[LG V30 Questions & Answers] psawjack:
Rockstar - So CHH2 claims that the HIM will start with an impedance of 50 ohms. That leads me to guesstimate that the low impedance IEM mode is triggered around 8 through 16 or so ohms. The standard mode or normal mode or what was once Aux mode is triggered if either an extender cable is connected (without having the HPs also attached) or a "normal" impedance HP is connected (~16-50 ohms). Lastly the HIM is triggered if the HP that is attached is rated at over 50 ohms. There may be another mode in there that we are not aware of...it's too bad that we can't see what mode it's in anymore. :(

I did not observe that connecting either one of my 3.5mm male to female extender cable (with no resister or anything that increases impedance) first before connecting my HPs would trigger the HIM. That's how I used to do it with the V20. First attach the extender cable, then verify that the DAC went into AUX mode, then attach the HPs that I wanted to use.

My recommendation to you would be this: If you have your fav pair of HPs and they are at 32 ohms then I'd look for something that would bring you just over the min of HIM, like the 20 ohm adapter that folks are selling on ebay. Disclaimer is that I don't know if they are great and dependable products and am not specifically endorsing the one in the link.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/3-5mm-Impe...hash=item3f6e007e1f:m:msl3vGtZnwXprEITP58EDowhttps://www.ebay.com/itm/3-5mm-Impedance-Adapter-20ohm-75ohm-100ohm-175ohm-for-HiFi-Audio-Player-Earphone/272428465695?hash=item3f6e007e1f:m:msl3vGtZnwXprEITP58EDow

If you add the 75 ohm cable that you have added to the HPs that are already 32 ohms then def you will trigger HIM. Using the 75 ohm vs. a 20 ohm would be quieter and as others have mentioned it may increase "distortion". Honestly though I'd have to hear it to believe it.

Now lets talk about the XZP. First off it's a great phone....for someone who lives anywhere in the world besides the US. What I mean by that is it doesn't have any carrier compatibility or support (at least not TMO). It has no VoLTE. Well every carrier is going to or has VoLTE. In my experience it sucks to not have it. My TMO V30 sounds much better during a call than the XZP. Let's move on to WIFI calling. Nope, not on the XZP for TMO. This sucks just as much for me. Now I do get full LTE data signal but when in a call in my car while using Google maps the data rate sucks/is super slow. Again this sucks. What's next, oh yeah the fingerprint sensor....not functioning in the US model. Crazy if you ask me. For the reasons listed above I wanted to have a TMO branded phone, essentially no more unlocked with no carrier compatibility.

Sound quality of the XZP - absolutely great. I did in fact use the AHO (Automatic Headphone Optimizer) option as well as play around with the cool audio settings. Fine tuning is not a problem with this phone, and I would say the options that are available to the user to custom tailor the sound are greater than vs. the LG V30.

Sound volume - great if you either use an amp ( I use a FIIO) or if you use a USBC to 3.5mm adapter. If you plug your HPs directly into the 3.5mm you will probably be disappointed with the volume. The reasoning behind this is that Sony uses less than 1 volt of output from 3.5mm port, compared to the LG V20 which had at least 2.0 volts output. This makes a huge difference, especially with bass. I've seen a chart before that had the latest smartphones on it and their respective voltage output. Most with higher voltage out were also considered great audio phones.

Even so I would have been happy to continue using the XZP and use the amp or the adapter when needed, if it had the features that I listed above. So basically what the XZP doesn't have (that I want) the LG V30 does and that's why I'm moving on. To me every other spec in the phones are nearly identical. I think that the Sony skin is better than LG and I really like the Sony music app but you can download that and install on any phone. If they were both released at the same time and I had to choose knowing what I know now I would pick the V30. If only Sony would make a presence in the US again....but that's a chat for another time. No more non-compatible Sony phones for me anymore :crying: