[yfei]

I had a headphone amp once that allowed Op-amp rolling. Some of the Op-amps were significantly different in signature. Made me think you'd have to be pretty lucky to get exactly what you wanted in an amp that didn't allow those choices.

Anybody know what DAC chipset was used in the Meizu Pro 5?
P.S. Seems like ESS es9018k2m DAC and Texas Instruments OPA1612 op-amp? Wonder why that beat the V30 for audio quality?

Agree, opamp can change sound quality alot.
On my Matrix M-Stage, I have tried several op-amps, the stock opamp make it sound plain, congested, unnatural. the OPA627 classA biasing make it sound transparent, open, and very natural.
LG V30 is a very thin, light phone (compared to Meizu Pro 5), the engineers might want to use smaller opamp.

The model # of opamp is not the only factor, also how they supply power to opamp, and how they wire the signal from DAC into opamp. E.g. Vivo Xplay 6 is also using 3x OPA1612 op-amp, however it's sound is not as good as Meizu Pro 5, it is thin, lack of bass, ... Due to they use two long wires to connect DAC and opmap on different PCB boards, instead of put them together closer on one PCB.

Vivo Xplay 6 is also using ESS9038 DAC, same as LG V20 and V30. Maybe it is also due sound signature of the DAC?

 

[RojasTKD]

Agree, opamp can change sound quality alot.
On my Matrix M-Stage, I have tried several op-amps, the stock opamp make it sound plain, congested, unnatural. the OPA627 classA biasing make it sound transparent, open, and very natural.
LG V30 is a very thin, light phone (compared to Meizu Pro 5), the engineers might want to use smaller opamp.

The model # of opamp is not the only factor, also how they supply power to opamp, and how they wire the signal from DAC into opamp. E.g. Vivo Xplay 6 is also using 3x OPA1612 op-amp, however it's sound is not as good as Meizu Pro 5, it is thin, lack of bass, ... Due to they use two long wires to connect DAC and opmap on different PCB boards, instead of put them together closer on one PCB.

Vivo Xplay 6 is also using ESS9038 DAC, same as LG V20 and V30. Maybe it is also due sound signature of the DAC?

For the sake of accuracy it should be said the Xplay uses the ES9038Q2M DAC, the ES9218 DAC V20 the, and the V30 the ES9218P. THe ES9218P seems to be a slightly refned version of the ES9218 including filters and sound presets, so probably not a big difference.

 

[RojasTKD]

TBH I'm going to be surprised if the S9 has a 3.5mm at all, let alone a good one. If Apple and the Pixel start to chip into Samsung's market share, you can bet the headphone jack is going bye-bye.

Oh goodness, I hope that doesn't happen. Please Samsung don't flow Apple and Google.

I hope the V30 does well so we keep getting more but series audio goodness. If LG's mobile division keeps losing money we may not see devices like this any longer.

 

[bluelavender]

Oh goodness, I hope that doesn't happen. Please Samsung don't flow Apple and Google.

I hope the V30 does well so we keep getting more but series audio goodness. If LG's mobile division keeps losing money we may not see devices like this any longer.

If LG quickly fix the inconsistent qc issue, they won't loose. But if these issues keep popping up here and there and no official fix coming, then yes, LG will loose market.

In secondhand phone market in my place here, LG price drop very fast. Used phone sellers all say only apple and Samsung have good resell price. Many lost trust in LG after the past hardware issues

 

[subguy812]

All companies have qc issues. Note 7 was an example, and that was a bit more than a loose headphone jack. Unless the "headphone jack issue" on the V30 is widespread and verified this is exactly how a couple of issues get blown out of proportion. You guys are already starting with the sky is falling attitude.

 

[bluelavender]

All companies have qc issues. Note 7 was an example, and that was a bit more than a loose headphone jack. Unless the "headphone jack issue" on the V30 is widespread and verified this is exactly how a couple of issues get blown out of proportion. You guys are already starting with the sky is falling attitude.

The thing is, Samsung acknowledged and replaced and pulled back entire thing. Blackberry also have screen popup and replace them.

What hurt LG in the past were the bootloop issues that didnt happen to everyone, never acknowledged, yet happened here and there. Some have them, few went thru without single bootloop. And no official words more or less till G6.

 

[saj2001ind]

For the sake of accuracy it should be said the Xplay uses the ES9038Q2M DAC, the ES9218 DAC V20 the, and the V30 the ES9218P. THe ES9218P seems to be a slightly refned version of the ES9218 including filters and sound presets, so probably not a big difference.

To add to this the G6 with Quad DAC has ESS9218+. Seems V30 and G6 are same dac just V30 has mode options exposed through software

 

[subguy812]

The thing is, Samsung acknowledged and replaced and pulled back entire thing. Blackberry also have screen popup and replace them.

What hurt LG in the past were the bootloop issues that didnt happen to everyone, never acknowledged, yet happened here and there. Some have them, few went thru without single bootloop. And no official words more or less till G6.

I can agree to some extent. However, one youtube video can make it seem everyone is having the problem.

 

[Sladeophile]

It's concerning that lg lost $300m+ on their mobile division list year. I really hope they keep making these phones, but chances are, they will go more mainstream to keep up, or drop high end cell phones altogether.

 

[ljnew]

Very black-or-white statement.
I personnaly prefer the V10 to the Meizu Pro5, despite the similar DAC.
V10 has slightly more bass and treble are a bit less harsh than on Pro5, but it is not night and day either.

V20 was less my cup of tea, a bit analytical versus V10.

I said similar. V20 is analytical and need to be paired with analytical neutral iem to really fully appreciate the capabilities.

 

[milkyspray]

Whenever anyone tries to describe anything audio related as "I can just relax" or "the music just flows" I admit I completely disregard everything. That's like trying to review a movie by doing "it made my eyes feel good."

Bit harsh or much? Geez...

 

[jusbe]

It's concerning that lg lost $300m+ on their mobile division list year. I really hope they keep making these phones, but chances are, they will go more mainstream to keep up, or drop high end cell phones altogether.

Presumably you're referring to this report. The numbers are poor but improving. I think that if they stay in the market, they will (have to) invest heavily in it to see an even better V40 and V50. The rationale being that the low to mid-price sectors are too competitive for meagre returns. The high end market is dominated by Samsung but that's where the money is. And LG has the expertise to do better there, if it can update its division sufficiently. Clearly the business imperative is to stay visible in a trophy market, whereby brand awareness for companies in the smartphone space can lead to many other sales - if done right.

That said, if they don't sort out their QA, this will be my first and last LG device. None of us have time to waste, chasing repairs and replacements. Certainly not at this price.

 

[kalithas]

Does the dragonfly red provide depth and separation like the LGV30 does? I think thats the route i'm going to take...

 

[subguy812]

Presumably you're referring to this report. The numbers are poor but improving. I think that if they stay in the market, they will (have to) invest heavily in it to see an even better V40 and V50. The rationale being that the low to mid-price sectors are too competitive for meagre returns. The high end market is dominated by Samsung but that's where the money is. And LG has the expertise to do better there, if it can update its division sufficiently. Clearly the business imperative is to stay visible in a trophy market, whereby brand awareness for companies in the smartphone space can lead to many other sales - if done right.

That said, if they don't sort out their QA, this will be my first and last LG device. None of us have time to waste, chasing repairs and replacements. Certainly not at this price.

What issues are YOU specifically having?

 

[Blitzula]

This is at least the third review I've seen that talked about screen challenges on the V30.

https://www.yahoo.com/finance/news/lg-v30-review-lg-latest-160000891.html

"...here's what it boils down to: If you're serious about audio and video quality, the V30 wins."