[FSTOP]

Was it Snapdragon Note 7 with Aqstic or Exynos Note 7?

1 thing I've been noticing is 3rd party apps seem to be better at recognizing Qualcomms Aqstic 24-bit DAC in comparison to LG V20's Quad-DAC

Which brings me to my next question:
Did LG use the normal Snapdragon SOC DAC as fallback instead of the available Snapdragon Aqstic DAC?

I can understand them not using both HI-RES DACs for the cost reasons.
If they were just concerned with HI-RES audio while allowing Quad-DAC to be toggled off, wouldn't the 24-Bit Aqstic been a better choice than the non HI-res DAC?

I honestly don't know what version my note7 was.. US Verizon though. Had 2 after both recalls, both worked with the Hires Output mode... Not that the V20 does not sound good as is, but wondering why that option isn't available on the V20...?

 

[FSTOP]

Got my V20 in yesterday. Immediate initial impressions were that it sounds as good as almost any DAP I have owned. This morning I did a few quick side by side comparisons with my desktop rig. iMac > Music Fidelity V-DAC > Blue Circle - Hat Peed Thingee. Cans: AKG K7xxx.

I used Tidal for both sources for the comparison playing a variety of jazz, electronic and pop. Surprisingly, both sounded very much the same. The desktop setup had only a few things that sets it above the v20. Better separation, depth and detail at higher volume (likely due to greater power output from the desktop amp). That's really about it. The DAC coloration from my V-DAC sounds almost exactly the same as the v20 DACs....honestly, I actually cannot hear any difference in color. Overall, the desktop setup is only sightly better in SQ when compared to my v20...slightly. Better separation and detail..again, slightly.

I didn't try any other cans, but I can tell you that the V20 can easily compete with most DAPs, and is worth the purchase. I hate having to dongle anything to my phone to make it sound better, and not having to carry around a DAP in addition to my phone, is a win win for my needs. 

Just an FYI, I hate having to download, organize and transfer flac and dsd files. It's a pain, and takes up too much space. Since Tidal came out, it has been a true blessing. While I admit that the best sounding music I've ever heard came from DSD files, the tradeoff of having almost any album immediately available to me in CD quality via Tidal easily trumps anything else out there. Had it not been for the weak amp in the Sony ZX2 (played Tidal as well), I would have kept it and my phone would still be an iPhone. 

Good luck to those of you looking for a great audiophile worthy phone. The V20 is definitely up there. 

Welcome to the club! V20 is a great sounding phone, and I too am happy not having to wire up separate boxes for my portable listening!

 

[FSTOP]

Got my V20 in yesterday. Immediate initial impressions were that it sounds as good as almost any DAP I have owned. This morning I did a few quick side by side comparisons with my desktop rig. iMac > Music Fidelity V-DAC > Blue Circle - Hat Peed Thingee. Cans: AKG K7xxx.

I used Tidal for both sources for the comparison playing a variety of jazz, electronic and pop. Surprisingly, both sounded very much the same. The desktop setup had only a few things that sets it above the v20. Better separation, depth and detail at higher volume (likely due to greater power output from the desktop amp). That's really about it. The DAC coloration from my V-DAC sounds almost exactly the same as the v20 DACs....honestly, I actually cannot hear any difference in color. Overall, the desktop setup is only sightly better in SQ when compared to my v20...slightly. Better separation and detail..again, slightly.

I didn't try any other cans, but I can tell you that the V20 can easily compete with most DAPs, and is worth the purchase. I hate having to dongle anything to my phone to make it sound better, and not having to carry around a DAP in addition to my phone, is a win win for my needs. 

Just an FYI, I hate having to download, organize and transfer flac and dsd files. It's a pain, and takes up too much space. Since Tidal came out, it has been a true blessing. While I admit that the best sounding music I've ever heard came from DSD files, the tradeoff of having almost any album immediately available to me in CD quality via Tidal easily trumps anything else out there. Had it not been for the weak amp in the Sony ZX2 (played Tidal as well), I would have kept it and my phone would still be an iPhone. 

Good luck to those of you looking for a great audiophile worthy phone. The V20 is definitely up there. 

Welcome to the club! V20 is a great sounding phone, and I too am happy not having to wire up separate boxes for my portable listening!

 

[TJ Max]

Just to be sure, you do connect the adapter 6.3->3.5mm to the headphone and then connect the adapter to the V20? If you do it the other way round - it will trigger aux mode.

Cheers,.

I'm not using an adapter. The T1 cable is a 3.5mm plug.

 

[FSTOP]

As I am adamant having a WIRED output with my phones, and hope the trend doesn't take over and completely end the "jack"... I've funded the (Indiegogo) Bluewave Get. With my testing recently with Bluetooth on my own speaker systems and my car system, I can definitely tell a SQ improvement using BT over previous phones' BT output (very happily!) certainly cleaner, better soundstage... As the V20 is one of the few devices thus far to implement apt-x HD Bluetooth, I think the bluewave might be a great complement to the v20 for wireless listening... Anyone else seen any higher-def BT options that might complement the V20?

 

[FSTOP]

Why do I feel like a beeping robot when I see that new version of my username? lol

I see. Very interesting FSTOP! I had the one I think beta version of Poweramp back around Feb of this year. It was kinda buggy, so I just switched back to regular Poweramp. 

I've obtained a copy of Alpha 704 Poweramp. I will install it and test it out this weekend. Does ANYONE here have any idea when the final version will get released? 

Yeah me too. I've been using it for years. It OWNS over all the rest!

That's cool. I used to do that, but to me Flat is usually the way to go. The only exception is with overly bassier tracks.........I have 2 of my own custom EQ presets to resolve that though. 

Yeah......... that's arguably my FAVORITE feature of Poweramp.......that you can save your own custom settings AND back them up too, which I do. Wow a dozen? lol

Yeah I think that's part of the reason why Poweramp sounds so amazing. It has a full 10-band EQ spectrum vs. the usual 5 or 7 bands .

(sorry I was too lazy to spell out Rockstar2005 too)
Just to clarify, I think the problem with people disliking EQ in general is the horrid "presets" that just pump up frequencies atrociously... And I completely AGREE with you!
Coming from a recording engineering b/g, the true use of EQ is actually rather to FLATTEN frequency responses, to kill spikes, improve room acoustics caused by "hard" or "soft" environs affecting fq responses. I have a 31 band/ch graphic and parametric EQ in my studio room, which also allows the input of a calibration mic to adjust for the environment... Afraid most think of EQ as used to pump up sound unnaturally, as sadly is usually the case with presets and bad implementation of EQ profiles, that's why "EQ" gets a bad rep (understandably so).

 

[Koolpep]

I'm not using an adapter. The T1 cable is a 3.5mm plug.

Oh well - the 2nd generation yes - sorry - don't mind me asking. But I only had the 1st generation which had a hard wired 6.3mm cable.
 
cheers!

 

[fruitiful]

I grabbed this after the launch in Singapore even before I returned my Note 7 back.

Honestly it's by many folds better than Note 7, not for the DAC but for what the phone can offer in functionality firstly.

Secondly, yes, Cherry on the top is the DAC.

 

[RockStar2005]

(sorry I was too lazy to spell out Rockstar2005 too)

Just to clarify, I think the problem with people disliking EQ in general is the horrid "presets" that just pump up frequencies atrociously... And I completely AGREE with you!
Coming from a recording engineering b/g, the true use of EQ is actually rather to FLATTEN frequency responses, to kill spikes, improve room acoustics caused by "hard" or "soft" environs affecting fq responses. I have a 31 band/ch graphic and parametric EQ in my studio room, which also allows the input of a calibration mic to adjust for the environment... Afraid most think of EQ as used to pump up sound unnaturally, as sadly is usually the case with presets and bad implementation of EQ profiles, that's why "EQ" gets a bad rep (understandably so).

 
lol.........I'm going to make a t-shirt with "RS2K5" on the front, and a pair of my new Sennheiser HD 598 Cs headphones on the back. lol
 
Yes I agree too. The preset EQs are a bit too vague or general to really be effective I believe. 
 
Yep. Used properly, an EQ can really enhance a recording. I just feel like when the pros (like you) do all that stuff during the mastering process, by the time I the consumer gets the album, there's really little to no need for any further EQ'ing. Like when I used the "Rock" preset on my Poweramp, I'd on certain songs get this weird "pop" or clipping sound that would happen (which I'm sure was b/c of the elevated treble bands in the EQ), but going to "Flat" resolved all that. 
 
31 band? Wow! lol 
 
Yeah when it's used improperly, it can really bog down an otherwise great recording. That's why most mp3s and even some CDs suck b/c the resolution makes very little difference.........it's the crappy way they're mastered that makes them sound inferior. Like making them WAY too loud off the bat. You put the volume up just a little and it sounds like a big "woooshhh" in your face. Too overbearing. I believe that once you go above mp3, the numbers don't really matter at all. Just the mastering job really. 

 

[Dartin Bout]

i have the LG Tone Platinum HBS-1100 and the Aptx-X HD is very good for bluetooth. I think it's only 24\48 but a nice feature. I am also rocking the ATH-MSR7NC which is an amazing combo with this phone's DAC. On Qualcom's page, they indicate that the Audio-Technica ATH-DSR9BT will also support the protocol. If it's anything like Samsung's UHQ with the Level On Pro, we are all in for quite a treat, when they go on sale.
https://www.audio-technica.co.jp/atj/show_model.php?modelId=2901  

 

[Mariano3113]

I honestly don't know what version my note7 was.. US Verizon though. Had 2 after both recalls, both worked with the Hires Output mode... Not that the V20 does not sound good as is, but wondering why that option isn't available on the V20...?

That was the Snapdragon Aqstic variant.

The 3rd Party Hi-RES issue I believe stems from coding not detecting the Auxiliary DAC.

I say Auxiliary since LG makes it seem like you can turn the Quad-DAC off and use the Qualcomm DAC.

Which is why I was curious as to why LG did not use the Snapdragon Aqstic DAC like the Note 7 or HTC 10 and instead used the normal Snapdragon DAC from devices like Galaxy S7/S7 Edge.

As I understand it, Qualcomm treats Aqstic DAC/Codec/Amp package as upgrade for Snapdragon 820 but it is standard on Snapdragon 821.

Which is why I was extremely disappointed with how Pixel was out of the box? If Pixel had at least sounded like my Note 7s it would have been promising before root.

Ultimately I got LG V20 to replace Note 7 and it is the best audio I have had from a Stock Sprint Compatible smartphone. (Since CDMA support limits my smartphone choices considerably)

I still have my Pixel and it is rooted, with Elemental Kernel to lower Analog Gain to reduce noise floor, and WETA mods for Viper4Android.

I'm using Campfire Jupiters and Shure SE535 (w/ Brown Knowles dampners) through DHC Symbiote Hybrid cable.
Viper DDC has SE535 setting which seems to correct the slight bass boost from stock Pixel EQ. But I shouldn't have had to do all that work if Google had optimized Aqstic DAC.

On the LG V20 I may Root once it is definitive that the B&O variant has different audio tuning, as I feel US most likely got shafted. I know Harman Kardon HTC M8 had different sound signature than normal HTC M8. Also LG couldn't(wouldn't) let B&O Hi-fi DAC module be sold state side Officially...ugh

I'm hoping Aqstic is the standard Qualcomm DAC going forward which will mean that LG V30(Or whatever LG V20 successor is called) will have a 24-bit HI-RES fallback DAC.

I feel 2016 really was great for Xiaomi Mi Mix and LG V20. (HTC 10 was great but got curbed by T-Mobile and sales were disappointing, Samsung didn't include USB-C on normal Galaxy S7 series and Note 7 is defunct, OnePlus pulled an old'skool HTC move releasing more than 1 one Flagship, and the Google Pixel was apparently rushed.)

(Pixel mic/headphone jack failure issue, Lens flare, and lack of Audio optimization really shoe what was prioritised)

The only smartphone purchase that has left me satisfied this year is the LG V20.
(I've had to RMA iPhone 7 (lightning port ruined by Sprint Rep)and Pixel (mic/headphone jack died)

 

[lurk]

Any regulars here able to keep the info shared here updated in a single post?

Browsing the last couple of pages I think Power amp alpha is THE player to use on the v20.

Also the info to trick the quad dac into high gain

 

[bjaardker]

After updating my Spotify the second screen has started working for controls.

On another note, I've gotten shipping confirmation on my promo pair of B&O headphones.

I honestly couldn't be happier with the V20. Well, I could if they would just add a way of manually controlling the gain of the amp. But thats the only change i would like to see.

Here's a pic i took this week using the manual camera mode.

 

[RockStar2005]

After updating my Spotify the second screen has started working for controls.

On another note, I've gotten shipping confirmation on my promo pair of B&O headphones.

I honestly couldn't be happier with the V20. Well, I could if they would just add a way of manually controlling the gain of the amp. But thats the only change i would like to see.

Here's a pic i took this week using the manual camera mode.

 
Nice pic! 

 

[RockStar2005]

Spent some time listening to on my headphones using Poweramp Alpha 704. Just from memory (and not an actual comparison) I think I did hear an improvement in sound quality vs. regular Poweramp. The music somehow seems to have a bit more "life" to it now, so I will be keeping this Alpha version for now. The only album art issue I had was not on the first song of a new album, but when getting deeper into an album it would randomly display the album art from the PREVIOUS album. But my pressing on the album cover part of the screen, a menu would pop up to let me change it back to the song's own album art. It only happened once or twice over a couple hours, so no big deal. Other than that, it seemed great!