[archy121]

Have you checked in BT settings on the phone for your headphone that the connection type is set to 'best quality' and not 'most stable'

Also, what headphones are you using? Sony's XM3's can let you change the connection type via the Connect app as well.

I’m connecting headphones to the LG via the FIIO BT3 BT adapter. In the standard android BT settings i have selected ‘Best Quality’ without problem. It’s in the Dev Options that I seem to have trouble making stick 24bit and LDAC Playback quality to 990K. If I disconnect and reconnect the BT3 those values revert to 32Bit and Best Effort.

 

[csglinux]

I’m connecting headphones to the LG via the FIIO BT3 BT adapter. In the standard android BT settings i have selected ‘Best Quality’ without problem. It’s in the Dev Options that I seem to have trouble making stick 24bit and LDAC Playback quality to 990K. If I disconnect and reconnect the BT3 those values revert to 32Bit and Best Effort.

I'm seeing the same issue on my V40. With or without an LDAC receiver connected, any bit rate I set reverts to "Best Effort (Adaptive Bit Rate)" once I leave the settings menu. Looks like a software bug to me.

 

[Taz777]

I've just discovered this thread and have an V30+ on order. I plan to use it as a DAP for Tidal, so all the other phone features are just a bonus. From what I've read so far, all I really need is the Tidal app but that Tidal streaming may sound better through the UAPP app.

Are there any day 1 setup tips to get the best sound out of the V30?

 

[all999]

I've just discovered this thread and have an V30+ on order. I plan to use it as a DAP for Tidal, so all the other phone features are just a bonus. From what I've read so far, all I really need is the Tidal app but that Tidal streaming may sound better through the UAPP app.

Are there any day 1 setup tips to get the best sound out of the V30?

Read first post for a start.

 

[Taz777]

Read first post for a start.

Oops, apologies, my mistake. I should have started from beginning of this thread. Very useful it is too!

 

[Taz777]

I've skimmed through many as possible of the 30 pages of this thread so far. I have a very specific question. Firstly, the overwhelming majority of my Tidal playlists are songs in 44.1kHz/16-bit format. I understand that I can download these songs from within the Tidal app for offline playback via the Tidal app. I also understand that using the Tidal app is the only option for playing back Tidal offline content on the LG V30.

However, I've read that the V30s quad-DAC doesn't natively support 44.1kHz/16-bit mode, so music files will typically get upsampled to 48kHz/16-bit. Apps like UAPP will bit-pad 44.1kHz/16-bit streams to 44.1kHz/24-bit with no discernible impact on sound quality. Whilst this is great for online streaming, it presents a problem for Tidal offline, if those offline files are 44.1kHz/16-bit. Does anyone whether the Tidal app will bit-pad offline content?

If not, is there a way around this to avoid the upsampling?

TL;DR : Is there a way to play back offline Tidal songs that are in 44.1kHz/16-bit format without upsampling by the quad-DAC?

 

[VI001101106]

I've skimmed through many as possible of the 30 pages of this thread so far. I have a very specific question. Firstly, the overwhelming majority of my Tidal playlists are songs in 44.1kHz/16-bit format. I understand that I can download these songs from within the Tidal app for offline playback via the Tidal app. I also understand that using the Tidal app is the only option for playing back Tidal offline content on the LG V30.

However, I've read that the V30s quad-DAC doesn't natively support 44.1kHz/16-bit mode, so music files will typically get upsampled to 48kHz/16-bit. Apps like UAPP will bit-pad 44.1kHz/16-bit streams to 44.1kHz/24-bit with no discernible impact on sound quality. Whilst this is great for online streaming, it presents a problem for Tidal offline, if those offline files are 44.1kHz/16-bit. Does anyone whether the Tidal app will bit-pad offline content?

If not, is there a way around this to avoid the upsampling?

TL;DR : Is there a way to play back offline Tidal songs that are in 44.1kHz/16-bit format without upsampling by the quad-DAC?

I don't believe so.

As I said in the other thread, this is an Android/LG issue. So it affects the OS as a whole. Also, it depends on what gear you're using to listen to these tracks.

I've seen people mention the Shure SE846's can make these 'artifacts' appear when playing upsampled tracks. So it may only affect super-low impedance gear.

 

[monsieurfromag3]

TL;DR : Is there a way to play back offline Tidal songs that are in 44.1kHz/16-bit format without upsampling by the quad-DAC?

I don't believe so.

As I said in the other thread, this is an Android/LG issue. So it affects the OS as a whole. Also, it depends on what gear you're using to listen to these tracks.

I've seen people mention the Shure SE846's can make these 'artifacts' appear when playing upsampled tracks. So it may only affect super-low impedance gear.

Not that I know of either, and this is the one big limitation of the V30 as a DAP; I’m in the same boat as you, thankfully with a generous, inexpensive data plan and in a big city with good 4G coverage so the problem is mitigated. To add to what @VI001101106 writes, either because Android’s upsampling makes big damage or because UAPP’s playback software is miles ahead of Tidal’s, I find UAPP brings sweeping improvements to many aspects of sound quality, way beyond low-noise artefacts. Which never ceases to amaze me since UAPP is pulling its data straight from Tidal.

In my case the hit to SQ with Tidal offline is much more bearable than the constant SD card skipping on my Pioneer DAP, but with your specific use case in mind it’s true you may not be enjoying the V30’s full potential.

 

[Dannemand]

@Taz777: I am in the same boat, I like to use Tidal offline mode: I have a rather skimpy data plan (USA is far behind Europe when it comes to wireless competition and... well, competition in general). Plus playing offline consumes far less battery than streaming.

But it is as @VI001101106 and @monsieurfromag3 posted: The Tidal app unfortunately DOES use the Android Mixer for 16/44 content, which upsamples to 48kHz. It's a verifiable fact, not speculation. Depending on the sensitivity of your headphones and your ears, it is possible that you can live with the upsampling. In most cases it doesn't cause a complete trashing of the sound, and most users wouldn't even notice it. But with some IEMs, and particularly on some tracks, it is noticeable. And besides, we're audiophiles

The way I address this is by sticking to Master/MQA albums when I want to use Tidal offline mode. Those albums DO unfold and play in the Tidal app exactly the same as in UAPP. That, too, is a verifiable fact.

Another unfortunate and verifiable fact is that many non-Master/MQA tracks on Tidal have significant errors in them, causing sound issues that are far worse than any upsampling. I can list many such tracks (all classical, I don't know about other genres). And they remain erroneous months after I reported them to Tidal. That even further encourages me to stick to Master/MQA tracks when it comes to Tidal, since I have yet to find any such errors in any of them.

 

[Taz777]

@Dannemand My main hope for the V30 is to provide a significant improvement to my iPhone 7 in terms of audio quality. The iPhone 7 is shockingly bad! Given the upsampling issue on the V30 with Tidal offline 44/16 files, I’m sure that a solution will be found, whether that is through updates from LG, Google, Tidal or third-party music player app developers. Other music streaming services may also become a viable alternative to Tidal in the future.

I’m surprised that this issue still exists so long after the launch of the V30.

Anyway, I’ll know some time next week if it works out for me or not. I’m definitely keeping the V30 regardless, as it’s replacing a very old Samsung Galaxy S II emergency/backup phone that is on its last legs.

If it doesn’t work out and the sound quality isn’t a big improvement over my iPhone 7 for 44/16 Tidal offline then I’ll go back to the drawing board and continue looking at DAPs.

 

[VI001101106]

@Dannemand My main hope for the V30 is to provide a significant improvement to my iPhone 7 in terms of audio quality. The iPhone 7 is shockingly bad! Given the upsampling issue on the V30 with Tidal offline 44/16 files, I’m sure that a solution will be found, whether that is through updates from LG, Google, Tidal or third-party music player app developers. Other music streaming services may also become a viable alternative to Tidal in the future.

I’m surprised that this issue still exists so long after the launch of the V30.

Anyway, I’ll know some time next week if it works out for me or not. I’m definitely keeping the V30 regardless, as it’s replacing a very old Samsung Galaxy S II emergency/backup phone that is on its last legs.

If it doesn’t work out and the sound quality isn’t a big improvement over my iPhone 7 for 44/16 Tidal offline then I’ll go back to the drawing board and continue looking at DAPs.

The V30 is definitely an improvement over the iphone, SQ wise. What headphones do you use?

I have used planar-magnetics from Audeze ever since the V20 and I have not found a phone that can sound as good AND drive these headphones appropriately as LG's. I've kept my G7 as a DAP and switched to a Pixel 3 as a daily driver.

Also, yes, it is weird that this upsampling issue is something that was discovered kind of shortly after the V30 was released and it has persisted through the G7 and now V40 and still no 'fix.'

 

[Taz777]

What headphones do you use?

I have two IEMs that I intend to use: AKG N40 and BGVP DM6.

I could also try my on-ears that hardly get used these days: thinksound On2 and beyerdynamic T51i.

 

[VI001101106]

I have two IEMs that I intend to use: AKG N40 and BGVP DM6.

I could also try my on-ears that hardly get used these days: thinksound On2 and beyerdynamic T51i.

Both the AKGs and BGVP are 20ohm. You shouldn't have an issue due to the upsampling, but YMMV.

 

[pilgrimbilly]

Both the AKGs and BGVP are 20ohm. You shouldn't have an issue due to the upsampling, but YMMV.

I have the N40s and I notice small but real artifacts on the V30 with Tidal non-MQA offline (and my ears are old and pretty effed). MQAs sound perfect.

I can stream free, so use Tidal online for FLAC with UAPP. But as the above poster said, YMMV.

 

[Dannemand]

I have two IEMs that I intend to use: AKG N40 and BGVP DM6.

With their balanced armatures, those are both quite sensitive IEMs, N40 at 115dB and DM6 at 122dB. As @pilgrimbilly reported with the N40, I think there's a chance/risk they will reveal the upsampling. I'll be interested to hear your report once you try it and compare UAPP and Tidal app on those 16/44 tracks.