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