Hi everybody,
I really like my new z4, but sound output level from headphones is really low, compared to my old Tablet S (using same amplified loudspeakers, same audio files).
I tried with apps using ReplayGain technology, like Poweramp and Vanilla Music, but the output still seems unaffected.
Does it happen because ReplayGain works only on rooted devices?
Have you got any suggestions or workarounds without recurring to rooting?
Thx in advance
Portable headphone amplifier?
jelbo said:
Portable headphone amplifier?
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Yes, but I would keep it simpler. As a Mac user, I find ITunes single files volume adjustment option a simple and viable option. I cannot believe the android world has nothing as simple as that.
And, I cannot understand why my old Tablet S (android 4.0.3, unrooted) performs so much better in terns of sound volume.
Many of you included myself complain about stock music player. It has uncountable problems but as far as I know it is the only player which can use the built in high end DAC. The most annoying thing is that it plays song in alphabetic order if files appear at all and secondly it is very slow.
I would suggest a temporary solution what I did and it works perfectly so far.
Delete all playlist (m3u, cue etc.).
Remove a metadata from files too.
Remove all songs with metadata from the phone!!!
Delete all record from "My Playlist" in the initial screen. (I was able to do it just one by one)
Reset Music Player by deleting cache and data in Application Settings
Reboot phone
Then open Music Player and play songs from Folder option. It will be enough fast and all songs appear and in filename order.
In order to remove metadata from files I would suggest using Mp3tag
http://www.mp3tag.de/en/
If you collect your files in any structure on the PC, all you can do is to move root folder into Mp3tag screen, select all songs and remove tags by right clicking. Then you can copy files to phone.
!!! Be careful !!!
Don't remove tags from your archive music folder. You cannot undo. Always create temporary folder and copy wishing music files there in order to remove metadata (tags).
Good lock!
obladi64 said:
as far as I know it is the only player which can use the built in high end DAC.
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where the heck did you read this load of bull?
Flaîm said:
where the heck did you read this load of bull?
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I have read discussions about it but no one was sure in any other player uses it obviously. If you know such please share it with evidence too. Thanks in advance.
obladi64 said:
I have read discussions about it but no one was sure in any other player uses it obviously. If you know such please share it with evidence too. Thanks in advance.
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unless your device somehow is capable of utilizing magic to process and output audio there's nothing but the only active DAC to do this task, which you can set in your audio settings.
edit: sorry for being a sarcastic ****
Flaîm said:
unless your device somehow is capable of utilizing magic to process and output audio there's nothing but the only active DAC to do this task, which you can set in your audio settings.
edit: sorry for being a sarcastic ****
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Except there is two DAC for output : AKM and SD820 built-in.
Flaîm said:
unless your device somehow is capable of utilizing magic to process and output audio there's nothing but the only active DAC to do this task, which you can set in your audio settings.
edit: sorry for being a sarcastic ****
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Click to collapse
Ok I was not so precize. Other players don't use AKM dac directly. They do it just via Android which convert all audio input to 48/16 output. Let me know if I am wrong but justify it with something please. Of course then this stream goes to AKM DAC but this not the way we wish it. I welcome any non stock player which can drive dac directly in same way as stock one does. Sooner or later it will be available hopefully but now I don't know any.
If the "Headset HiFi" control in Settings is to switch between SD820 and AKM DACs, then I'm able to use the AKM DAC with other media players that pass audio processing/decoding to the OS (as opposed to fancier players that utilize their own built-in decoding methods/codecs). In my music player of choice (Clean Music), I can switch between the two "Headset HiFi" options (Standard & Super) in the middle of a song and, after a pause to transition, hear a difference between them.
obladi64 said:
Ok I was not so precize. Other players don't use AKM dac directly. They do it just via Android which convert all audio input to 48/16 output. Let me know if I am wrong but justify it with something please. Of course then this stream goes to AKM DAC but this not the way we wish it. I welcome any non stock player which can drive dac directly in same way as stock one does. Sooner or later it will be available hopefully but now I don't know any.
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didnt know of that. any sources that this is the case?
edit:
according to this documentation it should be a systemwide default value - unless ZTE ****ed that up
https://developer.android.com/reference/android/media/AudioFormat.html
xtermmin said:
If the "Headset HiFi" control in Settings is to switch between SD820 and AKM DACs, then I'm able to use the AKM DAC with other media players that pass audio processing/decoding to the OS (as opposed to fancier players that utilize their own built-in decoding methods/codecs). In my music player of choice (Clean Music), I can switch between the two "Headset HiFi" options (Standard & Super) in the middle of a song and, after a pause to transition, hear a difference between them.
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I have bad news which is good news actually. SD820 DAC is not used in A7 at all. There are two additional DACs and one ADC. "AKM AK4961 DSP CODEC, which can be considered the primary chipset for Hi-Fi audio playback and recording. The AKM AK4490EN DAC is an independent Hi-Fi audio sampler". This later is what you turn on when set "Headset HiFi" option. So SD820 ADC/DAC don't play at all.
http://www.androidauthority.com/taking-audio-next-level-zte-axon-7-706898/
and same is on ZTE site as well.
I have doubts that you can hear the difference between the two AKM chips while you don't between Clean Player and the built in ZTE player. Although I don't listen 4961 but I do Clean Player. The difference is significant especially if record is 44.1 kHz because conversion of it to 48 kHz is more difficult than of 96kHz record.
obladi64 said:
I have bad news which is good news actually. SD820 DAC is not used in A7 at all. There are two additional DACs and one ADC. "AKM AK4961 DSP CODEC, which can be considered the primary chipset for Hi-Fi audio playback and recording. The AKM AK4490EN DAC is an independent Hi-Fi audio sampler". This later is what you turn on when set "Headset HiFi" option. So SD820 ADC/DAC don't play at all.
http://www.androidauthority.com/taking-audio-next-level-zte-axon-7-706898/
and same is on ZTE site as well.
I have doubts that you can hear the difference between the two AKM chips while you don't between Clean Player and the built in ZTE player. Although I don't listen 4961 but I do Clean Player. The difference is significant especially if record is 44.1 kHz because conversion of it to 48 kHz is more difficult than of 96kHz record.
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Click to collapse
Actually, the SD820 DAC is used and enabled. People with fancy players like PowerAmp (the latest alpha) report that in the app's settings, the only DAC that shows up in the list is the SD820 DAC. No AKM DAC listed.
I'm not an audiophile or anything, but when I have Super selected, the audio has a little more of a "punch" to it, while Standard I can kinda hear a bit of a ceiling. (this is all without ATMOS, of course)
xtermmin said:
Actually, the SD820 DAC is used and enabled. People with fancy players like PowerAmp (the latest alpha) report that in the app's settings, the only DAC that shows up in the list is the SD820 DAC. No AKM DAC listed.
I'm not an audiophile or anything, but when I have Super selected, the audio has a little more of a "punch" to it, while Standard I can kinda hear a bit of a ceiling. (this is all without ATMOS, of course)
Click to expand...
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SD820 in Poweramp: I cannot say anything pro or contra. I try to be smart from commercial b...ts. I don't know any well detailed technical quide. Based on these as engineer I would say that SD820 DAC is not used at all. Phone reports SD820 DAC for third party softwares due to compatibility reason but in real AKM chips works. Like I said I don't know it surly but most likely. I am also searching for the correct answer.
I believe that you hear the difference especialy if PowerAmp turns SD820 on somehow.
Otherwise the two AKM chips are different therefore they should sound differently. To hear it is just question of headphone price. Of course it is without ATMOS.
guess we need @rikin93 to use his contacts to get a definitive answer
Flaîm said:
didnt know of that. any sources that this is the case?
edit:
according to this documentation it should be a systemwide default value - unless ZTE ****ed that up
https://developer.android.com/reference/android/media/AudioFormat.html
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No. It is justify my concern rather.
"Expressed in Hz, the sample rate in an AudioFormat instance expresses the number of audio samples for each channel per second in the content you are playing or recording. It is not the sample rate at which content is rendered or produced. For instance a sound at a media sample rate of 8000Hz can be played on a device operating at a sample rate of 48000Hz; the sample rate conversion is automatically handled by the platform, it will not play at 6x speed."
obladi64 said:
No. It is justify my concern rather.
"Expressed in Hz, the sample rate in an AudioFormat instance expresses the number of audio samples for each channel per second in the content you are playing or recording. It is not the sample rate at which content is rendered or produced. For instance a sound at a media sample rate of 8000Hz can be played on a device operating at a sample rate of 48000Hz; the sample rate conversion is automatically handled by the platform, it will not play at 6x speed."
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you missed the important part:
As of API M, sample rates up to 192kHz are supported for AudioRecord and AudioTrack, with sample rate conversion performed as needed. To improve efficiency and avoid lossy conversions, it is recommended to match the sample rate for AudioRecord and AudioTrack to the endpoint device sample rate, and limit the sample rate to no more than 48kHz unless there are special device capabilities that warrant a higher rate.
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which means that it can be programmed to output at 192 khz, but 48 khz should be the default value if there's no additional hardware.
or am i just misinterpreting this whole paragraph?
so either no player can play at 192 khz, or every player plays at 192 khz
Flaîm said:
you missed the important part:
which means that it can be programmed to output at 192 khz, but 48 khz should be the default value if there's no additional hardware.
or am i just misinterpreting this whole paragraph?
so either no player can play at 192 khz, or every player plays at 192 khz
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, someting like that. Since it is Androud part it is 48 kHz. I used Clean player as altarnative and I prove that there is difference between this and stock.
So as I understand it says that every source is converted to 48kHz and this is sent to dac. You can play 44.1 or 192 kHz source it doesn't matter streams will be converted to 48. Stock player alone can bypass it so far. And it is important in case of CDs as well becuase 44.1 to 48 conversion is the one of the ugliest thing can happen here.
obladi64 said:
Yes, someting like that. Since it is Androud part it is 48 kHz. I used Clean player as altarnative and I prove that there is difference between this and stock.
So as I understand it says that every source is converted to 48kHz and this is sent to dac. You can play 44.1 or 192 kHz source it doesn't matter streams will be converted to 48. Stock player alone can bypass it so far. And it is important in case of CDs as well becuase 44.1 to 48 conversion is the one of the ugliest thing can happen here.
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i just tested listening to some flacs in my regular player, vlc player and the zte player with my beyerdynamic custom one pro. either all of them were outputting the same format, or i am just not able to hear the difference.
Flaîm said:
i just tested listening to some flacs in my regular player, vlc player and the zte player with my beyerdynamic custom one pro. either all of them were outputting the same format, or i am just not able to hear the difference.
Click to expand...
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So I am not fan of VLC Player therefore it is not installed on my phone. May be I felt wrongly and there is no difference because it doesn't exist at all and every player drives DAC appropriately. All I know is that I listened music by Clean Music for weeks and than I exchanged to ZTE player. Going through the music repertoire I was surprised. Anyway I am human too.
After all the fact is that you didn't here difference proves only one thing, namely you cannot hear the difference. Here and now.
I will study developer link what you suggested more thoroughly and also I am still waiting for the correct technical details from Android experts. Until I use ZTE player which works fine in above mentioned way. All song appears, all in order, no lag and sound brilliant. What else is needed?
Music Player DAC issue **Fixed**
Hi, I have a fix to using the DAC on non-stock music apps.
So I received my Axon yesterday.
Ipgraded from the Lenovo Vibe X3. I first ran in on the DAC problem on the X3.
In my experience all of these dedicated DAC phones follow the same approach, i.e., LG V10, Vivo Xplay 5, Vibe X3, Axon 7, and (I as sum) LG V20 as well.
There is already a thread on XDA explaining this in detail. -> http://forum.xda-developers.com/lg-v10/general/music-apps-using-dac-t3252596
In short, the apps listed on the V10 page will use the DAC. Although the Vibe X3 had a dedicated DAC toggle, and the Axon 7 doesn't.
To test whether the DAC is being used by a music app on the Axon 7 is:
1. Plugin high fidelity headphones (so you will be able to hear and verify the difference in music), if you can do it with regular earphones/headphones, good for you. and kickass hearing btw
2. Play music on the music app you want to test. (Refer the LG link I posted)
3. while the music s running in the background, go to Settings -> Sounds & Vibration -> Headset Hi-Fi -> and switch between Standard & Super settings.
IF that app is using the DAC, you'll notice a slight pause (when the DAC switches on/off) and of course the difference in sound quality.
Note: Switch Dolby off or ignore it when testing the app, cos for some reason switching Dolby Atmos on/off produces the same gap in playback as the DAC.
On the Vibe X3 it didn't.
I used to use PowerAmp earlier, cos I found that best for my taste.
Then I discovered Neutron, and fell in love with that.
However then I bought a DAC phone & both Power-amp & Neutron don't use the DAC(or I wasn't able to make them)
As per a lot of users online "Poweramp Alpha" can be made to use the DAC on such phones, somehow. I tried fiddling around with it, got fed-up & left it.
If someone has the patience to figure it out AND explain it to me, I'd be grateful, cos Poweramp is my player of choice in terms of UI & ease of usability.
Neutrons latest changelogs mention it can use DAC usage as an update. But I can't notice the difference in the method listed above, or maybe its referring to USB DACs.
Now my player of choice adter going through the list of DAC supported music apps is Pulsar. - https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.rhmsoft.pulsar
Reason being, I found it to be the lightest/cleanest player which supports the DAC and can relatively smoothly handle my 10K+ collection of 320kbps MP3 & FLAC collection.
You guys can go through the list of apps on the LG V10 page and decide. which suits you best.
h/t @stupc. I've found his thread to be the most informative and bang on in solving the problem of 3rd party DAC phones throughout the net. And trust me, I've searched. Went crazy trying to solve this when I first bought the X3
Hope this helps.
Mods: Please move the post/thread to the appropriate section if required and close the thread as solved.
Hit Thanks if this helped.
Evil0verlord said:
[...]
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thank you for your answer.
the method to check whether the seperate DAC is being used supports my observation, that i wasnt able to hear a difference between all 3 players i've used.
but i guess the question remains whether the output is in 48khz or 192khz for all of them :/
I'm sceptical about the differing sound quality when switching the "Headset HiFi" setting. I noticed that the volume increases significantly when the setting is on, and goes quieter when switched off. This is a well known and proven psychological sales tactic for audio. The human brain subconsciously associates louder sound to be of higher quality.
In this case it would be very difficult to perfectly volume match the on/off setting of the "Headset HiFi" toggle for a proper blind test. I don't believe any user testing can be trusted unless it's done blind, as confirmation bias could easily take precedence.
Some good reading:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychoacoustics
EDIT: I just did some more rudimentary testing with consumer quality mp3s and the ZTE music app, toggling the Headset HiFi setting on/off. The difference in frequency response is very noticeable even when not using high end FLAC encodings. There are significant bumps in bass and treble, even when compared to other sources I have with known flat sound signatures.
So you're asking, what does this mean? There's two scenarios:
1) if the Headset HiFi toggle is indeed switching between the Axon high end DAC and the SD820 standard DAC, the Axon DAC is far from neutral and has a coloured sound with unnaturally increased bass and treble response. This is arguably positive for the average consumer who likes the visceral sensation of an unnatural U-shaped equalizer, but will be disappointing for audiophiles looking for a flat sound signature.
2) the second possibility is that the Headset HiFi toggle does not change which DAC the system is using, but rather is like a Loudness button found on many stereos. When volume decreases, the human ear perceives low and high frequencies dropping off faster than other mid range ones. Loudness buttons are added to stereos so that low volume listening frequency response sounds closer to what the ear perceives at higher volumes.
Because this may seem like a weird question, please allow me to explain:
I have managed to get Viper4Android FX (the most superior audio mod) running on MEmu, an Android emulator which is running Android 7.1
Being a not-so-professional-audiophile I do not know about any single Windows application (including Viper4Windows) that can do nearly as much as Viper4Android. Least of all being as simple to use as V4A!!!
So I've planned to use MEmu as my computer's music player, since Viper4Android simply is that superior over anything I know as well as easy to use.
However, the audio output of MEmu is being recognized as speaker by V4A, and is therefore greatly limiting my audio options.
Therefore, as the title proclaims, I would like to figure out a way to trick Android (or just the Viper4Android app) into "thinking" that the headphone jack is plugged in, and therefore allowing me to enjoy Viper4Android on my pc as if I'm using my phone.
There's an Android App 'Lesser AudioSwitch' On Google Play Store To Solve This Problem.
Do you know APO EQUALIZER + PEACE for Windows ?
Boost Audio of Earphone By tweaking Poweramp...
Note:-
#Only works for earphones/headphones
#Only for downloaded songs that are played throug Poweramp
#Beta version of poweramp(v709+) needed you can download it from here (Poweramp is a paid application and link is of trial version)
discontinued
link for latest Poweramp beta...
discontinued
Please buy the pro version of this app it's worth for buying and will help developer..
Steps:-
1. Connect your Earphones and play any song.
2. Open poweramp settings.
3. Then open Audio.
4. Then output.
5. Then Hi-Res Output(Experimental)
6. Toggle ON the WIREDHEADSET/AUX
7. Then click on WIREDHEADSET/AUX to open advance settings under it.
8 Select sample rate 384khz....
See screenshots attached below..
If u on any custom rom see tweak from link
https://telegra.ph/Poweramp-tweak-for-custom-rom-11-22
Voila sounds good now....:good:
Hit Thanks if you like........
Reserved
great... thanks bro
Thanks bro
Hi all.. when I toggle it on.. it start playing from speaker..
RaffooWala said:
Hi all.. when I toggle it on.. it start playing from speaker..
Click to expand...
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Can u specify which Rom and which version of Poweramp
Coz mine works flawlessly
mpschahal16 said:
Can u specify which Rom and which version of Poweramp
Coz mine works flawlessly
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm on stock ROM on 6 GB variant.. may security patch..
Poweramp beta from the above given link..
RaffooWala said:
I'm on stock ROM on 6 GB variant.. may security patch..
Poweramp beta from the above given link..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Restart ur phone or try with other earphones
Me on stock works good
mpschahal16 said:
Restart ur phone or try with other earphones
Me on stock works good
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes.. changing the earphones works..
Thanks
RaffooWala said:
Yes.. changing the earphones works..
Thanks
Click to expand...
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Cool??
I'm on cheapo audio technicas still makes noticeable difference, thanks !
Thanks. This is exactly what I was finding from 1 month
Hey, thanks for the suggestion. But one question. I'm subscribed to Google Play Music how can I increase the level from Google music app?
The songs downloaded are not recognised by 3rd party Music Players. Even Poweramp is not recognising it.
It is pretty clear that the device has the potential to deliver the best audio at an optimum level but people at Asus are giving a deaf ear to this. I guess a little bit of coding or just a software update can sort the problem. Or some hack might help.
Axe-man08 said:
Hey, thanks for the suggestion. But one question. I'm subscribed to Google Play Music how can I increase the level from Google music app?
The songs downloaded are not recognised by 3rd party Music Players. Even Poweramp is not recognising it.
It is pretty clear that the device has the potential to deliver the best audio at an optimum level but people at Asus are giving a deaf ear to this. I guess a little bit of coding or just a software update can sort the problem. Or some hack might help.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Side load snapdragon equalizer. ...https://forum.xda-developers.com/as.../sideload-snapdragon-equalizer-t3826848/page2
Use fxbooster settings in it .........this is supported by the play music afaik
mpschahal16 said:
Side load snapdragon equalizer. ...https://forum.xda-developers.com/as.../sideload-snapdragon-equalizer-t3826848/page2
Use fxbooster settings in it .........this is supported by the play music afaik
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
When i will get time i will try to boost sound at kernel level.......
Or just use viper4android or something like that, the dolby atmos, or other sound mods are also available. They work systemwide. I haven't tested and don't know any will work or not. Report here if someone tries.
Poweramp Hi-Res Output will only work if Viper4FX is not installed. With Viper the audio is capped at 16 bit, uninstall it and experience 24 bit audio. It does make a huge difference for high quality music files (lossless .FLAC). Happy with my Shure SE 215 now.
Viper ,Dolby are capped only upto 16bit 48khz ..,..
Poweramp uses its own build DSP to trigger 24bit 384khz of sd636 built in DAC bypassing Nxp smart amp.....
Poweramp is dope......none can match its sound quality.....
I hope that Nxp smart amp support 24bit 384khz audio seraching a way to implement it
Works amazingly man. Now I can finally retire my Mi A1.
Works nice...but after enabling.... I can't control it's volume. Even with system media volume to zero....songs play at maximum sound.
Hello,
i bought a LG V30 a few days ago, because i want to use it as DAC or DAC/AMP.
Before i used an Axon 7 with Viper4Android, a headphone amp (Schiit Vali2) and a custom VDC file for Viper4Android with these settings.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/v999jbft39506ma/Sennheiser HD800.pdf?dl=0
It made a huge difference to use my headphone (Sennheiser HD800) with or without these parametric equalizer settings.
Perhabs it is useful for you, here a link with many different eq settings. Think this can improve sound quality of many headphones or inears.
https://www.reddit.com/r/oratory1990/wiki/index/list_of_presets
1. Most important part, i want the best possible sound quality. Ainur Sauron, Ainur Narsil, Whiskeyomega Soundmods, https://forum.xda-developers.com/lg-v30/themes/magisk-bring-24-bit-output-aosp-pie-t3900863 .....
Dont know, because im new with this phone...
2. I need a parametric equalizer with 10 bands. Viper4Android use VDC files, but i read somewhere that Viper4Android only can handle 48000. And i wanna use the full potential from this Quad DAC.
It is an option for me to use USB Audio Player Pro and if i am right, it is possible to use inbuild parametric eq with only 6 bands.
3. If best sound quality is only with stock roms possible, its ok for me. But if it makes no difference i prefer custom roms. My device is H930, do you have any recommendations?
Hope someone can help me to squeeze the best audio quality from these wonderful device.
Thank you
Adriano
I don't think you can use viper4android with the DAC because viper4android will resample the audio back down to 16 bit @ 48khz. Thus it's pointless to use the DAC + v4a at the same time. Someone correct me if I'm wrong.
Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk
Hi
1.) best possible sound quality - thus you want as little processing as possible (audiophile paradigm) - go with AINUR NARSIL
2.) viper4android is outdated, closed source and is supposed to offer worse quality vs. JamesDSP, both are limited to 48 kHz though
https://github.com/james34602/JamesDSPManager
https://forum.xda-developers.com/android/apps-games/app-reformed-dsp-manager-t3607970
So if you want to go that route, you'll limit yourself to 48 kHz and 16 bit.
according to https://github.com/jaakkopasanen/AutoEq
USB Audio Player PRO
USB Audio Player PRO is an Android app with improved USB audio drivers for usage with USB DACs. USB Audio Player PRO is not system-wide but works with local files and many streaming services though not with Spotify. USB Audio Player has Toneboosters Morphit plugin which has parametric equalizer. This app and the plugin are not free.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
UAPP with the Morphit plugin (additional purchase) would be the (best?) way to go to retain best possible quality with a parametric equalizer.
Someone needs to try that though and e.g. toggle the quad / SABRE DAC and see how well it works with UAPP and the MorphIt plugin
3.) nope, in fact there's more processing on LG Stock ROMs and thus it sounds warmer and different than the less processed and colder output on AOSP-based ROMs - thus the quality on AOSP-based ROMs should be closer to source (less processing = "better", less additional artifacts and distortions)
LG Stock ROMs are a must though if you're dependent on voLTE or voWiFi
Hope that helps