Headphones

dolby atmos is crap

Sony LDAC is compatible with just about anything that isn't Apple. Apt X (specifically HD and Adaptive) will run on pretty much anything that has a Qualcomm chipset. So again pretty much any phone that isn't Apple.

They're just codecs for higher than 16bit wireless audio. They should be compatible with any Android device running anything higher than 8.0. All are part of open source Android since 2020

Point being, you don't have to really make sure the phone you're looking at "has it".

I have the zenfone 9, and it has a 3.5mm Hi-Res out (up to 192khz), so I'm happy with it. Although, I wasn't aware of it when I bought it.

I have a Motorola Edge 20 Lite. The retail price in my country was around 215 dollars. It's crazy what you get for that money nowadays. The camera is pretty garbage but otherwise it hasn't stuttered once, the battery lasts up to two days, and the display is nice. It does have a 3.5mm input with a decent dac, but I'm using my Qudelix for EQ convenience 99% of the time.

Samsung S20 FE. Nothing fancy just lets me do the basics.

iPhone 15 pro max with buds 2 pro for on the go convenience.

IER-Z1R and tazh1es/wm1a at home.

Pixel 4, small size, easy to handle, and I love pixel Android

Lg v20 and iphone 3gs as DAPs

Pixel 6a and the headphones connected through either a USB DAC or my trusty BTR-3K.

I have a Samsung Galsxy S20 FE.

Its battery life sucks as it is, so my FIIO KA3 sodomises its charge. I want to get something with more battery capacity eventually.

The s20 FE was cheap though.

Just whatever.

Even though I'm one of the crazies that thinks a non-audible, non-discernible difference in quality can still have an affect on a person/system/body, the ambient noise of a car/public place/any activity that requires me to use my phone for audio is going to be high enough to erase any benefit that a "better sounding" source/phone could possibly have.

I've stopped using Bluetooth earbuds/headphones. Cheap, wired earbuds are better sounding, even with the noise of the world/chores. I'm also paranoid about wireless devices being inserted into the head. Even if Bluetooth is safe on paper, you can't know that a company properly designed/implemented their radios/that you didn't get a defective unit, etc. I've decided trading audio quality, peace of mind, and versatility/never needing to be charged for the slight convenience of not having a wire just isn't worth it [yet, maybe someday].

Also, Bluetooth is inherently laggy. Gimmicky, virtual surround-sound implementations can add to the lag. They also tend to sound terrible compared to the plain, stereo output. And while I'd say you should definitely listen however you want/in whatever way you enjoy - because it's your life, and you should live it how you want, for me, I hate the loss of clarity/sparkle that post-processed audio gimmicks cause.

Pixel 8pro because the features are useful for a college student like call screening and the live recording. But yeah the nothing phone would probably be better because of the customizability

I got the Motorola G100 for the SD Card slot and 3.5mm jack. Also because it has a Snapdragon 870 and I game on my phone a bit.

Redmi Note 12 Pro 5G and Vivo X70 Pro. Although the Redmi still has a headphone jack, I'm mostly daily driving my Moondrop Alice with them.

Audio does not go into purchasing decision, using phone only with bluetooth earphones (Sony WC310) for workouts and cycling for the convenience.

As for more serious listening or longer sessions, I use dedicated DAP and wired Sennheiser IE80, it's 1st gen FiiO X3 that still performs like day 1 after 8 years. Due to some sort of magic battery is still going strong.

As for phone went with Motorola ThinkPhone. Literally dream phone, clean stock Android, insanely well built with IP68 and even MIL-STD-810H standard, extremely fast due to SD8+ Gen 1, and display is probably the best I have ever seen. Not as bright as latest iPhone or Galaxy, but colors are straight up more natural and accurate.

Xperia Pro-i.

I wanted a higher end phone without a notch or hole-punch, with an sd slot, and this was pretty much the only choice. It also has the camera sensor from a mirror less DSLR, which is cool.

The headphone jack on this phone is trash sadly, so I need to use a dongle anyway.

I don't care about things like Dolby Atmos at all, it's just software surround and i'm not using that, don't care about aptX, no devices i use support it, and basically everything has LDAC these days so i don't even bother checking for it, the only important things in a phone are the version of android it comes with from the factory, a 3,5mm audio jack, and a few other things like a good fingerprint reader and that the selfie camera is as hidden as possible, i am yet to find a phone without one of those stupid things, so if someone knows a recent phone without a selfie camera, please point me to it, i hate those things

For music still by LG G8X Dual Screen. Everyday use S23 Ultra

iPhone 13 because it was the best buy when I compared it to other phones in that budget, no compromise in any aspect whether it’s the battery,performance or camera quality and given it’s compact size,it was the perfect phone for me. Note: (if budget was not an issue for me then I would’ve got the galaxy s23 instead)

OnePlus 8t with Galaxy buds 2 pro and BTR3K + Starfields

Samsung s10e with a Truthear Hola dongle dac . Salnotes zero/Klipsch s4 and just recently got a good deal on a Hidzis ms1-galaxy.

I use Z Fold 4 paired with Moondrop Dawn Pro. Nothing really connected to listening experience, I got it for the big screen. LDAC and big album covers while listening is a bonus.

Iphone and dongle is enough to drive my SRH1840. For other headphone I would use amps and usb dac from pc

LG V series

Motorola g32, because im poor and everything here is expensive lol but with autoeq and latest Crinacle Bruel Kjaer profile my salnotes zero gets so much better!

LG V60. Good phone, big screen, good battery and, most important, a dedicated DAC. I use it with my pair of Sennheiser HD58x and my IEMs (Tin HIFI T3+) and they sound amazing on this thing

Motorola edge plus it is a fuckin good in past i don't use any phone has stereo speakers or AMOLED or Dolby Atmos wow i really love it more than Xiaomi note 8 pro

Pixel 6a since it was cheap and small form factor

Pixel 7a with an Infinite Cables USB-C dongle.

Reason for pixel? Camera tech, more friendly to open source, and more repair friendly as well. I hate apple as a company and I tolerate Google. Should I decide to hate them too, I can put a custom Linux or Android fork (like grapheneOS) on my phone.

For music I use a modified build of YouTube music.

I still have an LG G8 which I use strictly as my music player. Then I carry an iPhone 13 for everyday use but mainly because iMessage as its my main communication platform. I don't much like iPhones but it is what it is. I also had an s22 which has AptX and LDAC, I like the audio but not as much as the LG.

At this point I think if you're going over wireless, as long as the phone supports the codec your headphones do, it's fine. I said that because no phone on the market with an aux have a dedicated dac like the LG phones did, so there's really no point because if you're going to be using a portable dac, might as well use it with any phone you get.

So when I don't use the G8, I use the iPhone with my Sony buds and that's just fine for now.

Nokia X100. Shit sucks but it was cheap and it works.

V50. Still refuse to retire it or let it die.

- iPhone 15 Pro

- Samsung S23

Both with Tempotech Sonata HD Pro Dongle DAC and IEMs. Had a V30 years ago and it was a blast. Sold it after joining Apple-Branch in my company which gave me tons of iPhones for testing. Shouldn't have sold it....

iPhone 15 pro max…such a silly name lol

Does Dolby Atmos even sound good with stereo headphones? Thought it was designed for multi speaker setups.

Pocophone x4 gt because it's very affordable for its specs

i have an iphone 11.

i use it cause it's the one i have.

Samsung Galaxy Note 9. I will argue this is the best phone that they produced, period. Two cameras, fingerprint scanner on the back, stylus, expandable storage AND a headphone jack. I will probably perish and turn to dust the day it dies on me.