[Quadfather]

I though, that wheel on QP1R will be the biggest pain in the butt of whole my life after Opus 1 touchscreen , but no- it's quite usable. Not the last word in ergonomics, but doing what it should.
And of course the sound is very very good, if not impressive. Opus 1 loses to QP1R in every aspect, especially in terms of bass quality and strength, treble reproduction and overal transparency.

Can LPG justify double the price?- that is the question.

Twice? Probably not. It sounds excellent, but twice is a stretch. Today, it sounds drop dead gorgeous! Twice? Hmmmmm.....thinking. If the interface was more like the Questyle QP1R, I would say yes. I know, I sound schizophrenic. Also prefer Questyle gapless playback with ALAC. I don't plan on screwing around to get the album art to show up on Diana either. Okay, the Paw Gold user interface is lightning fast, but I hate the way it manages music files. The Questyle QP1R is miles ahead in that department, as well as gapless playback, and album art. So, I have to ask myself why I cannot put the Paw Gold Diana down. It is sounding completely effing amazing today and opening up a little more. My Apple Lossless files are giving me well over 12 hours of continuous play time. It is also a sexy beast! Does anybody know where I can get Pink Floyd Dark Side of the Moon and Pink Floyd The Wall in DSD?

 

[Quadfather]

Oh Lord, I figured Paw out!!!!!!!!!!!!! I put the folders in the way that I want them and then go in and add artist, album, track #, track title in that order by renaming each individual track ans Shazam, artist folders and appropriate album folders magically appear.

 

[Skyfall]

LPG sound quality is like no other DAP it is very accurate and it remains true to recording.

 

[jmills8]

LPG sound quality is like no other DAP it is very accurate and it remains true to recording.

 

[Kerouac]

Isn't the LPG Diana considered as a (small) upgrade over the LPG Gold?
Very curious how the next LPG will sound compared to these two in the (near?) future

 

[captblaze]

Isn't the LPG Diana considered as a (small) upgrade over the LPG Gold?

It is the only model you can buy (from an authorized dealer) in the US

 

[captblaze]

Diana arrived yesterday. Short charge to 100 % and I started listening with a variety of file types and transducers. All formats played as expected, although I do get the DSD click as a the next track gets cued. What I wasn't expecting and am really happy about is how Diana handles any IEM or HP I connect to. Sennheiser 650,700,800S on high gain with no digital gain, no problem and never got over 60 on the volume wheel. AKG Q701, no problem. HE400i no problem. Beyer Dynamic DT880 (600 ohm) had to add digital gain, but still drives to an uncomfortable level. UERR in low gain, no problem as with my old Shure E5c.

I probably spent 8 hours of listen time and while I was doing that was figuring out the folder scheme. It is a simple folder tree set up. I have everything laid out as follows. Top folder is Artist, then a sub folder with Album title, inside that are the files that I have simply labeled with track number - song title. It also helps to know how the player reacts to wheel and button inputs. Up and down are as stated, left (9 o'clock) takes you up one level and right (3 o'clock) gives you options to open folder, play folder contents or add to either of the 3 playlists.

I will admit you have to do plenty of scrolling if you have a large library, but I am using the playlist for frequently listened to files and that helps a bit.

In terms of SQ.... I am very impressed and will not make any final judgements till I get some time. I do know that Diana is the first DAP I have owned that doesn't need anything stacked on top to add power or anything else.

 

[audionewbi]

I call LPG technically pleasing for short term listening however on long session too brutally technical and fatiguing with the wrong IEM/headphone.
It is the ER4S of DAPs.

 

[captblaze]

I call LPG technically pleasing for short term listening however on long session too brutally technical and fatiguing with the wrong IEM/headphone.
It is the ER4S of DAPs.

I haven't encountered that yet. I have been trying out the filters and a few of them seem to dull the sound a bit. Although personally I didn't find the filters pleasing

 

[audionewbi]

How did you change filter setting? That feature missing on my LPG.

 

[jmills8]

If too fatiguing , why not correct it by using the powers given to you. EQ it.

 

[captblaze]

How did you change filter setting? That feature missing on my LPG.

The ATE/PMEQ button. the ATE has the filters settings

 

[audionewbi]

If too fatiguing , why not correct it by using the powers given to you. EQ it.

That is always an option for sure that don't use often enough.

 

[captblaze]

4 days in and I am still listening. I've come to realize that the DSD click is totally source dependent. some files do, some don't. I haven't encountered any glitches or lag. this DAP just works. nothing fancy, just all business with plenty of power and some to spare. the ATE / PMEQ settings do alter the sound, but I find myself going back to effects off. haven't paid much attention to battery life since I have primarily been using this and leaving all my gear alone for now. I haven't noticed any fatigue and have been listening with UERR, LCD 2.2 (pre fazor) and 600 ohm dt880s. all can be driven to an uncomfortable level and have noticed that each has a sweet spot on the volume wheel. a click or two to the right or left "fine tunes" the volume.

It gets class A amp warm, but nothing unbearable (you want power, you must generate heat). I will be promoting this to primary portable once I finish re ripping my CD collection and organizing my Hi Res files.

Lastly I want to acknowledge The Evolution of Sound for answering all my questions and concerns throughout. I am confident purchasing through them was a wise choice.

 

[Quadfather]

DSD and FLAC play gapless perfectly on the Paw Gold. Apple Lossless doesn't. Does anybody know of a good conversion program?