[BeerNuts]

I had the V30 and found the Nextdrive Spectra X (dongle dac) to outperform it slightly.
But just to make sure , did you use the v30 in the high impedance mode or not?
This would make a substantial difference.

There is no way to turn on high impedance mode on the v30 that i can see. All mentions of it say to buy a dongle to trick it and then plug into that, or to root the phone and do it via a software. You cant just flag it on and off as is. Apparently the v20 you could just by holding down the hifi dac icon. I listen to everything at 14-18 volume at most V30 and 2020's so its certainly not lacking in power.

 

[NaittsirK]

There is no way to turn on high impedance mode on the v30 that i can see. All mentions of it say to buy a dongle to trick it and then plug into that, or to root the phone and do it via a software. You cant just flag it on and off as is. Apparently the v20 you could just by holding down the hifi dac icon. I listen to everything at 14-18 volume at most V30 and 2020's so its certainly not lacking in power.

High impedance mode changes amp gain to highest and makes the DAC perform fully. So you would gain the benefits even if you do not need the volume.
You can get the impedance dongle ( smth like this https://allegro.pl/oferta/dunu-impedance-plug-150-ohm-mini-jack-3-5mm-8250042607 ). There are others of similar form on amazon and ebay (search impedance adapter) . Remember it needs to be higher then 50 ohms.
I strongly suggest you use your V30 in this mode.

You could also first plug in a cable extension in the 3.5mm , this would switch the dac and amp to 75%(aux mode) , and then plug in headphones without taking the cable out of the v30.

 

[Toom]

My LG V30 got here a day early. Been playing with it full day now trying stuff out. Honestly I am impressed for $160 it does a very good job as a DAP but it can not complete with the zx300 in terms of detail, soudstange and airiness.

Now I didn't expect it to, but you see a lot of people say how the LG V30 totally replaced all of their daps because it was so great. I will back them up that it is pretty damn good, but replace my dap it will not. Especially with the Solaris. Its like 80% of the way there but its just missing that final push into greatness. Its one of those things were if you hadn't heard better and couldn't compare you would be impressed as hell. Right of the box I was impressed, like holy crap this is pretty damn good! It was later when I went into my preferred 4.4 on the zx300 that i was like 'ooooh yeah thats what this sounds like'. Totally not fair I know. So I started to compare the 3.5 and the LG. This get closer but still not quite there, its missing the secret sauce that the zx300 has. The music from the LG is all very straight on, its missing a highness and depth to the holographic nature. For soundstage if we say the zx300 has a full 180 degrees then the LG v30 has more of a forward cone shape. Shave off like 20 degrees from both sides. Like a V in front of you. Bass can be very clean and quite deep, mids a pretty good, the highs might be lacking a bit though. I will say that if you had anything below a zx300 this might actually replace it. I can totally see that. I want to give these things away as gifts just as music players to friends and family.

So things you guys might be interested in. When using UAAP there is zero hiss, seriously none. Even to my sensitive rat ears, none. When using the FiiO Player or Hiby Music there however is a hiss. I am a little confused about that one. The hiss in these two players is enough to hear into very soft music. Amazon Music HD also has a hiss but it is lighter than the FiiO and HiBy players. You could ignore the amazon hd hiss when playing songs, even super quite ones.

The battery on the thing is way better than the FiiO M11 Pro haha, I remember just watching the FiiO count down as it played like a timer. You can't quite see that this the LG.I was at 96% and I played 4 songs and still at 96% (with the screen off). It never gets hot even playing MQA's in UAAP. The screen is massive and cray nice because its a 4k screen. Seriously it has a crazy nice screen! Super super light weight and super super thin as well. In fact so thin its a bit awkward to hold. I mean just in general its a super premium device and it looks and feels like one. There is no reason at all this thing should be $160 other than our culture with older phones. If anyone i knew wanted to get into music I would get them one in a heartbeat. I don't think it would be possible to find anything quite as useful and sounds this good for $160. You have the added benefit of Andriod 8 and all the apps you could ever want. Let them listen to pretty damn good music and browse reddit or ticktoks in super 4k on like a 5" screen haha. The screen is the same height as my iPhone 11 Pro but the LG is just a bit wider. Super tiny bezels on the top and bottom and no camera notch. Seeing the album art on the phone and on the lock screen is a pleasure. Its raining today so its even added rain onto the album art on the lock screen.

Its 80% of the way there in terms of sound, Its just missing that wow factor that makes you emotional when you hear a song. This is a specific problem to the Solaris because that extra 20% is where these things shine the most. If i swap over to my GK Knowels IEM, the Shure 215's, or Sony MH755's the changes are not nearly as noticeable if at all. You are not holding back those IEM's with the LG V30. With the Solaris you are honestly holding them back, its not by much but that last 20% to airy soundstage is massive. Clarity, layering, detail everything get boosted adding that secret sauce to recipe, which is vital to $1500 IEM's.

If my budget was $160 **** yeah id get one of these, but then I wouldn't have $1500 for Solaris... in a pinch I would totally listen to the v30 solaris pairing but the zx300 is like half the size of the phone so i don't think its a pinch i would get into. I am either retuning it or boxing it up super nice and setting it aside for a Christmas present for someone getting into audio without a Solaris.

Cool, glad you like, and that there's no hiss for you with UAPP. I use UAPP too.

If the phone doesn't let you do it, you can update the V30 to Android 9 using the LG Bridge app via PC, just so you know.

Also - what settings are you using in the Quad DAC?

 

[Toom]

High impedance mode changes amp gain to highest and makes the DAC perform fully. So you would gain the benefits even if you do not need the volume.

I think this might not be correct - do you have any evidence?

 

[BeerNuts]

Cool, glad you like, and that there's no hiss for you with UAPP. I use UAPP too.

If the phone doesn't let you do it, you can update the V30 to Android 9 using the LG Bridge app via PC, just so you know.

Also - what settings are you using in the Quad DAC?

No EQ and Short. I didn't know about the Andriod 9 thing might look into that if i keep it.

 

[NaittsirK]

I think this might not be correct - do you have any evidence?

It is. I invested a lot of time in researching this while I had the V30 when it came out years ago.
There are people who took measurements in all three stages as well and I might have read on Reddit* that LG justified the throttled DAC performance in low imp mode to safe battery life.*not 100%on this.
Juan Bagnell , an android YT reviewer, also took measurements between the impedance modes but they are now locked behind his patreon. He does mention them in his videos though.
But I encourage you to test this with your ears. As it is more then noticable.

 

[BeerNuts]

It is. I invested a lot of time in researching this while I had the V30 when it came out years ago.
There are people who took measurements in all three stages as well and I might have read on Reddit* that LG justified the throttled DAC performance in low imp mode to safe battery life.*not 100%on this.
Juan Bagnell , an android YT reviewer, also took measurements between the impedance modes but they are now locked behind his patreon. He does mention them in his videos though.
But I encourage you to test this with your ears. As it is more then noticable.

Ok sure ill bite, $5 adapter and $5 impedance plug on Amazon. Be here on Sunday. There is no way its going to make up for the holes that I am hearing but it sounds pretty funny, so what the heck lets see what happens.

 

[Rockwell75]

 

[NaittsirK]

Ok sure ill bite, $5 adapter and $5 impedance plug on Amazon. Be here on Sunday. There is no way its going to make up for the holes that I am hearing but it sounds pretty funny, so what the heck lets see what happens.

Great, I'm sure you'll notice the difference. Both in terms of technicality and tonality as it too changes from warmer to much more neutral.

 

[Toom]

Great, I'm sure you'll notice the difference. Both in terms of technicality and tonality as it too changes from warmer to much more neutral.

You could always root the V30 and install a sound mod from XDA to force high impedence mode, plus other tweaks. I haven't tried that yet, but might give it a go.

 

[gnahra]

I don’t want to rush in judgement after just a couple of days with them but, if I have to give an opinion right now on Solaris 2020 (paired with SP1000m), for my personal tastes I would say that they are the best sounding and most musical IEMs I have ever heard.And I had quite a bit of flagships in past including U12t, Legend X, Phantom, Andros, PP8 etc.
There’s something that wow me every time I’m listening to them..not sure yet what it is but it’s there.Maybe the 3d holographic soundstage, the separation, the sparkle, the emotional tone or all these things together.
No, they are not reference for sure but they are extremely balanced and made for musical pleasure.
Sold U12t to blind purchase them and I don’t regret it the slightest..

Glad you love them!
Just curious if you had ever listened to the OG or SE Solaris?

 

[HarlanDraka]

Glad you love them!
Just curious if you had ever listened to the OG or SE Solaris?

Sorry, never had the chance to hear the OG and SE Solaris

 

[musicday]

Does anyone own both Luna and Solaris 2020? How do they compare?

 

[FlowLikeWater]

I don’t want to rush in judgement after just a couple of days with them but, if I have to give an opinion right now on Solaris 2020 (paired with SP1000m), for my personal tastes I would say that they are the best sounding and most musical IEMs I have ever heard.And I had quite a bit of flagships in past including U12t, Legend X, Phantom, Andros, PP8 etc.
There’s something that wow me every time I’m listening to them..not sure yet what it is but it’s there.Maybe the 3d holographic soundstage, the separation, the sparkle, the emotional tone or all these things together.
No, they are not reference for sure but they are extremely balanced and made for musical pleasure.
Sold U12t to blind purchase them and I don’t regret it the slightest..

interesting in hearing your opinion on them once the honeymoon period is over

even preferred to U12T? wow

 

[Rockwell75]

even preferred to U12T? wow

That's not that surprising. The u12t is great but it's fundamentally a different sort of IEM than Solaris. They're both on the same tier of performance and whichever one prefers will depend on their own tastes and preferences.