Sound Boost and some other ideas..

[Dimisarta]

Hello guys. As all of you i assume, i am a MIUI lover. I had many android phones so far probably more than 10 and always the first thing i did when i bought a new phone was to put Miui on it .
Finally i decided to get the original Miui phone so i won't have the numerous problems with some ports i had on other phone models.
It's the 3rd day now with my Xiaomi mi2 and i would like to share my thoughts with you.
In 1-2 weeks i will probably post a complete review of the phone.

So i will start with the things that disappointed me a bit.
1st thing is that the phone is actually a bit thick. This is not the problem. The problem is that you can't find any good looking slim case for this phone. So you end up using it without a case or with these ugly cases that makes your phone look like a brick. Anyway this is not so important.

2nd thing is the sound level, especially through the headset. As i dj that i am and also a music lover i have this on my priorities. The sound quality may not be that bad is quite descent actually but the volume levels are low. I am wondering whether there is a patch or a hack that we used to have on galaxy s2 (Voodoo Louder) or like in Siyah kernel which can solve this out. I also tried to flash the dsp manager and the ACID sound mods but i had no luck with this, it would even flash.
Isn't any way to flash anything on this phone ? I mean it's one thing not to be able to put other roms but is a completely different thing not to be able to flash some apps mods and stuff. The Xiaomi guys should really have a close look at this.

3d thing is the screen. The screen is very very very good. Nice colors nice balance the only issue that i found is the blacks. OK maybe it's the fact that my 3 previous phones where AMOLED screens but i expected a bit more nice blacks on this screen.

The most irritating thing i face now with Xiaomi mi2 is the fact that i can't flash some mods that i want to, and especially to boost the headset sound level.

I will leave the good parts of the phone on my complete review (there are a lot of them).
Also i would love to hear from you guys any ideas and thoughts or maybe solutions regarding the above.

 

[treiliert]

Hello Dimi,

I am a Greek owner of a MI2, like you I suppose, since December, so I had a little more time to search for solutions for the same “problems” you are talking about (sound quality and phone case – I hadn’t faced any black color matter, although I use a theme combination with a black background in system settings, dialer and SMS, and particularly the themes DeNitE and Jelly Bean Remix. So, I suggest you check a couple of different themes to see if it is a matter of the phone or of the themes you’ve applied.
Now concerning the phone case, already a couple of months ago I bought from fulcrumall.com an original MI2 colorless silicone phone case only for around 7,5€ free of shipping charges from China!, which indeed made the phone only a little bit thicker but it is very nice looking and fits perfectly. All in all, I am very satisfied with this purchase. Unfortunately, they don’t sell this specific item any more, but now they have a metal phone case which I’ve already ordered and expect to receive in the next few days – check the item yourself: http://www.fulcrumall.com/New-arriv...UNTERF-metal-bumper-M2-metal-frame-p-143.html
If you want, I can give you a feedback as soon as I get it under this same thread. But if you manage to find anywhere the colorless phone case I mentioned above, don’t hesitate to buy it.
Finally, when I first got the phone, I wasn’t satisfied with the sound quality either. Now I am running JLB11 with in-built dolby mobile control under sound settings AND equalizer settings in its standard music app and enjoy a very good and really loud sound quality!
CAUTION: don’t use a hands-free handset to get the best out of your MI2 sound! Use instead a good pair of earphones.
That’s all mate. I hope I helped you a bit…

 

[Dimisarta]

Hello friend! It's nice to see people from our countries getting involved with mi2! I'm from Cyprus btw.
Now regarding the case the metal one it doesn't look bad. Please send feedback when you get it, it would be very helpfull.
For the screen and the black color.. It's not that it is faulty or something it's just comparing to some other phones screens it's a bit poor on tha blacks.
You don't get the pure black that AMOLED screen gives you.

Lastly about the sound levels. I use excelent headphones. I have a pair of senheizers for studio mixing and a pair of pioneers for djing.
With my last two phones galaxy s2 and s3 i had banging sound. Just awsome. I am wondering whether is there a possibility to release more power from our hardware. Those apps like volume+ etc.. that claim to boost your sound are just crap. They just distort the sound and nothing more.
Maybe some tuning on the sound files in the system could help a bit. The best example i can give you is galaxy s2. The sound was very medium until they found a hack in the audio driver and they maxed it. The difference was huge!

 

[treiliert]

Hi again,

I’m sorry, I was mislead by your nickname Dimisarta – I thought you were Dimis from Arta, Epirus… However, we are still compatriots!
I assure you I’ll let you know about the metal phone case once I get it. In the meanwhile, check the thread The best case for this device in this Forum in case you find something interesting.
Now, as far as the sound is concerned, if it’s not a matter of headphones I wonder if it is a matter of the ROM then, for I mean it, whenever I listen to music through my earphones and turn it as loud as it gets, my wife complains that it’s too loud and that I am going to deafen myself. Women… But I hope you get my point.
Finally, regarding the black, I never had a smartphone with an AMOLED screen, so I don’t know the difference. But I am pretty satisfied with the overall performance of the MI2 screen, including its black.

 

[Dimisarta]

Heh i used to study in arta. But yes we are compatriots.
I hope more people gets involved in this thread so we can hear more opinions about the sound and about flashing mods which i find it very cruicial.

 

[Acid]

Short: you can't compare blacks in IPS LCD with Amoled display. It's not possible to get Amoled black color levels. You have to choose:
- Amoled: over saturated colors, no white color, great black.
- IPS: better colors, best viewing angles but without real black.

As for sound I think it's matter of personal feelings. I don't even max my sound level. I keep it about 75% and its max for me. And I have good creative headphones.

And about installing mods. You can't because most mods are not signed properly and recovery rejects any unsigned zip.
You will have to sign them before flashing.



Wysyłane z mojego Nexus 7 za pomocą Tapatalk 2

 

[Dimisarta]

I know what are you talking about and i understand the difference of the two technologies. Comparing mi2 screen with htc one x and iphone 5 which are IPS LCD i think both of them give a bit better blacks.
As for the sound i'm sorry but i insist it's low and it's not based on personal feelings. Compared to other devices it's low. This doesn't make mi2 a bad phone. It's an excellent phone but with some little mods i may become even better!

About mods can you help a bit how we can we sign them? Also do you have any idea whether we gonna have CWM sometime soon?

Thanks.

 

[Acid]

This is a signing code that works for our script and any zip that can be flashed in M2:

java -Xmx4096m -jar signapk.jar -w testkey.x509.pem testkey.pk8 input.zip output.zip

Testkeys can be obtained via MiCode github.

 

[Dimisarta]

This is a signing code that works for our script and any zip that can be flashed in M2:

java -Xmx4096m -jar signapk.jar -w testkey.x509.pem testkey.pk8 input.zip output.zip

Testkeys can be obtained via MiCode github.

Unfortunately i don't have the knowledge on how to do this. Can you please help me a bit ? Some tutorials maybe?
Or is it possible to send you the file and sign it for me please?
I am talking about the ACID Audio Engine mod. Have you heard of it ? Will it work on mi2?
Thanks.

 

[Acid]

Yes. Send me the link on PM and I will sign it for you.
These are a Linux commands and you need to have e.g Ubuntu to run this.

Wysłane z MI 2

 

[satrioogep]

This is has been resolved?
use the manual way to mod the
sound M2
Download file here http://www.4shared.com/zip/StUvMBUh/DSPmodM2.htm

1. Other app needed is rootexplorer (root system first)
2. Copy DSPmanager.apk to system/app set permission to rw-r-r
3. Delete MusicFX.apk from system/app directory
4. Copy and overwrite audio_effects.conf to system/etc. Set permission this file rw-r-r
5. Copy libcyanogen-dsp.so to system/lib/SoundFX set permission
6. Delete file in system/lib/SoundFX except this 3 file
libcyanogen-dsp.so
libreverbwrapper.so
libvisualizer.so
7. Restart

Work on M2 combine with megabass tweak
But you lost built in dolby mobile setting and equalizer if apply this mod

 

[Dimisarta]

This is has been resolved?
use the manual way to mod the
sound M2
Download file here http://www.4shared.com/zip/StUvMBUh/DSPmodM2.htm

1. Other app needed is rootexplorer (root system first)
2. Copy DSPmanager.apk to system/app set permission to rw-r-r
3. Delete MusicFX.apk from system/app directory
4. Copy and overwrite audio_effects.conf to system/etc. Set permission this file rw-r-r
5. Copy libcyanogen-dsp.so to system/lib/SoundFX set permission
6. Delete file in system/lib/SoundFX except this 3 file
libcyanogen-dsp.so
libreverbwrapper.so
libvisualizer.so
7. Restart

Work on M2 combine with megabass tweak
But you lost built in dolby mobile setting and equalizer if apply this mod

Hi friend! No this is not solved. Thanks very very much for your help. I tried this method and works like a charm!
Maybe not an output boost but at least i can tweak my bass and eq!
Can you please provide us a files and guide for the megabass tweak as well?
Thanks!

 

[satrioogep]

Maybe you can try Acid tweak, megabass tweak in my M2 not perfect like in other phone. I lost volume control, when I push volume botton its just show volume bar, not increase level. So I must slide the bar to increase level.
But that tweak have better compression sound

 

[Dimisarta]

Mybe you can try Acid tweak, megabass tweak in my M2 not perfect like in other phone. I lost volume control, when I push volume botton its just show volume bar, not increase level. So I must slide the bar to increase level.
But that tweak have better compression sound

Did you have any luck flashing ACID mod? Because i didn't!

 

[satrioogep]

Try manual metodh, I use manual to megabass mod.
Extrack zip package and put to each folder in system folder.
If the tweak required some modification to build.prop
just copy word between qoutes.

 

[treiliert]

Hello friend! It's nice to see people from our countries getting involved with mi2! I'm from Cyprus btw.
Now regarding the case the metal one it doesn't look bad. Please send feedback when you get it, it would be very helpfull.
For the screen and the black color.. It's not that it is faulty or something it's just comparing to some other phones screens it's a bit poor on tha blacks.
You don't get the pure black that AMOLED screen gives you.

Lastly about the sound levels. I use excelent headphones. I have a pair of senheizers for studio mixing and a pair of pioneers for djing.
With my last two phones galaxy s2 and s3 i had banging sound. Just awsome. I am wondering whether is there a possibility to release more power from our hardware. Those apps like volume+ etc.. that claim to boost your sound are just crap. They just distort the sound and nothing more.
Maybe some tuning on the sound files in the system could help a bit. The best example i can give you is galaxy s2. The sound was very medium until they found a hack in the audio driver and they maxed it. The difference was huge!

Hi,

today, one month after ordering it, I received the metal phone case I wrote you about (Post #2), a black one in my case.
Personally, I like it a lot. It is exactly as it looks in the pictures of fulcrumall site, it's light and has a very nice grip.
I'm pasting you below a video on youtube showing the case and how you apply the phone in it.
So, my promised feedback in this respect is a positive one.

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[Dimisarta]

Hi,

today, one month after ordering it, I received the metal phone case I wrote you about (Post #2), a black one in my case.
Personally, I like it a lot. It is exactly as it looks in the pictures of fulcrumall site, it's light and has a very nice grip.
I'm pasting you below a video on youtube showing the case and how you apply the phone in it.
So, my promised feedback in this respect is a positive one.

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Hello friend, i hope you are doing well.

The case looks nice but it also looks very think as well. Is it that thick as it looks ?

Also i wanted to ask you something else. Every time i touch the touch keys i hear a strange crinkling sound from the vibration. Is that normal? Do you have the same thing? My last phones S2 and S3 had a much better feel on vibration, much more stiff.

 

[treiliert]

Dear friend,

I am fine, thanks. Well, the phone itself without a case is already thick (one and a half millimeters thicker than S3). So, adding another 0,8mm of the case you end up with a phone that you wouldn’t call thin… But, if you take into consideration the advantages of this case, you would overlook the additional millimeters:
1. The aluminum gives the phone a totally different style and feeling that are not comparable with the plastic one. Believe me, it makes a huge difference.
2. The same goes for the black-nickel color combination, which combined with the black front face of the phone, makes for a change of level for this device. Taking into consideration the original glossy back case colors, this case makes the phone much more elegant.
3. Last but not least, as you can see in the video, this case replaces the plastic back case, which makes it a considerably lighter application. Prior to this metal case, I had a silicone one and the phone was heavier than with the present one.
All in all, in your place I would definitely give this case a try for its price.
Now, regarding the issue with the soft buttons on the lower end of the phone’s front, if I get you right, when I push them they transmit a gentle vibration and no sound at all. Check you sound settings (e.g. turn off the sound and push them again to see if it makes any difference) or your buttons and keys settings. I can’t figure out anything else. Sorry…

 

[Dimisarta]

Dear friend,

I am fine, thanks. Well, the phone itself without a case is already thick (one and a half millimeters thicker than S3). So, adding another 0,8mm of the case you end up with a phone that you wouldn’t call thin… But, if you take into consideration the advantages of this case, you would overlook the additional millimeters:
1. The aluminum gives the phone a totally different style and feeling that are not comparable with the plastic one. Believe me, it makes a huge difference.
2. The same goes for the black-nickel color combination, which combined with the black front face of the phone, makes for a change of level for this device. Taking into consideration the original glossy back case colors, this case makes the phone much more elegant.
3. Last but not least, as you can see in the video, this case replaces the plastic back case, which makes it a considerably lighter application. Prior to this metal case, I had a silicone one and the phone was heavier than with the present one.
All in all, in your place I would definitely give this case a try for its price.
Now, regarding the issue with the soft buttons on the lower end of the phone’s front, if I get you right, when I push them they transmit a gentle vibration and no sound at all. Check you sound settings (e.g. turn off the sound and push them again to see if it makes any difference) or your buttons and keys settings. I can’t figure out anything else. Sorry…

I think you will finally persuit me into getting one of this heh.
Now regarding the vibration issue I will make a video to demonstrate you exactly what I mean. I hope you will understand and let me know whether are all the Mi2 like this or is it just only mine. Have a nice day

 

[satrioogep]

I don't have vibration issue on my M2,
checking by hardware detection *#*#6484#*#*
I only heard noise from shaking effect,
not from motor and not from other parts

 

[Dimisarta]

I don't have vibration issue on my M2,
checking by hardware detection *#*#6484#*#*
I only heard noise from shaking effect,
not from motor and not from other parts

Yes we propably talking about the same thing. I hatr that sound
Never had it on my s2 and s3.

 

[Dimisarta]

Today i tested my very old Nokia 5310, my Galaxy S2, ipod and Xiaomi mi2 playing the same songs on the same car stereo. The results are very disappointing. The mi2 was by faaar the worst in terms of volume output and sound quality. Cmon guys im sure theres something you can do about it. Please have a look on this matter. I am more tha. Willing to help.

Sent from my MI 2 using Tapatalk 2

 

[Dimisarta]

Yes we propably talking about the same thing. I hatr that sound
Never had it on my s2 and s3.

Here is a small video i recorded. Pay attention when the phone vibrates how it sounds. Is it normal? Do you have the same thing?

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[mattspeen]

I've the same problem with volume level, I've tried many tweak (Acid and others) nut the issue doesn't solve, only app like Speaker Boost can raise the volume, but whit sound distorsions. Now I think to buy an amplifier like Fiio (E5, E6 or E11).

ps. sorry for my English

 

[Dimisarta]

I tried the same as well but there is no significant difference. I though maybe with some mapping or something this could be solved.

Lets hope that some more experienced devs have a look on this.

Also did you see my video above regarding the vibration issue?

Sent from my MI 2 using Tapatalk 2