Of course, today’s story isn’t only about hi-res audio. Or perhaps this wrinkle is specific to the LG V40 because cutting over to an Essential PH-1 smartphone (RIP), we do get asked if we want to allow Tidal access to the DragonFly DAC and we do see its LED glow purple when we punch in a track from Tidal’s Masters. Perhaps the interceding DragonTail USB-C to USB-A adapter causes the Tidal app not to properly identify the Cobalt? Tidal doesn’t even pop-up to ask if we want to allow it access to the Cobalt. Tidal’s bit-perfect playback also works with the LG V40 and the THX Onyx but – oddly – not the AudioQuest DragonFly Cobalt. Clicking OK and punching in an MQA stream has the HELM Bolt DAC’s LED turn purple (where previously it remained blue) for visual confirmation that the 48kHz (or 44.1kHz) stream has travelled from Tidal app to Bolt without the Android OS running interference so that the DAC can unfold at will. We know this because “Allow Tidal to access HELM MQA?” pops up on this commentator’s LG V40 (RIP) when the HELM Bolt is connected. The Norwegian-based streaming service has begun rolling out an update to its Android app that allows it to communicate bit-perfectly with any connected USB DAC, thus sidestepping the host OS’s resampling code. Seeing this problem and (finally) tackling it head-on is Tidal. UAPP integrates Tidal and Qobuz but unlike Qobuz and Tidal’s native apps, it doesn’t accommodate offline content. One common workaround is the third-party music player app USB Audio Player Pro (UAPP) that loads in its own USB driver to talk directly to the connected USB DAC, thus avoiding Android’s resampling engine. In digital audiophile parlance, this means Android OS is not ‘bit-perfect’ with USB DACs. Android’s resampling even recooks CD-quality (44.1kHz) streams, upsampling them to 48kHz. A 48kHz stream isn’t passed through untouched but (instead) resampled to 48kHz. A 192kHz stream will be downsampled to 48kHz. Android smartphone users seeking to board the hi-res audio train via Tidal, Qobuz or Apple Music must mind the gap: Android OS resamples digital audio heading out of its USB port to 48kHz.
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