Used this for a couple months now. I can say that the V10 is the best smartphone I have ever owned. My wife has a iPhone 6S Plus. Other than the amp, the 2 DACs being used in the V10 and iPhone are comparable. When using the Snapdragon 808 DAC instead of the Sabre DAC the iPhone wins hands down. Sounds recessed and hollow with the 808's audio implementation. The Sabre DAC 9018C2M combined with the 9602C headphone amplifier tops the iPhone (using low impedance iems/headphones) albeit not by a whole bunch IMO, but this is head-fi so that's saying a lot for a DAP Phone.
To get the DAC to work with everything you must download the "DAC FIX for LG V10" created by Phascinate, there are others I believe. What that application does it is that it plays a sound file that has "zero" sound to it to fool the system to think it is being activated by LG's music application. Without it, other music players on the phone will use the Snapdragon 808. Hopefully LG fixes this but I doubt it based on their track record.
I would say my FiioX5 is warmer with more clarity to the sound. I listened to these using a TH-900 and various IEM's (all easy to drive). All files are CD rips/lossless/FLAC, I am using the following applications to listen to music from v10 (LG Music App, PowerAmp, Neutron, and Media Monkey - I don't commit to one as I like different features in each application and don't mind paying for all of them)
I will have to wait on posting detailed results with the iem's as I need more time with each and don't want to make more snap judgments. Plus I got a v8 coming in a few months.
As for harder to drive headphones I tried quite a few at CES with this phone and the same files including the HD800. This phone does not do them justice. You "must" have an external amp for this or similar.
The battery drains faster than I would like while listening to the Sabre DAC. My battery might last from 6AM - 3PM. Keep in mind, I have optimized my applications on my phone and this is assuming I'm not taking but a couple calls. I have bluetooth off and wifi off. I have to switch batteries no matter what throughout the day. I bought a 13,000 mAh external USB battery that can quick charge to help with this but limits my portability. If I want all-day listening, I will go with my X5. My X5 has 2 SD card slot currently loaded with 256gb. The v10 has 64gb of internal memory I keep for use for phone use and a 200gb microSD for my music and podcasts.
The all-in-one ability of the V10 generally trumps me carrying the x5 though. I still plan to pick up an X7 to augment my v10 but this is "the" phone to buy for an audiophile as long as you know the sacrifices you are taking.
Better implementation of the DAC, adding a clean out and better battery life keep this from being a 5.
To get the DAC to work with everything you must download the "DAC FIX for LG V10" created by Phascinate, there are others I believe. What that application does it is that it plays a sound file that has "zero" sound to it to fool the system to think it is being activated by LG's music application. Without it, other music players on the phone will use the Snapdragon 808. Hopefully LG fixes this but I doubt it based on their track record.
I would say my FiioX5 is warmer with more clarity to the sound. I listened to these using a TH-900 and various IEM's (all easy to drive). All files are CD rips/lossless/FLAC, I am using the following applications to listen to music from v10 (LG Music App, PowerAmp, Neutron, and Media Monkey - I don't commit to one as I like different features in each application and don't mind paying for all of them)
I will have to wait on posting detailed results with the iem's as I need more time with each and don't want to make more snap judgments. Plus I got a v8 coming in a few months.
As for harder to drive headphones I tried quite a few at CES with this phone and the same files including the HD800. This phone does not do them justice. You "must" have an external amp for this or similar.
The battery drains faster than I would like while listening to the Sabre DAC. My battery might last from 6AM - 3PM. Keep in mind, I have optimized my applications on my phone and this is assuming I'm not taking but a couple calls. I have bluetooth off and wifi off. I have to switch batteries no matter what throughout the day. I bought a 13,000 mAh external USB battery that can quick charge to help with this but limits my portability. If I want all-day listening, I will go with my X5. My X5 has 2 SD card slot currently loaded with 256gb. The v10 has 64gb of internal memory I keep for use for phone use and a 200gb microSD for my music and podcasts.
The all-in-one ability of the V10 generally trumps me carrying the x5 though. I still plan to pick up an X7 to augment my v10 but this is "the" phone to buy for an audiophile as long as you know the sacrifices you are taking.
Better implementation of the DAC, adding a clean out and better battery life keep this from being a 5.
