Difference in Bass-quality Android ROMs (SAMSUNGs special audio driver?) - General Questions and Answers

Hi everyone,
I'm dealing with this problem for over 2 years so i thought why not ask this at XDA, maybe U can help me.
2 years ago i bought my S7 Edge. I listen to music a lot with my in-ears (Shure SE215-BT1) and i really like tracks with a strong bass. So to boost Up the bass is installed a bass booster. This really made my ears shake and created a punchy bass from high quality. (It did NOT ruin the complete sound and did NOT vanish al the high tones) So i had a really good listening experience.
But then i started to root my phone and install ROMs like LineageOS, ExtendOASP etc. All these ROM didn't deliver the sound experience i had with the stock ROM. The normal sound quality was identical, but when i started to boost the bass the sound was completely ruined. All it did was lower the high tones and create a weird sounding bass, but NOT a punchy bass that i liked. Playing around with different equalizer didn't make anything better, even Viper4Android did not deliver.
An exception to this was the ROM called OnTheEdgeLite (which is based on the samsung ROM) in this ROM the sound was the same as the Stock ROM.
I can conclude that this is software based problem, but i can't seem to find how this works.
I recently bought myself a Huawei Mate 20 Pro and sadly enough this has the same bass quality as all the custom ROMs i installed on my S7 Edge.
This makes me think that Samsung, in some kind of way, has a special sound driver in the ROMs maybe?
Is there anyone on this forum who can help me explain this or help me fix this problem.

Yes. It's commonly known that OEMs/Device manufacturers have proprietary things, including audio. This is why you can't use most stock ROM Camera apps on LineageOS, the proprietary things are missing.
For example, on my V20, the audio is a lot better on a stock ROM from LG than it is on LineageOS.
I'd suggest a music player with a good equaliser, like Rocket Player and its 10-band EQ.

Redline said:
Yes. It's commonly known that OEMs/Device manufacturers have proprietary things, including audio. This is why you can't use most stock ROM Camera apps on LineageOS, the proprietary things are missing.
For example, on my V20, the audio is a lot better on a stock ROM from LG than it is on LineageOS.
I'd suggest a music player with a good equaliser, like Rocket Player and its 10-band EQ.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for your reply. That was some meaningfull info. I checked out Rocketplayer and it delivers a more punchy bass!!! Sadly enough it mutes high tones when bass really kicks in. But i will test out more equalizers since they al seem to respond differently.

Related

[Q] DSP manager eq settings for Bass and Treble?

I came from a sense rom, so I was experimenting the dsp manager(didnt get to try it in my last device).
I'm not using a high quality headphone, just a better one with better bass and treble support that's all.
Being a treblephile, I'd ask opinions of Sensation users on their settings with best bass and treble effect without messing with the clarity of the music. (since devices may vary so I tried lots of settings from other devices, not really working).
I heard the step equalizer setting was good, but somehow it doesnt really fits. And a lot dont really encourage bass boost set to extreme.
But basically I just want a good idea for the equalizer, my head is burning out. Sigh~ Help please!

Mi 4C Sound Quality

Has someone tested the audio quality of the Mi 4C?
I mean the earphones one during call and with music.
I would like to know if it is comparable with Htc One M8...
Thanks!
not tested the earphones, but the built-in speakers are very loud!!
Thank you kelkelkel, could you please tell me when you'll try the headphones?
HarryCustom said:
Thank you kelkelkel, could you please tell me when you'll try the headphones?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
unfortunately not any time soon, i left them in the box and have since traveled abroad.. relying on my trusty Shures
Speaker is better than M8. I havent try earphone yet!
Sent from my Mi-4c using Tapatalk
Stereo or mono speaker?
Speaker or Headphones?
The mi4c has superb sound. My headphones (beyerdynamic tp51p) really become alive. You'll not be dissapointed.
Finally I've tested the phone and the audio is low and poor, in my opinion.
I've tried three pairs of earphones. I think it is worse than my old Moto G 2013.
Anyway installing Cyanogenmod the volume is good and the sound is more crystalline.
So the problem is the Miui software...
We are still very far from the quality of HTC or even iphone.
Equalizer, earphones enhancing are honestly not very useful. In Cyanogenmod instead the equalizer runs well.
Anyway the price of the phone is very good but I can not recommend the purchase to audiophiles users or those who want a particular quality of listening .
HarryCustom said:
Finally I've tested the phone and the audio is low and poor, in my opinion.
I've tried three pairs of earphones. I think it is worse than my old Moto G 2013.
Anyway installing Cyanogenmod the volume is good and the sound is more crystalline.
So the problem is the Miui software...
We are still very far from the quality of HTC or even iphone.
Equalizer, earphones enhancing are honestly not very useful. In Cyanogenmod instead the equalizer runs well.
Anyway the price of the phone is very good but I can not recommend the purchase to audiophiles users or those who want a particular quality of listening .
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Strange.. Didn`t try CM, but with stock miui headphones sound just great! (5.10.22 weekly, Westone 4r)
damned91 said:
Strange.. Didn`t try CM, but with stock miui headphones sound just great! (5.10.22 weekly, Westone 4r)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Stock? I've haven't found any earphones in the box.
Did you try to ear from Htc, S6 or iPhone? It is very different, I repeat, this is my opinion!
Didn't you noticed that the max volume is low yet?
I tend to agree with @HarryCustom, max sound quality is so so under miui even with the enhancements. No contest compared to my M8, both speakers or headphone. Waiting for sound mods when available since I have rooted it already.
Sent using xda premium
What about the volume mod, its here in this rom generator http://www.smiui.net/mi4c_libra.php
ermacwins said:
What about the volume mod, its here in this rom generator http://www.smiui.net/mi4c_libra.php
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've installed that rom, but I think the mod is not working, the audio is low yet.
It was a problem anyway because I've decided to use Cyanogenmod, in my opinion is more stable than Miui...
HarryCustom said:
I've installed that rom, but I think the mod is not working, the audio is low yet.
It was a problem anyway because I've decided to use Cyanogenmod, in my opinion is more stable than Miui...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Is that miui build more stable than the default Chinese one?
I am Italian, so I've received the phone with a modded stable rom with plenty of bloatware.
So I've flashed the Miui.eu rom and cooked Smiui.
I think all the roms are immature, but this a common problem when you buy a new android phone.
I've tested both Miui and Cyanogenmod for a week. In my opinion there are not so much difference in stability.
But maybe I excedeed saying that the other one is more stable, to tell the truth te only sure thing is that I think Cyano fits better for me.
I am sure only about one thing the sound is different and better with Cyanogenmod...
Are there any apps in the play store that can change the sound quality? Sounds like it has a lot of bass
Hi you can try Eizo Noozxoide, in my opinion is the best audio adjustment app.
Anyway if the audio is poor, is poor...
HarryCustom said:
Finally I've tested the phone and the audio is low and poor, in my opinion.
I've tried three pairs of earphones. I think it is worse than my old Moto G 2013.
Anyway installing Cyanogenmod the volume is good and the sound is more crystalline.
So the problem is the Miui software...
We are still very far from the quality of HTC or even iphone.
Equalizer, earphones enhancing are honestly not very useful. In Cyanogenmod instead the equalizer runs well.
Anyway the price of the phone is very good but I can not recommend the purchase to audiophiles users or those who want a particular quality of listening .
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Test Frequency response Noise level Dynamic range THD IMD + Noise Stereo crosstalk
Xiaomi Mi 4c +0.01, -0.04 -94.7 90.8 0.0026 0.0095 -95.3
Xiaomi Mi 4c (headphones attached) +0.03, -0.08 -94.4 90.6 0.0026 0.034 -47.6
Test Frequency response Noise level Dynamic range THD IMD + Noise Stereo crosstalk
Apple iPhone 6s +0.03, -0.04 -93.5 93.5 0.0016 0.0075 -73.2
Apple iPhone 6s (headphones attached) +0.10, -0.06 -93.8 93.9 0.0030 0.101 -68.2
Here are some actual values for the Mi4C (Running the Chinese version of MIUI) and iPhone 6s, and as you can see they perform practically the same, but the iPhone is louder (not shown here) and the stereo crosstalk with Headphones attached is more than a bit disappointing. How is the sound better with CyanogenMod? In what way? Can you hear more distortion or worse dynamic range in compared to other phones? I'm waiting for my Mi4C to arrive, and I'm somewhat the audiophile (though that's not why I bought this phone, it just has the least amount of compromises for the price).
xdadevet said:
Here are some actual values for the Mi4C (Running the Chinese version of MIUI) and iPhone 6s, and as you can see they perform practically the same, but the iPhone is louder (not shown here) and the stereo crosstalk with Headphones attached is more than a bit disappointing. How is the sound better with CyanogenMod? In what way? Can you hear more distortion or worse dynamic range in compared to other phones? I'm waiting for my Mi4C to arrive, and I'm somewhat the audiophile (though that's not why I bought this phone, it just has the least amount of compromises for the price).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi xdadevet and sorry for my terrible English, I am not an audiophile, not at all. I tried both on Miui.eu, the last rom available, and Smiu with volume boost patch (that seems to be not useful) and I noticed more distortion and worse dynamic range than on CM12.1 Alpha.
Maybe my phone has some issues, but this is what I've noticed. It's not very difficult to understand that, I can't need to be an audiophile to say it: for expample on both miui I can keep the headphones in my ears even with the maximum volume and, the sound is distorted , unclean and weak. On CM the sound is crystal clear , the equalizer works well and the phone sounds a little better than my old Moto G (always on CyanogenMod), at maximum volume I'm forced to take off the headphones. I was hoping that the Mi 4C sounded better anyway!
Using the sound enhancement by Xioami (all the profiles are for Xiaomi earphone, any other earbud has to use the general one ) ths situation is the same, you can ear a bit better, but volume and distortion are the same. I've tried a pair of Blox, Edifier H110 and Baldoor E100.
Maybe with another type of headphones you can change the situation, but I think there are some problems in Miui management of audio, as the sound quality has to be the same on CyanogenMod.
To conclude, we are very far from HTC , just yesterday I made a comparison between listening Mi4c with CM and an One M7 , I'm sorry , there is no comparison...
The rear speaker instead is good, better than other phones even if the phone is resting on a table.
I hope new roms could solve this issue and also the touch one.

which is the best ear phones you used?

Tell me what ear plugs you guys use,
Suggest me some.
Does the quality of audio in ear plugs change of we use after flashing Dolby??.
Since you asked earbuds and not headphone
it is Creative EP-630 (deep base )
Brainwavz Proalpha - great detail, not huge beats, but detail on whole frequency scale.
Yes, with Dolby, it will change, it will sound more "amusingly", but sometimes will lack in detail. I recommend only PowerAmp(or noozy, Neutron) and V4A
PS: sorry for commenting on your post, I've clicked on different buttton.
im using iem ATH clr 100, with v4a preinstalled in my rom (miui polska)
its cheap but i really enjoyed the sound quality
I use the Edifier H180 earphones and a KZ ATE in ear monitor. Both are cheap and very good. I don't use Dolby or any other enhancements.
Cowon em1
i use beyerdinamic mmx102ie, not the best tho
but fairly enough. and i don't use enhancement
tried 215spe and feels better, but still just so so
i using iem over ear, basic ie200, good bass, good fitting, good price
no need sound mod anymore..
In my honest opinion, Sony XB50ap is the best earphone i ever heard. I tried many earphone/headphone, on each i could find few things which were not the best compared to sony XB50ap.
Not only it has excellent bass, its mid and high are clear and distinct, you could hear all the notes and different pitch clearly and uniquely.
It has best noise isolation, and the sound intensity is the best of non active earphone i ever heard. Meaning, you could set low playback volume you could still hear it loud and clear.
A perfect earphone.
I use ISO equalizer band on Winamp for testing with EQ, since its ISO band behavior on other devices/player is near equal.
But, the best combo was with MAXX audio mod for Lenovo K3 note, default dolby app was useless like most sound enhancing apps on phone.
Maxx audio with default equalizer, with bass and treble knob set at required level, give best sound experience. If only someone would work on maxx audio to make it work on Redmi 2.
PS: only negative, may be bit big on size and thus everyone may not like it. Cost i think is not bad considering quality and what you can get from other brand.
---------- Post added at 11:08 AM ---------- Previous post was at 11:06 AM ----------
trust me dude, just get Sony XB50ap. You won't regret it. Make sure you buy it from authorized source and not some counterfeit item.
Using Panasonic HJE125s, really good earphones for cheap price
Sennheiser CX180 Street II, the music sounds good. I'm not an expert in music but if an earphone gives decent output, it's good enough for me
I was previously using stock Samsung headphones with my HM2014818.
With XTREMEMUSIC and V4A, it already sounded insane and one thing was clear to me that, the details of the sound being delivered, i.e. the highs mids and lows to be technical, are much of the concern of the underlying software itself, than good quality of headphones. Each headphone has atleast a good amount of frequency response which is enough to unleash the full power of the vibration being sent to it. If the vibration itself is dumped, no hardware can do enough.
I recently bought Sony MDR XB650BT, which sounds obviously slightly more dynamic due to its bigger drivers, gives deeper bass due to the XB, better fittings and all, but everything else is almost pretty same.
So my point is, before going to buy an extremely expensive hardware for listening to better music, make changes to the software itself. There are a whole bunch of soundmods available at XDA, try any or all of them(though my personal favorite has always been the XM, but that's part of another story ), and then decide.
I use Creative E600....whivh i consider the best budget earphone!
To me, Phillips is the best sound quality or Sony.
mi capsules are also good
sennheiser makes me comfortable with good ups,mid, and downs.
im using beats tour
Sent from my Wingtech Redmi 2 using XDA Labs
I am using the audio technica ATH CLR 100 for more than 6 months now. Really nice pair of ear phones for the price. Even though the cable used looks and feels cheep, for my usage (Kinda rough) I've failed to damage it
Right now, using Cowon EM1 and AudioTechnica CKX7iS. Love the CKX7iS. Wasn't satisfied with the performance of EM1 initially, but I removed the filter and switched the buds with that of another old AudioTechnica's and bam, it's amazing now.
Used Dolby long back and didn't like it. The audio enhancements that come with stock MIUI works great. I've seen similar outputs only in Viper Audio, with some IRs.
Well i am on mi stock earphone mi in ear headphone pro gold that is quite costly but sounds good i mean great i can't even imagine like that one sound quality. It is very important to know sound quality before you buy any earphone or headphone

Discussion on galaxy s8 sound quality with headphones

So I'm just using a galaxy s8 after having had a HTC 10 for a while. I can't get over how terrible the sound is with headphones! It's quieter, lacks the depth the HTC 10 has, and has no bass. Like seriously songs that on the HTC 10 have deep hard drums like they should sound weak on the galaxy s8. And it is so quiet on the galaxy even at max volume I'm not satisfied with the sound volume. I'd say the max on the galaxy is about 2 to 3 clicks down on the HTC 10.
Is this common? Like to me the audio difference with just the same basic apple earpods on both is so huge I can't even imagine what it would be like with quality headphones. It's like the difference between surround sound and tiny built in TV speakers bad.
HTC can't even hardly sell any phones these days... Haha all they have to do is open a booth with their phone and a Samsung phone playing music over headphones and every single person who hears it will be wanting a HTC. .
i second that. is there something that can be done about this though?
nascar48 said:
So I'm just using a galaxy s8 after having had a HTC 10 for a while. I can't get over how terrible the sound is with headphones! It's quieter, lacks the depth the HTC 10 has, and has no bass. Like seriously songs that on the HTC 10 have deep hard drums like they should sound weak on the galaxy s8. And it is so quiet on the galaxy even at max volume I'm not satisfied with the sound volume. I'd say the max on the galaxy is about 2 to 3 clicks down on the HTC 10.
Is this common? Like to me the audio difference with just the same basic apple earpods on both is so huge I can't even imagine what it would be like with quality headphones. It's like the difference between surround sound and tiny built in TV speakers bad.
HTC can't even hardly sell any phones these days... Haha all they have to do is open a booth with their phone and a Samsung phone playing music over headphones and every single person who hears it will be wanting a HTC. .
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
user900 said:
i second that. is there something that can be done about this though?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I will third this.
The only thing that makes any audio out of this device bareable is viper4android.
If you can root. It is a must you can boost the gains and such to a point of ear splitting noise :good::good::good:
Try download app AMP player there you can boost and set all
TheMadScientist said:
I will third this.
The only thing that makes any audio out of this device bareable is viper4android.
If you can root. It is a must you can boost the gains and such to a point of ear splitting noise :good::good::good:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
FWIW, on a rooted rom that uses stock audio (with Dolby Atmos ported from S9, but NOT turned on), combined with viper4android and Neutron player (a combination I used on HTC 10 for a while), I don't hear any difference with the same headphones ...
nascar48 said:
So I'm just using a galaxy s8 after having had a HTC 10 for a while. I can't get over how terrible the sound is with headphones! It's quieter, lacks the depth the HTC 10 has, and has no bass.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Go to Sound Quality in settings & Adapt Sound while your headphones are connected with wire. Complete the audio test or just click all frequencies of the test. The loudness should be increased.
Boost bass with the equalizer. It sounds pretty decent tbh.
If you're using Bluetooth headphones & you are on Oreo, go to Developer Options in Settings. Then scroll down to Bluetooth Audio Codec & choose aac. Try other codecs if your headset supports them.
If you're using wired headphones & rooted, Viper4Android tweaks make a day & night difference to the music quality.
But the S8 sounds pretty decent once you adjusted all the sound options it has
user900 said:
i second that. is there something that can be done about this though?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, if you are rooted. I've managed to, with a little effort, tune the sound to the quality level of my audiophile dac/amp with.
V4a is a big help but in my setup it's not the main event, and in fact now all I use it for is to run my DDC and to push up sub bass frequencies. I use the following:
1) sauron. This is the #1 most important and necessary mod to install. For most people's headphone setups, this mod alone is enough. I can't stress enough how much of a game changer this is. The ainur guys are operating on a whole other level with audio mods. It has to be installed and heard to truly understand.
2) JamesDSP. This is kind of a successor to v4a. It's worth noting that the main reason I have this is that it has a higher quality convolver algorithm than v4a does, as v4a has to support older devices that couldn't keep up. Also it's bass boost does much better for tight "punchy" bass.
3) Viper 2.6
The new rewritten v4a is the way to go nowadays. Just install it from xda labs and use the in app driver install. It even works with magisk! I take special care to not use the same fx in v4a as I do jdsp. I pretty much just use DDC and viper bass
4) Dirac
This is my newest addition and it's really brought everything together in a cohesive way that has blown me away. I had some problem areas in the upper end of the spectrum due to my specific IEMs when driving them off my current Bluetooth cable and Dirac fixed all of them. I will have more to say about this one later.
All of these mods utilize the audiomodlib/unity stack, so they all work fine together. They each have a specific purpose and I don't go overboard with dramatic alterations or stacking fx in the same part of the spectrum.
partcyborg said:
Yes, if you are rooted. I've managed to, with a little effort, tune the sound to the quality level of my audiophile dac/amp with.
V4a is a big help but in my setup it's not the main event, and in fact now all I use it for is to run my DDC and to push up sub bass frequencies. I use the following:
1) sauron. This is the #1 most important and necessary mod to install. For most people's headphone setups, this mod alone is enough. I can't stress enough how much of a game changer this is. The ainur guys are operating on a whole other level with audio mods. It has to be installed and heard to truly understand.
2) JamesDSP..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yep, forgot to mention that I use(d) Sauron both on HTC10 and S8.
JamesDSP never worked properly for me on HTC, haven't tried it on S8.
nascar48 said:
So I'm just using a galaxy s8 after having had a HTC 10 for a while. I can't get over how terrible the sound is with headphones! It's quieter, lacks the depth the HTC 10 has, and has no bass. Like seriously songs that on the HTC 10 have deep hard drums like they should sound weak on the galaxy s8. And it is so quiet on the galaxy even at max volume I'm not satisfied with the sound volume. I'd say the max on the galaxy is about 2 to 3 clicks down on the HTC 10.
Is this common? Like to me the audio difference with just the same basic apple earpods on both is so huge I can't even imagine what it would be like with quality headphones. It's like the difference between surround sound and tiny built in TV speakers bad.
HTC can't even hardly sell any phones these days... Haha all they have to do is open a booth with their phone and a Samsung phone playing music over headphones and every single person who hears it will be wanting a HTC. .
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have found that going into the "Sound Quality and Effects" section and turning off all the extra crap like tube amp and UHQ Upscaler definitely helps with the volume, then going into the "Adapt Sound" sub menu in a very quiet room and letting it tailor the audio to the frequencies you can actually hear really makes a massive difference. I can actually get my s8 loud enough that I've used my headphones as (albeit quiet) speakers. This phone can get plenty loud. And if you listen to music stored on the actual phone (or SD) rather than streaming, PowerAmp's EQ and volume/tone settings can crank it up WAY louder. Samsung has had a history of using really decent DACs in their phones (I still have my original international Galaxy S with a Wolfson DAC that I use as a media player at the gym) so even with volume boosting apps the sound quality is usually great and not all distorted like most other phones get when boosted.
I beg to differ... I'm using Viper4Android and the bass tones can go so low I can hear 28hz and below really clearly (High ends are sharp too) overally more than loud enough. (Using Apple earpods) If you're using big driver over head earphones then what do you expect. You're never gonna be able to use the most out of them unless you get a powered DAC.
Hello there, i don't know if is the right place to ask but i searched a lot and i have no solutions:
I can't get sound through headphones, i recently installed a new jack port, they connect and i can play/pause videos/songs with the mic button but sound is never coming out. (Headphones work ok with other devices)
So i don't know if i can only use Samsung branded headphones or is it something more to do with software or motherboard issue.. I see a lot of people having problems with headphones sound but any fix solved for me.

Bass issues...

I've recently upgraded to the note 10 plus from an s7 edge. One thing I have noticed since the switch is that when I use the bluetooth in my car with the note I don't hear certain portions of the bass or if I can it sounds almost non existent and has no kick. It's the parts of the songs that have sustained bass rather then a short punchy bass. Short punchy bass works fine. I use the s7 and my subs are back to there former glory. Any idea what's going on? I feel like the channel that handles that part of the bass track isnt getting any bass. Any help would be appreciated as this has stumped and frustrated me for a month now.
See this:
https://android.gadgethacks.com/news/15-ways-improve-audio-performance-your-galaxy-note-10-0207845/
No offense
But that link is the equivalent to banging my head against a brick wall. I've been through all of that. Every single step. It's not a problem of quality. The quality is fine. The bass mix is incorrect. Never did anything to my s7 and its audio mix was fine.
Even im facing the same problem. I switched from Poco F1 to Note 10 and i could feel the decrease in the amount of bass. I've checked all the settings and even set the equaliser for max bass but that thumping bass is missing. One thing i noticed is if you play a song stored in your phone via samsung music app, then you can get a thumping bass. I use spotify everyday so i felt the difference when i played a song using samsung music.

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