[glove4]

I loaded up my V10 with an album of 256 bit rate MP3s and listened to it with stock music player using Monoprice 8323 headphones. Cannot tell the difference. Am I doing something wrong or will the DAC only be discernible with higher quality headphones?

 

[HipHopScribe]

I believe those headphones have an impedance less than 50 ohms, which means you're not accessing the higher power output of the amp. If you check in the settings for Hi-Fi DAC you'll probably see that it says "Normal Audio Device". If those headphones have a removable cable, you'll need to remove the cable from the headphones, then plug only the cable into the V10. This will put it in Aux mode, and in the settings you'll see "external audio device is connected." This delivers the same power as high impedance mode, and you should hear more of a difference. Now you connect the cable to headphones and enjoy. If they don't have a removable cable, you'll need a headphone jack extender to get those same results.
 
Some people have also had success with another method to trigger high impedance mode involving making a phone call, check the big V10 thread for more info on that

 

[glove4]

I will try that. Appreciate the information.

 

[ProtegeManiac]

 

LG V10: Can't tell difference when DAC turned on/off

I loaded up my V10 with an album of 256 bit rate MP3s and listened to it with stock music player using Monoprice 8323 headphones. Cannot tell the difference. Am I doing something wrong or will the DAC only be discernible with higher quality headphones?

 

I don't understand what you're doing here - the DAC is the Digital to Analogue Converter - you can't just turn that on or off, unless you can "listen" to the digital data directly unless you can read and understand the digital code.

 

And you "listen" on this system.

 

Even if you used an external DAC you don't just turn it "on/off" as the external unit functions as the DAC and the internal audio chip on the smartphone is disabled. If there's an option in your phone that says "DAC on/off" that's some kind of shorthand or marketing fluff that doesn't tell you what it really does.

 

[glove4]

The option in audio settings reads "32 bit Hi-Fi DAC" with an On/Off toggle. It is only able to be toggled on or off with headphones plugged in. Not really trying to do anything other than hear the alleged difference this phone offers compared with others I have used previously.

 

[ProtegeManiac]

Quote:

The option in audio settings reads "32 bit Hi-Fi DAC" with an On/Off toggle. It is only able to be toggled on or off with headphones plugged in. Not really trying to do anything other than hear the alleged difference this phone offers compared with others I have used previously.

 

OK, first problem - I'm not sure if the DAC in it is even a true 32-bit Sabre DAC (edit: did some reading and it is a Sabre DAC, but still not sure why it just doesn't run 32bit by default, other than the power consumption if it has to upsample). If it is, I don't see why 32-bit compatibility is something that isn't even running by default, considering that's the extent of the natively compatible bit depth. For all I know it could be a 24bit if not 16bit DAC that uses some kind of DSP trick so you can run a 32bit audio file, basically downsampling it down to whatever is actually compatible, and the DSP software that does it uses enough of the processor that it's optional to run it otherwise it will burn through the battery faster.

 

Second problem - whichever kind of DAC it actually is, you are using a 256kbps file on a DAC that is only meant to handle a a 32bit lossless file. A DAC chip with compatibility for longer bit depth lossless files isn't going to magically make a lossy file sound "better," or in any way different from what that file actually sounds like, barring distortion generated pas the DAC (headphone/IEM response curve or speaker in-room response, amplifier distortion, etc).

 

Third problem - it won't magically make any file sound better for that matter, and when it comes to bit depth vs the quality of the recording and mastering process, the bit depth by itself won't make a crappy 32bit master of a Britney Spears album sound better than a properly recorded and mastered 16bit CD layer of a classical music SACD. Again, in the latter case, it isn't even the SACD that sounds better, but the studio knowing who the buyers are are more likely to do everything properly,so even the CD layer sounds better than any other recording in terms of imaging and dynamic range.

 

[glove4]

While I understand that you're trying to explain what a DAC actually does versus what you assumed I thought it was supposed to do, you have really kind of misunderstood the point of this post. Granted, it is my fault for using the word "difference" in my original post, suggesting I was actually looking for it to sound different, or "better." Actually, all I was trying to do was figure out how to obtain the amplification the phone is supposed to provide by way of volume output. There is a notable difference in volume output when the DAC is "on." I suppose I made it sound like I was expecting to hear some level of detail not present in the lower bit rate files I'm using. I simply wanted to hear the difference between standard output when "off" is toggled versus the output the manufacturer claims when the DAC is toggled "on." I did not manufacture the phone obviously, I'm simply going by what I see in the settings menu. On one pair of headphones, with the DAC toggled "on," the low bass is noticeably punchier and volume output louder. It doesn't get more technical for me than that. Clearly I'm no audio expert or engineer. I refer to the article below from Android Authority on why the 32 bit DAC will provide no audible difference, especially given the budget headphones I'm using. I simply wanted to "hear" the difference the alleged amplification makes on the V10. 
 
http://www.androidauthority.com/why-you-dont-want-that-32-bit-dac-667621/

 

[ProtegeManiac]

Quote:

Originally Posted by glove4 /img/forum/go_quote.gif

While I understand that you're trying to explain what a DAC actually does versus what you assumed I thought it was supposed to do, you have really kind of misunderstood the point of this post. Granted, it is my fault for using the word "difference" in my original post, suggesting I was actually looking for it to sound different, or "better." Actually, all I was trying to do was figure out how to obtain the amplification the phone is supposed to provide by way of volume output. There is a notable difference in volume output when the DAC is "on." I suppose I made it sound like I was expecting to hear some level of detail not present in the lower bit rate files I'm using. I simply wanted to hear the difference between standard output when "off" is toggled versus the output the manufacturer claims when the DAC is toggled "on." I did not manufacture the phone obviously, I'm simply going by what I see in the settings menu. On one pair of headphones, with the DAC toggled "on," the low bass is noticeably punchier and volume output louder. It doesn't get more technical for me than that. Clearly I'm no audio expert or engineer. I refer to the article below from Android Authority on why the 32 bit DAC will provide no audible difference, especially given the budget headphones I'm using. I simply wanted to "hear" the difference the alleged amplification makes on the V10. 

 

http://www.androidauthority.com/why-you-dont-want-that-32-bit-dac-667621/

 

 

My guess as to why it's louder is that:

 

1. It upsamples to 32bit, and if it didn't, you were probably dropping below 16bits on the volume control, and are preserving the dynamic range better. Not that you need more than 16bits, just don't drop below that.

 

2. It can be some kind of DSP trick, similar to how Beats Audio works. That one works by deliberately applying an EQ profile to screw* up the sound when you disable Beats, so people will think it's actually doing something, kind of like paying protection money so the local mafia won't smash your store but it feels like a safer environment to work in (if only because other criminals are scared of the mob you pay money to).

 

[soundkhoality]

I can relate. I also have the v10. When it's on hifi mode, there is no difference. Night and day difference when I plug the westone umpro50 to the fiio e18 with hifi mode off on the v10. DAC output only, not the amp+dac output on the e18.

Much more convenient if the v10s integrated dac functions to my liking. Rather than carrying a brick "e18" around with me -_-

 

[soundkhoality]

I'm still on the lollipop software.. Will update to mm and try the aux mode extension if needed haha