[lxlx]

Android just isn't for long term use.

Interesting

 

[Sebilion]

How is the audio quality of the iPhone? I think they use Cirrus logic chipsets. How does it compare to the sound of htc 10, also what headphones and what genre of music do you generally listen to. Thanks. Thinking of buying a phone but Android just isn't for long term use.

The sound on the iPhone can easily compete with the HTC 10. It has amazing dac but I just hate ios

 

[nausky]

Hi guys, I have a really specific question and I think that if anyone out there could help me, it would be someone in here. I'm looking to buy a new phone, and I don't care if it's a particular Android phone or an iPhone. I know it probably sounds dumb, but I'm specifically looking for a phone that handles audio through an external dac/amp the most reliably. That's the tl;dr. Just get a V30, right? My fiance has a V30 and I just don't enjoy my headphones as much through it. I don't think it's bad - it's a fantastic phone and it can sure drive my Atticus very loud, but I'm sure all of you know that carrying around all of this equipment is a pain in the ass and it's really done out of love. If I'm not listening to what I want to listen to, then I'd rather just take my BT headphones out for their convenience.

I have a RHA Dacamp L1 that I love to listen to music with. It's their portable dac/amp that has some pretty well done treble and bass dials that you can play with on the go. Problem is, Android has a lot of issues with USB audio. I'm well aware of that, but I'm also *okay* with that. Music through the phone doesn't sound quite as nice as it does through my PC, but it's fine. It's the stuff that people don't talk about much. I think most people must give up on carrying around their portable amps after a couple of days, before they run into the really annoying, long-term quirky issues. Android seems to be really failing to handle basic audio through USB. I just want to understand if there is or isn't a better alternative.

This is what I have experienced trying various 2017 android flagships with USB audio (specifically the V30, G6, and S8):

1. Sometimes it fails to route audio and plays music through the speakers (this is just plain embarrassing when it happens at work).
   
2. Music cuts out when the CPU is busy/phone hasn't been restarted in a day or so. You have to reboot your phone if you start getting skips.
   
3. The worst one is that it has to supply power to the USB port to even have audio work, so you are going to experience higher battery drain no matter what. With a good cable, I'm still looking at approx. 8% drain per hour just spent on listening to music, which has me reaching for a charger way too early in the day. I want to be very clear here: I do have the "right" cables and adapters. I have a bag that has pretty much every relevant cable ever recommended on this website. It's the difference of a 90% discharge per hour and 8%.
   
4. It also gives the persistent notification that it's in USB mode (this is just a minor nitpick), the V30 even gives a pop-up about file transfers literally every time I plug any kind of media device in the C port.

Basically, all of the same stuff that poor Android users have to deal with when using plain old USB C to 3.5mm dongles and manufacturers fail to warn people of how ill-prepared they were to sell phones without headphone jacks.

Are these same issues present in all Android phones? Are they present in iPhones? Do iPhones experience higher battery drain, audio skips, occasional audio routing failures, etc when an external dac/amp is plugged in? Do they have their own quirks? I did not have a decent audio setup last time I owned an iPhone, so I never tried it. If they also have issues, does anyone have any tips for making external dac/amps less frustrating on phones in general? I'm also okay with getting a Pixel and rooting it if that opens any doors to me, but I know that the Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL have some of the same audio through USB issues that I mentioned above (#1 and #2 are confirmed issues, but I couldn't find any info on #3 and #4) through a search on r/GooglePixel.

If this is just how it is for now, then that's cool, but it's the not-knowing part that's frustrating.

tl;dr again, just in case you scrolled so fast you missed it: I'm looking for a phone that handles audio through an external dac/amp the most reliably. Post is just full of setup information and issues I've come across.

 

[Smartaudiophone]

If you want DAC then... neither of these is a good choice, as either doesn't have stand-alone DAC, only integrated Snapdragon's one which of course is poor quality.
Top of the line LGs (V series, some G series), Samsungs (Galaxy S series Exynos), Meizus(5 pro, 6 pro plus), Vivos(many of them), Nubias(can't remember, but some have AKM chips), Lenovo (vibe x3 series incl. cheap youth version) and if you're in Europe you can also consider spanish BQ Aquaris X Pro (with ess es9118 sabre chip) - other BQs also have/had dac chip most notably wolfson's and akm's but they were lower end phones.
edit: I forgot of course about HTC 10 which is also considered as having good dac+amp.

I have both the Xz premium and the HTC10 here. When i bought the Premium, i still had the V20 and had the chance to compare them. First things first: The sound is very good. BUT: You have to root it and do this: https://forum.xda-developers.com/xz-premium/themes/soundmod-volume-headphones-boost-xperia-t3696404
otherwise the Volume is just too low. This will bring the Volume level to the same level as the standard output of the V20, just a tad louder. Now: In comparison to the V20 at the same volume, despite all the Quad DAC blabla, the Xperia sounded even a bit cleaner to my ears. The treble was just a tad more pronounced and i felt the sound had a little bit more space. Then i compared it to the seperate LG DAC for the G5 which for me sounds a bit better than the V20, and the volume level (again at standard ouput of the DAC) was exactly the same, as was the sound quality.
With AUX or external modes, the V20 and the DAC are muuuuuch louder and you can`t do nothing about it, unless you use the Premium with an external amp. So in short: It sounds very good, but you have to take care about the volume.

As for the comparison with the HTC10: I just love the sound of the 10. Especially when tuned with their profile settings, i just can`t find another phone that sounds as good for my taste, and this why i again bought it - for the third time now. The sound is just more lively and more enjoyable to my ears than from any other device i`ve listend to (including some Fiio players) without being artificial as with Viper4android and other EQ`s.
When comparing the phones themselves though, the XZ Premium is the better device. It`s ultra fast, the screen is gorgeous and the battery life is great, which you can`t say about the 10. The only problem is the camera, which isn`t that great, especially in Auto mode. The HTC has the advantage of having the same sensor as the pixel, so you can install a google camera with HDR+ from XDA and enjoy the exact same photo quality as the in the Pixel, which is great especially in low light.

EDIT: I`ve just read that you have an external amp...Well anyway, just consider that i didn`t test it with an external AMP, so there maybe a possibility that it sounds worse (distortion etc) at louder volumes like many other devices. Why don`t you just test it out in a shop?


OH, THAT MESSAGE SHOULD GO TO SEBILLION. I`m tired, sorry.

Sebilion


Sebilion

 

[Smartaudiophone]

Hi guys, I have a really specific question and I think that if anyone out there could help me, it would be someone in here. I'm looking to buy a new phone, and I don't care if it's a particular Android phone or an iPhone. I know it probably sounds dumb, but I'm specifically looking for a phone that handles audio through an external dac/amp the most reliably. That's the tl;dr. Just get a V30, right? My fiance has a V30 and I just don't enjoy my headphones as much through it. I don't think it's bad - it's a fantastic phone and it can sure drive my Atticus very loud, but I'm sure all of you know that carrying around all of this equipment is a pain in the ass and it's really done out of love. If I'm not listening to what I want to listen to, then I'd rather just take my BT headphones out for their convenience.

I have a RHA Dacamp L1 that I love to listen to music with. It's their portable dac/amp that has some pretty well done treble and bass dials that you can play with on the go. Problem is, Android has a lot of issues with USB audio. I'm well aware of that, but I'm also *okay* with that. Music through the phone doesn't sound quite as nice as it does through my PC, but it's fine. It's the stuff that people don't talk about much. I think most people must give up on carrying around their portable amps after a couple of days, before they run into the really annoying, long-term quirky issues. Android seems to be really failing to handle basic audio through USB. I just want to understand if there is or isn't a better alternative.

This is what I have experienced trying various 2017 android flagships with USB audio (specifically the V30, G6, and S8):

1. Sometimes it fails to route audio and plays music through the speakers (this is just plain embarrassing when it happens at work).
   
2. Music cuts out when the CPU is busy/phone hasn't been restarted in a day or so. You have to reboot your phone if you start getting skips.
   
3. The worst one is that it has to supply power to the USB port to even have audio work, so you are going to experience higher battery drain no matter what. With a good cable, I'm still looking at approx. 8% drain per hour just spent on listening to music, which has me reaching for a charger way too early in the day. I want to be very clear here: I do have the "right" cables and adapters. I have a bag that has pretty much every relevant cable ever recommended on this website. It's the difference of a 90% discharge per hour and 8%.
   
4. It also gives the persistent notification that it's in USB mode (this is just a minor nitpick), the V30 even gives a pop-up about file transfers literally every time I plug any kind of media device in the C port.

Basically, all of the same stuff that poor Android users have to deal with when using plain old USB C to 3.5mm dongles and manufacturers fail to warn people of how ill-prepared they were to sell phones without headphone jacks.

Are these same issues present in all Android phones? Are they present in iPhones? Do iPhones experience higher battery drain, audio skips, occasional audio routing failures, etc when an external dac/amp is plugged in? Do they have their own quirks? I did not have a decent audio setup last time I owned an iPhone, so I never tried it. If they also have issues, does anyone have any tips for making external dac/amps less frustrating on phones in general? I'm also okay with getting a Pixel and rooting it if that opens any doors to me, but I know that the Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL have some of the same audio through USB issues that I mentioned above (#1 and #2 are confirmed issues, but I couldn't find any info on #3 and #4) through a search on r/GooglePixel.

If this is just how it is for now, then that's cool, but it's the not-knowing part that's frustrating.

tl;dr again, just in case you scrolled so fast you missed it: I'm looking for a phone that handles audio through an external dac/amp the most reliably. Post is just full of setup information and issues I've come across.

Hi, i can`t really fully help you as maybe one external dac will behave different than another and different android versions will probably do their thing, but i remember having your problems when connecting the LG G5 dac to some phone with android 7. It would refuse to play and i had to use specific USB players which even they didn`t work correctly - music was starting out of the speakers, stupid notifications and the SQ was inferior to the same DAC when connected to my PC. Now when i connect it to my Xperia XZ premium with android 8, it works instantly with the standard player without any notification. Battery drains a little faster, but nothing unsual.
When i connect it to the HTC10 with Oreo, it also works (tested only with sony music player), but that stupid notification would still pop out (charging usb device) and sometimes i had to connect it twice so it wouldn`t start music from the speakers.
So what i can say for sure is that the XZ Premium never gave me any problem with my external dac.

 

[Sebilion]

I have both the Xz premium and the HTC10 here. When i bought the Premium, i still had the V20 and had the chance to compare them. First things first: The sound is very good. BUT: You have to root it and do this: https://forum.xda-developers.com/xz-premium/themes/soundmod-volume-headphones-boost-xperia-t3696404
otherwise the Volume is just too low. This will bring the Volume level to the same level as the standard output of the V20, just a tad louder. Now: In comparison to the V20 at the same volume, despite all the Quad DAC blabla, the Xperia sounded even a bit cleaner to my ears. The treble was just a tad more pronounced and i felt the sound had a little bit more space. Then i compared it to the seperate LG DAC for the G5 which for me sounds a bit better than the V20, and the volume level (again at standard ouput of the DAC) was exactly the same, as was the sound quality.
With AUX or external modes, the V20 and the DAC are muuuuuch louder and you can`t do nothing about it, unless you use the Premium with an external amp. So in short: It sounds very good, but you have to take care about the volume.

As for the comparison with the HTC10: I just love the sound of the 10. Especially when tuned with their profile settings, i just can`t find another phone that sounds as good for my taste, and this why i again bought it - for the third time now. The sound is just more lively and more enjoyable to my ears than from any other device i`ve listend to (including some Fiio players) without being artificial as with Viper4android and other EQ`s.
When comparing the phones themselves though, the XZ Premium is the better device. It`s ultra fast, the screen is gorgeous and the battery life is great, which you can`t say about the 10. The only problem is the camera, which isn`t that great, especially in Auto mode. The HTC has the advantage of having the same sensor as the pixel, so you can install a google camera with HDR+ from XDA and enjoy the exact same photo quality as the in the Pixel, which is great especially in low light.

EDIT: I`ve just read that you have an external amp...Well anyway, just consider that i didn`t test it with an external AMP, so there maybe a possibility that it sounds worse (distortion etc) at louder volumes like many other devices. Why don`t you just test it out in a shop?


OH, THAT MESSAGE SHOULD GO TO SEBILLION. I`m tired, sorry.

Sebilion


Sebilion

Thanks so much for the reply! Thw information you have me was very useful! I never rooted a phone in my life but, I might as well do that now! I am still considering the nokia 8 though because some say it sounds better, I still have the htc 10 to listen to if something goes wrong, I will never get rid of tge htc I love it! I might go for the Sony just for the larger screen and your comments. I can't test it in a store because they don't sell it new anymore and I am buying online with a voucher from the iPhone. Thanks for the help I really appreciate it!

 

[scott s]

In order:
Yes
Yes/ yes, if they are written to work with the DAC...Poweramp, for example. There are others, but I haven't done much research yet. The stock player is what I've been using.
No.

New USB audio player pro version 4.2 and higher. It now has a hi res direct setting to use hi fi dac in devices. Axon 7 and 7 mini are on the list of working with the res direct mode. Not confirmed with frequency tests but with other tests
Plus you can get a parametric eq plug in for uapp that is quite wonderful. Uaap comes with a 10 band eq.
PS. Axon 7mini with fiio A5 amp and good over ears is wonderful!!9

 

[lordaine]

Thanks so much for the reply! Thw information you have me was very useful! I never rooted a phone in my life but, I might as well do that now! I am still considering the nokia 8 though because some say it sounds better, I still have the htc 10 to listen to if something goes wrong, I will never get rid of tge htc I love it! I might go for the Sony just for the larger screen and your comments. I can't test it in a store because they don't sell it new anymore and I am buying online with a voucher from the iPhone. Thanks for the help I really appreciate it!

Does anyone know what specific dac nokia 8 has?

 

[lordaine]

Does anyone know what specific dac nokia 8 has?

Also, there's a lot of complaint here about the SQ of Nokia 8 https://community.phones.nokia.com/support/discussions/topics/7000011695

 

[vver]

How does the SQ of Samsung S9/9+ Exynos Version compare to the HTC One A9/10 ?

I presently have the HTC One A9 absolutely love the SQ via headphones(which many people say is almost identical to that of the HTC 10) but the phone is showing its age in all other departments.I would like a flagship phone with AT LEAST the same SQ as the HTC One A9. LG V 30 is the highly recommended but LG build quality is horrific(bootloop etc.) and the screen has a bluish tint as well.Also I don't have any high impedance headphones(HD 598 at 50 Ohms is the highest I have which is driven beautifully by the A9) and am not into neutral/flat monitor type sounds ,of my modest collection of headphones I like HD 598/PX 100 II but not Audio Technica M40X so much.

So the question is a simple one.Will the S9+ Exynos version with a neutron player sound as good if not better than the HTC One A9 ?

 

[artpiggo]

If you have any device, please see if your device support hires driver for UAPP or not. It will definitely benefit for enjoying music without limited android mixer path( native sample rate)

http://www.extreamsd.com/index.php/hires-audio-driver

If auto hires mode doesn't work out, try with direct pcm or other options one by one.

If you want your device to support this hires, please contact to their email to help improve the compatibilty list.

 

[scott s]

If you have any device, please see if your device support hires driver for UAPP or not. It will definitely benefit for enjoying music without limited android mixer path( native sample rate)

http://www.extreamsd.com/index.php/hires-audio-driver

If auto hires mode doesn't work out, try with direct pcm or other options one by one.

If you want your device to support this hires, please contact to their email to help improve the compatibilty list.

Well just how do we test for sure that hi res direct is actually using the hi res DAC and not the snapdragon

 

[scott s]

I am about tempted to go with the fiio q5 USB DAC/AMP with my axon 7 mini. No standard or hi Fi toggles to worry about and no doubting what dac is being used lol

 

[artpiggo]

I am about tempted to go with the fiio q5 USB DAC/AMP with my axon 7 mini. No standard or hi Fi toggles to worry about and no doubting what dac is being used lol

BT dac amp is Future.

Well just how do we test for sure that hi res direct is actually using the hi res DAC and not the snapdragon

You can use neutron app to see if it works or not by seeing the frequency rate it is.

 

[scott s]

What app is that officialy called. Not neutron player As I need to use uapp in hi res direct mode lol.