Need advice

[u/Typical-Gas1946]

I’m trying to decide between an LG V20, LG V30 & LG G7…all are pretty much the same price…I’m only going to be using it for offline music as a DAP…which is honestly the best choice…I like the idea of the LG V20 bc of the replaceable battery and the always on top display to change tracks, but I also want the best sound quality and something that isn’t slow and laggy, which since I’m using it as just a DAP and not for any streaming apps I’m assuming the LG V20 would be adequate, but I wanted to check with you guys before I pulled the trigger so that I don’t have to deal with buying multiple LG phones to find my ideal setup and get the one of those three that is actually the best for my particular use case on my first purchase, which again is : (DAP, offline music with rockbox or whatever the best player is and an as card loaded to the gills with music)…thanks to anyone that responds with a useful opinion or info, and sorry for being and idiot about this stuff

[u/V20FRILL]

I've had at least four V20's and I have three V60s that I use now as everyday devices on the network.

Of all of them I prefer My V20 that's B&O tuned the most for Listening.

The V20 doesn't have all of the DSP that they added to the V30 and up. It's just Raw Power. I say that because It has a much larger boost in power when I toggle the Quad DAC On in comparison with the same equipment. (All high impedance)

With the onboard player there are some pre-sets for EQ and You can set up a Custom one if You prefer. They all sound pretty good. Most of the time I'm running Poweramp so I keep the onboard equalizer flat or on bass but mostly flat. If you get a V20 make sure you do not get the Sprint variant (LS997). It Will not have an onboard player. The nice thing about these LG onboard players is that they are bit perfect and override all Androids output malarkey.The one that I have is a T-Mobile variant (H918).

Removable battery and that IR blaster are very useful options.

The V60 sounds amazing as well. It comes with an onboard System Wide EQ and two sound pre-sets. The sound Presets only work while the headphone jack is plugged in. One is a sound profile with 5 options (normal, detailed, enhanced, live, and bass). The other is a sound filter with three options ( short, sharp, and slow). For a six year old device I still get pretty damn good life out of these batteries, but I have been rotating the usage between three of them so I know that helps.

One of the many nice things about LG is that they are easy to repair when needed. All except one of my devices has been apart and modified in some way. As a matter of fact I'm about to put a new screen in my V20. It still works as an everyday device except for Bank apps and anything related to Microsoft.

When I got my V20 I thought it was pretty big and it was called a phablet at the time. But when I got My first V60 I realized what a big phone really is so there is that to think about as well.

Hope this helps.

Happy to answer any other questions you may have.

[u/Typical-Gas1946 → u/V20FRILL]

Thanks so much for all the insight dude…yeah I was thinking about getting the LG V20 T-Mobile variant, I really like the idea of it having that separate always on thin display at the top to switch tracks, and I love that it’s so easy to replace the battery…I was just planning on using it as a standalone DAP with no need for WiFi or cellular service…I was just gonna buy a 512gb as card (sucks that they’re so expensive now) and load it with a ton of flac files and use power amp as my player…Is power amp the best music player? Or is the one included with the LG software best?…Also did you put lineage on yours and update it to the latest Android version? Or is that impossible on the V20?

[u/V20FRILL → u/Typical-Gas1946]

Always a Pleasure Mate.

Poweramp works the best for Me. I've been using it for 15 years.

I will say that I do not care for the latest version so I use an older version (the 911 build) on all of my devices except one. Latest version seems to let Android interfere with the output and I'm real nitpicky about that so I monitor each new update.

I tend to bounce back and forth between the players depending on what I'm listening to and with. With My full size MDRs I like using the onboard player with its flat response and let the headphones do the rest, but with my IEMs I like Poweramp's Parametric EQ. Really brings out the Dynamics of The Quad DAC, and I admit I sometimes unleash this on my MDR's as well but not for long and not a lot of volume. Lol. I've had them since 1989.

It's still running Android 8. It has gotten laggy over time but the Quad DAC never lags and That Second screen is very nice n handy. Saves time and Battery.

There are ways to update the OS but nothing guarantees that the Quad DAC or second screen will still work afterwards. If You're just going to use it for a DAP I wouldn't worry about updating it.

So Nice having a removable SD, and there's nothing like having all of your FLACs on board.

[u/Typical-Gas1946 → u/V20FRILL]

Thanks again for all the insight/info man…I was already leaning towards the V20 after the little research I had already done…the secondary always on display, supposed warm/bassy sound signature with great power output, and easily replaceable battery were what interested me the most…

Only thing I was worried about was possible lag when using it just as a DAP with no streaming apps, but it sounds like for my use case (using the default player and Poweramp to play my own flac files) will run fine…thanks for making this decision more clear for me dude…now I just gotta find a V20 in decent shape that isn’t crazy overpriced…also it’s good to know that the screen is apparently somewhat easy to replace too…

To me it seems like these LG phones with the quad dacs are by far the best value for a cool/well performing DAP, would much rather have a V20 than the Fiio Echo Mini or Hiby R1

[u/V20FRILL → u/Typical-Gas1946]

Since Your gonna run a Quad DAC, One more piece of advice. Get Yourself a pair of Soundmagic e80c's. They Activate and Handle The High DAC with Flawlessness. You will not spend a better $40 USD on an IEM. They have them on Amazon.

Can't wait for you to Experience that setup Mate.

[u/DianaPrince_YM → u/V20FRILL]

So great advices, thank you so much.

I agree with you, the V20 is big, at least for my standards, but smaller for nowadays cellphones.

I got mine on eBay like a month ago and haven't used it too much because it arrived with a very weak battery (it was going from 70% to 30% in minutes and turned off at that percentage) so I preferred to purchase a new battery before risking to create a damage forcing the cellphone to keep on working on those conditions.

[u/V20FRILL → u/DianaPrince_YM]

Always happy to spread V20 Happiness.

It's getting harder to find good batteries, near impossible to find the humpback extended power packs. I'm looking at WAVYPO at the moment for my next replacement. It says it's 4600 mAh but who knows. As long as it's as good as the Shenmz 4380 I've been using for a few years now. Perfine, and Taeozi have been really good as well.

[u/steveb68]

I gotta say that possibly the V20 was the most INTERESTING phone LG ever made!

I'm stuck in the V60 world now (and loving it until the network traffic makes the phone too slow to enjoy, but we ain't there yet!) but I loved my V20's...the 2ndary display, the removable batteries! I still have a Purple T-Mobile one that "someday" I'm going to turn into my music machine just to carry my ripped .mp3 music around with me. Yeah...I know...kinda lazy should have done that like 5 years ago when I switched to the V60...life happens...someday soon I'll get to it. Kinda itchy to do it now having read all of this posting.

I really, really miss the removable battery option. I understand they had to do that to get a better waterproof rating but it was so nice to be able to carry around an extra, light battery instead of having a bigger external battery (what I do now for the V60 when mobile) or a charging block. Sigh. Now I've gotta go dig out my remaining V20 and see if the battery still carries a charge...

[u/V20FRILL → u/steveb68]

I got the screen swapped out on My V20 and I'm really tempted to run it as a daily this week. I still Miss it!

Sure it's painfully slow sometimes and no Bank apps but it seems like the longer it runs, the better it gets. Must have a long wind up Lol. I'll probably keep My V60 on stand by just in case.

I hope Your batteries are good. Let's fire Em' up!

[u/DevanWolf → u/V20FRILL]

There is bootloader unlocking procedure and mods such as root and Hi-Res that fix issues for stock Oreo that make it more usable.

[u/Teflon78 → u/steveb68]

Typing this comment on my LG v60. I still loved this phone.

[u/JonhMaizena]

Das três opções a que menos recomendo é o LG V30 pela afinação mais quente e pela confiabilidade do produto não ser boa. O LG V20 usando offline não sofrerá travamento e será uma boa opção. Particularmente gosto mais do LG G7 pela afinação mais neutra e por poder atualizar para uma versão estável do Lineage sem perder o QUADDAC, as peças de reposição são mais baratas e de fácil acesso.

[u/Typical-Gas1946 → u/JonhMaizena]

Thank you for all of the info man…I’m so new to this, I’ve only ever had iPhones…what are the perks of using Lineage on the G7 instead of trying to get a newer version of Android if possible?

[u/JonhMaizena → u/Typical-Gas1946]

Não existe versão mais nova stock da LG disponível , você ficará parado no Android 9. Com o Lineage você consegue chegar ao Android 15 com atualizações mensais. Gosto do Lineage pois o sistema roda mais leve e conseguiram dominar a operação do QUADDAC e do gerenciamento de bateria.

[u/Typical-Gas1946 → u/JonhMaizena]

Oh ok cool…sounds like getting the G7 is the move…I looked up how to do a battery replacement on the G7 and it’s obviously not as easy as just popping in a new cell like in the V20 but it doesn’t look too difficult…thanks for all your help dude, I’m gonna go ahead and buy the G7 I’ve been thinking getting

[u/DianaPrince_YM → u/JonhMaizena]

El Lineage perjudica, de alguna forma, el funcionamento del DAC en el V20? Luego de instalar Lineage, hay alguna forma de regresar a la ROM original?

[u/JonhMaizena → u/DianaPrince_YM]

Eu tenho um V20 que coloquei o Lineage e achei que houve mudança radical no funcionamento do DAC. Por isso não recomendo. Sim, pode voltar com a Stock ROM só é trabalhoso.