[Xperia Z2 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] RockStar2005:
Mr.loverlover,

Don't you have to be rooted though to get Viper4android? When I had my HTC One M8 last year, I did decide to root it and had one of the Viper ROMs or MODs on there. It was great, but only worked b/c I'd unlocked and rooted my phone. I have NO plans or desire to do that again though on my current Sony Xperia Z3, so for me it's a no-go on that.

I think the equalizer on PowerAmp is fantastic and I'd compared this app to about a dozen other players, and none of them could top PowerAmp in every category.........sound quality, ease of use/UI, options & features, looks, etc. The Sony Walkman/Music app came very close though, and only had a 5-band EQ, but PowerAmp (which has a 10-band EQ) STILL had a slight edge when it came to sound quality.

Well in the past I just listened to music straight from my phone, so back then, I did use a couple of the sound features found in the Audio Settings menu. I'd used DSEE HX for improving the sound quality of non Hi-Res content (it's disabled when playing anything above 16-bit/44.1kHz, or CD-Quality), and also I enabled the Surround Sound feature (Studio) as well. They really made the sound quality awesome! Since I was using PowerAmp though I left the Walkman EQ on "Off", and Clear Bass I varied it up. But let me suggest to you........ if I was to use Walkman/Music over PowerAmp, I would HIGHLY suggest the "Soul" preset on there. To me, it's BY FAR the best EQ preset on there. All it does is raise the mid-range up a couple notches, but it makes a big difference in SQ. The vocals will sound clearer and the drums will have more WEIGHT to them. But now that I have a high-quality amp/DAC, I leave those features off (aside from PowerAmp's EQ presets) and keep the Walkman/Music app's EQ on Off so it doesn't interfere with PowerAmp. Those features only sound good when you're listening straight from phone, but if you use some upgraded equipment like I do, those same features actually make the sound worse not better, so yeah, I leave 'em off now.

In the last year I've really gotten into the whole Hi-Res thing........ and have learned a lot too about what equipment options are out there, various settings, and why downsampling Hi-Res content is a very good thing. I've tried different portable amp/DACs and players, and various headphones as well. My current set up is connecting my Z3 (which acts as my music player, with PowerAmp at the helm & I use a couple different presets of which I'd created and configured based off the "Rock" EQ preset) to my portable amp/DAC, the Celsus Sound Companion One (CO), which is INCREDIBLE, and I listen to all that using my Sony MDR-1A headphones. The CO is very well-rated, even being said to sound better than amp/DACs (portable and desktop) and player TWICE to TRIPLE its price ($595). Looks like a fat iPhone right? lol The 1As ($299) are very premium in looks and sound, and have that bass PUNCH that even the more expensive (though also slightly better-looking) Bowers & Wilkins P7s don't quite have. The AKG K550s, which I had before the 1As, are equal in sound but require an amp where the 1As did not. And this was back when I didn't have the CO and wanted to get rid of my last amp (not amp/DAC), which I did when I returned it along with my K550s. The K550s are cheaper though you MAY (or may not) need a portable amp/DAC like my CO (or see Cozoy Astrapi below) to make them loud enough, which I did. Same goes with the Sennheiser HD 598s, of which I also found them to be a bit uncomfortable, though others I know did not. Even cheaper but still well-regarded are the Sony MDR-7506s and the Sony MDR-V6 headphones. The V6s have a bit more bass to them, but aside from that, they are identical in SQ to the 7506s. The ear pads they say get worn out somewhat fast, so these velour replacements are suggested and some say even better than the original leather ones (or upgraded leather ones) that come with the headphones. But it's up to the owner which one to get.

Regarding Hi-Res downsampling, which I downsample to CD-Quality ALAC or FLAC (or even high-quality AAC)......... I do this b/c 1) Despite what ANYONE tells you, including Sony, Hi-Res files only sound better b/c they use a different master (and b/c it's above the level of a crappy mp3 lol), NOT b/c of the higher resolution 2) the lower the resolution, the less battery power is required to play it and 3) the lower the resolution, the less SPACE it takes up. These Hi-Res albums (esp the DSD Hi-Res ones) take up A TON of space, so downsampling is key for me. To do these conversions, I use dBpoweramp (NO relation to PowerAmp lol), which is a free converter that does the job right. I just convert the Hi-Res albums I buy to Uncompressed 16-bit/44.1 kHz WAV files, then to ALAC, FLAC (Level 8), or 320-400 kbps CBR AACs (plug-in required for AAC conversions). The AACs I store on my Z3 phone, but the lossless ALAC or FLAC files I use for backup/storage on OneDrive. (Note: Even after dBpoweramp's 3-week free trial ends, the converter option will STILL be fully functional.)

If the CO is too pricey, I would highly suggest the $130 Cozoy Astrapi portable amp/DAC (or you can find it on eBay cheaper like I did) from China, which is pretty well-rated and sounds great from my own experience. I got this for a friend as a b'day gift and lemme tell you, it really packs quite a punch for such a tiny device. It's the size of a small thumb drive, made of aluminum, uses only about 5% of your phone's battery an hour, gives you extra volume and most important, raises the bar on sound quality. It works with Android, PC, and iPhone (says "Made for iPhone" on the box, but I think that's just a marketing thing). Comes with all the necessary cables too. I took it to a T-Mobile Store near me and tested it out on my 1As, and I let the one worker there hear them out too just on mp3s (not even Hi-Res), and he was really impressed by them too. So much so that he took a pic of the Astrapi's box cuz he wanted to buy it for himself. lol

If you're just listening straight from your phone using cheap ear or headphones and only to crappy mp3s or streaming, then you're simply missing out IMHO. You can do much better!