Can I boost the sound levels from Amazon Fire tablet?

George

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Hi, I have an Amazon 7 Fire tablet which I use as a cheap way of getting Spotify, internet radio etc... by plugging it into my hi-fi or boombox via the Fires headphone socket but even though the sound quality from the fire is not bad the sound level from the headphone socket is a little quiet, is there any kind of booster amp thingy that can provide some extra volume without degrading the sound quality or even improve it further (if that's even possible)?
 

insider9

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An amplifier would do just that. You can output via headphone socket on your tablet into any amplifier that accepts analogue inputs.

Have a look at connections though as you may need a stereo 3.5mm jack to 2 rca cable. Depending on the inputs on the amp.
 

George

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insider9 said:
An amplifier would do just that. You can output via headphone socket on your tablet into any amplifier that accepts analogue inputs.

Have a look at connections though as you may need a stereo 3.5mm jack to 2 rca cable. Depending on the inputs on the amp.

Sorry I may not have described the problem very well, I am using a cable from the tablets headphone socket into my amp inputs or boombox line in but the sound from the tablet is not very loud even with the volume on the tablet on max (I guess this is because the headphone output is restricted so headphone users don't deafen themselves ). What I was wondering was is there some kind of mini amplifier that could could boost the sound level from the tablets headphone socket and would this be a better idea than simply cranking up the volume on my amplifier or boombox? I guess any pre amp would need to be adjustable to dial in the optimum amount of gain without distorting?
 

davedotco

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Have you considered using a Bluetooth receiver connected to your hi-fi/boombox and connecting that way?

They typically have quite a healthy output level. The Amazon Basic device costs less than £20 or you can go all hi-fi and get an Arcam Miniblink for about £85.

Extra gain and Wireless too.
 

Gaz37

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A bit of Googling shows there's a volume boost app in the Amazon app store.

I just realised mine's a Fire 8 & has a conventional volume up & down switch on the top so that'll be the difference
 

George

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insider9 said:
Sorry George, misunderstood.

If all the setting in the tablet are exhausted all there is to do is buy a more powerful amplifier or more sensitive speaker.

Nothing wrong with my amp or speakers, could I use some sort of headphone amplifier or would it be better simply to crank up the volume on my HiFi or boombox?
 

George

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davedotco said:
Have you considered using a Bluetooth receiver connected to your hi-fi/boombox and connecting that way?

They typically have quite a healthy output level. The Amazon Basic device costs less than £20 or you can go all hi-fi and get an Arcam Miniblink for about £85.

Extra gain and Wireless too.

Does Bluetooth lose sound quality at all?
 

insider9

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George said:
insider9 said:
Sorry George, misunderstood.

If all the setting in the tablet are exhausted all there is to do is buy a more powerful amplifier or more sensitive speaker.

Nothing wrong with my amp or speakers, could I use some sort of headphone amplifier or would it be better simply to crank up the volume on my HiFi or boombox?
I thought you couldn't get more volume out of your setup hence question which then lead to my suggestion. If you are able to turn the volume up on the amp then the obvious thing would be to just do it.
 
Amazon tablet into a decent dac then onto the amp should give the proper gain that simply plugging the Amazon fire tablet directly into the amp cannot manage on it's own...used to have the same issue with my i phone....also a dedicated docking station can also have a favourable effect.
 

George

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How do I connect my Fire 7 to a DAC as the headphone output is obviously analogue and the mini USB socket is used for charging? And if there was a way to do this would it have any audio advantages over simply turning up the volume on my amp or boombox?
 

George

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Gaz37 said:
A bit of Googling shows there's a volume boost app in the Amazon app store.

I just realised mine's a Fire 8 & has a conventional volume up & down switch on the top so that'll be the difference

I've just found an app called Speaker Boost on the Amazons app store but the reviews are mixed and I suspect these kinds of apps would impact sound quality in not a good way?
 
George.....there's always a way buddy..plenty of USB adapters knocking about which will mean you could only listen when not charging...also there is wireless dacs available on the market these days.....and they will boost the sound to the correct gain for the amp 2.5 volts I believe and I'm pretty sure you'll get a boost in overall Sq.....not night and day mind, it'll be very subtle at this price point.Or the other option is looking out for a docking station that will take a 3.5mm input and output in rca form to the amp ...that could get a bit messy though.you really need to get on the net and do a bit of research when issues such as this arise....but I'm pretty sure that your tablet has low gain and therefore the volume on the amp is much reduced compared to other inputs.
 

Gaz37

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George said:
Gaz37 said:
A bit of Googling shows there's a volume boost app in the Amazon app store.

I just realised mine's a Fire 8 & has a conventional volume up & down switch on the top so that'll be the difference

I've just found an app called Speaker Boost on the Amazons app store but the reviews are mixed and I suspect these kinds of apps would impact sound quality in not a good way?

There's a quick, easy & free way to find out, download it & if it's useless delete it.
 

MajorFubar

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Bluetooth receiver would be my suggestion. Or just simply turn the volume up. Fed with a digital source giving 2.5V peak to peak, most amps are giving all they've got by about 12 o'clock / 1 o'clock on the dial, so people have grown to expect ear-shattering volume levels with the knob cranked half way round. But that wasn't the case in the pre-digital world when line-level was about 600mV and DIN level was even less. The range on the volume control beyond 1 o'clock is there to be used when needed, not just to send over-driven clipped square waves to the speakers.
 

MajorFubar

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MajorFubar said:
But that wasn't the case in the pre-digital world when line-level was about 600mV and DIN level was even less.
Mind you, I guess that's why back then we also had true preamps and not just elaborate switchboxes with a phono stage in them...

Point still stands though
 

George

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davedotco said:
Have you considered using a Bluetooth receiver connected to your hi-fi/boombox and connecting that way?

They typically have quite a healthy output level. The Amazon Basic device costs less than £20 or you can go all hi-fi and get an Arcam Miniblink for about £85.

Extra gain and Wireless too.

I may consider the Amazon Bluetooth receiver. The reviews generally say the sound quality and volume is very good with only a very small percentage of reviews saying sound quality is bad (funny how most people say SQ is very good and a few say it's bad but no one saying SQ is so so?) I guess there is no point getting anything more expensive as it's only an Amazon tablet after all?
 

davedotco

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George said:
davedotco said:
Have you considered using a Bluetooth receiver connected to your hi-fi/boombox and connecting that way?

They typically have quite a healthy output level. The Amazon Basic device costs less than £20 or you can go all hi-fi and get an Arcam Miniblink for about £85.

Extra gain and Wireless too.

I may consider the Amazon Bluetooth receiver. The reviews generally say the sound quality and volume is very good with only a very small percentage of reviews saying sound quality is bad (funny how most people say SQ is very good and a few say it's bad but no one saying SQ is so so?) I guess there is no point getting anything more expensive as it's only an Amazon tablet after all?

Given the price I would think that it is pretty much a 'no brainer'. Personally I would considr it worthwhile just to be rid of the wires. Sound should be at least as good if not better than what you have now.

Edit. Radical thought, if you can get it to access your network, why not get a Chromecast Audio and have that access Spotify and internet radio for you? Lets you use the tablet for other things whilst the music is playing. Only £30.
 

George

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[/quote]

Edit. Radical thought, if you can get it to access your network, why not get a Chromecast Audio and have that access Spotify and internet radio for you? Lets you use the tablet for other things whilst the music is playing. Only £30.

[/quote]

I believe the Amazon tablet is not meant to access Google play but I have seen online that it is possible with a bit of work.
 

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