Neutron player's pre-amp is more louder than Poweramp's

[haddy]

Hi,

 

I'd like to know why you/anyone thinks that Neutron player's pre-amp gives a much louder volume than Poweramp's?

 

This loudness is exactly what I want.

 

Is there a technical or OS reason?

 

Could it be that Poweramp is missing something vital in it's pre-amp EQ implementation. 

 

For this topic's scenario, I'm running Poweramp on a secondary device (Samsung Galaxy S7 with LineageOS 18 - Android 11).

 

Please help or speculate

[andrewilley]

Could be DVC related? Also make sure ReplayGain is turned off (or adjust its parameters) as that most often reduces song gain levels to a set value, rather than increasing them. 

Generally PA's design intent is not a "goes up to 11" philosophy though.

Andre

[drftr]

On 10/1/2021 at 2:40 AM, andrewilley said:

Generally PA's design intent is not a "goes up to 11" philosophy though.

I don't think that's the question nor the problem and I exactly consider it an excellent question: Why / how can some apps reach more amplification than others? You gave some good potential reasons, but I can imagine why the OP is interested in finding out as I've had volume problems myself earlier on. And having a setting for "11" doesn't mean you have to use it. It maybe simply make you more comfortable (and the sound quality better) to reach for 9 in your settings.

 

drftr

[MotleyG]

The actual number should be irrelevant. The fact is Poweramp has control of the device volume. With DVC that even bypasses any additional processing. Other apps may “sound louder” due to other colourization or enhancements they are adding, or in some cases they may even overdrive the input to the DAC. This isn’t the design intention of Poweramp. Simply listen at whatever level you are comfortable with. If your particular device is not powerful enough to drive your headphones, a separate headphone amp is likely the better option. 

[drftr]

Well, that's about the same answer I'm getting on the UAPP forum about Poweramp, so I guess we're all simply defending our own takes. Oh well...

 

drftr

[andrewilley]

@drftr As I said above, are you using ReplayGain, as the process of levelling audio between tracks has a default target level of quite a bit lower than the device's maximum possible output (the RG spec is -14dB from maximum, although subjectively PA is not quite that low, it seems to aim for nearer -8dB to me). It's all configurable anyway, as is the master pre-amp in the EQ screen, so there's plenty of opportunity to just make the sound louder if you feel the need - but do remember that more volume for volume's sake might mean more clipping distortion during louder passages too. 

Andre

[Squeller]

Threadjacking alert! Perfect time for anybody to support me on "RG Trackgain when shuffling" option. Album gain by design hits loudness down harder (which is what is wanted), but it makes no sense on shuffling material from different albums.

As for OP question, I was also thinking, RG or DVC may be the cause.

 

Edited October 5, 2021 by Squeller

[haddy]

On 10/3/2021 at 10:57 PM, MotleyG said:

The actual number should be irrelevant. The fact is Poweramp has control of the device volume. With DVC that even bypasses any additional processing. Other apps may “sound louder” due to other colourization or enhancements they are adding, or in some cases they may even overdrive the input to the DAC. This isn’t the design intention of Poweramp. Simply listen at whatever level you are comfortable with. If your particular device is not powerful enough to drive your headphones, a separate headphone amp is likely the better option. 

I am now starting to think that Neutron is over driving the DAC on i's pre-amp EQ settings as there is some distortion at the higher volume. However, I LOVE the punchy loudness on Neutron which I wish I could achieve with Poweramp.

I will try playing with Poweramp's ReplayGain and DVC and will report back to this topic.