I dont understand why people need music player??? most music I have only mp3 file which I download in the internet, I do not have money to buy music expensive... why do we need music player? the sound is soo identical with smartphone and u cant tell the different , u also need high quality earphone as well which one most significant for you? Pick only two. 1. Music Player 2. High-quality music 2.1 MP3 3. High-quality cable 4. High-quality earphone 5. Smartphone
@@isDatBoi the biggest factors for me are the battery life and play it then forget it factor, the kind of situation when ipod nano was a thing while you use your 3210. i use shanling m0 which is the smallest dap in the market right now, and you would forget it's there. i also prefer wired iems so it's pretty annoying when it gets in the way when i need my phone for other stuff.
The V20 might had not sold like hot cakes like Samsung phones or the iPhone BUT by far my favorite phone so far for everything than it can do that NO other phone can do, camera and audio wise.
JuanBagnell I agree. I do wish more manufacturers would step up their game in those areas, specially in the speakers deparment. Unless you buy an HTC, Axon 7, Xperia or iPhone, you're pretty much stuck with a single mono, most likely, bottom firing speaker.
only downside in my opinion is the LCD screen, when i play games on my axon 7, or watch videos, the colors are nice and vibrant, and when i use my cousins iphone 6s to help him in injustice 2, the colors are super washed out... not all displays are the same, but i prefer amoled
Alberto 9324 Amoled panels are nice and bright but the burn in its a pain mainly because there's no fix for that. I know LCD panels suffer from ghosting but that goes away once the display is off for a while. You just have to pick your poison.
JuanBagnell your right, after seeing your reviews because your a music lover like myself learning from you that it has a 32bit I just got sold and had to buy one for my birthday... Don't think LG are heading the right way with their future devices after the G6
Álvaro Agraz good enough is a good answer and I actually tell people to not get into it. I'm a musician so when I finally heard the extra information I couldn't stop myself from buying equipment. It's expensive but awesome.
rob25222 I'm not a musician. Just a music lover. And I'm not a audiophile, just a guy who what's to be able to listen to his favorite music. Good enough in my smartphone is cool for me.
Álvaro Agraz well smartphones are k, yes. But I would definitely recommend to give a listen to some audiophile things. Who knows u may end up liking it too.
I absolutely love the sound out of my V20, especially combined with Tidal and USB Audio Player Pro. MQA even at 24/48 sounds amazing! I'm really hoping the V30 has a updated ESS DAC with MQA hardware decoding.
This is a great comparison! I'm currently using the HTC 10 and I love the sound. However fiio knows how to make some great players, which makes them very tempting.
Samsung Phone (the snapdragon processor might already have DAC build in), You can unlock the option either developer mode or root the phone. You can google it
I have a fiio x1 and since I bought it there's no way I would listen to music on a smartphone or cheap music player again the sound quality is way too different
I really love the way fiio players look and feel. And i really want to buy one. But I did a test at the store with fiio m7 vs. my samsung galaxy s8 and really could not hear ANY difference.
@@marcozg77 Most people don't hear the difference because they have an average hearing. Especially when they use poor quality headphones + mp3 instead of the flac file
As an audiophile: (Campfire andromeda with Effect audio thor silver II+ ; Sennheiser HD700), my take on phones vs portable sources are as follwed: IPhone 4s: Moderate hiss. Overall balance is good but sound stage is lacking. Works well with most earphones. Ipad Pro 9.7: Moderate hiss. Cool and exciting sound, forward sound, boosted low treble, slightly boomy bass which lacks sub. Works well with warmer/ darker earphones. Congested sound stage. ZTE AXON 7: Significant hiss. Cool sound but not as forward, treble a little hot, bass is shy but linear, good match with warm earphones. Better sound stage than average phones. Slightly over-hyped in my opinion. LG G Flex 2: worst sound ever, lots of hiss, poor dynamics, lots of distortion. Astell & Kern XB10 Bluetooth adapter: Significant hiss. Sounds similar to Iphone 6, bass is a little loose, much improved with 2.5 balanced output. About on par with ZTE AXON 7 but with Treble lacks bite. IBasso DX90: Medium hiss. Linear bass, slightly lacking treble. Sound stage is good. Works with most earphones except bass heavy ones. Chord mojo: Little hiss. Warm with boosted bass, but balanced overall with detail. Sound stage above average but have heard better. Outstanding dynamic and prat. Good match with more balanced earphones with cooler sound. Overall, smartphones are still not close to standalone DAP/DAC quality, maybe except the new Onkyo DAP phone. However, they have gotten a lot better, and it is perhaps only fair to compare DAC/DAP at 2/3 or 1/2 the price of the phone, as they lack many components. Would look forward to the day phones sound better than the chord mojo, maybe even the chord hugo. Chord Mojo>DX90>Zte Axon 7>Iphone 4s>Ipad Pro>LG G Flex 2
Sadly yeah, US market doesn't get the quad dac option unless LG decides to bring in G6+. Mine is for the ASEAN market as I'm from Malaysia. We get 64gb and quad dac but no wireless charger. It is even cheaper than Oneplus 5 here lol.
Anthony J yeah,I don't know where they are getting their prices from,but there is no way I'm spending that kind of money on a dedicated music player when I got a comparable V20 for 225 on eBay. I'm a huge high quality music fanatic,so much that I don't listen to music made by the popular artists of today 😛. And I guarantee you a majority of music listeners can not tell the difference in many instances of a good DAC. plus throw in bad earphones,and the quality of the recorded music and mix, it's almost ridiculous to buy the stand alone music player for any reason.
shannon stephens Yup guess they didn't care to check prices of similar hardware and now they will pay for it with a much lower than expected sales rate.
With a pair of high-sensitivity IEMs, the V20 may not be so quiet compared to the FiiO. By the way, I have tried both and the X5III definitely sounds cleaner.
I think it's a general rule that something specifically made for one purpose will do that job better than something designed to do everything plus the kitchen sink. The V20 is one exception though, well, nearly.
When people see me with my phone in one hand and my x7mk2 in the other most people assume I'm holding 2 phones. They get confused. Especially when I tell them that one is a music player, they look at me like I just told them that I'm holding a floppy disk. They just dont understand
My answer is also yes. If you love music but also use your phone for other stuff like Twitter, web browsing, watching UA-cam videos, playing games, watching movies etc, then you're either going to have to carry a powerbank (or several) with you or REALLY optimize the way you use your phone to the point of discomfort (lowest brightness setting, force yourself to minimize your time on Twitter and in the web browser etc). I'm in need of a dedicated music player with bluetooth because I just got the WONDERBOOM for free when I bought the HTC U11, but I JUST bought it, so spending a ton of money again on the Fiio X5 3rd gen right away is a bit too much... I'd love to see a 4th gen Fiio X5 with either Marshmallow or Nougat with the ability to sync information with your phone (notifications for example).
They could DEFINITELY do with cleaning up their software a bit. I'm really impressed with the current offering for music though. Not bad at all for a company that isn't really an Android developer.
Just goes to show that Android is the best for mobile devices, especially now when iPod Nano and Shuffle are discontinued. I think I'll buy the Fiio X5 after all. I almost regret buying the HTC U11 instead of the V20, but the U11's performance is beastly so I think I made the right choice. A dedicated music player will last years and survive while I get a new smartphone every year and a half to two years :P
Hey Juan, if you are looking at the best audio in smartphone, consider the Onkyo "Granbeat" DP-CMX1, which is a DAP-first-phone-second approach. It is only available in Japan and Hongkong right now AFAIK, but you should be able to import it just fine. I'll be interested in the comparison with V20. :)
Is it possible to use the LGV20 as a transport, and pair it with an external AMP/DAC for heavier desktop use at home? Is it via the phones out, or USB?
and even after 3 years there's nothing better for music than an LG among smartphones. I think I might just get a good ext battery to help my g7 last through the day.
Woah! Really?!??!, Juan is it just me or you can read my mind? I'm actually thinking of buying a dedicated music player and fiio is one of the few I'm considering then this comparison video came out. WOAH! I'm torn between the three fiio, xduoo or pricier sony walkman player for a dedicated music player to complement my MDR 1000X. Nicely done Juan, as always. Btw, we both share the same admiration for V20 as unrivalled when it comes to DAC. LG made a statement when it comes to audio quality and thanks to their effort to stand in favor of 3.5mm jack other competitors chose to stay with it rather than jumping to usb c adapter.
Sony Xperia XZ Premium has great sound quality, and it's also a phone. Surprisingly enough, it's actually not that expensive, considering it also has 4K display and capability of recording video at 920 fps.
Many flagship phones support hi-res audio. My galaxy S8 as well ( it has dolby atmos as well). But that does not mean they sound as good as dedicated hi-res audio players with high quality dacs and amps.
Hi res in Xperia Device. There are just buy a licenced for they product ,And sound card(DAC) is dedicated from SoC . Too standard for DAP. No reason for versus them
*reads the comments* I can say one thing. I've had the ZTE Axon 7 and the LG V20. I'm quite happy with the audio on both but, the winner for speakers is absolutely the Axon 7. But when it comes to headphone use, tough call. Personally I liked the Axon 7 more.
They're absolutely neck and neck, but I like the V20 for one reason, impedance awareness. The fact that the V20 will tailor the amp to the headphones is a really cool feature. Helps prevent over driving.
I also have both and can't say a notice a big difference between them. But when driving my hard to drive T50RP MKIII the V20 does a noticeably better job delivering the power to drive them to a higher listenable level. For easier to drive stuff either makes me happy.
mynellemail Nell to be fair I have a couple of Nice to high end headphones and IEMs (Shure SE530, HiFiman HE-500, Audeze iSine 10 among others) and I find the V20 and Axon 7 both sound really good and am happy to use either. With harder to drive headphones (Modded Fostex T50RP) the V20 slightly more powerful AMP does a noticeably better job at driving them, so I do have a slight preference for the V20. I look forward to trying the V30 in the coming months. ;)
I'd like to make a point for usability. Sure you can have audio, navigation, texting, phonecalling all in a smartphone, but having a navigator and a portable music player aside your phone will take a lot of pressure away of getting to a crossroad you don't know, when you wanted to change tracks and you receive a text and a phone call at 5he same time. Murphy's law. It does happen.
Juan-Can you tell us how to get the best bluetooth audio or audio in general for the car? Should we use a music player, can we still just download the music to the player or does it need to be from cd? Im not real happy with the bluetooth music coming from my Galaxy Note 8 to the car over bluetooth. I have to have the volume up alot and then it distorts. Please help Juan....
Can someone please answer me something cos I get confused with these things, would I be able to just go on Spotify or any music streaming site with this via an app I assume just like on my phone or do these things have full on browsers on them? Would really appreciate a comment back. Thanks
I have a pair of B&W P7s. The impedance is only 22 ohms so will the quality of the v20 actually make a difference from my Iphoone7? I do mostly steam with itunes music but have no problem with streaming with Tidal if that would make an impact. Just looking for thoughts. I love the idea of a nicer DAC
well since the amp/dac is different the sound will be too, impedance and how much juice the amp pulls only matters if you have high impedance headphones. But i dont think the difference in audio will be justified the price. I have an s8 and fiio e10k using my P7 and the sound is different but i wouldnt change my phone since i dont believe ill get better sound of any other phone thats out in the market atm.
More of this please! I just switched from my Fiio E07K to a Cyrus Soundkey and am blown away by the quality of this little thing! Smartphone audio can be a so much nicer experience with just small gadgets!
Sorta mentioned it, but only in passing - a dedicated player will have a greater capacity to hold the larger lossless music files that you'll want to use. I keep very little music on my phone because (a) it just doesn't sound as good, and (b) my phone gets cluttered with apps and images and all the rest so I don't have the space for music. Another plus for the dedicated player - it doesn't automatically mute when there's an incoming call, so it's much easier to ignore the call and keeping listening to my music. If the call was important, I can call back after the track is finished.
TheWaffleLord sure if you want to have one device to do it all the LG phone is pretty much it, but the amp doesn't compare to a dedicated audio player. If you have expensive headphones or earbuds, you'll want something to drive them.
CENTER311 Gaming and Movies! I'm not an audiophile though. I don't care too much if sound quality is "good" compared to "ultra fantastic" or something like that
TheWaffleLord the fiio x5 3rd gen is a ripoff of the astell & kern ak380 and it's not chunky as daps go. I think the ifi black label is much bigger than both those daps combined but is pretty good for the price
Dont matter if you carry a good quality stuff, like a 250 Ohm beyer dynamic you would like a device that supports good audio. Also its dedicated to music you can turn off your phone and be happy and relaxed without 100 notifications
You can also swap batteries with the LG, so power consumption should not be a concern with the smartphone. Can you do that with the Fiio? Also, with your phones 5G connection, scrounging around for a wifi signal will never be an issue where any DAP will have to use a public wifi network for a connection.
Hi i have a few questions. Im looking at the Razer phone and the LG V30, the Razer phone comes with an adapter with a 24 bit DAC and the V30 has a 32 bit quad DAC. I was planning to use my mobile device as a DAP instead of using my Astell & Kern DAP. I would also be using $1000 IEM's. I was wondering much of a significance a single 24 bit DAC in the Razer phone would compete against the 32 bit quad DAC in the V30. Would it make my very expensive IEM's not sound as good. I dont want there to be less sound stage because i use a 24 bit single DAC over the 32 bit quad dac to listen to my music. And then my next question is if one of them or both, would not be as good as my $1000+ DAP. I would love to get rid of my Astell & Kern DAP and just have my phone which i could get the same audio quality as a very high end DAP and just have one device that i could listen to my music at high res, while doing everything else with instead of carrying two different devices around, which is kind of annoying.
the guy that made this video probably has no idea what 1000$ iems are. And from the reviews ive seen (which is alot) is that NO phone has as good or better amp/dac over a deticated amp/dac. So if you want the BEST sound out of those your gonna have to go with deticated dac/amp for a long more time as audio is not the main focus of smartphone companies sadly. Also you wont hear a difference between 32 bit and 24 bit. Its very VERY hard to even hear a difference between 320 kbps mp3 and flac... so yeah.
Hey Juan, what about a current flagship versus the iphone 4? I still keep mine as a dedicated audio device, because i do hear the difference against my S7 edge and all the other android smartphones I've owned. Do you have one for testing? I'd like to know if it's just a little better or actually much better than let's say, a Galaxy s7 or s8.
Fiio M3 it's their most budget option but it does all the formats you'd want from it you can put 120 gb SD cards in (officially only 64 but it probably works with all bigger exFAT formatted cards) *and it lasts forever* seriously I've never had so tiny a player that lasted 24 hours. www.aliexpress.com/item/FiiO-M3-Music-player/32584812322.html
he already mentioned it, along with other smartphones with powerful DAC... that the jump to the dedicated music player from those phones isn't going to be drastic. but if you own other smartphones, which have far less potent DAC... then it'll probably be well worth considering. which i think is probably true... phones like Axon 7, LG V20, etc... already does a pretty impressive output with their DAC so unless you got a really good high grade headphone and have really good sound perception then chances are the difference isn't going to be that significant with the dedicated music player... but we know that most other smartphones have anything from mediocre to pretty terrible output in which case the dedicated music player will then become a serious consideration if one is serious about music quality.
Does the Fiio have a system-wide EQ that doesn't do weird volume adjustment every time you start playing a file? Every Android phone I've used so far makes EQ useless for me due to this.
I sold my GS8+ because the audio output (and size of the phone) was a bit much. I ended up switching to the LG G6 Plus, and holy shit. Im glad I made that switch and that I can use it on TMobile.
This “review” is what i was locking for before buying the Fiio X5iii. I’m using an iPhone 6s that i like a lot and I’m not planning of upgrading it, i also have an Apple Music subscription - can you shad some light on using Apple Music on the Fiio? And is it still relevant in 2018? Thanks! Adam
So you're saying that you can hear some difference in bass and midrange between the two, but then seconds after you show a graph that shows that they are identical in the audible range with the only difference in the absolute highs with 0.4db (which is really low). Soo the placebo is strong. As always when it comes to audio nowadays :)
Was hoping the fiio was slimmer and lighter as a companion device, with sim slot for emergencies phone call incase your phone breaks down. Currently using cowon j3.. Sadly there's no successor and out of production.😥
For only media consumption, I think the G6 is more fun, and I like smaller phones. But if you shoot video, and think you might like the mics, larger image sensors, and higher quality video, then the V20 is the better buy.
Hey yo Jaime and Juan you guys should do a spanish channel for my peeps out there who are not fully bilingual or just don't speak english. Love from another Catracho
Makes no sense. The daps has not only the dac chip. So many components only dedicated to reduce the distortion and create high rez for music. From dedicated amp to resistors and chips.
I own the G6 with the 32 bit DAC and a dedicated high res player, the Fiio X5 3rd edition. And this phone performs at par with it in most of the songs. It is also better than the V20 with a more clearer output and better instrument separation. However, it can never beat the resolution of a dedicated player. The mobile phones will take at least 2 years more to catch up with the resolution offered by dedicated players per se. The V40 or V50 will be a good match i guess.
Well if you live in America, I suggest the gigaset smartphone. It'll pair nicely with your senheiser headphones. If you live in a European country, the Medion phone brand would be the better choice. If you live in America and still want to buy Medion, you can most likely find it one Ebay for a modest price. Good luck. 😉
If you are impressed with the V20, the V30 turns it up a notch in terms of audio quality. And based on my friend's experience who owns a V30 and now recently owned the G7, the audio quality of the G7 is better than the V30, the bass is more whole and the sound is crispier that he was surprised. He thought no audiophile phone can top the V30, boy, he was wrong. FYI, I am the one who told him the best phone in the market is the V30, nothing comes close. He was an iSheep that got tired of apples audio quality. I own a G5 with a HiFi Plus, it totally rocks.
I'm currently using Chord Mojo as my DAC/AMP to drive Beyerdynamic T1 and Shure's SE846 and I'm never going back to snartphone audio. Thanks Juan for this awesome videos and keep'em coming.
Ali Arghavan if only the mojo provided a balanced output, I would get it in a heartbeat. The price that chord is asking for is really steep rn imo and I have auditioned it but found that it doesn't sound much better than my ifi black label. Maybe I will get it when the price falls abit
I've heard it is now in massdrop for 450$ which is the best deal you can get. I'm not really a balanced believer, My beyerdynamic AK T1p came with a balanced cable too but I can't see the difference.
Chord says: Balance operation is a fix for problems we don't have. We have no substrate noise and we have plenty of output swing. Single ended done right is far better than a balanced design far less distortion.
My reason for being in the audio player market is because of the bootloop issue on my LG V10. Currently looking at Cayin N3 and Sony NW A35. But then there is a refurb V20 at $252... and it makes phone calls too. Tough call.
Felix Cayetuna im on the same boat, currently having bootlooped on my G4, thinking to get V20, but now I have Cayin N3: I think its better than A35, more smooth and musical, I cant handle the lag of A35, im torn to get V20 and sell my N3, BUT,.. N3 has better amp and hiby link, having dedicated player help when you occasionally use line out in your home speaker,. so you can still your phone freely. SQ: there is someone on headfi who compare N3 and V20, he say N3 better, take this with grain of salt,.. Im happy with N3, and personally stay away from LG for a while.
Although I'd like the option to have Spotify, if I were to buy a audio player today, I'd rather go for something without a touch screen, I like buttons. Really miss my iPod classic :'( But I'm super hyped that the v20 did such a great job, I'm waiting for a G6 quad DAC coming from HK.
I was focused on just the portability, but that's a great point. LG's DAC does deliver a line out option though when connecting to speakers. At least if it can detect the cable impedance properly.
Can anyone suggest a dap for Bluetooth sennheiser true wireless? I'm using with oneplus 6T that has aptX but would like to get the most out of the earphones.
Bummer!! ! I have a S7 edge. I didnt realize it was so bad. I guess I'll need a dedicated hi-res player. Any suggestions on a good one that can stream audio cuz I download a lot of music from streaming.
Great stuff. Does the G6 have the same amp and DAC as the V20? And a dedicated audio player is good for me when I run. I don't want to carry a phone tbh.
It doesn't show us how much further we can go, but actually how big step back we have done in audio technology... There was a time when only lossless audio were available (cassettes, vinyls). Now some of artists/bands even don't do mastering, because people are listing to this music on to purely way (low quality files, bad hardware like DAC and AMP usually built in the phone, and free with in phone earphones like Apple people...). And forged say: "you don't even notice the difference" Unacceptable!
Krzysiek Kuzara, at 128 kbps you dont notice difference between 10 and 100 bucks headphones, so why matter buy expensive headphones? Its better to buy bluetooth with funny led lights, for everyone else, we preffer simplier and chunky but better stuff.
Fernando Arbe Revoredo Agreed. 128 is where I start to hear major differences even just on sub $20 IEMs. Though 320Kbps MP3 vs 16 bit 44.1 flac, I don't really notice the jump.
I'm trying to find a Good quality DAP that is as good as the v20. I want to use a different phone than the v20 now but I had it and I have yett to find anything on par with its audio in a cheap range.
you guys are awesome, I just recently purchased a Teac HA-P90SD it sounds amazing with my lossless Flac files, the only thing is its very clunky and slow and the screen is so small that I cannot see what the song or album is until I wait for it to scroll, my question to you is can you steer me in the right direction for a sub 500 flac player that sounds as good as this? thanks in advance
The 10 is very good for a phone, much better than the U11 dongle imo, but it's not in this tier of performance. Mostly the amp. The V20 amp absolutely crushes.
Seeing how the v20 depreciates in aftermarket value quick staggeringly, would an external amp ( maybe like a fiio a5) strapped on the v20 possibly make a better option having better software and performance (although with the lack of ergonomics). Plus, will you be reviewing any external DAC/AMPs for android? i currently listen to a fiio e18 on an old s4 but does it match the quality found on the v20?
Honestly I think it would be overkill for most folks. I can only crank to about 70% of the V20's output before the playback gets painful on 100ohm cans.
What can I use to plug my thumb drive or hard drive (500Gig of music on it) into that has a screen to scroll through to find music files in folders like a PC.... Does anyone make anything like that?
This takes me back to when I used to use an MP3 player constantly. I think phones mostly took over dedicated music players because of the convenience factor. It's nice to have your music in your pocket along with all the other conveniences that a smartphone can give you. If LG figures out even better audio with the V30, that would be the ultimate music and media player that could possibly overtake the Fiio X5. But I still see the reason for using a device like this.
After using the fulla 2 DAC/amp, smartphone audio isn't good enough. The only problem is that DAC/amp isn't ultra portable to use. Convenience vs performance. Also, I've heard people say these phones are overhyped and can't even compete with mid-fi DAPs like the Cayin N3 let alone the fiio x5iii.
Oh finally. Thank you for this video. I just haven't got a G6 Quad DAC yet because of the new V30. I'm an iPhone user but I guess I'll be moving on to the LG world since I'm in need of a hi-fi music player.
Great nice explanation up there man! And I have one question, do you listen music wirelessly? I mean with apt-x bluetooth there. Does fiio produce louder sound in bluetooth apt-x over LG V20? And how about the bluetooth connection of fiio? I heard that fiio doesn't do really good on bluetooth connectivity
aptx is pretty much standard for all android phones for some years now, the v20 most likely has it. The only phones that are out now that dont have aptx are iphones.
Leo Yang I own the XZ1 which has a very similar setup to the xz premium in terms of audio and the DAC is definitely very very good but the amp is very weak. It doesn’t get loud enough and fails to drive some of my $200~ headphones at their optimal level. But it does sound very good compared to other phones because of that dac. Wider soundstage, clearer instrument separation and more dynamic range.
Sony's biggest issue is volume tbh. Definitely get an amp with the XZ Premium, though all the hi-res files should be downscaled to 96kHz to save memory since most portable amps can't play 192.
I got a lump in a pocket and a phone in my hand
It's a Fiio music player but no one understands
skypjuh I enjoyed this, Thankyou
YYYYYYYEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSSSS
skypjuh fiio music player over here too!! XD
I dont understand why people need music player??? most music I have only mp3 file which I download in the internet, I do not have money to buy music expensive... why do we need music player? the sound is soo identical with smartphone and u cant tell the different , u also need high quality earphone as well
which one most significant for you? Pick only two.
1. Music Player
2. High-quality music
2.1 MP3
3. High-quality cable
4. High-quality earphone
5. Smartphone
@@isDatBoi the biggest factors for me are the battery life and play it then forget it factor, the kind of situation when ipod nano was a thing while you use your 3210. i use shanling m0 which is the smallest dap in the market right now, and you would forget it's there. i also prefer wired iems so it's pretty annoying when it gets in the way when i need my phone for other stuff.
The V20 might had not sold like hot cakes like Samsung phones or the iPhone BUT by far my favorite phone so far for everything than it can do that NO other phone can do, camera and audio wise.
It's always exciting to look at specific features where a manufacturer really does go out of their way to deliver something special.
JuanBagnell I agree. I do wish more manufacturers would step up their game in those areas, specially in the speakers deparment. Unless you buy an HTC, Axon 7, Xperia or iPhone, you're pretty much stuck with a single mono, most likely, bottom firing speaker.
only downside in my opinion is the LCD screen, when i play games on my axon 7, or watch videos, the colors are nice and vibrant, and when i use my cousins iphone 6s to help him in injustice 2, the colors are super washed out... not all displays are the same, but i prefer amoled
Alberto 9324 Amoled panels are nice and bright but the burn in its a pain mainly because there's no fix for that. I know LCD panels suffer from ghosting but that goes away once the display is off for a while. You just have to pick your poison.
Gabilleta what's unique with the camera?
I just bought my LG V20 & I absolutely love it, the music is amazing!!!!
It's a brutal audio phone. Always exciting when a manufacturer really delivers something unique.
JuanBagnell your right, after seeing your reviews because your a music lover like myself learning from you that it has a 32bit I just got sold and had to buy one for my birthday... Don't think LG are heading the right way with their future devices after the G6
I'm okay with "good enough" for my music. But for serious audiophiles, I guess the answer is to get a badass dedicated device like this.
Álvaro Agraz good enough is a good answer and I actually tell people to not get into it. I'm a musician so when I finally heard the extra information I couldn't stop myself from buying equipment. It's expensive but awesome.
rob25222 I'm not a musician. Just a music lover. And I'm not a audiophile, just a guy who what's to be able to listen to his favorite music. Good enough in my smartphone is cool for me.
Álvaro Agraz well smartphones are k, yes. But I would definitely recommend to give a listen to some audiophile things. Who knows u may end up liking it too.
I absolutely love the sound out of my V20, especially combined with Tidal and USB Audio Player Pro. MQA even at 24/48 sounds amazing! I'm really hoping the V30 has a updated ESS DAC with MQA hardware decoding.
This is a great comparison! I'm currently using the HTC 10 and I love the sound. However fiio knows how to make some great players, which makes them very tempting.
Jerome Akubue HTC 10 was no slouch. ☺️
So should I change from the s10 to the v20 for audio? Or have modern phones stepped up?
Samsung Phone (the snapdragon processor might already have DAC build in), You can unlock the option either developer mode or root the phone. You can google it
proudly watching this on my V10 and on headphones.
I have a fiio x1 and since I bought it there's no way I would listen to music on a smartphone or cheap music player again
the sound quality is way too different
Except the audio on the LG V30 rivals that of high end DAPs...
I really love the way fiio players look and feel. And i really want to buy one. But I did a test at the store with fiio m7 vs. my samsung galaxy s8 and really could not hear ANY difference.
@@marcozg77 Most people don't hear the difference because they have an average hearing. Especially when they use poor quality headphones + mp3 instead of the flac file
As an audiophile: (Campfire andromeda with Effect audio thor silver II+ ; Sennheiser HD700), my take on phones vs portable sources are as follwed:
IPhone 4s: Moderate hiss. Overall balance is good but sound stage is lacking. Works well with most earphones.
Ipad Pro 9.7: Moderate hiss. Cool and exciting sound, forward sound, boosted low treble, slightly boomy bass which lacks sub. Works well with warmer/ darker earphones. Congested sound stage.
ZTE AXON 7: Significant hiss. Cool sound but not as forward, treble a little hot, bass is shy but linear, good match with warm earphones. Better sound stage than average phones. Slightly over-hyped in my opinion.
LG G Flex 2: worst sound ever, lots of hiss, poor dynamics, lots of distortion.
Astell & Kern XB10 Bluetooth adapter: Significant hiss. Sounds similar to Iphone 6, bass is a little loose, much improved with 2.5 balanced output. About on par with ZTE AXON 7 but with Treble lacks bite.
IBasso DX90: Medium hiss. Linear bass, slightly lacking treble. Sound stage is good. Works with most earphones except bass heavy ones.
Chord mojo: Little hiss. Warm with boosted bass, but balanced overall with detail. Sound stage above average but have heard better. Outstanding dynamic and prat. Good match with more balanced earphones with cooler sound.
Overall, smartphones are still not close to standalone DAP/DAC quality, maybe except the new Onkyo DAP phone. However, they have gotten a lot better, and it is perhaps only fair to compare DAC/DAP at 2/3 or 1/2 the price of the phone, as they lack many components. Would look forward to the day phones sound better than the chord mojo, maybe even the chord hugo.
Chord Mojo>DX90>Zte Axon 7>Iphone 4s>Ipad Pro>LG G Flex 2
It really was shocking the difference between the Flex and the V10 in the same year. COMPLETELY different animal.
Can I install spotify on DAP?
Where is v20 on this sorting ?
Totally agree, my G6 with the quad dac makes my portable setup redundant now.
That quad DAC is so epic. Really exciting when a manufacturer actually delivers something special.
Nik Mohd Rizwan Wan Ibrahim is that for the U.S. version as well? I thought they removed it for us over here?
Sadly yeah, US market doesn't get the quad dac option unless LG decides to bring in G6+. Mine is for the ASEAN market as I'm from Malaysia. We get 64gb and quad dac but no wireless charger. It is even cheaper than Oneplus 5 here lol.
Same with me. I sold my FiiO X1-II and my portable amp because the G6 with quad DAC is so damn good.
Jayden Ross wow really?? And here I was thinking about buying a fiio player primarily 1-2nd gen.
You can literally get the V20 for close to half the price of that on eBay lol I just picked one up for $220 on T-mobile.
Anthony J 220? That's amazing!
The Reviewer Yup would of been cheaper but there was a bidding war
i got my V10 for 50 bucks
Anthony J yeah,I don't know where they are getting their prices from,but there is no way I'm spending that kind of money on a dedicated music player when I got a comparable V20 for 225 on eBay.
I'm a huge high quality music fanatic,so much that I don't listen to music made by the popular artists of today 😛.
And I guarantee you a majority of music listeners can not tell the difference in many instances of a good DAC.
plus throw in bad earphones,and the quality of the recorded music and mix, it's almost ridiculous to buy the stand alone music player for any reason.
shannon stephens Yup guess they didn't care to check prices of similar hardware and now they will pay for it with a much lower than expected sales rate.
With a pair of high-sensitivity IEMs, the V20 may not be so quiet compared to the FiiO. By the way, I have tried both and the X5III definitely sounds cleaner.
I think it's a general rule that something specifically made for one purpose will do that job better than something designed to do everything plus the kitchen sink.
The V20 is one exception though, well, nearly.
I'm inclined to agree :-)
Hoping the V30 ups it.
When people see me with my phone in one hand and my x7mk2 in the other most people assume I'm holding 2 phones. They get confused. Especially when I tell them that one is a music player, they look at me like I just told them that I'm holding a floppy disk. They just dont understand
can you give a HTC 10 real audio review ... put it up against the current flagships audio quality...
My answer is also yes. If you love music but also use your phone for other stuff like Twitter, web browsing, watching UA-cam videos, playing games, watching movies etc, then you're either going to have to carry a powerbank (or several) with you or REALLY optimize the way you use your phone to the point of discomfort (lowest brightness setting, force yourself to minimize your time on Twitter and in the web browser etc).
I'm in need of a dedicated music player with bluetooth because I just got the WONDERBOOM for free when I bought the HTC U11, but I JUST bought it, so spending a ton of money again on the Fiio X5 3rd gen right away is a bit too much...
I'd love to see a 4th gen Fiio X5 with either Marshmallow or Nougat with the ability to sync information with your phone (notifications for example).
They could DEFINITELY do with cleaning up their software a bit. I'm really impressed with the current offering for music though. Not bad at all for a company that isn't really an Android developer.
Just goes to show that Android is the best for mobile devices, especially now when iPod Nano and Shuffle are discontinued.
I think I'll buy the Fiio X5 after all. I almost regret buying the HTC U11 instead of the V20, but the U11's performance is beastly so I think I made the right choice.
A dedicated music player will last years and survive while I get a new smartphone every year and a half to two years :P
JuanBagnell I see you bumpin' the 4:44 😁
Buy an old phone to use as an mp3 player.
I bought a used htc one m8 harman kardon as my mp3 player.
Add 128gb micro sd card and your all set.
Any player spealized for music playing always will be more cool than any most expensive phone.
Well..Maybe not including walnut series:)
Can you compare the quality to the zune and the iPods to see how far we've came and to see if an older iPod or zune could still be used today?
That could be a fun follow up... I'll have to look into that.
Hey Juan, if you are looking at the best audio in smartphone, consider the Onkyo "Granbeat" DP-CMX1, which is a DAP-first-phone-second approach. It is only available in Japan and Hongkong right now AFAIK, but you should be able to import it just fine. I'll be interested in the comparison with V20. :)
Is it possible to use the LGV20 as a transport, and pair it with an external AMP/DAC for heavier desktop use at home? Is it via the phones out, or USB?
and even after 3 years there's nothing better for music than an LG among smartphones. I think I might just get a good ext battery to help my g7 last through the day.
Thanks for making a v20 video. I feel like I'm the only one that preorder and got hyped over this phone. You bring light... literally.
:-D
V20 has been a fun phone to review.
Woah! Really?!??!, Juan is it just me or you can read my mind? I'm actually thinking of buying a dedicated music player and fiio is one of the few I'm considering then this comparison video came out. WOAH! I'm torn between the three fiio, xduoo or pricier sony walkman player for a dedicated music player to complement my MDR 1000X. Nicely done Juan, as always.
Btw, we both share the same admiration for V20 as unrivalled when it comes to DAC. LG made a statement when it comes to audio quality and thanks to their effort to stand in favor of 3.5mm jack other competitors chose to stay with it rather than jumping to usb c adapter.
Jeff Rebuzora so happy all the V30 renders have a headphone jack too. Happy hunting 😁
Sony Xperia XZ Premium has great sound quality, and it's also a phone. Surprisingly enough, it's actually not that expensive, considering it also has 4K display and capability of recording video at 920 fps.
What's about the Sony Xperia Line? Many of them even Support Hi-Res audio like the Fiio
Many flagship phones support hi-res audio. My galaxy S8 as well ( it has dolby atmos as well). But that does not mean they sound as good as dedicated hi-res audio players with high quality dacs and amps.
Hi res in Xperia Device.
There are just buy a licenced for they product ,And sound card(DAC) is dedicated from SoC . Too standard for DAP.
No reason for versus them
*reads the comments*
I can say one thing.
I've had the ZTE Axon 7 and the LG V20.
I'm quite happy with the audio on both but, the winner for speakers is absolutely the Axon 7. But when it comes to headphone use, tough call. Personally I liked the Axon 7 more.
They're absolutely neck and neck, but I like the V20 for one reason, impedance awareness. The fact that the V20 will tailor the amp to the headphones is a really cool feature. Helps prevent over driving.
I also have both and can't say a notice a big difference between them.
But when driving my hard to drive T50RP MKIII the V20 does a noticeably better job delivering the power to drive them to a higher listenable level.
For easier to drive stuff either makes me happy.
There are many people that say „i have phone x and phone y but i prefer phone x“ without even owning one of those...
I USE u must have crappy headphones and use mp3 quality or lower music files. Clearly v20 better.
mynellemail Nell to be fair I have a couple of Nice to high end headphones and IEMs (Shure SE530, HiFiman HE-500, Audeze iSine 10 among others) and I find the V20 and Axon 7 both sound really good and am happy to use either. With harder to drive headphones (Modded Fostex T50RP) the V20 slightly more powerful AMP does a noticeably better job at driving them, so I do have a slight preference for the V20.
I look forward to trying the V30 in the coming months. ;)
I'd like to make a point for usability. Sure you can have audio, navigation, texting, phonecalling all in a smartphone, but having a navigator and a portable music player aside your phone will take a lot of pressure away of getting to a crossroad you don't know, when you wanted to change tracks and you receive a text and a phone call at 5he same time. Murphy's law. It does happen.
Dario Cossutta LOL literally everyday in LA. 😂
Juan-Can you tell us how to get the best bluetooth audio or audio in general for the car? Should we use a music player, can we still just download the music to the player or does it need to be from cd? Im not real happy with the bluetooth music coming from my Galaxy Note 8 to the car over bluetooth. I have to have the volume up alot and then it distorts. Please help Juan....
Can someone please answer me something cos I get confused with these things, would I be able to just go on Spotify or any music streaming site with this via an app I assume just like on my phone or do these things have full on browsers on them? Would really appreciate a comment back. Thanks
I have a pair of B&W P7s. The impedance is only 22 ohms so will the quality of the v20 actually make a difference from my Iphoone7? I do mostly steam with itunes music but have no problem with streaming with Tidal if that would make an impact. Just looking for thoughts. I love the idea of a nicer DAC
well since the amp/dac is different the sound will be too, impedance and how much juice the amp pulls only matters if you have high impedance headphones. But i dont think the difference in audio will be justified the price. I have an s8 and fiio e10k using my P7 and the sound is different but i wouldnt change my phone since i dont believe ill get better sound of any other phone thats out in the market atm.
More of this please!
I just switched from my Fiio E07K to a Cyrus Soundkey and am blown away by the quality of this little thing! Smartphone audio can be a so much nicer experience with just small gadgets!
The bummer is, we can't do a lot of these. The don't get views or shares, but I'd love to be covering more premium accessories and other gadget lines.
how do apple iPhone compare against LG v20
and what expectations do you have for the upcoming iPhone "8" vs v30?
Well we have real audio reviews. The iPhone 7 was a step down from the 6S, and the 6S is not in the same tier as the V20.
Sorta mentioned it, but only in passing - a dedicated player will have a greater capacity to hold the larger lossless music files that you'll want to use. I keep very little music on my phone because (a) it just doesn't sound as good, and (b) my phone gets cluttered with apps and images and all the rest so I don't have the space for music.
Another plus for the dedicated player - it doesn't automatically mute when there's an incoming call, so it's much easier to ignore the call and keeping listening to my music. If the call was important, I can call back after the track is finished.
I’d rather only carry one device, especially if it’s not a super thick and chunky one like that X5 is
TheWaffleLord sure if you want to have one device to do it all the LG phone is pretty much it, but the amp doesn't compare to a dedicated audio player. If you have expensive headphones or earbuds, you'll want something to drive them.
CENTER311 Gaming and Movies! I'm not an audiophile though. I don't care too much if sound quality is "good" compared to "ultra fantastic" or something like that
TheWaffleLord the fiio x5 3rd gen is a ripoff of the astell & kern ak380 and it's not chunky as daps go. I think the ifi black label is much bigger than both those daps combined but is pretty good for the price
yea but you will waste the phones energy faster and have to carry a battery brick so its a lose lose.
Dont matter if you carry a good quality stuff, like a 250 Ohm beyer dynamic you would like a device that supports good audio. Also its dedicated to music you can turn off your phone and be happy and relaxed without 100 notifications
i like to now how the low end smartphone audio compare to these... is very bad???
Ok. I want that LED shelf behind you! Where did you get that?
Can you pls tell me with your experience with you to wether get lg v10v20v30to v60 or a Sony walkman nw -a55
So what you bought? I'm deciding same problem now. Mint condition used LG V60 or player like Sony walkman A35.
You can also swap batteries with the LG, so power consumption should not be a concern with the smartphone. Can you do that with the Fiio? Also, with your phones 5G connection, scrounging around for a wifi signal will never be an issue where any DAP will have to use a public wifi network for a connection.
Hi i have a few questions. Im looking at the Razer phone and the LG V30, the Razer phone comes with an adapter with a 24 bit DAC and the V30 has a 32 bit quad DAC. I was planning to use my mobile device as a DAP instead of using my Astell & Kern DAP. I would also be using $1000 IEM's. I was wondering much of a significance a single 24 bit DAC in the Razer phone would compete against the 32 bit quad DAC in the V30. Would it make my very expensive IEM's not sound as good. I dont want there to be less sound stage because i use a 24 bit single DAC over the 32 bit quad dac to listen to my music. And then my next question is if one of them or both, would not be as good as my $1000+ DAP. I would love to get rid of my Astell & Kern DAP and just have my phone which i could get the same audio quality as a very high end DAP and just have one device that i could listen to my music at high res, while doing everything else with instead of carrying two different devices around, which is kind of annoying.
the guy that made this video probably has no idea what 1000$ iems are. And from the reviews ive seen (which is alot) is that NO phone has as good or better amp/dac over a deticated amp/dac. So if you want the BEST sound out of those your gonna have to go with deticated dac/amp for a long more time as audio is not the main focus of smartphone companies sadly. Also you wont hear a difference between 32 bit and 24 bit. Its very VERY hard to even hear a difference between 320 kbps mp3 and flac... so yeah.
how does the music player compare to the fiio e17?
Hey Juan, what about a current flagship versus the iphone 4?
I still keep mine as a dedicated audio device, because i do hear the difference against my S7 edge and all the other android smartphones I've owned.
Do you have one for testing? I'd like to know if it's just a little better or actually much better than let's say, a Galaxy s7 or s8.
Any reccs for budget audio player? Want to listen to flac/lossless
Fiio M3
it's their most budget option but it does all the formats you'd want from it
you can put 120 gb SD cards in (officially only 64 but it probably works with all bigger exFAT formatted cards)
*and it lasts forever* seriously I've never had so tiny a player that lasted 24 hours.
www.aliexpress.com/item/FiiO-M3-Music-player/32584812322.html
What about the ZTE AXON 7
shinypants you wouldn't notice much using those M50's anyway.
Badboy 17 Personally I liked the Axon 7 more. I'm using a LG V20 right now though.
Well lg v20 is better in the sound Dept, though axon7 is still really good
he already mentioned it, along with other smartphones with powerful DAC... that the jump to the dedicated music player from those phones isn't going to be drastic.
but if you own other smartphones, which have far less potent DAC... then it'll probably be well worth considering.
which i think is probably true... phones like Axon 7, LG V20, etc... already does a pretty impressive output with their DAC so unless you got a really good high grade headphone and have really good sound perception then chances are the difference isn't going to be that significant with the dedicated music player...
but we know that most other smartphones have anything from mediocre to pretty terrible output in which case the dedicated music player will then become a serious consideration if one is serious about music quality.
Iono Sama h=
hello. Can you pair lg v20 with fiio q1 or other DAC usb like Ifi nano dsd? lg v20 needs Audio player Usb Pro?
Would these have any problem driving Sennheiser HD 700 headphones?
This Channel has been my dream channel. Love the audio reviews
how does the youtube app worsk on Fiio X5?
Does the Fiio have a system-wide EQ that doesn't do weird volume adjustment every time you start playing a file? Every Android phone I've used so far makes EQ useless for me due to this.
Unfortunately no. Low pass filter, gain mode, and balance are system wide, but EQ looks like it's app dependent.
I sold my GS8+ because the audio output (and size of the phone) was a bit much. I ended up switching to the LG G6 Plus, and holy shit. Im glad I made that switch and that I can use it on TMobile.
Is it louder than gs8+?
Can you listen to Pandora music on the Fiio?
This “review” is what i was locking for before buying the Fiio X5iii. I’m using an iPhone 6s that i like a lot and I’m not planning of upgrading it, i also have an Apple Music subscription - can you shad some light on using Apple Music on the Fiio? And is it still relevant in 2018?
Thanks!
Adam
So you're saying that you can hear some difference in bass and midrange between the two, but then seconds after you show a graph that shows that they are identical in the audible range with the only difference in the absolute highs with 0.4db (which is really low).
Soo the placebo is strong. As always when it comes to audio nowadays :)
but what about the fiio x5 vs a phone with the fiio Q1 mkii portable DAC amp?!
Have you tested the lg v20 against the axon 7. It's serious
Was hoping the fiio was slimmer and lighter as a companion device, with sim slot for emergencies phone call incase your phone breaks down. Currently using cowon j3.. Sadly there's no successor and out of production.😥
if i hv access to the korean version which one would u prefer v20 or g6 fr allround media performance
For only media consumption, I think the G6 is more fun, and I like smaller phones. But if you shoot video, and think you might like the mics, larger image sensors, and higher quality video, then the V20 is the better buy.
Hey yo Jaime and Juan you guys should do a spanish channel for my peeps out there who are not fully bilingual or just don't speak english. Love from another Catracho
Are you looking forward to getting your hands on the FiiO X3 Mark III? (or did you already magically get it somehow??)
Makes no sense. The daps has not only the dac chip. So many components only dedicated to reduce the distortion and create high rez for music. From dedicated amp to resistors and chips.
Hi pocketnow. Suggest me a best amp for my iPhone. I want clear sound and bass. I don’t want to put more money on that.
Could you please make a sound comparison between V30 and the FiiO X5iii?
I own the G6 with the 32 bit DAC and a dedicated high res player, the Fiio X5 3rd edition. And this phone performs at par with it in most of the songs. It is also better than the V20 with a more clearer output and better instrument separation. However, it can never beat the resolution of a dedicated player. The mobile phones will take at least 2 years more to catch up with the resolution offered by dedicated players per se. The V40 or V50 will be a good match i guess.
How will my shure se 535's goe with lg v20?
Hi
What can you suggest now? Lg v30? Or sony xz2?? I listen with sennheiser urbanite xl wireless. Thank you
Well if you live in America, I suggest the gigaset smartphone. It'll pair nicely with your senheiser headphones.
If you live in a European country, the Medion phone brand would be the better choice. If you live in America and still want to buy Medion, you can most likely find it one Ebay for a modest price.
Good luck. 😉
If you are impressed with the V20, the V30 turns it up a notch in terms of audio quality. And based on my friend's experience who owns a V30 and now recently owned the G7, the audio quality of the G7 is better than the V30, the bass is more whole and the sound is crispier that he was surprised. He thought no audiophile phone can top the V30, boy, he was wrong.
FYI, I am the one who told him the best phone in the market is the V30, nothing comes close. He was an iSheep that got tired of apples audio quality. I own a G5 with a HiFi Plus, it totally rocks.
Whats ur thoughton viper4android mod its amplification is awesome please try it once with some profiles available like dolby
I haven't rooted a device in a long while, so I kinda stopped using Viper. It was cool from what I remember though.
I'm currently using Chord Mojo as my DAC/AMP to drive Beyerdynamic T1 and Shure's SE846 and I'm never going back to snartphone audio. Thanks Juan for this awesome videos and keep'em coming.
Ali Arghavan if only the mojo provided a balanced output, I would get it in a heartbeat. The price that chord is asking for is really steep rn imo and I have auditioned it but found that it doesn't sound much better than my ifi black label. Maybe I will get it when the price falls abit
I've heard it is now in massdrop for 450$ which is the best deal you can get. I'm not really a balanced believer, My beyerdynamic AK T1p came with a balanced cable too but I can't see the difference.
Chord says:
Balance operation is a fix for problems we don't have. We have no substrate noise and we have plenty of output swing. Single ended done right is far better than a balanced design far less distortion.
How sensitive are the 846s?
Ali Arghavan i have mojo and don't drive my hd 800
My reason for being in the audio player market is because of the bootloop issue on my LG V10. Currently looking at Cayin N3 and Sony NW A35. But then there is a refurb V20 at $252... and it makes phone calls too. Tough call.
Felix Cayetuna im on the same boat, currently having bootlooped on my G4, thinking to get V20, but now I have Cayin N3: I think its better than A35, more smooth and musical, I cant handle the lag of A35, im torn to get V20 and sell my N3, BUT,.. N3 has better amp and hiby link, having dedicated player help when you occasionally use line out in your home speaker,. so you can still your phone freely.
SQ: there is someone on headfi who compare N3 and V20, he say N3 better, take this with grain of salt,.. Im happy with N3, and personally stay away from LG for a while.
Although I'd like the option to have Spotify, if I were to buy a audio player today, I'd rather go for something without a touch screen, I like buttons. Really miss my iPod classic :'(
But I'm super hyped that the v20 did such a great job, I'm waiting for a G6 quad DAC coming from HK.
I thought Fiio did a good job balancing audio controls with and Android UI, but yeah, audio only probably topped with the click wheel.
Sub. Can you do a video with XZ1 vs V30. I have a V20 and am wondering which is better. I've heard people say V20 and V30 are basically same quad DAC.
What's the best web service for high resolution audio playback (download)?
You forgot to mention that the Fiio can be used as a portable usb dac as well as the balanced output as well. Further reasons to get it over the v20.
I was focused on just the portability, but that's a great point. LG's DAC does deliver a line out option though when connecting to speakers. At least if it can detect the cable impedance properly.
JuanBagnell you mean by 'line out' as in maybe plugging in an aux cord into a stereo for instance?
Yup. The DAC and amp adjust to the source and cabling. It's surprisingly effective.
3165dwayne you mean earphones?
JuanBagnell how does the V20 'know' what's been plugged into it?
how is the balance out in the X5 III? I'm more interested in x5 than v20
DeClaris I've heard it's ok, but not as good as the new X7.
traveling I want the X7 but the bug on the software keep me away from it
Sooo... You need to cary both a dedicated music player and a phone?
Can anyone suggest a dap for Bluetooth sennheiser true wireless? I'm using with oneplus 6T that has aptX but would like to get the most out of the earphones.
Bummer!! ! I have a S7 edge. I didnt realize it was so bad. I guess I'll need a dedicated hi-res player. Any suggestions on a good one that can stream audio cuz I download a lot of music from streaming.
You guys should really check out Pioneer XDP-300R, it is head and shoulders above Fiio, and depending on where you are, it could be cheaper too.
David Wei battery life ist world - record in short-living
Great stuff. Does the G6 have the same amp and DAC as the V20? And a dedicated audio player is good for me when I run. I don't want to carry a phone tbh.
Must have Bluetooth though😊
Shifu Matt G6 only got it in some markets. Made talking about the G6 more difficult.
I wanted a high res player and a new mobile, now I got a new Lg V20 for 300 bucks, thanks bro!
It doesn't show us how much further we can go, but actually how big step back we have done in audio technology...
There was a time when only lossless audio were available (cassettes, vinyls). Now some of artists/bands even don't do mastering, because people are listing to this music on to purely way (low quality files, bad hardware like DAC and AMP usually built in the phone, and free with in phone earphones like Apple people...). And forged say: "you don't even notice the difference"
Unacceptable!
Krzysiek Kuzara, at 128 kbps you dont notice difference between 10 and 100 bucks headphones, so why matter buy expensive headphones? Its better to buy bluetooth with funny led lights, for everyone else, we preffer simplier and chunky but better stuff.
God 128 kbps is where music starts to hurt to listen too. No one should be listening to 128 kbps, go buy some good headphones and actually enjoy life.
Fernando Arbe Revoredo Agreed. 128 is where I start to hear major differences even just on sub $20 IEMs. Though 320Kbps MP3 vs 16 bit 44.1 flac, I don't really notice the jump.
Psychodegu some headphone with funny disco lights? Im joking dont worry.
Terence A. Not only headphones, also a good dac with good amplifier.
I'm trying to find a Good quality DAP that is as good as the v20. I want to use a different phone than the v20 now but I had it and I have yett to find anything on par with its audio in a cheap range.
you guys are awesome, I just recently purchased a Teac HA-P90SD
it sounds amazing with my lossless Flac files, the only thing is its very clunky and slow and the screen is so small that I cannot see what the song or album is until I wait for it to scroll, my question to you is can you steer me in the right direction for a sub 500 flac player that sounds as good as this? thanks in advance
test yourself if you hear much or any difference between 320 kbps mp3 files and flacs, if you cant, you dont need flac only players.
I was waiting to HEAR the difference but there was no audio demo !?!
What about a regular phone with an external dac/amp like the oppo HA-2SE
How does the HTC 10 compare to the V20 as the 10 is also a beast when it comes down to audio.
The 10 is very good for a phone, much better than the U11 dongle imo, but it's not in this tier of performance. Mostly the amp. The V20 amp absolutely crushes.
JuanBagnell Thanks for the reply!
Seeing how the v20 depreciates in aftermarket value quick staggeringly, would an external amp ( maybe like a fiio a5) strapped on the v20 possibly make a better option having better software and performance (although with the lack of ergonomics). Plus, will you be reviewing any external DAC/AMPs for android? i currently listen to a fiio e18 on an old s4 but does it match the quality found on the v20?
Honestly I think it would be overkill for most folks. I can only crank to about 70% of the V20's output before the playback gets painful on 100ohm cans.
What can I use to plug my thumb drive or hard drive (500Gig of music on it) into that has a screen to scroll through to find music files in folders like a PC.... Does anyone make anything like that?
Hoping you used higher impedance headphones than the 599s and gave the fiio's balanced out a shot.
Thank you for the input on this. Really appreciate everything. Now waiting for v30 😀
This takes me back to when I used to use an MP3 player constantly. I think phones mostly took over dedicated music players because of the convenience factor. It's nice to have your music in your pocket along with all the other conveniences that a smartphone can give you. If LG figures out even better audio with the V30, that would be the ultimate music and media player that could possibly overtake the Fiio X5. But I still see the reason for using a device like this.
Dominic Cellini fingers crossed the V30 is another baller audio phone.
Hey is the last IPod better than the V20?(asking with no knowledge about music)
Diego Andres De Oliveira Gutierrez I honestly don't know. We decided against getting any iPods. My money would be on the V20 though if I'm guessing.
los ipod no son nisiquiera mejor que un smartphone normal(hablando de audio)
Love love love your videos.such a great review and the only guy in UA-cam who actually understands what sound is
A few of us out there. We can ALWAYS use more help sharing these videos :-)
After using the fulla 2 DAC/amp, smartphone audio isn't good enough. The only problem is that DAC/amp isn't ultra portable to use. Convenience vs performance.
Also, I've heard people say these phones are overhyped and can't even compete with mid-fi DAPs like the Cayin N3 let alone the fiio x5iii.
If cost is similar should we get v20 or G6 instead of fiio ?
Depends on what you need. If you already own a phone you like, and just want to have better audio, then this might be a good long term purchase.
Oh finally. Thank you for this video. I just haven't got a G6 Quad DAC yet because of the new V30. I'm an iPhone user but I guess I'll be moving on to the LG world since I'm in need of a hi-fi music player.
Thank you for your compression vids! they all are awesome!
can you make one to compare LG G6 with Quad DAC vs LG V20 or V30 ?
THX
similar
Great nice explanation up there man! And I have one question, do you listen music wirelessly? I mean with apt-x bluetooth there. Does fiio produce louder sound in bluetooth apt-x over LG V20? And how about the bluetooth connection of fiio? I heard that fiio doesn't do really good on bluetooth connectivity
aptx is pretty much standard for all android phones for some years now, the v20 most likely has it. The only phones that are out now that dont have aptx are iphones.
I like to see the sony xperia xz premium vs lg v20 music player and audio dac comparison
Well the XZ was good, just not in the same tier. Where most phones fall down these days is on the amp.
thx for the info
Leo Yang I own the XZ1 which has a very similar setup to the xz premium in terms of audio and the DAC is definitely very very good but the amp is very weak. It doesn’t get loud enough and fails to drive some of my $200~ headphones at their optimal level. But it does sound very good compared to other phones because of that dac. Wider soundstage, clearer instrument separation and more dynamic range.
Sony's biggest issue is volume tbh. Definitely get an amp with the XZ Premium, though all the hi-res files should be downscaled to 96kHz to save memory since most portable amps can't play 192.
Hi great review ! Is the LG G6 (Quad DAC version) better sounding than the V20 ?
I haven't gotten to use one, so I don't know first hand, but I was under the impression the G6 and V20 were very similar.
is fiio x5 good to transfer music via wifi ?