I recently purchased a Lotoo PAW 6000 from MusicTeck and extremely happy with my new DAP. I wanted to share my initial thoughts and journey in making this purchase, hoping to help others who may be considering the same DAPs and IEMs. A shout out to Andrew from MusicTeck who provided amazing service to help me finalize my decision. I live in Sydney, Australia, so there are no Lotoo dealers here locally, so Andrew’s time was greatly appreciated. Also received the order from the US within a few days which is amazing!

Please note that my feedback is very subjective, and I am no audiophile so please take my observations for what it’s worth. Also worth noting that your experience will vary based on the DAP which you are upgrading from, quality of your music files, genres, and IEM / headphones used.

Before purchasing the LP6K, I owned an AK70mkII and Campfire Audio Polaris II IEM. I was never happy with this combination. Although I love bass, the Polaris II had too much bass which was overwhelming the mids and highs. The AK70II had poor battery life, tiny screen, some quirks with the UI which was frustrating, and the overall sound was good, but not great … however I wasn’t sure if the problem was the IEM or DAP.

I started researching my next purchase, initially thinking to change the DAP before the IEM. I was eyeing the new AK-SR25 and also the new AK-SA700; my preference being the SR25 because of the rave reviews for its sound signature and also the amazing battery life.

I spent time at my local dealer testing and comparing the SR25 and SA700 against my AK70mkII. I had made three micro SD cards with the same HD tracks (mixed genres), so that I could insert into each DAP and quickly switch my Polaris II IEM between all 3 DAPs listening to the same tracks.

I first compared the SR25 vs SA700 – the SR25 $1,199 (Australian RRP) was very disappointing to say the least. It sounded very flat, no colour and the soundstage was not comparable to the SA700; nor comparable to my AK70mkII which was only $899 (Australian RRP). The SA700 in comparison sounded good, expansive soundstage, the bass was sharp and punchy, mids and highs sounded good. There was nothing to not like about it except for the weight, average battery life, body heating up, and off course the price tag $2,149 (Australian RRP).

I then compared the SA700 to my AK70mkII. To my surprise, I was struggling to tell the difference between the two players, the sound signatures sounded almost identical. The SA700 still sounded better, had more power and just did everything a little better … also the bigger screen was welcomed. It sounded 10-15% better, hardly justifiable in spending the extra $2,149 asking price to gain such a small difference.

I then shifted my focus to the IEM’s and tested out the new Campfire Audio Solaris 2020 with my AK70mkII. Wow, I immediately heard a huge difference. It made me feel I was now in the main concert hall, whereas before I was standing just outside of the main concert hall using my Polaris II. These IEMs were easily 100% better (if not more) than my already capable CA Polaris II’s. They made all 3 DAP’s sound great and really allowed me to immerse myself into the listening experience and feel like I was at a live concert. I was so impressed I immediately purchased the CA Solaris 2020 and love it.

Although I was now satisfied with my new IEM, the shortcomings noted above regarding my AK70II still bothered me so was still keen to upgrade my DAP. Per my tests I was not happy with the SR25 and I thought the SA700 was not worth the asking price with its noted shortcomings. I did not get a chance to test the SE200 which was still on backorder at the time. I read reviews on many other DAP’s, including iBasso X220, Hiby R8, SP1000M, FiiO M11 Pro, FiiO M15, Lotoo PAW Gold Touch and Lotoo PAW 6000. I ruled out nearly all except for the Lotoo PAW 6000 as the rest were either out-dated and about to be refreshed with a new model, too big (not portable), average battery life, slow charging, slow start-up times, sluggish UI’s, or most importantly sub-par sound signatures relative to price. All of these points are a deal breaker for me. I found the LP6K to meet these criteria’s and more, and the few shortcomings this player has are not a problem for me … including no streaming services, no internal memory, or no dealer network here in Australia.

After a number of emails back and forth with Andrew over at MusicTeck, I took the plunge and ordered the LP6K based on online reviews, and I must say this DAP is really as good as they say it is. The LP6K just sounds amazing, has excellent power, its built extremely well, the battery life is just excellent, great EQ, and love the supplied leather case which is a really nice touch by Lotoo which makes this feel even more of a luxury product. But above all, I must say the UI is the star of the show … its blazing fast, very intuitive to use, allows for loads of customization, and super-fast start up time (2 second start-up time vs 20-40 seconds dependent on the player). I have paired my LP6K with my Campfire Audio Solaris 2020, which appears to be a match made in heaven … at least I think so!



I strongly recommend the Lotoo PAW 6000 for anyone looking for a well priced flagship DAP which is pocketable, has excellent sound and with great battery life.