USB host functionality?

[Pre-dawn raid]

Does anyone know if the Evo supports USB host functionality (with a custom ROM of course)? I've searched and all the related threads are from last year or later. I heard a rumor that this might be possible in ICS. I want to connect a portable USB amp/DAC to my Evo to beef up my sound to my headphones. My NookColor can do it; shouldn't the Evo?!!

 

[nitephlight]

haha setting up my nook color as we speak.. strange how i cant get my bionic to do the same thing... ive been scratching my head over this digital audio output nonsense for longer than i care to admit: the thing that boggles my mind is that our devices posses hardware capable of digital out, they have USB host, yet its just a tease because you can bet that as phones get more advanced and capable, they will also come with more bloatware and lock-downs.. fu motorola i have car, HD AND lapdock and im forced to use my bionic's entirely forgettable DAC?

ICS ROM upgrade to legacy audio has definately helped, but i dont want a software fix: im an audiophile damnit!

 

[Pre-dawn raid]

Yay, someone finally posted on this, thx! Anyway, yeah our phones are capable of so much more hardware wise yet they are crippled at the same time for some reason. This reminds me of the whole HDMI debacle when the Evo first came out...we have this amazing little HDMI out port and very little could be done with it because the software disabled mirroring. What ICS rom did you go with that has the legacy audio? Wish I could hook up a portable USB DAC to my Evo but I'm afraid I'll just have to settle for amping.

 

[nitephlight]

i've been following the nightlies for droidTheory's AXI0M AOKP builds. thankfully i have had very few data issues, using it as my main currently (lol even though i just picked up a bionic lapdock and should really go back to GB, i can't get enough of ICS!)

its hard to say with any certainty that it sounds better than DSP Manager or Beats (meh) audio patch. truthfully, it's all going to be highly dependent upon your set up.. i dont use headphones AT ALL, only place my bionic serves up tunes is in the car, and it's only lossless FLAC at that. i do have to say, however, compared to out of the box performance from a few months ago, the ICS ROM sounds much clearer. i'm currently using the headphone jack audio output, however, i think i'm going to order this "special" motorola Y-cable that comes with the car dock (got mine through verizon and NEVER EVEN KNEW about this grr), might be able to clear up the remaining hiss. i have the HD dock as well and while some people report no background hiss from the 3.5mm jack, i still hear it unfortunately (my well-duh! moment: our phones DO output audio through USB, just not usable without someone investing some time into USB host functionality..)