[jedthehumanoid]

The real problem is that this isn't G series phone; it's sort of on par with the G pro or the flex series which is to say, it probably won't move many units. (Even galaxy and iphones are selling lower numbers this year.) And in the xda world that could mean that it doesn't get much development.
 
My hang up is that I don't want to sit around waiting for xda to fix a massive oversight that LG shouldn't have placed on the phone in the first place. I shouldn't have to root my phone just to get it to work the way it should have from the start. 
 
We should all be voicing concerns to LG. Maybe they would patch it.

 

[jedthehumanoid]

Yeah, entertaining

though, never take it seriously and literally that the V10 is bullet proof lol.....but V10 is non the less, a beast in it own rights

Are you using the most recent update to the software? There is a poster on xda that is convinced that the DAC works in all apps. He was thinking perhaps it was fixed in the update that came out recently.
 
http://forum.xda-developers.com/lg-v10/help/audio-quality-t3224271/page2#post63516449

 

[Whitigir]

Are you using the most recent update to the software? There is a poster on xda that is convinced that the DAC works in all apps. He was thinking perhaps it was fixed in the update that came out recently.

http://forum.xda-developers.com/lg-v10/help/audio-quality-t3224271/page2#post63516449

The latest was only UI bugs update last month, if u mean the one just released this week ? No, I actually packed it up and send it back to Korea....that unlocked v10 doesn't have lte in the USA.

Hi-fi icon will be always on, no matter what...I already mentioned it many times before.

http://www.head-fi.org/t/785335/lg-v10-hi-fi-audio-quality-review-on-serious-audio-performance/15#post_12012803

We only had so many pages....follow that link and see.

Any apps others than stock player app can not access the hifi DAC. It gets confusing but I verified it.

***confusing part****

1/ hifi icon will always be on, regardless of apps is running, just as long as you had toggled the hifi on, it remains on with headphones attached

2/ even when hifi icon is on, the volume output does not increase in power output. I was unable to verify it using IM-04 because it was only an in ear monitor.....until I was using MdR Z7, the Z7 did not have enough loudness at 100% and even when toggling on and off that hifi icon.

3/ I switched back to stock app, and when first turning on the player, the volume did not change. But until I toggle hi fi icon off and on again, the Z7 almost blew my ears drums....

I thought it was weird, and tried many times...

***verification and confirming parts***

1/ Then I tried to download neutron player, and power amp. It didn't matter what options did I toggle, within the app, or the hifi icon, non of these app players were able to increase the volume loudness. I knew then the amplification process was out of the Windows.

2/ When opened up neutron player and checked into the hardware, the only codec was arm v6 codec or whatever, and that was the snapdragon DAC. There was no other options to switch to the other DAC.

3/ Then I sat down and used IM04 to listen to my specific song in 96/192. Over...and over....and over again from power amp vs stock player.

A/ yes, toggling hifi on-off will change volume loudness in IM-04 but does not change anything in power amp

B/ the sound quality was obviously suffering, bass was thinner, trebles were more dry, soundstage is much narrower.

Those were my finding. I am sure XDA will fix it, and until they do, let's see how the USA V10 version turn out to be ? Free 200gb memory is a sweet deal

However, if Lg pushed the OTA fix, it would be an excellent fix let's pray that it does.

 

[WSDC]

Hi,
 
Thanks for your review on the SQ of LG V10 . From the review you mentioned you did try a few Chinese phones with HIFI capabilities and I presume you're referring to either Vivo, Meizu or Zte. Can you tell me your view regarding sound differences when comparing? Thanks 

 

[SeeSax]

Whitigir, thanks for all your research and hard work in confirming these unfortunate findings. Can I ask a few questions? Did you return the phone because of the DAC issue, or because of the LTE bands? I've gathered that you're a man of research and the non-US LTE bands surely cannot come as a surprise given that nearly every Korean variant of mobile phones have this issue in the US. Was this purchased just to test and then return? You mentioned that you wanted to support LG's efforts. Would you have kept it if the DAC worked properly?

I really hope this gets resolved as I plan to buy the phone on T-Mobile. You have saved me a huge let down as i only use Tidal. Thank you again for all your help here and please take no offense to my slightly direct questions.

Best,

-Collin-

 

[Whitigir]

Whitigir, thanks for all your research and hard work in confirming these unfortunate findings. Can I ask a few questions? Did you return the phone because of the DAC issue, or because of the LTE bands? I've gathered that you're a man of research and the non-US LTE bands surely cannot come as a surprise given that nearly every Korean variant of mobile phones have this issue in the US. Was this purchased just to test and then return? You mentioned that you wanted to support LG's efforts. Would you have kept it if the DAC worked properly?

I really hope this gets resolved as I plan to buy the phone on T-Mobile. You have saved me a huge let down as i only use Tidal. Thank you again for all your help here and please take no offense to my slightly direct questions.

Best,

-Collin-

Honestly, it was of the LTE bands, and I didn't really realized it. I bought a note 4 unlocked before, from Korea and it worked. I don't normally look too deep into phone bands and networks. Since the newer phone from Samsung will cover all bands even in the USA, so I thought V10 was the same. I absolutely was going to keep it, because it was a good phone, good DAC. I only listen to collected music, and watch movies on iPad, so the DAC with stock app is good enough for me.

I would never buy anything to just test and return because of many reasons: I wouldn't make any money from testing and returning, but lose money instead on shipping and the hassles....I would be unhappy if someone bought for test and return on my products.....etc..... LTE was a big deal for me, otherwise I would have bought xiao mi phones instead!

 

[goodvibes]

That's terrible. Hopefully they fix it, if not there is always XDA. I'm sure the devs will find a workaround in time.

I'm not in the market for this as I'm fine with a separate DAP but even though I think it's a marketing blunder to limit it this severely, it wouldn't stop me if it sounded good to me and I wanted an all in one. I don't use EQ or music services and just play my files that are compatible. That said, I do think it's a severe handicap for the intended audience. I'm clearly a minority.
.

 

[jamor]

  I'm not in the market for this as I'm fine with a separate DAP but even though I think it's a marketing blunder to limit it this severely, it wouldn't stop me if it sounded good to me and I wanted an all in one. I don't use EQ or music services and just play my files that are compatible. That said, I do think it's a severe handicap for the intended audience. I'm clearly a minority.
.

 
I agree.  But I also convert all of my FLAC to 320 so that I can upload my entire library to Google Music (you can upload up to 50,000 songs for free @320).  While I'd still do my main listening via SD card and LG app, it would still be nice to have the DAC work with Google Music for easy access to my entire library on the fly.. but in that case I guess it wouldn't be crucial to have the ESS dac/amp.  
 
Nonetheless, it still does the job of replacing a DAP.  It does the same thing that DAPs do that don't have internet or streaming capabilities.  
 
Bottom line: I'd still rather use an LG app on Android for searching music and creating playlists than an X1 or X3 or dx90.  All day every day. No question about that.   That is why the limitation is not a deal breaker for me.

 

[warrior1975]

I'm not in the market for this as I'm fine with a separate DAP but even though I think it's a marketing blunder to limit it this severely, it wouldn't stop me if it sounded good to me and I wanted an all in one. I don't use EQ or music services and just play my files that are compatible. That said, I do think it's a severe handicap for the intended audience. I'm clearly a minority.
.

I wasn't in the market either, as I love electronics, and love having separate daps. I did find this phone rather intriguing though to be honest, and since I'm looking for a new phone, this would have been a very good fit.

 

[Anchorless]

   
 
Bottom line: I'd still rather use an LG app on Android for searching music and creating playlists than an X1 or X3 or dx90.  All day every day. No question about that.   That is why the limitation is not a deal breaker for me.

 
This is where I'm at. 

 

[johmic]

http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=63531433&postcount=22
This guy insists the the DAC is working with power amp....

 

[jamor]

  http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=63531433&postcount=22
This guy insists the the DAC is working with power amp....

 
i cant take this roller coaster of emotion! 

 
 
But whitigir is clearly a smart guy so i doubt hes wrong. However, I hope hes wrong.  ill keep a tab on the xda thread.

 

[Mackerman]

Hello...  Just checking to see if anyone was able to verify if Hi-Fi audio works with streaming services like Tidal or Spotify?  Thanks for the great info!  

 

[mochill]

This will be my first high-end phone

 

[rosw]

Hi
 
thanks you so much for the review, can anyone please confirm if BT aptX works on LG V10 ?
 
also this DAC / AMP issue wont affect BT headphone ya?
 
cheers!