Lotoo PAW 6000 Reference Grade Portable Audio Player (English Version)

i posted review about lpgt and i also bought lp6k. here's a shorter version of what i posted on forum about my experience with both.

recognizing that a few people have sought a comparison of lp6k vs lpgt, i offer one perspective comparing lp6k vs lpgt.

after letting lp6k burn-in for over 200 hours, i allocated an entire day to compare the two daps.

methodology: i listened to hi-res (24-96) file of led zeppelin's "quarter" over and over. that song has broad range of sounds, details, excellent drums, piano and vocal, upbeat and mellow. later, i also listened to counting crows' "anna begins" (24/192) hi-res file.

first i listened with the monoprice m1060c planars, then the oppo pm-3 and audio technica ath-m50xbl. short answer, if you gonna use big planar cans, you want the lpgt. period. with the at m50, the differences were closer. the lp6k sounded really good with the at. with the lpgt, it the opening bass chords have more weight and body and seem to reverb longer. in general, instruments seem to have longer decay with lpgt. there's some background detail around the 5:30 mark that i always seem to notice on the lpgt, without trying, and on the lp6k, it feels like i must pay attention to hear it. the lpgt has an ease to the sound that the lp6k lacks. one cannot make the lp6k sound like the lpgt. the lpgt's easy, musical, effortless, liquid flow is something one cannot create with the lp6k -no matter how much one eq's the sound. also, if you listen to a lot of classical music and you have high performing listening devices, you want the lpgt.

the higher performing the media, head/earphones and cables, the greater the difference between lp6k and lpgt. if one intends to use either lp6k or lpgt for listening to mp3 files, one's probably better off saving money and purchase less expensive or just use the phone.

given decent media and equipment, music is just more enjoyable on the lpgt. period. i can and do continuously listen to the lpgt for hours and hours without tiring of it. this is how i ultimately evaluate audio. does it make listening to music more enjoyable? lp6k and lpgt are both enjoyable. lpgt is more enjoyable. the higher resolving the source media and output devices, the more the lpgt matters. if even considering, big planar cans or power hungry cans, no question, i recommend the lpgt.

for my purpose, having both is perfect. i use lpgt for sedentary, active listening -like sitting on planes, and i use lp6k for active pursuits -like exercising and riding motorcycles. if i already owned the lp6k, i don't know that i would be motivated to buy the lpgt, especially, for listening to iems. lp6k is an excellent dap and when using iems, the differences become subtle or negligible for some.

after sleeping overnight, i decided to conduct one more test with fresh rested ears. i listened to the counting crows "anna begins" (24/192) hi-res file with ue live. since the ue live offers the highest performance of the ciems that i have, i chose it for this once more test.
impressions:
lpgt ( vol at 68) :
- evokes emotion -love, joy. it's an emotional experience
- musical, ease, liquid
- it just sings
- nothing harsh
- beautiful liquid detailed backgrounds
lp6k (vol at 70)
- less detail
- more effort to hear details. e.g., the guitar chord in the background
- more smearing of details
- less separation of instruments

the little nuanced details make the music experience more enjoyable and, for some, this is worth loads of extra cash. again, one will likely only maximize the benefits of the lpgt with high quality listening components. again, had i initially bought the lp6k, i don't know that i would have felt motivated to buy the lpgt. that said, i feel glad that i have the lpgt and, with my passion for music, it's well worth the price.

background:
i received the lpgt in aug, 2019 and received the lp6k about two weeks ago in early jan, 2020 -purchased both from musicteck. before, the lpgt, i owned a fiio x7 with high output amp module. it was fine. i liked and i didn't love it. after the x7 died, for the next dap, i did not want an android based device. i wanted something built from the ground up for maximum audio experience. i don't care for streaming music on a dap, though i have used the bluetooth dac on the lpgt and lp6k to stream qobuz from the mobile phone. when, lotoo supports ldac, i'll probably use bt dac more. before the fiio x7, i used toshiba gigabeats running rockbox for many years. i like to find something that i like and keep it for a while. i expect that i'll be using lotoos and ue for a while. i have two fiio x1s, which the lp6k now replaces, for exercise, riding motorcycles and other active pursuits. several times, i've listened to the lpgt with ue live ciem for more than 10 hours non-stop while traveling, and i even listened for 16 hours continuously on a flight to china. i always enjoy the lpgt. it's just music.

One of the best players under 2k , AKM chip implementation is fantastic , sound awesome . Battery life is impressive 14h + normal use . Works really fast .
👍🎩🌾

I love this player. This is a dream come true.

Beautiful reproduction of the music, no coloration or emphasis. Absolutely black background. If you hear any noise, it's in the recording. The operation is clean, fast, and straightforward. There is no better player if your primary concern is the playback of your collection.

What can I say, it sounds just like the A01 motherboard for Cayin N6ii, just not as warm; but it's much, much, much faster in every aspect. I know many may be turned down by the fact that Lotoo is still putting a mere AKM4493 Dac chip in their device, while the trend nowadays is for upper-mid tier DAPs to cram in 2 of the newest DAC chips available such as the ESS9038 or AKM4499, or AKM4497 at the very worst. But I assure you that Lotoo has proven yet again, that they can challenge other TOTL DAPs boasting the newest hardware, and show that the paw series is capable of offering the same, if not better, sonic performance than their "more advanced" competitors.
With that being sound, if you're looking for something exciting and fun sounding, the Lotoo products are not really for you. Though the p6k is slightly less analytical than its big brother, it's still inherently a DAP with reference (flat) tuning, meaning that you won't be getting a resounding boost in the bass or splendid sparkle in the treble. If you're looking for a balanced-sounding DAP to listen to all your locally-stored music, definitely give the Paw 6000 a try.