LG V20 Sound Quality

[bluelavender]

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!

Hmm... maybe, if you have another source, can you try another V20? maybe the audio circuit in refurbished phone could have been damaged. While there's big difference between normal or aux / high gain, i don't think normal gain mode can be considered "crap". Even in normal gain, it still sound the best among other phones or even some daps.

 

[Dean Lim]

It is pretty amazing for smartphone to have sound quality like that. Best sound quality for smartphone!

 

[Forty6]

It is pretty amazing for smartphone to have sound quality like that. Best sound quality for smartphone!

+1 , After experiencing it , no question about that .
The best thing V20 for me is , I doesn't need to have a portable amp to pair up with my mobile to have a quality otg music on the road any more . ( on high impedance mode of course )

This V20 is my best purchased so far this year , and it's still June , ha

 

[capetownwatches]

+1 , After experiencing it , no question about that .
The best thing V20 for me is , I doesn't need to have a portable amp to pair up with my mobile to have a quality otg music on the road any more . ( on high impedance mode of course )

This V20 is my best purchased so far this year , and it's still June , ha

The V20 when paired with the right cans can absolutely hold its own with any DAP I've heard. Right now I'm using mine with Fostex T40RP mk2 (unmodded!) on volume level 65 listening to Stratovarius in plain old 16 bit 44.1kHz and it's LOUD!! Not only that, it's controlled and tight with crisp bass, glorious mids and a treble that is immediately recognizable as "planar". What a magic device.

 

[good sound]

The V20 when paired with the right cans can absolutely hold its own with any DAP I've heard. Right now I'm using mine with Fostex T40RP mk2 (unmodded!) on volume level 65 listening to Stratovarius in plain old 16 bit 44.1kHz and it's LOUD!! Not only that, it's controlled and tight with crisp bass, glorious mids and a treble that is immediately recognizable as "planar". What a magic device.

It pairs well with my Oppo PM-3's in normal mode. With some recordings I could use a little more volume but other than that it sounds excellent. I must admit I don't get those who claim normal mode doesn't sound good. I would defy anyone to listen to my DSD file of Muddy Waters Folk Singer on my set up and tell me it doesn't sound anything less than phenomenal in normal mode. I am going to do the neccessary steps to engage high impedance mode. I will be surprised if it brings any easily discernable improvement. It will be awhile as my impedance adaptor is on the slow ship from china and I still need to acquire an extender. Stay tuned.

 

[capetownwatches]

It pairs well with my Oppo PM-3's in normal mode. With some recordings I could use a little more volume but other than that it sounds excellent. I must admit I don't get those who claim normal mode doesn't sound good. I would defy anyone to listen to my DSD file of Muddy Waters Folk Singer on my set up and tell me it doesn't sound anything less than phenomenal in normal mode. I am going to do the neccessary steps to engage high impedance mode. I will be surprised if it brings any easily discernable improvement. It will be awhile as my impedance adaptor is on the slow ship from china and I still need to acquire an extender. Stay tuned.

Although I do prefer using high impedance mode (most of my cans are 55 ohm and higher), the V20 kicks serious ass with my AKG K182 in normal mode, a really fun combination for heavy rock and metal. When "tricked" into HI mode with these cans there is no discernible improvement in SQ to my old and battered aural canals.

 

[good sound]

Although I do prefer using high impedance mode (most of my cans are 55 ohm and higher), the V20 kicks serious ass with my AKG K182 in normal mode, a really fun combination for heavy rock and metal. When "tricked" into HI mode with these cans there is no discernible improvement in SQ to my old and battered aural canals.

Yes, this has been my thinking all along. With certain headphones, possibly even ones of low impedance, there may be differences, perhaps even significant ones, but it is my suspicion that for the majority of low impedance headphones, other than an obvious increase in gain, there will be little to no difference.

 

[nickpinla]

Aarrgh. So i decided to reset again to give it another shot but now i can't find the LG music app. The app store only has lg flow. Help.

 

[808Ronin]

Aarrgh. So i decided to reset again to give it another shot but now i can't find the LG music app. The app store only has lg flow. Help.

Are you on sprint? I recall reading something about these models didn't come with the LG music app.

 

[BananaMilkShake]

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

Iirc this extender only makes the v20 go into aux mode. It should be this type of adapter to go to high impedance. https://www.amazon.com/FosPower-Aux...&qid=1496996522&sr=8-6&keywords=3.5mm+adapter

 

[good sound]

Iirc this extender only makes the v20 go into aux mode. It should be this type of adapter to go to high impedance. https://www.amazon.com/FosPower-Aux...&qid=1496996522&sr=8-6&keywords=3.5mm+adapter

If you read the entire post he explains that you need both the extender and the adaptor because you don't want to leave the impedance adaptor connected while listening as it may affect the sound quality. Once you have the phone forced into high impedance mode you then temove the adaptor leaving the extender in place. The phone will remain in high inpedance mode.

As far as the adaptor you linked to, it appears to be for balanced operation not single ended. It may not even work.

 

[BananaMilkShake]

If you read the entire post he explains that you need both the extender and the adaptor because you don't want to leave the impedance adaptor connected while listening as it may affect the sound quality. Once you have the phone forced into high impedance mode you then temove the adaptor leaving the extender in place. The phone will remain in high inpedance mode.

As far as the adaptor you linked to, it appears to be for balanced operation not single ended. It may not even work.

I understand. Let me rephrase. Iirc The headphone jack extender (with cable protruding*) with an impedance adapter makes the v20 go into AUX mode most of the time. This type of adapter (without any cable*) will make it go into high impedance mode easier. http://www.ebay.com.sg/itm/New-L-Sh...011247?hash=item5af441d32f:g:AyQAAOxy-NVSDu1a

I have tried the extender and most of the time, it goes into AUX mode instead of high impedance. Or maybe its just only me?

 

[good sound]

I understand. Let me rephrase. Iirc The headphone jack extender (with cable protruding*) with an impedance adapter makes the v20 go into AUX mode most of the time. This type of adapter (without any cable*) will make it go into high impedance mode easier. http://www.ebay.com.sg/itm/New-L-Sh...011247?hash=item5af441d32f:g:AyQAAOxy-NVSDu1a

I have tried the extender and most of the time, it goes into AUX mode instead of high impedance. Or maybe its just only me?

I seem to remember someone posting earlier, not quite sure if it was this thread or on another site, that there is a specific order that needs to be adhered to when attaching the extender and the impedance adaptor. Iirc you need to attach them together not seperately. Perhaps this is your issue.

The previous poster seemed to indicate that it is undesirable to leave the impedance adaptor attached while listening as it can affect the sound negatively

 

[nickpinla]

How do you tell if the phone is in AUX mode? Is there a different icon?

 

[HipHopScribe]

How do you tell if the phone is in AUX mode? Is there a different icon?

Settings > Sound > Hi-Fi Quad DAC

It will say normal, aux or high impedance