SixChannel

After about 10 contacts with LG, I can wrap this issue up: my V20 likely got terminally hosed with the Oreo update 2 weeks ago - as message boards had warned a couple of years ago, this phone ain't ready to carry Oreo. My battery reserve, on cue, is dropping like a rock now, and LG tell me I'm 1) not gonna get a restorative Nougat reflash and 2) without rooting, I'm not gonna get my FM radio fixed. So, after many many hours, I'm off to find a NOS V30. Thanks for you help & patience !

Well, Samuel, I have to thank you again. HOWEVER: when I look at my phone info today, I realize that the menu & display changes I find on it can be explained because it upgraded to Oreo, along with new software #'s, as a consequence of my four "factory reset" exercises the past few days - it appears I'm working from an 8.0 from now on out i/o the 7.0 resident a few weeks ago. No longer being limited to Nougat apks broadens my horizon considerably. Don't hold your breath waiting for my Eureka moment, but I'm really under the hood this afternoon. Thanks again !

HEY, SAMUEL !! You may be da guy !! That is a truly target-rich thread, and I'm going to spend some time on it. I'm not certain that the hot app will work (I have Nougat) or whether I can install without rooting. The thread is a little old (, and I find my OEM version, 6.20.6, is the one that has been targeted by the "push" to neuter stereo decoding & revise graphics. I will be playing with these apps to see if I can incorporate one that works! Will report my findings later! I will be walking a tight line connecting again to wi-fi (no SIM installed, either) in order to avoid any more unwanted "updates". My trust in LG is at rock-bottom.

I latched onto the LG V20 because of many glowing reviews in the hi-fi blogs & rags as having superior DAC & amp. They were correct. I'm not sure what Developer (accessible) or rooting (almost impossible) would buy me, as I really have no idea what I'd be delving into in order to merely restore OEM features which have run astray due to online pushes. I firmly suspect that the LG tuner will only work correctly with LG factory software.

Thanks, rando, I feel ya. What I ** REALLY ** want to hear from either TMob or LG was my likliest fear: the entire cell industry is 'shorting out' the tuner circuit from now on so that all of us have to latch onto 4Gapps or Wi-Fi data for music. I think I knew it was inevitable, but sound quality of my local stations over data channels pales in comparison to the tuner. I'd reinstall my factory LG tuner app ifn's a friendly LG tech would just slip it my way. I know of some V30s with working tuners I'd buy, but I'm afraid they'll get neutered involuntarily, too.

I have been basking in my ideal personal audio setup for the past 2 years! LG V20. There's better portable audio out there somewhere, but with diminishing return. The reason for my post is that the stunning FM tuner ** not app ** was a deciding factor in choosing the V20. About 10 days ago, I ventured into my den to transfer some new tunes to the V20, and Wi-Fi caught me. 3 or 4 involuntary updates. End result: change in graphics to the OEM FM radio tuner screen (OK), and - most critically - loss of stereo decoding. My reason for posting on this forum is in hope that this has happened to another subscriber and that they know the "fix". I have spent hours Googling and chatting with numerous TMobile & LG support folk, all of whom are totally unaware the phones even have a tuner. I have factory reset 4 times out of Wi-Fi range (either Android or TMobile update as soon as the reset is underway), but the FM still doesn't break into stereo. Any tips or advice will be most gratefully appreciated !! Like, even, an equivalent new device . . . . .

When I plied the audio trade during the Seventies, fellow audio phreaks and I conducted numerous A-B comparisons, often accidentally, involving added [or substituted] equipment in the sound chain. It was always obvious that equalizers, dynamic range expanders, and various sound effects performed their intended functions; however, when settings on this equipment was "nulled" (i.e., at neutral sound-effect adjustment), all present reliably noticed that something was amiss by having merely passed the signal through additional circuitry or buffers. With revealing systems, this was found true of interconnects, too. Speaker wire was a bit tougher ;), but changes can be observed. I have assumed this audio impact has been long taken for granted, but I may be wrong. I have always kept my chain as short as possible for this reason. I have also avoided citing any snake oil, some of which has certainly demonstrated positive effect.

soundhd, I'm an old guy from Ann Arbor, too. I have an idea what you're up to, and captfidel has firehosed you with some good-looking wisdom and recommendations. My system is rooted in the 70s with digital updating like yours. Due to the hit-or-miss application of software or program-driven components today, I would highly recommend you swing into a local higher-end store and plead your case. I believe you can get set-up out the door with some key components, and a local dealer will stand behind his recommendations or help you through confusing or cantankerous communication with new equipment, especially with regard to Roon, NAS instl, and remote control thereof. I speak from experience: last year I was sold on an equipment & software solution that nobody could get working satisfactorily, so I returned it and temporarily scaled back my goals. Successful, consistent communication among digital components - especially wirelessly - will likely result from careful selection of components and guidance in setup. Just sayin'. I apologize all over the place if you've already tried some local shops and struck out.

Dan Gravell & ted_b, ted_b has concisely summarized my situation. I really can't imagine tagging my library & would forever abandon any hope of a player if metadata were a prerequisite to function. I had an impressive experience a few years ago when I dragged a thumbdrive into my local Linn dealer, but I had assumed that Linn software was compatible only with Linn equipment. I had been thrown off talking about JRiver & Lumin when talking to reps at audio shows, as I assumed they were server-oriented systems. I remain convinced Foobar "can" skin my cat if I learn their codes, but I've already spent too many hours on just that. Based on a quick check, I will re-examine JRiver. Thanks, again, for all of your observations and suggestions - I've picked up several good ideas.

ted_b, Ya - I'm gonna date myself pretty good here: for cleaning house, working in the garage, and futzing on the internet I simply tune in one of my favorite internet stations (I live in an audio wasteland). When I retreat to my dark audio den, it's to sit down and zone out on stuff I've earmarked for that purpose over the years and I long ago tired of getting up & re-cuing the tonearm every 4 or 5 minutes: I want every cut to matter. I'm now trying to streamline my efforts even further by controlling program through a single PC. I know, I'm asking a lot. But every now & then I'm rewarded with a little functional discovery, like Dragonfly. I'm guessing "playlists" are for pulling JZ, Macklemore, Taylor Swift & others into one sequencing (or random) play group. I don't have anything like that in my library yet. I'm ready to resign myself to my Samsung - or the Oppo, if it plays gaplessly.

Hey, Northern_Canuck, I like the way you're thinking. Here is a Foobar, for which I can find no coding info, that would be perfect for me - less the album art & repeated album title (?) adjacent to songs in RH column. http://i.imgur.com/wecgwuL.png At extreme risk of embarrassing myself, I have to admit that I can't come to grips with "Playlist" and what it means to me - it only seems like a concept that would necessitate me manually dragging a know group in a folder to another field and calling it a Playlist. All I want to do is punch up the folder - er, album - and have it play through from top tune to last as displayed in the RH column.

ted_b, As I intimated, I have a folder (album to me) labeled "Herbie Electric" with 10 cuts from 5 commercial albums; I've freed many long-winded tunes of redundant, repetitive bars, ended with custom fades - even renamed to suit my library. I don't know the algorithm for retrieving metadata but, in the nightmare I've avoided, I wind up spoon-feeding it all whilst simultaneously converting to FLAC. And then I'd find a way to suppress the data from display because it would wind up being pointlessly displayed information for me. And album art? Oh, boy . . . . It would work for DSOTM, Abbey Road, and Zep I, but that's about it.

I want to thank everyone who looked at my original posting. My hopes are pretty well dashed for a wav-based player, except on maybe an older Android device. I will just be happy with my Samsung DVD until I find a demo BCP-103 to confirm it will play gaplessly. I'll just have to keep switching in a Windows PC separately for my internet radio. Roon has not yet responded to me, but my research on their board indicates I won't get meaningful indexing without metadata. I still have hope Foobar2000 might eventually do the trick, but their coding is proving too challenging for me. Thanks again for your suggestions, SixChannel

Tens of thousands of old pop music master tapes were literally "transferred" to a redbook digital file to pump out perfect-forever CDs early on, efforts which retained the original mixdowns made to conform to lacquer groove constraints in frequency and dynamic range. Once CDs had a compelling grip on consumer consumption, labels decided the market would benefit from remastering to restore dynamics in some important classical re-releases or, for the loudness war victors, pump up levels to fatten the bottom end and edge to the top. It all makes pretty logical marketing sense to the labels, considering the average consumer. Boombox & car stereo players rejoice, while audiophiles just suck it up - or venture into Tidal. And, agreed, we just don't know whether "extra bits" were just strung out to fill a higher rate or if care was taken to sample the master material at higher rates.

wwaldmanfan, I, too, appreciate album art and have Martin Sharp & Wes Wilson images on my walls, probably too much nostalgia but nevertheless comforting. But I'm not sure a one-inch image on my remote will be worth basking in my glow. Since I've never downloaded anything, for which I may not have been familiar with title & artist, I guess I know the genre and artist associated with anything I punch up in my library as soon as I've either selected it or hear it. Probably too simple, I admit.