[SRKRAM]

Whenever you change the gain of an amp, it changes the amount of power it can output, but with that it also changes the output impedance curve, which has a very noticeable sound sig/quality change with Balanced Armature type IEMs, but is also noticeable with nearly anything.

Changing gain will have no effect on the output impedance. I wonder if different user-defined filters are used for high and low gain. I'm considering the V20, and have got the LG hifi plus at the moment. People claimed to hear a difference in sound between high and low gain on that as well, but I can't really tell any difference.

-Mark.

 

[good sound]

I have ordered an impedance adaptor directly from Penon. Once it arrives I will see if it makes a difference with my particular headphones. I believe any difference will be headphone dependant. I think for the majority of headphones there will be little to no difference other than the availability of additional gain. I will post my findings.

 

[capetownwatches]

They say a picture is worth a thousand words...

 

[JaeYoon]

I found a funny glitch. But it's not guaranteed.
I just pause and play and stop and unplug and replug. I managed to get LG V20 to kick into high impedance mode on my Periodic Audio MG.

The website shows they are just 32 ohms.

Anyone randomly get this as well lol.

 

[nickpinla]

I tried the LG V20 and loved it for about two days. IN those two days, the sound coming out of the V20 was pure and pristine. It handled most headphones I own with ease although it seems to have more in reserve for the higher impedance phones. I have an XDuo, Fiio X5 i & ii and this sounded better than those dedicated DAPs. The Quad DACs seemed to work on Spotify, Yahoo music or most music sources I could throw at it.
I come from a background of Amoled screens and my current phone is a Note 4. I can tell you that this screen is also pretty good actually very good and the colors seem more natural BUT turn all the lights off and it is a different story. However, could live with that too.
But then I decided to reset the phone to factory settings and turned everything back on, installed all my apps and then the unthinkable happened. The phone even in the HiFi mode sounded like CRAP!
I have no idea why or how. The treble sounded super harsh, the bass sounded like it's coming out of a hollow box etc. I reset the phone again and NADA. Same crap. I bought this phone refurbished and don't know if it had gone through any mods which I wiped off with the reset but the difference in sound was night and day. I have poweramp and other music players mentioned in this thread and they all sound crappy. Yes, the DACs are activated as soon as I plug in my headphones. I believe the switch has become faulty or something that triggers the DACs.
BUT, when it worked, it was the best damn DAP I owned for two days!

 

[maxh22]

I tried the LG V20 and loved it for about two days. IN those two days, the sound coming out of the V20 was pure and pristine. It handled most headphones I own with ease although it seems to have more in reserve for the higher impedance phones. I have an XDuo, Fiio X5 i & ii and this sounded better than those dedicated DAPs. The Quad DACs seemed to work on Spotify, Yahoo music or most music sources I could throw at it.
I come from a background of Amoled screens and my current phone is a Note 4. I can tell you that this screen is also pretty good actually very good and the colors seem more natural BUT turn all the lights off and it is a different story. However, could live with that too.
But then I decided to reset the phone to factory settings and turned everything back on, installed all my apps and then the unthinkable happened. The phone even in the HiFi mode sounded like CRAP!
I have no idea why or how. The treble sounded super harsh, the bass sounded like it's coming out of a hollow box etc. I reset the phone again and NADA. Same crap. I bought this phone refurbished and don't know if it had gone through any mods which I wiped off with the reset but the difference in sound was night and day. I have poweramp and other music players mentioned in this thread and they all sound crappy. Yes, the DACs are activated as soon as I plug in my headphones. I believe the switch has become faulty or something that triggers the DACs.
BUT, when it worked, it was the best damn DAP I owned for two days!

I wonder if you accidently triggered aux mode instead of normal mode?

When using my IE 80's, Aux mode makes them sing! It sounds much more dynamic, engaging, and powerful! Normal mode leaves me bored and wishing for more.

What earphones are you using?

 

[nickpinla]

I wonder if you accidently triggered aux mode instead of normal mode?

When using my IE 80's, Aux mode makes them sing! It sounds much more dynamic, engaging, and powerful! Normal mode leaves me bored and wishing for more.

What earphones are you using?

Sennheiser Momentus 2.0, HD380, Lyxpro HAS 30.
How did I accidentally trigger AUX mode? And if what you wrote about AUX mode is true, shouldn't it sound better? Am I missing something? Thanks!

 

[maxh22]

Sennheiser Momentus 2.0, HD380, Lyxpro HAS 30.
How did I accidentally trigger AUX mode? And if what you wrote about AUX mode is true, shouldn't it sound better? Am I missing something? Thanks!

Yes, AUX mode should sound better the majority of the time unless you are using really sensitive iems.

You could have triggered it by plugging in the cable into the phone before the other cable was plugged into your headphones, this triggers line out mode.

You could try this and report if it makes your headphones sound great again

 

[good sound]

Yes, AUX mode should sound better the majority of the time unless you are using really sensitive iems.

You could have triggered it by plugging in the cable into the phone before the other cable was plugged into your headphones, this triggers line out mode.

You could try this and report if it makes your headphones sound great again

As I reported earlier, when I initiated aux mode using my Oppo PM-3's I heard little if any difference. If anything aux mode sounded a tiny bit worse, not better than normal mode. There was a hint of harshness in the upper frequencies that isn't there in normal mode. I have ordered an impedance adaptor and will report the results once it arrives. I want to stress that the results of putting the phone into aux or high impedance mode is most likely headphone midel dependent. This will depend on more than just any particular models impedance rating. Auxillary or high impedance is no guarantee that your headphones will sound better.

 

[SRKRAM]

I have ordered an impedance adaptor directly from Penon. Once it arrives I will see if it makes a difference with my particular headphones. I believe any difference will be headphone dependant. I think for the majority of headphones there will be little to no difference other than the availability of additional gain. I will post my findings.

What value of impedance adaptor did you order, and what headphones will you use it with. I made a couple of impedance adaptors (100 & 120 ohm iirc) just to see what the effect would be. With my 600ohm T1s I calculated that the difference would be less than 1dB between bass and treble response which I couldn't hear at all. With low impedance headphones the difference was several dB, and wasn't good.

-Mark.

 

[HipHopScribe]

What value of impedance adaptor did you order, and what headphones will you use it with. I made a couple of impedance adaptors (100 & 120 ohm iirc) just to see what the effect would be. With my 600ohm T1s I calculated that the difference would be less than 1dB between bass and treble response which I couldn't hear at all. With low impedance headphones the difference was several dB, and wasn't good.

-Mark.

That's why if you're using an impedance adapter to trick it into high impedance mode you don't want to keep the impedance adapter attached. You need an impedance adapter AND a headphones jack extender. You connect the jack extender + the impedance adapter + the headphones, then you plug it into the phone. This will put the phone in high impedance mode (confirm in settings). Then you disconnect the impedance adapter, but leave the jack extender connected to the phone. Remove the impedance adapter and connect the headphones directly to the jack extender. Since the extender was connected the whole time the phone will remain in high impedance mode even without the impedance adapter attached (again, confirm in settings)

 

[good sound]

That's why if you're using an impedance adapter to trick it into high impedance mode you don't want to keep the impedance adapter attached. You need an impedance adapter AND a headphones jack extender. You connect the jack extender + the impedance adapter + the headphones, then you plug it into the phone. This will put the phone in high impedance mode (confirm in settings). Then you disconnect the impedance adapter, but leave the jack extender connected to the phone. Remove the impedance adapter and connect the headphones directly to the jack extender. Since the extender was connected the whole time the phone will remain in high impedance mode even without the impedance adapter attached (again, confirm in settings)

Oh, I wasn't aware of that. What's the difference between an extender and an impedance adaptor? Wouldn't any extender impart a change in the impedance the phone sees? BTW the impedance adaptor I ordered is 75 ohm. Headphones are Oppo PM-3.

 

[HipHopScribe]

Oh, I wasn't aware of that. What's the difference between an extender and an impedance adaptor? Wouldn't any extender impart a change in the impedance the phone sees? BTW the impedance adaptor I ordered is 75 ohm. Headphones are Oppo PM-3.

A headphone jack extender is just something like this:

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B00I48G1GC/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Unlike an impedance adapter, it doesn't change the impedance and so it won't affect the sound signature of any headphones you attach like an impedance adapter can. That's why you don't want to actually listen with the impedance adapter still attached, it can change the way your headphones sound for the worse

EDIT: Changed my link as I've confirmed this is the exact model that I have and I can confirm it working consistently. I can't confirm that any other similar extenders will work as well.

 

[good sound]

A headphone jack extender is just something like this:

https://smile.amazon.com/Headphone-...75578&sr=8-5&keywords=headphone+jack+extender

Unlike an impedance adapter, it doesn't change the impedance and so it won't affect the sound signature of any headphones you attach like an impedance adapter can. That's why you don't want to actually listen with the impedance adapter still attached, it can change the way your headphones sound for the worse

Got it. Thanks. So when you remove the impedance adaptor the phone won't return to normal mode? Why not?

 

[HipHopScribe]

Got it. Thanks. So when you remove the impedance adaptor the phone won't return to normal mode? Why not?

As long as you leave the headphone jack extender plugged in the whole time, it doesn't try to adjust to the change in impedance again