I almost bought a DAP, then I did some research and paid less for a Sony Z3. On Android 4.4.4 the Z3 does hi-fi over USB. SO whatever Dac is plugged in gets bit-perfect playback, just as if you were using UAPP. So side loaded music can play in Google play music and any sample rate your DAC can handle, and Tidal offline is phenomenal. Got a used Z3 near flawless Z3 for $100. Using a Dragonfly Red/JDS Labs C5 combo that I love. Looking into IFI IDSD BLACK LABEL before Christmas. Z3 is a great transport for music, and with 256,gb cards available, plenty of storage for on the go use
Ah, you're right, I do believe it's currently a US/UK exclusive. Sorry about that. Sometimes we selfish Americans forget we can be holding conversations with our better brethren from other nations
I almost bought a DAP, then I did some research and paid less for a Sony Z3. On Android 4.4.4 the Z3 does hi-fi over USB. SO whatever Dac is plugged in gets bit-perfect playback, just as if you were using UAPP. So side loaded music can play in Google play music and any sample rate your DAC can handle, and Tidal offline is phenomenal. Got a used Z3 near flawless Z3 for $100. Using a Dragonfly Red/JDS Labs C5 combo that I love. Looking into IFI IDSD BLACK LABEL before Christmas. Z3 is a great transport for music, and with 256,gb cards available, plenty of storage for on the go use
Well being a geek and all that id hate to have an old phone with me at all time plus i dont like sony design, so i might buy an older phone. Does it have to be on 4.4?or anything below 5?i have a s4 with cracked top might as well use it
Well being a geek and all that id hate to have an old phone with me at all time plus i dont like sony design, so i might buy an older phone. Does it have to be on 4.4?or anything below 5?i have a s4 with cracked top might as well use it
That feature is/was a Sony exclusive on Android. Z2 and Z3 didn't upsample over USB, DUE to Sony software. And that's not my phone. I use Galaxy S8. Instead of paying $400-$700 for an Android Dap, knowing I'd still want other DACs, I paid $100 for a device I could connect other DACs to and get the same bit-perfect playback over Tidal, Spotify, or whatever. The money I saved went towards better cans, etc. New DAC for Christmas, no need to change transport device, and no feeling like I wasted several hundred because I'm not using the expensive DAP's DAC
It's definitely going to upsample. Doesn't sound bad, we all just know it cwn sound better. Not just the upsampling, but the fact that the audio info runs through Android processing prior yo reaching the external DAC. A problem in Android coding in general. Only Sony with a couple phones prior to Android 5, the UAPP drivers, and some DAP's thst are running older software. The Xperia phones, once rooted on the newer Android 5, etc, can have it added back in via flashing a separate zip file as outlined on XDA developers website. Been running Android over here since the beginning in 2007, and rooting since the original Galaxy S with it's Wolfson DAC. So, yeah, I'm all about Android audiophilia
It's definitely going to upsample. Doesn't sound bad, we all just know it cwn sound better. Not just the upsampling, but the fact that the audio info runs through Android processing prior yo reaching the external DAC. A problem in Android coding in general. Only Sony with a couple phones prior to Android 5, the UAPP drivers, and some DAP's thst are running older software. The Xperia phones, once rooted on the newer Android 5, etc, can have it added back in via flashing a separate zip file as outlined on XDA developers website. Been running Android over here since the beginning in 2007, and rooting since the original Galaxy S with it's Wolfson DAC. So, yeah, I'm all about Android audiophilia
Well i have been on Android since the original note but exclusively on Samsung devices. Been rooting them all bit no the s8. So what other phones dont upsample?
Well i have been on Android since the original note but exclusively on Samsung devices. Been rooting them all bit no the s8. So what other phones dont upsample?
If you are rooted you could try limiting the samplerate to your USB DAC to 44.1 by changing a line in 'etc/audio_policy.conf', you can then use an app to turn off the Samsung EQ software, this will give you something as close to bitperfect as you are going to get. If you have hi-res music you can still use UAPP to get higher samplerates.
So far as I am aware the only phones to have ever worked properly with USB DACs were the Sony Z2/Z3. There used to be some custom Kernels available for other phones but they were running older versions of Android. The potential pitfall with using older versions of Android is that apps will drop support for them.
If you are rooted you could try limiting the samplerate to your USB DAC to 44.1 by changing a line in 'etc/audio_policy.conf', you can then use an app to turn off the Samsung EQ software, this will give you something as close to bitperfect as you are going to get. If you have hi-res music you can still use UAPP to get higher samplerates.
So far as I am aware the only phones to have ever worked properly with USB DACs were the Sony Z2/Z3. There used to be some custom Kernels available for other phones but they were running older versions of Android. The potential pitfall with using older versions of Android is that apps will drop support for them.
got my Mojo this morning, thought it be bigger so im pleasently surprised, its charging now but i plugged it and the s8 detected it right away but as expected the light turned blue meaning upscaling via tidal app:/ i just found mmy s4 which is already rooted so ill see if i can edit the audio conf
I've received a HeadAmp Pico DAC/AMP from massdrop 2 days ago and I cannot make it work with my tablet (Samsung Galaxy Tab S2) and my smartphone (Sony Xperia X Compact) with Tidal. It does work wonderfully when plugged to a computer.
The setup is the following : Tablet/Smartphone -> USB OTG adapter + USB Cable -> HeadAmp Pico. This setup works with the Chord Mojo but not with the Pico. Any thoughts about this ?
USB OTG adapter + USB cable are completely new and I've tried several USB cable into the Pico, same result !
Not true. Most if not all apps work with USB DAC, dependent on your actual device. My Galaxy S7 works with Netflix, HBI, Showtime, and everything else, using my Dragonfly Red.
Probably more accurate to say there are only a limited number of apps that bypass Android's built-in mediaserver to give proper, bitperfect playback. On many Android devices a USB DAC will handle audio but it still goes through the built-in audio subsystems and gets re-sampled.
Hi. I'm not that good with digital audio yet... How do I check if my Fiio E07 is oversampling or not using Neutron? I'm on a Samsung Galaxy S4. Really bad sound in comparison with S3
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plus i dont like sony design, so i might buy an older phone. Does it have to be on 4.4?or anything below 5?i have a s4 with cracked top might as well use it 
