Luxury & Precision (LP) Portable USB DAC/AMP W1 and W2 (The new W2-131 Version is Available, Related Info on Post #1)

[jeffhawke]

Thank you ... these ‘logistical’ differences make sense.

Logistics aside, was also wondering about pure sound quality considerations...

I guess it will be hard to say specifically for L&P W2 since no one has done a direct comparison, but wondering how these dongles (L&P W1, Lotoo S1) have fared when compared to DAPs?

Generally speaking, the UI of a smartphone is much better than that of a DAP, and so is the wireless connection for streaming, even if there is no wifi. Also, you would have a choice between different player apps, such as Neutron, UAPP and HiBy Music. The most obvious downsides are the drain on your smartphone batteries, as explained by @Babayagga, and (but it appears not to be the case with the W2), less power than a good DAP in order to properly drive power hungry cans or iems.

 

[HiFyAK2020]

Generally speaking, the UI of a smartphone is much better than that of a DAP, and so is the wireless connection for streaming, even if there is no wifi. Also, you would have a choice between different player apps, such as Neutron, UAPP and HiBy Music. The most obvious downsides are the drain on your smartphone batteries, as explained by @Babayagga, and (but it appears not to be the case with the W2), less power than a good DAP in order to properly drive power hungry cans or iems.

I use a Huawei Smartphone and have my L&P W1 connected to it via the USB-C. For 1 hour listening music it drains 5-6% of my battery. That is not at all any significant - so unless somebody listens for hours with his IEM's there should not be a big problem for battery drainage.
Having said that - i bought a USB-C splitter (there are several different models out there) - one of which i show you as a photo - the one i like quite well. Others are a Belkin USB-C Adapter or a Cable creation adapter - both of which take USB-C from a charger and slide it through to the Smartphone and at the same time transfers Digital Audio back via the other connector (which is the one i connect the L&P W1 to).
Having said that - because the W1 drains so little battery - i hardly ever use this dual USB-C Adapter anymore...
I do agree that it is a big question if a bespoke portable Audio player still has some value. Memory is cheap and now there are 256 GB or even 512 GB Mem Chips out there for a little price. Android phones can download apps (i use poweramp) and off you go ! The sound quality is simply top - i don't know where and how a bespoke device is still needed. AND i do not like to carry too many devices with me anyway.
My 2 cents on this topic and yes i will buy the W2.

 

[Babayagga]

I use a Huawei Smartphone and have my L&P W1 connected to it via the USB-C. For 1 hour listening music it drains 5-6% of my battery. That is not at all any significant - so unless somebody listens for hours with his IEM's there should not be a big problem for battery drainage.
Having said that - i bought a USB-C splitter (there are several different models out there) - one of which i show you as a photo - the one i like quite well. Others are a Belkin USB-C Adapter or a Cable creation adapter - both of which take USB-C from a charger and slide it through to the Smartphone and at the same time transfers Digital Audio back via the other connector (which is the one i connect the L&P W1 to).
Having said that - because the W1 drains so little battery - i hardly ever use this dual USB-C Adapter anymore...
I do agree that it is a big question if a bespoke portable Audio player still has some value. Memory is cheap and now there are 256 GB or even 512 GB Mem Chips out there for a little price. Android phones can download apps (i use poweramp) and off you go ! The sound quality is simply top - i don't know where and how a bespoke device is still needed. AND i do not like to carry too many devices with me anyway.
My 2 cents on this topic and yes i will buy the W2.

I prefer this OTG which neatly tucks the dongle behind the smartphone so nothing is left to dangle aside from your iem cable.
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005001476774066.html?spm=a2g0s.9042311.0.0.ac824c4d0RZxox

 

[koledoff1986]

Using the same portable player for a while, I came to the conclusion that it is easier to buy a smartphone with a capacious battery and a good usb DAC than to worry about the state of the player's battery. And the bundle of smartphone and dac is much more convenient than to carry a player. Smartphone usually change every two years - the benefit is now full of smartphones with a battery of 5k mAh. And the sound of portable usb DAC is no worse than that of a player

 

[Babayagga]

Using the same portable player for a while, I came to the conclusion that it is easier to buy a smartphone with a capacious battery and a good usb DAC than to worry about the state of the player's battery. And the bundle of smartphone and dac is much more convenient than to carry a player. Smartphone usually change every two years - the benefit is now full of smartphones with a battery of 5k mAh. And the sound of portable usb DAC is no worse than that of a player

That depends entirely on the DAP. Something like a Luxury and Precision P6 would destroy any dongle on the market in regards to technicalities. It's all a matter of how much you're willing to spend to go down the rabbit hole, but for budget to mid-fi levels, you can't do much better than the W1/W2? plus a good phone.

 

[koledoff1986]

That depends entirely on the DAP. Something like a Luxury and Precision P6 would destroy any dongle on the market in regards to technicalities. It's all a matter of how much you're willing to spend to go down the rabbit hole, but for budget to mid-fi levels, you can't do much better than the W1/W2? plus a good phone.

Yes, I'm not chasing the top solutions in the market, for myself just decided that a bunch of usb DAC and a smartphone is much better than buying a player. I hope W2 will meet my needs, I look forward to when it goes on sale. I'm sorry if something's wrong, it's difficult to translate. Google translation

 

[Babayagga]

Yes, I'm not chasing the top solutions in the market, for myself just decided that a bunch of usb DAC and a smartphone is much better than buying a player. I hope W2 will meet my needs, I look forward to when it goes on sale. I'm sorry if something's wrong, it's difficult to translate. Google translation

You didn't say anything wrong, I was just expanding on your statement for clarification purposes. I too will be buying the W2 when it comes out and hopefully selling my DAP

 

[koledoff1986]

That depends entirely on the DAP. Something like a Luxury and Precision P6 would destroy any dongle on the market in regards to technicalities. It's all a matter of how much you're willing to spend to go down the rabbit hole, but for budget to mid-fi levels, you can't do much better than the W1/W2? plus a good phone.

Yes, I'm not chasing the top solutions in the market, for myself just decided that a bunch of usb DAC and a smartphone is much better than buying a player. I hope W2 will meet my needs, I look forward to when it goes on sale. I'm sorry if something's wrong, it's difficult to translate. Google Translation

You didn't say anything wrong, I was just expanding on your statement for clarification purposes. I too will be buying the W2 when it comes out and hopefully selling my DAP

And I was given some strange text by a translator guys, communication here is only in English, right?

 

[jeffhawke]

That depends entirely on the DAP. Something like a Luxury and Precision P6 would destroy any dongle on the market in regards to technicalities. It's all a matter of how much you're willing to spend to go down the rabbit hole, but for budget to mid-fi levels, you can't do much better than the W1/W2? plus a good phone.

Right. I use a LPGT amd it hardly gets any better when it comes to portable audio. However, when it comes to streaming connectivity, it’s really not up to par, so I guess I’ll keep it and possibly get a W2 to use with my LG V30. But I’ll just wait until a few reviews are out before making a decision.

 

[Aye75]

Hi all,

I just received my W1 unit. Need to check how to we know which firmware version were on and how to download the firmware ?

I went to Luxury & Precision site and when clicking this firmware V1.0.1.3 to download it redirects me to a baidu page where I need some kind of password to login

There also a plastic on the box which seems like a barcode which I tried to google translate using phone app and I tried scanning it opens up a wechat app which I'm trying to register to login but can't at the moment.

 

[W1ll1eTheP1mp]

Hey. does somebody know when W2 is releasing?

 

[musicday]

Hey. does somebody know when W2 is releasing?

Couple of months for the international market I believe.

 

[bluestorm1992]

Couple of months for the international market I believe.

If LP moves fast enough, I believe we should be getting it in March. Shipment of W2 starts next week in mainland China.

 

[musicday]

Does the W1/W2 have 235 mW@32 Ohm only on the 4.4 balanced?

 

[Babayagga]

If LP moves fast enough, I believe we should be getting it in March. Shipment of W2 starts next week in mainland China.

I thought they said that they would be releasing the W2 in the US first with Musictek?