Hey guys!
So if you don't already know, the Neutron player for phones is superb ($6). It'll transform your phone into a much more respectable device. In the case of the HTC One M8, it becomes a real source with some limitations.
Here's the settings I like for the player, and think are best. (I play flac files) These are only the settings that pertain to quality.
Equalizer - off
Tempo & Pitch - off
Replay gain - off
64bit processing - ON
Rumble Filter - On (not sure it matters)
Resampling - AUDIOPHILE
Automatic Gain Protection - off
Audio Hardware -
Hardware Latency - 196 (sometihng a bit lower than stock)
Software Latency - 21 (odd number)
Dither - ON
Hardware GAIN - On
Generic Driver - OFF
The most important part: I go into the preamp section under the tab for sliders, and I turn the preamp all the way down. Next I turn up the hardware slider for gain to 100%, and then use the preamp to adjust for volume. On my phone after -10db or so you get clipping artifacts, but directly plugged into my amp without an attenuator inbetween, it works fine and gets loud enough. If you had a nice buffer that'd probably work too, and just set the preamp at like -13db or so to avoid any possible artifacts. Even with a couple artifacts the pumped output voltage is key, since you're only getting a little over 1v.
HTC One M8 Specifics, For Surprising Quality.
Aside from the above there's one other conditioner that makes it sound pretty damn good. That's having the AC power adapter plugged in. Oh but it gets better, plug it into a power filter such as the Felix, and it gets even better. The phone gets "slam" and other riveting things to listen to when it is plugged into the AC adapter. It'll retain that for a bit, but the moment the phones battery starts to decline, so does the music it seems. I'm thinking a customer PSU could be wise, but for right now I'm not getting real uppity about it.
I've heard other phones with Wolfsen DAC's are good. But I know they don't hold a candle to the M8 version (I don't have H&K or Beats, both are BS except for headphones). I think you'll be shocked, if you try this!
So if you don't already know, the Neutron player for phones is superb ($6). It'll transform your phone into a much more respectable device. In the case of the HTC One M8, it becomes a real source with some limitations.
Here's the settings I like for the player, and think are best. (I play flac files) These are only the settings that pertain to quality.
Equalizer - off
Tempo & Pitch - off
Replay gain - off
64bit processing - ON
Rumble Filter - On (not sure it matters)
Resampling - AUDIOPHILE
Automatic Gain Protection - off
Audio Hardware -
Hardware Latency - 196 (sometihng a bit lower than stock)
Software Latency - 21 (odd number)
Dither - ON
Hardware GAIN - On
Generic Driver - OFF
The most important part: I go into the preamp section under the tab for sliders, and I turn the preamp all the way down. Next I turn up the hardware slider for gain to 100%, and then use the preamp to adjust for volume. On my phone after -10db or so you get clipping artifacts, but directly plugged into my amp without an attenuator inbetween, it works fine and gets loud enough. If you had a nice buffer that'd probably work too, and just set the preamp at like -13db or so to avoid any possible artifacts. Even with a couple artifacts the pumped output voltage is key, since you're only getting a little over 1v.
HTC One M8 Specifics, For Surprising Quality.
Aside from the above there's one other conditioner that makes it sound pretty damn good. That's having the AC power adapter plugged in. Oh but it gets better, plug it into a power filter such as the Felix, and it gets even better. The phone gets "slam" and other riveting things to listen to when it is plugged into the AC adapter. It'll retain that for a bit, but the moment the phones battery starts to decline, so does the music it seems. I'm thinking a customer PSU could be wise, but for right now I'm not getting real uppity about it.
I've heard other phones with Wolfsen DAC's are good. But I know they don't hold a candle to the M8 version (I don't have H&K or Beats, both are BS except for headphones). I think you'll be shocked, if you try this!