is just lazyness they dont want to put effort into the art of creating a good sound. **** wireless audio! and long live the headphone jack with its superior sound quality.
---------- Post added at 08:51 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:47 PM ----------
Honestly... to just a high ohm headphones with a smartphone is just stupid to me.... Beyerdynamics are known to be some of the most hard to drive headphones, they really need a good headphone amp to sound good, and that is little but too much to ask for a smartphone. I own the Beyerdynamics DT1350 they are more suitable for smasrtphone since its low ohm and more easy to drive, with higher ohm headphones you will hear more sound artifacts because they are hard to drive for a smartphone amp.
By the way, have you tried the app AIMP ? From what I knew this is the best sounding media player on android. And its free, feel free to compare them if you want in terms of sound quality.
and to use any kind of volume boost is a no no, then you just need a stronger amp.. for podcast etc you can use volume boost but not for music then you will just destroy the sound.
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Click to collapse
yea i know its better to have powerfull amp for them , I think I'll get some portable amp if i find some good one and no so expensive. i bought 250 ohm version beucase i use it with pc too, not only with phone. ok i try that app.

Does Nex's Amp need to be triggered like V30's?
Just a fast and easy question: does Nex's Amp need to be triggered in High Gain mode like the one on LG V30? Maybe using an adapter first and then plugging your headphones and playing music to enjoy it at the best it can gives. This is a well-know trick to trigger Hi Gain on LG and Meizu phones with dedicated DAC.
Please let me know

Which phone has a better LG v30 audio codec from Saber or VIVO Nex S Cirrus Logic?

a qualcuno può interessare https://www.evosmart.it/recensioni/...ex-s-potenza-sopita-scottante-sorpresa/18116/

I think the weakness of the amplifier is it output kind of low volume however, its still very clean even at 100% so other manufactures my get higher volume but probably not as clean..
Anyway it defintely would need more power, considering I use kind of easy to drive headphones AKG 240Studio the volume should be able to boost louder.
I would say it is not a problem with my headphones but if you get any more higher ohm headphones it wil not be enough jucie.