OT - digital out on Android phone? - Page 2

Assuming that a buss powered usb hub will work here is my least ghetto brainstormed solution.to streaming digital audio from android to a driverless DAC.

1. Install Cyanogenmod7(do you need a special version?) or wait for Ice Cream Sandwich to come out and install that on your android device.

2.Buy a small USB hub like this one. http://www.google.com/products/catalog?hl=en&q=2+port+powered+usb+hub&gs_upl=1075669l1084447l5l1084888l22l18l0l3l3l1l317l3272l0.10.7.1l21l0&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.,cf.osb&biw=1280&bih=851&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbm=shop&cid=3294761403035180482&sa=X&ei=6Tf9TuTyJrDZiQLT3PzCDg&ved=0CH8Q8wIwAA

3.Buy or make a portable battery pack capable of 5.5v output. I found this one which seems nice.http://www.bixnet.com/5v7libapa.html This is more expensive then I was planning to spend on this project but I can rationalize it by noting that it will also give me 4 times more battery life on my phone or other portable devices. This is perfect for long buss rides, camping, or plane trips. It is also more bulky then I would prefer, but still not so big that the end unit can't fit in a jacket, or rear pant pocket.

4. Buy 2 very short USB cables, one to connect the hub to the DAC, and the other one to connect the hub to the Android.

5. Bunch it all up. I think I'm going to use glued on velcro strips and straps. The Battery is biggest being about .5 inches wider then my Gs2, I would put that in the middle of the stack, and then velcro the phone face up to the center of it. Then I would put the e7 face up on the other side of the battery, but all the way to the side leaving a good 1.2 inches or so for the USB hub and excess cabling to be velcrod on, and the cabling tied up. This should make a fairly symmetrical cube of electronics to pack in your pocket.

6.Attach the USB hubs male USB cable to the battery pack, then connect the android and the DAC to the hub.

7.Connect the headphones and recieve portable sonic bliss!

The end unit will be about (4.6" x 3.4" x 1.7"). That is about .5 inches wider then an iphone, about the same length, but It will be approximately 2.5 times as thick. Clunky for a phone but not to big to pocket. Remember you will have 4X to 5X the battery life, and the sonic bliss! If you use velcro, you can always tear off the phone to free it of it's harness. Also when the device are all connected you can charge all three devices with only the one battery pack charger cord.

I am currently using a Nook Color (rooted running Cyanogen mod 7) which is using a Fiio E7 DAC without a hub. I am also able to use my Hifiman EF-2A, but ofcourse that is not portable.

I am patiently waiting for Cyanogen 9 to have a release for my Galaxy Nexus, so I can use that as my source. The CM release that is out now for the GN does not support USB-Host for the digital audio stream :-(

BTW Ice Cream Sandwich does not support USB Host at this time.....

skip the ghetto stuff and wait for the Fiio E17 Alpen. It's gonna be a pretty good DAC looking at the specs and it has it's own battery. All you'd need is CyanogenMod, a proper USB OTG cable and the E17 Alpen. If you don't want to wait, the Fiio E7 works too and is available right now. Has it's own battery too. No need for ghetto hub rigs. :) The powered hub is only for DACs that require power through USB.

Sounds interesting...has anyone here tried to connect a Cyanogen modded Galaxy S2 with a USB-DAC?

@ OT

I thought you said earlier in the postings that you have to have a powered hub in order for the e7 to work with a phone? Not the case?

I tried just using a USB OTG out from a stock android SGS2 to a uDAC first gen

Sometimes it doesn't detect. Sometimes it says it does not have enough power for external device.

Hopefully ICS changes things

Hmmmm... after reading this thread I think I'm going to try my Galaxy Nexus + D12.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Negakinu 

skip the ghetto stuff and wait for the Fiio E17 Alpen. It's gonna be a pretty good DAC looking at the specs and it has it's own battery. All you'd need is CyanogenMod, a proper USB OTG cable and the E17 Alpen. If you don't want to wait, the Fiio E7 works too and is available right now. Has it's own battery too. No need for ghetto hub rigs. :) The powered hub is only for DACs that require power through USB.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Raistlan 

@ OT

 

I thought you said earlier in the postings that you have to have a powered hub in order for the e7 to work with a phone? Not the case?

Nope! I learned you only need the powered hub for sources without their own battery .The E7 and E17 will work just fine. :)

Quote:

Originally Posted by zheric 

Hmmmm... after reading this thread I think I'm going to try my Galaxy Nexus + D12.

You will have to wait until either Cyanogen 9 comes out and you install the ROM on your GN or when Google allows the digital audio stream to access the USB port (USB-host)

I wonder if that is something that Supercurio may be able to program and add to his voodoo control?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Raistlan 

@Negakinu
Thank you for the continued support.
Do you still need a nightly build of cyogenmod or is there a stable version which supports this?
I'm wary to flash my phone with an unstable os.
Also, can you confirm that ICS will support this feature. I think the official update is coming very soon for my gs2. Am i better off with cygenomod though? I dont want tracking software on my phone. I also want to have unregulated teathering to my laptop. Is Cyogenmod good for these reasons

I don't know about ICS's OTG support. I've yet to compile an ICS build for either my Nook or ZTE Blade. I do know that the latest CyanogenMod7 nightlies are more stable than the "stable" releases. :)

http://code.google.com/p/android/issues/detail?id=24614&colspec=ID%20Type%20Status%20Owner%20Summary%20Stars

I think people have tried to raise this issue up and are trying to get google to do something.

star this...I'm not too sure how it works, but I think that it gets "upvoted" when there are more stars or something.

Either way, it would not take too much time and would potentially be helpful

:)

(ps. to star, just click on the blank star next to "Issue 24614")

I see that the Nook Color runs Gingerbread as stock, which leaves me hopeful.  Has anyone with a different device running Cyanogen 7 tried this functionality?  I'd install it on my Galaxy Note and try, but the model is too new to get a version of CM7.  And I was going to load up the beta version of CM9 tonight, but after reading the previous post about USB functionality not yet working in CM9, I guess there's no reason to bother.  And who knows when Google will implement the driver support, given their empty claim that it would be part if Ice Cream Sandwich.

Hey Negakinu have you had any issues with noise from the nook color fiio e7 setup when the screen is on.  I just got the fiio e7 for my nook color because I plan to install it in my car and am running the latest ICS on the nook color and whenever I play music with the screen on there is almost like a popping noise from the headphones.  Just wanted to see if you encountered this as well. 

ps.  It also happened when I used a CM7 nightly, so it's not isolated to the ICS install.