[Sony Xperia Z Ultra] Ryland Johnson:
You are very welcome. I MUST tell you I don't own the Ultra yet, that comes on Monday with the SBH52. I did own the Sony Xperia Z but stupidly sold it for the Samsung galaxy Note 3. I am NOT going to bash Samsung as I have up to the present ownership found them reliable. What I can write is that since I started purchasing mobile phones and MP3's etc since 1989 that Sony have taken their sound reproduction seriously.

I have to again write that we all differ in musical tastes also what we enjoy in terms of sound reproduction, some prefer deep base while others enjoy more treble etc. This is fine and completely normal. What needs to be taken into consideration is does the device we are listening to have the technical capacity to reproduce the 'type 'of music we are looking for?

I enjoy, for example, a rather mellow, slightly base heavier and treble lighter sound. Now we need to ensure the device we purchase has the sound parameters we need to ensure we can enjoy what the head phones are capable of reproducing.

This is going to sound very odd as it IS very odd. I have no idea why brands make devices capable of producing a great music band width stage then supply head phones that cannot make use of the original sound source?

Again the good news is Sony are on a winner here. I know near zero about the camera side of our mobiles. I depend on professional reviews and forum posts to learn about camera potentials. I do have more years than I care to admit with regard to top end hifi, in particular source, amplification and speakers.

The Sony Xperia Z mobile produced spectacular results when combined with Sennheiser head phones and ear buds. I use both types. For over the ear I use the Sennheiser PX100-11. I cannot articulate just how well these little devils function. For in ear I use the Sennheiser CX300-11, again simply superb replacement ear buds. Neither are above 40.00€ and so worth the investment.

I can end by writing that to date I have found that the Sony brand of mobiles appear to have the market sewn up in terms of music quality?

To me having such a device as one of the Xperia range and not upgrading the head phones is rather a waste of the devices capabilities. I prefer an original Sony produced sound without any graphic equalisation while others will enjoy tweaking the sound to find the right balance for them. The good news is the Sony has the technical capacity to produce a very wide choice of sound effects.

My ex Sony Xperia Z knocked my present Samsung galaxy note 3 side ways in terms of pure musical ability. Another reason I am reverting back to Sony, one of my main enjoyments is listening to music. Sony is a no brainer in this respect.

In terms of your situation it is normal for the best sound stage possible to come from the mother device and not have to pass though any other music altering sub devices. This may mean plugging your head phones into the Ultra direct. I have not yet heard the SBH52 so am unable to comment on them BUT I would suspect (I don't know!) if the SBH52 could match the Ultra. Bluetooth does deteriorate the sound quality to some degree. This deterioration varies between devices. I would hope the SBH52 on its own used as a radio should be capable of doing radio station music some justice? I will be better able to write on this latter next week after performing my comparison tests at home.

Sorry for the long post...wow....get me started on sound and......

Nice to chat with you,

Kind regards,

Ryland