How do I boost audio in VLC Android?

VLC media player is a popular open source, cross-platform multimedia player developed by the VideoLAN project. It is available on Android and allows boosting audio beyond 100% volume for enhanced loudness. While 100% is the maximum volume on many Android devices, VLC has additional built-in audio boosting capabilities. This guide will go through the various methods available in VLC for Android to increase volume and audio quality.

Check Current Audio Level

The first step in boosting audio in VLC Android is to check your media’s current audio level. To do this:

1. Open the VLC app and begin playing your desired media file, such as a video or song.

2. Tap on the audio settings icon in the bottom right corner. This looks like a speaker icon.

3. The audio settings menu will appear. Look for the audio level visualization near the top. This shows the real-time level of your audio as it plays.

4. Make a note if the audio level appears low overall. The level should reach close to the maximum without clipping for a sufficiently loud volume.

This quick check gives you a sense of whether the audio does need boosting. If the level seems low, continue on to the various methods for increasing it within VLC for Android.

Enable the Equalizer

VLC for Android has a built-in 10-band equalizer that can be enabled to boost audio and adjust sound levels. To enable the equalizer:

1. Open the VLC app and start playing a video or audio file.
2. Tap the menu icon (three dots in the top right corner).
3. Select “Equalizer” from the menu.

This will open the equalizer interface. Make sure the equalizer is switched on by tapping the power icon in the top right. You can now start adjusting the audio bands.

According to VLC Help, the 10-bands in VLC’s equalizer are: 31 Hz, 63 Hz, 125 Hz, 250 Hz, 500 Hz, 1 kHz, 2kHz, 4kHz, 8kHz, and 16 kHz. Adjusting these bands boosts or reduces those specific audio frequencies.

Adjust Equilizer Settings

The equalizer in VLC for Android allows you to boost the audio by adjusting the settings. You can play with the presets or customize the settings for different audio boosting effects. Some options include:

• Bass Booster – Increase the lower frequencies like 60Hz-200Hz to boost bass.
• Treble Booster – Increase higher frequencies like 2kHz-16kHz to boost treble.
• Vocal Booster – Increase mid-range frequencies like 500Hz-2kHz to make vocals clearer.

To access the equalizer, open VLC and go to Audio > Equalizer. Try out the presets first to see which ones boost the audio best for your content. You can also drag the frequency sliders up or down to customize the settings. Boosting too much can make the audio sound distorted, so adjust carefully until you reach the desired effect.

Refer to guides like this Reddit thread for recommended frequency ranges to boost for different audio effects.

Increase Overall Volume

One way to boost the audio in VLC for Android is to increase the overall volume past 100%. By default, VLC has a max volume of 100%. However, you can easily amplify the sound by adjusting the volume slider in the app settings.

To increase the max volume on VLC for Android:

1. Open VLC and play the media file you want to amplify.
2. Tap the 3 dot menu icon in the top right corner.
3. Go to Settings > Audio.
4. Under Volume, drag the volume slider all the way to the right. This will increase the max volume to 200%.

Setting the volume above 100% acts as a volume booster, allowing you to amplify quiet audio tracks. You may notice distortion at extremely high volumes, so adjust as needed. This trick essentially disables the default 100% maximum volume cap in VLC for Android.

Sources:

https://www.quora.com/How-can-I-increase-the-Android-app-VLC-s-volume-to-200

Enable Volume Boost

One of the most straightforward ways to dramatically increase audio volume in VLC for Android is to enable the dedicated Volume Boost option. This can amplify the sound far beyond the maximum volume level of the standard volume slider. To enable it:

1. Open VLC and tap the hamburger menu icon in the top left corner.

2. Go to Settings > Audio.

3. Toggle on “Audio Boost”.

This will significantly boost the loudness of audio playback in VLC. You can adjust the exact level of volume amplification by dragging the slider below the Audio Boost toggle. Be careful when using maximum boost as it may distort or degrade the audio quality on certain files. Volume boost is useful for amplifying quiet recordings or podcasts.¹

Adjust Audio Track Channels

Switching between different audio channels like mono, stereo, or surround sound can help boost the audio in certain cases. VLC’s Android app allows you to easily toggle between the available audio channels for a video.

To adjust the audio channels in VLC for Android:

1. Tap the audio icon in the bottom right corner while a video is playing.
2. Tap Audio Track.
3. Select the audio channel you want from the list, such as Mono or Stereo.

Switching to a mono channel combines audio into one channel instead of separating it into left and right channels. This can make the audio louder and clearer on some videos (Source).

Trying different stereo channel options like Stereo or 5.1 Surround may also help boost soft audio tracks. Test each setting to find the channel that works best.

Use Compression

Enabling audio compression in VLC for Android can help increase the perceived loudness of audio tracks. Compression works by reducing the dynamic range between the loudest and softest parts of the audio. This evens out the volume levels so that quiet parts are boosted and loud parts are reduced.

To enable compression in VLC for Android:

1. Open VLC and go to Settings.
2. Tap on “Audio.”
3. Enable the “Compressor” option.
4. Adjust the compression ratio slider until the desired loudness is achieved. Higher ratios will result in more compression. Typical ranges are from 2:1 to 10:1.

The compressor effect can help boost the volume of quiet dialog or music tracks for a more consistent listening experience. However, excessive compression may reduce audio quality. It’s best to experiment with the settings to find the optimal balance for your audio source.

Some Reddit users report good results using the compressor at a 4:1 ratio for boosting movie and TV show volumes in VLC [1]. The VLC team is also working on continued improvements to the compressor feature for Android [2].

Troubleshooting Tips

If you are having issues getting audio to boost properly in VLC for Android, here are some troubleshooting tips:

Check that audio normalization is disabled in VLC’s settings. This feature limits audio to a certain decibel level and can prevent boosting. Go to Settings > Audio > Uncheck “Enable audio normalization”.

Try changing the audio output module in VLC’s settings. Go to Settings > Audio > Audio output module and try different modules like OpenSL or AudioTrack. Some may allow greater volume boosting.

Make sure any system-wide audio limiters are disabled on your Android device. Go to Settings > Sound & vibration > Advanced > Disable any limiters like “Volume limiter” or “Safe headset volume”.

Try a different media player app like MX Player which may allow greater volume boosting above 100%. VLC’s boosting capabilities are limited on Android.

As a last resort, use a third-party volume booster app alongside VLC to get higher volume levels. Apps like Volume Booster GOODEV amplify the system volume.

If you are still having issues, check the VLC forums or Reddit for help troubleshooting your specific device and Android version.

Conclusion

In summary, there are several ways to boost the audio in VLC media player for Android, including adjusting the equalizer settings, enabling volume boost, increasing overall system volume, and adjusting audio track channels. The key options are enabling the built-in equalizer to boost certain frequency ranges and enabling the volume boost setting under Audio in Preferences, which can increase gain substantially. Compression effects can also help increase perceived loudness. With the right tweaks to VLC and your Android device’s sound settings, you can achieve significantly louder and clearer audio playback.

The most impactful settings to try are the equalizer to target certain frequencies, the dedicated volume boost option, and increasing overall system volume. Compression and mono downmixing can also provide moderate volume increases. Test your audio at multiple levels to ensure it sounds clear and undistorted. If issues persist, try updating VLC, adjust connected speaker or headphone settings, uninstalling conflicting apps, or perform general Android troubleshooting. With a few simple settings changes, you can take full advantage of VLC’s audio enhancement capabilities and dramatically boost sound output.