[Soundstageluvr]

Not sure if LG has changed the quad dac since v10, or has needed to because it's well implemented. My v20 is retired as a phone, but still use it for audio player and recorder. As good as it is for phone audio, like the dx160 better!

The LG V60 has the latest and greatest es9219. Wish I could've experienced the LG V60 with my L3's and my music library. I think prior to the V60 it's been the same dac with different tunning.

http://www.esstech.com/index.php?cID=474

 

[Dojomoto]

Not sure if LG has changed the quad dac since v10, or has needed to because it's well implemented. My v20 is retired as a phone, but still use it for audio player and recorder. As good as it is for phone audio, like the dx160 better!

I keep hearing the praises of the iBasso DX160. I've been doing my homework and reading the DX160 thread, but I'm 200 pages behind ! O.o . Since I have a custom shell Legacy 3 coming (someday, sigh) , I AM considering it!

 

[Jerry-S]

Antdroid,
I'm hearing both test tones very equally. Loud, annoying, piercingfully so. My L3 is #606. (Custom shells, Bal 4.4 cable out of DX160).

I'm liking that color combo. Could you please tell me what faceplate # and body shell color # you chose, please.

 

[Nulliverse]

Hi guys, how do the L3 cope when tracks gets really complex and busy? I’m a huge fan of the Starfields but have to say that this is their one true weaknesses. Their excellent separation just can’t cope when the music gets particularly fast or hectic.

Regarding the dx160: it’s a truly excellent dap. It sounds outstanding and I’ve had no problems with it’s WiFi. Best dap I’ve ever used. That said, the LG V30 is incredible for a phone. Same signature as the dx160 and although it can’t match it in soundstage or resolution, it is still very impressive.

 

[IEMusic]

Hi guys, how do the L3 cope when tracks gets really complex and busy? I’m a huge fan of the Starfields but have to say that this is their one true weaknesses. Their excellent separation just can’t cope when the music gets particularly fast or hectic.

I find that the 3 drivers of the L3 do a great job of keeping up with complex passages. I’m curious what others think as well though.

 

[Banbeucmas]

Hi guys, how do the L3 cope when tracks gets really complex and busy? I’m a huge fan of the Starfields but have to say that this is their one true weaknesses. Their excellent separation just can’t cope when the music gets particularly fast or hectic.

I think it is slightly more congested with L3

 

[FSTOP]

I keep hearing the praises of the iBasso DX160. I've been doing my homework and reading the DX160 thread, but I'm 200 pages behind ! O.o . Since I have a custom shell Legacy 3 coming (someday, sigh) , I AM considering it!

I LOVE the dx160 for wired sound with iems. The BT is not very good honestly, and some say wifi is bad. Wifi is not as good as my phone, but works OK with streaming Spotify and YT for me. (think it might have more to do with your wifi or whether you have 2.4 or 5 GHz system).
The daps' wired sound is very good for the price, just as I'd say about the L3 for an iem.

 

[FSTOP]

I'm liking that color combo. Could you please tell me what faceplate # and body shell color # you chose, please.

Oh no, will have to try to find it. Think it's just the regular blue for the color, not sure of faceplate. I like it, but don't think it's much better than the mystique shell for the price. Has a bigger font on the logo, which would rather it not had at all. Will see if I can find faceplate number...
I see that the custom shell definitely has a flush 2-pin connector. Are the tuning switches not as flush with the regular (clockworks) body? I know there were a few saying the switches hurt their ears and can't see that happening at all on my set. Just curious if there are other differences?

 

[FSTOP]

Hi guys, how do the L3 cope when tracks gets really complex and busy? I’m a huge fan of the Starfields but have to say that this is their one true weaknesses. Their excellent separation just can’t cope when the music gets particularly fast or hectic.

Regarding the dx160: it’s a truly excellent dap. It sounds outstanding and I’ve had no problems with it’s WiFi. Best dap I’ve ever used. That said, the LG V30 is incredible for a phone. Same signature as the dx160 and although it can’t match it in soundstage or resolution, it is still very impressive.

Never noticed a problem with L3 personally. Seems to keep up really well with what I've listened to. Do you have a specific recording (example) that we might test out?

 

[Codename john]

Hi guys, how do the L3 cope when tracks gets really complex and busy? I’m a huge fan of the Starfields but have to say that this is their one true weaknesses. Their excellent separation just can’t cope when the music gets particularly fast or hectic.

Regarding the dx160: it’s a truly excellent dap. It sounds outstanding and I’ve had no problems with it’s WiFi. Best dap I’ve ever used. That said, the LG V30 is incredible for a phone. Same signature as the dx160 and although it can’t match it in soundstage or resolution, it is still very impressive.

To my ears L3 has slightly better separation. Has a bit more resolution. It's not the best I've heard but a bit better than the starfields in my opinion

 

[FSTOP]

I really can't tell the difference in SQ between the v30 and v60. But be aware that the v60 cannot decode dsd or mqa.

I might not be the best person for audio comparisons as I just concluded I can't hear any difference between 320kbps mp3 vs lossless on my iems. Lol

Not trying to get into a debate or hijack the thread - but I'd bet that most if not all couldn't tell the difference in a double blind test. I have a friend that swore by only lossless music (and vinyl) but when he heard many tracks played on my system (studio equipment in a sound treated room) was astonished that he was listening to some songs that were mp3 files. I think I can pretty much always tell a low quality file (such as 128kbps) but 320 is a high conversion. I spent months a few years ago ripping my entire CD collection (now over 10k cds) to FLAC. Now when I get a new CD, I generally rip it twice, once to FLAC and to mp3 (320). Have multiple drives with the lossless files, but if I can hardly tell the difference on my studio monitors, don't feel the need for the wasted file space on my daps or phone that I listen to in the car or with earphones.

 

[IEMusic]

Listening on a dedicated 2 channel speaker system, in a treated room, I could hear differences between high quality AAC/MP3 and lossless wav., but it was subtle. I couldn’t tell any difference between good quality compressed and Apple Lossless. I also couldn’t definitely tell any difference between wav. and SACD, even though it was not a blind test. It may be that I don’t have sophisticated enough hearing/discernment capabilities, but I’m all the more happy that I don’t deal with high resolution files.

 

[Soundstageluvr]

Listening on a dedicated 2 channel speaker system, in a treated room, I could hear differences between high quality AAC/MP3 and lossless wav., but it was subtle. I couldn’t tell any difference between good quality compressed and Apple Lossless. I also couldn’t definitely tell any difference between wav. and SACD, even though it was not a blind test. It may be that I don’t have sophisticated enough hearing/discernment capabilities, but I’m all the more happy that I don’t deal with high resolution files.

I think mastering has a lot to do with it. I have some CD ripped files that weren't remastered and a remastered of the is 320kbs. The remastered sounds much better. The CD ripped Kid Cudi files sound the same in 320kbs too. There's songs from Group Love that sound better in CD quality. The main song that I notice the difference is Ways To Go.

 

[Codename john]

I think mastering has a lot to do with it. I have some CD ripped files that weren't remastered and a remastered of the is 320kbs. The remastered sounds much better. The CD ripped Kid Cudi files sound the same in 320kbs too. There's songs from Group Love that sound better in CD quality. The main song that I notice the difference is Ways To Go.

I can definitely tell the difference between Spotify in comparison to Tidal or Quboz. In terms of resolution. But the differences are minute. My girlfriend prefers Spotify. Think it sounds way better than either of them. All a matter of opinion...

 

[FSTOP]

Absolutely. The quality of the original recording and the mastering is more important. Which is one reason I think people like vinyl, because the mastering to the lacquer was better than the mastering to some of the early CDs. Some recordings just sound like crap on my studio system, whether they are straight from a CD or a ripped mp3. Which is why I think iems like blon03 are so loved, they impart a more forgiving toning with the added mid-bass warmth, and don't have the resolution needed to hear imperfections or compression as well.