[kdbur]

I see the G5 also has APTx-HD as well..................allowing hi res 24bit music quality over bluetooth.  Qualcom did say on Jan 5th at CES they were making it available immediately and helping device manufacturers to reduce development time and quickly meet demand and  LG havn't wasted any time in implementing it on the G5.
 
I e-mailed Qualcom at the time to ask if APTx-HD headphones were needed or whether headphones which already support regular APTx would suffice and they told me it could be technically possible but I  would probably need to buy new specific APTx-HD headphones  which is a shame if it is true as my B&W P5 wireless and B&O H7 weren't exactly cheap and to be superceeded so quickly is a bit annoying for my wallet.  

 

[LajostheHun]

I am not sure if this is correct...

----

[COLOR=282828]Modular design aside, the Hi-Fi Plus’ most intriguing features are its 32bit Sabre ES9028C2M DAC (digital to analog converter), and its Sabre9602c amplifier, which will allow the device to playback 24bit/192kHz hi-res tracks. A trusted brand in hi-fi, Sabre makes components for a wide array of high-end receivers and other audio components for brands like Pioneer, Yamaha, and others. That kind of quality circuitry is something audiophiles have been looking for in a smartphone for years.[/COLOR]












The system also comes with a headphone upgrade in Bang & Olufsen’s H3 in-ear headphones, which will run you around $200 on their own. That leads us to wonder what it will cost you to buy the module for your G5 — all LG is saying is present is that the pricing will be “reasonable,” but there’s no telling what that will translate to in dollars and cents. Then again, even a modest hi-res portable audio player will usually cost around $500-1,000, so anything under that healthy sum may be worthwhile considering.



http://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/lg-g5-hi-fi-plus-modular-hi-res-dac/

Somebody at digitaltrends needs a serious reality check. $500-1000 for a modest media player?
One can buy really good performing yet very affordably priced media player for $100, called the Fiio X1, no it' doesn't have a fancy pretentious DAC, only a pragmatic one, that plays files in bit depth and sampling rates, that actually used in real recordings. It also has an amp that pretty much all cellphones dream about, and even some expensive media players from Sony.
I personally wouldn't pay anything more than $150 for this module, and only if it has an amp better than what's in the V10. That is reasonable!

 

[Whitigir]

I see the G5 also has APTx-HD as well..................allowing hi res 24bit music quality over bluetooth.  Qualcom did say on Jan 5th at CES they were making it available immediately and helping device manufacturers to reduce development time and quickly meet demand and  LG havn't wasted any time in implementing it on the G5.

I e-mailed Qualcom at the time to ask if APTx-HD headphones were needed or whether headphones which already support regular APTx would suffice and they told me it could be technically possible but I  would probably need to buy new specific APTx-HD headphones  which is a shame if it is true as my B&W P5 wireless and B&O H7 weren't exactly cheap and to be superceeded so quickly is a bit annoying for my wallet.  

Makes senses, because you are getting partially decoded digital signals to short stream wirelessly into your headphones,miso your headphones will need to have the ability to see this codec in order to interpret it into sound . They need to both s-raking the same language hehehehe

 

[malifact]

I will of course wait for proper reviews, but I don't have high hopes for the B&O module after reading Whathifi's first impressions. The sound signature sounds too reserved for me.

 

[Sound Eq]

now the biggest question will third player apps have access to the hifi dac and i hope they implement differently than the v10 

 

[malifact]

  now the biggest question will third player apps have access to the hifi dac and i hope they implement differently than the v10 

 
I can't remember the article that mentioned it, but I'm pretty sure that I read the new module will allow any app that outputs audio to access the DAC. YouTube was given as an example.

 

[Whitigir]

now the biggest question will third player apps have access to the hifi dac and i hope they implement differently than the v10 

Should be fine. I think this is like external sound card, but with locking mechanism to stack on to the phone nice and neath

 

[emze]

I'm waiting for some reviews on the phone and module support.  I'm up for an upgrade and my M8 is starting to breakdown, was looking at the V10 but want to hold out for this.
 
I have the FiiO X3 2nd gen and love it, but this will be a great option if the module is priced right.   With LG working with B&O are other DAC/DAP companies allowed to make a module though?  I know it's open for other types, just wonder if the B&O relationship is exclusive.  Would be nice to get a FiiO module, or one with the same footprint as the standard phone for the use of cases and such.

 

[Whitigir]

I'm waiting for some reviews on the phone and module support.  I'm up for an upgrade and my M8 is starting to breakdown, was looking at the V10 but want to hold out for this.

I have the FiiO X3 2nd gen and love it, but this will be a great option if the module is priced right.   With LG working with B&O are other DAC/DAP companies allowed to make a module though?  I know it's open for other types, just wonder if the B&O relationship is exclusive.  Would be nice to get a FiiO module, or one with the same footprint as the standard phone for the use of cases and such.

LG should be allowing 3rd party to make module, and I think they do. LG already said that the module will work on any "android" or PC, but with G5 it has the locking mechanism to stack both into 1. That means it is like an external DAC+Amp. The next thing you can see is that ESS is improving their DAC and Amp every year.

Last year of 2025 es9018 DAC was the thing, and Onkyo barely is coming out with a DAP that use dual DAC ES9018. This year, ES9028 which has Dual DAC inside it....roflmao.

Can DAP catch up with this speed ? Doubt it, only smartphone, and why does ESS push it ? Because mobile entertainment is about to change, and ESS will be the first to push it. In the mean while, only smartphone get released every year.

So, to have the ability to swap out your module even to another phone = amazing as it is. There is no reason why 3rd party don't jump on it. I said this before that if someone can make a good audiophile module, they may want to make their own player (pun intended). Like I said, between a DAP and a phone, the phone will always get better supports and development. Take "rooting and XDA" for example.

So if you want a scoop of portable audio quality ? The time is now, or be soon left in the dirt.

See this ? What is the different to people stacking their amp+DAC already ? You can stack this on top of Galaxy S7 or iPhone


...however with G5 ?

 

[Vaanres]

How about cases for LG G5 with B&O module ? it's a little bit longer. Very hard to find the appropriate case for LG G5 with B&O module. 

 

[Exit]

B&O module: DAC ES9028C2M + AMP ES9602

Looks decent, but I would rather wait for V11/V20 with S820 processor, built-in dac and removable battery. It might happen based on the success of V10 and the possible failure of the gimmick G5(?!). Let's see. And on a side note, there will be a Chinese phone Vivo Xplay 5s actually having es9028+9603 built in with s820, but alas, it's not battery swappable and should be limited within China.

 

[ZMan2k2]

I will wait on this for a bit, but I'm really excited for it.  This is what I want, an all-in-one solution, so I'm not carrying multiple devices in my pockets.  I'll see what What Hi-Fi says, as well as others, and maybe wait until the unit is rootable, because I can't live without ViPER4Android anymore, now that I've gotten a taste for it.  But I'm starting to save already.  

 

[gavinfabl]

I have the V10. The G5 is different to the V10. I have reviewed the V10 on blog gavinsgadgets and am receiving the G5 with DAC module in 2 weeks. I will be testing this a lot and reviewing.

The APT-X HD does need better headphones for the HD aspect. It is very very good. So good that wires will be obsolete in a few years. Especially if Apple ditch the headphone socket in favour of tech like this with the next iPhone.

 

[Whitigir]

I have the V10. The G5 is different to the V10. I have reviewed the V10 on blog gavinsgadgets and am receiving the G5 with DAC module in 2 weeks. I will be testing this a lot and reviewing.

The APT-X HD does need better headphones for the HD aspect. It is very very good. So good that wires will be obsolete in a few years. Especially if Apple ditch the headphone socket in favour of tech like this with the next iPhone.

Nah, doubt it. You still need a proper DAC and amp inside your headphones receiver, which not many will implement properly, even if they do, changing headphones will be a bitch, cause you will be paying for TOTL headphones and DAC+amp all together every time

I careless about Apple ditching the jack and I am not going to buy anything from them until it is fixed...as in a way that the devices has proper DAC and amp with jack

 

[LajostheHun]

I hate to tell you but, we're not a driving force behind any R&D or marketing for Apple or LG or whomever. This is clearly an experiment. The V10 is not as hot selling as some of you might think, and it's impossible to know if it's audio prowess was helping to move whatever number actually sold to the consumer. LG certainly is thinking that it could help otherwise they wouldn't offer it. But the price could make this idea a bad one. The rumored price of $300 in this thread is non starter IMO. Similar size DAC/amps like those from HRT and Audioquest cost far less, and has DACs that is more than enough for real world portable use. Granted they are do not attach to a phone like this one, but that is really not hard to fix with future models. No I doubt that they will offer full blown media players instead, if the modular design takes off. We shall see.