ONKYO DP-X1 | Dual Sabre Dacs | Balanced | Sabre BTL Amp | MQA | DSD 256 | Android 5 |

[addyg]

I'm not sure if this is the right forum on rooting Android. I realize now that there are apps and mods that can potentially alter the sound quality of the DP-X1 so that's relevant. However, I don't think there's sufficient warning and disclaimers that rooting and running SU level 3rd party apps may brick your device and neither Onkyo or Google will help you to get your device working again. Furthermore, anyone who downloads rooting tools do so at their own risk. It is not easy to distinguish legitimate website sources versus the nefarious kind. Most of the Android development community are upstanding and caring folks, but there are clearly some bad apples out there that just want to hack your phone.

Now my personal opinion specific to the DP-X1 and strictly for audio - less is more. By this I mean that Onkyo has added more audio hardware to the DP-X1 that is very specific and not found on other Android Smartphones. I personally would not want to add additional software DSP layers on top of the hardware that I paid a premium for. Until an Android develop feels compelled to modify the ROM that is specific to DP-X1, all  you are going to get running other mods is changes to Android system level software and additional software DSP and codecs since those are all generic and use the smartphone's CPU. There is no Android standard for DAC hardware so any mod that works on a large number of Android devices is strictly a software mod.

This is just my opinion and those who have modded and like the resulting sound, then it's clearly worth it. I just want to caution those who are not familiar with rooting and modding Android devices that all the risk in on the user.

Totally agree +1!

Since I owned dp-x1 for three months. I have seen improvement on SQ from different third party player app. I now used Neutron for IEM because I like its sound signature matching to my taste. I am also experimenting the new Foobar 2000 and the trial Poweramp Alpha. I think they working hard to improve the sound of Android/ios mobile platform.

 

[likearake]

Another tweak that you might want to do while rooted is to install build.prop editor and add the line "af.resampler.quality = 4“ in the build.prop. This is supposed to increase Android resampling quality and remove resampling artifacts. There were however reports that it broke audio playback on Android 6. But AFAIK you can always remove / reset the line if anything goes wrong. Might remove the "washing machine" sound for 3rd party players?

 
I rooted and tried this but get no audio playback on 3rd party apps. The Onkyo app still works though.

 

[all999]

 
 
After 3 hours of DSF playback in Balanced mode with 90 volume, 73% left (start from 100%).
 
PS: uninstalled 2xx mb of system app

 
Uninstalled or shut down? Which apps?

 

[addyg]

FYI. Here is some setting you can try on the new foobar2000 mobile. It sound nice.

-turn on Meier crossfeed
-upsample to 96000

 

[all999]

Guys!
 
   Please confirm three things. 
 
1. Own a  Pioneer XDP-100R. Is the sound signature of Onkyo the same?
2. Does third party apps like Tidal use ESS dac as it is on Pioneer?
3. Is balanced output the same as AK one?
 
Thanks!

 

[Johnny Woody]

I rooted and tried this but get no audio playback on 3rd party apps. The Onkyo app still works though.

Are U using balanced out?
Mine works fine in neutron

 

[Sonic Defender]

  Guys!
 
   Please confirm three things. 
 
 
2. Does third party apps like Tidal use ESS dac as it is on Pioneer?
 
Thanks!

This has been discussed a great deal, and there were people who were quite mistaken saying that 3rd party apps didn't use the same DAC as the Onkyo app. This is completely false, all audio must go through the DAC in order to be converted to an analogue output so yes Tidal, Neutron, PowerAmp etc will all go through the DAC as that is the only way a signal can ever become an analog output.

 

[Peridot]

  This has been discussed a great deal, and there were people who were quite mistaken saying that 3rd party apps didn't use the same DAC as the Onkyo app. This is completely false, all audio must go through the DAC in order to be converted to an analogue output so yes Tidal, Neutron, PowerAmp etc will all go through the DAC as that is the only way a signal can ever become an analog output.

 
All audio must go through a DAC. We don't know for certain that there isn't another DAC path within the device so I think the possibility remains that third-party apps do not use the ESS.

 

[Sonic Defender]

   
All audio must go through a DAC. We don't know for certain that there isn't another DAC path within the device so I think the possibility remains that third-party apps do not use the ESS.

There is no other real DAC path, the SoC performs some basic functions, but you can bet your life there is not another DAC onboard. It would be insane for Onkyo to invest in a third DAC. Why would they do so? Even Neutron or other software DSP programs still use the hardware DAC on a device for the actual conversion.

 

[bflat]

You can confirm if the ESS DACs are being used. If you are getting sound out of the balanced out, that means both ESS DACs are being used with their separate amps. The balanced L and R amps are physically separate audio channels that no amount of software can emulate.

 

[Peridot]

  There is no other real DAC path, the SoC performs some basic functions, but you can bet your life there is not another DAC onboard. It would be insane for Onkyo to invest in a third DAC. Why would they do so? Even Neutron or other software DSP programs still use the hardware DAC on a device for the actual conversion.

 
It doesn't make much sense to me either but if you look at the Pioneer thread, a supplier in direct communication with the manufacturer states there is a 'conventional' Android DAC implementation to cater for third party apps and that the native music app uses a modified kernel to access the ESS DAC.
 
Until someone does a teardown of one of the devices none of us can say for certain what the hardware configuration is.

 

[Peridot]

  You can confirm if the ESS DACs are being used. If you are getting sound out of the balanced out, that means both ESS DACs are being used with their separate amps. The balanced L and R amps are physically separate audio channels that no amount of software can emulate.

 
Couldn't there be alternative sources feeding the amp inputs?
 
The balanced output would still be maintained in that case.

 

[all999]

But doesn't Qualcomm APQ8074 have It's own dac section?

 

[Peridot]

  But doesn't Qualcomm APQ8074 have It's own dac section?

 
I couldn't find any evidence that it has, but a 'companion' Qualcomm DAC chip the WDC9310 is suggested as the one used in these players.
 
I wish I had the courage to take a heat gun to the screen and have good poke around inside.
 
I hate this modern bonded construction 

 

 

[all999]

   
I couldn't find any evidence that it has

 
 
https://www.qualcomm.com/documents/snapdragon-800-processor-embedded-product-brief