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Sony Xperia 5 IV Audio Review

Rate this smartphone audio

  • 1. Poor (headless panther)

    Votes: 32 22.9%
  • 2. Not terrible (postman panther)

    Votes: 68 48.6%
  • 3. Fine (happy panther)

    Votes: 29 20.7%
  • 4. Great (golfing panther)

    Votes: 11 7.9%

  • Total voters
    140

staticV3

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I wonder if there are cables for IEMs that end with USB-C plug (analog pass-through) instead of jack?
There are IEM cables with built-in DAC and Type-C male plug:
9362506521346837882.jpg
But since the number of phones that support analog audio passthrough via Type-C is verrry limited, I think you'll have a hard time finding MMCX/2pin cables that are built for that.
 

staticV3

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But what level? Since when an output voltage constitute a listening level? It is fully dependant on what you plug into that jack! And they cannot possibly know.
Worst case scenario: CFA Andromeda which will reach 138dB SPL Peak with 0.5V
 

Eldus

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Do you have DSEE HX enabled or any of those Walkman features? My old Xperia had that on by default.
I use it with my xm4 over ears while listening to old time radio shows on my android phone with LDAC. It improves things. I don't really use the xm4s for music though.
 

Tks

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Surely they could put an option in there to override the EU directive.
Firstly, it shouldn't even have the limit if it's sold in the US, that's just hilariously bad if Sony let that slip.

LG phones had a similar thing where there was a warning when you tried to increase the volume past a certain point, so I'm not sure why this is not something Sony would think of given they go through the trouble of providing a headphone jack in the modern day.

Since this is mainly aimed at portable audio usage, would 500mV ever be insufficient for the majority of IEM's anyway? I run IEM's sometimes on my RME DAC's IEM port, I feel like my ears are going to explode if I tread toward max volume, and we know the max output there is 50mV.
 

AnalogSteph

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Since when an output voltage constitute a listening level?
That's exactly the crux of the matter. We should be seeing a user-adjustable volume limit (as iPods have had for 15+ years and Rockbox for a while now, too) with a sensible default setting.

While I get why Amir might not like the 21:9 screen, I entirely get why they're a thing - with the current 6+ inch monstrosities, it would get harder and harder to still hold them in one hand. Not a fan of the huge things they're making these days. If it doesn't comfortably fit into the pocket of my jeans, it's too big, period. (Foldable phones look interesting, but still way too expensive right now.) The Galaxy A3 2017 I have for work is a decent size, and I could still see myself with an S8, but that's about it.
 

Oso Polar

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The camera is good enough
Yes, and this is the big problem with Sony's flagship phones - overall they have "good enough" qualities that other manufacturers offer in $200 dollar phones. And it seems that build quality and support is on par with no-name Chinese products. Sony lost smartphone market long time ago, its market share is about zero in the recent years. It is actually surprising that they still didn't close their smartphone division as AFAIK it generates only losses for many years.
 

nerdstrike

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I note that every time I get more resolution/screen real estate with a larger device or bigger monitor, some chump comes along shortly after and ups the icon and font scaling, and disables any configurability of DPI and pinch to zoom...
 

sarumbear

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Surely they could put an option in there to override the EU directive.
Then everyone can do that. Why do you think smoking was also banned in the US and tobacco companies paid out billions?
 

sarumbear

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I know dongles have their own drawbacks but I still like them as a solution. Having to shop around for a smartphone or laptop with a good audio solution that includes the jack and lots of power severely limits the options I think. Even more if you want to EQ and such.

I am not a fan of this aspect ratio btw
 

sarumbear

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But what level? Since when an output voltage constitute a listening level? It is fully dependant on what you plug into that jack! And they cannot possibly know. This mesure don't make any sense at all you can get anybody's ear blow with 0.5 V, you just have to find a headphone sensitive enough for it. Give people responsibility, let the parents set a limit by software, easy to do. All kind of use cases can be had with an analog jack. What if you want to connect it to your amp? What is this 0.5V based on? How many eardrums realistically has it saved?
Is that why Smoking Kills notices helped?
 

Jmudrick

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I know dongles have their own drawbacks but I still like them as a solution. Having to shop around for a smartphone or laptop with a good audio solution that includes the jack and lots of power severely limits the options I think. Even more if you want to EQ and such.

I am not a fan of this aspect ratio btw
Sure, dongles are fine with a typical phone if you don't need long term playback or a lot of internal storage.
 

MKreroo

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Looks like I dodged a bullet, was very tempted to get this phone as a replacement.
I tried it in person once and the narrow screen was indeed a bit too narrow.
ZF9 was really interesting one, though the small size does make screen usage a little bit more difficult. However, I want to add that, the previous gen, ZF8, had massive problems with the mainboard. This problem doesn't seem as widespread on ZF9, but if it does happen, any RMA would PIA dealing with Asus.
 

NDRQ

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Get a new iPhone Pro and forget about the overpriced, mehh Android phones.
When i bought my 11Pro, it was a night and day difference in literally everything, compared to my previous Galaxy S10.
 
Last edited:

Nango

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@amirm : "I wanted a phone with analog out, OLED high-resolution display, wireless charging and 5G". This is a big waste of ressources done by millions and millions of consumers on a daily basis. Its efficiency is by 1/3 lower than wired charging, i.e. 1/3 of the dispatched energy gets lost. As Greta Th. would say, YOU ARE NOT ALLOWED TO CHARGE WIRELESS!!
 

AudioKC

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Just a note: IPhone with Apple Dongle is enough for IEM and many Headphones. We should post it in every mobile AMP/DAC thread.
 

AudioKC

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Apple has USB Dongle that clean for CD quality and enough power.

There is review of one on ASR.
 

stevenswall

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0.5 Volts is EU regulation, it's not a design decision.

I remember that on my Cowon S9... There was a setting or I could select a region that would "unlimit" it.
 
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