I have been living under a rock! Android 5.0 Lollipop added native support for USB DAC!

Marine-RX179

Marine-RX179

Marine-RX179

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OK, so I was looking into the possibility of upgrade my Sony Xperia Ultra to something newer with a better inbuilt DAC. I was considering the new LG V10, as apparently it has a good DAC built-in. I then came across an article (date back to Feb 2015!) saying Android 5.0 Lollipop added natively support for USB DAC.

I have a Cambridge Audio XS, which I have tried in the pass with my Sony Xperia Ultra (still with KitKat back then) with it and it simply didn't work. I have tried hooking up my CA XS to my phone again yesterday, and it just worked right away plug and play! And it sounds awesome!

So I thought I'd make this topic to inform any potential fellow cavemen (lol) and let them be aware of this. Also the Cambridge Audio XS might appear in the Black Friday deals again this year at RicherSounds, dropping from £99.95 down to £49.95 (the price that I bought it at last year!). The tiny size of the Cambridge Audio XS making them very good portable DAC!
 
ossieclap said:
Would this be compatible with an lg g3? Does a g3 pass audio through USB?
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My Sony Xperia Z Ultra simply wouldn't work with my Cambridge Audio DacMagic XS when it was still on KitKat, but when I tried it after reading the article (at which point my phone has already been update to Lolipop), it was simply plug and play.

I don't know for certain if your LG G3 would definitely work with a USB DAC, but I guess if you have a local RicherSounds or similar Hifi/audio stores that allows you to demo product, you could just take your phone to there and try it and see if it'd work. Also I think I read that not all the USB DAC would be compatability with the Android phones or something along that line.

The DacMagic XS is simply perfect to be used as a portable DAC with the phone on the go, due to its tiny size and it is connected via a short USB cable, rather then the DAC itself plugging directing into the USB port like the Dragonfly etc (would would be like haven't a huge stick sticking out from the phone with no flexability). I gotten one of this USB to micro-usb adapter and it works like a treat:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/like/DM-O...0068&clkid=1061726157108884786&_qi=RTM2108002
 
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if they can be powered by the source yes. I know the nexus 5 and LG g4 both have too weaker power to drive the usb headphone amp without an external power supply.
 
Also just to add when using the DacMagic XS with my phone, it does consume quite a bit of battery (probably around the same as leaving the GPS enabled), so would not be ideal for people that have a habit of leaving home with the phone only 50% or less left.
 
What media player are you using to pump audio out via USB?

Scratch this, just tried it and it .. just works
 
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Marine-RX179 said:
My Sony Xperia Z Ultra simply wouldn't work with my Cambridge Audio DacMagic XS when it was still on KitKat, but when I tried it after reading the article (at which point my phone has already been update to Lolipop), it was simply plug and play.

I don't know for certain if your LG G3 would definitely work with a USB DAC, but I guess if you have a local RicherSounds or similar Hifi/audio stores that allows you to demo product, you could just take your phone to there and try it and see if it'd work. Also I think I read that not all the USB DAC would be compatability with the Android phones or something along that line.

The DacMagic XS is simply perfect to be used as a portable DAC with the phone on the go, due to its tiny size and it is connected via a short USB cable, rather then the DAC itself plugging directing into the USB port like the Dragonfly etc (would would be like haven't a huge stick sticking out from the phone with no flexability). I gotten one of this USB to micro-usb adapter and it works like a treat:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/like/DM-O...0068&clkid=1061726157108884786&_qi=RTM2108002
Click to expand...

Thanks for the info. It looks like it should be compatible. There was someone on the xda dev forum that confirmed playback through his Fiio E17. I was a bit concerned as I looked into this several years ago when I had a Galaxy S2 and later found that it didn't pass audio over USB. I have an OTG cable somewhere and I'll keep an eye out for the DacMagic's prices.
 
ossieclap said:
Thanks for the info. It looks like it should be compatible. There was someone on the xda dev forum that confirmed playback through his Fiio E17. I was a bit concerned as I looked into this several years ago when I had a Galaxy S2 and later found that it didn't pass audio over USB. I have an OTG cable somewhere and I'll keep an eye out for the DacMagic's prices.
Click to expand...
Yea I think it could well to do with the older Android version not yet support audio over the mini USB port back then.

I do have a OTG cabled adapter as well, but when I use it with the XS, I found not very good to use for out and about, as not only it's an extra piece thing dangling around, but also that extra bit of extra weight is just enough to make my connection to the phone become lose when I am walking.

After I gotten that tiny adapter thing that I can put into the USB cable of the XS itself, it is more convenient and the XS become what can be pass as a slightly bigger "in-line volume control" with the OTG cable adapter gone, and I get a very solid connection to the phone now and no more getting disconnected because of physical connection to the phone become loosen due to movement when I walk.
 
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