[elfary]

I may be mistaken here, but pretty much every measurement (apart from output level) for the LG V30 in those measurement results beats both variants of the iPhone. Am I reading it wrong?

Yes, you are reading wrong.

THD and IMD of the V30 are worse than in the Apple dongle.

Dongle is pretty much perfect in the 16 bit realm. V30 is not mainly because of its IMD (Which is more important than THD). The better IMD the better clarity.

As i deem 24 bit audio a must for audio processing (mixing, mastering, tracking) but utterly useless for listening (unless you own a mastering studio and Bob Katz ears) the dongle is flawless for i want it for (Shure SE535, AAC 320 files).

For 24 bit believers the G7 should be a safer bet. But you have to face the nasty low gain issue for low impedance earphones (measle 0.37 Vrms). Non EU/SK iPhones output 1Vrms no matter the load.

 

[Taz777]

Yes, you are reading wrong.

THD and IMD of the V30 are worse than in the Apple dongle.

So a -88dB IMD figure is better than -113dB IMD? I've always thought the lower the better! That's where I've been going wrong, perhaps?

 

[elfary]

I don't see an IMD of -113 anywhere.

For a 32 ohms dummy load:

G7 -101.34 (16 bits)

Apple Lightning dongle -86,66 (14 bits)

V30 -74,43 (12 bits)

Thus the V30 delivers 12 clean bits, the dongle 14 clean bits and G7 16 bits.

And that's providing them with a 24 bit signal.

That proves my point that 24 bit audio for listening purposes is a waste from science point of view. And we're not weighing in transducers distortion.

Hi Res audio is the new cd quality (used for mpe 128kbs back in the day). Marketing rubbish to sell again something that you already had.

16 bits are fine for listening.24 bits are a must for working with audio so that quantization noise is put well below the human hearing threshold (-120 db/20 bits at most).

Tracking, mixing and mastering are wayyyyyyy more important.

I can bet you than a AAC 320 of great soundning album will sound wayyyyy better than an HD Tracks 192-24 of a brickwalled piece of mainstream pop with an dynamic range of -5 dBFS.

 

[GearMe]

So a -88dB IMD figure is better than -113dB IMD? I've always thought the lower the better! That's where I've been going wrong, perhaps?

I'm just glad I don't own a European iPhone since I often listen to my hi-Z Senns / Beyers out of my G7 due to sheer laziness of firing up the OTL setup...that IMD number for 300 Ohms sucks!

 

[elfary]

I'm just glad I don't own a European iPhone since I often listen to my hi-Z Senns / Beyers out of my G7 due to sheer laziness of firing up the OTL setup...that IMD number for 300 Ohms sucks!

For big cans non Apple or Samsung can't match the 2 Vrms of the Quad DAC in high gain mode.

The G7 somewhat measly low impedance mode 0.37 Vrms seems to be tied to the EN50332-1 standard btw.

Samsung and LG sticks worldwide with the EN50332-1 standard where Apple only sticks with it within the European Union and South Korea.

 

[TooPoorForHiFi]

so one should get the G7 over the V30?

 

[elfary]

so one should get the G7 over the V30?

G7 seems to have clearly a more honed audio performance.

But it's not like the V30 it's not very good. It is.

As per Anandtech image software processing is wayyy better on the V30. So if photography capabilities are important...

As smartphone are swissknifes you should weigh in every task you might use it for.

 

[TooPoorForHiFi]

G7 seems to have clearly a more honed audio performance.

But it's not like the V30 it's not very good. It is.

As per Anandtech image software processing is wayyy better on the V30. So if photography capabilities are important...

As smartphone are swissknifes you should weigh in every task you might use it for.

ah Make sense, I honestly have no idea on the spec's of these phones and I just starting to look into getting a new Phone as my Galaxy S5 died.

 

[scottm18]

So one should get the G7 over the V30?

For best specs compare go to:
https://www.gsmarena.com/lg_g7_thinq-9115.php
https://www.gsmarena.com/lg_v30-8712.php

The G7 is a newer phone (May '18 vs Sept '17) so it will have the 845 Snap...but came out before the B&O-->Meridian shift so audio should be the same. It will have the DTS-X/EQ extras though not on the V30. G7 should have a better camera. I still contend that the completely "pure" V30 may have the better sound without all those extras to gum up the works.. I

 

[elfary]

So one should get the G7 over the V30?

For best specs compare go to:
https://www.gsmarena.com/lg_g7_thinq-9115.php
https://www.gsmarena.com/lg_v30-8712.php

The G7 is a newer phone (May '18 vs Sept '17) so it will have the 845 Snap...but came out before the B&O-->Meridian shift so audio should be the same. It will have the DTS-X/EQ extras though not on the V30. G7 should have a better camera. I still contend that the completely "pure" V30 may have the better sound without all those extras to gum up the works.. I

Gsmarena measurements are crap. Only useful thing is the fr graph. If it has a bump at 50Hz then output impedance is high.

 

[trevinthefionaapplefan]

Yall really eat up the technical stuff.

Trust your ears.

 

[Artmuzz]

G7 seems to have clearly a more honed audio performance.

But it's not like the V30 it's not very good. It is.

As per Anandtech image software processing is wayyy better on the V30. So if photography capabilities are important...

As smartphone are swissknifes you should weigh in every task you might use it for.

Here was me spending all that money on a LG V30 thinking it was the ultimate audiophile smartphone and now I am reading that it isn’t and that the G7 and non EU iPhones are the better audiophile smartphone. Anyway I don’t care because personally I think the LG V30 is the best sounding to my ears especially with the DTS: X surround mode on my rooted V30.

 

[elfary]

Yall really eat up the technical stuff.

Trust your ears.

Yall really eat up the technical stuff.

Trust your ears.

Don't make it look as it's data OR ears.

That's a false dilemma.

It's data and ears.

Sometimes i listen first and find the data way later (as happened with Apple dongle which i purchased at launch). And know what? Both appraisals always concur.

It's very important to study digital audio fundamentals to avoid toxic and misleading posts by willing people that do not really know what are they talking about. Bob Katz 'Mastering audio: the art and the science' is awesome.

Forums can be a blessig or a cur$e depending on your cognitive approach and your ability to discern facts from fiction.

 

[monsieurfromag3]

ah Make sense, I honestly have no idea on the spec's of these phones and I just starting to look into getting a new Phone as my Galaxy S5 died.

@elfary is delivering the objectivist view though! It’s very useful, and I peruse specs as much as the next guy, but I would still pick my desktop amp other a lot of more expensive gear with much more impressive characteristics. It just makes my gear sing.

The consensus earlier in the thread seemed to be that the G7 and V30 sounded right about the same. Those output differences highlighted by @elfary notwithstanding, of course! But they’re mostly territory-related.

Edit: it reads like an “enlightened” objectivist view as he just pointed out, which meets subjective impressions half-way (or at least some of the way through).

Edit 2: also bear in mind that the V30 and G7 support aptX HD and LDAC, instead of maxing out on AAC. Can be good if you believe in higher-than-CD quality. I personally find differences between good codecs (in which I include AAC) to come down to “tuning” more than technical ability. LDAC is processed to sound airier it seems, aptX HD sounds bassier, regular aptX sits in the middle. On a quick A/B the difference can be staggering.

 

[skingg]

Maybe I'm remembering it wrong but didn't Meridian tuning started on the V40? I thought G7 was the last B&O tuning.