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Any modern (2019) tablets with good DAC

bravomail

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I was looking to replace my tablet, and was wondering there is Any modern (2019) tablets with good DAC? Samsung claims now "AKG tuned" sound. Does that mean any of their tablets have good DAC? Also, there are some tablets with "Atmos sound". The tablet manufacturers seem to concentrate on speakers these days, too, like 4 speakers in Galaxy Tab S4 or S5. I could care less for speakers, have no use for them, they r mostly atrocious anyways, due to tablet form factor.
So, any recommendations?
 
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bravomail

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Found one ASUS ZenPad 3s 10. Minus - running Nougat with its 16bit sound (no Oreo 24 bit sound).
reviews:
from 2016, these guys claim 10hours battery, but did not measure https://www.cnet.com/reviews/asus-zenpad-3s-10-review/
from 2018 - short battery life (5 hours?) https://www.techradar.com/reviews/asus-zenpad-3s-10
from 2016, 8hrs battery life measured til died, seems likely - https://www.laptopmag.com/reviews/tablets/asus-zenbook-3s-10
from 2016 7-8hrs battery https://www.pcmag.com/review/349729/asus-zenpad-3s-10
 

daftcombo

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Hi,

I guess that Apple still has the best audio out available for a tablet. Not cheap though.

Do you plan to plug headphones, speakers in the minijack out?
 
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bravomail

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Can u pls test it with somewhat hard to drive headphones with Impendance higher than 32 Ohm, and/or sensitivity in the 90-s dB ?
 

Djsedaw

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wiggum

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In 2019, probably not. About 6 or 7 years ago, smartphone and tablet makers used to pay attention to DACs, and they were using DACs from Wolfson, Cirrus Logic, and AKM. Now, Qualcomm dominates the smartphone IC market and they sell a combo deal for DACs. The WCD9xxx(many websites incorrectly claim it as built-in; it is actually a separate chip) series of DACs from Qualcomm powers almost all smartphones. Sony and LG are the exception(specific models only). On tablets, it is mostly either DACs from Texas Instruments or some other unknown brands.

Outside of audiophiles and cult members(ahem, head-fi), the average person doesn't care about DACs or amplifiers. So not much choice out there.
 

BillG

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Virtually every modern tablet using a Qualcomm, Exynos (Samsung) or Kirin (Huawei) chipset has an excellent DAC. These chipsets have been so ubiquitous that the marketing efforts behind them now focus on other selling points.

I tend to favor Huawei's MediaPad M series tablets, as their audio subsystems are tuned by Harmon Kardon. And from my own experience with the one I happen to be using currently to answer your query - a Huawei MediaPad M2 8.0 - I'd say the proof is in the listening.

I use it with a set of Sony MDR 7506's, which are rated at 63 ohm and 106 dB, and while it doesn't drive them to ear bleed levels, it drives them loud enough.
 
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wiggum

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I tend to favor Huawei's MediaPad M series tablets, as their audio subsystems are tuned by Harmon Kardon. .

I don't think Harmon Kardon or AKG tunes the audio path(DAC or amplifier). It is only the internal speakers and the surrounding enclosure. Also, the internal speakers use a separate amplifier(mostly from NXP, Texas Instruments or Maxim?)
 

maxxevv

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On a separate but somewhat related search, any recommendations of a budget Windows based tablet that has good clean USB implementations ?
 
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