A Touch of class runs in the family!
The product was provided to me free of charge for the review purpose in exchange for my honest opinion. The review was originally posted on my review blog, and now I would like to share it with my readers on Head-fi.
Manufacturer website: Lotoo. Available for sale from MusicTeck.
Intro.
It has been almost 2 years since I covered Lotoo Touch (LPGT), and it became my reference source which I use in most of my reviews. Today, many DAPs become obsolete within 4-6 months, replaced by newer updated versions with beefier spec. But the relevance of LPGT hasn’t faded away yet, thanks to its super-fast proprietary OS which doesn’t rely on Android and its build like-a-tank design with lots of pro features.
It is clear that Lotoo put a lot of thought into LPGT to guarantee its longevity, and instead of releasing the new updated version, they decided to follow their own footsteps from the days of the original LPG. Back then, LPG got PAW5000 (PAW5k) as a sidekick, a cutdown budget friendly version with a similar functionality. This time, the cutdown version got reincarnated as PAW6000 (PAW6k), except to call it a cutdown will be an insult.
Of course, you can’t release a budget friendly version of a flagship without cutting some corners, but you also will be surprised to find out how much PAW6k inherited from its big brother. Here is more about it!
Unboxing and Accessories.
Unboxing experience of PAW6k was nearly identical to LPGT. While there was no golden sleeve box cover, PAW6k cover sleeve was black with a golden outline of the DAP. With a sleeve off, the rest was the same as Touch, a giftbox quality storage box with a foam cutout under the cover to keep DAP secure during transport, and accessories organized in separate boxes underneath.
Inside you will find all the essentials with a manual, a pair of tempered glass screen protectors (one included as a spare), a cleaning cloth, and a premium USB/USB-C braided cable. The premium leather case was also included.
This leather case fits PAW6k like a glove, enhancing the grip, and protecting from scratches and minor drops. I actually found it to be an improvement over the Touch case. With a large opening at the bottom, the micro-SD card and USB-C charging/data port are now fully open and you no longer have to remove the case to replace the card. Also, the case covers the playback and power buttons on the right side with an easy to feel indented outline/shape around the controls. The top of the case is open, giving full access to Headphone/LO ports and the golden volume wheel. And the actual material had a better-quality leather which felt more premium in comparison to Touch’s softer leather feel.
Design.
It was a big step for Lotoo to transform their original non-touch LPG into a touch-screen version. While the PAW6k overall design looks like a slimmer version of LPGT with a thinner volume wheel, the rest of the exterior remained very similar. Relative to Touch, the size of PAW6k is a little smaller, measuring 112mm x 65mm x 18mm (vs 119x69x21) and the weight is down to 224g (vs 310). You still have the same 3.77” IPS Retina LCD touch screen (with 800x480 resolution), and the volume wheel above it in upper right corner with a secure guard around it.
The golden wheel is a signature of PAW design, but PAW6k has a slimmer version which doesn’t protrude outside of rectangular DAP outline like it is LPGT. And just like in the original (LPG and LPGT), you can configure its direction to change volume either clockwise or counter-clockwise. The level of configuration and customization in PAW6k is identical to LPGT, and you can still configure to double tap the screen to wake it up (love this feature!).
Bottom of PAW6k hosts micro-SD card, held inside with a spring-loaded mechanism. There is no internal storage, and that’s all you get, though capacity of flash memory has been going up while price is dropping down. Next to it is USB-C port for charging of the DAP, data transfer, and USB DAC connection.
Nothing is on the left side, and the right side has 4 round metal buttons with their functionality etched on the surface. 3 playback control buttons (play/pause and skip) are grouped a little closer while a power button (also used for screen on/off) is a little further away. Unlike LPGT, play button here doesn’t have a bump identification (for a blind id), assuming Lotoo realized that PAW6k users will have the case on anyway. Buttons have a nice tactile response, with or without a case.
The top of the DAP, besides already mentioned volume wheel which also has optional “breathing light” underneath, also has 3.5mm single ended and 4.4mm balanced outputs with a flexible dual configuration of either Headphone output or Line Out. As HO, you can set the gain to high/low and have independent L/R balanced adjustment of either of the ports. As Line Out, you can set the output to a few fixed voltage settings or variable output to control it with a volume wheel.
Overall, PAW6k feels as solid as LPGT with a similar aircraft aluminum alloy chassis and Corning Gorilla Glass (std 5) display with anti-fingerprint and DLC coating. The one noticeable difference is that LPGT has a metal back panel while PAW6k is glass. Aesthetically, it really doesn’t make a difference since many will be keeping this slippery DAP in a case. Functionally, perhaps a glass back will allow placement of some internal antennas.
Under the hood.
Obviously, Lotoo had to cut some corners so that PAW6k wouldn’t overshadow the flagship LPGT. So, in the heart of PAW6k you will find the AKM AK4493 DAC (down from AK4497 in Touch), and there is no AKM AK4137EQ up-sampling chip or ADI BF70x DSP. While up-sampling on the fly was a cool feature, I end up turning it off on LPGT to extend battery life. Also, according to Lotoo design team, the functionality of DSP in Touch was for DSD512 support and dual PLL clocks. The PEQ and ATE effects were running on the main Freescale iMX6 processor with everything optimized around Lotoo’s own OS with a super-fast boot up time.
PAW6k, just like LPGT, supports all the popular lossy and lossless formats up to and including DFF, DSF, ISO, FLAC, APE, WAV, AAC, ALAC, MP3, WMA, M4A, and OGG, with PCM sampling rates 32kHz-768kHz. It also supports DSD64, DSD128, and DSD256 with corresponding sampling rates of 2.8MHz, 5.6MHz, and 11.2MHz. I didn’t notice any lag or glitches when switching between different file formats or during Gapless playback (which usually buffers ahead), thanks to its multi-processor architecture which handles multiple tasks in parallel.
Regarding the internal design, Lotoo mentioned about the implementation of TI OPA1622 SoundPlus opamps, though more details were not provided. And similar to LPGT, both ports have the same output power, except PAW6k is rated to 300mW (down from 500mW), and I confirmed the output volume level to be the same when switching between SE and BAL headphone ports. Each of these ports can be selected as Line Out as well, to drive external amplifier in either Single Ended or fully Balanced connection.
USB DAC is supported without a problem when you connect PAW6k to computer or smartphone. You also have 2-way Bluetooth (BT4.2) support, though BT DAC doesn’t support LDAC yet, but you can pair it with LDAC enabled headphones. But in general, duplex BT will allow you to either pair up with wireless headphones and speakers or to connect PAW6k as a wireless Receiver to your Smartphone or Tablet/Laptop to stream audio.
No need to worry about proprietary charger like in LPG. You are charging from USB-C port and PAW6k 5200 mAh battery should yield a playback time of up to 16hrs. Of course, that is an ideal case with display off and at average volume level. There also a nice feature of when connecting USB DAC to either select "computer" so you charge the battery or USB DAC Phone, so you don't drain your phone battery.
WiFi interface (b/g/n) is available, but only implemented for over-the-air (OTA) download and update of the firmware which I verified to work without a problem.
GUI - Interface and Playback screen.
Since the Interface of PAW6k is identical to LPGT, you can refer to my LPGT review on Head-fi or my PAW6k review on my site.
Sound Analysis.
In this test I was using PAW6k with 64 Audio U18t while playing the selection of my favorite test tracks, such as Agnes Obel “The curse”, Sandro Cavazza “So much better” (Avicii remix), C-Bool “Never go away”, Ed Sheeran “Shape of you”, Alan Walker “Darkside”, Galantis “Hunter”, Iggy Azalea “Black widow”, Indila “Boite en argent”, Counting Crows “Big yellow taxi”, David Elias “Vision of her”, and Michael Jackson “Dirty Diana” to analyze the sound of this DAP. Also, I had about 100hrs of playback burn-in prior to starting the sound analysis.
I’m sure the first question on many people’s mind is how PAW6k compares to LPGT. My readers always ask, which one is better? In terms of tonality, one is not better than the other, they are just different. When it comes to technical performance, LPGT will have the upper hand and I will cover it in more details in Comparison section of the review.
PAW6k has a neutral signature with a more natural tonality and a fuller body sound, including a little more weight in lower end. While I have been trying to analyze the sound of PAW6k on its own, I still have Touch in the back of my mind due to its neutral reference tonality which I compare everything to. Thus, I would consider PAW6k to have a stronger impact in lower end, more natural fuller body mids/vocals, and smoother treble response with a modest level of airiness. As a result, while LPGT can bring out more flaws in a poorly recorded audio, PAW6k is able to smooth out the sound and render it in a more natural and musical way.
From a perspective of technical performance, the sound has good dynamics with a decent vertical expansion of the peaks. As a result, the sound never felt compressed or congested. Again, relative to LPGT, the transient response of note on/off is a little slower, giving the sound its natural smoothness. The background is relatively black, hardly any hissing even with very sensitive IEMs. The soundstage expansion is definitely above the average with a good depth, and it also has a good imaging with a relatively precise placement of instruments and vocals.
As already mentioned, 4.4mm (BAL) and 3.5mm (SE) headphone ports have identical power out. And I also found the difference is tonality to be nearly identical. But if I would to split hairs here, 4.4mm balanced output is a bit more transparent with a little wider soundstage. But overall, these ports sound very close.
Comparison.
In this section of the review, sound comparison was done using LPGT 4.4mm headphone balanced output, with all the effects off, while using 64 Audio U18t with EA Code 51 balanced terminated cable and Pentaconn pigtail 4.4mm adaptor. In every comparison I made sure to match the sound level between DAPs. Also, I only going to cover the sound difference as I hear it. Obviously, every DAP has their own set of features and functionality differences with Android DAPs having direct access to streaming services. I used 4.4mm in every comparison except for N6ii w/E01 where I had to use 3.5mm
PAW6k vs Cowon Plenue L - this is a very interesting comparison because after going many times between PAW6k, LPGT, and PL, I came to a conclusion that PL fits right in a middle between these two Lotoo models. For example, starting with soundstage expansion, while I found LPGT to have a wider left/right spread in comparison to PAW6k, PL is a touch wider than PAW6k but not on the same level as Touch. The bass extension and impact, relative to U18t pair up, is very similar between PAW6k and PL; I would say it's nearly identical to my ears. When it comes to mids/vocals, PL is also somewhere in the middle due to lower mids being a little leaner and upper mids sounding more revealing when compared to PAW6k, but not on the same level as Touch. Treble has some similarity as well, except PAW6k has a little more sparkle. Both have a very dynamic and layered sound.
PAW6k vs FiiO M11 Pro - relative to U18t, I hear PAW6k to have a little wider soundstage expansion, though not by a lot. M11 Pro bass is closer to neutral relative to PAW6k which has more impact and deeper extension. Also, I hear PAW6k bass to be more articulate and faster, while M11 Pro bass sounds a little more laidback. With mids/vocals, PAW6k has more body and the tonality is smoother and more organic, while with M11 Pro I hear lower mids to be leaner, and upper mids more revealing, more transparent. Treble is very similar. M11 Pro is definitely a noticeable improvement over their original M11, but still when you are analyzing the sound with higher res IEMs or headphones, you can hear in this comparison that PAW6k sound has a better vertical dynamics expansion and better layering, making M11 Pro sound a bit compressed in a relative comparison.
PAW6k vs iBasso DX220 w/AMP8 - I didn't realize how similar these two will sound! But there are still a few differences, like for example I found DX220 soundstage to be a little bit wider. And PAW6k has more mid-bass impact and the bass sounds faster than with DX220. But the rest of the sound, in mids and treble, is very similar in quality and presentation. Maybe DX220 having a touch more sparkle/airiness in treble, but not by whole lot. Both have a very dynamic and layered sound. I tried this comparison in a blind test, and after going back'n'forth multiple times, soundstage width was the main difference to my ears.
PAW6k vs Hiby R6 Pro - If PAW6k and DX220 sounds similar, in a comparison of the sound performance between PAW6k and R6 Pro relative to U18t I hear them being even closer in tonality. Other DAPs were not able to match PAW6k bass impact at the same level, but R6 Pro was able to keep up without a problem. Mids/vocals performance was also very similar, with fuller body more natural tonality and a layered detailed sound. And the treble performance was not too far off. But the blind test comparison was easy since PAW6k is dead quiet with U18t, while R6 Pro has a noticeable hissing. That was really the main giveaway during the blind test.
PAW6k vs Cayin N6ii w/E01 - N6ii soundstage expansion is a little bit wider, even when comparing its single ended output to PAW6k balanced; it's not a huge difference, but noticeable. Both have a deep low end extension with a nice elevated rumble, but in mid-bass PAW6k has more impact and faster attack/decay, making its bass sound more articulate and faster, while N6ii w/EO1 bass is slower and a little more laidback, more analog. When switching to the default A01 card, N6ii has bass response which sounds closer to PAW6k. Mids of PAW6k are a little thicker and more organic in comparison to more layered and more revealing mids of N6ii w/E01 (in Class AB mode). Treble is similar, though I find PAW6k to have a little more sparkle. The tonality of A01 card will be closer to PAW6k.
Of course, I saved the best for last (with a relative volume matched setting in high gain from 4.4mm).
PAW6k (vol 38) vs LPGT (vol 36) - Touch has more expanded soundstage where the sound has a wider left/right spread. Overall sound sig is more neutral revealing with a greater level of transparency in Touch while PAW6k is more neutral natural with a slightly warmer tonality. Relative to U18t, when you break down the sound you will hear PAW6k to have more sub-bass rumble and slightly elevated mid-bass analog impact, while Touch bass has less sub-bass rumble, bass is more layered, and more articulate. With mids/vocals, Touch is leaner in lower mids and more transparent and more layered in upper mids, while PAW6k has more body in lower mids and smoother and more organic tonality in upper mids. The treble response is a little smoother in PAW6k. Overall, Touch presents sound in a more neutral, transparent, analytical way, while PAW6k gives you a more fun flavor with a deeper low end impact and a smoother and more organic presentation of mids/vocals. Both have a very dynamic and layered sound, though you can hear a bit more air between the layers of the sound when paired up with LPGT.
Pair up.
PAW6k has plenty of power to driver some of the demanding full-size headphones and at the same time take care of high sensitivity IEMs without any noticeable hissing. Here is how I hear PAW6k pairs up with a selection of headphones and earphones.
64 Audio U18t - wide soundstage expansion with a little more depth than width. The signature is balanced with a neutral natural tonality. Bass goes deep and has extra impact. Lower mids have extra body and upper mids/vocals are very detailed and natural in tonality. Treble has a great definition and extension, and overall sound has zero hint of brightness. This pair up delivers a very natural detailed sound with a nicely balanced sig. No hissing.
Campfire Audio Solaris - wide/deep soundstage expansion. The signature here is balanced with a slight hint of a mild v-shaped due to a little extra impact in bass and extra sparkle in treble. Bass impact is quite powerful, not L-shaped elevated, but has an extra dynamic-driver punch that cuts right through the mix, very articulate and fast. Mids are a little more on a leaner and more revealing side, nicely layered with a very good retrieval of details. Treble is crisp and airy, not harsh at all, but has a well control sparkle. The overall tonality here is neutral-revealing with additional fun factor, thanks to quality of bass. There is a very mild waterfall hissing when idling. Very hard to detect, and not audible at all when playback starts.
Campfire Audio Andromeda - wide/deep soundstage expansion, actually even wider than Solaris in this pair up. The signature is balanced for sure, and tonality is smoother and more natural. Bass sounds like it is coming from a dynamic driver, not BA, and bass is smooth, rounded, not as fast as with Solaris. Mids have a little fuller body, sound more natural, smoother, clear and detailed, but not as layered. Treble has nice definition, not as much sparkle, just very natural and detailed. The overall sound is neutral, natural, and smooth. There is a very faint waterfall hissing when idling, but hardly detectable when music is playing.
Fir Audio M5 - wide soundstage expansion with a little more depth than width in this pair up. The signature is slightly v-shaped due to extra impact in low end and more sparkle in treble. Bass has a powerful dynamic driver impact, going deep with a nice rumble and punching hard in mid-bass, fast, articulate, and layered. Lower mids are a little leaner and upper mids/vocals are clear, micro-detailed, layered, a little brighter, and with a slight out of your head presentation. Treble is crisp, airy, extended, and with a fun sparkle. No hissing here.
Empire Ears Legend X - the soundstage here is actually reaching a holographic level due to a wide left/right expansion and the depth expansion. The signature is L-shaped, your typical LX sound, but there is a very interesting phenomenon here. The bass is powerful and goes deep, actually more sub-bass rumble than mid-bass punch, but mids/vocals take the front row, grabbing the main focus of the sound presentation, while the bass is more in the background where you feel the rumble more than you hear it. And the same with treble, being crisp, airy, and well controlled, coming through clear and detailed, along with mids/vocals. Very interesting pair up, and kind of surprising since I don't think I heard LX to have their bass pumping more in the background like I'm hearing here. No hissing.
VE Sun Dice - the soundstage is close to holographic in this pair up. PAW6k had no issue driving these 180ohm earbuds, and I only needed about 50/100 of volume in HG. The overall tonality is smoother and more organic in this pair up, with a balanced signature. Bass has a nice fast punch, mids/vocals are very detailed and a little more forward, smooth, organic. Treble is crisp and has a good definition. Personally, I liked the pair up of Sun Dice with LPGT, and I think these earbuds pair up better with more revealing sources, while PAW6k is a little too smooth for Sun. It's not a bad pair up at all, just smoother and more laidback.
Final Audio A8000 - closer to holographic soundstage expansion, in both width and depth. The overall signature is a little v-shaped with a more revealing tonality. I'm hearing a deep extended sub-bass rumble, fast mid-bass punch, a little north of neutral bass quantity, fuller body lower mids with more organic upper mids/vocals tonality, crisp airy treble which I find to be brighter. Upper frequencies are more revealing and brighter with a slightly colder tonality. No hissing.
Audio-Technica ATH-R70x - open sound with a wide/deep soundstage expansion; of course, you would expect that from open back headphones, but it was also nice to hear that PAW6k wasn't limiting this performance. The signature is balanced, and the tonality is very natural and quite detailed. I was expecting it to be a little smoother, but the retrieval of details here is very impressive, suggesting that PAW6k has no issues driving these 470ohm open back headphones. Bass is not the fastest, but it goes deep with a nice rumble you can hear and feel, and mid-bass has a nice average speed punch. Mids/vocals are natural, detailed, high level of clarity while still sounding organic. Treble is well defined and has a well-controlled amount of sparkle and natural airiness. I really enjoyed this pair up, definitely brings the best in R70x.
Meze Audio Empyrean - open sound with closer to holographic soundstage expansion. The overall signature is balanced and the tonality is neutral and natural, actually quite an organic sound. Bass goes deep, but has more neutral mid-bass punch, and overall low end is slower and smoother. Lower mids have a fuller body and upper mids are very detailed, smooth, natural, soulful. Treble is crisp, well extended, and well defined, has a natural sparkle. I have seen Empyrean sound a little faster and more revealing in some other pair ups, but with PAW6k it had a different, more natural and still quite detailed sound. I actually enjoyed the pair up with these planar magnetic cans.
Wired and Wireless Connections.
In this section of the review I will go over various wired and wireless connections I tested and verified with PAW6k.
Bluetooth DAC - the pair up was effortless, though I didn't see an indicator of BT codec. In BT DAC mode you can use PMEQ and ATE effects. Also, I was able to adjust the volume from my phone (S9) and from PAW6k. Plus, I was able to remotely control my phone (S9) playback with Play/Pause/Skip buttons from PAW6k - verified with HibyMusic app and while streaming with Qobuz. I hear the tonality of the sound to be nearly identical when playing the same track from PAW6k internal storage vs using PAW6k as BT DAC.
According to Lotoo, it doesn't support LDAC in BT DAC mode, only SBC, but they are working to add it soon. Still, as I mentioned already, the sound was close enough between local storage and wireless BT DAC playback.
Bluetooth (w/Senns HD1 M2 IEBT) - hassle free pair up, codec was indicated in BT list. Full dynamic crystal-clear sound, similar to what I'm used to with these from my S9. I can control the volume from PAW6k and from Senns, and I can control playback (Play/Pause/Skip) from Senns remotely. Was able to use headphones about 50ft away from PAW6k in open space with a solid connection. PMEQ/ATE could be used during wireless connection without problem as well.
USB DAC - (S9) fast connection, was using Neutron - the sound was nearly the same as playing from local storage. (T480s Win10 ThinkPad), within minutes device was setup in windows and ready to be used. I was testing with Qobuz on laptop, and to my surprise tonality had a little more transparency and soundstage was wider, noticeable change. ATE effects can be selected when used as USB DAC. While I enjoyed using PAW6k with my phone as BT DAC, I preferred a wired connection from my laptop, not the phone.
USB Digital Audio (as transport with iFi micro iDSD BL) - once connected and even before I turned micro iDSD on, PAW6k recognized USB-OTG cable and asked me if I want to enter USB Audio mode. When I turned micro iDSD on, playback started without a problem. Using PAW6k as a transport and micro iDSD BL as external DAC/amp, the sound I'm hearing now has a more typical tonality of iFi with narrower soundstage and a little thinner mids.
Line Out (w/FiiO E12A portable amp) - Line Out has to be selected as output, depending if you are using BAL or SE external amp. Also, you have the option of either Unfixed LO where you can use volume on PAW6k to control the output in addition to external amp vol control. Or you can select either 0.77Vrms, 1.2Vrms, or 2Vrms fixed LO output where you can control volume from the external amp. This is very convenient, depending on the gain of your amp, so you don't saturate the input and allow wider range of volume change. Plus, with some portable amps without volume control, Unfixed option will allow to control volume from PAW6k.
One interesting observation since I consider E12A to be very neutral, the sound was a little more transparent with less body in mids. This suggests that PAW6k internal head amp adds more body to the sound.
Conclusion.
When I first heard of PAW6k, I was a bit skeptical based on my experience with PAW5k. Doesn’t mean PAW5k was bad, but I clearly remember a much bigger gap between build and sound quality of LPG. PAW6k turned out to be a nice surprise. LPGT is a flagship, and people often ask me if that makes PAW6k to be its mid-fi level counterpart. I honestly can’t say that, and just like I mentioned in the Intro of this review, calling PAW6k a cutdown version of LPGT would be insulting.
Of course, we have to be realistic. No company is going to release a lower model close to their flagship at a fraction of the price because it will kill the sales of the flagship. But Lotoo managed to preserve a nearly identical build quality and functionality, only changing the sound performance. Yes, relative to LPGT, PAW6k doesn’t have as wide soundstage or as high resolution and retrieval of details. But at the same time, PAW6k can go head to head with other higher end models and hold its own.
I actually talked to a number of my readers who found LPGT to be too revealing and analytical for their taste, preferring something smoother and more musical to pair up with their already revealing IEMs. The same people didn’t care about DSD512 support and had a stronger preference for micro SD over SD and for longer battery life. Those are the people who don’t have to give up on their dream of owning LPGT because they can get the same build quality, the same fast OS, the same PEQ and ATE effects, and most of the same bells and whistles of the original Touch at a fraction of the price.