Any DAC diagnostics? - LG V30 Questions & Answers

I got my LG V30 this week but I can't tell the difference between dac on or off. I've used Tidal on Hifi mode, streaming a 24/192 from the NAS using Shure se846 earbuds. When I toggle DAC on/off and don't look, I can't honestly tell the difference even at high volume. I would expect the dac on to be louder?
It sounds nice but compared it to my old Galaxy S7 no major difference.
Can you audibly tell when dac is on or off? Is there any way to get diagnostics or geek stats to see if something is wrong?
GJ

gjvdkamp said:
I got my LG V30 this week but I can't tell the difference between dac on or off. I've used Tidal on Hifi mode, streaming a 24/192 from the NAS using Shure se846 earbuds. When I toggle DAC on/off and don't look, I can't honestly tell the difference even at high volume. I would expect the dac on to be louder?
It sounds nice but compared it to my old Galaxy S7 no major difference.
Can you audibly tell when dac is on or off? Is there any way to get diagnostics or geek stats to see if something is wrong?
GJ
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Same here, LG V30plus. To me, with or without DAC, almost same quality, using tidal hifi, lg music player, spotify. I can say that on S7 the bass was more present, using the right setup and a pair of Soundmagic E10. I am little bit disappointed but maybe we are rookies in using the right setup or headphones. I have the BO-s that were in the box with the phone. and the volume is way too weak.

I've got my V30 for a week now. First time I listened with pretty decent (low impedance) in-ears I had the same impression as you. DAC on sounded even worse than off. Second time I did an A/B comparison against an Oppo find 7 which is no slouch in sound output, and everything was fine. DAC on was better then off and my V30 was on par with the Oppo. Today I was in the mood for some music, and DAC on is again bad.
I have no idea what is going on, besides a bad manufactured V30. Or being a rookie

@gjvdkamp
Shure SE846 has a 9 Ohm impedance only. To trigger the Dac you have to use a >50 ohm one.
@all
You can easy check the Dac with
Hi-Fi Status (LG) app. This app is currently for free on Google Store.

Montechristo said:
@gjvdkamp
Shure SE846 has a 9 Ohm impedance only. To trigger the Dac you have to use a >50 ohm one.
@all
You can easy check the Dac with
Hi-Fi Status (LG) app. This app is currently for free on Google Store.
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Hi Fi Dac works with < 50ohm device, the High Impedance mode needs > 50ohm.
You can trigger the Quad Dac in the quick menu or hold the icon for more options.

The Hi-Fi DAC is not amperage dependent. It's either enabled or off when you insert a headset or device into the 3.5 jack. Of course, first time, you will have to activate the Hi-Fi DAC on the main drop down menu, and you can always turn it on or off when a headset is connected. Amp section should automatically determine what type of amperage device is connected to the V30 and adjust high impedance mode accordingly. Or, you can force a higher impedance mode with an inline connector if you prefer.

Related

Anyone using external amplifier throught Headphone Out?

as per title..anyone? mean to say PORTABLE.
I've stopped using gs2 to listen to music long time as the volume is too low and also finding harder to drive my headphones to full. Just only yesterday, my iriver broke and in the market for new player. Thinking whether should be better off with just getting Fiio E6.
yes, we do lack line out through usb (very hopeful that it'll be put on ICS) and the only way to connect is through headphone out which is already amplified.
impressions pls. Thanks.
starfarer said:
as per title..anyone? mean to say PORTABLE.
I've stopped using gs2 to listen to music long time as the volume is too low and also finding harder to drive my headphones to full. Just only yesterday, my iriver broke and in the market for new player. Thinking whether should be better off with just getting Fiio E6.
yes, we do lack line out through usb (very hopeful that it'll be put on ICS) and the only way to connect is through headphone out which is already amplified.
impressions pls. Thanks.
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volume is too low???? either your ears or s2 is done!!!!
think it's both. But yes normally I listen to a high level of volume and gs2 is the one of the lowest sounding device (ie through headphone out) i've ever owned. Not made for each other and made worst by owning couple of higher impedance headphones.
i have been using a FiiO E5 from when i had a n900, i think the volume is too low on the s2 aswell, i think you can get them for less than 20quid now, deffo worth it imo
thanks for that. I'm almost set my heart to buy one of these for later to be paired with sansa clip+ or similar. Probably will be cheaper and better than cowon's or sony x's. It's just curious what will be the effect on sound which is already amplified as HO in gs2.
Try Voodoo Louder from the Market for a 6dB increase, or the app in my sig for more than that. I use Brainwavz M3's with this app & find I only need to have volume at around 30% even in noisy environments (public transport, walking around town).
I've not found the S2 volume to be too bad, but I've used both one of the small "pop up" speakers, as well as a full blown amp, and a car headphone in socket - all absolutely fine.
you've tried Equalizer?, is in the market, is very good. regarding your original question, i use mine with logitech LB21, and it's sounds amazing.
Regards.
with Poweramp I think the sound is louder than the music original application, you can find it on the market
yes i use the E6 - it works fine and the quality is good.
Do not use any of the EQ's etc as suggested here to get it louder. The samsung internal amp can only go so loud without distorting - all u are doing with software boosts is dynamically effecting the music you are listening to. Somewhat like the radio does. It makes all of the instruments in the track as loud as each other by compressing the loudest sounds and lifting the volume of the lower ones. If you really want to get a louder performance from your phone use different headphones - that run on less ohms or use an external portable amp like any of Eii's series.
that's a very good explanation. I've also tried with low impedance headphones but still lacks the "punch". My bad as in OP I used the wrong word "loud" instead of "punch".
so what's the effect of E6 on already amplified Headphone out? just to amplify few dbs on all spectrums??
Rockbox on [email protected] and [email protected] with Voodoo [email protected] did improve the overall sound. Also maybe in that time, my ears started to adjust with the sound coming off GS2. Found similar thread here where ppl's had good experience with amplifer. Ordered Fiio E11 and will post impressions arrive.

Quad DAC and car audio

I don't have a V30 yet. Saving up for it right now. I do have an audio question though....
For a typical, non-Quad-DAC phone, I realize that an aux cable between the car's head unit and the phone's headphone jack should sound better than playing music via Bluetooth due to losses from Bluetooth.
With that said, with the V30, and using an aux cable to the radio's input jack...would enabling the Quad-DAC make any difference to the sound quality? I assume that the DAC and amplifier are designed for headphone use where headphones typically have no external power other than that provided by the signal. But, while using the aux cable and going through a car's amplified radio head unit, would the DAC give you anything above what the radio itself provides? Does the fact that the radio has a powered amp negate what the V30's DAC provides?
On a similar note...my old LG Optimus G Pro (currently my EDC phone) when connected to my car via Bluetooth...when I play a song on my phone, and then play the exact same MP3 file on an iPhone, the iPhone sounds better. Cleaner, clearer, better dynamic range and stereo separation, yet it's the identical MP3 source file. Is that a hardware issue between the 2 phones, or is it a software/firmware issue?
Good question. I haven't tried it in my vehicle yet. (I use thumb drives to listen to music in my truck.) I will try and report back. You can toggle the DAC on and off.
I'm interested in me too. I listen to music in the car via bluetooth. that is, V30 connected to the car stereo.
andygold said:
I don't have a V30 yet. Saving up for it right now. I do have an audio question though....
For a typical, non-Quad-DAC phone, I realize that an aux cable between the car's head unit and the phone's headphone jack should sound better than playing music via Bluetooth due to losses from Bluetooth.
With that said, with the V30, and using an aux cable to the radio's input jack...would enabling the Quad-DAC make any difference to the sound quality? I assume that the DAC and amplifier are designed for headphone use where headphones typically have no external power other than that provided by the signal. But, while using the aux cable and going through a car's amplified radio head unit, would the DAC give you anything above what the radio itself provides? Does the fact that the radio has a powered amp negate what the V30's DAC provides?
On a similar note...my old LG Optimus G Pro (currently my EDC phone) when connected to my car via Bluetooth...when I play a song on my phone, and then play the exact same MP3 file on an iPhone, the iPhone sounds better. Cleaner, clearer, better dynamic range and stereo separation, yet it's the identical MP3 source file. Is that a hardware issue between the 2 phones, or is it a software/firmware issue?
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Tl;DR - aux will usually be better than BT. Make sure your source files are high quality. And lastly, USB transfer or stream will be the best quality in almost all scenerios.
Okay, a couple basics. DAC stands for Digital to Analog Converter. Your car system has a DAC for playing digital audio files. I suspect most decent car audio systems perform better DAC than most cell phones. While it may be better than most cell phones, I doubt our V30's would be better than most new car systems.
With Aux, your phone is doing the DAC and sending an analog signal to the car. Then you car is just amplifying (as per you eq sertings). With BT, your phone sends a digital signal, which is then run through the car DAC system.
Here's where it gets complicated. There are a few different codecs that can be used to compress the transfer, and then quality settings within them. In theory, BT can be a very high quality transfer with near 320kbps sound... BUT ... You get into compatibility issues. This would very likely be why the sound from the iPhone generated playback sounded better than the other phone; it is using a different codec or higher bitrate on compression. My post is already too long but search for BT codecs if you want more detail.
A few tips. Make sure your source file is good!
General convention is that a 128 is comparable to FM radio. 160 or 192 is generally felt to be similar to CD quality.
Check the setting on your music app. In spotify, both streaming and download bitrate settings can be bumped up. Jist be aware of your potential data and storage issues.
Conclusions:
Phone DAC won't come into play for BT transfer. Hopefully your car system has the codec compatibility for high quality transfer. If so, go with that. If not, then AUX will be better.
V30 DAC seems to be high quality, and will function for aux transfers. The car system will then apply analog effects (bass/treble or EQ boosts) during amplification. You will have to play with the settings to see what sounds best to your ears.
A final consideration: Take a look at USB cable connection. A modern car audio system will likely be able to take advantage of digital transfer via USB. This may take the form of seeing your phone as file storage or may allow for your phone to stream music. Either way, assuming a good quality car system, your car can playback your high quality files without any losses that come with BT. If the DAC in your car is better than the V30, then this will be best.
Sent from my LG-H933 using Tapatalk
Audio DAC on the V30 is mostly better than most car stereo converter. Heck, most laptop / desktop PC have lesser DAC than the V30.
BUT, in order to use it rightfully, you need high quality audio files. No matter how good is the DAC, playing 160kbps mp3 won't make a difference... Playing 24bits flac, on the other hand, will show you the difference between them all.
If you want, you can downlaod the sample on this site to test out the result:
http://www.eclassical.com/pages/24-bit-faq.html
That being said, the V30 pluged in the AUX will most likely sound better than mp3, as long as the sourde file are higher in quality.
Some of this stuff has already been mentioned, but here's my experience. I have a rooted V20 (waiting for bootloader unlock for US998 V30 before I buy it) with V4A. I also have a $4k custom audio system in my car with an amp, subwoofer, and aftermarket speakers. I love music and it's the only reason I've bought V20.
If you use BT, V30's DAC won't be used (as has been previously mentioned in this thread). If you use AUX, it will be. In my experience, AUX provides *far* better sound quality than BT. As far as Hi-Fi DAC, I discernibly notice a difference only with lossless audio; not so much with MP3. That difference, however, is enough for me to stick to the LG V* line and not switch to google pixel, which I would have done otherwise.
You should also keep in mind that not all cars will allow you to play audio through USB-C. Digital audio through Android is not nearly as widespread supported with car manufacturers as with iPhones.
If you have a good audio system in your car, you will be happy with the sound quality of your V30 through AUX, much more so than through BT.
Just for comparaison;
AptX as a bitrate of 352kbps
AptX HD as a bitrate of 576kbps
Mp3 @ 320kbps will stream with AptX with no lost,
Flac @ 16 bits have a bitrate around 900kbps (more or less, depending on many factors, but you can average on this)
Uncompress 16bits @ 44hz stereo is ~1400kbps
The Audio Dac of the V30 can run above this.
deroth said:
Some of this stuff has already been mentioned, but here's my experience. I have a rooted V20 (waiting for bootloader unlock for US998 V30 before I buy it) with V4A. I also have a $4k custom audio system in my car with an amp, subwoofer, and aftermarket speakers. I love music and it's the only reason I've bought V20.
If you use BT, V30's DAC won't be used (as has been previously mentioned in this thread). If you use AUX, it will be. In my experience, AUX provides *far* better sound quality than BT. As far as Hi-Fi DAC, I discernibly notice a difference only with lossless audio; not so much with MP3. That difference, however, is enough for me to stick to the LG V* line and not switch to google pixel, which I would have done otherwise.
You should also keep in mind that not all cars will allow you to play audio through USB-C. Digital audio through Android is not nearly as widespread supported with car manufacturers as with iPhones.
If you have a good audio system in your car, you will be happy with the sound quality of your V30 through AUX, much more so than through BT.
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What is your opinion/experience with streaming?
nitramus said:
What is your opinion/experience with streaming?
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Most online streaming sources utilize same compression as MP3, so I personally don't notice much difference whether HIFI DAC is on or off. I'm sure if I was using something like Tidal for streaming, which steams lossless audio, the difference would be there.

DAC vs. Dolby Atmos

Hey guys I was wondering if anyone in this V30 forum could help me out. I am looking to get a new device and my main interest is audio. I use my phone as my daily mp3 player in my car via Bluetooth. I cannot find any real answers anywhere I look. I am stuck between the new S9 and the V30. My main question is, does the DAC work via Bluetooth? I know the Dolby Atmos will but its not that customizable (only a few pre-set options). Can someone explain the V30's capabilities (tuning, adjusting, customizing via Bluetooth) and if you feel the S9 would be a better option for my situation? All the vids and write-ups I could find don't help at all. Thanks for any feed back, much appreciated.
The Bluetooth is digital; the DAC won't benefit you when using Bluetooth.
when playing music through the bluetooth Galaxy s9 will be a much better choice. Even on the headphones with the dolby atmos activated is really very good.
I have used both the devices and unless you are going to root LG v30 to get viper4android or Dolby Atmos s9 is the one to go
If you already have some high quality head phones then may be you can give v30 a try
skit777 said:
when playing music through the bluetooth Galaxy s9 will be a much better choice. Even on the headphones with the dolby atmos activated is really very good.
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why will S9 be a MUCH BETTER choice?
what makes S9 so awesome on bluetooth?
Because V30 is not the best for me in this respect and in s9 dolby atmos also works by bluetooth and really gives a great effect.
Beesvee said:
Hey guys I was wondering if anyone in this V30 forum could help me out. I am looking to get a new device and my main interest is audio. I use my phone as my daily mp3 player in my car via Bluetooth. I cannot find any real answers anywhere I look. I am stuck between the new S9 and the V30. My main question is, does the DAC work via Bluetooth? I know the Dolby Atmos will but its not that customizable (only a few pre-set options). Can someone explain the V30's capabilities (tuning, adjusting, customizing via Bluetooth) and if you feel the S9 would be a better option for my situation? All the vids and write-ups I could find don't help at all. Thanks for any feed back, much appreciated.
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The Quad DAC is audio processor for wired components via the 3.5mm headset jack -- normally headphones but some have used auxiliary cable to connect to car stereo.
Has nothing to do with Bluetooth.
The quad DAC will give you the BEST audio possible. Period. But your headphones or car stereo must be physically connected to your V30.
Yes the V30 has also Bluetooth, just like every other Android phones for the past several years. But Bluetooth has nothing to do with headset jack.
No Bluetooth headset can match high quality wired headset with a quad DAC.
If you must use Bluetooth, then that's another question.
Sent via open market LG US998 V30/V30+
skit777 said:
Because V30 is not the best for me in this respect and in s9 dolby atmos also works by bluetooth and really gives a great effect.
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dolby atmos is not even hardware... it's software and it has been ported to oreo.
at this moment you cannot match the v30's DAC's quality with any phone.
and music through bluetooth sound like s*** compared to how it sounds through a wire... (asuming you have a good source and, in some cases, you can physically hear the difference (i met people who were slighty deaf and they could not hear the differences))
you could try poweramp with it's effects and DVC.
Do not tell me stupid about some ports because they are hopeless. I had s9 plus and dolby atmos in s9 is not the same as in the ports for other devices. There is not the smallest comparison. Even on wired headphones with s9 sounds great, there is nothing missing from it. And do not say that the V30 is such a miracle in terms of music because it is not like that at all. It plays very well when the amplifier that fills up the sound is played, without it the s9 with the dolby listens more pleasantly.
skit777 said:
Do not tell me stupid about some ports because they are hopeless. I had s9 plus and dolby atmos in s9 is not the same as in the ports for other devices. There is not the smallest comparison. Even on wired headphones with s9 sounds great, there is nothing missing from it. And do not say that the V30 is such a miracle in terms of music because it is not like that at all. It plays very well when the amplifier that fills up the sound is played, without it the s9 with the dolby listens more pleasantly.
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Skit, please don't drink-and-post. Put the keyboard down. Back away from the keyboard.
You're confusing two topics.
The LG V30 has far superior wired audio over any other mainstream cellphone. That's one of the calling cards. Nothing else is close. It's okay if you can't hear the difference; the S9 is better than anything you could buy a decade ago, and without really good cans (headphones), hardly anybody would notice. You won't notice with hyper-compressed 120Kbps mp3s, just as that "enhance photo" scene from the original Blade Runner was crap. But the V30 Quad-DAC really is the best... if your music was compressed with enough quality, your earphones are good enough and you're wired.
Not that kind of "wired" you are while writing your semi-coherent rants. The other kind.
Now to Bluetooth...
The LG V30 supports aptX bluetooth. So does the Samsung Galaxy S9. This is the top-end Bluetooth "codec", often coined "CD quality." Which really means, "better than FM radio, better than low-bitrate MP3, but not so great." Remember, CDs came out in 1982. Which was probably before you were born.
So what happens with the music? If you're listening via wired cans (the DAC), the Quad-DAC applies a lot of math (FFTs, smoothing, psycho acoustics) and tries to make the music as great as it can be. Roughly the equivalent of anti-aliasing an image. The S9 doesn't have all of that, so it will sound a smidge harsher, just a shade less accurate... but still better than anything a decade ago. And Bluetooth... on either one - the LG V30 and Samsung S9 have precisely exactly the same best-case aptX sound, because it's from your headphones, not the phone... will sound like something from three-and-a-half decades ago. Which was amazing at the time, and is good enough for an airplane, or low-cost earbuds, or if you're listing to hip-hop or rap, etc. But in those cases, why are you pontificating?
Wotta said:
Skit, please don't drink-and-post. Put the keyboard down. Back away from the keyboard.
You're confusing two topics.
The LG V30 has far superior wired audio over any other mainstream cellphone. That's one of the calling cards. Nothing else is close. It's okay if you can't hear the difference; the S9 is better than anything you could buy a decade ago, and without really good cans (headphones), hardly anybody would notice. You won't notice with hyper-compressed 120Kbps mp3s, just as that "enhance photo" scene from the original Blade Runner was crap. But the V30 Quad-DAC really is the best... if your music was compressed with enough quality, your earphones are good enough and you're wired.
Not that kind of "wired" you are while writing your semi-coherent rants. The other kind.
Now to Bluetooth...
The LG V30 supports aptX bluetooth. So does the Samsung Galaxy S9. This is the top-end Bluetooth "codec", often coined "CD quality." Which really means, "better than FM radio, better than low-bitrate MP3, but not so great." Remember, CDs came out in 1982. Which was probably before you were born.
So what happens with the music? If you're listening via wired cans (the DAC), the Quad-DAC applies a lot of math (FFTs, smoothing, psycho acoustics) and tries to make the music as great as it can be. Roughly the equivalent of anti-aliasing an image. The S9 doesn't have all of that, so it will sound a smidge harsher, just a shade less accurate... but still better than anything a decade ago. And Bluetooth... on either one - the LG V30 and Samsung S9 have precisely exactly the same best-case aptX sound, because it's from your headphones, not the phone... will sound like something from three-and-a-half decades ago. Which was amazing at the time, and is good enough for an airplane, or low-cost earbuds, or if you're listing to hip-hop or rap, etc. But in those cases, why are you pontificating?
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Just to continue the point, Bluetooth audio still requires a DAC or Digital Analog Converter. However the DAC in use when using Bluetooth audio is in the head unit of your car stereo, not in your phone. When you play music via Bluetooth, your sending a digital signal to your "headphones" (in this case your car stereo), where it pulls the muscle of converting the digital signal into an analog waveform that can be played back by your speakers. This is why the same sound file sounds different when played back through your hi-fi system when compared to your car stereo. They use different DACs.
If I'm not mistaken (if I am please correct me), Dolby Atmos is software processing applied to the digital signal before it reaches the DAC, which is why it works over Bluetooth.
Im pretty sure people have made a big mistake in their recommendation to you. The LG V30 has the high quality bluetooth audio feature along with its Quad DAC. Not just wired audio will benefit from it. Its designed for Hi-Fi bluetooth too.
The V30 has Qualcomms new aptX HD Bluetooth Codec. Which Samsung does not. LG are still retaining their place at top of the Wireless leaderboard with this device.
Samsung obviously cannot have aptX if it does not have a Qualcomm processor or chipset.
Hindustani1990 said:
I have used both the devices and unless you are going to root LG v30 to get viper4android or Dolby Atmos s9 is the one to go
If you already have some high quality head phones then may be you can give v30 a try
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Please don't post this BS information.
If you are running V4A, your Quad Dac is not working.
The music will have a down sample and an up sample.
V4A is for devices without a Quad Dac.
Sent from my LG-H932 using XDA Labs
Just get the V30 if you are looking for audio.
I've used the v30 before i got my s9+, the audio quality that s9 delivers is nothing compared to what i get from my V30,I still go back to my v30 when I have to listen to my favourite beats. The v30 has a hardware advantage over the samsung. And both the phones have Bluetooth 5.0 support so you won't have any troubles playing audio via Bluetooth, but if you are looking for a superrior audio quality get a LG v30 with a good set of wired earphones/headphones. Sorry for any grammatical errors, English isn't my first language.
skit777 said:
Because V30 is not the best for me in this respect and in s9 dolby atmos also works by bluetooth and really gives a great effect.
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Surprised to hear Dolby Atmos on Bluetooth. It's has to do something with speakers.
Sheephunter9000 said:
I've used the v30 before i got my s9+, the audio quality that s9 delivers is nothing compared to what i get from my V30,I still go back to my v30 when I have to listen to my favourite beats. The v30 has a hardware advantage over the samsung. And both the phones have Bluetooth 5.0 support so you won't have any troubles playing audio via Bluetooth, but if you are looking for a superrior audio quality get a LG v30 with a good set of wired earphones/headphones. Sorry for any grammatical errors, English isn't my first language.
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Also, since you wrote that post a few months ago, we now have DTS 3D Surround sound on rooted V30, since LG put the DTS framework in the phones with recent updates. DTS is available on both wired AND wireless (Bluetooth) connections.
Why rooted? Because even though the libs are there, for some reason LG hasn't yet enabled it on unrooted stock firmware. But it's still a fantastic development, as long as you have most recent firmware. @JohnFawkes is enabling it on his TWRP-flashable zips, so you don't need to anything except flash Magkisk before rebooting (which you would do anyway). If you are not using one of his zips, then use the linked Guide above.
ChazzMatt said:
The Quad DAC is audio processor for wired components via the 3.5mm headset jack -- normally headphones but some have used auxiliary cable to connect to car stereo.
Has nothing to do with Bluetooth.
The quad DAC will give you the BEST audio possible. Period. But your headphones or car stereo must be physically connected to your V30.
Yes the V30 has also Bluetooth, just like every other Android phones for the past several years. But Bluetooth has nothing to do with headset jack.
No Bluetooth headset can match high quality wired headset with a quad DAC.
If you must use Bluetooth, then that's another question.
Sent via open market LG US998 V30/V30+
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DTS libs though lol, doubt s9 or really any phone has anything like that over bluetooth

Quad Dac issue or Issue with Heaphone jack

Ok I searched for Solution on google, it seems no body else is facing this issue. So here is my problem I migrated on to v30 from v20 and I noticed that whenever i play a song with quad dac on there is a very audible static noise in the background, like if the mic on or a better example would it feels like the song is being played on a radio.. where along with song there is a hint of crackle and white noise. My V20 never had this problem.
Is anyone else facing the issue, BTW I am on Philippine oreo KDZ, and will LG cover the warranty or should i wait and flash Indian Oreo to claim warranty??
did you try different audio sources, headphones, also try some speakers
taus90 said:
Ok I searched for Solution on google, it seems no body else is facing this issue. So here is my problem I migrated on to v30 from v20 and I noticed that whenever i play a song with quad dac on there is a very audible static noise in the background, like if the mic on or a better example would it feels like the song is being played on a radio.. where along with song there is a hint of crackle and white noise. My V20 never had this problem.
Is anyone else facing the issue, BTW I am on Philippine oreo KDZ, and will LG cover the warranty or should i wait and flash Indian Oreo to claim warranty??
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Look: you ever used the "high performance" mode of the WCD9xxx in-built DAC of any previous Android phone ?
This raises up the output but also comes with the cost of higher "white noise" / static, etc. - this in turn is able to drive headphones with a high impedance Ω
The same applies to the dedicated "quad dac" - it has high output by default and thus is to be experienced best with "high quality" (well, most high quality headphones have higher impedance than the very cheap headphones).
There's a noticable difference for me when switching between e.g. the EP630, Xiaomi Pistons and the provided B & O Headphones that came along with the V30.
So there is NO issue and there is not really a solution but to use it in the way that it was meant to be used
tl;dr
What @iRS_ wrote (other headphones with higher impedance)
iRS_ said:
did you try different audio sources, headphones, also try some speakers
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I did like, never had this problem on my Lg V20
taus90 said:
I did like, never had this problem on my Lg V20
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i am asking if you tried all this on v30, NOT v20 ?
zacharias.maladroit said:
Look: you ever used the "high performance" mode of the WCD9xxx in-built DAC of any previous Android phone ?
This raises up the output but also comes with the cost of higher "white noise" / static, etc. - this in turn is able to drive headphones with a high impedance Ω
The same applies to the dedicated "quad dac" - it has high output by default and thus is to be experienced best with "high quality" (well, most high quality headphones have higher impedance than the very cheap headphones).
There's a noticable difference for me when switching between e.g. the EP630, Xiaomi Pistons and the provided B & O Headphones that came along with the V30.
So there is NO issue and there is not really a solution but to use it in the way that it was meant to be used
tl;dr
What @iRS_ wrote (other headphones with higher impedance)
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If a DAC has distortion and audible static interference then its not doing its job. In simple layman terms, Switching on DAC should improve sound stage and frequency response and it is noticeable on any even basic headphones. Like I mentioned in my post I have Lg V20 too, and the DAC on that phone doesn't have any of the issue which i mentioned about my V30, to which you say is not an issue. Also Headphone (Mi Piston) is not an issue.. coz the same headphones works perfectly on V20..
taus90 said:
If a DAC has distortion and audible static interference then its not doing its job. In simple layman terms, Switching on DAC should improve sound stage and frequency response and it is noticeable on any even basic headphones. Like I mentioned in my post I have Lg V20 too, and the DAC on that phone doesn't have any of the issue which i mentioned about my V30, to which you say is not an issue. Also Headphone (Mi Piston) is not an issue.. coz the same headphones works perfectly on V20..
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well, it could be due to how the driver & kernel is compiled (so it would be an out-of-the-box issue) - I've experienced this kind of increase in static noise on the Z5 once going from fstack-protector-regular to fstack-protector-strong (more functions protected or "tainted" in that case)
https://outflux.net/blog/archives/2014/01/27/fstack-protector-strong/
https://lwn.net/Articles/584225/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buffer_overflow_protection
Since the stock kernel is built that way by default the audio output quality could be somewhat worse compared to V20 (if there the kernel was compiled with fstack-protector-regular).
I can clearly hear how there's some distortion and audible static noise when the screen is off, quad dac enabled and changing volume (up or down) - the amp first is gone, the output is much more silent and there sound is less clear - more static can be heard
I've attributed this to the quality of the audio tracks I'm listening to - since with fully digitally created tracks this didn't seem to occur that much.
Also there's one particular issue I had forgotten:
Once connecting the Xiaomi Hybrid Pro and having Quad DAC disabled (so the stock WCD94xx used) either on left or right channel (every several seconds) there is solely (no other output) very loud static noise while playing music [similar to the static on old-ass TVs where only static is being shown and similar sound played],
when enabling quad dac/ES9028PRO it's gone. No matter what audio track is being played this was happening - I wasn't sure whether this was a software or hardware issue and since this was only happening with one particular type of headphones/IEMs I keep the phone so far.
Since you mention that the static noise appears along music output I doubt it's a similar issue you're observing.
taus90 said:
I did like, never had this problem on my Lg V20
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Yes I did.. And by v20 i mean i tried all Flac, same mp3 on both the devices, wired speakers, headphones, so it doesnt seem the problem is with any of the external devices, , tried different music player, same problem it has to be issue with V30's dac or the headphone jack its just when i start playing a song with Hifi option on, the static and light crackles starts and when the song finishes playing or I pause the song the noise stops after like 15 seconds or if i turn off the dac the noise stops immediately. But toggling hifi option on and off without any music playing the issue doesnt exist, its just when a song starts and DAC kicks the issue appears, so i doubt its even headphone jack
zacharias.maladroit said:
well, it could be due to how the driver & kernel is compiled (so it would be an out-of-the-box issue) - I've experienced this kind of increase in static noise on the Z5 once going from fstack-protector-regular to fstack-protector-strong (more functions protected or "tainted" in that case)
https://outflux.net/blog/archives/2014/01/27/fstack-protector-strong/
https://lwn.net/Articles/584225/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buffer_overflow_protection
Since the stock kernel is built that way by default the audio output quality could be somewhat worse compared to V20 (if there the kernel was compiled with fstack-protector-regular).
I can clearly hear how there's some distortion and audible static noise when the screen is off, quad dac enabled and changing volume (up or down) - the amp first is gone, the output is much more silent and there sound is less clear - more static can be heard
I've attributed this to the quality of the audio tracks I'm listening to - since with fully digitally created tracks this didn't seem to occur that much.
Also there's one particular issue I had forgotten:
Once connecting the Xiaomi Hybrid Pro and having Quad DAC disabled (so the stock WCD94xx used) either on left or right channel (every several seconds) there is solely (no other output) very loud static noise while playing music [similar to the static on old-ass TVs where only static is being shown and similar sound played],
when enabling quad dac/ES9028PRO it's gone. No matter what audio track is being played this was happening - I wasn't sure whether this was a software or hardware issue and since this was only happening with one particular type of headphones/IEMs I keep the phone so far.
Since you mention that the static noise appears along music output I doubt it's a similar issue you're observing.
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I wish i could have tested on indian nougat when i had it, to see if it is oreo related issue, now i have to wait for Indian Oreo to see if that rom has the solution. I think Ill probably send it to LG to fix it while its under warranty
Stock Nougat, just going to start the bootloader unlock process, but sonically it's been flawless, orgasmic actually, with Sennheiser 6xx's, Etymotic HF2's and ER4's as well as BT to a UE Boom. Only the occasional crackle because my HF2's cabling is getting old, so sadly I'd think you have a bad unit.
Even I am experiencing the exact same , I'm on Indian Oreo kdz. When I turn on high impedance mode with sennhieser hd 598 and then connect it to my ath e 40 , I get a continuous hiss throughout the song.. sometimes it's irritating really.. I want to ask if someone who has rooted and using whiskyomega mod having same issues ?
By the way I don't get it on hd 598 , it probably dampens it..
Bupreno said:
Even I am experiencing the exact same , I'm on Indian Oreo kdz. When I turn on high impedance mode with sennhieser hd 598 and then connect it to my ath e 40 , I get a continuous hiss throughout the song.. sometimes it's irritating really.. I want to ask if someone who has rooted and using whiskyomega mod having same issues ?
By the way I don't get it on hd 598 , it probably dampens it..
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The HD598 is 50 ohms (more resistance) while the E40 is merely 12 ohms, with a dynamic driver, I am guessing fairly sensitive. I wouldn't use HIM with earphones like that in the first place. That said, V30 is known for having a very low noise floor, so I wouldn't expect hiss, even with HIM and sensitive earphones.
Which music player do you use and what is your music source? Unfortunately V30 will upsample 44.1Khz sources (i.e. all CDs and most streaming sources) to 48KHz before sending it to the DAC. This should not be audible in most cases, but a few people are able to hear it when using very sensitive IEMs (typically balanced armature drivers). It is described in the opening post of the thread linked below:
https://www.head-fi.org/threads/music-apps-tips-and-tricks-for-the-lg-v30.868978/
The way around it is to use a music player that bypasses the standard Android audio path, such as UAPP or Neutron, both of which use their own audio driver that sends music directly to the ESS DAC.
Another possible explanation is if some EQ or other processing in your music player is messing with the data before it reaches the DAC. If you try playing with UAPP using Bit-perfect mode, that's a great way to determine if it is a hardware problem (which is possible) or something in the digital audio path. You can download a free trial using the link below:
http://www.extreamsd.com/index.php/uapp-trial
TheDannemand said:
The HD598 is 50 ohms (more resistance) while the E40 is merely 12 ohms, with a dynamic driver, I am guessing fairly sensitive. I wouldn't use HIM with earphones like that in the first place. That said, V30 is known for having a very low noise floor, so I wouldn't expect hiss, even with HIM and sensitive earphones.
Which music player do you use and what is your music source? Unfortunately V30 will upsample 44.1Khz sources (i.e. all CDs and most streaming sources) to 48KHz before sending it to the DAC. This should not be audible in most cases, but a few people are able to hear it when using very sensitive IEMs (typically balanced armature drivers). It is described in the opening post of the thread linked below:
https://www.head-fi.org/threads/music-apps-tips-and-tricks-for-the-lg-v30.868978/
The way around it is to use a music player that bypasses the standard Android audio path, such as UAPP or Neutron, both of which use their own audio driver that sends music directly to the ESS DAC.
Another possible explanation is if some EQ or other processing in your music player is messing with the data before it reaches the DAC. If you try playing with UAPP using Bit-perfect mode, that's a great way to determine if it is a hardware problem (which is possible) or something in the digital audio path. You can download a free trial using the link below:
http://www.extreamsd.com/index.php/uapp-trial
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Will try those apps out.. i always use the in built music app. And ath e 40 sound just amazing with the DAC, that kinda quality just gives me a high , so I can't let it go.. I never imagined those earphones could be so good !!
taus90 said:
Ok I searched for Solution on google, it seems no body else is facing this issue. So here is my problem I migrated on to v30 from v20 and I noticed that whenever i play a song with quad dac on there is a very audible static noise in the background, like if the mic on or a better example would it feels like the song is being played on a radio.. where along with song there is a hint of crackle and white noise. My V20 never had this problem.
Is anyone else facing the issue, BTW I am on Philippine oreo KDZ, and will LG cover the warranty or should i wait and flash Indian Oreo to claim warranty??
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This sounds similar to what I experienced with my V30S using Beyerdynamic iDX200 headphones with the extension cable design*.
At first I thought I had received a defective V30S. Then I found the problem was limited to those particular headphones with their included extension cable. With the extension cable removed, and with any other headphones, the V30S audio quality problem disappeared. And the iDX200 sound fine on my other phone, as long as the extension cable connection is clean (it is prone to signal degradation by contamination).
My guess is that the V30 system that measures load impedance on the 3.5mm jack has some kind of anomaly related to imdedance/VSWR imposed by the connection of the iDX200 extension cable, even if that connection is clean.
Try different headphones.
(* The iDX200 cable is too short by itself, it has to be used with a short extension, either the included one or another.)
...
taus90 said:
Ok I searched for Solution on google, it seems no body else is facing this issue. So here is my problem I migrated on to v30 from v20 and I noticed that whenever i play a song with quad dac on there is a very audible static noise in the background, like if the mic on or a better example would it feels like the song is being played on a radio.. where along with song there is a hint of crackle and white noise. My V20 never had this problem.
Is anyone else facing the issue, BTW I am on Philippine oreo KDZ, and will LG cover the warranty or should i wait and flash Indian Oreo to claim warranty??
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Click to collapse
I have found a solution!!
Go to hifi settings in balance section, reduce the volume from left and right to as low as possible, I've kept it zero and just raise the volume to your liking..
In my case the hiss has reduced drastically to the point I can ignore it ! Hope this works for you!
TheDannemand said:
The HD598 is 50 ohms (more resistance) while the E40 is merely 12 ohms, with a dynamic driver, I am guessing fairly sensitive. I wouldn't use HIM with earphones like that in the first place. That said, V30 is known for having a very low noise floor, so I wouldn't expect hiss, even with HIM and sensitive earphones.
Which music player do you use and what is your music source? Unfortunately V30 will upsample 44.1Khz sources (i.e. all CDs and most streaming sources) to 48KHz before sending it to the DAC. This should not be audible in most cases, but a few people are able to hear it when using very sensitive IEMs (typically balanced armature drivers). It is described in the opening post of the thread linked below:
https://www.head-fi.org/threads/music-apps-tips-and-tricks-for-the-lg-v30.868978/
The way around it is to use a music player that bypasses the standard Android audio path, such as UAPP or Neutron, both of which use their own audio driver that sends music directly to the ESS DAC.
Another possible explanation is if some EQ or other processing in your music player is messing with the data before it reaches the DAC. If you try playing with UAPP using Bit-perfect mode, that's a great way to determine if it is a hardware problem (which is possible) or something in the digital audio path. You can download a free trial using the link below:
http://www.extreamsd.com/index.php/uapp-trial
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Click to collapse
THANKS A TON!! uapp works like a charm , zero noise and never before heard sound quality !!! I'm Loveñ it !! I couldn't configure neutron though
Bupreno said:
THANKS A TON!! uapp works like a charm , zero noise and never before heard sound quality !!! I'm Loveñ it !! I couldn't configure neutron though
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Great! I'm glad you like it.
And interesting that it solved the noise problem too. That most likely means it was the artifacts caused by upsampling 44.1KHz to 48KHz (performed by Android's standard audio path) that you were able to hear.
UAPP is my favorite too, both for its features, its ability to play redbook (44.1KHz/16bit) without upsampling, and for its user interface. Neutron can do that too, but I could never understand its user interface.
In UAPP, under HiRes Driver flags, make sure to select the MQA flag if you play MQA files or streams. This will ensure that the ESS Sabre DAC is fully utilitized for MQA playback.
Correction- high impedance mode when switched on, even this app makes the noise , I had tried without the high impedance mode..?
but still ,otherwise quality seems better than the stock ! ?
Bupreno said:
Correction- high impedance mode when switched on, even this app makes the noise , I had tried without the high impedance mode..?
but still ,otherwise quality seems better than the stock ! ?
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Something is wrong, that just doesn't make sense. If anything, there should be less noise (if the theory of HIM activating more DAC units is true). And in any case is the V30 known for having very little noise, in any of its modes.
How do you trigger HIM? If you plug your headphones/earphones in directly (no adapters of extension cables) is volume loud enough?
If you play music through an impedance adapter, then I suggest you don't. Unplug the adapter once you've achieved HIM, then plug your headphones/earphones into the extension cable (or TRS adapter).
And if you don't need HIM to drive your headphones/earphones loud enough, I suggest you don't need it for maximum sound quality. The V30 was designed to adapt its output mode to the connected headphones/earphones. While it fails to do that correctly with planar magnetic ones, it does it correctly on most others.
Still, unless you are playing through an impedance adapter (which will change the frequency response of your headphones/earphones) or through a poor quality extension cable or TRS adapter, I cannot see a good reason why HIM should have more noise.
Ath e40- when i connect without adapter, loud enough, okayish sound.. Just like any other device..
There was this one time the high impedance mode got activated by mistake, mustve been a glitch! but my god the sound !! - more punch, more soundstage , even minute details audible , more dynamic!! way more louder! Then i searched around and found a way to trigger it everytime by using ath cable extention and sennhieser hd 598 , then unplug senn without unplugging the cable And then connecting e40.
This time i could hear the hiss.. Whenever i plug the earphones only, theres no hiss, and quality is okay.. even though the hifi option is on. i guess it just uses the snapdragon dac or whatever.
to summarize-
if i connect the cable first and then e 40 - sound is louder and okay.
only e 40- sound is okay.
senn and then e40 (to enter high impedance mode,probably uses the quad dac for real this time)- sound is amazing!!!! but with hiss...
I've only used the stock music player uptil now.
now i use uapp- it still gives me the hiss when high impedance is on. otherwise the sound is a bit better than stock music player.

ES9218P DAC All the time...

Hello, I was reading something that the V30 only uses the ES9218P DAC Chip when you insert a super high quality ear phone, can some one comment as to whether this is true? And if so, is there a mod or something to force it to use the chip at all times?
googler01 said:
Hello, I was reading something that the V30 only uses the ES9218P DAC Chip when you insert a super high quality ear phone, can some one comment as to whether this is true? And if so, is there a mod or something to force it to use the chip at all times?
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Click to collapse
If you're on stock firmware the quad DAC is used all the time. However, how many of the quad (four) DAC channels are activated depends on the impedance of your headphones. Usually about 50 ohms for all four.
There are mods (requires root) to force High Impedance Mode (HIM) no matter what headset you're using. That's not always best if you're using low quality headset/earbuds.
I use a version of forced HIM -- using Anxious V30 mod, but she toned it down in later versions of the mod to only half the volume for earbuds with less than 50 ohms which didn't naturally activate "normal" HIM. She called it faux HIM or other names because some audiophiles argued with her terminology.
They'll probably argue with mine also -- but I'm explaining it so it's easily understood.
googler01 said:
Hello, I was reading something that the V30 only uses the ES9218P DAC Chip when you insert a super high quality ear phone, can some one comment as to whether this is true? And if so, is there a mod or something to force it to use the chip at all times?
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Click to collapse
The quad dac is activated no matter what.
Sent from my LG-H932 using XDA Labs
I will post a link that has a possible work around. I use it, but not sure that it is needed to enhance your low impedance phones. You can try it and see, I guess. It will be in the first post of the link as a "spoiler".
I also have downloaded an app that let's you know if it is in normal, external DAC (the work around), or HIM mode. The app is, "hi-fi status LG".
https://www.head-fi.org/threads/music-apps-tips-and-tricks-for-the-lg-v30.868978/
Use it or not. It may help or not. I do use the work around with my low impedance head phones.
The impedence modes only bump up the amplification to accommodate power hungry earphones.
There is no impact on sound quality. You should not worry about it, just plug in your erphones and enjoy.

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