pretty damn good when playing music! To get my library to fit on my phone (128 gig model) I had my all albums down converted to 256 kbps but the DAC in the phone sound sweet and warm but not harsh. Anybody know what DAC they have installed? Hopefully, the future incarnation (sp) of the iPhone will have the ability to play high resolution audio files and maybe iTunes could be upgraded for HRA too. Introducing a 256 gig model would be nice for people like me who like to have their media on one portable device.