Solved! How to play digital audio through USB cable.

[David_S]

I have a Marantz amplifier with a USB (socket type B) DAC input. How can I send digital audio from a Samsung J1 Android phone out via USB? I have bought an adapter from USB-A female to USB-B male, but when I connect everything the amplifier does not see any input.

 

[helpstar]

Which Marantz amplifier model is it?

Most likely your phone doesn´t provide digital audio output via USB
connect it by the 3.5" port of the phone

or try a different audio player app with custom USB driver like "USB audio player PRO"

 

[hang-the-9]

I have a Marantz amplifier with a USB (socket type B) DAC input. How can I send digital audio from a Samsung J1 Android phone out via USB? I have bought an adapter from USB-A female to USB-B male, but when I connect everything the amplifier does not see any input.

If it's a USB type B connector then it's not an input they way you think it is, it's so you can connect it to a computer and use the Marantz as an external DAC for the computer. It's acting just like an external sound card, you may need to contact Marantz support to see if you can use it as a DAC for a phone.

 

[David_S]

Which Marantz amplifier model is it?

Most likely your phone doesn´t provide digital audio output via USB
connect it by the 3.5" port of the phone

or try a different audio player app with custom USB driver like "USB audio player PRO"

Thank you for taking the trouble to reply.
The amplifier is a Marantz PM7005.
I suspect that the phone is not sending anything out through the USB.
Can I try "USB audio player PRO" without buying it first? I don't want to pay if it might not work.

 

[helpstar]

Found this site:
https://www.extreamsd.com/index.php/technology/usb-audio-driver

The 7005 is listed, but the J1 not.

 

[David_S]

Found this site:
https://www.extreamsd.com/index.php/technology/usb-audio-driver

The 7005 is listed, but the J1 not.

The plot thickens!

What I want to do is to listen to IDagio classical music streaming service in the best possible quality, using loss-less FLAC rather than MP3. The website above refers to an audio driver which works with 'eXtream's own apps playing recorded music, not other apps.

This website includes the Marantz PM7005 as able to receive input from a phone, so what I now need is to find a way of sending output from IDagio's app.

 

[helpstar]

The best thing to try would be using a PC/laptop.
Unzip and install this driver before connecting USB
http://m.marantz.asia/DocumentMaster/ap/NA-11S1_SA-14S1_SA8005_NA8005_PM7005_HD-DAC1_Driver.zip

 

[David_S]

The best thing to try would be using a PC/laptop.
Unzip and install this driver before connecting USB
http://m.marantz.asia/DocumentMaster/ap/NA-11S1_SA-14S1_SA8005_NA8005_PM7005_HD-DAC1_Driver.zip

Thank you for this recommendation. I have installed this driver, and get excellent results, far better than using the browser in my LG TV. It is just a pity that I had to move my PC from my study to my living room to connect this way.

 

[hang-the-9]

The plot thickens!

What I want to do is to listen to IDagio classical music streaming service in the best possible quality, using loss-less FLAC rather than MP3. The website above refers to an audio driver which works with 'eXtream's own apps playing recorded music, not other apps.

This website includes the Marantz PM7005 as able to receive input from a phone, so what I now need is to find a way of sending output from IDagio's app.

It is not easy to tell the difference between FLAC and a good quality other streaming service or file. I went through a few audio tests with several speakers and headphones and there were tests done with experts in audio, could not tell the difference between different recording types.

I think once you get to 128 bit MP3 that was done using a good codec like LAME, it takes a lot of paying attention with high end equipment to make out differences between that and uncompressed files. It's like wine, when experts were giving blind testings they could not identify "good expensive" wine vs "standard" wine. In fact one time the experts were given white wine colored red and they were talking about the difference between that and the non-colored white wine. Same thing with audio, when direct comparisons were done and people were tested using several audio files, the correct file type was not picked most of the time once the files got to at least decent quality compression.

It's nice to know you are listening to the best quality you can get, but you may not actually know the difference if you listen to a lower quality version of the same music. Like ordering a $90 steak vs a $30 one. Sure the $90 one may be picked better or aged better or cooked with more care, but if you stick the two on the same plate and asked to taste them, there is a good chance that you won't be able to say which is which.

https://www.npr.org/sections/therecord/2015/06/02/411473508/how-well-can-you-hear-audio-quality

 

[David_S]

It is not easy to tell the difference between FLAC and a good quality other streaming service or file. I went through a few audio tests with several speakers and headphones and there were tests done with experts in audio, could not tell the difference between different recording types.

I think once you get to 128 bit MP3 that was done using a good codec like LAME, it takes a lot of paying attention with high end equipment to make out differences between that and uncompressed files. It's like wine, when experts were giving blind testings they could not identify "good expensive" wine vs "standard" wine. In fact one time the experts were given white wine colored red and they were talking about the difference between that and the non-colored white wine. Same thing with audio, when direct comparisons were done and people were tested using several audio files, the correct file type was not picked most of the time once the files got to at least decent quality compression.

It's nice to know you are listening to the best quality you can get, but you may not actually know the difference if you listen to a lower quality version of the same music. Like ordering a $90 steak vs a $30 one. Sure the $90 one may be picked better or aged better or cooked with more care, but if you stick the two on the same plate and asked to taste them, there is a good chance that you won't be able to say which is which.

https/www.npr.org/sections/therecord/2015/06/02/411473508/how-well-can-you-hear-audio-quality

I found when I connected my PC to the USB-DAC input my Marantz PM7005 with Bowers and Wilkins 704S2 speakers that there was a significant difference between 320Kbps MP3 and loss-less FLAC on classical music streamed from IDagio. It really sounds like CD quality, whereas the compressed sound was like playing a CD on a DVD player - not bad, just not so alive. The difference was so great that I intend to buy a second-hand Windows laptop just for listening this way.

 

[hang-the-9]

I found when I connected my PC to the USB-DAC input my Marantz PM7005 with Bowers and Wilkins 704S2 speakers that there was a significant difference between 320Kbps MP3 and loss-less FLAC on classical music streamed from IDagio. It really sounds like CD quality, whereas the compressed sound was like playing a CD on a DVD player - not bad, just not so alive. The difference was so great that I intend to buy a second-hand Windows laptop just for listening this way.

I went through that test I linked, and I think it was almost a guess with how many I got right, using a decent DAC and 4 pairs of "good" headphones. I was thinking of upgrading to a lossless streaming service but after going through some testing I decided it was not really worth the money. I'd rather spend it on some new hardware to listen on.