PART 1 of 3
These are my not-so-brief impressions of the Lotoo PAW Gold Touch and Hifiman R2R2000 DAPs. If you?re into super-high-end mobile audio or just curious about what sort of music player you can buy for eye watering money, read on. (Hint: jump to the end of the article for the TL;DR)
Ever since I started getting serious about mobile audio, I?ve always wondered how much of a difference a seriously high-end source would make to the already-exceptional sound quality of my personal system.
I?ve always been a firm believer that the transducer ? in this case the IEM ? makes appreciably the biggest difference to sound quality in the chain, followed by the source, and then the tweaks (cables, eartips etc.). As such, by far the biggest portion of my budget was invested in the best-possible IEMs.
So, when I recently got the chance ? no, the privilege ? to spend some quality time with [member=13653]ron g[/member]'s summit-fi DAPs, the Hifiman R2R2000 ($2500 retail) and Lotoo Paw Gold Touch ($2700 retail), I took the opportunity to closely evaluate them alongside my system. The results were both eye-opening and surprising, though maybe not in the way you?re thinking.
This is not going to be a lengthy review of either of these DAPs, or of my own HiBy R6 Pro for that matter. You?re welcome to scour the web for the many fine, full-length reviews of these marvels of modern music technology; in fact, here?s a few to get you started:
? Hifiman R2R2000: https://headfonics.com/hifiman-r2r2000-review
? Lotoo Paw Gold Touch: https://headfonics.com/lotoo-paw-gold-touch-review
? HiBy R6 Pro: https://headfonics.com/hiby-r6-pro-review
Instead, this is going to be a series of reflections of my own thoughts as I listened back to some of my most familiar tracks, switching back and forth between the three DAPs, mostly paired with my 64 Audio Nio (and occasionally Ron?s Andromeda and Andromeda S) IEMs.
The findings are not based on any measurements or objective analysis, but describe what I was hearing ? and feeling ? in the context of my own music with my own gear. If you?re looking for a more comprehensive analysis of the features and functions of these DAPs, I refer you to the reviews above. The opinions expressed are entirely my own (unless otherwise stated), and I take full responsibility for any attempts at sarcastic humour that miss the mark. I intend no harm or foul to any person, living or dead, and any semblance of truth in my biting wit is entirely accidental.
With that out of the way, let?s get started!
Meet the heavyweights
Aside from being the current flagships of their brand, the R2R2000 and LPTG have very little in common (not only functionally, but also sonically).
Hifiman?s R2R2000 was never intended to be a ?DAP? in the traditional sense (as in, with support for playback of locally-stored music files, album management and so on). It was initially conceived as a high-end music player with a very unique DAC (more on this shortly), functioning exclusively as a hi-res Bluetooth receiver. In other words, it was originally designed to be controlled entirely by a host device (typically a smartphone), receiving files over LDAC and playing them back with the highest-possible fidelity using its industrial-strength audio hardware.
This probably explains why the R2R2000 has the single worst UI of any music player I?ve ever had the displeasure of using, going back to the original iPod. Actually, if the R2R2000 had anything like the interface of the original iPod (circa. 2001) it would have been a huge improvement on the stinking pile of poorly-coded garbage some shmuck at Hifiman was actually paid to greenlight. Not only is the interface, if you can call it that, comically juvenile and horribly unintuitive, it then relies on six ?buttons? on a ?navigation? pad that takes up half of the already-tiny screen. No touch screen here, that?s so 2007.
Worse still, the R2R2000 seems to be powered by a processor less efficient than one you?d find in an electronic lighter. It is so ridiculously underpowered that at first, I thought something was broken when I pressed a button and?nothing happened. Eventually I discovered that you have to press a button (to bring up a list of folders, for example), and then wait five seconds for the processor to work out what you want to do, make a cup of coffee, and then execute. And that?s one of the faster operations; hit the play button and you can, literally, pour a cup of coffee in the twenty or so seconds it takes for the DAP to engage the amp (denoted by a soft ?pop? in your ears) and start to play. Luckily hitting pause, or skipping tracks, is as quick as you?d expect from a turn-of-the-millennium device, otherwise it would be nigh unusable.
Ok, glad I got all of that off my chest, because we?re not here to read about usability or functionality ? I mean, who cares about that right? We?re here for the sound. And when it comes to sound, the R2R2000 is indeed more capable than its pre-prototype Commodore64 interface would suggest.
Here, the star of the show is the long-discontinued but still highly coveted Burr Brown (now Texas Instruments) PCM1704UK R2R DAC chip (or rather, chips, since the R2R2000 uses two, one for each channel). These chips are so rare that Hifiman apparently bought the last existing stockpile for use in this limited-run DAP (though, as it turns out, they bought enough to make an upcoming DAP that uses four of these suckers apiece!). The 1704UK is a very complex, very expensive to manufacture chip, renowned for its pristine quality (when properly implemented), with a smooth, analogue sound taken to an extreme level of refinement.
Imagine my surprise, then, when my very first impression of the R2R2000 was a squeaky clean, rather thin, very bright sound unlike anything I expected from the so-called finest R2R-on-a-chip DAC (and that was with my warmer-sounding IEMs). An Asian-American friend and enthusiast with far more knowledge of Hifiman than me, hearing how I described the sound, said he wasn?t surprised Hifiman chose to ?tune the R2R sound out of the most famous R2R DAC? and that it was most likely done to appeal to the well-heeled Asian audiophile community who favoured this type of sound profile (and before you get all PC on me, I?m not inferring anything here about the listening habits or hearing ability of wealthy Asian people, just passing on what was told to me by one such individual).
While I can?t vouch for the veracity of his comment, I can?t deny this is a sound made for the classical and instrumental aficionado: completely colourless, neutral, clinical, and pushed well into what I?d consider a brighter tuning with a strong treble emphasis (though probably one of the better treble tunings I?ve heard from a DAP).
Lotoo?s PAW Gold Touch, on the other hand, is almost the diametrical opposite of the Hifiman. Much larger than I expected, and almost twice as thick and heavy as my already thick and heavy HiBy, the LPGT is a picture of polished refinement and quality construction. From the soft, genuine leather case to the large, bright touch display and ornately-engraved gold-plated volume dial, the Lotoo looks and feels every bit the premium superstar device that it is. It makes the Hifiman?s sharp-edged, awkwardly-small fa?ade look silly by comparison, which doesn?t even begin to describe how much more advanced it feels in use.
With a lightning-fast 3-second startup and fluid, responsive touch controls, the LPGT is instantly likeable, literally. Based entirely on Lotoo?s proprietary OS, you?re not going to find apps, streaming services or anything remotely like what you?re used to using to play music on your smartphone (or Android DAP, but again, more on that later). What you will find is a cleverly designed, dedicated interface with a single-minded goal of playing back your music ? both local or beamed via hi-res Bluetooth ? with more fidelity than almost any other portable player available today, the Hifiman included.
Also, unlike the Hifiman, my initial impression of the Lotoo was firm and focused, pretty much the same as what I was hearing. From the very first note, the LPGT takes a grip of your IEM drivers and conducts them like a maestro, never letting up for a second. Everything sounds as solid as brickwork, from the tight, controlled bass response, clear and detailed mids, and superbly crafted highs. There?s definitely more emphasis on the lows and mids ? at least when compared to the brighter, leaner Hifiman ? and even though Ron made the comment that he wishes he could combine the Hifiman?s treble with the Lotoo?s lower ranges, I?d take the Lotoo as-is.
Where the Hifiman ?exposes to the right? to cram as much detail down your ears as possible at the expense of any semblance of warmth or musicality, the Lotoo manages to extract as much if not more detail from your music without resorting to extremities; and it does it all so effortlessly.
Part 2 continues below...
These are my not-so-brief impressions of the Lotoo PAW Gold Touch and Hifiman R2R2000 DAPs. If you?re into super-high-end mobile audio or just curious about what sort of music player you can buy for eye watering money, read on. (Hint: jump to the end of the article for the TL;DR)
Ever since I started getting serious about mobile audio, I?ve always wondered how much of a difference a seriously high-end source would make to the already-exceptional sound quality of my personal system.
I?ve always been a firm believer that the transducer ? in this case the IEM ? makes appreciably the biggest difference to sound quality in the chain, followed by the source, and then the tweaks (cables, eartips etc.). As such, by far the biggest portion of my budget was invested in the best-possible IEMs.
So, when I recently got the chance ? no, the privilege ? to spend some quality time with [member=13653]ron g[/member]'s summit-fi DAPs, the Hifiman R2R2000 ($2500 retail) and Lotoo Paw Gold Touch ($2700 retail), I took the opportunity to closely evaluate them alongside my system. The results were both eye-opening and surprising, though maybe not in the way you?re thinking.
This is not going to be a lengthy review of either of these DAPs, or of my own HiBy R6 Pro for that matter. You?re welcome to scour the web for the many fine, full-length reviews of these marvels of modern music technology; in fact, here?s a few to get you started:
? Hifiman R2R2000: https://headfonics.com/hifiman-r2r2000-review
? Lotoo Paw Gold Touch: https://headfonics.com/lotoo-paw-gold-touch-review
? HiBy R6 Pro: https://headfonics.com/hiby-r6-pro-review
Instead, this is going to be a series of reflections of my own thoughts as I listened back to some of my most familiar tracks, switching back and forth between the three DAPs, mostly paired with my 64 Audio Nio (and occasionally Ron?s Andromeda and Andromeda S) IEMs.
The findings are not based on any measurements or objective analysis, but describe what I was hearing ? and feeling ? in the context of my own music with my own gear. If you?re looking for a more comprehensive analysis of the features and functions of these DAPs, I refer you to the reviews above. The opinions expressed are entirely my own (unless otherwise stated), and I take full responsibility for any attempts at sarcastic humour that miss the mark. I intend no harm or foul to any person, living or dead, and any semblance of truth in my biting wit is entirely accidental.
With that out of the way, let?s get started!
Meet the heavyweights
Aside from being the current flagships of their brand, the R2R2000 and LPTG have very little in common (not only functionally, but also sonically).
Hifiman?s R2R2000 was never intended to be a ?DAP? in the traditional sense (as in, with support for playback of locally-stored music files, album management and so on). It was initially conceived as a high-end music player with a very unique DAC (more on this shortly), functioning exclusively as a hi-res Bluetooth receiver. In other words, it was originally designed to be controlled entirely by a host device (typically a smartphone), receiving files over LDAC and playing them back with the highest-possible fidelity using its industrial-strength audio hardware.
This probably explains why the R2R2000 has the single worst UI of any music player I?ve ever had the displeasure of using, going back to the original iPod. Actually, if the R2R2000 had anything like the interface of the original iPod (circa. 2001) it would have been a huge improvement on the stinking pile of poorly-coded garbage some shmuck at Hifiman was actually paid to greenlight. Not only is the interface, if you can call it that, comically juvenile and horribly unintuitive, it then relies on six ?buttons? on a ?navigation? pad that takes up half of the already-tiny screen. No touch screen here, that?s so 2007.
Worse still, the R2R2000 seems to be powered by a processor less efficient than one you?d find in an electronic lighter. It is so ridiculously underpowered that at first, I thought something was broken when I pressed a button and?nothing happened. Eventually I discovered that you have to press a button (to bring up a list of folders, for example), and then wait five seconds for the processor to work out what you want to do, make a cup of coffee, and then execute. And that?s one of the faster operations; hit the play button and you can, literally, pour a cup of coffee in the twenty or so seconds it takes for the DAP to engage the amp (denoted by a soft ?pop? in your ears) and start to play. Luckily hitting pause, or skipping tracks, is as quick as you?d expect from a turn-of-the-millennium device, otherwise it would be nigh unusable.
Ok, glad I got all of that off my chest, because we?re not here to read about usability or functionality ? I mean, who cares about that right? We?re here for the sound. And when it comes to sound, the R2R2000 is indeed more capable than its pre-prototype Commodore64 interface would suggest.
Here, the star of the show is the long-discontinued but still highly coveted Burr Brown (now Texas Instruments) PCM1704UK R2R DAC chip (or rather, chips, since the R2R2000 uses two, one for each channel). These chips are so rare that Hifiman apparently bought the last existing stockpile for use in this limited-run DAP (though, as it turns out, they bought enough to make an upcoming DAP that uses four of these suckers apiece!). The 1704UK is a very complex, very expensive to manufacture chip, renowned for its pristine quality (when properly implemented), with a smooth, analogue sound taken to an extreme level of refinement.
Imagine my surprise, then, when my very first impression of the R2R2000 was a squeaky clean, rather thin, very bright sound unlike anything I expected from the so-called finest R2R-on-a-chip DAC (and that was with my warmer-sounding IEMs). An Asian-American friend and enthusiast with far more knowledge of Hifiman than me, hearing how I described the sound, said he wasn?t surprised Hifiman chose to ?tune the R2R sound out of the most famous R2R DAC? and that it was most likely done to appeal to the well-heeled Asian audiophile community who favoured this type of sound profile (and before you get all PC on me, I?m not inferring anything here about the listening habits or hearing ability of wealthy Asian people, just passing on what was told to me by one such individual).
While I can?t vouch for the veracity of his comment, I can?t deny this is a sound made for the classical and instrumental aficionado: completely colourless, neutral, clinical, and pushed well into what I?d consider a brighter tuning with a strong treble emphasis (though probably one of the better treble tunings I?ve heard from a DAP).
Lotoo?s PAW Gold Touch, on the other hand, is almost the diametrical opposite of the Hifiman. Much larger than I expected, and almost twice as thick and heavy as my already thick and heavy HiBy, the LPGT is a picture of polished refinement and quality construction. From the soft, genuine leather case to the large, bright touch display and ornately-engraved gold-plated volume dial, the Lotoo looks and feels every bit the premium superstar device that it is. It makes the Hifiman?s sharp-edged, awkwardly-small fa?ade look silly by comparison, which doesn?t even begin to describe how much more advanced it feels in use.
With a lightning-fast 3-second startup and fluid, responsive touch controls, the LPGT is instantly likeable, literally. Based entirely on Lotoo?s proprietary OS, you?re not going to find apps, streaming services or anything remotely like what you?re used to using to play music on your smartphone (or Android DAP, but again, more on that later). What you will find is a cleverly designed, dedicated interface with a single-minded goal of playing back your music ? both local or beamed via hi-res Bluetooth ? with more fidelity than almost any other portable player available today, the Hifiman included.
Also, unlike the Hifiman, my initial impression of the Lotoo was firm and focused, pretty much the same as what I was hearing. From the very first note, the LPGT takes a grip of your IEM drivers and conducts them like a maestro, never letting up for a second. Everything sounds as solid as brickwork, from the tight, controlled bass response, clear and detailed mids, and superbly crafted highs. There?s definitely more emphasis on the lows and mids ? at least when compared to the brighter, leaner Hifiman ? and even though Ron made the comment that he wishes he could combine the Hifiman?s treble with the Lotoo?s lower ranges, I?d take the Lotoo as-is.
Where the Hifiman ?exposes to the right? to cram as much detail down your ears as possible at the expense of any semblance of warmth or musicality, the Lotoo manages to extract as much if not more detail from your music without resorting to extremities; and it does it all so effortlessly.
Part 2 continues below...
