Related
Probably the most stupidest question out there but just wondering..
Since a lot of people are saying that the headphone quality is meh will a portable amp improve the quality?
crap in, crap out
amplifying a crap headphone out (if it is crap to you where you think a seperate amp should be used) will result in a crap result
if the usb has a line out, that might be of some use....does it? I'd be interested to know
An amp with its own DAC, like the Fiio E18 for example, would improve the sound quality. I've not used mine since I got my Exynos S7 though, the sound quality sounds good enough.
dazzer1975 said:
crap in, crap out
amplifying a crap headphone out (if it is crap to you where you think a seperate amp should be used) will result in a crap result
if the usb has a line out, that might be of some use....does it? I'd be interested to know
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah i have no idea, some people have said that getting a portable amp and plugging it to your phone will increase the audio quality :\ but your saying of "crap in, crap out" makes a lot of sense.. haha
jbpf77 said:
An amp with its own DAC, like the Fiio E18 for example, would improve the sound quality. I've not used mine since I got my Exynos S7 though, the sound quality sounds good enough.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Cheers for that, yeah i'll be getting the exynos as well is it as bad as everyone saying it is ? (sound quality)
dazzer1975 said:
crap in, crap out
amplifying a crap headphone out (if it is crap to you where you think a seperate amp should be used) will result in a crap result
if the usb has a line out, that might be of some use....does it? I'd be interested to know
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
portable amps don't utilize the 3.5mm jack. And yes, a portable amp will improve the quality. If you have the snapdragon version, then you'd want a portable dac/amp combo.
andiedee said:
Cheers for that, yeah i'll be getting the exynos as well is it as bad as everyone saying it is ? (sound quality)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
For me, listening at my desk at work in a fairly quiet environment, the sound quality and volume levels are absolutely fine. I used to have to use my E18 with my Note 4 all the time as the sound quality was really bad, especially noticeable as I had an M8 before that, but I've not used the E18 at all since I got the S7.
jbpf77 said:
For me, listening at my desk at work in a fairly quiet environment, the sound quality and volume levels are absolutely fine. I used to have to use my E18 with my Note 4 all the time as the sound quality was really bad, especially noticeable as I had an M8 before that, but I've not used the E18 at all since I got the S7.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
oh okay! sounds good to me
I got the m8 at the moment its 2 years old, gotta replace it with the s7e or the new HTC 10 i don't know if i can be bothered waiting for the HTC 10 though :\
I'm using my senheiser omx 980 and waiting for the oppo ha 2 hopefully it will sound different. I'm satisfied with the audio as it is now nonetheless
Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk
I have funded this on Kickstarter. Its a DAC that is connected via the USB port.
AQUA DAC
Shipping at the end of this month hopefully. Write up seems good. I will have to wait till it comes to see if it works.
andiedee said:
Cheers for that, yeah i'll be getting the exynos as well is it as bad as everyone saying it is ? (sound quality)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Which headphones are you Using??
I'm using a Pair of UE 900 (UVP 399€ quad-driver in-ear-monitors), and i have no problems, of deficites. I used an htc one m8 before, and i dont really notice a worse soundquality.
Sure, if you really try hard enough and compare then like you want to dissect it, you might find differences.
But like i said, i have no Problems there. The Output impedance is low enough with almost 2 Ohm, soundquality, and output Power is really enough (i can not listen to 100% Volume, it's just way too loud for me).
Of course, you'll ha ve to decide that yourself, maybe you have much better in-ears / headphones, and have much higher, more audiophile standards.
(but, if you dont dissect your music, but just want to enjoy listening, it's totally fine)
I have not found any reviews on audio quality. I only use the flac format for my audio collection so it would be nice if the mate 9 delivers good quality output.
Any ideas, links to specific audio reviews?
There was one review on YouTube that mention the audio quality of the mate 9 but as far as I know there is no significant improvement from the mate 8 which produced excellent clarity and lowest noise.
I'm pretty sure that they upgraded the dac
blackspp said:
I'm pretty sure that they upgraded the dac
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Click to collapse
I assume so. Let us wait for audio reviews.
blackspp said:
I'm pretty sure that they upgraded the dac
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Emerald Core said:
I assume so. Let us wait for audio reviews.
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Click to collapse
Check this out:
http://www.notebookcheck.net/Huawei-Mate-9-Phablet-Review.182825.0.html
:good:
That's extensive. One needs a master in smartphone sciences to comprehend all that
If you are really into audio get a portable DAC. Lg or ZTE.
Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk
https://www.youtube.com/results?q=Huawei+Mate+9&sp=EgIIAkgA6gMA
intruda119 said:
https://www.youtube.com/results?q=Huawei+Mate+9&sp=EgIIAkgA6gMA
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Click to collapse
Thanks for sharing that link.
That's seriously **** if audio's important. For me it is so now what...
What makes it worse is the LC V20 will come to Europe in midget form. Sheit!!
However, going back to the extensive gsmarena test:
Audio output is solid
When plugged into an active external amplifier, the Huawei Mate 9 posted excellent scores top to bottom, hinting at perfectly accurate audio reproduction. Its loudness was just above average so no real reasons for complaining here.
Headphones only cause a small drop in volume so it’s only average and a contained hike in stereo crosstalk. Overall the output remains very clear and while it’s not quite the best performer out there the Mate 9 certainly won’t let you down in any significant way.
http://www.gsmarena.com/huawei_mate_9-review-1520p7.php
Let me tell you that it wouldn't replace my external DAC/AMP. Mate 9 is a very good sounding compared to current competition. I wished if they could integrated a branded dac. The phone simply excels in every other aspect.
I think V20 is still the best in headphone quality as a stand alone. I haven't tested the V20 but I guess the specs say it all ?
blackspp said:
Thanks for sharing that link.
That's seriously **** if audio's important. For me it is so now what...
What makes it worse is the LC V20 will come to Europe in midget form. Sheit!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
blackspp said:
However, going back to the extensive gsmarena test:
Audio output is solid
When plugged into an active external amplifier, the Huawei Mate 9 posted excellent scores top to bottom, hinting at perfectly accurate audio reproduction. Its loudness was just above average so no real reasons for complaining here.
Headphones only cause a small drop in volume so it’s only average and a contained hike in stereo crosstalk. Overall the output remains very clear and while it’s not quite the best performer out there the Mate 9 certainly won’t let you down in any significant way.
http://www.gsmarena.com/huawei_mate_9-review-1520p7.php
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Exactly what I was going to say, GSMArena made a deep test and the audio part seems "decent", which for me is more than enough. If you really care about audio, maybe LG V20 or Axon 7 would be the way to go.
Big phone small sound..
https://youtu.be/3Gb9OicXcTo
cultofluna said:
Big phone small sound..
https://youtu.be/3Gb9OicXcTo
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Click to collapse
I saw that as well, but I have read some other reviews and the say that audio is pretty good, and stereo sound is as well.
Is the only review that says that audio is crap on Mate 9, besides is known that PocketNow, The Verge and BGR are Apple fans. If it's not Apple, is not good enough.
Vivi Xplay 6 is potentially going to be one of the best sounding smartphones this year
cultofluna said:
Big phone small sound..
https://youtu.be/3Gb9OicXcTo
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Emerald Core said:
Vivi Xplay 6 is potentially going to be one of the best sounding smartphones this year
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"The Mate 9's audio capabilities are equally beefy — up to a point. The phone combines a rear-firing loudspeaker with the main earpiece in a dual-speaker setup, similar to the HTC 10 or Huawei P9 Plus. At max volume level, the output is louder than you'd ever want it to be, which is great if you're showing someone a video in a crowded bar. But above around 50 percent volume, playback becomes increasingly tinny, with some distortion creeping in.
Fortunately, we've found that wired audio output is excellent with this phone. The 3.5mm jack (yep, it has one of those) is capable of driving demanding studio headphones with just as much power as the HTC 10."
http://www.androidcentral.com/huawei-mate-9
Galaxo60 said:
"The Mate 9's audio capabilities are equally beefy �¢?? up to a point. The phone combines a rear-firing loudspeaker with the main earpiece in a dual-speaker setup, similar to the HTC 10 or Huawei P9 Plus. At max volume level, the output is louder than you'd ever want it to be, which is great if you're showing someone a video in a crowded bar. But above around 50 percent volume, playback becomes increasingly tinny, with some distortion creeping in.
Fortunately, we've found that wired audio output is excellent with this phone. The 3.5mm jack (yep, it has one of those) is capable of driving demanding studio headphones with just as much power as the HTC 10."
http://www.androidcentral.com/huawei-mate-9
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I know all of that because I owned a Mate 9. It sounds excellent in both headphones and speakers. Speakers sound louder than ip7 but less detailed. As for headphones, it sounded better than my HTC 10.
blackspp said:
I have not found any reviews on audio quality. I only use the flac format for my audio collection so it would be nice if the mate 9 delivers good quality output.
Any ideas, links to specific audio reviews?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i test with my pi audio mr2
it still carry the huawei signature sound
-full body
-bassy but not bloated
-frontal vocal
-kinda remind me of what makes fiio x5 different than x3
my only complaint:
-theres lack of decay or reverbation.for example, snare drum or any hollow instrument doesnt sound as hollow as it should
like many review such as gmarena said; its no dap replacement, but its one of the best offered by smartphone
lg v10 or v20 might be better
and imo, dap like fiio x3 sound better
According to this review, the Mate 9 is at the bottom of the barrel for flagship devices:
I mean for most people it will be good enough but no DAC/amp replacement. It won't be able to drive demanding headphones. One thing that I can say is that the measurements made by the reviewer does not match what the audio codec in the Kirin 960 is capable of. So unless there is a hardware bottleneck somewhere it would be possible to improve it through software if Huawei wanted to. High performance audio usually results in higher power consumption so the current state of the audio quality might be a compromise between performance and battery life.
Trixanity said:
According to this review, the Mate 9 is at the bottom of the barrel for flagship devices:
.
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Click to collapse
Well, whatever the reviewers say or measure, my M9 sounds pretty good on my Bose cans, no complaints whatsoever!
Seems no one has yet made note of this Handsets audio capabilities...at least ive seen yet but I was very surprised to see listed 32bit audio :
Alert types Vibration; MP3, WAV ringtones
Loudspeaker Yes
3.5mm jack Yes
- 32-bit/384kHz audio
- Active noise cancellation with dedicated mic
Ive had galaxies in the past but none listed had hi-res capabilities till now and i was gonna get the V20 but figured i can go without the quad-DAC maybe on this since both use 32bit audio 192khz or above and get a handset that has all the hardware newest on the market instead hehe.
Lookin forward to hearing how it is...couldnt find reference to the specific DAC used.....not even sure how others are able to haha but would like to see how the V20 and S8 compare there.....the G6 also has 32bit audio but at 192khz FYI
where did you see that? My understanding was that even the NA G6 didn't get the quad DAC that was included with the Asian version.
shollywood said:
where did you see that? My understanding was that even the NA G6 didn't get the quad DAC that was included with the Asian version.
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Click to collapse
No sir u misread my post =) the G6 and S8 both have only listed 32bit audio. S8 has 32bit/384khz and G6 has 32bit/192khz. Check gsmarena http://m.gsmarena.com/samsung_galaxy_s8-8161.php
http://m.gsmarena.com/lg_g6-8466.php
bayfisher1958 said:
demos are much clearer in sound and quality s8s
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Click to collapse
Not quite sure what you mean there..... Are u saying the results given during a demo review won't be the actual given on a retail version? I admit hardware capabilities can be bogged down due to other factors like bloatware etc etc but that and most other issues conflicting can be rectified typically so... If thats what u were getting at above.... Then it's no problem really.
mcbright80 said:
Not quite sure what you mean there..... Are u saying the results given during a demo review won't be the actual given on a retail version? I admit hardware capabilities can be bogged down due to other factors like bloatware etc etc but that and most other issues conflicting can be rectified typically so... If thats what u were getting at above.... Then it's no problem really.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I believe he was trying to say that he tried the S8, listened to something pre-installed aka a demo and it sounds better than what he has heard before, presumably on the previous model. I would hope/expect that the sound quality has improved, everything else has so why not.
mcbright80 said:
No sir u misread my post =) the G6 and S8 both have only listed 32bit audio. S8 has 32bit/384khz and G6 has 32bit/192khz. Check gsmarena http://m.gsmarena.com/samsung_galaxy_s8-8161.php
http://m.gsmarena.com/lg_g6-8466.php
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Click to collapse
Sorry, my point was that those could be specs from Asian version of phone
shollywood said:
Sorry, my point was that those could be specs from Asian version of phone
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Click to collapse
AHHHH!!!! Well I was WAAAAY off then in my interpretation lol. I did also call LG themselves to verify those parts of the specs and it is listed on Samsungs site that it's 32bit dsd64/128 and does not have it stated it only is on certain handsets or restrictions on countries. Only states dsd playback can be limited depending on format below.
Yeah I had to make sure it's audio quality was exactly as advertised before I ordered the S8... Not a fan of Samsungs phones so if I was to get it it better be packed with specs I wanted enough to override buying my other choices on top lol.
Anything beyond 24 bit/96 kHz is just marketing spec wars and doesn't matter.
mcbright80 said:
AHHHH!!!! Well I was WAAAAY off then in my interpretation lol. I did also call LG themselves to verify those parts of the specs and it is listed on Samsungs site that it's 32bit dsd64/128 and does not have it stated it only is on certain handsets or restrictions on countries. Only states dsd playback can be limited depending on format below.
Yeah I had to make sure it's audio quality was exactly as advertised before I ordered the S8... Not a fan of Samsungs phones so if I was to get it it better be packed with specs I wanted enough to override buying my other choices on top lol.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It would be nice if they put out a standard device that had the same specs world wide, rather than us having to decipher which model has what etc. So you're taking the plunge and ordering??
Nitemare3219 said:
Anything beyond 24 bit/96 kHz is just marketing spec wars and doesn't matter.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have done the research up and down, sideways and backwards plus any other way around when concerning this argument and personally I can tell quite a few telltale differences in audio quality in formats, bit depth, bit rate etc etc and there IS noticeable differences.
The issue is, and reason, this debate is still ongoing is there are soooooo many factors/variables and/or conditions that come into play concerning any audio quality testing. It will impact what anyone finds in their results if they are even able to tell small, subtle variations in sound quality to the more obvious to start....if you have one person who is average and a layman to the technical information overall on audio then it wont make a diff or you have another who is fluent it changes the results substantially....then taking in account the soundbites format origin, how it was converted exactly from origin if it isn't lossless, what hardware/software was used to do so like using Audacity to convert/record/modify vs Soundforge, what computer/OS they used for conversion/modifications and testing with, were there any external DACs used, and audio cable connections used to route music, Headphone/speakers/bluetooth quality, etc etc its nutty....its super detailed, and change one variable in the overall process could effect things more than expected usually IE: reformatting a FLAC to MP3 then to AAC HE.
OH and i forgot that I found changing songs and stuff also will really give you more differences in results its crazy. I dont mean just change from certain genre types like classical or rock soundbites but from specific songs themselves can make a difference alone. I am still fiddling with options, formats and constantly changing songs of all types back and forth and back again while changing audio modifications one at a time....over and over and over and over.....seriously....so yes it does make a difference, it IS marketing BS in there too of course appreciate that level or need to but whether some audio bite is 24bit or 64bit or whatever is important, does make a difference in sound overall quality in the end but just may not be as important or useful depending on whom the audience or consumer is.
Besides....compared to the overblown bull of forever upgrading how many megapixels and such for phones the marketing on audio quality is barely a BLIP.....rarely do they ever put much info out on audio capabilities for those who would like it unlike camera capabilities. Every stupid review on any handset spends 1/4 of that review talking about how good the camera is on that handset, compares it to others WITH photos showing the degrees of differences in each handset, blah blah blah....just so some more narcissistic tards can have the best camera to take another 1000 selfies, pics of what they are eating or drinking at the moment or some other mundane crap they think is so relevant that everyone else HAS to see all the time....none of them know what any of the specs there are for more than the barest of reason but they give every detail though on review cause that sells.
Do these people need such high specs for their endless selfie takes...NOPE....unless you are a hobbyist into photography on whatever level/area or photography by trade then you won't really benefit from having 20 megapixels or apps that modify photos in such detail and so many really, esp if you don't fully understand those details. Its by far the hugest selling point on of any of the spec wars on phones than any other hardware part easily and all to get people to really need that upgrade for more megapixels cause more is better and they need more SELFIES and more megapixels is what the ads/salesmen say will give you that the best quality so the picture of their duckface pose or pic of what they are eating for lunch is clearer, crisper, and more detailed than the next persons on FB lol..and also warrants making handsets more expensive across the board for everyone even if they dont give a monkey a** about that addition....still gotta pay for it.
Don't let anyone talk about audio capabilities though cause that quickly gets little to no input or someone just pooing all over it cause its not important to them or they think its useless....=P.
shollywood said:
It would be nice if they put out a standard device that had the same specs world wide, rather than us having to decipher which model has what etc. So you're taking the plunge and ordering??
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yup, already pre-ordered the S8.....so im looking forward to see how it performs. I was hesitant to by the LG as well for many factors as well really but i think this time around i made the best choice option overall in handsets.
deleted
there may be differing audio quality between the SD835 and EXYNOS versions. SD variant has Aqstic most prob and the Exynos a home built LUCKY chip that actually out performed the S7 Snapdragon variant.
Now here's the thing, a DAC's sampling prowess isnt the indicator of quality. Its what amp, noise crossover cancellation and tuning is involved. If a DAC can support a Hi-Res sampling rate its all down to how its tuned and engineered into the phone.
mikey_sk said:
there may be differing audio quality between the SD835 and EXYNOS versions. SD variant has Aqstic most prob and the Exynos a home built LUCKY chip that actually out performed the S7 Snapdragon variant.
Now here's the thing, a DAC's sampling prowess isnt the indicator of quality. Its what amp, noise crossover cancellation and tuning is involved. If a DAC can support a Hi-Res sampling rate its all down to how its tuned and engineered into the phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah that's a whole bunch of variables to be considered that could be a deal breaker but I never can get that information across the board for any device. I never can find info on DACs for different phones like that..... Where did u get your info? I know bits of information about how all that works and to help find out a phones true quality of audio capabilities in the end but nothing complete.
I know that the Exynos version is for whatever reason always outperforming the SD variant but why the US consumers get the loser of the two is beyond me but really effed up.
I can only assume it's due to our regions having some sort of limitation/regulation on handsets capabilities like they do with our Internet.... Many places outside of US have home Internet service 3 or 4 times the speed we get.
Tidal vs spotify and every other music streaming app
Hey guys, after a week of use with the akg ear buds, and Beats solo 3 headphones I was extremely disappointed honestly felt it sounded worse than my s7 active and s5 tbh. Good clarity but terrible eq settings no matter what i tried. Needless to say I was upset for not buying the g6 especially since i own around 10 sets of headphones ranging between 99 and 800 dollars. After reading ever bit of info I could find I just could not figure out what the issue was . Well I have been a paying member of spotify for years and love it, huge fan BUT...... After a lot of research found out that tidal offers hifi audio forget the exact specs but 1600 or 1700 kbps flac. The first note that I played made me literally start laughing. This phone sounds incredible with all my headphones. Its really unbelievably clear for the size of this phone and hardware limitations. As far as,I know it's pretty hard to find dsd audio but for 19.99 you can get tidals hifi, I'm currently using tune free trial. If you haven't I recommend installing it and at least using the free 30 days. Catalogue is not quite as large as others subscriptions but I'm fairly pleased with the audio now. My g6 comes next week unfortunately I haven't put hands on one yet but can't wait to compare the quad dac with the (no one seems to know )s8 dac. I'll post my opinion of it after a few days of use. Again I don't think the issue is the hardware I believe it's just a matter of finding hi resolution audio.
michaelpianella said:
Hey guys, after a week of use with the akg ear buds, and Beats solo 3 headphones I was extremely disappointed honestly felt it sounded worse than my s7 active and s5 tbh. Good clarity but terrible eq settings no matter what i tried. Needless to say I was upset for not buying the g6 especially since i own around 10 sets of headphones ranging between 99 and 800 dollars. After reading ever bit of info I could find I just could not figure out what the issue was . Well I have been a paying member of spotify for years and love it, huge fan BUT...... After a lot of research found out that tidal offers hifi audio forget the exact specs but 1600 or 1700 kbps flac. The first note that I played made me literally start laughing. This phone sounds incredible with all my headphones. Its really unbelievably clear for the size of this phone and hardware limitations. As far as,I know it's pretty hard to find dsd audio but for 19.99 you can get tidals hifi, I'm currently using tune free trial. If you haven't I recommend installing it and at least using the free 30 days. Catalogue is not quite as large as others subscriptions but I'm fairly pleased with the audio now. My g6 comes next week unfortunately I haven't put hands on one yet but can't wait to compare the quad dac with the (no one seems to know )s8 dac. I'll post my opinion of it after a few days of use. Again I don't think the issue is the hardware I believe it's just a matter of finding hi resolution audio.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You mean we have to use hires audio like flac to get the most out of it
How about driving heavy headphones ... Can it get loud
Definitely louder
Besides the clear improvement in quality it absolutely gets loud, I was maxing the volume out previously but using hifi I stop at the red on the volume meter. Any louder with my beats would definitely be detrimental to my hearing but I have taken them off and maxed it out. No distortion and ridiculously loud. I should say also that I use my solo3s and all my wireless headphones with the wire plugged in. That along with enabling the uhq setting makes a noticeable difference. If you aren't an audiophile tidal hifi provably isn't worth the extra money. But if you have to have the best audio available that's the best I've found so far.
Great... pls do compare with LG v20 or LG g6 and let us know
michaelpianella said:
Hey guys, after a week of use with the akg ear buds, and Beats solo 3 headphones I was extremely disappointed honestly felt it sounded worse than my s7 active and s5 tbh. Good clarity but terrible eq settings no matter what i tried. Needless to say I was upset for not buying the g6 especially since i own around 10 sets of headphones ranging between 99 and 800 dollars. After reading ever bit of info I could find I just could not figure out what the issue was . Well I have been a paying member of spotify for years and love it, huge fan BUT...... After a lot of research found out that tidal offers hifi audio forget the exact specs but 1600 or 1700 kbps flac. The first note that I played made me literally start laughing. This phone sounds incredible with all my headphones. Its really unbelievably clear for the size of this phone and hardware limitations. As far as,I know it's pretty hard to find dsd audio but for 19.99 you can get tidals hifi, I'm currently using tune free trial. If you haven't I recommend installing it and at least using the free 30 days. Catalogue is not quite as large as others subscriptions but I'm fairly pleased with the audio now. My g6 comes next week unfortunately I haven't put hands on one yet but can't wait to compare the quad dac with the (no one seems to know )s8 dac. I'll post my opinion of it after a few days of use. Again I don't think the issue is the hardware I believe it's just a matter of finding hi resolution audio.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
im assuming you've imported the Asian G6 variant, as the American version doesnt have the quad DAC right? Or is that just for europe?
Yup, wasn't certain about the U.S. version but I knew for sure the Korean version had it so went with that, kinda wishing I had done the same with my s8 but I was too impatient, that 6gb ram would've been nice to have.
Hello,
I find headphones dongle with my earphones quite lacking quality/soundstage, but searching through forums I stumbled upon this: Viper detects our essential dongle as a speaker. Was it fixed, or do you have any suggestions how to improve sound quality?
I'm using AuriSonics ASG 1Plus, which are an excellent IEM's, with low Impedence:
(11 ohm +/ 10% @ 1kHz16 ; Sensitivity: [email protected]).
So there should be no problem powering 'em and dishing as good sound performance as possible.
I know essential uses Cirrus DAC (which is average, but I'm not really buying any high-quality USB-c DAC or portable AMP).
I come from Pixel XL, which had dedicated 3.5mm jack and SD DAC, it sounded okay and WAY better than essential.
Some EQ tweaks can elevate a bit of problems, but I'm looking for a more all-around solution (whether it's fixed viper(drivers/libraries/etc.)(( or something else)).
Thanks!
Bump.
Tautvydas said:
Hello,
I find headphones dongle with my earphones quite lacking quality/soundstage, but searching through forums I stumbled upon this: Viper detects our essential dongle as a speaker. Was it fixed, or do you have any suggestions how to improve sound quality?
I'm using AuriSonics ASG 1Plus, which are an excellent IEM's, with low Impedence:
(11 ohm +/ 10% @ 1kHz16 ; Sensitivity: [email protected]).
So there should be no problem powering 'em and dishing as good sound performance as possible.
I know essential uses Cirrus DAC (which is average, but I'm not really buying any high-quality USB-c DAC or portable AMP).
I come from Pixel XL, which had dedicated 3.5mm jack and SD DAC, it sounded okay and WAY better than essential.
Some EQ tweaks can elevate a bit of problems, but I'm looking for a more all-around solution (whether it's fixed viper(drivers/libraries/etc.)(( or something else)).
Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How about this DAC?
https://www.zorloo.com/zuperdac-s
https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/zuperdac-s-zuper-charge-your-music#/
I bought it when it was pre-release for quite a bit less.
Much better than the included dongle that comes with the phone.
tech_head said:
How about this DAC?
https://www.zorloo.com/zuperdac-s
https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/zuperdac-s-zuper-charge-your-music#/
I bought it when it was pre-release for quite a bit less.
Much better than the included dongle that comes with the phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
To be honest, I'm not up for buying any DAC's, but this one got me quite interested since it's for pc as well.
How is it?
Thanks!
Tautvydas said:
To be honest, I'm not up for buying any DAC's, but this one got me quite interested since it's for pc as well.
How is it?
Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Interested in knowing as well. After my experience with the Aero Indiegogo, I have a pretty bad taste for Zorloo.
stompysan said:
Interested in knowing as well. After my experience with the Aero Indiegogo, I have a pretty bad taste for Zorloo.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I bought the first headphone Z:ero and got them on time.
They worked great.
I bought the DAC while still on pre-order and received it a while ago.
For a small DAC the quality is really good.
The volume buttons make it very usable since you can set the input to the DAC from the phone at an optimal level then use the volume buttons on the DAC for the input of the car stereo, headphones, etc.
I'm quite happy and it's much better than the little dongle that comes with the phone.
Is it Focusrite or Apogee? No, but it's not $2K either.
I found the same issue. I don't think it is the DAC, but instead the native Android USB/DAC driver.
https://forum.xda-developers.com/essential-phone/themes/finding-music-player-essential-phones-t3710793
The problem is that this won't work for streaming applications. But I listen to FLAC / hi-bit MP3 so it solved the issue for me.
TimboC2000 said:
I found the same issue. I don't think it is the DAC, but instead the native Android USB/DAC driver.
https://forum.xda-developers.com/essential-phone/themes/finding-music-player-essential-phones-t3710793
The problem is that this won't work for streaming applications. But I listen to FLAC / hi-bit MP3 so it solved the issue for me.
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Click to collapse
Thanks! Great thread you've created, really explains it.
Which app would you prefer, Neutron or Onkyo? You explained about Onkyo, but it's almost 10 euros for me, Neutron is a bit cheaper and I was thinking for quite some time to buy it. Had it on my old Blackberry Z10, it was native to BB OS.
Right now I'm using foobar, since I'm using it on pc, where I think it's the best music player, but when it comes to Android, you live you learn hehe.
Tautvydas said:
Thanks! Great thread you've created, really explains it.
Which app would you prefer, Neutron or Onkyo? You explained about Onkyo, but it's almost 10 euros for me, Neutron is a bit cheaper and I was thinking for quite some time to buy it. Had it on my old Blackberry Z10, it was native to BB OS.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Unfortunately, I only have experience with Onkyo and Hiby. The Onkyo is pretty well developed and something I use fairly regularly so it was worth the money to me.
Hopefully somebody else can provide comments on Neutron for you.
Anyone tried the Viper audio add-on in Magisk? I purchased Bluetooth Skull Candy Ink'd for $20 and love the sound quality. Actually have the volume at 80% most of the time
Sent from my PH-1 using XDA-Developers Legacy app
I just purchased a pixel audio adapter, as it measures well for its price ($9).
The market for high-end usbc adapters isn't quite there yet it seems, a traditional dac+amp setup is probably still better if you need more power.
If you're using IEMs though, powerful amps tend to have a higher noise floor.
Just tested Neutron player, it's excellent.
Huge increase in soundstage, overall processing quality, sounds great.
Magic is done under Audio Hardware options, selecting 'Direct USB Driver' to allow direct access to the USB device.
Duo8 said:
I just purchased a pixel audio adapter, as it measures well for its price ($9).
The market for high-end usbc adapters isn't quite there yet it seems, a traditional dac+amp setup is probably still better if you need more power.
If you're using IEMs though, powerful amps tend to have a higher noise floor.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have that adapter and the Essential adapter. Using Onkyo HF application it was able to use multiple bit rates with the Essential adapter, but the Google adapter only works at 48kHz.
I have the Sabaj Da3 as well. It works great with the Onkyo HF app, it supports multiple sample rates and upconverts to DSD512 as well. Issues are: 1. It's huge. 2: It burns significant battery, especially if upconverting. 3. When I bought it was $90, right now it is $119 on Amazon - so it's expensive!
Honestly, for non-critical on the go listening the Essential adapter works really well once you bypass the Android USB driver.
---------- Post added at 06:47 PM ---------- Previous post was at 06:46 PM ----------
Tautvydas said:
Just tested Neutron player, it's excellent.
Huge increase in soundstage, overall processing quality, sounds great.
Magic is done under Audio Hardware options, selecting 'Direct USB Driver' to allow direct access to the USB device.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Glad it fixed your issues!
TimboC2000 said:
Unfortunately, I only have experience with Onkyo and Hiby. The Onkyo is pretty well developed and something I use fairly regularly so it was worth the money to me.
Hopefully somebody else can provide comments on Neutron for you.
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Thank you for your original thread which pointed me to these apps..
1. I tried Hiby, and did like its music quality, but its very rough for me.. I could not make/receive voice calls when it locks my headphones.. Also it does not show any info on the actual bitrates its using..
2. I am trying out Neutron trial version, which is a 5 day limited use full feature version. It too seems to be limiting the output to 48kHz. Yet to try Onkyo.
mvadu said:
Thank you for your original thread which pointed me to these apps..
1. I tried Hiby, and did like its music quality, but its very rough for me.. I could not make/receive voice calls when it locks my headphones.. Also it does not show any info on the actual bitrates its using..
2. I am trying out Neutron trial version, which is a 5 day limited use full feature version. It too seems to be limiting the output to 48kHz. Yet to try Onkyo.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
USB Audio Player Pro also seems well regarded and developed. I believe Hiby is a single developer and is much more of a work in progress.
Just found the perfect setup for my IEM's.
Ainur Sauron Magisk module and Neutron player's "direct USB support" option. Sounds amazing now!
Had quite similar experience in the ol' days with Colorfly C3 and Klipsch iem's (can't remember the model).
Or just that I'm easily impressed
Tried viper, just really dislike its signature sound. Clarity, bass, convolver turned on and tuned a bit, still, not to my ears.
I was looking for a relatively cheap Bluetooth DAC that could do the job for me. One of my friends were using a AK XB10, which I tried a few years ago when he first got it. The DAC performs great when paired with most of the phone I was using. But I forgot Aptx HD are a Qualcomm IP and it didn't work with my G950N with Exyons SoC (but strangely Aptx works)
I only found out the problem after I use the DAC for 15 minutes. the sound quality is really disappointing. And I started to google a bit and learn the Exynos don't have Aptx HD, and all the way the xb10 is using Aptx. The difference was so huge that my 24bit flac sounds worse than 192kbps MP3. And sadly the AK xb10 didn't support LDAC.
So now I have to buy another Bluetooth DAC now.
Type2501 said:
I was looking for a relatively cheap Bluetooth DAC that could do the job for me. One of my friends were using a AK XB10, which I tried a few years ago when he first got it. The DAC performs great when paired with most of the phone I was using. But I forgot Aptx HD are a Qualcomm IP and it didn't work with my G950N with Exyons SoC (but strangely Aptx works)
I only found out the problem after I use the DAC for 15 minutes. the sound quality is really disappointing. And I started to google a bit and learn the Exynos don't have Aptx HD, and all the way the xb10 is using Aptx. The difference was so huge that my 24bit flac sounds worse than 192kbps MP3. And sadly the AK xb10 didn't support LDAC.
So now I have to buy another Bluetooth DAC now.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Check out the FiiO BTR3, it supports LDAC which should work regardless of processor since it's in base android and also theoretically higher quality than aptx.
TheTofu said:
Check out the FiiO BTR3, it supports LDAC which should work regardless of processor since it's in base android and also theoretically higher quality than aptx.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I bought the earstudio ES-100 from Amazon, now waiting for it to arrive. It is slightly more expensive than the BTR3 and xb10 , but reviews suggested it should sounds better.
Speaking of LDAC, I read a article online about LDAC vs aptx HD, turn out that most of the time LDAC is default at 660kbps, not the advertised 990kbps. And the sound quality when using 660kbps is not necessarily better than atxp HD.
Type2501 said:
I bought the earstudio ES-100 from Amazon, now waiting for it to arrive. It is slightly more expensive than the BTR3 and xb10 , but reviews suggested it should sounds better.
Speaking of LDAC, I read a article online about LDAC vs aptx HD, turn out that most of the time LDAC is default at 660kbps, not the advertised 990kbps. And the sound quality when using 660kbps is not necessarily better than atxp HD.
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Click to collapse
While true, you can also go into developer options and pick a specific bitrate to use, and considering it's going to be in a car with maybe 2-4ft of range i don't see 990kbps having issues.
The article makes it sound like it's a great big hassle for regular users, but I posit that regular users won't notice any difference in quality if they're just playing "high quality" Spotify, and if you do care enough to play files at high res you should be familiar enough with tinkering to tap a few buttons.
Now the better argument is whether the earstudio actually sounds better than the FiiO, and basing off of reviews that compare the two directly that answer seems to be that it's not better but a little different, though it does have some nifty features that the FiiO lacks.
Then again with it being in a car it likely won't matter since they're more useful for headphones.
What I wish someone would do is make something like either of those devices but without a battery so that it doesn't stay connected when the car is off.
TheTofu said:
While true, you can also go into developer options and pick a specific bitrate to use, and considering it's going to be in a car with maybe 2-4ft of range i don't see 990kbps having issues.
The article makes it sound like it's a great big hassle for regular users, but I posit that regular users won't notice any difference in quality if they're just playing "high quality" Spotify, and if you do care enough to play files at high res you should be familiar enough with tinkering to tap a few buttons.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I first found out the problem with XB10 after I dig into the developer menu and found no aptx HD. I think that article is for those who don't really knows what Bluetooth audio should perform in the real world. And also a informative read for me, since I only had a rough idea of Bluetooth audio standard before.
Now the better argument is whether the earstudio actually sounds better than the FiiO, and basing off of reviews that compare the two directly that answer seems to be that it's not better but a little different, though it does have some nifty features that the FiiO lacks.
Then again with it being in a car it likely won't matter since they're more useful for headphones.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Think in a bit more on that, it might be just down to which amp works better with which iem. Since I had no where to test the earstuio, I can only cross my finger and hope it works well with my Westone w4r.
BTW, I wish my car is quiet enough so I can care about bluetooth audio quality. The tyre noise is just bad that it doesn't matter anymore. And only two door speaker doesn't help ether.
What I wish someone would do is make something like either of those devices but without a battery so that it doesn't stay connected when the car is off.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think some sony head unit already support LDAC and didn't cost much more than your FiiO, if car audio is all you want. And you don't have to amplify the signal twice (or is there a line out on the FiiO? Idk)
Type2501 said:
I first found out the problem with XB10 after I dig into the developer menu and found no aptx HD. I think that article is for those who don't really knows what Bluetooth audio should perform in the real world. And also a informative read for me, since I only had a rough idea of Bluetooth audio standard before.
Think in a bit more on that, it might be just down to which amp works better with which iem. Since I had no where to test the earstuio, I can only cross my finger and hope it works well with my Westone w4r.
BTW, I wish my car is quiet enough so I can care about bluetooth audio quality. The tyre noise is just bad that it doesn't matter anymore. And only two door speaker doesn't help ether.
I think some sony head unit already support LDAC and didn't cost much more than your FiiO, if car audio is all you want. And you don't have to amplify the signal twice (or is there a line out on the FiiO? Idk)
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Click to collapse
Fair enough about road noise, I'm hoping to fix some wind noise at some point. Tires are already as good as can be pretty much, without being wasteful, you always want the best you can get though, it's arguably the most critical part of your car in emergency situations (having enough grip to break and stop, emergency lane change, or accelerate and gtfo)
Issue with the head unit is that most modern cars are notoriously hard to put head units in. My car is a 2012 and I need like 2-3 different adapters that add an additional 80-120 to the cost, plus the time to install, all to get a piece of my dash to stick out like a sore thumb since it's not a factory look.
And even then, the head unit itself would cost at least 100, whereas a simple USB powered dongle with just line-out and minimal processing I think could easily be made and sold for maybe 50 to max out bluetooth quality, and it would be easy to take with me to another car rather than having to break down the dash just to get the head unit out.
Personally I'm eagerly hoping and awaiting for SBC HD (aka SBC Dual Channel Audio) to be merged into AOSP and released as part of either Android Q or whatever comes next, as this would increase the max bitrate to 512kbps for all bluetooth devices made since 2007 whereas devices made after 2015 would have effectively any birate they want while using the SBC Codec. Free audio quality upgrade for pretty much all devices, especially those not supporting AptX or better.
For more info see: https://forum.xda-developers.com/android/software-hacking/improve-bluetooth-audio-quality-t3832615
I will likely attempt patching the library myself if rooting ever becomes available for the S9+