I have a 5 year old samsung YP-P2 MP3, and it's sound quality far surpasses that of my girlfriends galaxy S2, my Desire Z, and my friends iPhone 4.
I was wondering if there are ANY apps or tweaks or hacks that will improve the sound quality generated by the phones?
Of course I am using 320 kbps bitrate songs for testing, and the same headphones.
My MP3 sounds crisper, much deeper bass, and seems to have a wider treble range.
It's subjective. You've gotten used to the sound of your own device and therefore the others don't sound as good to you. Anybody else may listen to all the ones you listed and decide that yours is the only one that sounds bad!
If you were going to change device i would use use it for a few weeks before making any decisions on how it sounds. It's often the case that once your accustomed to the new sound you may come to prefer it.
Either way, rather than looking around for DSP solutions, which only degrade sound quality, i'd invest in some good headphones... that is the best way to go.
I'm using Shure SE530's, which are amazing no matter what you plug them into, but not everyone wants to spend that amount of money! Check here for a recent review of some affordable headphones:
http://www.reghardware.com/2011/10/15/ten_in_ear_headphones_with_microphones/
Low quality sound?
convolution said:
I have a 5 year old samsung YP-P2 MP3, and it's sound quality far surpasses that of my girlfriends galaxy S2, my Desire Z, and my friends iPhone 4.
I was wondering if there are ANY apps or tweaks or hacks that will improve the sound quality generated by the phones?
Of course I am using 320 kbps bitrate songs for testing, and the same headphones.
My MP3 sounds crisper, much deeper bass, and seems to have a wider treble range.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
In case you are rooted, try Viper4Android http://play.google.com/store/apps/d...m.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2191223
I am currently using Galaxy Nexus GSM and it has a very low quality speaker sound. This app did wonders for me
I've been wondering how people's experience of the N5 audio aspect is, speaker wise and headphone wise. Would love to know feedback on this as to site chances in which I could enhance their audio aspects.
If anyone could answer the following queries I have I would gladly appreciate it.
- DSP tunneling (In regards to the 60 hr playback)
- Speakers are Stereo like the N7 2013 or Mono
- Audio codec being used (Preferably in the audio conf file under /system/etc/media_profiles.xml and mixer_paths.xml)
- List all the libs named audio in system/lib/hw
Thanks a million guys
Im pretty sure the audio is mono.
Sent from my SXP [R800i]
Yup the device output is mono and it's not very good either. The speaker falls weak of everything apart from Bass. It just feels to be lacking. I have used a G2 and the speaker is much louder and clearer, but the speaker on the G2 is only mono too which leads me to wonder whether the Nexus uses the exact same speaker as the G2 but the software on the Nexus limits it's output.
To me audio is quite a big thing, as ridiculous as it sounds I do sometimes play music out of my phone, and I also use YouTube out loud. I have noticed with the Nexus 5 is is sometimes hard to hear notification sounds, especially in the morning when I am on the bus for example. I know it's not just my device there are numerous reports about this around the web and do not confuse this issue with the tinny audio bug, this simply is the speaker quality.
In terms of headphone output, no complaints.
jaaystott said:
Yup the device output is mono and it's not very good either. The speaker falls weak of everything apart from Bass. It just feels to be lacking. I have used a G2 and the speaker is much louder and clearer, but the speaker on the G2 is only mono too which leads me to wonder whether the Nexus uses the exact same speaker as the G2 but the software on the Nexus limits it's output.
To me audio is quite a big thing, as ridiculous as it sounds I do sometimes play music out of my phone, and I also use YouTube out loud. I have noticed with the Nexus 5 is is sometimes hard to hear notification sounds, especially in the morning when I am on the bus for example. I know it's not just my device there are numerous reports about this around the web and do not confuse this issue with the tinny audio bug, this simply is the speaker quality.
In terms of headphone output, no complaints.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry for the late reply but thanks for your input in this. Very helpful! I'll see what I can do. The idea being the dsp tunneling is what disturbs me the most. I'm tempted to order one to see about it.
Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk
Got my Z3 Saturday and love it so far, though I did have to exchange it within a few hours as the camera wouldn't focus at all.
Anyway coming from the HTC One m8 the output volume is quite low, I used to have the m8 at about 75% because anything louder would be deafening! This seems the same output volume of the Z1, on my commute to work in have to have this at 90/100% to drain out the sound of the train, I'm somewhat a bit disappointed.
I use Spotify and download my playlists at extreme (320kbps) and I've been tempted to try Sony Music Unlimited as it supports the High Res audio which the Z3 supports, however cannot find anything online about this high res audio support.
Does anyone know of any links?
Sent from my D6603 using Tapatalk
Keep in mind it's waterproof and dustproof. They need to seal it far more then Htc on M8.
Some sacrifice must be made, that ls why it's "low" for you
Sent from my C6903 using XDA Free mobile app
electrash said:
Keep in mind it's waterproof and dustproof. They need to seal it far more then Htc on M8.
Some sacrifice must be made, that ls why it's "low" for you
Sent from my C6903 using XDA Free mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You make a fair point.
Sent from my D6603 using Tapatalk
maverick1103 said:
I use Spotify and download my playlists at extreme (320kbps) and I've been tempted to try Sony Music Unlimited as it supports the High Res audio which the Z3 supports, however cannot find anything online about this high res audio support.
Does anyone know of any links?
Sent from my D6603 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The high res audio support is USB audio out. This means that the output signal is digital and in order to make use of it you would need an external USB DAC/amp in conjunction with a USB OTG cable. I've been using such a combination on my Galaxy S3 for years now (I use the HRT Microstreamer). Of course, you'd also need a high end set of headphones that are capable of resolving the higher quality signal.
Various high res music file formats are also supported, including DSD, FLAC, WAV, ALAC.
Clarification: high res audio is the ability to read the high res audio file format as well as the ability to output a 24bit/96kHz (or higher) signal. For the former, the Z3 should be able to output via the headphone socket. For the latter you'll need the USB DAC.
The dsee near high res upscale is found in headphone options, high res over usb is a different menu altogether. It takes mp3's etc, upscales them and outputs over headphone.
Dsee is only an option when using Walkman.
Sent from my D6603 using Tapatalk
dl12345 said:
The high res audio support is USB audio out. This means that the output signal is digital and in order to make use of it you would need an external USB DAC/amp in conjunction with a USB OTG cable. I've been using such a combination on my Galaxy S3 for years now (I use the HRT Microstreamer). Of course, you'd also need a high end set of headphones that are capable of resolving the higher quality signal.
Various high res music file formats are also supported, including DSD, FLAC, WAV, ALAC.
Clarification: high res audio is the ability to read the high res audio file format as well as the ability to output a 24bit/96kHz (or higher) signal. For the former, the Z3 should be able to output via the headphone socket. For the latter you'll need the USB DAC.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for that explanation.
corallus said:
The dsee near high res upscale is found in headphone options, high res over usb is a different menu altogether. It takes mp3's etc, upscales them and outputs over headphone.
Dsee is only an option when using Walkman.
Sent from my D6603 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I cannot see the option you speak of, I have looked in the Headphones option but no option for HSEE. I have been told by a Sony rep that the HSEE also works with the Sony Unlimited Music app.
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I cannot see the option you speak of, I have looked in the Headphones option but no option for HSEE. I have been told by a Sony rep that the HSEE also works with the Sony Unlimited Music app.
Sent from my D6603 using Tapatalk[/QUOTE]
Maverick,
I think you're referring to DSEE HX. It's upscales mp3s (lossy music files) using a special algorithm in the same basic way a blu-ray player upscales old DVDs from standard definition (480p) to high definition (1080p). Per Sony's official video mentioning it and corallus' post, you have to go through the WALKMAN app's settings, not the phone's sound settings, in order to reach the DSEE HX option. I think it's really stupid of Sony to put it there instead of in the phone's sound settings because then you're limited to using only the Walkman app if you want to have upscaling (which might've been intentional actually).
Here's the video to access it in the Walkman app on the Xperia Z3 phone: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JjRAQ6AlmII
RockStar2005
---------- Post added at 05:32 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:30 PM ----------
So here's my dilemma......... I am a big fan of PowerAmp. But the one thing PowerAmp doesn't do is upscale mp3s the way the Harman/Kardon mod for the HTC One M8 or DSEE HX on the Z3 does. But now it's known that on the Z3, if you want to upscale mp3s, you apparently have to use the Walkman app b/c THAT is where the DSEE HX upscaling option is (stupidly) located. I dunno why Sony didn't just put it in the phone's sound settings itself.
So how do I get around this? Are there other music playing apps that also upscale as well as the H/K and the Walkman apps do? Are there any good apps I can download that upscale mp3s? How good is the Walkman app compared to PowerAmp? I checked and the Walkman app apparently only has a 4-band EQ vs PowerAmp's 10-band EQ, which worries me. lol
Any suggestions or solutions to this dilemma are extremely welcome!
RockStar2005
Iam coming from a htc one and this undoubtedly louder although when the volume is up full the sound is horrible, phone vibrates and the sound is very thin! Turn it down a bit and the sound quality is alot better and possibly still a little louder then the htc one! although i personally never found the htc one to be loud by any means,it just sounded nicer then most mobile phone audio
I felt this too, gonna try one of these, don't want to spend that much on a amp. http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B005HJWWW8/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
RockStar2005 said:
I cannot see the option you speak of, I have looked in the Headphones option but no option for HSEE. I have been told by a Sony rep that the HSEE also works with the Sony Unlimited Music app.
Sent from my D6603 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
RockStar2005 said:
Maverick,
I think you're referring to DSEE HX. It's upscales mp3s (lossy music files) using a special algorithm in the same basic way a blu-ray player upscales old DVDs from standard definition (480p) to high definition (1080p). Per Sony's official video mentioning it and corallus' post, you have to go through the WALKMAN app's settings, not the phone's sound settings, in order to reach the DSEE HX option. I think it's really stupid of Sony to put it there instead of in the phone's sound settings because then you're limited to using only the Walkman app if you want to have upscaling (which might've been intentional actually).
Here's the video to access it in the Walkman app on the Xperia Z3 phone: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JjRAQ6AlmII
RockStar2005
---------- Post added at 05:32 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:30 PM ----------
So here's my dilemma......... I am a big fan of PowerAmp. But the one thing PowerAmp doesn't do is upscale mp3s the way the Harman/Kardon mod for the HTC One M8 or DSEE HX on the Z3 does. But now it's known that on the Z3, if you want to upscale mp3s, you apparently have to use the Walkman app b/c THAT is where the DSEE HX upscaling option is (stupidly) located. I dunno why Sony didn't just put it in the phone's sound settings itself.
So how do I get around this? Are there other music playing apps that also upscale as well as the H/K and the Walkman apps do? Are there any good apps I can download that upscale mp3s? How good is the Walkman app compared to PowerAmp? I checked and the Walkman app apparently only has a 4-band EQ vs PowerAmp's 10-band EQ, which worries me. lol
Any suggestions or solutions to this dilemma are extremely welcome!
RockStar2005
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've found the setting now and thanks for the explanation too!
I believe this HSEE and High Res is not quite what I thought, but the Sony Rep explained to me that the HSEE also works with Music unlimited app, however I don't see an option like I do in the walkman app... If it does support it I'll switch from Spotify in a flash!
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maverick1103 said:
I've found the setting now and thanks for the explanation too!
I believe this HSEE and High Res is not quite what I thought, but the Sony Rep explained to me that the HSEE also works with Music unlimited app, however I don't see an option like I do in the walkman app... If it does support it I'll switch from Spotify in a flash!
Sent from my D6603 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
YW Maverick!
Again, it's DSEE HX not HSEE.
RockStar2005
RockStar2005 said:
YW Maverick!
Again, it's DSEE HX not HSEE.
RockStar2005
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oh my! That'll be not having enough coffee today!
I've just found out how to get the music unlimited working with DSEE HX, you use it in the walkman app, can't believe I didn't think of that first. I'm going to try it tomorrow on my commute and see if it is worth it.
Sent from my D6603 using Tapatalk
I think Z3's headphone output is quiet worse than M8,and hi-res only works when your phone plug into a external dac such as pha-3
So I suggest you use M8 with headphone jack
Devries said:
I think Z3's headphone output is quiet worse than M8,and hi-res only works when your phone plug into a external dac such as pha-3
So I suggest you use M8 with headphone jack
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've heard various things, and one of the videos I saw showed that the Z3's headphone output was sometimes greater than the M8's too. You can always increase the pre-amp volume in like PowerAmp to raise the volume more if you need to.
That's only true on the pre-Z3 phones. They (from what I just read last night) were Hi-Res compatible, but unable to convert tracks to Hi-Res on their own. The Z3 however has a BUILT-IN Hi-Res converter, so there's no need for special Hi-Res headphones or hardware. The sound the earphones or headphones get from the Z3 will automatically be Hi-Res if the tracks themselves are of that quality.
RockStar2005
Use music unlimited via Walkman app to get the higher res audio stream
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---------- Post added at 08:00 AM ---------- Previous post was at 07:59 AM ----------
You will still need high res headphones, most headphones output at a peak of 25-40k high res need 80k
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---------- Post added at 08:00 AM ---------- Previous post was at 07:59 AM ----------
[/COLOR]You will still need high res headphones, most headphones output at a peak of 25-40k high res need 80k
Sent from my D6603 using Tapatalk[/QUOTE]
Hey corallus,
Oh really? Ok. So do the headphones have to actually SAY "Hi-Res" on them? Do you know of any good earphones/earbuds that can play Hi-Res content?
Thanks,
RockStar2005
[/COLOR]You will still need high res headphones, most headphones output at a peak of 25-40k high res need 80k
Sent from my D6603 using Tapatalk[/QUOTE]
Hey corralus,
I was looking at some Hi-Res headphones/earphones, and I came across this one by Sony:
http://store.sony.com/hi-res-stereo-headphones-zid27-MDR10R//cat-27-catid-All-Headphones-Earbuds
It says under Specs that the max output for this pair is 40k Hz, but it also says that this pair is Hi-Res. I was just curious to see where you saw that said that you need 80k Hz to be considered Hi-Res? I have seen ones labeled Hi-Res that are 80k HZ too (http://store.sony.com/premium-hi-re...d27-MDR1R/cat-27-catid-All-Headphones-Earbuds), but Sony apparently considers 40k to be Hi-Res too.
Thank You,
RockStar2005
It's like hd tvs, hi res @ 40k is like 720i and at a push 720p, so not full HD
80k are closer to what most "true" hi res audio is sampled at, which is 96k up to 192k so 80k headphones are like 1080p, full HD
full acoustic headphones capable of close to 192k being like 4k tvs
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---------- Post added at 12:38 AM ---------- Previous post was at 12:35 AM ----------
Devries said:
I think Z3's headphone output is quiet worse than M8,and hi-res only works when your phone plug into a external dac such as pha-3
So I suggest you use M8 with headphone jack
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not true, the hi res audio amp is now built into the unit.
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corallus said:
It's like hd tvs, hi res @ 40k is like 720i and at a push 720p, so not full HD
80k are closer to what most "true" hi res audio is sampled at, which is 96k up to 192k so 80k headphones are like 1080p, full HD
full acoustic headphones capable of close to 192k being like 4k tvs
Sent from my D6603 using Tapatalk
---------- Post added at 12:38 AM ---------- Previous post was at 12:35 AM ----------
Not true, the hi res audio amp is now built into the unit.
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Click to expand...
Click to collapse
corallus,
Ok thanks. But I'm wondering, will I be able to tell the difference b/t 40k & 80k? I listened to a couple videos on youtube that played those frequencies and once it went past 20k I couldn't hear anything. I think from what I've read that it's more about the bit rate (16 vs 24) and sampling rate (44.1 vs 96 or 192). Even when I see sites that sell Hi-Res FLAC files they don't even mention the frequency rate, but the last 2 are always mentioned. So are you basically saying they come as a "packaged deal" essentially?
Any suggestions on a good pair for around $200? I've been looking at Sonys, Sennheisers, and Bowers & Wilkins. The Sony ones actually do hit 80k (http://www.amazon.com/dp/B009A6CZ30...olid=1A8RN6F641F1I&coliid=I8GCDERDPVO8F&psc=1) and are well-rated. The Sennheiser one is too (http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0042A8CW2...TF8&colid=1A8RN6F641F1I&coliid=I35QT7Z8LDB7EC), as is the Bowers & Wilkins one (http://www.amazon.com/Bowers-Wilkin...412735787&sr=1-1&keywords=bowers+&+wilkins+p3).
Thanks,
RockStar2005
________________________________________________________________________________
I agree. It's built-in so you just need a good pair of headphones to hear it. Good doesn't necessarily mean expensive either.
RockStar2005
corallus said:
It's like hd tvs, hi res @ 40k is like 720i and at a push 720p, so not full HD
80k are closer to what most "true" hi res audio is sampled at, which is 96k up to 192k so 80k headphones are like 1080p, full HD
full acoustic headphones capable of close to 192k being like 4k tvs
Sent from my D6603 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Corallus,
So I downloaded some Hi-Res FLAC tracks from this site over the last couple days (www.hdtracks.com). So far I've listened to like the 1st Zeppelin (remastered) album on there which is a cool 24/96. I compared to my 320 kbps mp3 version of the same album. Even on my $30 V-Moda in-ear headphones, I could still hear a difference! So imagine what I'd hear on a $200 pair of headphones! lol Since my M8 has the Harman/Kardon mod on it, it was able to process the songs in Hi-Res just like the Z3 can. Songs were louder & less muddied up on the Hi-Res ones..... the vocals and instruments didn't sound like they were stepping over each other like on the mp3 versions of the same songs, but were more separate, distinct, & clear. I could hear lil things like guitar fills more clearly too, etc. The Hi-Res tracks aren't cheap, so I'm only buying albums of which I truly love. So thanks again for your input which helped me understand the Hi-Res option a lot better!
I recommend anyone who has or is planning on buying the Z3 to check out the site I just posted above in order to take advantage of the Hi-Res feature. (Make sure if you get anything that you set your format to "FLAC". Even though it's supposed to, PA can't play ALAC, that's only for iTunes. The other two are also lossless too but take up way more space, and these files are HUGE to begin with lol). Click on "Genres" to find what you like. They also have a free sampler too that you can download, but you may or may not really hear a difference until you download FLAC versions of songs you already have & then compare them like I did.
And yes, Walkman can play FLAC too.
RockStar2005
Using Your Smartphone As A Dedicated Music Player Guide
Many people now own a smartphone, and most actually run Android. We all now (including myself) use our phones for music playback. It’s just easy to buy a song from Google Play then download it within the app or stream it. Their are people (including myself again) that prefer sound from a high end sound card or dedicated high end MP3 player to enjoy their tunes. However in recent times on-board sound has become surprisingly decent on computers, and just as good in our phones. In fact sometimes our phones can outperform that of the onboard sound in our computers. That though really depends on how much your motherboard costs and phone, as higher the price generally better sound card onboard of it, back on to phones though. Our phones have also had a recent upgrade with their sound solutions. Before most “smartphones” some phones had MP3 player functionality but they usually sounded just terrible with rolled of bass, and lack of detail in the highs department.
Thanks to the new smartphone race manufacturers are pushing themselves to create the best phone available on the market. However many forget about one thing - sound quality. Headphone sound quality on most Android’s is fairly decent however the built-in speakers are mostly described as atrocious. Still some phones excel at sound quality better than others, however this is almost very limited if you use stock earphones or cheap headphones to listen to music with. Hooking your phone up to powered speakers is also dependant on this, however it will not pull as much power from the DAC - so if the DAC is weak it will still sound plenty loud enough hooked up to powered speakers. Again, quality of speakers depend on the speakers and the phone.
Just because the phone has a good DAC will not mean great sound quality either. There are a few other factors within the phone itself. The DAC shielding is a big one this essentially blocks out unwanted CPU and radio noises because cell reception is radio waves that make sound, and some phones CPU’s may actually run at a similar frequency as the DAC and interfere which causes annoying static like noises. Where the DAC is placed, and how it was installed is also another one. This one is similar to the interference from other hardware but where the DAC is placed will determine the amount of interference and easy access to a headphone jack. How other components handle audio processing is another. For example the CPU may be to slow (almost never however) to render higher quality audio files this is now mostly eliminated with almost every phone now. The DAC might also sound a tad better if it also had a amplifier accompanying it - especially true on high end or difficult to drive headphones. You will find phones like the HTC One M series will have smoother bass and better definition on headphones because of it. If you own a phone without an amp, you can pick a portable one up to drive most headphones at a price as low as $30 like the Fiio E6 for example. Your DAC might be decent, but have you considered what the output is made from? Some lower end phones may be made from cheap materials which will create interference and strange noises in your mix.
Now that we have chopped down the hardware side of things, lets change the subject a little bit to the software implementations and restrictions. Just because every side of the hardware is great, don’t expect stellar audio quality if the OS or software your using is not “bonding” with the hardware or not well optimized you could experience poor quality or stuttering. Most Androids overcome this now, it is not so troublesome anymore. Okay so if the OS is optimized then what equalizers or sound mods are actually implemented? Audiophilles complain that eq’s do not do their ears justice nor the audio mods but some of us like to punch up our music (especially MP3 files). With factory mods and equalizers like BeatsAudio, Sony Clearaudio, Wavesmaxx and SoundAlive we can sparkle up music to make it sound how we like it. However if you are one of those that are a purist best you turn these features of or not use them - you could always just look for another phone without these mods at all.
We have now talked about the DAC, software and hardware side of things, now lets have a look at how the music is actually made.
So a digital music file is a bunch of 1’s and 0’s, however how are those 1’s and 0’s captured? We must first use a microphone the hook that up to an ADC (analog to digital converter) to capture sound. That sound is then captured by the ADC, processed by a computer and finally outputted as a digital file (the 1’s and 0’s).The quality of this file depends on similar things to how your phone computes the music, however the quality of the microphone also has a drastic effect. Obviously, the better the quality microphone the better the quality of the recorded sound. Some microphones excel at recording different frequencies or sounds. For example the mic in your phone is specifically tuned best for voice recording to assure smooth voice calls. However a microphone that is advertised as recording percussion might be tuned to accurately record that specific instrument range - and other instruments might sound inaccurate or less lively.
The DAC to the ADC now choosing the best headphones or earphones for you. If you are still using the stock earphones that came with your phone - stop! The will sound extremely mediacore and maybe alright at best. Consider three things price, quality and comfort and if you prefer headphones or earphones. Headphones are the big mostly bulky things that usually sit on your head. These things are usually much better than earphones and can sound much better for just over half the price of earphones. Headphones are more accurate, and can create really low subwoofer like bass unlike earphones which are usually pretty good but are unable to accurately display low bass properly and without some decent volume bass like headphones. Some earphones also fall short for quality defined highs as some lower end earphones may have these higher frequencies boosted, but sound nothing like a good much more high end pair. Also take note headphones are much too bulky to wear all the time which could hurt your head or ears and they look just so goofy!
Comfort and quality fall under the price and brand you are willing to pay for. Some lower end earphones and headphones may sound better, but have less comfort or vice versa. High end listening devices will combat both, but cost you more. DO NOT buy these things just because of the brands - do homework just because you like bass do not always just look at Beats By Dre their are by far much better bass driven headphones out their. But if you are willing to pay for these sorts of brands just to look cool, go ahead - i’m not stopping you, just informing you.
The next chapter is the type of file you are playing (format), and where you are playing it from. Google Play Music streams music as MP3 files @ 320Kbps which can be changed to a lower value if your going over your monthly data usage by streaming. Spotify also streams in 320Kbps with MP3 files, and you can also set a lower quality rating. As per say, lower quality streaming use much less data maybe half as much but some songs may lose their “sparkle” or interesting parts. This also applies to offline use, you have more flexibility here as you can buy either MP3 files, FLAC’s and other types of music files. Note that Flacs hold the best sound quality and are not trimmed of their sparkle or detail as supposed to a MP3 file. Many will not tell the difference between a 320Kbps MP3 as supposed to a FLAC file either because they just can not naturally tell or their headphones or DAC are just not up to the job. MP3 files still sound good but do not buy anything under 256kbps quality in MP3 as you are getting ripped of for true quality. Flacs usually cost more, and are less commonly available but do sound better. Do note, a single Flac file can use 100MB of space, so be careful of your remaining storage space.
Into the last can of worms finally, *phew*! And that is things you can do the simply improve quality of your music being played. You could try shopping for an amp or even amp+dac combo. Portable amps and dac’s are quite cheap now and Fiio sell quite a comprehensive amount of decent products like so. I first started with the Fiio E6 amp and on my sort of low impedance headphones (64ohms) I heard differences in how tight bass was. It was no longer afraid to show itself, and the Fiio’s bass boost option gave it a bit more mid bass (6DB+) for a warmer listener experience. That was just a $30 amp I picked up for cheap. Later on unfortunately it died so I was forced to buy a new amp. This time I looked into one, but it also included a built in DAC - it was a combo 2 in 1! When i plugged this into my phone it never worked at first, I had to download USB Audio Player from Google Play as my Galaxy Nexus could not natively play from a usb DAC. When I listened to music from it for my first time, I was astonished at how well it fared against my friends PCI sound card. Comparing it to my phones built in DAC the USB DAC was an improvement, but my phone still sounded pretty good for it’s age.
Some more things i’d like to add is that specs are not as always as they seem. When you hear big fancy things like 8Hz-32Khz frequency response for example it’s good but to be honest you can not typically hear anything under 20Hz, and over 20Khz. Also watch out for SNR and THD. A SNR of 100 and up will sound acceptable, try to get something beyond that for better quality audio. These specs will not determine how much bass will be shown, nor how the headphones/DAC will sound but will give you an educated guess at it.
Another thing I would like to mention is Audio Mods. There are various Audio Mods amongst the XDA community. These mods improve sound quality by means of post processing and updated sound files. The post processing is fast, and not very CPU intensive at all. These mods will dramatically increase sound quality where possible - whether it be perceived detail and bass it will have your audio senses tingling at mercy’s end. You can try my mod out and see for yourself here. Just flash it with your recovery, and you are all good to go.
Thanks for reading!
I'll update this thread in the future if something changes or I decide to post more info. :good:
Sorry added here as not possible on the Real Life Review thread.
I'm using Hi Res audio files from Qobuz and Amazon HD and using Beyerdynamic DT 770 Pro headphones. My bebchmark is my HI FI system which is streamer, amplification and speakers over £5k in value and I am blown away by the V60 Quad DAC.
Great bass control smooth sound and reasonable sound stage depth. Can follow each instrument.
Tracks tested with Van Morrison Moon Dance 24 bit / 96 kHz. And Emmylou Harris Wayfaring Stanger CD quality.
Agreed. This phone hits all the important notes for audiophiles.
jah said:
Sorry added here as not possible on the Real Life Review thread.
I'm using Hi Res audio files from Qobuz and Amazon HD and using Beyerdynamic DT 770 Pro headphones. My bebchmark is my HI FI system which is streamer, amplification and speakers over £5k in value and I am blown away by the V60 Quad DAC.
Great bass control smooth sound and reasonable sound stage depth. Can follow each instrument.
Tracks tested with Van Morrison Moon Dance 24 bit / 96 kHz. And Emmylou Harris Wayfaring Stanger CD quality.
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I'm disappointed. Stupid Amazon app doesn't support or recognize Android DACs USB or internal. So all Hi Rez is resampled to 48khz.
mc_365 said:
I'm disappointed. Stupid Amazon app doesn't support or recognize Android DACs USB or internal. So all Hi Rez is resampled to 48khz.
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Agreed, that is disappointing. But works fine with Qobuz. I assume Tidal would also be okay.
jah said:
Agreed, that is disappointing. But works fine with Qobuz. I assume Tidal would also be okay.
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Click to collapse
Well of course it works with Tidal. LG has a strategic partnership with Tidal and the creators / founders of MQA (Tidals preferred HiRez format) which currently can only be streamed on Tidal.
mc_365 said:
Well of course it works with Tidal. LG has a strategic partnership with Tidal and the creators / founders of MQA (Tidals preferred HiRez format) which currently can only be streamed on Tidal.
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The issue was that Amazon HD does not recognise the DAC and I can't test Tidal therefore I made the point that Tidal will likely detect the Quad DAC.