Google Pixel 4a Smartphone Audio Review

[flyzipper]

Pretty weak.

It's fine for my needs... aux-in for my car, which has DSP in the headunit, and the subwoofer integration also allows tuning, so the Pixel 4a lacking EQ is a non issue in that use case.

 

[Chromatischism]

Confirming the system equalizer is unchanged from at least Android 3 or 4 (6-7 years ago)

 

[flyzipper]

Confirming the system equalizer is unchanged from at least Android 3 or 4 (6-7 years ago)

Curious what device the screen grab is from.

 

[Chromatischism]

Curious what device the screen grab is from.

Pixel 4a 5G.

I got to it through Deezer.

 

[flyzipper]

Pixel 4a 5G.

Clearly one of the differences between the 4a and the 4a5G & 5.

 

[Chromatischism]

The weird thing is I'm not sure how to get to it without going through another app. I can't find it in system settings, not even with the search feature. The one accessed via YouTube Music is clearly not the same – there, I'm seeing the one you posted from the 4a.

 

[flyzipper]

Doubly weird... I installed Deezer and see what you posted (including Bass boost and Surround sound being greyed out).

I cannot find it in system settings either, even after enabling developer options (but apparently there's an app to provide a shortcut to it).

(still confused why YouTube Music and Deezer present me with different options... suspect it must allow unique per app settings to be defined?)

 

[flips712]

Still on the fence about buying Pixel 4a. The small size and headphone jack are appealing but the low volume issue is kind of a deal breaker. Anyone have audio performance info on the LG Q6 or LG Q7? I searched but didn't find anything. Thanks

 

[andreasmaaan]

The weird thing is I'm not sure how to get to it without going through another app. I can't find it in system settings, not even with the search feature. The one accessed via YouTube Music is clearly not the same – there, I'm seeing the one you posted from the 4a.

Doubly weird... I installed Deezer and see what you posted (including Bass boost and Surround sound being greyed out).

I cannot find it in system settings either, even after enabling developer options (but apparently there's an app to provide a shortcut to it).

(still confused why YouTube Music and Deezer present me with different options... suspect it must allow unique per app settings to be defined?)

FYI, I've just been playing around with this system-wide EQ app, which gives you up to 32 bands of EQ, zero attack limiter, compressor/expander, etc. Works well for me with spotify, haven't tried it with any other apps.

 

[twosixonetwo]

I have discovered a weird issue with my pixel 4a: Audio will sometimes crackle (most obvious with piano sounds) independently of the used headphones and the used app. I have made a few recordings which show what I mean:

As obvious from the screenshots its not really deterministic. Though it happens really often. It seems like this only happens on the louder volume settings, but maybe the more quiet settings are just too quiet for me to notice the crackling
If anyone wants to try it: its really obvious at around 0:38 - 0:45 in Esbjörn Svenson Trio - E.S.T. Live in Hamburg - Tuesday Wonderland. It would be really nice to get feedback from other pixel 4a owners so I know whether I've got some kind of defective unit or whether this is an issue with all pixel 4as...

 

[MOCKBA]

Haven't Samsung now dropped the headphone socket? This is one of the very few current phones on the market that looks like a good phone, and still has the socket, annoyingly.

Unfortunately, they dropped not only a headphones jack. They dropped microSD card slot too. They consider that an average consumer is more interested in a photo quality than music. As for photos, a cloud storage is preferable. As for music, an average quality streaming is good too. We are a group of consumers who are below of the major manufacturer interest. I do not expect that mobile phone makers will address our desires soon.

 

[dmoss74]

i'm not a spec/tech geek, just a listener. i've been an lg fan for the last few years, due to the native dac those phones have; but knew the writing was on the wall regarding LG as a viable company.

low and behold, they bailed out last monday. adding to that, i have a g7, which is still locked on android 9, with the last update being 9-20.

without looking into too much (audio-wise), i went ahead and bought a 4A last week; only to discover (post purchase), that there is a kernel bug that won't allow it to play nice with either usbapp, nor my outboard dac (audioquest dragonfly cobalt).

i'm pissed. i basically bought this phone to use the dragonfly with. i'm not in the habit of shelling out >500 bucks for a phone. but this is stupd, and such a small issue (to google), that i doubt they'll even acknowledge it.

bummer.

 

[Chromatischism]

Have a link to that issue?

 

[dmoss74]

Have a link to that issue?

if you have the 4A, and try to dl the app, it will tell you that "this device is not compatible". i emailed evolution's cs, and got an instant (canned) reply that the issue was the 3-21 update, and they pulled the app for any pixel devices, until google figures it out.

i found this thread on reddit, after i had the same problem.

the response from evolution is the verbatim one i got.

Did a search and couldn't find this mentioned, apologies if old news. Just a heads-up in case others have the same issue.
I listen to music through an external DAC on my Pixel 4a (5G) using the app USB Audio Player Pro. The app kept crashing on launch so I tried an uninstall/reinstall but couldn't find it in the Play Store - on further investigation it is now showing as incompatible.
Wrote to the developer and got the below response:
"The latest firmware update of the Pixel 4 series contains a kernel bug that will restart your phone when an app tries to play through USB audio using its own driver. This is not exclusive to our app, but happens to other apps featuring their own driver as well. We reported it to our contact at Google and the kernel team is now looking into it. I do not know when they will solve the issue."

 

[Chromatischism]

I see it's not free.

I use Player Pro and Deezer, with Wavelet for EQ currently. I suppose if it were good enough to replace Player Pro I'd go for it. Disappointed that I'm not seeing a folder view. I always use folder view in my music player.

Edit: USB Audio Player carries this disclaimer: Warning: this is not a generic driver, you can only playback from within this app. It is not possible to use your USB audio device using this software with other apps!

Does that have anything to do with it?

 

[Slayer666]

I have a Pixel 4a and the output from the Aux port is louder and through my USB C Apple aux adapter! I am listening to Koss KPH30i (60 ohm). The aux port provides plenty of volume, but it's borderline ironic that the apple dongle which has an amp doesn't produce as much volume. I have the same issue when I plug into my car audio from 4a Aux vs Apple USB. Interestingly, listening to my Audio Technica ATH M50X (38ohm) is the opposite! The M50X are louder through the Apple USB C than the 4a aux port. I just don't understand!

 

[Snicklefretz]

In a world where every smartphone maker is gimping their headphone audio (either through elimination of the 3.5mm jack or weak output), let's hope LG continues to hold out and provide both a headphone jack and high output.

Sadly this didn't age very well lol

 

[Jimster480]

Sadly this didn't age very well lol

Yea... real shame. However Sony added the 3.5mm back.

 

[Chromatischism]

Pretty happy with my Pixel 4a 5G.

 

[Snicklefretz]

Pretty happy with my Pixel 4a 5G.

Does the 5g output more sound than the normal 4a? I have the 4a and doesn't even come close to producing enough sound even through an amp