[RishiGuru]

Yup. My phone came with the Google Playstore preinstalled and it's the default music app. Yeah, if I wanna go for music streaming, i'll be doing that over spotify. Just wanna ask cause I've read in this forum before that there other users using other music app hahaha. Thanks for the clarification. Will enjoy my music at ease!

Vivo audio stack implementation is very different from the rest. Hence using paid music apps like USB Audio Player Pro (awesome app, BTW) will reap no benefits as Vivo will not grant UAPP the rights to use its HiRes DAC. I own a pair of LG V30+ and UAPP works lika a charm. I own a pair of Vivo NEX S and UAPP does not work with the HiRes DAC.

Same goes for my Vivo X5Max & Vivo V5Plus. For Vivo, the default music app is the BEST option. The UI may look simple but the audio quality and the synergy with the inbult HiRes DAC is awesome.

 

[Kalnet101]

Vivo audio stack implementation is very different from the rest. Hence using paid music apps like USB Audio Player Pro (awesome app, BTW) will reap no benefits as Vivo will not grant UAPP the rights to use its HiRes DAC. I own a pair of LG V30+ and UAPP works lika a charm. I own a pair of Vivo NEX S and UAPP does not work with the HiRes DAC.

Same goes for my Vivo X5Max & Vivo V5Plus. For Vivo, the default music app is the BEST option. The UI may look simple but the audio quality and the synergy with the inbult HiRes DAC is awesome.

Wow thank you for the info! Yes it sounds miles better than my Samsung Galaxy S6 and even my desktop which I thought played wonderfully. It has almost to no hiss. I guess I'm gotta be more mindblown if I ever get a proper DAP in the future!

 

[artpiggo]

Vivo audio stack implementation is very different from the rest. Hence using paid music apps like USB Audio Player Pro (awesome app, BTW) will reap no benefits as Vivo will not grant UAPP the rights to use its HiRes DAC. I own a pair of LG V30+ and UAPP works lika a charm. I own a pair of Vivo NEX S and UAPP does not work with the HiRes DAC.

Same goes for my Vivo X5Max & Vivo V5Plus. For Vivo, the default music app is the BEST option. The UI may look simple but the audio quality and the synergy with the inbult HiRes DAC is awesome.

If you set internal audio driver = HiRes Direct Driver
and Hires Audio flags = Direct PCM

Then it will be DSD Mode. (which is great and comparable to HiFI)

It works on xplay6.

 

[RishiGuru]

If you set internal audio driver = HiRes Direct Driver
and Hires Audio flags = Direct PCM

Then it will be DSD Mode. (which is great and comparable to HiFI)

It works on xplay6.

This UAPP setting does not work on Vivo NEX S. Only on Xplay6.

 

[artpiggo]

This UAPP setting does not work on Vivo NEX S. Only on Xplay6.

Oh. Just knew that.

 

[Wormant1]

Why don't you use Vivo's default "iMusic" music player?

I always prefer to go for Vivo's default music player. Reasons:

1) It is designed not to rely on Android's low res audio stack and uses HiRes direct audio path bypassing Android to inbuilt HiRes DAC.
2) HiFi can be directly enabled & disabled from the app.
3) You will have no issues with compatibility, instead there is a great synergy in the app with inbuilt HiFi chip.
4) No down-sampling of HiRes audio files.
5) Got an in-built 10-band graphic equalizer.
6) You may me missing some features when comparing PowerAmp, but iMusic gets the job done with no compromise in audio quality.

Hope it helps.

Because a lack of control in certain aspects infuriates me at times. The lack of a preamp, lack of db level in the equalizer, overriding some of my custom embedded album art with whatever top results it grabs off the internet, just to list a few.
I am not an audio purist so I do tweak certain frequency bands by +/-1 to 3 dBs for most of my headphones, while for a few others I don't touch the bands and only give the bass boost a slight nudge of 5 or 10 percent. Can't do that in iMusic.
Now, I would have given up and ditched PA on my Nex 3s if the Hi-Res output absolutely cannot go through the hi-fi DAC. Like, come on, give me a solid reason, an ultimatum to give up. But no, the Hi-Res output can activate the hi-fi DAC with some extra steps: before I plug in my headphones, I have to open PA through either OpenSL or AudioTrack output so the hi-fi icon appears, then I plug in my headphones, then I switch output to Hi-Res, then I can play music and the hi-fi icon stays there. But any audio interruptions/ducking will immediately unload the audio to the android DAC. And also I have to do this each time I use PA.
See, it's this lack of absoluteness that makes me unable to make a clean break. Rather than "it either works or doesn't", it's "you can make it work if you take a detour". So to me, who has been a loyal PA user for 5+ years, this puts me in an awkward state of indecisiveness.

 

[Nailzs]

I've abandoned LG for their lack of Android OS updates. Even best equipped phone without proper software is a brick.

If you want the latest updates get a T-Mobile LG phone. I have Android 10 and the August 2020 update on my LG G8.

 

[Sam L]

If you want the latest updates get a T-Mobile LG phone. I have Android 10 and the August 2020 update on my LG G8.

LG has pushed out 4 or 5 updates on the LG v60 over the last 8 months

 

[CarolNowak]

X50 Pro unboxings show that a dongle is supplied.

Thanks bro. I am not impressed with x50 pro. That dongle looks cheap and happens when I loose it. Is the DAC in dongle. I cannot charge and listen same time. Bad move by Vivo to remove audio jack. Why did they do such a heneous thing.

 

[mainguy]

This is promising but once again there's no concrete info on what Sony means by "hi-res audio", except that it's a focal point in their advertisement this time around which gives me hope. I can't wait to upgrade my LG V60 to something with similar SQ but with at least 90hz RR. It is literally impossible to go back to 60hz after using a OP8Pro @120hz. I have high hopes for the V70. The OP8P is still my favorite phone I've used this year (outside of the missing audio jack of course), haven't looked into the new Note 20 though.

Oh yeah, I finally was able to compare my LG V60 vs. a Sony Xperia 1ii head-on using IEMs straight out the audio jack (UM MEST, AS T800 and Blon03's are what I have right now). There's definitely an overall decrease in SQ when switching to the Xperia during an A/B comparison. It's not awful by any means but it's noticeably worse to my ears. I was actively rooting for the Xperia since it's a better phone in every way and cost isn't an issue (it has high resale value anyway), so I wasn't biased at all. I wish more people were able to compare the two with decent IEMs and without a dongle because this is just one subjective data point, but I get it, the Xperia is pretty pricy and inaccessible to most (in terms of acquiring it).

Thanks for this mate, i have an Xperia 1 ii and was thinking of jumping ship to the v60 for the DAC (I listen almost exclusively wired). That is a shame to hear the v60 is poorer, the 1 ii is an insanely good phone to be fair. Could you elaborate a little, if you’d be so kind? I’m not sure whether to make the jump, weighing up pros and cons

 

[Kalnet101]

Thanks bro. I am not impressed with x50 pro. That dongle looks cheap and happens when I loose it. Is the DAC in dongle. I cannot charge and listen same time. Bad move by Vivo to remove audio jack. Why did they do such a heneous thing.

I can give a bit of a impression since I currently have this phone.

After using the phone using the usb dongle to listen to music on the go for almost a week now, the dongle feels quite flimsy and I got worried if I'll snap it in half one of these days.

So far by constantly keeping it in my pocket during my commute, the dongle managed to held on it's own, though I've been thinking on getting one of those usb c to 3.5mm DAC as a backup just in case this one ever breaks in the future. A bit of a hassle unfortunately.

Battery depletes very slowly while listening to hi-res music with the screen off and I managed to get through from morning till evening and still having around 23% left by the time I was home. My mobile data was on the whole day as well. It also charges kinda fast too. About 70% from 20% in 30 mins.

Other than that, as a first timer into audiophile Hi-res, I'm really loving the sound of it! I don't know what kind of dongle that Vivo is offering and I guess it's a normal one but my music sounds very very good from my IEMs. It does got me curious on how those mid-range DAPs will sound like.

So far the vivo music app doesn't shuffle as much and it keeps repeating the same song when I already have 223 songs inside. All flac 16bit/44.1khz and some Hi-res 24bit/96khz.

I'm not sure I can give a proper impressions on the actual sounding but it's 100% better than my samsung galaxy s6 and my desktop that which I thought had a pretty decent DAC.

I think that's about it!

 

[TheUnknow]

When you look at it , dongle are just audio part that is deported from inside the phone to the outside.

It's like you take the QuadDac implementation of LG's outside the phone and put it in a tiny dongle.

Dongle should always hit the battery like this , otherwise , they have a faulty design.

Power is needed for hard-to-drive headphone , which are moslty open design headphone, that are useless while traveling ...

 

[RishiGuru]

I can give a bit of a impression since I currently have this phone.

After using the phone using the usb dongle to listen to music on the go for almost a week now, the dongle feels quite flimsy and I got worried if I'll snap it in half one of these days.

So far by constantly keeping it in my pocket during my commute, the dongle managed to held on it's own, though I've been thinking on getting one of those usb c to 3.5mm DAC as a backup just in case this one ever breaks in the future. A bit of a hassle unfortunately.

Battery depletes very slowly while listening to hi-res music with the screen off and I managed to get through from morning till evening and still having around 23% left by the time I was home. My mobile data was on the whole day as well. It also charges kinda fast too. About 70% from 20% in 30 mins.

Other than that, as a first timer into audiophile Hi-res, I'm really loving the sound of it! I don't know what kind of dongle that Vivo is offering and I guess it's a normal one but my music sounds very very good from my IEMs. It does got me curious on how those mid-range DAPs will sound like.

So far the vivo music app doesn't shuffle as much and it keeps repeating the same song when I already have 223 songs inside. All flac 16bit/44.1khz and some Hi-res 24bit/96khz.

I'm not sure I can give a proper impressions on the actual sounding but it's 100% better than my samsung galaxy s6 and my desktop that which I thought had a pretty decent DAC.

I think that's about it!

I think there is a little bit of confusion related to dongles here.

USB audio dongles are of two types:

a) Analog pass-through audio dongles: Simply passes the generated analog audio signal from phone's internal HiRes audio chip via USB port to the audio jack. This is what you are using. You need to buy a high quality analog pass-through dongle. Your X50 Pro's HiRes audio chip is converting the digital PCM signal (FLAC, MP3) to analog signal which your headphones and ears can understand. Instead of sending this analog signal to an audio jack (unfortunately, the phone does not have any!!!) it sends the signal to the USB port. Your supplied dongle is just reading the analog audio signal from specified USB port pins and just making it available to the audio female jack to its other end where headphones are then plugged. These dongles do not consume phone battery.

b) Digital audio dongles: Here the phone's internal HiRes audio chip is not used. The digital PCM signal (FLAC, MP3) is send straight from the music player to the USB port. These types of dongles have a HiRes audio chip built-in (expensive). The dongle converts the raw PCM to analog signal, amplifies it and makes it available to the audio female jack to its other end where headphones are then plugged. Here instead of using phone's internal HiRes audio chip, the audio chip of the dongle is used. You do not requires such kind of dongles for your X50 Pro. Phones like Meizu 17, 17 Pro uses digital audio dongles. These dongles do consume phone battery.

In the end it is good to know you are enjoying the X50 Pro so much.

 

[Kalnet101]

I think there is a little bit of confusion related to dongles here.

USB audio dongles are of two types:

a) Analog pass-through audio dongles: Simply passes the generated analog audio signal from phone's internal HiRes audio chip via USB port to the audio jack. This is what you are using. You need to buy a high quality analog pass-through dongle. Your X50 Pro's HiRes audio chip is converting the digital PCM signal (FLAC, MP3) to analog signal which your headphones and ears can understand. Instead of sending this analog signal to an audio jack (unfortunately, the phone does not have any!!!) it sends the signal to the USB port. Your supplied dongle is just reading the analog audio signal from specified USB port pins and just making it available to the audio female jack to its other end where headphones are then plugged. These dongles do not consume phone battery.

b) Digital audio dongles: Here the phone's internal HiRes audio chip is not used. The digital PCM signal (FLAC, MP3) is send straight from the music player to the USB port. These types of dongles have a HiRes audio chip built-in (expensive). The dongle converts the raw PCM to analog signal, amplifies it and makes it available to the audio female jack to its other end where headphones are then plugged. Here instead of using phone's internal HiRes audio chip, the audio chip of the dongle is used. You do not requires such kind of dongles for your X50 Pro. Phones like Meizu 17, 17 Pro uses digital audio dongles. These dongles do consume phone battery.

In the end it is good to know you are enjoying the X50 Pro so much.

Oh wow thank you so much! That's very informative. So all I have to do is find a dongle which has high quality analog pass through. Got it! That should save me some money and I'll just look around for that. Yes I've been enjoying my music greatly with this phone! I didn't know how amazing this DAC chip can be despite knowing it was also from the Fiio M5. Will definitely be upgrading my IEMs soon. Thank you again!

-------------------------

This is a bit of a side note, I've been casually using the Fiio music app the whole day yesterday and while listening to my music in that app, for some reason it sounded slightly bit cleaner and punchier, especially on the Hi-res songs. So I went back to the vivo music app and my music sounded slightly air-y. It still sounds amazing but there's something from the Fiio music app that makes my songs more detailed in some way. I double check on the hi-fi compatibility in the settings and it fully supports the app. It also shuffles my songs way better than the vivo music app. I didn't disturb any of the equalizer. Just scanned the songs and started listening.

Just wanna share my thoughts on that.

 

[RishiGuru]

This is a bit of a side note, I've been casually using the Fiio music app the whole day yesterday and while listening to my music in that app, for some reason it sounded slightly bit cleaner and punchier, especially on the Hi-res songs. So I went back to the vivo music app and my music sounded slightly air-y. It still sounds amazing but there's something from the Fiio music app that makes my songs more detailed in some way. I double check on the hi-fi compatibility in the settings and it fully supports the app. It also shuffles my songs way better than the vivo music app. I didn't disturb any of the equalizer. Just scanned the songs and started listening.

Just wanna share my thoughts on that.

If Fiio music app is allowed to use Vivo's internal audio HiFi path, then you can straight way use it. Make sure HiFi logo pops up on the notification bar while playing.