Smartphones for Audiophiles

The upcoming Nokia Lumia 920 has Dolby technology:

http://wmpoweruser.com/nokia-details-dolby-headphone-technology-in-lumia...

I wouldn't dream of using anything more than my PX-100 IIs with my iPhone 4 (or any phone). I hate wearing headphones anyway and - thankfully - there are very few occasions when I need to.

Most important to me is the sound quality via AirPlay (iTunes, BBC iPlayer Radio and TuneIn Radio Pro) which - presumably - bypasses any analogue 'doodads' in the phone and so shouldn't really make any difference when I get an iPhone5.

I doubt that any self-respecting 'Audiophile' would use any MP3 player or smartphone as a source. Luckily I am not an Audiophile. (Or at least I hope not!)

 

 

I can only assume your post is a joke. 

Do you grasp how helpful for sanity, nay essential I'd say, it is to listen to music when you're trekking to and from work every day? Try living in London without a portable music player and headphones. I'd give you a week, tops.

Far, far more weird that you'd use such a device to play your music at home.

Through some project work I did for the Olympics, I recently managed to score a free Samsung Galaxy S3. Its the Iinternational version, so has the 24 bit Wolfson DAC chip. With my Musical Fidelity iems and flac files played through Neutron music player app, its simply a beautiful sounding portable set up. I couldnt wish for any better sound really.

I don't doubt the iPhone 5 sounds good, but there are too many compelling reasons why I'd never go near one. Aside from the lack of native flac support or customisable EQ options, its a CrApple product, and if you buy one, you're accelerating the Earth's doom.

I really wish they could have included the 920 in that article but oh well. The 800 tests really badly so I am going to be careful with the 920. Especially interested in the Galaxy Note II now because of the digital out! This is going to be a tough one for me...

Oh wow, where to start with that comment... You seem to hate the word audiophile, I just mean people who like sound and I'm sure the article did as well. I'm not sure why some people think it's as disgusting a word as 'pedophile'.

'Audio Enthusiasts' do not necessarily shy away from using a smartphone as a source. I'm not saying it's the best sound ever straight out of the headphone socket but the iPhone 4/4s is one of the best phones for sound quality and volume, as well as supporting a bunch of DAC/amps. I guess you haven't heard of the Fostex HP-P1, the CLAS or the VAMP. With the iPhone 4s (or older) you can also bypass the amp stage with a LOD cable, unfortunately that's ruined with the iPhone 5 but oh well. A few Android phones can be rooted to support connection to a few DAC/amps, making them much cheaper than iPhones with their rather overpriced digital unlock options mentioned above and now things like the Galaxy Note II are supporting it out of the box (hopefully in Europe too).

I'm not too sure why someone who hates wearing headphones bothers to comment on a headphone forum but hopefully that answers some questions that others might have in their heads after that.

I'd agree with the above, but ask this:

- Aside from when in very quiet, still places, is it really worth the extra cost and bulk to bother with headphone amps and external dacs anymore? I've been down that path before, and I've now stripped back to just player source and iems, and really this lightweight rig is perfect for general daily out and aboutness. With real world noise as it is, I really am not convinced you need anything more to get great sounding music going into your ears....

Not sure what you mean by "I really wish they could have included the 920 in that article", because it IS included! Lumia 800 did not have the technology.

More details here:

http://conversations.nokia.com/2012/10/02/dolby-headphone-is-music-to-ou...

That's roughly how long I think the half a dozen people a day (at least) I see walking straight into moving traffic - oblivious to anything around them - have got left sometimes. (Heads down, texting away, whilst listening to music rather than listening out for the cars bearing down on them.)  

I hope it will.

If you say so.

 

 

Absolutely I agree, the biggest problem when in noisy environments is isolation, headphones with good isolation or active noise cancelling come with their own audio distortions that are not ideal and not often very 'hifi' (although the UE6000 sounds interesting - see Dale's review). I see these portable DAC/amp combos as more transportable than portable, that's where they make the most sense to me.

The word itself is ok...

Sorry I mean the article that I posted, in that test the Lumia 800 came out with really bad sound so I would be very careful before trusting them with anything good after something so shockingly bad. I'm not convinced that 'Doldy Headphone Technology' is going to mean anything in terms of sound quality but I will keep an open mind. I do love the look of the 920 and it's definitely at my number 2 spot for most likely next purchases.

Did anyone actually read the article I posted? I know it's long but it was very interesting.

According to the original article I posted, it appears that the Lumia 920 audio enhancements is an EQ setting, probably similar to Beats audio in the HTC. I can see that HTC One X has scored well in the audio front.

One will only know when the phone officially launches....

 

I think you are wrong (for a change ) as an audiophile will look to have the best music set up for the circumstances. So a smartphone with a portable amp and decent cans is about the best you can get for walking or going on the bus.

I've always thought of myself as an audiophile, so now I will add 'podophile' to that (I just made that up, so I may be the first). I have been severely criticised for suggesting that audiophile sound quality can be appreciated on an iPod or iPhone, or (gasp!) measured and compared with different headphones on same.

So here it is, from an experienced tester: The iPod Touch or iPhone4/4s can drive a Sennheiser HD800 to audiophile listening levels with about 50 percent of my 320k CBR MP3's that I lovingly converted from high quality WAV tracks myself. Furthermore, the frequency response, transients, distortion et al, while "nowhere near" the quality you get with a good desktop DAC and amp, are good enough (with the tracks that I noted) to make a definitive comparison of the HD800 to any other headphone that's at least as efficient. You won't hear the ultimate capability of the HD800 that way, but the differences you identify will hold true in comparisons with good desktop DACs and amps.

Some people may argue that the HD800 will respond much differently, in signature or other ways, with different amps, and differences may be even greater with other headphones. When all is said and done, I haven't found that to be the case. When the gear is working properly the differences will be there, but not so great that they will invalidate what was evaluated on the ipod touch or iphone4/4s alone, given tracks with sufficient volume and overall quality. Dynamics are a big problem with iphones, which is a big part of the reason I won't consider putting lossless tracks on my iphone4s.

One comment at the end (user comment, not in the article) said the iPhone5 he tested had as good or better volume and sound than the iPhone4.