[yiannis550]

Well I had the 2 phones side by side, loaded with same App (Power amp) same settings and playing same files. I played a bit of 10-15 seconds from a song then switch my IEMs to the other phone and listened to the same bit.

I didn't make any scientific measurements. I just trusted my own ears.
 
I cant wait to get my module. I think I will cancel the amazon.de order and get it from clove, but it's about 30 Euros more!  When I ordered both shops where out of stock but now clove has them and amazon is still not giving any clue!

 

[AudiOw]

  After 2 days of LG G5 (Amazon.de still no news on my HiFi DAC order grrrrr)

Over all an awesome little phone! I love it. Coming from 5 years of Samsung Note usage there are some serious features I am missing (The note functionality and the screen stay on while reading something my 2 most important ones) But I am discovering some LG "things" that I LIKE! For example you can program the remote app by learning any IR remote command you want! I could not do this with the NOTE 3. (not to mention that IR is not included in new samsung modules!)
 
The screen is not AMOLED but it is not bad. Colours are more natural, outdoor visibility under the HOT Cyprus sun is OK. The only thing not visible outside is the always on time display and that is when direct under the sun. If under some shade or in the car, it is fine.
I haven't played much with the camera yet but it seems exciting!
 
Built quality is great! I don't know what some reviewers are complaining about quality have been on to! Seriously! Design is nice and modest. I prefer it than the flashy glass of the late Samsung models. I think these reviewers either got some early pieces that had built quality issues, or are paid by Samsung...
 
What else, love the knock features and the fingerprint scanner is accurate and super fast! Charing time is great but I think battery life could be better. Well at least it is replaceable!
 
But lets go to the sound:

I have been testing comparing to my NOTE 3 (has a wolfson DAC)  using my TripleFi 10 IEMS with an aftermarket LUNA  cable from Null Audio. 
I use power amp. I tested both with my favorite settings set the at same levels on Note 3 and G5 and also with all equalizers and tone settings off. 
I tested a range of different types of music including pop, rock, classical, orchestral, instrumental, new age, trance etc. ( I love any music as long as it's ...musical ) 
 
The 2 phones have very different sound signature. NOTE 3 sound is cleaner, more surgical while the G5 is a bit warmer and much more natural. Usually I dont like warm, but this is not too much so it is actually great. With the Note 3 I feel the sound is in a studio but with the G5 I feel I have the whole orchestra and singers in front of me live. Actually the soundstage of the G5 is noticeably bigger.
The level of detail is about the same. I can hear all the instruments and those guitar and violin scratches like in real life I can hear the breath in the flutes and saxophones..

Another thing, the G5 can go louder without much distortion while if I push the NOTE 3 too loud,  sound gets a bit more distorted. 


I have also played some difficult recordings (live recordings of complex orchestral and choir pieces) that my NOTE 3 was not handling very well (too much noise and clippings). The G5 was sounding better. 

So overall I think that the internal DAC of the G5 is a really good one. It is a big improvement from the horrible G4 dac and a small improvement from my beloved NOTE 3. But it does not compare to what I have heard from my friend's LG v10! So I can't wait to get the Hifi plus DAC and test!

PS Come on Amazon.de what happened? everybody else got their stocks already!

 

Great detailed review, thanks. Waiting for your review with the HiFi plus module

 

[McCol]

Aside from the case from Korea, is there any other cases that will fit the G5 with HiFi module attached?  I can't find any.

 

[esuhgb]

  Coming from an S5 it looks very washed out and the reds are really weak and seem tonally off.  Of course the S5 seemed hyper saturated at first, so after having adjusted to that, it amplifies the lack of saturation on the LG.  TBH it is quite a bit more natural than the Samsung, but the reds are definitely not 100% accurate.  Also the viewing angle isn't nearly as good as the OLED, you get some slight variation at even the smallest angle, but it remains pretty consistent and viewable all the way to 90 degrees.  Some people have reported light leak around the edges.  Mine has a very, very small amount only detectable with a black screen in total darkness if you are actively looking for it.  

Thanks for the impressions. Good to know about the lack of back light bleeding. Guess some reviewers might have received faulty units. Will definitely check the phone out before buying. Torn between this the HTC 10 and the Xperia X performance. Good thing about LG phones they drop in price quite quickly.

 

[Whitigir]

HtC 10 review with updated info. The DAC is not Snapdragon variant, but there was no specific brand given

http://www.head-fi.org/t/807570/review-on-htc-10

 

[Guppy_]

HtC 10 review with updated info. The DAC is not Snapdragon variant, but there was no specific brand given

http://www.head-fi.org/t/807570/review-on-htc-10

we need an ifixit teardown! 

 

[Whitigir]

we need an ifixit teardown! 

They did, but no info or chips identifications was disclosed

 

[McCol]

My new HiFi plus arrived today and brief listening with the ie800 suggests the one I sent back must have been faulty.
Will post more later but this one sounds totally different, big improvement on stock G5.

 

[yiannis550]

My new HiFi plus arrived today and brief listening with the ie800 suggests the one I sent back must have been faulty.
Will post more later but this one sounds totally different, big improvement on stock G5.

great news!

 

[yiannis550]

Oh well! I am tired waiting for Amazon stock. I cancelled the order and ordered from clove.

Just to report that I also don't have any led light bleeding. It seems some initial units must have been faulty...

 

[SeeSax]

HtC 10 review with updated info. The DAC is not Snapdragon variant, but there was no specific brand given

http://www.head-fi.org/t/807570/review-on-htc-10

 
While I would love to believe this, I am not sure. Installing the Sammobile hardware app shows the sound chip as the Snapdragon part number. I would love to find out where Android Central got that information. No complaints on the sound whatsoever, but I have my doubts until there is a proper teardown that looks at the chips. 
 
-Collin-

 

[Guppy_]

   
While I would love to believe this, I am not sure. Installing the Sammobile hardware app shows the sound chip as the Snapdragon part number. I would love to find out where Android Central got that information. No complaints on the sound whatsoever, but I have my doubts until there is a proper teardown that looks at the chips. 
 
-Collin-

apparently directly from HTC ?

 

[Guppy_]

   
While I would love to believe this, I am not sure. Installing the Sammobile hardware app shows the sound chip as the Snapdragon part number. I would love to find out where Android Central got that information. No complaints on the sound whatsoever, but I have my doubts until there is a proper teardown that looks at the chips. 
 
-Collin-

  I asked HTC how they did it, and found out that some assumptions about the HTC 10 audio hardware that the internet (and myself) has are incorrect. The HTC 10 uses a stand-alone DAC as well as headphone amp and isn't using the Snapdragon 820 DAC. This is pretty important, and why the HTC 10 sounds as good as it does.

We use a discrete DAC (not one on the SoC) in addition to the amp and have done a ton of PCB engineering to insure the best possible signal-to-noise ratio. Credit to HTC engineering, not off-the-shelf components.

So much for relying on the internet. That's a mistake I won't make again.

http://www.androidcentral.com/htc-10-audio-testing-boomsound-evolved

 

[HipHopScribe]

   
While I would love to believe this, I am not sure. Installing the Sammobile hardware app shows the sound chip as the Snapdragon part number. I would love to find out where Android Central got that information. No complaints on the sound whatsoever, but I have my doubts until there is a proper teardown that looks at the chips. 
 
-Collin-

 
The LG V10 shows the Snapdragon part number in that app too, so that doesn't mean anything

 

[SeeSax]

  http://www.androidcentral.com/htc-10-audio-testing-boomsound-evolved

 
 

   
The LG V10 shows the Snapdragon part number in that app too, so that doesn't mean anything

 
Fantastic, thanks for confirming this! And I guess that app is definitely not the end-all-be-all of DAC identification
 
-Collin-