You need an OTG to make the DACs work period with Android tablets and phones. But it has limitations in this regard it’s part of the os to resample to a set rate which is normally 48/24 it make things more compatible I guess. So any apps using the Android system audio this happens to with no exceptions. Certain apps like Neutron , UAPP and Onkyo programme around this and go outside the normal Android audio route, they also provide specific hires drivers, but these still are not guaranteed to work for every DAC on every phone. I use UAPP and others and my one plus 5 still has issues with loosing the DAC due to the phones aggressive battery management which you can’t get around. I gave up using my phone due to this and the fact that as soon as a playlist ior album stopped it would loose the DAC. My tablet doesnt have this issue but unless you use UAPP etc the DAC looses lock quite quickly and you get some nasty artefacts.
So I switched to a dedicated DAP. This uses Android but like many of them it uses a modified Android OS that circumvents the normal constraints and all apps can get bit perfect audio playback upto DSD256. However use an external DAC on it and once again you hit the same hurdle as one connected to a phone.
Roon could get around the issue by looking at apps like UAPP and build support for external DACs but as I have discovered it’s not always going to work as desired and this I guess keeps support requests low. The newer android app is much better than the old one which couldn’t play anything very well. The resampling by Roon seemed to fix that issue. So in the meantime Roon is stuck using Android audio and stuck at what it thinks the rate of devices DAC not an external one if it’s connected.
I made the move also to a dap for similar reasons. Too much of a hassle for my on the move listening to be bothered with connecting cables/dac. It doesn’t seem such a big deal, but using a standalone solution is simply way more convenient & less bulky!
I should have added though that Roon and a few select others that still see the device as set rate from Android Audio and not play bit perfect on a DAP regardless. Roons hardcoded to do this so needs them to change it at a base level. Tidal, Qobuz, Amazon, Spotify, UAPP, Onkyo, Hiby Music , BubbleUPnP will all play bit perfect and dependant on tier you have will play hires.
But again not all DAPs can do this either, Fiio, Hiby and some apps on iBasso will. Sony and Pioneer DAPs only offer this for their own apps as they don’t modify the OS to do it. Not sure about Astel & Kern
to all you don’t need Roon to enjoy bit perfect high res, main thing is get synology NAS for your high res music and even ibasso can be used with bubble upnp app as a streamer/dac or just streamer connected via spdif to your home system dac or you can just use latest BT to stream high res from it. dx220 has more built in features than any daps outthere, also synology may be better option to use with Roon if you need to use it, i was tired of using my pc to store high res data till i got synology nas
The problem with apps like uapp, bibble upnp and such is that they have no central database like roon which contains ratings and playlists and such that all your devices can use. So I’m hoping the new android app will come soon. (and support my Ibasso DX300 fully cause now the hardware buttons execute actions twice in roon)
Seems like there not making it easyer to like/dislike tracks.
Too bad, one thing they have an adventage over uapp and other apps without central database.
Tidal gets that right. (and better audio quality on android, and more intuitive gui design)
And i see that only 1% of the local muisc i have is not available on Tidal…