LG V20 Smartphone.
YOU DON’T NEED US TO TELL you that smartphones have become ubiquitous in the United States. Seventy-two percent of Americans have one, surpassed only by South Koreans, Australians, and Israelis. At some point in the phone’s evolution—between the ungainly bricks of yesteryear and the sleek phablets of today—the miracle device took on the job of music playback, pushing dedicated music players toward irrelevance. Remember the iPod? Why carry two devices when you can get by with one?
High-end listeners have nevertheless hung onto their hi-res players, asserting that the digital-to-analog converters (DACs) and headphone amplifiers built into phones don’t deliver music— especially in hi-res formats—as cleanly and realistically as the components of dedicated players. LG now bids for those listeners’ attention with the V20 Android smartphone. It seems to have most of the usual phone trimmings—though, with full disclosure, we at Sound & Vision aren’t experts on that subject. But LG asserts that, as an added attraction, the V20 can deliver credible audiophile sonics “through wired headphones or speakers,” and the company has built in some uncommon componentry, notably a high-end DAC, to allow it to do so. So this isn’t a smartphone review per se but an audio-centric look at a sophisticated phone as music player.
If you want to carry only one device—but you want it to do everything a state-of-the-art smartphone would do plus everything a state-of-the-art music player would do—is the V20 up to the job? We can answer here at least half of that question. Read on.
By the Numbers
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The Big Clean
Chances are you probably do not think about the state of your electronic devices too often. Oh, you might think about all the upgrades you would like to make; where you would put those new tower speakers, or how a second or third subwoofer would really tame those bass modes in your room, or how much more cinematic a larger screen would be. Sure, you think about that part of your system. But how often do you think about the well-being of your system?
Planar-Magnetic Attraction
THE DIPTYQUE DP 115 speakers are a new model 2-way, ribbon, and planar magnetic driver dipole \"isodynamic\" speaker system designed and built in France.
Full-Featured 4K
THE QN95D is one of two televisions we went hands-on with on a recent trip to Samsung's New Jersey QA Lab, the other being the S95D quantum-dot OLED.
Party Animal
FOR ANY party, the Soundcore Boom 2 Plus Outdoor Bass Bluetooth Speaker is an essential invite.
It's the End of the World. How About Popcorn and a Movie?
Attention all preppers! Today's column is right up your alley-or, more precisely-your tunnel to your underground bunker.
Bridging the Analog-Digital Gap on a Recliner
When I shopped for a motorized recliner, I rejected models with their own Internet Protocol address and built-in speakers. No need. I had already placed a smart speaker on an Ă©tagĂšre beside the space where I had planned to put the chair. I'd have a smartphone in my hand and the room would be bathed in Wi-Fi.
BACK TO THE GARDEN
AN AQUARIAN EXPOSITION in WHITE LAKE, N.Y.
Big Sound, Small Price
DOLBY ATMOS, once a costly premium, is enjoying a surge of popularity across a range of new audio gear.
Classic Sound with Streaming Smarts
THE TWENTIETH century had its Roaring Twenties; welcome to the twenty-first's Streaming Twenties.
Stand and Deliver
IT DOESN'T seem all that long ago that SVS first entered the audio scene.