Database Users

Get the best of S3's sound

Hi,
I am not much of a hard core audiophile and I can settle with almost any sound quality, but I recently bought a decent mid-range IEM, the Sony HM1. So, I wonder if there is any way to be sure that I get the best S3 has to give. I use:
-Sony HM1
-Rocket player (paid version, the one with the unlocked equalizer).
-At least 192bit rated MP3s.
-Volume enhancer mod
So, is there any other mod, program or anything else that can take full advantage of S3's potential, if any? Thanks!

http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1704138
Your question has been posted multiple times . Forum rules require you to search before posting .
Google <<< I9300 your search terms > xda
Sound Thread .
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1633685
Try Viper4Android .

I posted these questions right after I read some pages of that threat and I was just hoping for a medium-sized sum or a small guide with the steps necessary. I will move my question there then, thanks and sorry.

one word. poweramp. no other mods/apps needed. Best audio comes from poweramp. Must be stupid to argue against that.

Sammy GS3 + Nothing = Decent Audio
Melissakis said:
Hi,
I am not much of a hard core audiophile and I can settle with almost any sound quality, but I recently bought a decent mid-range IEM, the Sony HM1. So, I wonder if there is any way to be sure that I get the best S3 has to give. I use:
-Sony HM1
-Rocket player (paid version, the one with the unlocked equalizer).
-At least 192bit rated MP3s.
-Volume enhancer mod
So, is there any other mod, program or anything else that can take full advantage of S3's potential, if any? Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
In all honesty, to get the best sound you need good source and as you rightly did, at least 192kbps audio. But I have numerous songs that sound much better at 320 than 192 and when played back side by side, you hear the diff. My father who is half deaf heard it.
My recommendation for music is simple, highest bitrate you can afford given the storage you have (getting a 64gb Micro SD card remedies that issue quickly, the Samsung model is the best i've use so far), equalisers and volume normalisers are just to flavour the music to your taste, more bass here, a little mid there, or to compensate for a particular bias your headphone may have. I use a Senheisser HD 201 and HD 202. The 201 is flat and pure, the 202 is bassy and wild so i adjust to suit. FYI I'm current using JetAudio Pro with the AM3D Effects set to 40 and 50.
Hope this helps.
Btw, if you just looking for louder, the tablets, Nexus 7 and the like have higher volume outputs on their headphone jacks so be aware of that.

veer01_42 said:
Hope this helps.
Btw, if you just looking for louder, the tablets, Nexus 7 and the like have higher volume outputs on their headphone jacks so be aware of that.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It sure did, thanks! Having high bitrate and a decent IEM, I just wanted to be sure that S3's hardware has no room for improvements, a better kernel or some other tweak.
About Nexus 7, are you sure it has higher output? I have both S3 and Nexus 7 and I just tried it, on the same volume level, S3 is way more louder. Just bear in mind that I used this sound enhancement tweak on S3.

Pure audio and Wolfson Sound engine, Poweramp with all post processing turned off.
That is all

Cameltoemcgee said:
Pure audio and Wolfson Sound engine, Poweramp with all post processing turned off.
That is all
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Poweramp, check.
About the other two, could you be more specific? I'm a noob. About the Pure audio, I know that's it's a flashable zip, does it give me after the flashing a app that tweaks the sound? And what about wolfson sound engine, could you please give me a link?
Currently I use googy-max kernel, which enables the wolfson sound engine via STweaks. Would it be better to use something else? Maybe all of these questions have already been answered, but it's very difficult to collect all the info available. Thank you all!

Melissakis said:
Poweramp, check.
About the other two, could you be more specific? I'm a noob. About the Pure audio, I know that's it's a flashable zip, does it give me after the flashing a app that tweaks the sound? And what about wolfson sound engine, could you please give me a link?
Currently I use googy-max kernel, which enables the wolfson sound engine via STweaks. Would it be better to use something else? Maybe all of these questions have already been answered, but it's very difficult to collect all the info available. Thank you all!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sure! i use googymax too with the wolfson engine, my settings are: headphone equalizer: Enable WITHOUT saturation Prevention.
EQ Presets: Use graphical equalizer
at the bottom of stweaks i turn on DAC direct and DAC oversampling but leave the others.
Pure audio - flash the zip, make sure that DSP manager isn't installed otherwise it'll do nothing. remove it with titanium backup if you hvae it.
pure audio doesn't give you options to adjust because you don't need it. it won't give you any indication that its running when you're listening to music either... but you'll know if you've done it right
If you do feel the need to adjust eq, then use the eq in Stweaks, or poweramp even if you find it easier.
Hope it helps!

Cameltoemcgee said:
Sure! i use googymax too with the wolfson engine, my settings are: headphone equalizer: Enable WITHOUT saturation Prevention.
EQ Presets: Use graphical equalizer
at the bottom of stweaks i turn on DAC direct and DAC oversampling but leave the others.
Pure audio - flash the zip, make sure that DSP manager isn't installed otherwise it'll do nothing. remove it with titanium backup if you hvae it.
pure audio doesn't give you options to adjust because you don't need it. it won't give you any indication that its running when you're listening to music either... but you'll know if you've done it right
If you do feel the need to adjust eq, then use the eq in Stweaks, or poweramp even if you find it easier.
Hope it helps!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you so much for the reply, you've cleared everything out!

Sound and Audio Mods Discussion

Hello Guys,
So, audio is a completely new territory for me, and as such I have very little to no idea about the current audio mods or the individual audio packages. I wanted to discuss the various mods available currently and their current effect on our devices, the reason this is necessary is because although we have the Marshmallow on our devices, the hardware is getting a tad bit old and a mod which might be compatible with our software may not get the best optimised output from the hardware. Hope you are getting me there. I wanted to discuss the currently available options by the means of trial and testing using 5-10 mods, or gathering reviews from people who are actually using these mods, based on their performance on Phone Speaker, Headphones, AUX, Wireless Speakers and dock.
Going through XDA I found a couple of mods which I am listing (kindly add to the list if you can) below, if anyone has tried these please put our reviews and opinions in the thread,
1. Ac!D Audio (only for SG S3) *
2. XtremeBeats SuperMod *
3. eXtremeBeats Audio Mod *
4. Viper4Android
5. Dolby Digital Plus
6. Beats Audio
7. Dolby Atmos
8. Pure Audio Engine 2.0
9. MaxxAudio (#)
10. IRS SoundMod
11. Am3D Zirene Audio Fx
* - Mod Packages containing Multiple individual audio Mods
# - Stable version not available for android M
>> Another thing that I wanted to clarify was that, each mod works differently on different devices so i would prefer a non biased opinion based on usage and not on the popularity of the mod. Many times even a single mod can play better than a mod package containing multiple mods, hence i'll try to put forward the best audio configuration by the time this thread runs it's course. Kindly Help me do it
Let's Make the best audio Possible!
Cheers,
[email protected][email protected]

<Reserved >

<Reserved>

I'd stay with stock audio stuff, afaik the i9300 has a high-quality DAC (don't quote me on that) but no kernel is enabling the full potential of it(CN).
All equlizers seem to add virtual "surround" which IMO ruines the quality of whatever I'm listening to.

Hawaii_Beach said:
I'd stay with stock audio stuff, afaik the i9300 has a high-quality DAC (don't quote me on that) but no kernel is enabling the full potential of it(CN).
All equlizers seem to add virtual "surround" which IMO ruines the quality of whatever I'm listening to.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
true that, virtual surround is useless unless we have an external sound system, but i think boeffla kernel does use the full DAC potential ? or not?

[email protected][email protected] said:
true that, virtual surround is useless unless we have an external sound system, but i think boeffla kernel does use the full DAC potential ? or not?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, it has not; proof (read whole thread).
Looking at the features of the boeffla kernel, there's no "high-quality audio" feature.
Why are you using the boeffla kernel if running CM13? As far as I see there were never a update to fully support CM13.

Hawaii_Beach said:
No, it has not; proof (read whole thread).
Looking at the features of the boeffla kernel, there's no "high-quality audio" feature.
Why are you using the boeffla kernel if running CM13? As far as I see there were never a update to fully support CM13.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
there is a beta version v5-29 , and i am not actually using it currently, just downloading it currently to use with rr v5.6.8

Hawaii_Beach said:
No, it has not; proof (read whole thread).
Looking at the features of the boeffla kernel, there's no "high-quality audio" feature.
Why are you using the boeffla kernel if running CM13? As far as I see there were never a update to fully support CM13.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i read the thread, seems we are doomed, unless a developer actually has implemented the sound feature and just has failed to mention it. Anyways are there any active kernel developers for s3? boeffla has given the kernels an eol status, maybe we could request any other developer to include the sound feature in his kernel.

[email protected][email protected] said:
i read the thread, seems we are doomed, unless a developer actually has implemented the sound feature and just has failed to mention it. Anyways are there any active kernel developers for s3? boeffla has given the kernels an eol status, maybe we could request any other developer to include the sound feature in his kernel.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As I said, it's a waste of time.
24bit 192kHz?
First of all, 24 bit? Unless you're modifying sound files like a pro with a application which even supports 24 bit sound on Android (which I suspects does) exist, you won't benefit in sound quality.
192kHz? This is just too much; you ears can't even pick up that noise and sound files in that res are heavy.

Hawaii_Beach said:
As I said, it's a waste of time.
24bit 192kHz?
First of all, 24 bit? Unless you're modifying sound files like a pro with a application which even supports 24 bit sound on Android (which I suspects does) exist, you won't benefit in sound quality.
192kHz? This is just too much; you ears can't even pick up that noise and sound files in that res are heavy.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i agree with you on the 192kHz , but 24bit is actually good, if we use some good quality headphones, the sound files may become heavy though, i agree.. althought xtremeMusic does resample the sound to make it better, best have a look.

[email protected][email protected] said:
i read the thread, seems we are doomed, unless a developer actually has implemented the sound feature and just has failed to mention it. Anyways are there any active kernel developers for s3? boeffla has given the kernels an eol status, maybe we could request any other developer to include the sound feature in his kernel.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
although honestly speaking, complete support, even if it's not actually used, might benefit people who are very into music..

[email protected][email protected] said:
i agree with you on the 192kHz , but 24bit is actually good, if we use some good quality headphones, the sound files may become heavy though, i agree.. althought xtremeMusic does resample the sound to make it better, best have a look.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, do your homework. 24 bit does not sound better than 16 bit. Google it youself.

Hawaii_Beach said:
No, do your homework. 24 bit does not sound better than 16 bit. Google it youself.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
as i said i have no idea about audio, although i did think that 24 bit audio is better, i did my homework and found this http://tweakheadz.com/16-bit-vs-24-bit-audio/ , guess 24 bit means better quality , not better sound, if that makes any sense.

[email protected][email protected] said:
as i said i have no idea about audio, although i did think that 24 bit audio is better, i did my homework and found this http://tweakheadz.com/16-bit-vs-24-bit-audio/ , guess 24 bit means better quality , not better sound, if that makes any sense.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Professionals record their audio in 24 bit which makes the audio easier to edit as there's more depth.
It does not add quality to the sound at all. You never export a 24 bit audio file to public, do more homework

Hawaii_Beach said:
Professionals record their audio in 24 bit which makes the audio easier to edit as there's more depth.
It does not add quality to the sound at all. You never export a 24 bit audio file to public, do more homework
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
meh.. i have a lot of school work going on and there's this more homework.. meh.. guess i'll study about audio coming Sunday, -_- too much to learn xD

I will have to hijack your thread to announce that both of you should do MORE homework on audio. The Wolfson WM1811A Audio Hub Codec, because it has DACs, ADCs, FLLs and much more than just a DAC, is in fact capable of 24bit/96kHz.
The thing about bit depth in audio has been disputed over and over, it is just a matter of preference really, with FLAC and other uncompressed formats gaining popularity with the rise of quality in the hardware department. Going to audio editing, even a 15-year old can use Audacity. Not to talk about Sony's Sound Forge Audio Studio.
Another thing is that AGNi Kernel, at least for i9305 has Boeffla Sound Engine, that coupled with Wolfson Preset 5 or 7, makes listening to music, ofc in combination with Viper4Android and PowerAmp, a total dream. Oh, and also one more thing, IRS SoundMod is a package of Impulse Response Samples (hence the name IRS) for Viper4Android, so that is no sound mod.

[email protected][email protected] said:
i agree with you on the 192kHz , but 24bit is actually good, if we use some good quality headphones, the sound files may become heavy though, i agree.. althought xtremeMusic does resample the sound to make it better, best have a look.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have i9300 on stock 4.3 android and anything that alters the sound, any player like poweramp that alters the sound by resampling just make it worser. Stock player and Aimp player gives the cleanest sound. Aimp is good because you can raise the gain............up to 3db is enough.

Samsung won't integrate 24-bit/192kHz that the WM1811 sound chip is capable to their kernel for a reason, we may never know what it is but they won't for a reason.
Maybe the Wolfson WM1811 data sheet we're seeing are false, maybe not.
Whether it is for stability reasons, when Samsung doesn't use the ‘full’ potential of the chip it might be for the good of its users.
Sent from my HTC 10 using Tapatalk

HIfI option, why does standard sound better than super ( various headphones )?

I own a few expensive headphones and IEM's that cost more than this phone.. Why does SUPER ALWAYS sound worse than standard in the hifi sound option? Super sounds muffled on every earpiece I used.. Its like its backwards or something..
so is standard the snapdragon DaC and Super is AKM dac? Or is both AKM? Mostly bought this phone for its audio capabilities, I ride over 100 miles a week on a cycle and always tune out.
HELP!!!

velvethammer said:
I own a few expensive headphones and IEM's that cost more than this phone.. Why does SUPER ALWAYS sound worse than standard in the hifi sound option? Super sounds muffled on every earpiece I used.. Its like its backwards or something..
so is standard the snapdragon DaC and Super is AKM dac? Or is both AKM? Mostly bought this phone for its audio capabilities, I ride over 100 miles a week on a cycle and always tune out.
HELP!!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Also interested in the answer to this, I thought I was going insane as on my custom IEMS standard sounds better than super which seems muffled but if I swap to a pair of cheaper earphones then super gives better results.
Want to know what each of these modes do in terms of DAC or filter being used?

Super sounds waayyyyy better than default on my A2017G using OnePlus Icons.
I should know as a music producer and audiophile.
The sound is a lot deeper and thicker. Also the bass is a lot cleaner and the high frequencies are also more clear and less 'dull'

keessonnema said:
Super sounds waayyyyy better than default on my A2017G using OnePlus Icons.
I should know as a music producer and audiophile.
The sound is a lot deeper and thicker. Also the bass is a lot cleaner and the high frequencies are also more clear and less 'dull'
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'd like to know how others are finding the difference between standard and super headset hifi. Pls also post what earphones/headphones you are using for this.
For me, JH Roxannes and Sony EX1000 sound better with standard. If I use Westone UM30 pro then the opposite effect, super sound better.
I can't believe the phone can tell the difference between 2 earphones and would change super and standard accordingly.

beyerdynamics custom one pro.
no dolby.
with super the instruments sound a lot clearer (except for the increased volume in bass frequencies) as in i hear every single vibration of an instrument. e.g. when a hi hat is hit i audibly "see" how it swings.

I don't use dolby either but standard sounds better on my Roxannes than super. Same effects as you experience but on standard vs super. Highs/Mids/Bass sound clearer in standard. Super sounds muffled in comparison and bass is increased but muddy.
Unless standard and Super are reversed on the chinese version A2017?

May be my earlier post in other thread can help to answer to your question regarding DAC.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/axon-7/how-to/stock-music-player-t3474463/post69069304#post69069304
The only thing is not clear yet is the analog part. I suppose that it is in separated, already not named chip and both DACs drive same amplifier. The volume difference between Standard and Super would be because of different analog signal level. It is my opinion but either I can imagine that it is on purpose indicating that something happened.
Why do you hear standard sounds better than Super? I don't know. I checked how standard sounds (good) but I always use super mode.

I brought this up in a previous thread, glad it's still being discussed.
One issue lies in confirmation bias. Anyone doing testing on their own and knowingly switching between Standard and Super could have psychologically skewed the results. Since the software named one setting "Super", the weight of average users opinions may bias towards that. The only way to truly test it would be to have a full blind test done.
Since even I don't want to bother anyone to help me set up such an involved test, I did some rudimentary testing with my Shure SRH840, Sony 7506, and Triple Fi 10. I'm finding that Super increases the overall volume, as well as increasing mid-bass response and some treble.
I have an unsubstantiated theory on this. First, Super setting could be a sales tactic equalizer designed to "wow" the average consumer. It's a well known audio industry strategy that preys on the human brain's tendency to rate slightly louder audio sources as higher in quality.
Secondly, this setting could be designed to give perceived improvements using low quality headphones. The fact that several of us observe increased mid-bass and treble, areas that cheap headphones sometimes severly lack, may be an indicator. Let's not forget that in the box, the Axon comes with a cheap set of headphones that are many buyers' first audio experience on this phone, which ZTE would want to leave an impression.
If this is true, it makes sense that many of us with higher end headphones with more accurately balanced frqeuency response would find the Super setting to be inferior in use. Again, none of my claims can be confirmed unless professional testing equipment and a blind test method is used.
I remain skeptical in regards to questions of this setting toggling between a Snapdragon DAC and a Axon specific Hi-fi DAC. When quickly switching between Standard and Super, there's virtually no pause in the audio playback, with linear fade outs and fade ins. It seems odd that if the phone was truly switching between sending the audio to two different hardware chips, a more prominent pause in audio playback should occur.

So is it true that you cannot use Dolby and process audio using the AKM DAC at the same time? I read that somewhere, you can use either one or the other

trace1er said:
So is it true that you cannot use Dolby and process audio using the AKM DAC at the same time? I read that somewhere, you can use either one or the other
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I believe that's not true, it may have come about from Poweramp users. If DVC is disabled in Poweramp then Dolby can be used. I assume that Poweramp uses the AKM dac.
I'm curious how the Axon 7 is setup. If only the AKM dac is enabled or if the S820 dac is also enabled. I can't work out if or how to switch between them. If there is any way to show which dac is in use that would be great as it's all guessing right now.

Kantana said:
I believe that's not true, it may have come about from Poweramp users. If DVC is disabled in Poweramp then Dolby can be used. I assume that Poweramp uses the AKM dac.
I'm curious how the Axon 7 is setup. If only the AKM dac is enabled or if the S820 dac is also enabled. I can't work out if or how to switch between them. If there is any way to show which dac is in use that would be great as it's all guessing right now.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This would be a good thing. Wonder if there's an app to do it, or possible to make one.

Kantana said:
. ... if the S820 dac is also enabled.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It isn't.

obladi64 said:
It isn't.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If that's the case then no concern over super vs standard. Both modes use the AKM dac and the difference being heard is software/filters/dsp being applied
We could push the argument to say that standard is the pure output out of the dac with no coloration being added so no surprise this sounds most transparent, clear with decent earphones.
Super would be for lower quality earphones to add back elevated bass/highs so artificially compensating for hardware defecits.

Kantana said:
If that's the case then no concern over super vs standard. Both modes use the AKM dac and the difference being heard is software/filters/dsp being applied
We could push the argument to say that standard is the pure output out of the dac with no coloration being added so no surprise this sounds most transparent, clear with decent earphones.
Super would be for lower quality earphones to add back elevated bass/highs so artificially compensating for hardware defecits.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not at all.
I've tested with several headphones and the super settings adds a lot more depth. Default sounds a bit flat. Not in terms of bass or treble, but widening, clearance, and especially the low-end sounds a lot muddier.

Kantana said:
If that's the case then no concern over super vs standard. Both modes use the AKM dac and the difference being heard is software/filters/dsp being applied
We could push the argument to say that standard is the pure output out of the dac with no coloration being added so no surprise this sounds most transparent, clear with decent earphones.
Super would be for lower quality earphones to add back elevated bass/highs so artificially compensating for hardware defecits.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not exatly. If you use flat mode there is no colorisatin in both. As I know 4491 is not able to oversample and convert 16 or 24 bit to 32. 4490 is able to. It should make sound better theoretically. Beyond these 4490 has many switchable filter option. Don't mix it with DSP. Usually it is called soft or sharp mode etc mode. Unfortunately ZTE doesn't make it availabe for user and I don't know what is the default selected option but difference between these option is so tiny that you can judge just after long term listening if you can at all.

Kantana said:
I don't use dolby either but standard sounds better on my Roxannes than super. Same effects as you experience but on standard vs super. Highs/Mids/Bass sound clearer in standard. Super sounds muffled in comparison and bass is increased but muddy.
Unless standard and Super are reversed on the chinese version A2017?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Something is wrong with your phone in particular. Reset it or send it back.
I saw a friend with Axon 7 dealing with exact same issue.
I got mine and its working like its supposed to. Super enhances the sound and dolby gives the open dynamics.

Kantana said:
If that's the case then no concern over super vs standard. Both modes use the AKM dac and the difference being heard is software/filters/dsp being applied
We could push the argument to say that standard is the pure output out of the dac with no coloration being added so no surprise this sounds most transparent, clear with decent earphones.
Super would be for lower quality earphones to add back elevated bass/highs so artificially compensating for hardware defecits.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not both mode use AKM DAC but use different type of AKM DAC. 4490 is more enhanced than standard 4691. 4490 can oversample and convert bit depth but I already said it in earlier post. There is no software trick to make it "better" on cheap headphones. A7 was made for audiophiles too, why would they have done that? For this purpose a tone control would have been enough. I suggest to check how another A7 phones sound, may be yours has problem.
Otherwise today I listen music in standard mode too. Comparison was a bit difficult because I cannot set same volume level. The difference is 1.5 click between two mode. Never mind my intension was and long term test. I played only CD quality music and there is no question about that both DAC sound very good but differently. Standard sounds like typical CD player. It is a typical sterile digital sound. The Super is full with air and space. Everything is more clear and enjoyable. It sounds analog way. After this I don't know whether is it worth to compare with HD audio record too?

Now that would be a surprise to me as I saw AK4490 was used as DAC for playback but AK4961 was used as ADC for recording. I never considered they would have both wired for standard n super.
Where can we find supporting documents for these 2 modes since even manual skips on details and just says you can change it within headset hifi?

Kantana said:
Now that would be a surprise to me as I saw AK4490 was used as DAC for playback but AK4961 was used as ADC for recording. I never considered they would have both wired for standard n super.
Where can we find supporting documents for these 2 modes since even manual skips on details and just says you can change it within headset hifi?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
4691 is ADC and DAC in one chip while 4490 is only DAC. I haven't found well detailed document. All you can do in this question is that you read ZTE and AKM releases carefully. Also you can find some detail on site like Android Authority or Youtube etc.

obladi64 said:
4691 is ADC and DAC in one chip while 4490 is only DAC. I haven't found well detailed document. All you can do in this question is that you read ZTE and AKM releases carefully. Also you can find some detail on site like Android Authority or Youtube etc.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
From ZTE site, it looks confusing:
Playback
Sound Playback Codecs: Dolby Atmos® + Dolby Digital Plus (7+1 Surround Sound)
Sampling Frequency: 384 kHz
THD+N: '112dB
S/N: 120 dB
Recording
Channel: 3 channel (HiFi),1 channel (VAD)
Resolution: 32 bit as per spec (24 bit as per performance)
Sampling Frequency: 96 kHz
MIC max input: 2.02 Vpp
S/N ADC: 102 dB
Conference Mode
Directional Recording: Dimensional and Omni Directional
Recording Range: Up to 7 meters (approximately 23 feet)
Dedicated Audio Chipset: AKM 4961 + 4490
- 4961 - HiFi main chipset to provide HiFi and recording features
- 4490 - Independent amplifier to enhance HiFi playback (AK380)
It makes it sound like 4961 is dac and 4490 is the amp. At least for the conferencing, for playback it only mentions the dolby which is software. It also adds (AK380) to the line mentioning 4490!

Dobly on earphone/headphone ?

Hi everyone,
Just bought an Axon 7 yesterday and it's the best phone I have ever used till now. Have one question regarding the Dobly audio. Is it only applied on the external speaker or on the earphone/headphone jack as well ? Since I mostly listen to music through my earphone so I am thinking about disabling Dobly to save some battery.

ortolan said:
Hi everyone,
Just bought an Axon 7 yesterday and it's the best phone I have ever used till now. Have one question regarding the Dobly audio. Is it only applied on the external speaker or on the earphone/headphone jack as well ? Since I mostly listen to music through my earphone so I am thinking about disabling Dobly to save some battery.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Both. Many people will tell you that the effect when on headphones is hideous and stuff like that, but in reality it's very subjective and everyone has a different opinion... try for yourself. For example I prefer it off for music, but it's awesome when you're seeing a movie or Youtube videos (better with Rich EQ on my headphones)
Also don't wanna bother too much, but it's Dolby

Dolby all the way, it enhances headphones so much

Choose an username... said:
Both. Many people will tell you that the effect when on headphones is hideous and stuff like that, but in reality it's very subjective and everyone has a different opinion... try for yourself. For example I prefer it off for music, but it's awesome when you're seeing a movie or Youtube videos (better with Rich EQ on my headphones)
Also don't wanna bother too much, but it's Dolby
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well may be I am among those people. The only difference when I use Dobly for my earphone is the slightly decrease in the volume, nothing more. The music quality sounds exactly the same. Also, when I plug in my earphone, Dobly is automatically turned off, I read somewhere mentioning that this is the default feature of Axon 7, because Dobly is meant for the external speakers. Anyway, I guess I will stick with non-Dobly option for earphone for the moment, thank you for your help.

ortolan said:
Hi everyone,
Just bought an Axon 7 yesterday and it's the best phone I have ever used till now. Have one question regarding the Dobly audio. Is it only applied on the external speaker or on the earphone/headphone jack as well ? Since I mostly listen to music through my earphone so I am thinking about disabling Dobly to save some battery.
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Choose an username... said:
Both. Many people will tell you that the effect when on headphones is hideous and stuff like that, but in reality it's very subjective and everyone has a different opinion... try for yourself. For example I prefer it off for music, but it's awesome when you're seeing a movie or Youtube videos (better with Rich EQ on my headphones)
Also don't wanna bother too much, but it's Dolby
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front firing speakers said:
Dolby all the way, it enhances headphones so much
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ortolan said:
Well may be I am among those people. The only difference when I use Dobly for my earphone is the slightly decrease in the volume, nothing more. The music quality sounds exactly the same. Also, when I plug in my earphone, Dobly is automatically turned off, I read somewhere mentioning that this is the default feature of Axon 7, because Dobly is meant for the external speakers. Anyway, I guess I will stick with non-Dobly option for earphone for the moment, thank you for your help.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Actually, is a little more complicated than what you guys are saying:
Axon 7 comes with 2 DAC's, the AKM one and the Snapdragon integrated. DAC is only used while using the audio jack, the DAC will never be used with the front facing speakers.
Dolby Atmos is the default for speakers, but if you plug the jack, 2 things will happen:
1) Dolby Atmos will be disabled
2) The AKM DAC will be used.
This is in the case that you have selected Hi-Fi in Sound Settings, because we have to remember that we also have Super. But what happens if I manually enable Atmos while on headphones?, 2 things will happen again:
1) Dolby is activated
2) Axon 7 will change the AKM DAC to the Snapdragon one, which would be the same effect that changing from Hi-Fi to Super in Sound settings.
Right now there is no way to use Dolby with the AKM DAC, at least on stock ROM.
I have read a lot about this, and I also made some tests myself trying all the possible combinations, but this is the cruel reality, which is kind of a bummer if we take in mind that we don't have a proper equalization while we use the AKM DAC, and if we want to use Dolby, Axon 7 changes automatically to the lower quality Snapdragon DAC.

Galaxo60 said:
Actually, is a little more complicated than what you guys are saying:
Axon 7 comes with 2 DAC's, the AKM one and the Snapdragon integrated. DAC is only used while using the audio jack, the DAC will never be used with the front facing speakers.
Dolby Atmos is the default for speakers, but if you plug the jack, 2 things will happen:
1) Dolby Atmos will be disabled
2) The AKM DAC will be used.
This is in the case that you have selected Hi-Fi in Sound Settings, because we have to remember that we also have Super. But what happens if I manually enable Atmos while on headphones?, 2 things will happen again:
1) Dolby is activated
2) Axon 7 will change the AKM DAC to the Snapdragon one, which would be the same effect that changing from Hi-Fi to Super in Sound settings.
Right now there is no way to use Dolby with the AKM DAC, at least on stock ROM.
I have read a lot about this, and I also made some tests myself trying all the possible combinations, but this is the cruel reality, which is kind of a bummer if we take in mind that we don't have a proper equalization while we use the AKM DAC, and if we want to use Dolby, Axon 7 changes automatically to the lower quality Snapdragon DAC.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hm, so in the sound setting for Hi-Fi I found two options: Standard HiFi and Super sound quality. I suppose the Super option produces better sound ?

ortolan said:
Hm, so in the sound setting for Hi-Fi I found two options: Standard HiFi and Super sound quality. I suppose the Super option produces better sound ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, Hi-Fi is the one that will get better results.
Super -> Snapdragon DAC
Hi-Fi -> AKM DAC
I also think that menu comes with a legend when they say that Hi-Fi is better, but I don't remember the correct words.

Galaxo60 said:
No, Hi-Fi is the one that will get better results.
Super -> Snapdragon DAC
Hi-Fi -> AKM DAC
I also think that menu comes with a legend when they say that Hi-Fi is better, but I don't remember the correct words.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Standard: Insert earpiece to enjoy standard Hi-Fi sound quality
Super: Insert earpiece to enjoy superior sound quality with enhanced audio performance
From what I see, Super is the better option . Really confused with the way the put those words.

Galaxo60 said:
No, Hi-Fi is the one that will get better results.
Super -> Snapdragon DAC
Hi-Fi -> AKM DAC
I also think that menu comes with a legend when they say that Hi-Fi is better, but I don't remember the correct words.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
In the settings it says that Super is better so you are contradicting yourself.
On the other hand, I saw some people saying Super uses AK 4490, some say it uses Snapdragon. I dont know who to believe, it's all speculation.
I guess use what you think sounds better.
EDIT: Some say Super uses AK4490 (only with headphones and dolby off), everything else uses AK4961.

ortolan said:
Standard: Insert earpiece to enjoy standard Hi-Fi sound quality
Super: Insert earpiece to enjoy superior sound quality with enhanced audio performance
From what I see, Super is the better option . Really confused with the way the put those words.
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Click to collapse
Chris2810 said:
In the settings it says that Super is better so you are contradicting yourself.
On the other hand, I saw some people saying Super uses AK 4490, some say it uses Snapdragon. I dont know who to believe, it's all speculation.
I guess use what you think sounds better.
EDIT: Some say Super uses AK4490 (only with headphones and dolby off), everything else uses AK4961.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Both of you are right, my mistake.
Super should be the one that you should use, I got confused because currently I don't have the Axon 7 with me, I couldn't remember well the options and I think that at some time they changed the name of them as well.

Chris2810 said:
In the settings it says that Super is better so you are contradicting yourself.
On the other hand, I saw some people saying Super uses AK 4490, some say it uses Snapdragon. I dont know who to believe, it's all speculation.
I guess use what you think sounds better.
EDIT: Some say Super uses AK4490 (only with headphones and dolby off), everything else uses AK4961.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, there is a recording ADC (the AK4961 I think) and a DAC (4490). Standard uses the Snapdragon DAC while Super uses the AKM DAC. There's no reason to believe otherwise since ZTE advertises the AKM DAC as a better output device, so why would they say that it delivers "standard performance"?
He just messed up, it happens. I also thought that it said Super and HiFi but they might have changed that to Standard and Super later.
But again, DON'T RELY ON MARKETING! Many people prefer the Snapdragon DAC despite the slightly higher noise level since it is more bassy than the AKM DAC. Just because some people say that the AKM is better doesn't mean that you can't prefer the other one, ESPECIALLY when different music sounds obviously different. Depending on what you listen to you might want to use Standard if you prefer the different sound it gives. If you use Spotify (even Premium) or MP3 files there won't be more quality on the DAC, just less noise and maybe slightly different soundstage and stuff like that. Or install Viper4Android and tweak the crap out of it

The Dolby app says it works on speakers and headphones. Sure it is confusing.
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Sent from my ZTE A2017U using Tapatalk

Ivanvm said:
The Dolby app says it works on speakers and headphones. Sure it is confusing.
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Why confusing? We said the exact same thing here already

Ivanvm said:
The Dolby app says it works on speakers and headphones. Sure it is confusing.View attachment 4201418
Sent from my ZTE A2017U using Tapatalk
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Is not confusing at all, it works with headphones, but it will change to standard DAC, that's the tricky difference.

Galaxo60 said:
Actually, is a little more complicated than what you guys are saying:
Axon 7 comes with 2 DAC's, the AKM one and the Snapdragon integrated. DAC is only used while using the audio jack, the DAC will never be used with the front facing speakers.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
A DAC is always required for speakers as they are analog devices. So the front facing speaker uses a DAC, probably the Snapdragon one. That's why phones that come sans auxiliary port need headphones with a built-in DAC or a dongle.

jgates86 said:
A DAC is always required for speakers as they are analog devices. So the front facing speaker uses a DAC, probably the Snapdragon one. That's why phones that come sans auxiliary port need headphones with a built-in DAC or a dongle.
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Click to collapse
Yeah, that's what he meant, he was just talking about THE dac

How to test whether your Axon 7 (on custom ROM) actually uses the Hi-Fi DAC properly?

Hello,
I've had the following ROMS on my Axon 7:
MiFavor Stock OS (Android 6.0)
CyanogenMod OS (Android 6.0)
Lineage OS (Android 7.1.1)
Resurrection Remix OS (Android 7.1.2)
AEX OS (Android 8.1.0)
However, with all these ROMs I was never really able to tell whether audio is processed through the Snapdragon 820 DAC or the AKM/AK4490/AK4491 DAC.
I've been active on XDA to follow updates on audio and ROMs.
With the stock ROM's I do think the 'super HiFi' option really made the phone use the AKM/AK4490/AK4491 DAC.
Also the audio playback through the built-in phone speakers was amazing (but limited in loudness because European ROM)
On LOS 14.1, it was said that the ROM used the HiFi DAC but 'distorted audio playback' was still mentioned as a bug.
Audio playback through the built-in phone speakers was poor (especially mids would give a cracking noise)
On RR OS (Nougat), I basically has the same as on LOS 14.1 (mainly because RR OS used LOS as base).
Now I'm on AEX OS and I do think the audio sounds much better than before.
(I flashed the AK4490 patch (not sure if this does anything... I've also read that custom ROM's have the Hi-FI DAC enabled by default) and I also flashed Hell'sGate Kernel (which seems to contain the CAD Audio Driver).
Audio playback through the built-in phone speakers seems really good again.
However, I'm still actually confused whether my phone actually uses the AKM/AK4490/AK4491 DAC.
I've read stuff in this forums about 48 kHz vs 192 kHz playback.
AK4490 patch is supposed to enable the AK4490 DAC but I'm still a bit skeptical whether it really does use the DAC properly.
CAD Audio Driver (included in Hell'sGate Kernel) oversamples to some maximum frequency or something.
And then there's this thread https://forum.xda-developers.com/axon-7/how-to/stock-roms-best-dac-t3650231 , so yeah, skeptical.
So far, I do think the audio playback sounds good... but what if it could be better, right?
Is there a way to test whether the HiFi DAC is being used and being used properly?
Also, does Dolby Atmos and Viper4Android have a negative (or maybe positive?) impact on the output signal?
I thought Viper4Android had a max. processing frequency of 48 kHz..?
TL;DR: See the title of this thread
Cheers.

Dunno how to find out if its truly being used. But i got a question.
I read so many times now that the european version (A2017G) is lacking in terms of loudness for the speakers which i cannot really believe since my axon 7 (which is the G version) with stock rom (also G version) is the loudest phone i ever had. Its really loud. And also on maximum loudness the sound cracks a little depending on what you're playing (usually on high pitch sounds). So how can the us version be even louder? Wouldn't that break the speakers quite fast?
Sent from my ZTE A2017G running V1.2.0B08 using XDA Labs

Abiram26 said:
Hello,
I've had the following ROMS on my Axon 7:
MiFavor Stock OS (Android 6.0)
CyanogenMod OS (Android 6.0)
Lineage OS (Android 7.1.1)
Resurrection Remix OS (Android 7.1.2)
AEX OS (Android 8.1.0)
However, with all these ROMs I was never really able to tell whether audio is processed through the Snapdragon 820 DAC or the AKM/AK4490/AK4491 DAC.
I've been active on XDA to follow updates on audio and ROMs.
With the stock ROM's I do think the 'super HiFi' option really made the phone use the AKM/AK4490/AK4491 DAC.
Also the audio playback through the built-in phone speakers was amazing (but limited in loudness because European ROM)
On LOS 14.1, it was said that the ROM used the HiFi DAC but 'distorted audio playback' was still mentioned as a bug.
Audio playback through the built-in phone speakers was poor (especially mids would give a cracking noise)
On RR OS (Nougat), I basically has the same as on LOS 14.1 (mainly because RR OS used LOS as base).
Now I'm on AEX OS and I do think the audio sounds much better than before.
(I flashed the AK4490 patch (not sure if this does anything... I've also read that custom ROM's have the Hi-FI DAC enabled by default) and I also flashed Hell'sGate Kernel (which seems to contain the CAD Audio Driver).
Audio playback through the built-in phone speakers seems really good again.
However, I'm still actually confused whether my phone actually uses the AKM/AK4490/AK4491 DAC.
I've read stuff in this forums about 48 kHz vs 192 kHz playback.
AK4490 patch is supposed to enable the AK4490 DAC but I'm still a bit skeptical whether it really does use the DAC properly.
CAD Audio Driver (included in Hell'sGate Kernel) oversamples to some maximum frequency or something.
And then there's this thread https://forum.xda-developers.com/axon-7/how-to/stock-roms-best-dac-t3650231 , so yeah, skeptical.
So far, I do think the audio playback sounds good... but what if it could be better, right?
Is there a way to test whether the HiFi DAC is being used and being used properly?
Also, does Dolby Atmos and Viper4Android have a negative (or maybe positive?) impact on the output signal?
I thought Viper4Android had a max. processing frequency of 48 kHz..?
TL;DR: See the title of this thread
Cheers.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is a huge mess ?
Look, you're overreacting to the whole hi-res audio thing. I'll tell you what we know, what I think, and what we don't. After that you can simply draw your own conclusions.
First of all, ZTE told us that the DACs used in this phone are the AK4490, and a low power one inside the AK4961 (this one is a codec, but it has a DAC too for some reason). If the ROM is not well configured, it will default to the AK4961 in theory.
Now, you may or may not believe me, but there is an audible difference with soundstage and bass between the 4490 and 4961. Let's keep this away from the hi-res talk for now.
If you use MiFavor (6.0, 7.1, 8.0, doesn't matter) you'll have the audio switch. If you toggle it while listening to music (Not poweramp because it'll crap out and you'll have to reboot) you'll find a huge difference in soundstage, and the bass is much more defined on the 4490. You can listen to both DACs one after the other on stock only, but if you used this phone for a while, you'll know when the audio coming out of it is crap or not.
About the old AK4490 patch: It's only for Nougat ROMs, and it's been integrated in many ROMs since it came out.
"Distorted audio playback" was about the speakers and it was because the driver was badly implemented. On stock the AK4961 is used for the speakers always.
I'm not sure if the "CAD driver" is in Hellsgate, where did you read that? Last time I checked we were asking Kranoner to add it but idk. But it doesn't oversample. It simply modifies some filters on the DAC driver.
And Atmos is designed for the speakers, so while it actually does work on headphones, it'll add a crapton of noise - i'd say avoid if possible. also it obviously won't work with hi-res. Viper4Android will add some noise if you crank up the highs too much, otherwise it won't be that bad. Both of them at the same time will make a noisy mess but it's possible to do.
And why do you care about the 48KHz sampling rate? Are you using files with more than that? Oversampling is just worse.
So now the Hi-res talk: Unless you really hear a difference, and unless you actually have huge 192kHz files, you should not give a crap about it. It's not like "if it's there then sound has to get better with it".
To check hi-res you can use dumpsys media.audio_flinger while playing something via Neutron or a couple more players (Not poweramp, again).

GodOfPsychos said:
Dunno how to find out if its truly being used. But i got a question.
I read so many times now that the european version (A2017G) is lacking in terms of loudness for the speakers which i cannot really believe since my axon 7 (which is the G version) with stock rom (also G version) is the loudest phone i ever had. Its really loud. And also on maximum loudness the sound cracks a little depending on what you're playing (usually on high pitch sounds). So how can the us version be even louder? Wouldn't that break the speakers quite fast?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That was on Marshmallow

GodOfPsychos said:
Dunno how to find out if its truly being used. But i got a question.
I read so many times now that the european version (A2017G) is lacking in terms of loudness for the speakers which i cannot really believe since my axon 7 (which is the G version) with stock rom (also G version) is the loudest phone i ever had. Its really loud. And also on maximum loudness the sound cracks a little depending on what you're playing (usually on high pitch sounds). So how can the us version be even louder? Wouldn't that break the speakers quite fast?
Sent from my ZTE A2017G running V1.2.0B08 using XDA Labs
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Back in the Marshmellow days, I was told that loudness was limited on the G-device software-matically since EU laws don't allow too loud phones or something. (I'm not sure if Nougat removes this software-limit but hardware-wise the U-device and G-device version are the same). I doubt the speaker would break but I don't know...
Source: https://forum.xda-developers.com/axon-7/help/eu-low-headphone-sound-problem-fix-t3470962
Choose an username... said:
This is a huge mess
Look, you're overreacting to the whole hi-res audio thing. I'll tell you what we know, what I think, and what we don't. After that you can simply draw your own conclusions.
First of all, ZTE told us that the DACs used in this phone are the AK4490, and a low power one inside the AK4961 (this one is a codec, but it has a DAC too for some reason). If the ROM is not well configured, it will default to the AK4961 in theory.
Now, you may or may not believe me, but there is an audible difference with soundstage and bass between the 4490 and 4961. Let's keep this away from the hi-res talk for now.
If you use MiFavor (6.0, 7.1, 8.0, doesn't matter) you'll have the audio switch. If you toggle it while listening to music (Not poweramp because it'll crap out and you'll have to reboot) you'll find a huge difference in soundstage, and the bass is much more defined on the 4490. You can listen to both DACs one after the other on stock only, but if you used this phone for a while, you'll know when the audio coming out of it is crap or not.
About the old AK4490 patch: It's only for Nougat ROMs, and it's been integrated in many ROMs since it came out.
"Distorted audio playback" was about the speakers and it was because the driver was badly implemented. On stock the AK4961 is used for the speakers always.
I'm not sure if the "CAD driver" is in Hellsgate, where did you read that? Last time I checked we were asking Kranoner to add it but idk. But it doesn't oversample. It simply modifies some filters on the DAC driver.
And Atmos is designed for the speakers, so while it actually does work on headphones, it'll add a crapton of noise - i'd say avoid if possible. also it obviously won't work with hi-res. Viper4Android will add some noise if you crank up the highs too much, otherwise it won't be that bad. Both of them at the same time will make a noisy mess but it's possible to do.
And why do you care about the 48KHz sampling rate? Are you using files with more than that? Oversampling is just worse.
So now the Hi-res talk: Unless you really hear a difference, and unless you actually have huge 192kHz files, you should not give a crap about it. It's not like "if it's there then sound has to get better with it".
To check hi-res you can use dumpsys media.audio_flinger while playing something via Neutron or a couple more players (Not poweramp, again).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hahaha, yeah sorry, I guess I was kind of bored when I wrote this; but I'd like to thank you for your extensive reply!
Honestly though, there's so much confusion and contradiction around the forums when it comes to (Hi-Fi) audio playback.
https://forum.xda-developers.com/axon-7/how-to/patch-enable-ak4490-hifi-dac-custom-rom-t3707738
That's the thread of the AK4490 patch, and initially I thought the same as the guy in post #2.
Soooo I never really understood the point of this patch...
https://forum.xda-developers.com/ax...zte-axon-7-t3545679/post70971002#post70971002
https://forum.xda-developers.com/ax...zte-axon-7-t3545679/post71472324#post71472324
I mean here it's kind of said that 7.1.x ROMs already uses the AK4490 DAC, right?
And then there are multiple people flashing the AK4490 patch on an Oreo build, some even claiming they notice an improved soundstage..?
https://forum.xda-developers.com/axon-7/development/kernel-t3664743/post76244484#post76244484
And here's Kranoner saying the CAD thing was added to Hell'sGate Kernel.
https://forum.xda-developers.com/axon-7/development/cad-project-modified-audio-driver-axon7-t3761666
That's the thread of the CAD Project Kernel, option #1 in post #1 seems to say it oversamples..?
Nah, I don't use FLAC's or huge 192 kHz audio files (just simple Spotify premium actually...) but I was curious to know what these discussions on the forums on 48 kHz vs. 192 kHz were all about.
'dumpsys media.audio_flinger' reports 48.000 Hz for me.
EDIT: What about 16-bit vs. 24-bit?
I only upgraded to AEX Oreo yesterday but I do have to say I find the audio playback (through headphones) MUCH better than on any custom 7.1.x ROM I've had (with the same audio mods setup).
I actually already found audio playback really good on the 7.1.x ROMs (through headphone) but the improvement from 7.1.x to Oreo is just too noticable to let it slip by.
So it made me wonder if it can get even better than this

Choose an username... said:
That was on Marshmallow
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oh i see.well thanks for the answer ^^ Still weird that it was like that on marshmallow since the european law stuff about the maximum loudness is only meant for headphones, not for speakers
Sent from my ZTE A2017G running V1.2.0B08 using XDA Labs

GodOfPsychos said:
Oh i see.well thanks for the answer ^^ Still weird that it was like that on marshmallow since the european law stuff about the maximum loudness is only meant for headphones, not for speakers
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
well I'm not sure if that's the case, but I can assure you that the speakers got much louder after Nougat. Headphones have always been exceedingly loud, especially with the stock low impedance IEMs (with Poweramp I had to use them at volume 2 or maybe 3, so I just made it have about 50 volume steps to get at least a little granularity). Since Nougat I have been using the volume level at 1/3 with my 32 ohm over-ear headphones, so i'd say it's too freaking loud...
Now, I wouldn't be surprised if the volume limitation is just not working with Poweramp's sound engine, because everything else is much quieter. For example I have to crank the volume up to 2/3 on youtube to have comparable volume.
Supposedly if you installed US firmware back in the day you would get rid of the limitation. but installing firmware from another model was not that common, and i never tried it.
---------- Post added at 05:58 AM ---------- Previous post was at 05:43 AM ----------
Abiram26 said:
Back in the Marshmellow days, I was told that loudness was limited on the G-device software-matically since EU laws don't allow too loud phones or something. (I'm not sure if Nougat removes this software-limit but hardware-wise the U-device and G-device version are the same). I doubt the speaker would break but I don't know...
Source: https://forum.xda-developers.com/axon-7/help/eu-low-headphone-sound-problem-fix-t3470962
Hahaha, yeah sorry, I guess I was kind of bored when I wrote this; but I'd like to thank you for your extensive reply!
Honestly though, there's so much confusion and contradiction around the forums when it comes to (Hi-Fi) audio playback.
https://forum.xda-developers.com/axon-7/how-to/patch-enable-ak4490-hifi-dac-custom-rom-t3707738
That's the thread of the AK4490 patch, and initially I thought the same as the guy in post #2.
Soooo I never really understood the point of this patch...
https://forum.xda-developers.com/ax...zte-axon-7-t3545679/post70971002#post70971002
https://forum.xda-developers.com/ax...zte-axon-7-t3545679/post71472324#post71472324
I mean here it's kind of said that 7.1.x ROMs already uses the AK4490 DAC, right?
And then there are multiple people flashing the AK4490 patch on an Oreo build, some even claiming they notice an improved soundstage..?
https://forum.xda-developers.com/axon-7/development/kernel-t3664743/post76244484#post76244484
And here's Kranoner saying the CAD thing was added to Hell'sGate Kernel.
https://forum.xda-developers.com/axon-7/development/cad-project-modified-audio-driver-axon7-t3761666
That's the thread of the CAD Project Kernel, option #1 in post #1 seems to say it oversamples..?
Nah, I don't use FLAC's or huge 192 kHz audio files (just simple Spotify premium actually...) but I was curious to know what these discussions on the forums on 48 kHz vs. 192 kHz were all about.
'dumpsys media.audio_flinger' reports 48.000 Hz for me.
EDIT: What about 16-bit vs. 24-bit?
I only upgraded to AEX Oreo yesterday but I do have to say I find the audio playback (through headphones) MUCH better than on any custom 7.1.x ROM I've had (with the same audio mods setup).
I actually already found audio playback really good on the 7.1.x ROMs (through headphone) but the improvement from 7.1.x to Oreo is just too noticable to let it slip by.
So it made me wonder if it can get even better than this
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Back at it again:
1- nope, custom ROMs weren't using the AK4490 even after about a couple weeks or even a month of the creation of that post. Of course they weren't, otherwise why would the patch exist :silly:
2- It just didn't work. Now it would work even less since they should use the DAC properly.
I've used AEX from the build previous to the Oreo DAC fix (at least the first one, now there's another one seemingly) and the difference was there. AEX also has better sound than any other ROM overall (even stock mifavor).
3- Thanks, I didn't know. I mean I'm using hellsgate 2.0 right now xd
4- There's very little info about this. I guess it actually does oversample, but I was talking about upsampling on the music player app.
From what I've read around, most modern DACs oversample to a ridiculous frequency, in order to make output filters simpler and to have better highs (non-oversampling DACs have lots of harmonics on the highs). But it's not related to upsampling, say, an MP3 to 192kHz. Just take my word, doing that is bad.
5. Hi-res is discussed everywhere. I believe there's a noticeable improvement in the high frequencies but not important enough to use Neutron player.
16-bit vs 24-bit is actually quantifiable though. 24-bit audio has less noise than 16-bit.
And of course audio_flinger will report 48k ? you need to play special 192kHz FLAC files on a special Hi-Res player (e.g. neutron) with special configuration and on non-Oreo ROMs to be able to use hi-res

You'll need root and a terminal app.
Type:
su
tinymix
Now look at line 1912.
I need to know this result in two scenarios. Once when playing music (eg a YouTube video) with headphones plugged in and once with nothing plugged in.
When playing music we know our HiFi DAC is being used if the line reads "HiFi switch sel ak4490" and if it's using the standard DAC it shows "ak4961".

Dodgexander said:
You'll need root and a terminal app.
Type:
su
tinymix
Now look at line 1912.
I need to know this result in two scenarios. Once when playing music (eg a YouTube video) with headphones plugged in and once with nothing plugged in.
When playing music we know our HiFi DAC is being used if the line reads "HiFi switch sel ak4490" and if it's using the standard DAC it shows "ak4961".
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
getting:
sh: tinymix not found

docentore said:
getting:
sh: tinymix not found
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Which ROM version, bootstack version and kernel?
Treble or gsi used at all?

Dodgexander said:
Which ROM version, bootstack version and kernel?
Treble or gsi used at all?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Havoc O GSI, vendor by Nfound 1.1, Shwifty V4, universal LOS bootstack