Sometimes the difference between two generations of devices is so great that we can say that they have nothing in common. And sometimes it happens that with absolutely the same external appearance only the sound changes, but so much that it is simply stupid to draw parallels with the previous version. This is exactly what happened with Lotoo PAW 5000, which was recently upgraded to "mark II".
If you remember, the previous 5000 from the creators of the "great and terrible PAW Gold" with a good appearance and usability was rather ordinary sound. It could not be called bad, but the player was clearly not among the leaders in sound, which is generally no surprise, because it used some kind of codec. In Lotoo, they clearly understood their flaws, and the second version received the AK4490 as a DAC, while retaining the compact size of the predecessor, and its processor, which allows for very high-quality digital signal processing. The price remained at the same level, the recommended cost of the new 5000 is the same 350 dollars (plus or minus the adjustment for taxes and exchange rates).
Specifications
- Processor: ADI Blackfin 514 DSP
- DAC: AK4490EN
- OS: OPA1622
- Frequency range: 20 Hz - 20 kHz (± 0.2 dB)
- Total harmonic distortion + noise: <0.0006%
- Output power (per channel): 150 mW @ 32Ω
- Signal to noise ratio: > 114 dB
- Channel separation: > 118 dB
- Maximum resolution: up to 384 kHz / 32 bit, DSD to DSD256
- Supported formats: DFF, DSF, ISO, WAV, MP3, FLAC, APE, OGG, M4A, AAC, ALAC, CUE
- Screen: 2 "TFT
- Battery: 1700 mAh
- Operating time from one charge: ~ 6 h
- Wireless interfaces: Bluetooth with A2DP
- Input: USB 3.0
- Outputs: linear / SPDIF, 3.5 mm, 2.5 mm balanced
- Dimensions: 98 mm × 55 mm × 17.5 mm
- Weight: 110g
Packing and delivery kit
The packaging of the player is almost traditional, this time for PAW 5000 chose a strict black color, otherwise everything is as we are used to seeing. This is for you, of course, not a multi-story Gold casket ...
Inside, in addition to the player itself, you will find an instruction manual, a USB 3.0 cable and a strap with a clip to fasten 5,000 on your hand. Lotoo for some reason persistently believe that all their players are less than Gold created for running. Although I personally think that Gold can also be used as a weighting agent in training ... Of course, I would like to see in the complete set and a simple cover, but it will have to be bought separately.
Design and management
The appearance of the first generation 5000 did not change simply because there was no need for it. The design of the "middle paw" was coined so successfully that it is as if "out of fashion", allowing the device to always look good. The case with slightly rounded edges is made mainly of metal, with a small plastic strip in the middle. Due to its compact dimensions, the 5000 Mk II is perfectly in the hand and is conveniently controlled. Build quality - absolutely, everything is perfectly adjusted, does not hang out and does not tread.
The developers decided to go a little against the current trends in the player industry and maximally carried out various functions on separate buttons, which, perhaps, added convenience in management.
On the left side there is a volume rocker and two switches - one is responsible for the gain, the second is for dumping, the presence of such a double setting allows for more flexible adjustment of the player for different headphones. The upper end contains the output jacks for headphones: the usual 3.5 mm and 2.5 mm "balanced", as well as the combined line / SPDIF output. The right side contains a MicroUSB 3.0 connector, backward compatible with the usual MicroUSB. On the lower side there is a slot for microSD cards. The player does not have its own memory, so it will not work without a card in the slot.
On the front side is a navigation wheel with a selection button in the menu (it also serves for playback / pause), located in the middle. Above the wheel there are two navigation buttons on the tracks, to the right - three control buttons, about which I will describe below. The upper half of the front panel is occupied by a screen, it is not the largest and its resolution is closer to the average, but it has a good reserve of brightness, which is useful for readability in bright sun. In the lower right corner of the front panel there is a power button, inscribed in the ring indicator, which "breathes" when the player is operating, glowing and fading. This chip looks funny, but quickly bothers, fortunately, it can easily be turned off in the settings menu.
Perhaps the main drawback of the new 5000 is the running time, the use of a full-featured DAC and a good output power resulted in the built-in battery lasting only 5 hours and 50 minutes (my standard test with MEEAudio P1 on a low gain, FLAC 44.1 / 16). Naturally, miracles do not happen, and a more capacious battery can not be placed in a compact case, but, on the other hand, almost 6 hours of high-quality sound is still a lot, and hardly anyone listens to music for 6 hours without the ability to recharge. However, taking into account successes in the development of pa-bankers, the time of operation of the device in our time is receding into the background.
Firmware
The player uses all the same Blackfin, so the firmware Lotoo create independently, and, perhaps, it goes to their products for good. By "paws" - fast, very stable and, in my opinion, convenient. The main menu as such is not in the player, after downloading (very fast) you get to the playback screen, and if you listened something before shutting down, this file will be automatically selected, you only need to press "Play".
The playback screen itself can operate in one of three modes (switched by long pressing the Play button): with the VU-meter, with the spectro-analyzer and with the album cover. The first two modes look very impressive, making references to the technology of the 90's and causing a dose of regret that other developers have not adopted VU-meters (except FiiO).
Since there is no menu in the player, all control is rendered into three buttons, each of which has two functions - for short and long press. I'll tell you about them from the top down.
The first button briefly displays the list of tracks. PAW 5000 Mk II especially does not spoil the library, there is a viewing of files on folders on your map, several playlists into which you can add tracks and a list of all media files in a crowd for fans to listen to all mixed up. A long press on this button can perform one of the functions selected in the menu (mute, switch screen mode and much more).
The next button with a short press serves to return back to the menu and file lists, long press opens the player settings, divided into several items. Play Settings contains the playback settings: order, time display, channel balance, DSD gain compensation and the like. System Settings allows you to set the screen and shutdown timers, screen brightness, unlock mode (any button or only Power), etc. Immediately placed exotic options such as battery information and SD card speed test. Bluetooth Settings - everything is obvious: turn on / off the wireless module, and also search and connect to devices. Of course, Bluetooth here is more likely to "change", without aptX it is not particularly useful, but on the other hand - this feature does not ask for anything, but it can be useful with simple Bluetooth-speakers. Sport Mode Settings - turn on / off the sports mode. FN Key Definition - select the function for the first button.
By the way, about the Russian language in the firmware: in my version of the player it is not, and with the Cyrillic track names 5000 Mark II is not always friendly (although the Latin for diacritics is shown normally, even without diacritical marks), but Lotoo like to release different localized devices with different firmware, so there may be a Russian version.
In comments to the reviews of players Lotoo sometimes raises the question, what kind of "sports mode"? In fact, everything is quite simple, in this mode you can use the wheel to change the tempo of the current song in the range of ± 20%, adjusting the music to your speed of jogging / jumping / sailing ...
The last button with the ATE / PMEQ signature hides one of the main "chips" of this device. It's not for nothing that Blackfin is a processor "grounded" in digital processing of the signal, the programmers of Lotoo managed to squeeze out a lot of it and equipped their players with a number of digital "enhancement" (ATE) and a very high-quality parametric equalizer (PMEQ). ATE allows you to choose one of the handlers ("brighter", "softer", etc.) that will be applied to the sound, these handlers are more complicated than the banal equalization and sometimes give an interesting result. Although much more useful thing - it's still a parametric equalizer. It is implemented here at the level of good "soft" solutions for the computer and it works without damaging the sound. Naturally, you will have to dig through the Internet to understand the general principle of work and the meaning of the parameters, but I will not deprive readers of the joy of knowing.
Speaking in general, the firmware of the player is fast, stable and convenient. In the future, it probably will be modified, but the common code base with the previous devices allows you now to demonstrate reliable performance.
Sound
To listen to the device used the following headphones: iBasso IT03, Meze 99 Classics, Audio Zenith PMx2, Noble Kaiser Encore, Campfire Audio Andromeda, 64 Audio U12, HUM Pristine and others.
It is sound - this is what allows you to forgive this player relatively low operating time. If PAW 5000 of the last generation had nothing to do with older brother Gold, then 5000 Mk2 still reminds a bit of its "rich relative". In general, the player's feed is very organic, without bias in microdetails, there is something in it that is often called "musicality", but this "musicality" does not go at the expense of the naturalness of the sound.
The bass is slightly accented, but not quantitatively, but rather in terms of the energy that the player puts into the low-frequency part of the range. The accent is made in the field of midbass and sounds very natural, the pitch is added a little bit of massiveness, which gives a more confident basis for the entire melody. The resolution of the LF is very good, at a perfect level for its price level, textures are transmitted, the instruments are well separated, the bass is controlled and does not creep on the midrange.
The middle is slightly smoothened, the player does not try to play super-contrast, emphasizing micronuances, which is especially beneficial for poorly recorded styles. But, naturally, the general resolution of the MF is at a decent (albeit not prohibitive) level. Especially good is the 5000 Mk II the macro contrast and emotions succeed - sharp transitions, characteristic vocals, drive of live performances - these are its strengths. The imaginary scene is slightly larger than the average in width and depth, the player does not try to embellish or change anything in positioning. Very nicely done depth separation, it is natural and realistic (something that especially lacked the first generation).
RF is expected for the price category to be simplified in terms of attack and attenuation, but they have a good resolution and length, which is well correlated with the low-frequency emphasis, balancing it. Due to the length, the player plays out fine nuances of the HF-range well, but it does not sound abruptly. Sometimes, by the way, HF sounds even "slightly richer" than in fact, it does not always go for the benefit of naturalness, but often this "additive" is felt effectively and pleases hearing.
Of course, we need several comparisons. Since I do not have infinite time for carrying out a lot of comparative tests, I chose those models that I think are the closest to the second-generation PAW5000.
Fiio X5-2 . Sometimes the price reduction allows the player to increase its price / quality ratio and, despite the release of a new generation, remain an interesting player. That's exactly what happened with X5-2. Compared to the review hero, he offers a more drivey and more energetic sound, although on some recordings it sounds sharper and more emphasizes dirt and flaws in tracks.
Cayin N5 . While the second generation of the player is in development, the first is still an interesting option, offering a more neutral and dry sound with a slight bias in the light for fans of monitor feed.
Alien + . The difference with the PAW5000-2 is similar to that of the X5-2: a more emotional, more vigorous sound, but without the sharpness of the FiiO player, which results in an even more "natural" perception of the sound.
FiiO X5-3 . The case when you can say that the player is "completely different" in the filing. Those who have read the review of the third generation of the "five", and so understand the difference - a large merger, a slightly darker pitch, a better study of LF - that's what distinguishes the device FiiO.
Compatibility
In Lotoo, the power for your player was very correctly selected, 150 mW - that reasonable optimum, which is certainly enough for any headphones, which makes sense to use in a portable. Thanks to the gain and dumping switches, this player can be "tuned" for sensitive IEM, which allows you to listen to them practically without background noise.
Stylistically, the player is universal, although its strong side is tolerance to bad recordings (perhaps, the case when the player is normal, to my ears, even a different string plays) and the emotionality that adds spectacularity to live recordings. To the quality of the material, the new PAW5000 is tolerant, somewhere in 5 on a 10-point scale.
Traditionally, several tracks for example
Machine Head - Be Still and Know . Who knew that just being inspired by Pantera and adding a bit of trash / groove to the sound of your band, you can achieve such results? Of all the albums of Machine Head, I probably love Unto the Locust, for its complexity and novelty. "Medium PAW" (there are also Pico) surprisingly well copes with all the overloaded guitars and percussion, without losing the vocal on their background.
The Brecker Brothers - Big Idea . When it seems to you that jazz is such music, forever stuck somewhere in the first half of the 20th century, listen to the work of this jazz-fusion duo. The first time listening to this track, I was sure it was a product of at least the tenth years of our millennium, but it turned out that it was released in 1992. Big Idea, released as an R & B single, still sounds fresh, boldly combining pure jazz with electronic effects and a rhythm part. PAW 5000 Mk II perfectly shows itself on such music, playing it alive and involving.
Florence + the Machine - Breathe of Life . If it were not for Deezer with its "flow" of recommended compositions, I probably would never have come across this track, the sphere of my interests lies far from the now fashionable anorexic and melancholic music. Nevertheless, this work of popular British rockers sounds very interesting, combining epic scale "background" with fascinating orchestration and pleasant vocal. With PAW5000-2, it all acquires an additional scale, just breaking the wave of music.
conclusions
I think, and without the conclusion it is clear that I consider Lotoo PAW 5000 the second revision the best player of its price category. I understand that this is a fairly strong statement, but I also have the right to subjective assessments? Small size, stylish appearance, convenient operation and excellent sound more than compensate for not the most record-breaking autonomy, and personally I am ready to give up it in favor of high-quality sound in such a small package.
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Buy Lotoo Paw 5000 MK2
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