Database Users

Hi fi dac user thread

Just got the Hi Fi DAC and at ridiculously low price of £50/$66 to boot!
Sounds awesome and the module itself is using the flagship ES9028 SABRE DAC and 9602 Headphone Amp: http://www.esstech.com/index.php/en/news/newsroom/ess-technology-comes-out-play-lg-g5
even the upcoming V20 is supposed to have the next level DAC down (ES9018)? correct me if i am wrong!
The sound is MUCH louder than the built in sound via headphone and the sound stage is brighter and more balanced, even on standard resolution tracks with spotify (i have a free year sub on Microsoft Groove and it sounds great on there too).
love the fact that it can operate as an external DAC and quite literally has saved me so much money. I was going to purchase a 32bit/192 Hi Fi grade DAC from Cambridge Audio to Drive my Cambridge Audio Amp and speaker setup at home. HiFi Stero grade DACS tend to use a Sabre or Wolfson DAC. I've saved myself over £500!!
This sounds amazing when hooked onto a laptop.
Was at a party and people were connecting their phones (mostly iPhones) to an external speaker via the headphone jack. this module was MUCH louder than all the rest and drove the speakers better with clearer sound quality.
Only negatives i have found so far are that the module can sometimes be shaky which causes it turn off and resync on the odd occasion. It runs quite warm when used and it does drain battery noticeably more than if i just used the on board sound. I always carry a fully charged spare battery anyway so not that fussed.
Thought id just share my thoughts so far and open a thread where other users can comment on their experiences.

mikey_sk said:
Just got the Hi Fi DAC and at ridiculously low price of £50/$66 to boot!
Sounds awesome and the module itself is using the flagship ES9028 SABRE DAC and 9602 Headphone Amp: http://www.esstech.com/index.php/en/news/newsroom/ess-technology-comes-out-play-lg-g5
even the upcoming V20 is supposed to have the next level DAC down (ES9018)? correct me if i am wrong!
The sound is MUCH louder than the built in sound via headphone and the sound stage is brighter and more balanced, even on standard resolution tracks with spotify (i have a free year sub on Microsoft Groove and it sounds great on there too).
love the fact that it can operate as an external DAC and quite literally has saved me so much money. I was going to purchase a 32bit/192 Hi Fi grade DAC from Cambridge Audio to Drive my Cambridge Audio Amp and speaker setup at home. HiFi Stero grade DACS tend to use a Sabre or Wolfson DAC. I've saved myself over £500!!
This sounds amazing when hooked onto a laptop.
Was at a party and people were connecting their phones (mostly iPhones) to an external speaker via the headphone jack. this module was MUCH louder than all the rest and drove the speakers better with clearer sound quality.
Only negatives i have found so far are that the module can sometimes be shaky which causes it turn off and resync on the odd occasion. It runs quite warm when used and it does drain battery noticeably more than if i just used the on board sound. I always carry a fully charged spare battery anyway so not that fussed.
Thought id just share my thoughts so far and open a thread where other users can comment on their experiences.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sounds awesome. Where did you buy this ?

Jonathan-H said:
Sounds awesome. Where did you buy this ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
https://www.onedigitals.co.uk/lg-afd-1200-hi-fi-plus-with-b-o-play-black.html
including shipping £50
only works with European H850 only not the usa LG G5 or Asian variants

any benefits to USB C headphones?

Just watching the htc u11 coverage and the noise cancelling type c headphones. Would it increase the experience on devices like the axon 7 when we've still got a headphone jack ?

front firing speakers said:
Just watching the htc u11 coverage and the noise cancelling type c headphones. Would it increase the experience on devices like the axon 7 when we've still got a headphone jack ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
shouldn't it be the same? I don't think there would be a difference besides the noise cancelling. Maybe those headphones get the power for that stuff from the USB but some noise cancelling 3.5mm with battery should be the same...?
Otherwise the only way I can think of to test if they're better or worse is by modding them so that the noise cancel is off, and test with USB-C then put them a 3.5 jack and test them too.
But you won't be able to charge, for what it's worth
Please correct me if I'm wrong, I probably am anyways

The audio wouldn't​ use the device's amp and dac and so the audio could be better on phones with really bad dacs and amps but on phones like the Axon 7 and LG v20 then the audio would most likely be worse.

You get an audio that is the same and more objective across devices because the headphones uses its own dac and amp, so the headphones can be better tuned by the manufacturer because your player no longer matter. Also, the power supply from type-c enables active noise cancelling without battery such as JBL reflect aware c, HTC usonic of U11, Xiaomi active noise cancelling earphones.
However, senny is probably correct as usb-c earphones may not use high end dac and amp.

Dac's are only connected to 3,5mm jack, stereo speakers and probably to microphone (to be confirmed) so there will be no Dolby features with type c headphones.
There one advantage - if you have active noice cancelation they can be powered via USB type c the same time you keep using it.

MrMD69 said:
Dac's are only connected to 3,5mm jack, stereo speakers and probably to microphone (to be confirmed) so there will be no Dolby features with type c headphones.
There one advantage - if you have active noice cancelation they can be powered via USB type c the same time you keep using it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Dolby seems to work with BT speakers (tested this myself), so it might affect usb-c headphone. Mins toy it's just the equalizer that worked not the HiFi mode

gumbyx84 said:
Dolby seems to work with BT speakers (tested this myself), so it might affect usb-c headphone. Mins toy it's just the equalizer that worked not the HiFi mode
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hmm it works like equalizer or like much clearer, better audio ?

MrMD69 said:
Hmm it works like equalizer or like much clearer, better audio ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Equalizer

With the excellent DAC/AMP and audio capabilities of the Axon 7, I don't really see the benefit of USB-C headphone. And as I'm nor sure if the USB-C headphones would bypass the built in DAC/AMP it may be worse, I don't know. Either way I don't really see an advantage. Of course you loose the ability to listen to music while charging.
If Audeze comes out with a USB-C version of their Cipher cable that has a built in DAC/AMP tuned for their specific headphones (EL-8, Sine, iSine), then that might actually be worth getting. But as of yet the Cipher cables is Apple Lightning port only and their headphone are expensive audiophile grade headphones.

RojasTKD said:
their headphone are expensive audiophile grade headphones.
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Click to collapse
And THIS will be the problem with type C headphones... Any that are cheap won't have good audio, you're gonna have to spend a small fortune on headphones that sound like the ones that are supplied free with the phone now...

ultramag69 said:
And THIS will be the problem with type C headphones... Any that are cheap won't have good audio... you're gonna have to spend a small fortune on headphones that sound like the ones that are supplied free with the phone now...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's not a problem with USB-C headphones, it the nature of cheap headphones.
ultramag69 said:
you're gonna have to spend a small fortune on headphones that sound like the ones that are supplied free with the phone now...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Why? Usually the headphones that are included for free now aren't very good sounding.Who going to pay a fortune for headphones that sound as bad as the standard offerings?
If USB-C becomes they way things go for headphone audio, which remains to be seen, you'll have a range of choices of various price point. Only those that want truely steller audio will spend a "fortune", just as it is now.

senny22 said:
The audio wouldn't​ use the device's amp and dac and so the audio could be better on phones with really bad dacs and amps but on phones like the Axon 7 and LG v20 then the audio would most likely be worse.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
RojasTKD said:
That's not a problem with USB-C headphones, it the nature of cheap headphones.
Why? Usually the headphones that are included for free now aren't very good sounding.Who going to pay a fortune for headphones that sound as bad as the standard offerings?
If USB-C becomes they way things go for headphone audio, which remains to be seen, you'll have a range of choices of various price point. Only those that want truely steller audio will spend a "fortune", just as it is now.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think ultramag means we need to pay a fortune to get a headphone with dac and amp as good as the ones inside our phones.

themostunique said:
I think ultramag means we need to pay a fortune to get a headphone with dac and amp as good as the ones inside our phones.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Eh, I don't know. If you refering to a high quality DAC/AMP like whats in the Axon 7 maybe not cheap but not a fortune either. But most phones have a mediocre audio out put in comparison. I sometimes use headphones with an $15 external Mpow Bluetooth receiver that delivers more power then my other phones (Nexus 6P & LG G5). There's always the USB-C to 3.5mm adapter that the few phones that don't offer a headphone jack come with. Of course lets not forget most devices still bring a headphone jack, and hopefully it will stay that way for a while.
At any rate as far as the original question posed in this thread, a USB-C headphones will not really being anything to the table as far as the Axon 7 is concerned as it has one of the top headphone jacks currently available.
Until someone offers a very high quality USB-C pair of headphones that can outperform the A7's built in solution it's not needed. Even if and when something like that becomes available it only for you average user, but those who really really care about their audio and are willing to pay for every last bit of it.
I just don't see it costing a fortune, unless you want REALLY REALYY good audio, pretty much as is the case today.

Audio Quality Thoughts

So I just got my HTC U11 today and spent a few hours setting it up. I finally got around to trying out the phone's audio capabilities.
USonic - they sound good for out of the box earphones, but they're definitely not as good as my V-Moda Forza's. I could tell immediately. I doubt I'll use this.
DAC adapter - I'm conflicted. I'm still trying to decide whether or not the adapter sounds as good as my HTC 10. My initial impression is that it's not as good. The 10 has a cleaner, fuller soundstage. I'm really bummed about the BoomSound Dolby and tuning mode not being present on the U11. I've never really listened to the 10 without that mode on, so maybe that's the reason. The U11 doesn't sound bad though.
What do you guys think?

Good enough for 90%
Sent from my HTC U11 using Tapatalk

richteralan said:
Good enough for 90%
Sent from my HTC U11 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Pretty much this, most people will love it but I think anyone who had a HTC 10, an Axon 7, S7 Edge (Exynos, volume modded) will notice a bit of a step down. More so the AMP is weak rather than the DAC being bad (although Juan at PocketNow numbers show the DAC to be worse than the HTC 10, Axon 7, S7 Edge, iPhone 7).
I'm contemplating getting a Fiio K1

I just compared the sound quality between my 10 (without BoomSound on) and the U11, and they do sound quite similar.
This leads me to my disappointment -- why did they remove the BoomSound frequency tuning from the U11? It's nice that they have it for the USonic earphones, but why would you need to create multiple audio profiles for those earphones, if there's literally only one pair of earphones that can take advantage of that feature.

I'll have my thoughts later today using a dt770 as my comparison between the 10 and 11. They normally require more power than my HD600. I don't use high impedance/low sensitivity HPs with phones anyway but I figured I'd test.

djbutter said:
I just compared the sound quality between my 10 (without BoomSound on) and the U11, and they do sound quite similar.
This leads me to my disappointment -- why did they remove the BoomSound frequency tuning from the U11? It's nice that they have it for the USonic earphones, but why would you need to create multiple audio profiles for those earphones, if there's literally only one pair of earphones that can take advantage of that feature.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wondering this as well, you can't edit the audio profiles anyway so what is the point in having more than one profile

I've been happy about the audio quality so far. The problem I have is that we only get 1 of the DAC to 3.5mm adapter cables included. Now in order to use my music at home, in car, and at work I now have to carry the cable around with me. It is not ideal to have to carry around an adapter. Getting the included earphones is cool (sound okay) but would rather received a total of 4 adapter cables.
I went to order 4 more and found out that they are in pre-order status. I'll just have to wait until they come in. Once I have an adapter everywhere then I won't be so pissy about it. Really wish they would have kept the 3.5mm, then phone would be considered my best phone ever.

psawjack said:
I've been happy about the audio quality so far. The problem I have is that we only get 1 of the DAC to 3.5mm adapter cables included. Now in order to use my music at home, in car, and at work I now have to carry the cable around with me. It is not ideal to have to carry around an adapter. Getting the included earphones is cool (sound okay) but would rather received a total of 4 adapter cables.
I went to order 4 more and found out that they are in pre-order status. I'll just have to wait until they come in. Once I have an adapter everywhere then I won't be so pissy about it. Really wish they would have kept the 3.5mm, then phone would be considered my best phone ever.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There really was no need to remove it, only to use a worse DAC/AMP in the adaptor.

GSM spoke highly of the headphone output. (http://www.gsmarena.com/htc_u_11-review-1620p6.php)
Great audio output
The HTC U11 did splendidly in the first part of our audio test. When hooked to an active external amplifier it delivered very loud and perfectly accurate output.
When headphones come into play the volume remains nicely high and the only reading to take a hit is stereo crosstalk. It's a moderate amount of damage there and will all the other aspects of the performance remaining excellent, it's a great showing overall.
HTC U11 (headphones attached)
Frequency response: +0.05, -0.11 (+0.05, -0.02)
Noise Level: -94.1 (-93.7)
Dynamic Range: -94.1 (93.8)
THD: 0.0017 (0.0018)
IMD + Noise: 0.0067 (0.105)
Stereo crosstalk: -94.5 (-53.7)
HTC 10 (headphones attached)
Frequency response: +0.01, -0.03 (+0.06, -0.09)
Noise Level: -93.2 (-92.8)
Dynamic Range: -93.2 (93.0)
THD: 0.0022 (0.014)
IMD + Noise: 0.071 (0.141)
Stereo crosstalk: -92.8 (-77.9)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My own personal experience, I found my DT770 to sound great but was 2 notches of volume below the 10. The 10 at volume 13/15 was the U11 at 15/15. I definitely can hear the crosstalk difference GSM has measured. Heard that before I saw the measurements. Overall, I can definitely live with this. Just hope I don't put myself in situations where I need to charge and listen.

My first impressions are that I'm not particularly impressed by the Usonic earphones - but then I don't usually use the earbuds that come with a phone.
Given the reviews here, I was a bit surprised to find the sound from the U11 adapter sounds better on first hearing than I was getting from the HTC 10, but then I haven't yet done a proper A-B comparison - it could be I was playing it a bit louder, or 'new device' enthusiasm...

As I said it already the 3.5mm adapter lacks Boomsound and this make a big difference with HTC 10, HTC can implement it in the FW of the adapter but we need to let them know we want it.

mosincredible said:
GSM spoke highly of the headphone output. (http://www.gsmarena.com/htc_u_11-review-1620p6.php)
My own personal experience, I found my DT770 to sound great but was 2 notches of volume below the 10. The 10 at volume 13/15 was the U11 at 15/15. I definitely can hear the crosstalk difference GSM has measured. Heard that before I saw the measurements. Overall, I can definitely live with this. Just hope I don't put myself in situations where I need to charge and listen.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Agreed. I can see the logic behind HTC's decision, and I actually don't disagree with it. They dropped the headphone jack but added noise cancellation and a decent pair of earphones. This targets that iPhone userbase that only uses the awful in-box white ear buds. It's definitely better value for the money for the average user.
Perhaps they needed to compromise on sound quality, but it still sounds pretty fantastic with the adapter. It may not sound as good as the 10 (honestly though it's pretty close), but I'm not mad about it.

Which Boomsound speaker mode do you guys prefer? Music it theater mode? I feel like music more is crisper while tester is a bit longer but muddier.

MinimalistChris said:
Which Boomsound speaker mode do you guys prefer? Music it theater mode? I feel like music more is crisper while tester is a bit longer but muddier.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I use theatre mode all the time but yes it is muddier than music mode which sacrifices volume for better audio quality

About stereo crosstalk can you ''fix'' it with V4A?
Or there are no way to enhance stereo?

MinimalistChris said:
Which Boomsound speaker mode do you guys prefer? Music it theater mode? I feel like music more is crisper while tester is a bit longer but muddier.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I usually use theatre mode. If I'm playing through the speakers, volume is more important to me.

On another note, I'm having this horrible issue with BT audio. When playing music in google play music through BT earphones (jaybird x2) or my home speaker (LG soundbar), occasionally there's a really loud, awful screeching noise!
Anyone else have this issue?
Otherwise, BT audio is noticeably improved over the 10!

djbutter said:
On another note, I'm having this horrible issue with BT audio. When playing music in google play music through BT earphones (jaybird x2) or my home speaker (LG soundbar), occasionally there's a really loud, awful screeching noise!
Anyone else have this issue?
Otherwise, BT audio is noticeably improved over the 10!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Was listening with aptX in my car for a while today and I had no issues along with noticing no difference. Same volume level when connected to an Audioengine B1 that has a 2 volt output to my Audison bit-Ten. Wish I could do a quicker back and forth test with my 10 but I'd have to sync the Bluetooth over and over.

I have to admit that I'm a little bit worried about the sound quality on the u11. One of the things that I really enjoyed on the m8 m9 and the 10 was the Dolby audio enhancement. I have been using that in combination with power amp music player for years and you'd be surprised what kind of sound quality I get out of my Sennheiser HD 558's. I can hear the bass in music the way it is meant to be heard, almost felt, I don't hear that distorted bass sound that you tend to hear on lower end devices.
This may sound stupid to some people but if the sound quality is not at least the same as what I get on my 10 then I'm going to send the phone back. I just got done trying out a $300 pair of Bluetooth headphones with my 10 and I was not impressed, they were close in some areas but for $300 I want more than close. There is a cheaper pair that I have been thinking about trying with the 11 but I'm not sure that I'm going to want to invest all of this money just to be able to say I own the new flagship, and get half decent sound out of it with headphones, especially when for all intents and purposes I'm perfectly happy with my 10.
Right before the phone ended up shipping out to me I was debating on canceling my order because once the feeling of new shiny device wore off I started the question what about the new phone actually got me excited and to be perfectly honest the answer for me is really nothing. I think edge sense could be cool but the apparent lack of support from case manufacturers has me a bit scared as well. I have never owned an all glass phone before and I don't think you could pay me enough to use this phone without any full-body protection I understand that the camera is much better but honestly I don't see a problem with the one that I have. So this could be the first year that I actually hang on to my phone.

I just paired this phone with the Fiio K1 DAC. Much better audio experience. The HTC 10 apparently was better than the K1 by about 10% so the fact that the K1 sounds so good compared to the adapter is quite telling

[Q] Root/other headphones and audio quality improvement methods/audio mods

Hello,
I find headphones dongle with my earphones quite lacking quality/soundstage, but searching through forums I stumbled upon this: Viper detects our essential dongle as a speaker. Was it fixed, or do you have any suggestions how to improve sound quality?
I'm using AuriSonics ASG 1Plus, which are an excellent IEM's, with low Impedence:
(11 ohm +/ 10% @ 1kHz16 ; Sensitivity: [email protected]).
So there should be no problem powering 'em and dishing as good sound performance as possible.
I know essential uses Cirrus DAC (which is average, but I'm not really buying any high-quality USB-c DAC or portable AMP).
I come from Pixel XL, which had dedicated 3.5mm jack and SD DAC, it sounded okay and WAY better than essential.
Some EQ tweaks can elevate a bit of problems, but I'm looking for a more all-around solution (whether it's fixed viper(drivers/libraries/etc.)(( or something else)).
Thanks!

Bump.

Tautvydas said:
Hello,
I find headphones dongle with my earphones quite lacking quality/soundstage, but searching through forums I stumbled upon this: Viper detects our essential dongle as a speaker. Was it fixed, or do you have any suggestions how to improve sound quality?
I'm using AuriSonics ASG 1Plus, which are an excellent IEM's, with low Impedence:
(11 ohm +/ 10% @ 1kHz16 ; Sensitivity: [email protected]).
So there should be no problem powering 'em and dishing as good sound performance as possible.
I know essential uses Cirrus DAC (which is average, but I'm not really buying any high-quality USB-c DAC or portable AMP).
I come from Pixel XL, which had dedicated 3.5mm jack and SD DAC, it sounded okay and WAY better than essential.
Some EQ tweaks can elevate a bit of problems, but I'm looking for a more all-around solution (whether it's fixed viper(drivers/libraries/etc.)(( or something else)).
Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How about this DAC?
https://www.zorloo.com/zuperdac-s
https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/zuperdac-s-zuper-charge-your-music#/
I bought it when it was pre-release for quite a bit less.
Much better than the included dongle that comes with the phone.

tech_head said:
How about this DAC?
https://www.zorloo.com/zuperdac-s
https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/zuperdac-s-zuper-charge-your-music#/
I bought it when it was pre-release for quite a bit less.
Much better than the included dongle that comes with the phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
To be honest, I'm not up for buying any DAC's, but this one got me quite interested since it's for pc as well.
How is it?
Thanks!

Tautvydas said:
To be honest, I'm not up for buying any DAC's, but this one got me quite interested since it's for pc as well.
How is it?
Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Interested in knowing as well. After my experience with the Aero Indiegogo, I have a pretty bad taste for Zorloo.

stompysan said:
Interested in knowing as well. After my experience with the Aero Indiegogo, I have a pretty bad taste for Zorloo.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I bought the first headphone Z:ero and got them on time.
They worked great.
I bought the DAC while still on pre-order and received it a while ago.
For a small DAC the quality is really good.
The volume buttons make it very usable since you can set the input to the DAC from the phone at an optimal level then use the volume buttons on the DAC for the input of the car stereo, headphones, etc.
I'm quite happy and it's much better than the little dongle that comes with the phone.
Is it Focusrite or Apogee? No, but it's not $2K either.

I found the same issue. I don't think it is the DAC, but instead the native Android USB/DAC driver.
https://forum.xda-developers.com/essential-phone/themes/finding-music-player-essential-phones-t3710793
The problem is that this won't work for streaming applications. But I listen to FLAC / hi-bit MP3 so it solved the issue for me.

TimboC2000 said:
I found the same issue. I don't think it is the DAC, but instead the native Android USB/DAC driver.
https://forum.xda-developers.com/essential-phone/themes/finding-music-player-essential-phones-t3710793
The problem is that this won't work for streaming applications. But I listen to FLAC / hi-bit MP3 so it solved the issue for me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks! Great thread you've created, really explains it.
Which app would you prefer, Neutron or Onkyo? You explained about Onkyo, but it's almost 10 euros for me, Neutron is a bit cheaper and I was thinking for quite some time to buy it. Had it on my old Blackberry Z10, it was native to BB OS.
Right now I'm using foobar, since I'm using it on pc, where I think it's the best music player, but when it comes to Android, you live you learn hehe.

Tautvydas said:
Thanks! Great thread you've created, really explains it.
Which app would you prefer, Neutron or Onkyo? You explained about Onkyo, but it's almost 10 euros for me, Neutron is a bit cheaper and I was thinking for quite some time to buy it. Had it on my old Blackberry Z10, it was native to BB OS.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Unfortunately, I only have experience with Onkyo and Hiby. The Onkyo is pretty well developed and something I use fairly regularly so it was worth the money to me.
Hopefully somebody else can provide comments on Neutron for you.

Anyone tried the Viper audio add-on in Magisk? I purchased Bluetooth Skull Candy Ink'd for $20 and love the sound quality. Actually have the volume at 80% most of the time
Sent from my PH-1 using XDA-Developers Legacy app

I just purchased a pixel audio adapter, as it measures well for its price ($9).
The market for high-end usbc adapters isn't quite there yet it seems, a traditional dac+amp setup is probably still better if you need more power.
If you're using IEMs though, powerful amps tend to have a higher noise floor.

Just tested Neutron player, it's excellent.
Huge increase in soundstage, overall processing quality, sounds great.
Magic is done under Audio Hardware options, selecting 'Direct USB Driver' to allow direct access to the USB device.

Duo8 said:
I just purchased a pixel audio adapter, as it measures well for its price ($9).
The market for high-end usbc adapters isn't quite there yet it seems, a traditional dac+amp setup is probably still better if you need more power.
If you're using IEMs though, powerful amps tend to have a higher noise floor.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have that adapter and the Essential adapter. Using Onkyo HF application it was able to use multiple bit rates with the Essential adapter, but the Google adapter only works at 48kHz.
I have the Sabaj Da3 as well. It works great with the Onkyo HF app, it supports multiple sample rates and upconverts to DSD512 as well. Issues are: 1. It's huge. 2: It burns significant battery, especially if upconverting. 3. When I bought it was $90, right now it is $119 on Amazon - so it's expensive!
Honestly, for non-critical on the go listening the Essential adapter works really well once you bypass the Android USB driver.
---------- Post added at 06:47 PM ---------- Previous post was at 06:46 PM ----------
Tautvydas said:
Just tested Neutron player, it's excellent.
Huge increase in soundstage, overall processing quality, sounds great.
Magic is done under Audio Hardware options, selecting 'Direct USB Driver' to allow direct access to the USB device.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Glad it fixed your issues!

TimboC2000 said:
Unfortunately, I only have experience with Onkyo and Hiby. The Onkyo is pretty well developed and something I use fairly regularly so it was worth the money to me.
Hopefully somebody else can provide comments on Neutron for you.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you for your original thread which pointed me to these apps..
1. I tried Hiby, and did like its music quality, but its very rough for me.. I could not make/receive voice calls when it locks my headphones.. Also it does not show any info on the actual bitrates its using..
2. I am trying out Neutron trial version, which is a 5 day limited use full feature version. It too seems to be limiting the output to 48kHz. Yet to try Onkyo.

mvadu said:
Thank you for your original thread which pointed me to these apps..
1. I tried Hiby, and did like its music quality, but its very rough for me.. I could not make/receive voice calls when it locks my headphones.. Also it does not show any info on the actual bitrates its using..
2. I am trying out Neutron trial version, which is a 5 day limited use full feature version. It too seems to be limiting the output to 48kHz. Yet to try Onkyo.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
USB Audio Player Pro also seems well regarded and developed. I believe Hiby is a single developer and is much more of a work in progress.

Just found the perfect setup for my IEM's.
Ainur Sauron Magisk module and Neutron player's "direct USB support" option. Sounds amazing now!
Had quite similar experience in the ol' days with Colorfly C3 and Klipsch iem's (can't remember the model).
Or just that I'm easily impressed
Tried viper, just really dislike its signature sound. Clarity, bass, convolver turned on and tuned a bit, still, not to my ears.

Stupid mistake I made choosing Bluetooth Dac/Amp

I was looking for a relatively cheap Bluetooth DAC that could do the job for me. One of my friends were using a AK XB10, which I tried a few years ago when he first got it. The DAC performs great when paired with most of the phone I was using. But I forgot Aptx HD are a Qualcomm IP and it didn't work with my G950N with Exyons SoC (but strangely Aptx works)
I only found out the problem after I use the DAC for 15 minutes. the sound quality is really disappointing. And I started to google a bit and learn the Exynos don't have Aptx HD, and all the way the xb10 is using Aptx. The difference was so huge that my 24bit flac sounds worse than 192kbps MP3. And sadly the AK xb10 didn't support LDAC.
So now I have to buy another Bluetooth DAC now.

Type2501 said:
I was looking for a relatively cheap Bluetooth DAC that could do the job for me. One of my friends were using a AK XB10, which I tried a few years ago when he first got it. The DAC performs great when paired with most of the phone I was using. But I forgot Aptx HD are a Qualcomm IP and it didn't work with my G950N with Exyons SoC (but strangely Aptx works)
I only found out the problem after I use the DAC for 15 minutes. the sound quality is really disappointing. And I started to google a bit and learn the Exynos don't have Aptx HD, and all the way the xb10 is using Aptx. The difference was so huge that my 24bit flac sounds worse than 192kbps MP3. And sadly the AK xb10 didn't support LDAC.
So now I have to buy another Bluetooth DAC now.
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Check out the FiiO BTR3, it supports LDAC which should work regardless of processor since it's in base android and also theoretically higher quality than aptx.

TheTofu said:
Check out the FiiO BTR3, it supports LDAC which should work regardless of processor since it's in base android and also theoretically higher quality than aptx.
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I bought the earstudio ES-100 from Amazon, now waiting for it to arrive. It is slightly more expensive than the BTR3 and xb10 , but reviews suggested it should sounds better.
Speaking of LDAC, I read a article online about LDAC vs aptx HD, turn out that most of the time LDAC is default at 660kbps, not the advertised 990kbps. And the sound quality when using 660kbps is not necessarily better than atxp HD.

Type2501 said:
I bought the earstudio ES-100 from Amazon, now waiting for it to arrive. It is slightly more expensive than the BTR3 and xb10 , but reviews suggested it should sounds better.
Speaking of LDAC, I read a article online about LDAC vs aptx HD, turn out that most of the time LDAC is default at 660kbps, not the advertised 990kbps. And the sound quality when using 660kbps is not necessarily better than atxp HD.
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Click to collapse
While true, you can also go into developer options and pick a specific bitrate to use, and considering it's going to be in a car with maybe 2-4ft of range i don't see 990kbps having issues.
The article makes it sound like it's a great big hassle for regular users, but I posit that regular users won't notice any difference in quality if they're just playing "high quality" Spotify, and if you do care enough to play files at high res you should be familiar enough with tinkering to tap a few buttons.
Now the better argument is whether the earstudio actually sounds better than the FiiO, and basing off of reviews that compare the two directly that answer seems to be that it's not better but a little different, though it does have some nifty features that the FiiO lacks.
Then again with it being in a car it likely won't matter since they're more useful for headphones.
What I wish someone would do is make something like either of those devices but without a battery so that it doesn't stay connected when the car is off.

TheTofu said:
While true, you can also go into developer options and pick a specific bitrate to use, and considering it's going to be in a car with maybe 2-4ft of range i don't see 990kbps having issues.
The article makes it sound like it's a great big hassle for regular users, but I posit that regular users won't notice any difference in quality if they're just playing "high quality" Spotify, and if you do care enough to play files at high res you should be familiar enough with tinkering to tap a few buttons.
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Click to collapse
I first found out the problem with XB10 after I dig into the developer menu and found no aptx HD. I think that article is for those who don't really knows what Bluetooth audio should perform in the real world. And also a informative read for me, since I only had a rough idea of Bluetooth audio standard before.
Now the better argument is whether the earstudio actually sounds better than the FiiO, and basing off of reviews that compare the two directly that answer seems to be that it's not better but a little different, though it does have some nifty features that the FiiO lacks.
Then again with it being in a car it likely won't matter since they're more useful for headphones.
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Think in a bit more on that, it might be just down to which amp works better with which iem. Since I had no where to test the earstuio, I can only cross my finger and hope it works well with my Westone w4r.
BTW, I wish my car is quiet enough so I can care about bluetooth audio quality. The tyre noise is just bad that it doesn't matter anymore. And only two door speaker doesn't help ether.
What I wish someone would do is make something like either of those devices but without a battery so that it doesn't stay connected when the car is off.
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Click to collapse
I think some sony head unit already support LDAC and didn't cost much more than your FiiO, if car audio is all you want. And you don't have to amplify the signal twice (or is there a line out on the FiiO? Idk)

Type2501 said:
I first found out the problem with XB10 after I dig into the developer menu and found no aptx HD. I think that article is for those who don't really knows what Bluetooth audio should perform in the real world. And also a informative read for me, since I only had a rough idea of Bluetooth audio standard before.
Think in a bit more on that, it might be just down to which amp works better with which iem. Since I had no where to test the earstuio, I can only cross my finger and hope it works well with my Westone w4r.
BTW, I wish my car is quiet enough so I can care about bluetooth audio quality. The tyre noise is just bad that it doesn't matter anymore. And only two door speaker doesn't help ether.
I think some sony head unit already support LDAC and didn't cost much more than your FiiO, if car audio is all you want. And you don't have to amplify the signal twice (or is there a line out on the FiiO? Idk)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Fair enough about road noise, I'm hoping to fix some wind noise at some point. Tires are already as good as can be pretty much, without being wasteful, you always want the best you can get though, it's arguably the most critical part of your car in emergency situations (having enough grip to break and stop, emergency lane change, or accelerate and gtfo)
Issue with the head unit is that most modern cars are notoriously hard to put head units in. My car is a 2012 and I need like 2-3 different adapters that add an additional 80-120 to the cost, plus the time to install, all to get a piece of my dash to stick out like a sore thumb since it's not a factory look.
And even then, the head unit itself would cost at least 100, whereas a simple USB powered dongle with just line-out and minimal processing I think could easily be made and sold for maybe 50 to max out bluetooth quality, and it would be easy to take with me to another car rather than having to break down the dash just to get the head unit out.
Personally I'm eagerly hoping and awaiting for SBC HD (aka SBC Dual Channel Audio) to be merged into AOSP and released as part of either Android Q or whatever comes next, as this would increase the max bitrate to 512kbps for all bluetooth devices made since 2007 whereas devices made after 2015 would have effectively any birate they want while using the SBC Codec. Free audio quality upgrade for pretty much all devices, especially those not supporting AptX or better.
For more info see: https://forum.xda-developers.com/android/software-hacking/improve-bluetooth-audio-quality-t3832615
I will likely attempt patching the library myself if rooting ever becomes available for the S9+