[jsmiller58]

Yeah. However the reviewer seems to prefer the RU7 to the W4 (checking the votes of the table). Oh and also reading the table you can see that the W4 is overpriced compared to other dongles:

Besides the somewhat subjective nature of most of the scoring, the scoring would indicate most of these dongles will serve their owners well.

For me there are a couple of surprises… Owning the W2, I am surprised the overall score for the W2 is so low. Having read a few negative things about the FC6, I am surprised the overall score for the FC6 is so high.

 

[AmbientMonkey]

Just heads up for anyone in EU, I bought W4 from MusicTeck in US and it arrived within a week to eastern europe, outstanding, as is quality of this dongle.
I also bought LINDY ANTHRA LINE USB4 usc-c to c 0.8m length connector elsewhere and it is great and feels way better than the ones which come with most dongles, even connection itself feels more precise, no need to force it in and out like with some, it's a great addition for any android dongle.
Bought this dongles after seeing l7audiolab outstanding measurements of it and reading this forum daily and won't be updating firmware, unless I need to, because I think most of those firmware updates are compromises and can be sacrificing W4's quality, because such power was unheard of before in dongle format, like 600mw into 16ohms, because most dongles fail to deliver power into 16 and below ohms and because some phones refused to be connected to W4 due to of it's power requirements, it could be that some compromises were made in firmware updates, just my thinking.

 

[HPLovecraft]

Besides the somewhat subjective nature of most of the scoring, the scoring would indicate most of these dongles will serve their owners well.

For me there are a couple of surprises… Owning the W2, I am surprised the overall score for the W2 is so low. Having read a few negative things about the FC6, I am surprised the overall score for the FC6 is so high.

The difference is that you don't own the FC6. So until you don't own it and test it doing A/B with the W2, you can't know which is better. I trust in that reviewer.

 

[rocketron]

I looked at that chart and thought the value rating was strange?
Well until I checked the price.
The cheapest I could buy the W4 was £389 + shipping from China.
The Chord Mojo 2 is on sale in the UK for £395 with free shipping.

Is the W4 overpriced?

 

[jsmiller58]

The difference is that you don't own the FC6. So until you don't own it and test it doing A/B with the W2, you can't know which is better. I trust in that reviewer.

No doubt! But maybe my post could have been clearer. I wasn’t implying any comparison between the two, rather that I was surprised that the W2 was scored so low because I own and enjoy it… pause… AND I was surprised the FC6 was scored so highly given some poor posts about it. Two separate statements

Now I have to go and look at the FC6 thread a little more carefully to see if I want to add it…

 

[Ferdinando1968]

Can anyone tell me if there are ASIO drivers for L&P products?

I ask because in ROON (at least with IFI DACs) using the ASIO drivers allows me to use the native DSD (and not the DoP).

Today I received the W4-EX taken from MS,
and I updated the FW using the very useful post 1.

I updated primarily for the playback improvements on the DSD
(although, occasionally, the device still produces an audio 'beat ' playing DSDs.
To clear it, I have to unplug and replug the DAC).

 

[musicday]

Just heads up for anyone in EU, I bought W4 from MusicTeck in US and it arrived within a week to eastern europe, outstanding, as is quality of this dongle.
I also bought LINDY ANTHRA LINE USB4 usc-c to c 0.8m length connector elsewhere and it is great and feels way better than the ones which come with most dongles, even connection itself feels more precise, no need to force it in and out like with some, it's a great addition for any android dongle.
Bought this dongles after seeing l7audiolab outstanding measurements of it and reading this forum daily and won't be updating firmware, unless I need to, because I think most of those firmware updates are compromises and can be sacrificing W4's quality, because such power was unheard of before in dongle format, like 600mw into 16ohms, because most dongles fail to deliver power into 16 and below ohms and because some phones refused to be connected to W4 due to of it's power requirements, it could be that some compromises were made in firmware updates, just my thinking.

Congratulations, you need to update the firmware to the latest otherwise you are missing out. There are many new features added.

 

[Polky74]

In this review is mentioned that W4 lasts 14 hours attached to a phone, W4EX 13 hours and RU7 only 5 hours.
It is the dongle that uses the lowest power .

Honestly, I haven't noticed this exaggerated consumption with the RU7... it seems to me at the level of the RU6 and in any case certainly not 20% per hour as one would deduce from the video, but I don't use DSD 256 (I prefer DSD128 and with vocal tracks DSD64 ) maybe Andy yes... but it seems to me an exaggerated consumption...

 

[musicday]

Honestly, I haven't noticed this exaggerated consumption with the RU7... it seems to me at the level of the RU6 and in any case certainly not 20% per hour as one would deduce from the video, but I don't use DSD 256 (I prefer DSD128 and with vocal tracks DSD64 ) maybe Andy yes... but it seems to me an exaggerated consumption...

Do you own W4? You are saying the RU7 is the better dongle. In what way?

 

[Polky74]

Do you own W4? You are saying the RU7 is the better dongle. In what way?

I have the RU7 and the smartphone battery doesn't drop by 20% per hour... it seems to me that it consumes more or less as much as the RU6...

 

[jjxaker]

They all consume almost the same, there is no huge difference between them. it just needs to be remembered and not to raise this issue.
In everyday life, this is unnoticeable, I listen to music for 7 hours everyday on the street, and I have never come across that my smartphone was discharged to zero. with RU7, even 50% of the charge does not go away.
Just enjoy your equipment.
I'm waiting for smartphones to be released, with the USB 3.2 Gen2 standard, this will make it possible to increase the current to 1.5 amperes and 7.5 watts, the keys will breathe at full, especially unlike USB 2.0, it would be better if people were worried about these things...

 

[ClieOS]

Just saying...

W4
SE: (Vol 77)
USB Draw: 5.189V 0.118A 0.6W
Output: 0.0972V 12.59mA 1.22mW

RU7 Vol 65
SE + DSD64:
USB Draw: 5.184V 0.171A 0.9W
Output: 0.0915V 13.59ma 1.24mW

RU6 Vol 65
SE + OS:
USB Draw: 5.182V 0.191A 1W
Output: 0.0919V 13.45mA 1.24mW

*tested under same condition

 

[FRank liu d]

I'm thinking of keeping a kind of audio diary on how the sound of the W4 changes as I tweak it. The whole point is to share my journey and what I learn about tweaking this dongle, hoping it might be useful for everybody.

Here's the outline of my diary：
01 Burn-in, changes in the W4
02 Exploring tuning presets
03 Experience with USB cables
04 Pairing with digital source
05 combination and pairing
06 Conclusion

 

[FRank liu d]

01 Burn-in, changes in the W4（1/3）

When this tiny device called W4 landed in the palm of my hand, I didn't really have high expectations. I mean, how good can a device powered by a mobile phone sound, right?

At that time, my AMT16 had just arrived. During the listening, I was deeply impressed by its balanced sound, large soundstage, smooth high frequencies, and amazing transparency. however，how to drive its 16 ohm, 102dB sensitivity AMT diaphragm was a challenge for me.

Such low-impedance, low-sensitivity iem don't require high voltage output, but they do need the device to output a substantial current and have ultra-low distortion performance even at low volumes.

 

[lycos]

Luxury & Precision (L&P) W4


W4 is the latest dongle from L&P. At $449 + $33 case, it’s possibly the most expensive usb dongle DAC/amp in the market at the moment.

The dongle includes a simple text screen. Volume can be adjusted via control wheel. I found it to be responsive and intuitive. Also its location prevents accidental vol adjustment.
The case has magnet inside and includes magnet sticker for phone. This allows w4 to be attached to your phone.

In term of sound quality, w4 performs beyond my expectation. Its amazing L&P can push the limit on how good a dongle can sound.


To put things into perspective, its technicality is far above my Sony A306 DAP. It’s almost (or possibly) on par with my Chord Mojo2 which costs 50% more and has been my benchmark for portable amp/dac. (As a side note, I treat Hugo2 as transportable, not portable)

W4 has top tier detail retrieval among portable dac/amps I have tried and would be able to compete with similarly priced desktop system (assuming you would only drive iem). It has energetic and fun tuning. Soundstage is average, neither too intimate or too wide.

Comparison between W4 and Mojo2:

W4 has a V shape tuning while Mojo2 is flatter with slight emphasis on mid-bass.

W4 has significantly bigger and deeper subbass slam compared to Mojo2’s. This quantity quickly subsides though. Meanwhile, Mojo2 mid/upper bass is more elevated
W4 and Mojo2 have different presentation in mid. W4 has leaner and cleaner vocal. While Mojo2 is fuller and warmer. Mojo2 sounds richer in vocal, while W4 sounds a tad more sterile.
W4 has more energy and elevated treble. Depending on the genre and iem, it can sound bright. Mojo2 on the other hand has smoother, easier to listen, treble.

Its quite difficult to compare instrument separation due to difference in sound signature. I think they’re on par. W4 bring out details in more glossy and drier way. Its definitely snappier and sharper in the attacking edge while Mojo2 is more sluggish and duller.



To sum up, W4 performance exceeds my expectation. Its the dongle to beat at the moment. I personally would choose W4 over Mojo2 for its versatility with very minimal sacrifice in sound quality. Its excellent for travelling, commuting or for watching on ipad. Well done L&P team.

Big thanks to L&P and @Damz87 for this loaner.

Disclaimer: The loaner w4 has a fault - it doesnt work with iphone even with stock cable. However, if I use Lightning to USB 3 camera adapter which allows external power into iphone, it’s working fine. L&P has indicated it’s an isolated issue.