[Xperia Z3 General] RockStar2005:
barkohba,

I appreciate your posting and do agree with at least some of the points, but not everything. A few things to keep in mind:

I tried not the 1R or 1A, but the Sony MDR-10R headphones at Best Buy (they were on display). They sounded pretty good despite that the other 2 are pricier and I'm sure better, but I didn't really like the bass-enhancing as I prefer to control the bass, not have my headphones dictate how much is there. I'm not big on having a lot of bass anyway. And also, my K550s are closed-back (like the Sony ones you mentioned), but unlike them, they have a spacious open-backed sound which I absolutely LOVE! Anyone reading these posts needs to keep in mind that a great deal of this all is very subjective. What sounds good to me may not to you, and vice versa. What I provided in my post were just suggestions. Anyone who doesn't agree certainly can try out other options.

I initially LOVED the Sony headphones, and that was all I wanted. But due to the issues above, I switched over to trying other headphones and ended up with the K550s. I've feel asleep with them on, so comfort is def NO issue for me. I would've never done that with the Sennheiser HD 598s.

With regards to the E11k amp........it shouldn't matter about the range. As long as it's not above what a human being can hear. That's debatable. I just know it sounds better with the amp than w/o. Some may say the range does matter, others (most others) would not.

We DEF agree the Z3 is the best smartphone for audio. And also about how ClearAudio+ sux and that DSEE HX is beneficial, though I use PA anyway. The "Studio" Surround Sound thing.............. I def don't agree there. I think it opens up the sound and makes it sound more alive. I also think that about Walkman vs PA. Walkman is a GREAT music app. I love it. But when I listen to the same track in PA, it sounds more robust and also like it's on a bigger sound stage (a more fuller sound experience). It's close though. I do like virtual surround sound on the speakers, for the same reasons already mentioned for "Studio". Dynamic Normalizer....... I just leave it off, so I agree there too actually. The EQ settings in Walkman........... again, since you have bass-enhancing headphones, it's no surprise you don't need much bass to make them sound good for you. My K550s don't enhance bass, which I prefer, and b/c of that, I do raise the Clear Bass up b/c I want to. But I control it, not my headphones. Some songs need less or more bass. The ones that need less (which does happen), those are the ones I'm happy I don't have bass-enhancing headphones to listen to them on.

Screen white balance......... I got those from a friend on here (#28). I think they look good. You don't. Oh well.

I tried out your camera settings vs Superior Auto and the Manual settings I had. You didn't say which 8MP setting you chose, so I chose the 16:9 one. Sorry man, just wasn't impressed. The other 2 looked much better. I will however agree that Manual is prob better (with Manual settings I had) b/c it allowed me to turn on the image stabilizer. Turning it on resulted in slightly more focused pics than what I got in Superior Auto since that doesn't seem to have the image stabilizer as an option (or does it? If anyone knows, post here). I know that Superior Auto takes the pic at 20.7MPs but downgrades it to 8MPs for easier storage/sharing. It still retains the 20.7MP picture, but what I don't know is how to get it back to that later on (i.e. for desktop viewing)? Does that require rooting? If so, then I'll just use the Manual settings I had (15.5MP, 16:9). I rooted my HTC One M8, and I'm NEVER doing that again. lol

For me, the surround sound option does more for the sound than DSEE HX does, so it's not a big deal.

RockStar2005