[eio]

I am not sure how pcmfloat works....maybe you can explain. Is it handed to to the DAC in this format or further converted back to PCM. Since volume is implemented in analog domain perhaps it doesnt matter. I need to understand what happens in android with it before handoff to the Hi-Fi DAC. All I can say is somehow, the V20/UAPP Combo sounds amazing to my ears (night/day better) than other media players playing the same file (if they can at all). As to why, it would be great to fully understand this.

pcmfloat is fine. the problem is that UAPP seems doing volume control in 16bit, before converting to 32bit. that really isn't a reasonable thing to do but that's what the result looks like back then.
I'm not sure whether UAPP has fixed this issue now.

doing volume control in 16bit will introduce quantization noise (effectively you are listing to lower bit depth, even down to 10bit), it's more obvious when playing at extremely low volumes, and can be made even more obvious if you amplify that output by an external amplifier.

this issue mostly impact super sensitive headphones. less sensitive headphone don't need that low of volume, and most people are fine with slightly less than 16bit sample depth.

 

[Emulle]

pcmfloat is fine.

I'm with my brother at the moment and testing out his HD650s with the V20, both notice a distorted sound signature with N7player(PCMfloat) compared to LG stock music(PCM16,PCM24).
While I would agree that PCMfloat is fine, I would not call it adequate.

 

[Nicholas Zhang]

Hey guys, I want to ask something about bluetooth connectivity of this LG V20. I know it support apt-x codec. But how is the performance, e.g. sound quality, loudness, and distance from bluetooth headphones?
Because I stumbled upon this website since last week reading about V-Moda crossfade 2 wireless which support AAC or not blablabla, and I pulled the trigger to bought v-moda CF2W. Tested on iphone 7 plus, sounds over bassy, moved to the Samsung galaxy note 4 which support apt-x, the volume is very low even though clearer. And I also try avantree bluetooth transmitter which support apt-x, wow sounds loud and clear, but can't go for distance like 10 ft from the transmitter.
Now I've been thinking about buying new music device (either phone or music player) that has great bluetooth apt-x quality, not like samsung note 4.

 

[jt25741]

I'm with my brother at the moment and testing out his HD650s with the V20, both notice a distorted sound signature with N7player(PCMfloat) compared to LG stock music(PCM16,PCM24).
While I would agree that PCMfloat is fine, I would not call it adequate.

I think you'll notice the output from n7player is resampled by platform to 48k. This destroys sound. That maybe what your hearing.

 

[Emulle]

I think you'll notice the output from n7player is resampled by platform to 48k. This destroys sound. That maybe what your hearing.

I did actually check the output with dumpsys and it do not resample, just using pcmfloat instead of pcm16/pcm24.

 

[vladstef]

I've tried like 30 players with V20 and settled for Pulsar. I kinda liked UAPP as well but it lacks bass for some reason yet has a better soundstage. Now, I understand that these 2 could be connected and that I am just hearing better soundstage due to lighter sound of the UAPP.
There is some software messing with everything, I guess the player(s) and android and LG's borderline insane way of controlling the DAC's accessibility.
Obviously, all of this could and should be fixed, but nothing is happening. We have an awesome DAC and AMP crippled by wrong execution and very unfriendly OS.

 

[ljnew]

What headphones are you guys using with your V20?
I currently use the Fidelio X2 and awaiting a pair of VE Monk Plus.
But I would also like a pair of portable over-ear headphones when I'm out and about..
Any good tips?

I will head down to the local shop when I've got the time and try out the V-moda Crossfade LP2 & ath-M50x.

Tried tons but ath-e70 is best because it's flat for studio mixing. http://amzn.to/2yl4wA3

 

[DJ The Rocket]

Has anyone been able to use the V20 with a USB-bus powered DAC via OTG? In my experience this is NOT POSSIBLE, without ridiculous work-arounds. What the hell is LG thinking?

I use an ODAC; with the V10, this was an extremely simple plug-and-play operation. The V20, however, CANNOT PROVIDE THE MEAGER 20mA THE ODAC NEEDS! This is stupid!

Or technically it can, but only with a USB hub in the middle, for some reason (which draws even more power!). I'm not going to carry a freaking hub around in my pocket, on top of the phone, DAC, and amp I already need. What the hell is going on with this? Why is the V20 OBJECTIVELY WORSE than the V10 in this?

Going back to a V10 isn't an option because of the bootloop issue that makes the V10 as good as a brick out of the box. And no, the V20 sound quality is not good enough to solve my need to do this. It sounds fine for whenever I can't/don't want to carry everything else with me, but at home when I just want to listen in another room? The ODAC/Fiio E11 sound quality is head and shoulders better.

 

[ljnew]

BRIEFLY tested v30 vs v20 for about hour yesterday.

No huge apparent difference. Maybe v30 little more clearer.

also v30 smaller. Didn't seem to be a huge upgrade.

Definitely in no rush to spend $800. But will do more testing.

 

[DJ The Rocket]

I've tried like 30 players with V20 and settled for Pulsar. I kinda liked UAPP as well but it lacks bass for some reason yet has a better soundstage.

In the settings, UAPP has a bit-perfect option. Turn that on, and you will see that any lack of bass is caused by your other equipment, not the app.

 

[Emulle]

Tried tons but ath-e70 is best because it's flat for studio mixing. http://amzn.to/2yl4wA3

Thanks, but I joined the Massdrop for HD6XX instead of buying portable headphones(I hope the VE Monk Plus will suffice).

 

[vladstef]

In the settings, UAPP has a bit-perfect option. Turn that on, and you will see that any lack of bass is caused by your other equipment, not the app.

Oh, I used UAPP with V20 only, without any additional equipment. Talking about using V20's usb port to digitally transfer files to a DAC is quite unnecessary, many phone do this. V20's jack is made to be used due to their Quad DAC, the issue is that it's hard to actually utilize that DAC and other circuitry properly due to immature software on many levels. So, using UAPP to play files through phone's jack is much better than most players on the market (for me this includes Poweramp alpha, Neutron, N7, Foobar and many others), but it lacks bass compared to Pulsar, and this surprised me. I suspect that its Pulsar that's boosting the bass and not UAPP lacking it, and given that V20's DAC is cold-ish, Pulsar ends up working as a very slight eq without the expected eq shortcomings.

 

[artpiggo]

In the settings, UAPP has a bit-perfect option. Turn that on, and you will see that any lack of bass is caused by your other equipment, not the app.

Bit perfect option is active for using with usb dac only. When you listens in direct LG V20, It cannot bypass android limitation no matter what you done. It still downsample to 48khz.

You can go ask app dev for info. This email I ask to Neutron app dev but he explained what happened in UAPP in last statement. But both neutron and uapp are on the same boat.

 

[ljnew]

Bit perfect option is active for using with usb dac only. When you listens in direct LG V20, It cannot bypass android limitation no matter what you done. It still downsample to 48khz.

You can go ask app dev for info. This email I ask to Neutron app dev but he explained what happened in UAPP in last statement. But both neutron and uapp are on the same boat.

That sucks! So much marketing, very little practicality.

 

[artpiggo]

This is an inconvenient truth. But I need to say to reduce misunderstanding as much occur in smartphone music lover.

Using stock music player is the best quality that company can give to you because they implement their own API to bypass the limitation.

Did you know. Even onkyo are reducing sampling rate to 48kHz cuz they cant make android to play natively like fiio or ibasso xoxo.