How to play lossless music on Android?

What is lossless audio?

Lossless audio refers to audio files that have been compressed without losing any information or quality. This differs from lossy audio compression, like MP3 files, where data is discarded to achieve smaller file sizes at the cost of some fidelity. When an audio file is compressed losslessly, it can be decompressed to reproduce the original, uncompressed audio perfectly.

The main difference between lossy and lossless audio compression is how they shrink file sizes. Lossy compression permanently removes data deemed inaudible or irrelevant. This allows much greater compression ratios, so you can fit more songs on a device. But it also degrades audio quality since you’re no longer listening to the full original recording. Lossless compression works differently – it looks for redundant data and removes it in a reversible way. The original uncompressed data can be perfectly reconstructed. So you get the benefit of smaller files with no quality loss.

Popular lossless formats include FLAC, ALAC, APE, and WAV. The tradeoff is that lossless files take up much more space. For example, a 3 minute song may be 3-5 MB in a lossy MP3 format but 30-50 MB lossless. However, lossless files preserve 100% of the music quality captured during recording/mastering.

Why play lossless music on Android?

The main reason to play lossless music on Android is to get better sound quality and hear more detail in your music.1 Lossless audio formats preserve the full quality of the original audio source, without compressing or removing any data like MP3s and other lossy formats do. This allows you to hear every nuance and subtlety in the recording. With lossless music, you’ll be able to appreciate delicate instrumental textures, natural reverbs, and spatial cues that create a lifelike listening experience.

To really notice the benefits of lossless audio, you’ll need high-fidelity headphones or speakers that can reproduce the increased dynamic range and frequency response that lossless provides. If you’ve invested in premium headphones or audiophile equipment, lossless music will enable you to get the most out of your gear and hear your music as the artists and producers intended.

Overall, if audio quality is important to you and you want to hear every detail in the music, lossless is the best way to listen on Android. The formats like FLAC, ALAC, and more give your music uncompressed “lossless” quality for a superior listening experience.

Lossless audio formats

Lossless audio formats aim to preserve 100% of the original audio quality while reducing file size through compression. The most common lossless formats are:

FLAC (Free Lossless Audio Codec) – An open source format that reduces file size by 30-50% without loss. FLAC is supported on many devices and has become the most widely used lossless format. [1]

ALAC (Apple Lossless Audio Codec) – Developed by Apple for use on iOS devices and Macs. File sizes are similar to FLAC. ALAC has good device support but less than FLAC. [2]

WAV (Waveform Audio File Format) – The uncompressed lossless standard format for Windows PCs. WAV files are significantly larger than compressed formats.

Other lossless formats like APE, WMA Lossless, and MQA aim to push the limits of compression while retaining original quality. However, these have less device support currently compared to popular formats like FLAC and ALAC.

Android Devices that Support Lossless Audio

Many premium Android devices include built-in support for lossless audio playback. This allows you to enjoy high-resolution music files without any loss of audio quality or fidelity. Here are some of the top Android smartphone brands and models that support lossless audio formats:

Samsung’s Galaxy S22 series and newer flagships like the S23 contain an integrated 32-bit Hi-Fi Quad DAC for hardware-level lossless audio support. This provides bit-perfect playback for lossless files like FLAC, ALAC, etc. Source

LG phones like the LG V60 ThinQ and LG Velvet feature 32-bit Hi-Fi Quad DACs similar to Samsung’s flagships. With wired headphones, they can handle lossless music playback up to 32-bit/384kHz fidelity. Source

Sony’s Xperia 1 and 5 series contain proprietary audio tuning and hardware optimizations like the S-Master HX digital amp for high-resolution lossless playback. Their Audio Quality Optimizer can also upscale compressed audio. Source

The Asus ROG Phone 5 gaming phone has an ESS Sabre ES9280AC Pro-HiFi DAC built-in for audiophile-grade audio support. It can drive high-impedance headphones and play back 24-bit/192kHz lossless files. Source

OnePlus phones like the 9 Pro contain a WCD937 audio codec for lossless listening and precise left/right channel separation. However, they still lack wireless high-res codec support. Source

How to get lossless music files

There are a few main ways to get lossless music files for your Android device:

Buy lossless downloads

You can purchase and download lossless music files from sites like HDtracks, 7digital, and Qobuz. These sites offer high quality lossless downloads in formats like FLAC and ALAC. Prices are generally $1-3 per track.

Rip CDs

You can rip CDs you own to create lossless audio files. Use ripping software like Exact Audio Copy (EAC) or dBpoweramp to extract lossless files like FLAC or WAV from CDs. This gives you digital lossless versions of physical albums you own.

Convert existing files

If you have existing MP3, AAC or other lossy audio files, you can convert them to lossless formats. Software like XLD (Mac) or fre:ac (Windows) can convert your files to lossless FLAC or ALAC.

Lossless music apps for Android

There are several excellent apps for Android that support bit-perfect playback of lossless audio files like FLAC and ALAC. Here are some of the top options:

USB Audio Player Pro

USB Audio Player Pro (UAPP) is one of the most popular and fully-featured lossless music apps on Android. It plays all major lossless formats, supports native DSD playback, and has an elegant user interface. UAPP works with USB DACs and has customizable audio processing options like parametric EQ and crossfeed. It costs $7.99 but offers a free trial.

Neutron

Neutron is another robust music app that focuses on bit-perfect audio playback. It costs $6.99 but has a free version with limited features. Neutron supports all lossless formats, native DSD, and has audio effects like a parametric EQ. It also works seamlessly with USB DACs and has automatic audio resampling options.

USB Audio Player PRO

Similar to the other apps, USB Audio Player PRO (UAPP) accurately plays lossless audio and supports formats like FLAC, ALAC, APE, and more. It costs $10.99 but has a free trial available. UAPP works great with external DACs, handles DSD files, and has lots of audio tweaking options. The interface is clean and intuitive.

There are several other quality lossless music apps for Android worth checking out as well, like Onkyo HF Player, HiBy Music, and Poweramp. Most offer free trial versions to test the features before purchasing. Overall, apps like UAPP, Neutron, and others provide an excellent lossless listening experience on Android.

Setting up lossless playback

To take full advantage of lossless audio on your Android device, you’ll need to enable developer options and configure some settings. Here are the key steps:

First, enable Developer options on your device. On Android 8.0 and higher, go to Settings > System > About phone and tap Build number 7 times. Return to Settings > System and you should now see Developer options.

Next, enable USB audio routing. This allows your device to output audio over USB which can enable lossless playback through an external USB DAC (more on this shortly). Go to Developer options > Media > Enable USB audio routing.

You may also want to disable audio resampling. This prevents Android from altering the original sampling rate of your lossless files. Go to Developer options > Media and disable Automatic audio resampling.

For true lossless playback, an external USB digital-to-analog converter (DAC) is recommended. Quality USB DACs like the DragonFly can bypass the onboard DAC and amp in your device and convert the digital lossless audio to an analog signal. Make sure your device supports USB OTG to connect a USB DAC.

Finally, use a high-quality, lossless-capable music app like UAPP or Neutron. Configure the app settings like bitrate and sample rate to match your lossless files. Turn off any audio enhancements or effects within the app.

With developer options enabled, USB audio routing, and a quality USB DAC, you can experience true lossless audio playback on your Android smartphone or tablet.

Tweaking settings for best performance

There are a few settings you can adjust on your Android device to optimize it for playing back lossless audio files. Here are some tweaks worth trying:

Disable audio effects

The audio effects that come enabled by default on Android, like equalizers or surround sound, can negatively impact audio quality. Turn these off by going to Settings > Sound & vibration > Audio effects. Disable any effects you don’t need. This will remove any audio processing that could degrade or alter the original lossless audio source.

Adjust sample rate

Try changing the default sample rate to match the sample rate of your lossless music files, which is usually 44.1kHz or 48kHz. Go to Settings > Sound & vibration > Advanced > Sample rate. Setting the appropriate sample rate prevents extra resampling that could affect quality.

Manage memory settings

Lossless audio files take up a lot of storage space. To prevent your device from running out of memory, go to Settings > Apps & notifications > Special app access > Manage memory and remove apps you don’t need running in the background. Also enable Developer options under Settings > About phone and activate “Aggressive optimization”. This will free up RAM needed for decoding lossless files source.

Bluetooth and Lossless

Listening to lossless music wirelessly over Bluetooth can be challenging due to the bandwidth limitations of Bluetooth audio. However, newer Bluetooth codecs like aptX and LDAC have improved audio quality and can support near lossless quality.

The aptX codec is able to transmit audio at bitrates up to 352kbps which is near CD quality. This allows you to stream lossless files without losing too much information. Devices need to support aptX on both the transmitting and receiving end to take advantage of this. Many Android phones like the Samsung Galaxy and LG phones support aptX.

LDAC developed by Sony aims to transmit audio at bitrates up to 990kbps which can fully handle uncompressed music files. Both the playing device and the headphones/speakers need to support LDAC. It’s available on many Sony and other high-end Android devices. The increase in bandwidth does come with some tradeoffs in stability however.

So by using Bluetooth headphones or speakers that support these advanced codecs like aptX or LDAC, you can get excellent wireless audio quality while streaming lossless music files on your Android device. Just be aware of the codec support to achieve the high bitrates required.

Other tips for enjoying lossless

To get the most out of listening to lossless audio on your Android device, consider the following tips:

Use good headphones

A high quality pair of wired headphones or earbuds will let you appreciate the subtle nuances and increased dynamics of lossless files. The improved audio resolution will be lost on low quality headphones.

Try lossless streaming

Streaming services like Tidal, Amazon Music HD, and Qobuz offer extensive lossless music libraries. Streaming is a great way to access lossless music without downloading large file sizes.

Organize your library

Use an app like Poweramp to easily browse and play your lossless collection by album, artist or genre. A well-organized library will make listening to lossless music more enjoyable.

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