[lantian]

Nice to know that such type of mod exist with real world benefit. Actually the improvement is even greater in the dac part more like 35-40% i must say then the amp part. Yesterday i truly felt that i have reached the stage of nirvana.

I used to have poweramp when i had lenovo vibe x3 because it promised direct access to dac but real world benefit was rather unimpressive for me at least. I am a streaming guy mainly as i don't have any huge collection of music to begin with. I only keep some hi-res classics in my phone and that's it.

Btw i really miss the x3 sound these days especially the kind of sub bass and treble it provided. Only issue was the lack of soundstage which i found majorly lacking and some mid bass perhaps. Else it would have been a perfect device.

Indeed, it was hard to believe at first it could actually work, but it does and I do agree the biggest improvement is in the path to the dac itself, though extra power is nice aswell.
With this mod x3 has no trouble taking full control of my fw01, seriously love this combo.

 

[RicardoB]

Greetings everyone and thanks to artpiggo for keeping this going, I used to own LeTv X800, HTC 10, Axon 7 also auditioned X900 and V10 for a few hours but I have a loaner dual sim (no B&O logo) V20 at the moment to decide if I'm going to buy one and I find the sound "lifeless", is this the cost of being analytical and pulling out micro details? The other mentioned devices except to a slight degree the Axon 7 and even a mid range ZTE I currently own sounded very musical and full of life, my cans are Samson SR850 and Philips SPH9500 which are very energetic and I do use the extender trick but while I can hear micro details with the v20 it seems really electronic and boring with a really wide but thin sounding soundstage and almost no kick to the low end, should I get a refurbished V10 for around $140 or V20 for $300? Are there different cans I could try? I use streaming services no FLAC btw so not audiophile but I still think music should sound like....well....music

 

[dsdeiz]

Indeed, it was hard to believe at first it could actually work, but it does and I do agree the biggest improvement is in the path to the dac itself, though extra power is nice aswell.
With this mod x3 has no trouble taking full control of my fw01, seriously love this combo.

About to get the Vibe X3 as well. Is the difference really noticeable with the mod? I have a vsonic gr07 BE and currently I'm using the Fiio X3 1st gen as my DAP but will switch to the phone once I get the phone. Thanks!

 

[lantian]

About to get the Vibe X3 as well. Is the difference really noticeable with the mod? I have a vsonic gr07 BE and currently I'm using the Fiio X3 1st gen as my DAP but will switch to the phone once I get the phone. Thanks!

The difference is pretty huge, it is impossible to not notice it.

 

[Nalin]

Indeed, it was hard to believe at first it could actually work, but it does and I do agree the biggest improvement is in the path to the dac itself, though extra power is nice aswell.
With this mod x3 has no trouble taking full control of my fw01, seriously love this combo.

Ok i got it what this mod does. In short it removes manufacturer tuning or what some refers as coloration. Letv x900 has a mid bass boost with some treble spikes that gives a somewhat exciting sound signature which many may like. Now after this mod that tuning is removed and what i am getting is pure neutral and flat frequency response with slight hiss noticed through my flc8s and that's it. This tuning is boring and non exciting but now i can listen at much louder volumes without fatiguing my ears.

Update : Boring should not be taken in a wrong way. Vocals are now natural sounding and everything else has become musical. Treble harshness is gone, bass boost is gone too. What's left is just details with a somewhat duller sound tuning. This is what i call natural and engaging sound signature because you get pulled into the music.

Another thing i noticed is that amp is now showing it's weakness for the first time when compared to dac. This means dac is performing at full potential and that is too good for the amp to handle. How i notice this particular thing? It's because details are getting muffled up (slightly) if i increase the volume to more then 50%. Although loudness will increase but details will decrease from that point onwards. My sweet spot is 40% volume as this is providing a perfect mix of details and loudness for my iem.

 

[lantian]

Ok i got it what this mod does. In short it removes manufacturer tuning or what some refers as coloration. Letv x900 has a mid bass boost with some treble spikes that gives a somewhat exciting sound signature which many may like. Now after this mod that tuning is removed and what i am getting is pure neutral and flat frequency response with slight hiss noticed through my flc8s and that's it. This tuning is boring and non exciting but now i can listen at much louder volumes without fatiguing my ears.

Update : Boring should not be taken in a wrong way. Vocals are now natural sounding and everything else has become musical. Treble harshness is gone, bass boost is gone too. What's left is just details with a somewhat duller sound tuning. This is what i call natural and engaging sound signature because you get pulled into the music.

Another thing i noticed is that amp is now showing it's weakness for the first time when compared to dac. This means dac is performing at full potential and that is too good for the amp to handle. How i notice this particular thing? It's because details are getting muffled up (slightly) if i increase the volume to more then 50%. Although loudness will increase but details will decrease from that point onwards. My sweet spot is 40% volume as this is providing a perfect mix of details and loudness for my iem.

I had a similar thought about the sound tuning thins, in my case i am pretty sure the whole lenovo sound engine is being bypassed and tuning removed, you just get access to hardware directly without any software tuning in between.

 

[dragen owner]

Hi everyone,

I have been using the ZTE Axon 7 with Westone W40 iem for the past year. I have been pleased with the sound quality and definitely recommend the device to anyone considering it.

But since the non-replaceable battery is now dying, I purchased the Vivo X7 Plus device yesterday.

Comparing it to the Axon 7, I found the soundstage to be wider and the vocals to be more dynamic. Overall, I feel the sound quality of the Vivo X7 Plus is better than the Axon 7.

However, since I would like to install the recently discussed ROM tweak to improve audio quality, I am disappointed that it is seemingly impossible to root the Vivo X7 Plus, despite the fact that "one click root" apps claim it can be rooted.

As such, I now plan to buy the Meizu Pro 7 Plus device (which is apparently available here in Thailand).

Given the rave reviews of its audio quality, I probably should have purchased the Meizu phone in the first place, rather than the Vivo phone. But that's another story...

For those who own the Meizu Pro 7 Plus, which adapter did you buy? I see there are several different OHMs to choose from and am a bit unclear about this.

Question for @artpiggo and others who own the Meizu Pro 7 Plus -- Do you still recommend the workaround of partially inserting the headphone jack OR do you still think an adapter is better?

Also, a big thank you to @artpiggo for keeping this thread active and the Google Doc updated. It has become a great resource!

 

[s4tch]

...However, since I would like to install the recently discussed ROM tweak to improve audio quality, I am disappointed that it is seemingly impossible to root the Vivo X7 Plus, despite the fact that "one click root" apps claim it can be rooted.

As such, I now plan to buy the Meizu Pro 7 Plus device (which is apparently available here in Thailand)...

most probably you won't be able to install the mod on a pro 7 plus either. i couldn't get it working on my pro 6.

also, maybe i misunderstood your post, but buying a phone to install a mod...?

 

[Jerda]

You know we are talking about dap smartphones, if a mod can get the SQ to greater levels bypassing all the Android crap... you can bet we are going for it
Btw @dragen owner have you ask for some help on xda?

 

[artpiggo]

Hi everyone,

I have been using the ZTE Axon 7 with Westone W40 iem for the past year. I have been pleased with the sound quality and definitely recommend the device to anyone considering it.

But since the non-replaceable battery is now dying, I purchased the Vivo X7 Plus device yesterday.

Comparing it to the Axon 7, I found the soundstage to be wider and the vocals to be more dynamic. Overall, I feel the sound quality of the Vivo X7 Plus is better than the Axon 7.

However, since I would like to install the recently discussed ROM tweak to improve audio quality, I am disappointed that it is seemingly impossible to root the Vivo X7 Plus, despite the fact that "one click root" apps claim it can be rooted.

As such, I now plan to buy the Meizu Pro 7 Plus device (which is apparently available here in Thailand).

Given the rave reviews of its audio quality, I probably should have purchased the Meizu phone in the first place, rather than the Vivo phone. But that's another story...

For those who own the Meizu Pro 7 Plus, which adapter did you buy? I see there are several different OHMs to choose from and am a bit unclear about this.

Question for @artpiggo and others who own the Meizu Pro 7 Plus -- Do you still recommend the workaround of partially inserting the headphone jack OR do you still think an adapter is better?

Also, a big thank you to @artpiggo for keeping this thread active and the Google Doc updated. It has become a great resource!

I will go thru question one by one. If I miss to answer, please notice me.

- if you want to get easy root to mod a rom, you should get an internation brand like LG, ZTE Axon, or xiaomi which has a ton of root and modded rom.
Other Chinese model such as meizu and vivo are mostly lock bootloader and stick with only stock rom.

- You will be fine with meizu pro7/plus tuning already. I believe they make a very solid sound quality with signature sound house. Better than most x series but still a step back from xplay.

- I believe for meizu pro7 you can use the method of pushing a plug half way and play a song and then push it tight. It is easier and with less adapter, the less the sound degrade.

For the adapter, if you are really interested, I can recommend the DIY shop that sells it cheap in Bangkok and do it well. In case you wanna use in the future smartphone.

For more info of vivo and meizu smartphone and you use facebook account, you can join "meizu gang" and "vivo x series club thailand" where you can find good second hand device and how nice camera quality is. I also am there to support as one of admin there.

It is Thai - based but you can ask in english and wait for answer.

 

[oliwek2]

Just a remark : even LG devices may have their bootloader locked. Especially the V models. V10 (except the european ones) and V20 are often difficult to root. G5 or G6 are more open devices.
So you have to search info about it on xda forums before buying a device.
List of LG devices whose bootloader is officially unlockable :
http://developer.lge.com/resource/mobile/RetrieveBootloader.dev?categoryId=CTULRS0703
You'll notice there are many subvariants for each model. Only specific subvariants (as H960A for the V10) are unlockable or rootable without needing an exploit that can be patched with a later android update.

 

[dragen owner]

most probably you won't be able to install the mod on a pro 7 plus either. i couldn't get it working on my pro 6.

also, maybe i misunderstood your post, but buying a phone to install a mod...?

@s4tch - Thanks for the info about not being able to install the mod on your Pro 6. In this case, I will not count on being able to install the mod on the Pro 7 either.

I am actually getting the Meizu for several reasons other than the mod (better hardware, nicer UI, XDA community, etc.).

I admit I probably bought the Vivo phone a bit prematurely because I just needed a quick replacement to my dying Axon 7 and initially could not find Meizu in my area.

However, it's okay because my wife will get the new Vivo instead, which makes her happy because it takes great selfies (which I don't care about).

 

[dragen owner]

You know we are talking about dap smartphones, if a mod can get the SQ to greater levels bypassing all the Android crap... you can bet we are going for it
Btw @dragen owner have you ask for some help on xda?

@Jerda - Thanks for the suggestion on XDA. That was actually the first place I checked -- IF a root is available, those guys would be the ones who can do it. Unfortunately, it seems that Vivo phones do not have much of a following there, probably because of locked bootloader. I'll keep checking around though.

Cheers!

 

[s4tch]

@s4tch - Thanks for the info about not being able to install the mod on your Pro 6. In this case, I will not count on being able to install the mod on the Pro 7 either.

I am actually getting the Meizu for several reasons other than the mod (better hardware, nicer UI, XDA community, etc.).

I admit I probably bought the Vivo phone a bit prematurely because I just needed a quick replacement to my dying Axon 7 and initially could not find Meizu in my area.

However, it's okay because my wife will get the new Vivo instead, which makes her happy because it takes great selfies (which I don't care about).

good luck with the meizu then please share your experiences when you have it.

just an other friendly advice: xda is not too active with the pro 7, and it is an mtk device, i wonder if there would be any considerable activity at all. pro 5 was the last meizu with a lot of roms on xda, and it featured an exynos processor. i wouldn't buy a meizu for the sake of modding. i'd rather get an lg v20 if i wanted to install custom roms. meizu's are cheap, well built, reliable phones with a rather cool ui, but they aren't the modders' dream usually.

also, flashfire should work with the pro 6. i've already managed to install some zips via flashfire like gapps and moaab (ad blocking), but i failed with the sauron mod. i'll try it later when the flashfire app is updated.

 

[whizard]

Hi guys,

My v10 has failed. I am looking for a new device.

I am thinking of getting a vivo xplay 6 but i am not sure if the new one will be out soon?
Don't want the Meizu as it lacks the right LTE bands.
LG v30 would be the second option but i would like the vivo if the Xplay 7 or whatever will be out soon