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Android phones and USB DACs - Page 2

post #16 of 2361
2/26/12 at 9:44pm

starred and posted in a local audio enthusiast forum. please help to spread this as much as you can gs1000.gif

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post #17 of 2361
2/27/12 at 10:58pm

Vote bump!  smily_headphones1.gif

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post #18 of 2361
2/29/12 at 4:04am

 I voted for this already. It has 781 votes, hopefully google will take notice before my RAZR gets ICS in Q2.

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post #19 of 2361
2/29/12 at 10:10pm

I've been posting about this potential feature since the pre-Froyo days, but especially since ICS made the lack of it seem an oversight.  At one point, Fiio was considering making USB DAC compatibility with Android part of the E-17's feature set, but I seemed to be the only person on that thread who stressed its importance.

 

Nice of danielb to find such an effective way to popularize this request and mobilize those who want to be able to use a USB DAC.  Starred, promoted and publicized on other sites.

 

The ability to use an external DAC would definitely help Android sales on this site alone.  I personally am not about to buy a post-Wolfson Galaxy device until I can bypass Samsung's unholy partnership with Yamaha.

 

And I agree that USB is the beginning of DAC implementation.  As much as I'd like to see a bluetooth DAC solution as well, a lot of people own USB DACs already, battery life can be an issue with bluetooth, and the initial cost of bluetooth DACs would be relatively high. 

 

And think of the ultimate price difference between an iPhone and an Android device if proprietary DACs were unnecessary on the latter.  Audiophiles would flock to Android and hard and software options for audiophiles would increase.


Edited by scrypt - 2/29/12 at 10:18pm
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post #20 of 2361
3/3/12 at 7:06pm

822 votes so far...

 

My decision to buy a Tablet is conditioned to this issue.

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post #21 of 2361
3/5/12 at 4:55pm

An average of 17 daily votes only, and the frequency is decreasing frown.gif

 

It is going to take ages to reach the required votes!

 

And all Google has to do is to add a couple of simple lines of code... But there are other 18,305 issues calling their attention.

 

There are currently 246,822 registered users on head-fi.org. Perhaps head-fi could make an announcement to call for support to vote the Android DAC Audio feature on Google smily_headphones1.gif

 

The DAC manufacturers should also be interested in this issue. There are millions of Android devices out there, with the potential to be connected to an external DAC!!

 


Edited by Pingfloid - 3/5/12 at 5:24pm
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post #22 of 2361
3/12/12 at 11:56pm

bump

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post #23 of 2361
3/13/12 at 6:12am

A little FYI, Franco is a brilliant dev in the android community.  Currently using his kernel on my phone which gives options to oc/uc, change gamma, & enhance audio on my Galaxy Nexus.  Looks like he's giving it a shot =D

 

https://plus.google.com/106873500108976028532/posts/3fb1yDEawb2

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post #24 of 2361
3/18/12 at 1:08am

bump!

 

1000 votes so far. Why does it takes so long? It seems that everybody is already using an iPad  tongue.gif

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post #25 of 2361
3/20/12 at 8:43am

Eagerly awaiting this, even if my lil Samsung Galaxy Mini S550 never gets it I'll gladly upgrade to a phone that does support it.

 

Carrying this blasted Linux like device with an SD slot and playing software around as my phone anyway, adding on my new iBasso D-Zero DAC/AMP could turn it into a wonder tool.

 

Given it has such a brilliant DAC and a pretty decent AMP its a wet dream to be able to get USB digital audio out to it.

 

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post #26 of 2361
3/25/12 at 11:02am

i voted too

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post #27 of 2361
3/27/12 at 1:24pm

I understand that CM7 has this USB implementation.  We already know it works with the Nook Color.  Has anyone tried it with one of the phones supported by CM7?  I would, but my phone is too new to get CM7, and CM9 isn't even in Beta yet.

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post #28 of 2361
4/4/12 at 4:24pm
Thread Starter 

Hi everyone!

 

First of all thanks for your support on the issue and raising it at other forums. So far it's gained 1000 votes and is about to become the 15th highest issue (for new issues in the last year it's second on the ladder). I'm not sure how they allocate which issues go forward for review, as some with fewer votes have been looked into, but it seems like it has enough of a voice to at least draw attention (of course the more votes the better, so keep promoting the issue!).

 

In relation to other Android news where USB DAC's are concerned:

 

  • As mentioned the Archos G9 series have had support for USB DACs added officially from Archos. I have one shipping to me right now and also an E17 at home, so will report back on how it goes.
  • Several unofficial kernel developers are working on supporting USB DACs, so Rooted users on several devices may have access to this over coming months.
  • In relation to CM7 support - it's not supported as far as I'm aware in CM7. The Nook workaround involves flashing a custom non-CM kernel to a CM7 build, the kernel itself doesn't signify CM support across their range of supported devices (although I believe they are looking at it for CM9)

 

Apt-X supports stereo bitrates up to ~370kbps, so not particularly suited to FLAC listening at this stage, so while a very worthwhile thing I still think support for wired DACs is needed (not to mention wired options are more available and tend to be cheaper). On the topic of Apt-X I have an HTC One X coming to me shortly, and also an Samsung HS3000 Apt-X capable bluetooth receiver. Will be very interested to see how it is vs wired connection, particularly for FLAC-encoded stuff.

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post #29 of 2361
4/4/12 at 8:33pm

Thank you for the information NZtechfreak,

 

Please, keep us informed about the Archos G9. If it can drive a USB DAC, the next question is: can it handle audio with higher resolution than 44kHz / 128Kbps? There is a Android 4.0 project called ALSA (Advanced Linux Sound Architecture) source code which could allow 24 bits / 192 kHz. But this is only a project, not a reality. I don't want to be a Guinea Pig, so I am seriously considering a Windows tablet, like the Gigabyte S1080

 

FYI: I opened this thread about the G9 at the Archos Fan forum: http://forum.archosfans.com/viewtopic.php?f=84&t=64388&p=396644

 

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post #30 of 2361
4/5/12 at 1:22am
Thread Starter 

Hi Pingfloid! I've seen the thread over there, may even have posted in it actually, will keep it updated here and there in relation to how the E17 is (will also try my HiFiMan Express via an externally powered hub to see if that is a go).

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