[Xperia Z2 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] RockStar2005:
Yeah I've done my research. lol

Cool. Thanks for your vote of confidence there! lol Well see that's the thing.......... those enhancements that Sony and Viper4Android have are, from my own experience, really great IF you're not putting an amp/DAC into the mix. But I am, and it elevates the sound quality far beyond what a phone's audio hardware can do REGARDLESS of what software you're using. Case in point......... before I got my CO, I actually had the Sony Walkman A17. It's a fantastic player (though what I have now is considered a notch better), but just like with my CO........when I tried to do the same thing you're talking about on it (being a Sony device, it had ALL those options too), it had a totally different effect on the music. Where DSEE HX and esp Surround Sound (Studio) made my music better (Hi-Res or not), when I tried them out on the Walkman, it simply made them worse. I think that since the technology is so much better than what any smartphone is capable of, those options simply don't bring anything to the table anymore. I mean, I did use the "Soul" preset from the Z3 Walkman/Music app on the Walkman, though on the Walkman there are no EQ presets so I had to do it manually (raise 2.5 kHz EQ band up 2 notches, leave Clear Bass on 0). But that was it. All other options were left off.

If I didn't have my CO, I might consider rooting as I did a year ago with the M8, but I honestly don't believe it will matter. Especially since rooting is kind of a hassle cuz you basically have to do everything yourself, like updates, etc. On the M8 though I specifically unlocked & rooted my phone so I could get the Harman/Kardon MOD so my phone would have the same features as the Sprint Harman/Kardon M8. Both phones had the same hardware, so it was just a software thing, and someone figured out how to port the mod over to other M8 phones (I have T-Mobile). It WAS worth the effort b/c BoomSound was cool but the H/K Mod took my sound to another level! Not like what I have now, but back then it was a big deal for me.

I was a simple guy too. I'd never unlocked or rooted a phone before. It was tough at first cuz I couldn't get it to work (well the S-OFF part was hard at least, but necessary to get H/K), but eventually I did. Then I started to realize how big the Hi-Res thing was getting (last year was a BIG year for it, with Sony's help of course lol). So I visited forums like here and esp Head-Fi.org, and I learned a lot over several months. Started to be able to separate the BS (that resolution above mp3 matters) and what was real (that Hi-Res & DSD albums have better and less compressed masters than mp3s and even CDs do, and that's the real reason why they sound better). I'm still learning, but now I know what I'm doing where 10-11 months ago I was just learning. If you wanna try out Hi-Res, I recommend these 3 sites which are my go-to places (price compare so you pay less!): 1) Pono Music (they often have individual tracks too unlike the others) 2) HDTracks and 3) Acoustic Sounds (they also carry DSD albums which are even better sounding than Hi-Res, but only a fraction of albums get a DSD release). I got Michael Jackson's "Thriller" and Bob Dylan's "Nashville Skyline" in DSD for example. 2 classics, and the SQ is INCREDIBLE! The instruments and vocals are spread out nice and wide, the clarity is sweet, there's no muddy bass messing everything up, the tape hiss is filtered out and with that the sound is more full and richer, etc. Listen to Billie Jean (the chorus, WOW.....wow! lol) or Lay Lady Lay and you'll understand what I mean, ESP vs the mp3 versions. (My review for Skyline should post by Wed on that album's page.) I'd also recommend the new Led Zeppelin Hi-Res remasters, as well as Fleetwood Mac's 70s albums, Tom Petty's solo and Heartbreakers albums, and a ton more. Maybe try downloading one or two albums or tracks from an artist you like and see what you think vs the mp3 version you have. Sometimes they have sales and stuff too. Like Acoustic Sounds has a 10% off Labor Day sale (see home page) going on.

Well even if ya don't want to do the Hi-Res thing, I'd still at least recommend you get one of the headphones I mentioned and also of course the Cozoy Astrapi, then never look back. lol Doesn't get simpler than that really.