Sony Xperia 5 IV Audio Review

[Bam!]

The new S23+ has everything but a headphone jack. I love it and use it daily with Galaxy Buds 2 Pro and (eqed) Momentum 3 wireless. If I am on a longer trip or want to use it at home with my ER4SE or HD600 I use it with DC06 Pro iBasso dongle. Great phone finally with 512 GB (Galaxy ultra is just to big)

Btw Check out the Fiio JD7 great product!

 

[Roland301]

The new S23+ has everything but a headphone jack. I love it and use it daily with Galaxy Buds 2 Pro and (eqed) Momentum 3 wireless. If I am on a longer trip or want to use it at home with my ER4SE or HD600 I use it with DC06 Pro iBasso dongle. Great phone finally with 512 GB (Galaxy ultra is just to big)

Btw Check out the Fiio JD7 great product!

Personally, I think a phone with more than 120GB storage is pointless, when there could instead be an SD card slot. The fast flash chips used in phones aren't necessary for what people actually use that space for, which is storing things like music. And it's much cheaper to get a 1TB micro SD card than pay for a phone with that capacity, not to mention you don't lose your data if the phone goes kaput.

Keep in mind, these phones have dual SIM models. The omission of SD card slot is deliberate.

 

[Bam!]

Personally, I think a phone with more than 120GB storage is pointless, when there could instead be an SD card slot. The fast flash chips used in phones aren't necessary for what people actually use that space for, which is storing things like music. And it's much cheaper to get a 1TB micro SD card than pay for a phone with that capacity, not to mention you don't lose your data if the phone goes kaput.

Keep in mind, these phones have dual SIM models. The omission of SD card slot is deliberate.

??? The space is for you - the customer - to use it as you like. In my case music. "Keep in mind" that internal storage is way faster than external... But oc if you stream it doesn't matter.

 

[Jmudrick]

Personally, I think a phone with more than 120GB storage is pointless, when there could instead be an SD card slot. The fast flash chips used in phones aren't necessary for what people actually use that space for, which is storing things like music. And it's much cheaper to get a 1TB micro SD card than pay for a phone with that capacity, not to mention you don't lose your data if the phone goes kaput.

Keep in mind, these phones have dual SIM models. The omission of SD card slot is deliberate.

Particularly maddening when electronic SIMs are becoming commonplace.

 

[SoNic]

You can't find a phone available in US that has headphone jack, wireless charging and 5G. Leaving the other two out doesn't make them flagship. Asus also is not available in US (I think).

That's true. If you want to have a phone that works on Verizon or US Mobile networks you are stuck with iPhones and Samsung for flagships.
I purchased HIFIMAN Deva Pro with their Bluemini R2R adapter and, with S22+ over Bluetooth, with LDAC enabled in settings, it sounds great.
iPhones are limited to AAC performance.
The adaptor works also connected over USB-C, but only at 48kHz.

And yes, omission of microSD is something that irks me, is a money-grab decision.

 

[A Surfer]

AAC is audibly transparent in my experience.

 

[A Surfer]

I recently ended up buying a Pixel 7 Pro despite not feeling in love with it. I like it very much, absolutely, but as discussed here, no expandable internal storage is a huge downside. I decided to live with it for the next two years because most things about it are what I like and need. I have kept my LG G8X as my music device so despite having only 128GB onboard with the Pixel, I will be ok. I am just going to manage it carefully in terms of photos and use physical storage to take the images I want to keep off of the phone.

Not sure that I want to rely on the Cloud. I just hate giving the Internet extra access to my device and essentially trusting corporate entities with my images. I am not interesting or anything like that, and I am not at all paranoid, but the principle of being corralled for profit onto the Cloud does bother me. That is the only reason expandable onboard storage is gone, to drive revenue streams via Cloud storage purchases. And of course to encourage consumers into a faster device upgrade cycle, which means more earnings. I get it, but I still don't like it. Rant over.

 

[Jmudrick]

I recently ended up buying a Pixel 7 Pro despite not feeling in love with it. I like it very much, absolutely, but as discussed here, no expandable internal storage is a huge downside. I decided to live with it for the next two years because most things about it are what I like and need. I have kept my LG G8X as my music device so despite having only 128GB onboard with the Pixel, I will be ok. I am just going to manage it carefully in terms of photos and use physical storage to take the images I want to keep off of the phone.

Not sure that I want to rely on the Cloud. I just hate giving the Internet extra access to my device and essentially trusting corporate entities with my images. I am not interesting or anything like that, and I am not at all paranoid, but the principle of being corralled for profit onto the Cloud does bother me. That is the only reason expandable onboard storage is gone, to drive revenue streams via Cloud storage purchases. And of course to encourage consumers into a faster device upgrade cycle, which means more earnings. I get it, but I still don't like it. Rant over.

We make our choices. The days when I had to root my phone and use Titanium Backup to save my data I don't miss a bit. And the people I know who lost their data/contacts/photos when they lost their phones are all iphone people who elected not to use cloud backup.

 

[georgenada]

Hello @amirm, a bit late on this, but...
I saw you were looking for a new phone to replace the Sony, Oneplus just released the Oneplus 11. The phone has newest Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 4nm chip, with new RAM and Storage standards, it is blazing fast and competes with the S23 Ultra at $699. I highly recommend you have a look!

OnePlus 11 - Full phone specifications

www.gsmarena.com

 

[Jmudrick]

Hello @amirm, a bit late on this, but...
I saw you were looking for a new phone to replace the Sony, Oneplus just released the Oneplus 11. The phone has newest Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 4nm chip, with new RAM and Storage standards, it is blazing fast and competes with the S23 Ultra at $699. I highly recommend you have a look!

OnePlus 11 - Full phone specifications

www.gsmarena.com

No 3.5mm headphone jack.

 

[staticV3]

Hello amirm, I saw you were looking for a new phone to replace the Sony, Oneplus just released the Oneplus 11. I highly recommend you have a look!

Amir's requirements:

I wanted a phone with analog out, OLED high-resolution display, wireless charging and 5G.

The OnePlus 11 has No analog out, No wireless charging, and No US carrier, meaning unreliable 5G support.
The only requirement that the OnePlus 11 meets is having an OLED screen.

 

[georgenada]

Amir's requirements:

The OnePlus 11 has No analog out, No wireless charging, and No US carrier, meaning unreliable 5G support.
The only requirement that the OnePlus 11 meets is having an OLED screen.

That's right! Thank you for reminding me of the requirements. I just got ahead of myself with it's flagship specs for the price!

 

[Jimster480]

We make our choices. The days when I had to root my phone and use Titanium Backup to save my data I don't miss a bit. And the people I know who lost their data/contacts/photos when they lost their phones are all iphone people who elected not to use cloud backup.

Just FYI the backup system today is literal garbage compared to Titanium backup or any of the other backup solutions that used to exist. Except those old backup solutions no longer work because they are BLOCKED by modern Android so your only "choice" is to use their garbage backup system that doesn't backup a damn thing in practice except your list of apps and some text messages (just enough for them to spy on you of course).

Hello @amirm, a bit late on this, but...
I saw you were looking for a new phone to replace the Sony, Oneplus just released the Oneplus 11. The phone has newest Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 4nm chip, with new RAM and Storage standards, it is blazing fast and competes with the S23 Ultra at $699. I highly recommend you have a look!

OnePlus 11 - Full phone specifications

www.gsmarena.com

Oneplus is a garbage brand so really the best thing to do is to avoid all their phones at all cost. If you just want a worse iPhone or Pixel for around the same price but give up some major feature then you buy OnePlus.
Anyone else who wants a real phone stays away from that brand. It is why it has failed as a brand. They were supposed to be the "underdog" to "upset the market" but instead they failed to deliver on literally any of their directives.... they gave up things like wireless charging, also dropped the SD card slot, also dropped the headphone jack, never bothered to get certified in the USA.... etc
They also in the past didn't even have much in the way of software updates.

I really had high hopes for that brand and they totally let me down.

 

[Jmudrick]

Just FYI the backup system today is literal garbage compared to Titanium backup or any of the other backup solutions that used to exist. Except those old backup solutions no longer work because they are BLOCKED by modern Android so your only "choice" is to use their garbage backup system that doesn't backup a damn thing in practice except your list of apps and some text messages (just enough for them to spy on you of course).

Oneplus is a garbage brand so really the best thing to do is to avoid all their phones at all cost. If you just want a worse iPhone or Pixel for around the same price but give up some major feature then you buy OnePlus.
Anyone else who wants a real phone stays away from that brand. It is why it has failed as a brand. They were supposed to be the "underdog" to "upset the market" but instead they failed to deliver on literally any of their directives.... they gave up things like wireless charging, also dropped the SD card slot, also dropped the headphone jack, never bothered to get certified in the USA.... etc
They also in the past didn't even have much in the way of software updates.

I really had high hopes for that brand and they totally let me down.

I'm fine with the way my Pixel back up is done, as you may have or should have inferred.

I did OnePlus One, Two, Three before going back to Pixels for primary mobile duty.

 

[georgenada]

Just FYI the backup system today is literal garbage compared to Titanium backup or any of the other backup solutions that used to exist. Except those old backup solutions no longer work because they are BLOCKED by modern Android so your only "choice" is to use their garbage backup system that doesn't backup a damn thing in practice except your list of apps and some text messages (just enough for them to spy on you of course).

Oneplus is a garbage brand so really the best thing to do is to avoid all their phones at all cost. If you just want a worse iPhone or Pixel for around the same price but give up some major feature then you buy OnePlus.
Anyone else who wants a real phone stays away from that brand. It is why it has failed as a brand. They were supposed to be the "underdog" to "upset the market" but instead they failed to deliver on literally any of their directives.... they gave up things like wireless charging, also dropped the SD card slot, also dropped the headphone jack, never bothered to get certified in the USA.... etc
They also in the past didn't even have much in the way of software updates.

I really had high hopes for that brand and they totally let me down.

You know despite my praise of the 11's performance, I agree with your viewpoint on OnePlus. In fact I'm getting a Google Pixel 7 Pro over the OnePlus 11 due to it's flaws. Although its a shame since the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 is nearly 40% faster than the Tensor.

 

[Jimster480]

You know despite my praise of the 11's performance, I agree with your viewpoint on OnePlus. In fact I'm getting a Google Pixel 7 Pro over the OnePlus 11 due to it's flaws. Although its a shame since the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 is nearly 40% faster than the Tensor.

Yea it is a shame, I had high hopes for OnePlus.
Unfortunately the choices are just Google, Apple, Samsung today other than Sony which you have to spend actual cash on because there are no incentives like with the others.

 

[georgenada]

Yea it is a shame, I had high hopes for OnePlus.
Unfortunately the choices are just Google, Apple, Samsung today other than Sony which you have to spend actual cash on because there are no incentives like with the others.

I may also consider the Sony Xperia 5 IV; despite Amirs gripes with it, I use an external DAC, and never consume content. Battery life is a major plus, and the Sony has 120 hour endurance rating on GSMarena compared to the Pixels mere 83hrs,
(edited)
-make that the Sony Xperia 1 IV, amazon has one for $788, with no CDMA support, which is fine since I'm on a GSM network

 

[Jimster480]

I may also consider the Sony Xperia 5 IV; despite Amirs gripes with it, I use an external DAC, and never consume content. Battery life is a major plus, and the Sony has 120 hour endurance rating on GSMarena compared to the Pixels mere 83hrs,
(edited)
-make that the Sony Xperia 1 IV, amazon has one for $788, with no CDMA support, which is fine since I'm on a GSM network

That one works but without 5G certification in the USA. I have the one with the full Certification and it does get 5G on RedPocket AT&T. ]
The battery life is indeed incredible and the performance is amazing. I use the headphone jack for Line-Out in a couple of my cars but the front speakers are great for consuming content as is the 4K screen because of the color tuning.

 

[georgenada]

That one works but without 5G certification in the USA. I have the one with the full Certification and it does get 5G on RedPocket AT&T. ]
The battery life is indeed incredible and the performance is amazing. I use the headphone jack for Line-Out in a couple of my cars but the front speakers are great for consuming content as is the 4K screen because of the color tuning.

Oddly enough you can enable 5G on the international model. (it is off by default) haha. It still wont support 5G on CDMA networks. https://www.reddit.com/r/SonyXperia/comments/x8qy2f

 

[A Surfer]

We make our choices. The days when I had to root my phone and use Titanium Backup to save my data I don't miss a bit. And the people I know who lost their data/contacts/photos when they lost their phones are all iphone people who elected not to use cloud backup.

Absolutely a valid argument, but I have little doubt that there will be a day when a massive phone ransomware attack happens with millions of phone held hostage with the cloud being the way the devices are exploited. It just seems to me that the more you interconnect your life with the Internet, and what is more connected than syncing your phone with it, that your risk rises exponentially to become a data breach victim.

I will personally seek to minimize the need to use the cloud except for when I am truly forced to do so out of absolute necessity. Call me overly cautious, paranoid or whatever adjective seems appropriate, but I put a great deal of effort into minimizing avoidable risks and allowing the most personal gateway to my life, my phone, to become another node of the Internet, with very little real value to me, just seems unnecessary.

I turn my data and wifi on and off for every single use on my phone. When I'm done, my phone data and wifi goes off. Yes I am still exposed through the cellular network, but I am less exposed. I do not bank on my phone, I do not even use my e-mail on my phone, I do the least possible on my phone as I believe they are extremely vulnerable devices. Hell, I still take a bunch of cash out of the bank at the start of the week and live off of it. I get funny looks when I pay cash in stores. In this way my phone is also less crucial to my daily life so should I lose it, it won't devastate my life. It would simply be inconvenient. I probably am way out to left field on this one.

As you say, we make our choices and I have been warned.