[General Accessories] vectron:
Under the hood.

Similar to PAW5k, the heart of LPG is a powerful ADI Blackfin 514 DSP which handles different audio formats and processes digital audio to condition it for DAC input. Here you get a support of most lossy and lossless formats, including native DSD and SACD ISO support, covering everything from ISO, DFF, DSF, FLAC, WAV, MP3, ALAC, OGG, CUE, APE and M4A, and sample rates 8kHz-384kHz (PCM) and 2.8MHz/5.6MHz (DSD).

With so many manufacturers jumping on the latest DAC bandwagon, here we find a good old PCM1792 DAC paired up with a powerful LME49600 headphones amp driver, not necessary the latest but still highly regarded. In reality it doesn't matter what's inside of the "black box", and this is another example which demonstrates that it all comes down to how you implement the design and not necessary the latest "buzz" component selection. It's all about design architecture, proper layout, isolation of digital and analog domains, and power filtering. At the end, I only care about the sound, regardless of what's inside of the box. Here, sound results speak louder (500mW @ 32ohm per channel loud!) than any marketing hype.

What's "under the hood" will definitely give you a performance boost, but not necessary will make your ride as enjoyable. So, let's take a closer look at the GUI, Setup, and the whole Interface.

GUI and Setup.

From the moment you power LPG up (very fast start up, thanks to a custom optimized OS) you are greeted by an efficient all-in-one color display layout with everything on a single screen. Starting with a status bar, you get a repeat mode icon in the left corner and battery icon in the right corner with either % or the remaining time indicator (customized in the setup). Bellow that you can see which DSP effect or PMEQ preset is being applied and a horizontal bar graph with L/R channel level, assuming it's calibrated by Red Book standards from -50dB to 0dB. You also get song’s time duration and current play position, a file info with a file number within a folder, and a file format with an exact sampling rate.

Below that you can see a scrolling file name. While playing you can fast forward or skip the song with corresponding D-pad click, and you can do the same in Pause or Stop. I'm so used to Play/Pause only, it was refreshing to see a Stop button (the bottom of D-pad). The center button of D-pad could be customized to either function as Play/Pause (always easy to access it), or to switch between display views to show a dynamic Spectrum Analyzer of currently played track and with another click to show an album art. Not every album artwork was displayed, so I assume the firmware is a little picky about embedded artwork, and the one it did display was rather pixilated. With low 160x128 resolution of the display, I had no high expectation for it, and for me personally artwork display is not the highest priority anyway, just a bonus.

Above the D-pad, you have File and List buttons to help you view, select, and manage your songs. Pressing File button brings up a folder view of your files on a flash card. This is usually my preferred way of browsing since I have a few album folders and the rest are various tracks in the root directory. Keep in mind, when you have a lot of albums and files - partitioning into folders will be the best way to speed up browsing since you don't have a scrolling wheel for a faster navigation. Pressing and holding up/down D-pad will enable a faster scrolling through the list. And speaking of the List, the button next to File, in there you will find a Play List selection that will list all the files within a current folder or if you are in the root. Next, you have 3 custom List1/2/3 playlists where you can easily add files by tagging any song when browsing (click the D-pad right and select which custom playlist you want to add the song to). The last choice in the List is "ALL" which lists every single song on your flash card, probably the best place to scroll through when you are tagging files for custom playlists.

Setup button is in the corner, and provides you the access to Play settings, System settings, and Custom settings. Play settings allows you to select Repeat mode (sequence, single repeat, repeat all, and random), Time display (current playback back time or the remaining song time), DSD gain (in increments of 6dB from -12dB to +12dB), Lineout level switch (to adjust or keep fixed LO level, think of it as an adjustable pre-amp gain), and Channel Balance (L/R balance adjustment). Custom setting is a unique way to customize some of the settings. You get a chance to assign a specific functionality to FN key (a button located above Power), I usually assign it to Mute. Also, customize Center key (inside of D-pad) for either Plays/Pause or screen change, as I mentioned before. Furthermore, you can change Volume knob direction between CW and CCW, and Lock volume enable when "hold" is activated.

In System setting under Setup you get Power off time (w/timer switch and power off timer), Auto power off (time), Language selection, Display extinction (timeout), Breathing LED (light ring around power button, enable/disable to save power), Battery display (choice between remaining time or percent indicator), Brightness level (low, mid, high), Battery info (battery level in % and remaining time), Database update (refreshing song list), SD info (showing total capacity, and free and used space), SD speed test (pass/fail to make sure flash card meets 3Mbps requirement), Format (for Fat32 format of flash card), Factory settings (to reset to factory defaults), System info (fw, hw, loader, and boot version, and S/N), and Firmware update option.

Just like with PAW5k, before I get into sound analysis of LPG, there are two more important features I would like to discuss - Parametric EQ (PMEQ) and Acoustic Timbre Embellisher (ATE), accessible from a dedicated ATE/PMEQ button located between Setup and FN.

I have tested a lot of DAPs, some without any EQ and others with Graphic EQ where you have certain amount of bands each at a fixed center frequency and fixed bandwidth. With a graphic EQ you get a nice "graphic" representation with a visual feedback of which band you are adjusting and the amount of the adjustment, but you have no control over selection of a specific frequency or the bandwidth of that frequency. Parametric EQ gives you all these controls where you can customize F0 (center frequency), Gain (level adjustment), Type (Low Shelf, High Shelf, or Band Pass filter), and Q (bandwidth of the filter band). I'm glad that Lotoo recognized importance of PMEQ where you get 8 quality presets covering different music styles and 6 Custom User presets where you can dial in your own settings. Each custom setting gives you an access to modify F0, Gain, Type, and Q, and you can also export and import PMEQ presets to share with others.

Also under the same menu selection, in addition to PMEQ you have ATE digital effects giving you a selection of 7 distinct DSP effects to customize your sound. I actually found some of these ATE effects to be quite usable, especially "Brighter" which works great with warm/dark headphones and "Sweet" to warm up a sound of bright headphones. One thing to note, you can only select one specific ATE effect or one PMEQ preset, but not both at the same time. Depending on your ATE or PMEQ selection, the main playback screen will display the choice right below status bar.

Sound analysis.

I started my review with a very bold statement of LPG being the most neutral and detailed DAP I heard so far, and this is an honest truth. LPG has a very neutral and transparent sound with a high resolution where you get an excellent retrieval of details and smoother reference tonality (very revealing but not harsh or grainy). The sound has a great layering effect with an excellent separation of instruments. Also, it has a great soundstage with nearly holographic effect with above the average width, depth, and height expansion.

In more details, Low end performance brings up the best in bass with a nicely layered sub-bass texture and fast mid-bass punch where low end is tight and well controlled. Lower mids are clean and on a leaner side, still with plenty of body but not as much warmth. Upper mids are very detailed, revealing, more of analytical quality but not grainy. Vocals sound great, but missing a little bit of the natural organic smoothness. Treble is crisp, extended, well defined, and airy, but not harsh or fatigue.

Lotoo calls it a Reference Audio Player, and that's exactly how I hear it with a perfect combination of digital reference quality and analog smoothness. Though LPG is among the most neutral DAPs I heard to date, it could go both ways when it comes to headphones pair up. It pairs up great with warmer and neutral sig headphones, allowing them to improve in detail retrieval without making sound bright or harsh, and even with some bright headphones it pushes detail retrieval and analytical quality to the next level. But it could also raise the energy of upper mids and treble to the level where it's overwhelming and crosses sibilance threshold, thus making headphones not as enjoyable during extended listening period.

Here how it pairs up with some of my headphones.

ES60 - very transparent expanded sound, with a great low end punch and a nice sub-bass layer extension, clear detailed smooth mids, and crisp airy treble. Excellent 3D soundstage.

W60 - smooth lush sound with a deep sub-bass and punchy mids-bass, thicker warm lower mids, and detailed smooth upper mids, smooth well defined treble.

UM Pro 50 - great punchy sound, excellent balance of sub-bass and fast mid-bass, smooth detailed mids which also have plenty of brightness to balance out smoothness, treble has a nice sparkle and airiness. Soundstage has above average width, almost on a level of W60/ES60, and a more intimate average depth.

Savant - amazing pair up, sound is very transparent, fast and detailed, closer to analytical quality, yet still smooth enough without crossing sibilance threshold. Bass is tight and punchy, sub-bass quantity is lagging just a bit, but quality is on high level. Mids are lean, detailed, a little more on a brighter side, but without any harshness. Treble is airy, crisp, and with a nice extension.

ZEN - plenty of power to drive these 320 ohm earbuds with authority, though closer to max level of low gain. Sound is very tight, transparent, but I felt like it lost a little bit of musicality, though gained a whole new level if detail retrieval. Low end is tight and well controlled, mids are clean, detailed, with a perfect mix of brightness and smoothness, treble is bright, well defined, with a little bit of airiness.

PM-3 - drives them with super authority! Punchy bass with a nice sub-bass crunch, bass is well controlled, no spillage into lower mids, lower mids have a nice tight body, upper mids are detailed and smooth, the best retrieval of details from PM-3 I heard so far, treble is crisp, airy, detailed, but not sibilant or harsh. PM-3 is more on a warmer smoother side and can get congested with some sources, but not here. Pair up with LPG is Epic!

EL-8C - great pair up, sound is bright and transparent, nice tight bass, lean bright analytical quality mids, but absolutely no metallic sheen or grainy texture, crisp/airy bright treble without a hint of sibilance. EL-8C is sensitive to bright sources, while here sound sig is still bright but well controlled.

R70x - drives these 470 ohm open back cans with authority but closer to max level of volume in low gain, very transparent and detailed sound, never heard these with so much details before. Nice tight textured bass, smooth detailed musical mids, crisp airy treble, and 3D soundstage.

With plenty of power to drive even demanding headphones, I don't see a need for any external amp (unless you want to change the tonality), though I did try it with a few of my portable amps connected to LO. I found DAC output to be very clean and to pair up nicely with E12A and C5 portable amps. But it also demonstrated a more analytical reference quality of LPG internal amp, since with other amps sound lost some of the details and became a little smoother. In my opinion, if you want to warm up the sound, instead of using external amp, try ATE effects or Parametric EQ presets.

Comparison to other DAPs.

Considering a summit-fi status of LPG, I was curious to see how it stacks up against other higher end DAPs I have in my review collection (LP5 Gold, L5 Pro, AK120ii, and QA360).

LPG vs LP5G - very similar tonality with LPG being slightly more transparent and neutral, while LP5G being a little smoother and having slightly more body, LPG has a little more staging width while LP5G has a little more depth, but overall soundstage expansion is very similar. Low end has a similar extension with a very similar sub-bass texture, and mid-bass quantity, though LPG is a little tighter. LPG lower mids have slightly leaner more neutral body, upper mids are very similar, and the same with treble.

LPG vs L5Pro - same as with LP5G, LPG tonality is more transparent and neutral, while L5Pro is smoother and a little warmer, similar retrieval of details, soundstage of LPG is slightly wider, while the depth/height is similar, LPG low end is tighter and has a little more control. L5Pro mids are a little smoother and warmer, while LPG mids have a slightly better retrieval of details and upper mids are a touch brighter. Treble is very similar, but LPG has a little more airiness.

LPG vs AK120ii - similar tonality with a similar transparency, but a slightly different retrieval of details (LPG advantage), also AK is smoother while LPG is a little crispier. LPG low end is a little tighter and sub-bass texture is more layered. Lower mids have a similar body, and upper mids in LPG have a slightly better retrieval of details while AK is a little smoother. Treble in LPG has a little more airiness.

LPG vs QA360 - LPG has a more neutral tonality with more transparency and a little crispier sound in comparison to smooth and warmer QA. Both have a similar sub-bass texture and similar mid-bass punch, but LPG bass feels tighter. LPG lower mids are a little leaner and upper mids are more analytical, while QA mids are smoother and more musical. LPG treble has more airiness and a little more crispy, while QA is smoother.

Next comparison of PAW Gold vs PAW 5000 is just for the reference to see how they stack up against each other.

Gold vs 5k - 5k has a warmer tonality with a sound being flatter in comparison to a more neutral, transparent, and dynamic sound of Gold. Gold soundstage is wider while 5k is a little deeper. Gold bass is tighter and better controlled, while 5k is looser. Gold lower mids are leaner and upper mids have a better retrieval of details while 5k lower mids are thicker and upper mids are smoother. Also, Gold has more airiness and better definition in treble where 5k is smoother while still having a decent definition.

Conclusion.

In my opinion, any evaluation of a sound is based heavily on a relative comparison. What we hear as a warm, bright, or neutral should be relative to some baseline sound. But how do we know for sure the headphones sound warm and it's not the boosted lows of your source, or the other way around where headphones have too much treble energy which could be contributed by a thin bright source? Lotoo PAW Gold takes all this uncertainty out of the equation by providing what I hear as a perfect neutral reference quality source with a high level of transparency and resolution and enough power to drive even demanding headphones. So is this the end-game TOTL DAP? I'm sure it could be for a lot of people, but not for everybody. If you have a collection of bright analytical headphones, the revealing "truth" of LPG can push it over the limit, or if you take a pride in a large collection of songs and albums accumulated over the years - scrolling through a sizeable list of songs could be frustrating where you might prefer a touch screen or some other mechanical scrolling interface. And of course, if you have a large collection of your songs stored in the cloud or a frequent user of streaming services - this won't cut it for you either. But if you fancy the reference quality neutral sound with the top notch transparency and retrieval of details, with an efficient minimalistic all in one display, with top quality DSP effects and access to professional Parametric EQ, a very impressive 11+ hrs battery performance even with high power output, customizable keys, and the bulletproof build quality (aircraft grade duralumin, sapphire glass, gold plated components) - this DAP is definitely Golden and in my opinion worth every penny!