Using Google's Sound Search (an alternative to Shazam or Soundhound)

kkocka

kkocka

Member
I thought I'd start a new topic for those struggling w/Google's Sound Source widget. I'm no pioneer but I finally listened to my coworker who raved about Sound Search and it proved to be a priceless tool in identifying 7 tracks that neither Shazam nor Soundhound could and now the interest seems to be spreading here on the site.

Keep in mind this is just for Android OS, to my knowledge. Installing is very easy, but keep in mind its not a traditional app and you just need to add it to your home screen as a widget. You of course need to have a 4x1 space on your home screen for it to be placed. Its a relatively simple process providing you have Android and this widget is compatible - I dunno why it wouldn't be.

 

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Thanks for that but my problem is that the widget isn't showing on the widget page. The download page says my galaxy pad is compatible with it, I click the install button and it appears to download. I go to the widget page and it's not there! I go back to the download page and it says "installed".  ??? I've rebooted and still no sign of it.  think the possibility is that I'm out of memory (shows 7.93/8 Gb). Not sure what all that is though. Can't seem to find where it's all gone.
 
I think I have found the problem. I was, indeed, almost up to my 8Gb memory. I found the app waiting to install but insufficiant memory to install it. I'm moving a lot of music to the sd card so hopefully I'll remember where I found the app and be able to install it. I had no idea I had that much stuff on the tablet. Should have bought the tablet with the bigger memory!

Edit
Yes, that was the problem. The app had downloaded but not installed due to lack of memory. Cleared some stuff and it's now working. Pretty good to although it did give a few dud answers on some of my music (CDs so there was no question over what it was) but generally better than shazam or soundhound.
 
Mine's the Samsung Galaxy Tab2 7.0
I just moved 5 Gb of music onto the SD card and that seems to have fixed it. Seems this tab needs quite a lot of space for it's OS (nearly half the memory).
It's pretty easy to move stuff - plug into a PC and it opens like another HDD with a selection of internal or SD card folders.
 
Moving a discussion about running Sound Search under the BlueStacks App Players from "DisneyChris Updates: Disneyland A Magical Audio Tour/ Day at Disneyland 3.0" to this topic:

eyore said:
So, after the trouble I had getting it on my handheld, will I take the plunge? Hmmmm


Edit. Yes I did and it worked. However, I can't find the damned widget for Google sound search. There doesn't seem to be anywhere it's showing up to drag it to the desktop although it's showing up in the apps section as being there and installed. It won't drag :(
Click to expand...
Hmm... are you referring to BlueStacks default home screen?  I never saw the Sound Search widget/icon in the BlueStacks "All Apps" screen but I can see that app is installed when I look at Settings -> Apps.

If you installed the ADW homescreen replacement app:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.adw.launcher
I also don't see Sound Search in the "All" pages when I click on ADW's "Show Menu" icon.  However, when you open the "ADW Config" window, it has an "Add" tab and that tab has a "Widgets" icon.  Clicking the "Widgets" icon seems to work the same as the "Add Widget" function on an actual Android device because it opens the Android window labeled "Choose widget".   On an actual Android device, clicking on the "Show Menu" icon or a long press on the "Home" icon should bring up a menu that has the "Add Widget" menu item.  I used that "Choose widget" window to add the Sound Search widget to the current homescreen page.  I can post screen grabs of what I did if you like.
 
That makes sense since the Google Sound Search app is really just a way to access functionality that is already part of Android.  Thanks for the heads-up!
 
pixelated said:
Moving a discussion about running Sound Search under the BlueStacks App Players from "DisneyChris Updates: Disneyland A Magical Audio Tour/ Day at Disneyland 3.0" to this topic:

eyore said:
So, after the trouble I had getting it on my handheld, will I take the plunge? Hmmmm


Edit. Yes I did and it worked. However, I can't find the damned widget for Google sound search. There doesn't seem to be anywhere it's showing up to drag it to the desktop although it's showing up in the apps section as being there and installed. It won't drag :(
Click to expand...
Hmm... are you referring to BlueStacks default home screen?  I never saw the Sound Search widget/icon in the BlueStacks "All Apps" screen but I can see that app is installed when I look at Settings -> Apps.

If you installed the ADW homescreen replacement app:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.adw.launcher
I also don't see Sound Search in the "All" pages when I click on ADW's "Show Menu" icon.  However, when you open the "ADW Config" window, it has an "Add" tab and that tab has a "Widgets" icon.  Clicking the "Widgets" icon seems to work the same as the "Add Widget" function on an actual Android device because it opens the Android window labeled "Choose widget".   On an actual Android device, clicking on the "Show Menu" icon or a long press on the "Home" icon should bring up a menu that has the "Add Widget" menu item.  I used that "Choose widget" window to add the Sound Search widget to the current homescreen page.  I can post screen grabs of what I did if you like.
Click to expand...

DOH! hadn't noticed that "add" button at all.  :-[ Working now.
 
That *might* be due to BlueStacks running Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich/ICS) and I think the Google Search with the voice search option is for Android 4.1 aka Jelly Bean.  I don't have a real Android device yet so I'm not sure.
 
I wanted a phone, net dessert  ;D
Not sure what my iPod runs on. Still, I have sound search now so do I really need another music ID program - silly question, one can never have too many. Half the joy is seeing some of the ridiculous IDs you get which are obviously wrong. The Mark Twain audio (banjo and harmonica) came up several times as punk albums and one very operatic aria.
 
That makes sense as you buy one, eat it on the way home (ie out of date) and have to get the next one. Temporary names with short use-by dates!
I think I'm jelly bean on iPod and ice cream sandwich on the Galaxy tab.
Oh well, thanks to some good reports from needmagic, I bought a Fiio X3 music player (that was really why I bought an iPOd in the first place) and will be using that for my music from now on - apart from the stuff I play through my bluetooth speakers of course. Life is getting far too complicated.
 
6.1.3 (10B329) doesn't mean much to me for the iPod touch 4. I take it jelly bean is Google, not Apple? Must have been a comparison with the IOS which mentioned that it was (like) jelly bean then.
The galaxy tab says ice cream sandwich
 
You might wanna try to check for an update manually to see if the device can upgrade from ICS to Jellybean
 
I tend to get CCU errors doing stuff like that. (colossal cock up)  ;D If it even remotely involves the use of iTunes, forget it.
Seriously, my main reason for the iPod was twofold. (1) to carry music in a form that I could easily select what to play rather than have to scroll through several hundred tracks as on my old mp3 player) and Park music (recording, using Shazam etc). The other stuff you can use it for I had no interest in. I can't go to the park again as I was carer for my son and my wife (it now says it's one or the other) but they won't let me on without a carer now so we are stuck. None of us can ride. I now have a FiiO X3 player which is superb for my music (including flac files and capable of taking a 64Gb mini SD card. Ipod has been retired  ;) What is in it now will do me for the future.
 
I've hardly used it at all :( I don't take stuff out with me and the PC is close at hand. Good for getting music on though (SD card - no iTunes needed)  ;D The tablet was an expensive mistake, I really have no need of it apart from installing the TrackID which is now on my PC. I really can't find a use for it at the moment. I'm the sort of guy who buys a mobile phone just to make calls on I guess and has no need of all the extra goodies.
 
Sorry for another post so quickly, but I would also mention that you can also upload 20,000 of your own tracks to Google Play Music to keep in the cloud and listen while you are out and about. Sorry, I love my Google stuff!!
 
I see that the FiiO X3 is $200 on Amazon.com, which puts it in the same price range as a tablet.  The audio quality on the FiiO will definitely be superior to most or all current tablets.  But.. I can't surf the web, check email, watch videos, etc on the FiiO while I can buy a USB DAC for the tablet.  Just playing devil's advocate. ;D
 
the lack of internet access was actually a big plus for me. I wanted the equivalent of a Walkman with the ability to select what I played so it's perfect. I tend not to like multi-function stuff anyway and the FiiO X3 is a nice size to put in your pocket (unlike a tablet). Nice to have stuff on an SD card too. Really easy to add and delete stuff without the need for iTunes and you can have multiple cards with your collections on and just swap them around. For me it's pretty well perfect. If I need internet etc, I can always take my iPod with me and two small devices (for me) are better than one tablet. Where do I put a tablet when I'm out without a backpack or briefcase?
 
I already have a small tote to carry my 10.1 inch netbook and its accessories, so a 7 inch tablet will have plenty of space.

For music and Internet foo-foo, I use the netbook when I'm going to be at a fixed location for a while and I use the smartphone for when I'm on the go.  The smartphone has a 16 GB microSDHD card that is full of music. ;D
 
I wear (we call it a bum-bag) a small bag around my waist with odds and ends in. Ipod & mobile fit but not a tablet. Other types of bags swing about too much and I have a walking stick in one hand when "on the move" or both hands on a wheelchair so bags are not much use. That's why I used a small backpack in the park.
 
eyore, which version of the Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 do you have?  The 7.0 version apparently has a Wolfson DAC (Digital-to-Analog Converter).
Galaxy Tab 2 7.0 teardown reveals efficient hardware layout and replaceable battery
http://www.techrepublic.com/blog/cracking-open/galaxy-tab-2-70-teardown-reveals-efficient-hardware-layout-and-replaceable-battery/575/#.
•Wolfson WM1811 Stereo CODEC (WM1811AE 22AGKGW)
Click to expand...
Wolfson DACs are held in high regard by audiophiles because they produce very high quality audio.  BTW, Wolfson is a Scottish company; it was started in Edinburgh:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wolfson_Microelectronics
I'm asking because I'm curious if the Galaxy Tab 2 7.0 has audio quality similar to the FiiO X3, which also uses a Wolfson DAC.
 
I honestly have no idea. It doesn't seem to tell me exactly what it is, only the android version and the model  ???
If the 7 refers to the size then yes, that's what I have but I don't notice great sound.
I find it a very cumbersome bit of equipment and messy to use and hardly ever bother with it.
 
I think you're right, the "7" refers to the 7-inch model.  It looks like the "good" Wolfson DACs are the WM8740 and the WM8742; the FiiO X3 uses the WM8740.  The X3 does look very nice but at $200, that's a bit too much money for me to add Yet Another Portable Music Player to my collection of gizmos.  There is the FiiO Andes USB DAC and headphone amp which also uses the WM8740 DAC but is a bit less than half the price of the X3 at $89:
http://www.amazon.com/Fiio-E07K-Portable-Headphone-Amplifier/dp/B00A9LHLQ6

And there's this $57 USB DAC which is much more my style:
HiFimeDIY Sabre U2 Asynchronous USB DAC
http://hifimediy.com/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=123
It's relatively small and powered by the USB bus.
 
pixelated said:
I think you're right, the "7" refers to the 7-inch model.  It looks like the "good" Wolfson DACs are the WM8740 and the WM8742; the FiiO X3 uses the WM8740.  The X3 does look very nice but at $200, that's a bit too much money for me to add Yet Another Portable Music Player to my collection of gizmos.  There is the FiiO Andes USB DAC and headphone amp which also uses the WM8740 DAC but is a bit less than half the price of the X3 at $89:
http://www.amazon.com/Fiio-E07K-Portable-Headphone-Amplifier/dp/B00A9LHLQ6

And there's this $57 USB DAC which is much more my style:
HiFimeDIY Sabre U2 Asynchronous USB DAC
http://hifimediy.com/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=123
It's relatively small and powered by the USB bus.
Click to expand...

I recommended the X3 to eyore after an audiophile friend recommended it to me.  The player was highly rated in UK magazines, giving some high end players a good run for the money and in many cases out performing them.  With a decent set of headphones playback quality of the X3 is (in a word) awesome.  Definitely one to consider.  I hardly use the ipod now ... ive seen the light!
 
I was really looking for a decent mp3 player ages ago and the iPod seemed the solution (I wanted something with a display screen that you could also select the individual track). My previous collection of players didn't have either of those options - only (maybe) a display (text) of what was playing and a back/forward option. Not much fun when you wanted the 43rd track  >:(
The iPod really did far more than I wanted/needed and had limited capacity (8 Gb). The Fiio fulfils all of the above plus the option of up to 64 Gb of storage on micro SD card (and you can always swap cards) with the added plus of excellent sound. At least the iPod does have a recording facility plus bluetooth (I have a bluetooth speaker although it's range is limited). So, between the two, I'm sorted.  ;D
 
From my perspective, a 7 inch tablet is more portable than my 10.1 inch netbook, which in turn is more portable than my 14.1 inch laptop. ;D  When I finally upgrade to an Android smartphone, it'll probably have a USB port.  So I have the storage, display and input devices taken care of and I just need a better DAC.

If anyone is curious about the HiFimeDIY DAC, here are some audiophile user reviews.  They don't mention if they bought the synchronous or asynchronous version but since the synchronous one came out first, it's probably that version.
http://www.head-fi.org/products/hifimediy-sabre-usb-dac
 
That's it of course. It's what's right for the individual. I'm finding it harder now to use touch screens (fingers are getting bent) so the simple push buttons of the Fiio were another plus for me. I tend to use a wand (no, not the Harry Potter type, the one with the carbon rubber on the end) on the iod and pad. That little USB DACS looks rather good but my wife is giving me some "don't you dare" looks a the moment  ;D
Would that work with speakers (I have a spare set)?
 
Indeed!  I'm glad that you & needmagic have found what you wanted and are very pleased with the results, which caused me to research FiiO products, and that led me to USB DACs.  James Burke from the BBC "Connections" program would be pleased :).

What size are those speakers?  I'm thinking a USB-powered or a portable battery-powered device won't be able to properly drive medium or large speakers.  Several reviews of portable USB DACs mention those types of products are suitable for earbuds or headphones meant for portable devices and that's why those DACs are relatively small and light.  Users with hi-fi system type headphones are recommended to get a headphone amp, either integrated with the DAC or separate.  The larger, AC-powered USB DACs are meant to connect to the line input of an amplifier; i.e., yet another component in a component audio system.

If you're thinking of using desktop/bookshelf speakers, maybe this USB DAC/mini amp combo will work for you:
Topping TP30 Class T Digital Mini Amplifier with USB-DAC 15 WPC
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Topping-TP30-Digital-Amplifier-USB-DAC/dp/B005D7SKWK/
A little cheaper on the U.S. Amazon site but that's not figuring in shipping costs:
http://www.amazon.com/Topping-TP30-Digital-Amplifier-USB-DAC/dp/B005D7SKWK/
Some reviews of it on Head-Fi.org:
http://www.head-fi.org/t/531173/topping-tp30-initial-impressions-warning-and-repair-impressions

BTW, HiFimeDIY has several other DACs:
http://hifimediy.com/index.php?route=product/category&path=62
 
I was thinking that it may have been suitable for plugging into the PC and playing audio through from the hard drive to a set of reasonable PC speakers. I presume the gizmo would be recognised by the PC as an output for, at least, headphones?.
 
Yes, any USB DAC/sound card should appear as a USB device and as an audio device.  You might need to go into the Windows Sound control panel applet to enable output from the USB DAC, but you should be able to have more than 1 audio device active at the same time.  I.e., have both the PC's internal audio system and the USB DAC enabled and playing audio simultaneously.

If the PC speakers are powered (i.e., they have a built-in amplifier), that should work with the HiFimeDIY USB DAC.  Some users report they can drive hi-fi headphones directly but maybe they don't notice a (slight?) decrease in quality because they didn't compare the sound quality after connecting the USB DAC to a headphone amp?
 
mine are. indeed, self powered (2 speakers and a bass). I'll note that DACs USB for the future  ;)
 
I've noticed that the Android version of Shazam (at least the version that I'm running on Ice Cream Sandwich through the Bluestacks App Player) does not identify some tracks that the Blackberry/iPhone version of Shazam can easily identify.  Android Shazam seems to use a shorter audio sample so maybe that's why it's not as successful as the other version.
 
I'd noticed that too  :o
Mind you, with all of these programs, they seem to be particular with which section of a track is played. I generally keep hitting the button after every failure and suddenly it comes up with the right ID.
It isn't just an update in the database as one version IDs, the other still doesn't.
I still find TrackID to be able to ID with a very short clip and good accuracy. Shazam is second choice now.
 
Thanks for the confirmation!  I was wondering if I had tweaked something in my Bluestack settings to impair the Shazam app but I guess not.

I still haven't gotten a correct ID with the Google Sound Search widget. :(
 
neither have I  >:(
not for our stuff anyway.
I must give it a try on some more pop stuff and see how it does.
 
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