[j_crick]

Didn’t expect somebody here to mention LG phones regarding audio, but they are surprisingly nice indeed. Good stuff!

Don’t know about replacement for the phone, but maybe a discreet player would work for you? Some old multibit Hifiman or a small but punchy Fiio could be fun and maybe even really cheap, depending on your location etc.

As for the headphones, did you consider Hifiman Sundara? It’s not an upgrade too expensive (relatively speaking ofc), and I heard they can be tailored well to one’s taste with eq, so maybe that could be an option.

[karmakaze]

Thanks for the tip about the Hifiman Sundara they look very interesting. What I was immediately looking for though, were hifi isolating (non-noise cancelling) earbuds rather than full-size headphones. There are many very expensive ones but I'd rather pay for something I appreciate as much or more than they cost :-)