[PixelSkills]

I am looking to buy some in ears to pair with the V30 dac.. From what LG says you will get better audio quality from higher impedence headphones. It seems to activate around 50 ohms.

What In ears for 150 or under have great sound but are over 50 ohms?

I do not like the in ears that wrap over your ear. So those are out!

I was looking at the Meze 11 but they are only like 13 ohms.

Any recommendations?

 

[ProtegeManiac]

I am looking to buy some in ears to pair with the V30 dac.. From what LG says you will get better audio quality from higher impedence headphones. It seems to activate around 50 ohms.

What In ears for 150 or under have great sound but are over 50 ohms?

All it does is add more power so if you're starting out with an in-ear where most of them have a 100dB/1mW sensitivity minimum, even the regular 15mW output of most smartphone audio chips aren't going to lack power. My ASG-1.3 has 120dB/1mW. Isolation provided you're getting a proper fit makes high output and the power to make that possible less necessary as well.

In any case, AFAIK there's a root mod that you can install to override it at the cost of battery life even if you're using low impedance headphones.

I do not like the in ears that wrap over your ear. So those are out!

Unfortunately nearly all the best IEMs and ones that are harder to drive have that stage monitor style ergonomics.

 

[onevstheworld]

Your >50 ohm requirement will seriously limit the choices of IEM. Best to pick something that sounds good and is comfortable, rather than focusing on a single number.

That bit of marketing-speak is probably targeted at headphone users anyway.

 

[PixelSkills]

All it does is add more power so if you're starting out with an in-ear where most of them have a 100dB/1mW sensitivity minimum, even the regular 15mW output of most smartphone audio chips aren't going to lack power. My ASG-1.3 has 120dB/1mW. Isolation provided you're getting a proper fit makes high output and the power to make that possible less necessary as well.

In any case, AFAIK there's a root mod that you can install to override it at the cost of battery life even if you're using low impedance headphones.




Unfortunately nearly all the best IEMs and ones that are harder to drive have that stage monitor style ergonomics.

With all this being said, which in ears would you suggest for 150 or under.. Currently looking at the Meze 11, 1more triple or quad, fiio f5.

 

[PixelSkills]

Your >50 ohm requirement will seriously limit the choices of IEM. Best to pick something that sounds good and is comfortable, rather than focusing on a single number.

That bit of marketing-speak is probably targeted at headphone users anyway.

I figured it really did not make sense.. But my question is will it still be worth using the quad dac? Also will flac files still sound better using in ears with the dac on?

 

[ProtegeManiac]

With all this being said, which in ears would you suggest for 150 or under.. Currently looking at the Meze 11, 1more triple or quad, fiio f5.

Haven't tried any of those and primarily because I only use IEMs that loop the cable up and around the ears since otherwise I have the cable bouncing around.

I figured it really did not make sense.. But my question is will it still be worth using the quad dac? Also will flac files still sound better using in ears with the dac on?

You're misunderstanding how it works (no thanks to LG using the term "Quad DAC"). DACs on mainstream devices aren't just DACs, they have a headphone driver chip built in, kind of like when you buy an Intel CPU with a graphics chip built in (which technically should be called an APU like AMD's except their graphics chips suck for anything harder than simple photo editing an DOTA). When Quad DAC is running it just produces more power utilizing more of those amp ciircuits, not process a FLAC file better (not that any other kind of chip will have a perceptible effect in a blind test), which also sucks more of the battery power. Apart from emphasizing calling it Quad DAC LG then assumed that high impedance was a bigger problem than sensitiivity.

Basically what Quad DAC will improve on is how much better it can drive your headphone or IEM as it can push out more clean (ie less distortion) power. If your amp circuit is clipping or just distorting with an IEM it doesn't matter if you're playing FLAC or Spotify.

In any case with IEMs chances are you'd feel the penalty in battery life more than the benefits, but you can always get a battery case and a powerbank.

 

[PixelSkills]

So the digital to analog converter is still better then one like on an iphone or samsung phone though correct? So it will output a cleaner sound correct? So using flak files on the lg v30 with some high quality headphones will sound better then on the galaxy or an iphone correct?

Correct me if im wrong but its not the dac you are refering to but the amp part that has anything to do with impedence. So as long as your headphones have the correct power they will sound as the manufacter intended. So using flac files with a high quality pair of headphones will sound better then say on the buds that come with phones no matter what the impedence is?

 

[fluteloop]

So the digital to analog converter is still better then one like on an iphone or samsung phone though correct? So it will output a cleaner sound correct? So using flak files on the lg v30 with some high quality headphones will sound better then on the galaxy or an iphone correct?

Correct me if im wrong but its not the dac you are refering to but the amp part that has anything to do with impedence. So as long as your headphones have the correct power they will sound as the manufacter intended. So using flac files with a high quality pair of headphones will sound better then say on the buds that come with phones no matter what the impedence is?

If your Headphones have an impedance the Amplifier can manage, then that means, the headphones are receiving the power they draw with no bottlenecks or no dummy spitting from the amplifier.

impedance matching is always a good idea to get as close as you can, there's probably always a margin for mismatched impedance, depending on the circuitry in question would determine whether or not more vigilant practice would be undertaken to avoid premature component failure from over driven amplifiers.

long story short, if the LG can deliver in practice what the marketing blurb has reported then yes, it should be heads and shoulders above the iphone, I am not saying the iphone has bad quality sound, I don't know the details, the LG is said to have further improved sound circuitry to appeal to those wanting a better audio experience.

A flac file played on anything with high quality headphones and a dedicated DAC on board will always 100% of the time sound better than included buds given to the iphone users... you're also comparing different things and different component pricing, different designs etc. yeah your LG defecates on your buddies iphone... are you happy now ?

Oh yeah and driving high impedence headphones on weak amps will just burn out components prematurely... trying to drive thirsty cans on a weak amp will be a shorter life for amp. matching impedence is important for the health of the components, you need to have adequate power delivery in order for the driver,transducer to be properly actuated, matching impedance means you operate within spec of components and avoid failures, plus volume will be low, it won't be a great time, sound nice sure, but there won't be any power and it's a matter of time before something fails, depending on the circuit design but more often than not something will burn out. .

now trying to drive thirsty cans on weak amp with flac file at say 50% might not be loud at all but it will be a nice quality if that's what you mean, when you overdrive amps you get distortion and bad noise, you won't realise it's a flac file it will just sound like mashed potatos dried and banged on the table pots and everytthing.. . so in a way , yes,. an iphone with properly matched included buds will sound better than thirsty cans on some weak amp being driven, hence reason pack and stack their own amps when kickin the fresh beats with decent cans.

try and get your impedance matched as close as possible. to get the best performance, choose your kit wisely to get the most out of it, trying to ask too much of components asks for premature failure. there's a solution for nearly any problem, the LG is said to have most of what you need built into it. the iphone is not marketing anything exotic within their sound circuitry (not to say it doesnt sound fine, i do not know the details.)

 

[fluteloop]

If your Headphones have an impedance the Amplifier can manage, then that means, the headphones are receiving the power they draw with no bottlenecks or no dummy spitting from the amplifier.

impedance matching is always a good idea to get as close as you can, there's probably always a margin for mismatched impedance, depending on the circuitry in question would determine whether or not more vigilant practice would be undertaken to avoid premature component failure from over driven amplifiers.

long story short, if the LG can deliver in practice what the marketing blurb has reported then yes, it should be heads and shoulders above the iphone, I am not saying the iphone has bad quality sound, I don't know the details, the LG is said to have further improved sound circuitry to appeal to those wanting a better audio experience.

A flac file played on anything with high quality headphones and a dedicated DAC on board will always 100% of the time sound better than included buds given to the iphone users... you're also comparing different things and different component pricing, different designs etc. yeah your LG defecates on your buddies iphone... are you happy now ?

Oh yeah and driving high impedence headphones on weak amps will just burn out components prematurely... trying to drive thirsty cans on a weak amp will be a shorter life for amp. matching impedence is important for the health of the components, you need to have adequate power delivery in order for the driver,transducer to be properly actuated, matching impedance means you operate within spec of components and avoid failures, plus volume will be low, it won't be a great time, sound nice sure, but there won't be any power and it's a matter of time before something fails, depending on the circuit design but more often than not something will burn out. .

now trying to drive thirsty cans on weak amp with flac file at say 50% might not be loud at all but it will be a nice quality if that's what you mean, when you overdrive amps you get distortion and bad noise, you won't realise it's a flac file it will just sound like mashed potatos dried and banged on the table pots and everytthing.. . so in a way , yes,. an iphone with properly matched included buds will sound better than thirsty cans on some weak amp being driven, hence reason pack and stack their own amps when kickin the fresh beats with decent cans.

try and get your impedance matched as close as possible. to get the best performance, choose your kit wisely to get the most out of it, trying to ask too much of components asks for premature failure. there's a solution for nearly any problem, the LG is said to have most of what you need built into it. the iphone is not marketing anything exotic within their sound circuitry (not to say it doesnt sound fine, i do not know the details.)

also I mean if the DAC's in question are of decent specification. then the amp (which is the part that impedance of speakers matters) will be fed the clean signal. if if can meet what the speaker demands of it (the impedance rating) then you will have a quality signal being fed through the transducer.

 

[PixelSkills]

Haven't tried any of those and primarily because I only use IEMs that loop the cable up and around the ears since otherwise I have the cable bouncing around.




You're misunderstanding how it works (no thanks to LG using the term "Quad DAC"). DACs on mainstream devices aren't just DACs, they have a headphone driver chip built in, kind of like when you buy an Intel CPU with a graphics chip built in (which technically should be called an APU like AMD's except their graphics chips suck for anything harder than simple photo editing an DOTA). When Quad DAC is running it just produces more power utilizing more of those amp ciircuits, not process a FLAC file better (not that any other kind of chip will have a perceptible effect in a blind test), which also sucks more of the battery power. Apart from emphasizing calling it Quad DAC LG then assumed that high impedance was a bigger problem than sensitiivity.

Basically what Quad DAC will improve on is how much better it can drive your headphone or IEM as it can push out more clean (ie less distortion) power. If your amp circuit is clipping or just distorting with an IEM it doesn't matter if you're playing FLAC or Spotify.

In any case with IEMs chances are you'd feel the penalty in battery life more than the benefits, but you can always get a battery case and a powerbank.

Thanks so much for the help!

 

[ProtegeManiac]

So the digital to analog converter is still better then one like on an iphone or samsung phone though correct? So it will output a cleaner sound correct? So using flak files on the lg v30 with some high quality headphones will sound better then on the galaxy or an iphone correct?

You're still not taking into account what I said. First off it's hard to isolate plain DAC performance and DAC with their built in amplifier performance because there will only be one output out of that chip, ie, through the headphone jack, unlike testing an Intel processor with built in GPU or an AMD APU where you can run a benchmark program to load only either the GPU or the CPU half, same way a DAC-HPamp with a line output, preamp output, and headphone amp output can all be measured.

Overall even if in the lab the circuits can be isolated and measures better, unless there's a big problem with the DAC (or a mismatch of DAC voltage output vs amp input sensitivity and gain), differences between DACs aren't all that big and have more to do with the analogue section after the DAC chip (which is not a thing on integrated audio chips).

The LG in theory will still sound better than an iPhone or Galaxy phone for other reasons: it has marginally more and cleaner power even with Quad DAC mode disabled, and then gets even more clean power with Quad DAC.

Oh and uh...it's FLAC...as in Free Lossless Audio Codec. Flak with a "k" is short for, and phonetical way of saying the initials from, flugabwehrkanone, ie, air defence canon.

Correct me if im wrong but its not the dac you are refering to but the amp part that has anything to do with impedence. So as long as your headphones have the correct power they will sound as the manufacter intended. So using flac files with a high quality pair of headphones will sound better then say on the buds that come with phones no matter what the impedence is?

Yes it's the amp side that has to do with impedance. What I'm saying is the V30's audio performance has more to do with delivering more power with less distortion than other smartphones, which means it will drive lower sensitivity earphones better, a benefit that will show regardless of whether you're using FLAC on an SD card, Tidal Lossless, or even just Spotify.

 

[William Zhu]

I only had a V10 and the sound was pretty good, the V30 looks pretty good tho

 

[singledot02]

Ok, .. Now please suggest a good iem for lg v30 ✌

 

[chicken beer]

Ok, .. Now please suggest a good iem for lg v30 ✌

My IEM will be ideal for LG V30. I am putting Massdrop Plus, Campfire Polaris, Massdrop EDC for sale.

 

[ProtegeManiac]

Ok, .. Now please suggest a good iem for lg v30 ✌

Well what sort of sound do you like? Because until there's one that has a completely flat response, even objectivists have to choose based on what compromises they can live with.

You can look into the following:

Fender FXA2 or FXA5
Shure SE425 or SE535
Westone UM30Pro or WM40
Earsonics SM2