![]() ![]() Keen observers might note that the LG V60 also lacked hardware MQA support and that might be considered a drawback to those that believe in the dark magic of MQA (we don’t, although we do like the interface and the size of the music catalogue in Tidal). These phones both contain the ESS 9280AC DAC chip, which is a newer version of the quad DAC that appeared in the now-discontinued LG phones and the exact same DAC that featured in the outstanding HiBy FC3, only without MQA support. Recent gaming phones to emerge with a 3.5 mm socket are the ASUS Republic Of Gamers (ROG) Phone 5 and 5s. One emerging category of phone that looks particularly interesting is that of the gaming phone. It has an unfortunately-high output impedance of around 5 Ohms. However, battery life is mediocre and like most Sony audio products, we’d rate the Xperia 1 iii’s sound quality as good, but not necessarily great. It is a manageable size and it looks and feels like a premium device. Its headphone socket works well – not necessarily the best for either audio quality or power, but it works consistently without any of the weird re-sampling artifacts that haunted the LG phones on third-party apps, such as Tidal or Qobuz. The Xperia 1 iii appears to have been primarily designed as a camera phone (the dedicated camera button and the camera’s fine-tuning abilities are excellent). Thankfully there are still options in 2022 for smartphones with a 3.5 mm headphone socket. Without a headphone socket, that’s no longer the case, and as SoundGuys point out, the huge proliferation of dongles is a tacit admission of that problem. Disconnecting and reconnecting the dongle risks blasting your eardrums, and dongles frequently experience audio problems when the sound source is switched between apps.The iPhone was first promoted by Steve Jobs as the swiss-army knife of a device – not three separate products, but one product that could do everything. ![]() Dongle volume controls are typically coarse-grained. A 3.5 mm jack connection doesn’t require regular charging, can’t die when its battery runs flat, doesn’t restrict you from charging and listening to wired headphones at the same time, doesn’t suffer from lag, dropouts or connection problems, doesn’t cause problems when shifting your headphones from one device to another, and generally provides superior audio quality – mainly because of poorer-quality components and tuning in most Bluetooth headphones where space for the drivers, internal tuning cavities and housing has to compete with batteries and wireless circuitry.ĭongles remain an option for those without a headphone socket (and some dongles sound fantastic, such as the HiBy FC3), but we have not yet found any dongle that produces the same seamless experience as that of a wired headphone socket. Conversely, the many advantages of a wired connection are obviously not available on phones lacking a 3.5 mm socket. Apple might prefer us all to forget this fact, but there is nothing to stop anybody enjoying the convenience of Bluetooth headphones on smartphones with a 3.5 mm socket. Bluetooth headphones are continuing to improve, but are still decades away from rivaling the quality and reliability of the best wired headphones. A physical 3.5 mm socket is almost always the better option if you care about audio quality and the only option if you need a seamless experience that allows you to consistently and easily switch between music, videos, games, phone calls, devices, etc. The demise of LG’s smartphone division left those consumers that still want a headphone socket on their phones with few great choices. ![]()
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