Thank you Andy for this detailed and nice review. It is really helpful especially the power consumption rate comparisons. You are doing a great work for the community.
Good morning Andy , This looks a pretty special dongle and worthy of your considerable praise and ranking. I've just acquired the latest Astell & Kern HC4 dongle and it sounds incredible , I have owned the RU6 and RU7 and IMHO this dongle blows them out of the water. I don't understand why it isn't getting more coverage and airtime on RU-vid reviewers , the HC4 dongle has immense power even more power than my IFI Gobar, HC4 using the flagship AKM DAC and it's own proprietary amplification stage. Although there's no official milliwatt output figures for the HC4? I would love to hear your opinion on the HC4 if you get it on your review rosta. Keep up the Great reviews!
Too expensive IMO, for just $100 more I would probably go for the iFi Gryphon. 6.7v (max), 1w per channel and tons of features. Great video as always Andy!
The W4 is overpriced af. Please don't buy it or you will aliment this practice of increase the prices for no real reason. Or you will see the W5 priced at more than 500 dollars in future.
Never tried the RU7, but I own the W4 and this is something special for me. Very detailed sound, lots of features, it doesn't get hot as RU7 does and it uses very little battery from your phone compared to all the dongls out there. Also with the latest firmware I can decode PCM 768 kHz.
Hi Andy - big fan of your work. Since the website became too costly to maintain, I'm wondering if you would consider moving the ratings for all the DACs to something free like a Google spreadsheet? I found it really useful. Thanks for the great videos and hard work
Please someone help me, I bought this but I get horrible feedback from lower frequencies when I use it with my iPhone and MacBook Pro. I use it with beyerdynamic t3 (no feedback when I plug them directly so it’s definitely the w4.) There seems to be no firmware for Apple, has anyone else experienced something similar using this with Apple products?
The funny thing is, two of my most favored dongles only run on 3.5mm, and they are the best of the best for me personally. I really don't care if they are 4.4mm or 3.5mm BAL, the output results is more important to me
@@donglemadness You are right, but the point is that I invest in a lot of 4.4mm cables. My DAP's; home/desktop DAC/amp are set to a suite volume that I don't mess up every time.
Just speculation, but I'd think they'd be working on an "FC8" using the Darwin II 184-resistor DAC of the RS8 (or something similar) and provide a balanced output. That would be a killer!
@@exexgr6897 I have most of my cables in 4.4mm termination too, and when I use them on FC6, DACport HD and Ovidius B1, I have an adapter that solves the issue. I also have a couple of cables that have detachable, swappable plugs
Thx for your review! Could you make a post or video for newbie(like me) to explain pro and cons of balanced cable, and where to put the budget to enjoy this tech. Thx for your work
Very high level of Andy's review standard. - coverage of objective and subjective aspects of the technical and sound qualities of the product - information that is understandable and very easy for the viewer to grasp - answering a number of probing questions that people may potentially be interested in - Andy's pleasant and friendly manner of speaking, and his efforts to answer queries individually in the discussion are very likeable Thank you very much for all the reviews and the time you devote to this, it's tremendous. As for me, I'm deciding between KA5 and DC04Pro. Eventually, I am considering whether buying the FC6 makes sense for my application. From Andy's statements in the reviews or answers to individual questions of the discussants, I am most inclined to the DC04Pro..
Having run factories when I was young, I will tell you, the reason you must update the firmware, and they only put some firmware without really complete audio algorithms in factory, is that it's a bottleneck. It can't be done automatically, as it requires further checking to see that the firmware was installed properly and the unit is working. This costs time and money. Easier to offload that to the buyer. This is my supposition. A lot of dongle are like this, and DAP as well. You buy tempotec V3 dap, it comes with firmware v0.3, not even beta, it barely works. You must update to v1.1 for it to be usable. I predict that this will become more and more common, as the market is accepting it.
Thank you for your work! Very interesting, but they are definitely not worth the money. for me personally, RU7 is a real favorite compared to any L&P. but, it doesn't matter to me how much dongle consumes energy and I don't care about the equalizer and similar things. having the best power saving and equalizer is definitely not worth the difference between these dongles. I wouldn't be so critical if they didn't release multiple versions of W4, it looks like a marketing ploy.
based on ur assessment I might like this W4, especially when my PRISM is warmish sounding and not that technical. if u want to let go W4 at a good price let me know abe andy heheh😝 Anyway thanks for your assessment..
Great overview of the dongle as always, Andy! This is a review I've been waiting for. I have W2 and RU6 and find to my surprise that I hear them different than you. I find RU6 to have the cleaner, more neutral sound whereas W2 has the fuller, warmer sound. Curious if others hear them the same way I do 🤔 Looking forward to the full RU7 overview now that you've teased the final score... Visiting the site, I'm sad to see the ratings chart is no longer there. Can you please share it with us as a Google Sheet? And why don't you set up a RU-vid Thank You "tip jar" or a Patreon to help support your work? As a dongle & IEM addict, I'd donate!
Thanks Nikolaus. One thing for sure, the perspective from one user to another largely depends on individual sonic sensitivity and in this case, each of us can be vastly different the way we perceive sound. Definitely I would say that the W series are anything but warm sounding, wait until you listen to iFi Go Link or Hidizs XO, those are very warm sounding dongles (from my perspective). Also consider what you connect them to, as I mentioned many times, a DAC can only be judged by what you use them with. On the other hand, soon I will setup a Google docs to host ranking list once I have the time to consolidate it. Now my priority is to clear my backlogs which is piling up, lol. And thanks for the suggestions. Cheers!
@@donglemadness To clarify, I was using Penon 10th Anniversary IEM with each and found much more low end bloom with W2 vs RU6 (both in high gain with 4.4mm). Glad the Google Sheet is coming. Many will appreciate that 🙏
you don't hear low level distortion, you simply perceive more texture and a black-er background, so even if you can't point to a sound and say "that is distortion", the sound you hear is different
thanks Andy. I am looking for a dongle that has a sound input (jack 3.5 / TRRS) like the Creative Sound Blaster X1. I have the X1 but in DAC reading mode it has sound distortion problems (I'm on my second X1 and I think the X1 has a major design and manufacturing flaw, I won't go into details) . In short, I want to replace the X1 and therefore have information on the dongles that accept to operate in sound capture (sound input); the Luxury & Precision W4 & W4EX have a sound input (TRRS)? What other DACs (dongles) with a sound input can you recommend?
TRRS setting for dongles are limited (the ones that can accept input), as such W4 does not have that feature as well. Unfortunately, on dongle space, it seems that Creative is the only one paying attention to this feature and I would suggest that you check out Creative SB G3. It is a later model to X1 and so far I find it to be quite good at what it was meant to do
Im wondering why the makers of new dongles don't try and copy the centrance Dacport HD. Why they always use the ess chips with the sound that is not analog. Maybe a dongle will be built with the Burr chips eventually. And why the UA3 with the ak chip had to customize the chip! I don't know! Thank you Andy, i will be donating to your site now. I asked a question about the ru7 on an older video just now. If its DSD sound needs a DSD source material to sound DSD. I hope the answer is no, because the DSD crowd is such a small niche, a micro niche if you will.. That i can't imagine them giving a dongle that would only sound special with the DSD CDs. I think it sounds amazing.
Perhaps the distinction between analog and Hi-Fi digital-ish sound is still a blurry subject to many, the general consensus is that, if I can hear clean pristine details then it must be good, and I don't deny that. But moreso many sources ended up sounding sterile in the chase for clean measurements etc. CEntrance, HIBY, Cayin, iBasso and Venture Electronics seems to be the ones most prominent with the understanding the balance of sound presentation, to keep natural realism into it, while chasing technicalities. But I also respect that what I perceive as good to my ears may not be the same for others, ultimately taste and preferences will decide the governing factors
My pleasure. No, there's no control for Play/Pause/Next for W4, or like 99% of other dongles out there now. FiiO KA5 however comes close to that feature
indeed but some user might choose the more expensive W4 as u can adjust everything from the dongle itself while DC04 pro, u hv to adjust tht thru the apps. But For me I will also choose DC04 pro as i'm using it with my laptop and with W4 price i could get a better desktop dac amp.hahahah
Здравствуйте Энди. Приобрёл Ovidius b1, интересный цап. Осталось найти или подобрать переходник с Type c на 2.5 Джек 🤷♂️. Hello Andy. I bought an Ovidius b1, an interesting DAC. It remains to find or pick up an adapter from Type c to 2.5 Jack
Yes, I was looking. There was once one or more stores where the cables and the connector were installed according to preferences, but I forgot about it. By the way, SHANLING L3 USB-C came up to HiBy fc3.
Thanks sir Andy， thought of an important question, I have very similar preference in terms of sound signature, analogue，neutral and open airy soundstage. If your favorite is FC6, what would be your second choice （ regardless of price and features, only on sound as such） ？
2nd would be RU7/DACport HD. Of which both will unlikely run properly on iPhones because they draw a lot of power. So perhaps you can look for iBasso DC04Pro or FiiO KA5
Hola Carlos. Entre KA5 y W4, diré que W4 es superior en calidad de sonido y presentación. Pero también diría que la diferencia de calidad entre los dos no sería grande, porque KA5 ya es un dongle muy bien ajustado. Personalmente, creo que el precio de W4 es demasiado alto porque puede obtener la misma calidad de iBasso DC04Pro
It's impressive that W4 offering a lot more power, but also still a bit more efficient than EXT in power consumption. Hi-Fi = more closer to digital sounding?
Between M15 and W4, the approach of sound tuning is similar, which is focused on Hi-Fi sound reproduction. They are pretty much on equal terms quality wise when it comes to dynamic presentation and technicalities, except that I must admit W4 has wider sense and more open soundstage which will make M15 appeared narrower. That's my view on these two sound wise
That low and high gain option. Does it affect the power output or just digital gain like in the case of that manual switches that are on the desktop amps?
New to portable audio. I have an iem mic measuring rig and wnat to fix phase then export convolution file (.wave) to portable player or even better for iphone dongle. Are there any dap or dac that can use convolution files from rephase?
the volume control doesn't have to be linear, cayin and ibasso might already be using most of their power by 50/100 and in comparison L&P might be more exponential so this whole chart is kinda meaningless
Thank you for the review. I'm new to this hobby and I'm currently using zx707. But I can't feel the sound deference from my experia smart-phone. Do you have any recommendation around $500 DAP or DAC that I might be able to feel deference? I would prefer warm, none fatiguing sound. Thanks.
Thanks, I am not familar with ZX707 so I have no idea how it sounds like. Usually a great DAC/Amp is supposed to be transparent and neutral, that the sound signature will be primarily determined by the headphones or IEMs. So in this case, assuming that you are happy with ZX707 sound characteristics, and it can scale with better DAC/Amp, then I would recommend HIBY FC6, something I use personally and regularly over everything else. Otherwise you can pick up any of the 4.5 to 5 Stars rated dongles and you will not be disappointed with any of them. Even the 4 Stars rated are already operating at high level of quality
Just a comment. In your Power Rating and testing you are ASSUMING that the volume control of all 5 dongles follows the same linear (or Non-Linear) progression. I don't believe all 5 use the same volume progression. Only way to test this is to measure the volume or the power output of the dongle over the full range of volume settings.
Thanks. I don't quite understand your point. Just to clarify, the tests were done on the basis of volume matching for different type of IEMs and headphones used. I adjust each dongles while connected to the same source to attain the normal listening levels according to my eardrums sensitivity and then observe how much volume levels needed to achieve it. Then it is judged on the density of the sound and dynamic characteristics. Measurements can tell you one thing, but the actual sound delivery to human eardrums is what I am presenting because I feel that is more relevant for the intended usage
Hello Andy! A few days ago I received the ananda V3 stealth magnets and it turns out to have a 93dB and 16ohms! Do you think W4EX could be enough? according to my tests it sounds quite good, the bass feels punchy and dynamic
In terms of audio quality, is there much difference between w4 and w4 ex for iems with little demand? I don't know which one to choose for some xenns top
Hi. I'm interested by the L&P W2 dongle. My actual setup is an ISN H40 paired with a Ibasso DC04 pro. Just received the new ISN Neo 5 IEMs and wanted to upgrade to the L&P W2. Is it Worth it? "Better" sound in general (bass/medium/high), soundstage, technicalities...? Thank you.
I personally think that DC04Pro hold strong against W4 sound wise. At least to my own listening ability with all the gears that I have, DC04Pro and W4 are pretty much on equal terms, except that DC04Pro is a bit more analog sounding
@@donglemadness Thanks for that quick answer. If they're that close, no need to upgrade. Maybe the Cayin Ru7 will satisfy my curiosity, trying an other technology. Great video by the way, really helpful.
Thanks for another great review. This makes it easier to hold off on getting a W4 already having DC04pro, but the features are very tempting. I did impulse buy a RU7, but no regrets at all, very engaging and natural sounding. Can't wait to hear your thoughts on it, especially vs FC6... truly the top of the top!
@@rishabhs2010 If you look at the comparison table, you should get the idea how RU7 vs DC04Pro compares. But full review of RU7 will be up within the next 24 hours
@@rishabhs2010 sorry for the late reply. this is all through andromeda emerald sea: they are really close, technicality wise they are nearly identical, won't miss a single detail with either, but the RU7 has better depth, DC04pro is more 2D but just as wide with decent layering. RU7 has better bass as well, more clinical and less dynamic on the DC04, RU7 has more power and control with the ability to slam and really rumble. that said, DC04pro is an incredible value and I still listen to it when I want an easy, low power source I can toss around and put in my pocket, RU7 requires a lot of power and I'm afraid to damage the sensitive discrete components if I just throw it around like any other mobile dongle.
The W4 is overpriced af. Please don't buy it or you will aliment this practice of increase the prices for no real reason. Or you will see the W5 priced at more than 500 dollars in future.
