Android for Audiophiles: COMPLETE Guide
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- Опубликовано: 11 июл 2024
- OK, here's the thing, you do most of your listening through your android phone, but you want to get decent sound quality...Impossible? Not at all!
In this video, we take a look at some of the options available if you really want to upgrade your listening experience,
Hardware featured here:
Phone
Google Pixel 4a 5g Smartphone
IEMS
TRN TA1 IEMS
Moondrop Starfield
Dongles
Official Oneplus 3.5mm adapter (passive dongle - will NOT work on Samsung and Pixel phones)
Official Samsung 3.5mm adapter (active dongle)
USB DACs
Audioquest Dragonfly Red
Fiio BTR5
Software
USB Audio Player Pro (UAPP)
Neutron Music Player
HiBy Music player
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Music from those great folks at EPIDEMIC SOUND
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I've been sticking with LG phones for years because of their dacs, sad to see them step away from the phone business. Would be nice if LG started making dedicated music players as well
Sony has amazing dacs too… but their phones are really expensive
@@TheSkyrimps3 Yess Sony does great work job in audio (even better than iPhones) but they’re expensive because screen and cameras also great
@@TheSkyrimps3 lol
I miss LG...LG if you're listening...
I kept both lg v10 and v30 as music players. Removed all other apps, took out the sim card and only turn on wifi for music streaming. Both have a lot of flacs and sound great with good battery life in this use
I’m watching this with my Starfields. Took a little bit to grow on me as I’m used to bass heavy earphones. Over a year later and I’m loving them. Just so crisp!
Anyways, very clear and thorough video, thank you. I recently bought an inexpensive LG v50 to use solely as my DAP.
This channel is a GEM i just got into IEMs and i needed this SO THANK UUUUU!
I am no audiophile but poweramp is another great android music player app. It gave new life to some of my earphones, including one I honestly cannot use without an equalizer. (Inviting comments from more experienced users)
Same plus the ui is so good
@@theloshii And there are plenty of themes available. Its one of the few apps I got the paid version of cause its just that good
I'm a Poweramp user for years I'm just in love with the sound it gives to my earbuds the sound is incredible I can't never switch
Poweramp is frikkin awesome 🔥
USB Audio Player Pro is awesome regarding music quality
Amazing!! Alone in this video I got many answers I didn’t find yet or I didn’t even figure out the question. Or there’s a better solution for my current situation.
Definitely a subscription 👍🏼🙏🏼
Great video mate, got answers to all my questions. Thanks a lot! My support.
Astounding review!! 🙂 Honestly, It's sad that people underestimate the audio jack these days
I have been looking foward to this
Great video! Very informative and insightful. Thank you!
Truly excellent well researched, well balanced video! This is an area most reviewers shy away from. It has taken me years to put together the knowledge you share here….. well done!
Thanks for the kind comments
you my friend are an absolute legend, I learnt so much. thank you
Great video as always. The English Riveria is a great album as well, hope you enjoyed it
Thanks this was actually what I was looking for !!
Very complete and comprehensive thoughts about that subject, thank you.
I own the FIIO BTR 5 and use it with the bluetooth/LDAC settings and it works great with my motorcycle helmet headphones, hung inside with velcro.
(i forgot the brand but those are from US and good sounding headphones).
Thank you for this video, you just answered all my questions.
Excellent video! Thanks a lot!
I bought a Samsung S22 ultra about 18 months ago and didn't expect much. I bought an inexpensive C to headphone adapter for use with my Sony MDR V6. At Mac gain output was low until I switched on Dolby atmosphere. Gain increased considerably and is entirely satisfactory. Sound quality is excellent.
A few months ago I bought an inexpensive Bluetooth receiver to connect to my main system. Sound quality was excellent but the signal wasn't strong enough. So I added a Radio Shack disco mixer for gain and tge results were also excellent IMO. I've been having a lot of fun creating Playlists on RUclips and filling them up. I'm sure I have over a thousand pieces of music in these lists already. I also use the custom equalization feature in the phone. I see no problem with CD quality Sound which the phone produces over Bluetooth and despite my knowledge as an engineer that CD quality is my reference standard analog can sound every bit as good and is indistinguishable from digital. I even connected my turntable that had been idle for almost 6 years and that sounds great too.
Increíble good vídeo. High quality and clear tech description. Very didáctic examples. Good topic sequence. Congratulations.
Excellent guide mate. On a random note, would love to see you do a basic guide on how exactly external DACs improve sound quality. I've not really seen any remotely clear ones.
DACs convert the digital code in the audio file into an analog signal that amplifiers, headphones, or speakers can understand. "Better" DACs can convert the digital signal into an analog signal cleaner, being more true to what the digital file was trying to store. You can think about it like an artist making an oil painting based off of a picture on their computer. "Better" artists are going to make that painting look closer to how it appears in the picture. Now is where the debate comes in. Different DACs will give a different sound signature, and some people can prefer DACs that technically convert the digital signal to an analog signal worse. Just as how an artist can make that oil painting only vaguely resemble the picture, but certain people will like that painting more than the realistic one.
If any of this is wrong, please help me understand this better and anyone else who might read this.
@@SeedRamples well the painting example is over simplifying.
There are different factors that influences music from a dac.
Its analogue output for example.
As well as their digital implementation.
The clock being used inside and other things implemented to fight the worst enemy of dacs which is called jitter.
There are mainly 4 different chips used in dacs from ESS, Bur Brown, AKM and Cirrus.
They all have their own interpretation of playing music and at the end of the day it’s about a matter of personal taste. The Cirrus Logic has a sound which is more tonally balanced. AKM generally has more mellow slow sound. Burr Brown comes with punch and dynamics. The ESS is a mix of the last 2 but comes emphasised in the low frequencies.
I personally like the Cirrus Logic which is the one used on the Apple dongle.
@@villageroma Wow that's really informative. Have you ever listened to R2R dac?
@@villageroma I ve bought to a usb dac dongle using a Cirrus dac a 32 bit /384kHz and makes a big difference on sound quality and this for 20€.
@@trocadero1965 Do you remember what model number is your Cirrus Dac?
very well explained, thanks for the useful tips
Good to know I've more or less gotten to a good level now. I have the moondrop arias running through the btr 5. Now I just need to get uapp
I'm just now getting into improving the audio quality of the music I listen to on my mobile. My next mobile, unfortunately, will probably not include a headphone jack. Could you by chance, make a video on various different dongle dac/amps under £200? Thank you and love your new channel!!!
Fiio btr5,qdilex 5,ifi go blu these all are excellent Bluetooth dac amps
On the topic of bluetooth headphones, I personally adore the AZ09 Pro from KZ (although I'm sure that their newest offering at the time, the AZ15, is more than wonderful) paired with the ZSN Pro X. Most of KZ's offerings are more than good enough to serve an audiofile's taste. I've heard nothing but great things from the KZ x Crinacle CRN as well.
This company has wonderful offerings with balanced sound, allowing for the usage of equilizer apps such as Wavelet on android phones without the worry of drowning out certain aspects of your music.
(I promise I'm not a plug for KZ or Wavelet, just discovered these things and thought others might see some good in it)
Always a joy to see Jon Hopkins in people's playlists.
Thanks for sharing. Informative.
Very well explained sir…👍🤞
Great overview! I really appreciate how educational your videos are. Curious to know that if you already have an active USB c dongle and want to use an external DAC, can you still use the active dongle or do you need to get a passive dongle?
Both a passive and active dongle convert the single to analogue. There wouldn't be much point in using an external DAC if you've already converted it. Can't you just plug the external DAC straight into your phone?
Hi Aduio fixation, first thatnks for your content , I was wondering if you could advise me on a matter , I have a pixel 4a and i was woundering since i m getting and IEM ( moondrop Kato) , do you think that the the jack is good enough for it? or should i consider a dongle ?
Thank you for information!
Useful. Thanks.
Thankfully I got the last of LG's V phones so I won't have to worry about dongles for a while. I've been loving using my Moondrop Arias with it. I've also been really enjoying using PowerAmp as my offline music player.
I still buy the lg g6. Brilliant quad DAC + quad Resolution
Thank you for the video😊
Did you try the player PowerAmp ?
I just love the damn thing.
Thank you so much for this, i use apple music and on my phone i dont get lossless so this will really help
I'm intrigued to hear your Bluetooth rant. I've been pretty impressed by APT-X HD and LDAC the like.
I second this, and please compare with UAT from Hiby.
I've found a big difference between LDAC and USB DAC mode on my fiio btr5 even on streaming apps. USB DAC mode really opens up the earphone giving the audio a wider soundstage and bass more thump.
Of course ldac lose against a usb c dac /amp it’s a Bluetooth codec .
Bluetooth Codecs are never audiophile.
I use iPad Pro 12,9 M2 with Hiby FC4 and Meze 109 Pro headphone on Apple Music .
Hi! I like that kind of videos understandable for dummies like me. I have a quastion concerning this. I use a Samsung S21 Ultra and a Sennheiser Momentum 4. Not ideal because the Samsung does not support aptX adaptive but ok for standard streaming and mp3-files. When listening to the part of my library that consists of music with 16Bit/44.1Khz or even higher rates I use a USB-C to USB-C-Cable between phone and headphone and even my ears hear an advantage switching between BT and Cable. What I am wondering is: Is there any gain in soundquality when I use a mobile DAC like the Fiio KA3 and a 3.5 to 2.5 (or 4.4 to 2.5) cable or is the USB-C-connection the best to use? Additionally: I use Poweramp for local files. Does it make sense to switch to something like USB-Audioplayer PRO when using the USB-C or the DAC-variant?
very nice video thank you ..just got 1 little silly question which android phone has best speakers that you ever heard ?
Great video! Extremely informative. It turns out that the in-built DAC on my Samsung Galaxy S10+ is far superior to one of those $10 USB-C to 3.5mm DAC adaptors.
The Samsung Galaxy S10+ can process upto 32bit/384Khz audio whereas the cheap USB-C to 3.5mm DAC adaptor that I have can only handle upto 48Khz sampling rates.
Thankfully, the S10+ was one of the last Android phones to have a 3.5mm audio jack, so I just plug my earphones directly into them and they sound ABSOLUTELY AMAZING!
So much so that I can actually notice the difference in sound quality when using the in-built DAC of the phone vs. the USB-C to 3.5mm DAC adaptor.
All thanks to the USB Audio Player Pro app for Android, I can now confirm the bit-rate of the audio that is being played and that it matches with the bit rate being received by the internal DAC on the phone.
Thank you for making such an informative video.
Another RUclipsr by the name of Darko.Audio also has similar videos that go in-depth about how to get the best quality audio out of your Android devices and Apple devices using external DACs.
Greetings from Bangalore, India.
Hello, I've just started dipping my toes into the world of dac from listening to vinyl. The app you mention in this video (USB audio player pro). Can i download this app and not bother with a dac dongle? Or do i still need one. I currently have a Pixel 4a. Also I'm thinking getting the ifi go link to use with my pixel 4a? Thanks again.
I would recommend ainur narsil instead of using dolby or viper if your smartphone already rooted.
Because this mod will bypass all manufacture sound FX or synthetic sound effect from android rom and make it your audio output direct to your internal DAC.
More purer and clearer without shitty SW android processing.
And the best part is not draining your battery like viper and dolby do.
hi! thanks for the informative video! i have one question: i want to get a usb dac for my android phone (with quobuz) to connect it to my amplifier (so not to headphones!) for playback via speakers - would that work with those two usb dacs you recommend or do i need another specialized one? thanks!
Thank you for sharing 🙏
Hi. I would appreciate some inputs.
I have a phone which is a PocoF1 with a 3.5 mm jack. Should I turn off/disable the system equalizer when im using a usb c dac (jcally jm04) + ZSN Pro X IEM using a Hiby music app and playing FLAC files.
Which app are you using in this phone ??? Shiwing those album arts and all , which misic app is that??
Great video, I'm looking for an audio player that will make all my music sound around the same level. I play a lot of music in my car and even though I have all high quality rips some of my albums have no bass or sound distorted. I use neutron but it's a pain to listen to anything on shuffle.
i'd like your opinion on an android tv box with optical out being used as a network player and internet radio into my hifi. any recommendations as to software would be appreciated.
great video, thanks!
so I am wondering what would be the best way to play qobuz or such a service from my Samsung tablet to a DAC......?
Hi, for S22Ultra which already output 32bit / 384 khz, should i get a dongle or a USB DAC or get an IEM cable with USB-C input?
This is good to know! I didn't realize android downsampled all your audio normally
If Android doesn't do it your ears sure as hell will, as they can't hear anything past 20-ish kHz, making 44.1 kHz sampling quite enough, and 48 kHz more than enough for everyone.
The frequencies still interact with each other tho
Hi! Is there a web page that reviews various mobiles devices sound hardware? Most device review related webs only mention pretty basic info like if the device has a headphone jack or not
I'm looking a get a new phone because my current phone is starting to show its years, the battery dies pretty quick, and the screen is cracked. I would prefer to have a mid grade phone that has a decent performance and, of course, an audio jack. I know that you aren't a phone tech guy, but are there any phones that you can recommend or should I get a DAC to substitute for the audio jack?
I have a question. I'm currently using an LG G8 with Moondrop Aria SE for music. Is that enough to play hi-res music well or would I need external equipment for that? I do not understand any of this, I am just trying to get music to sound great
I am thinking about buying a Samsung tab a8 or tab s8 with a dac/amp for this.(1tb expandable). Extra ram/processor speed of the s8 doesn't seem worth the money just for a jukebox. Any opinions?
Was using an old LG g3 and my fiio btr5 which sounded decent although I had to use bluetooth aptx cuz its from like 2015 (micro USB, tried usb-c adapter but won't work).
Maybe this is a dumb question, but if I connect some mainly thought to be wireless headphones, like the Sony WH1000XM4, via an USB Dongle with a DAC to my phone, but I keep them on to use the noise-cancelling, does that improve sound quality or since they're on they'll always use the built-in DAC?
What do you think about this combination: S23Ultra, GalaxyBuds2Pro and Tidal streaming music?
Please consider that i cant have anything wired, 99% of the time im listening at work while im using a radiocontroller for a crane.
I'm always up for a good Bluetooth kicking. The public's obsession with bluetooth audio has to end. Relatively good sounding models are so expensive you can buy insanely good wired headphones for the price and even great bluetooth headphones still fall short of greatness.
Didn't LDAC solve that issue? I know wired is always preferable, but Bluetooth technology has come so far that it's now as good as wired when it comes to quality, plus it also much more practical.
@@MrIndianRebel LDAC on max quality can heavily suffer from interference between wifi and other signals especially in crowded areas. When I try to use max quality LDAC in my apartment it interferes with wi fi signal reaching my phone and if I'm in a crowded area music can also break up. This happens because of how much data is transfered, it's nearly unfit for Bluetooth. And yeah, max quality LDAC is still not as good as a wired connection.
@@MaDKrEvEdKo Are you sure, I'm really loving the LDAC codec on my Xm4. Anyways do you know how to get flac audio files for android?
@@MrIndianRebel yeah, I had a few friends have that same problem. I do know how to get FLAC files on Android but ever since Apple Music added Lossless streaming I didn't need to do that much.
@@MrIndianRebel Bluetooth is nowhere near as as good as wired. LDAC is maximum 990 Kbps but often falls back to 660 Kbps for stability. CD quality is 1411 Kbps……no contest!
+1 for Neutron which supports remote content libraries. It's perfect for me since I have all my music on a NAS and don't have terabytes of storage on my phone.
For audio on the go I decided to not try and carry my entire music library with me. I instead chose my 30 most played albums and put those on the phone instead. That way I don't fill my phone up but always have my fave albums with me just in case. 30 albums is nearly a days worth of music...
How about directly using USB-C headphones, like the cable that comes with Sennheiser Momentum 3 that allows to play music using USB-C?
What app u used throughout the video, it looks cool and promising
I have a query: "I got Realme GT Neo 2 as my Daily driver which unfortunately comes with Type-C jack, should I get a Dac to get the best out of this Earphone ? If Yes, then which Dac would you Recommend? PS: Never used a Dac before or such premium IEM's.
Thanks.
is it worth it to spend 8 bucks to upgrade from hiby music to UAPP? I don't have tidal as it's not supported in my country, so I only play through local files
So now as Apple Music lossless support Android, what do you advise on how to let Apple Music access external USB DAC and play bit perfect music?
Nicely Done.
Just downloaded the USB audio player pro app. But I having a problem. Is there a way to bring it back to the original state when first downloaded from the play store.
or do I need to uninstall it ? I'll need to reinstall but don't want to pay for it again.
Thanks
So, if I use USBPAPP to play a 24bit 192kHz piece stored on my phone, I will only have 24bit 96kHz if I played through a dragonfly cobalt, but 24/192 if played through the phone jack? (Note 9) Thank you!
A noob question, how do you tell if the Android phone with the dongle connected, actually plays analog stereo sound? How do i know the dongle is coverting digital to analog?
Is there any app like UAPP that will work with Amazon music?
Good information
I have an adapter which plays music when I plug wired headphones into the USBC Dongle but does not play audio when i connect a 3.5mm aux wire to it? any reason why? Great video as always!
Which phone is considered better to use as a dedicated music player, the LG v40 or the LG V60? Thanks
I have a realme 7 5g. It supports high res audio including FLAC. I want to get some good wired inner ear headphones, and I have started using tidal. What else do I need to optimise my listening experience on a budget?
Nice Monty Pythons reference at 2:53 hahaha
Thank goodness someone got it 🤣
Do you guys have the issue where the Dac is not recognized as a dac, and doesn’t send out audio to it? I have a cheaper dac, but it randomly stopped working(would use speaker but it power the dac on). After an hr of troubleshooting it fixed itself. Is there a way to fix this for next time?
Is this the same as pluging my phone into pre bi amp set up to speaker ?
Would boast that signal and quality?
great video. thank you. you mention the lg v30 and v40 but not the v50 or v60. did something change with these last two models to reduce their attractiveness? my long serving v20 is on its last legs and im planning to purchase a used one of these as i loved the 20.
More information on the DAC for the LG V series.
V10 - ESS Sabre 9018 DAC, Sabre 9602 headphone amp
V20 - ESS Sabre ES9218 Quad DAC (tuned by LG or B&O Play, depending on the market)
V30 and G6 (Asian market G6 only) - ESS Sabre ES9218P Quad DAC (tuned by B&O Play)
V40 and G7 - ESS Sabre ES9218P Quad DAC (tuned with Meridian)
V50 and G8 (and G8x) - ESS Sabre ES9218P Quad DAC (tuned by Meridian)
V60 - ESS Sabre ES9219 Quad DAC (most likely tuned by LG)
Thank you very much for the education
does 3.5mm on my phone provide Hi-Res ?
Really like your videos, keep the good work going. Have you some experience with android DAPs that can bypass systemwide the resampling of android? Such as e.g. the Hiby R5 Saber or the iBasso dx160. Do these really play bit-perfect e.g. in Amazon Music or Apple Music?
Didn’t hear the difference in musical shop the difference between iphone 6 with external dac and good music player. Maybe specific tracks can help
All daps have a bypass
,Thank you. Very helpful
Question : Can I record audio onto my phone with the portable DAC?
Great video
What’s about tidal on android DAP?
Didn’t hear the difference in musical shop, between iphone 6 with external dac and good music player.
But it’s only my feelings
Could you maybe do a video using Android with the USB audio player Pro app and the audioquest dragonfly Cobalt possibly with ideal settings Etc you do also have to purchase the USB audio player Pro Master Studio edition upgrade in order to play mqa files thanks love the channel
Great video, very informative. One question: is it possible to stream from Apple Music in hi-fi using an external DAC/AMP?
^ On Android without resampling.
Some android phones that still have a micro usb connection like the LG G40 require an OTG adapter that converts the USB micro to USB C in order to use a dongle dac.
Exactly. And they are as rare as hens’s teeth I have found. It depends which end of the adapter is the ‘host’ mode. Usually it’s the USB C end…..no good for me. Amazon basics adapter didn’t work….
UAPP has been a *God Send* for Android devices, one I purchased in the early days along with the MQA add-on once that was released.
I do have a DAP or two but this app, USB dongles etc have helped when I didn't cancel carrying around another device
Is uàpp compatible with a Samsung tablet or any other android tablet ?
I’m guessing this is also true for tablets not only for android phones ? Tks
@@michelrainville1094 I believe it is. I have used it on tablets in the past
Which DAC are you using. Mine doesn't have a display
Does galaxy S20 speaker makes any difference between mp3 vs flac music listening?
Great video explaining the intricacies of android audio! A shame that mainstream apps such as Spotify will be forever plagued by the resampling process done by the os
I know. Tiresome
Shame humans just sit around an whine about most corporations on the planet scamming them instead of just taking them over 😊
I have a Samsung A50 and use the USB DAC and the Neutron Music Player can sense the 8 channels on my 7.1ABKONCORE CH60 Gaming headset. Don't down the USB headphones because it's the only way to get HD sound. OTG cable is a must.
Is it possible to play hi res audio over bluetooth while using sony 1000xm4 and selecting ldac in bluetooth setting
What about PowerAmp? Does it allow direct USB access too?
Reused my old phone (Xperia ZL) running on android 8.1 lineage to my digital music transport and buy a usb dac dongle (questyle m12) connected to usb port on both.
With hibymusic player it can do bit perfect audio output. I think the sound quality of my usb dac closed enough to mid or even high end DAP unit in the market.
For my listening and kit, the BTR5 through balanced is significantly better than the Dragonfly Red. Have not tried the Cobalt, but at the price it had better improve a hell of a lot.
so if you hook up a dac dongle to your phone all your mp3 audio files become hi res??
I was doing some comparisons on my old Samsung S9+ and noticed the Samsung Music app recognizes my files are at 96kHz. Ive tried googling but cant seem to find info on whether Samsungs own app is playing yhe full quality or not
Question, I have a GalaxyS10 on Android 10, USB Audio Player Pro and a Dragonfly Black, sounds great, but WILL NOT play phone call sounds through the head phones, sound still comes out of the phone speakers which is driving me nuts.... Why?
I just got a Hisense Touch because I wanted a pocket eReader but it doubles as hi res player with headpone jack and pretty decent speakers for a small device. I subscribe to apple music so it works great but was curious about what else was going on and ended up here
Thank you.. i go with UAPP 👍👍👍
Good day, any update on this video would be appreciated. I understand there may be updates to Android o/s that can avoid the limitation with HiRes streaming , thanks
Great video. Thanks. In July 2022 are the Android processing limitations mentioned (necessitating Music Player Pro App) still in effect. I have a Samsung S22 Ultra.
Yep, android resampling still alive and kicking in 2022 unfortunately!
@@AudioFixation So any DAC will not receive a full signal without, say, the app you recommend?
The Oppo can output audio through the usb-c and also has headphone jack but I purchased aa Apple USB-C to headphone dongle anyway. The headphone output gives louder sound than the sound with the Apple dongle. But none work with my headphones, sound is too tiny even at max volume. The inside ear hedphones sound louder but I hate those things inside my ears, I want headphones that cover my ears.