[ljnew]

  So what's the general consensus on the V20 in terms of audio performance (whether if it's noisy and if it gives enough power)?
 
I was thinking of slapping a portable amp/dac onto it if the output is pretty low.
 
EDIT: I read the posts above on this page. I don't have the phone yet and don't know specifically how it works, so are we enabling the "High Impedance Mode" in settings or are we getting a extension with a volume control?

extension, also there's a fix to have it alays on if you root your phone.  You definitely won't need an amp.

 

[amstel78]

My 48 ohm Sony 1As trigger high impedance mode and it gets plenty loud. No amp needed.

 

[amstel78]

Running in high impedance mode into low ohm drivers isn't good. High impedance circuits generally call for high voltage with low current whereas it's the opposite for low impedance circuits. The general rule of thumb is to match output and input impedance.

 

[jaredjcrandall8]

I personally find the DAC/AMP very good. I have been comparing it to my Sony pha-3--which is close to the chord hugo-and differences exist but I wouldn't say one is clearly better than the other. I think it comes down to what type of sound you prefer from your headphones/IEMs. I think an external amp would be nice just to compliment the sound if i want a subtle change/synergy. One issue I have with selling my pha-3 is that I still need a dac/amp for home computer use...so might as well keep both. 

 

[gordec]

I got the V20 yesterday. It sounds great with Westone ES60. Classic ESS Sabre sound signature. Only downside is the background his even with all connectivity turned off. Not a deal breaker.

Sent from my VS995 using Tapatalk

 

[amstel78]

I got the V20 yesterday. It sounds great with Westone ES60. Classic ESS Sabre sound signature. Only downside is the background his even with all connectivity turned off. Not a deal breaker.

Sent from my VS995 using Tapatalk

No background hiss on mine with B&O H3, Sony 1A, Portapros or DJ200 headphones. It's dead quiet, even into a P-1 hybrid tube amp.

 

[13713]

No background hiss on mine with B&O H3, Sony 1A, Portapros or DJ200 headphones. It's dead quiet, even into a P-1 hybrid tube amp.

No hiss on mine either. Strange.

 

[gordec]

No hiss on mine either. Strange.

Different sensitivity? Mine doesn't hiss with Sennheiser IE80. I tried 2 different V20s. It's not bad.

 

[howdy]

Joining the V20 party, picked mine up yesterday. So far i have used the Dunu DN2KJ and Alclair CIEMs streaming Tidal HIFI.

 

[disastermouse]

If I got this phone, I'd be switching from an iPhone 6+. I have a few questions:

Does it use the DAC and amp from any android player or only the LG player?

Does the LG player play ALAC and AAC files?

When using added SD storage, does the media player distinguish which files are on the SD card and which are on the onboard storage?

Does the media player group music by artist/album automatically?

How do you move your media from the Mac to the LG v20?

 

[sabloke]

I was seriously considering the V20 but since I've got the DP-X1 and a decent Nexus 6P, can't see the point... Then there are all these rumors about Samsung S8... I think I'll pass and wait for that one. Unless somebody can convince me to replace my DP-X1 with a V20

 

[howdy]

I went from iphone 5s to this and love it so far. It uses the Sabre DAC and amp when used out the 3.5mm out and speakers, USB out does not use the Sabre. When i switched most of my contacts where lost so you should save what you want on a computer. I

It plays almost all formats as stated on there site. As for your other questions not sure yet as a just got it yesterday and im only using tidal as of now.

 

[disastermouse]

I went from iphone 5s to this and love it so far. It uses the Sabre DAC and amp when used out the 3.5mm out and speakers, USB out does not use the Sabre. When i switched most of my contacts where lost so you should save what you want on a computer. I

It plays almost all formats as stated on there site. As for your other questions not sure yet as a just got it yesterday and im only using tidal as of now.

My Oppo PM3 are only 26Ohm impedance. Will the v20 get loud enough for them?

 

[howdy]

I have the PM3s to and will try in a minute.

Edit:
Listening to them now and its plenty loud for me for some maybe not. Its definitely loud and will hurt your ears after awhile.

 

[RockStar2005]

If I got this phone, I'd be switching from an iPhone 6+. I have a few questions:

Does it use the DAC and amp from any android player or only the LG player?

Does the LG player play ALAC and AAC files?

When using added SD storage, does the media player distinguish which files are on the SD card and which are on the onboard storage?

Does the media player group music by artist/album automatically?

How do you move your media from the Mac to the LG v20?

 
mouse, 
 
Let me try to answer these: 
 
The DAC and amp used in the LG V20 are both DEDICATED meaning they are separate from the main Snapdragon 820 processor that runs the phone. This is of course a good thing because it means ALL of the focus on sound will be handled separately, and so no corners get cut, or resources shortchanged or handled inefficiently, etc. Essentially, the sound processing doesn't get spread too thin, but instead, it gets handled without distractions or other interference. I can't stress how important this is. The actual brand DAC used in the V20 is the new & very well-respected Sabre ES9218 (mobile version of it). The amp is a newer version of the Sabre 9602 amp used on the V10 (not sure on model #). This info can be verified here. 
 
Yes, it most certainly can play ALAC and AAC files, as well as FLAC. I've tested and verified this myself using Poweramp. 
 
It can distinguish. When playing songs using Poweramp, my cousin who has the V20 put ALL his music on his MicroSD card, and the V20 plays them just fine, as well as internal drive music as well. 
 
Not sure on the Media Player, but you should SERIOUSLY considering the BEST music player for Android...........Poweramp. I've tried many others, but nothing beats Poweramp in terms of sound quality and ease of use/UI. You can get the official version from Play Store and the Unlocker as well. There's also a newer experimental Alpha version which everyone (including me) notices has even better sound! Click here to download, then use Unlocker to make it permanent. It only really has one minor bug that I've noticed which is that may sometimes display the album art from an album you'd just switched from. But you can easily fix this by pressing on the album art and then a pop-up will let you choose the right one. This sometimes happens on the official version too, though not as often. 
 
Poweramp lets you display or group your songs in any format you like. It also lets you save your own custom-made EQ presets and/or lets you apply current presets (and custom ones) to any song or "connection type" you like. Alpha appears to let you save the settings you choose as a file the way the official version does, but I realize now it won't let you apply that settings file, though the official version will. 
 
You can simply connect using a USB (or whatever Macs use) to Micro USB-C cable for transfers. I also use a program (not sure if Macs got a version yet?) called Superbeam which lets you transfer files from PC to phone and vice versa using your Wi-Fi connection. Works REALLY fast which is nice. It's great for big or small transfer jobs. 
 
Hope that helps.