Google Pixel 4a Smartphone Audio Review

[amirm]

The Listen link does say that is the max so the Android doc is poorly worded.

 

[Soniclife]

There are loads of other options for good current phones with headphone jacks, e.g. one of the Samsung Galaxy S10 series.

I don't consider most of those good phones though, flawed Android phones are no fun to use, the term 'landfill Android' exists for good reason.

 

[bobbooo]

I don't consider most of those good phones though, flawed Android phones are no fun to use, the term 'landfill Android' exists for good reason.

What's flawed about them?

 

[Soniclife]

What's flawed about them?

Different things for different ones, mainly software, e.g. failing to demonstrate that they will provide timely software updates for a good length on time. There are better forums for this discussion than this one, and a lot is down to the individual to list the features they care about, and don't.

 

[bobbooo]

Different things for different ones, mainly software, e.g. failing to demonstrate that they will provide timely software updates for a good length on time. There are better forums for this discussion than this one, and a lot is down to the individual to list the features they care about, and don't.

The Samsung phones on that list (and others) have been promised 3 years of full Android version upgrades, the same as Google offer on their Pixels, and Sony is likely to follow suit. I wouldn't be surprised if more manufacturers make similar promises to stay competitive. Anyway, as my previous post shows, Google's firmware isn't all smiles, and pretty much every phone on the list I linked to is equal to or better than the 4A in terms of hardware (which is important if you don't want your phone to become annoyingly slow after a while).

 

[Krusty09]

Hey.

Dont know if this will help but here it is.

https://storage.googleapis.com/supp...ment/message-18767730-8980049476337592152.jpg

 

[bobbooo]

Yeh I doubt anyone would build a DAC with headphone output and plan only 0.3 volts out.

Could you try to reproduce the higher max output by repeatedly unplugging and plugging in the aux cable as that other user did? That would add credence to it being a universal software issue and not a one-off, which could then be brought to Google's attention to possibly issue a fix. Maybe it's just a load impedance detection error.

 

[Vasr]

Hmmm, my read is that 150 mv is the minimum:

View attachment 85014

It says the drive voltage should be greater than or equal to 150 millivolts on 32 ohm load. I measured 270 millivolts on the Pixel 4a so that must be the correct reading.

The Listen link does say that is the max so the Android doc is poorly worded.

Yeah, I scratched my head on that one a bit before posting.

My best interpretation is that Android is setting a minimum peak value along with passing EN50332-2 unless it is a typo.

A device that outputs 10mv peak will also pass the EN50332-2 requirements. But that may not be acceptable to Android certification. So a minimum of 150mv peak value (pink noise or 1khz sine?) and a maximum of 150mv RMS value for a weighted pink noise to pass EN50332-2 requirements. May also prevent some devices playing compression (or soft clipping) tricks to pass the RMS test. Just a conjecture.

Don't know how a sine wave peak/RMS is related to the weighted pink noise RMS.

 

[bobbooo]

This is long overdue for a fix. They should make the range/resolution of the volume control a setting. It would be trivial to do so and is needed today with external bluetooth devices that get loud as well.

Samsung have an add-on app called SoundAssistant for Galaxy devices which you can install that allows for adjustable volume resolution up to 150 steps, as well as other options such as individual app and connected device (e.g. wired/Bluetooth) volume control. Neutron Player also has a 100-step volume control.

 

[chdloc]

When I was still active in the Android audio mod community (xda developers), I found a way to change a simple DAC parameter that controls the maximum attainable output voltage of Qualcomm-powered Android devices. Typical maximum output voltage attainable was - and likely still is - 1 Vrms. That voltage quite often dropped under load as the output impedance is typically rather high.

In order to modify the DAC's gain parameter(s), unfortunately, the device needs to be rooted.

 

[amirm]

Could you try to reproduce the higher max output by repeatedly unplugging and plugging in the aux cable as that other user did? That would add credence to it being a universal software issue and not a one-off, which could then be brought to Google's attention to possibly issue a fix. Maybe it's just a load impedance detection error.

This is a brand new phone and I don't want to risk scratching it/damaging the plug. Need to ship it back to its owner in new condition.

 

[amirm]

Samsung have an add-on app called SoundAssistant for Galaxy devices which you can install that allows for adjustable volume resolution up to 150 steps, as well as other options such as individual app and connected device (e.g. wired/Bluetooth) volume control. Neutron Player also has a 100-step volume control.

Wow, that is good to know. I have been quite annoyed in trying to set the sound level in my Bluetooth speaker in my greenhouse with the current resolution.

 

[fafnir]

Oh yikes! I bought this phone for streaming, but am now confused if the sound quality is good or not.

Kind of a newbie here, but can anyone tell me the specs for the DAC? I know it has a Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ 730G processor, but I'm not sure how or if it even relates to the DAC function of a phone. The manufacturer also lists BT specs as: Bluetooth® 5.0 + LE, A2DP (HD codecs: AptX, AptX HD, LDAC, AAC)7.

I guess my real questions is: Which phone should I use for better sound quality between the Pixel 4a and V30 when streaming to the SMSL M200?

I'd appreciate any info or tips! Thanks!

 

[Jimbob54]

Oh yikes! I bought this phone for streaming, but am now confused if the sound quality is good or not.

Kind of a newbie here, but can anyone tell me the specs for the DAC? I know it has a Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ 730G processor, but I'm not sure how or if it even relates to the DAC function of a phone. The manufacturer also lists BT specs as: Bluetooth® 5.0 + LE, A2DP (HD codecs: AptX, AptX HD, LDAC, AAC)7.

I guess my real questions is: Which phone should I use for better sound quality between the Pixel 4a and V30 when streaming to the SMSL M200?

I'd appreciate any info or tips! Thanks!

Shouldnt matter. The phone is just the transport, the m200 is doing the decoding. And both should have the same bluetooth codecs if on recent builds of Android.

 

[Beershaun]

Oh yikes! I bought this phone for streaming, but am now confused if the sound quality is good or not.

Kind of a newbie here, but can anyone tell me the specs for the DAC? I know it has a Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ 730G processor, but I'm not sure how or if it even relates to the DAC function of a phone. The manufacturer also lists BT specs as: Bluetooth® 5.0 + LE, A2DP (HD codecs: AptX, AptX HD, LDAC, AAC)7.

I guess my real questions is: Which phone should I use for better sound quality between the Pixel 4a and V30 when streaming to the SMSL M200?

I'd appreciate any info or tips! Thanks!

Im assuming you are using the phone as a digital streamer only and smsl as the dac.

If you are using bluetooth to stream I'd stick to pixel 4a as it supports better bluetooth audio protocols like LDAC.

If you are planning to plug in the phone via usbc digital output using Android audio player pro app. It doesn't matter much and the pixel 4a works fine.

How do you plan to use the phone?

 

[fafnir]

Wow thanks for the quick replies ASR!

Beershaun, I'll be using Bluetooth to stream "Hi-Res" music from the Tidal app.

 

[Jimbob54]

Wow thanks for the quick replies ASR!

Beershaun, I'll be using Bluetooth to stream "Hi-Res" music from the Tidal app.

Well it won't be hi res then. I would get whichever phone suits your more phone based requirements

 

[flyzipper]

Oh yikes! I bought this phone for streaming, but am now confused if the sound quality is good or not.

FWIW, I was concerned when seeing the low output level results, but it works perfectly fine in my primary application (connected to my car's aux-in via 3.5mm). I actually prefer the sound coming out of the Pixel 4a to my old HTC 10 (which used its own internal stand-alone DAC and headphone amp, rather than the native Snapdragon 820 DAC).

 

[Beershaun]

Well it won't be hi res then. I would get whichever phone suits your more phone based requirements

What Jimbob said. You won't get "hi-res" content over bluetooth. You will need to plug in a cable to the USB port and stream out the audio file that way to get the original "hi-res" files sent to the DAC.

If you are interested to learn about the quality differences between bluetooth codecs Amir has done some recent tests comparing SINAD differences between A2DP, LDAC, and Aptx. LDAC was the winner. I haven't seen a test for Aptx-HD yet though so I am curious how that performs.

Both phones support LDAC so you just need to make sure in your bluetooth settings that the phone is sending the signal via LDAC protocol and not a2dp or other.

So again, What Jimbob said. Either phone will give you the same bluetooth quality. Pick the phone that's the best phone for you.

 

[Chromatischism]

If using 32 ohm IEM's the 4a should be just fine I think. Amir used 300 ohm headphones for the test and I agree they would be too much for many phones to drive. I might give it a go since I would prefer to get on with Android 11 and get updates for several years.

Can anyone confirm if the system EQ is 5-band or 10?