The sound quality is nothing short of stunning. The Paw S1 produces a clean, detailed, and immersive audio experience, with an impressive signal-to-noise ratio and minimal distortion. Whether you're listening to music, watching movies, or gaming, this DAC ensures that every nuance of the audio is crystal clear.
One of the standout features is its support for a wide range of audio formats, including high-resolution formats like DSD and MQA. This versatility ensures that you can enjoy your music in its purest form, regardless of the source.
The build quality is top-notch, with a robust aluminum chassis that feels premium in hand. The user-friendly interface and customizable settings make it easy to fine-tune the sound to your preferences. Plus, the inclusion of both single-ended and balanced outputs adds flexibility to your setup.
While it's an excellent DAC, the Paw S1 does come at a premium price point. However, for serious audiophiles who demand uncompromising audio quality, it's a worthy investment.
In conclusion, even in 2023 the Lotoo Paw S1 DAC impresses with its superb sound quality, format support, and premium build. It's a fantastic choice for those who prioritize audio excellence and are willing to invest in a high-quality DAC for their audio setup.
Attachments
Disclaimer: The unit was provided as a part of a review tour by ConceptKart but all thoughts and opinions are my own. You can purchase the S1 here.
Build Quality
Unassuming looks, picking up the unit instantly conveys its solid all metal build quality. Its got the reassuring heft of metal to it.
There is no doubt in my mind that the S1 is one of the better built dongles out there along with something like the Hidizs S8 with its elegant glass sandwich. The S1 has a full metal jacket.
Functionality
The main attraction of the S1 is the advertised EQ profiles, of which there are plenty to choose from. On deeper digging, a few of these presets work out nicely, the others adding high amounts of distortion and artefacts. I particularly liked the "Headphone" preset with...you guessed it, headphones. It made the sound quite balanced and enjoyable.
It has both 3.5mm and 4.4mm outputs, pushing out 70mW@32 and 120mW@32 respectively. For earphones, there is more headroom than you will ever need. I tried out the 300ohm HD650 to see how it fares off the 3.5mm output. Switching to high gain is mandatory for insensitive big headphones. It drives it just satisfactorily off the 3.5mm output. It does a slightly better job with more headroom off the 4.4mm output.
All things considered, the sound appeared slightly veiled and dull, indicating it does not push enough voltage to drive high impedance headphones. Not unsurprising, given the tiny form factor of this. I would recommend sticking to earphones for the S1 for which it was intended. The connectivity was totally hassle free with driverless plug and play for Windows (tested) and MacOS.
Sound Quality
The sound of the S1 is easily identifiable, in the sense of how it colors the sound. The sound is warm, laid back and smooth. Top end is definitely rolled off but in a natural way. I would like to put it in a different way : the top end is not boosted one bit.
This means cautious pairing, as warm sounding earphones might not play well with the S1. With the rolled off treble and smooth overall sound, you do some fine micro details though. The midrange is lush and full bodied with enough transparency. I would say the bass is mostly natural, aiming for a more "blooming" presentation with its slightly slower decay than push every last texture in your ears. The bass is definitely adequate for all situations.
The presentation of the bass enhances the overall enjoyability. The headstage and separation it provides is mostly natural i.e it depends on the earphone you use. Rest assured, the S1 won't get in the way of your earphones in this aspect.
Conclusion
The S1 is a rare sight in the dongle-verse due to its uncommon sound signature. It has a strong character to its sound which makes it quite memorable. And not to forget the excellent build quality. With the right pairing, this combination will be a match made in heaven.
Build Quality
Unassuming looks, picking up the unit instantly conveys its solid all metal build quality. Its got the reassuring heft of metal to it.
There is no doubt in my mind that the S1 is one of the better built dongles out there along with something like the Hidizs S8 with its elegant glass sandwich. The S1 has a full metal jacket.
Functionality
The main attraction of the S1 is the advertised EQ profiles, of which there are plenty to choose from. On deeper digging, a few of these presets work out nicely, the others adding high amounts of distortion and artefacts. I particularly liked the "Headphone" preset with...you guessed it, headphones. It made the sound quite balanced and enjoyable.
It has both 3.5mm and 4.4mm outputs, pushing out 70mW@32 and 120mW@32 respectively. For earphones, there is more headroom than you will ever need. I tried out the 300ohm HD650 to see how it fares off the 3.5mm output. Switching to high gain is mandatory for insensitive big headphones. It drives it just satisfactorily off the 3.5mm output. It does a slightly better job with more headroom off the 4.4mm output.
All things considered, the sound appeared slightly veiled and dull, indicating it does not push enough voltage to drive high impedance headphones. Not unsurprising, given the tiny form factor of this. I would recommend sticking to earphones for the S1 for which it was intended. The connectivity was totally hassle free with driverless plug and play for Windows (tested) and MacOS.
Sound Quality
The sound of the S1 is easily identifiable, in the sense of how it colors the sound. The sound is warm, laid back and smooth. Top end is definitely rolled off but in a natural way. I would like to put it in a different way : the top end is not boosted one bit.
This means cautious pairing, as warm sounding earphones might not play well with the S1. With the rolled off treble and smooth overall sound, you do some fine micro details though. The midrange is lush and full bodied with enough transparency. I would say the bass is mostly natural, aiming for a more "blooming" presentation with its slightly slower decay than push every last texture in your ears. The bass is definitely adequate for all situations.
The presentation of the bass enhances the overall enjoyability. The headstage and separation it provides is mostly natural i.e it depends on the earphone you use. Rest assured, the S1 won't get in the way of your earphones in this aspect.
Conclusion
The S1 is a rare sight in the dongle-verse due to its uncommon sound signature. It has a strong character to its sound which makes it quite memorable. And not to forget the excellent build quality. With the right pairing, this combination will be a match made in heaven.
Intro:
Lotoo, well known for their Paw 5000 and Paw Gold daps had jumped into the USB dongle market early last year. What's great about a dap maker making a dongle is, they know what the consumer likes and their tuning abilities are much better than those without much experience in the source Market.
The Paw S1 is a very good looking, well equipped user friendly dongle. It has an AKM 4377 DAC chip, even though it's an entry level chip it can do more than what all of us use on daily basis. Keep in mind the DAC doesn't produce power or anything, DAC is the brain, it's the AMP which brings the power and it seems the S1 has a good AMP which is decently powerful.
Get one from here:
https://conceptkart.com/collections/lotoo/products/lotoo-paw-s1-portable-usb-dac-and-amp#
ACCESSORIES AND PACKAGING:
Paw S1 has a small petite cardboard retail box with all the specs and information printed on it.
Unboxing experience is fairly simple. The dongle is first thing out of the box while a type C to C cable and a USB A adapter are stuff in hard foam. There is a warranty card inside the box and that concludes the list of accessories out of the box.
BUILD QUALITY:
I really like the way the S1 looks. It has a small LED display with glass protection while the body is made out of metal. There isn't anything wobbly or unstable about it. It has 3 buttons on it and they have excellent feedback too. The USB cable with fiber braiding on it looks premium and should last longer than most.
SOUND QUALITY:
Paw S1 is a very capable dongle. I love the way it looks a it sounds very good too. I have a few dongles and one with the exact DAC chip too and I know what this AKM4377 chip is capable of. Lotoo has tuned things nicely and the built-in EQ system is a refreshing addition to spice things up. Unlike others these EQs are different from each other without sounding unnatural or stressed. They add the required flavoring while the stock tuning is slightly warmer and fuller than the more accurate and similarly equipped HUD 100 MK2.
The sound signature is slightly tilted towards providing a fun yet accurate sound. The whole spectrum has excellent agility and clarity with very good details.
The lower end is not flat like HUD 100 MK2 and is a bit fuller than the Qudelix 5k giving it a more rounded and satisfying feel. It has very good sub bass extension but I do feel a bit of rumble is missing while the mid bass is responsible for the fuller and meatier body. It doesn't lack much details but it doesn't have the extra texture of the HUD 100 MK2 or Qudelix 5k. The decay speed is slightly slower, providing the notes a more appropriate body while the other two can sound a bit thin and less intriguing.
Mid range is where the S1 excels. It has one of the best vocals, both male and female vocals sound pleasing with excellent texture and body. Male vocals have nice throaty feel while the female vocals are accurately sharp. I definitely would have liked a bit more consistency when it comes to emphasis across the spectrum as it starts to get a bit wobbly just after the vocals. The upper mids and lower treble are the most affected regions where two notes of same guitar have different dynamics, timber and energy. It definitely will love to see a improvement there. It doesn't lack details or clarity and doesn't have peaks to be wary of. Treble region is where the competition pulls ahead. Both the HUD 100 MK2 and Qudelix 5k have been consistency and energy till the end while the S1 doesn't excels with both extension and upper treble energy.
Layering and separation is not a weak point of this dongle but does have a bit of wider base making the floor sound slightly less spacious.
Pairing with IEMs:
With KBear Neon:
Neon is a single BA based IEM but is slightly tricky to drive. It can handle a lot of power and the Paw S1 has plenty of it even with the 3.5mm output. I find this pairing to be very good. S1 brings out the finer details in the mid range while expanding the stage in every direction. Use a bassy EQ and the Neon is not analytical anymore. Its lack of upper treble definition doesn't help the Neon but that is okay.
Campfire Mammoth:
This IEM pairs really well with the S1. Both complement each other. The slight lack of finishing definition of the mid range instruments are more defined now. It does tighten up the lower end but then the availability of EQ makes up for it without much problem. The treble region of the Mammoth is very good and the S1 adds some of its resolution to it making this pairing very enjoyable. Both are not excellent with upper treble region and this is where the S1 is gives in the Mammoth.
COMPARISON:
VS Qudelix 5k and HUD 100 Mk2:
CONCLUSION:
Paw S1 is a very capable DAC/Amp with a sturdy build quality. Sound quality is very good at $150 but there is more accurate and cleaner sounding DAC/Amps in the market, known as Qudelix 5k. What sets this apart is S1's set of built in EQs, it's a bonus addition which helps with flexibility. Unlike most EQs this set of EQ are very good while having their own flavor.
The biggest advantage of the Paw S1 is its 4.4mm balanced output. There aren't many DAC/Amps available here in India with this termination making it a lot more desirable.
Lotoo, well known for their Paw 5000 and Paw Gold daps had jumped into the USB dongle market early last year. What's great about a dap maker making a dongle is, they know what the consumer likes and their tuning abilities are much better than those without much experience in the source Market.
The Paw S1 is a very good looking, well equipped user friendly dongle. It has an AKM 4377 DAC chip, even though it's an entry level chip it can do more than what all of us use on daily basis. Keep in mind the DAC doesn't produce power or anything, DAC is the brain, it's the AMP which brings the power and it seems the S1 has a good AMP which is decently powerful.
Get one from here:
https://conceptkart.com/collections/lotoo/products/lotoo-paw-s1-portable-usb-dac-and-amp#
ACCESSORIES AND PACKAGING:
Paw S1 has a small petite cardboard retail box with all the specs and information printed on it.
Unboxing experience is fairly simple. The dongle is first thing out of the box while a type C to C cable and a USB A adapter are stuff in hard foam. There is a warranty card inside the box and that concludes the list of accessories out of the box.
BUILD QUALITY:
I really like the way the S1 looks. It has a small LED display with glass protection while the body is made out of metal. There isn't anything wobbly or unstable about it. It has 3 buttons on it and they have excellent feedback too. The USB cable with fiber braiding on it looks premium and should last longer than most.
SOUND QUALITY:
Paw S1 is a very capable dongle. I love the way it looks a it sounds very good too. I have a few dongles and one with the exact DAC chip too and I know what this AKM4377 chip is capable of. Lotoo has tuned things nicely and the built-in EQ system is a refreshing addition to spice things up. Unlike others these EQs are different from each other without sounding unnatural or stressed. They add the required flavoring while the stock tuning is slightly warmer and fuller than the more accurate and similarly equipped HUD 100 MK2.
The sound signature is slightly tilted towards providing a fun yet accurate sound. The whole spectrum has excellent agility and clarity with very good details.
The lower end is not flat like HUD 100 MK2 and is a bit fuller than the Qudelix 5k giving it a more rounded and satisfying feel. It has very good sub bass extension but I do feel a bit of rumble is missing while the mid bass is responsible for the fuller and meatier body. It doesn't lack much details but it doesn't have the extra texture of the HUD 100 MK2 or Qudelix 5k. The decay speed is slightly slower, providing the notes a more appropriate body while the other two can sound a bit thin and less intriguing.
Mid range is where the S1 excels. It has one of the best vocals, both male and female vocals sound pleasing with excellent texture and body. Male vocals have nice throaty feel while the female vocals are accurately sharp. I definitely would have liked a bit more consistency when it comes to emphasis across the spectrum as it starts to get a bit wobbly just after the vocals. The upper mids and lower treble are the most affected regions where two notes of same guitar have different dynamics, timber and energy. It definitely will love to see a improvement there. It doesn't lack details or clarity and doesn't have peaks to be wary of. Treble region is where the competition pulls ahead. Both the HUD 100 MK2 and Qudelix 5k have been consistency and energy till the end while the S1 doesn't excels with both extension and upper treble energy.
Layering and separation is not a weak point of this dongle but does have a bit of wider base making the floor sound slightly less spacious.
Pairing with IEMs:
With KBear Neon:
Neon is a single BA based IEM but is slightly tricky to drive. It can handle a lot of power and the Paw S1 has plenty of it even with the 3.5mm output. I find this pairing to be very good. S1 brings out the finer details in the mid range while expanding the stage in every direction. Use a bassy EQ and the Neon is not analytical anymore. Its lack of upper treble definition doesn't help the Neon but that is okay.
Campfire Mammoth:
This IEM pairs really well with the S1. Both complement each other. The slight lack of finishing definition of the mid range instruments are more defined now. It does tighten up the lower end but then the availability of EQ makes up for it without much problem. The treble region of the Mammoth is very good and the S1 adds some of its resolution to it making this pairing very enjoyable. Both are not excellent with upper treble region and this is where the S1 is gives in the Mammoth.
COMPARISON:
VS Qudelix 5k and HUD 100 Mk2:
CONCLUSION:
Paw S1 is a very capable DAC/Amp with a sturdy build quality. Sound quality is very good at $150 but there is more accurate and cleaner sounding DAC/Amps in the market, known as Qudelix 5k. What sets this apart is S1's set of built in EQs, it's a bonus addition which helps with flexibility. Unlike most EQs this set of EQ are very good while having their own flavor.
The biggest advantage of the Paw S1 is its 4.4mm balanced output. There aren't many DAC/Amps available here in India with this termination making it a lot more desirable.
Attachments
INTRODUCTION:
Lotoo, an emerging brand based out of China. Founded in 1999, Lotoo has focused primarily on professional audio recorders and entered into the audio player market 15 years after their start. To enter the budget DAC AMP segment they have released a product named PAW S1 to go against the competitors. The budget DAC AMP segment is already a hot place since there are heavy competitions and as a new contender the PAW S1 has been introduced and in this review let’s see how this product stacks up against the competitors.
DISCLAIMER:
This unit has been provided to me as a part of a review circle conducted by the WWW.CONCEPTKART.COM and a big thanks to the team for organising this and considering me in their review circle. This review is completely based on my experience with this product and by no means have I been influenced by the brand to manipulate this review. The views differ from person to person based on the source and gear used to test out the product. In case if you are interested in purchasing this product follow the link: https://conceptkart.com/products/lotoo-paw-s1-portable-usb-dac-and-amp?variant=39279334948938
SPECIFICATIONS:
DAC chip: AKM AK4377
PCM Decoding up to 32-Bit/384kHz, DSD up to DSD128 Natively.
Dual Output Ports, 3.5mm Single-Ended, 4.4mm Balanced.
Output Power(3.5mm): 70mW/ch @ 32 Ohms.
Output Power(4.4mm): 120mW/ch @ 32 Ohms.
Frequency Response Range: 20Hz-20kHz.
Signal to Noise Ratio(3.5mm): 123dB.
Signal to Noise Ratio(4.4mm): 122dB.
Noise Level(3.5mm): -118dBu.
Noise Level(4.4mm): -114dBu
OLED Display with 128x32 display resolution.
Dual Gain Mode: Low and High Gain.
THD+N(Low Gain): -106dB(0.0005%).
THD+N(High Gain): -108dB(0.0004%).
OS: LTOS.
Firmware Update: Supported
DESIGN AND BUILD:
The design of the Paw S1 is very compact and elegant. The whole chassis is made out of aluminium and feels very premium in the hands. The cold touch of the metal gives a nice feel while holding and the good thing is it doesn’t get warm even after several hours of usage!
The front panel has a black and white OLED display and its very good indeed. It shows the filter mode, bit rate and the volume. These things can be adjusted via the buttons given on the side of the product.
The top end has the usb port and the bottom end has the balanced and unbalanced port for connecting the headphones. The unit gets powered without connecting any headphones hence the battery drain in the smartphone is quite high.
PACKAGE:
1U PAW S1
1U Type-C OTG cable, Type-C to Lightning Cable, 1U USB Adapter
SOUND:
All the observations were made using the stock none eq mode and by changing the filters and EQ you can explore more sound profiles.
The Lotoo Paw S1 is powered by the AKM 4377 Chipset and is widely known for its dynamism and clean sound output. This chip has been used in many budget dongles and got many praises from the consumers. The Paw S1 has been implemented with a different strategy and they have designed this DAC to utilise the complete potential of the chip.
The noise floor is pretty null in the low gain mode but in the high gain mode the noise can be heard but only with pretty sensitive IEM’s.
The power output is not that high and in the single ended mode the output is same as that of the normal budget dongles and in the balanced mode the power output is slightly higher but not that high where it can power some high impedance headphones.
There is also a high gain mode which gives some more headroom for volume but it does raises the noise floor too and with sensitive IEMs they are pretty noticeable
LOW END:
The Paw S1 may look like a tiny machine but this can bring a dynamic change in the sound. The low end is smooth and richer in Paw S1. Especially if you pair it with the bright to neutral sounding earphones this thing makes them a complete monster! The low end this pumps out is very rich in timbre and separation. The control and the depth got improved a lot and the sub bass presence got more peppier. The separation in between the instruments are very much improved and the texture this brings out in the low end is impeccable.
MID RANGE:
The mid range is beautifully rendered by the Paw S1. The earphones that have that on the face vocals will get nicely benefited from the Paw S1. The S1 brings the vocals to a sweet spot by pushing them slightly back but not affecting the instruments positioning. The tonality and the timbre are cleanly maintained by the Paw S1. The separation and the clarity in the midrange got slightly improved with extra sense of depth in the soundstage.
TREBLE:
The treble in the Paw S1 does not affect that much. The extensions remain the same but the separation and the clarity again got improved noticeably. The smoothness in the high end got better and the texture of the lower treble got even better and removed that graininess. It is safe to say that this doesn’t affect the high end in the wrong way thus making the whole exaggeration thing rather it kept it as it is but improved the technicalities. Now it allows the earphone to breathe a good amount of air in the high end keeping the timbre of the instruments on point.
PAIRINGS:
HZ HEART MIRROR: With this IEM you can instantly notice the difference between being a bright earphone when paired with the Paw S1. This IEM now has the thing that I thought it lacked! Now the low end is more punchier and impactful than the stock. They are not overly boosted to the extent of muddy but now got very impactful and weightier by maintaining that speed and the tightness.
The midrange slightly takes a step back but at a sweet spot for me. It’s like the listener sitting in the second row hence the singer is not just in right of the face which is a very good thing because due to this the depth of the soundstage got even improved. The instruments however don't take the hit of very laid back positioning rather they are in the sweet spot too. The natural tonality and timbre of the HZ is perfectly maintained by the Paw S1.
The highs doesn’t take any big change here. The clarity and the separation remains the same. Of Course the treble end got a little bit smoother and didn't affect the amazing treble response of the stock HZ which is a very good thing.
SEE AUDIO BRAVERY: This is one another IEM that got benefited with this Paw S1. The Bravery is known for its clean and neutral tonality. Despite being an All BA it is able to maintain that tonality and timbre like a champ. The Paw S1 in this case also didn’t affect that part but improved in other aspects like the low end again.
The Bravery is not the best in low end since its mid bass focused but this Paw S1 just made the low end even more impactful by giving it the taste of sub bass. It’s not that huge but still they sound. It also maintains that clean and quality low end of the Bravery as it is tuned.
The midrange now got the same step back in vocals giving a nice sense of depth and the clarity got improved. The instruments now do sound the same but that BA timbre got slightly masked out. The highs are now as the same stock sound, the extension is good but the separation and the airiness got very much improved giving the Bravery a grand presentation overall.
VERDICT:
The PAW S1, the latest offering from the Lotoo brand, is a very good all-rounder package. It ticks all the boxes that a budget dongle dac should have. From the design, build and to the sound they are a solid deal in this market. With the added beauty of customisable filters this thing makes itself a unique product in this price point.
Beautifully crafted, elegant display, independent volume control, customisable filers, adequate power, one of the best DAC chips with best implementation and the features just goes on! They sound excellent too without any added colouration. They make boring earphones into a very dynamic package by improving all the aspects of the sound from the staging to the technicalities. This mini dongle is truly a LEGIT KING in the mid tier budget dongle market!
Lotoo, an emerging brand based out of China. Founded in 1999, Lotoo has focused primarily on professional audio recorders and entered into the audio player market 15 years after their start. To enter the budget DAC AMP segment they have released a product named PAW S1 to go against the competitors. The budget DAC AMP segment is already a hot place since there are heavy competitions and as a new contender the PAW S1 has been introduced and in this review let’s see how this product stacks up against the competitors.
DISCLAIMER:
This unit has been provided to me as a part of a review circle conducted by the WWW.CONCEPTKART.COM and a big thanks to the team for organising this and considering me in their review circle. This review is completely based on my experience with this product and by no means have I been influenced by the brand to manipulate this review. The views differ from person to person based on the source and gear used to test out the product. In case if you are interested in purchasing this product follow the link: https://conceptkart.com/products/lotoo-paw-s1-portable-usb-dac-and-amp?variant=39279334948938
SPECIFICATIONS:
DAC chip: AKM AK4377
PCM Decoding up to 32-Bit/384kHz, DSD up to DSD128 Natively.
Dual Output Ports, 3.5mm Single-Ended, 4.4mm Balanced.
Output Power(3.5mm): 70mW/ch @ 32 Ohms.
Output Power(4.4mm): 120mW/ch @ 32 Ohms.
Frequency Response Range: 20Hz-20kHz.
Signal to Noise Ratio(3.5mm): 123dB.
Signal to Noise Ratio(4.4mm): 122dB.
Noise Level(3.5mm): -118dBu.
Noise Level(4.4mm): -114dBu
OLED Display with 128x32 display resolution.
Dual Gain Mode: Low and High Gain.
THD+N(Low Gain): -106dB(0.0005%).
THD+N(High Gain): -108dB(0.0004%).
OS: LTOS.
Firmware Update: Supported
DESIGN AND BUILD:
The design of the Paw S1 is very compact and elegant. The whole chassis is made out of aluminium and feels very premium in the hands. The cold touch of the metal gives a nice feel while holding and the good thing is it doesn’t get warm even after several hours of usage!
The front panel has a black and white OLED display and its very good indeed. It shows the filter mode, bit rate and the volume. These things can be adjusted via the buttons given on the side of the product.
The top end has the usb port and the bottom end has the balanced and unbalanced port for connecting the headphones. The unit gets powered without connecting any headphones hence the battery drain in the smartphone is quite high.
PACKAGE:
1U PAW S1
1U Type-C OTG cable, Type-C to Lightning Cable, 1U USB Adapter
SOUND:
All the observations were made using the stock none eq mode and by changing the filters and EQ you can explore more sound profiles.
The Lotoo Paw S1 is powered by the AKM 4377 Chipset and is widely known for its dynamism and clean sound output. This chip has been used in many budget dongles and got many praises from the consumers. The Paw S1 has been implemented with a different strategy and they have designed this DAC to utilise the complete potential of the chip.
The noise floor is pretty null in the low gain mode but in the high gain mode the noise can be heard but only with pretty sensitive IEM’s.
The power output is not that high and in the single ended mode the output is same as that of the normal budget dongles and in the balanced mode the power output is slightly higher but not that high where it can power some high impedance headphones.
There is also a high gain mode which gives some more headroom for volume but it does raises the noise floor too and with sensitive IEMs they are pretty noticeable
LOW END:
The Paw S1 may look like a tiny machine but this can bring a dynamic change in the sound. The low end is smooth and richer in Paw S1. Especially if you pair it with the bright to neutral sounding earphones this thing makes them a complete monster! The low end this pumps out is very rich in timbre and separation. The control and the depth got improved a lot and the sub bass presence got more peppier. The separation in between the instruments are very much improved and the texture this brings out in the low end is impeccable.
MID RANGE:
The mid range is beautifully rendered by the Paw S1. The earphones that have that on the face vocals will get nicely benefited from the Paw S1. The S1 brings the vocals to a sweet spot by pushing them slightly back but not affecting the instruments positioning. The tonality and the timbre are cleanly maintained by the Paw S1. The separation and the clarity in the midrange got slightly improved with extra sense of depth in the soundstage.
TREBLE:
The treble in the Paw S1 does not affect that much. The extensions remain the same but the separation and the clarity again got improved noticeably. The smoothness in the high end got better and the texture of the lower treble got even better and removed that graininess. It is safe to say that this doesn’t affect the high end in the wrong way thus making the whole exaggeration thing rather it kept it as it is but improved the technicalities. Now it allows the earphone to breathe a good amount of air in the high end keeping the timbre of the instruments on point.
PAIRINGS:
HZ HEART MIRROR: With this IEM you can instantly notice the difference between being a bright earphone when paired with the Paw S1. This IEM now has the thing that I thought it lacked! Now the low end is more punchier and impactful than the stock. They are not overly boosted to the extent of muddy but now got very impactful and weightier by maintaining that speed and the tightness.
The midrange slightly takes a step back but at a sweet spot for me. It’s like the listener sitting in the second row hence the singer is not just in right of the face which is a very good thing because due to this the depth of the soundstage got even improved. The instruments however don't take the hit of very laid back positioning rather they are in the sweet spot too. The natural tonality and timbre of the HZ is perfectly maintained by the Paw S1.
The highs doesn’t take any big change here. The clarity and the separation remains the same. Of Course the treble end got a little bit smoother and didn't affect the amazing treble response of the stock HZ which is a very good thing.
SEE AUDIO BRAVERY: This is one another IEM that got benefited with this Paw S1. The Bravery is known for its clean and neutral tonality. Despite being an All BA it is able to maintain that tonality and timbre like a champ. The Paw S1 in this case also didn’t affect that part but improved in other aspects like the low end again.
The Bravery is not the best in low end since its mid bass focused but this Paw S1 just made the low end even more impactful by giving it the taste of sub bass. It’s not that huge but still they sound. It also maintains that clean and quality low end of the Bravery as it is tuned.
The midrange now got the same step back in vocals giving a nice sense of depth and the clarity got improved. The instruments now do sound the same but that BA timbre got slightly masked out. The highs are now as the same stock sound, the extension is good but the separation and the airiness got very much improved giving the Bravery a grand presentation overall.
VERDICT:
The PAW S1, the latest offering from the Lotoo brand, is a very good all-rounder package. It ticks all the boxes that a budget dongle dac should have. From the design, build and to the sound they are a solid deal in this market. With the added beauty of customisable filters this thing makes itself a unique product in this price point.
Beautifully crafted, elegant display, independent volume control, customisable filers, adequate power, one of the best DAC chips with best implementation and the features just goes on! They sound excellent too without any added colouration. They make boring earphones into a very dynamic package by improving all the aspects of the sound from the staging to the technicalities. This mini dongle is truly a LEGIT KING in the mid tier budget dongle market!
Introduction:
Portability is the need of current time and a powerful USB Amp DAC is kindling desire of every audiophile who cannot carry their beloved desktop setup everywhere. I am a victim of this problem myself. This USB Amp DAC by Lotoo solves that purpose beautifully while giving a remarkable listening experience.
In a thickness of mere 13mm and a length equivalent to a big pen drive, Paw S1 packs in itself a plethora of features. Lotoo, an audio brand of Infomedia, is a well-established name in Audio industry. Paw S1 is a well-deserved addition in their current lineup. Paw S1 comes in a sleek black box with a model and its name stylishly displayed on the front side, the other sides of the box display technical features and other relevant information about the product.
Inside the box, one would find the unit along with an USB type-c to USB type-c OTG cable, manual and warranty card. The device has a classy black aluminum body with a little display screen on the front side. The design is futuristic with all the important processing information like volume , equalizer stats displayed on this screen. It has both 3.5mm and 4.4 mm output making it useful for a variety of headphones and earphones. The overall feel of this unit is premium and gets one excited to use this along with phone or laptop to upgrade the standard listening experience.
Disclaimer:
I have received as part of review circle sent from Conceptkart in exchange of honest reviews. All impressions of sound are subjective to my own listening and my sources and is based on my experience with DAC/AMPs of similar hardware configurations and price range. One can purchase same using the following link:
Specifications:
DAC Chip : AKM AK4377
Supported Format: PCM 32K-384KHz DSD64/DSD128
Weight/Size: 27.10g, 66mm x 22mmx 13mm
Max Output: 3.5mm:70mW/ch @32Ω 4.4mm:120mW/ch @32Ω
Output Port: 3.5mm Unbalanced and 4.4mm Balanced
USB Port: USB Type C
Noise Level: 3.5mm: -118dBu 4.4mm: -114dBu
Screen: OLED 128x32
THD+N : Low gain: 106dB(0.0005%) High gain: 108dB(0.0004%)
S/N: 3.5mm: 123dB and 4.4mm: 122dB
Pairing:
The device is well capable of Plug and Play and can be paired to all variety of devices out there be it Android Phones/Tablets, Iphone/IPAD or PC. During my testing it worked flawless on all streaming platform out there flawlessly be it Tidal, Qobuz or Apple Music. Standard USB to USB-C connector for PC has been provided in the box along with a USB-C to USB-C cable. USB-C to lightening cable can be purchased separately as it's not a part of the bundle.
For my testing the S1 has been paired to my laptop, Vivo X50pro and Samsung s6 lite Tab. I really loved the pairing it had with Fiio FD5 and Hifiman HE400i_2020. I was amazed to see such beautiful tonality and dynamics from a dongle at such price point. Overall the tuning I would say is from neutral to warm side and the sound is very much organic that one can expect out of a dongle. There is not much difference in single ended and 4.4 balanced output in terms of tonality, but 4.4 connection does feel slightly more powerful with bit more dark background.
Highs:
Treble response is towards the neutral side and has a sense of airiness to it. The dynamics and detailing is top notch and can easily compete to lot of mid-fi DAPs out there. The overall tuning in treble region is towards the relaxing side on stock conditions but different EQ presets can help one change that particular tuning factor.
Mids:
The mids and vocal notes are weighted and maintains quite high resolution. Vocals are quite prominent and have a very smooth transaction. It has a very musical feel to it with all the emotions in the mids. The timber and tonality is very rich and has lush factor to it. The upper mids felt having bit more energy making it quite resolving.
Lows:
The bass response is very good with S1. The mid bass has good energy and is like a bliss for some of the mid bass centric IEMs out there. The sub bass is also quite prominent and doesn’t feel lack of energy at all giving a decent rumble. The bass response is dynamic and very much textured and has a very nice feel good factor to it.
Technicalities:
The separation is very good along with fine imaging. The staging feels very good. The width I would say is average but what amazed me is the depth and the height specially while using the Movie EQ for watching some Netflix and stuff.
Final verdict:
I have used Dragonfly black and red a lot but I would say Kudos to Lotoo for delivery such a versatile dongle at this price range. I really loved the overall design, screen and the sound tonality of the device. I have not felt any power limitation using it and in my honest opinion this dongle is capable of giving heads on competition to a lot of mid-fi DAPs out there. Only downside that I have observed is bit of network interference that could be due to unshielded cable as well but I am not sure on that part. The power consumption is also minimal, I have not observed any major drains while use power hungry IEM/Headphones over high gain setting. The overall sound signature is musical and can works very to predefined equalizers. I enjoyed the EQ presets a lot for different use cases such as watching movies, playing games or simply listen to music. I am definitely going to buy this one for my day to day use.
Portability is the need of current time and a powerful USB Amp DAC is kindling desire of every audiophile who cannot carry their beloved desktop setup everywhere. I am a victim of this problem myself. This USB Amp DAC by Lotoo solves that purpose beautifully while giving a remarkable listening experience.
In a thickness of mere 13mm and a length equivalent to a big pen drive, Paw S1 packs in itself a plethora of features. Lotoo, an audio brand of Infomedia, is a well-established name in Audio industry. Paw S1 is a well-deserved addition in their current lineup. Paw S1 comes in a sleek black box with a model and its name stylishly displayed on the front side, the other sides of the box display technical features and other relevant information about the product.
Inside the box, one would find the unit along with an USB type-c to USB type-c OTG cable, manual and warranty card. The device has a classy black aluminum body with a little display screen on the front side. The design is futuristic with all the important processing information like volume , equalizer stats displayed on this screen. It has both 3.5mm and 4.4 mm output making it useful for a variety of headphones and earphones. The overall feel of this unit is premium and gets one excited to use this along with phone or laptop to upgrade the standard listening experience.
Disclaimer:
I have received as part of review circle sent from Conceptkart in exchange of honest reviews. All impressions of sound are subjective to my own listening and my sources and is based on my experience with DAC/AMPs of similar hardware configurations and price range. One can purchase same using the following link:
Specifications:
DAC Chip : AKM AK4377
Supported Format: PCM 32K-384KHz DSD64/DSD128
Weight/Size: 27.10g, 66mm x 22mmx 13mm
Max Output: 3.5mm:70mW/ch @32Ω 4.4mm:120mW/ch @32Ω
Output Port: 3.5mm Unbalanced and 4.4mm Balanced
USB Port: USB Type C
Noise Level: 3.5mm: -118dBu 4.4mm: -114dBu
Screen: OLED 128x32
THD+N : Low gain: 106dB(0.0005%) High gain: 108dB(0.0004%)
S/N: 3.5mm: 123dB and 4.4mm: 122dB
Pairing:
The device is well capable of Plug and Play and can be paired to all variety of devices out there be it Android Phones/Tablets, Iphone/IPAD or PC. During my testing it worked flawless on all streaming platform out there flawlessly be it Tidal, Qobuz or Apple Music. Standard USB to USB-C connector for PC has been provided in the box along with a USB-C to USB-C cable. USB-C to lightening cable can be purchased separately as it's not a part of the bundle.
For my testing the S1 has been paired to my laptop, Vivo X50pro and Samsung s6 lite Tab. I really loved the pairing it had with Fiio FD5 and Hifiman HE400i_2020. I was amazed to see such beautiful tonality and dynamics from a dongle at such price point. Overall the tuning I would say is from neutral to warm side and the sound is very much organic that one can expect out of a dongle. There is not much difference in single ended and 4.4 balanced output in terms of tonality, but 4.4 connection does feel slightly more powerful with bit more dark background.
Highs:
Treble response is towards the neutral side and has a sense of airiness to it. The dynamics and detailing is top notch and can easily compete to lot of mid-fi DAPs out there. The overall tuning in treble region is towards the relaxing side on stock conditions but different EQ presets can help one change that particular tuning factor.
Mids:
The mids and vocal notes are weighted and maintains quite high resolution. Vocals are quite prominent and have a very smooth transaction. It has a very musical feel to it with all the emotions in the mids. The timber and tonality is very rich and has lush factor to it. The upper mids felt having bit more energy making it quite resolving.
Lows:
The bass response is very good with S1. The mid bass has good energy and is like a bliss for some of the mid bass centric IEMs out there. The sub bass is also quite prominent and doesn’t feel lack of energy at all giving a decent rumble. The bass response is dynamic and very much textured and has a very nice feel good factor to it.
Technicalities:
The separation is very good along with fine imaging. The staging feels very good. The width I would say is average but what amazed me is the depth and the height specially while using the Movie EQ for watching some Netflix and stuff.
Final verdict:
I have used Dragonfly black and red a lot but I would say Kudos to Lotoo for delivery such a versatile dongle at this price range. I really loved the overall design, screen and the sound tonality of the device. I have not felt any power limitation using it and in my honest opinion this dongle is capable of giving heads on competition to a lot of mid-fi DAPs out there. Only downside that I have observed is bit of network interference that could be due to unshielded cable as well but I am not sure on that part. The power consumption is also minimal, I have not observed any major drains while use power hungry IEM/Headphones over high gain setting. The overall sound signature is musical and can works very to predefined equalizers. I enjoyed the EQ presets a lot for different use cases such as watching movies, playing games or simply listen to music. I am definitely going to buy this one for my day to day use.
LOTOO PAW S1
Lotoo needs no introduction. They are well known now for their Lotoo paw 6000 dap and it has created waves in the audiophile community. But today, I get to try one of their cheaper offerings which has been making a name for itself in the industry- The LOTOO PAW S1.
DISCLAIMER- The LOTOO PAW S1 is provided by the courtesy of Conceptkart as part of review tour in INDIA. But this subjective review of mine are my own thoughts and I am not being paid anything to say positive or negative about this dongle. That said I want to thank Conceptkart for giving me an opportunity to hear it!!! You can find a link to buy them here
SPECIFICATIONS-
I will let the photos do the talking-
BUILD AND SIZE-
The build is pretty dense. It’s an all-metal build with somewhat of a matte finish, might easily scratch. But the OLED screen is an awesome addition and makes it much better for the viewing angle. The screen goes off pretty fast but this is better for the long run if you know about burn in which plagues OLED screens. Size is pretty small and easily pocketable but its as long as BTR5.
There are 3 buttons- Two for volume up and down and also circling through the menu ; one more for menu options change
ACCESSORIES-
It’s pretty straight forward, plug it in to your Android phone, IPAD, iphone or PC and it just works. You need to provide exclusive access in ROON or tidal app on PC for it to work properly at the required bitrate and frequency. In android, I used UAPP with tidal access and it just worked flawlessly. In IPAD, just plug and play with apple music and in IPHONE, same as IPAD.
Now the best thing about this tiny little device, is the EQ. Some devices take EQ pretty nicely some don’t, but given your mood it’s the best way to change a sound signature. For nearly all the iems and HP’s I tried, all took EQ pretty nicely and the underlying nature of the dongle didn’t change much from device to device.
POWAH-
Now the low gain isn’t pretty much powerful but the high gain is decent. The 4.4 pentaconn is much more powerful than the 3.5mm but the sound characteristics remains the same. There is slightly better energy and more background clearance overall. The overall powah is little less though.
NOTE- MY SOURCE IS- PAWS1
and MANY IEMS and 1 HP.
SOUND SIGNATURE (P.S-This is subjective and may not match with yours
)
BASS AND SUBBASS-
Ohh!!! I am really happy with this tiny little thing haha!!! This has great tonality with above average timbre which is really difficult to see at this price point
. The decay is slightly faster than natural but unless you haven’t tried something more organic, this will be your thing pretty much. The bass is not too tight but slightly more on the thicker and little loose side which I like, and feels more natural. The mid bass energy is pretty good and does deliver a punch and not at the cost of sub-bass. The bass dynamics are also pretty good and it doesn’t feel boring. More inter-notes separation and inter-instrumental separation with more texture is preferred, but for the price you getting this, I won’t consider this a con at all
.
Sub-bass is awesome with good amounts of rumble. The rumble feeling is not too much exaggerated compared to the bass. The tonality is excellent and it is textured. The sub-bass is dynamic though with good coherency with the bass and mids. Does the bass and sub-bass provide atmospheric feeling? Nope, that’s something I felt lacking even when trying my clears.
MIDS-
Mids are really good in this iem. They have great tonality and good dynamics overall. They have good microdetails and notes contrast is slightly lacking but still pretty good. The notes have slightly more musical feel to them due to good height that each notes reach overall in the soundstage. The decay is pretty good, more on the natural side lending a good deal of timbre and realism
. The notes are on the balanced side with good beginnings but lack a little edge definition. The inter-notes separation is decent but inter-instrumental separation is much more excellent. Vocals, both male and female are pretty great. They are more foreward than the rest of the instruments in the mids. They have good extension overall and non-grainy at all. The tonal difference is pretty much better too. The transparency is above its pay grade for sure but its excellent with reverbs coming at you pretty nicely. Upper mids- lower treble seems to have a little too much energy but not overly sharp though. Overall, a damn good experience. Did I forget something, yes, this thing felt more musical than any I have tried yet!
TREBLE-
This is the fun part of this thing. The lower treble has a slightly more energy than upper treble or mid treble giving hi-hats a slightly brighter than required feeling, but it’s still not sharp and really good for the overall detailed presentation of this small dongle. But the upper treble is really good, there is great tonality and dynamics. There is some air in the wind instruments like trumpets and they do sound great. A little more inter-notes separation would be more preferred. The notes are well defined but lack edge definition but the beginnings of the notes with body are much more distinct. The transparency is great with good number of micro details. The treble though overall compared to mids lacks energy making it feel more mid focussed. The treble does come through though which is a great thing but it does feel a few points less powerful than mids
But I still like this presentation as it took time and many changes of iems and headphones to be able to point it out haha, so pretty difficult to point it out.
HEADSTAGE, IMAGING, SEPARATION AND RESOLUTION-
Head stage is pretty good with lots of height and depth, but lacks in width. There is though some sonic headroom left still. There is not much layering going on but it still manages to keep instruments well separated. The inter-instrumental separation is much better overall and really pushing any other dongle at this price range, to have a run for its money. The imaging is okay, I didn’t expect much but its average but does a decent job. The resolution is good and it really works great with highly resolving iems/headphones.
PAIRINGS-
PAW S1 and FOCAL Clear
Now the inherent sound quality of the PAW S1 does come through, with the upper mids providing more energy to the clears, but clear handles them pretty nicely. The clear is inherently much more separated so that is not big of a problem, but the added timbre and also musicality helps clear reach a further level altogether over using something like BTR5. The pairing is really good and I whole heartedly recommend it. EQ is also handled pretty nicely and the sweet EQ made more sense since the Clears have some spikes in the treble region which makes it difficult to handle sometimes.
NOTE- Gain- high and vol-45-50, makes it have good loudness in Skyfall-song.
PAW S1 and VE 7
The VE7 has a neutral and flat signature so adding a musical dongle is for the best. This theory stands true with this pairing, there is more dynamism and notes contrast added which makes it livelier. Timbre isn’t much more exaggerated but still lovely to listen to. This did also take the EQ well without any distortion.
NOTE- Gain- high and vol-15-20, makes it have good loudness in Skyfall-song.
PAW S1 and MEST Mk2
Now this pairing I thought would make more sense, since MEST MK2 has something of a tuning similar to FOCAL Clears with slightly MEST MK2 being on the analytical side. But unlike my expectations, this sounded okayish type. There was loss of vocal balance and control (it became too forward) and these sounded a little sharper in upper mids than needed. The dynamics and musicality were good but it became limited to certain genres only but there was added thickness and more timbre which made it more in line for instrumentals and solo vocals.
NOTE- Gain- high and vol-30-40, makes it have good loudness in Skyfall-song.
PAW S1 and SHOZY POLA
Now this pairing was much better than MEST MK2, the Pola loved the extra bass natural timbre and with the Pola’s accentuated atmospheric feeling, this made it much better. The forward vocals added makes the Pola’s midrange more forward and balanced, hence makes this more musical and beautiful to listen to. So worth the pairing for sure.
NOTE- Gain- High and vol- 45-55, makes it have good loudness in Skyfall- song.
PAW S1 and GRACE
Grace and Paw S1 pairing is pretty good. There is more musicality and notes height contrast added. The Grace surely does love some more timbre in bass from PAW S1 and its pretty good in that sense.
NOTE- Gain- High and vol- 20-35, makes it have good loudness in Skyfall- song.
PAW S1 and BLON 03
Blon 03 loves Paw S1, the added timbre and bass definition really helps. They have an increased musicality and they synergise well with each other. There is though slight midbass encroachment in some recordings probably a slightly wider soundstage will help blons again.
NOTE- Gain- High and vol- 18-25, makes it have good loudness in Skyfall- song.
PAW S1 and PS5-
It does work with PS5 but you have to hold the Vol - + button and connect to PS5 so that UAC 1.0 mode is on and it becomes compatible with PS5.
COMPARISON-
SPARROW-
Better layering
Better separation
Bigger stage width and depth
Better air
More energetic
Better timber
More powerful
PAW S1-
More organic
Smoother in treble
More musical
Better Built
EQ is lovely
QUDELIX 5K-
Wider stage
Slightly more details
Slightly leaner tonality
Better texture
PAW S1-
Thicker tonality
Slightly better timbre
Better musically
Better solid build
SUMMARY-
All in all, this little device is a great addition and given it has no battery (Qudelix 5K ahmm!!!
) And is smoother than sparrow, will be better overall for longer listening session. But if you have a demanding HP or iem, I would recommend the sparrow over this. But I somehow love this too since its cheaper than sparrow and nearly similar in pricing to Qudelix 5K, so depends on your needs now, whether you want BT and take a risk on battery of the Qudelix or you want a better built dongle, with a hit on your phone’s battery life. Still, I would recommend this since it’s a good dongle overall.
Lotoo needs no introduction. They are well known now for their Lotoo paw 6000 dap and it has created waves in the audiophile community. But today, I get to try one of their cheaper offerings which has been making a name for itself in the industry- The LOTOO PAW S1.
DISCLAIMER- The LOTOO PAW S1 is provided by the courtesy of Conceptkart as part of review tour in INDIA. But this subjective review of mine are my own thoughts and I am not being paid anything to say positive or negative about this dongle. That said I want to thank Conceptkart for giving me an opportunity to hear it!!! You can find a link to buy them here
SPECIFICATIONS-
- AKM AK4377
- Supported Format: PCM 32K-384KHz DSD64/DSD128
- Weight: 27.10g
- Size: 6.6cm x 2.2cm x 1.3cm
- Max Output: 3.5mm:70mW/Ch @32Ω; 4.4mm:120mW/Ch @32Ω
- Freq. range: 3.5mm: 20-20KHz..+0/-0.017dB; 4.4mm: 20-20KHz..+0/-0.016dB
- USB Port: USB Type C
- Noise Level: 3.5mm: -118dBu; 4.4mm: -114dBu
- Screen: OLED 128x32
- THD+N. - Low gain: -106dB (0.0005%); High gain: -108dB (0.0004%)
- S/N: 3.5mm: 123dB; 4.4mm: 122dB
- PRICE-165$/ 11900 INR
I will let the photos do the talking-
BUILD AND SIZE-
The build is pretty dense. It’s an all-metal build with somewhat of a matte finish, might easily scratch. But the OLED screen is an awesome addition and makes it much better for the viewing angle. The screen goes off pretty fast but this is better for the long run if you know about burn in which plagues OLED screens. Size is pretty small and easily pocketable but its as long as BTR5.
There are 3 buttons- Two for volume up and down and also circling through the menu ; one more for menu options change
ACCESSORIES-
- USB C TO C CABLE
- PAW S1
- USB C TO LIGHTNING CABLE (I WAS SENT BUT YOU COULD BUY IT IF YOU OWN APPLE DEVICES)
- USB C TO MALE USB ADAPTER FOR PC.
It’s pretty straight forward, plug it in to your Android phone, IPAD, iphone or PC and it just works. You need to provide exclusive access in ROON or tidal app on PC for it to work properly at the required bitrate and frequency. In android, I used UAPP with tidal access and it just worked flawlessly. In IPAD, just plug and play with apple music and in IPHONE, same as IPAD.
Now the best thing about this tiny little device, is the EQ. Some devices take EQ pretty nicely some don’t, but given your mood it’s the best way to change a sound signature. For nearly all the iems and HP’s I tried, all took EQ pretty nicely and the underlying nature of the dongle didn’t change much from device to device.
POWAH-
Now the low gain isn’t pretty much powerful but the high gain is decent. The 4.4 pentaconn is much more powerful than the 3.5mm but the sound characteristics remains the same. There is slightly better energy and more background clearance overall. The overall powah is little less though.
NOTE- MY SOURCE IS- PAWS1
and MANY IEMS and 1 HP.SOUND SIGNATURE (P.S-This is subjective and may not match with yours
)BASS AND SUBBASS-
Ohh!!! I am really happy with this tiny little thing haha!!! This has great tonality with above average timbre which is really difficult to see at this price point
. The decay is slightly faster than natural but unless you haven’t tried something more organic, this will be your thing pretty much. The bass is not too tight but slightly more on the thicker and little loose side which I like, and feels more natural. The mid bass energy is pretty good and does deliver a punch and not at the cost of sub-bass. The bass dynamics are also pretty good and it doesn’t feel boring. More inter-notes separation and inter-instrumental separation with more texture is preferred, but for the price you getting this, I won’t consider this a con at all.Sub-bass is awesome with good amounts of rumble. The rumble feeling is not too much exaggerated compared to the bass. The tonality is excellent and it is textured. The sub-bass is dynamic though with good coherency with the bass and mids. Does the bass and sub-bass provide atmospheric feeling? Nope, that’s something I felt lacking even when trying my clears.
MIDS-
Mids are really good in this iem. They have great tonality and good dynamics overall. They have good microdetails and notes contrast is slightly lacking but still pretty good. The notes have slightly more musical feel to them due to good height that each notes reach overall in the soundstage. The decay is pretty good, more on the natural side lending a good deal of timbre and realism
. The notes are on the balanced side with good beginnings but lack a little edge definition. The inter-notes separation is decent but inter-instrumental separation is much more excellent. Vocals, both male and female are pretty great. They are more foreward than the rest of the instruments in the mids. They have good extension overall and non-grainy at all. The tonal difference is pretty much better too. The transparency is above its pay grade for sure but its excellent with reverbs coming at you pretty nicely. Upper mids- lower treble seems to have a little too much energy but not overly sharp though. Overall, a damn good experience. Did I forget something, yes, this thing felt more musical than any I have tried yet!
TREBLE-
This is the fun part of this thing. The lower treble has a slightly more energy than upper treble or mid treble giving hi-hats a slightly brighter than required feeling, but it’s still not sharp and really good for the overall detailed presentation of this small dongle
. But the upper treble is really good, there is great tonality and dynamics. There is some air in the wind instruments like trumpets and they do sound great. A little more inter-notes separation would be more preferred. The notes are well defined but lack edge definition but the beginnings of the notes with body are much more distinct. The transparency is great with good number of micro details. The treble though overall compared to mids lacks energy making it feel more mid focussed. The treble does come through though which is a great thing but it does feel a few points less powerful than mids But I still like this presentation as it took time and many changes of iems and headphones to be able to point it out haha, so pretty difficult to point it out.HEADSTAGE, IMAGING, SEPARATION AND RESOLUTION-
Head stage is pretty good with lots of height and depth, but lacks in width. There is though some sonic headroom left still. There is not much layering going on but it still manages to keep instruments well separated. The inter-instrumental separation is much better overall and really pushing any other dongle at this price range, to have a run for its money. The imaging is okay, I didn’t expect much but its average but does a decent job. The resolution is good and it really works great with highly resolving iems/headphones.
PAIRINGS-
PAW S1 and FOCAL Clear
Now the inherent sound quality of the PAW S1 does come through, with the upper mids providing more energy to the clears, but clear handles them pretty nicely. The clear is inherently much more separated so that is not big of a problem, but the added timbre and also musicality helps clear reach a further level altogether over using something like BTR5. The pairing is really good and I whole heartedly recommend it. EQ is also handled pretty nicely and the sweet EQ made more sense since the Clears have some spikes in the treble region which makes it difficult to handle sometimes.
NOTE- Gain- high and vol-45-50, makes it have good loudness in Skyfall-song.
PAW S1 and VE 7
The VE7 has a neutral and flat signature so adding a musical dongle is for the best. This theory stands true with this pairing, there is more dynamism and notes contrast added which makes it livelier. Timbre isn’t much more exaggerated but still lovely to listen to. This did also take the EQ well without any distortion.
NOTE- Gain- high and vol-15-20, makes it have good loudness in Skyfall-song.
PAW S1 and MEST Mk2
Now this pairing I thought would make more sense, since MEST MK2 has something of a tuning similar to FOCAL Clears with slightly MEST MK2 being on the analytical side. But unlike my expectations, this sounded okayish type. There was loss of vocal balance and control (it became too forward) and these sounded a little sharper in upper mids than needed. The dynamics and musicality were good but it became limited to certain genres only but there was added thickness and more timbre which made it more in line for instrumentals and solo vocals.
NOTE- Gain- high and vol-30-40, makes it have good loudness in Skyfall-song.
PAW S1 and SHOZY POLA
Now this pairing was much better than MEST MK2, the Pola loved the extra bass natural timbre and with the Pola’s accentuated atmospheric feeling, this made it much better. The forward vocals added makes the Pola’s midrange more forward and balanced, hence makes this more musical and beautiful to listen to. So worth the pairing for sure.
NOTE- Gain- High and vol- 45-55, makes it have good loudness in Skyfall- song.
PAW S1 and GRACE
Grace and Paw S1 pairing is pretty good. There is more musicality and notes height contrast added. The Grace surely does love some more timbre in bass from PAW S1 and its pretty good in that sense.
NOTE- Gain- High and vol- 20-35, makes it have good loudness in Skyfall- song.
PAW S1 and BLON 03
Blon 03 loves Paw S1, the added timbre and bass definition really helps. They have an increased musicality and they synergise well with each other. There is though slight midbass encroachment in some recordings probably a slightly wider soundstage will help blons again.
NOTE- Gain- High and vol- 18-25, makes it have good loudness in Skyfall- song.
PAW S1 and PS5-
It does work with PS5 but you have to hold the Vol - + button and connect to PS5 so that UAC 1.0 mode is on and it becomes compatible with PS5.
COMPARISON-
SPARROW-
Better layering
Better separation
Bigger stage width and depth
Better air
More energetic
Better timber
More powerful
PAW S1-
More organic
Smoother in treble
More musical
Better Built
EQ is lovely
QUDELIX 5K-
Wider stage
Slightly more details
Slightly leaner tonality
Better texture
PAW S1-
Thicker tonality
Slightly better timbre
Better musically
Better solid build
SUMMARY-
All in all, this little device is a great addition and given it has no battery (Qudelix 5K ahmm!!!
) And is smoother than sparrow, will be better overall for longer listening session. But if you have a demanding HP or iem, I would recommend the sparrow over this. But I somehow love this too since its cheaper than sparrow and nearly similar in pricing to Qudelix 5K, so depends on your needs now, whether you want BT and take a risk on battery of the Qudelix or you want a better built dongle, with a hit on your phone’s battery life. Still, I would recommend this since it’s a good dongle overall.
Introduction:
Lotoo needs no introduction. So not gonna spend any time on that. PAW S1 has been their entry in to the dongle DAC-AMP world, which is quite crowded at the moment. I cannot tell that I have used a lot of dongles - just a few. But PAW S1 has gained quite a fan base around it. I have always been curious as to how good it actually is, so when the chance to review came my way, I didn't hesitate a bit.
Specifications:
Supported Format: PCM 32K-384KHz DSD64/DSD128
Weight: 27.10g
Size: 66mm*22mm*13mm
Max Output: 3.5mm:70mW/ch @32Ω
4.4mm:120mW/ch @32Ω
HP Port: 3.5mm Unbalanced
4.4mm Balanced
Freq. range: 3.5mm: 20-20KHz..+0/-0.017dB
4.4mm: 20-20KHz..+0/-0.016dB
USB Port: USB Type C
Noise Level: 3.5mm: -118dBu
4.4mm: -114dBu
Screen: OLED 128x32
THD+N.. Low gain: -106dB(0.0005%)
High gain: -108dB(0.0004%)
S/N: 3.5mm: 123dB
4.4mm: 122dB
Build and features:
Before going to the sound, I would like to touch a bit on the build quality. A solid metal housing, the build seems fairly sturdy. However, it comes with substantial weight as well. The small screen to show necessary information is pretty handy. Switches, although small, isn't easy to miss, and the tactile feeling is pretty good as well.
The independent volume control is indeed a much wanted feature for me, which I have not seen in any other dongles till date. The various eq settings are mighty impressive as well and alters the sound signature substantially, however, I preferred the stock sound of the Paw S1, which was the most impressive one to my ears.
Sound:
Whoa! It totally blew my mind at the very first listen! I paired my Tansio Mirai Land with it. Land already has a very refined sound, which got enhanced even more out of Paw S1. To put it simply, Paw S1 provides a beautifully refined sound, each note acquires a refinement where it sounds crisp and well defined without becoming overly sharp and shouty. It does not emphasise any part of the spectrum, rather enhance all of them equally. In particularly, it enhances the musicality of the sound substantially so that the final sound output gets quite immersive.
However, do not make the wrong assumption that by enhancing musicality it is smoothening the notes and compromising separation. Paw S1 enhances separation along with musicality. Stage enhances as a result, and the projection extends well behind the head.
With TSMR Land, when I A/B-ed the Paw S1 with Shanling M3X, I was stumped - to say the least. In blind test - it would have been quite, and I mean, QUITE difficult for me to distinguish one source from the other. I believe that speaks volumes about the performance of PAW S1. Do I regret buying the M3X then? Absolutely not - it has its own perk, but the Paw S1 is indeed a brilliant dongle DAC-AMP that can punch well ahead of its price range - can confirm that.
Conclusion:
As already elaborated above, I freaking love the Lotoo Paw S1. This small powerhouse gives such a brilliantly musical as well as expansive sound that it literally took my breath away. I know I have mentioned one con - the weight, in the con, but honestly, it is such a slight issue before all of its impressive features - I could not help but give it a 5-star rating. It deserves it.
Lotoo needs no introduction. So not gonna spend any time on that. PAW S1 has been their entry in to the dongle DAC-AMP world, which is quite crowded at the moment. I cannot tell that I have used a lot of dongles - just a few. But PAW S1 has gained quite a fan base around it. I have always been curious as to how good it actually is, so when the chance to review came my way, I didn't hesitate a bit.
Specifications:
Supported Format: PCM 32K-384KHz DSD64/DSD128
Weight: 27.10g
Size: 66mm*22mm*13mm
Max Output: 3.5mm:70mW/ch @32Ω
4.4mm:120mW/ch @32Ω
HP Port: 3.5mm Unbalanced
4.4mm Balanced
Freq. range: 3.5mm: 20-20KHz..+0/-0.017dB
4.4mm: 20-20KHz..+0/-0.016dB
USB Port: USB Type C
Noise Level: 3.5mm: -118dBu
4.4mm: -114dBu
Screen: OLED 128x32
THD+N.. Low gain: -106dB(0.0005%)
High gain: -108dB(0.0004%)
S/N: 3.5mm: 123dB
4.4mm: 122dB
Build and features:
Before going to the sound, I would like to touch a bit on the build quality. A solid metal housing, the build seems fairly sturdy. However, it comes with substantial weight as well. The small screen to show necessary information is pretty handy. Switches, although small, isn't easy to miss, and the tactile feeling is pretty good as well.
The independent volume control is indeed a much wanted feature for me, which I have not seen in any other dongles till date. The various eq settings are mighty impressive as well and alters the sound signature substantially, however, I preferred the stock sound of the Paw S1, which was the most impressive one to my ears.
Sound:
Whoa! It totally blew my mind at the very first listen! I paired my Tansio Mirai Land with it. Land already has a very refined sound, which got enhanced even more out of Paw S1. To put it simply, Paw S1 provides a beautifully refined sound, each note acquires a refinement where it sounds crisp and well defined without becoming overly sharp and shouty. It does not emphasise any part of the spectrum, rather enhance all of them equally. In particularly, it enhances the musicality of the sound substantially so that the final sound output gets quite immersive.
However, do not make the wrong assumption that by enhancing musicality it is smoothening the notes and compromising separation. Paw S1 enhances separation along with musicality. Stage enhances as a result, and the projection extends well behind the head.
With TSMR Land, when I A/B-ed the Paw S1 with Shanling M3X, I was stumped - to say the least. In blind test - it would have been quite, and I mean, QUITE difficult for me to distinguish one source from the other. I believe that speaks volumes about the performance of PAW S1. Do I regret buying the M3X then? Absolutely not - it has its own perk, but the Paw S1 is indeed a brilliant dongle DAC-AMP that can punch well ahead of its price range - can confirm that.
Conclusion:
As already elaborated above, I freaking love the Lotoo Paw S1. This small powerhouse gives such a brilliantly musical as well as expansive sound that it literally took my breath away. I know I have mentioned one con - the weight, in the con, but honestly, it is such a slight issue before all of its impressive features - I could not help but give it a 5-star rating. It deserves it.
szore
Love the passion in this review!
It goes without any saying that Lotoo is already a well-established name in its Audience group: “Audiophiles”. And after giving us gems like Lotoo Paw Gold and Lotoo Paw Gold Touch, they decided to do something for the normal guy: a USB DAC/AMP that is within reach of every one: The Paw S1 which uses the famed AK4377 DAC chip alongside with an independent OPA1622 chip.
Disclaimer:
Lotoo Paw S1 was provided to me as a part of the review tour by ConceptKart. You can buy the same by clicking here. The following review is an honest representation of my thoughts.
Unboxing and In-Box Contents:
The Box is small enough given that we are talking about a USB-C-based DAC/AMP. The following were the contents:
Design Language:
The design language is simple yet elegant. There is a tiny OLED display smack at the front of the DAC with Two navigation Keys and one function key present on the right side. One 3.5mm SE and one 4.4mm Balanced port present at the bottom and one USB-C port present at the top.
The Display helps you navigate through several features like switching between gain modes or selecting an EQ. It also shows the active Bitrate, the present gain mode, and the volume level.
Source:
I have solely used my Samsung Galaxy S10 for this review
MQA:
Paw S1 also unfolds MQA on Tidal, if that is your thing. I personally prefer my local library.
Sound:
Lows:
Since the Paw S1’s overall signature is Natural, the bass is natural as well. The decay is good, the amount is excellent and the quality will satisfy you. Needless to say, you can toggle between different presets of EQ on Paw S1 and get the sound that you like the most.
Mids:
The Warmth of the AK chip is present and yet there is no coloration at all. The timbre is natural and the stage expands as well.
Highs:
Again, no coloration. The Highs extend just perfectly. No peaks observed…no brightness seen. The Paw S1 does everything so efficiently that you have to own one to experience it.
Pairing:
Lotoo Paw S1 + Kinera Norn:
Kinera Norn is an excellent IEM. The Paw S1 helps elevate the experience a lot. The stage becomes wider, the bass becomes nice (both quality-wise and quantity-wise) and the highs becomes even more pronounced without becoming fatiguing.
Lotoo Paw S1 + KZ ZAS:
ZAS is an underrated IEM. It does everything that one needs without causing a hole in the pocket. Paw S1 adds more zest to the overall performance. The stage becomes wider and higher, the bass becomes punchier and the treble goes further.
Lotoo Paw S1 + HD58X:
I use a Bravo Ocean amp to drive HD58X, so was very skeptical, how Paw S1 will drive this 150ohms HP. But my worries were cast aside when I paired them with Paw S1. The HP was driven although I had to pump the volume to 95 percent at high gain. But the result was sufficient. The sound was not muffled and the stage was good enough for a casual listening session.
Power drain:
I have a Samsung USB-C DAC amp that I use with my S10. That draws a very negligent amount of power. Compared to this...Paw S1 drains the battery faster…but what you get in return is a far more sophisticated sound with ample features for everyone.
Conclusion:
If you are looking for cheap DAP, then don’t for it. Go for Paw S1. You will get the ease of access, ease of using it with Tidal, Qobuz, and your local library. I will do the same.
Disclaimer:
Lotoo Paw S1 was provided to me as a part of the review tour by ConceptKart. You can buy the same by clicking here. The following review is an honest representation of my thoughts.
Unboxing and In-Box Contents:
The Box is small enough given that we are talking about a USB-C-based DAC/AMP. The following were the contents:
- User Guide
- Warranty details
- Stickers, and firmware instructions
- A USB Type-C to Type-C connector cable
- A USB Type-C to USB type-A connector
- A Lightning cable
Design Language:
The design language is simple yet elegant. There is a tiny OLED display smack at the front of the DAC with Two navigation Keys and one function key present on the right side. One 3.5mm SE and one 4.4mm Balanced port present at the bottom and one USB-C port present at the top.
The Display helps you navigate through several features like switching between gain modes or selecting an EQ. It also shows the active Bitrate, the present gain mode, and the volume level.
Source:
I have solely used my Samsung Galaxy S10 for this review
MQA:
Paw S1 also unfolds MQA on Tidal, if that is your thing. I personally prefer my local library.
Sound:
Lows:
Since the Paw S1’s overall signature is Natural, the bass is natural as well. The decay is good, the amount is excellent and the quality will satisfy you. Needless to say, you can toggle between different presets of EQ on Paw S1 and get the sound that you like the most.
Mids:
The Warmth of the AK chip is present and yet there is no coloration at all. The timbre is natural and the stage expands as well.
Highs:
Again, no coloration. The Highs extend just perfectly. No peaks observed…no brightness seen. The Paw S1 does everything so efficiently that you have to own one to experience it.
Pairing:
Lotoo Paw S1 + Kinera Norn:
Kinera Norn is an excellent IEM. The Paw S1 helps elevate the experience a lot. The stage becomes wider, the bass becomes nice (both quality-wise and quantity-wise) and the highs becomes even more pronounced without becoming fatiguing.
Lotoo Paw S1 + KZ ZAS:
ZAS is an underrated IEM. It does everything that one needs without causing a hole in the pocket. Paw S1 adds more zest to the overall performance. The stage becomes wider and higher, the bass becomes punchier and the treble goes further.
Lotoo Paw S1 + HD58X:
I use a Bravo Ocean amp to drive HD58X, so was very skeptical, how Paw S1 will drive this 150ohms HP. But my worries were cast aside when I paired them with Paw S1. The HP was driven although I had to pump the volume to 95 percent at high gain. But the result was sufficient. The sound was not muffled and the stage was good enough for a casual listening session.
Power drain:
I have a Samsung USB-C DAC amp that I use with my S10. That draws a very negligent amount of power. Compared to this...Paw S1 drains the battery faster…but what you get in return is a far more sophisticated sound with ample features for everyone.
Conclusion:
If you are looking for cheap DAP, then don’t for it. Go for Paw S1. You will get the ease of access, ease of using it with Tidal, Qobuz, and your local library. I will do the same.
If you are an audio enthusiast like I am, you are already familiar with Lotoo. After all, they are the brand behind the ultimately famous Lotoo Paw Gold digital audio player. Apart from the flagship Paw Gold, the brand has multiple successful players like the Lotoo Paw Gold Touch, Lotoo Paw 6000, and more. Last year, Lotoo announced its debutant Portable USB DAC/AMP, the Lotoo Paw S1. It adopts an AK4377 DAC chip with an independent OPA1622 chip, supports high-resolution 32bit PCM and DSD128 signal decoding.
I know the market of Type-C DAC/AMPs is rising among audio enthusiasts for their ease of use directly with their smartphones. But I personally always preferred using high-resolution digital audio players over USB DAC/AMPs as I am not comfortable in using my smartphone for music(with all the notifications disturbing in between). With all the praise the Lotoo Paw S1 was getting and also its premium brand image, I was intrigued to try out the PAW S1. Luckily I was approached by Concept Kart(Lotoo’s Dealer in my country), they asked if I would like to try the PAW S1, With all the praises around, how could I deny it. So here it is with me since the past week where I used this primarily as my main source of music with my Samsung S6 Lite.
Disclaimer:-
Lotoo Paw S1 was provided to me as a part of the review tour for about a week. I am not paid or affiliated by anyone(Lotoo or Concept kart) to write positive or negative about the device. All impressions in this blog are completely my own based on my own experience with the device. If you are based in India you can buy the Paw S1 from Concept Kart from the link below.
https://conceptkart.com/products/lotoo-paw-s1-portable-usb-dac-and-amp
Unboxing & Accessories:-
Lotoo Paw S1 comes in a small black box with an image of the device printed on the front along with the Lotoo branding logo. On one side we have the S/N no, on the other we have its technical specs printed in English and Chinese languages. We also have features printed at the back in multiple languages. Upon opening the packaging we get a direct glimpse at the Paw S1 sitting firmly in its foam cutout layer. Below this layer, we have some documentation(User Guide, Warranty details, Stickers, and firmware instructions), a USB Type-C to Type-C connector cable, and a USB Type-C to USB type-A connector. I also got a Lightning cable with the Paw S1 that is packed separately in a polybag to use with my apple devices.
Package Content:-
>Lotoo PAW S1.
>Type-C to Type-C connector cable.
>Type-C to Type-A connector.
>Type-C to Lightning connector cable(available separately).
>Documentation.
Design, Build Quality, & Functionality:-
Lotoo is a premium brand and this is reflected in its products. Once I got to try a Lotoo PAW 6000 at a friend and that device was built to last. Same can be said about the PAW S1 here. It is a brilliantly built device that has an OLED display right on the front, an fn(function) key and two navigation keys on the side, a 3.5mm single-ended and a 4.4mm balanced headphone output ports at the bottom. The Type-C connector port is located at the top of the device. The Paw S1 itself has a rich matte finish that looks simply elegant and beautiful.
The OLED display looks fantastic, it shows different features such as active gain mode, volume level, and active bitrate too. The Fn(function) key allows the user to navigate through three menu levels, the first will allow you to change volume, the second level has EQ presets, and the third allows the users to change the gain mode. To change any settings on any level we use the navigation keys.
Sound Department:-
My chain for this review is either iPhone 11 with a lightning connector or its Samsung S6 Lite with a normal Type-C connection.
Lotoo Paw S1 has a very organic sound reproduction. It doesn’t color the output in any possible way(using EQ presets does affect the sound will get to that part later in this review). The output is presented on a dead silent noise floor with great clarity. Lotoo Paw S1 paired to a normal smartphone/Tablet like the Samsung Galaxy S6 Lite that I have, turns the connected device into a high-resolution musical source. It supports decoding for high-resolution PCM and DSD files(I Used UAPP on my Galaxy Tablet).
I won’t go deep into Lower-end, Mid, or Treble presentation as the Paw S1 has a fairly neutral and natural sound. But I would like to discuss the synergy of different IEMs and Headphones I paired with the Paw S1 for this review. So we will begin with Kinera’s entry-level beauty, the Kinera TYR.
Lotoo Paw S1 & Kinera TYR:-
TYR is an entry-level bullet-shaped single micro-dynamic IEM from Kinera. It is fairly easy to drive, can be powered straight off the S6 Lite too. Then why do we need the Lotoo Paw S1 here? Well for starters most of the devices don’t have a 3.5mm port right!! But the main difference here is the fact that with the Lotoo Paw S1 the synergy is super good. The background noise is non-existential. Like literally a blank space where we get to hear every single detail with great clarity. Apart from the dead silent background, Paw S1 also brings out a better, refined sound with the TYR. The sub-bass here with the TYR is extraordinary for its price. Great pairing.
Lotoo Paw S1 & NiceHCK Lofty:-
NiceHCK Lofty, the pure BE diaphragm flagship from NiceHCK is a great set. Straight out of S6 Lite, the Lofty has an intimate, kind of muffled presentation. But Paw S1 brings the best out of Lofty with an open stage feel, cleaner background, better bass depth. Lofty itself has a fantastic bass response but it surely needs a good and clean source to sound its best. Lotoo Paw S1 can easily act as that required extra punch of power that helps the pair perform at its peak. The bass response here is just heavenly!!
Lotoo Paw S1 & NiceHCK EBX21:-
EBX21 is a fantastic pair of earbuds. EBX21 can be driven fairly easily straight off a 3.5mm jack but it does take benefit from a better source. The best part of EBX21 is its natural tonality in vocals and mid-range, Lotoo Paw S1 holds on to that and presents the users with clean sound output. A brilliant synergy between these two!!
Lotoo Paw S1 & Vision Ears VE8:-
VE8, the ultimate flagship from the house of Vision Ears. It is one of the most detailed sets I have heard to date. While it is very easy to drive, it benefits from a better source in terms of layering, transient response, and producing a wide sound field. Vision Ears VE8 is quite a sensitive pair. With the Lotoo Paw S1, the multi-BA set performs amazingly well. It doesn’t feel underpowered or lacking in any department, it’s like a match made in heaven. Bass, fast deep & thumpy, Mids, rich & accurate, Treble, smooth, non-fatiguing, and an overall natural & organic tuning.
Lotoo Paw S1 & Hifiman Sundara:-
Sundara is a planar driver headphone while its impedance and sensitivity ratings say it can be driven easily, the Hifiman Sundara is fairly hard to power. It takes some extra juice in bringing out a powerful bass response. With the Lotoo Paw S1, I tried it with its stock 3.5mm cable, single-ended connection, sadly the Paw S1 wasn’t enough for it. Even though the headphone output is at an adequate listening level at 85/100 volume on high gain mode, it misses out on extensions at both ends. Though I must say, Sundara takes a lot of juice out of my desktop amp to sound its best. I am pretty sure Paw S1 will nail Sundara with a 4.4mm cable, sadly I don’t have any 4.4mm cable for the headphone with me to check. Don’t worry I have to put Topping NX4/xDuoo XD05 Bal behind M3X for Sundara too!!
In terms of SQ alone, PAW S1 easily rivals up to mid-range DAPs like the Shanling M3X that I own. It sounds so clean and organic that I lost track of time listening with the Paw S1. Where it lacks, I can say it lacks some extra juice with it. It is more than enough to power any IEM/earbuds in the market even low power requiring HPs will be good too, but when it comes to high-power taking HPs like the Sundara using a balanced 4.4mm cable is suggested by me for a better experience.
Difference Between 3.5mm & 4.4mm Outputs:-
On my last day with the Lotoo Paw S1, a friend of mine sent me Soranik ION 2S IEM with a balanced 2.5mm cable with 2.5mm-4.4mm and 2.5mm-3.5mm connectors. I noticed two main differences between the 3.5mm and 4.4mm connections, firstly the output power is slightly better with the 4.4mm balanced port. The same IEM that takes 50/100 volume on low gain mode via 3.5mm single-ended connection takes about 35/100 in the 4.4mm for a similar output level. Secondly, the output via the balanced 4.4mm connection port is cleaner in terms of background noise. Tuning & clarity is identical with both the connections.
PMEQ & ATE Presets:-
The best thing with the Lotoo Paw S1 period!! Lotoo has inbuilt multiple presets of EQ that users can use very easily and it brings drastic changes in the sound. EQ presets include Classic, POP, Rock, Techno, Dance, Headphone, Jazz, Full Bass, Far Field, Near Field, Dental, Sweet, Brighter, Radio, Movie, and Game. These are just not there to name, one will notice drastic changes in the sound like for example, with the Pop mode I felt the vocals got more upfront and forward.
Power Drain off the source:-
As well all know USB Type-C DAC/AMPs are mostly dependent on the connected source for power. I don’t notice a heavy drain with my tablet during my usage with the Paw S1. Surely it was a bit faster than normal drain(around 10% in about 1.5 hours)but hey I was using Sundara on it at high-gain mode so that’s acceptable. I won’t say Paw S1 drains a lot of power off your connected device.
Lotoo Paw S1 Vs Shanling M3X: The Ultimate Battle Between A Portable DAC/AMP and a Dedicated Music Player:-
M3X surely has better driving power as compared to the Lotoo Paw S1. Volume matching, VE8 sounds 30/100 on the low gain in M3X and 50/100 high gain on Paw S1. Both have a clean background with a natural tone for vocals and instruments. The best part is both the M3X and Paw S1 have an organic tonality. In terms of dynamic, transient response I can say both the M3X and Paw S1 are quite identical. It’s really amazing to see a 200$ DAC/AMP competes well with a DAP priced almost double its price.
Final Words For Lotoo Paw S1:-
I went into the Lotoo Paw S1 eyes closed with zero expectations. I don’t like using Type-C DAC/AMPs with my smartphone, in fact, I don’t like using my smartphone for music purposes. But Lotoo Paw S1 has changed my thinking, my views for portable DAC/AMPs. Its tonality, its clean approach, its highly detailed signature make it worth the asking price. The Lotoo Paw S1 SQ is easily comparable to DAPs priced almost double its price, and that’s a huge thing for a compact device!! I who never liked using USB Type-C DAC/AMPs is now considering to getting the latest Lotoo Paw S2.
I know the market of Type-C DAC/AMPs is rising among audio enthusiasts for their ease of use directly with their smartphones. But I personally always preferred using high-resolution digital audio players over USB DAC/AMPs as I am not comfortable in using my smartphone for music(with all the notifications disturbing in between). With all the praise the Lotoo Paw S1 was getting and also its premium brand image, I was intrigued to try out the PAW S1. Luckily I was approached by Concept Kart(Lotoo’s Dealer in my country), they asked if I would like to try the PAW S1, With all the praises around, how could I deny it. So here it is with me since the past week where I used this primarily as my main source of music with my Samsung S6 Lite.
Disclaimer:-
Lotoo Paw S1 was provided to me as a part of the review tour for about a week. I am not paid or affiliated by anyone(Lotoo or Concept kart) to write positive or negative about the device. All impressions in this blog are completely my own based on my own experience with the device. If you are based in India you can buy the Paw S1 from Concept Kart from the link below.
https://conceptkart.com/products/lotoo-paw-s1-portable-usb-dac-and-amp
Unboxing & Accessories:-
Lotoo Paw S1 comes in a small black box with an image of the device printed on the front along with the Lotoo branding logo. On one side we have the S/N no, on the other we have its technical specs printed in English and Chinese languages. We also have features printed at the back in multiple languages. Upon opening the packaging we get a direct glimpse at the Paw S1 sitting firmly in its foam cutout layer. Below this layer, we have some documentation(User Guide, Warranty details, Stickers, and firmware instructions), a USB Type-C to Type-C connector cable, and a USB Type-C to USB type-A connector. I also got a Lightning cable with the Paw S1 that is packed separately in a polybag to use with my apple devices.
Package Content:-
>Lotoo PAW S1.
>Type-C to Type-C connector cable.
>Type-C to Type-A connector.
>Type-C to Lightning connector cable(available separately).
>Documentation.
Design, Build Quality, & Functionality:-
Lotoo is a premium brand and this is reflected in its products. Once I got to try a Lotoo PAW 6000 at a friend and that device was built to last. Same can be said about the PAW S1 here. It is a brilliantly built device that has an OLED display right on the front, an fn(function) key and two navigation keys on the side, a 3.5mm single-ended and a 4.4mm balanced headphone output ports at the bottom. The Type-C connector port is located at the top of the device. The Paw S1 itself has a rich matte finish that looks simply elegant and beautiful.
The OLED display looks fantastic, it shows different features such as active gain mode, volume level, and active bitrate too. The Fn(function) key allows the user to navigate through three menu levels, the first will allow you to change volume, the second level has EQ presets, and the third allows the users to change the gain mode. To change any settings on any level we use the navigation keys.
Sound Department:-
My chain for this review is either iPhone 11 with a lightning connector or its Samsung S6 Lite with a normal Type-C connection.
Lotoo Paw S1 has a very organic sound reproduction. It doesn’t color the output in any possible way(using EQ presets does affect the sound will get to that part later in this review). The output is presented on a dead silent noise floor with great clarity. Lotoo Paw S1 paired to a normal smartphone/Tablet like the Samsung Galaxy S6 Lite that I have, turns the connected device into a high-resolution musical source. It supports decoding for high-resolution PCM and DSD files(I Used UAPP on my Galaxy Tablet).
I won’t go deep into Lower-end, Mid, or Treble presentation as the Paw S1 has a fairly neutral and natural sound. But I would like to discuss the synergy of different IEMs and Headphones I paired with the Paw S1 for this review. So we will begin with Kinera’s entry-level beauty, the Kinera TYR.
Lotoo Paw S1 & Kinera TYR:-
TYR is an entry-level bullet-shaped single micro-dynamic IEM from Kinera. It is fairly easy to drive, can be powered straight off the S6 Lite too. Then why do we need the Lotoo Paw S1 here? Well for starters most of the devices don’t have a 3.5mm port right!! But the main difference here is the fact that with the Lotoo Paw S1 the synergy is super good. The background noise is non-existential. Like literally a blank space where we get to hear every single detail with great clarity. Apart from the dead silent background, Paw S1 also brings out a better, refined sound with the TYR. The sub-bass here with the TYR is extraordinary for its price. Great pairing.
Lotoo Paw S1 & NiceHCK Lofty:-
NiceHCK Lofty, the pure BE diaphragm flagship from NiceHCK is a great set. Straight out of S6 Lite, the Lofty has an intimate, kind of muffled presentation. But Paw S1 brings the best out of Lofty with an open stage feel, cleaner background, better bass depth. Lofty itself has a fantastic bass response but it surely needs a good and clean source to sound its best. Lotoo Paw S1 can easily act as that required extra punch of power that helps the pair perform at its peak. The bass response here is just heavenly!!
Lotoo Paw S1 & NiceHCK EBX21:-
EBX21 is a fantastic pair of earbuds. EBX21 can be driven fairly easily straight off a 3.5mm jack but it does take benefit from a better source. The best part of EBX21 is its natural tonality in vocals and mid-range, Lotoo Paw S1 holds on to that and presents the users with clean sound output. A brilliant synergy between these two!!
Lotoo Paw S1 & Vision Ears VE8:-
VE8, the ultimate flagship from the house of Vision Ears. It is one of the most detailed sets I have heard to date. While it is very easy to drive, it benefits from a better source in terms of layering, transient response, and producing a wide sound field. Vision Ears VE8 is quite a sensitive pair. With the Lotoo Paw S1, the multi-BA set performs amazingly well. It doesn’t feel underpowered or lacking in any department, it’s like a match made in heaven. Bass, fast deep & thumpy, Mids, rich & accurate, Treble, smooth, non-fatiguing, and an overall natural & organic tuning.
Lotoo Paw S1 & Hifiman Sundara:-
Sundara is a planar driver headphone while its impedance and sensitivity ratings say it can be driven easily, the Hifiman Sundara is fairly hard to power. It takes some extra juice in bringing out a powerful bass response. With the Lotoo Paw S1, I tried it with its stock 3.5mm cable, single-ended connection, sadly the Paw S1 wasn’t enough for it. Even though the headphone output is at an adequate listening level at 85/100 volume on high gain mode, it misses out on extensions at both ends. Though I must say, Sundara takes a lot of juice out of my desktop amp to sound its best. I am pretty sure Paw S1 will nail Sundara with a 4.4mm cable, sadly I don’t have any 4.4mm cable for the headphone with me to check. Don’t worry I have to put Topping NX4/xDuoo XD05 Bal behind M3X for Sundara too!!
In terms of SQ alone, PAW S1 easily rivals up to mid-range DAPs like the Shanling M3X that I own. It sounds so clean and organic that I lost track of time listening with the Paw S1. Where it lacks, I can say it lacks some extra juice with it. It is more than enough to power any IEM/earbuds in the market even low power requiring HPs will be good too, but when it comes to high-power taking HPs like the Sundara using a balanced 4.4mm cable is suggested by me for a better experience.
Difference Between 3.5mm & 4.4mm Outputs:-
On my last day with the Lotoo Paw S1, a friend of mine sent me Soranik ION 2S IEM with a balanced 2.5mm cable with 2.5mm-4.4mm and 2.5mm-3.5mm connectors. I noticed two main differences between the 3.5mm and 4.4mm connections, firstly the output power is slightly better with the 4.4mm balanced port. The same IEM that takes 50/100 volume on low gain mode via 3.5mm single-ended connection takes about 35/100 in the 4.4mm for a similar output level. Secondly, the output via the balanced 4.4mm connection port is cleaner in terms of background noise. Tuning & clarity is identical with both the connections.
PMEQ & ATE Presets:-
The best thing with the Lotoo Paw S1 period!! Lotoo has inbuilt multiple presets of EQ that users can use very easily and it brings drastic changes in the sound. EQ presets include Classic, POP, Rock, Techno, Dance, Headphone, Jazz, Full Bass, Far Field, Near Field, Dental, Sweet, Brighter, Radio, Movie, and Game. These are just not there to name, one will notice drastic changes in the sound like for example, with the Pop mode I felt the vocals got more upfront and forward.
Power Drain off the source:-
As well all know USB Type-C DAC/AMPs are mostly dependent on the connected source for power. I don’t notice a heavy drain with my tablet during my usage with the Paw S1. Surely it was a bit faster than normal drain(around 10% in about 1.5 hours)but hey I was using Sundara on it at high-gain mode so that’s acceptable. I won’t say Paw S1 drains a lot of power off your connected device.
Lotoo Paw S1 Vs Shanling M3X: The Ultimate Battle Between A Portable DAC/AMP and a Dedicated Music Player:-
M3X surely has better driving power as compared to the Lotoo Paw S1. Volume matching, VE8 sounds 30/100 on the low gain in M3X and 50/100 high gain on Paw S1. Both have a clean background with a natural tone for vocals and instruments. The best part is both the M3X and Paw S1 have an organic tonality. In terms of dynamic, transient response I can say both the M3X and Paw S1 are quite identical. It’s really amazing to see a 200$ DAC/AMP competes well with a DAP priced almost double its price.
Final Words For Lotoo Paw S1:-
I went into the Lotoo Paw S1 eyes closed with zero expectations. I don’t like using Type-C DAC/AMPs with my smartphone, in fact, I don’t like using my smartphone for music purposes. But Lotoo Paw S1 has changed my thinking, my views for portable DAC/AMPs. Its tonality, its clean approach, its highly detailed signature make it worth the asking price. The Lotoo Paw S1 SQ is easily comparable to DAPs priced almost double its price, and that’s a huge thing for a compact device!! I who never liked using USB Type-C DAC/AMPs is now considering to getting the latest Lotoo Paw S2.
AMPLIFIER
6000 HANDS OF AWESOME - LOTOO PAW S1 USB DAC/AMP REVIEW
by George Dobrescu - September 07, 2020
If you're curious what's the point of the title, it refers to Lotoo's 6000 series of DAPs, which I will be reviewing in the future as well (hopefully). The Lotoo Paw S1 is a nice DAC/AMP made for Android Smartphones, which is made to work wired, quite different from the BTR5 from FiiO, to which it will get compared a lot in the video. The price for the Paw S1 is 170 USD, which makes it a direct competitor to the Next Drive SpectraX, FiiO K5 PRO, and even something like the M2X DAP from Shanling. The pairing list will include HIFIMAN DEVA, Dunu DK-3001 PRO, and FiiO FH7.
Introduction
This is my first review about a Lotoo Product, and I'm hopeful it is the first of a long line of reviews, because the experience has been quite excellent. Where certain Chinese companies these days aren't quite able to offer a proper customer experience / support anymore, Lotto seems to be rising from an unknown and boutique Chinese DAP maker, to the levels of quality and overall product design that could even compete with FiiO one day. Instead of relying on many sellers around the world, they have a few large authorised sellers, but Lotoo is the type that will offer direct warranty too.
These days, larger companies like FiiO do not offer direct warranty anymore, and you're best purchasing their products from local agents, while smaller companies will take care of all issues directly, including HIFIMAN.
It should be noted that I have absolutely no affiliation with Lotoo. I'd like to thank Lotoo for providing the sample for this review. This review reflects my personal experience with Lotoo Paw S1. Every opinion expressed is mine and I stand by it, the purpose of this review is to help those interested in Lotoo Paw S1 find their next music companion.
About me
https://www.audiophile-heaven.com/p/about.html
Packaging
First things first, let's get the packaging out of the way:
Very few things needed, very few things inside the package, but the quality of the package beats most stuff in this price range. Even when it comes to IEMs, Lotto seems to be much closer to a Dunu typical product. We have Type-C cables, and even iphone cables, making the Paw S1 pretty complete for what it is. There is an adapter to use the Paw S1 with a desktop device too, and it works without installing a driver on my windows machine.
What to look in when purchasing a high-quality entry-level DAC
https://www.audiophile-heaven.com/p/what-to-lookl.html
Technical Specifications
Build Quality/Aesthetics/Functionality
The design is rather basic, and the OLED display at the front is not quite that interesting, being just useful enough to mention. The cool part is that the Paw S1 has both a Balanced output in a 4.4mm format, but also a single ended output in a 3.5mm format. It wouldn't be any cool or interesting thing if it had your average power, but it has LOTS of power for a DAC/AMP released in 2020. Not only that, but it is pretty much noise-free, I can't say I am hearing any hissing, even with sensitive IEMs, so it makes up for something that can drive both IEMs and large headphones.
The unit has buttons, and you need to use those to adjust the volume, and also to engage or disengage the EQ, which is the best feature of the Paw S1. This is because it can change it's signature heavily, so even if you have something like a Final Audio A8000, which is really clear, but a touch bright, you can totally fix it by using the EQ build in the Paw S1.
It is a fun thing, but even if you don't want to EQ, you can play with it, and you can discover some funky EQ presets that turn it more analytic, or turn it slightly slower in terms of bass speed. The unit doesn't really take more than a few seconds to turn on, but it only works while it has power from a smartphone. I noticed only a minor power draw, despite the unit getting a bit warm, and it having a lot of driving power, so with phones like the Huawei P20, you can still enjoy a fairly long battery life.
There's nothing much else besides the type-C input, but if there is one thing to keep in mind, the unit has a very similar DAC/AMP design to Lotoo's own DAPs and many people noted that it sounds like a mini Lotoo Paw Touch Gold or like a mini Lotoo 6000, so you will be exposed to the best a portable DAC/AMP can do right now with it.
Video Review
Sound Quality
You should keep in mind that the main signature can be changed a lot with the S1, because it has an EQ built-in, but with everything at default, it is pretty natural, ever so slightly warm, but musical with an amazingly large soundstage, in both width and depth.
The bass is natural in both amount, speed and decay, but it has a good amount of punch and impact. The bass tends to be controlled rather than bloated and bloomy. Even better, the bass can get a bit quicker with EQ profiles like dental, but also slower. Since the Paw S1 can keep control and it can be distortion-free with HIFIMAN Deva, I consider it to be a top-notch, perfect bass.
The midrange is slightly warm in the default configuration, without any special coloration, but the naturalness of the textures impressed me, also the soundstage is wide and deep, especially for the 180 USD price range. The detail is perfect for the price point, everything just falling into place.
The treble is natural, without any coloration, the extension is perfect, it is not smooth or unnatural in any way. Usually, DAC/AMPs in the entry-level price range tend to either be really bright, or smooth to the point of being bland and boring, but this isn't the case, we have just the perfect amount of sparkle, extension air and overall body to the treble.
Comparisons
The comparisons part of this review is more interesting than describing the unit itself, because it has a pretty steep price for the body build, and it has a rather unique design.
Something like BTR5 is just as small, costs less, but has bluetooth too, the main drawback of BTR5 being that it has less driving power, and using the EQ with BTR5 does not work with the cable when in the USB DAC mode.
Lotoo Paw S1 vs FiiO K5 PRO (170 USD vs 150 USD) - K5 PRO is the type of DAC/AMP that's really easy to recommend if you have headphones, but not very useful if you also have IEMs. S1 works well with both, but the very top of the mountain of headphones, where you have the really hard to drive stuff, is still better covered by K5 PRO, which has more driving power. This being said, the overall sound is more controlled and has a wider stance for S1, with a warmer more natural midrange. K5 PRO has hissing with IEMs, where S1 is dead silent in the same situations. Oddly enough, I prefer the sound of S1 most of the time, although I do have enough balanced cables to rely on the balanced outputs most of the time, and where K5 PRO is a desktop unit, S1 is a portable thing.
Lotoo Paw S1 vs NextDrive Spectra X (170 USD vs 190 USD) - There's a better midrange for the SpectraX, but it has a less ergonomic body, with a less interesting design. There's also no EQ for the Spectra, but it also has a pretty good driving power. S1 has more driving power, with a more dynamic sound, more punch in the lows, and a more detailed and wide sound. Most of the time, I consider the S1 to be more ergonomic and classy, where SpectraX is more forward and interesting, but not practical.
Lotoo Paw S1 vs Shanling M2X (170 USD vs 220 USD) - M2X is more pricey, but it has more function. This being said, the sound is generally less dynamic and less vivid, it works much better only with IEMs, where S1 has enough power for headphones too, and S1 has enough control and bass depth for headphones, M2X being just enough for most IEMs. M2X has a sweeter midrange, which is more neutral, where S1 is more natural with a warmer midrange. I find it more convenient to use S1 with a smartphone like the Huawei P20, because it is quicker and smoother, than using M2X sometimes, but M2X works really well when you don't want to have any distractions from notifications on a phone and such.
Pairing
The pairing list could include anything that has either a 4.4mm balanced cable, or a 3.5mm single ended cable. There are very few things in the entire world that the S1 won't drive, so when you hear me saying that iBasso SR2 is hard to drive, don't worry, it ain't nothing for the S1.
In fact, with something like a Meze Balanced Cable, SR2 is easily drive-able with the S1. Even sensitive IEMs like the Atlas from Campfire are easy for the S1 to drive. Then, there's the list I chosen to introduce in this review, because out of the many headphones and IEMs I tested, those in special showed some things about the S1.
Lotto Paw S1 + Dunu DK-3001 PRO (170 USD + 470 USD) - DK-3001 PRO is a great example of where perfection meets perfection. From the package, to the accessories, to the build quality, it feels like those two companies are working in the same field. The overall sound is natural towards V-Shaped, with an excellent amount of detail, a nice amount of sparkle in the treble, and with an amazingly good bass, which is natural, and quick, with a good punch.
Lotto Paw S1 + HIFIMAN Deva (170 USD + 300 USD) - Deva is a great example of just how much power S1 has, it is a hard to drive headphone, even harder to master, but S1 is just enough for it. In fact, the pairing is sweet, delicate, but also has a wide stage, and a warm midrange that's just delightful to listen to. I mention the Dental EQ profile of the S1 because if you engage it with Deva, it gets more similar to Sundara, but with a better, cleaner, and deeper bass.
Lotto Paw S1 + FiiO FH7 (170 USD + 450 USD) - FH7 is what I consider to be a bit bright, and here's where the EQ comes in handy. I always tend to recommend adding some treble, and making things a touch brighter, because most IEMs tend to be a bit more detailed and clear when adding a few dBs of EQ, but in this case in particular, I prefer the sound if engaging a warmer EQ profile, to make the entire pairing more natural, smoother, and even wider. There's no hiss either, and you have a really smol and convenient solution for driving FH7.
Value and Conclusion
Undoubtedly, for the price, Paw S1 can do lots, but that doesn't change the fact it is fairly pricey, so let's not brush that off. In fact, it is one of the most expensive DAC/AMPs that look so ultra-portable and are made to be driven without a battery of their own.
This is not an issue though, because it doesn't really drain smartphones so badly, and it has enough driving power even for heavyweight headphones, like HIFIMAN Deva, it will do Rosson RAD-0 just fine, and even harder to drive headphones that have a low impedance, like the Verum One will be no trouble for the Paw S1.
On the other hand, the package is just enough to use it, and the build quality is perfect, being a fully metallic device with an OLED display.
The sound is natural, detailed, and wide, and you can tweak it quite a bit using the built-in EQ. At the end of the day, I loved the new Lotoo Paw S1 so much that it earned a place in Audiophile-Heaven's Hall Of Fame!
At the end of today's review, if you're looking for a versatile slim / mini DAC/AMP that has a lot of driving power, a nice build quality, and doesn't drain your smartphone that much, and even has EQ, I totally recommend checking out the Lotoo Paw S1.
Full Playlist used for this review
While we listened to considerably more songs than those named in this playlist, those are excellent for identifying certain aspects of the sound, like PRaT, Texturization, Detail, Resolution, Dynamics, Impact, and overall tonality. We recommend trying most of the songs from this playlist, especially if you're searching for new most, most of them being rather catchy.
Youtube Playlist
Tidal Playlist
https://listen.tidal.com/playlist/64555551-ec3c-4279-ae44-248fdfcf6c4b
I hope my review is helpful to you!
---
---
6000 HANDS OF AWESOME - LOTOO PAW S1 USB DAC/AMP REVIEW
by George Dobrescu - September 07, 2020
If you're curious what's the point of the title, it refers to Lotoo's 6000 series of DAPs, which I will be reviewing in the future as well (hopefully). The Lotoo Paw S1 is a nice DAC/AMP made for Android Smartphones, which is made to work wired, quite different from the BTR5 from FiiO, to which it will get compared a lot in the video. The price for the Paw S1 is 170 USD, which makes it a direct competitor to the Next Drive SpectraX, FiiO K5 PRO, and even something like the M2X DAP from Shanling. The pairing list will include HIFIMAN DEVA, Dunu DK-3001 PRO, and FiiO FH7.
Introduction
This is my first review about a Lotoo Product, and I'm hopeful it is the first of a long line of reviews, because the experience has been quite excellent. Where certain Chinese companies these days aren't quite able to offer a proper customer experience / support anymore, Lotto seems to be rising from an unknown and boutique Chinese DAP maker, to the levels of quality and overall product design that could even compete with FiiO one day. Instead of relying on many sellers around the world, they have a few large authorised sellers, but Lotoo is the type that will offer direct warranty too.
These days, larger companies like FiiO do not offer direct warranty anymore, and you're best purchasing their products from local agents, while smaller companies will take care of all issues directly, including HIFIMAN.
It should be noted that I have absolutely no affiliation with Lotoo. I'd like to thank Lotoo for providing the sample for this review. This review reflects my personal experience with Lotoo Paw S1. Every opinion expressed is mine and I stand by it, the purpose of this review is to help those interested in Lotoo Paw S1 find their next music companion.
About me
https://www.audiophile-heaven.com/p/about.html
Packaging
First things first, let's get the packaging out of the way:
Very few things needed, very few things inside the package, but the quality of the package beats most stuff in this price range. Even when it comes to IEMs, Lotto seems to be much closer to a Dunu typical product. We have Type-C cables, and even iphone cables, making the Paw S1 pretty complete for what it is. There is an adapter to use the Paw S1 with a desktop device too, and it works without installing a driver on my windows machine.
What to look in when purchasing a high-quality entry-level DAC
https://www.audiophile-heaven.com/p/what-to-lookl.html
Technical Specifications
Build Quality/Aesthetics/Functionality
The design is rather basic, and the OLED display at the front is not quite that interesting, being just useful enough to mention. The cool part is that the Paw S1 has both a Balanced output in a 4.4mm format, but also a single ended output in a 3.5mm format. It wouldn't be any cool or interesting thing if it had your average power, but it has LOTS of power for a DAC/AMP released in 2020. Not only that, but it is pretty much noise-free, I can't say I am hearing any hissing, even with sensitive IEMs, so it makes up for something that can drive both IEMs and large headphones.
The unit has buttons, and you need to use those to adjust the volume, and also to engage or disengage the EQ, which is the best feature of the Paw S1. This is because it can change it's signature heavily, so even if you have something like a Final Audio A8000, which is really clear, but a touch bright, you can totally fix it by using the EQ build in the Paw S1.
It is a fun thing, but even if you don't want to EQ, you can play with it, and you can discover some funky EQ presets that turn it more analytic, or turn it slightly slower in terms of bass speed. The unit doesn't really take more than a few seconds to turn on, but it only works while it has power from a smartphone. I noticed only a minor power draw, despite the unit getting a bit warm, and it having a lot of driving power, so with phones like the Huawei P20, you can still enjoy a fairly long battery life.
There's nothing much else besides the type-C input, but if there is one thing to keep in mind, the unit has a very similar DAC/AMP design to Lotoo's own DAPs and many people noted that it sounds like a mini Lotoo Paw Touch Gold or like a mini Lotoo 6000, so you will be exposed to the best a portable DAC/AMP can do right now with it.
Video Review
Sound Quality
You should keep in mind that the main signature can be changed a lot with the S1, because it has an EQ built-in, but with everything at default, it is pretty natural, ever so slightly warm, but musical with an amazingly large soundstage, in both width and depth.
The bass is natural in both amount, speed and decay, but it has a good amount of punch and impact. The bass tends to be controlled rather than bloated and bloomy. Even better, the bass can get a bit quicker with EQ profiles like dental, but also slower. Since the Paw S1 can keep control and it can be distortion-free with HIFIMAN Deva, I consider it to be a top-notch, perfect bass.
The midrange is slightly warm in the default configuration, without any special coloration, but the naturalness of the textures impressed me, also the soundstage is wide and deep, especially for the 180 USD price range. The detail is perfect for the price point, everything just falling into place.
The treble is natural, without any coloration, the extension is perfect, it is not smooth or unnatural in any way. Usually, DAC/AMPs in the entry-level price range tend to either be really bright, or smooth to the point of being bland and boring, but this isn't the case, we have just the perfect amount of sparkle, extension air and overall body to the treble.
Comparisons
The comparisons part of this review is more interesting than describing the unit itself, because it has a pretty steep price for the body build, and it has a rather unique design.
Something like BTR5 is just as small, costs less, but has bluetooth too, the main drawback of BTR5 being that it has less driving power, and using the EQ with BTR5 does not work with the cable when in the USB DAC mode.
Lotoo Paw S1 vs FiiO K5 PRO (170 USD vs 150 USD) - K5 PRO is the type of DAC/AMP that's really easy to recommend if you have headphones, but not very useful if you also have IEMs. S1 works well with both, but the very top of the mountain of headphones, where you have the really hard to drive stuff, is still better covered by K5 PRO, which has more driving power. This being said, the overall sound is more controlled and has a wider stance for S1, with a warmer more natural midrange. K5 PRO has hissing with IEMs, where S1 is dead silent in the same situations. Oddly enough, I prefer the sound of S1 most of the time, although I do have enough balanced cables to rely on the balanced outputs most of the time, and where K5 PRO is a desktop unit, S1 is a portable thing.
Lotoo Paw S1 vs NextDrive Spectra X (170 USD vs 190 USD) - There's a better midrange for the SpectraX, but it has a less ergonomic body, with a less interesting design. There's also no EQ for the Spectra, but it also has a pretty good driving power. S1 has more driving power, with a more dynamic sound, more punch in the lows, and a more detailed and wide sound. Most of the time, I consider the S1 to be more ergonomic and classy, where SpectraX is more forward and interesting, but not practical.
Lotoo Paw S1 vs Shanling M2X (170 USD vs 220 USD) - M2X is more pricey, but it has more function. This being said, the sound is generally less dynamic and less vivid, it works much better only with IEMs, where S1 has enough power for headphones too, and S1 has enough control and bass depth for headphones, M2X being just enough for most IEMs. M2X has a sweeter midrange, which is more neutral, where S1 is more natural with a warmer midrange. I find it more convenient to use S1 with a smartphone like the Huawei P20, because it is quicker and smoother, than using M2X sometimes, but M2X works really well when you don't want to have any distractions from notifications on a phone and such.
Pairing
The pairing list could include anything that has either a 4.4mm balanced cable, or a 3.5mm single ended cable. There are very few things in the entire world that the S1 won't drive, so when you hear me saying that iBasso SR2 is hard to drive, don't worry, it ain't nothing for the S1.
In fact, with something like a Meze Balanced Cable, SR2 is easily drive-able with the S1. Even sensitive IEMs like the Atlas from Campfire are easy for the S1 to drive. Then, there's the list I chosen to introduce in this review, because out of the many headphones and IEMs I tested, those in special showed some things about the S1.
Lotto Paw S1 + Dunu DK-3001 PRO (170 USD + 470 USD) - DK-3001 PRO is a great example of where perfection meets perfection. From the package, to the accessories, to the build quality, it feels like those two companies are working in the same field. The overall sound is natural towards V-Shaped, with an excellent amount of detail, a nice amount of sparkle in the treble, and with an amazingly good bass, which is natural, and quick, with a good punch.
Lotto Paw S1 + HIFIMAN Deva (170 USD + 300 USD) - Deva is a great example of just how much power S1 has, it is a hard to drive headphone, even harder to master, but S1 is just enough for it. In fact, the pairing is sweet, delicate, but also has a wide stage, and a warm midrange that's just delightful to listen to. I mention the Dental EQ profile of the S1 because if you engage it with Deva, it gets more similar to Sundara, but with a better, cleaner, and deeper bass.
Lotto Paw S1 + FiiO FH7 (170 USD + 450 USD) - FH7 is what I consider to be a bit bright, and here's where the EQ comes in handy. I always tend to recommend adding some treble, and making things a touch brighter, because most IEMs tend to be a bit more detailed and clear when adding a few dBs of EQ, but in this case in particular, I prefer the sound if engaging a warmer EQ profile, to make the entire pairing more natural, smoother, and even wider. There's no hiss either, and you have a really smol and convenient solution for driving FH7.
Value and Conclusion
Undoubtedly, for the price, Paw S1 can do lots, but that doesn't change the fact it is fairly pricey, so let's not brush that off. In fact, it is one of the most expensive DAC/AMPs that look so ultra-portable and are made to be driven without a battery of their own.
This is not an issue though, because it doesn't really drain smartphones so badly, and it has enough driving power even for heavyweight headphones, like HIFIMAN Deva, it will do Rosson RAD-0 just fine, and even harder to drive headphones that have a low impedance, like the Verum One will be no trouble for the Paw S1.
On the other hand, the package is just enough to use it, and the build quality is perfect, being a fully metallic device with an OLED display.
The sound is natural, detailed, and wide, and you can tweak it quite a bit using the built-in EQ. At the end of the day, I loved the new Lotoo Paw S1 so much that it earned a place in Audiophile-Heaven's Hall Of Fame!
At the end of today's review, if you're looking for a versatile slim / mini DAC/AMP that has a lot of driving power, a nice build quality, and doesn't drain your smartphone that much, and even has EQ, I totally recommend checking out the Lotoo Paw S1.
Full Playlist used for this review
While we listened to considerably more songs than those named in this playlist, those are excellent for identifying certain aspects of the sound, like PRaT, Texturization, Detail, Resolution, Dynamics, Impact, and overall tonality. We recommend trying most of the songs from this playlist, especially if you're searching for new most, most of them being rather catchy.
Youtube Playlist
Tidal Playlist
https://listen.tidal.com/playlist/64555551-ec3c-4279-ae44-248fdfcf6c4b
I hope my review is helpful to you!
---
---
SteffSergeant
Thanks George, but I heard only the original ones work.
Balamani
Good review George! I normally watched your Ytube channel
Dobrescu George
@Balamani - Really happy to help!
Indeed, my YT stuff is usually more fun, written articles are my serious dark side
Indeed, my YT stuff is usually more fun, written articles are my serious dark side
