I've been using my Cowon S9 since about 2008. The volume button wasn't responding and now the spring in the on/off switch snapped and it's just not working. To be fair, this thing was well taken care of and used almost daily for 8 years so that's pretty amazing and more than I can say for most consumer electronics these days.
I spend a lot of time (happily) taking care of my media file music collection, ripping CDs and tagging them etc so I know my fair share about music files. What I'm wondering is whether the player itself even matters much anymore when compared to the quality of the headphones or the encoding of the music.
What do I want on this player?
- FLAC and WAV support (there is a reason for the WAV, it's not just stubborn audiophileness)
- gapless support
- would love if it had 24-bit audio support
- I'd love a nice touch screen because I really make sure my albums have good, high res artwork. I don't mind buttons for controls, in fact I think I might prefer them if the UI was really crap like it was on my Cowon.
- SD storage would be wonderful, if possible.
- I don't need any EQ, I want the files playing as encoded. No effects, or normalisers either. Just take my high quality file and play it straight, please.
- No shuffle functions. Can't stand them. I listen to one album at a time, I hate interrupting an album with some other random song from my collection.
- No radio, no games, nothing else. I just need to visually flip through my music and see the artwork nicely and 'put on a record' like I do at home.
- I'd love it if this was under 100€.
I don't need the lectures, please, about how FLAC files are pointless. How I'll never hear the difference while out and about anyway. I have a very good system for listening to music at home and I just want to be able to copy from there to this device and go on my way.
Anyone have any recommendations? I've even played with the idea of using my last phone (a Lumia 925), uninstalling all the apps and just running it as a music player with Win10's Groove app which is pretty great but I don't know if there would be a problem with that, qualitywise?
Thanks!
(Just in case, the reason I'm considering my previous phone is because Windows10 supports FLAC and Groove isn't a bad media player)
You can test the phone yourself. I'm not sure why you're asking about that?? There is also a preview of foobar2000 which runs on windows mobile as well.
You can use new foobar mobile on Windows 10. Good option.
You can test the phone yourself. I'm not sure why you're asking about that?? There is also a preview of foobar2000 which runs on windows mobile as well.
Cause I'm an idiot, obviously.
Several reasons...
- audio hardware specs related to reproducing music well on a phone
- possibility of built in compression algorithms on phone media sofware affecting any music files being played by the phone
- this particular phone's inability to handle certain frequencies or bitrates
What I need to know is what makes one media player $700 and another 100. It can't just be 24-bit audio playback, good UI, and storage space can it? There must be tech audio specs I don't know about that make a difference but those may only make a difference to people who really like to play with EQ on their DAPs and not for someone who listens to straight EQ audio files like me.
Didn't think it possible at that price but:
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=&sku=1100327&gclid=CNeDvun59cwCFUEfhgodWDICVA&Q=&ap=y&m=Y&c3api=1876%2C92051678762%2C&is=REG&A=details
- audio hardware specs related to reproducing music well on a phone
- possibility of built in compression algorithms on phone media sofware affecting any music files being played by the phone
- this particular phone's inability to handle certain frequencies or bitrates
So you don't trust your own ears and want to be told it's not good enough?
So you don't trust your own ears and want to be told it's not good enough?
No, I'm trying to learn from people who might know more than me. Is there a particular reason you're so abrassive or does my ignorance just offend you so much that you have take a sarcastic tone with me? This IS, if I'm not mistaken, an audio tech forum, it's not like I'm asking this on a cooking forum where my question would be ridiculously misplaced.
- audio hardware specs related to reproducing music well on a phone
Bad quality (any audible defects) should be the exception. Its cheap and easy to build a DAC & headphone amp that's better than human hearing.
- possibility of built in compression algorithms on phone media sofware affecting any music files being played by the phone
The file only gets
decompressed at playback time.
- this particular phone's inability to handle certain frequencies or bitrates
Just about any device should "handle" any standard sample rate or bit depth. But, you might have to do some deep research to find out if the data is being resampled. Since DACs only work at one bit-depth, the bit-depth is
always going to be re-sampled (re-scaled) if it doesn't already match the hardware.
Several reasons...
- audio hardware specs related to reproducing music well on a phone
- possibility of built in compression algorithms on phone media sofware affecting any music files being played by the phone
- this particular phone's inability to handle certain frequencies or bitrates
None of those are likely to be a problem (and 2+3 are virtually unprecedented now that phones have the capabilities of general purpose PCs).
What I need to know is what makes one media player $700 and another 100.
The number of units sold is the main difference. Most of the cost of expensive players is the cost of designing them and their software. This is also why expensive devices tend to have terrible software too.
It can't just be 24-bit audio playback, good UI, and storage space can it? There must be tech audio specs I don't know about that make a difference but those may only make a difference to people who really like to play with EQ on their DAPs and not for someone who listens to straight EQ audio files like me.
No its just economics. If you want good hardware and good software you have to sell a lot of units. Audio players are very simple devices by modern standards. The marginal costs of making more are very low, so its really just about paying off development costs.
No its just economics. If you want good hardware and good software you have to sell a lot of units. Audio players are very simple devices by modern standards. The marginal costs of making more are very low, so its really just about paying off development costs.
+1 to that.
Unless somebody messes stuff up (which you'd be able to hear), unpacking and playing a digital audio file is a solved problem these days.
If you're looking for a no-nonsense audio player as a standalone device, with a color LCD and at a reasonable price, I'd look at the Cowon X9 or Fiio M3 (both 8GB only, but support MicroSD cards). I've no experience with either, being an Apple user.
But if you already have a smartphone lying around and don't mind the size (that's my reason for still using a standalone iPod Nano), just use that instead.
Cheers
Kaspar
I second the suggestion for a FiiO M3. It´s doesn´t have a touchscreen though. And you have to accept that there are firmware problems. I own 3 dedicated FiiO players and they continued / continue to mature long after sales started. The FiiO M3 has been released half a year ago and the firmware still isn't finished. To my knowledge, it cannot even play gapless yet.
But: you would have all you want would you use a smartphone. Their audio quality usually is more than good and much better than you'd need, furthermore, they are far more flexible than a dedicated audio player. Changing supported codecs, for example? No problem. The only advantage my 3 FiiOs have - aside from a purely speculative sound improvement that doesn't exist - is their possible output voltage. You can drive low sensitivity headphones like the Sennheiser HD-600 without any problem. Not practical for a portable player, of course.
But there are many more disadvantages. Codec changes are close to impossible, their EQ is inflexible (in case you decide to use it after all) and because of their high output voltage they drain their battery pretty fast. Oh, I forgot: no touchscreen and a crappy low-res display.
I want to sell my FiiOs, wanna buy one? ;)
The FiiO M3 has been released half a year ago and the firmware still isn't finished. To my knowledge, it cannot even play gapless yet.
That will never happen because the hardware is too weak to support it.
http://www.head-fi.org/t/780622/fiio-m3-ultra-portable-8g-64g-2-0-320-240-tft-50mw-flac-ape-aiff-in-line-control-ogg-mp3-aac-wma-24-hours-hifi-earbuds/780#post_12132263
Gapless support doesn't actually require anything from the hardware beyond basic decoding, so you certainly could do it on any SOC capable of software decoding mp3. You basically just throw away some samples after decoding.
Probably the issue is that those budget SOCs only have a tiny bit of RAM and come with more or less complete firmware to squeeze into it, so if the SOC you bought doesn't have a given feature, it'd be pretty complex to add it, if a company like fiio even gets access to it.
First of all,
@DVDdoug @saratoga @kpflugshaupt @Cavaille @Apesbrain, thank you for your explanations. Learning things about DAPs I didn't know before.
Now... what I'm getting from you all is that the X1 is perfectly fine (I don't need a touch screen) but that the phone is fine for what I want as well. I ran around yesterday with my Lumia 925 and three albums and the Cowon S9 I have that still works most of the time, spending half the day on each listening to the same albums. The biggest difference (apart from the annoyingly finicky capacitive screen of the S9) is the volume output of the Lumia. At it's peak 30, it is too low for several city environments. And I use earbuds. So that's one thing that stands out. Obviously the screen of the Lumia is better, looks nicer and the interface of Groove is great. Foobar has more options but looks awful, to be fair it's a very rough beta. As far as the S9 goes, I don't love Cowon's UI but it's the closest thing to File Explorer folder browsing mixed with something nicer to look at like JRiver Media Center that I run on my desktop.
Questions:
1. Is it the DAP or the mobile phone that is the SOC? Or both?
2. So, for someone listening the way I listen is it really true that I won't get any benefit from a DAP as far as the quality of the music goes? Apart from there being a serious audio level difference on both devices, that is.
I've mentioned this elsewhere and there appears to be no solution but one thing that drives me a bit bonkers about the X1 is the UI design choice to display the album artwork cropped when a record is playing.
Bad quality (any audible defects) should be the exception.
High output impedance or wrong chosen output capacitors are not rarity. And they easily can lead to f***ed up frequency response with headphones.
Now... what I'm getting from you all is that the X1 is perfectly fine (I don't need a touch screen) but that the phone is fine for what I want as well. I ran around yesterday with my Lumia 925 and three albums and the Cowon S9 I have that still works most of the time, spending half the day on each listening to the same albums. The biggest difference (apart from the annoyingly finicky capacitive screen of the S9) is the volume output of the Lumia. At it's peak 30, it is too low for several city environments. And I use earbuds. So that's one thing that stands out. Obviously the screen of the Lumia is better, looks nicer and the interface of Groove is great. Foobar has more options but looks awful, to be fair it's a very rough beta. As far as the S9 goes, I don't love Cowon's UI but it's the closest thing to File Explorer folder browsing mixed with something nicer to look at like JRiver Media Center that I run on my desktop.
The main limitation of most phones is that you get a few hundred millivolts output, whereas high end devices are usually more like 1-2 volts. This is usually more enough for any sort of earbud though, so it might be worth checking if your phone has a volume limit applied in software. IIRC this was common on my phones sold in Europe, and I see people complaining that the Lumias are much quieter than other phones on Google. Perhaps this can be fixed/hacked around.
1. Is it the DAP or the mobile phone that is the SOC? Or both?
SOC = System On Chip. It is the combination of the processor, chipset, graphics card and sometimes DAC onto a single chip for mobile devices.
2. So, for someone listening the way I listen is it really true that I won't get any benefit from a DAP as far as the quality of the music goes? Apart from there being a serious audio level difference on both devices, that is.
Volume is the main difference.
Bad quality (any audible defects) should be the exception.
High output impedance or wrong chosen output capacitors are not rarity. And they easily can lead to f***ed up frequency response with headphones.
These are very rare on phones, much more so than dedicated audio devices. Remember some of the first widely mass produced devices with ultra low output impedance were integrated DACs on SOCs for iPods and Sansa Clips. These devices had low output impedance because they were (often) directly coupled (no cap at all) to an amp integrated into the same silicon as the processor. These designs were used in smartphone chipsets from qualcomm and samsung from the start, and only latter started showing up in more expensive devices. For this reason, its actually quite rare to find high output impedance mobile devices, at least from mainstream manufacturers.
I've been looking at review after review of the Fiio X1, watching videos and looking at photos over and over again and I just can't get over the fact that you don't see the full artwork on the X1 despite how fantastic it is as a player. I know that sounds stupid but that's just how it is. I do like that it doesn't have a touch screen because the Cowon's is so difficult to use that you often wish you had buttons to control the menu.
I'd also like to see if there's anything out there with USB3.0. Copying FLAC files can take a while if the USB port is really slow like on the Cowon S9.
If anyone has ANY other recommendations I'd love to hear them. I know USB3.0 probably pushes any DAP out of my price range.
I've been looking at review after review of the Fiio X1, watching videos and looking at photos over and over again and I just can't get over the fact that you don't see the full artwork on the X1 despite how fantastic it is as a player. I know that sounds stupid but that's just how it is. I do like that it doesn't have a touch screen because the Cowon's is so difficult to use that you often wish you had buttons to control the menu.
I'd also like to see if there's anything out there with USB3.0. Copying FLAC files can take a while if the USB port is really slow like on the Cowon S9.
If anyone has ANY other recommendations I'd love to hear them. I know USB3.0 probably pushes any DAP out of my price range.
You said ANY so here we go; Sansa Clip+ was perfectly fine, tiny little player with expandable storage, rockboxed it too. After this I got fed up of having a phone and a DAP so gave my Xperia Z3 Mini a go with Poweramp....at this point I decided I didn't need a DAP. The volume doesn't go high on this phone although there maybe some cap on it. Now have a Galaxy S6 and still can't tell a difference. The volume goes much higher on this too. I've tried FLAC and MP3 (usually LAME -V 2) and cannot tell the difference. I listen with Westone UM Pro 3 IEMs if you're interested.
So I'd say they're all much of a muchness. You do not need to spend money to get a good player, in all likelihood your phone is fine. If you need more volume just get a headphone amp or similar.
The main limitation of most phones is that you get a few hundred millivolts output, whereas high end devices are usually more like 1-2 volts. This is usually more enough for any sort of earbud though, so it might be worth checking if your phone has a volume limit applied in software. IIRC this was common on my phones sold in Europe, and I see people complaining that the Lumias are much quieter than other phones on Google. Perhaps this can be fixed/hacked around.
Just wanted to say... I just found (ashamed I had no idea this existed) a full EQ on my Windows Phone 10 settings. It's currently set in the middle across the board. Can I just raise all those to gain the audio or am I talking apples and oranges here? And if that IS all it takes to get higher levels out of this as a player, how do I know high I can go without a) adversely affecting/distorting the audio or b) harming my IEMs in some way?
...thank you for your great, thorough info by the way.
You said ANY so here we go; Sansa Clip+ was perfectly fine, tiny little player with expandable storage, rockboxed it too...
Ok, I know I said "any" but I meant within the range of things I was looking for and a Clip is just way too simple of a screen for me. Also I have no idea what rockboxing is.
The main limitation of most phones is that you get a few hundred millivolts output, whereas high end devices are usually more like 1-2 volts. This is usually more enough for any sort of earbud though, so it might be worth checking if your phone has a volume limit applied in software. IIRC this was common on my phones sold in Europe, and I see people complaining that the Lumias are much quieter than other phones on Google. Perhaps this can be fixed/hacked around.
Just wanted to say... I just found (ashamed I had no idea this existed) a full EQ on my Windows Phone 10 settings. It's currently set in the middle across the board. Can I just raise all those to gain the audio or am I talking apples and oranges here? And if that IS all it takes to get higher levels out of this as a player, how do I know high I can go without a) adversely affecting/distorting the audio or b) harming my IEMs in some way?
Adding digital gain will just cause distortion. The low output volume on your device can probably be fixed in software (especially if its just a volume cap), but it'll be by adjusting the amplifier gains in your sound driver. You can google and see if someone has figured out how to do that on Windows phone, otherwise you are out of luck.
You said ANY so here we go; Sansa Clip+ was perfectly fine, tiny little player with expandable storage, rockboxed it too...
Ok, I know I said "any" but I meant within the range of things I was looking for and a Clip is just way too simple of a screen for me. Also I have no idea what rockboxing is.
Install an open source firmware I work on.
The low output volume on your device can probably be fixed in software (especially if its just a volume cap), but it'll be by adjusting the amplifier gains in your sound driver. You can google and see if someone has figured out how to do that on Windows phone, otherwise you are out of luck....Install an open source firmware I work on.
1. Ok, turns out you're right, there are certain phones that in Europe have a volume ceiling. I can flash another version of the phone's ROM from another country, and I could even use an online tool I know to find one that would retain my signal antennas, but I have no idea how I'd know which country to pick. Not many people talking about this online.
2. Ok, so gain isn't the same as proper output at correct levels. Thought not.
3. So, going by what you said before about where phones and media players are today, I should just pick anything I can afford that looks and sounds the way I wants and hits the specs I need and forget about whether it's considered a fantastic audio device by review sites, etc because these things are all performing similarly today?
1. Ok, turns out you're right, there are certain phones that in Europe have a volume ceiling. I can flash another version of the phone's ROM from another country, and I could even use an online tool I know to find one that would retain my signal antennas, but I have no idea how I'd know which country to pick. Not many people talking about this online.
Is low volume actually a problem for you? If it is, buying headphones with higher sensitivity is also an option.
Is low volume actually a problem for you? If it is, buying headphones with higher sensitivity is also an option.
I've currently got a pair of SoundMagic E10 (http://www.soundmagic.com.cn/en/products/Details51c33p34.html). Yes, through this phone, the music is low at certain normal city noise. Not normally low, less than normal.
Is low volume actually a problem for you? If it is, buying headphones with higher sensitivity is also an option.
I've currently got a pair of SoundMagic E10 (http://www.soundmagic.com.cn/en/products/Details51c33p34.html). Yes, through this phone, the music is low at certain normal city noise. Not normally low, less than normal.
100dB/mW and 16 Ohms is 118.0 dB/V, so unless the volume cap on your phone is extraordinarily low, I would not expect there to be a problem. Typically the EU volume limit will be something like 100-150 mV, giving you about 100 dB maximum output.
100dB/mW and 16 Ohms is 118.0 dB/V, so unless the volume cap on your phone is extraordinarily low, I would not expect there to be a problem. Typically the EU volume limit will be something like 100-150 mV, giving you about 100 dB maximum output.
From GSM Arena:
Nokia Lumia 925 (headphones attached)
Frequency response +0.44, -0.13
Noise level -82.5
Dynamic range 82.6
THD 0.011
IMD + Noise 0.469
Stereo crosstalk -53.8
And phonearena puts the heaphone output volts at 0.43
That is the typical half volt output, but in the EU you'll be about 10 dB less.
That is the typical half volt output, but in the EU you'll be about 10 dB less.
Ok, well I don't know, it just seems low. I'm not adept enough with audio hardware specs to explain why or how but I do know audio recording and editing and it just does. And I don't quite like the idea of having to walk around with the phone AND an amp jiggling around in my bag, pocket, etc.
I wanted to pitch in. I have very similar needs to yours, including the technicallypointless FLAC. I have a Fiio X3II, as well as an XI that I got from a contest. I am completely in love with their products which are basically transparent and dirt cheap. I haven't had any issues with artwork, but it's not a big deal to me so I may not have noticed them. I prefer my X3 for a bunch of small reasons but I wouldn't be annoyed if I was stuck with the X1 for the rest of my life. They just released a firmware update for the X3 with replaygain and a bunch of other stuff which should be coming to the X1 in a few weeks.
If I sound like a fanboy it's because I absolutely am. I have 2 players and 5 headphone amps from Fiio, and I couldn't be happier. They really are all the audio device you could need (in terms of headphones). I had a Sansa Clip with rockbox and that was good, but the stuff Fiio makes is really phenominal. They also have very good customer service for a Chinese company, and better than many western companies I have dealt with.
These are very rare on phones, much more so than dedicated audio devices. Remember some of the first widely mass produced devices with ultra low output impedance were integrated DACs on SOCs for iPods and Sansa Clips. These devices had low output impedance because they were (often) directly coupled (no cap at all) to an amp integrated into the same silicon as the processor. These designs were used in smartphone chipsets from qualcomm and samsung from the start, and only latter started showing up in more expensive devices. For this reason, its actually quite rare to find high output impedance mobile devices, at least from mainstream manufacturers.
Good to know.
Does there exists any site with objective measurements of headphone out for modern smartphones? I know few sites with some amount of measurements for DAPs/soundcards/amplifiers, but none for phones.
These are very rare on phones, much more so than dedicated audio devices. Remember some of the first widely mass produced devices with ultra low output impedance were integrated DACs on SOCs for iPods and Sansa Clips. These devices had low output impedance because they were (often) directly coupled (no cap at all) to an amp integrated into the same silicon as the processor. These designs were used in smartphone chipsets from qualcomm and samsung from the start, and only latter started showing up in more expensive devices. For this reason, its actually quite rare to find high output impedance mobile devices, at least from mainstream manufacturers.
Good to know.
Does there exists any site with objective measurements of headphone out for modern smartphones? I know few sites with some amount of measurements for DAPs/soundcards/amplifiers, but none for phones.
Unfortunately finding reliable and complete measurements for H-Fi equipment is hard enough. I would be very surprised if you can find them for phones.
One particularly terrible example I saw recently is Bose. They just don't list any specs for their headphones (or at least the two pairs that I looked up). Yet another reason not to buy from Bose...
Does there exists any site with objective measurements of headphone out for modern smartphones? I know few sites with some amount of measurements for DAPs/soundcards/amplifiers, but none for phones.
GSM Arena does RMAA under 16 ohm load for most of their reviews:
http://www.gsmarena.com/samsung_galaxy_s7-review-1408p7.php
Almost everything they review is more or less 16 bit limited though.
I stand corrected, that's not bad as a baseline. Still doesn't have max current, voltage and output impedance, but their audience probably doesn't give a toss.
I stand corrected, that's not bad as a baseline. Still doesn't have max current, voltage and output impedance, but their audience probably doesn't give a toss.
It wouldn't be super interesting since all Qualcomm devices will be alike, and all are low impedance. maximum voltage would be nice to know, but it varies from region to region due to regulation.
Hi,
I know neither the conditions you are listening in nor if the maximum volume of the Lumia is lower than on my iPhone, but perhaps it's worthwhile improving the sealing of you earphones to keep the noise out. I went down this route this because I did not want to have the music compete with the surrounding sounds by cranking up the volume to damaging levels. My solution was to get in-ears with a set of sleeves that I could experiment with. Now I am happily listening to music while on the train or on a plane; it's not that everything is blocked, but enough. Your budget might allow getting custom-fit sleeves for your existing earbuds to have a perfect sealing.
http://www.phonearena.com/phones/HTC-One-M8_id8242/benchmarks
Type in the "Add phone" textbox to see more voltage comparison.
Hi, I know neither the conditions you are listening in nor if the maximum volume of the Lumia is lower than on my iPhone, but perhaps it's worthwhile improving the sealing of you earphones to keep the noise out. I went down this route this because I did not want to have the music compete with the surrounding sounds by cranking up the volume to damaging levels. My solution was to get in-ears with a set of sleeves that I could experiment with. Now I am happily listening to music while on the train or on a plane; it's not that everything is blocked, but enough. Your budget might allow getting custom-fit sleeves for your existing earbuds to have a perfect sealing.
My earbuds do have silicon sealing sleeves already. I just did a test to make sure I wasn't nuts. I played a song from the exact same album on my Cowon and on the Lumia 925. There is no question that both at full volume are different noticeably. The phone is lower. Now what I'm wondering, a bit like what you said, is whether I shouldn't just use this as a way of making sure I don't blow my ears out. Maybe I don't need it going so high. I was just in situations last week where I was even on a mild traffic street and felt the need to turn it up higher. And I'm pretty sure that I'm able to objectively state that that isn't just me having bad hearing. I don't know, I keep looking at other players to see if I find something I like which can then check for review on.
through this phone, the music is low at certain normal city noise.
A method of avoiding this problem is to get some noise cancelling headphones.
By cutting out much of the background distraction you can actually listen to audio satisfactorily at a lower level. Better for your long term hearing too.
You could buy a l;ouder amplifier or get more efficient or isolated ordinary headphones. But it's going make you deaf sooner or later. City street backround, trains, planes etc can have 85 -90 dB. Get 20 dB above that and it really is danger territory with regular use.
oh like others have said already - all you need is a phone.
A method of avoiding this problem is to get some noise cancelling headphones.
I've got noise cancelling IEMs. But anyway, though you're right about hearing damage, I've confirmed that there is an EU regulation on the volume limits of certain phones (which is a good thing, to me) and so I'm not nuts when I say that this phone sound lower. It clearly is lower. I'm playing with an old Android I have that could be fine if it only had to run a music app. But I'm struggling to find one that lets me look through folders the way I do on my desktop using JRiver. For ease of use, the app I use has got to have the same library maintenance as my library on my desktop otherwise I'm organising things twice.
Windows phone is a bit difficult in that sense. There are a lot of good apps for android (and a lot more of not so good ones), but my main reason for not going for a windows phone was that I wasn't able to find a full featured music and/or video app. After I attempted to code for the windows phone platform myself, I understood why <_<
On android, as long as you don't want "exotic" things like ReplayGain or wide codec support, the free Sony Music app (formerly Walkman) seems like a good choice. It also has folder navigation. I'm currently using GoneMAD though, mostly for ReplayGain and format support. It has its issues, but is worth its money overall.
Windows phone is a bit difficult in that sense. There are a lot of good apps for android (and a lot more of not so good ones), but my main reason for not going for a windows phone was that I wasn't able to find a full featured music and/or video app. After I attempted to code for the windows phone platform myself, I understood why <_<
On android, as long as you don't want "exotic" things like ReplayGain or wide codec support, the free Sony Music app (formerly Walkman) seems like a good choice. It also has folder navigation. I'm currently using GoneMAD though, mostly for ReplayGain and format support. It has its issues, but is worth its money overall.
Actually, I'm really torn between sticking with my last Windows Phone (Lumia 925) or going with an even older Android that hasn't done anything in over 3 years (HTC Glacier, aka "myTouch 4G"). Because sure, there are a few good apps on Android but Windows Phone has this app called Core that is really fantastic.
I think the HTC only allows up to 32GB microSD cards but I don't know what class of card it can read up to (how would I find that out?) and I have concerns about the battery life.
The Lumia on the other hand is physically the nicest designed phone I've ever owned. Really easy to walk around with but with no removable storage, and being forced to keep the 2-3GB of system data on the 16GB total, it leaves about 9-10 even with minimal apps installed. Which is fine, it's enough, I just have to change the music more often.
Well, that Core app seems to at least have folders listing and flac support. In any case, you can give GoneMAD player a try, it has a 14 day trial. That or as I said, the Sony Music app - seems to be about the same feature-wise as Core. There should be a thread on xda-dev forums that has the .apk modified to run on any phone (it usually needs stuff from Sony's modified android to run)
I'll try the Sony app. I'll have to look for that apk. I've been on xda for years but not been in a long time having had Windows Phone for the past 3. GoneMAD I actually like, but I DO wish the artwork filled the screen side to side like in other apps. It's just that little bit smaller than it could be and the dev said I should minimise the amount of metadata tags that show up on the screen so the artwork gets bigger. See, I don't see why the Fiio X1 can't do that.
For other folder-driven apps you should look at MyPlayer++ and HikiPlayer. The MyPlayer++ one, also available on xda, is fantastic but has trouble reading some of my artwork which is the only thing stopping me from going with it. Waiting for word from the dev of that one about that issue. There's no scan or refresh feature.
That or as I said, the Sony Music app...There should be a thread on xda-dev forums that has the .apk modified to run on any phone (it usually needs stuff from Sony's modified android to run)
Do you have any idea where that thread might be? I'm having trouble figuring out which it might be. Thanks!
It's in the Sony cross-device dev section: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2728110
Thanks. Ok, that's the one I saw.
I have this weird artwork issue now where some of my art doesn't show up for some albums. Weird because I get them all and always get the same type of file and res. I want to try this Sony one to see if I get any trouble.
It's in the Sony cross-device dev section: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2728110
That doesn't want to install for me at all. But thanks anyway. :)
Did you read the part about having to sign and/or push it to system manually for non-Sony devices?
Did you read the part about having to sign and/or push it to system manually for non-Sony devices?
Yes, but all I get is "unfortunately Music has stopped working" and a crash.
Hmm weird, last time I tried it worked. Oh well.
Hmm weird, last time I tried it worked. Oh well.
Yeah, thanks anyway. Guys from that thread are trying to figure out why it's not working for me.