A lot of time has passed since the previous article on setting up the PowerAmp player for Android was released. The build number changed to 893. A 64-bit version is now available. The program has undergone various improvements and optimizations. In addition, Android 9 on my smartphone has brought improvements in wireless audio transmission.
Before making the settings, plug in the headphones and set the volume to minimum. Likewise with disconnected headphones. Caution doesn't hurt.
I will demonstrate the settings optimal for smartphones Sony
Xperia XZ1 / XZ1 Compact / XZ2 / XZ2 Compact / XZ2 Premium / XZ3 / Xperia 1/5
and similar ones. I give explanations why certain settings are selected, so if
you have another smartphone, you can decide what settings you need to make in
your case.
Click on the key with three horizontal lines in the lower right corner of the screen and click Settings.
Click on Audio.
Compared to version 803, in 893 the Audio Info item appeared duplicating the information previously available on the music playback screen by clicking on the line above the lower row of buttons.
First, let's set up the ReplayGain scanner.
By the way, round knobs are inconvenient in my opinion.
Simplified, the principle of the scanner is as follows: to maximize the volume
level without distortion or loss. This technology is relevant for lossy files
i.e. in lossy compression formats like MP3, AAC, OGG Vorbis, OPUS.
In the ReplayGain item, select ApplyGain / prevent clipping
according to Peak i.e. we suggest that the player maximize the volume, but
without bringing it to clipping (distortion). In the field Source set Album or
Track i.e. equalization of volume within an album or each track.
RG Preamp: sets the value in decibels how much to increase
the volume of tracks that have a ReplayGain value in the tags. The value is
selected experimentally, but I recommend setting it as in the illustration
(7.0dB). This is a compromise setting. If sound distortion appears, you can
leave it at 0 dB.
Preamp for songs without RG info is best left at zero. A
value in decibels how much to increase the volume of tracks that do not have a
ReplayGain value in their tags.
We leave the menu. We go to the next item Resampler
(Resampler).
Change the type of resampler to SoX Resampler.
This resampler is familiar to those who have used Foobar2000 for PC, It has high quality.
Resampler Cutoff Frequency Ratio - set to 97.0%.
I got the impression that the PowerAmp developer had
optimized the resampler settings, so I changed the cutoff recommendations in
favor of a higher value.
Dither - Leave None. Dithering is needed only if you are trying to play a music with a bit depth of 24 bit, PowerAmp indicates at the bottom of the window the bit depth of music if the bit depth differs from the standard 16 bit for CDs and your smartphone supports output only in 16 bit format. In other cases, activating this option will only worsen the sound. If you only listen to 16-bit music (and this is the majority, all mp3, aac and other files), then you should also disable dithering. Dithering is not needed for upsampling, i.e. to play a 16bit 44.1 kHz mp3 file on a smartphone that supports 16bit 48kHz you don't need dithering! All you need is a resampler, in this case SoX. At the same time, music in 16bit can be played without any dithering on 24bit and 32bit chipsets.
Now exit the menu and click on the Output item. We are
offered a choice of three main schemes for sound output (if there are fewer
schemes, then your smartphone does not support them). New assemblies have added
a Chromecast Output item - this item is relevant only for those who plan to
digitally stream music to devices that support this technology. I am not considering
this technology in this article.
How to immediately understand which of the sound outputs is
active? Quite simply, Active appears on the right. The screenshot below shows
that Hi-Res Output is active.
Let's analyze the sound outputs (or audio outputs) point by
point:
AudioTrack Output (Java based) is something that users put
up with throughout the early versions of Android. It is highly discouraged to
use such sound output. The sound is controlled by Java software with huge
latencies.
OpenSL ES Output (Native optimized) - OpenSL ES accelerated
audio output. What works on most smartphones, this output is active by default
in the player. Why is it so good? It is optimized for hardware and low-level
software, in other words, it works with lower latencies and with acceptable
sound quality at the output.
Let's go to its settings. Click on this item.
What we see: a series of switches, the names of which speak
for themselves: for which sources to use this output. Turn on the Speaker
switch and the Other Output devices switch. For each device, you can adjust the
settings by clicking on the gear.
Let's take a look at the settings using Speaker as an
example, since the settings are similar.
The player indicates that the output parameters are 16 bit
(for all smartphones the same) and 48kHz (for most modern smartphones, maybe
44.1 for other devices).
Why did the player set the sampling rate to 48kHz, although
the parameters of a standard CD are 16 bit 44.1 kHz? Yes, because Android
selects the frequency that is native frequency for hardware and, accordingly,
for audio drivers. Therefore, indirectly, we understand that a smartphone will
best play music with a sampling rate of 48kHz and multiples of it. Which one?
Multiply x2, we get ... right! 96kHz. We multiply again - 192kHz, and again
384kHz.
The No Equ / Tone item is useful in that it turns off the
equalizer in other words, it produces sound without changes. If you do
not use the equalizer (and it is better not to use it!), I recommend turning it
on for all devices just in case. We leave the menu.
No DVC (No DVC) - must be turned off because activating this
option turns off direct volume control, introducing additional distortion in
the sound.
Hi-Res Output - high-resolution audio output available for a
number of smartphones. Unlike the previous two, this output is implemented
either by the smartphone manufacturer or by Android developers. However, there
must be support of the player. The Variant item is the name of the method. In
the case of the XZ2 compact - Direct HD.
If this item works for you, turn on the switches on all outputs.
We go to the settings of the Wired Headset / AUX by clicking on the gear. These are wired headphones, headsets, or whatever is connected to the analog headphone output, such as mini speakers or an analog amplifier.
Turn on No Equ / Tone right away if you don't use an equalizer.
No DVC (No DVC) - must be turned off because activating this
option turns off direct volume control, introducing additional distortion in
the sound.
No Duck - this item allows PowerAmp to temporarily pause in
the event of a notification alert. It is recommended to enable it because this
eliminates conflicts with system sounds.
Sample Rate. Here we choose 96kHz for devices based on chipsets other than top-end and versions of Android up to 9th. And 384kHz if you have a smartphone on top-end hardware with Android 9/10 or higher and a version of the PowerAmp player 853 or higher (for example, Xperia XZ2 Compact with the latest firmware). Pay attention to the value in the Actual field, since not all smartphones support this frequency. If the value there is lower, for example, 48kHz, then you need to set the actual value.
In our case: 16bit 384kHz and 24bit 384kHz files will be played unchanged, and all others will be played through the SoX resampler (do not forget that the resampler consumes battery power for its work), for example 24bit 192kHz and standard 16bit 44.1kHz files will be converted to 24 bit 384kHz. There will be upsampling i.e. we will get kind of high resolution sound, but only a small part of the spectrum will be involved. Why did we do this?
Remember, we saw in the settings that Android set the
sampling rate to 48kHz. We could have done the same! The frequency is native.
But! In the case of standard files, we will most likely "get" to
resampling 44.1 to 48. And in the case of high-resolution files, we most often
get 96 - 48 and 192 - 48.
Modern top-end chipsets are capable of receiving
high-resolution audio. At the same time, usually, a high sampling rate allows
you to minimize the negative effects of the digital filters in the chipset and
the resampler in the player. However, it should be borne in mind that some
smartphones may play better with other settings. If the sound does not suit
you, it makes sense to try setting the sampling rate: 192 or 96kHz.
I do not recommend setting 44.1 kHz and multiples like 88.2
/ 176.4 / 352.8kHz. You haven't forgotten what our native frequency is! 48.
Yes, there are very expensive devices with two generators installed: 44.1 and
48. There are also a small number of devices with well-implemented hardware
resampling. Relatively popular devices contain either a generator multiple of
48 (most of them) or a multiple of 44.1 kHz. Therefore, the audio driver,
having received a 24bit 44.1kHz signal, will have to do upsampling to 48. And
only the chipset manufacturer knows how this process will take place. In
theory, it's much better to entrust this process to a quality SoX resampler.
How to configure the player if the native frequency is a
multiple of 44.1? (Does not apply to Xperia XZ2, etc.)
Then if Hi-Res Output is supported, set 44.1 there. OpenSL
ES Output should automatically tune to 16bit / 44.1 kHz output.
You can see what transformations are taking place with the sound in the player on the music playback screen by clicking on the line above the bottom row of buttons or from the Audio - Audio Info settings menu.
Let's take a look at Bluetooth setup as well.
Go to the Hi-Res Output menu - Bluetooth
No DVC - should be off, No Equ / Tone - better on.
Sample Rate - set 44.1kHz for devices that receive audio in
aptX / aptX HD format (most of them) and LDAC.
96kHz for devices with LDAC support if you play
high-res music. Nevertheless, one must understand that in this case lossy
compression occurs and the frequency 96 is synthesized artificially. Pay
attention to the value in the field "Using". It makes no
sense to set values that are not supported by the devices.
The settings are relevant for Android 9 and PowerAmp 853 and
higher. Unfortunately, in Android 8 on some smartphones, for some reason, it
was impossible to output audio at 44.1 without converting to 48kHz.
The developer asks to turn off the Absolute Volume option in
the Android developers menu for the DVC function to work correctly. I will not
dissuade you from his recommendations, I will just note that on the SONY Xperia
XZ2 Compact - everything works and so well. Therefore, I did not turn off
anything. If you are not satisfied with the sound quality, follow the
instructions from the developer, but do not forget to set the minimum volume
level on the Bluetooth device and player before and after any manipulations!
Caution does not hurt! Remember, only you are responsible for your actions!
You can find out which codec is used in the smartphone's System \ Developer options menu under Networking under Bluetooth Audio Codec.
In older versions of Android, the codec can be recognized when connecting AptX / AptHD devices, a corresponding notification pops up.
It will not be superfluous to go to the Direct VolumeControl
(DVC).
Check if the Direct Volume Control (DVC) switch is on. Direct volume control allows you to use a significant portion of the dynamic range of the original recording. The fact is that in modern smartphones, the simplification of the design has led to digital volume control, "eating" part of the dynamic range of music files at intermediate volume values. Moreover, there may be several such regulators. Never mind, though, 24-bit audio output allows digital audio adjustments without audible quality loss. And the idea behind direct volume control is to minimize the number of such digital intermediaries.
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