[Android Software Development] lenigma1too:
It really is too bad.

I remember stumbling on this mod back before its final iteration's name, when my Moto E2 2015 Developers Edition was new, and being just floored at the audio improvement made on such a budget device!

The next few phones upto and including the LG (RIP) V20 all had the mandatory bootloader unlock/root/super su (untill chainfire hung up his guns as well) & whatever ROM I could find that emulated SlimROM's (RIP as well) ideals. Then, finally 4th and final mandatory step ->this audio bliss labour of love.

For the better part of a decade this was my routine (amongst all the superfluous tinkering looking for that ever elusive, extra bit of depth/wider sound field), and it severed me, and countless others quite well!

Being an advanced ameture audiophile - I'm going to officially declare that a thing rn, as I've been in professional audio my entire adult life, wearing one hat or another... Over the past couple decades I've learned A LOT about audio, and can say with some certainty, I know sound quite well - so, settling for stock audio, even with the heft 32 bit onboard DACs brought a 1/2 decade or so ago, was never in the cards for me.

But now, as I look back on those wonderful perfection soaked audio years, I find myself struggling to replace the experience with today's more advanced - and one would think better sounding - hardware.

But it's not.

OnePlus 7 Pro user currently, and the out of the box audio was actually quite good on Android 10, once you upgraded the crippled Dolby Atmos app to the full fledged version... But was dropped on 11 beta and stable channels, and uninstallable there after, unless you had TWRP installed.

But let's face it, gaining system access on the newest devices is requiring more and more steps with greater risk of bricking your device.

I watched countless people pop into OP7P TWRP thread, asking how to unbrick their device... Kinda put me off trying TBH.

I mean, even XDAs very 1st [debacle of a partnership with FX Technology] phone wasn't going to help renew the interest in selectively modding for better performance.

Long gone are the simplistic, multi-romed, hugely supported, HTC HD2 type days (1st device I learned the joy of rooting and what CyanogenMod was all about... which I still have, operational and all!)

And to be perfectly clear, it was if ZERO fault to XDA, FX Crap Technology's mouth wrote a cheque it's ass couldn't cash.

I truely, deeply feel bad for XDA regarding this, as their 1st device most definately should have been what ever April fools troll they did about a forthcoming device, should have been.

I digress.

I'm being all mushy~nostalgic-y because I realise it's kind of an end of an era.

I really do with there was another group striving for audio excellence across as many devices as possible, but OEMs, corporate developers, and time available from the few and select gifted ones has made this untenable I believe now.

I'll ALWAYS be and XDA Alumni, poking around, trying 5o help our fellow modders with my old school knowledge, waiting for an aspiring dev to have the time to push forward with new HALs on new devices, searching as well for that ever elusive audio excellence for all!

With much love and admiration for the incalculable amount of time, effort, & knowledge for an absolute XDA audio Legends this thread was home to!❤️