The times when digital media began to displace CDs from the market, and MP3 players reigned supreme in the world's music scene, are gradually fading into the past. After all modern smartphones have in their arsenal media players with sound that is not inferior, and sometimes significantly superior to the quality of sound reproduction of their older brothers. This review is a rating best smartphones for music 2016, with good sound in headphones and speakers.

A stylish, all-metal 4G smartphone with an excellent 5-inch Super LCD screen protected by Gorilla Glass, thanks to the company's collaboration with the Dolby laboratory, received sound reproduction technologies - Boom Sound and Dolby Audio. Equipped with two front-facing stereo speakers and amplifiers, it delivers deep, detailed sound that rivals the sound quality of many portable speakers. Ringtones in the device sound simply magical, not to mention high-quality music tracks that can be downloaded for free thanks to the capabilities of Android 5.0.

The phone sounds very clear speech, and excellent sound quality in the headphones. The device works on the platform of a powerful 8 nuclear processor - Qualcomm Snapdragon 810, with 32 GB of internal memory with a slot for MicroSD cards, up to 128 GB. This is quite enough to store a large number of music files. The gadget has a wonderful MP3 player that plays FLAC 24/192 format and automatically downloads album art from the Internet, as well as a high-quality FM receiver. The non-removable Li-polymer battery of the phone has a capacity of 2840 mAh, which allows you to listen to your favorite music and FM radio for a long time.

Sony Xperia Z3

The sleek, water-resistant 4G LTE smartphone features a vibrant 5.2-inch IPS, Multi-Touch display at a 1920 x 1080 pixel image size. Having a powerful hardware platform in the form of a processor - Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 MSM8974AC and a video accelerator - Adreno 330, with 3 GB of RAM and 16 GB of internal memory; with the possibility of expanding with micro SD cards up to 128 GB - the gadget works quickly with any multitasking. The presence of a slot for memory cards is a big plus for music lovers who have the opportunity to store a large collection of music in the device. The gadget is controlled by Android 4.4, which allows it to seamlessly download music from anywhere, unlike iOS. The phone has high-quality stereo speakers. Even at maximum volume, they produce a powerful and deep sound with sufficient elaboration. low frequencies. And this is despite the fact that the speakers are covered with waterproof membranes. Traditionally, Sony has a proprietary Walkman audio player with an equalizer and a lot of settings that improve sound. The device has an FM receiver, the antenna for which, as is customary in the company's devices, are the wires of the headset. The smartphone battery has a capacity of 3100 mAh, which allows you to listen to music offline for a long time.

A well-built 4G LTE smartphone with a wonderful 5.5-inch LCD, Multi-Touch screen from Sharp, protected by Corning Gorilla Glass 3, running Android 4.4 KitKat OS. This allows you to freely download music from a variety of sources to it. The hardware of the gadget consists of an 8-core processor - Samsung Exynos S430, GPU ARM Mail-T628 MP6, and 3 GB random access memory, thanks to which the device quickly works with any multitasking. The internal memory of the device is 16/32/64 GB, depending on the modification, and since there is no slot for memory cards, it is preferable for music lovers to buy the version with 64 GB. If this is not enough, then the technology for connecting external flash drives - USB-OTG - will help solve the problem of storing a large amount of music in a smartphone. Thanks to the installed audio decoder - Saber ESS ES9018K2M, 2-channel amplifier - TI OPA1612 and passive filter, the device has an excellent quality of music playback; but music lovers need to purchase high-end headphones for it. The built-in smartphone player has a lot of settings, an equalizer, a direct output to an external amplifier and a very large volume range in the “Hi-Fi Sound” mode. The phone has a non-removable battery with a capacity of 3350 mAh, which is enough for 5-6 hours of the player. Overall - excellent music smartphone, has the following disadvantages: lack of a slot for memory cards, the need to buy expensive headphones, insufficient time battery life. On the plus side, you get a device with great sound, a great screen, and a powerful hardware platform.

Top 4G LTE phablet, which was the first to install 6 inch display with Quad HD resolution - 2560 by 1440 pixels, almost twice as large as Full HD. The high pixel density gave such big screen very high image clarity. The hardware of the device, controlled by Android 4.4 KitKat, is represented by a powerful 4-core processor - Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 8974AB with a clock speed of 2.3 GHz and an Adreno 330 graphics accelerator. The smartphone has 3 GB of RAM and 32 GB of internal memory. Unfortunately, there is no slot for memory cards, but it is possible to connect to the device in the OTG external flash drives with music. The gadget has excellent sound, both in headphones and in powerful stereo speakers, thanks to the sound chip - ESS Technology ES9018 and the amplifier - Texas Instruments TI OPA2064. In terms of sound quality, the phone today is one of the best in the world. Naturally, it needs a high-end headset. The gadget has two good cameras: main 13 MP with flash and auto-focus, and front 5 MP. The non-removable battery of the tablet phone has a capacity of 3200 mAh.

Stylish 4G/LTE smartphone with an original design has a bright and high-contrast 5-inch Full HD OLED display with excellent viewing angles. The device is running a modern OS Windows phone 8.1. Its hardware is represented by a chipset consisting of a 4-core processor - Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 with operating frequency 2.2 GHz, and a video accelerator - Adreno 330, with 2 GB of RAM and 32 GB of internal memory. There is no slot for memory cards. The gadget has a powerful and high-quality sound through the headset, but in order to fully reveal its fullness and saturation, you need to have high-end headphones. Possibility to connect via Bluetooth 4.0 wireless headset. As a bonus for music lovers, the device has a high-quality FM receiver. The multimedia part of the phone is represented by two cameras. The main camera with a resolution of 20 megapixels has a 6-lens lens - Zeiss and dual flash. Front-camera with a resolution of 1.2 MP is useful for video calls. The device has a non-removable lithium ion battery, with a capacity of 2420 mAh, which is quite enough for one day of work offline. It has the option of wireless charging.

A well-made 3G budget smartphone from Sony with a 5-inch IPS, MultiTouch display, 960/540 pixels resolution, protective glass. The hardware of the device, controlled by Android 4.4.4 OS, is represented by a 4-core processor - MediaTek MT6582 with a core clock speed of 1300 MHz. It has 1 GB of RAM and 8 GB of internal memory with a slot for micro SD cards, up to 32 GB. This is quite enough to store a large amount of music. There is an FM receiver. The model, traditionally for Sony, has high-quality sound when listening to music through headphones. The multimedia part of the gadget is represented by two cameras. The main 5 megapixel camera has a flash, auto-focus and digital 4x zoom. There is a front camera for video telephony. The device is equipped with a non-removable Li-Ion battery with a capacity of 2300 mAh, which in the music listening mode holds a charge of 48 hours. There is a battery saving mode - Ultra STAMINA.

The world's thinnest 3G smartphone at just 5.15mm has a bright 4.8-inch AMOLED, MultiTouch display with tempered glass. Very beautiful model is controlled by Android 4.4. The hardware of the device is represented by a chipset consisting of an 8-core processor - MediaTek MT6592, with a core clock speed of 1700 MHz, a video accelerator - Mali-450 MP4, 1 GB of RAM and 16 GB of internal memory. The gadget has an FM-receiver, and has a good sound quality. The multimedia part of the device is represented by two cameras, the main 8 MP with flash and auto-focus, and 5 MP front for Selphy and Skype. The model has a Li-Polymer battery with a capacity of 2050 mAh, which in the music listening mode holds a charge up to 50 hours.

Motorola Moto G

Well-assembled 4G-smartphone in a strict, solid body with a 5-inch IPS, Multitouch display with an image size of 1280 by 720 pixels, protected by Corning Gorilla Glass. The model, controlled by Android 4.4, basically has a chipset consisting of a 4-core processor - Qualcomm Snapdragon MSM8226, with a clock frequency of 1200 MHz, a video accelerator - Adreno 305, 1 GB of RAM and 8 GB of internal memory . For music lovers, a pleasant bonus will be the presence of a slot for memory cards microSD, up to 32 GB, an FM receiver and high-quality stereo speakers. The sound in the headphones of the gadget is very good. It is equipped with two cameras. The main 8-megapixel has a flash, auto-focus and digital 4x Zoom. The front 2 MP is useful for video calls. The device has a non-removable Li-Ion battery with a capacity of 2070 mAh.

Conclusion

Modern music lovers are lucky with technical support their hobbies. The most massive electronic device today - a smartphone, is almost always equipped with an audio player, and in some cases with a special sound chip that makes the sound of the device simply phenomenally high quality. A. if you're lucky - when buying it, you can get a built-in FM receiver. It remains only to choose a musical gadget from a great variety of smart counterparts. I hope this rating of the best smartphones for music will help dear readers in this exciting activity - choosing a musical gadget. It remains to add that more full information about the pros and cons of the model you are interested in, you can get by reading the reviews and comments of the real owners of these devices on thematic Internet forums. We wish you a good mood and harmony with the world around you, because, as the song says, only music has harmony.

The times when digital media began to displace CDs from the market, and MP3 players reigned supreme in the world of music, are gradually disappearing...

There are a huge number of music lovers in the world. Such people want to get the best sound from technology. They buy a home theater with a receiver and a chic audio system. And when choosing a smartphone, they pay attention to whether it has a central audio processor, which separately handles sound processing. If you also want to buy a music smartphone, then be sure to take a look at our rating of such devices!

What makes good sound?

Many people believe that all portable devices are about the same in their audio quality. Usually such users think that the differences lie only in the musical dynamics. But in fact, even on headphones, the sound is far from the same. It all depends on which component converts digital sound to analog (and you can’t do without it, the headphones themselves have not yet learned how to solve such a problem). Most low-cost smartphones the sound is processed by a processor or a very simple audio processor. Both of these cases do not suit the music lover, as the following happens:

The sound is quiet;
The quality of the music is far from ideal, as the sampling rate is greatly reduced;
It is impossible to connect large on-ear headphones - the signal does not have enough strength to overcome the increased resistance.

That's why some manufacturers build a separate audio processor into their products, and sometimes even supplement this with an audio amplifier. A phone with such components becomes musical, as it sounds much better than many of its competitors. But don't try to compare it with music centers, receivers and computer sound cards- larger audio processors with completely different characteristics are built into stationary devices. Yes, and they have a lot more dynamics.

Portable Hi-Fi player

If you consider yourself a real music lover, then pay attention to the top music players. They still exist, occupying a certain market share. Inside them, you do not need to place a 4G module, a large amount of RAM and other similar components. In this regard, they have room for a high-quality audio processor and an extremely powerful amplifier. These players sound much better than any smartphone. But they also cost from 45,000 rubles, and therefore not everyone can afford to buy them.

There are many MP3 players on the electronics market that will satisfy even the most sophisticated music lover. However, in Lately, manufacturers are trying to produce such universal smartphones that can replace a full-fledged camera, camcorder, navigator, power bank and even a player. Let's take a closer look at the TOP 4 smartphones with good sound in 2017.

Smartphone Onkyo DP-CMX1

Before going into detail on technical specifications device, it is worth noting that Onkyo declared this model as a smartphone for real music lovers. Because of this, the Onkyo DP-CMX1 uses a number of specific technical solutions that are typical for professional audio equipment.

Design and equipment. It is difficult to say something specific about the packaging of the smartphone, because. in Russia, it is known mainly from presentations. The design is quite laconic: the front panel of the device with a large bright screen is more like an audio player with fancy features. Two 2.5 and 3.5 mm audio output jacks are located at the end of the top panel. The overall impression of the design is noble conservatism. Packing data is not yet available.
Display five-inch FullHD, made using IPS technology, resolution 1920x1080 pixels, 16 million colors, screen protection - Corning Gorilla Glass 3.
Specifications. OS Android 6.0 Marshmallow, communication standards: GSM, 3G, LTE. The smartphone serves two SIM cards and works in 4G, slot2 - 3G and 2G standards. Interface languages: English, Chinese, German, Portuguese, Japanese, Spanish, French, Italian. High performance is supported by hardware capabilities. With this, everything is in order: on board there is 3 GB of RAM and 128 GB of ROM with support for memory cards with a capacity of up to 256 GB. The card is connected to an external slot. six-core Qualcomm processor Snapdragon 650 MSM8956 is easy to handle tasks. The device supports micro SDXC memory cards with a capacity of up to 256 GB. Support for two navigation standards is provided: GPS and Glonass, Wi-Fi a/b/g/n/ac and Bluetooth 4.1.
Multimedia. Both separate sound amplifiers, together with a digital-to-analog converter, are placed on their own printed circuit board to minimize the influence of the radio frequency path of the phone. Sound signal output to connectors with a diameter of 2.5 (balanced) and 3.5 mm (normal). The highlight is the use of a balanced amplifier in one of the audio paths, which allows you to transmit sound without distortion over a cable up to 150 m long (without this, distortion will begin already in a 15-meter audio cable). A separate question is how it will be useful to the owner of a smartphone, except to boast of the exceptional sound characteristics of the player. And they are really impressive: the output power of the channels is 150 and 75 mW, respectively, with a harmonic distortion coefficient of no more than 0.01%, the signal-to-noise ratio is 115 dB. In addition to the usual sound formats, the smartphone supports: FLAC, DSD and MQA. Onkyo has its own directory where audio content can be directly uploaded. There are also special utility to work with PC. The main camera has a resolution of 16 megapixels, photosensitive matrix Sony Exmor RS IMX298, supports 4K video recording, equipped with LED flash and autofocus. The front camera with a resolution of 8 Mpix supports full HD video recording.
Autonomy. Lithium-ion rechargeable battery with a capacity of 3000 mAh provides fast charging by Qualcomm technology Quick charge 3.0.
Additionally. The smartphone is placed in an aluminum case with dimensions of 142.3x72x11.9 mm. The device weighs 234 grams. The smartphone control buttons are located on its ends, but the volume control wheel is deeply recessed into its rear panel, which prevents accidental operation.

The price of Onkyo DP-CMX1 in Russia is still unknown. Online stores representing Onkyo products offer to leave a preliminary application. It's already available on eBay for $1,079.99.

Smartphone ZTE AXON 7

Golden metallic and gun steel - this is how you can characterize appearance smartphone that comes in two primary colors. By the smoothness of the lines, the carefulness of the assembly and the quality of the case, it can be safely attributed to flagship-class devices.

Design and equipment. According to the manufacturer, announced during the presentation of the device in China, BMW specialists worked on its appearance. Thanks to their work, ZTE AXON 7 sits like a glove in the palm of your hand. And the smoothness of the lines of the metal case is successfully combined with the quality and reliability of the assembly. The dimensions of the smartphone are 151.7x75x7.9 mm, weight - 175 grams.
Display. As usual, in smartphones of this class, touch screen, 5.5 inches in size is equipped with an AMOLED matrix with a resolution of 2560 x 1440 pixels. It has a protective coating Gorilla Glass 4, which reliably protects it from damage and scratches. It should be noted high-quality color reproduction without gray highlights between black and white. The excellent oleophobic coating provides a good glide of your finger on the screen, which makes it easier to control gestures. There is no air layer here, so the image seems to emerge from the depths of the screen, which is typical for top models.
Performance. Android 6.0 OS has become the standard in flagship-class devices. The smartphone is equipped with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 MSM8996 quad-core processor (two operate at a frequency of 2.15 GHz, the rest at 1.6 GHz) and an Adreno 530 video accelerator. , plus 64 gigabytes of internal memory. The slot for connecting a memory card is traditionally combined with a slot for a SIM card. The smartphone supports the main network standards: 2G/3G/LTE (800/1800/2600), which are served by two SIM cards. ZTE AXON 7 provides navigation according to Glonass, GPS, A-GPS standards, supports work in WiFi networks on the main protocols, data exchange Bluetooth 4.2 and A2DP.
Multimedia. The manufacturer positions the belonging of his smartphone as musical, so it is worth dwelling on these characteristics in more detail. For sound playback and recording, a special audio chip is used here, which provides excellent sound and volume level of the built-in stereo speakers, headphones and microphones. At maximum playback volume, the speakers sound without wheezing, and the presence of the Dolby Atmos system provides increased bass transmission. Separately, it is worth dwelling on the characteristics of the main and front cameras. The main one provides a resolution of 20 megapixels and, most importantly, has optical stabilization images, which unequivocally allows you to bring the quality of photographs closer to those taken by modern digital cameras. And the resolution of the front camera of 8 megapixels provides quite acceptable shooting quality for selfies.
Autonomy. ZTE AXON 7 has a non-removable battery with a capacity of 3250 mAh, with support for QuickCharge 3.0 technology. The charger is included in the package. The manufacturer declares the duration of the device to be 8 hours when watching video at maximum brightness and turning on flight mode and 15 hours when setting 30% brightness in flight mode.
Additionally. The smartphone has an NFC (near field communication) module on board, which allows, when downloading the appropriate software use your phone as a contactless payment terminal or mobile wallet. There is a fingerprint scanner on the back panel, identification errors are minimal. A good help to the user in winter will be the ability to use a smartphone right in gloves. This feature is in its menu. The only drawback I noticed was no backlight. touch buttons below the screen.

The price of ZTE AXON 7 in Russia is 40,000 rubles. More information about the model in the following video review:

Smartphone Alcatel Idol 4S

Products from Alcatel occupies a special place in the market. At the same time, it can be characterized in two words: expressiveness and pragmatism. In a word, Alcatel traditionally promotes fresh technical solutions to the market, keeping its smartphones in the middle price range.

Design and equipment. Although today it is difficult to offer the buyer something fundamentally new, this smartphone catches the eye right on the store counter, because along with the phone, the buyer is offered a device virtual reality. It is made in the form of a plastic box for the phone, which easily turns into a prefix to the device. Smartphone management is quite traditional. At the same time, it is worth noting the presence of a programmable Boom key, which can be assigned additional functions. For example, starting burst shooting or controlling equalizer modes. On the front panel there is a fairly noticeable light indicator of events, which is turned off in the settings menu.
Display. The smartphone uses a 5.5-inch AMOLED display with a resolution of 2560x1440 pixels. Despite the use of a rather old matrix from Samsung, a high-quality picture is provided that looks good in street lighting and indoors. Color reproduction is also very good, which is especially evident when watching movies. Additional options related to energy saving, the display does not.
Performance. The hardware of the new smartphone is quite typical. The user is offered a device with an 8-core Snapdragon processor 652 (4 cores operate at up to 1.8 GHz, the rest at 1.4 GHz). The Adreno 510 processor handles the graphics. The device has 3 GB of RAM and 32 GB of internal memory (the user has access to 25 GB). Management is carried out by means of Android OS 6.0.1. The device works with a pair of SIM-cards, additional memory cards up to 512 GB are supported. From network technologies: NFC, Bluetooth 4.2 LE, Wi-Fi 802.11 2.4 / 5 GHz. built-in mobile modem LTE cat. 4 is capable of providing data transfer in 4 G networks at speeds up to 150 MB / s.
Multimedia. A pleasant surprise is the smartphone's audio system, which perfectly broadcasts stereo sound in any orientation of the phone. The manufacturer guarantees the nameplate power of the speakers of the stereo system at 3.6 W, which is a lot for portable device, weighing only 149 grams. At the same time, they are installed in such a way that they transmit sound equally well, regardless of the position of the phone. It is worth noting that even in the talk mode, bass is clearly present. Both IDOL 4s cameras are equipped with LED flashes. Especially for selfies, there are all sorts of options to improve the appearance of the skin, facial contours, etc. You can turn them off if you wish. The resolution of the front camera is 8 megapixels, while it provides good picture quality. The main camera is noticeably better, it has phase autofocus, which allows you to get good pictures, the quality is noticeably higher than that of many devices from China.
Autonomy. The manufacturer guarantees a day of operation of the device at an average load or 2-3 days at a moderate one. Capacity 3000 mAh Li-ion battery is enough for 11 hours of talk time or 300 hours of standby. The battery provides continuous video viewing in 8.5 hours. It is worth noting that the power saving utility available in the device disables certain functions (the list can be edited) at a charge level of 15%. "Battery optimization" flexibly limits the work of background applications, which is implemented in the flagship Samsung models. Quick Charge technology implemented as standard charger, fully charged battery in about 95 min.

Price Alcatel Idol 4S in Russia about 27,000 rubles. Watch the video review of the device below:

Smartphone LG V20

The South Korean company again pleased users with a new smartphone with unique characteristics. metal case, two high-quality cameras, a separate audio chip, a removable battery have made LG a trendsetter again.

Design. Sometimes it is compared with a breath of fresh air among the same type of competitor solutions. The elegant body of the smartphone is made of aluminum used in aviation and shipbuilding. Certification according to the MIL-STD-810 standard indicates shock, moisture and dust resistance. The weight of the smartphone is 174 grams.
Display. The news was the presence in the smartphone of two displays: the main one, made using IPS technology (size - 5.7 inches) and additional (2.1 inches, 160x1040 and also IPS). As planned by the manufacturer, this should significantly reduce the appetite of the smartphone in inactive mode.
Performance. It is worth noting that the LG V20 is the first of the top-class smartphones to get Android 7.0 Nougat OS. How cool it is, time will tell, but now the manufacturer is declaring a significantly increased operating time. All this splendor is powered by four cores of the Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 processor (two cores operate at a frequency of 1.6 GHz and two at 2.15 GHz). The Adreno 530 chip handles the graphics. On board the device 64 GB of permanent and 4 gigabytes of RAM. It is equipped with 2 Nano SIM card slots and a separate micro SD slot. The device fully supports modern communication protocols: 4G (LTE Cat.12), 3G, Wi-Fi (IEEE 802.11 b/g/n/ac), Bluetooth 4.2, NFC and, of course, GLONASS and GPS.
Multimedia. You can note high level matrix contrast. Although its color temperature is somewhat blue, which will be felt in darkened photos. The oleophobic coating of the screen is really good quality, so it gets less dirty. The secondary display shows the time and date when the main display is turned off. You can also use it to call your favorite contacts, control the player, or installed programs. The basic rear camera supports wide format and has a resolution of 16 megapixels. It is equipped with autofocus and provides a video mode of 3840 by 2160 pixels. The optional front camera can also take wide-format shots, especially when shooting in a small space. Its resolution is 8 megapixels, there is autofocus. In addition, video recording with a resolution of 3840x2160 is supported. Particularly good rear camera works in daylight, providing excellent reproduction of details, sharpness when shooting and the correct reproduction of colors even in automatic mode. The front camera does without a flash, when taking a selfie, the high brightness mode of the main monitor is automatically activated. The sound quality of the speaker and its volume margin exceeds all expectations. However, to enjoy a truly top-end headphone sound, you will have to use headphones with an electrical resistance of at least 50 ohms (most common ones have a resistance of up to 32 ohms), which clearly does not allow the audio chip to turn around at full strength.
Autonomy. The smartphone uses a removable Li-Ion battery with a capacity of 3.2 Ah. When playing video from a memory card and a display brightness of 200 cd per square meter, the duration of work is fourteen and a half hours, in game mode, a full charge of the battery is enough for 5 hours of work, reading books is possible for 18 hours. The LG V20 has power saving modes. In addition, for games, there is an option to reduce the video frame rate and monitor clarity. For accelerated battery charging, the manufacturer recommends using a device that supports Qualcomm Quick Charge 3.0.

The estimated price of LG V20 in Russia is 50 thousand rubles. More details about the smartphone in the following video:

We reviewed the TOP 4 smartphones with good sound in 2017. Each of these models is designed for music lovers. The capabilities of these smartphones, combined with a high-quality headset, reproduce a very voluminous and pleasant sound.

The trend of creating a single multimedia center based on a smartphone has become more and more relevant lately, and manufacturers regularly delight us with their interesting new products. The mobile gadget can be used to view or listen to any kind of content. Many smartphones are compatible with various VR helmets, with the help of appropriate applications, you can control third-party devices, surf the Internet and specialized programs to solve certain problems.

The processors used in smartphones are no longer inferior in performance to those installed in computers and laptops, cameras can easily compete with amateur digital cameras, and some models provide decent sound quality comparable to portable Hi-Fi players and compact DACs.

There are already quite a lot of music smartphones on the market, but some of them date back to 2015, or even 2014. And since you will need the device not only to work with sound, it must at least meet modern standards, which are changing at an alarming rate. It is worth mentioning right away that due to the obviously low quality of the built-in smartphones acoustic systems we are considering listening to music with headphones, so the primary factors for obtaining the best sound transmission are the presence of a dedicated DAC and a well-implemented amplification path.

Unfortunately, as with cameras, smartphone audio is still a compromise. On the one hand, a top-end Hi-Fi player from Astell & Kern can easily “beat” the best smartphone, but on the other hand, flagship smartphones with high-quality DACs and operational amplifiers can compete with mid-priced players of the same FiiO, while remaining in shape. factor mobile phone. If a compromise is unacceptable for you, we recommend that you read the article "", but today we will consider the best models for independent music playback.

Nubia Z11

The latest flagship from ZTE's sister brand, first shown in June, is a great example of what a music smartphone should be. By purchasing such a gadget, the buyer expects to get an all-in-one device, otherwise he could buy a portable Hi-Fi player. Nubia Z11 has a bright and memorable appearance with a virtually borderless 5.5-inch screen and very slim body, high performance provided by the Snapdragon 820 processor, 6 GB of RAM, a first-class camera based on a 16-megapixel Sony IMX298 sensor, and, of course, a high-quality audio path.

The Asahi Kasei AK4376 DAC is responsible for converting the sound, supporting playback of files with a resolution of up to 384 kHz, and movie lovers will appreciate the presence of Dolby Atmos Surround Sound surround sound technology. In general, among the gadgets with a dedicated audio chip - one of the favorites. The Standard Edition with 4 GB RAM and 64 GB ROM costs 499 euros, while the Black Gold Edition with 6 and 64 GB costs 599 euros. In Russia, the smartphone is not yet officially sold.

LG V20

No less attractive is the South Korean flagship LG V20 presented at IFA 2016 in early September. Due to its relatively high cost of $810, the smartphone is unlikely to become a bestseller, meanwhile the model is very interesting. The V20 was the first device to receive Android 7.0 Nougat and is practically the only flagship with a removable battery. The device boasts an unusual design and construction with two displays, of which the main one has a diagonal of 5.7 inches and Quad HD resolution.

High performance is provided by the same Snapdragon 820 and 4 GB of RAM. Fans of shooting photos and videos will appreciate the dual rear camera, which combines standard and wide-angle lenses, and music lovers will appreciate the high quality of sound transmission. The quad-channel 32-bit DAC SABER ES9218 from ESS Technology is installed on board, providing support for playback of files with a resolution of up to 32 bit/192 kHz and recording up to 24 bit/192 kHz. There is also support for the aptX codec, which allows you to stream music to wireless bluetooth headphones without compression.

ZTE Axon 7

Another ZTE flagship, this time produced under its own brand, just two weeks ago entered Russian retail at a price of 40,000 rubles. The smartphone is equipped with a high-quality 5.5-inch AMOLED display with Quad HD resolution, which will be enough to work in tandem with a virtual reality helmet, such as ZTE VR. Viewing VR content will also require high computing power, which is designed to provide a bunch of Snapdragon 820 and 4 or 6 GB of RAM.

Axon's cameras are also in perfect order: the 20-megapixel main one received optical and digital stabilization, phase detection autofocus and a fast lens, and the 8-megapixel front camera does a good job of taking selfies. But the main thing that interests us is the sound. The audio path is based on the top Asahi Kasei AK4490 DAC and Asahi Kasei AK4961 DSP processor. There are also stereo speakers and support for Dolby Atmos Surround Sound.

Vivo Xplay 5 Elite

Shown in March, the Vivo flagship, which became the world's first smartphone with 6 GB of RAM, in addition to the high performance marked by the AnTuTu benchmark, has many other advantages. The first thing that catches your eye is, of course, the display curved at the edges, slightly enveloping the side edges and having an impressive resolution of 2K with a diagonal of 5.43 inches.

The processor is the unchanged Snapdragon 820, the amount of disk space is 128 GB. The main camera uses a 16-megapixel sensor, front - 5-megapixel. And if the Xplay 5 photomodules are not the most outstanding, then the developers have worked hard on the sound. The circuit consists of two separate channels, each of which has an ESS SABER ES9218 DAC and a Texas Instruments OPA1612 operational amplifier. The resulting sound is fed to another two-channel OPA1612, which allows for a good headroom. The cost of the advanced version of the flagship is $654.

Highscreen Boost 3 SE Pro

We could not ignore the product of a domestic manufacturer - the company "Vobis Computer". The smartphone itself is made, of course, in China, but the development of the sound part and a number of other components of the device were made in Russia. Boost 3 was created back in 2015, but its updated SE version did not appear until this fall.

The device is notable for the combination of average performance, high sound quality, the presence of two replaceable batteries of various capacities in the kit and a fairly low cost for its class, which is for Pro versions 19,000 rubles. Thus, the manufacturer managed to make a unique model of a budget music smartphone.

Hi Sound's proprietary audio path is built on the ESS Saber ESS9018K2M DAC and a powerful Analog Devices ADA4897-2 operational amplifier capable of working adequately even with high-impedance headphones. Adds attractiveness to the device implemented by the developers of "Vobis Computer" direct data transfer from the proprietary Muz_On player to the DAC, which allows you to bypass the sound android kernel, which downsamples files with a resolution higher than 48 kHz. Supports DSD playback and UPnP/DLNA protocol for convenient music playback from network and NAS servers.

Marshall London

Marshall (one of the most famous manufacturers of guitar electronics in the world) has recently mastered the creation of digital gadgets, releasing a wide range of wireless speakers, followed by the London smartphone, the design of which is designed in the corporate style of the company.

The model appeared at the end of 2015, but still has not lost its relevance, although it is quite rare on sale. As with all Marshall digital products, the body of the device is stylized as a combo amplifier, and the interface, created on Android based 5.0, repeats its stylistic features, which only adds to the attractiveness of the smartphone.

On board is the Cirrus Logic WM8281 DAC, Bluetooth AptX support, two headphone jacks and a physical volume control wheel, exactly the same as they put on portable Hi-Fi players. Marshall did a great job of combining a very stylish look with high quality sound transmission, but London’s hardware is already rather weak by modern standards: a 4.7-inch HD display, Snapdragon 410, 2 GB of RAM and 16 GB of internal memory, as well as 8 and 2 megapixel cameras. The cost of the apparatus Russian market is about 30,000 rubles.

Onkyo DP-CMX1

Rounding out our review is the as-yet-unofficially unveiled DP-CMX1, which will be the first model built by a hi-fi component manufacturer. And although outwardly (due to the use of hardware playback control keys, volume wheel and two outputs - headphone and balanced) the device looks more like a player, it is a full-fledged smartphone with two slots for SIM-cards.

The audio path is built on the basis of two ESS Saber ES9018K2M DACs and ESS Saber 9601K amplifiers working with them in a pair. There is support for MQA and DSD. For music storage, 128 GB is allocated and two microSD slots, each of which allows the installation of a card up to 200 GB.

Computing capabilities provide a six-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 650 processor and 3 GB of RAM. 5 inch display has Full resolution HD, and the cameras are 16-megapixel main and 8-megapixel front. Estimated date of entry into the market - the beginning of next year. The cost of new items will be about 48,000 rubles.

There are two ways to listen to music on your smartphone. First, directly from the phone itself. To do this, it is important that the sound from the smartphone's speakers is clear and loud. Secondly, the user can connect the smartphone to an external audio system (for example, headphones, or an audio system in a car). In this case, you need a smartphone with a powerful audio output of 3.5 mm. But here we should not forget about the quality of the external audio system itself.

This article presents the results of sound tests to make it easier for users to choose the best smartphone for their sound preferences.

Audio output

This test shows output power 3.5mm audio port. The higher the number, the more power, and the louder the music sounds in the audio system, whether at home, on headphones or in the car. It should be emphasized that power, in this case, is not identical to quality, but it simply shows how loud the smartphone sounds.

Speakers

The higher the number below, the louder the sound from the speakers.

These criteria are quite indicative, but they do not give an idea of a clear and rich sound, but only of the volume level. That is why below is a ranking of the 5 best smartphones for music.

1. HTC One (M8)

And even though HTC One(M8) not the best loud smartphone, today it offers the best sound quality from its speakers. In this regard, the Taiwanese company HTC has been ahead of all its competitors for more than a year since the release of the first HTC One.

2. VivoXPlay 3S

Few people have heard of the Chinese premium smartphone Vivo Xplay 3S, but it deserves one of the places of honor in the ranking of smartphones with the best sound. BBK equipped its smartphone with the latest audio chips: ES9018 DAC (DAC) from ESS Technology and OPA2604 (amplifier) from Texas Instruments. In addition, Headphone X headphones with DTS (Digital Theater System - Digital Theater System) technology are included with the smartphone, which provides amazing sound quality.

3. Apple iPhone 5s

The iPhone 5s doesn't have stereo speakers or other audio features that competitors can boast of, but nevertheless, the smartphone sounds clear, pleasant and loud enough. Another interesting thing is that the smartphone comes with very high quality branded Earpods headphones.

4 Motorola Moto G

Surprisingly, the mid-budget Moto G took first place in the tests as the loudest smartphone. The sound quality, of course, is not as clear as we would like, but this is compensated by the volume reserve.

5Xperia Z2

More hope was placed on Sony Xperia Z2 and its front stereo speakers, but they were much quieter than the HTC One (M8). However, their sound is rich and clear. What's more, in some markets, the Xperia Z2 comes bundled with the excellent MDR-NC31E noise canceling headphones, with very beautiful sound and powerful bass.

Results

Of course, it is impossible to please everyone, especially when it comes to musical preferences. Unfortunately, it is not very convenient to convey the sound quality of smartphone speakers with letters. However, the compilation of this rating took place with maximum objectivity.