Database Users

[Q] What Volume SHOULD the speakers achieve? whats the spec

Friends obviously a LOT of Nexus 7 owners have complained about sound issues, from obviously defective units to the simple issue of volume being inadequate for use
My question is what is "normal" on this device? anyone know a db / sound-pressure at radius specification?
other than obvious noise through a speaker, how does anyone know if their unit is "normal" ?

cognus said:
Friends obviously a LOT of Nexus 7 owners have complained about sound issues, from obviously defective units to the simple issue of volume being inadequate for use
My question is what is "normal" on this device? anyone know a db / sound-pressure at radius specification?
other than obvious noise through a speaker, how does anyone know if their unit is "normal" ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My speaker is defective, and in need of going out for repair/replacement, but the volume seems like it will be fine for my needs once the rattle/vibration is fixed. It only happens at certain frequencies, so I can still get a solid sense of the output level.
Trying to determine the exact db at a specific distance isn't going to do you much good, because it will be based on either the loudest frequency, or 1khz. The 1khz rating is somewhat reasonable to use, but what if there's a massive spike there (and on small speakers, there generally is). Say it could hit 95-100db at 1khz, it still will likely only hit about 5db at 40hz. See where I'm going with this?
I don't know, I could grab my spl meter, and run a whole series of tests at 1 meter in a quasi-anechoic environment (though it's really cold outside here), if you're really that keen on finding out precise measurements of the frequency output over the 20-20 range. Seems a little overboard for a 7" tablet though. I would consider the volume more than adequate for listening to the news, or voip calls, but there isn't a tablet that exists where I would be happy with the sound of the speakers for music.
Of course, I'm kind of picky about these things.
From what I see in the boards, there are three types of view points on the output.
1. Plenty good for normal use.
2. Terribly low for music.
3. Flat out broken, so you can only turn it up half way (the second is my current situation).
Also, don't forget that the speaker is in the back, so you'll have to keep it turned around or bouncing straight off of a hard surface, to get the full output to your ears. Some cases may also significantly reduce the output as well.

more questions: if we presume/conclude "there is a volume problem even when the speakers are not defective", then two follow-on questions:
1. is it JUST speakers?
2. combo of lousy speakers and a problem with the DSP/firmware/software/etc.... ?
I think it is 2 but I'd love to hear a root cause on the whole issue.
with SOME music sources I can get through the speakers a little bit louder response, at FULL volume max'd - than I can with MX Player on a video with the Player set on Volume Boost [200%].
in the case of MX Player, its basically worthless through the speakers both from a dynamics standpoint [obvious...] and just volume unless you are in a stone-quiet area and are craning toward the device to hear.... and you have acutely good hearing.
Then, if one is unconcerned about warranty: anyone have suggestions on replacement speaker that perhaps would help?

cognus said:
more questions: if we presume/conclude "there is a volume problem even when the speakers are not defective", then two follow-on questions:
1. is it JUST speakers?
2. combo of lousy speakers and a problem with the DSP/firmware/software/etc.... ?
I think it is 2 but I'd love to hear a root cause on the whole issue.
with SOME music sources I can get through the speakers a little bit louder response, at FULL volume max'd - than I can with MX Player on a video with the Player set on Volume Boost [200%].
in the case of MX Player, its basically worthless through the speakers both from a dynamics standpoint [obvious...] and just volume unless you are in a stone-quiet area and are craning toward the device to hear.... and you have acutely good hearing.
Then, if one is unconcerned about warranty: anyone have suggestions on replacement speaker that perhaps would help?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
#2
When I connect the Nexus 7 to my car stereo inline, via the headphone output, I get mixed results. I generally have to crank the car stereo way up, which can cause voltage induction through the 1/8" to RCA connector, if I have the Nexus charging simultaneously.
Now granted, induction of this sort is not something that is a Nexus only problem, and has more to do with the quality of cable shielding. If I move the USB charger so that it doesn't line up with the headphone output wire, the problem is reduced.
However, the issue is more that the headphone output is somewhat inconsistent, so that means that some audio will require me to turn the stereo to a level where the inductance is moot, and sometimes I will have to turn up the stereo to the point where charging and listening to audio through the car stereo is just brutal. Of course, you weren't asking specifically about car audio, but it leads to my theory.
Now, here in lies why I think it's you're "#2". If it were purely hardware, there shouldn't be that great of a difference from the headphone jack, assuming relatively similar reference volumes from the source. So software would seem to be at play here, as well as hardware.
As far as the speakers go, I don't think you'll be able to replace the internals. They're a very awkward shape, which probably doesn't help, and there is very little room in there.
Your best bet would be to find out if there is an external speaker option which can easily work for tablets. I listened to an Ipad 4 last night, and it wasn't good either. I think you have to consider the size of these things. A speaker the size of your pinky nail, can only be asked to do so much. Trying to cram one the size of your thumbnail in there, won't do much more, and just wouldn't fit.

now we're talking real issues. thank you.
yes, compared to any of my other android or pc or apple devices this one is uniquely odd
all as you have noted. inconsistent, output device matters, etc.
I admit I'm skewed by the ipad Mini - if you get a chance, sample that in terms of speaker performance. I have not access to Ipad 4 in my shop.
in my case, there is no distortion that I can observe/detect with my ears - clear enough, but there's not much substance there, oddly except for notifications which are crystal clear at full volume, if not particularly loud [my ancient droid optimus is louder - obnoxiously so which is why I keep it on vibe].
bladebarrier said:
#2
When I connect the Nexus 7 to my car stereo inline, via the headphone output, I get mixed results. I generally have to crank the car stereo way up, which can cause voltage induction through the 1/8" to RCA connector, if I have the Nexus charging simultaneously.
Now granted, induction of this sort is not something that is a Nexus only problem, and has more to do with the quality of cable shielding. If I move the USB charger so that it doesn't line up with the headphone output wire, the problem is reduced.
However, the issue is more that the headphone output is somewhat inconsistent, so that means that some audio will require me to turn the stereo to a level where the inductance is moot, and sometimes I will have to turn up the stereo to the point where charging and listening to audio through the car stereo is just brutal. Of course, you weren't asking specifically about car audio, but it leads to my theory.
Now, here in lies why I think it's you're "#2". If it were purely hardware, there shouldn't be that great of a difference from the headphone jack, assuming relatively similar reference volumes from the source. So software would seem to be at play here, as well as hardware.
As far as the speakers go, I don't think you'll be able to replace the internals. They're a very awkward shape, which probably doesn't help, and there is very little room in there.
Your best bet would be to find out if there is an external speaker option which can easily work for tablets. I listened to an Ipad 4 last night, and it wasn't good either. I think you have to consider the size of these things. A speaker the size of your pinky nail, can only be asked to do so much. Trying to cram one the size of your thumbnail in there, won't do much more, and just wouldn't fit.
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Click to collapse

Static / buzzing from speakers at low volumes

I just started playing a few games on this Nexus 7, and I turned the volume down to the lowest setting because it is late at night and other people in my house are sleeping. I immediately noticed a soft but very audible static buzz coming from the speakers... about the same volume as the audio itself. I held my ear up to the hardware and confirmed it is both top and bottom speakers.
Anybody else experience this?

copyists sorpeno
I didn't notice at first. Noticed this morning with audio low as well.
I'd like to know if anyone else has this too. Kinda wanna know if its hardware since I purchased at best buy and only have 2 weeks to return.

Yup, I was going to report this too, but since it only occurs at minimal volume I didn't bother. I lost my good headphones so I can test the audio jack. Does it happen to you with them on too?
Btw- if this the trade off with the fantastic (for tablet speakers) surround sound I'll take it. Watch the test video on the Play Videos app.
Sent from my Nexus 7

I don't hear it. on mine. But My hearing is horked.

It's because the Nexus 7 uses a crappy digital volume control that simply reduces the volume of the digital waveform before it hits the DAC, instead of having a real analog volume control -an op-amp that adjusts the volume of the signal before it hits the headphone/speaker amplifier.
What you're hearing is quantization noise as at the lowest volume the audio uses only 2-4 bits of dynamic range instead of the full 16 (or 24, dunno what DAC is in this thing). It's the same as the bit-crushing effect you hear in some dubstep and other electronic music that degrades the audio into a robotic crunchy mess, only here it's not on purpose, it's just cheap design.
There is nothing you can do about it.

I've also noticed this (at first I was like, WTF? Is it raining in my game?). If what was said above is true, that makes me sad that nothing can be done about it.

siraltus said:
It's because the Nexus 7 uses a crappy digital volume control that simply reduces the volume of the digital waveform before it hits the DAC, instead of having a real analog volume control -an op-amp that adjusts the volume of the signal before it hits the headphone/speaker amplifier.
What you're hearing is quantization noise as at the lowest volume the audio uses only 2-4 bits of dynamic range instead of the full 16 (or 24, dunno what DAC is in this thing). It's the same as the bit-crushing effect you hear in some dubstep and other electronic music that degrades the audio into a robotic crunchy mess, only here it's not on purpose, it's just cheap design.
There is nothing you can do about it.
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Click to collapse
I'm not sure how you know that but if you're right I guess that means it would happen on all of them... which.. sucks.. Is there anyone that doesn't have this issue to disprove this?

smurfqq said:
I'm not sure how you know that but if you're right I guess that means it would happen on all of them... which.. sucks.. Is there anyone that doesn't have this issue to disprove this?
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Click to collapse
I'm a professional audio engineer, I know exactly how these things work. Most cheap devices do volume controls that way, because adding a dedicated op-amp for analog volume control increases costs of the device, and the Nexus 7 is a budget device.
It does happen on mine, too, in every app that plays sound.

I love when pros come in here and give the technical explanation haha hats off to you, sir!
Sent from my Samsung Galaxy S4 using Tapatalk 4 Beta

siraltus said:
It's because the Nexus 7 uses a crappy digital volume control that simply reduces the volume of the digital waveform before it hits the DAC, instead of having a real analog volume control -an op-amp that adjusts the volume of the signal before it hits the headphone/speaker amplifier.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As the others have said, thanks for the explanation. Nice to hear from somebody who understands it, and if the problem is present in all units that actually makes me feel better since I don't have to worry about returning my otherwise perfect unit.
Question though, how come I don't hear the static when using headphones, even on the lowest volume settings where I hear the static from the built-in speakers? That makes me think it's related to the speakers and not the audio hardware... but you obviously know more than me on this.

mrmartin86 said:
I've also noticed this (at first I was like, WTF? Is it raining in my game?). If what was said above is true, that makes me sad that nothing can be done about it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, funny thing is the first game I played was Bad Piggies on some levels with an ocean tide moving back and forth at the bottom of the screen. I thought the static was the tide sounds... until I heard it in another game too.

tweaked said:
I don't hear it. on mine. But My hearing is horked.
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Click to collapse
It only happens at the absolute lowest volume setting... i.e. one notch up from muted. It sort of happens at the next notch up too, but is most noticeable at the quietest setting, and you need to be in a quiet room. I only noticed because I was using the device in a small echoey mostly tile room (you can probably guess where) and because of the room having such acoustics I put the device on the lowest setting just above mute.

Had something like this on my original nexus 7
Except it happened regardless of the volume setting. Wasn't that audible- had to put my ear against the speaker to really hear it, but it did interfere with other devices, such as my radio, or keyboard with a head phone jack. It would make a sound like a quick DUH-DUH-DUH-DUH-DUH-DUH...DUH-DUH-DUH-DUH-DUH-DUH. My nexus 4 can sometimes cause static interference with other devices, too. Haven't gotten the new nexus 7 so I cannot say whether or not my new one has this issue

Well.. mine's not only happening at the lowest volume notch. If I put it to my ear (never actually going to do this for normal use) it's there at every volume level, just hard to hear once whatever I'm playing gets loud enough. The display unit at a local best buy does the same. I can hear it in a quiet room at the first couple notches (normal use), which is annoying. Also, since someone asked - No it doesn't happen through headphones.

The111 said:
As the others have said, thanks for the explanation. Nice to hear from somebody who understands it, and if the problem is present in all units that actually makes me feel better since I don't have to worry about returning my otherwise perfect unit.
Question though, how come I don't hear the static when using headphones, even on the lowest volume settings where I hear the static from the built-in speakers? That makes me think it's related to the speakers and not the audio hardware... but you obviously know more than me on this.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My pleasure! There's tons of FUD on XDA about many things, so I try to contribute on stuff I know well to reduce that.
Without looking at the schematics of the thing I can only guess:
The speaker amplifier is probably just a simple design that outputs 100% power all the time, so you have to control the volume of the signal that enters it, whereas the headphone amp probably has an integrated analog volume control.
A volume control is much easier (read: cheaper) to do in an integrated chip with low power signals (headphone out) than higher power (speaker out), and again, cheaper was the way to go with the Nexus 7.
Hence, there are two separate outputs from the audio chip - one that feeds the speaker amplifier and uses the bit-crushing digital volume control, the other outputs full-scale audio to the headphone amplifier which controls the volume in analog.

siraltus said:
My pleasure! There's tons of FUD on XDA about many things, so I try to contribute on stuff I know well to reduce that.
Without looking at the schematics of the thing I can only guess:
The speaker amplifier is probably just a simple design that outputs 100% power all the time, so you have to control the volume of the signal that enters it, whereas the headphone amp probably has an integrated analog volume control.
A volume control is much easier (read: cheaper) to do in an integrated chip with low power signals (headphone out) than higher power (speaker out), and again, cheaper was the way to go with the Nexus 7.
Hence, there are two separate outputs from the audio chip - one that feeds the speaker amplifier and uses the bit-crushing digital volume control, the other outputs full-scale audio to the headphone amplifier which controls the volume in analog.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Makes sense. Thanks again.

siraltus said:
My pleasure! There's tons of FUD on XDA about many things, so I try to contribute on stuff I know well to reduce that.
Without looking at the schematics of the thing I can only guess:
The speaker amplifier is probably just a simple design that outputs 100% power all the time, so you have to control the volume of the signal that enters it, whereas the headphone amp probably has an integrated analog volume control.
A volume control is much easier (read: cheaper) to do in an integrated chip with low power signals (headphone out) than higher power (speaker out), and again, cheaper was the way to go with the Nexus 7.
Hence, there are two separate outputs from the audio chip - one that feeds the speaker amplifier and uses the bit-crushing digital volume control, the other outputs full-scale audio to the headphone amplifier which controls the volume in analog.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Is this something they can fix (or at least mitigate) in a software update?

paxunix said:
Is this something they can fix (or at least mitigate) in a software update?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, this is how the hardware is designed.

Noticed this too from the speakers regardless of volume, and regardless of what is playing audio. It's a high pitched squeal to my ears which I can't stand. I've thrown out computer power supplies and video cards that have made similar(obviously, louder) noises.
Was hoping it could be something improved in software, but I guess not. Time to sell this.

http://youtu.be/c9aQnuOrTY8
Recorded what it sounds like at lower volumes with a small condenser mic next to it. Let me know if that's similar to what you guys are hearing too.

Where to start - new Joying Android Head Unit issues

Hi,
I've just installed a new Joying Android Head Unit and I'm pretty disappointed by the sound quality - in fact it's awful - on radio and playing very high quality mp3s - I know it's not the car speakers because they sounded great on the old system.
So I came here wondering if there is anything I can do about it?
I've installed PowerAmp app and tweaked the equalizer, however the sound always sounds tinny - especially noticeable on the base.
At the moment I'm only getting sound from the front speakers which could be a wiring issue..
Looking around I notice there is a soldering solution to fixing the radio sound - is this a general fix for sound output? Anyone tried it?
Finally, would fitting an external amp improve things, or would the signal from the Joying unit still be too poor?

Yeah I completed 7floor's sound mode on mine. It helped with the squashed sound and tinny-ness now the sound is better, not that of a brand name head unit, but better.

welcome to the world of chinese android HUs. Add an external DSP and external amp. That would give you the most noticeable boost. Find a good deal on a used amp from your local craigslist, and for DSP, check out the minidsp 2x4. It's roughly $100 and is fantastic.

Can anyone explain the difference between DSP and Amp, and how this links in with the HU?
I get that the HU has the audio controlled by the Sound Processor IC which is controlled by the MCU - and the point of the mod is to control it via Android.
Does the DSP replace the processing of the Sound processor with/without the MCU, or does it process sound afterwards?
The Amp presumably comes last and only serves to boost the power of the provided signal.
I'm happy to buy a decent dsp and amp, as I think the android unit is fab apart from the sound quality, if the quality I can eventually produce rivals that of a reasonable audio system.
Sorry, but I'm somewhat of a noob when it comes to car audio systems.

dsp -
https://www.minidsp.com/products/minidsp-in-a-box/minidsp-2x4
lets you set electronic cross-overs, equalization, and time alignment. Effectively a super advanced sound processor that overrides the HU sound processing. So what you do is set the HU EQ to flat, so that it's not doing any sound processing to the signal, and let the DSP do the work. the minidsp even has tools that let you auto-eq the system using an app called REW. Similar to how home audio receivers have tools like accueq etc.
an amp is exactly what you say. It becomes essential if you swap out the stock speakers for nicer ones that require more power. They accept low level RCA inputs, as does the DSP, so if you plan to add a DSP you may as well add an amp.
This becomes quite a bit of work to set up, as it's a lot of laborious wiring. But if you want the best sound out of these things, it's the way to go. I hated the stock audio system in my car, so for me it was a no-brainer. I'm on a quest to squeeze the best sound I can out of my unit, and while I'm still not quite there, it's miles better than where it started.

Hisma said:
dsp -
https://www.minidsp.com/products/minidsp-in-a-box/minidsp-2x4
lets you set electronic cross-overs, equalization, and time alignment. Effectively a super advanced sound processor that overrides the HU sound processing. So what you do is set the HU EQ to flat, so that it's not doing any sound processing to the signal, and let the DSP do the work. the minidsp even has tools that let you auto-eq the system using an app called REW. Similar to how home audio receivers have tools like accueq etc.
an amp is exactly what you say. It becomes essential if you swap out the stock speakers for nicer ones that require more power. They accept low level RCA inputs, as does the DSP, so if you plan to add a DSP you may as well add an amp.
This becomes quite a bit of work to set up, as it's a lot of laborious wiring. But if you want the best sound out of these things, it's the way to go. I hated the stock audio system in my car, so for me it was a no-brainer. I'm on a quest to squeeze the best sound I can out of my unit, and while I'm still not quite there, it's miles better than where it started.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did you ever use the mini dsp and if so how was the quality with Android being the source? Did you do the 7floors sound bypass mod as well or is there a better method now? I have 2 amps, 1 mono 1 4channel and would like better control and quality on my rk3188. Thanks

Frequency variations

So I've had higher end pioneer, alpines, Kenwood's etc. I just bought an obscure android unit because 1 it was cheap and two it mirrors flawlessly. Here's my question... Across all of these platforms whenever I adjust the frequencies either in the phone os or (now) on the head unit when one, say low 60hz or lower goes up I lose volume on the other end of the spectrum. This has been steady across everything, phone's too LG's, Samsung, HTC 10 my current phone. Also they have all been both rooted and stock, it's becoming infuriating. Is this just a limitation in the hardware not normally noticed or simply overlooked by manufacturers because most people im assuming dont listen at loud volumes over these specific frequencies, ie earbuds and such. Or have I been consistently messing something up? I've tried at least 100 different apps. rooted aftermarket sound mods, bluetooth,aux input. All with the same result. And the tracks aren't necessarily the issue either because I've gone in and re-amatured (sorry) those as well. I searched and searched many a waiting in the car for the wife and found nothing. But I think the search engines hate me. Any input would be appreciated.

I've found the same thing with a lot of EQ's available via the play store.
However, I'd highly recommend a mod that's been around forever called Viper4Android - it does NOT act like those EQ apps you get from the app store, where increasing the bass actually just lowers the mids and treble. Without Viper4Android on my MTCE PX5 head-unit, I would not be happy with the sound quality. With Viper4Android, the unit sounds better than any other headunit I've owned (although, I am using an external amp as well). But even with the internal amp, Viper4Android brings the sound quality to new levels.
I've tried all of the sound-patch MCUs and none of them make anywhere near the difference that Viper4Android does. It has a "real" EQ (10-band) as well as lots of other very cool (and useful) functions.
Some people will tell you that you should leave the EQ on your radio "flat" becuase that is "how the music is supposed to sound", but that is absolutely false. That may be true *if* your car was a recording studio, where everything is optimal for sound-quality, but a car is about the furthest thing from a recording studio. A car radio with a "flat" EQ sounds absolutely nothing like the artist intended because the car environment is an absolutely horrible place for good sound-quality. Viper4Android allows you to correct the issues caused by the car environment *and* tweak the sound to your specific liking.
When it comes to sound-quality, all that *really* matters is what *you* think of the sound (not what someone else tells you it should sound like) - and Viper4Android is the best tool I've found to make the music sound good to *you*.
Just my opinion, of course.

Had it
jtrosky said:
I've found the same thing with a lot of EQ's available via the play store.
However, I'd highly recommend a mod that's been around forever called Viper4Android - it does NOT act like those EQ apps you get from the app store, where increasing the bass actually just lowers the mids and treble. Without Viper4Android on my MTCE PX5 head-unit, I would not be happy with the sound quality. With Viper4Android, the unit sounds better than any other headunit I've owned (although, I am using an external amp as well). But even with the internal amp, Viper4Android brings the sound quality to new levels.
I've tried all of the sound-patch MCUs and none of them make anywhere near the difference that Viper4Android does. It has a "real" EQ (10-band) as well as lots of other very cool (and useful) functions.
Some people will tell you that you should leave the EQ on your radio "flat" becuase that is "how the music is supposed to sound", but that is absolutely false. That may be true *if* your car was a recording studio, where everything is optimal for sound-quality, but a car is about the furthest thing from a recording studio. A car radio with a "flat" EQ sounds absolutely nothing like the artist intended because the car environment is an absolutely horrible place for good sound-quality. Viper4Android allows you to correct the issues caused by the car environment *and* tweak the sound to your specific liking.
When it comes to sound-quality, all that *really* matters is what *you* think of the sound (not what someone else tells you it should sound like) - and Viper4Android is the best tool I've found to make the music sound good to *you*.
Just my opinion, of course.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Had V4A on my stylo 2+ and didn't sound bad but,and again I was probably using something incorrectly but same deal raise the high end and signal to my subs would fade out and vice-versa. I was hoping it wasn't a hardware limitation but it really seems that way. Best idea I've found it phone and headunit slightly adjusted to define the signals then an active preamp equalizer / crossover to split said freq and supply some of missing wattage from the poor audio chips at least in the Android HU's. But thanks for the input. :good:

I'm sure that not all Android head-units are created equal, but I can say with absolute certainty that with Viper4Android on my Eonon-branded MTCE-WWW Android 8 head-unit, I am definitely not losing low end when I increase the high-end (or vice-versa). In fact, I get the best bass that I've ever had in a head-unit and I'm actually having to go out of my way to sound-deaden and "tighten up" the car interior in order to handle the bass without vibration-related sounds coming from the inteior parts at higher volume levels! The sound is incredible - even from on-line streaming sources such as Pandora and Spotify (I have mine setup to automatically use separate V4A profiles for each music app via Tasker).
However, I do have a small extenral 45Wx4 RMS Kicker KEY180.4 auto-tuning DSP amp and a small Pioneer TS-WH500A under-the-seat subwoofer. Between the EQ and the Convolver in V4A (I personally like the BBE5 convolver .irs file), this thing sounds incredible. I was really concerned about sound-quality with this Android head-unit, but that turned out to be a non-issue with V4A (probably would have been an issue without it).
But even with the stock amp, it sounded really good with V4A (not quite powerful enough for me though). The Kicker KEY180.4 auto-tuning DSP amp definitely helps though. Love that amp. It has a higher noise floor than I'd like, but it sounds fantastic (I originally had an Alpine KTP-445U 45Wx4 RMS amp and the Kicker sounds *so* much better).
I would defintiely give V4A a try if you are looking for better sound quality. I feel that car steroes can benefit from 4VA even more than phones.

Viper4Android for cars

I've seen a few posts recently about how to set up Viper4Android on an Android head unit, so thought I would start this thread so that we could share some ideas. The configuration that I posted below is what I came up with in 15 minutes of experimenting yesterday. It's not a definitive or optimum config, it's just what I came up with, but I am very happy with the result. The purpose of this thread is to share ideas and configurations, due to there being a complete lack of this kind of information anywhere else that I could find.
First, a disclaimer: I'm half deaf, have constant ringing in my ears, and I am most definately not an audiophile, so take anything I say below with a grain of salt. Having said that, I do appreciate clarity when listening to music, so that is always my priority.
So I installed an android head unit in my car last week, installed the Hal9k ROM which came with Viper4Android (V4A) pre-installed. I've played around with V4A on my phone before with goods results, it's mainly geared towards phones with earphones, so don't expect too much from it using it in the car. But I played around with it yesterday and came up with a setup that I am really happy with, it gives in my opinion a richer, fuller sound, with no loss of clarity.
So here is what I did:
1) Select the speaker icon down the bottom. The headphone setup certainly has a lot more options available, but I went with the speaker setup as that's what I'm using.
2) Turn on the Master Limiter
3) I turned on Playback Gain control for a specific reason. My head unit has a bit of hiss with no signal at very high volumes. I can't hear it while the engine is running, but it's there. Bumping up the playback gain control let me turn down the gain on the head unit (look in Factory Settings) which reduced the hiss, but without any clipping or distortion that I can hear. I set Strength to 2, Max Gain to 9x, and output threshold to -1db.
4) I turned on the FIR equaliser. I was using the equaliser in the Amplifier app that came with my head unit, but I would rather just have all of these settings in one place, so I set the Amp equaliser to flat, and made all of my adjustments within the FIR equaliser. My setup tends to be a bit bass-heavy to my ears, so I just use the equaliser to gently taper off the bass, and I leave everything else flat. But just adjust it so that it sounds right to you in your car with your choice of music.
5) I turned on Reverberation. I dare say many will scoff at this, but I like the effect. It makes the sound more "full", without any loss of clarity that I can hear. I used fairly minimal settings to achieve this effect. Room size = 25m2, Sound Field = 6m, Damping Factor = 20%, Wet Signal= 20%, Dry Signal = 50%.
And that's what I came up with in 15 minutes. I'm really happy with the result though. Hopefully that will give others a starting point to do some more experimentation. And if you have your own ideas, please share them here

jrobbom5 said:
I've seen a few posts recently about how to set up Viper4Android on an Android head unit, so thought I would start this thread so that we could share some ideas. The configuration that I posted below is what I came up with in 15 minutes of experimenting yesterday. It's not a definitive or optimum config, it's just what I came up with, but I am very happy with the result. The purpose of this thread is to share ideas and configurations, due to there being a complete lack of this kind of information anywhere else that I could find.
First, a disclaimer: I'm half deaf, have constant ringing in my ears, and I am most definately not an audiophile, so take anything I say below with a grain of salt. Having said that, I do appreciate clarity when listening to music, so that is always my priority.
So I installed an android head unit in my car last week, installed the Hal9k ROM which came with Viper4Android (V4A) pre-installed. I've played around with V4A on my phone before with goods results, it's mainly geared towards phones with earphones, so don't expect too much from it using it in the car. But I played around with it yesterday and came up with a setup that I am really happy with, it gives in my opinion a richer, fuller sound, with no loss of clarity.
So here is what I did:
1) Select the speaker icon down the bottom. The headphone setup certainly has a lot more options available, but I went with the speaker setup as that's what I'm using.
2) Turn on the Master Limiter
3) I turned on Playback Gain control for a specific reason. My head unit has a bit of hiss with no signal at very high volumes. I can't hear it while the engine is running, but it's there. Bumping up the playback gain control let me turn down the gain on the head unit (look in Factory Settings) which reduced the hiss, but without any clipping or distortion that I can hear. I set Strength to 2, Max Gain to 9x, and output threshold to -1db.
4) I turned on the FIR equaliser. I was using the equaliser in the Amplifier app that came with my head unit, but I would rather just have all of these settings in one place, so I set the Amp equaliser to flat, and made all of my adjustments within the FIR equaliser. My setup tends to be a bit bass-heavy to my ears, so I just use the equaliser to gently taper off the bass, and I leave everything else flat. But just adjust it so that it sounds right to you in your car with your choice of music.
5) I turned on Reverberation. I dare say many will scoff at this, but I like the effect. It makes the sound more "full", without any loss of clarity that I can hear. I used fairly minimal settings to achieve this effect. Room size = 25m2, Sound Field = 6m, Damping Factor = 20%, Wet Signal= 20%, Dry Signal = 50%.
And that's what I came up with in 15 minutes. I'm really happy with the result though. Hopefully that will give others a starting point to do some more experimentation. And if you have your own ideas, please share them here
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I downloaded Malay Mod {and got the Full Version}. It also came with V4A but I hear no difference no matter what I've got selected. Mine has "Headset - Phone Speaker - Bluetooth Device - USB/Dock" tried them all ..
My headunit pushes amps via RCAs, so maybe it doesn't work through those channels?
Good ideas on your tuning {I've for tinnitus too}.