Android and High-Resolution DAPs

Imagine how many Roon subscriptions could be sold if the the Android app would work correctly with high resolution and MQA capable DAPs? I’m a bit baffled that this isn’t a high priority. Clearly it can be done with multiple apps already out there that work just fine and take advantage of the hardware capabilities. This is, by far, my biggest disappointment with the Roon ecosystem. Any chance this will change soon?

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Do you mean actually playing through the Android device instead of just using it as remote?

I seriously doubt even with my Final Audio iem that I would hear a significant difference in SQ.

But ymmv…:sunglasses:

Yes, I would like to be able to listen to tracks in high-resolution (greater than 24/48) on the Android DAP with it’s internal DAC. Tidal/Qobuz/Amazon/Apple Music apps can all do this on my DAPs, why not Roon? This wasn’t intended to be a debate on high-resolution music. It exists and as a wannabe audiophile I would like to take advantage of it. :sunglasses:

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You are incorrect: Neil Young Archive uses LG V60 Quad Dac, why doesn't Roon? (And I assume LG V20, V30, V40, V50)

I fail to see how you can say I am incorrect, I have read that thread indeed.

My statement says I doubt that “I” would hear a difference, me, myself not Irene!

Last line clearly says… YMMV…

Enjoy the music!

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:slight_smile: I mean the idea that an android device should only be used as a remote implied by your statement, when in my case there is dac that is exceptional. So I believe you are incorrect in saying “I seriously doubt even with my Final Audio iem that I would hear a significant difference in SQ.” If you were using one of these phones with the Quad Dac enabled, you’d clearly hear a difference like I do with my Final Audio E4000, for example. I’d say anything equivalent or above that quality in headphones and you’ll hear a difference at CD and up quality.

Thats the YMMV part indeed

I am glad you do hear the difference, I did not mean to imply NOBODY else should use an Android phone as an endpoint, just not going to happen for myself.

But this is now just pointless clutter on the ops thread and my apology for that.
Over and out!

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Well, I don’t see it as clutter since you bring up points worth discussion especially since I believe one goal of Roon is high fidelity. YMMV is a great statement to point out our different capacities as humans, and sometimes it closes off people from exploring. I’m not saying you’re incorrect in that idea, but I suspect with the right variables you’d notice too. Of course I could be wrong, but if I’m right imagine the possible gain. LG is dead but there are a lot of these phones available for not that much and you get a high fidelity endpoint.

https://swappa.com/catalog/brand/lg

I’m not really a fan f Darko but he makes a good point here: The DAP days are over (Part 3: LG V30) | Darko.Audio

I was trying to poke the bear a bit on this issue. There really are a lot of Android DAP users out there who might be tempted to start using Roon if it supported the hardware better. Seemed like a good incentive for the Roon team.

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I’d love to see this too: Roon Remote having functionality similar to USB Audio Player PRO in ability to bypass the Android O/S mixer and deliver bit-perfect audio to an OTG attached external DAC. Would be great if it could do the same for an internal DAC in a DAP or LG smartphone. This works already on iOS, but Google makes this difficult (but, apparently, not impossible) on Android.

Along the same lines, I’d REALLY love to see a Roon Bridge build for Android and Android TV. You might get better sound and performance without having to run the full Roon Remote UI on the device. Of course, bit-perfect on Android would have to be solved first.

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There are several thread on this already , do we need another. Yes it’s something Roon needs I am DAP user and would love it to be equal to IOs client in this regard and have made this known on the other threads.

All of the older threads seemed stale with no recent information (maybe I overlooked something?). I was just trying to bump the priority (if there is any).

Then add to existing threads and add your vote if they are in feature requests. Starting new ones just dilutes votes on the subjectand we only get a small amount to use.

@moderators any chance we could do a merge of threads on this matter as we have a number essentially asking for the same thing.

Done for multiple threads under feature requests.

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Please share a link to the feature request thread with the most votes. We can then all go and add one of our precious votes to that thread. :slight_smile:

This one seems to have the most votes:

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Awesome, thanks for finding that one. I’ll link to it off the thread I started!

If you read through all this and “understand” to some extent, then only audio saints seem to be on the road here. An “ecosystem” of people who only strive to have their hardware and software up to date to hear even the finest nuance. And OH jeh, someone does not hear it.? Does he/she not have the right ear? Or the hardware does not fit …
Of course, I did not understand any of this either.
But, and this is something I would like to emphasize here.
Roon is a lot of fun and the concept, as simple as it is, is ingenious! Without ALternative
But use multiple services and pay to enjoy the real features even with a very small music collection … for me, not an option

Of course, that’s just my limited horizon on the subject !!!
I will not renew my Roon subscription. In my personal environment and flow it is simply not profitable. I am not an audiophile. Even though I can hear differences. But I put it ultimately in my own, optimal ratio.

About the phone (DAP): it’s impressive if you can actually still make calls with it :wink:

I’m not 100% this reply was for me or the thread. Roon does a significant number of different things that enhance the audio experience. For me it #1) provides integration of a high quality digital source #2) organizes and manages offline and streaming library (almost at 17k albums - yes I have a problem) and #3) provides incredible data about my library (the day they get discogs data, I will be very very happy). So this thread is about #1 and Roon choosing to not prioritize dealing with Android properly to allow those devices to become a high quality digital source.

Agree. i just got Shangling M9 DAP and all streaming services mentioned worked, except Roon’s.
I can see it playing but no sounds. Appreciate any input on how to get Roon to work on DAP