8 smartphones with good sound from headphones and speakers

Almost everyone listens to music. Previously, we listened to our favorite tracks on special devices for this: tape recorders, players, speakers, but a time comes when our whole life is transferred only to one gadget - a smartphone. Lovers of quality music began to look for these devices with stereo speakers or the presence of a digital-to-analog converter (DAC) for superior sound in headphones. The smartphone “hears” our world through analog signals, but to transmit sound to us, it uses digital technology. Therefore, it is so important for music lovers through headphones that the digital-to-analog converters are of high quality and can transmit sound without distortion. Smartphones used to have dedicated DACs, but then they began to be built right into the processor itself (integrated DACs) to make the phone thinner, more compact and lighter. But in the latter case, the autonomy of the device may suffer due to increased power consumption and sound frequency, and the presence of a dedicated DAC greatly increases the price of the device, so manufacturers are slowly moving away from this practice. The abandonment of the 3.5 mm headphone jack also had a negative impact on music lovers. To output high-quality sound through Type-C, you need a smartphone filling, supported On-the-Go technology and a purchased external DAC adapter for a 3.5 mm jack. We have compiled our rating and want to show the TOP music smartphones of 2020. You may not find some models in stores anymore, but you can still find used ones. Our review takes into account the price, the presence of stereo speakers and amenities (the necessary connectors for listening, applications that increase the sound quality at the software level) and hardware capabilities (the presence of a digital-to-analog converter, an audio chip).

Smartphones with good sound in wired headphones (with a DAC)

Here we selected smartphones with a separate DAC or supported special adapters for amplifying and improving sound, as well as the presence of a 3.5 mm headphone jack.

LG V40 ThinQ - Premium DAC from Meridian

The LG V40 ThinQ is the best music smartphone available today. Its calling card is unrivaled and clear sound. A 32-bit Hi-Fi Quad DAC processor is installed inside the device. The sound is played through the Boombox speaker. The device has acquired a very premium DAC - a four-channel Meridian - the flagship among digital-to-analog converters. Thanks to it, you will receive unrivaled playback and recording quality. Also, do not forget the other advantages of the smartphone. 6.4 '' P-OLED screen matrix that allows you to display media content in the best colors, triple camera module (12 MP master module with hardware stabilization and f / 1.5 aperture, 16 MP wide-angle sensor and 12 MP telephoto lens) will help you shoot an excellent frame, and the powerful processor of the American company Qualcomm, Snapdragon 845 and 6 Gigabytes of RAM will allow you to play even new and demanding mobile games.

Meizu 17 Pro - with the ability to connect a DAC adapter

Meizu 17 Pro does not have an internal digital-to-analog converter, but you can always buy an adapter (mobile external DAC Meizu Hi-Fi DAC Headphone Amplifier). Compared to the Meizu 16th, the sound is much better and cleaner. Meizu were among the first to use 5G technology in their smartphones. To do this, the device has built in the most advanced and flagship Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 processor and Qualcomm Snapdragon X55 modem, as well as the technology of its own development mSmart 5G. It is worth noting that the Meizu 17 Pro has 12 Gigabytes of RAM installed! This solution allows you to run a huge number of programs and games on this smartphone without closing them. The permanent memory of Meizu Pro 17 is equipped with the UFS 3.1 standard. With it, data transfer will be much faster. This unit received a frameless AMOLED screen (with a teardrop notch). The camera here is four-lens: 64, 8, 12 and 5 MP. Matrix cameras IMX 586. Meizu was ordered from Sony, which shows quite excellent parameters in photo and video shooting. A plus can be considered the presence of support for wireless charging technology (Qi).

OPPO Reno 2 - stylish design and great sound in headphones with Dolby Atmos

If you want to hear good and high-quality sound in wired headphones, you can do it using your OPPO Reno 2 smartphone. And this is all thanks to support for Dolby Atmos technology. With the advent of this technology, the sound became richer and more spacious. OPPO Reno 2. is an improved version of its brother, OPPO Reno 2Z. In contrast, the “big brother” has an improved Qualcomm Snapdragon 730G processor, as well as a better camera and an NFC chip for making contactless transactions in stores. The reason for buying an OPPO Reno2 smartphone may be support for fifth generation networks. This device can also boast of a rather energy-intensive 4000 mAh battery and a super fast 20 W VOOC Charge. The design is a certain feature of OPPO Reno 2. Completely frameless design, a protruding front camera in the form of a shark fin, beautiful gradient colors: all this makes you enjoy using this gadget.

Samsung Galaxy S10e - stereo speakers and Dolby Atmos

The smartphone has received support for Dolby Atmos technology, which will improve your time with headphones. In the settings, you can select one of the modes: music, games, movies. Dolby Atmos makes sound clearer and deeper. The Samsung Galaxy S10e is the lightest smartphone among last year's flagship S10 line. The S10e can be bragged for its new Dynamic AMOLED display technology.At the back, the Samsung Galaxy S10e has a beautiful gradient body, and it flaunts two objective and ultra-wide cameras at 12 and 16 MP, respectively. The Samsung Galaxy S10e can shoot at 1920 × 1080 / 60fps and 1920 × 1080 / 960fps in slow-motion. Accepts Galaxy S10e signals in LTE (4G), VoLTE, 6th generation Wi-Fi (802.11ax) and 5th generation Bluetooth. Plus, we can note the presence of USB-C and a 3.5 mm headphone jack. There is fast charging Samsung Charge.

Smartphones with good sound from speakers

As we mentioned above, good headphone sound becomes a luxury. However, you don't need to support a dedicated DAC to get quality sound from your speakers; you only need to have good stereo speakers and software settings. We have selected such smartphones.

Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra - top specs and stereo sound

The sound in the Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra is quite decent considering that it is composed of two mono speakers. The Galaxy S20 Ultra is the newest flagship to date, with a focus on stills and video. Differences with the younger models are in a better camera (108 MP versus 12 MP), display size and a steel frame instead of an aluminum one. Samsung has tried to focus on the camera in its smartphone. It uses a four objective camera: the first (main) 108 MP lens, the second (ultra-wide) 12 MP module, the third (telephoto lens) 48 MP and the fourth (auxiliary) 0.3 MP. The Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra can shoot 8K video at 24 frames per second. The front side of the smartphone is frameless with a drop-shaped cutout in the middle of the screen. Curved edges. The screen uses Dynamic AMOLED technology. Unfortunately, there is no headphone jack. The smartphone's battery is quite capacious - 5000 mAh, and it charges quickly - in just 70 minutes. You can purchase a wireless charging dock and charge the device from it.

Sony Xperia 5 - as close to the original as possible with Hi-Res Audio technology

The sound from the smartphone speakers is deep, loud and rich, allowing you to enjoy your favorite content without headphones. The Hi-Res Audio format and DSEE HX technology will allow you to sound your compositions as close to the original as possible. Sony Xperia 5 can surprise you from the first acquaintance. That only is the cinematic format with an aspect ratio of 21: 9. Unfortunately, the screen is built on legacy OLED technology, however, the display itself is perfectly calibrated, which means that you will see content in exactly the colors the author intended it to be. At the back there is a triple camera: a 12 MP main lens, a 12 MP ultra-wide module and a 12 MP telephoto lens. However, even with such good characteristics, the smartphone does not know how to shoot video at 4K 60 frames per second. The downside may also be the presence of Wi-Fi support for only the fifth version (802.11ac). The bottom of the smartphone has a USB C connector of the third version and second generation. The undoubted plus of this smartphone is the fingerprint scanner. The scanner is fast and built right into the power button, which means you just need to press the side button to unlock your device. The smartphone supports Qualcomm's fourth version of Quick Charge. With Quick Charge, you can charge your smartphone in just an hour.

ZTE Axon 10 Pro - good sound and very stylish design

ZTE has received an excellent stereo speaker with good sounding, which is ready to claim to be the best. The sound is high quality, loud and balanced. If we talk about the main characteristics - this smartphone has good hardware, like a mid-budget device. There is a Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 processor, 6 Gigabytes of RAM and a modem from the same Qualcomm Snapdragon SDM855. The device has three modular cameras: a 48 MP main lens, an ultra-wide 20 MP module and an 8 MP telephoto lens. The USB-C port is included in the specifications of this smartphone. Battery capacity 4000 mAh. But even if it runs out, the smartphone can be quickly charged in an hour using Quick Charge 4. There is a fingerprint scanner inside the display.

Apple iPhone 11 Pro Max - excellent in every way

iPhone 11 Pro Max does not fail in terms of sound. It has stereo speakers with high-quality sound, which are directed towards the owner of the gadget. The speakers of this smartphone can easily replace small speakers. The sound is richer and the bass is deep enough. It's easy to say these speakers are some of the best today. iPhone 11 Pro Max is an enlarged copy of the iPhone 11 Pro with the prefix “Max” in the name. Apple iPhone 11 Pro Max is the current flagship and has the most powerful and technological features. There is now support for XDR (Extra Dynamic Range), which is essentially an improved version of HDR10 +. Thanks to XDR, the colors on your smartphone will not turn into white or black “mush”. On board is the most powerful processor of its own production Apple A13 Bionic. True, there is very little RAM - only 4 Gigabytes. The Apple iPhone 11 Pro Max camera is one of the best on the market. There are three “eyes” here: the main lens, the ultra-wide module and the telephoto lens (12, 12 and 12 MP, respectively). This smartphone can shoot in 4K high definition at 60 frames per second. A monobrow and a frameless screen are visible in front. Face ID sensors are built into the “bangs” to unlock the smartphone by the face of its owner. There is fast charging (50 percent in 30 minutes). The sound in the Apple iPhone 11 Pro Max is pretty decent. The speakers are very loud and the sound is low frequency.