Update (4/11/2017): Updated the app to use the Superpowered audio library. Performance is greatly improved. Lag is pretty much gone.
This was my first app and recently just overhauled it with a lot of the updates I had been doing to Wave Control. I've decided to take this out of incubation in the device specific forums and put it fully out there. All feedback is appreciated!
Around Sound allows you to listen to music, watch movies, or play games and still be aware of your surroundings. It's meant for when you're using sound isolating earbuds like Shure or others that are basically earplugs so you have no idea what's going on around you.
It uses the mic on your headset or phone to listen around you. You set how loud a noise needs to be to trigger it. When a loud sound is detected, it pauses your music or movie for a timeout period. During this time, it feeds the outside sound through to your headphones so you can hear what's going on. After the timeout period it then resumes playback.
With games, you can use the non-pause mode which will overlay the outside sounds on top of the current audio. Usually the game audio will lower itself during this time. I would really like for games to support the pause feature. I've reached out to some developers but need everyone's help to request the feature be added to their favorite games.
Play Store Link:
Free Version
Some known issues:
1. Audio lag - when the outside sound is fed through there's about a 500ms delay. It's a known issue with Android. It's rumored to have been fixed in Jelly Bean (or there's some low level API's available to fix it) but I haven't had a chance to play with it yet. Finally fixed! Practically realtime now!
2. Bluetooth Mic Option - Currently only works with mono headsets and not the AD2P kind, adds lag
Some use cases:
- At the office: pause your music automatically when someone is trying to get your attention
- At home: Don't miss door slams, children crying, your dog barking, or other warning signs
- At the airport: Relax at the gate and have your music or movie pause when the gate announcements start
- Anywhere relatively quiet where you want to know if something happens around you
Permissions Needed:
Network Communications: Full Internet Access (For Ad Supported Version)
Phone Calls: Read Phone status (shuts off the audio processing during calls)
Hardware Controls: Audio Settings, Record Audio (to use the microphone, no audio is ever stored)
Coarse Location(Not GPS): For Ad Supported Version
Write External Storage: For Ad Supported Version
Billing: For in app upgrades
Bluetooth: For Bluetooth mic feature
Broadcast Sticky: For Bluetooth mic feature
Limitations:
-For Pause Music Mode: You can't be in a really loud environment otherwise the microphone input will be maxed out and there is no way to detect a louder sound. Use Street Mode instead
Developed on a Samsung Galaxy S7
I played with this a bit in a few of its earlier incarnations and I have to compliment you on the app. One thing I've wondered -- instead of muting the underlying app, would it be possible to play what the microphone picks up over the top of whatever being played?
short/y said:
I played with this a bit in a few of its earlier incarnations and I have to compliment you on the app. One thing I've wondered -- instead of muting the underlying app, would it be possible to play what the microphone picks up over the top of whatever being played?
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i guees that is not possible ...hardware limitations
anyway if it is...would be a great addition
I hope someone can explain this to me. I'm not doubting it's a hardware limitation, I just can't understand what sort of hardware limitation it might be.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2
short/y said:
I played with this a bit in a few of its earlier incarnations and I have to compliment you on the app. One thing I've wondered -- instead of muting the underlying app, would it be possible to play what the microphone picks up over the top of whatever being played?
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Click to collapse
Yeah, it's possible. If you uncheck pause mode, it'll play over the other app. The way it's setup now, depending on the playing app, the music/movie might dip in volume. Alternatively there's Street Mode in the Pro Version that will play all sound above the trigger on top of your music/movie.
MarksThinkTank said:
Yeah, it's possible. If you uncheck pause mode, it'll play over the other app. The way it's setup now, depending on the playing app, the music/movie might dip in volume. Alternatively there's Street Mode in the Pro Version that will play all sound above the trigger on top of your music/movie.
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Woo hoo! Cool, thanks! Pro, here I come.
Any idea when you think you might be able to look into that lower latency JB API?
Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2
This is so genius! Installing now!
I bought Pro this morning and used it on my walk. Worked like a charm!
It was pretty bright out and my screen couldn't brighten enough to let me see the trigger slider. A suggestion: how about adding +5 and -5 buttons so I can adjust the trigger level without having to see the slider? I don't mean remove the slider, I mean add +5 and -5 buttons.
Got the pro just to support the Dev. Great idea and great work. Keep it up man!
A little coverage on the portal for you
http://www.xda-developers.com/android/gain-an-extra-set-of-ears-with-around-sound/
the_scotsman said:
A little coverage on the portal for you
http://www.xda-developers.com/android/gain-an-extra-set-of-ears-with-around-sound/
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Thanks man!
Looks like it's igniting a lot of coverage. Just popped up on Gizmodo too!
short/y said:
I played with this a bit in a few of its earlier incarnations and I have to compliment you on the app. One thing I've wondered -- instead of muting the underlying app, would it be possible to play what the microphone picks up over the top of whatever being played?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sounds perfect....
i saw this while ago and was going to use it but deleted it by accident and than forgot about it this has reignited me to use it now ill download it later.
any news on the bluetooth issue as i have bluetooth headphones and there not mono and was wondering if it work well or not with em?
Wow...this is great. Thank you.
I like the sound of this (No pun intended) but I've only got bluetooth stereo headphones with a mic. so I'll have to wait until it supports them.
App2SD would be nice ...
daniturn3 said:
i saw this while ago and was going to use it but deleted it by accident and than forgot about it this has reignited me to use it now ill download it later.
any news on the bluetooth issue as i have bluetooth headphones and there not mono and was wondering if it work well or not with em?
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gadjet0 said:
I like the sound of this (No pun intended) but I've only got bluetooth stereo headphones with a mic. so I'll have to wait until it supports them.
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I don't have a set to test it with but I've gotten mixed feedback. Some stereo ones do work and some don't. Or.. it may be a particular phone's bluetooth implementation since it seems more like a bug in Android than a headset specific issue.
Please give it a try and let me know if it works!
Will this save me if I end up in the middle of a shoot out, and I have in noise canceling headphones? As bizarre as that sounds... I'm paranoid lol
GazaIan said:
Will this save me if I end up in the middle of a shoot out, and I have in noise canceling headphones? As bizarre as that sounds... I'm paranoid lol
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Possibly... but I make no guarantees
New Angle
So after un-intentionally (really, I swear!) ignoring my girlfriend while playing a game, I realized... I could use Around Sound with games.
So far the non-pause mode works pretty well with the games I play. I'm reaching out to some other developers to include the ability to pause when asked by Around Sound.
I need people's help to request their favorite game dev's to support auto-pause with Around Sound
For anyone who has the Z3 (or Z2) and has been using the Sony Walkman app (including EQ, etc), my question is how good is it when compared to PowerAmp? On Walkman do you use ClearAudio+ AND/OR DSEE HX?? I want to get the Z3 and trade-in my HTC One M8, but in doing so, that means I HAVE to use the Walkman app if I want to have the option for mp3 upscaling (DSEE HX) since PowerAmp doesn't have it. But I know that although the Z3 Walkman app has DSEE HX, it only has a 4-band EQ vs PowerAmp's 10-band EQ. And it seems like at least some ppl think PowerAmp is better.
Any advice, suggestions, or alternate options would be appreciated!!
Thank You,
RockStar2005
I think the Walkman app is phenomenal when its sync with Sony Music Unlimited... Otherwise as a mp3 player it's meh.
shook187 said:
I think the Walkman app is phenomenal when its sync with Sony Music Unlimited... Otherwise as a mp3 player it's meh.
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I see. I've been told from Z2 owners that the Walkman app can actually be used in conjunction with other music or media players like PowerAmp. So you can switch on the options you like in Walkman, like bass boost, and it will still influence the sound even if you are playing your songs through PowerAmp (etc).
Thank You,
RockStar2005
combine them
I think that walkman is better cz it makes more clarity and the bass is more stable. But the best result is if you combine the sound effect of walkman and power amp since the sound effect of walkman is also work on other music player. It will makes the output from power amp more stable and clarity.
Walkman app for me is best android music player. Simple, beautifull, good clarity and its stable.
I think it will depend on the format and quality of your music files and the headphones you use. And your ears and personal taste of course.
I was unable to make the walkman app sound good with a pair of Sony EX450 headphones. Those are not the most expensive, high end earplugs but with all the sound options I ended up with a very weak sound, especially the mid range. Poweramp does sound good though.
boy,
I dunno about Walkman being better than PA. I don't agree there. But I DEF agree with the combo method, b/c THAT'S what I use now and it's great! I feel like it's close (esp if you use the "Soul" EQ preset in Z3's settings, trust me lol)...............but in actuality, what you're combining isn't PA and Walkman, it's PA and the Z3's sound settings itself. The only option native to Walkman itself is DSEE HX, but if you turn on "Studio" in the Z3's Surround Sound settings, it does what DSEE HX does and more IMHO.
I do like "Clear Bass" in the Z3's EQ settings......... it gives off a very warm and isolated bass sound. Turning on "Studio" though does seem to make it harder to control the volume (some songs have "treble spikes" that can be hard on the ears at higher volumes), so last night I gave Dynamic Normalizer a try in Z3's sound settings. It DOES seem to give you a lil more control over "Studio". I would advise trying it and seeing if you notice this too. Leave ClearAudio+ off, and yeah "Studio" and for speakers leave surround sound checked. Makes it sound better IMO.
In PA I use "Rock" preset and it's great! If doing the combo method, then I recommend going to Z3's EQ settings and choosing the "Off" EQ preset option as PA has its own (and much better) EQ (Z3's is 5-band, PA's is 10-band). Then by tapping Save and then pressing on "Rock" (in PA EQ screen) you can set that as the default preset for ALL songs (by choosing it for speaker, wired, and bluetooth on the list that appears). If you want to have another preset be the default for specific songs, PM me and I'll show you how to do that (very easy if you got this far already).
I would give Z3/Walkman an A, but I'd give Z3/PA an A+.
RockStar2005
Hi guys, new Z3 owner here - I've been following the various threads concerning DSEE HX, Clearaudio+, and Hi-Res Audio, and wanted to confirm a couple things to help me decide on using the Walkman app vs Poweramp:
1. Will Hi-Res FLAC files only play through the walkman app? Or will Poweramp handle them as well without downsampling?
2. Is Clearaudio+ and DSEE HX meant only for MP3s?
I'm finding the Walkman app lacking in functionality that I've been used to with Poweramp, namely the ability to sort my album folders by date added and being able to advance to the next album automatically. But if I can't get the same audio quality from Poweramp, then I might suck it up and keep using Walkman.
(For reference, I'm listening through ATH-IM70 earphones, and will eventually be pairing it with Sony MDR-1RBT MK2 headphones - might as well go all in on Sony right?)
I'm using Poweramp since my Xperia ARC Z, Z1, and Z3. It has 10 bands equalizer, and if I want to use walkman audio configs the I set them through PowerAmp.
PowerAmp uses cueSheet (.cue files), and Use that a lot. dont know if any other uses cuesheet.
Hey gen,
1) PowerAmp will play Hi-Res FLAC files and so will Walkman. NEITHER will downsample as far as I know, but know that the Z3 itself can only process up to 24-bit/96kHz. So if you have any like 24/192 files, they will be downsampled. But that's b/c of the phone, not the 2 apps themselves. If this is an issue for you, then you may wanna consider a Hi-Res audio player like the new Sony Walkman Player (or just wait to see what the upcoming 2015 Walkman has to offer?). Since a stand-alone player will pretty much ALWAYS sound better than any phone can, this can be something to consider purchasing down the line (I may do just that one day). They only spend like up to $40 max on the Z3 (the BEST android phone for audio) for audio, where on the players it's a much a higher amount. Just something to keep in mind. The Walkman doesn't let you use PowerAmp, but it does come with the same options like Surround Sound, etc. Some say these other ones are supposedly better than the Walkman, so you can check them out too (but I still bet the Walkman is great from reviews I've read): FiiO X3, X5, iBasso DX90. I'm not sure if they let you use PowerAmp either, but you can always ask in the forums there for each one on Amazon (I may do that now). The stock programs they have though may be better than PowerAmp anyway?
2) They might be, not sure. My take on ClearAudio+ is, leave it off. lol I think it does nothing but WEAKEN the sound. Several ppl on here have agreed with me, but it's up to you. Regarding DSEE HX, as nice as it is, I think actually that enabling the "Surround Sound" and choosing "Studio" will do more to liven up the sound than DSEE HX does.
I think both apps are great, but I prefer PowerAmp (PA) b/c it simply gives a BIT more life to my music than Walkman does, but it's very close. Since I can't use DSEE HX while playing music in PA, I use "Studio" to compensate for not having that, and it does more than DSEE HX does anyway. You can still use all the other options though. I disable ClearAudio+, enable Dynamic Normalizer b/c it gives an extra notch or two of volume which is great esp on headphones.......... under Sound Effects, leave the EQ flat if using PA, Clear Bass will vary (but it's great for giving a nice tight isolated bass sound), Surround Sound "Studio". (I sometimes keep S-Force on or off. Sometimes it makes things sound better, other time it can cause skips or spikes in the music.)
In PA, the best EQ preset IMO is "Rock". On my HTC One M8, I sometimes used "Bass and Treble" as well, but on the Z3, I notice the songs I needed that preset for no longer need it, and "Rock" sounds just fine on them, which leads me to believe that perhaps the Z3 has better sound quality than the M8? Not sure. In order to make "Rock" your default preset, go to any song, play it then hit pause right away, tap on EQ icon at top, tap on Save, then scroll down and press & hold on "Rock", tap on Assign, check or select Speaker, Wired Headset, and Bluetooth, then tap on Ok. "Rock" is now your default preset! (I can actually send you or anyone on here my PA settings file which I think will give you the best sound. You would just need to import the file into PA for it to be applied. If interested, simply send me a PM and I'll get it to you.)
If you still choose to use Walkman over PA, then regarding the EQ, my suggestion is the "Soul" preset. "Folk" is good too, but the one that I found to give the most clearest and best quality sound is not "Rock" but "Soul". It should make ANY type/genre of music sound better, even rock. All the other Z3 settings I mentioned above should still be utilized for best sound.
I think it's easier to search for or quickly find my albums/artists in PA than in Walkman. PA has a feature where you quickly scroll to a certain letter, where with Walkman you have to type in the first few letters of the album/artist in order to "quickly" scroll to it.
Regarding headphones, yeah Sony's headphones are great! I'd tried out (which you might've seen from earlier posts) the Sennheiser HD 598s, and the Audio-Technica M50Xs. Both were very good, but I ended up with the AKG K550s. It needed an amp though to hit "peak sound", so someone on here suggested the new Sony MDR-1As (said the 1Rs were great too, and I think MK2s are a step-up from the regular 1Rs), and I ended up trying those out and preferred them to the AKG headphones. They didn't need the amp (thanks to Dynamic Normalizer) so I got to return that as well as the other headphones.
RockStar2005
Yeah Caqo, PA has 10-bands, while Sony's Walkman app only has 5. I think this is a big reason why PA offers up a slightly richer sound than the Walkman app does.
RockStar2005
PowerAmp was one of the first apps I installed on my devices. Not anymore. The audio quality of my lossless tracks was awful in poweramp on the Z3C - lots of low crackle and background noise, especially prominent during track fades. I can only guess that poweramp are using a pretty bad lossless decoder. The walkman app plays them flawlessly.
I INITIALLY had issues with PA as well (though was on mp3s, but I think this applies too), and found out it was a SETTING in PA that needed to be disabled. Doing so fixed the issue permanently for me. See first post. I would also recommend disabling the setting right next to it too...... Bluetooth DVC. (Anyone who requests and receives a copy of my PA settings file will already have this taken care of after applying/importing the file into their PA.) If it still persists, then by all means use Walkman instead. But I've played SEVERAL lossless tracks on PA and I've never once had any issues at all, including the ones you mentioned.
RockStar2005
Yeah, there apparently is a known issue with the Z3 and poweramp:
http://forum.powerampapp.com/index.php?/topic/6857-horrible-noise-floor-on-z3-compact/
Unchecking DVC fixes that (for me at least)
Rockstar, thanks for answering my questions - I listen exclusively to FLAC now, and the only two hi-res albums I have are 96hz, so back to Poweramp for me! If there is a difference in sound quality between it and the Walkman app for hi-res files, I can't really hear it, and I certainly won't be able to hear it over Bluetooth. I agree on the Rock setting, that's what I've always set mines to as well.
genjitsu,
No problem. That thread you posted is for the Z3 Compact, not the Z3. That might explain why I haven't had any issues (I have the Z3). I think the issue is really just with PA itself. On my I think LG G2 or else HTC One M8 (previous phones), I had the same issue but this fix eliminated that issue. So I wonder if it's just a coincidence that those who have had recent issues also had Z3 Compacts?
That's cool. Only 1 out of the 11 Hi-Res albums I bought is 24/192, but I don't plan on buying anymore. I've read good but also negative things about 24/192 (vs 24/96), like that it supposedly sometimes makes the soundstage TOO big, meaning the various tracks/instruments sound too far apart, in a bad way. I also talked to one guy on Head-Fi.org (audiophile forum) who owns a premium sound store (John) and also has his own studio built INTO the store (he's been recording people for like 30 years and has like over $100k poured into his studio)......... he told me that he didn't really hear a difference b/t 24/96 and 24/192 until he used like really expensive headphones (like 4 figures lol). Even then, I wonder if I'd hear it? So again, I dunno. The one 24/192 album I actually bought (Van Morrison's "Moondance" album) sound just fine to me, so I can't vouch for any of it myself. The ONLY reason why I'd say it might be better is b/c of what I said before that producers and engineers tend to do their best work on Hi-Res releases vs CD and mp3s. So do they do MORE on a 24/192 album than a 24/96?? If someone can prove that true, I'd be interested to read about it. But until then, I'm gonna assume that 24/96 and 24/192 won't sound any different since they're both considered w/o a doubt to be Hi-Res. Another reason to get 24/96 over 24/192 is price. 24/192 can be like $5-$10 more for the same album when compared to 24/96.
The difference b/t PA's and Walkman's sound quality to me is pretty minimal. I would rate Walkman's at like a strong A-. When I compared it to PA one night not too long ago, PA on the same song just had SLIGHTLY more "punch" to it, so A+. Now I'm guessing when compared to a GOOD stand-alone player, it might rate at a B+/A-?? But that's a different scale all-together. I guess if I ever get around to buying one, I can say for sure, but that's just an estimate. The Z3 has the best audio quality you can get from an Android smartphone (if not all smartphones) as of the present time. The author of this website (see #3) told me it personally via e-mail. He said:
Well there are two sides of every DAC (Digital Audio Converter, which every phone/player has): 1. max Sampling and bitrate it can handle and 2. how accurately the DAC is doing it measured in THD, SNR, etc.
LG uses sh*tty DACs in their entire phone range. G3 sounded worse than a Note 2.
Today, Z3 is simply above the competition for any music you play. low bitrate to high. That's because the DAC-amp is amazing http://www.nxp.com/documents/short_data_sheet/TFA9890_SDS.pdf
Z3 is great for high res auto coz of its low distortion DAC-amp combo. Its also has some software tweaks (DSEE HX) to upsampling low res audio to make it sound better. That works by restoring some lost details in low bitrate music.
With Z3 the amp is powerful enough to drive most high-ohm audiophile-grade headphones.
Here's how I would rate them (quality)
Z3 > One M8 > Note 4 > M7 > Note 3 = Z1 = Z2 >> G3
He also said the Z3 has about $40 put into its sound, and that's the like the max on a smartphone right now, vs stand-alone players which have like hundreds of dollars put into their sound capabilities. He said the cheapest ones (G3?) have as low as like $15. That explains a lot. lol
Steve
Hi,
I have been using xda forum for long but wanted to share my own app(s) now. I completed my binaural audio recorder in January 2016 and published on PlayStore.
Many of us might have listened to some kind of 3d sounds like virtual hair cut etc. Without using expensive hardware anyone can record binaural 3d sounds using 2 android devices. It uses 2 devices as left right ears and mixes to build final output. Features -
- Connect 2 devices using Bluetooth or wifi and control both phones to start and stop recording.
- With wireless connection pressing start and stop affects both devices. Means operate with only one device!
- Records at 44.1KHz 16Bit OGG by default
- Limit of recording is decided by battery and disk space.
- Handles most of tasks automatic.
- Tested on Moto-G, Redmi phones, Yu Yunique, Samsung Galaxy 3 Mini. However due to hardware fragmentation it might fail to work on some devices.
Its an ad-supported freeware in nearly a beta stage due to wifi connectivity operations. Due to no access to universal time source the 2 recorded audio are many times out of sync means some sound plays earlier on a device. This can be calibrated using mixing panel.
I am working on many projects and suffering app discovery problem making almost no downloads of my apps.
Since i am not allowed to post links i am posting how to download. My app can be searched on play store by GamesGreh Binaural 3D Audio recorder or visiting ourinnovativemind dot in or gamesgreh dot in.
Anyone interested in 3d audio please take a look at this app and do let me know any problems you get.
Found this app while searching binaural recording on Android. I downloaded it on two phones but I can't get it to work. Did you give up on it?
Hi,
I stopped working on this project after 2-3 months as i started my other projects. This project required extremely precise timing sync between devices. Due to delay in communication the binaural effect used to fail and it required user intervention for shifting audio channels to get better binaural output.
I use my phonw which has 2 microphone at opposite ends and records stereo +(kind of binaural). I think using hardware is the best way to record binaural. Actually real 3D is not possible by 2 earphones until full research is done how 3d perception in achieved by mind. There is role of other body parts also in 3d. Not just ear passage.
bindeshkumarsingh said:
Hi,
I stopped working on this project after 2-3 months as i started my other projects. This project required extremely precise timing sync between devices. Due to delay in communication the binaural effect used to fail and it required user intervention for shifting audio channels to get better binaural output.
I use my phonw which has 2 microphone at opposite ends and records stereo +(kind of binaural). I think using hardware is the best way to record binaural. Actually real 3D is not possible by 2 earphones until full research is done how 3d perception in achieved by mind. There is role of other body parts also in 3d. Not just ear passage.
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Click to collapse
Thanks for the explanation. Good luck with your projects.