Put music in your pocket: A comprehensive collection of Hi-Fi flagship models

Hi-Fi is the abbreviation of High-Fidelity in English, which literally translates into "high fidelity" in Chinese. As the name suggests, it means that the reproduced sound is highly consistent with the original sound. This word used to only appear in the field of high-end music equipment, and only in the artifacts played by audiophiles and rich and handsome people. Now, with the popularization and update of mobile phones, a popular consumer electronic product, it has become more and more well-known.

It is precisely because the "Lei-style" marketing model of showing superiority through running scores has gradually become weak, which has led manufacturers to gradually pursue differentiation. Only then can mobile phone Hi-Fi follow the trend and slowly change from a high-cold "British Queen" to a people-friendly "Xi Dada". In the context of increasing emphasis on workmanship, platform, software and hardware integration, and seeking breakthroughs and innovations in photography, UI, operating system and other aspects, mobile phone Hi-Fi function has become a must-have "skill" for flagship models of many mobile phone manufacturers.

Suffering from the many limitations of Android's underlying design mechanism and Qualcomm's processing chips, the input audio is converted and decoded between the two, which makes the audio signal deviate greatly from the original audio, resulting in audio distortion. Therefore, the sound quality of Android phones has always been a "loud speaker" with no bottom line, just like the knockoff phones in the market, not to mention the sound quality. At the end of 2012, vivo launched the vivo X1 equipped with VRS technology and CS4398 decoding chip, which opened the door to Hi-Fi music phones for the first time. The mobile phone market ushered in the era of smart music phones at this time, and the response was even more enthusiastic. The perfection of mobile phone sound quality has also been greatly improved.

In order to firmly grasp this high-end market, independent audio chips are favored and adopted by more manufacturers. Of course, there is still a certain gap between the Hi-Fi mentioned here and the Hi-Fi mentioned in professional audio equipment. Most mobile phones are only equipped with digital-to-analog conversion chips and operational amplifier chips, or one of the chips, and do not have all the precision devices of traditional Hi-Fi equipment. However, even if there is only "one of them", it is a qualitative leap for the music performance of Android phones. For friends who do not want to spend a high price to buy professional Hi-Fi equipment, music phones are your best choice.

A flagship phone that dares to say it’s not perfect

Speaking of Meizu, 2015 is the year when it changed its strategy and truly developed. At the same time, it must be said that the paranoia of the slow runners in this fast-paced era is gone, and it is more like the former Xiaomi, with swords drawn and enemies everywhere. The almost crazy expansion model has also been labeled by netizens as "Meizu - a mobile phone manufacturer specializing in press conferences"; the "small dots" and Smartbar, which once represented Meizu's temperament, have also been overshadowed by Meizu's current edge and replaced by a new LOGO with a more technological atmosphere. Of course, such expansion is not thankless. Meizu has not only achieved impressive sales results, but also provided users with choices other than Xiaomi and Huawei, or better choices. Among them is the leading Meizu mobile phone this year - Meizu PRO 5 public version .

This PRO, which self-deprecates itself as "not easily saying perfect", not only has excellent performance, but also makes extremely demanding demands on sound quality. Meizu started out as an MP3 player since its establishment, and has its own unique understanding of music optimization and tuning. This time, the PRO 5 is equipped with the same components as the MX 4 PRO, the ES9018KK2M high-end DAC chip and OPA1612 op amp chip, which are only available in Hi-Fi players. Its signal-to-noise ratio is as high as 127 dB, which can greatly reduce background noise and accurately express sound details; the professional-grade op amp chip is also equipped with a fully symmetrical passive filter architecture, which not only greatly reduces the distortion rate of the sound, but also further eliminates digital noise; at the same time, Meizu has added the Solo headphone amplifier circuit to the re-planned motherboard, which not only has extremely strong thermal stability, but also increases the open-loop linear current by 10 times. The enhanced current can easily drive the high-end headphone amplifier, allowing the PRO 5 to easily control various music elements such as classical and popular music. Compatibility with 5-pin balanced headphones and 4-pin unbalanced headphones also gives veteran users more choices; it is worth mentioning that the PRO 5 has also remodeled the external speaker, allowing users to enjoy pure music even without headphones.

In addition to the hardware such as chips, the new Meizu Flyme 5.1 has also reached a strategic cooperation with Xiami Music. Relying on the Alibaba Cloud big data platform, the coverage rate of 320K high-quality music is as high as 92%, with more than 14 million high-quality playlists, forming a more personalized music service platform. Of course, the ultra-high quality needs to be paid, but it is worth the trouble of finding music. Although PRO 5 did not upgrade to Flyme 5.1 at the time of its release, the public beta version has been released, and I believe it will soon usher in the official version.

In terms of hardware specifications, the 5.7-inch 1080p AMOLED high-saturation screen not only displays gorgeous and beautiful colors, but also has a unique power-saving technology, coupled with the new Flyme 5.1 and a 3050mAh large battery to provide better battery life performance; the all-metal CNC one-piece molding process and the 2.5D curved glass fit perfectly, creating the magical curve and feel of PRO 5; the Exynos 7420 octa-core 64-bit processor, Mali-T760 graphics unit, and faster and more power-saving LPDDR4 memory all bring more powerful performance, and large files and games can be handled with ease. The 21.16 million pixel Sony IMX230 CMOS main camera is equipped with dual-color temperature dual flash, phase focus, and laser-assisted focus; the precise and fast focus technology can easily cope with any scene; the mTouch 2.1 fingerprint recognition, return key, and Home key are integrated, mCharge 2.0 fast charging, USB Type-C, dual SIM dual standby and dual 4G fully demonstrate the flagship quality.

Meizu PRO 5

[Reference price] 2799 yuan

The pioneer of mobile phone Hi-Fi

Speaking of vivo, we have always remembered it as a representative of differentiated competition in the mobile phone market. After establishing a foothold in the camera phone market, it pioneered a second and more eye-catching path: Hi-Fi music. Since the vivo X1 made its first appearance, this pioneer in the mobile phone Hi-Fi industry has become synonymous with high-quality music phones, leaving its competitors far behind. This year, while the vivo series of mobile phones continues to grow and develop, vivo has also brought us its pinnacle work, the vivo X5Max+ Enhanced Edition.

In terms of music, vivo X5Max adopts the new Hi-Fi2.0 architecture and the new ES9018 DAC chip, which pioneered the new technology of secondary amplification and secondary power supply system; the first-level op amp adopts SABRE ES9601 dual op amp, which is responsible for the conversion of internal voltage; the second-level op amp uses the 2604 fully upgraded version of TI dual op amp OPA1612 chip to drive the headphones by performing power amplification; thus forming a unique combination of two-level four op amps. Not only does it make the noise distortion rate lower and the audio resolution stronger, but also through LDO linear voltage regulation, the circuit ripple is reduced, the current output is more stable, and the driving ability under high load is greatly improved. The sound performance is also more compact, mellow, delicate and beautiful. Not only that, vivo X5Max not only upgrades the professional chip for you who love to listen to songs, but also creates a new karaoke system for you who love to sing; the YAMAHA YSS-205X digital surround sound signal processing chip used can realize real-time reverberation ear return, so that you can be high whenever you want.

Hardware specifications: Equipped with a 5.5-inch Super AMOLED 1080p display, accurate color reproduction and excellent effect. Equipped with a 64-bit octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 615 processor, built-in high-performance Mail-T760MP2 GPU, 3GB high-speed storage, strong performance, smooth operation of large games and file processing; the camera uses a rear 1300W + front 500W wide-angle camera combination, provides a 2000mAh battery, and supports dual SIM dual standby dual 4G.

vivo X5Max

[Reference price] 2598 yuan

A little regretful Android phone king

For an editor who has always paid close attention to the top Android phones, Xiaomi is definitely a mobile phone brand that cannot be missed; this mobile phone company has been the leader and disruptor of the "fever flagship performance models" in the Chinese mobile phone industry since its inception, and has been leading the trend and development of Chinese mobile phones; let us put aside the old-fashioned "hunger marketing" and today's "hardware gate" incident, what is more worthy of attention is that it has finally gotten rid of the price bottom line of 1,999 yuan and started to make high-end models; this time, the Xiaomi Note , which is positioned as a high-end model , has also not forgotten its identity as a disruptor, and has dealt a heavy blow to the mobile phone Hi-Fi market.

Xiaomi Note uses the same digital-to-analog conversion chip as vivo X5 Max, which is the mobile version of the ES9018 chip widely praised by music enthusiasts, the ES9018K2M audio chip; the professional-grade audio chip ensures the sound quality and music quality of Xiaomi Note, which is not only explosive but also delicate and pleasant. Xiaomi Note also uses a two-stage operational amplifier system. First, in order to ensure stable and pure driving power for the headphones without audio distortion, the well-reputed OPA1612 operational amplifier chip is selected; second, in order to optimize the dynamic range, a customized version of ADI ADA4896 operational amplifier chip is used, which can make the audio chip truly work in current mode; in addition, in order to make the audio more accurate, Xiaomi Note is also equipped with an independent dual-clock crystal oscillator and 28 high-precision audio resistors, achieving better audio decoding efficiency and accuracy, so that you will not miss any tiny details in the music. It can be said that the perfect combination of the two chips, coupled with high-precision audio resolution, has achieved a true and pure Xiaomi Hi-Fi.

Hardware specifications: Xiaomi, which has always defined its value with its hardware, will naturally not leave any other mobile phone manufacturers an opportunity to take advantage of it in terms of configuration. Qualcomm's new octa-core 64-bit Snapdragon 810 processor, with a main frequency of up to 2.5GHZ; a new generation of LPDDR4 high-speed memory, a screen resolution of up to 2K, and extremely delicate display effects; built-in 4 graphite heat sinks effectively solve the long-standing criticism of mobile phone overheating when playing games. Sony IMX214 rear 13-megapixel camera, dual-color temperature flash with optical image stabilization, the image quality is maintained at a very high level both during the day and at night. It's a pity that Xiaomi Note is not equipped with fingerprint recognition, which seems to be a little regrettable on the top flagship phone.

Xiaomi Note

[Reference price] Starting from 1799 yuan

Music cannot be left out when talking about feelings

At the recent launch of the Nut Phone Literary Edition, Luo finally publicly apologized to Lei Jun, whom he had criticized; he claimed that he should not have mocked Xiaomi or its competitors as "mobile phone futures" or "low-priced mobile phones", because Smartisan Technology now has to face similar difficulties; it is not easy to make mobile phone products, and it is even more difficult to recognize one's past mistakes. At least it shows that Smartisan Technology has truly grown up and still maintains the spirit of craftsmanship and sincerity when making products for users. Putting aside the Nut Phone, Smartisan T1 Dual 4G is still a sincere work of Smartisan Technology, a perfectionist. Smartisan T1 is a high-end mobile phone released by Smartisan Technology in May 2014. Perfectionists naturally will not let go of the hot topic of Hi-Fi. "We don't focus on sound quality, we just have better sound quality than products that focus on sound quality" also became a hot spot and highlight of the launch conference at that time.

Hammer T1 also uses an OPA2604 audiophile-grade Hi-Fi op-amp chip from Texas Instruments. This chip has the characteristics of powerful low frequencies, mellow mid-range frequencies, and smooth high frequencies, and is extremely popular among audiophiles. The digital-to-analog conversion chip Hammer T1 uses an unknown CODEC chip, and the tuning is done by the godfather of pop music Zhang Yadong and the godfather of underground music Zuo Xiaozuo. It can be said that Hammer T1 does not use the most advanced audio chip solution like Xiaomi and Meizu, and pays more attention to the tuning of music. Combining the audiophile-grade op-amp chip and the unique lossless audio solution of Hammer T1, the sound is also restored in the most realistic way.

In terms of hardware specifications: the Hammer T1 is equipped with a Snapdragon 801 quad-core processor with a single-core frequency of up to 2.5 GHz; the front panel is equipped with a 5-inch 1080p HD display with a pixel density of up to 445ppi, which shows delicate and has an excellent touch feel; the main camera uses the Sony IMX214 second-generation 12.78-megapixel camera, and with the unique Hammer 2.0 OS, you can take photos with one click without turning on the screen; the double-sided glass design makes the Hammer T1 extremely beautiful!

Smartisan T1

[Reference price] 2480 yuan

What we sell is not the mobile phone but the ecosystem

In recent years, a mobile phone manufacturer has dominated the headlines of major technology media, and that is LeTV Super Phone. This company, which was originally an online media company, has plunged into the Chinese mobile phone market like Luo Yonghao, becoming another disruptor in the mobile phone industry after Xiaomi. Relying on its powerful online media content, it has divided mobile phone manufacturers into two groups: traditional manufacturing and Internet ecosystem (selling content through mobile phones), and its flagship Le Max has won the top spot in the domestic 3,000 mobile phone sales list, successfully breaking the monopoly of international brands. The success of Le Max is inseparable from the LeEco ecosystem, and the LeHi-Fi perfect sound system is the key to open the door to the LeEco ecosystem for Le Max.

Le Max uses audiophile-grade equipment and AKG professional audio tuning technology to complete a complete set of Hi-Fi intervention solutions. In-depth cooperation with ESS manufacturers on audio signal conversion chips has achieved the world's first single-chip solution, which greatly reduces the area occupied by the Hi-Fi unit on the motherboard. Compared with the Hi-Fi solutions of vivo, Xiaomi, and Meizu, it is more efficient, more power-saving, and more stable; the distortion and noise indicators and dynamic range indicators have reached the highest level of Hi-Fi mobile phone hardware performance. The independent secondary power supply system forms a stable voltage drive, further reducing circuit ripples and low noise, making the sound purer and more realistic. Two independent dual-clock crystal oscillators support 44.1kHz and 48kHz multiplier audio lossless decoding at the same time, which not only fundamentally solves the shortcomings caused by the defects of the Android system in the audio conversion process and the problem of excessive audio loss during conversion, but also greatly reduces the generation of noise. Such extremely excellent Hi-Fi hardware, coupled with the tuning test of AKG's chief engineer, truly achieves Hi-Fi-level sound quality output. In addition, Le Max has a bigger killer feature: LeEco ecosystem; LeEco ecosystem media includes 5 million high-quality genuine music, more than 200 exclusive concert live broadcasts every year, and countless 4k and 2K-level music videos; such a complete ecological chain allows you to be in the ocean of Hi-Fi anytime and anywhere.

Hardware specifications: Le Max is equipped with a 6.33-inch 2K-level narrow-frame ultra-clear display with an ultra-high screen-to-body ratio, which is extremely visually impactful when playing games and watching videos; 4GB of large memory, equipped with Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 octa-core processor, the application can also intelligently control the core and control power consumption; the back is equipped with a 21-megapixel Sony IMX230 image sensor 6P camera lens, and built-in optical image stabilization; taking photos and videos is also simple and easy, and handy. Fingerprint unlocking, dual-band WIFI, dual-SIM dual standby, and wireless HDMI are all available.

LeTV Super Phone Max

[Reference price] 2999 yuan

Conclusion:

Since the end of 2012, mobile phone Hi-Fi solutions have been applied to mobile phones for more than two years. Although the initial practice was not perfect, with the intensification of differentiated competition, more and more mobile phone manufacturers have joined the mobile phone Hi-Fi camp, and Hi-Fi op amp chips have become more and more perfect. Although there are still many friends who still keep a wait-and-see attitude and boast about mobile phone Hi-Fi, it is undeniable that in this era of mobile phones where basic functions such as calls have become less important, the emergence of mobile phone Hi-Fi has brought us more rights of independent choice, and has also significantly improved the sound quality of mobile phones. This is exactly the rational change we hope that mobile phone manufacturers and the mobile phone market will make, rather than letting them immerse themselves in the self-perception of being the first in the hardware universe and the world's first in running scores, ignoring the feelings of users. At the same time, it is necessary to remind you that if you want to really hear the Hi-Fi sound quality, as a user, you also need a suitable headset.

As a winner of Toutiao's Qingyun Plan and Baijiahao's Bai+ Plan, the 2019 Baidu Digital Author of the Year, the Baijiahao's Most Popular Author in the Technology Field, the 2019 Sogou Technology and Culture Author, and the 2021 Baijiahao Quarterly Influential Creator, he has won many awards, including the 2013 Sohu Best Industry Media Person, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Beijing Third Place, the 2015 Guangmang Experience Award, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Finals Third Place, and the 2018 Baidu Dynamic Annual Powerful Celebrity.