[scottiebabie]

managed to spend a bit of time to do a comparo with the N8's USB2GO out vs my lappy's (ACER) USB - both to my mod V-DAC>amp>headphone. & for the life of me, i cant hear any difference. all this bears to the fact that the N8 do indeed make a fine digi transport for those on the go. i wonder if the N8 will identify one of those USB to SPDIF convertors said to even improve SQ even more.
 
now with the micro USB on the N8's side, im thinking it mite not be the best for neatness in a full porty rig. the mini HDMI out does indeed bring another alternative to the table. since i dont own a portable DACamp, i cant test if the mini HDMI does indeed output 12c for audio. any other N8 owners (or E7 or for that matter any Nokia or perhaps other brand phones with HDMI outs) with the appropriate portable Dac care to test this out? if its a go, i would certainly look into getting a very short length mini HDMI - mini USB adapter cable to use the N8 as a front for great porty rig.
 
heck if it does work, i mite pick up another spare unit just as a digi frontend cum games machine cum digicam cum HDvidcam - nevermind the fon functions. LOL
 
ps:i must add that one of the N8s glaring failing is the lack of FLAC or ALAC or APE support as only MP3/WMA/WAV/eAAC+ need apply, atleast for the built-in player. too bad coreplayer doesnt support symbian^3. on the good, i hear symbian anna's just around the corner 

 
edit on: my bad - it seems there is a music player for symbian^3 that does lossless FLAC & APE. its called FolderPlay. mite check it out soon.

 

[scottiebabie]

couldnt resist so i DL'd FolderPlay for symbian^3 to tryout on my N8. answer's CONFIRMED. FolderPlay installs easily & works just fine with FLAC atleast. UI aint pretty & theres no enhancements (like preset/custom eqs) so this would be perfect for the purists here.
 
ran it thru the USB2GO>amp>headphones & everything works perfect. sounds identical to my lappy USB out so this is def in the running for those looking for portable 12S output. just wish i had a ibasso (or equivalent) portable DacAmp to try it out on.

 

[mcmalden]

So you connect your n8 to a usb DAC with the usb2go connect and it transfers digital audio? I couldn't have quessed that. This might make the n8 the best mobile audio player due the idea that a portable usbdac/amp should be much better as any mobile phone. The idea that people spend hundreds of dollars on a red wine audio ipod classic to have a clean line-out signal for their amp while this could be used with a real quality DAC. Could you might take a picture of your n8/dac setup just get an idea?

 

[dilpal]

OT, but N9 also has been launched and is based on new OS Meego.

 

[scottiebabie]

Quote:

So you connect your n8 to a usb DAC with the usb2go connect and it transfers digital audio? I couldn't have quessed that. This might make the n8 the best mobile audio player due the idea that a portable usbdac/amp should be much better as any mobile phone. The idea that people spend hundreds of dollars on a red wine audio ipod classic to have a clean line-out signal for their amp while this could be used with a real quality DAC. Could you might take a picture of your n8/dac setup just get an idea?

 
dont know if the N8 is the best mobile audio player but for sure it transfers a 12s digi signal to a desktop USB Dac. not having a portable battery DacAmp to play with, i dont know if its gonna do a iPad type pickyness on which porty Dacs it'll support though but i can see the N8 as a fantastic front for a high end porty rig esp with hot swappable 32gb microSDs.
 
only fly in the ointment is that the micro usb port on the N8's side makes for some potential difficult or atleast messy cabling issues. as far as its HO goes, its on par with my oldie but goodie Sony S616 DAP esp since i found a hack which enabled an 8band eq with unlimited customizable presets with the built-in music player.
 
FolderPlay works just fine & supports lossless FLAC & APE on top of the usual suspects although its pretty bland with zero customization. TTPod's another alternative player with a pretty UI & an 8band customizable eq although no lossless 'cept for WAV.  for sure there isnt as much choices as android but i dont think apple fares much better interms of FLAC players. i woulda love to use Coreplayer (which supports everything under the sun) or powerMP3 which is very good on android & older symbian OS.
 
as requested i've included some pics of the N8>USBOTG>V-DAC setup. theres a pic of the top right corner of the N8 displaying the USB connection & as far as i can tell, the N8 sees the V-DAC as an audio headset device of sorts & even has a quick popup stating to use the MIC for calls.
 
I've also included pics of the V-DAC with its green light on (indicating USB signal) & off (when the N8s micro usb connector is unplugged).
 
***since im talking abit bout the V-DAC, though i include its psu too - the funny looking red thingy at the bottom is a small car battery booster power pack i've bastardized to feed 12v to the V-DAC via its cig light access outlet. yes it does make for a darker & cleaner background which seemingly improves transparency & clarity, to my ears that is. YMMV
 

 

 


 

 

[mcmalden]

Thank you for the pictures. I think my next phone will be a Nokia with this usb function, I might even pick up a N8 for 150euro or so. Combined with a relative cheap portable dac/amp it would make
a fun portable setup. It's strange a function like this is completely neglected at the Nokia site, IMO this makes a phone worth my while. Then again: how many people have use for such a function.

 

[scottiebabie]

no worries macmalden - glad to be able to contribute some in this ere forum. i too am more than a tad puzzled that Nokia (having something thats very special even for dedicated music devices, nevermind cellphones) wouldnt even sprout a toot about how the N8 (&other Nokia fons too with USBOTG im thinking) have the capability to be linked to external USB Dacs & serve as a high end digi transport. so far, me thinks no other fons have this as yet although i know some samsungs also have USBOTG.
 
to add to this thread, i been playing with music players lately & found that TTPod is an excellent app that makes the built-in player sound 'dull', for lack of a better word. the highs seems either brighter or clearer or perhaps slightly more extended. overall music with TTPod does seem more lively & fun without added grain or harshness. it also has an excellent 8band eq with adjustable presets & 2 custom presets capability. skins are abundant & very nice with 3D effects to boot. even my ex ipod touch 3g & apple store cant touch (pun intended

) the TTPod app in this. anyone with symbian^3 should give this app a go. cant see many disappointed faces on this IMO.
 
another bit of brightness is symbian anna's over the air update sometime this month. wont be anywhere close to the apps nor UI of either iOS or Android but ppl with newly bought E7 seems to be quite pleased so far - OTOH neither iphone4 nor even samsung galaxy s2 (dual core processor & all) have a 12mp digicam either! the N8s digi cam is so good i just sold off my panasonic dedicated point&shoot. yes the N8 IS that good

!

 

[ballcall2]

Do you think that the usb2go trick going to work with the Samsung Galaxy s2? I mean it could be amazing to be able to send digital audio directly from the phone to an extranal dac.

 

[mcmalden]

If it's software recognizes the dac i suppose, you could look if there is an example of an android phone who can use usb2go as an digital audio stream medium.

 

[ballcall2]

I know that the galaxy s2 works with usb keyboards and mice but I am not sure that it will work with a dac. Can someone with a galaxy s2 check?

 

[scottiebabie]

i could be wrong but isnt USBOTG just the standard USB protocol for embedded devices with an added switchable dual mode master-slave for either device. so if both nokia & samsung sports USBOTG & my nokia does output 12s to an external Dac, i dont see why the samsung (or any other make's USBOTG for that matter) cant do the same.
 
its def an added bonus for us headfiers to have an a digi-front end with the ability to use any ext Dac/Amp we like. the position of the microusb port isnt the best for a porty setup on the nokia N8 but the C7 does have the port on top which makes it easier for neater cable arrangement. all one really needs is a short (prolly custom) 3-4" microusb to miniusb cable for hookup on a porty rig.

 

[ballcall2]

That is quite amazing. It means that instead of buying seperate Dap you can just use you mobile and output a digital audio signal to a quality amp and dac. Only very few and expensive portable dacs works with iphone/ipod, but with the nokia n8/galaxy s2 any portable amp/dac with battery should work.

 

[dippyboy_87]

but still somewhat unsure of the SGS II.. 

 

[scottiebabie]

Quote:

That is quite amazing. It means that instead of buying seperate Dap you can just use you mobile and output a digital audio signal to a quality amp and dac. Only very few and expensive portable dacs works with iphone/ipod, but with the nokia n8/galaxy s2 any portable amp/dac with battery should work.

that would be a YES. no need for big dollar CLAS or istream devices just to get a 12s signal. heck its worth buying a N8 (or C7, E7, N9, etc..) just as digi-transport if ultimate SQ is the goal. the N8 has 16gb built-in & with 32gb microsd's hot swappable, its an excellent audio device. to my ears, even the HO is on par with my dedicated sony s6x6 DAP so i've been quite satisfied with it driving either the bundled mic earphones (surprizingly decent) or with my livewire customs. for those not into a bit of easy hacking, TTPod is an excellent music player with a very good 8band eq plus all sorts of skins, effects & net functions.
 
that said, it would be a different matter if i could afford the new JH3a rig. the N8 (& similar) would make a great front end for it im sure.
 
ps:for those hacking about whether the new samsung galaxy 2 would also perform this little feat of digi magic, best way is to try it. either buy the SGS2 or bring a DAC (external & porty if possible) to the phone store ask for a demo as it would be easyville to hook up for a test. either way, cant really lose as the SGS2 is a great android phone on it own right.
 
edit on: for those that are really serious about using the N8 as a digi transport for a porty Dac-amp, i found this ebay store what will custom make right angle cable with the appropriate usb connectors for only $40. now theres really no excuse for those who need the best

 

[CantScareMe]

scottie babie, that's an impressive setup. Thanks for sharing this info on the usb otg thingy. Really useful.
 
 
Q) So let me get it right, one more time, one last time:  You can use the USBOTG cable to link the nokia to any usb dac (standard usb 'b' connection). The dac then goes to the amp. amp to headphones. And fullstop.  You have a full setup.