[csglinux]

Yes, i know that they will be connected via usb c cable but im asking if the lg v40 is able to output digital signal from ESS dacs.
So my question is if the V40 sounds better via usb c than other smartphones? I know it sounds better via jack out (i had the v30). IFI Gold Bar scales very well with better quality digital signal.

You'll need to use an app like UAPP. This can send your digital signal, bit-perfect to any external DAC via USB.

Your V40 would not be using the signal from its ESS DACs if you do this; it would simply act as a transport to the DAC in the iFi Go bar. TBH, an LG V40 is probably overkill just acting as a transport here. With a good USB cable and clean contacts, pretty much any Android phone would be able to do this. (I'm not 100% sure about iPhone - I gave up on Apple years ago, but I believe MFi licensing limits your maximum sample rate to 48 kHz: https://www.realhd-audio.com/?p=3022.)

We have an IFo Go Bar coming in here for testing next week, so I'll report back with a groveling apology to iFi Audio if I'm wrong about my next sentence. But if you already own a V40, I think you're largely wasting your money with an external DAC like this. The ESS quad DACs in LG's V-series phones are extremely good. This will, of course, be disputed by all respectable headfiers, who know deep in their hearts that newer, shinier and more expensive always directly correlates with sound quality, but our measurements show the LG quad DACs outperform most other portable DAPs/DACs currently on the market. The V40 can output 2Vrms in high-impedance mode. Easily enough to drive something like a Sennheiser IE800S. How much hearing damage are you looking for?

I see the iFo Go Bar (Gold or otherwise) as a product for somebody who has an older run-of-the-mill smartphone (e.g., Samsung, iPhone) with a weaker 3.5 mm output, or a newer smartphone with no 3.5 mm output at all. There's a very good possibility your V40's SQ will be taking a step backward by plugging in an iFi Go Bar.

 

[RIGATIO]

You'll need to use an app like UAPP. This can send your digital signal, bit-perfect to any external DAC via USB.

Your V40 would not be using the signal from its ESS DACs if you do this; it would simply act as a transport to the DAC in the iFi Go bar. TBH, an LG V40 is probably overkill just acting as a transport here. With a good USB cable and clean contacts, pretty much any Android phone would be able to do this. (I'm not 100% sure about iPhone - I gave up on Apple years ago, but I believe MFi licensing limits your maximum sample rate to 48 kHz: https://www.realhd-audio.com/?p=3022.)

We have an IFo Go Bar coming in here for testing next week, so I'll report back with a groveling apology to iFi Audio if I'm wrong about my next sentence. But if you already own a V40, I think you're largely wasting your money with an external DAC like this. The ESS quad DACs in LG's V-series phones are extremely good. This will, of course, be disputed by all respectable headfiers, who know deep in their hearts that newer, shinier and more expensive always directly correlates with sound quality, but our measurements show the LG quad DACs outperform most other portable DAPs/DACs currently on the market. The V40 can output 2Vrms in high-impedance mode. Easily enough to drive something like a Sennheiser IE800S. How much hearing damage are you looking for?

I see the iFo Go Bar (Gold or otherwise) as a product for somebody who has an older run-of-the-mill smartphone (e.g., Samsung, iPhone) with a weaker 3.5 mm output, or a newer smartphone with no 3.5 mm output at all. There's a very good possibility your V40's SQ will be taking a step backward by plugging in an iFi Go Bar.

Thank you for your answer.
I know that LG sounds very good, i had V30 in the past. But it wasn't as good as the Pioneer 300r, or especially iBasso dx220.
The v40 alone will not be enough sq wise. I had dx320 and now AK Kann Max, so there is no chance for the v40 to surpass them.
But the ifi Gold Bar is able to boost the sq significantly. And it scales incredibly well with better source.
The sq from IBasso dx320 through the Gold Bar was almost the same as from the dx320's jack output.
I'm getting a very good quality from my PC and the Gold Bar compared to the Kann Max. So im thinking if the already great sounding phone like v40 would give a great sound paired with the Gold Bar.
I tried the Gold Bar with my Samsung s20 and even though it sounded good, the sq was unacceptable for my ears. Too digital and flat dynamics.

 

[csglinux]

Thank you for your answer.
I know that LG sounds very good, i had V30 in the past. But it wasn't as good as the Pioneer 300r, or especially iBasso dx220.
The v40 alone will not be enough sq wise. I had dx320 and now AK Kann Max, so there is no chance for the v40 to surpass them.
But the ifi Gold Bar is able to boost the sq significantly. And it scales incredibly well with better source.
The sq from IBasso dx320 through the Gold Bar was almost the same as from the dx320's jack output.
I'm getting a very good quality from my PC and the Gold Bar compared to the Kann Max. So im thinking if the already great sounding phone like v40 would give a great sound paired with the Gold Bar.
I tried the Gold Bar with my Samsung s20 and even though it sounded good, the sq was unacceptable for my ears. Too digital and flat dynamics.

What app were you using on the Samsung S20, and what headphones are you driving?

 

[RIGATIO]

What app were you using on the Samsung S20, and what headphones are you driving?

Amazon HD and Monarch Mk2.

 

[Chris Kaoss]

Amazon HD and Monarch Mk2.

Not to use an app like UAPP or Neutron is a big mistake on any android phone.
Bc almost any (newer) android phone is, without a proper music app, down(up)sampling to 48kHz through android sound API, sadly.
Afaik the LG Music app should be able to bypass on LG phones.
Don't know about using LG Music app with other brands.

Even newer Tidal is limited to 48kHz.

 

[csglinux]

Chris offers wise words which we should all live by

One nuance though... LG's Music app can't actually play back 16-bit 44 kHz PCM files without re-sampling, and it won't send a bit-perfect stream to your external DAC either. Below are some tests we did a while back on the V35.

UAPP (Internal audio driver set to "HiRes Direct Driver", HiRes driver flag set to "Direct PCM"):

LG Music app:

The key number to look for in the above slides is the histogram median. This is the statical error, averaged over about 2.5 hours of actual music playback. Via UAPP (with the correct settings), playback accuracy is excellent (average error more than 70 dB below the fundamental). Via LG's Music app, accuracy is a bit more mediocre, with a much larger standard deviation - somewhere more in the ballpark of an Apple dongle.

Throughout the entire history of these devices, LG never fixed this problem. LG's Music app is ok for higher sample rates (48 kHz and up), but not for the sample rate that 99% of current music files use. The problem is compounded by the fact that re-sampling to 48 kHz on the LG phones is done at 16 bit - this is what creates most of the audible errors on sensitive IEMs at low volume. The problem isn't exclusive to the LG Music app - any app other than UAPP or Neutron (and maybe Poweramp, if you remember to manually set the correct sample rate) is going to have the exact same issue.

The bottom line is to use UAPP or Neutron and make sure your driver settings are correct.

 

[Chris Kaoss]

Guess reencoding to 24 bit should do the trick on LG Music app?
That's what UAPP is doing while playback, if I'm not that wrong.

 

[csglinux]

Guess reencoding to 24 bit should do the trick on LG Music app?
That's what UAPP is doing while playback, if I'm not that wrong.

You're not wrong UAPP (and Neutron, which was actually the first app to figure this out) bit-pads to get from 16 to 24 bit and the DAC happily handles 44/24 natively without re-sampling. There's absolutely zero error in this.

You're also right that this would/should do the trick on the LG Music app, but it doesn't happen automatically, because in all the years LG were selling their phones they never ever fixed this problem in their own music app. IMHO, it's too much to expect people to go and re-encode their entire library just to pander to a silly oversight from LG.

The entire V series are still great phones, but only because they were rescued by Dmitry (Neutron) and Davy (UAPP).

 

[Thieftime]

cWill such a v40 be much worse than the ibasso dx160 because I wonder if the difference is big enough to make it worth ordering a used ibasso dx160 model 2020 for 220 € what is your opinion on this subject ?

 

[DynamicEars]

I have both V40 and DX160 (pre 2020), V40 characteristic more neutral, but DX160 is more dynamic and have more punch and edgy (read : more fun presentation) and definitely more powerful. UI side of course V40 much better with Snapdragon 845, with streaming apps also more flawless. But sound quality only, DX160 wins by quite margin, and plus I can use 4.4mm balanced on it.
Both currently lying down on my cabinet since I reach more to my Fiio M11 plus ESS with better sound quality but that is on another class too.
Hopefully these helps your decision, but still best if you can try and hear by yourself first before buy it. Cheers

 

[csglinux]

The M11 Plus ESS is an excellent DAP. (The original M11 wasn't - so be careful to buy the ESS version.) There's a small article on this here: https://www.hypethesonics.com/fiio-m11-plus-minihype/

@Thieftime - if you can do your own listening tests, try to listen blind, SPL-matched and have a friend flick the switch for you. Because for the specific case of 44 kHz Redbook FLAC played back via properly-configured UAPP at 150 mV into a 32 Ohm static load, the LG V-series phones outperform the M11 ESS for reproduction accuracy on every single test vector, including actual music. (See the above link for legitimate reasons to buy an M11 ESS.)

You'll always - and especially on headfi - be able to find anecdotal examples of people claiming something newer, shinier and more expensive sounds better. You can expect those same people to get understandably angry and indignant when challenged, because they absolutely believe what they're hearing is real. This industry runs on placebo.

I'm not saying there can't be situations in which a particular listener hears some relevant difference that goes counter to every single measurement, but unless that listening test is conducted properly, it's not possible to distinguish claimed preference from placebo.

 

[Brain Damage]

Does the LG V40 benefit from a headphone amplifier when driving harder cans (e.g. Beyer DT 880 pro 250Ω)? Advice from those who have had experience of pairing an LG V-series phone with a headphone amp would be greatly appreciated.
I've been eyeing up the Topping NX7 and iFi Zen CAN as well as the SMSL SAP-11.
Thanks.

 

[Thieftime]

colleagues, I have a question whether the lg G8x or G8s have a trn audio system vo LG V60 ?:

 

[PremiumHiFi]

Hi guys, I have a T-Mobile LG V40. I know you can trigger the high impedance mode on low impedance earphones and headphones, by using:

1- Adapters.
2- If the headphones have detachable wire.

But is there any other way to trigger it? Especially on low impedance earphones that don't have detachable wires?

I've seen several comments saying that you can trigger it by making a phone call. I think it was in V10 or V20 threads. Does it still work on the V40? If so, can anyone provide a detailed tutorial on how to exactly do that?

 

[6Channel]

Hi guys, I have a T-Mobile LG V40. I know you can trigger the high impedance mode on low impedance earphones and headphones, by using:

1- Adapters.
2- If the headphones have detachable wire.

But is there any other way to trigger it? Especially on low impedance earphones that don't have detachable wires?

I've seen several comments saying that you can trigger it by making a phone call. I think it was in V10 or V20 threads. Does it still work on the V40? If so, can anyone provide a detailed tutorial on how to exactly do that?

I feel your frustration. I only have a coupla 600 & a 300Ω'ers, but a buddy with some low-Z cans plugged in a few times, and I recall dipping into the Settings to force the "Quad DAC" switch on. A decided nuisance, but a few years ago I schlepped a 60Ω plug "just in case". When I insert it with my hi-Z cans, my ears don't notice any sound change, so I don't think you'll lose any SQ with it. And, no, none of my V phones have enough power out of the phone jack to make my hi-Z cans sing, so I quickly enlisted an amp, which the V phones always recognize as a hi-Z demand.