Introducing VentureCraft SounDroid VALOQ [SDP-1]-Impression thread- Check second post for updates

[nanaholic]

   
You got a point there about the first impression thing, but I am one (probably just me) that's particularly drawn to the Valoq's form factor and build and materials used. AND THE VERY IMPORTANT FACT that it looks nothing like a smartphone. A must for me.
 
The UI is questionable but acceptable. And the sound O the sound..........THAT screams premium into my ears. On the other hand the Onkyo didn't really impressed me on the sound front - it's good, very good indeed, but it's nothing special when comparing with the existing players e.g. the AK120ii I already have. For people who got no high quality DAP in hand yet the Onkyo may be a very attractive option, but for those who already lives in the AK world long enough to be wondering who else can do something better at a lower price, the Valoq is almighty impressive. TBH I am not someone who can live with its flaws forever, but even with that in mind I still find it mighty impressive thanks to the sound.

 
I already said I like the form factor and the size of the Valoq in my original impression.  However I don't think the sound is that much better than the other DAPs - that's more of a personal preference thing, though it's warmth and lushness can be very appealing to certain people/music genre.  Right now though the Onkyo is just the overall best "package" - it sounds good, it's very software tweakable (lots of EQ and DSP options), the price is THE cheapest for the spec it has and it punches way higher than its bracket, and the UI is a lot more acceptable than the Valoq.  Again you have to have a very particular preference for the pros of the Valoq for it to make sense, otherwise IMO it's a DAP that's hard to recommend, especially if you are only going to have one DAP, and I don't think many people wants to own more than one, which is why the Valoq currently sits in an pretty awkward position market wise.  
 
Personally I don't mind keeping the Valoq as my second DAP, like you I'm quite drawn to its compact size, but day in day out I'm reaching for my Onkyo more currently, but maybe when summer comes and I want to travel light I'll be swapping to the Valoq.

EDIT: I've read that the size of the Valoq was based on the fact that in fits in the front chest pocket of polo shirts and business shirts of Japanese business men, and after testing it out it does indeed fit very nicely into that pocket.  A short balanced cable (less than 1m) with CIEM and you can travel VERY light while having great sound on the go.

 

[Raketen]

   
I already said I like the form factor and the size of the Valoq in my original impression.  However I don't think the sound is that much better than the other DAPs - that's more of a personal preference thing, though it's warmth and lushness can be very appealing to certain people/music genre.  Right now though the Onkyo is just the overall best "package" - it sounds good, it's very software tweakable (lots of EQ and DSP options), the price is THE cheapest for the spec it has and it punches way higher than its bracket, and the UI is a lot more acceptable than the Valoq.  Again you have to have a very particular preference for the pros of the Valoq for it to make sense, otherwise IMO it's a DAP that's hard to recommend, especially if you are only going to have one DAP, and I don't think many people wants to own more than one, which is why the Valoq currently sits in an pretty awkward position market wise.  
 
Personally I don't mind keeping the Valoq as my second DAP, like you I'm quite drawn to its compact size, but day in day out I'm reaching for my Onkyo more currently, but maybe when summer comes and I want to travel light I'll be swapping to the Valoq.
 

Ah... warm and lush sounds bad for me... looking for neutral to slightly 'cold', would opamp help or is that to do with the way the dac is implemented? AK Jr is not great with my iem and i'm finding EQ doesn't seem to change certain property. Any suggestions other than onkyo?

 

[productred]

   
I already said I like the form factor and the size of the Valoq in my original impression.  However I don't think the sound is that much better than the other DAPs - that's more of a personal preference thing, though it's warmth and lushness can be very appealing to certain people/music genre.  Right now though the Onkyo is just the overall best "package" - it sounds good, it's very software tweakable (lots of EQ and DSP options), the price is THE cheapest for the spec it has and it punches way higher than its bracket, and the UI is a lot more acceptable than the Valoq.  Again you have to have a very particular preference for the pros of the Valoq for it to make sense, otherwise IMO it's a DAP that's hard to recommend, especially if you are only going to have one DAP, and I don't think many people wants to own more than one, which is why the Valoq currently sits in an pretty awkward position market wise.  
 
Personally I don't mind keeping the Valoq as my second DAP, like you I'm quite drawn to its compact size, but day in day out I'm reaching for my Onkyo more currently, but maybe when summer comes and I want to travel light I'll be swapping to the Valoq.

EDIT: I've read that the size of the Valoq was based on the fact that in fits in the front chest pocket of polo shirts and business shirts of Japanese business men, and after testing it out it does indeed fit very nicely into that pocket.  A short balanced cable (less than 1m) with CIEM and you can travel VERY light while having great sound on the go.

 
I have to agree that Onkyo is the better overall package, and yes I have said that the Valoq serves me very well as a 2nd player, while people who only wants one probably finds the Onkyo a much better fit. Actually all that fits very well with the two companies' appeal - Onkyo obviously appeals to the general (i.e. larger) market, while VC always aim at the very niche (i.e. tiny) market. IF Onkyo releases a white color version like its Pioneer sibling I may consider getting one just for the look.
 
Size and weight of the Valoq is a bonus, though I never found my AK120ii heavy anyway. The Onkyo is hefty but still a good size. I kinda think the fonts used on the Onkyo's body made it kinda cheap looking tho...........yea I'm quite (too perhaps) picky on these things. Good thing is the words are small-ish so not a big distraction. Valoq's perfect style-wise.
 
I guess (again maybe it's just me) part of the Valoq appeal is its "geekiness" both in its looks and its primitive controls as a pure music player. Since I have it I reach for it way more often than my AK120ii. Scrolling (not-so-smoothly) thru the very basic (yet very functional indeed) menu never brought me so much joy before...............I even kept the menu in Japanese since it's just so simple and everything can be guessed, and the Japanese menu goes well with its Nippon heritage. Lol

 

[nanaholic]

  Ah... warm and lush sounds bad for me... looking for neutral to slightly 'cold', would opamp help or is that to do with the way the dac is implemented? AK Jr is not great with my iem and i'm finding EQ doesn't seem to change certain property. Any suggestions other than onkyo?

 
I haven't tried op-amp swaps, think Dr Sheep can help you more here.
 
Also link below has some op-amp reviews used in the Valoq (Japanese):
http://iphone-media.net/post-953/
 
I think in general you'd want to stay away from the MUSE amps since those appears to be more bass orientated.  

 

[DrSheep]

Yes, the LME series (LME49860 in my case) brightness will tone down the warmth of the AK4490.  By default the AKM4490 is already on the warm side, so the NJR MUSES series will make that worse.  Also what exactly are you looking for in a DAP?

 

[Raketen]

  Yes, the LME series (LME49860 in my case) brightness will tone down the warmth of the AK4490.  By default the AKM4490 is already on the warm side, so the NJR MUSES series will make that worse.  Also what exactly are you looking for in a DAP?

EVERYTHING

My problem is I just got the Earsonics S-EM9, and I'd like a pocketable DAP that I feel is a little better suited to them. The Jr drives them quite well, but there's a certain... idk how to describe it really- exaggerated thickness & punch to the lower/mid mids, that I mostly  notice with certain types of vocals & I haven't been able to tame EQ-wise without bungling up the sound. One of the JR's reviews described it as having a "muscular" DAC sound so I'm guessing this is what I'm hearing and not the opamp (I do not experience this effect with my JDS C5D, or even underpowered A10 walkman).
 
I have read the C5D described as slightly warm, so I figure I wouldn't mind going a little in the opposite direction to 'neutral/slightly cold'. I was thinking the VALOQ might be ideal because I could roll OPAMPs with it, but I guess if that 'warm and lush'  character is also largely created by the DAC's implementation  I might be better off looking at something else.
 
Anyway sorry to distract from the topic, looking forward to some more impressions of VALOQ.

 

[ajchen]

New firmware was just released here : http://venturecraft.jp/gadget_jp/valoq/firmware.php?dlfile_id=8
Please be informed this new firmware has no Chinese UI , no change log so far .
 
Here are my steps to update firmware below :
 
1.Extract after download new firmware .
2.Rename the extracted file to update.bin and copy to your microSD
3.Insert microSD card before power-on Valoq.
4.Power-on >General settings>Update the firware
5.Follow instruction which display on screen and wait till reboot automatically .
 

 

[DrSheep]

 
EVERYTHING

My problem is I just got the Earsonics S-EM9, and I'd like a pocketable DAP that I feel is a little better suited to them. The Jr drives them quite well, but there's a certain... idk how to describe it really- exaggerated thickness & punch to the lower/mid mids, that I mostly  notice with certain types of vocals & I haven't been able to tame EQ-wise without bungling up the sound. One of the JR's reviews described it as having a "muscular" DAC sound so I'm guessing this is what I'm hearing and not the opamp (I do not experience this effect with my JDS C5D, or even underpowered A10 walkman).
 
I have read the C5D described as slightly warm, so I figure I wouldn't mind going a little in the opposite direction to 'neutral/slightly cold'. I was thinking the VALOQ might be ideal because I could roll OPAMPs with it, but I guess if that 'warm and lush'  character is also largely created by the DAC's implementation  I might be better off looking at something else.
 
Anyway sorry to distract from the topic, looking forward to some more impressions of VALOQ.

You are correct about the Jr., and that thickness more or less due to its Wolfson DAC.  The LME can make the Valoq close to neutral but still not quite there, but that's largely a problem with the mids and not lows.  I have no proof on this, but I expect the amp change should work with your Earsonics S-EM9, as with my K10.

 

[qsk78]

  You are correct about the Jr., and that thickness more or less due to its Wolfson DAC.  The LME can make the Valoq close to neutral but still not quite there, but that's largely a problem with the mids and not lows. 

Any idea on how the opa627 might impact the sound?
To me PCM1795 + opa627 is a perfect match! How about a combination with the AKM chip?

 

[DrSheep]

Link to Chinese interface:
 
https://www.dropbox.com/s/rh5ctv89y4iec4d/update.bin?dl=0
 
However, you need to update to 15525 first, and the file is also called update.bin so be careful.

 

[productred]

 
EVERYTHING

My problem is I just got the Earsonics S-EM9, and I'd like a pocketable DAP that I feel is a little better suited to them. The Jr drives them quite well, but there's a certain... idk how to describe it really- exaggerated thickness & punch to the lower/mid mids, that I mostly  notice with certain types of vocals & I haven't been able to tame EQ-wise without bungling up the sound. One of the JR's reviews described it as having a "muscular" DAC sound so I'm guessing this is what I'm hearing and not the opamp (I do not experience this effect with my JDS C5D, or even underpowered A10 walkman).
 
I have read the C5D described as slightly warm, so I figure I wouldn't mind going a little in the opposite direction to 'neutral/slightly cold'. I was thinking the VALOQ might be ideal because I could roll OPAMPs with it, but I guess if that 'warm and lush'  character is also largely created by the DAC's implementation  I might be better off looking at something else.
 
Anyway sorry to distract from the topic, looking forward to some more impressions of VALOQ.

 
Personally I don't think the Valoq is too warm or too lush. Warm yes, lush depends on material and whether you upsample your materials. Playing my AIFF files straight doesn't add any lushness at all, just a little warm tilt. Upsampling (or in fact same for playing DSD files direct) brings extra richness in the sound and that may be what amounts to the extra warmth and lushness. If I have to describe the sound generally, applicable to both with and without upsampling, I'd say its a big, meaty and juicy sound with brilliant soundstaging capabilities. All of my go-to iems (K10alu, MH335DWSR and Compact Monitors Stage4, Beyer T8ie) performs better than never before with the Valoq (as long as the gain level is matched).
 
While the warm signature may not be solely attributed to the DAC, I tend to find ALL implementations of the flagship DACs tend to be on the warm side of things (ES9018, PCM179x, AKM4490, Wolfson etc), maybe with the sole exception of CS4398 which is on the clean and lean side. I also consider myself to be preferring cooler and brighter signture most of the time, but at the end of the day it really boils down to the fidelity and realism (or a word I like to use a lot - believability / how believable is the sound) the overall presentation is. Being a musician myself I can't stand listening to anything that doesn't sound exactly like the real thing. The Valoq is warm but everything instrument sounds exactly like the real thing. Onkyo fell a bit short, but is still at a good level. I picked the AK120ii out of the AK family (by that time AK380 hasn't been released yet) cos it got the most accurate presentation among the AKs, albeit with a cooler and somehow more laid back approach than the Valoq.
 
Btw I believe the Onkyo/Pioneer is the least warm implementation of the ES9018 I've heard as of date, but the warm tilt is still there.

 

[productred]

   
Personally I don't think the Valoq is too warm or too lush. Warm yes, lush depends on material and whether you upsample your materials. Playing my AIFF files straight doesn't add any lushness at all, just a little warm tilt. Upsampling (or in fact same for playing DSD files direct) brings extra richness in the sound and that may be what amounts to the extra warmth and lushness. If I have to describe the sound generally, applicable to both with and without upsampling, I'd say its a big, meaty and juicy sound with brilliant soundstaging capabilities. All of my go-to iems (K10alu, MH335DWSR and Compact Monitors Stage4, Beyer T8ie) performs better than never before with the Valoq (as long as the gain level is matched).
 
While the warm signature may not be solely attributed to the DAC, I tend to find ALL implementations of the flagship DACs tend to be on the warm side of things (ES9018, PCM179x, AKM4490, Wolfson etc), maybe with the sole exception of CS4398 which is on the clean and lean side. I also consider myself to be preferring cooler and brighter signture most of the time, but at the end of the day it really boils down to the fidelity and realism (or a word I like to use a lot - believability / how believable is the sound) the overall presentation is. Being a musician myself I can't stand listening to anything that doesn't sound exactly like the real thing. The Valoq is warm but everything instrument sounds exactly like the real thing. Onkyo fell a bit short, but is still at a good level. I picked the AK120ii out of the AK family (by that time AK380 hasn't been released yet) cos it got the most accurate presentation among the AKs, albeit with a cooler and somehow more laid back approach than the Valoq.
 
Btw I believe the Onkyo/Pioneer is the least warm implementation of the ES9018 I've heard as of date, but the warm tilt is still there.

 
In addition, all of Valoq (AKM), Onkyo (ES9018), Pioneer (ES9018), AK380 (AKM), AK380cu (AKM), Plenue One (PCM), Calyx M (ES9018) are on the warm side of things IMO. Wolfson 8740 and family severely lacks transparency in comparison to any one of these - I think that's the biggest problem of the Jr, lack of transparency.

 

[audionewbi]

   
In addition, all of Valoq (AKM), Onkyo (ES9018), Pioneer (ES9018), AK380 (AKM), AK380cu (AKM), Plenue One (PCM), Calyx M (ES9018) are on the warm side of things IMO. Wolfson 8740 and family severely lacks transparency in comparison to any one of these - I think that's the biggest problem of the Jr, lack of transparency.

Wolfson is what I consider lean/neutral with no transparency. What this means is basically microdetail is almost something almost non-existent. However they pair nice with most balance armture.
 
While DACs do make a difference the lineout of Lotoo PAW Gold direct from DAC is quiet neutral but a high level of transparency, suggesting perhaps most DAPS have their sound altered by their amp section, in particular the class A amp of calyx M which does wonders on most IEM, sadly their m-jack makes it less of an ideal pairing for me on the go. 

 

[nanaholic]

I updated the Valoq and dig through the menu - doesn't seem like there's anything new.  I think this is probably more of a stability update.  I'm going to try to play some DSD files on it cos on the last firmware the player would crash on DSD 5.6Mhz files.  
 
On a related note I re-terminated my pair of Edition 8 today with a balanced plug, it seems to pair pretty nicely with the Valoq.
 

 

[audionewbi]

Perhaps lack of gapless is still my major issue with this player, after the brighter sound paired with some of my favourite IEM which partially is fixed with gain reduction.
 
I am totally enjoying the navigation, fast and in large lag free.
 
I have to send my unit back this monday as i was waiting for the firmware to be released. Sadly the firmware do not fix the white line which makes me thing it might be a hardware issue. 
 
Something fun: toggling the unit to lock turns the screen off, that is a nice trick and I am happy they implemented it.