Lotoo GT2

Thanks to Andrew (Musicteck) for his availability and courtesy.
https://shop.musicteck.com/products...ble-music-players?_pos=1&_sid=a70ddfc50&_ss=r



Lotoo GT 2.....story

I did some research. Lotoo in 1999. Already at that time a strong point on professional audio players. Only after many years from their debut, they came out on the market (and were known by the audiophile community) with the Paw Gold. In 2018 the Paw Gold Touch (PGT) was released. More recently is a Titanium version of the LPGT called LPGT (Ti). Which, like its predecessor, received considerable success. It should be noted that LPGT became almost a fixed point among reviewers of almost all audiophile magazines as well as reviewers of the most popular online magazines. LPGT became a reference for its typically very neutral sound. Therefore a "faithful" player both in comparison with other Dap and as a musical reproduction of iem. Lotoo is also known for its very careful production. It is not a brand that releases one Dap after another on the market but sticks to the innovations that it can really bring to the market release of new products. It seems that Lotoo, consciously or not… has “listened” to the audiophile community and its requests, based on the acoustic experience with LPGT and LPGT (Ti).



And so we arrive at today: Lotoo PAW GT2 :

GT2 works with iOS, Windows, Android and MacOS and establishes connectivity with PC, PC MAC, Tablet, and obviously Smartphone.
The conversion system is entrusted to AK4191EQ and AK4499EX (dual) chips. GT2 supports PCM at 768 kHz and DSD512.

Featured Specs
Screen: 800x480 4-inch touch screen
Weight: 388g

Audio Specifications (Headphone - 4.4 mm balanced)
Max output level +20.3 dBu (S Mode)
Max output power 1000mW/Ch (32Ω load) 620mW/Ch (100Ω load) 210mW/Ch (300Ω load) 104mW/Ch (600Ω load)
Channel Isolation 122dB
Freq Response +0.006/-0.04 dB (20~20kHz)
SNR 133dB (20~20kHz, A-weight)
THD+N 0.00013% @1kHz (20~20kHz, A-weight, no load)


Audio Specifications (Headphone- 3.5 mm unbalanced)
Max output level +14.2 dBu (S Mode)
Max output power 460mW/Ch (32Ω load) 156mW/Ch (100Ω load)
Freq Response +0.004/-0.05 dB (20~20kHz)
SNR 129dB (20~20kHz, A-weight)
THD+N 0.00020% @1kHz (20~20kHz, A-weight, no load)
Min Noise Level 0.8uV

Formats: DSD 64/128/256/512/DFF/ISO/ALAC/WAV/MP3/FLAC/APE/OGG/M4A/AAC
Processor: Freescale i.MX6 ADI Blackfin BF706 DSP
USB Port: USB 3.1 Gen2 Type COTG (USB Storage/DAC) x1
Battery 3.7 8300mAh Li Po Battery
Dimensions 70.8 x 132.8 x 32.4



Let's say right away that the weight and shape of the chassis have changed. LPGT weighed 311 grams, GT2 weighs 588. GT2 measures 70.8x132.8x32.4, while LPGT was 68.6x119x21. LPGT had a 3.77-inch IPS LCD display with a resolution of 480x800. GT2 800x480 4 Inch Retina CLD. The battery of LPGT was 5400 mAh, that of GT2 is 8300 mAh. Obviously, the converters have changed. LPGT had AKM4497EQ and AKM 4137EQ. GT2 has AK4191EQ and AK4499EX (dual).

The design of GT2 has changed compared to LPGT. Bigger in all its dimensions, with a curve in the back that accompanies the body of GT2 even if it makes it slightly bulkier than LPGT but still in the average size of the new generation dap. The volume wheel remains very similar to that of LPGT. But the recess on the back makes it easier to increase and decrease the volume. The USB cable housing and the micro-SD port (which supports up to 2 TB) remain unchanged compared to LPGT, as well as the buttons / controls on the left side of the front dap.

Inside the set-up includes 8 PMEQ II generation low phase distortion parametric equalizer :

1) Classic 2) Techno 3) Dance 4) Rock 5) Pop 6) Headphone 7) Jazz 8) Full Bass

5 ATE (studio grade algorithmic audio filters 1) Brighter 2) Dental 3) Far field 4) Sweet 5) Near field.

I am not a fan of the equalization system, but I tried the various default options that GT2 offers. Easily usable as it is quite intuitive, as is LPGT. My favorite setting on PMEQ was “Headphone”. But obviously this is a personal preference, based on a certain type of music. As the type of music changes, the preference changes, also based on personal listening preferences. It is a function that I normally … like to keep OFF.

And in any case, the size and clarity of the new display make it easier and more visible to make the appropriate settings of the equalizer and other functions, such as the type of filter chosen or the view of the band graph and their adjustment.





SOUND:

Let's start from this fundamental and determining factor: Let's go back to the origins: I notice an absolutely neutral sound. Without any coloration, without any predominant or sensational factor. Like LPGT it doesn't give discounts to any IEM. It doesn't add or take away. It remains perfectly neutral. It reproduces exactly what it is fed. Without distinction. Without preferring something specific. It simply REPRODUCES with fidelity. I feel that compared to LPGT it maintains its neutrality intact but probably the decisive step forward in terms of amplification makes it produce an overall fuller, more rocky, heavier sound across the entire sound spectrum. In the low range, in the medium range and in the high range. The bass is authoritative, strong, clear. The mids are very structured, maintaining excellent detail, very good transparency and notable speed. The high range remains for me and for my way of listening, really very beautiful and satisfying. Fast, clear, never sharp, never harsh, never too analytical. Its details never cease to amaze. The separation of the instruments is always of a high level. The soundstage widens more in the presence of LPGT and takes on a form of reproduction similar to that in a theater. Intimate, amber, but still three-dimensional. No note gets lost along the way. Everything remains very well circumscribed.

Comparing it to the LPGT, I would say that the GT2 has a wider soundstage and a noticeably fuller sound. I believe, with little doubt of being wrong, that much of the credit for all the undoubted improvements of the GT2 compared to the LPGT can be attributed to the undeniable increased power of the amplification system. Overall, it has a greater focus, a deeper and wider sound. The change in neutrality remains almost unchanged but the sense of completeness is undeniable. It is as if the GT2 has raised ALL the levels of the LPGT. The characteristics between the two remain the same but the GT2 certainly amplifies every step of the LPGT. The amplification system is the one that suffers most. An example: the LPGT (Ti) that I owned made the Rhapsodio V3 Supreme (planar) sound good and it also made the Campfire Astrolith sound good. GT2 gives it a significant boost, making it sound more structured, with more body, with more granitic quality, all at a lower volume than LPGT needed. In short: If I combined LPGT with an amplification system I obtained part of the benefits that GT2 can give without an amplification system. In my opinion, the 4.4 mm output makes you feel a slightly more amber tone than the 3.5 output. The tone remains on the LPGT line, even if GT2 appears to be much more capable of improving this aspect too with an increase in the body of the sound in the low range, without ever betraying the proverbial neutrality and the tone in the high range appears more fluid and wider. GT2 appears to be a DAP capable of satisfying any need, especially in terms of current delivery. I consider this factor a decisive step forward compared to the still very valid LPGT (Ti).

Comparison :

Oriolus Traillii:

Low Range: GT2 maintains the classic low range of Traillii. I notice a stronger but at the same time clearer bass. Without grain. Slightly more detailed. Just a little less material and warm. There is a hint of greater speed. It gives a very focused sound.

Mid Range: Always articulated, balanced and always in the foreground…being the star of Traillii. The mids with GT2 appear more neutral which does not mean neither backward nor aseptic. But also here as for the low range they are placed more in front of the listener than around. The sound is noticeably more direct, more bold and the neutrality seems to join the lush sound of Traillii in the mid range. The detail is rendered unchanged.

High Range: GT2 gives brio and vivacity to the highs of Traillii. While always keeping them very harmonious. GT2 gives a slight clarity and also here, the sound seems to be more vivid, more present. As if it were a veil inside Traillii. It remains a very coherent and elegant high range.




Noble Viking Ragnar:

Low range: GT2 does not distort Ragnar's low range. It gives it even more openness, the low range seems just right articulated. It adds details and here the sound seems to come from all sides. The listener is placed in the center. It gives a little more clarity or if you like... it gives it a more evident neutrality. All its technicalities and its decay remain unchanged along with the always excellent recovery of details.

Mid range: As for Traillii... it pushes it a little more forward. Always keeping it very neutral. But it gives it a really vivid qualitative touch. But always without losing structure or making it appear too liquid or ethereal. I am not able to differentiate Ragnar's speed from the speed that GT2 gives it. Either we are on that line or GT2 speeds up its speed in a barely perceptible way. The beautiful separation between the instruments remains intact.

High range: Ragnar's highs with GT2 are spectacular. Clear, clear, brilliant… STUNNING. The mid-high range remains equally elegant and never intrusive. Maybe just a little exuberant. But it does so with an elegance that does not tire, that does not leave you perplexed. It is not easy for a dap or a cable to best manage the high range of Viking Ragnar. It takes little to transcend, and instead GT2 seems like a Ferrari that goes 300 km/h without making the slightest noise, without losing its composure in the slightest. I am writing while listening… and I do not feel like removing Ragnar. I could go on forever, but I have to write about Rhapsodio V3.



Rhapsodio V3 Supreme:

Low range: Already present in V3, with GT2 it acquires a better structure. It adds a bit of body, while remaining very clear. Here too the sound seems to be more direct, closer to the listener. Even the mid/low seems to have more consistency. A greater weight of the notes that however does not make anything sound invasive.

Mid range: Well accompanied by the low range. It seems to be slightly overlapped, but I could be wrong. The level of resolution remains very high, and all its details. The voices are rendered at their best and GT2 accompanies the neutrality of the mid range of Rhapsodio V3 well. It gives a sound where musicality and analyticality blend in a satisfying form. There is a lot of air between the notes and the voices have an excellent 3D.

High range: As for Noble Ragnar the representation of the high range remains a crucial point for any DAP. Where it is easy to detect sibilance or excessive clarity. GT2 with its amplification (which I repeat is the star of this GT2 in my opinion), makes the high range of Rhapsodio sound very neutral and balanced. Sharpness, resolution and clarity remain, but the very generous current supply ensures that the GT2 does not struggle to drive this high range correctly, without fatigue or crackles or particularly bright or dry notes. It also leaves the typical technicalities of Rhapsodio unchanged and I have no problem saying that the GT2 does not make you miss a hypothetical DAP/AMP pairing, where in a single chassis GT2 contains the necessary power to manage the planars of Rhapsodio. This impression is also confirmed by the easy driving of Campfire Astrolith that was lent to me for a listen.



Noble Chronicle :

Low Range : GT2 gives Noble Chronicle a great cleanliness. The extension of the low range I think is difficult to achieve with other DAPs. The timbre remains neutral with the correct warmth typical of Chronicle. The dynamics are remarkable. Bass with a lot of body but tight and with a very fast and sculpted decay. I was curious to hear how GT2 would behave in the presence of an "intrigue" of drivers like those used by Chronicle.

Mid Range : The mid range of GT2 with Chronicle is something to be heard more than described. Full sound but at the same time fast with details that are unbelievable in quantity and quality. The voices are transparent but full-bodied and natural. They remain refined, very coherent. There are never any distortions. Although I continue to think that all this is due to the amplification of GT2. All the technicalities remain in full evidence. As if GT2 tends not to distort the sound of an iem, but to take the sound as it is and raise it to a higher level. Here with electronic music GT2 and Chronicle seem made for each other.

High range : GT2 treats the high frequencies with grace and extreme care. It reproduces them as they are, preserving all their main characteristics. Here too ...... it enhances the already very high quality level in Noble Chronicle. The highs flow smoothly but precise, detailed, extremely resolute. It makes the soundstage very extended. Everything remains very very refined, educated, clean. Gt2 / Chronicle borders on absolute qualitative perfection in my opinion. The amount of information that GT2 tends to reproduce as Chronicle emanates them, all remain perfectly unaltered. And that's a great thing. GT2 tends to enhance such a complex iem, keeping the entire sound spectrum within the tracks of perfection. It doesn't miss a beat. Not even in particularly complex musical pieces. It is always there on display. Absolutely perfect work by Lotoo.
We have waited years......but believe me: It is well worth it. Do not be fooled by the very inviting price because I consider GT2 an absolute masterpiece. And I say this as an owner of L&P LP6 Ti.




The Lotoo GT2 is more than a few steps ahead of both LPGT and LPGT (Ti), both of which I have owned. Here significant steps forward are made. The amplification absolutely dominates the scene of this fantastic innovation that is GT2. Really really very well done.