[scottm18]

It's a beautiful phone you got there!

Yes the Moroccan Blue color is almost as pretty as these gorgeously sublime Sonorous X headphones. Almost

 

[csglinux]

Just for fun, I made three 192 kHz/24-bit recordings (35 seconds each) of the DSD128 Magnificat using the V30 running Android 8, and the V35 and V60, both running Android 10. Since the V60 can't play DSD via the LG music app, all three devices here were running UAPP. See if you can tell which one's which. By listening on a good-quality DAC. Not by using an audio analyzer One should be very obvious. Another remains a bit of a mystery to me.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/hugsy6f0nvx8ahv/Magnificat_DSD128_A.flac?dl=0
https://www.dropbox.com/s/bila7whg2cfqmjw/Magnificat_DSD128_B.flac?dl=0
https://www.dropbox.com/s/3xrcevev6w3cp96/Magnificat_DSD128_C.flac?dl=0

How does the sound quality of these phone series of players compare to the portable players in the $600ish range?

DAP sound quality doesn't correlate well with price. What you're getting with more expensive DAPs is usually just a more premium build and a luxury unboxing experience. If you had two DAPs, A and B, where A were sonically superior in every regard, but it looked and felt cheap, and B looked and felt premium, most head-fiers, and 100% of professional reviewers, would swear on their mother's life that B was the superior-sounding device. Output impedance matters for some headphones, but other than that, most of the sonic differences between modern DAPs aren't large enough to overcome the more powerful effect of placebo. So if you want something that your brain will think sounds fantastic, just buy the most expensive DAP that you can afford, even if it mean re-mortgaging your house and selling a kidney.

@Dannemand - thanks so much for the awesome tip on that last properly-functioning legacy version of Tidal. Unfortunately, the V60 refuses to side-load it

I do understand some folk's disappointment with DSD on the V60, but I'm bugging Davy about this. There might yet be a chance that UAPP can rescue something from the smoldering wreckage. I'm still glad the V60 exists. It's still a good phone, with astonishingly good audio quality for local PCM playback. It will be a truly sad day if LG completely throws in the towel.

 

[Danjen22]

I don't think there is an issue with MQA on Android 10. But V60 jut doesn't have it because LG pulled MQA, presumably for cost reasons. Maybe MQA Ltd decided to charge for it where they had provided it free on earlier LG phones.

As you you know there IS a problem with MQA when using the Tidal app, which has been present since February last year. But that is a completely different issue, best solved by using UAPP instead. Alternatively roll back to Tidal app version 2.21.0, again from February 2020.

What is the problem with MQA playback via Tidal. Sorry, I've tried googling it but can't find anything about it.

 

[Dannemand]

What is the problem with MQA playback via Tidal. Sorry, I've tried googling it but can't find anything about it.

Check this post and the discussion around it.

Everybody using Quad DAC phones should check that thread in general: Music Apps, Tips and Tricks for the LG V30.

 

[Dannemand]

@Dannemand - thanks so much for the awesome tip on that last properly-functioning legacy version of Tidal. Unfortunately, the V60 refuses to side-load it

Dang! I too am unable to install version 2.21.0 as a standalone APK. But I AM able to install it from the 2.21.0 APK Bundle using APKMirror Installer, using the steps described in this post. I am sure you already tried that

 

[Danjen22]

Dang! I too am unable to install version 2.21.0 as a standalone APK. But I AM able to install it from the 2.21.0 APK Bundle using APKMirror Installer, using the steps described in this post. I am sure you already tried that

I've just done this following your step by step and have managed to install the February version 2.21.0

Thanks

 

[Dannemand]

I've just done this following your step by step and have managed to install the February version 2.21.0

Great! And that's on V60?

Thanks for reporting

 

[Danjen22]

Great! And that's on V60?

Thanks for reporting

It was on my V50.

 

[csglinux]

Dang! I too am unable to install version 2.21.0 as a standalone APK. But I AM able to install it from the 2.21.0 APK Bundle using APKMirror Installer, using the steps described in this post. I am sure you already tried that

@Dannemand - I am stupid/lazy, and you are a superstar. No, I'd not tried the APKMirror installer, but now I have and I can confirm this will install that version on the V60.
(Great work buddy! I've added a section about this to the end of the first post on the V30 tips and tricks.)
Unfortunately, the bad news is that on both the Android 10 devices I have here (V35 and V60), it's still up-sampling. I went back to even older versions of Tidal, and they all have the same problem. Probably another reason not to rush to Android 10...

 

[Dannemand]

@Dannemand - I am stupid/lazy, and you are a superstar. No, I'd not tried the APKMirror installer, but now I have and I can confirm this will install that version on the V60.
(Great work buddy! I've added a section about this to the end of the first post on the V30 tips and tricks.)
Unfortunately, the bad news is that on both the Android 10 devices I have here (V35 and V60), it's still up-sampling. I went back to even older versions of Tidal, and they all have the same problem. Probably another reason not to rush to Android 10...

Great that you managed to install it.

That sucks that it's still broken on Android 10. Yet another reason to avoid Android 10 on LG phones.

But it actually makes some sense of the reply that @INERTIA21 received from Tidal and posted in the thread:

I can confirm what you concluded as I just received the following answer from Tidal support:

"I'm sorry to hear you're having trouble with the bitrate through an LG phone! I understand how frustrating that must be.

Our Tech Team has looked into this issue and identified the problem with the DAC's within these phones and the TIDAL app.

Due to recent updates with the LG software it has caused issues with the internal DAC activating on TIDAL tracks.

Our team is aware of this and is working on a resolution and TIDAL update to help resolve the issues."

Presumably Tidal was referring to Android 10, which broke their ability to play through Direct path. And when they tried to fix it in the next version (after 2.21.0) they broke it on all the other Android versions too.

I see your update to the opening post, including your wink about my optimistic assumption that Tidal will fix this eventually -- and maybe even fix 16/44 while at it. I have lost other similar wagers with you in the past. So I am not betting anything this time

 

[scottm18]

Presumably Tidal was referring to Android 10, which broke their ability to play through Direct path

...Well alright...couple this with also blowing up native DSD for the LGs, I'd say we have a major success for an operating system upgrade with A10 there Google! Way to go!!

File under: heavy sarcasm

 

[ebjarrell]

It may have been posted but I didn't see it, so here's a question for you LG V lovers. I live in Ireland and am wanting either the V50 or V60. I can get the V50 (LM-V500EM) for €435 or the V60 (LM-V600AM) for €350. Is this a no-brainer or is the V50 tuned by Meridian a better phone?

 

[Danjen22]

It may have been posted but I didn't see it, so here's a question for you LG V lovers. I live in Ireland and am wanting either the V50 or V60. I can get the V50 (LM-V500EM) for €435 or the V60 (LM-V600AM) for €350. Is this a no-brainer or is the V50 tuned by Meridian a better phone?

I have the V50 and apart from the meridian tuning and higher resolution screen (QHD+), I can't think of anything else. V60 has bigger battery. I'm sure someone else here will know more though.

 

[scottm18]

Is this a no-brainer or is the V50 tuned by Meridian a better phone?

I personally do think the Meridian tune phone is going to sound better And also keep in mind only the V50 has true DTS expansion and MQA (Tidal). The biggest difference for me is that the V60 and everything after the V50 is too big and heavy. Considering how much I carry it around fir work, I don't want to go any bigger than a 6.4 inch screen/180g weight.

 

[ebjarrell]

Is this a no-brainer or is the V50 tuned by Meridian a better phone?

I personally do think the Meridian tune phone is going to sound better And also keep in mind only the V50 has true DTS expansion and MQA (Tidal). The biggest difference for me is that the V60 and everything after the V50 is too big and heavy. Considering how much I carried around, I don't want to go any bigger than a 6.4 inch screen/180g weight.

So, the V60 no longer supports MQA??