[bluelavender]

No ideas if 9218 shares same archtecture of ES9038. the ES9038 is 8 channels like the ES9018 before it but ES9218 was sold as first quad dac. All I know is from owning all these devices is that SQ for me is G6 beats V20 beats Axon 7 but all fall short of Granbeat which falls short of AK240.
Specs don't mean a thing if implementation falls short. Eg. Axon 7 uses AK4490 but doesn't sound as good as AK380 but doesn't mean AK380 is behind V20. You really need to listen to each complete package and not get distracted by specs.

 
Yes, implementation is everything. It's just like musical instruments. You can have the best guitar in the world, but if you don't know how to play it, it still sounds nowhere near cheap guitar played by maestro.
 
It's not just DAC. Wiring & circuitry, routing, software implementations, etc, all play part.

 

[kantana]

I have had a week with the G6 now.  Comparing to my previous V20 and the current Granbeat.  I would rate them as Granbeat>G6>V20.  I am running the Granbeat from balanced so it's not a completely fair picture since the LG phones do not offer balanced out.
 
The Granbeat has much better staging and output power exceeds that of the G6 and V20.  The G6 is the best non DAP related mobile phone I have  listened to.  It exceeds the Axon 7 and HTC 10.  If you are purely interested in the sound quality then Granbeat will beat G6.  However the G6 as a phone for the remaining functions apart from music will far exceed the Granbeat.

 

[elindil]

  I have had a week with the G6 now.  Comparing to my previous V20 and the current Granbeat.  I would rate them as Granbeat>G6>V20.  I am running the Granbeat from balanced so it's not a completely fair picture since the LG phones do not offer balanced out.
 
The Granbeat has much better staging and output power exceeds that of the G6 and V20.  The G6 is the best non DAP related mobile phone I have  listened to.  It exceeds the Axon 7 and HTC 10.  If you are purely interested in the sound quality then Granbeat will beat G6.  However the G6 as a phone for the remaining functions apart from music will far exceed the Granbeat.

 
Thank you, so much for the comparison. I have a G6 (quad dac). I pair it up with my Campfire Vegas, and they sound wonderful. I do not feel a need to upgrade my portable music gear with this duo any further (wait maybe a cable upgrade to the campfire reference 8 is possible 

).
 
To me, this is the best combination for my music taste and budget for a portable rig. Additionally this portable rig, does not appear bulky and ungainly. My approach to this hobby, is to research and audition the equipment as much as possible before settling on one rig, that i really like. To me this rig is it

 
As a smartphone the LG G6 is decent enough for a audiophile looking for a smartphone/DAP upgrade in 2017. It has everything that you would need for  day to day use coupled with a really good form factor.
 
In Singapore, it comes with a 2 year warranty. It helps to alleviates  any fear for bootloop issues that may occur.

 

[kantana]

I agree with the sleekness of the G6 compared to the Granbeat.  The Granbeat is twice as thick as any other mobile phone I have.  If compared to a phone and dac/amp stack then it may come out as thinner

 

[bluelavender]

  I agree with the sleekness of the G6 compared to the Granbeat.  The Granbeat is twice as thick as any other mobile phone I have.  If compared to a phone and dac/amp stack then it may come out as thinner

 
this is due to granbeat dual board configuration. One for audio, other one for mobile function

 

[Kepller]

  I have had a week with the G6 now.  Comparing to my previous V20 and the current Granbeat.  I would rate them as Granbeat>G6>V20.  I am running the Granbeat from balanced so it's not a completely fair picture since the LG phones do not offer balanced out.
 
The Granbeat has much better staging and output power exceeds that of the G6 and V20.  The G6 is the best non DAP related mobile phone I have  listened to.  It exceeds the Axon 7 and HTC 10.  If you are purely interested in the sound quality then Granbeat will beat G6.  However the G6 as a phone for the remaining functions apart from music will far exceed the Granbeat.

Is the G6's amp equally as powerful as the 2vrms amp on the V20? Can it power big headphones like the v20 on the same volume levels? Also how about the sound signature between the G6 and V20? Would love to hear a more in-deph impression on the sound signature. E.g bass quantity and quality compared to the v20's

 

[gavinfabl]

I have had the G6 a few days. Unfortunately I am unwell so my wife has borrowed the G6, I actually think she will end up keeping it as she likes it a lot. She has posted some of her thoughts on my blog.

Last night I did get to test it with a range of headphones and was impressed. The V20 never came to the UK so I can't compare it to that. So far I have tried it with my Audeze iSine 20 and HD 598. I will test it with my HD700's soon, when I feel better.

If my wife keep the G6, I will definitely get my own one. I will let you know what I think of the audio with some of my IEMs and HD700 in more detail shortly. I also have a exynos S8+.

I have the Astell&Kern XB10 that has APTX HD. When this got paired, an extra option appears allowing you to prioritise audio quality over keeping a better connection. Impressive.

 

[kantana]

I have had the G6 a few days. Unfortunately I am unwell so my wife has borrowed the G6, I actually think she will end up keeping it as she likes it a lot. She has posted some of her thoughts on my blog.

Last night I did get to test it with a range of headphones and was impressed. The V20 never came to the UK so I can't compare it to that. So far I have tried it with my Audeze iSine 20 and HD 598. I will test it with my HD700's soon, when I feel better.

If my wife keep the G6, I will definitely get my own one. I will let you know what I think of the audio with some of my IEMs and HD700 in more detail shortly. I also have a exynos S8+.

I have the Astell&Kern XB10 that has APTX HD. When this got paired, an extra option appears allowing you to prioritise audio quality over keeping a better connection. Impressive.

Hi Gavin, did you get the UK model of the G6?  If so then it doesn't have the quad dac.

 

[gavinfabl]

No I have the Korean G600 G6. No way I was going to have the inferior UK model.

 

[jonsim86]

No I have the Korean G600 G6. No way I was going to have the inferior UK model.

How would the sound differ direct from the g6 or the xb10?

 

[domho7]

I think I will go try LG G6 to try out. Wish me luck.

 

[gavinfabl]

How would the sound differ direct from the g6 or the xb10?

The G6 has Bluetooth APTX HD. The XB10 is APTX HD too so when paired the G6 sends the music at a higher quality bitrate over bluetooth. It sounds better, but not as good as a wired connection.

The G6 also sounds good with the HD700.

 

[jonsim86]

The G6 has Bluetooth APTX HD. The XB10 is APTX HD too so when paired the G6 sends the music at a higher quality bitrate over bluetooth. It sounds better, but not as good as a wired connection.

The G6 also sounds good with the HD700.

Great thx for the input. Was wondering if the g6 will benefit from the bal out of the xb10

 

[Kepller]

I have had the G6 a few days. Unfortunately I am unwell so my wife has borrowed the G6, I actually think she will end up keeping it as she likes it a lot. She has posted some of her thoughts on my blog.

Last night I did get to test it with a range of headphones and was impressed. The V20 never came to the UK so I can't compare it to that. So far I have tried it with my Audeze iSine 20 and HD 598. I will test it with my HD700's soon, when I feel better.

If my wife keep the G6, I will definitely get my own one. I will let you know what I think of the audio with some of my IEMs and HD700 in more detail shortly. I also have a exynos S8+.

I have the Astell&Kern XB10 that has APTX HD. When this got paired, an extra option appears allowing you to prioritise audio quality over keeping a better connection. Impressive.

 
Get well soon gavin. Take your time on the review I will be waiting for it. I still have a couple of weeks before my contract ends anyway. 

 

[SeeSax]

Wellllllll after the eBay price dropped to $579 on the HK version, I jumped on it. I wasn't going to pay $700+, but, I'll take a risk for $579 and see if this is all its cracked up to be. If it's the same as the V20, but in a smaller more pocket friendly form then I will consider it a win. I also have the S8 coming too. 
 
-Collin-