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PX5 USB Audio problems & finds discussion thread

I know that a lot of people here likes good sound quality and want to use USB DAC on their head unit.
So I started this thread so maybe someone can come up with a solution to get rid of our USB Audio problems. :good:
First of all, I have 3 different USB audio interfaces I tried on my MTCD PX5 head unit. I use these for SPDIF Coaxial output, so I can send a clean digital signal to my DSP (MiniDSP 6X8) spdif input.
My USB audio devices:
PCM2704 (Worst sound quality of the 3, but still good)
CM6631A (Nice sound quality)
SMSL x-usb (XMOS chip) (Excellent, best sound quality of my adapters)
Here is my findings for each model so far:
PCM2704 - With native Android USB Audio driver (MTCD Music player, Spotify, Google Music, etc) : Plays without any pops&clicks noises 44khz, 48Khz, 96Khz files (Thats good).. BUT only in MONO, so no stereo ! (That sucks.)
PCM2704 - With custom USB Audio driver (Usb Audio Player Pro, Neutron, Hibby, Onkyo apps) : Plays perfectly 44khz audio files but CANNOT play 48khz or 96khz audio files, there is no sound. at all :crying:
CM6631A - With native Android USB Audio driver (MTCD Music player, Spotify, Google Music, etc) : Lots of pops&clicks noises, cannot listen to this.. BUT output in stereo, plays 44khz/48khz/96khz files.
CM6631A - With custom USB Audio driver (Usb Audio Player Pro, Neutron, Hibby, Onkyo apps) : Lots of pops&clicks noises, cannot listen to this.. Output in stereo, plays 44khz/48khz/96khz.
SMSL X-USB Xmos - With native Android USB Audio driver (MTCD Music player, Spotify, Google Music, etc) : Lots of pops&clicks noises, cannot listen to this.. BUT output in stereo, plays 44khz/48khz/96khz files.
SMSL X-USB Xmos - With custom USB Audio driver (Usb Audio Player Pro, Neutron, Hibby, Onkyo apps) : Lots of pops&clicks noises, cannot listen to this.. Output in stereo, plays 44khz/48khz/96khz.
Good to know:
PCM2704 is USB 1.1 full speed device, isosynchronous.
CM6631A is USB 2.0 fullspeed/high speed device, asynchronous.
SMSL X-usb Xmos is USB 2.0 fullspeed/high speed device, asynchronous.
Also good to know: Android Marshmallow 6 Mono output USB Audio problem is a well known problem across multiple Android devices (Cellphones, tablets, etc.) So lets assume the mono output on the PCM2704 is "normal". What is not normal with the PCM2704 is that it can only play 44khz audio, no 48khz.
First question that comes to my mind: Does the PX5 USB drivers/kernel has a problem with USB2.0 ?
Another question: Does our PX5 firmware mess with the sample frequency (44khz, 48khz, etc) ?
Thanks for any useful comment !

I can't believe I'm the only one here using a USB DAC on a PX5..?

I also interested
Sent from my MI MAX 2 using Tapatalk
---------- Post added at 01:17 PM ---------- Previous post was at 01:15 PM ----------
How to get the px5 use usb as digital out? I tried cyrus soundkey but no sound
Sent from my MI MAX 2 using Tapatalk

excellent thread, I was just trying to search on this very thing. My guess that using this as audio output it does not pass the radio or AVIN through it does it? since the MCU is separate from android
I have heard (but not tested first hand) that these will play stereo on 6.0.1
HiFimeDIY Sabre 2016
SA9227 + PCM5102A ( on eBay, http://www.ebay.com/itm/182289773453?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT)
M2Tech HiFace DAC
FiiO Q1

-=Jeff=- said:
excellent thread, I was just trying to search on this very thing. My guess that using this as audio output it does not pass the radio or AVIN through it does it? since the MCU is separate from android
I have heard (but not tested first hand) that these will play stereo on 6.0.1
HiFimeDIY Sabre 2016
SA9227 + PCM5102A ( on eBay, http://www.ebay.com/itm/182289773453?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT)
M2Tech HiFace DAC
FiiO Q1
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If I test my 3 USB audio devices with USB Audio Player Pro, they all work great on my Android 6 Lenovo Tablet, Nexus 6P cellphone (Android 7/ Android 8 Beta), and worked perfectly on my previous PX3 (RK3188) (Android 5.1) Head unit.
So I dont think it's a compatbility problem with the Android version, it's more of a software/kernel issue, the way the audio is handled with the PX5.
I tried changing some settings in audio_policy.cfg but I did not manage to stop the pops/clicks from happening.

Hi,
I am also very interested in using USB Audio on a PX5.
I have an EONON GA7150A 32GB BMW unit.
MCU is "MTCD_WWW_V2.54b_2", Build is "px5-userdebug 6.0.1 MXC89l user.hct.20170617.171922 test-keys"
I run a car audio / performance / engineering company. We're doing a SQ install on a 04 BMW M3 with all Audison Prima gear going to an Audison Bit 8.9 amp/processor.
I got a Behringer UCA-222 hoping to use it - plugging it into my tablet (Samsung Tab S 8.4") - it works perfectly without any configuration, so I had hoped it'd work with the Android HU as well.
Plugging it into the Android HU - it DOES work - I can play audio from any apps (YouTube, Google Voice Search both output to the USB device) - I have installed SoundAbout Pro to try and re-route all audio to the USB DAC but it doesn't work for everything.
My issues are:
- The FM radio plays through the internal pre-amp/amplifier.
- The volume control (whether through the touchscreen on the menu, or using the hardware knob) does not affect the USB device - there is no way to change it's volume from the head unit this far.
I'm ready/willing to flash/hack this unit as best I can, can't brick it as it belongs to a client (fingers crossed) but I definitely want to use the USB DAC full-time.
If I could find a way to loop the RCA inputs to the optical output on the UCA222 (maybe a custom app) that would be enough to route the radio output through the optical but that's definitely not ideal.
There has to be other people wanting/needing to do this! These units DACs leave a lot to be desired (I'm being nice) and there's a huge selection of great USB DACs.. Heck, in my configuration I won't even be using the DAC in the Behringer - it'll be all digital until it hits the Audison processor/amp with it's internal DAC feeding it's internal amp and a pre-amp that outputs to the separate sub-woofer amplifier (AP1D).
I have the deck setup on my desk right now hooked to a power supply and booted, on WiFi and ready for hacking. What can we do?
From what I've read the MCU controls all the hardware buttons - though I'm not sure it'll be required to mess with it..?
How does Android see the internal audio chip? I know the MCU communicates with it over SDIO, does android as well? I guess no as I read another thread that has a hack/app allowing more control over the audio chip by interfacing one the SoCs GPIO/SDIOs to the chip.
So, how does the radio app work then? Does it just send a signal telling the radio chip to route its audio to the audio chip? Or does Android actually see some sort of audio device for the radio? If it just tells the audio chip which "source" to use and the radio chip outputs directly to it, I'm not sure there's going to be a way to get radio over digital without a converter box to convert that analog output to digital..
All other Android outputs shouldn't be a problem, from what I can tell everything else is already playing over USB for me.. except the radio and volume control.. even the "beeps" you hear when adjusting the volume come over the internal audio device not USB..but Google Voice Search and YouTube work over USB fine..
---------- Post added at 03:05 AM ---------- Previous post was at 03:04 AM ----------
I find it odd that your seeing pops/clicks.. I have had no issues and fully stable audio from the apps it does work from.

forbiddenera said:
Hi,
I am also very interested in using USB Audio on a PX5.
I have an EONON GA7150A 32GB BMW unit.
MCU is "MTCD_WWW_V2.54b_2", Build is "px5-userdebug 6.0.1 MXC89l user.hct.20170617.171922 test-keys"
I run a car audio / performance / engineering company. We're doing a SQ install on a 04 BMW M3 with all Audison Prima gear going to an Audison Bit 8.9 amp/processor.
I got a Behringer UCA-222 hoping to use it - plugging it into my tablet (Samsung Tab S 8.4") - it works perfectly without any configuration, so I had hoped it'd work with the Android HU as well.
Plugging it into the Android HU - it DOES work - I can play audio from any apps (YouTube, Google Voice Search both output to the USB device) - I have installed SoundAbout Pro to try and re-route all audio to the USB DAC but it doesn't work for everything.
My issues are:
- The FM radio plays through the internal pre-amp/amplifier.
- The volume control (whether through the touchscreen on the menu, or using the hardware knob) does not affect the USB device - there is no way to change it's volume from the head unit this far.
I'm ready/willing to flash/hack this unit as best I can, can't brick it as it belongs to a client (fingers crossed) but I definitely want to use the USB DAC full-time.
If I could find a way to loop the RCA inputs to the optical output on the UCA222 (maybe a custom app) that would be enough to route the radio output through the optical but that's definitely not ideal.
There has to be other people wanting/needing to do this! These units DACs leave a lot to be desired (I'm being nice) and there's a huge selection of great USB DACs.. Heck, in my configuration I won't even be using the DAC in the Behringer - it'll be all digital until it hits the Audison processor/amp with it's internal DAC feeding it's internal amp and a pre-amp that outputs to the separate sub-woofer amplifier (AP1D).
I have the deck setup on my desk right now hooked to a power supply and booted, on WiFi and ready for hacking. What can we do?
From what I've read the MCU controls all the hardware buttons - though I'm not sure it'll be required to mess with it..?
How does Android see the internal audio chip? I know the MCU communicates with it over SDIO, does android as well? I guess no as I read another thread that has a hack/app allowing more control over the audio chip by interfacing one the SoCs GPIO/SDIOs to the chip.
So, how does the radio app work then? Does it just send a signal telling the radio chip to route its audio to the audio chip? Or does Android actually see some sort of audio device for the radio? If it just tells the audio chip which "source" to use and the radio chip outputs directly to it, I'm not sure there's going to be a way to get radio over digital without a converter box to convert that analog output to digital..
All other Android outputs shouldn't be a problem, from what I can tell everything else is already playing over USB for me.. except the radio and volume control.. even the "beeps" you hear when adjusting the volume come over the internal audio device not USB..but Google Voice Search and YouTube work over USB fine..
---------- Post added at 03:05 AM ---------- Previous post was at 03:04 AM ----------
I find it odd that your seeing pops/clicks.. I have had no issues and fully stable audio from the apps it does work from.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's cool. I suppose you're member of Strictly Sound Quality group on Facebook ?
I'm really into SQ as well, Pioneer Premier / Hivi amps, MiniDSP C-DSP 6X8, Wavecor/Peerless 3 way active.
Anyways, back on topic: You say your Behringer UCA-222 outputs music without problem with regular players, but does it play in stereo ? Because my PCM2704 also plays audio nice without any click/pops noises but it output both channel mono, so no stereo effect, every sounds plays on both Left and Right. Sounds pretty dull for a SQ setup, it stages like poop lol. I only get stereo out of my PCM2704 if I play it through USB Audio Player Pro app, because that app uses his own USB audio driver.
For you FM Radio routing problem, is there I way to sum input channels on your DSP ? IE: With my MiniDSP I can play both SPDIF and RCA Inputs at the same time on specified output channels.
Thanks for your participation btw. :good:

Thought about getting a minidsp but the beringer was available locally and as I'm actually not using the DAC within it, I didn't care.
The 222 does have a monitor switch which sums all inputs to the 1/8 headphone jack but not over optical.
I could potentially write a small background app to sum the rca input on it to the output constantly but still have the volume control problem.

Video of interface.. I'll make a demo on how the USB audio actually works shortly, I'll install a frequency generator app so I can test stereo for you.

Happy New Year guys!
1. All Rockchips headunits (rk3066/3188/3288/px3/px5) have a big problem with their DWC-OTG USB 2.0 controller kernel driver from Designware/Synopsys.
This driver generates a huge amount of interrupts on usb bus (about 15000 per second under load and 8000 minimum without any use of usb devices). So any wide streaming devices like USB-DACs, USB-CAM, EasyCAP and others cannot properly function. USB-DACs on samplerates higher 44100 or 48000 Hz and bit depth higher 16 bit generate many pop and clicks in sound or just noise. All usb streams are very slow, even copying files from usb flesh to sd card.
This problem is well known and it has the resolution - kernel driver needs to be patched.
Here are some links:
http://hwswbits.blogspot.ru/2013/09/dwc-usb-interrupt-spam-in-rockchip-socs.html?m=1
https://www.google.ru/amp/s/ideechaniz.wordpress.com/2014/02/26/dwc-otg-drivers/amp/
We have not kernel sources to patch it. Any open sources will not go because of many special functions of our HUs have been compiled into kernel. I wrote about this to SHEN ZHEN KLYDE ELECTRONICS CO twice, but no reaction (I have their HU).
So you cannot play sound higher then 16 bit 44100Hz or 48000Hz. If you try 24 bit and/or 96kHz you can hear clicks and pops or just a noise. The first step to make the situation better is to get usb-dac/converter with only FULL-speed (12Mb/s) usb-reciever chip, like sa9023, te7022, pcm2704(6) (mono!) etc. Unplug all usb devices except usb-dac from usb. Note that wifi and processor's loads affect too. Edit /etc/audio_policy.conf to limit sr and bd to 44100 and 16 for usb_device section. If you want to use your high speed usb-dac you can try to find and use a full speed usb hub on ali or ebay.
2. All android HUs for now have mcu and android boards inside. All apps like youtube, navigation, poweramp etc are sounding from android board and all of them can be routed to play through usb-dac using usb audio function of android. But dvd, bt hands-free, radio are located on and managed by mcu board. So sound from them does not going to/through android board. The only one way to get their sound on your car audio processor is connection of rca-outs and set processor to auto switch between analog and digital inputs by signal determination (helix dsp and many others can do that).
3. The volume. The best way for SQ is to use the dsp's volume adjustment. Note for digital volume adjustment every -6bB from max level excludes 1 bit from effective bit depth. So you loose your sound quality (dynamic range) by digital volume adjusting on HU because you can only have 16bit output (see 1). But if you WANT to do it there is one difficult way - write your own app service to catch mcu's broadcast commands for volume adjusting and then send alsamixer's comnands to change usb dac volume same level (need to install alsa). I made it for rk3066/rk3188 HUs on petrows microntec headunit service. Hope this help https://github.com/petrows/RK3066-Headunit-service
https://www.google.ru/url?sa=t&sour...MQ5YQBCCcwAA&usg=AOvVaw2W8hsXylKrMeQRC2R2mOVt
This service also can send buttons presses to Poweramp, USB Audio Player Pro, Spotify, PCRadio etc. But it is for MTCB, not for MTCD HUs. I dont know a difference of Microntek services of this versions of HUs. So I cannot say will it work or not on MTCD.

Question which has better sound?
Chich output > dsp > amp or
Usb dac > amp
??? I think the sound should just be good with a dsp or im wrong?

aluver said:
All apps like youtube, navigation, poweramp etc are sounding from android board and all of them can be routed to play through usb-dac using usb audio function of android.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks man for the detailed post.
How do i do this. Is it in the developer options where we select to use Audio source for USB . What would happen in case we have multiple USB devices in use?
Thanks in advance.

kaderekusen said:
Question which has better sound?
Chich output > dsp > amp or
Usb dac > amp
??? I think the sound should just be good with a dsp or im wrong?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What do you mean under "Chich output". RCA? I think dsp cannot make the sound of HU's RCA better. It has a very poor quality with low voltage - so you get a lot of noise and "unsharped" sound.
---------- Post added at 11:39 AM ---------- Previous post was at 11:29 AM ----------
piyush7243 said:
Thanks man for the detailed post.
How do i do this. Is it in the developer options where we select to use Audio source for USB . What would happen in case we have multiple USB devices in use?
Thanks in advance.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't think dev options have it. I think usb audio must work from the box on android 6 firmware, but it may depends from firmware version. To dermine usb audio driver exist in kernel just plug in your usb-dac and view file /proc/asound/cards - it will show you all plugged sound devices for this moment. But note at first you need to entirely stop all installed direct players like UAPP, Hybi, NeutronMP etc.

aluver said:
[/COLOR]I don't think dev options have it. I think usb audio must work from the box on android 6 firmware, but it may depends from firmware version. To dermine usb audio driver exist in kernel just plug in your usb-dac and view file /proc/asound/cards - it will show you all plugged sound devices for this moment. But note at first you need to entirely stop all installed direct players like UAPP, Hybi, NeutronMP etc.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Dev options have it and i have enabled it there as well. but not sure on which USB port. Also currently i am at the highest firmware level and ROM level. No 3rd party USB driver is installed, still cant get the USB audio out. I have even replaced the audio_policy.conf.
I will check if the device is getting detected or not

piyush7243 said:
Dev options have it and i have enabled it there as well. but not sure on which USB port.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Good info. Is your firmware from enthusiasts or from a producer?
You have to use USB port for 3g-modem - it must be otg. But on my Klyde rk3066 mtcb hu I have all 3 usb ports working with dac.
audio_policy.conf must be in /etc for proper usb audio functionality.

Didn't understand about usb modem. I use 2 HDD and a USB DAC .the firmware is Hotaudio Dasaita default one. Do you have the audio_policy.conf file for my reference
Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using Tapatalk

I mean otg usb port is usually marked "3g-modem" or like that.
audio_policy.conf may be different for our HUs. Besides, I have android 4.4.4 rom. But I attach my 2 versions of audio_policy.conf. The second version is from ROM that contains a file /system/lib/hw/audio.alsa_usb.rk30board.so. So policy contains alsa_usb section.
What is your result with driver?

aluver said:
I mean otg usb port is usually marked "3g-modem" or like that.
audio_policy.conf may be different for our HUs. Besides, I have android 4.4.4 rom. But I attach my 2 versions of audio_policy.conf. The second version is from ROM that contains a file /system/lib/hw/audio.alsa_usb.rk30board.so. So policy contains alsa_usb section.
What is your result with driver?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for putting this here. Btw nothing was marked on my USB cables so swapping usb helped and one of them worked on apps.
Now another quick question. Tried Poweramp but it didn't see the usb DAC. Jet audio would hang. Any other music apps which doesn't use its proprietary driver.
I can use UAPP but it seems that it locks the usb DAC and doesn't allow the other apps to have access.
With UAPP it says usb device initialised but yesterday no such message.
Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using Tapatalk

piyush7243 said:
Now another quick question. Tried Poweramp but it didn't see the usb DAC. Jet audio would hang. Any other music apps which doesn't use its proprietary driver.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did you use Poweramp v3 alpha? What version? Better use v703 for your android 6. What samplerate do you have in audio_policy.conf at usb_device section now? Need to limit it 44100 and 16 bit depth. Poweramp 3 may not work with usb-dac directly in case of many software and hardware combinations reasons. But you can use Poweramp v2 - it may work as other apps through android kernel usb audio driver.
---------- Post added at 08:44 AM ---------- Previous post was at 08:29 AM ----------
piyush7243 said:
I can use UAPP but it seems that it locks the usb DAC and doesn't allow the other apps to have access.
With UAPP it says usb device initialised but yesterday no such message.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I wrote earlier about this. All direct players always lock usb-dac. I am not sure but seems to be Poweramp v3 alpha does not lock dacs, internal at least. Try it.

I am back , after the reboot, the usb DAC is not being used again. Ughhhh. Need to break my head more to get to bottom of this behaviour.
Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using Tapatalk

Finding the Right Music Player for the Essential Phone's USB-C headphone adapter

One of the disappointing trends for me with new phones is the lack of a 3.5mm headphone jacks. However, given the popularity of wireless headphones and the large market share of Apple devices I expect the trend to continue and headphone jacks to be found on fewer and fewer phones in the future.
I imagine that I'm in the minority of users who use neither streaming services or Bluetooth headphones. My music is usually high bit rate FLAC, ACC or MP3 depending on when I ripped it. My initial listening on the included 3.5mm DAC was not promising. A lack of dynamic range and low volume even on efficient in ear monitors (IEMs) made me think about finding a replacement.
The problem is there aren't at lot of options for small passive DACs. And my bet is that most of the current phones with no 3.5mm jack use the same chipset that Essential uses - the Conexant CX20985 for their headphone adapters. (For more info - see the AnandTech article - Conexant Introduces USB-C Digital Audio Compliant Chips.)
So that lead me to see if perhaps there was something that could be done in software. Based on my limited research it would appear that Android above version 5.0 has a built in USB to DAC driver. It also appears that this is what Essential uses to access the USB adapter. However, this driver is quite limited. Consistent with what I heard, the driver resamples everything to 16-bit 48kHz and limits the dynamic range. (For more info see extreamsd.com and their USB audio driver page.)
Good news! There are several music player applications on GooglePlay that are capable of natively recognizing the Essential DAC over USB. The difference in sound quality, volume and dynamic range is like night and day. The most polished one I've used is the paid application Onkyo HF Player. However, the free application HibyMusic also works, but has few rough edges. The Onkyo application sounds good enough for me to make finding a better DAC no longer necessary.
One WARNING on both programs and the Essential DAC - when the DAC is recognized by the programs they frequently turn the initial volume level to 100%. If you do this while you've started music playing and have the headphones on you will be in for a very rude surprise. Trust me I learned this the hard way - plug everything in with no music playing and be sure to lower the volume first.
Update from comments - Apps that support the Essential DAC directly:
1. Onkyo HF Player
2. HibyMusic
3. USB Audio Player Pro
4. Neutron Music Player

USB Audio Player Pro has a custom driver that supports bit-perfect on android. I use it with external DACs such as the Meridian Explorer 2 (MQA works perfectly) and the AudioQuest Dragonfly Red - hardware volume control works.

TimboC2000 said:
One of the disappointing trends for me with new phones is the lack of a 3.5mm headphone jacks. However, given the popularity of wireless headphones and the large market share of Apple devices I expect the trend to continue and headphone jacks to be found on fewer and fewer phones in the future.
I imagine that I'm in the minority of users who use neither streaming services or Bluetooth headphones. My music is usually high bit rate FLAC, ACC or MP3 depending on when I ripped it. My initial listening on the included 3.5mm DAC was not promising. A lack of dynamic range and low volume even on efficient in ear monitors (IEMs) made me think about finding a replacement.
The problem is there aren't at lot of options for small passive DACs. And my bet is that most of the current phones with no 3.5mm jack use the same chipset that Essential uses - the Conexant CX20985 for their headphone adapters. (For more info - see the AnandTech article - Conexant Introduces USB-C Digital Audio Compliant Chips.)
So that lead me to see if perhaps there was something that could be done in software. Based on my limited research it would appear that Android above version 5.0 has a built in USB to DAC driver. It also appears that this is what Essential uses to access the USB adapter. However, this driver is quite limited. Consistent with what I heard, the driver resamples everything to 16-bit 48kHz and limits the dynamic range. (For more info see extreamsd.com and their USB audio driver page.)
Good news! There are several music player applications on GooglePlay that are capable of natively recognizing the Essential DAC over USB. The difference in sound quality, volume and dynamic range is like night and day. The most polished one I've used is the paid application Onkyo HF Player. However, the free application HibyMusic also works, but has few rough edges. The Onkyo application sounds good enough for me to make finding a better DAC no longer necessary.
One WARNING on both programs and the Essential DAC - when the DAC is recognized by the programs they frequently turn the initial volume level to 100%. If you do this while you've started music playing and have the headphones on you will be in for a very rude surprise. Trust me I learned this the hard way - plug everything in with no music playing and be sure to lower the volume first.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for this, I was searching just today for something that would be compatible with the USB-C output and I didn't want to waste money on anything that won't work on the Essential. And I have an Onkyo receiver for my living room to boot. I wonder how the Iron Maiden flavored version of the app works? I am a Maiden fan as well. Maybe I'll try that version and report back on this thread.

A quick update. For $9.00 I figured I’d give the Google Pixel DAC a try. It only samples at 48kHz. It also provides no identifying information as to manufacturer. So it works, but the Essential DAC is superior.
For a small compact passive DAC the new Razer Phone DAC at $20 would be the one to try. It is 24bit and THX certified, but as yet untested on the Essential Phone. So it may only work on the Razer.

How do you know if the app has native support?
Sent from my PH-1 using XDA Labs

avd said:
How do you know if the app has native support?
Sent from my PH-1 using XDA Labs
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The Onkyo program will identify the DAC and tell you the sampling modes. Both programs bring up a dialog box noting a USB device when it is plugged in.
But you have to rely on the program author and description to see if they support DACs natively.

Personally I have been using Neutron Music Player on the Play Store, and it has been working great.
I picked it up years ago on sale and downloaded it on my PH-1 to see if it added a setting to support USB DACs, and it turns out it did
However, it did not use the external DAC by default, you have to enable it in the settings. The setting was specifically under Audio Hardware, as 'Direct USB Driver' to allow direct access to the USB device. I am on Nougat and after closing and reopening the app, the background hiss/static I could hear while using the default output is now gone and my Essential USB-C DAC has been working great.

oken735 said:
Personally I have been using Neutron Music Player on the Play Store, and it has been working great.
I picked it up years ago on sale and downloaded it on my PH-1 to see if it added a setting to support USB DACs, and it turns out it did
However, it did not use the external DAC by default, you have to enable it in the settings. The setting was specifically under Audio Hardware, as 'Direct USB Driver' to allow direct access to the USB device. I am on Nougat and after closing and reopening the app, the background hiss/static I could hear while using the default output is now gone and my Essential USB-C DAC has been working great.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
And this has a trial version, perfect. I will give it a try. After I get some files on my PH-1. Had to order a cable to connect to my PC since Essential doesn't include one! I am guessing that none of these apps work with Tidal,Spotify,Pandora etc?

chiadrum said:
And this has a trial version, perfect. I will give it a try. After I get some files on my PH-1. Had to order a cable to connect to my PC since Essential doesn't include one! I am guessing that none of these apps work with Tidal,Spotify,Pandora etc?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes a "regular" USB to USB C. Monotone had it on sale this week.
Out you can use software like synching.
Sent from my PH-1 using XDA Labs

chiadrum said:
And this has a trial version, perfect. I will give it a try. After I get some files on my PH-1. Had to order a cable to connect to my PC since Essential doesn't include one! I am guessing that none of these apps work with Tidal,Spotify,Pandora etc?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can use a UPnP source, or ftp/webdav, but yea, no option to use any of those natively, without downloading the songs to local storage as far as I know
Sent from my PH-1 using Tapatalk

Initially was very disappointed with the supplied dac. I can hear static n audio breaking up. Then i realised that the issue only appear when I'm on low volume with equalizer turned on. Bumping up the volume fixed the static n breaking up issue. So my current setup is supplied dac + portable amp. The amp is to control the volume as connecting directly to the dac is too loud for my preference. It is the best sounding setup i have thus far. Sounds better than pairing my old mp3 player with the same amp. I'm using poweramp to play my songs.

oken735 said:
Personally I have been using Neutron Music Player on the Play Store, and it has been working great.
I picked it up years ago on sale and downloaded it on my PH-1 to see if it added a setting to support USB DACs, and it turns out it did
However, it did not use the external DAC by default, you have to enable it in the settings. The setting was specifically under Audio Hardware, as 'Direct USB Driver' to allow direct access to the USB device. I am on Nougat and after closing and reopening the app, the background hiss/static I could hear while using the default output is now gone and my Essential USB-C DAC has been working great.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am using Neutron Trial version (which is a full version limited to 5 days) and I don't see much of a difference between its direct USB driver vs generic driver. Could you please check in the settings Audio Hardware, what is the bitrate listed? For me when I enable "Direct USB Driver" its fixing the bitrate to 48kHz, is it the same for you as well?

Has anyone tried the Essential DAC with PowerAMP? I know it supports USB DACS pretty well.

mvadu said:
I am using Neutron Trial version (which is a full version limited to 5 days) and I don't see much of a difference between its direct USB driver vs generic driver. Could you please check in the settings Audio Hardware, what is the bitrate listed? For me when I enable "Direct USB Driver" its fixing the bitrate to 48kHz, is it the same for you as well?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The direct USB driver, to my knowledge, is the setting that enables direct DAC driver. The generic driver is a setting that says to use a less specific version of the direct DAC driver that should work with more USB DACs. Each of these settings have submenus that you can play with that should allow you to change the format, frequency, mode, and other settings you might want.
When I have both direct USB driver and generic driver selected, my driver shows up as conexant USB audio, and my bits show up as 32, and frequency 44100. I haven't tryied to tweak the bitrate/frequency as I am happy with the sound from the stock settings with some small EQing for my headphones.

cgprats said:
Has anyone tried the Essential DAC with PowerAMP? I know it supports USB DACS pretty well.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I used PowerAmp for a while sound was OK, but it did not appear to be loud enough some times. also tweaking the settings, EQ, etc. seem to make it worse for me.
I had paid for Power amp back with my nexus 4 and loved the app, but it just does not sound right for me know.
Also I'm definitely not an audiophile just want to hear my music.
I have been testing Vinyl Music Player and it seems to sound better to me. This is from the Fdroid repository.
Free, No adds and no extra permissions, but no extra settings also.

oken735 said:
The direct USB driver, to my knowledge, is the setting that enables direct DAC driver. The generic driver is a setting that says to use a less specific version of the direct DAC driver that should work with more USB DACs. Each of these settings have submenus that you can play with that should allow you to change the format, frequency, mode, and other settings you might want.
When I have both direct USB driver and generic driver selected, my driver shows up as conexant USB audio, and my bits show up as 32, and frequency 44100. I haven't tryied to tweak the bitrate/frequency as I am happy with the sound from the stock settings with some small EQing for my headphones.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Makes sense.. Have you been able to use the headset to receive to calls while you are listening to music? I can't hear the incoming calls, and if I make a call, it goes to device speaker. Both cases it stops the music though.

mvadu said:
Makes sense.. Have you been able to use the headset to receive to calls while you are listening to music? I can't hear the incoming calls, and if I make a call, it goes to device speaker. Both cases it stops the music though.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think it depends on the Rom you are running. When I was on nougat, receiving phone calls while music was playing was a crapshoot.
On Lineage OS, the few times I have received or made a call with the headphones plugged in, it worked fine, I could hear them and it came through the headphones, and it even switched to earpiece when I unplugged the adapter. :good:
I'm not sure how it is on the current official Oreo 8.1 release as I haven't used it for enough time where I would have ran into a situation where I was making or taking a call with headphones in.

cgprats said:
Has anyone tried the Essential DAC with PowerAMP? I know it supports USB DACS pretty well.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
When I wrote this originally I tried the paid version of PowerAMP and its beta version. Neither was able to natively recognize the Essential DAC. I'd used PowerAMP for years.
I haven't bothered to try it since I switched to Onkyo HF

Maybe you want to add BlackPlayer EX to the list. I proved with the Onkyo HF Player, HibyMusic and USB Audio Player Pro and I can hardly find any significant difference.
Also I tried with the LeEco LeMax 2 headphones (the only one with usb- c port I have) and the ubs-c to 3.5mm adapter. The LeEco headphone are way much better. Better bass, better clarity, greater sharpness. Even at louder music. So, if you want to recomend a cheap but great usb-c headphones, the LeEco option is wonderful.

So glad I found this thread. we just got two essentials in the house and I am interested in some of the add-ons but really just wanted the USB to mini adapter to work a bit better.
I'd forgotten about USB audio pro, which I bought some time back for a tablet and outboard DAC.
works great with the usb-c to mini, and it lets you browse Tidal and, iirc, upnp libraries.
For those interested, just now essential is offering 3 months of Tidal for free.

No support for higher bitrate on LDAC?

Been using the Pixel 3 as my daily driver for a while now, but just recently came an interesting piece. Apparently, the Pixel 3 doesn't support LDAC at Optimum Audio Quality (more details here - https://themrphone.com/article/google-pixel-3-xl-doesnt-support-ldac-at-optimum-audio-quality/)
I was planning on buying a high-end set of Bluetooth headphones, in fact, was considering the same ones used in the link above. Can anyone else confirm this?

varounmirchi said:
Been using the Pixel 3 as my daily driver for a while now, but just recently came an interesting piece. Apparently, the Pixel 3 doesn't support LDAC at Optimum Audio Quality (more details here - https://themrphone.com/article/google-pixel-3-xl-doesnt-support-ldac-at-optimum-audio-quality/)
I was planning on buying a high-end set of Bluetooth headphones, in fact, was considering the same ones used in the link above. Can anyone else confirm this?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Working fine for me with both LDAC (detected and used automatically) and "Optimised For Audio Quality" (switched from default "Best Effort" in Developer Settings)
Pixel 3 (non XL) with Sony MDR-1000X (gen 1 of the headphones in your linked article) and Google Play Music.
Granted GPM isn't a Hi-Res source, but it's playing fine! There was a momentary drop in audio for a split second on changing bit rate but it resumes with no issue!

I had this same issue with my Audeze Mobius--the Pixel 2 allowed me to set the rate to 990, but the Pixel 3 would do as described in the link. Seems like a software bug, I doubt it actually isn't capable of using the full rate

I can't say, I'm much of an audiophile or anything but I do like to play with settings for what sounds best with what I have. On my Galaxy s8 running oreo and my previous s5 running aospx/oreo I could change the developer Bluetooth settings on the fly and notice the difference instantly (avrcp/bt_codec/sample_rate/bit_rate/ldac_codec).
If I do it on the pixel 3, the Bluetooth just falls out, connection wise it stops but still shows it's connected, app wise I can't close and reload the app. I have to turn the Bluetooth off or reset it completely sometimes.
It's kind of a bummer, being a brand new phone and all, I noticed the absolute volume disable didn't seem like a difference either.
I hope they resolve it.

Update: disabling bluetooth a2dp hardware offload let me freely change all those settings while in use with out locking anything up. What that necessarily does or the effect of changing the settings and how well they actually change??? I can't answer with any rational or testworthy explanation as my audio products are oem Bluetooth radios in vehicles.

Apple USB-C to 3.5mm DAC dongle and Android - remove the power limit

So I finally got fed up enough to purchase a USB-C DAC dongle to overcome the unbearable hissing noise of the inbuilt 3.5mm audio jack. The first obvious choice would be a Pixel dongle, but for some reason Apple is selling a better performing dongle. Being cheaper and available in a mortar store, it was a no brainer purchase. I can definitely say that hissing is gone and sound is crystal clear. However for yet another reason, Apple dongle is by default quite limited in power, being usable mainly by sensitive IEMs. After several attempts of various methods, I found a reliable way of removing this limit.
Ingredients needed:
1. Apple DAC dongle
2. Tasker
3. Magisk
4. AlsaMixer app (https://apkpure.com/alsamixer-root/com.skvalex.alsamixer)
Recipe:
1. Extract AlsaMixer app and locate "assets\alsa\system" folder
2. Create a Magisk module from this folder with 755/755 rights
3. Install Magisk module
4. Create a Tasker event "headphones connected", task "shell script", run as root, command "alsa_amixer -c 1 sset Headphone 120"
5. Connect Apple dongle
Voila, you suddenly moved from -40dB limit to 0db for max volume. Limit is automatically reset on each DAC re-connection, so Tasker intent is mandatory.
Verification:
1. In terminal write as root "alsa_amixer -c 1" to see the current playback limit. It obviously works only with DAC connected.
Note: this method works only for USB-C DACs, not for analog audio jack of Mi A1 phone.
Default:
Code:
# [B]alsa_amixer -c 1[/B]
Simple mixer control 'Headphone',0
Capabilities: pvolume pswitch pswitch-joined penum
Playback channels: Front Left - Front Right
Limits: Playback 0 - 120
Mono:
Front Left:[B] Playback 80 [67%] [-40.00dB][/B] [on]
Front Right:[B] Playback 80 [67%] [-40.00dB][/B] [on]
Headphones with no mic:
Code:
# [B]alsa_amixer -c 1 sset Headphone 120[/B]
Simple mixer control 'Headphone',0
Capabilities: pvolume pswitch pswitch-joined penum
Playback channels: Front Left - Front Right
Limits: Playback 0 - 120
Mono:
Front Left: [B]Playback 120 [100%] [0.00dB][/B] [on]
Front Right: [B]Playback 120 [100%] [0.00dB][/B] [on]
Headset with a mic:
Code:
# [B]alsa_amixer -c 1 sset Headset,1 120[/B]
Simple mixer control 'Headset',1
Capabilities: pvolume pswitch pswitch-joined penum
Playback channels: Front Left - Front Right
Limits: Playback 0 - 120
Mono:
Front Left: [B]Playback 120 [100%] [0.00dB][/B] [on]
Front Right: [B]Playback 120 [100%] [0.00dB][/B] [on]

--first post updated--

Why don't you use tinymix, that is included on any Android release, instead of alsa_mixer so that you don't need to install other stuff?

drizzt said:
Why don't you use tinymix, that is included on any Android release, instead of alsa_mixer so that you don't need to install other stuff?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wasn't aware of this fact, thanks. Will check tinymix, but alsa seems to be much easier to use for this purpose (at least for me ).
Edit:tinymix is just too complex to use and control commands probably aren't 100% universal with all DACs, so I'll stay with ALSA and Tasker. If I wanted to utilize tinymix, I'd just use this app (Apple dongle requires special version) https://forum.xda-developers.com/pixel-2-xl/themes/pixel-2-usb-audio-control-t3704024

Hissing sound? Bro have you checked the internals of your phone? I did and I had a snake inside, after getting him out everything was fine

Yes, I have a very inteligent snake in there, which hisses only when I connect headphones and only during music playback + about 3 seconds once it stops. Also the snake is able to distinguish between sensitive low impedance IEMs and less sensitive bigger headphones, so it adjusts volume of its hissing accordingly. What's even more interesting, he keeps quiet when I connect an external DAC. I want to keep the snake, so I won't remove it from the phone.
Well, it's that or there's ****ty audio output circuit in the phone.

Fixes the PH-1 !
I came across your thread while looking for a fix for the Apple dongle when used with the Essential PH-1. The problem is when using a TRS headset with this specific dongle+phone combo the left and right channels are at significantly different volumes. A TRRS headset does not exhibit this issue.
TRRS reports Headset,1
TRS reports PCM,0
I renamed xbin to bin. Not sure if that is the right solution, but the tools were not showing up before. A quick Tasker task and it's all set!
Thank you so much!!

numanair said:
I came across your thread while looking for a fix for the Apple dongle when used with the Essential PH-1. The problem is when using a TRS headset with this specific dongle+phone combo the left and right channels are at significantly different volumes. A TRRS headset does not exhibit this issue.
TRRS reports Headset,1
TRS reports PCM,0
I renamed xbin to bin. Not sure if that is the right solution, but the tools were not showing up before. A quick Tasker task and it's all set!
Thank you so much!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for letting us know and I'm glad this guide helped you. Different phones can have different bin folder and also parameters for alsa-mixer, so you did the right thing.

Works on Oneplus 7 pro (Android 10). Just had to change "Headphone" to "Headset" in the alsa_amixer command.

Been trying to get a magisk module made for this on my Razer Phone 2 and it took me quite a while since I kept getting errors. I got fed up and decided to try Samsung's dongle since that surely would've been optimized for Androids, but it seems that it also had the same exact issue (go figure, Samsung practically copied Apple 100%). The Samsung dongle is the same quality as Apple's dongle for sound quality (albeit a tiny bit worse, practically unnoticeable) and also, the same volume output from the same set of earbuds at max. So back to figuring out the whole magisk module thing.
Anyways I got the issue resolved. I remade the module I had on my pc rather than doing it on the phone itself and the error magically went away, and the whole thing is working wonderfully now. Even works for the Samsung USB-C 3.5mm dongle, with a different value. 108 for the Samsung dongle rather than Apple's 120.
Thank you for posting the guide, super helpful to fix this issue for the Apple and Samsung dongles on Android in general.

Thanks for this thread. Could I use this stuff to fix my AirPods Pro with my OnePlus 7 Pro? I have to set the volume to max to hear something in the bus ;-;

cedricberger27 said:
Thanks for this thread. Could I use this stuff to fix my AirPods Pro with my OnePlus 7 Pro? I have to set the volume to max to hear something in the bus ;-;
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm afraid that it's not possible to control external amplifier connected over bluetooth (or at least I don't know about any way how to do it). USB-C dongle can be configured because Android sees it connected "internally" as a sound card. AirPods and similar have DAC ("sound card") in the earphones and phone can use only standard Bluetooth commands to send music and perform basic control. AFAIK, changing the gain parameters isn't among them.

kenvenin said:
Works on Oneplus 7 pro (Android 10). Just had to change "Headphone" to "Headset" in the alsa_amixer command.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
brother, i tried to make the module for my OnePlus 6 but can't get it to work. it will be great help if you please share your magisk module. thanks in advanced

Can someone upload this module here? Or maybe give some tutorial how to make a magisk module? I was searching for this, but I didn't find it.

Adamz274 said:
Can someone upload this module here? Or maybe give some tutorial how to make a magisk module? I was searching for this, but I didn't find it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not sure if it's still working (I created and installed this module while on Magisk v19 and modules format changed since then), you might need to update "META-INF\com\google\android\update-binary" script with the latest version from here https://topjohnwu.github.io/Magisk/guides.html (and maybe remove "install.sh")

EU/USA Model
_mysiak_ said:
Not sure if it's still working (I created and installed this module while on Magisk v19 and modules format changed since then), you might need to update "META-INF\com\google\android\update-binary" script with the latest version from here https://topjohnwu.github.io/Magisk/guides.html (and maybe remove "install.sh")
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Maybe I misunderstood but from everything I have read, the EU version of the Apple Adapter is worse, much quieter. I thought that was in the hardware, the US version is full power.
'There are 2 versions of it, US version A2049 which could output 1v, and EU version A2155 which limited to 0.5v' from another source
https://www.reddit.com/r/headphones/comments/ecf1ud/apple_usbc_to_35mm_adapter_impressions/
Is this 'fix' able to achieve the full 1v power output on the EU Model ?

poster74 said:
Maybe I misunderstood but from everything I have read, the EU version of the Apple Adapter is worse, much quieter. I thought that was in the hardware, the US version is full power.
'There are 2 versions of it, US version A2049 which could output 1v, and EU version A2155 which limited to 0.5v' from another source
https://www.reddit.com/r/headphones/comments/ecf1ud/apple_usbc_to_35mm_adapter_impressions/
Is this 'fix' able to achieve the full 1v power output on the EU Model ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As far as I know it's SW limitation, affecting mostly Android phones (not sure about Apple devices, I don't own any). My phone and dongle come from the official EU distribution, so I assume that it's the EU version. The fix definitely removes the power limit. I do not have an US dongle (or measurement device), so can't compare them though. All I can say for sure it's that with sensitive IEMs the dongle is dead silent, there is no hissing noise. At the same time, and after removing the power limit, the dongle can drive AKG K240MK2 (55ohms) cans without problems. It struggles a bit with Beyerdynamic DT990pro (250ohm) - depending on the sound source, volume can (Google music) or won't be enough (most Youtube videos).

Hi,
I appreciate you dont have meter to measure output but are you saying that this fix seems to increase the volume limit significantly ? The US version is supposed 1v against EU 0.5V.
Does this fix, 'feel' that much louder ?
_mysiak_ said:
As far as I know it's SW limitation, affecting mostly Android phones (not sure about Apple devices, I don't own any). My phone and dongle come from the official EU distribution, so I assume that it's the EU version. The fix definitely removes the power limit. I do not have an US dongle (or measurement device), so can't compare them though. All I can say for sure it's that with sensitive IEMs the dongle is dead silent, there is no hissing noise. At the same time, and after removing the power limit, the dongle can drive AKG K240MK2 (55ohms) cans without problems. It struggles a bit with Beyerdynamic DT990pro (250ohm) - depending on the sound source, volume can (Google music) or won't be enough (most Youtube videos).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

techcolab said:
Hi,
I appreciate you dont have meter to measure output but are you saying that this fix seems to increase the volume limit significantly ? The US version is supposed 1v against EU 0.5V.
Does this fix, 'feel' that much louder ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, it sounds significantly louder. Dongle is pretty cheap, they might even let you try it in the mortar store, so just get ready your phone and try it with your headphones. In the "worst" case you can use it with a PC (Windows 10), there it works at full power with no "hacking" needed.

I am a novice. But I need a module and good explanation on how to DIY. Can u help me PLEASE?
I am on android 10 samsung tab s7 plus rooted. Alsa installation showing error too. Will be very helpful if u make a video of it.

Android 12, Android Auto, & V4A

Currently on Android 11 with Android Auto v 7.0.614134 and V4A v 2.7.1.6. When connected via bluetooth music is processed via V4A and sounds fantastic. When connected with Android Auto via USB, music does not get processed via V4A even though there is a USB setting in V4A. Music also does not get processed via the Speaker tab, which it defaults to when plugged in with Android Auto. I have researched this extensively and found it's a limitation for whatever reason. Also odd that I can't find any recent topics on it. The newest discussions are from 2019 to mid 2020.
I have tried disabling USB audio routing in Developer Settings to no avail. My solution is to use the EQ settings on Rocket Player to compensate, and it helps...but it's not the same as V4A.
However, I read somewhere that Android 12 "fixed" this issue. Or perhaps I misunderstood what I read. Any any case, can anyone on Android 12 using V4A and Android Auto confirm if audio is processed with V4A while connected to AA? FWIW, I have a PIxel 4a 5G and have been putting off the upgrade to 12 (hate setting up phones) but if A12 will "fix" this issue I will bite the bullet.
Thanks!