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Labarum
02-08-2012, 08:12
I am the proud owner of one of these Nexus 7 Tablets everyone is raving about. Nice little 'puter.

Reading around I am supposing that if I plug in a USB OTB cable

http://smartphonepedia.com/images/detailed/micro-usb-otg-cable.png

http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/U/USB_OTG.html

and connect with a standard USB cable to a USB DAC I will get a stream from the Nexus to the DAC.

Unfortunately I am in my Southampton flat with only a 7510 - My Caiman with USB input is in my house in Cyprus. I will have to wait and see.

Can anyone confirm that the Nexus will so work?

The is a horizontal dock about to come out for the Nexus which would power it from the shoe leaving the micro USB socket free to connect to the Standac.

The Nexus would play any files, and it handles FLAC, loaded locally, but also read any files on the home network.

Could be a good way forward.

maxrob200
06-08-2012, 00:54
It would be great if the forthcoming "sound dock" has a spdif output, I would jump for the Nexus 7 then as PS Audio is developing their eLyric controller software for Android (available already for iPad) which will then acess UpnP NAS

Labarum
06-08-2012, 06:14
It would be great if the forthcoming "sound dock" has a spdif output

It hasn't

http://androidcommunity.com/official-nexus-7-dock-and-accessories-leaked-20120731/

Would that be possible with only four connecting studs?

But if you can power the tablet from the horizontal dock, you can get USB out from the side.

Of course there is the Nexus Q streaming sphere with S/PDIF out; but its launch has been delayed after a barrage of negative reviews.

You do wonder how a big company like Google can take so long to bring products to market, and then get them so gloriously wrong.

If the Google ecosystem had an effective, cheap and open streamer, that could be a game changer.

http://techcrunch.com/2012/08/05/the-nexus-q-was-such-a-mess-postponing-its-launch-was-googles-only-option/

maxrob200
07-08-2012, 00:53
Thats a real shame if the dock has no spdif. The Nexus Q is ridiculously expensive - same price as a 16gb Nexus 7. If only the 4 pin connector on the Nexus can be used to output spdif...apprently the samsung Galaxy S phone can make use of its 3 pin connector to output spdif .
You are right is saying that Google has missed the mark with the accessories so far

RichB
16-08-2012, 11:53
How did the trial go with the nexus and your usb dac?

I've also looked at picking up one of these on my travels and being able to connect to my Rega dac andn stream flac via my own choice of media player would be a clincher i reckon.

Labarum
16-08-2012, 12:05
How did the trial go with the nexus and your usb dac?


If the question is for me, my Nexus is with me in Southampton but my Caiman is the other end of Europe in Nicosia.

I give you an answer when I get the two boxes in the same place at the end of September.

I have not investigated too much, but I am not sure if they will plug'n'play or whether I will have to mess about.

RichB
16-08-2012, 12:28
If the question is for me, my Nexus is with me in Southampton but my Caiman is the other end of Europe in Nicosia.

I give you an answer when I get the two boxes in the same place at the end of September.

I have not investigated too much, but I am not sure if they will plug'n'play or whether I will have to mess about.

Yes please keep us posted on this... I've also looked into the dock options but not impressed so far, a charger dock with spdif (or good usb, which will work with a dac) would be a game changer meaning it can do all the stuff a sbtouch could do as well as being handy for my travels for not much more money than a touch.

RichB
18-08-2012, 23:33
an update... so i picked up a nexus 7 and mini usb adaptor whilst bored at an airport the other day. USB audio out doesnt seem to work right out of the box, tried with my rega dac. I hear developers are working on it and it is possible but must need a tweak/app. any opinions or advice from other android tablet users would be appreciated.

all the same, its a pretty nifty device for the web and stuff. I'm already experimenting with spotify and using it as a remote control for foobar/media monkey... works very well.

Labarum
19-08-2012, 07:38
I picked up a nexus 7 and mini usb adaptor whilst bored at an airport the other day. USB audio out doesnt seem to work right out of the box . . .

Was the USB adaptor the OSG variety?

It may be that any App developed to make connection to a USB DAC may have to be a [root]App, that is to say an App that will only work on a "rooted" nexus. The Nexus might need to be "jailbroken" to enable root access to the system files - this is similar to Administrator Access in Windows. It may also be the case that the Linux Kernel of the Android operating system would have to be changed to make what we want work.

I have rooted my Nexus and I wait to see the outcome of all this.

RichB
24-08-2012, 12:41
how did you go about rooting the nexus? interested to know what process you followed and which apps you would use to mount usb devices.

The usb adapator i have is a samsung one designed for andriod/galaxy tablets.

Labarum
24-08-2012, 13:39
I used the Nexus Root Toolkit

See

http://www.wugfresh.com/dev/nexus-root-toolkit/

Read the warnings and disclaimers, though I had no problems.

I wanted to be able to mount a USB memory stick or USB Hard Drive.

That I can do, but the music players available for the Nexus 7 look for a music library in a default location, which is not helpful. VLC for Android is still developing, so there is hope.

There are quite a few apps that require root access - and quite a good one that silences all advertisements.

Must confess, I haven't looked at the little Tablet for a week. As I guessed, a small laptop suits my lifestyle much better than a Tablet. I haven't even got a smartphone. Don't need one. Don't want one.

RichB
25-08-2012, 13:44
I'm currently using the tablet for web browsing and love the portability of it. As a reader and for movies and stuff it is excellent. The biggest surprise came today when I connected it up to my amp from the headphone socket to stream some radio. It actually sounded pretty good. I think it has potential to be a viable alternative to the sb touch if they could sort some decent digital outputs. Any makers or devs reading this would be advised to produce a dock with digital audio outs as its a sure money spinner given they expect to sell 8 million of these tablets by the end of the year.

maxrob200
06-09-2012, 05:07
Bought a Nexus 7 out of sheer curiousity and have found it to be very versatile and user friendly.
Wish List - Hope that there will be spdif outputfor external DAC (Bushmaster) available soon at some stage as the sound quality from the high level out port leaves a "bit" to be desired even playing flac files
Bought myself a terrific MS Office Suite app with part of my Google credit that allows me to create Word, Excel and Powerpoints on the Nexus 7
e-pub readers, winamp, world clocks etc all work really seamlessly

synsei
06-09-2012, 05:30
Let's hope Apple don't try to kill it... :eyebrows:

StanleyB
06-09-2012, 18:52
Wish List - Hope that there will be spdif outputfor external DAC (Bushmaster) available soon at some stage as the sound quality from the high level out port leaves a "bit" to be desired even playing flac files
I don't get asked for an SPDIF output, but I sometimes get asked about an I2S input. Personally I haven't come across the need for either of them. It would require a wider case design however which could tip the total postal weight over the magical 2Kg limit. I am hard wired into that limit since it determines the postal method that I can use and the ability to post things to far away destinations at a low price.

Labarum
06-09-2012, 18:58
I don't get asked for an SPDIF output, but I sometimes get asked about an I2S input.

I thought the S/PDIF output being discussed was in sources like tablet computers that might drive a DAC

What is an I2S input?

StanleyB
06-09-2012, 19:14
I thought the S/PDIF output being discussed was in sources like tablet computers that might drive a DAC

What is an I2S input?
As the saying goes: if you need to ask then you can't afford it :D.

maxrob200
14-09-2012, 02:57
Sorry I meant spdif output for the Nexus 7, dont need spdif out for Bushmaster as thats means bypassing the DAC in the BM (kind of defeats the purpose of the BM)
Anyway, I am chuffed with the Nexus 7 as I have found an app (Nexus Media Importer) that allows me to mount a USB Flash drive using USB OTG cable ($1) without rooting the unit. It only allows files to be saved from USB Flash Drive to the internal storage of the Nexus 7 though....
Also, I have bought a Squeezebox App (Orange Squeeze) which allows me to access my media storage device (NAS) and now I dont have to use the hard to use SB3 remote or try to see the screen on the SB3 when it is hidden behind bits of stuff