Best sound with headphones

[rossputin]

My Pixel 3a XL's sound is disappointing.  With the exception of one phone (HTC One M9),  all phones I've had have sucked. But the HTC One M9 was excellent.  I use it at the gym but it's life is approaching it's end.

So long question short (I know. Too late),. what's a newish mid-tier phone that has great sound?

[darlicious]

@rossputin 

I have a variety of over the ear and in ear Bluetooth headphones. I highly recommend Outdoor Tech's Rhinos (I paid $27 to $45 for 4 different pairs at Sport chek reg. $150) for the simple fact that they are nearly indestructible. (The bf has had his for 18 months and despite several mtb wipeouts where they gone flying over 30 feet and being left out all night in the pouring rain they are still going strong!) IPX6 rated, good sound and volume, 8 hours play time, walkie talkie app that works just ok....great for 3 seasons of the year but keep your ears too warm in the summer months.

Note:

Unfortunately Outdoor Tech no longer makes Rhinos so they can be a little difficult to find but are available. I own nearly every product Outdoor Tech makes and am waiting for their Turtle speaker to become available again and if on sale I will be purchasing it as I have a 50% off promocode given to me by them to make up for a slight flaw in one of their products that could not be replaced. I have not tried their wired minnows or makos but they are currently on clearance at Sport chek for $16 and $23 with a further 10% off and I have not bought any of their charging cables nor their bluetooth helmet headphones.

Once summer arrives that's when I switch to in ear Bluetooth headphones. I use the Skull Candy Smokin Bud 2 headphones (I think I paid $30 on sale at London Drugs) as a back up pair as they only have a 3 to 4 hour playtime. So I use my Beats All day Flex in ear buds because they are fast charging and have a 12 hour play time that I got on sale at Sport chek for $47.

The best overall for sound Bluetooth headphones the bf has had are the JBL 115 Bluetooth earphones but 6 weeks in one of ear buds stopped working so I need to make a warranty claim but understand the bf is very hard on electronics. I snagged a stinking deal on them again at Sport chek for $13! I have also had a variety of JVC, Plantronics and other Skull Candy Bluetooth headphones but none have held up even through their warranty period and the price I paid for them at London Drugs and their disappointing sound didnt make it worthwhile to bother going thru the warranty process for a replacement.

You may want to consider these JBL's on sale for $84 + an additional 10% off with either the promocode FFNOV21 or the email promo code.

https://www.sportchek.ca/categories/electronics/headphones-speakers/product/jbl-reflect-contour-2-wi...

[rossputin]

@srlawren if you were asking me I'm using these Sony's which I quite like so a Bluetooth equivalent would-be ideal.

I do prefer some sort of wire even if just to each other.  I hike quite a bit so if I drop one they'll be easier to find.  I'm so use to wired headphones that it actually feel unnatural not to have some sort of weight to the headphones.😂.  I also stress in case one falls out and I'll lose a Bluetooth bud!😱

[srlawren]

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@rossputin wrote:

@srlawren 

I'm only noticing your post now. I never knew of such hardware.  Sounds promising.  Any recommendations for a Pixel 3aXL?

Saw this.  Although I'm not nuts about carrying two things.

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@rossputin no worries.  First off, for anyone trying to use that link without luck, try this instead.  But in all honesty I haven't used a headphone amp in quite a few years.  I'd also be not crazy about carrying something else around, but definitely check out as many reviews as you can to get a varied opinion on whatever you are thinking of buying.

Regarding going Bluetooth, @Anonymous was bang on with can of worms.  It's definitely an option, and one I've been doing for years now.  That said, the assortment of options out there is staggering so it can be hard to choose.  And they are all going to give you different results in terms of volume, sound quality (which of course is also subjective--some like BASS BASS BASS, some like as neutral as possible, etc), features, comfort, battery life, etc.  Would you be looking for headphones (on ear? over ear?) or true wireless buds?

[rossputin]

@srlawren 

I'm only noticing your post now. I never knew of such hardware.  Sounds promising.  Any recommendations for a Pixel 3aXL?

Saw this.  Although I'm not nuts about carrying two things.

[Anonymous]

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@hTideGnow wrote:

@rossputin   I think at least it can  sound better because it is digital 

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[hTideGnow]

@rossputin   I think at least it can  sound better because it is digital 

[rossputin]

Had a good idea presented to me today.  Use Bluetooth headphones instead of wired since they have their own power source. Therefore likely will provide more volume.

Thoughts?

[Anonymous]

 @rossputin : LG is or has exited the mobile phone business. I wouldn't.

[rossputin]

@carlaspapa I doubt I'll be get the pixel 6.

Regarding the LG you mentioned I hadn't heard that it's being added.

Thanks for the heads up.

[srlawren]

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@carlaspapa wrote:

@rossputin 

How about the new pixel 6? 

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@carlaspapa beautiful phone!  But it has one big issue ($200 over stated budget of $600), and one possibly major issue: no headphone jack!  @rossputin said they use wired headphones.  This may not be a big deal if they are open to using either a bluetooth receiver-to-3.5mm adapter OR a USB-C to 3.5mm wired adapter, but then you are at the mercy (for the better or worse) of the adapter's DAC and integrated amp so the choice of phone is at least somewhat moot and it's all about the adapter selection.  I think there are some that are probably quite good (and may be priced to match).

@rossputin actually if you're happy with your current Pixel, come to think of it, that might be an option for you: purchase either a portable headphone amp (plugs into your 3.5mm headphone port, stacks under your phone, then you plug headphones into it) or a portable USB-C dac with integrated amp (plugs into USB-C port and provides a 3.5mm jack).  

You would definitely want to do some homework to figure out what you want.  They can be relatively inexpensive like the AudioQuest Dragon adapter for Android or relatively expensive like the Razer THX Onyx, though even the expensive ones are cheaper than a new phone (again, assuming you're happy with your current one other than the audio). EDIT: sorry these are both examples of USB-C to 3.5.  I didn't include any portable 3.5 to 3.5 amps but there's many out there of all shapes, sizes, and budgets.

[carlaspapa]

@rossputin 

Did you pick a phone yet? How about the new pixel 6? Or the LG thinq they are thinking about adding to the phones for sale on the website?

[rossputin]

Today I briefly had to use my Pixel 3aXL for sound at the gym (I watch/listen to music videos on YouTube during cardio) and was quickly reminded how terrible the sound is. Volume is so low no matter the app.

My old HTC One M9's sound is soooo superior.  I wished I knew of a phone with similar sound. Does this spec. have anything to do with it: 24-bit/192kHz audio ? Not sure what to look for in other phones. Ideas?

[jib_tech]

@carlaspapa 

Right on dude! Yeah I rock out to AC/DC too! I had those headphones as well but I'm hard on headphones so they didn't hold up. Currently using JBL 110 Bluetooth ear buds that are wicked.

[rossputin]

Not yet @srlawren .  My Pixel 3aXL is fine (ish).

Don't get me wrong.  I WANT a new toy. Just trying to be more responsible.😁

[srlawren]

@rossputin did you pick a new device yet?  Just curious how that's going.

[carlaspapa]

@rossputin 

I'm using a pair of Skullcandy Hesh 3 Bluetooth headphones with my pixel 3 and it sounds awesome like I'm at a live AC/DC concert.

[darlicious]

@rossputin 

Swiftronics has all of the top phones listed in the links supplied by @srlawren  either open box or factory sealed other than the LG. The Sony Xperia hovering around $1000 and the Asus zenphone at $900 but the Asus Rog 5 at $700 to $769, the One Plus 8 at $600 and the google pixel 4a at $500 along with a Sony Xperia 10 at $519 are getting close to your budget and audio must haves...

https://swiftronics.ca/collections/smartphones/products/oneplus-8-6-55-inch-5g-12gb-256gb-dual-sim-f...

[rossputin]

@jib_tech not my headphones because I use the same ones on the pixel and  old HTC and the latter sounds much better.

[srlawren]

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@rossputin wrote:

Hi @srlawren 

Wired headphones (preferably 3.5 mm jack).

Phone budget approximately $600.

I have some Sony extra bass ones which are great.

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@rossputin okay so been wire-free for several years now and a bit out of touch.  I know that LG no longer makes phones, but if you can find stock on a G-series (latest was G8 I believe), V-series (V60 dual screen is pretty cool), or Velvet somewhere, LG were touted as having excellent DAC performance in those series resulting in great wired headphone performance.  I know at least some of those were north of $600 but if you can find them at all, they might be on clearance pricing and fall within the budget.

Sony might be another brand to check out.  Unfortunately they are also difficult to find in Canada if I remember correctly, but you might be able to source one from Amazon or something.  The What HiFi article I link below rates the Xperia 1 II and Xperia 5 II very highly for example, though they're pricey.  

Other than that you may want to check out some of these resources to see if anything might suit you:

https://www.whathifi.com/best-buys/best-smartphones

https://www.soundguys.com/best-smartphones-for-audio-16373/

https://www.androidcentral.com/best-android-phone-headphone-jack

https://www.androidauthority.com/best-of-android-mid-2020-audio-1135329/

Hopefully that helps.  Let us know what you pick!  (Or if you have more questions)

[cellphoneuser1]

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@jib_tech wrote:

@rossputin 

Really I think it's less your phone and more your head phones.  I've gotten great sound from some pretty cheap phones even a couple of flip phones but good headphones. Usually Bluetooth. Beats are great, jbl makes some surprisingly good ones for the price and most skullcandy stand up without breaking the bank.

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Headphones with cords won't be that good on phones because it's analog. Phones with 3.5mm jack can have very very different sound even in different model testing with the same headphones.

[jib_tech]

@rossputin 

Really I think it's less your phone and more your head phones.  I've gotten great sound from some pretty cheap phones even a couple of flip phones but good headphones. Usually Bluetooth. Beats are great, jbl makes some surprisingly good ones for the price and most skullcandy stand up without breaking the bank.

[rossputin]

Hi @srlawren 

Wired headphones (preferably 3.5 mm jack).

Phone budget approximately $600.

I have some Sony extra bass ones which are great.

[srlawren]

@rossputin are you using wired headphones or Bluetooth, and which headphones specifically?  What's your approx budget for a new phone?  

[hTideGnow]

you consider S20 FE mid range?  If so, the speakers it has are excellent too..

[pkaraa]

@rossputin 

3 XL and 4a sounds have been compared, liked 3XL better than 4a.

[rossputin]

@pkaraa so the 3xl differs in sound from the 3a XL?  I find the latter's volume too low no, I'm not hard of hearing). have you compared them by chance?

[softech]

I think OnePlus 8 has great sound within the mid-range phones.  

[pkaraa]

pixel 3 XL has great sound if I am not using bluetooth devices.

[hTideGnow]

you don't have great experience with your 3a XL.  But I think Pixel 4a has solid sound..