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Headphoneus Supremus
Over the last couple of days, I had the privilege of testing two of Lotoo’s TOTL DAPs side-by-side: the LPGT and LPGT Ti.
These 2 daps were loaned to me by Andrew @MusicTeck.
When I purchased the Traillii from Andrew a few months ago, he provided top-notch customer service; even hand-delivering the bird to me when he was near my apartment. Since then, I’ve been interested in other stuff Andrew has (he carries a lot of awesome audio gear,) and he is always quick to respond, knowledgeable, and exceedingly friendly. I’m not fond of shilling products, but I’ll shill good service all day, everyday because it’s quite rare to find…thanks, Andrew.
So, without further ado, here’s my quick take on Lotoo’s LPGT and Ti with the Traillii!
Lotoo is known by many for its world-class reference sound, and after listening to both of these DAPs, I now know why. While both are undeniably great, I do have a favorite.
Both the LPGT and Ti have very slick interfaces: menus aren’t flashy, but both players are quick to load up, easy to use and navigate, and relatively intuitive overall. There’s also a nifty search function, accessible with a simple swipe down from the top of the screen. I didn’t know about this at first, but once I discovered it, it became second nature to access and seamlessly search for a specific song or artist.
The build of both players is incredibly solid and high-end; they each feel fantastic in the hand, albeit slightly chunky, but nothing crazy. Depending on how stylish you are (i.e. how tightly you wear your jeans,) the LPGT or Ti are technically pocketable, but they won't just slide in there like your phone. That said, I had no issues with holding or using either device with one hand. The Ti is noticeably heavier, coming in at a not insignificant 50+ grams more than the LPGT. The Ti tips the scales at 365 grams vs. the less weighty LPGT, which weighs just 311 grams. Whichever you choose, overall dimensions are identical, and the biggest difference from a build standpoint besides the weight, is that the Ti is a dark grey (it’s made of Ti, after all) and the LPGT is a slightly less cool-looking shade of black. And of course, both have the trademark Lotoo horizontal gold volume wheel up-top. Regardless of which one you choose, your interaction with either device will no doubt provide a similar high-end user experience both from a tactile and functionality perspective.
Now let’s get to the good stuff, sound.
The main thing I knew about Lotoo before listening to either player, was that Lotoo is known for its reference and neutral sound. After listening to the Traillii off the LPGT, I can only say that it is the most detailed and realistic sound I’ve ever heard from any non-speaker setup. Just the bird and the LPGT…that’s it. It’s hard to imagine things getting better, but if they can…bring it on.
For me, the LPGT strikingly and unquestionably lives up to its reputation in delivering a world-class, reference sound...the best I’ve heard to date. Staging is utterly massive on the traillii, (the biggest I’ve heard from the bird so far by a substantial margin,) and the sound is shockingly detailed, realistic, lifelike, and holographic. It is somehow a step above every other interpretation of “reference” sound I’ve heard so far, which really wows me.
I listened to orchestral music, some Dr. Chesky binaural recordings (wow), acoustic, jazz…everything sounded more real than I’ve ever heard from an iem setup before. From what I experienced with the lighter Lotoo, I feel its ultimate goal is to make you feel like you’re in the recording environment, hearing an utterly pure and unfiltered version of what happened during the capture. I say this, knowing that it is a wildly overused cliche. The difference in this case, however, is that I honestly feel like I’m using the expression less as a cliche, and more as an accurate way to describe what I hear…or maybe I’m just drawing out the cliche…but I really don’t think so…oh well.
With the LPGT > Bird combo, I feel I am hearing an ultra-totl synergy that I’ve simply never experienced before, and it is marvelous.
Despite the virtual obligation to first and foremost describe the LPGT’s sound as reference and neutral, which it very much is, the LPGT creates a similarly persuasive case that it is equally musical, engaging and exciting. In fact, for me it ranks as the most exciting, uncolored sound I’ve ever heard. Truly impressive.
So, that’s how I feel about the LPGT, what about the Ti?
Here’s where I’m sort of at a loss…when I listen to the LPGT, I hear a perfectly balanced, neutral, and utterly real-sounding portrayal of the music. With the Ti, it seems to me as if Lotoo is trying to create a "colored-neutral" version of the beloved tuning from the original LPGT; pushing vocals a bit closer, and ever-so-slightly boosting upper mids and treble. For some, this may be precisely what they're after: a slightly more energetic and forward version of the original LGPT sound.
For me, however, I feel that the tuning of the LPGT is damn near perfect. Each time I listened to the Ti, I couldn’t help but feel like the LPGT was beckoning me back with its impeccably fine-tuned balance and sense of realism. The takeaway being that if you’re looking for a sound that is slightly more energetic than reference, with a bit more pronounced vocals, and slightly more forward upper mids, and treble, the Ti may be the better choice.
In the end both of these players sound similarly stunning, but for me, I prefer the LPGT for its shocking purity, neutrality, staging, and utter sense of realism.
Bravo(o) Lotoo.
These 2 daps were loaned to me by Andrew @MusicTeck.
When I purchased the Traillii from Andrew a few months ago, he provided top-notch customer service; even hand-delivering the bird to me when he was near my apartment. Since then, I’ve been interested in other stuff Andrew has (he carries a lot of awesome audio gear,) and he is always quick to respond, knowledgeable, and exceedingly friendly. I’m not fond of shilling products, but I’ll shill good service all day, everyday because it’s quite rare to find…thanks, Andrew.
So, without further ado, here’s my quick take on Lotoo’s LPGT and Ti with the Traillii!
Lotoo is known by many for its world-class reference sound, and after listening to both of these DAPs, I now know why. While both are undeniably great, I do have a favorite.
Both the LPGT and Ti have very slick interfaces: menus aren’t flashy, but both players are quick to load up, easy to use and navigate, and relatively intuitive overall. There’s also a nifty search function, accessible with a simple swipe down from the top of the screen. I didn’t know about this at first, but once I discovered it, it became second nature to access and seamlessly search for a specific song or artist.
The build of both players is incredibly solid and high-end; they each feel fantastic in the hand, albeit slightly chunky, but nothing crazy. Depending on how stylish you are (i.e. how tightly you wear your jeans,) the LPGT or Ti are technically pocketable, but they won't just slide in there like your phone. That said, I had no issues with holding or using either device with one hand. The Ti is noticeably heavier, coming in at a not insignificant 50+ grams more than the LPGT. The Ti tips the scales at 365 grams vs. the less weighty LPGT, which weighs just 311 grams. Whichever you choose, overall dimensions are identical, and the biggest difference from a build standpoint besides the weight, is that the Ti is a dark grey (it’s made of Ti, after all) and the LPGT is a slightly less cool-looking shade of black. And of course, both have the trademark Lotoo horizontal gold volume wheel up-top. Regardless of which one you choose, your interaction with either device will no doubt provide a similar high-end user experience both from a tactile and functionality perspective.
Now let’s get to the good stuff, sound.
The main thing I knew about Lotoo before listening to either player, was that Lotoo is known for its reference and neutral sound. After listening to the Traillii off the LPGT, I can only say that it is the most detailed and realistic sound I’ve ever heard from any non-speaker setup. Just the bird and the LPGT…that’s it. It’s hard to imagine things getting better, but if they can…bring it on.
For me, the LPGT strikingly and unquestionably lives up to its reputation in delivering a world-class, reference sound...the best I’ve heard to date. Staging is utterly massive on the traillii, (the biggest I’ve heard from the bird so far by a substantial margin,) and the sound is shockingly detailed, realistic, lifelike, and holographic. It is somehow a step above every other interpretation of “reference” sound I’ve heard so far, which really wows me.
I listened to orchestral music, some Dr. Chesky binaural recordings (wow), acoustic, jazz…everything sounded more real than I’ve ever heard from an iem setup before. From what I experienced with the lighter Lotoo, I feel its ultimate goal is to make you feel like you’re in the recording environment, hearing an utterly pure and unfiltered version of what happened during the capture. I say this, knowing that it is a wildly overused cliche. The difference in this case, however, is that I honestly feel like I’m using the expression less as a cliche, and more as an accurate way to describe what I hear…or maybe I’m just drawing out the cliche…but I really don’t think so…oh well.
With the LPGT > Bird combo, I feel I am hearing an ultra-totl synergy that I’ve simply never experienced before, and it is marvelous.
Despite the virtual obligation to first and foremost describe the LPGT’s sound as reference and neutral, which it very much is, the LPGT creates a similarly persuasive case that it is equally musical, engaging and exciting. In fact, for me it ranks as the most exciting, uncolored sound I’ve ever heard. Truly impressive.
So, that’s how I feel about the LPGT, what about the Ti?
Here’s where I’m sort of at a loss…when I listen to the LPGT, I hear a perfectly balanced, neutral, and utterly real-sounding portrayal of the music. With the Ti, it seems to me as if Lotoo is trying to create a "colored-neutral" version of the beloved tuning from the original LPGT; pushing vocals a bit closer, and ever-so-slightly boosting upper mids and treble. For some, this may be precisely what they're after: a slightly more energetic and forward version of the original LGPT sound.
For me, however, I feel that the tuning of the LPGT is damn near perfect. Each time I listened to the Ti, I couldn’t help but feel like the LPGT was beckoning me back with its impeccably fine-tuned balance and sense of realism. The takeaway being that if you’re looking for a sound that is slightly more energetic than reference, with a bit more pronounced vocals, and slightly more forward upper mids, and treble, the Ti may be the better choice.
In the end both of these players sound similarly stunning, but for me, I prefer the LPGT for its shocking purity, neutrality, staging, and utter sense of realism.
Bravo(o) Lotoo.
This is just a whole different experience than Traillii alone...