Android phones and USB DACs - Page 59

Are any of those usb-2-go DACs going to rival the DX100? the DX100 uses the ES9018 DAC. Almost all the iBasso kit that the Samsung Galaxy S III drives uses the Wolfson WM8740. So I wonder how these DACs compare.

Just to be clear, certain features require kernel or driver features, which may be supplied by the manufacturer as "blobs" and not in source format. Unless the manufacturer already provides the USB host drivers in source form then it is somewhere between very difficult and nearly impossible to implement digital-audio-out featured for that specific device. Even if they do, it isn't child's play and certainly needs to be done on a device-by-device basis. In some cases, the required hardware features may not be there, not wired to the rest of the phone, or even disabled in the bootloader.

While there is AOSP code down to the JNI layer, the USB driver is phone/kernel specific. Unless the USB driver supports host mode to be able to manage the DAC client and stream audio samples to it, it doesn't matter how well it is supported in the libraries. There is also typically a switch in the device to set the USB connector up into different modes which needs the proper driver support. As this level of control is typically at the register or GPIO level, it isn't just a "plug-and-go" kind of thing, even when the phone architectures are similar. As a specific example, the Samsung Galaxy S 4G does have the proper hardware, but none of the "complete" kernels at this time support USG-OTG or any other host mode.  

Quote:

Originally Posted by turokrocks 

As a previous owner of the DX100 (and might get it back), I can confirm that it sounds amazing, big size wise, but amazing.
Comparing it to the Note2 is wrong (completely different), even when amped the Note2 loses, why?
Simple answer, 192/24 support! the Note 2 with a DAC/amp, even if the DAC supports that bit, it will not be able to play bit by bit (Android is limited to 44.1, and Ibasso had to bypass this by its own driver/player).

The synergy in the DX100 between its components (DAC,amp..) just work with almost any IEM or full headphone

The software of the DX100 is its Achilles’ heel . Its slow (Gingerbread Android version), hangs a lot , and had some issues in SQ between different firmwares, but the latest firmware took it to a new level (unfortunately I missed that version) in SQ.

Ibasso might open its API to other developers to update their players to support DX100 (they work but there is a huge gap in sound) like Power-amp and Neutron , and will be able to play 192/24 bit bit by bit

Back to Samsung, Apex Glacier & Note2 is better, not in SQ but as a whole package.(Power-amp showing song's album-arts looks amazing on the Note2, and the UI fast , really fast ). What works for me might not for others, its a matter of priorities &/or prefrences.
If SQ is all what you care about (and can bare all the cons), go for the DX100 and never look back.

Ibasso might remove Play-store support and kill other processes not audio related, in a future updates, to improve the UI lag, so ...

Regrettably I'm opening a can of worms here, specifically: "Now that we have usb2go android phones, is the DX100 obsolete". Coming in and peeing on the DX100 campfire is not going to make me any friends. But we have to look at it. And the debate has several dimensions. 

- Pure Sound Quality

- Is 96K important (or audible in double blind. or convenient - how exactly do I get my 50K song library into 96K format...)

- Convenience

- Cost

So really you have to put a weight on those factors, and I'm not even sure where I stand. The main argument for the DX100 is, that its unrivaled SQ. I have to ask though, with the dozen and growing list of USB DACs, surely one of them can touch the DX100. Remember the DX100 is not $850 worth of DAC, its $500 worth of phone plus $350 worth of DAC. And, that $500 worth of phone goes a lot farther when spent towards a Galaxy S III. And here we get into whether a light modern phone with a fantastic big OLED screen and Android Jelly Bean etc. etc. I guess my point is there is no way iBasso can keep up with Samsung, they can't even get the software up to date. 

Well I guess them's fightin' words but here is a truce that would make everyone happy. Get Cyanogenmod to support usb2go, and then port it to the DX100. And iBasso opens its API. Not my decision, but it is in fact the right thing to do, and the DX100 sales will be taking a hit now that usb2go is taking off. Hear me now, believe me later. 

turokrocks, yeah I need to understand bit by bit. I mean where do people get all these 96K music files I'm missing out on? I am not sure I could see upsampling from a CD at any stage in the chain as adding any information to the music. 

Of course, I'm never proposing using the DAC in the phone. I'm talking about using the superior UI (and light weight, and bugless software, and OLED screen, etc.) of the S III, but only trusting the S III to transport the music purely digitally and out the USB port. 

At that point, are there really NO portable USB DACs that can touch the DX100? Are people saying that this is because you can't send 192/24 over usb2go (is this true)? It seems like a technicality to me, 99.999% of the music comes off CD rips. 

well if someone can somehow make the gs3 output 24/192 and the cypher labs people make the -db compatible with the gs3 then you will have an unstoppable portable rig :D