[ljnew]

Yeah? I dunno....... I'm gonna need A LOT of convincing that Samsung's sound quality is ANYTHING near competitive to LG's. lol Especially if it's the U.S. Snapdragon-based ones. It REALLY annoys me that we get the crap sounding ones, meanwhile everyone else gets the Exynos-based ones that come with the high-end Cirrus Logic DACs. (But even those aren't said to be able to outdo the Quad DAC, but they come VERY close at least I believe.) But if you buy those to use in the U.S., they're not going to work as well as the U.S. version itself in terms of reception.

Yeah for $900 64GBs sux. Esp when the cameras are just ok. Well I've been using MicroSD cards for years now without ANY issues, so I can't agree there. But I know eventually I'll just be using the on-board memory.

I agree . I need a lot of convincing too which is why I keep going back to listen to the Note 9 at Best Buy. My ears say one thing but my mind and intuition says the note 9 can't be as good. Especially since they don't market the dac that much right..................

Also, check other people who own both. They will tell you the note 9 isn't that shabby at all. I'm still in disbelief, but not noticing a huge audio quality downgrade in the Note 9. Of course that could change with prolonged use.

I have yet to hear the v40, but seems like they're using the same dac as v30. I really couldn't give a dam about tuning as I can root the phone and tune it myself. I waiting for phones to start sounding as good as my 2015 15 inch Macbook pro.

 

[RockStar2005]

I agree . I need a lot of convincing too which is why I keep going back to listen to the Note 9 at Best Buy. My ears say one thing but my mind and intuition says the note 9 can't be as good. Especially since they don't market the dac that much right..................

Also, check other people who own both. They will tell you the note 9 isn't that shabby at all. I'm still in disbelief, but not noticing a huge audio quality downgrade in the Note 9. Of course that could change with prolonged use.

I have yet to hear the v40, but seems like they're using the same dac as v30. I really couldn't give a dam about tuning as I can root the phone and tune it myself. I waiting for phones to start sounding as good as my 2015 15 inch Macbook pro.

As long as the U.S. versions are using the INTEGRATED Snapdragon DAC/amp/processor chips, I will NEVER take them seriously. lol (Integrated and audio do NOT belong in the same sentence. lol To be integrated means to cut corners.)

Yeah if you listen to it on its own it prob will sound good AT THE TIME, but bring a V30 with you and do a comparison with the Quad DAC enabled, and I'm pretty sure if you listen to just a couple songs, you'll hear the difference then.

When it comes to headphone audio, they don't market much at all! lol Yeah they offered those AKG N60 NC headphones with the Note 9 purchases, but that doesn't have anything to do with the amp/DAC IN the Note 9 itself. Not sure on the Exynos ones, but the U.S. Snapdragon ones don't get NEARLY as loud either as the LG phones can when in Aux or High Impedance Mode (HIM) (per Phone Arena headphone volume output measurements). As important as the DAC and its supporting tech/setup is, the amp is very important too, especially when listening to albums mastered at a quieter volume and/or listening on higher impedance headphones. Most headphones that the general public uses are well below 50 ohms, but my Beyerdynamic DT 1770 Pro are 250 ohms! So I NEED that extra amp power big time. The V30 gives it (in HIM), but I doubt the U.S. Note 9 would.

No they're not actually. About 4 pages ago, our friend artpiggo posted this which confirms they officially have switched the DACs TUNED BY B&O to Meridian (still using Sabre DACs), which I believe is even more reputable than B&O, though I am still waiting on someone in here to confirm that. lol That article mentions how Meridian advised LG to "step up their game" when it came to their DACs, which is a bold statement as the LG Quad DAC is to me BY FAR the best smartphone DAC setup in existence. Plus they pushed (and were involved in the making of) LG to get Hi-Res certification for their line of speakers, among other things. Read or skim the article for more info.

"The first — and, we’d argue, the most important — word of advice Meridian gave LG was, essentially, step up your DAC-chipset game. A DAC (short for digital-to-analog converter) can be the lifeblood of any wireless speaker, soundbar, or other digital audio device, as it’s the crucial conduit that transforms digital audio (1s and 0s) into electrical sound, which is then transferred by speakers into the soundwaves we hear. That conduit can have a massive impact on sound quality, and while we weren’t told exactly which chipsets LG is using, the company followed Meridian’s advice and upgraded."

So the V40 most likely will sound even better for headphone audio than previous LG phones do.

If LG put THIS much focus on their camera quality as they are their audio, the V40 would be A LOT more tempting a buy.

 

[bob c cue]

So has anyone who uses Sennheiser HD598's switched from a Galaxy S7 Edge to one of LG's quad dac phones? If so how would you describe the difference? Thanks.

I did get a chance to briefly listen to the G7 at a Verizon store and it sounded great to my ears.

 

[Devodonaldson]

As long as the U.S. versions are using the INTEGRATED Snapdragon DAC/amp/processor chips, I will NEVER take them seriously. lol (Integrated and audio do NOT belong in the same sentence. lol To be integrated means to cut corners.)

Yeah if you listen to it on its own it prob will sound good AT THE TIME, but bring a V30 with you and do a comparison with the Quad DAC enabled, and I'm pretty sure if you listen to just a couple songs, you'll hear the difference then.

When it comes to headphone audio, they don't market much at all! lol Yeah they offered those AKG N60 NC headphones with the Note 9 purchases, but that doesn't have anything to do with the amp/DAC IN the Note 9 itself. Not sure on the Exynos ones, but the U.S. Snapdragon ones don't get NEARLY as loud either as the LG phones can when in Aux or High Impedance Mode (HIM) (per Phone Arena headphone volume output measurements). As important as the DAC and its supporting tech/setup is, the amp is very important too, especially when listening to albums mastered at a quieter volume and/or listening on higher impedance headphones. Most headphones that the general public uses are well below 50 ohms, but my Beyerdynamic DT 1770 Pro are 250 ohms! So I NEED that extra amp power big time. The V30 gives it (in HIM), but I doubt the U.S. Note 9 would.

No they're not actually. About 4 pages ago, our friend artpiggo posted this which confirms they officially have switched the DACs used from B&O to Meridian, which I believe is even more reputable than B&O, though I am still waiting on someone in here to confirm that. lol That article mentions how Meridian advised LG to "step up their game" when it came to their DACs, which is a bold statement as the LG Quad DAC is to me BY FAR the best smartphone DAC setup in existence. Plus they pushed (and were involved in the making of) LG to get Hi-Res certification for their line of speakers, among other things. Read or skim the article for more info.

"The first — and, we’d argue, the most important — word of advice Meridian gave LG was, essentially, step up your DAC-chipset game. A DAC (short for digital-to-analog converter) can be the lifeblood of any wireless speaker, soundbar, or other digital audio device, as it’s the crucial conduit that transforms digital audio (1s and 0s) into electrical sound, which is then transferred by speakers into the soundwaves we hear. That conduit can have a massive impact on sound quality, and while we weren’t told exactly which chipsets LG is using, the company followed Meridian’s advice and upgraded."

So the V40 most likely will sound even better for headphone audio than previous LG phones do.

If LG put THIS much focus on their camera quality as they are their audio, the V40 would be A LOT more tempting a buy.

The DACs in the phone are made by neither B&O or Meridian. It's a Sabre DOC. It's supposedly "tuned" by these companies, and though the amp is decent, it still doesn't sound BETTER than the DFR, but most will consider it close enough to not not want to bother with an external DAC

 

[RockStar2005]

So has anyone who uses Sennheiser HD598's switched from a Galaxy S7 Edge to one of LG's quad dac phones? If so how would you describe the difference? Thanks.

I did get a chance to briefly listen to the G7 at a Verizon store and it sounded great to my ears.

Take it from me, I've owned the HD 598 (it was my FIRST premium headphone actually), and tried out the 598 SE too. I also owned the S7 (S7 Edge for a week before switching) and the V30 for almost a year now. The difference is that esp on the older Samsung phones the audio was even worse (esp U.S. versions) and they don't have as strong headphone amps either. My sister a year ago did a video recording in the Verizon Store we were at on both the S8+ and the V30 b/c she had bad experiences with Samsung's audio before when recording bands at concerts. We then together compared the audio on both videos (there was music playing in the store which helped for this comparison), and it was CLEAR the V30's audio was superior. For headphones audio though, my cousin owned a bunch of Samsungs and then bought the V20. Even though he went back to Samsung, he admitted to me that the audio quality on his V20 (for both music AND call quality btw) was significantly better vs. his recent Samsung phones.

So yeah. lol

 

[RockStar2005]

The DACs in the phone are made by neither B&O or Meridian. It's a Sabre DOC. It's supposedly "tuned" by these companies, and though the amp is decent, it still doesn't sound BETTER than the DFR, but most will consider it close enough to not not want to bother with an external DAC

Ahh yes. Thanks for catching that. I meant tuned not made. lol

But Devo can you say for sure that the DFR outdoes the V30's Quad DAC in High Impedance Mode??

Also, if you can, please see the 2 PMs I sent ya. lol Thanks.

 

[ljnew]

As long as the U.S. versions are using the INTEGRATED Snapdragon DAC/amp/processor chips, I will NEVER take them seriously. lol (Integrated and audio do NOT belong in the same sentence. lol To be integrated means to cut corners.)

Yeah if you listen to it on its own it prob will sound good AT THE TIME, but bring a V30 with you and do a comparison with the Quad DAC enabled, and I'm pretty sure if you listen to just a couple songs, you'll hear the difference then.

When it comes to headphone audio, they don't market much at all! lol Yeah they offered those AKG N60 NC headphones with the Note 9 purchases, but that doesn't have anything to do with the amp/DAC IN the Note 9 itself. Not sure on the Exynos ones, but the U.S. Snapdragon ones don't get NEARLY as loud either as the LG phones can when in Aux or High Impedance Mode (HIM) (per Phone Arena headphone volume output measurements). As important as the DAC and its supporting tech/setup is, the amp is very important too, especially when listening to albums mastered at a quieter volume and/or listening on higher impedance headphones. Most headphones that the general public uses are well below 50 ohms, but my Beyerdynamic DT 1770 Pro are 250 ohms! So I NEED that extra amp power big time. The V30 gives it (in HIM), but I doubt the U.S. Note 9 would.

No they're not actually. About 4 pages ago, our friend artpiggo posted this which confirms they officially have switched the DACs used from B&O to Meridian, which I believe is even more reputable than B&O, though I am still waiting on someone in here to confirm that. lol That article mentions how Meridian advised LG to "step up their game" when it came to their DACs, which is a bold statement as the LG Quad DAC is to me BY FAR the best smartphone DAC setup in existence. Plus they pushed (and were involved in the making of) LG to get Hi-Res certification for their line of speakers, among other things. Read or skim the article for more info.

"The first — and, we’d argue, the most important — word of advice Meridian gave LG was, essentially, step up your DAC-chipset game. A DAC (short for digital-to-analog converter) can be the lifeblood of any wireless speaker, soundbar, or other digital audio device, as it’s the crucial conduit that transforms digital audio (1s and 0s) into electrical sound, which is then transferred by speakers into the soundwaves we hear. That conduit can have a massive impact on sound quality, and while we weren’t told exactly which chipsets LG is using, the company followed Meridian’s advice and upgraded."

So the V40 most likely will sound even better for headphone audio than previous LG phones do.

If LG put THIS much focus on their camera quality as they are their audio, the V40 would be A LOT more tempting a buy.

I did bring my lg phone for testing. Yes I was impressed. Read the other forums on the note 9 audio quality here on headfi. Most people are praising the audio and saying the sound quality isn't that different. Maybe they are using a separate dac but not marketing it.

It might not get as loud, but we all know loudness doesn't necessarily equal quality. Also, with root you can make it as loud as you need.

The Note 9, after fiddling with the software adjustments, sound about 80% as good as my V30+. That's actually not too shabby but I miss my V30's quad DAC and built-in MQA decoding on Tidal.

The one caveat with the Note 9 ( (besides being an overall better phone) is that it runs as a Roon endpoint very well. My V30 stuttered like crazy and drove me crazy. Maybe that's why I got the Note 9.

LOL...

If Samsung EVER gets a decent DAC, LG is DONE. As in COOKED...as least for me...


BTW, the desktop experience with the Note 9 is INSANE. I think I can ditch my laptop...seriously...it's that good. If I could use it as a Roon core, I'd be in the hospital...in a good way...

You still say note 9 is only 80% of v30+ or has it gotten better over time?

 

[bob c cue]

Take it from me, I've owned the HD 598 (it was my FIRST premium headphone actually), and tried out the 598 SE too. I also owned the S7 (S7 Edge for a week before switching) and the V30 for almost a year now. The difference is that esp on the older Samsung phones the audio was even worse (esp U.S. versions) and they don't have as strong headphone amps either. My sister a year ago did a video recording in the Verizon Store we were at on both the S8+ and the V30 b/c she had bad experiences with Samsung's audio before when recording bands at concerts. We then together compared the audio on both videos (there was music playing in the store which helped for this comparison), and it was CLEAR the V30's audio was superior. For headphones audio though, my cousin owned a bunch of Samsungs and then bought the V20. Even though he went back to Samsung, he admitted to me that the audio quality on his V20 (for both music AND call quality btw) was significantly better vs. his recent Samsung phones.

So yeah. lol

Thanks. I'm hoping the V30 or G7 go on sale in the next few weeks.

 

[RockStar2005]

I did bring my lg phone for testing. Yes I was impressed. Read the other forums on the note 9 audio quality here on headfi. Most people are praising the audio and saying the sound quality isn't that different. Maybe they are using a separate dac but not marketing it.

It might not get as loud, but we all know loudness doesn't necessarily equal quality. Also, with root you can make it as loud as you need.

You still say note 9 is only 80% of v30+ or has it gotten better over time?

lol.......... I will NEVER assume Samsung is using a separate high-quality DAC unless someone presents me with CONCRETE EVIDENCE of it.

Ok good. Then you know LG is still better. lol

Well, IMO lj, even a SMALL difference can make a big difference when it comes to audio. They say sometimes it's the little things that kill, and that applies even more so when it comes to sound quality. If you think about it, it doesn't THAT much of a variation in say bass or treble quality or quantity to absolutely kill a song's ability to thrill.

Yes and I wasn't implying that more volume means more quality. But a good strong amp can ENSURE you're hearing ALL the notes and background stuff going on in a song vs. just some of it.

I rooted my old HTC One M8 4 years ago. It was cool at first, but I'll NEVER root another phone again. No thank you. lol

I don't know. My friend just bought the Note 9 and I don't know if he'd be ok with me doing comparisons on it. lol

I don't know if it's even 80% btw. lol

 

[cj3209]

...Heck, the note 9 is already down to $700 used on Amazon.

ummm...let's put that price in perspective as I took a look at it. It's actually gone now but it was something like 'Acceptable' quality with some dings/dents and around $100 shipping. Now they have it for $900 inc. shipping/tax for a USED Very Good condition. Not so great a deal if you ask me.

 

[cj3209]

lol.......... I will NEVER assume Samsung is using a separate high-quality DAC unless someone presents me with CONCRETE EVIDENCE of it.
Ok good. Then you know LG is still better. lol
I don't know. My friend just bought the Note 9 and I don't know if he'd be ok with me doing comparisons on it. lol
I don't know if it's even 80% btw. lol

I've owned the LG V30+ and currently use an N9. After tweaking the sound enhancements (UHQ upscale, Tube Amp Pro and some slight adjustments to Bass/Treble and Instrument/Vocal equalizers) I feel I can get decent sound quality from the N9. I'm using my KSE1200 and IT04 which both sound good. The 80% is, of course, subjective but that's how I hear it.

 

[ljnew]

ummm...let's put that price in perspective as I took a look at it. It's actually gone now but it was something like 'Acceptable' quality with some dings/dents and around $100 shipping. Now they have it for $900 inc. shipping/tax for a USED Very Good condition. Not so great a deal if you ask me.

Small blemishes on black for perfectly working phone to save about $300 is great deal to me imho. I guess that's why it sold already . The $900 is for the maxed out 512gb version. Still $600 less than the sheep ios and $300 less than new. I will take that deal any day.

 

[cj3209]

Small blemishes on black for perfectly working phone to save about $300 is great deal to me imho. I guess that's why it sold already . The $900 is for the maxed out 512gb version. Still $600 less than the sheep ios and $300 less than new. I will take that deal any day.

Ok, got it. Yah, the prices did drop for a very good condition Note 9 for around $860 (128) and around $1,000 (512) - tax added. Shipping is free on Amazon.

These are very good prices! The equivalent LG V40 would go for around $780ish - which would be a decent price considering a new V35 is going for $699 on amazon.

 

[heavyharmonies]

High-end smart phones are now more expensive than well-equipped mid-tier laptops... yikes.

 

[ljnew]

lol.......... I will NEVER assume Samsung is using a separate high-quality DAC unless someone presents me with CONCRETE EVIDENCE of it.

Ok good. Then you know LG is still better. lol

Well, IMO lj, even a SMALL difference can make a big difference when it comes to audio. They say sometimes it's the little things that kill, and that applies even more so when it comes to sound quality. If you think about it, it doesn't THAT much of a variation in say bass or treble quality or quantity to absolutely kill a song's ability to thrill.

Yes and I wasn't implying that more volume means more quality. But a good strong amp can ENSURE you're hearing ALL the notes and background stuff going on in a song vs. just some of it.

I rooted my old HTC One M8 4 years ago. It was cool at first, but I'll NEVER root another phone again. No thank you. lol

I don't know. My friend just bought the Note 9 and I don't know if he'd be ok with me doing comparisons on it. lol

I don't know if it's even 80% btw. lol

Trye small differences make all the difference. But note 9 is all around killer to

Ok, got it. Yah, the prices did drop for a very good condition Note 9 for around $860 (128) and around $1,000 (512) - tax added. Shipping is free on Amazon.

These are very good prices! The equivalent LG V40 would go for around $780ish - which would be a decent price considering a new V35 is going for $699 on amazon.

Yes 780ish for a measly 64gb of ram. I might consider that phone at about $600 for the 128gb but the 64gb storage just isn't enough for me. With flac files i couldn't even get a good playlist. Imho microsd is just a pain in the ass when they fail.