Although it was announced in May this year, the HUAWEI smartphone "P30 lite", which was not released easily, has been released one after another from Softbank and Rakuten Mobile in August.
It is equipped with a large display of about 6.15 inches and adopts an OS (EMUI9.0) based on Android 9. With a built-in 64GB memory, it's hard to believe that it's sold in the low 30,000 yen range.
What's even more interesting is that the P30 lite also supports playback of high-resolution audio sources. However, even if you check the company's website etc., it says that HUAWEI music player and separately sold high resolution compatible headphones are required for high resolution playback, but there is no description of the corresponding format and frequency.
In addition to USB Type-C, the P30 lite is equipped with a 3.5mm headphone jack, which you should use if you want to listen to high resolution. However, even if I look it up on the net, I can't find out the details such as what kind of DAC chip is used ...
I can't help but worry about it, so I borrowed this P30 lite this time and tried to verify how much it can be used as a high resolution compatible audio player.
And before that, the P30 lite comes with a wired earphone, but as mentioned earlier, this is not high resolution compatible. So, if I was thinking that I had to find an earphone to combine this time, I would like you to try this if you listen to music with P30 lite, or HUAWEI's Bluetooth earphone "Free Lace" is also rented as a set. It has been.
Free Lace is a neck-mounted type with a built-in 9.2mm dynamic type (ultra-thin TPU + titanium-plated hybrid diaphragm) driver. A USB Type-C connector is built in the switch part on the right side of the cable, and if you insert this into a smartphone made by the same company, pairing will be completed just by that. Of course, you can also charge from here (18 hours of continuous playback is possible with a full charge).
However, Free Lace's Bluetooth compatible codecs are SBC and AAC, and high-resolution transmission cannot be transmitted as it is. Isn't it a little wasteful here? However, since it's a big deal, I decided to use it with a combination of P30 lite + Free Lace first.
Before that, install the sound source on the P30 lite. This time, the music data was stored on the micro SD card, but the P30 lite has a double card slot, and up to two SIM cards, or one SIM card and micro SD card can be installed. A 32GB micro SD card is installed there.
When you connect the P30 lite with a micro SD card to your iMac, you will be prompted to install the original app "HiSuite". It seems to exchange data with P30 lite via this Hi Suite.
Access the SD card from HiSuite, create a "Music" folder, drag and drop the sound source, and copying will start immediately. I was able to save high resolution and MP3 files without any trouble. The operation is intuitive and easy!
Play music from here. After confirming that it was paired with Free Lace, I opened the "Music" app on the P30 lite, selected a song, and it started playing. At that time, there is no distinction between the P30 lite's built-in memory and SD card, and all music data is displayed in the same row on the screen, so it is easy to use. The jacket art is also displayed properly.
How is the sound quality of Free Lace? The first impression is "comfortable sound". I mainly listened to nostalgic songs such as rock, classical, and female vocals from Japan and abroad, but all of them came to my ears and the lyrics were easy to hear in both English and Japanese.
In addition, Free Lace has a slightly thicker neck, and has a flat cable in front of the left and right connectors. Moreover, the length of the neck hanging part is generous, and the stability when worn is high, so touch noise is not a concern at all. Personally, I don't like touch noise, so I often don't use earphones while walking, but with Free Lace, that wasn't the case.
However, while the sound is easy to hear, there are some points that are a little unsatisfactory in terms of the amount of information. In every genre, the overall sound is mellow, and I don't have the impression that the high frequencies are extended so much. The bass of the drums is light, and the treble of the piano and female vocals disappears, so I feel like I want a little more stretch and extrude.
However, that is the aim of Free Lace, and it seems that the reproduction of high frequencies and fine information is not so greedy. There is no doubt that you are aiming for such a sound that you can enjoy the sound that is familiar to your ears when you listen to it with a balance centered on vocals. Free Lace seems to be a good choice for those who want to listen to music comfortably while commuting to work or school.
The sound was sometimes interrupted, probably because the Bluetooth connection was a little unstable. It may be compatible with the P30 lite, but I want you to improve it here.
So what kind of sound can you enjoy with the P30 lite if you change the earphones? First of all, since it is one level higher wireless, I will connect it with "Beoplay E6 Motion" of B & O compatible with aptX. When I checked it in the settings menu, the letters "E6 Motion" and "aptX" were displayed as paired devices on the screen.
The sound is such that the sound field has expanded obediently and the range has been moderately widened. Of course, the aim of the sound as an earphone is also different, Free Lace has a market estimated price of around 9,000 yen, and E6 Motion has a direct sales price of 29,800 yen (tax included), which is almost three times the price difference, so it can not be helped even if it is simple. , E6 Motion feels richer in musical nuances. There is also a lingering feeling of female vocals, and it is natural until the sound disappears.
I was able to confirm that there is a difference in sound due to wireless, so I will finally listen to the high resolution sound source. Connect the final wired earphone "B1" that claims to be compatible with high resolution to the P30 lite and start listening.
When I listen to 48kHz / 24-bit Japanese pop music and 96kHz / 24-bit & 192kHz / 24-bit classical music (all FLAC), there are still differences in the number of sounds and subtle expressions. The space where the music is playing is a little wider, the amount of information is increased, and the sound field is naturally precise.
But to be honest, I couldn't really tell the difference between 96kHz / 24-bit and 192kHz / 24-bit sound sources. Both of them are the same as the impression mentioned above, and I am not dissatisfied with the feeling of low frequencies. I felt that it was a "good sound" as a high resolution.
By the way, when I tried WAV and DSD (dsf) as sound sources other than FLAC, WAV could also play 192kHz / 24bit and 384kHz / 32bit sound sources. However, the difference in sound quality is subtle, and I honestly don't know how far the native playback is. Regarding DSD, the file was not displayed on the application screen and could not be played.
Therefore, I explained these circumstances to the HUAWEI side and asked them to confirm the details of the P30 lite. As a result, the P30 lite's high-resolution playback supports up to 96kHz / 24bit, and the DAC uses its own chip developed by the company. In other words, 192kHz / 24bit and 384kHz / 32bit data were internally converted to 96kHz / 24bit signals. Apparently, the impression at the time of audition was correct, and I feel relieved personally.
By the way, the point of using the P30 lite based on this is that it is better to select a 96kHz / 24-bit source when saving a high-resolution sound source in this unit. Please use it as a reference when enjoying good sound while taking advantage of the limited memory capacity.
So, by listening to various sound sources with two types of wireless and wired type earphones this time, I was able to confirm that the P30 lite can be used as a music player. Since the difference in the sound of each earphone is reproduced properly, it seems that the player is outputting a straightforward sound. I also enjoyed the high resolution performance properly.
Also, the good battery life is a must-see when using it as a player. This time I use it as a player for 2-3 hours a day, but I only charged it once a week and there was no problem at all. (Interviewed and written by Tetsuya Izumi)
