[Dartin Bout]

Not sure if this link has been posted previously, my apologies if it has. The article contains some interesting info and little bit of speculation regarding the quad dac implementation in the V20. This is a old article so some of the information may have been confirmed or discredited by now. A interesting read nonetheless. (The more relevant information is towards the end of the article.)

http://www.androidauthority.com/lg-v20-quad-dac-explained-713587/

Thanks for re posting this here. I was researching what I would replace my much loved Note 7,last year, when I started seeing articles about the V20 DAC like this. I had had the Note 7 before and the V20 seemed like a strong candidate for it's replacement. WOW! I liked the V10 but when I tried  a set of cans ,with over 50 OHMS, I heard things in music, that I knew very well, from a mobile device, that I only heard from Paradigm\Marantz set up at home.
 
I strongly encourage  current and future owners, of the V20, to try a set of headphones that toe verified   over 50 ohms.(no trickie interconnects puleeeze). There are many places to get actual flac files and play them from the phone. I spent this afternoon, walking in the sun,  listening to Joe Henderson's "Lush Life" DSD256 with my ATHMS7RNC and the V20. Euphoria!

 

[808Ronin]

Thanks for re posting this here. I was researching what I would replace my much loved Note 7,last year, when I started seeing articles about the V20 DAC like this. I had had the Note 7 before and the V20 seemed like a strong candidate for it's replacement. WOW! I liked the V10 but when I tried  a set of cans ,with over 50 OHMS, I heard things in music, that I knew very well, from a mobile device, that I only heard from Paradigm\Marantz set up at home.

I strongly encourage  current and future owners, of the V20, to try a set of headphones that toe verified   over 50 ohms.(no trickie interconnects puleeeze). There are many places to get actual flac files and play them from the phone. I spent this afternoon, walking in the sun,  listening to Joe Henderson's "Lush Life" DSD256 with my ATHMS7RNC and the V20. Euphoria!

I also started with the 7 and though I was originally pissed at the whole situation, looking back it was a blessing in disguise cause I would have never found the V20

 

[imran27]

Hi friends,
I bought my LG V20 (Has B&O Tuning and some B&O earphones, probably H3 - they say its worth ₹18k-$280).
 
Anyways, I am using poweramp alpha from Google Play beta program, it gives me alpha 703
On my HTC Desire 820 I used to use following settings:
 
OpenSL ES O/P
DVC: Yes
EQ: No
Dither: Triangular
 
I want to know what settings will be optimal on V20? I am going to use it with the included B&O Play IEMs and my Brainwavz HM5

 

[m-i-c-k-e-y]

Congratulations!

I too have a B&O V20-H990DS.

If you haven't browsed thru the thread, I do believe the consensus are (think others will agree with me and also based on personal experience):

1. Best program to play music is LG's internal Music App.

2. V20 shines when using larger cans (ie. Senn HD6x0, Akg Kxx0, Beyer DTxx0 etc.)

Happy Listening.

 

[capetownwatches]

I've had my LG-H990 since it was launched in South Africa in late November 2016, and have used it almost exclusively as my go-to DAP since then. Herewith my impressions.
 
It is without any question the best sounding smartphone by a huge margin when used correctly i.e. with high quality, high impedance Dynamic headphones plugged directly into the headphone jack. Nothing else in my experience even comes close on any level.
 
I have used primarily Beyerdynamic DT770 Pro 250 ohm and AKG K171 MkII cans since these give me the sound quality I'm looking for.
 
This phone will compensate for whatever is plugged into it over 50 ohms. It is simply phenomenal. The Beyers are 250 ohm, the AKGs 55 ohm. Although the AKGs are lower impedance they are a bit less sensitive than the German monoliths.
 
Here's the thing: the V20 outputs EQUALLY loud with each! It somehow compensates for whatever it needs to drive. I have no problems with gain, and I like to listen reasonably loud to mainly Rock and Metal. I have used 80 ohm DT770s and they do not go noticeably louder than the 250 ohm version, which sound far better to me. I have listened to a number of quality headphones through the V20 and it drives everything with sufficient gain up to HD600/650s. It does NOT however like Planars of any description...
 
It does struggle with some low dynamic range material (some 24 bit 96KHz vinyl rips for eg.) I can live with it since the LG sounds great even at maximum output - I can hear no distortion of any kind when pushing 75.
 
SQ is up there with the very best DAPs IMHO. Treble is accurately rendered, the soundstage is wide open. Definitely on the bright side, this is NOT a warm sounding device. That said, at no stage on high quality source material did I ever feel that I was listening to something that wasn't part of the original recording. What goes in comes out of your cans with very little added. Poor recordings are hell to listen to however, as this phone is very unforgiving in it's accuracy. The Sabre DAC is known to be thus.
 
Bass is very well presented: deep and highly accurate with no muddiness whatsoever. Amongst the very best I've heard at ANY price point, and that's saying something. Listening to Rush's "Closer to the Heart" off "Different Stages Live" in 16bit FLAC and Geddy Lee's bass is the stuff of legend! 
 
What really amazes me though is what it does to high quality 320kbps recordings. I don't fully understand the manner in which it supposedly upscales this material, but whatever it does it makes these sound very impressive indeed, to the extent that on many recordings I don't feel the need to have FLAC copies at all! This goes against everything I assumed when I first got the phone and listened to Hi Res FLAC exclusively. Another Head Fier described it as "organic"- I prefer "supernatural"...!
 
So yes, you could say I rather like this device - in fact I am still slightly in awe of it and need to constantly remind myself that it's actually a Smartphone and not primarily an audio player.
 
The convenience is just astounding, and my portable amps/DACs have now become desktop items...I can give the V20 no greater compliment than that.

 

[m-i-c-k-e-y]

What he said...

 

[13713]

I also came from the Note 7. I love my V20 the DAC is just the cherry on top.

 

[m-i-c-k-e-y]

What is lacking to make this perfect? Wireless Charging.

 

[808Ronin]

What is lacking to make this perfect? Wireless Charging.

Not essential, but would have been nice to have.
Iris scanner? Really liked it on the Note 7.
A setting to allow switch between low and high impedence mode?
Amoled screen?

 

[13713]

Not essential, but would have been nice to have.
Iris scanner? Really liked it on the Note 7.
A setting to allow switch between low and high impedence mode?
Amoled screen?

Water proofing. But that would kill the removable battery.

 

[imran27]

Congratulations!

I too have a B&O V20-H990DS.

If you haven't browsed thru the thread, I do believe the consensus are (think others will agree with me and also based on personal experience):

1. Best program to play music is LG's internal Music App.

2. V20 shines when using larger cans (ie. Senn HD6x0, Akg Kxx0, Beyer DTxx0 etc.)

Happy Listening.

Larger cans? You mean above 50Ω? My HM5's are 64Ω, they should trigger Quad-DAC easily

 

[Jono1984]

It does NOT however like Planars of any description...

What planars have you tried with the V20? Thinking of getting one with some PM-3s that i have been eyeing off. Currently use a HTC 10 and Sony Mdr 1as and after a bit of an upgrade.

Thanks mate

 

[sabloke]

V20 in high impedance more and PM-3 is marvelous pairing. The phone adds a bit of sparkle up top and everything is just sweet sounding.

 

[m-i-c-k-e-y]

Buying a modified PM-2 myself (for main system). But hoping will have a good paring with the V20 too.

 

[jagwap]

It does NOT however like Planars of any description...

What planars have you tried with the V20? Thinking of getting one with some PM-3s that i have been eyeing off. Currently use a HTC 10 and Sony Mdr 1as and after a bit of an upgrade.

Thanks mate

My V20 appears to get along with my PM3s and very well with my Sines. In fact the LG phones in high impedance mode are the only ones which can drive them with quiet tracks