[mlknez]

Aux mode i believe is for line level inputs like an amplifier. These are typically 10000 ohms.

Do your headphones have removable cables? Are the cables plugged all of the way into the earcups first before you plug the 3.5mm plug in to the phone?

 

[jagwap]

Curious. Because, like I said, it seems to trigger with headphones on mine (I'm looking at a replacement). Wondering what could cause THAT to happen instead of it going into high impedance.

Seeing an impedance of > 600 ohms. Whether that is the headphones, a non-android microphone cable, or the phone I cannot say.

 

[SomeGuyDude]

Seeing an impedance of > 600 ohms. Whether that is the headphones, a non-android microphone cable, or the phone I cannot say.

Some kind of error then. You'd think if it thinks my headphones are over 600ohm when they're more like 16 that the power they'd send would blow them out, but it doesn't. On top of that, a few unplug/replugs and it goes to normal.

 

[Steve Wilcox]

Reminds me of the people who insist on burn-in on a given headphone even after someone shows graphs of that exact product having zero change after X hours.

The human brain is infinitely more complex than the most advanced audio measurement equipment and it's just wrong to suggest that because a (relatively) crude graph does not show a change none occurs. In my opinion, burn in can be very real, particularly in transducers with moving parts, and it's not hard to understand why this might be the case cf running a new car in. But, let's not continue that debate here.

I honestly don't think it's placebo that's making me think my V10s sound better in high impedance mode. A couple of weeks ago I was listening and thinking the sound was a little muddy and wondering what was up - ear wax in my IEMS?, music source slipped to lower bit rate? No, the phone was not in high impedance mode - I think I'd mistakenly attached the adaptor to the IEMs before plugging in which doesn't shift the mode.

I can understand placebo where, for example, you shell out on an expensive cable and really want it to make an improvement. But I've spent a few quid on an adaptor that I'd rather not use. But I do, because it works.

Incidentally I have read posts giving a more scientific explanation, possibly on V10 or 20 threads and maybe someone familiar with this could chime in here for the benefit of those who place more weight on science and graphs than their (or other's) ears. I think it would be disappointing for readers here to be disuaded from getting even more goodness from their V phone when the outlay needed is so modest.

 

[james444]

Guys you wont believe this. I found out that i could use the shure earphone adapter with a volume rocker in it. Its crazy just pluging it to v30 it sets to 50ohm right a way and you get the high impedance mode! That high impedance mode is actualy do improve sq by a lot. Its like hifi music vs mp3 kinda off. Sound stage is even more wide and you get rumble base with shure se846 when its there.
I have to say sq is way better on high impedance sorry but normal mode dont have the power of the high even if set volume up its not the same att all.

One thing to bare in mind if you set the volume rocker on the adapter to max you will hear floor noise. But all you gota do is set phone volume to 1 and then move the volume from adapter down by 1\4 till noise disapear and then just use the phone volume adjuster. Believe me it sound crazzy powerfull and fun. Sound is very clean and unaffected !

https://cosmomusic.ca/headphone-adapter-kit-shure-eaadpt-kit.html

That's what I use with my V10 and I entirely agree with what you say. I use my V10 mainly with the Noble Massdrops and Shure se535 reds. I don't really need the extra power but getting the phone in high impedance mode moves them up into a different league quality wise. I was initially sceptical about this and I've read the technical arguments suggesting it just increases output power, but hearing is believing. I know that listening at a higher volume will generally sound better but whatever mode I have the phone in I just set them to a comfortable volume so I'm pretty sure I'm not being fooled in this regard. The difference in quality really is very obvious.

No.

NO.

This is pure placebo. It is not better. There is literally nothing happening inside that phone that is making it "better."

I'm losing my mind with this.

I honestly don't think it's placebo that's making me think my V10s sound better in high impedance mode. A couple of weeks ago I was listening and thinking the sound was a little muddy and wondering what was up - ear wax in my IEMS?, music source slipped to lower bit rate? No, the phone was not in high impedance mode - I think I'd mistakenly attached the adaptor to the IEMs before plugging in which doesn't shift the mode.

I can understand placebo where, for example, you shell out on an expensive cable and really want it to make an improvement. But I've spent a few quid on an adaptor that I'd rather not use. But I do, because it works.

Incidentally I have read posts giving a more scientific explanation, possibly on V10 or 20 threads and maybe someone familiar with this could chime in here for the benefit of those who place more weight on science and graphs than their (or other's) ears. I think it would be disappointing for readers here to be disuaded from getting even more goodness from their V phone when the outlay needed is so modest.

@Steve Wilcox: It's not placebo in your case, since you're using balanced armature (BA) IEMs, which usually have non-linear impedance across frequencies. For example, let's take a look at the Shure SE535 impedance graph, taken from Innerfidelty:

You can see that the magenta curve is quite linear in bass, but has a distinct bump in the upper mids.

Now what happens is, if you turn that Shure earphone adapter's volume rocker, you're in fact adding output impedance to the headphone out of your source. As a result, the tonal balance of your BA IEMs will shift according to their impedance curve, which means you'll hear an increase in upper mids, relative to lower mids and bass. In short, your IEMs will become brighter / clearer / 'more detailed' sounding, as you increase the output impedance of your source.

Assuming the Noble Massdrops you mentioned are the Noble X, you can check their impedance curve here, it rises even more steeply throughout upper mids and treble, which means the effect will be even a tad more pronounced.

On the other hand, if you'd try the same with dynamic driver (DD) IEMs, you shouldn't hear any change worth mentioning, because contrary to BAs, pretty much all DDs have linear impedance across frequencies.

 

[LucoaJo]

Received my LG v30+, superb phone, good screen, camera and build. Meh speaker. But I will admit that I'm disappointed.
Even though LG's app comes with an equalizer there is no system wide eq in the OS. The reviewer's weren't joking when they really said there's no eq, there really isn't an eq.
Still a good phone would recommend, but for people who like bass maybe search for a third party eq.

 

[Steve Wilcox]

Reminds me of the people who insist on burn-in on a given headphone even after someone shows graphs of that exact product having zero change after X hours.

@Steve Wilcox: It's not placebo in your case, since you're using balanced armature (BA) IEMs, which usually have non-linear impedance across frequencies. For example, let's take a look at the Shure SE535 impedance graph, taken from Innerfidelty:



You can see that the magenta curve is quite linear in bass, but has a distinct bump in the upper mids.

Now what happens is, if you turn that Shure earphone adapter's volume rocker, you're in fact adding output impedance to the headphone out of your source. As a result, the tonal balance of your BA IEMs will shift according to their impedance curve, which means you'll hear an increase in upper mids, relative to lower mids and bass. In short, your IEMs will become brighter / clearer / 'more detailed' sounding, as you increase the output impedance of your source.

Assuming the Noble Massdrops you mentioned are the Noble X, you can check their impedance curve here, it rises even more steeply throughout upper mids and treble, which means the effect will be even a tad more pronounced.

On the other hand, if you'd try the same with dynamic driver (DD) IEMs, you shouldn't hear any change worth mentioning, because contrary to BAs, pretty much all DDs have linear impedance across frequencies.

Thank you so much for explaining the science james444. Yes, my Nobles are the Massdrop X and, as you predicted, the effect of tricking the V10 into high impedance mode is, I think, a little more pronounced. They sound so good with the V10 and Shure adapter cable that I've long since abandoned my Mojo for portable use - the audio benefits are fairly marginal and simply not worth the extra faff in tethering two devices, dealing with RFI interference, etc. Maybe on a long journey it's worth it but I tend to use my V10s for short periods.

So, to summarise, it seems that it's worth trying to trick the phone into high impedance mode if your headphones don't automatically put the V phone into high impedance mode but you need a little more power; or, you have balanced armature driver headphones and it may have a beneficial affect on the sound signature regardless of volume. It's perhaps not worth bothering where you have dynamic driver headphones that are amply powered in normal or aux mode. But it seems every headphone will react in its own unique way and you'll never know for sure until you've tried it!

 

[SomeGuyDude]

The human brain is infinitely more complex than the most advanced audio measurement equipment

You'd almost think that the "infinitely more complex" organ would be more liable to change than the far simpler mechanical instruments.

But hey, what do I know.

 

[csglinux]

Thank you so much for explaining the science james444. Yes, my Nobles are the Massdrop X and, as you predicted, the effect of tricking the V10 into high impedance mode is, I think, a little more pronounced. They sound so good with the V10 and Shure adapter cable that I've long since abandoned my Mojo for portable use - the audio benefits are fairly marginal and simply not worth the extra faff in tethering two devices, dealing with RFI interference, etc. Maybe on a long journey it's worth it but I tend to use my V10s for short periods.

So, to summarise, it seems that it's worth trying to trick the phone into high impedance mode if your headphones don't automatically put the V phone into high impedance mode but you need a little more power; or, you have balanced armature driver headphones and it may have a beneficial affect on the sound signature regardless of volume. It's perhaps not worth bothering where you have dynamic driver headphones that are amply powered in normal or aux mode. But it seems every headphone will react in its own unique way and you'll never know for sure until you've tried it!

If we're leaving the impedance adapter in place, we've moved the goal posts. This will tilt the FR towards the treble. This isn't a surprise and isn't showing an improved audio capability of high-impedance mode. It's just showing you that your headphones aren't an ideal match for your audio taste. You'd get the same effect plugging an impedance adapter in series with any amp.

 

[TonyFro]

Received my LG v30+, superb phone, good screen, camera and build. Meh speaker. But I will admit that I'm disappointed.
Even though LG's app comes with an equalizer there is no system wide eq in the OS. The reviewer's weren't joking when they really said there's no eq, there really isn't an eq.
Still a good phone would recommend, but for people who like bass maybe search for a third party eq.

Neutron Audio player is the way to go with these settings:

Dither on
64 processing on
Generic driver selected
Folllow source frequency selected

Adjust the Eq to your hearts desire

 

[Steve Wilcox]

If we're leaving the impedance adapter in place, we've moved the goal posts. This will tilt the FR towards the treble. This isn't a surprise and isn't showing an improved audio capability of high-impedance mode. It's just showing you that your headphones aren't an ideal match for your audio taste. You'd get the same effect plugging an impedance adapter in series with any amp.

As I understand it, you have to leave the adaptor in to keep the phone in high impedance mode. Certainly this is the case with my V10. It just reverts to normal if you take it out.

I actually like the Shure se535s and Noble Massdrops X's very much. From the Mojo they're wonderful. From the V10 in normal mode they sound decent but with the adaptor putting the V10 into high impedance they sound very close to Mojo performance. I'm not going to start thinking about spending £300+ for a new set of IEMs that sound their best when the V10 is in normal mode when a £15 outlay gets the best out of what I have, to the extent that I longer feel the need for a £400 DAC AMP for mobile use.

All I'm saying is that the adaptor trick has worked for me and I think many others would agree if they tried it. The effect on different headphones will vary, and personal tastes vary. It won't be for everyone. But we shouldn't write the idea off as a humbug.

 

[Loquah]

I actually like the Shure se535s and Noble Massdrops X's very much. From the Mojo they're wonderful. From the V10 in normal mode they sound decent but with the adaptor putting the V10 into high impedance they sound very close to Mojo performance. I'm not going to start thinking about spending £300+ for a new set of IEMs that sound their best when the V10 is in normal mode when a £15 outlay gets the best out of what I have, to the extent that I longer feel the need for a £400 DAC AMP for mobile use.

All I'm saying is that the adaptor trick has worked for me and I think many others would agree if they tried it. The effect on different headphones will vary, and personal tastes vary. It won't be for everyone. But we shouldn't write the idea off as a humbug.

Just to clarify, the improvements you're hearing have nothing to do with the V10 (or any other source) and what mode it is in. The ONLY thing influencing the sound quality of your SE535s and Noble Xs is the Shure adapter and it's impedance affecting the sound signature of your IEMs. As was said earlier, you would experience the exact same result with ANY source, even ones that don't have high / low impedance mode.

 

[csglinux]

As I understand it, you have to leave the adaptor in to keep the phone in high impedance mode. Certainly this is the case with my V10. It just reverts to normal if you take it out.

I actually like the Shure se535s and Noble Massdrops X's very much. From the Mojo they're wonderful. From the V10 in normal mode they sound decent but with the adaptor putting the V10 into high impedance they sound very close to Mojo performance. I'm not going to start thinking about spending £300+ for a new set of IEMs that sound their best when the V10 is in normal mode when a £15 outlay gets the best out of what I have, to the extent that I longer feel the need for a £400 DAC AMP for mobile use.

All I'm saying is that the adaptor trick has worked for me and I think many others would agree if they tried it. The effect on different headphones will vary, and personal tastes vary. It won't be for everyone. But we shouldn't write the idea off as a humbug.

Check out @ra990's trick: https://imgur.com/a/53lKd
It didn't work for me initially, because I was using a four-pole trrs adapter, but his trick absolutely works with my regular trs adapters. This is what you should be doing. Leaving that adapter inline is screwing with your FR. You may like that effect, but it's still screwing with your FR.

The fact that you like the inline adapter is perhaps an indication that you'd actually prefer a headphone that leans a little more toward the treble.

 

[csglinux]

I'm seriously confused by external mode. Can anyone offer some technical insight into what it's doing? Because I swear the music sounds muffled when that's active.

I'm still scratching my head over this one. I can't see external device mode doing anything that would screw with your audio (other than giving you a little more output power).

If you're still hearing weird things in external device mode, it might be time to visit the store - and at least test another V30 and see if it gives the same effect. Line-out from some of my DAPs would sound muddy with my SE846, because they have a high output impedance on the LO. But I measured the output impedance of the V30 this morning, and it's roughly 1 Ohm in all three configurations (normal device, high-impedance device and external device mode).

 

[SomeGuyDude]

I'm still scratching my head over this one. I can't see external device mode doing anything that would screw with your audio (other than giving you a little more output power).

If you're still hearing weird things in external device mode, it might be time to visit the store - and at least test another V30 and see if it gives the same effect. Line-out from some of my DAPs would sound muddy with my SE846, because they have a high output impedance on the LO. But I measured the output impedance of the V30 this morning, and it's roughly 1 Ohm in all three configurations (normal device, high-impedance device and external device mode).

Probably just in my head. I'll keep listening carefully.