[dgjl]

I just fixed my own problem. keeping Tidal open in the background solved the stutter when switching apps. So basically now to me, there is no SQ difference between UAPP and Tidal.

Usability wise, I would like to point out that the remote button is working with UAPP only. I use physical button of the phone to play next with Tidal.

Thanks very much!

 

[dgjl]

I just fixed my own problem. keeping Tidal open in the background solves the stutter when switching apps. So basically now to me, there is no SQ difference between UAPP and Tidal. Static dat sound at the start of MQA songs remains with both apps, tho.

Usability wise, I would like to point out that the remote button of S2 is working with UAPP only. I use physical button of the phone to play next with Tidal

 

[MitchriX]

Got S1 during summer and enjoed it so much that couldn't miss out the new S2 now after its launch. Really love the that extra function button and the clip addon. This version comes closer to one of the most iconic piece of equipment from 20 years ago - Sony's MDP remote control.

I mean that thing was almost perfect with all its functionality, and on top of that it looked damn cool as well. I wonder how long it will take for companies producing these small portable DACs nowadays to get to the same level in product design...

Anyway, I'm happy with S2, but I have quite annoying issue with Lotoo's original lightning to USB C cable. The first cable died within a week (no sound from headphones when plugged to iPhone SE 2020). S1 was getting power (display lighting up), but no sound coming from the unit. The second upgraded lightning cable from Lotoo (launched with S2) - the same thing - it worked for a week and similar issue re-appeared. Additionally, there is some randomness to this, as the sound might work after all, after re-plugging the lightning cable's end to the phone for the 7th/8th time in a row, so still - pretty low probability. I feel as if the issue is with the lightning connector, because once the connection is successful (you can bend the cable as much as you like), the "flow" of the music's there and is not interrupted afterwards. It's just the establishment of the initial connection that is somehow affected.

Was thinking to try a different OTG cable (Fiio's LT-LT1, ddHiFi's MFi06 are on the way) to see if those make a difference, but wondering if anyone else has experienced something similar. Thaks for sharing in any case!

 

[H T T]

Got S1 during summer and enjoed it so much that couldn't miss out the new S2 now after its launch. Really love the that extra function button and the clip addon. This version comes closer to one of the most iconic piece of equipment from 20 years ago - Sony's MDP remote control.

I mean that thing was almost perfect with all its functionality, and on top of that it looked damn cool as well. I wonder how long it will take for companies producing these small portable DACs nowadays to get to the same level in product design...

Anyway, I'm happy with S2, but I have quite annoying issue with Lotoo's original lightning to USB C cable. The first cable died within a week (no sound from headphones when plugged to iPhone SE 2020). S1 was getting power (display lighting up), but no sound coming from the unit. The second upgraded lightning cable from Lotoo (launched with S2) - the same thing - it worked for a week and similar issue re-appeared. Additionally, there is some randomness to this, as the sound might work after all, after re-plugging the lightning cable's end to the phone for the 7th/8th time in a row, so still - pretty low probability. I feel as if the issue is with the lightning connector, because once the connection is successful (you can bend the cable as much as you like), the "flow" of the music's there and is not interrupted afterwards. It's just the establishment of the initial connection that is somehow affected.

Was thinking to try a different OTG cable (Fiio's LT-LT1, ddHiFi's MFi06 are on the way) to see if those make a difference, but wondering if anyone else has experienced something similar. Thaks for sharing in any case!

The Meenova cable on Amazon has worked well for me for the S1.

 

[NJoyzAudio]

Got S1 during summer and enjoed it so much that couldn't miss out the new S2 now after its launch. Really love the that extra function button and the clip addon. This version comes closer to one of the most iconic piece of equipment from 20 years ago - Sony's MDP remote control.

I mean that thing was almost perfect with all its functionality, and on top of that it looked damn cool as well. I wonder how long it will take for companies producing these small portable DACs nowadays to get to the same level in product design...

Anyway, I'm happy with S2, but I have quite annoying issue with Lotoo's original lightning to USB C cable. The first cable died within a week (no sound from headphones when plugged to iPhone SE 2020). S1 was getting power (display lighting up), but no sound coming from the unit. The second upgraded lightning cable from Lotoo (launched with S2) - the same thing - it worked for a week and similar issue re-appeared. Additionally, there is some randomness to this, as the sound might work after all, after re-plugging the lightning cable's end to the phone for the 7th/8th time in a row, so still - pretty low probability. I feel as if the issue is with the lightning connector, because once the connection is successful (you can bend the cable as much as you like), the "flow" of the music's there and is not interrupted afterwards. It's just the establishment of the initial connection that is somehow affected.

Was thinking to try a different OTG cable (Fiio's LT-LT1, ddHiFi's MFi06 are on the way) to see if those make a difference, but wondering if anyone else has experienced something similar. Thaks for sharing in any case!

MitchriX

Sorry to hear you've had problems with the Lotoo Cables. Guess I've been lucky and have not had issues, both with S1 and S2.
I've had really good luck with a cable from Amazon Basics, that has a nice doublebraided cloth exterior, and bonus is it is chipped to support USB 3.2 and Alt-Mode DisplayPort Video and Blu-Ray HD Audio signals (an oxymoron since HD Audio in this case is a Video Standard as its audio from Blu-Ray Video)
Though it is NOT a OTG cable, when using with my USB-C tablet, I don't see any faster drain than using the OTG cables.
https://www.amazon.com/AmazonBasics...715233&sprefix=Amazon+3.1,aps,213&sr=8-4&th=1

Using this cable allows me to cut down on the number of cables I have to travel on business with, and if I choose to not take my DAP, it allows me to use the S2 from PC or Tablet and use Amazon Music HD or Tidal without issues, and the S2 on Tidal Master tracks correctly shows it is using MQA 4x.

Just wanted to pass this on as the cable has machined aluminum ends, its braided fabric and supports USB 3.1/3.2 speeds, and is less expensive than many other USB-C cables out there.

Hope this information helps

 

[econaut]

Hi, I want to upgrade my Dragonfly Cobalt because I want balanced output. Soundwise I am quite happy, so going for a balanced output must not compromise sound quality.

Can anyone compare the S2 (or S1) to a Dragonfly Cobalt?

I have only found a comparison at Headfonia.com of the S1 and the Dragonfly Red, where the S1 comes out on top. But I didn't like the Red at all and it sounds quite different from the Cobalt, so that comparison is of no use to me. The W2 is about on par with the Cobalt from what I have read.

 

[dgjl]

Hi, I want to upgrade my Dragonfly Cobalt because I want balanced output. Soundwise I am quite happy, so going for a balanced output must not compromise sound quality.

Can anyone compare the S2 (or S1) to a Dragonfly Cobalt?

I have only found a comparison at Headfonia.com of the S1 and the Dragonfly Red, where the S1 comes out on top. But I didn't like the Red at all and it sounds quite different from the Cobalt, so that comparison is of no use to me. The W2 is about on par with the Cobalt from what I have read.

I have a Cobalt and a W2 - my S2 is coming at the end of the week, so should be able to post some comparisons early next week (though I won't be using balanced, as that doesn't work well for my Westone W80s). Give me a poke if I forget.

 

[MitchriX]

Hi, I want to upgrade my Dragonfly Cobalt because I want balanced output. Soundwise I am quite happy, so going for a balanced output must not compromise sound quality.

Can anyone compare the S2 (or S1) to a Dragonfly Cobalt?

I have only found a comparison at Headfonia.com of the S1 and the Dragonfly Red, where the S1 comes out on top. But I didn't like the Red at all and it sounds quite different from the Cobalt, so that comparison is of no use to me. The W2 is about on par with the Cobalt from what I have read.

I was exactly in the same quandary and did the exchange from DF Cobalt/Red (had those both at the same time for comparison purposes) to S1, and later to S2. I'm not an expert in sound quality, but for me S1/S2 sounds pure and clean, whereas Cobalt felt distorted, as if there were some over exaggerated DSP effects added onto it. That exchange also gave me the chance to start exploring the "balanced" headphones world as I had never owned one before. First thing I did was upgrading the cable on my Campfire Audio's Honeydew headphones
Also, I feel Lotoo's DACs are superior in build quality than AudioQuest's in general, and all those extra features on S1/S2 make it more versatile unit. The battery drain on the phone was also higher with Cobalt iirc.

 

[waveSounds]

I've also had problems with cables and the S1. It seems to be cable dependant, so a Russian roulette of cable choice to some degree if it's going to work or not - a lot of the ones I've tried keep causing the S1 to disconnect at the slightest wiggle. Worth mentioning if you have a USB C device you don't need an "otg" cable; USB C is inherently otg so you can use any usb C to C so long as it supports data transfer (don't they all?!).

 

[boveywong]

Using S2 with Tidal on S21 Ultra. I can't hear difference between UAPP and Tidal, both in bit perfect mode. However, with Tidal, there is a half a second pause everytime I open other apps. The pause becomes a faint "dat dat" sound while MQA being played. And with both UAPP and Tidal, there is always this "dat dat" at the beginning of every MQA song.

I just went to a local headphone shop and gave a try to both s2 and w2 using softears rs10 with s10+.

I noticed the static pop noise when playing MQA using tidal. It happened whenever I scrub through the play head, or changing song, or even in the middle of the song. It's quite loud and discouraging. Playing MQA with uapp introduced stuttering throughout the entire playback, normal playback was fine. But I have to reconnect the s2 to play audio from other apps like YouTube and web browser.

On the other hand the w2 played flawlessly using whatever app you feed it with, no pop no hiccup. Uapp clearly sounded much better than tidal.

Sound wise s2 sounds warm and smooth, w2 sounds brighter and transparent. W2's drove my rs10 better with better dynamic range with more output power.

Native tidal support on the s2 is really nice but it's not working well with my phone. With w2 it means and I have to stick with uapp which is quite a hassle to use. So I'll wait for more future dongle releases.

 

[awolkoff]

Recently purchased an S2 and Lotoo USB C to Lightning OTG cable from MusicTeck for use with my iPhone 13 pro. I'm still new at the IEM game but at age 57 am a life-long audiophile and critical listener. Very pleased with the sound of device through my Ikko OH-10s. I haven't had any issues with MQA playback, but do observe there's a new version of firmware out for the device that appears to address MQA, and I upgraded to this new version before deploying the device.

I'm grateful for this forum, which put me on the path to these devices. Also grateful for fantastic service from MusicTeck, highly recommended.

 

[dgjl]

I just fixed my own problem. keeping Tidal open in the background solves the stutter when switching apps. So basically now to me, there is no SQ difference between UAPP and Tidal. Static dat sound at the start of MQA songs remains with both apps, tho.

Usability wise, I would like to point out that the remote button of S2 is working with UAPP only. I use physical button of the phone to play next with Tidal.

Do you get a problem with volume on the S2 when using Tidal on Android? The volume sometimes comes on at max when I use my Cobalt and the volume buttons on the phone have no effect. Force stopping the app resolves it, but hardly idea for my ears or my IEMs.

 

[dgjl]

Hi, I want to upgrade my Dragonfly Cobalt because I want balanced output. Soundwise I am quite happy, so going for a balanced output must not compromise sound quality.

Can anyone compare the S2 (or S1) to a Dragonfly Cobalt?

I have only found a comparison at Headfonia.com of the S1 and the Dragonfly Red, where the S1 comes out on top. But I didn't like the Red at all and it sounds quite different from the Cobalt, so that comparison is of no use to me. The W2 is about on par with the Cobalt from what I have read.

Initial impressions, but the S2 is better than than Cobalt in every way. Sweeter, fuller, smoother, cleaner, etc. I'll keep testing, but the DFC sounds very rough by comparison. I'm playing Tidal bit perfect to Westone W80s.

 

[dgjl]

Initial impressions, but the S2 is better than than Cobalt in every way. Sweeter, fuller, smoother, cleaner, etc. I'll keep testing, but the DFC sounds very rough by comparison. I'm playing Tidal bit perfect to Westone W80s.

Another day in and I've done some (non-blind) a/b testing against the W2. There's very little in it and they are very similar in my set up (both S20 orWindows driving W80s). It might be new buyer's placebo, but I'd give the edge to the S2 - just a touch more open, musical, warmer, and more full-bodied (e.g., things that are micro details on the W2 are more present on the S2). As to the above Tidal app vs UAPP debate (when both are bit perfect), the edge clearly goes to UAAP. Unfortunately the Tidal app sounds a little 'digital' and lacks the fullness/sweetness of the UAPP presentation - which is a real shame. Qobuz is a shade better again. All of this is pretty marginal, mind you. Will test against the A&K PEE51, which has been my daily go to for the last few weeks, over the weekend. My guess is it will be pretty close - the wider soundstage of the S2 may take the laurels.

 

[econaut]

Initial impressions, but the S2 is better than than Cobalt in every way. Sweeter, fuller, smoother, cleaner, etc. I'll keep testing, but the DFC sounds very rough by comparison. I'm playing Tidal bit perfect to Westone W80s.

Also got the S2 in, but I am having a hard time to hear a difference betwen it and the Cobalt, to be honest. I can only test with Moondrop Kato und Campfire Audio Cascade and HD25 Alu at the moment, because my bigger headphones don't have 3.5 or 4.4 connectors. But I wouldn't use them with the dongle DACs anyway. Wish I still had my Andromedas, I guess then it would be easier.

Do you have a track where you think the differences are quite clear? Maybe I am just listening to the "wrong" music