[Upgrading, Modifying and Unlocking] dopiate:
Time to build the media player

Lets build that Music Player now!

I will be listing the apps I use and I will list alternatives that I have seen.

I have tried some and some I haven't tried.

We basically (if all went well) have a blank slate here. We have an Android

device that has been modified and changed to have 1 main purpose.

Play music, loud!

1- Install a DSP

2- Install a Music/Media player

3- tweak the final install with a few other apps

First I would install Beats. There are a lot of other DSP Managers's out there now but

honestly I like Beats and since the management of it is getting better and

better and the Audio Player I use plays nice with it I got with Beats.

I must confess that I used this...

http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=1816719

to install beats and I can't uninstall it. Plus it's no longer supported.

I recommend getting your Beats from RockAudioMod (or RD Music Mod) ... it's still evolving but it's really good.

http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=1525226

You also don't need Beats you just need a DSP Manager. The one from CM is also really good.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=jsf.cmprojects.cyanogenmodappinstaller

I did try this application and could not get it to work but I am only running Android

4.0.3 - it says it runs on Android 3.0 and up but that was not my experience.

Apps you could grab from the [Root] CM App Installer that would be useful are:

- Apollo music player (you could use this as you main music device if you wanted)

- DSP Manager (you are going to need a DSP Manager and if you can't or don't want Beats

then you can grab this one).

- CM File Manager (perfectly fine for moving songs, deleting old ROM's and files)

There are also standalone installs for Apollo and CM DSP Manager, to find them all you have to do is

search for them. Plus there are DSP's in the PlayStore that I never tried so you have a ton of options.

We are dealing with all personal preference here now. As my DSP manager and music player I use

Poweramp Full Version. I purchased it with my first phone and I think it does a great job.

It fully integrates with the Beats installs and it has a built in DSP Manager.

While that's what I use I wanted to make sure this "how to guide" had a fully implemented free

version.

So take your phone, in Airplane Mode, and pick the DSP you want to use.

Install that DSP then select the media player you want to use. Apollo is good but

there are also a ton of free ones on the PlayStore.

Additionally you want to set your screen timeout to something reasonable so you don't waste

any battery on the screen.

Pre-KitKat there was a great app called VolumeControl+ that would lock your volume buttons so

while you were jogging it didn't screw up the sound. I am still using it on my 4.0.3 and I

just wrote the developer since I have had no luck using it on 4.4.2. If I can't get anywhere I will

need to find a new app to lock the buttons on the phone.

Now just load some music and enjoy!

Total Cost: 0.00

Both phones I have done like this sound great and have really long battery life. It's only purpose is

to play music. I turn on the WiFi every once in a while to do updates or grab songs from GDrvie.

There is no standard setup or quick and easy .zip to flash or .apk to install. Hopefully in the

future there will be.

I'm open to any ideas or suggestions to make this setup better.

I would definitely like to make a list of other processes that can safely be frozen (manufacturer specific or not).

Here is just a quick example of my layout.

Hopefully it's helpful for those looking to do something with an old replaced phone.