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MXRC
261
Jul 27, 2017
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Hello,
Fellow audio engineer here. Funny, I actually just recently got back from a conference that demo'd some DAPs. I got a chance to listen to the Sony NW-WM1Z paired with a WooAudio WA8 amp. I was more impressed with the prices than I was with the actual audio that came out of the devices.
I'm always a skeptic when it comes to insanely priced audio gear. As an engineer, we have the science to prove whether a product can do everything it claims to. And sure, a lot of these things can do it all, high resolution audio, proper amplification, the works. Human auditory perception is limited though, specially at age. There are diminishing returns when it comes to high performing devices and the prices they come in. I'm saying all of this because in my humble opinion, I don't feel it's necessary to spend so much money on a DAP/AMP when we have mobile devices with enough processing power to accomplish the same thing. As far as amplification, there are affordable options for that too.
Phones are capable of playing back lossless files with the right media player. VLC for iOS and Android can play flac, alac, and wav. The software can output up to 192khz. Mobile devices, are mostly limited to 44.1khz:16bit but there are accessories to extend this capability also.
Enter the mobile DAC/AMPs: http://www.cozoyaudio.com/ http://www.audioquest.com/dragonfly-series/ These override the native 44.1khz:16bit and render the proper sample rate and bit depth for the media you're listening to. These in combination with the lossless media players can turn any phone or tablet into a high performing DAP/AMP. Don't take the capabilities of your Galaxy device for granted.
Something to think about.
Jul 27, 2017
ElectronicVices
2937
Aug 13, 2017
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MXRCAlso keep in mind that last I knew VLC wasn't bypassing the OS sound processing. In Android systems this means your files are being resampled to 48kHz by the OS. There are some apps (Onkyo UPP, etc) that allow you to bypass that limitation but rarely work with all listening scenarios. I've personally switched from a DAP/Amp stack to just using my V20 for portable listening. I believe iOS has a similar form of sound processing but I don't use my iphone for music.
Aug 13, 2017
MXRC
261
Aug 16, 2017
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ElectronicVicesNatively the software doesn't bypass OS sound processing. The mobile DAC/AMP overrides this and provides the bypass and ultimately the audio processing. You can't just have the player, you have to have the additional hardware. It's just a recommendation for a more cost effective solution rather than dropping $3K on a specific DAC/AMP/DAP.
"These override the native 44.1khz:16bit and render the proper sample rate and bit depth for the media you're listening to. These in combination with the lossless media players can turn any phone or tablet into a high performing DAP/AMP."
Aug 16, 2017
ElectronicVices
2937
Aug 17, 2017
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MXRCCan you point me to the documentation that shows VLC bypasses the Android Sound Processing Layer, I know both the Onkyo Player and USB Audio Player Pro passthrough a native signal to the external DAC but I still cannot find any documentation that this is the case with VLC. Without the bypass Android is passing your DAC 48kHz audio regardless of original sample rate and bit depth.
Aug 17, 2017
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