[bantn]

Hi, I'm thinking of getting a v40 as a cheap DAP. My question is longevity. I've owned a v20 before, and that thing slowed down and pretty much became impossible to use in 3 years. Anyone here owned the v40 for a while and can tell me how it performs? I won't be using it for anything other than music if it matters.

 

[silentraindrop]

Hi, I'm thinking of getting a v40 as a cheap DAP. My question is longevity. I've owned a v20 before, and that thing slowed down and pretty much became impossible to use in 3 years. Anyone here owned the v40 for a while and can tell me how it performs? I won't be using it for anything other than music if it matters.

Snapdragon 845 is a decent performer and faster than some of the current dedicated DAP's. I would be concerned with battery life going on 4 years now(released 10/2018). If you are good at diy, I would swap the battery out(OEM is hard to find) with new. V60 might be a better buy, but bit too big for a DAP.

 

[Brain Damage]

Hi, I'm thinking of getting a v40 as a cheap DAP. My question is longevity. I've owned a v20 before, and that thing slowed down and pretty much became impossible to use in 3 years. Anyone here owned the v40 for a while and can tell me how it performs? I won't be using it for anything other than music if it matters.

I'm using a V40 ThinQ as my phone - and kept my V30 as my DAP. It's a great phone - I would advise that, along with replacing the battery as mentioned by @silentraindrop mentioned, you use Developer Options and adb to remove all of the bloatware and stock LG apps as this really helps battery life. Great phone even in 2022 .

 

[PremiumHiFi]

So I've randomly discovered a trick which triggers the AUX output (and occasionally, the High Impedance output as well) that doesn't need root access or adapters.

This is specially helpful for low impedance headphones/earphones that:
1- Don't have detachable wires.
2- Only trigger the normal output.

All you need to do is, first of all, put the earphones or headphones in your ears, so that you can easily hear the beep sound.
Then, SLOOOOOOOWLY insert their plug into the headphone jack of your LG phone. You absolutely need to be slow with doing this. If done properly, you will hear a beep sound in either the right or left ears, that means the AUX output has been triggered. Obviously, the music will sound louder than usual too.

Here's the interesting part:
I don't know if it happens in a completely random way or actually it happens if you plug the headphones in a certain way, but there are times where this trick actually triggers the High Impedance output, although it doesn't happen as often.

You can check which output has been activated by using the HiFi Status app which is available in the Play Store.

Using this trick, it's super easy to trigger the AUX output.
However, the question is, EXACTLY what about this trick causes it to OCCASIONALLY trigger the High Impedance output?
Do we need to insert the plug in a certain way?
Or it's completely random?

 

[6Channel]

So I've randomly discovered a trick which triggers the AUX output (and occasionally, the High Impedance output as well) that doesn't need root access or adapters.

This is specially helpful for low impedance headphones/earphones that:
1- Don't have detachable wires.
2- Only trigger the normal output.

All you need to do is, first of all, put the earphones or headphones in your ears, so that you can easily hear the beep sound.
Then, SLOOOOOOOWLY insert their plug into the headphone jack of your LG phone. You absolutely need to be slow with doing this. If done properly, you will hear a beep sound in either the right or left ears, that means the AUX output has been triggered. Obviously, the music will sound louder than usual too.

Here's the interesting part:
I don't know if it happens in a completely random way or actually it happens if you plug the headphones in a certain way, but there are times where this trick actually triggers the High Impedance output, although it doesn't happen as often.

You can check which output has been activated by using the HiFi Status app which is available in the Play Store.

Using this trick, it's super easy to trigger the AUX output. The question is, EXACTLY what about this trick causes it to OCCASIONALY trigger the High Impedance output?
Do we need to insert the plug in a certain way?
Or it's completely random?

PremumHiFi, if you haven't already stumbled onto these two sites, I recommend reading. After all is said about futzing with the headphone jack audio, in the 5 years' listening to my V's I NEVER get fulfilling audio from any can directly: the magic potion is using a headphone amp, if you can stand to rig one up. My main squeezes are all 600Ω'ers, but I occasionally plug in a low-Z can. Good luck - these V-phones are pretty incredible when you get 'em humming properly.
https://www.head-fi.org/threads/lg-v30.858933/page-200

https://www.head-fi.org/threads/music-apps-tips-and-tricks-for-the-lg-v30.868978/

 

[borisov57]

Amplifier makes a difference to me, also.
Maybe because I am using balanced amplifer. I can also listen with lower volume with amplifier.

 

[jb2unique]

Hello everyone who's still following this thread. Just received the V40 and it is my first time experience with the infamous Quad DAC - truly blown away here.

 

[califmike33]

should have got a LG V60 there dirt cheap and a much better phone

 

[jb2unique]

should have got a LG V60 there dirt cheap and a much better phone

Not using it as a phone - the little research I did pointed to either V30/35/40. Much better as a phone or as DAP?

 

[califmike33]

YOU got bad info V60 ALL the way for DAP.

 

[jb2unique]

YOU got bad info V60 ALL the way for DAP.

Okay, I'll look nto it next. Thanks!

 

[califmike33]

If you can get a V60 your way better off, V40 is old news.

 

[6Channel]

Not using it as a phone - the little research I did pointed to either V30/35/40. Much better as a phone or as DAP?

jb2, you're on the right track: I got a V20, V30 & V40. I bought exclusively as music players, and the B&O-tuned V20 & V30 make my library sound best, followed very closely by the V40. V40 is my go-to for streaming services, which it tackles better than the V30. I sent my V50 & V60 back, as I couldn't get either into listenable config next to the older phones (I've been spoiled). I recommend you latch onto Neutron or USB Audio for music management. Ya, the Quad DAC is killer. OTOH, I suspect V50/V60 are a good choice for SOTA cell performance, like pics & video.

 

[csglinux]

@jb2unique - I wouldn't feel under too much pressure to swap your V40 for a V60. The V60 has better battery life, but if you're only using your V40 as a DAP, that may not be a big issue. From the V35 onward, these LG phone DACs have all been extremely accurate, and very close in terms of performance. The V40 actually has a couple of tricks that the V60 lacks - it has MQA support (if you believe in that sort of thing) and lower output impedance (less than 1 Ohm for the V40, around 2 Ohm for the V60).

As to the 'Tuned by Meridian', or 'Tuned by whomever' labels, I suspect that's largely marketing BS. Meridian have never said what that means, and when I reached out to them about it they told me that they weren't allowed to say what 'Tuned by Meridian' meant. In theory, you can tweak the harmonic distortion compensation coefficients in these DACs, but if they'd added audible harmonic distortion (to make it sound like a tube amp, for example), this would have shown up in measurements, but it didn't. Also, these V-series phones all measure ruler flat (as you should want any DAP to do). Total errors from these DACs are, even at max volume, ~70-75 dB below the fundamental even for complex waveforms. At <75 dB listening volumes, that means the differences wouldn't be audible to humans.

The only causes I can see for audible differences would be due to impedance mismatch (the 0.8 Ohm vs 2 Ohm issue). This would only happen if you were using a headphone that had a low and wildly varying impedance curve. (Or if you happen to like the coloration of a particular external amp, but that's a separate story.)

You do need Neutron or UAPP, of course.

 

[ljnew]

Okay, I'll look nto it next. Thanks!

V60 much better all around phone. But rooting is tough but possible on v60 if you want viper4android.

Because most phones got rid of headphones jack and microsd card, I will likely keep lg v60 for at least 3 years. Phone tech is going backwards.