I think it's dangerous to make blanket statements. A person using AAC, AptX, LDAC is listening to a different signal than the original because even LDAC uses lossy compression. Different dongles also have different analog sections. Some people won't be able to hear the difference and some people can hear the difference. This is just like some people can hear the difference between an english horn and an oboe and some people think they sound the same. This is what makes us human instead of robots and is a good thing.
Transferred 1.0.7 firmware and sat staring at the WAITING screen like a shmuck..... turns out my unit was manufactured in August so it already includes latest firmware.
Very impressed so far! Nice SQ even with just the single-ended output and the jack not being burnt in at all. Ability for L/H gain, volume control, and DSP/EQ is insane in such a small and well-built unit.
Only issue so far I noticed even with SE output in low gain my Xelento picked up a lot of noise from older recordings that are noisy on their own. Might be an issue with either noisy USB-C on my S10e or with S1 output itself. Will try later to see if it's less noisy with either Jitterbug or EarBuddy.
Stock cable seems decent: braided and gold-plated. I did also pick up the short thunderbolt cable suggested by @bflat . Haven't noticed any difference yet, both seem to work fine.
S1 nor other Lotoo products are no longer available from Linsoul from what I can tell, I guess due to authorized dealers issue. I am satisfied with their service though. S1 came in tracked, quickly, and no duties. They said they would cover warranty for one year, and cover shipping to China if there are any issues within the first month as well.
AAC and AptX should sound the same. I'm not that gifted, but I do believe that you could spot a difference between lower quality codecs and lossy. In reality you can make 320kbps file to sound identical to any highest quality audio format. For stereo listening even 128kbps file can give you hi-res quality.
S1 stands strong against similar dongles. I've sold both of my portable amps, DFR(a bit harsh sometimes), HA-2 where S1 matched in SQ, with less power, but way more pocket friendly size + EQ presets which can give you holographic experience. Even though S1 is a very good unit, but I have to be fair that UP4 is in the same sound quality league(if we disregard EQ presets on S1) and is way more convenient. For a portable, but desktop use only I would say go for S1, if you are planning to use it on the go as well, than there is no debate
Maybe in an iOS environment (which I don't use), but in Android, AAC is poorly implemented and is a notoriously poorer performer than AptX. Ready for double-blind test.
Maybe in an iOS environment (which I don't use), but in Android, AAC is poorly implemented and is a notoriously poorer performer than AptX. Ready for double-blind test.
AAC on iOS is a step ahead than on Androids. I'm not surprised that you can easily spot the difference. With LDAC and clean amping though... I think people with trained ears could easily make mistakes during blind tests. Would be really interesting to see
Did they post output power spec? Also, didn't see any mentioning of MQA in that FB post. With 4.4mm output only and no mentioning of output power and/or gain control, it could be less versatile than S1.
I have Beam2 and Lotoo paw S1.
Beam2 draws more power and is MQA compatible it has 2.5mm Balanced and 3.5mm output, 2.5mm balanced is very powerful, Beam 2 does not have EQ presets or any other options from Lotoo like gain, screen or easy firmware update!
I see new Beam2s is only 4.4mm balanced guess not too much has been changed again it will draw too much power, this is my assumption and MQA guess same as old one.
So I prefer to stay and use Lotoo paw S1 and one day maybe MQA will be available but I still think is a way better option.
Did they post output power spec? Also, didn't see any mentioning of MQA in that FB post. With 4.4mm output only and no mentioning of output power and/or gain control, it could be less versatile than S1.
The included cable is absolute garbage. It wouldn't work with my S8 and had significant popping and distortion. I replaced it with an Anker powerline iii I grabbed online and all those problems have been solved. Maybe I got a defective cable? Either way, the S1 has been great for me otherwise.
The included cable is absolute garbage. It wouldn't work with my S8 and had significant popping and distortion. I replaced it with an Anker powerline iii I grabbed online and all those problems have been solved. Maybe I got a defective cable? Either way, the S1 has been great for me otherwise.
I think I have an issue with my paw s1.
It works perfect connected with my iMac with Audirvana, works perfect with my iPad Pro with Tidal, but with my iPhoneX it doesn't work....
The light on the screen is turned on but when I press play, the sound comes out from the iPhone speakers and not from the paw s1.
Anyone experienced this?
Thanks!!
Solved!!! Restarted the iPhone and it works perfect now!!
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