Thanks for that it’s getting late In the UK so will give it another try after work tomorrow
Luxury & Precision (LP) W4, Successor to Their Popular W1/W2 USB Dongle is Here!
- Thread starter bluestorm1992
- Start date
littlexx26
500+ Head-Fier
what you used as the source?
Recently I've been lucky enough to participate in the L&P W4 Australian Tour organised by Damz87.
I had planned to write a full review of the unit but work has been rather hectic of late so instead I'll merely present some brief impressions.
The W4 immediately impresses with its' enviable build quality. The volume wheel in particular stands out not only for its' usability, with decisive tactile clicks reminiscent of those found on Astell & Kern players, but also the visual distinctiveness it adds to help differentiate the W4 from other dongles. Speaking of visuals, the slanted screen was something I found surprisingly easy to adjust to, with the screen's commendable resolution making reading volume levels a snap.
The dongle itself feels extremely light and built for genuine portable use, yet finished to a standard that again reminded me of high end DAPs.
I've been lucky enough to compare the W4 directly to Cayin's RU7 & iFi's Go Bar 10th Anniversary and will frame my sonic impressions within this context.
W4
Sonically, to my ears the W4 is the most technically-accomplished dongle on the market. By which I mean its' resolution, imaging, background blackness & soundstage dimensions are as good or better than any I've heard from a dongle thus far.
However there is a downside as no audio product is perfect, which comes in the form of the W4's fairly flat tuning which feels somewhat reference in nature. I wouldn't say it goes far enough in this direction to be considered genuinely 'boring' per se, but the tuning is definitely less exciting by nature than that of the two other dongles here. Though I typically prefer more lively tunings, I wouldn't say this aspect of the W4 would dissuade me from purchasing one.
Go Bar 10th Anniversary
Immediately noticeable is the Go Bar's much higher background noise/hissing, which is very evident when no music is playing, and also during quiet passages of music.
The Go Bar's best attribute is its' excellent bass texture, although its' bass definitely isn't as tight or fast as the W4's. Dynamics are also impressive, but its' stage is considerably flatter than the W4's and resolution appears lower also. The W4 is definitely brighter, almost making the Go Bar feel dark by comparison. Though bass feels very impressive on the Go Bar I am surprised how readily it feels like a step down from the other two dongles. It also feels nearly twice as heavy, which impacts portability.
RU7
The RU7's great strength is its' midrange, which is forward, warm & rich with superb tonality. RU7's stage is not quite as spacious as the W4's, treble isn't as prominent either nor the background as black. Bass output is fairly similar between them, with W4's bass feeling a little bit tighter with slightly better texture, however the RU7 boasts more overall bass quantity and it pervades the overall presentation more.
The W4 is definitely the more reference-sounding dongle with a cleaner sound, and its' soundstage is also slightly deeper & wider. Whereas the RU7 feels more like a midrange specialist, focusing your attention on vocals and perhaps delivering more musical involvement as a result, but compromising the rendition of technicalities in the process. If you value technical performance over tonality I would opt for the W4, though there is an organic naturalness to the RU7 I find particularly alluring.
CONCLUSION
It's amazing how far dongles have come in a relatively short space of time and the W4 has truly thrown down the gauntlet to the rest of the competition. For portable use with a smartphone there's no better way to obtain genuinely impressive sonic performance without all the bulk of a separate device.
Update could not get the W4 to work no matter what I tried.I have returned to eBay seller and purchased a new one from hifonix the UK dealer great to deal with by the way.
Thanks for the help yesterday.
Thanks for the help yesterday.
Last edited:
MarkParity
1000+ Head-Fier
That's where I got my W4 from, agree great seller and my W4 has been great, now using a DC Elite. I did have some minor issues with another order from Hifonix that I won't get into but was quickly refunded so its all good.
He sent it back and got a new one from a different seller.
I am the original seller. The guy, who bought it from me sold it on.
According to Hifonix, who have been in touch with L&P, the second buyer ie Luke attempted to install unlicensed software onto the unit.
I heard back from the person, who bought from me, saying that the W4 doesn’t work.
I am now very likely to have to issue a refund for a fully working item that went to Luke, who initiated the refund chain.
Many thanks @Luke-
Many thanks @Luke-
I bet that one will end up “defective” too, poor guy having to go through the same waste of time I am going through now.
how the hell do you know I installed unlicensed software I just plugged it into my phone and got a 204 error.
You are talking total rubbish
I don’t appreciate you going in at me.
You are talking total rubbish
I don’t appreciate you going in at me.
Also I have been to the hifonox shop yesterday and was forwarded the rar file to update firmware but have already returned the W4 to eBay seller
So you are totally plucking your info out the air
Basically talking total crap
So you are totally plucking your info out the air
Basically talking total crap
Sorry to be jumping to conclusions but how does the dongle get irreversibly bricked right after you got it?
Unless the guy you got it from sold it to you in a bricked state. At any rate, I am on the firing line here as I need to issue a refund and accept a bricked device that is now worthless..
Unless the guy you got it from sold it to you in a bricked state. At any rate, I am on the firing line here as I need to issue a refund and accept a bricked device that is now worthless..
I have nothing more to say I did nothing wrong
Kiats
Headphoneus Supremus
Interesting announcement from LP in respect of a new interconnect:
https://weibo.com/ttarticle/p/show?id=2309405009615934062839
Rough English translation :
"Use the core to make new benefits" continue to explore the potential! Polar WY series upgrade line & 6 series new firmware officially released"
A few years ago, the 7-series new flagship E7, which has been polished for 2 years, came out; after the year, our polar WY1 upgrade line and 6-series DAP new firmware were also launched.
Polar WY1 Upgrade Line
At this stage, the power consumption of the player and small tail is getting higher and higher, and the power of the internal battery or mobile phone is "overstretched", which has led to the emergence of WY series wires, through which the potential of the device and the battery life anxiety can be solved together.
Worry-free power supply, DAP & small tail continue to dive
When high-performance devices such as LP6 use USB DAC or use W4 small tail to connect mobile phones, the power supply is greatly limited (especially the iPhone), so it is impossible to load such a large amount of power, and the sound quality is not as good as connecting to a tablet/PC. Many hifi devices with high nominal thrust on the market cannot achieve nominal power once they are powered by mobile phones. Some large thrusts and small tails are used with iPhones, and the actual effective power can reach half of the nominal capacity. If you use high-quality Y-wire and connect mobile power supply and other equipment with higher power supply current, you can obviously give full play to most of the advantages and greatly improve the actual thrust.
Worry-free battery life, Y-line gameplay solves power consumption anxiety
An independent and pure power supply, with a high-quality Y-line, can not only improve the actual thrust, but also greatly relieve the endurance pressure of the mobile phone. This is the second reason why we launched the Y-line. Many enthusiasts who use small tails feedback that they are always worried about consuming too much power on their mobile phones on weekdays, so they dare not continue. If you use the Y-wire connection method to take power from third-party devices, there will be no additional mobile phone power consumption, thus solving battery life anxiety.
Worry-free quality, more exquisite material selection/design and performance
The WY line adheres to the excellence of Lepi. During the design, we found that if the Y line is line, there are many impurities in the wire core, the internal resistance is high, and the conductivity is average. There will be a current transmission bottleneck. We especially choose a single-strand 114-core single-crystalline copper + single-crystalline copper silver-plated wire base, and use a higher welding standard to achieve an internal resistance as low as 20 milli-ohms per strand, which can bring stronger transient performance to the system and make WY1 more suitable for high-end DAP & small tail.
Interestingly, in the R&D test, we found that Lepi's little tail W4 EX with WY line, because the power consumption of the former is too low and the internal resistance of the latter is too small, it may cause some mobile power supply to automatically cut off because the continuous current is less than 100mA, or simply cannot start. What a happy trouble. Most mobile power supplies can try to press the function key for a long time and enable the small current mode to work normally. Fortunately, only W4EX has this phenomenon at present.
For the convenience of daily use, the total length of Polar WY1 is 30cm, and the official retail price is 499 yuan. For purchase-related inquiries, you can contact local dealer stores.
A much better translation is at Jaben SG's Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/share/p/4f8yd1RMGRJdV8xp/?mibextid=WC7FNe
https://weibo.com/ttarticle/p/show?id=2309405009615934062839
Rough English translation :
"Use the core to make new benefits" continue to explore the potential! Polar WY series upgrade line & 6 series new firmware officially released"
A few years ago, the 7-series new flagship E7, which has been polished for 2 years, came out; after the year, our polar WY1 upgrade line and 6-series DAP new firmware were also launched.
Polar WY1 Upgrade Line
At this stage, the power consumption of the player and small tail is getting higher and higher, and the power of the internal battery or mobile phone is "overstretched", which has led to the emergence of WY series wires, through which the potential of the device and the battery life anxiety can be solved together.
Worry-free power supply, DAP & small tail continue to dive
When high-performance devices such as LP6 use USB DAC or use W4 small tail to connect mobile phones, the power supply is greatly limited (especially the iPhone), so it is impossible to load such a large amount of power, and the sound quality is not as good as connecting to a tablet/PC. Many hifi devices with high nominal thrust on the market cannot achieve nominal power once they are powered by mobile phones. Some large thrusts and small tails are used with iPhones, and the actual effective power can reach half of the nominal capacity. If you use high-quality Y-wire and connect mobile power supply and other equipment with higher power supply current, you can obviously give full play to most of the advantages and greatly improve the actual thrust.
Worry-free battery life, Y-line gameplay solves power consumption anxiety
An independent and pure power supply, with a high-quality Y-line, can not only improve the actual thrust, but also greatly relieve the endurance pressure of the mobile phone. This is the second reason why we launched the Y-line. Many enthusiasts who use small tails feedback that they are always worried about consuming too much power on their mobile phones on weekdays, so they dare not continue. If you use the Y-wire connection method to take power from third-party devices, there will be no additional mobile phone power consumption, thus solving battery life anxiety.
Worry-free quality, more exquisite material selection/design and performance
The WY line adheres to the excellence of Lepi. During the design, we found that if the Y line is line, there are many impurities in the wire core, the internal resistance is high, and the conductivity is average. There will be a current transmission bottleneck. We especially choose a single-strand 114-core single-crystalline copper + single-crystalline copper silver-plated wire base, and use a higher welding standard to achieve an internal resistance as low as 20 milli-ohms per strand, which can bring stronger transient performance to the system and make WY1 more suitable for high-end DAP & small tail.
Interestingly, in the R&D test, we found that Lepi's little tail W4 EX with WY line, because the power consumption of the former is too low and the internal resistance of the latter is too small, it may cause some mobile power supply to automatically cut off because the continuous current is less than 100mA, or simply cannot start. What a happy trouble. Most mobile power supplies can try to press the function key for a long time and enable the small current mode to work normally. Fortunately, only W4EX has this phenomenon at present.
For the convenience of daily use, the total length of Polar WY1 is 30cm, and the official retail price is 499 yuan. For purchase-related inquiries, you can contact local dealer stores.
A much better translation is at Jaben SG's Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/share/p/4f8yd1RMGRJdV8xp/?mibextid=WC7FNe
Last edited:
Kiats
Headphoneus Supremus
Adding photos from the above Weibo post:
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