Sony often release no VL's on their US models, so LG could have done the same thing. This phone was heavily marketed because of its audio prowess, so why cripple it? Makes no sense. Anyway it's a done deal, but one can only hope they will not make the same mistake. We shall see.
I cant say i have ever felt my US model V10 is crippled. It can get my 650s and even my LCD-2 uncomfortably loud.. there is no volume cap at all. I just wish they had main the gain selectable for low impedance low sensitivity cans.. but not the end of the word either.