tone.texture.soul
Previously known as Tokpakorlo
Crosspost from the Cooler. With a few added notes for the folks here. Since my last post I was able to get the LO working well from the 3.5mm with volume maxed out. It sounds fantastic!
And now my new impressions with E7 - enjoy!
Just wanted to share some love for the E7. When I got it I was very impressed, but not necessarily in love. It’s a fantastic DAP, by far the most analog DS I’ve ever heard, and the new UI is leagues better than before. Especially the standby battery time, no longer bleeding to death while it’s just sitting there. But it didn’t capture a spot in my heart like my LP6 Ti AE.
All that changed this today. I’ve been using the E7 a lot, but it seems it just needed a lot more breakin than I expected, even for a DS unit it needed over 100hrs + and then boooom. I’m totally floored right now! Im using my Traillii Ti and it's so massive and open, with this killer sub-bass rumble. Fantastic mids and this endless airy top end. The stage feels like it grew 300% overnight! Kind of all of a sudden, everything spread out, got deeper and taller, and the details pop out like crazy. I'm loving this combo! I posted something earlier on, some initial impressions, but I feel I need a short follow up to properly address the magic that is now coming out of this little box. Just goes to show that some gear really just needs some time to settle in, and L&P stuff seems especially prone to lots of burnin.
The E7 has some of the largest stages I’ve ever heard in a DAP, with great layering. Like really big, very wide but ultra tall. Bass is nicely textured, with a nice extra touch of sub bass and rumble which is very much appreciated. It's very punchy, but also really enveloping and vast. Mids are clean and clear, very detailed with a hint of warmth and romance, relaxed but not smeary or too gooey and honey'd. Treble is very open, very detailed, with a hint of sparkle up top. Overall the sound is vast, detailed, and very spacious up top. Fantastic balance of technicals and musicality - I know more than one DMP owner who actually prefers the E7 for that type of sound. Pretty strong statement, and while I spent very little time with the DMP, I can understand where he's coming from (now). Sonically it's just amazing, a very analog, dynamic and open sound that is more reference and neutral than other L&P DAPs I have heard before. Where the LP6 AE is bombastic, with insane texture and engagement, punch and very forward mids, the E7 is much more neutral, lighter on its feet, with what seems like deeper bass that leans away from AE's midbass punch and growls instead.
The new UI is a big step up - but don't think it's a modern DAP like others, this is a very basic UI that is music only. The way you can browse you music now is much better, and more seamless. You get a bigger screen so the album art is larger, resolution isn't so different though. The drop-down menu is great and you can access pretty much everything you need on a daily basis. There is also the 3 tuning modes, which are not some EQ thing but a change in the FPGA (or other hardware) from what I'm told. I like LD mode a lot, very even and natural. HD is more dynamic, more open and engaging. They really make a huge difference, and it’s nice to be able to tailor the sound for each IEM. And yes, there is Gapless and a useable search function, hooray! There is a small quirk that when using ID3 tags, the album's songs show up in alphabetical order instead of numeric - but I've know L&P is working on a firmware update right now that will give us that option. They've actually already about 3 new FW's that have all improved the UI as well as sonics.
I really like the volume control - it's more tactile and articulate than the P6 Pro's, and the gold knob is super cool. You can use either the 3.5mm or 4.4mm jack as a LO, though it acts a little different than one would expect. I won't get into it now as I am still researching and asking questions, but in brief it's not a fixed voltage LO, its variable, the volume knob still works, and I haven't gotten good results unless the volume is maxed out. Not sure why L&P opted for such a different implementation on the LO vs their other DAPs, but perhaps things will change in a FW. Or I'm doing something wrong, which is always possible!
In terms of battery life I am quite impressed! We were told about 5 hours when it was announced, but it gets far more than that for sure. After the recent FW updates I would say at least 7-8 with normal use. And interestingly enough, when using the BT Rx streaming the battery lasts even longer. I even watched a movie on a flight the other day, phone on the table, E7 in my lap, super convenient,
Overall I am really super impressed with this little DAP, and even more so now that it's fully opened up and I'm hearing its full potential now. It's so small, light, and easy to use now, you've got to give L&P credit for listening to their audience so much and making changes that are asked for. With my Trailli Ti it brings the Ti more into the neutral territory, while staying incredibly engaging and enveloping. I'm leaving for a two month tour on Saturday and I'm bringing the Ti, using the stock cable for convenience, and the E7. I'm really looking forward to having this time to just get in deep, and have the E7 carry me away into sonic bliss. Where before I found it great, now it's stolen my heart, and earned a spot in my permanent roster. In fact, as my AE goes in for the volume pot upgrade and new battery, my solo journey with the E7 will be that much more exciting.
If anyone hasn't heard this beast yet, I highly highly suggest you do. It's phenomenal And if you haven't hear the new Ghost-Note record and you're a fan of funk, this is the funkiest record I've heard.
I'm using my Pico Origa SE, an amazing little tube amp that has phenomenal synergy with the E7. I cannot check the 4.4mm LO with this amp, but will do some when I can and report back.
And now my new impressions with E7 - enjoy!
Just wanted to share some love for the E7. When I got it I was very impressed, but not necessarily in love. It’s a fantastic DAP, by far the most analog DS I’ve ever heard, and the new UI is leagues better than before. Especially the standby battery time, no longer bleeding to death while it’s just sitting there. But it didn’t capture a spot in my heart like my LP6 Ti AE.
All that changed this today. I’ve been using the E7 a lot, but it seems it just needed a lot more breakin than I expected, even for a DS unit it needed over 100hrs + and then boooom. I’m totally floored right now! Im using my Traillii Ti and it's so massive and open, with this killer sub-bass rumble. Fantastic mids and this endless airy top end. The stage feels like it grew 300% overnight! Kind of all of a sudden, everything spread out, got deeper and taller, and the details pop out like crazy. I'm loving this combo! I posted something earlier on, some initial impressions, but I feel I need a short follow up to properly address the magic that is now coming out of this little box. Just goes to show that some gear really just needs some time to settle in, and L&P stuff seems especially prone to lots of burnin.
The E7 has some of the largest stages I’ve ever heard in a DAP, with great layering. Like really big, very wide but ultra tall. Bass is nicely textured, with a nice extra touch of sub bass and rumble which is very much appreciated. It's very punchy, but also really enveloping and vast. Mids are clean and clear, very detailed with a hint of warmth and romance, relaxed but not smeary or too gooey and honey'd. Treble is very open, very detailed, with a hint of sparkle up top. Overall the sound is vast, detailed, and very spacious up top. Fantastic balance of technicals and musicality - I know more than one DMP owner who actually prefers the E7 for that type of sound. Pretty strong statement, and while I spent very little time with the DMP, I can understand where he's coming from (now). Sonically it's just amazing, a very analog, dynamic and open sound that is more reference and neutral than other L&P DAPs I have heard before. Where the LP6 AE is bombastic, with insane texture and engagement, punch and very forward mids, the E7 is much more neutral, lighter on its feet, with what seems like deeper bass that leans away from AE's midbass punch and growls instead.
The new UI is a big step up - but don't think it's a modern DAP like others, this is a very basic UI that is music only. The way you can browse you music now is much better, and more seamless. You get a bigger screen so the album art is larger, resolution isn't so different though. The drop-down menu is great and you can access pretty much everything you need on a daily basis. There is also the 3 tuning modes, which are not some EQ thing but a change in the FPGA (or other hardware) from what I'm told. I like LD mode a lot, very even and natural. HD is more dynamic, more open and engaging. They really make a huge difference, and it’s nice to be able to tailor the sound for each IEM. And yes, there is Gapless and a useable search function, hooray! There is a small quirk that when using ID3 tags, the album's songs show up in alphabetical order instead of numeric - but I've know L&P is working on a firmware update right now that will give us that option. They've actually already about 3 new FW's that have all improved the UI as well as sonics.
I really like the volume control - it's more tactile and articulate than the P6 Pro's, and the gold knob is super cool. You can use either the 3.5mm or 4.4mm jack as a LO, though it acts a little different than one would expect. I won't get into it now as I am still researching and asking questions, but in brief it's not a fixed voltage LO, its variable, the volume knob still works, and I haven't gotten good results unless the volume is maxed out. Not sure why L&P opted for such a different implementation on the LO vs their other DAPs, but perhaps things will change in a FW. Or I'm doing something wrong, which is always possible!
In terms of battery life I am quite impressed! We were told about 5 hours when it was announced, but it gets far more than that for sure. After the recent FW updates I would say at least 7-8 with normal use. And interestingly enough, when using the BT Rx streaming the battery lasts even longer. I even watched a movie on a flight the other day, phone on the table, E7 in my lap, super convenient,
Overall I am really super impressed with this little DAP, and even more so now that it's fully opened up and I'm hearing its full potential now. It's so small, light, and easy to use now, you've got to give L&P credit for listening to their audience so much and making changes that are asked for. With my Trailli Ti it brings the Ti more into the neutral territory, while staying incredibly engaging and enveloping. I'm leaving for a two month tour on Saturday and I'm bringing the Ti, using the stock cable for convenience, and the E7. I'm really looking forward to having this time to just get in deep, and have the E7 carry me away into sonic bliss.
Where before I found it great, now it's stolen my heart, and earned a spot in my permanent roster. In fact, as my AE goes in for the volume pot upgrade and new battery, my solo journey with the E7 will be that much more exciting.If anyone hasn't heard this beast yet, I highly highly suggest you do. It's phenomenal
And if you haven't hear the new Ghost-Note record and you're a fan of funk, this is the funkiest record I've heard. 