I am an audiophile and I make it a point to use audio mods whenever possible. That being said, the audio mods that I've tried and worked amazingly well are Viper4Android and Ainur Sauron, but you will also need Audio Compatibility Patch and Audio Modification Library to make things work so seamlessly.
That being said, I get to see a lot of people complaining about Viper4Android being too buggy in that after every restart, it asks for the driver to be installed again, etc. Well, I have clean flashed/dirty flashed plenty of ROMs now so I can honestly say that my method works.
So, what is my method for installing all of the audio mods I mentioned earlier? Well here are the steps:
1. Install Busybox for Android (in Magisk Repo)
2. Install Audio Compatibility Patch. It now comes with a multi-option installer, so you want to Select NO to the first option then choose Vol + (Patch New Logic). Select NO to the second option and then use Vol - (remove Volume Listener Library). This is done so that your audio won't crackle. You can skip USB Dac if you're not using it and you should choose NO at the last option (library workaround).
3. After Installing ACP with the chosen options, proceed to install Ainur Sauron.
4. Once that is done, install Audio Modification Library. After AML, DO NOT REBOOT YET.
5. Download the Viper4Android 2.7.1 APK here: https://labs.xda-developers.com/store/app/com.pittvandewitt.viperfx . I find this to be the best iteration of the module since it is not buggy at all. Once that is installed, run the application and it will prompt you to install drivers for the first time, choose OK and then allow it to reboot. (Note: after installing this, a Magisk Module will be created automatically)
At this point, all of the audio mods should work in unison. Do not toggle anything else in Viper4Android but the main interface. This means that do not go to the settings and toggle anything. Just configure the audio options as per your liking.
6. Currently, the setup will bork BT audio which means that there is no sound that is going to come off of your BT speakers or headphones. What you need to do to fix this is as follows:
a. Rename "audio_policy_configuration.xml" in "/sbin/.magisk/img/aml/system/vendor/etc/audio" to "audio_policy_configuration.xml.bak".
b. Copy the audio policy configuration xml file from "/sbin/.magisk/img/aml/system/etc" to "/sbin/.magisk/img/aml/system/vendor/etc/audio".
c. Restart the device.
Additional Notes
a. When dirty flashing your custom ROM, allow the modules to recoup itself. In other words, do not touch anything until everything is back to normal (or after 5 minutes from dirty flashing).
b. If you happen to uninstall Ainur Sauron (or Narsil), I find that it usually uninstalls viper4android as well. If that is the case, uninstall Sauron and then click the viper4android app from the drawer and allow it to install drivers again.
c. In some devices, the BT workaround is no longer needed. However, I find that for the Pocophone, the workaround is still required. I guess you just have to test it for yourself if it works right off the bat or not.
d. Audio compatibility patch (remove patch logic) actually enhances the volume and the sound quality of the Poco F1. I cannot test this on other devices since I do not have another phone, but you can try and see if it works for you. (thanks to @Jonas G. Morsch for this).
e. If you are going to try Ainur Narsil, I suggest that you do not install viper4android anymore since it provides a great listening experience right off the bat. You can still install v4a, though if you really want it (The same procedure applies).
f. If you are using a custom ROM that has a built-in "AudioFX" app, you need to freeze it using Titanium Backup or similar apps for Viper4android to work. Thanks to @mikedavo for this tip.
g. If, after following all of the above instructions, and you still experience random driver issues or bugs, I suggest that you do a clean installation of your ROM and do the entire steps again. If it still presents the same error, I suggest that you hop on the Viper4android telegram channel to address your concern so that the dev can fix it.
h. Attached below is a profile converter, so if you're using the old version of Viper4android, you can use the attached file to convert all of your profiles to supported presets.
That's about it! If you have questions, feel free to drop them below. Happy listening!
That being said, I get to see a lot of people complaining about Viper4Android being too buggy in that after every restart, it asks for the driver to be installed again, etc. Well, I have clean flashed/dirty flashed plenty of ROMs now so I can honestly say that my method works.
So, what is my method for installing all of the audio mods I mentioned earlier? Well here are the steps:
1. Install Busybox for Android (in Magisk Repo)
2. Install Audio Compatibility Patch. It now comes with a multi-option installer, so you want to Select NO to the first option then choose Vol + (Patch New Logic). Select NO to the second option and then use Vol - (remove Volume Listener Library). This is done so that your audio won't crackle. You can skip USB Dac if you're not using it and you should choose NO at the last option (library workaround).
3. After Installing ACP with the chosen options, proceed to install Ainur Sauron.
4. Once that is done, install Audio Modification Library. After AML, DO NOT REBOOT YET.
5. Download the Viper4Android 2.7.1 APK here: https://labs.xda-developers.com/store/app/com.pittvandewitt.viperfx . I find this to be the best iteration of the module since it is not buggy at all. Once that is installed, run the application and it will prompt you to install drivers for the first time, choose OK and then allow it to reboot. (Note: after installing this, a Magisk Module will be created automatically)
At this point, all of the audio mods should work in unison. Do not toggle anything else in Viper4Android but the main interface. This means that do not go to the settings and toggle anything. Just configure the audio options as per your liking.
6. Currently, the setup will bork BT audio which means that there is no sound that is going to come off of your BT speakers or headphones. What you need to do to fix this is as follows:
a. Rename "audio_policy_configuration.xml" in "/sbin/.magisk/img/aml/system/vendor/etc/audio" to "audio_policy_configuration.xml.bak".
b. Copy the audio policy configuration xml file from "/sbin/.magisk/img/aml/system/etc" to "/sbin/.magisk/img/aml/system/vendor/etc/audio".
c. Restart the device.
Additional Notes
a. When dirty flashing your custom ROM, allow the modules to recoup itself. In other words, do not touch anything until everything is back to normal (or after 5 minutes from dirty flashing).
b. If you happen to uninstall Ainur Sauron (or Narsil), I find that it usually uninstalls viper4android as well. If that is the case, uninstall Sauron and then click the viper4android app from the drawer and allow it to install drivers again.
c. In some devices, the BT workaround is no longer needed. However, I find that for the Pocophone, the workaround is still required. I guess you just have to test it for yourself if it works right off the bat or not.
d. Audio compatibility patch (remove patch logic) actually enhances the volume and the sound quality of the Poco F1. I cannot test this on other devices since I do not have another phone, but you can try and see if it works for you. (thanks to @Jonas G. Morsch for this).
e. If you are going to try Ainur Narsil, I suggest that you do not install viper4android anymore since it provides a great listening experience right off the bat. You can still install v4a, though if you really want it (The same procedure applies).
f. If you are using a custom ROM that has a built-in "AudioFX" app, you need to freeze it using Titanium Backup or similar apps for Viper4android to work. Thanks to @mikedavo for this tip.
g. If, after following all of the above instructions, and you still experience random driver issues or bugs, I suggest that you do a clean installation of your ROM and do the entire steps again. If it still presents the same error, I suggest that you hop on the Viper4android telegram channel to address your concern so that the dev can fix it.
h. Attached below is a profile converter, so if you're using the old version of Viper4android, you can use the attached file to convert all of your profiles to supported presets.
That's about it! If you have questions, feel free to drop them below. Happy listening!
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