I will explain a little further what the reason for my skepticism is, in addition to the likely hearing loss, which I am sometimes accused of by some radical audiophiles. In this post, I want to understand how viable the concept of an audiophile-music lover smartphone is today, if we accept as fact the controversial thesis about the importance of expensive discrete DACs for fidelity.
Briefly and objectively
The quality of DACs at the measurement level is different. This is what determines their cost. The difference is noticeable by ear, and this, in all honesty, can be determined subjectively by listening strongly (at least, I have not seen blind tests refuting this thesis yet). So the basic element of a music lover dialer is a DAC. It should be highlighted.
An amplifier is also a system that can introduce a lot of distortion. Moreover, its characteristics are important for an audio smartphone because really high-quality headphones, as a rule, have high impedance. A weak amplifier simply will not pull them.
Supplemented. For those who are not obvious about the dependence of the headphone impedance, the power consumed by them and the generated sound pressure:
: P=U*I, U — , I — , . U R, R — . P=U*U/R
, ( SPL — ) . , . , ( ) . .
Good DACs and amplifiers with high output voltage levels (capable of driving 60, 100 ohms and more) are almost certainly energy-hungry. For this reason, an audiophile smartphone must have a large battery capacity. Somewhere 5-6 thousand mAh or more. And finally, a large amount of music material recorded in lossless formats, which some of the audiophile fraternity sometimes still prefer to streaming services, will require an adequate amount of memory.
And then the question arises whether such a smartphone is needed, given the abundance of specific tasks and the absence of requirements for the direct functionality of the device, i.e. communication? Isn't it easier to buy a fashionable audiophile player instead of trying to find the
Meanwhile, such devices exist, and, interestingly, they are cheaper than less functional players. For consumers who have not delved into the topic, two natural questions arise. Is there a difference? And which is better? In many ways, each consumer answers these questions in the process of a conscious choice, as well as the question: "Is this all necessary at all?" I will offer my version of the answers with a fair amount of subjective judgments, but not without relying on facts untouched by taste. I'll start, as always, from afar ...
In almost antique antiquity
In the shaggy 2000s (and perhaps even a little earlier), when every megabyte was counted, the concept of an audio smartphone was really relevant, there were interesting models from Nokia, SonyEricsson and Motorola, which looked more like advanced players than phones. They were distinguished by massive physical playback control buttons and ergonomics, allowing you to switch, control volume, pause and play right out of your pocket blindly. I believe that the audience still remembers the times when most of the devices did not yet have touch control interfaces.
Of course, there was no question of any high-impedance headphones. The 16 Ohm resistance, forgotten today, was especially relevant in those days, since it allowed squeezing out of the phone that very screaming sound with fashionable buzzing excess lows and screaming mids from the “blood from the ears” series. As you know, low impedance is good for sonic performance, but sacrifices fidelity. If an audio smartphone (player-phone) of that time was able to reproduce sound at sufficient volume on 32 Ohm headphones, this was already considered a significant achievement. As well as the memory size of 1-2 GB.
Over time, the emergence of a modern form factor with an impressive number of possibilities made multifunctional player phones not in demand. But in a fit of
Players and audio smartphones - competitors or not?
In fact, if we consider the capabilities of players and a smartphone (even audiophile) in detail and go into details, then these devices differ significantly in their capabilities. And first of all it concerns amplifiers. The maximum headphone impedance that a super-audiophile smartphone can count on does not exceed 150 Ohm, at least I have never come across devices that would be able to swing headphones with high resistance while maintaining normal volume. At the same time, many players can cope with two hundred and even three hundred-ohm headphones.
I would be fine with headphones. Further, the differences in the fidelity of reproduction are practically not noticeable to me, but I am so-so audiophile. People who buy players, especially from manufacturers such as HiFiMan or Astel & Kern, are not at all the people who are satisfied with half measures. Also in such players, an unjustified, but often significant for audiophiles, technical solution is used, each channel is processed by a separate DAC, which reduces the load on the converter and, according to some manufacturers, the alleged likelihood of quantization artifacts. In a smartphone, even a music lover, such a decision looks completely unjustified, and is practically not applied.
Among modern smartphones in the ratings The following models are distinguished, where an emphasis is placed on audio data reproduction and a high-performance and expensive discrete DAC is installed:
- LG V40 ThinQ - DAC ESS Saber ES9219
- Vivo Nex Dual X50 Pro - DAC AK4377A
- OPPO Reno 2 - DAC AK4377A
- Meizu 16th - Qualcomm Aqstic Audio Processor (DAC WCD9341)
Also recommended as an audio smartphone Apple iPhone 11, subjectively noting the good sound of the device. The original circuit design does not require a discrete or other DAC, since the latter is in the receiving device (for example, headphones) on which the fidelity of playback depends. Meanwhile, none of the above models is equipped with an amplifier sufficient for headphones with an impedance above 120 - 150 Ohm, and for some, any analog wired headphones will become a problem.
A bit of humor about a warm tube smartphone
Many people call the times we live in the analog equipment renaissance. From year to year, more and more people are nostalgic for vinyl, tube amplifiers and similar archaic solutions in electronics. Thinking about which smartphone might appeal to people who prefer analog devices, I came up with the following concept.
So, the ideal audiophile smartphone for an analog audiophile should have a built-in micro-reel tape recorder, which picks up sound, obviously, from the finest magnetic wire. Also equipped with a turntable for microvinyl discs, always with a tangential tonearm and an MC cartridge equipped with a shibata-sharpened diamond needle.
Approximately this is how the giblets of a real lampophile smartphone could look.It
goes without saying that the installation of subminiature lamps, on which everything related to sound reproduction should work, should be hinged, and the connections should be made using silver wires. Also required is a sector volume control with a gas-discharge level indicator and a pair of small analog potentiometers built into the monobrow to the right and left of the front camera.
Naturally, wireless interfaces are useless for such a device, but a balanced headphone cable with rhodium contacts made of oxygen-free 99-proof platinum and insulation of a pink unicorn mane woven from hair, cut off by all means on a full moon, is badly needed.
Dry residue
Of course, there are people who will be interested in the so-called. audiophile smartphones, but audiophiles, in the full sense of the word, can hardly be called. Those chasing DAC specs will most likely buy players. Lovers of analog sound will agree to use a smartphone for sound reproduction only when it learns to play vinyl discs. Thus, among potential users of audio smartphones, there remains a relatively small stratum of owners of the so-called. medium-high impedance (from 64 to 150 Ohm) headphones, for which it is important not to lose sound quality everywhere. For their money, players and portable headphone amplifiers, often equipped with a DAC function, will compete with audio smartphones.
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