[jeronim0]

I have a European Version. My Audio-Technica M50x and Sennheiser IE 8 are loud enough.
Way better when on my Iphone 5S.
I hear max 50-60 on Hifi.

It will depends on many things such as your hearing capabilities and music genre.

I found that the V10 at low gain is very very loud with my SE215 but not enough to feed my PM3

 

[Vartan]

http://social.lge.co.kr/newsroom/mc/lg_v20_0804/

 

[audioxxx]

It's a valid complaint because it's kind of a poor set-up that cripples the hardware needlessly. There is a highly capable DAC and amp in this phone. I don't think it was meant to "destroy" $500 DAPs, but I do believe that it can legitimately go toe-to-toe with many mid-tier DAPs. Of course it's fine with many headphones and IEMs that were designed with portable use in mind, and if that's all you use well good for you, I guess, but the amp here is also capable of driving less efficient headphones that most smartphones just don't have the power to drive. Sometimes even efficient headphones could benefit. Problem is, impedance is only one factor in how efficient a headphone is and how well it responds to more power from an amp, so designing an automatic system purely based on impedance isn't ideal for many situations. I get that this is not a factor for most consumers, but if you're gonna design an "audiophile" smartphone, it makes sense to take audiophile needs in consideration, and user selectable gain modes are a pretty obvious one. 

This has been very well said, the fact of the matter is without having an adjustable gain, the v10 really does fall short of being a great DAP player.
And regardless of better chips, I get the feeling much care was given at making sure these actually don't work at optimum, and aren't going to sound as good or work as useful as they possibly could.

It was more like LG like these features in principle. However they won't work properly on this phone. But hang in there, we will make them actually work properly on the next model. Lol

 

[Opus131]

Just so i understand this. The HiFi mode is just a gain setting, right? As in, it doesn't affect sound quality, only volume, right? Because if that's the case the phone is actually loud enough for both by Shure 215 and my Sennheiser HD 600 as it is. Curiously, the Shure 215 activated the gain right away, but maybe it was because i had plugged the Sennheiser first. I'll have to test this. 
 
Right now i'm contemplating whether to root or not. I think i'll keep it without root for a while, if anything not to void the warranty right away. Now i know you need AlsaMixer to raise the gain, but how do you increase the steps in the volume? 
 
Also, i noticed some here recommending Poweramp to play the music. I just downloaded the demo version. Is it really worth the four bucks? So far it looks good enough. I like that you can browse though the file system, but the folders and font are too big, and i can't seem to find a way to make everything smaller. I'm used to Total Commander but that has its own internal audio app. On my PC i just browse to the right folder, right-click on it and play everything that's inside with Winamp (yes, i still use this, version 2,91, no less. Haha). I have been dreaming of using the same method on a portable device since forever. 
 
At any rate, so far i must say i'm pleased with the phone. The audio is good. Can't say whether it is better than an X5 since i never had one but i think it is better than the X3. It seems to have more presence. The music is more forward and that across the board (in the X3, certain things seemed to be in the front while others remained in the back, which i found annoying). I'm not an expert on this stuff so sorry if i can't provide a detailed explanation, and i can only offer my own subjective impression. All i can say is that this player is really, really balanced. 

 

[Opus131]

Everybody bitching about the gain, get a pair of Portapros. They're 50 ohms, so they trigger high gain and can get ear bleedingly loud and sound surprisingly good for under 40 bucks usually...

 
They are great phones. I just wish they didn't have a tendency of pulling your hairs by the root. 

 

[HipHopScribe]

  Just so i understand this. The HiFi mode is just a gain setting, right? As in, it doesn't affect sound quality, only volume, right? Because if that's the case the phone is actually loud enough for both by Shure 215 and my Sennheiser HD 600 as it is. Curiously, the Shure 215 activated the gain right away, but maybe it was because i had plugged the Sennheiser first. I'll have to test this. 
 
Right now i'm contemplating whether to root or not. I think i'll keep it without root for a while, if anything not to void the warranty right away. Now i know you need AlsaMixer to raise the gain, but how do you increase the steps in the volume? 
 
Also, i noticed some here recommending Poweramp to play the music. I just downloaded the demo version. Is it really worth the four bucks? So far it looks good enough. I like that you can browse though the file system, but the folders and font are too big, and i can't seem to find a way to make everything smaller. I'm used to Total Commander but that has its own internal audio app. On my PC i just browse to the right folder, right-click on it and play everything that's inside with Winamp (yes, i still use this, version 2,91, no less. Haha). I have been dreaming of using the same method on a portable device since forever. 
 
At any rate, so far i must say i'm pleased with the phone. The audio is good. Can't say whether it is better than an X5 since i never had one but i think it is better than the X3. It seems to have more presence. The music is more forward and that across the board (in the X3, certain things seemed to be in the front while others remained in the back, which i found annoying). I'm not an expert on this stuff so sorry if i can't provide a detailed explanation, and i can only offer my own subjective impression. All i can say is that this player is really, really balanced. 

 
The hifi mode means it's utilizing the ESS Sabre DAC and amp rather than the built-in Qualcomm audio, but within hifi mode there are 3 different automatic gain levels (normal audio, aux output and high impedance). If you go into the hifi settings it'll tell you which mode it's in. Anything over 50 ohms activate high impedance, so your 600s will be in high impedance mode. Your Shure's would put it in normal audio mode, but they're very sensitive so that should be fine. 
 
I'm a big fan of the latest poweramp alpha build (you'll have to opt-in or download the alpha on their website), it sounds great, it has plenty of options and in the latest build it allows you to increase the volume steps within the app up to 100 steps, and it even effects the hardware volume buttons

 

[bubbasworld]

I have a European Version. My Audio-Technica M50x and Sennheiser IE 8 are loud enough.
Way better when on my Iphone 5S.
I hear max 50-60 on Hifi.

It will depends on many things such as your hearing capabilities and music genre.

I found that the V10 at low gain is very very loud with my SE215 but not enough to feed my PM3

I guess for my age from 50 I hear pretty good.
Everything over level 60 hurts
Specialy with the Sennheiser IE 8.
I guess the trigger high amp?

 

[HipHopScribe]

I guess for my age from 50 I hear pretty good.
Everything over level 60 hurts
Specialy with the Sennheiser IE 8.
I guess the trigger high amp?

 
No, they're only 16 ohms, so they'll be on low gain, but they're very sensitive so it's not surprising that they get really loud

 

[Opus131]

Haha, i just shared my entire music folder over lan and i'm able to browse in it with Total Commander. I'm really loving this thing. 
 
There is only one real major drawback. The volume control on the back of the device rather than the side. I wonder who was the genius who came up with this idea. It is driving me crazy. 

 

[amoyda]

I guess for my age from 50 I hear pretty good.
Everything over level 60 hurts
Specialy with the Sennheiser IE 8.
I guess the trigger high amp?

 
No, they're only 16 ohms, so they'll be on low gain, but they're very sensitive so it's not surprising that they get really loud

I agree with you i have tomahawks 32 ohms and they get really lound

LG V10 ΤΟ ΔΕΚΑ ΤΟ ΚΑΛΟ

 

[Opus131]

   
I'm a big fan of the latest poweramp alpha build (you'll have to opt-in or download the alpha on their website), it sounds great, it has plenty of options and in the latest build it allows you to increase the volume steps within the app up to 100 steps, and it even effects the hardware volume buttons

 
How do you increase the volume steps? I installed the alpha build 700, and i can't find any option to do that. 
 
Also, is there any way to browse for files on a network with Poweramp? 

 

[Opus131]

Out of curiosity, does anyone have any experience with this player?
 
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.neutroncode.mp
 
I also found this app to increase volume steps, but doesn't seem to work right for me: 
 
http://repo.xposed.info/module/com.p1ngu1n.volumesteps

 

[Paulus XII]

  Out of curiosity, does anyone have any experience with this player?
 
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.neutroncode.mp
 
I also found this app to increase volume steps, but doesn't seem to work right for me: 
 
http://repo.xposed.info/module/com.p1ngu1n.volumesteps

 
Yes, but just limited to SQ, PowerAmp Alpha sounds way better.

 

[HipHopScribe]

   
How do you increase the volume steps? I installed the alpha build 700, and i can't find any option to do that. 
 
Also, is there any way to browse for files on a network with Poweramp? 

 
It's in alpha build 703.
 
Settings > Audio > Advanced Tweaks > Volume Levels
 
I don't think there's a network feature built in

 

[V10V10]

I got V10 and ATH-R70x at the same day, got some pretty good deal on the cans...anyways, V10 powers them without a problem, Tidal is working perfectly with the combo, and it just sounds amazing.
 
Was worried about the monster 470Ohm impedance, but no problem at all.