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I was hoping for opinions on the MP3 playback quality on the kaiser. I have been using an N95 previously to play Mp3's through headphones but the quality is not as good as a standalone player like my Ipod. Problem is I want to ditch the Ipod and replace it with the a good sounding music smartphone.
Do you think the Kaiser is a good music player, when playing through wired headphones (not interested about the playback through the speaker).
Also what is the media library player like. Is the built in one good enough by itself or do you recomend a better third party app
Thanks for any help!
The ipod is a media player with a phone added on, the kaiser is a phone/pocket pc with media player facilities but given the different emphasis and target users of the two devices I think you can guess the answer. I find the sound thru phones ok but I think you'll be disappointed if you're looking for ipod quality.
I use conduits pocket player on pocket pc's.
patcooke said:
The ipod is a media player with a phone added on, the kaiser is a phone/pocket pc with media player facilities but given the different emphasis and target users of the two devices I think you can guess the answer. I find the sound thru phones ok but I think you'll be disappointed if you're looking for ipod quality.
I use conduits pocket player on pocket pc's.
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Don't you mean the iPhone is a media player with a phone added?
Thanks for the feedback. I might wait out for the iphone then in that case.
MP3 playback is top of my want list then followed by the phone. My N95 is just about passable for quality, do you recken the kaiser would be as good as the N95?
Well, Kaiser is not good for MP3 (Music) player. That's all.
If you want to have very good MP3 player, Kaiser is not for you.
meddleuk said:
Thanks for the feedback. I might wait out for the iphone then in that case.
MP3 playback is top of my want list then followed by the phone. My N95 is just about passable for quality, do you recken the kaiser would be as good as the N95?
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Are you sure, I mean with a wired headset the Kaiser sounds pretty good, the iPhone doesn't do BT headsets I think. The Kaiser just does so much more, the GPS is killer.
If you have the option to wait for the iPhone do it. The iPhone was designed based off of a solid foundation of years and years of iPod history. Although the quality of your music tracks will have a significant impact on the quality of sound, there is no denying that the listening experience as a whole must be taken into account. Listening to music on the iPhone is natural and seamless. Switching between phone calls and choosing select tracks to listen to is fluid. I can't say that with the Kaiser / Tilt. While third party applications may improve the experience, I think transition from music, to phone call, and back to browsing for music to listen to is cumbersome.
When I received my Kaiser, I didn't even think about using it for audio playback. I immediately made plans to pick up an iPod Nano for dedicated playback.
* Battery life has to be taken into consideration as well. My iPhone could go two days without a charge - taking calls, messaging, and listening to music. There is no way I'm going to be sacrificing battery life in order to listen to music on the Kaiser.
It's not a media player first, but it is certainly functional enough for me. Either using an A2DP bluetooth stereo headset, or the included headset, I have no problems using the Kaiser as my primary music device. Just get a 4GB SD card or more and you'll have plenty of space.
The HTC Audio Manager (not sure if this is on the tilt) makes it much easier for navigating available content like you would on an iPod/Phone, though Windows Media Player works fine too.
meddleuk said:
My N95 is just about passable for quality, do you recken the kaiser would be as good as the N95?
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Do you judge that based on the bundled earphone? That earphone may be the cause of 'all' problems. I mean, the iPod's earphone is designed for music, and generally would be better.
And, in the Wizard / Atom side, there are actually people able to tell the difference between an MP3 and AAC.. and this.. flac loseless compression music format, I dont think the sound can be that bad (i.e. you need a fairly good unit to able to hear the difference)
Ref:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=335157
Thanks for the feedback. In answer to your question I have a pair of in ear sennheiser headphones which really show up any MP3 players problems. When trying to play MP3's on my N95 there was always a noticible gap between tracks and a slight hiss in the background which would disappear if you cranked the volume up. The big difference however was the range/clarity which made all my high bitrate MP3's sound as if they were encoded under 100kbs. The built in Mp3 player just seemed cheap as if it was knocked together with very little in the way of tweaks to improve things. The only improvement I could find was to run my MP3's through a third party app oggplay which gained a slight improvement in overall quality. I had learnt to live with this but wanted to make sure I didn't make the same mistake twice with my next phone.
My hearing on the other hand is not good enough to tell the difference between MP3/AAC etc. Often I hear that the Nano for instance has noticible worse playback quality than a standard Ipod but I cannot tell any real difference. But with the N95 it is very noticible.
I am not really asking for IPOD quality, but just a phone that performs better than the N95 otherwise it's not really worth it for me.
listening to music as we speak on the kaiser, sounds fine to me...i'm using some v-moda headphones and i can't really tell any differences from my ipod.
meddleuk said:
...When trying to play MP3's on my N95 there was always a noticible gap between tracks and a slight hiss in the background which would disappear if you cranked the volume up. The big difference however was the range/clarity which made all my high bitrate MP3's sound as if they were encoded under 100kbs. ...
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Well, that would be what I'm expecting on a phone media player.. due to the low SN ratio and the D2A converter. Probably you ought to ask (i.e. PM) the other guys (link in my post above) regarding how in the world they can differentiate MP3 and AAC/flac. Possibly the audio quality (unlike the camera quality) of these HTC are superb.
I dont understand how an ipod can be considered as a reference (cowon or other competitors did much better devices), but back to WinMobile based smartphones like the Kaiser, the very good news is that you have alternative players available (tcpmp)
I just repacked my iphone after a week, the speakers were good... but phone-wise it's just cannot be called a "phone" (too many features missing)
So I've not tested the kaiser yet, but I have no doubt that audio quality wise it could give good results with a good software like TCPMP...
Think about it : apple's product is love it as-is, or stay away from that.
Have you guys tried LCG Jukebox (they have clients for both N95 and TyTN II),
http://www.lonelycatgames.com/?app=lcgjukebox
I like it's features, download lyrics and album art, internet radio streaming, good equalizer. A bit pricey (19.99 for PPC and 24.99 for Symbian), I wish it was cheaper, but the sound on the TyTN II using a2dp is actually not bad at all.
I actually gave LCG Jukebox a go on the N95 and found that soundwise the quality was a little better than the built in MP3 player but no where near as good as oggplay. The interface however was horrible and not to be recomended and it just seemed cheap looking to me. It was also missing the search by artist/album etc.. which is a must for any media player.
ive been pretty happy with the playback over an A2DP headset from my tilt, in fact i think its better than my ipod (20gb 4th gen), but i do have this to add, all the ipods (at least up through 5th gen) use the same DAC as the 1st gen (how many years old is that again?), you can get much better sound quality out of other devices. due to the similarities, i would think that they have used this DAC in the 6th gen iPods also, the only only exception would the the iPhone/iPod touch, but you would have to find the specs somewhere to make sure
sebbes said:
I dont understand how an ipod can be considered as a reference (cowon or other competitors did much better devices)...
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Off topic a bit. Like it or not, iPod is here to stay due to favarious reason, where technical reasons play a minor part of it, as not everyone is of an audiophile or technical about the details, else every MP3 will look like a box with great stuff in it (i.e. best selling books aren't always best written, they just sell well). anyway, as of taking it as reference basically means it is easily obtainable, doesn't mean it is the greatest. E.g., I can tell you thing like, "that phone is almost a size of a CD", is better than, "that phone is exactly 5.72cm in length". You can easily get comparisons. Doesn't mean that CD is the best measuring device
With a good set of headphones (I'm using wired Senys as well), and it sounds just fine, equal to the nano with same headphones, and def better than a friends N95 (although I listened to that with Sony phones, and there usually a little too bass orientated).
takedown by owner
40th Floor said:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=1551610&postcount=80
mp3, m4a (aac and alac), and wma
It is THE reference against which everything else could be compared, but could never reach (full stop/period...wait, here are a few more pics)
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Of course it's your product, right? I searched and downloaded and watched the wacky (very busy) demo. The product looks excellent and very intuitive. I'm not at all opposed to paying for software and donating, something I do often, but $30 seems steep for an audio player and the reg procedure is something different. I guess the handango burn was tough on you. I mainly use Pocket Gear for my commercial apps, are they OK by you?
Well its that time of the year. My ATT contract just expired and I'm due for a new phone!
I was wondering about the Kaiser's media playback. I would really like my next phone to have strong video and audio playback.
I was considering the iPhone, but the lack of necessary features turned me off. I know it is great for media, but that phone is just NOT for me.
I would like your comments on the Kaiser's video/audio playback. Also, what 3rd party apps are you using for your video/audio?
Finally, I was wondering if the Kaiser was for me. Should I wait for another phone with good media playback, or should i jump on the Kaiser. I'm really into phone customization (my current phone is modded up the butthole, both software and hardware) and I know just by browsing through this forum that the Kaiser offers plenty of customization.
I have about a week to decide, so no rush. I would like some honest, well written, feedback. THANKS!!
just2good4u3434 said:
Well its that time of the year. My ATT contract just expired and I'm due for a new phone!
I was wondering about the Kaiser's media playback. I would really like my next phone to have strong video and audio playback.
I was considering the iPhone, but the lack of necessary features turned me off. I know it is great for media, but that phone is just NOT for me.
I would like your comments on the Kaiser's video/audio playback. Also, what 3rd party apps are you using for your video/audio?
Finally, I was wondering if the Kaiser was for me. Should I wait for another phone with good media playback, or should i jump on the Kaiser. I'm really into phone customization (my current phone is modded up the butthole, both software and hardware) and I know just by browsing through this forum that the Kaiser offers plenty of customization.
I have about a week to decide, so no rush. I would like some honest, well written, feedback. THANKS!!
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You mean this as a joke, right ? You want to rub this in ? Have you even read one thread on this board ?
Media playback (both performance and quality) is sub par on the Kaiser. You would probably want to go with another brand all together.
I dont get it...
I can watch whatever the hell I want on my kaiser and its perfectly fine, no lag at all (even on youtube) I almost cant tell the different from my iPod and my Kaiser besides when i poke my kaiser it pauses, and when I poke my iPod, a mac genius comes from nowhere and says 'dont do that'
lol @ tyeo098
video drivers aren't being utilized to its full potential yet because of HTC and their drivers
tyeo098 said:
I dont get it...
I can watch whatever the hell I want on my kaiser and its perfectly fine, no lag at all (even on youtube) I almost cant tell the different from my iPod and my Kaiser besides when i poke my kaiser it pauses, and when I poke my iPod, a mac genius comes from nowhere and says 'dont do that'
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Does it play normal TV shows encoded in XviD without hiccups as well?
The whole point of having a media eccelerating processor for me is that I don't have to worry about reencoding stuff. With the Kaiser I have to in order to maintain smooth playback.
tyeo098 said:
I dont get it...
I can watch whatever the hell I want on my kaiser and its perfectly fine, no lag at all (even on youtube) I almost cant tell the different from my iPod and my Kaiser besides when i poke my kaiser it pauses, and when I poke my iPod, a mac genius comes from nowhere and says 'dont do that'
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Yes it can play everything fine at low resolutions, if you use for example pocketdivx encoder and downsize something to 320x240 it will play just fine, but the whole point is that it has hardware acceleration capabilities that should allow you to play it without having to re encode and downsize videos. You should be able to play a xvid file over wifi without lagging or having to re-encode. The camera should be a lot faster than it is, even a "free" flip phone's camera is faster, internet explorer needs to be a lot faster with scrolling even with the fix.
The phone isn't bad, but its not on par with other 400mhz devices, does that make sense?
Audio quality is excellent with the TMP media player.
difflvl said:
Yes it can play everything fine at low resolutions, if you use for example pocketdivx encoder and downsize something to 320x240 it will play just fine, but the whole point is that it has hardware acceleration capabilities that should allow you to play it without having to re encode and downsize videos. You should be able to play a xvid file over wifi without lagging or having to re-encode. The camera should be a lot faster than it is, even a "free" flip phone's camera is faster, internet explorer needs to be a lot faster with scrolling even with the fix.
The phone isn't bad, but its not on par with other 400mhz devices, does that make sense?
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Click to collapse
While I disagree with you on some of your points, I definitely agree 100% with the camera portion of what you said. It is ridiculously slow. For me it is nearly useless. I had a Moto Razr (the first one) years ago, which could take an adequate picture. Not beautiful, not 3MP, but usable. I literally can't use the camera on this phone, because it is just TOO slow. If I can make the subject, and myself stay static for 5 hours (which is how long it seems to take after you press the button), then the pics turn out okay. It's the time it takes which make it useless.
With that said, I love my Tilt, and would never trade it, even for 2 iphones
All i know is that I have basically used SUPER and PDivxE to encode everything that left my computer to a device.
So yes, i guess thats just peachy then.
And it plays youtube videos as well. I watched a whole episode of Kenny vs Spenny on youtube (kenny cheated of course), it was the one where they were obese... and who could be that way the longest.
ANYWAYS...
I see no current problem with TCPMP but thats just me, like I said, you SHOULD encode anything that goes on the kaiser, it takes up less space anyways =D
I just Have one question...
On my PSP (I tend to xcompare the two alot) there is a program caleed PiMP Streamer, basically it lets me stream video, audio, pictures, any media off my computers HDD and on to my PSP's screen. Is there anything for the kaiser that can do this?
Peace-
-Tyeo
Hey Guys,
after weeks of trying and searching, i'm really considering to sell my Galaxy. But before i do so, i want to ask once more on this way, if anyone knows or at least got a clue about how to fix the bitpool/bitrate quality for bluetooth stereo streaming. It's important to me as i use my phone for music a lot.
The problem is known for some people, but not a lot coder/tweaker tried their luck on this yet.
The only way I know would be to flash cyanogen. I even tried it, but cyanogen is not for everyday use on the galaxy yet imo. It still has a lot more other bugs, and the battery life is much worse compared to my stock 2.3.3 rom.
Perfect solution for me would be a rom based on the stock gingerbread, with just the bitpool issue fixed. I'd even donate anyone who could fix that.
So if someone knows more about it or would give it a go and tries to fix it... I'd really appreciate that as apart of this issue i really like my Galaxy S
Have you tried gb stock ? I am on jvh and think Bluetooth streaming has improved. Try it and see if you hear the same way?
Sent from my GT-I9000 using XDA App
Hey fylim, thanks for your reply
Are you sure about that? Currently i'm on stock gb. I think JVB... is JVH newer?
EDIT: I've checked it i'm on JVB and modem is JVK. But i haven't read about any improvement on JVH yet... well i may try JVH then... I'd do everything to get it fixed :/
Ok, ive tried JVH... still the same aweful quality Ok, seems like i'll get a WIN7 phone soon then :/
You've got to be kidding me. Just use fre*kin wired headphones. The SGS +voodoo is like one of the best DAPs in the world and you're going to sell it because you want more quality with your bluetooth headset. Let me tell you something bluetooth and sound quality shouldn't be used in one sentence.
There is a reason i bought a bluetooth stereo headset. And just a little headup: You may have terrabytes of space on your SGS to save FLAC's or Wave files, but i bet you're using compressed music as well... So you shouldn't even start to think about "quality" even with wired headphones. So its not a qualified comment at all...
Also, like i stated before, i tried cyanogen and the quality with the bluetooth headset is the same as with wired ones. Also on my mates W7 phone its decent (after a 1 minute tweak)...
worly said:
There is a reason i bought a bluetooth stereo headset. And just a little headup: You may have terrabytes of space on your SGS to save FLAC's or Wave files, but i bet you're using compressed music as well... So you shouldn't even start to think about "quality" even with wired headphones. So its not a qualified comment at all...
\
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Dude, sorry to spam in your thread but I got bothered by that "not a qualified comment". First ,as I said the SGS with voodoo just blows out of the water almost all DAPs (and I mean dedicated music players). Second, yeah I have a 32GB micro sdhd card which I use with my SGS and I almost exclusively listen my music in flac or in mp3 which I have personally ripped. And I'm an audiophile with a vast collection of headphones (even bluetooth ones) and I know what I'm saying - even cheap wired headphones with voodoo sound way better than any bluetooth ones. It's your choice, I understand that wireless is more comfortable but trading an awesome phone with awesome audio quality for a Windows phone which doesn't even have Angry birds for it, let alone proper multitasking and stuff is a bad deal
There isn't much room to talk about quality even if we have 320's mp3's... Trust me, i'm really strict and sensible with such sounds issues, thats why it bothers me so much with the small bitrate on stock gingerbread. It sounds like 96 kbps compressed streaming. With cyanogen it seems to stream in the highest possible bitrate which is about 328 kbp's as far as i know (at least thats how fast it streams to the bluetooth devie on my pc). However, whats the difference between a 320 being played without bluetooth and with bluetooth? I can understand your argument if its a non compressed file format. But even Voodoo doesnt do magic with it. I got quite a bunch of cheap and expensive earplugs which i tested with, and without the bluetooth device. Trust me, you wont hear any differnce (on cyanogen at least)...
But anyway, i just tried the newest cyanogen build and some stuff got improved especially battery seems to be somewhat better... so maybe there's light at the end of the tunnel and i'll wait how cyan gets improved. I'll stick with my SGS then, as i know its sound is really good otherwise and also the rest
I've recently acquired a new car which has a built in stereo system (Renault Megane Estate 2012 Bose edition) which is able to receive CBR encoded A2DP streams. It works well, connects, music plays, even controls work.
Awesome!
Using catlog I can see that the bitpool that is negotiated is 51. While the sound isn't horrible, I believe the handsets (Samsung Galaxy SIII Int. and Nexus 7, both running CM10 nightly) are able to encode and transmit at a higher bitrate/bitpool then currently is set.
I've tried my best effort in changing this settings. I've built my own Ubuntu kitchen, followed all the guides and have from the looks of it compiled a successful ROM image. Sadly enough when I flash it, my tablet dies (black screen) and even CWM is destroyed. Using fastbood and USB I've been able to recover the tablet, so no problem there, but still, no working ROM. Even without changing something. But that is not what this thread is for, I'll figure that out eventually.
I am trying to recreate the results that are in the following topic : http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1880298
Sadly, the files provided are not compatible with my CM10 devices and changing the source and then compiling it and replacing the files yields no result. Whatever I try, it stays at 51 (The bitpool it SENDS to the radio as max). There are several files which are connected to the settings, such as cbr.c , audio.a2dp.default.so, etc. but I don't really know what to change to get the desired results.
If anyone is able to help, that would be greatly appreciated. Point me to the right file where I can find the values to change, either in a compiled ROM or in the source so that I can compile it and change the files in
my running ROM using rootexplorer. Whatever works.
I would like to try settings as high as 125. But ideally, I would like to experiment what my headunit accepts, what it can be forced to, and thus finding the highest quality possible using my combination of equipment.
In this the Nexus 7 is the most important because that will be permanently located in the car.
update--
I have found a thread on bluez surrounding this topic.
http://www.spinics.net/lists/linux-bluetooth/msg23091.html
Could someone more knowledgeable then me please take a look at this for me and maybe change the file? Sadly that goes way beyond my programming knowledge, but I would really love to give it a try!
update--
Some extra information and a good explanation as to why I am looking for this (and maybe more people with me).
Bitpool values as high as 128 are possible on Windows Mobile devices (including mine), which means they are possible in A2DP. Such a high value is necessary for some genres of current music, which are highly
compressed (the problem was once discussed in one of Xiph Foundation's articles). SBC is unable to encode such material properly if it doesn't have enough bandwidth.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've done some more tests editing and replacing files and I think I've actually gotten it to sync higher but it still displays it's at 51. The sound just sounds a lot better, but of course, that can always be a placebo effect. :silly:
So, anyone have any insight, or who can point me into the right direction of what needs to be changed and where? As said, I think I have reached the quality increase (bitpool 100) but the logs still display 51.... not quite there yet. And in light of people using the Nexus 7 in a cars a lot (which I also intend) and the borked headphones output I read everywhere, CD quality streaming over A2DP (It's possible) would be awesome!
Kitchen fixed
So I got my kitchen working and am cooking working ROM's.
Just getting the right files changed is giving me some problems.
I think I fixed most of it, but for some reason when I check the logs it still states that it's sending a max bitpool of 51. I believe in the background it's using the 128 as I stated in the source files, but still. I would like the logs to show the same, just to acknowledge I'm a not having a placebo effect.
The files I have changed are the following:
/android/system/external/bluetooth/bluez
a2dp.c
gsta2dpsink.c
gstscenc.c
liba2dp.c
pcm_bluetooth.c
I used the patch listed above on the pcm_bluetooth.c. And I do believe it overrides the settings and it's not set to 51 anymore but the 128 I put in all the files manually. Music sounds great, but it's hard to subjectively test.
Hopefully we can find some people who have a greater understanding of bluez.
Little kick
Little kick to see if someone wants to assist me on this or not. I think it could potentially benefit a lot of people making Bluetooth audio/A2DP go from barely adequate to High Fidelity!
I'd love to help you test this - I also find the A2DP quality to be lacking in a lot of more "active" or compressed music. Acoustic and softer music sounds great, but rock/metal tends to sound like a 128kbps mp3. It actually seems to sound better from my Galaxy Nexus than the 7 as well. I'm running a Bugless Beast ROM now but was running CM10.
Also, not sure if you've seen this but I found an article (soundexpert.org/news/-/blogs/bluetooth-audio-quality-a2dp, sorry can't post links yet) that shows the bitrate per bitpool value. At a bitpool value of 53, the bitrate is around 320kbps. A2DP itself supports a bitrate of up to 512kbps for stereo, but through other optionally-supported codecs. SBC however, in this profile, only seems to go to ~320. It might be worth checking out if your car stereo supports mp3 over A2DP - there is an option in /etc/bluetooth/audio.conf to set MPEG12Sources from 0 to 1 and SBCSources from 1 to 0.
ROM up for download
Hi there, thnx's for joining the cause.
I compiled a new daily today with settings set to bitpool 128. But I don't really hear much change, maybe the setting is too high, maybe something else is going wrong. As stated above, in the logs I can only see it sending 51 as max pool to the device and setteling with it. But since I'm using an edit pcm_bluetooth.c it should override that setting, say it's going to do 51 and then stream and the values I defined in the files.
.....in theory at least...... the only subjective evidence I have for this are my own ears.
So, I will provide you with access to the 128 version and am going to compile a 64 version while I'm at it.
Use an FTP client to connect to:
host: oss.quindorian.org
user: XDA
pass: ROMROM
Anyone is welcome to give it a try. I have put limits on the FTP site, so please beware of that. But I'll put ROM's there you can try and report back on. Tell me if you think it does nothing or if you think it makes it sound like a singing angel. Any feedback is appreciated.
As source I use the CM10 repository so I am basically building modded nightly builds. Today it allready has the 4.1.2 flavor with the newest drivers and everything included. Don't forget to flash gapps if you need them.
Understand
ChrisK15 said:
Also, not sure if you've seen this but I found an article (soundexpert.org/news/-/blogs/bluetooth-audio-quality-a2dp, sorry can't post links yet) that shows the bitrate per bitpool value. At a bitpool value of 53, the bitrate is around 320kbps. A2DP itself supports a bitrate of up to 512kbps for stereo, but through other optionally-supported codecs. SBC however, in this profile, only seems to go to ~320. It might be worth checking out if your car stereo supports mp3 over A2DP - there is an option in /etc/bluetooth/audio.conf to set MPEG12Sources from 0 to 1 and SBCSources from 1 to 0.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, I understand what that article says. But for me, the quality just isn't up to par to listening to a 320Kbit stream. Also, there is what A2DP officialy supports and there is what works. I'm shooting for the last type. If I can get a 1000Kbit stream between my device and my headunit, I will, even if it doens't add much above say 786Kbit, more is always better in this case. If it works that is, ofcourse.
Because I wish to use spotify, I believe my only choice is to use the SBC encoder. Spotify will never let you transfer it's source file to anywhere because of DRM. Alternativly, if we could enable an AAC stream or something (also supported I believe) we'd need less bitrate/bitpool for better quality! And from what I have read, the SBC encoder standard used it just quite crappy. So while a 320Kbit LAME encoded MP3 might sound great/perfect, using a sub-standard encoder can still give it artifacts and low quality. Thus the hunt for insane amounts of bitrate!
Awesome, I'll definitely give it a shot. If it's possible to exceed the Bluetooth standard spec then that'd be awesome. I'm more worried about our receivers not being able to support the higher bandwidth - my head unit is new but only supports SBC unfortunately.
Cool
ChrisK15 said:
Awesome, I'll definitely give it a shot. If it's possible to exceed the Bluetooth standard spec then that'd be awesome. I'm more worried about our receivers not being able to support the higher bandwidth - my head unit is new but only supports SBC unfortunately.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Cool, I just put the bitpool64 version there too. Tested it and I notice no real difference. Sadly the quality is still not great, it's not horrible.... but certainly not great so I still feel like my settings are maybe not having any effect whatsoever. As reflected by the logs using catlog. It sen bitpool 51 max and settles for that. For all the values I have changed in the files and that stay the same, I really do not understand. Wish I could fix that, but with my knowledge I have just run out of places where to look.
Let me know if in your case it makes any difference!
I just tried it out and to me it seems like there's an improvement. I normally stream Pandora One in my car, and that definitely seemed like it had more clarity. However Google Music streaming sounded the same, although it was already good to begin with. I would think that compressing more highly-compressed music from the start (Pandora) would have a worse effect on quality than less-compressed music, which seems to be the case. Or maybe I'm just hearing things
Thanks for looking into this, I've been trying to find a way to do this for a while!
Quindor said:
Hi there, thnx's for joining the cause.
I compiled a new daily today with settings set to bitpool 128. But I don't really hear much change, maybe the setting is too high, maybe something else is going wrong. As stated above, in the logs I can only see it sending 51 as max pool to the device and setteling with it. But since I'm using an edit pcm_bluetooth.c it should override that setting, say it's going to do 51 and then stream and the values I defined in the files.
.....in theory at least...... the only subjective evidence I have for this are my own ears.
(...) .
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
perhaps you can test if the patch does anything - by setting bitpool to some very LOW value ?
ChrisK15 said:
It might be worth checking out if your car stereo supports mp3 over A2DP - there is an option in /etc/bluetooth/audio.conf to set MPEG12Sources from 0 to 1 and SBCSources from 1 to 0.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
On my CM12.1 official nightly ROM (2015/12/03) for my Samsung i9505, there is no file audio.conf
Does that mean I can simply create it with the two lines
MPEG12Sources=1
SBCSources=0
in order to test wether a bluetooth SNK device such as a car stereo or a headset supports mp3 over A2DP?
So does anyone have some actual logs or HCI captures showing bitpool above 53?
..
In all my previous phones, I've always had root for 2 things. Viper4Android (or ARISE) and Adaway. I can deal with the ads because to get to sites like couchtuner I just use the plethora of available adblock apps for the Samsung browser app. However, I cannot listen to the utter crap audio output of the S8 in its factory unrooted state.
If Viper4Android needs root access to the system partition to bypass the standard linux ALSA driver for sound adjustment, then how does Poweramp bypass it without root? See for yourself. If you use the standard (or any other music player without an EQ) and go into sound properties and adjust the software EQ under Settings --> Sounds and Vibration --> Sound Quality and Effects, the EQ changes the sound. However, if you install and run Poweramp, then when going to this EQ setting, it does not change the sound.
Here's my beef. The Samsung 'system wide' software EQ - when adjusting it, all it's doing is lowering the gain and boosting only that one frequency so your actual volume output is reduced to prevent clipping. On a rooted phone with V4A installed, this does not happen. It truly raises or lowers those specific frequencies. Does the API in Android Nougat prevent anything other than software manipulation? My main use for V4A is to use the "Dynamic System" feature to give more low end boost when the volume is not high, as well as adjusting harsh frequencies. V4A is sheer bliss on the V20. This also works extremely well in vehicles.
Your retort to this is naturally going to be "well just use Poweramp then". The problem with this is anyone that the Poweramp EQ is bound by software and even though it doesn't mess with the volume output, it's effect is terrible compared to V4A. Meaning, the 31hz slider on the EQ boosts around 50hz. The 16khz slider is more around 10khz and the 8khz band - let's not go there.
I'm trying to find out if anyone knows of any other audio application with a built in EQ that bypasses the system EQ Samsung put in the S8 that does not lower gain to try to reach the desired effect. Or suggest anything else I can try? I'm using the S8 with a pair of Westone 4R IEM's and B&O H6 cans. Any audiophile advice is welcome. I just wish I understood this more.
Thanks in advance!
Hey man, I'm in the same boat, and I have tried everything possible on my unrooted S8+, but I can find no substitute for V4A.
I'm using noozxoide-E , and set it to warm/bright, to get some boost where it needs it. I also enabled larger monitors as well.
But I can't find anything that does a clean gain boost or normalize function.
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Best solution I've found to the universally terrible Android audio problems is to get an external DAC. The Dragonfly Black 1.5 is $99 on Amazon and is plug-and play. The bonus is it works literally on any OS (desktop or mobile) and supports all audio formats including lossless. Samsung will try to redirect it to your default audio player app (in my case Neutron) but it works on any audio app you want if you ignore the notification. Basically it's the easiest way to make audio sound good on phones that haven't been rooted (yet). Works great with my Sennheiser headphones and amps the audio too. I just had to buy the USB-A to USB-C cable, which you can buy just about anywhere for cheap. For a phone that costs $800, you'd expect the internal DAC to work better.
Footnote: I bought it at a local Audiophile store on the owner's recommendation. It even works well with the Samsung bundled headphones but is more effective if you have a high-quality audio output. Hence Neutron or a high-quality streaming service.
I been stuck in this boat. Following
fantasticrat said:
Best solution I've found to the universally terrible Android audio problems is to get an external DAC. The Dragonfly Black 1.5 is $99 on Amazon and is plug-and play. The bonus is it works literally on any OS (desktop or mobile) and supports all audio formats including lossless. Samsung will try to redirect it to your default audio player app (in my case Neutron) but it works on any audio app you want if you ignore the notification. Basically it's the easiest way to make audio sound good on phones that haven't been rooted (yet). Works great with my Sennheiser headphones and amps the audio too. I just had to buy the USB-A to USB-C cable, which you can buy just about anywhere for cheap. For a phone that costs $800, you'd expect the internal DAC to work better.
Footnote: I bought it at a local Audiophile store on the owner's recommendation. It even works well with the Samsung bundled headphones but is more effective if you have a high-quality audio output. Hence Neutron or a high-quality streaming service.
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It's funny that you bring up the Dragonfly, because I own one of them - and they are excellent external DAC's! I have always used USB Audio Player Pro and has worked great. The only problem with that is I can't have it plugged in for hours listening to it because it eats away at the battery I already have a hard enough time using. The last time I tried using a Mophie battery pack, it wouldn't power the Dragonfly, so I couldn't do that either. I actually carried spare battery in my wallet and swapped it out midday. It's just a pain is all and was hoping for a better solution.
I think what I really should do is just get a LG Q8 (which was just introduced). It's literally a LG v20 - only smaller AND has waterproofing. My only concern is having to buy a phone overseas without a warranty.
Thanks for your input, though. I'm sure a lot of people haven't thought about this as an option!
joesee said:
It's funny that you bring up the Dragonfly, because I own one of them - and they are excellent external DAC's! I have always used USB Audio Player Pro and has worked great. The only problem with that is I can't have it plugged in for hours listening to it because it eats away at the battery I already have a hard enough time using. The last time I tried using a Mophie battery pack, it wouldn't power the Dragonfly, so I couldn't do that either. I actually carried spare battery in my wallet and swapped it out midday. It's just a pain is all and was hoping for a better solution.
I think what I really should do is just get a LG Q8 (which was just introduced). It's literally a LG v20 - only smaller AND has waterproofing. My only concern is having to buy a phone overseas without a warranty.
Thanks for your input, though. I'm sure a lot of people haven't thought about this as an option!
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Definitely the Dragonfly drains battery if you use the Red. I use the Black because it actually does better with low drain (i.e., portable) headphones. Higher-powered headphones I mostly use at home anyway. The biggest trouble I've had is convincing the S8 to use Tidal instead of suggesting my default audio player (currently Neutron, which at least sounds better than other alternatives I've tried). The advantage to the T-Mobile One unlimited data plan is I can stream lossless audio, and that overcomes a lot of the issues in conjunction with the Dragonfly Black. Oddly enough, the Black seems to *increase* battery life on my Chromebook Plus because my guess is it diverts a lot of the processing effort off the Chromebook's internal hardware. It doesn't have the same longevity on my S8, but I'm considering getting a small C-to-A hub with power throughput for when I'm on roadtrips; that way I can at least charge and listen to music at the same time.
Regarding the warranty, I haven't found that the benefits are really worth it; if you're on these boards and are remotely like me, odds are you'll void the warranty as soon as someone comes out with a way to root the phone. Plus overseas phones are nearly always unlocked (my Chinese-purchased Motorola Defy worked in every country I took it to and could be rooted from the day I bought it).
Quick heads up to my solution.
I got a syncup for $44 brand new from T-Mobile, and put my 6gb free data SIM in it.
I mounted my rooted Galaxy Tab 3 7.0 with a magnetic cd mount, for quick disconnect, so I don't leave it in view when parked. I threw all my streaming apps on it with V4A installed.
Lastly, I installed DIGITS so that all my calls still come through the car's BT just like the music, and obviously I can text as well.
So I now I can stream deezer with V4A running, and it's glorious.
My S8+ is no longer connected to the car, and just sits in the cupholder.
Had to think out of the box
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So this is an interesting turn of events. I dug out my Dragonfly the other day and installed my USB Audio Player PRO (from eXtream Software) and re-installed it. I notice that now they have not only the standard EQ, but also a 5 band parametric EQ. It is an extra $2.99 add on in the application. All in, I think I paid $8 for this app and the add on.
Anyway, this in my opinion is one of the best applications for using an external DAC. BUT - one real nice feature is you can also use the application without a DAC and force the audio through the Android System. So when I pulled out the Dragonfly, plugged my cans in the 3.5mm jack on the S8 and started messing with both EQ's in tandem (without even changing any frequency sliders) I got a MASSIVE boost in gain. This was not software.. it was hardware, because it did not 'compress' the sound to boost the volume like AGC (Automatic Gain Control) found in most audio players. Once I started messing with some of the eq curves (particularly in the parametric EQ) - it is by FAR the closest rival to V4A. In fact, I'd be plenty happy with this solution - IF It worked for all audio apps (Spotify in particular - or even TuneIn).
The biggest point here is V4A can boost the gain and doesn't decrease anything (compress) to get you the adjustments you're looking for on the EQ. The gain adjustment on this Parametric EQ does the same thing. Check it out and let me know how your results are. Really wish there were a way to pipe this through other applications.
That's awesome, good find!
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