My Samsung EVO 16GB still works.. I don't use it so much except for backup purposes, been about 2 years now... You can get those High Endurance cards that are built to accept constant read and write. Example SanDisk High Endurance MicroSDHC Memory Cards. Proven to last longer and comes with a 2 year warranty.

Sound Alive isn't included in this ROM and so far, I haven't had the need for it as Sound Control (Beats Audio + Viper4Android + Dolby Atmos) satisfies all. I don't use Spotify either. I listen to music and a lot of audio podcasts. My music player of choice is Poweramp, which also sports an inbuilt equalizer. For podcasts (sound output thru car speakers), speech clarity is important and I achieve that using the Dolby Atmos app (Speech profile, Surround Virtualizer 'ON', Dialogue Enhancer 'ON' and Volume Leveler 'ON'). Included are also Music, Movie and Game modes.

For head/earphone needs, Viper4Android is where you want to be. I can achieve surround sounds (using Headphone Surround +, effect levels can be adjusted) and the music/audio truly surrounds you. Ultimately, plug in a decent ear/headphone, play high-res audio files, open up the settings and adjust accordingly till you find your sweet spots. 
I moved from that to the Note7 Port and on my device, this has been quite stable. No hangs, crashes or whatever. Could also be cuz I reboot it at least once a week. Do a full shutdown and cold boot. There's a saying that phones can behave differently with the same ROM, use whichever is most stable to your device and requirements.

Interesting  .. I believe this is the first time I'm hearing the genuine one sucks.. Currently using one and so far so good. Can Waze for 4hrs+ with screen at 50%. Of course, it's still a couple months old. See how by a year. Mind sharing how the Sun Global one performs? As I'll be thinking of getting a backup next year.. Just in case.. RRP of Note 8 is    .
RM150 is about right.

I was on the Aryamod's now EOL ROM..What do you mean by its checking licenses all the time? Currently running the AspireTeam C9 Pro ROM and it's been stable so far. Lineage is community driven and so more bleeding edge stuffs.

Hmm, that's indeed strange.. Seems like it was a rogue app doing such.. Definitely not the ROM and surely not Google services.. Google would just openly use the notification bar for prompts, like the ones we get when trying to login the same email on our phones but on a strange pc or connection. Facebook app doesn't have any licenses to check. It just runs..

Me oso planning to get mi max 3..but only for dual sim capability..i think not worth it..btw, sell ur zl to me ler chip2..hehe