IT168 Review Since VIVO launched the first smartphone X1 with an independent HI-FI chip module at the end of 2012, in the past few years, manufacturers have continued to join the "HI-FI mobile phone" camp, through a series of Products equipped with independent audio solutions try to win the hearts of audio enthusiasts and music lovers. Tianji 7 is ZTE's first attempt at HI-FI, which has always been stable. In terms of hardware, the combination of AK4490 + AK4691 can be said to be very conscientious. Dual sound cavity + dual SMART PA amplification + Dolby Atmos technology combines soft and hard technology. The external amplifier system is also considered the top configuration in mobile phones today. The software also has been carefully tuned by a team of professors from the Music Engineering Department of Xi'an Conservatory of Music - it seems to be very reliable.
After the actual audition, AXON Tianji 7’s “stacking” approach has indeed given it a good sound quality foundation, and the most decisive adjustment in deciding whether a DAP sounds good or not is The sound is not bad either. On the basis of "tuning is not a negative item", it can also have a certain characteristic tone through Dolby Atmos sound effect. It is already very good in mobile phones.
Hardware configuration analysis and test condition description
Let’s first talk about the AK4490 chip. Perhaps the most recognized and widely used chip in mobile phone audio is the ES9018K2M. This top-level DAC chip designed to meet the needs of mobile devices has been widely used in smartphones. As the flagship chip of AKM, AK4490 is actually better than ES9018K2M in terms of hardware indicators and low voltage adaptability, and its native and perfect support for DSD file decoding has won it a large number of portable players. The orders range from South Korea's A&K (Eriwa) top portable DAP to various "national brick" products and are widely used, and have received good reviews from portable audio enthusiasts. By using it in mobile phone DAP this time, ZTE has shown enough sincerity.
▲The AK4490, which has a small package size, low power supply requirements, high indicators, hard decoding of DSD and other features, is the latest favorite of portable DAPs
As a support for speaker and headphone simulation For the output amplification chip, ZTE chose the AK4691, which is also AKM's top chip and has multiple functions of microphone amplifier, headphone amplifier and ADC. This chip has appeared in Sony Hi-Res recording pens and audio interfaces of many professional audio manufacturers including Roland. Its powerful performance and multi-functional features make it the preferred amplification chip for many professional equipment. ZTE added this chip as a separate amplification module based on the AK4490, which can not only reduce the interference of the complicated circuit of the mobile phone on the transmission of analog sound signals, but also provide better external amplification, recording and noise reduction effects. support (in terms of recording, Tianji 7 uses the strong performance of this chip to achieve better noise reduction and real-time feedback during recording, making the mobile karaoke experience completely new).
▲Block circuit diagram of AK4691, a powerful enough chip
After talking about the two core chips, let’s talk about the evaluation standards this time and the Shanling M5 for comparison. Bar. This test is mainly aimed at the sound performance of Tianji 7’s internal amplifier (i.e. 3.5mm headphone jack). Its walnut wood external amplifier dual-chamber module is not within the scope of the comparative evaluation. However, due to its outstanding performance, the editor I will also talk about the subjective listening experience of this external speaker using dual SmartPA technology after the test is completed.
▲The Shanling M5 used for comparison is relatively small compared to the Tianji 7
The Shanling M5 used for comparison is also a professional portable audio player launched in 2016. It has the same AK4490 chip and professional tuning from many years of speaker brands. The pricing of 2480 will not make people feel that it is "bullying" the Tianji 7, which is priced at 3,000 yuan. As for the reason for not using AK240 for comparison - the huge gap between product pricing and actual performance is the main reason, and a small part is because the editor can only listen to AK240, so there will be some slight deviations in the test results. , it is definitely not as accurate and convincing as writing with both machines in hand for a few days.
Sound comparison: The sound quality is worthy of recognition and there is room for improvement in tuning
The first comparison is naturally the sound quality. With the support of the AK4490’s signal-to-noise ratio of up to 120dB, Tianji 7 and Shan The difference in sound quality between Ling M5 and Ling M5 is not that big. Both have natural and clear sound details and well-proportioned sound field performance. Specifically, the Shanling M5 has better overall sound clarity and separation due to its larger power supply voltage swing and cleaner circuit design; in comparison, the sound details of the Tianji 7 appear to be a little tight, and the sound positioning is not as good. The M5 is as comfortable as it is.
If compared with smartphones, if the iPhone’s sound quality performance is used as a passing standard of 60 points, and VIVO’s Xplay series is used as an 80-point passing standard, Tianji 7 can reach a level of around 70 points in terms of sound quality alone. , higher than all mobile phones without independent audio modules, but still a little behind several brands with many years of experience in acoustic tuning - sound quality is actually the same as tuning cameras and battery management, and it is not about having good quality. The materials will surely make you the best. Good materials ensure the most basic conditions for good sound, but if the tuning is not good enough, it may be like some unsuccessful HI-FI mobile phones that achieve half the result with twice the effort.
▲The headphone jack placed above makes it easier to insert curved headphones
As for the tuning style, although the two machines use the same chip, they show The sound is completely different in style. Compared with the "balanced and atmospheric" tuning of Shanling M5 that has been carved over many years, Tianji 7's tuning idea is more inclined to the restoration school that shows the details and original appearance of the sound. This sound orientation has a certain relationship with the professorial team from the Music Engineering Department of Xi'an Conservatory of Music, and is also influenced by the AKM series of chips that are good at providing chips for professional equipment.
▲Paired with audio-technica M50X, a monitoring headset that is often featured on TV singing programs, you can hear a lot of sound details, which is very nice
Talk about three-band specifically, Tianji 7 The low frequency in the film does not focus on quantity but the sense of speed. The cohesive low frequency texture and the overall timbre of clean and less overtones can make people feel the details of the sound. The mid-frequency part has always been the part that AKM chips are best at performing. The mid-frequency vocals of Tianji 7 are also clean and crisp, and both male and female voices have good details and timbre restoration; the only drawback is that it emphasizes details too much and lacks a bit of natural emotion. , if the front-end headphones are not matched well, it may sound dry and hard. The high-frequency part has good brightness and extension thanks to the excellent chip performance. It does not darken the high-frequency part like many manufacturers do for the performance of pop music. It has clean low-frequency and charming details. The overall mid-frequency creates an auditory experience that is as refined as monitoring equipment and pays attention to the details and texture of the music itself.
The Shanling M5 focuses on atmosphere and timbre texture to create a listening experience similar to that of a stereo. The low frequency is large and loose, and the overall tone is very comfortable. Mid-frequency vocals pay more attention to density than detailed expression, and have a very charming performance when expressing thick male voices. The extension of high frequencies is also very good, and it can cooperate well with the mid and low frequencies to show a complete listening experience.
▲Good-sounding and good-looking
In terms of thrust, compared to the M5’s two-level gain “with ease”, AXON 7 seems a bit restrained. There is no problem driving portable plugs and most portable headphones on the market, but if you want to promote some home headphones like the HD 600, it will be a little bit behind. In terms of earphone adaptability, Tianji 7 is more suitable for pairing with some earphones with relatively warm, rich and emotional sounds, such as Sony's MDR-1A or AKG's Y50, which can have a good listening experience. It is better to pair with earphones with relatively neutral sounds. You can also get pretty good clean and fresh sound, but this combination will be more demanding on the quality of the sound source. You need to pay special attention to choosing lossless sound source files.
▲ Nowadays, more and more mobile phones are beginning to focus on audio performance when they cannot find technological breakthroughs in other directions. This can be regarded as a "return" to the popularity of music mobile phones ten years ago.
After finishing the comparison, the editor will finally talk about the external broadcast that condenses a lot of core technologies. Thanks to the advantages of a larger sound cavity than ordinary speakers, dual-unit stereo sound and advanced Dolby Atmos algorithms, not only does its sound pressure be much higher than that of ordinary mobile phones, but the volume and depth of low frequencies are also very good. The sound presents a thick listening feeling that is completely different from the clean style of the headphone port. As for the role of walnut wood, in fact, in such a small space, the structural design of the sound cavity is much more important than the material of the front cavity. The use of walnut wood is more about texture and grade; in other words, even if walnut wood is not used, its external sound The performance is good enough.
Summary
▲ There is definitely some gap with professional equipment, but it can already overturn a lot of existence in mobile phones. The success of the audio part of AXON Tianji 7 also shows that as long as you are willing to put in the effort and work hard, even on the first try, you can produce a good sound that is much better than the passing mark
In terms of sound performance Look, there is still a certain gap between AXON Tianji 7 and professional portable audio players that also use the AK4490 chip due to the inexperience in tuning skills and the limitations of their own power supply. However, if compared with smartphones, AXON Tianji 7 is undoubtedly a smartphone that successfully uses sound performance as a bonus. Its clean and restored tone and stable sound quality make it firmly ranked first in the sound quality of mobile phones. camp. If ZTE continues to work hard in this area and continues to improve the slightly green and stiff parts of tuning, it will surely be able to create subsequent models with a higher degree of tuning completion with this determination.