[hyperr]

Hi,
 
I'm thinking of getting an amp or DAC to improve my portable audio quality with my phone. Budget is about up to £100.
 
I have no experience with portable amps / DAC's so any advice would be appreciated! 
 
I was looking at the FiiO E17? It seems to have good reviews but I'm not really sure if it would improve the audio quality at all.
 
Bear in mind that I also have a FiiO E9 on my PC setup, so it would be nice to use the E17 with my PC as well. 
 
Any recommendations for an amp or DAC to use with Samsung Galaxy SII & Brainwavz M4 headphones?
 
Thanks

 

[jeffsf]

Do you have a kernel that supports digital-audio out? If not, an amp is all you likely would be able to add.
 
As I recall, Samsung uses a Yamaha chip in the S2, not the Wolfson chip in the S, S 4G, and S III, so Voodoo Sound is probably not an option to get better sound out of what the phone has internally.

 

[hyperr]

I'm running a custom ROM, Paranoid Android, currently using the kernel that came with it though, but I can change that of course.
 
I think you're right about the Yamaha chip in the S2, so I won't benefit from Voodoo Sound? Haven't heard of that before anyway
 
If I had a kernel that supported digital-audio out would the E17 be a good upgrade? (or any other DAC/Amp)
 
Quote:

Do you have a kernel that supports digital-audio out? If not, an amp is all you likely would be able to add.
 
As I recall, Samsung uses a Yamaha chip in the S2, not the Wolfson chip in the S, S 4G, and S III, so Voodoo Sound is probably not an option to get better sound out of what the phone has internally.

 
 
EDIT: I've been reading a bit and it seems that you can't really use a DAC with the S2 as you said (or at least, it would be a pain). Would the E11 be a better option?
 
Alternatively, I may be better off getting a dedicated audio device and then maybe adding a DAC / Amp later? If so, can you offer any options please for my budget?

 

[gidgiddonihah]

I have the SGH-i777 AT&T variant and there isn't a single ROM/Kernel that supports it at this time.  It's pretty sad as the Yamaha chip is really bad. 

 

[hyperr]

Quote:

I have the SGH-i777 AT&T variant and there isn't a single ROM/Kernel that supports it at this time.  It's pretty sad as the Yamaha chip is really bad. 

Yeah it does suck. I decided to get a Colorfly C3 as my portable music solution instead, and I'll probably get a Fiio E12 (when released) or E11 to go with it.

 

[gidgiddonihah]

Quote:

Yeah it does suck. I decided to get a Colorfly C3 as my portable music solution instead, and I'll probably get a Fiio E12 (when released) or E11 to go with it.

 
I am trying to find a 7" tablet that will do the trick for Christmas.  The Nexus 7 looks like a good idea to pair with a DAC, though stock sounds terrible and even when you get the DAC running its not perfect.  Plus there is no expandable memory.  Samsung Galaxy 2 7.0 looked good until I read how bad the screen is.