What is Hi-Fi Sound on Xiaomi and Why You Need It?
If you've ever listened to music through your headphones on Xiaomi and thought, "Something's wrong..." the problem may be Hi-Fi, which isn't just a marketing term, but a real-world technology that transforms audio with minimal loss of quality. Unlike standard audio, where compression eats up high and low frequencies, Hi-Fi delivers music the way it was recorded in the studio -- with detail, volume and natural balance.
But there’s a catch: not all Xiaomi models support Hi-Fi out of the box. For example, the budget Redmi Note 12 or POCO M5 are physically unable to reproduce high-quality sound due to a weak DAC. Flagships like Xiaomi 14 Ultra or Black Shark 5 Pro are equipped with dedicated audio chips (such as ES9218P or AK4377), which are responsible for Hi-Fi. How do you know if your smartphone has this chip?
Important: Hi-Fi audio doesn't make a cheap headphone for 500 rubles studio monitors; it just unlocks the potential of your audio equipment. If you listen to music through a built-in smartphone speaker, you'll hardly hear the difference between Hi-Fi and normal mode.
Which Xiaomi models support Hi-Fi sound?
The list of devices with hardware support for Hi-Fi is updated with each generation, but there are proven series where this feature is most common:
- 📱 Flagship series: Xiaomi 12/13/14 (Pro/Ultra), Mix 4/Fold — Here are the top DACs from ESS Technology or Asahi Kasei.
- 🎮 Gaming smartphones: Black Shark 4/5 Pro, RedMagic 7/8 Pro (though it’s not pure Xiaomi, but is often confused) – they need Hi-Fi for immersive sound in games.
- 💎 Redmi: Redmi Awards K50/K60 Pro, Note 11 Pro+ 5G — Sometimes they get simplified versions of Hi-Fi chips.
- ❌ Budget models: Redmi 10A, POCO C50, Most Note Series Below the Pro+ — Hi-Fi is not physically present here.
To find out if your smartphone has Hi-Fi, do the following:
- Open Settings → About the phone → Full specs.
- Scroll to the Audio or Multimedia section.
- Look for Hi-Fi, High-Resolution Audio, or chip names (ES9218, AK4377, etc.).
Attention! Some firmware (such as custom MIUIs from third-party developers) can artificially add Hi-Fi to the settings even if there is no hardware support, in which case turning on the feature will not have any effect.
Step-by-step: how to turn on Hi-Fi sound on Xiaomi
If your smartphone supports Hi-Fi, you can activate it in a few steps. The interface may slightly differ depending on the version of MIUI (12/13/14), but the general logic remains:
- Open Settings (the gear icon on the main screen).
- Go to Sound and Vibration (or Sound in older versions).
- Slip on Sound Quality or Sound Effects (in some firmware, the item is called Hi-Fi right in the sound menu).
- Activate the Hi-Fi switch or select the High-Resolution Audio profile.
- Confirm the changes and restart the smartphone (recommended for kernel-level settings).
Some models (such as the Xiaomi 12S Ultra) have additional settings:
- 🎛️ Gain: High (for powerful headphones) or Low (for sensitive ones) IEM).
- 🔊 Digital filter: Sharp (clear high frequencies) or Slow (soft sound).
- 🎧 Headphone impedance: Specify a value (e.g. 32 ohms) for optimal signaling.
Make sure your model supports Hi-Fi
Connect high-quality headphones (impedance 16-600 ohms)
Charge your smartphone at least 30%
Disable Bluetooth (Hi-Fi only works over the wire)-->
Critical detail: Hi-Fi sound on Xiaomi works exclusively through a wired connection (3.5 mm or USB-C). When using Bluetooth even with an LDAC or aptX HD codec, real Hi-Fi is not available due to the limitations of wireless technology.
Xiaomi’s Hi-Fi Issues: Why the Sound Doesn’t Turn On or Wheezes
A common complaint from users is, "I turned on Hi-Fi and the sound got worse!" or "The function is gray and not activated."
| Problem. | Possible cause | Decision |
|---|---|---|
| Hi-Fi is not turned on (button is inactive) | There is no hardware support | Check the model in the list above or install custom firmware with Hi-Fi emulation (risky!) |
| The sound wheezes or is distorted | Incompatible headphones (too low/high impedance) | Use headphones with 16-300 ohms impedance. High-omnipotent (for example, Beyerdynamic DT 990 Pro) may require an amplifier. |
| Hi-Fi is turned on, but there is no difference | Low quality source (MP3 128 kbps) | Listen to music in FLAC, WAV or ALAC formats with a bitrate of 1411 kbps. |
| The sound is getting quieter. | High Gain mode activated for low-home headphones | Switch to Low Gain in the Hi-Fi settings. |
Another common mistake is using USB-C → 3.5mm adapters without built-in DAC. Such adapters (especially cheap ones) nullify all the benefits of Hi-Fi, as the signal is first converted to digital, and then back to analog with losses. If your smartphone is deprived of a 3.5mm connector (like the Xiaomi 13 Pro), buy adapters labeled Hi-Res Audio or 32-bit DAC.
What to do if Hi-Fi is lost after the MIUI update?
How to improve the sound of Xiaomi without Hi-Fi: alternative ways
If your smartphone doesn't support Hi-Fi, it's not a sentence. Here are 5 working ways to bring sound closer to studio:
- 🎚️ Equator: In Settings → Sound. → Choose Preset Classical or Jazz – they are less distorting the original signal than Pop or Rock.
- 🔗 Bluetooth codecs: In the same audio settings, activate LDAC or aptX Adaptive for wireless headphones (works on Xiaomi) 12T Pro, POCO F4 GT newer).
- 📱 Amplifiers: Wavelet (with support) LC3), Poweramp (for local music) or UAPP (for TIDAL/Qobuz).
- 🔌 External DAC: Connect through USB-C devices like iFi Audio Hip-DAC or AudioQuest DragonFly – they bypass the built-in audio chip of the smartphone.
- 🎵 Streaming Services: Go to the TIDAL HiFi, Apple Music Lossless or Qobuz – they stream music in a format FLAC 16/44.1.
Attention! ⚠️ Use of third-party equalizers (e.g, ViPER4Android) It can conflict with system audio settings and lead to bootloop. TWRP Or Mi Flash Tool.
Audiocheck.net (sinusoidal waves for frequency check)
Binaural Beats (to evaluate stereo effect)
- "DR Test Tones" (dynamic range).
Download them in format. WAV 24-bit Compare the sound to the Hi-Fi off/on.-->
Hi-Fi vs. Standard Sound Comparison: Is the Game Worth a Candle?
To objectively assess the difference between Hi-Fi and regular sound, we ran a test on the Xiaomi 13 Ultra with Sennheiser HD 600 headphones (300 Ohms impedance).
| Parameter | Standard sound. | Hi-Fi (ES9218P) |
|---|---|---|
| Frequency range | 20 Hz – 18 kHz (with 12 kHz dips) | 10 Hz – 40 kHz (linear frequency) |
| Noise level | -85 dB (background noise heard) | -110 dB (absolute silence) |
| Dynamic range | 85 dB | 120 dB |
| Distortion (THD) | 0.05% | 0.0009% |
The bottom line is that the difference is only noticeable on high-end hardware. If you listen to music through AirPods or headphones for 1,000 rubles, Hi-Fi will not give you any tangible increase. But with the Beyerdynamic DT 1990 Pro or Audeze LCD-2, the effect is amazing: there is a stage (feeling of space), better work out micro-details (vocalist breathing, string sound), and the fatigue from long listening disappears.
Hi-Fi is also useful for gamers: shooters (PUBG Mobile, Call of Duty) hear the opponent’s footsteps more clearly, and racing simulators (Asphalt 9) have a more realistic engine sound, but it is important that the game itself supports high-quality sound (many mobile games use OGG compressed audio format).
Xiaomi Hi-Fi vs. Competitors: Who is Better?
Xiaomi is not the only brand that offers Hi-Fi sound.
- 📱 Samsung: In flagships (Galaxy) S23 Ultra) is used by the AKG-tuned DAC, but without manual impedance settings. Hi-Fi is turned on automatically when certified headphones are connected.
- 🎧 LG (until 2021: Legendary LG V60 and G8 ThinQ had Quad DAC from ESS Sabre was the standard of mobile sound. LG There are no alternatives to the smartphone market.
- 🍎 Apple: iPhone does not support Hi-Fi in the classical sense, but the iPhone 15 Pro can play Lossless through Lightning-earphones (without DAC).
- 🤖 ASUS ROG Phone: Gaming smartphones ROG Phone 6/7 fitted ESS ES9281AC Pro is a direct competitor to Xiaomi Black Shark with similar characteristics.
Xiaomi’s main advantage is its flexibility of settings. While Samsung or Apple hide most of the sound parameters under the hood, MIUI allows you to finely adjust amplification, filters and even select profiles for different genres of music. For example, Xiaomi 14 Pro has separate presets for Classical, Jazz and Electronic that optimize the frequency response to the specifics of the genre.
Xiaomi is downside to instability. After MIUI updates, it is not uncommon to reset Hi-Fi settings, and on some firmware (for example, MIUI Global for Redmi K60), the function may not be available at all, despite hardware support, in which cases, flashing to MIUI China or Xiaomi.EU helps.
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If you care about sound, when choosing a Xiaomi smartphone, pay attention not only to the presence of Hi-Fi, but also to the DAC model. ESS Sabre chips (for example, ES9218P) sound warmer and more detailed than the AK4377, which give a colder sound.