[hakunamakaka]

Current trade-off in sound quality while going via bluetooth amps is such small or even “non existing”, I don’t see much future for cables dongles anymore.

 

[MatusSVK]

Current trade-off in sound quality while going via bluetooth amps is such small or even “non existing”, I don’t see much future for cables dongles anymore.

I have not had the chance to see for myself, but apparently the most noticeable difference is the sub-bass depth and maybe soundstage width/depth

 

[hakunamakaka]

I have not had the chance to see for myself, but apparently the most noticeable difference is the sub-bass depth and maybe soundstage width/depth

Personally my bluetooth UP4 is not lacking in any way against S1 and I have TOTL IEM to spot any SQ difference . Due to it's own battery and better power output I can use UP4 with my full sized headphones. EQ presets held me with S1, especially "dental" .It can push my IEM a step further, but now I see that new bluetooth amps are being released with PEQ availability and that's basically all you need for portable use.

Majority of such bluetooth dac/amps now supports many codecs and are properly implemented. For such connection biggest challenge was signal stability and small BT throughput, but new codecs are being released and with updates for existing ones I can tell that even "lower" quality AAC codec is completely sufficient, especially for streamed music. With the right setup I can't tell any difference between wired and BT connection anymore.

 

[AlexCBSN]

How is it possible that a company that sells daps for 2k+ cannot think that a dongle of this size will be inside a pocket, with the usb/ lightning port in the bottom of whatever device will be used, hanging from it since the cable is not that long and that it will be constantly used in that manner, between the efi, the fact that the cable just broke cause im walking and working while using it... sound is marvelous, but I think beyond looking at the sound specs you have to plan for the end user and it’s everyday use, I’m so annoyed right now cause it’s just something that can be thought before hand, lately I’ve been using other alternatives due to this and today after a couple of weeks Ieaving it home, finally it broke the cable. Which by mere design, it is stupid in practicality

 

[jsmiller58]

How is it possible that a company that sells daps for 2k+ cannot think that a dongle of this size will be inside a pocket, with the usb/ lightning port in the bottom of whatever device will be used, hanging from it since the cable is not that long and that it will be constantly used in that manner, between the efi, the fact that the cable just broke cause im walking and working while using it... sound is marvelous, but I think beyond looking at the sound specs you have to plan for the end user and it’s everyday use, I’m so annoyed right now cause it’s just something that can be thought before hand, lately I’ve been using other alternatives due to this and today after a couple of weeks Ieaving it home, finally it broke the cable. Which by mere design, it is stupid in practicality

As the owner of a few dongles (9038s gen 2, 9038s gen 3, il-dsp, S8, S1) I have come to the conclusion that they are pretty useless for portable use... a good BT adapter (BTR5, Qudelix 5K are the ones I have) is the way to go. These bulky dongles are at best useful as a desktop solution when you need the best sound and are away from your home rig... I will be using mine at work, some day, when we are allowed to go to the office.

Before any flames are directed my way let me stress that this is my opinion only. YMMV!

 

[AlexCBSN]

As the owner of a few dongles (9038s gen 2, 9038s gen 3, il-dsp, S8, S1) I have come to the conclusion that they are pretty useless for portable use... a good BT adapter (BTR5, Qudelix 5K are the ones I have) is the way to go. These bulky dongles are at best useful as a desktop solution when you need the best sound and are away from your home rig... I will be using mine at work, some day, when we are allowed to go to the office.

Before any flames are directed my way let me stress that this is my opinion only. YMMV!

No
Flames bro, cause I think that the people doing this does their testing like that, which is fine for some, but at the end, portability is the ultimate goal, I can tell some people will use it like that, but when you are doing a product you have to get the full spectrum, it seems stupid to me to include a cable and appeal to the mobile users and not think in the larger use of the product, if they come here and say “it’s a desktop compact solution” I would be like “then I would invest my money in something for my desktop and leave alone this option” they could design the product for that end and make it even better, it’s a shame since I think the insides are amazing, but the actual usage is impractical

 

[jsmiller58]

No
Flames bro, cause I think that the people doing this does their testing like that, which is fine for some, but at the end, portability is the ultimate goal, I can tell some people will use it like that, but when you are doing a product you have to get the full spectrum, it seems stupid to me to include a cable and appeal to the mobile users and not think in the larger use of the product, if they come here and say “it’s a desktop compact solution” I would be like “then I would invest my money in something for my desktop and leave alone this option” they could design the product for that end and make it even better, it’s a shame since I think the insides are amazing, but the actual usage is impractical

I don’t doubt they intended it to be a portable product... I just haven’t been satisfied with the reliability of any phone / bulky dongle in my pocket on the go, because of the cable connection reliability... I also have invariably had LTE interference with these solutions when away from WiFi...

I agree with you that these products should be better designed and tested for their intended use... but based on my limited experience, they aren’t, and I am pretty much giving up on the use model...

 

[auronthas]

Anybody else found other transport pair ups or apps that don't work with S1? Please, share. Will be a good feedback for Lotoo since I know Pauline is monitoring this thread and some issues could be fixed in fw.

Hi all, late comer for S1, only two apps Neutron and UAPP (in built Tidal) works from my Galaxy S10 plus. There's only internal phone speaker for Spotify, Hiby Music , Tidal apps.

When I plugin S1 with stocked USB C cable, there's no USB DAC mode shown , only a pop-up messages asking to choose UAPP or Neutron apps.

Kindly advise me how to get most apps work

 

[NCUS]

My S1 absolutely sounds better than my BTR5 over Bluetooth, and I think of the S1 as a great device to stream music from my laptop while I am on the road for work trips. Some of my preference for the S1 may stem from using over-the-ear headphones (Focal Stellia), while IEMs seem exceptionally popular on this board. I'm a little curious if people stream hi-rez over bluetooth because there is no bluetooth protocol that reliably handles 96, 192 or MQA files from what I understand.

 

[bflat]

No
Flames bro, cause I think that the people doing this does their testing like that, which is fine for some, but at the end, portability is the ultimate goal, I can tell some people will use it like that, but when you are doing a product you have to get the full spectrum, it seems stupid to me to include a cable and appeal to the mobile users and not think in the larger use of the product, if they come here and say “it’s a desktop compact solution” I would be like “then I would invest my money in something for my desktop and leave alone this option” they could design the product for that end and make it even better, it’s a shame since I think the insides are amazing, but the actual usage is impractical

I'm of the opinion that a dongle is a dongle. However, based on your experience, what would you suggest Lotoo do with the design to make it more pocketable?

 

[wenbinbin2010]

I'm of the opinion that a dongle is a dongle. However, based on your experience, what would you suggest Lotoo do with the design to make it more pocketable?

Maybe something with a wider rather than longer design so it sits more flush with the bottom of a phone?

I'm reminded of this MacBook USB-C expander. The original USB-C expanders were all dongles line the S1 with a cable connecting the two. This new one sits flush. https://www.hypershop.com/products/new-2020-hyperdrive-duo-7-in-2-usb-c-hub?variant=31775726272574

 

[jsmiller58]

My S1 absolutely sounds better than my BTR5 over Bluetooth, and I think of the S1 as a great device to stream music from my laptop while I am on the road for work trips. Some of my preference for the S1 may stem from using over-the-ear headphones (Focal Stellia), while IEMs seem exceptionally popular on this board. I'm a little curious if people stream hi-rez over bluetooth because there is no bluetooth protocol that reliably handles 96, 192 or MQA files from what I understand.

I agree that the S1 sounds great! If I am sitting down, and not by one of my desktop rigs, I will use the S1. But for portable use model would use one of my BT devices (BTR5, 5K). For BT streaming I would use LDAC (highest speed) (honestly I cannot tell much of a difference between LDAC and USB wired).

 

[AlexCBSN]

I'm of the opinion that a dongle is a dongle. However, based on your experience, what would you suggest Lotoo do with the design to make it more pocketable?

Cable input (usb c) side ways instead of the top/ bottom position, or L shaped usb c to usb c cable. Get an “average” size of smartphones and do the cable that size, taking in count that the phone will be in a pocket, therefor the L shape already got you covered in how the phone will be sitting inside the pocket. With those 2 adjustments I can tell that you could be carrying it And not having to pull the phone with a lot of care to not damage it. Better efi shielding inside or in the cable implementation. And of course the volume being on the actual phone or at least a better solution to the actual ones. Believe me, the hilidac beam 2 due to its size it’s way more practical, why I don’t use it exclusively, cause I bought this product and it actually kills it, more with the romi mod, sadly the caveats are quite big, in things that should be already thought on when doing the marketing research. It’s not like “our audience will love this, you know? Hardcore audiophiles that will be substituting their whole desktop solutions for this” “hey phil! But don’t you think there will be customers walking around with this and might be an average person that will walk, jog, even run from a Killer bee hive while using the dongle” “Jesus Dave! You always bringing your negativity to the table! We are talking about an audiophile market, not super heroes!” I can tell that meeting went like that

 

[jsmiller58]

Cable input (usb c) side ways instead of the top/ bottom position, or L shaped usb c to usb c cable. Get an “average” size of smartphones and do the cable that size, taking in count that the phone will be in a pocket, therefor the L shape already got you covered in how the phone will be sitting inside the pocket. With those 2 adjustments I can tell that you could be carrying it And not having to pull the phone with a lot of care to not damage it. Better efi shielding inside or in the cable implementation. And of course the volume being on the actual phone or at least a better solution to the actual ones. Believe me, the hilidac beam 2 due to its size it’s way more practical, why I don’t use it exclusively, cause I bought this product and it actually kills it, more with the romi mod, sadly the caveats are quite big, in things that should be already thought on when doing the marketing research. It’s not like “our audience will love this, you know? Hardcore audiophiles that will be substituting their whole desktop solutions for this” “hey phil! But don’t you think there will be customers walking around with this and might be an average person that will walk, jog, even run from a Killer bee hive while using the dongle” “Jesus Dave! You always bringing your negativity to the table! We are talking about an audiophile market, not super heroes!” I can tell that meeting went like that

ROFLMAO...!

 

[ClieOS]

Silicone case