ROG 6 Pro - How to Disable AudioWizard for better Sound Quality (aptX Adaptive Bluetooth)

[Tayan]

I was wondering if there's a way to disable the DIRAC AudioWizard DSP app as it affects audio quality (both via the 3.5mm headphone jack with UM MEST MK2 IEMs and over Bluetooth using aptX Adaptive with my Noble FoKus Pro TWS).

I know for a fact that this app/postprocessing is causing deterioration in sound quality even when left on the "music" preset with default headphones. Please see attached screenshots which includes my settings with developer options as well.

I'm coming from an LG V60 and expected the SoC DAC to be a downgrade with plugged IEMs but it should be identical over Bluetooth since it supports aptX Adaptive (and Lossless at that) - it's just that the AudioWizard is interfering and if I cannot bypass that then I'll have to return the phone as it is a dealbreaker.

Model Name: ROG Phone 6 Pro
Firmware Version: 32.2810.2210.216
Rooted or not: No
Frequency of Occurrence: Constant
APP Name & APP Version (If your issue relates to the app): AudioWizard app and any high-res music streaming such as Tidal HiFi/MQA with Bluetooth aptX Adaptive.

[Tayan]

pesterevyasha

https://zentalk.asus.com/en/discussion/comment/243481#Comment_243481

use direct outputs in hi-fi players: uapp, neutron, fiio music, hiby music, power amp. I also strongly advise you to wait for firmware 241. I installed it today, great! Asus heard the requests and improved the sound quality on the speakers and 3.5

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I know that using UAPP is a workaround since that's the first thing I tried, it's just that I've always hated the UX/UI and would rather just use the Tidal app as is. Is the 241 update out right now? I factory reset my phone in order to return it next week, maybe I could give it one more try.

[pesterevyasha]

Tayan

https://zentalk.asus.com/en/discussion/comment/243482#Comment_243482

I know that using UAPP is a workaround since that's the first thing I tried, it's just that I've always hated the UX/UI and would rather just use the Tidal app as is. Is the 241 update out right now? I factory reset my phone in order to return it next week, maybe I could give it one more try.

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241 has not been released yet, I think it will be publicly available in the near future. But I am using it at the moment and I am delighted with the sound.

[Danishblunt]

Tayan

I have also manually removed both Dirac and AudioWizard packages from the phone with ADB (non rooted) and found that it made no difference in terms of sound quality improvement, it does sound identical through UAPP but it's no longer bitperfect. Both AudioWizard and Dirac presets are no longer accessible though from the menu and I can confirm it was hard uninstalled by searching the list of packages.

There is definitely a downgrade in sound quality compared to my LG V60 despite both phones saying it's aptX Adaptive once paired with my Noble FoKus Pro. This should not be the case over Bluetooth - obviously it'll sound worse with 3.5mm output since it's no longer a dedicated ESS Sabre DAC. It might be a "Snapdragon Sound" thing which is another layer of spatial DSP/EQ which seems integrated in newer Qualcomm flagships, it's an absolute dealbreaker. I wonder if this is how the landscape will look going forward because it seems that Qualcomm is proud to integrate this so called "Snapdragon Sound" into their new SDG2 chipset flagships. I'm not even sure if the Sony Xperia 1-IV/V have the same issue since they apparently also support SD Sound.

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Its because as far as DAC's are concerned it makes no difference to your ear wheter you use the built in qualcomm dac or the ESS Sabre DAC. While you could measure that the ESS Sabre DAC is objectively superior by a slight margin, it's not something you can hear with the human ear.
The most important part for audiophiles isnt the DAC itself, but how it's tuned, this is why the xperia 1 beats even the Rog5 quite easily in both 3.5mm and bluetooth as its tuned for audiophiles while the Rog series is cathered towards gamers boosting frequencies to make it easier to hear steps ingame and whatnot.
If you care about audio the rog series is an absolute fail. You should go for sony instead as they are the only phones that seem to give a sht when it comes to audio quality.

[Tayan]

This is a good point - the tuning matters quite a bit. I remember comparing older LG phones with the exact same ESS Sabre DAC but being disappointed with the V60 Meridian tuning (compared to the G8/G8x and an old G5 LG specific tuning). 

Anyway the new 241 firmware update did indeed improve audio quality, it's perceivable but still doesn't sound as good as my LG V60 over Bluetooth aptX Adaptive via my Noble FoKus Pro TWS and Tidal HiFi streaming.

I'll give the Sony Xperia 1-V a try this summer with the new SDG2 chipset (don't want to deal with SDG1 thermal throttling). I'm hoping the new S23 Ultra coming up in 2 weeks will support advanced aptX codecs but it's doubtful despite being SDG2 chipsets. Samsung likes to force S series users to use SSC so they can sell more GBuds.

[Mattias_ASUS]

AudioWizard is normally not meant to be removed or disabled.