Lotoo PAW 5000 audio player review: I experienced a rush of desire and enjoyment

And they say there’s no such thing as happiness in life! Of course, the crisis, ruble, devaluation cause inconveniences, but not only bread, when the music is like our Milky Way – endless, when the music pours out of such little masterpieces as Shanling M2 audio player, then iBasso DX80, and now my ears heard the wonder-baby from the Celestial Empire – Lotoo paw 5000, which I’ve been waiting for a very long time.

Thanks to XChesser Audio for the provided sample for listening

Audio player Lotoo PAW 5000

With brand Lotoo I have got acquainted on occasion six months ago. My friend gave me a recorder L300 – stereo, small size, with a dual microphone “on the head” and a nice, linear sound. In short, the subconscious left a purely pleasant feeling. And then the desire to get acquainted with the whole line of audio players Lotoo in quantity of two samples was appealed. The senior model, praised by everyone and everywhere, not without pride bears the name Paw Gold: here and the stuffing is more serious, and functionality, well, and the price tag – as a pilot cosmonaut, flies in the region of 130 000 – 150 000 Dollars. Memorable price, but we are still talking about music: the desire to listen to what such a “golden paw” is capable of, remained unsatisfied..

So, we’ll get closer to the older model through the “hero of our time” – audio player Lotoo paw 5000. All the more so that the younger model is also worth a closer look.

Technical specifications

DAC, ADI Blackfin 514 DSP

Display 2″ LCD 220×176

Outputs Headphone 3.5 mm, balanced 2.5 mm TRRS, linear, optical

Supported by

DSD, DFF, DSF, SACD-ISO, FLAC, WAV, APE, OGG, AAC, ALAC, MP3, WMA, M4A, CUE

Output power 75 mW @ 16 Ohm

Built-in memory No

Card support

MicroSD memory

Battery 1700 mAh, up to 12 hours

Dimensions 98×55×17 mm

Weight 110g

Appearance and Package

The device is delivered in a black box, made of a nice smooth cardboard. It shows the player with the technical specifications, and at the bottom, on the blue stripe is the inscription, “Lotoo my heart. The sound is mine!”. In English, of course. I don’t know about the sentimental slogans, but everything looks neat and strict, I would even say not Chinese at all.

In the box we can find the player itself, a shiny instruction booklet, cable for synchronization with PC and connection to USB 3 power adapter.0. Yes yes, that’s not a typo, it’s a USB 3.0 – connecting with the spirit of the time. Also in the kit are: a carrying strap to attach it to your hand a very handy accessory when doing sports and clothespin, which is attached to the back of the player. In general, everything that “Maestro prescribed”, no frills – the main thing is to listen and hear.

Lightweight, good-looking. No backlash, no gaps, nothing dangles. Seems to me to have it all: perfect shape, color, design and firmware. Having taken in hands, caressingly touched it and having switched on, I had such a rush of desire and pleasure, as I had never experienced from any other model. For me, the PAW 5000 is the pinnacle of enjoyment, quality and logic.

The material is metal, crushed aluminum to be exact. Color – metallic gray. Almost all the buttons are black plastic except for the power button – it’s metal and gold color, and the stop/start button – silver. The screen is color, with a resolution of 220×176.

The player has a rectangular shape with rounded edges. On the front side of the player there is a screen, under it there are control keys, a wheel surfing through the menu, in the core of which the stop/start and on/off buttons are placed.

On the left side of the player are keys for switching gain low/high , and volume control +/- . On the right end you can find the connector for USB cable 3.0. On the top end are the outputs: balanced 2.5 mm TRRS, headphone output 3.5 mm and a combined line optical.

On the bottom face of the player there is a slot for a microSD memory card. The rear panel is sleek and clean, it is decorated with messages that this is a hi-fi player, and the technical standards. In the hand the device lies pleasantly. Ergonomics is convenient and simple, the buttons – within one finger: all navigation is under the screen.

The menu is simple and logical, even pre-schooler understands. I especially liked the peak indicators, which brought back my “golden” childhood from the 80’s: bouncing lights, equalizer, parametric – twist as you like. Everything is here for those who like to tune in. The unit plays virtually all modern formats: DSD limited to 2.8 MHz, WAV up to 96kHz. , FLAC, WAV, APE, ALAC. Also Paw 5000 supports Bluetooth A2DP.

In general, the case when you want to pick on me, but can not.

Sound

For listening we used the following headphones: Etymotic ER-4S, Westone UM3X, Phonak Audeo pfe 112 with gray filters , Beyerdynamic dt 1350. With all headphones the device played properly. Some genre preferences in the unit was not observed.

The sound of the device is very neutral. Absolutely no distortion across the full frequency range. Honest sound – more honest than honest. When you plug in some headphones you hear the difference of the headphones, not the source. Also here you can clearly hear the difference in the mastering of this or that album. The Lotoo PAW 5000 doesn’t sound a bit off-kilter. As a source, it doesn’t bring anything extra to the sound. No obvious problems and “creatively screwed in” flavor presets that other enthusiastic manufacturers are so fond of.

Yes, the sound of Lotoo PAW 5000 seems a bit simple in comparison with the top segment, but there is no bloated virtual scene, screwed up sound “enhancements”, everything is “honestly” here. The detail is quite good. Each sound is clearly delineated in space. There are no obvious peaks or dips, distortion, weakness in the sound, everything is as smooth as possible. Only good sound.

That’s the kind of honest speech, without the “wow effect”: the PAW 5000 has nothing to complain about.

High frequencies are clear, not too sharp, not choked, not too bright, everything is in place. There is a slight crispness in this frequency range, but without fanaticism. Here it really depends on your headphones. Bright, dark, neutral, you get what you want.

MF- no distortion, peaks and dips. Nothing saws, does not cut. All sounds are clearly legible, the detail is quite good.

The bass is quite fast, no swooshing, no smearing, the punch is crisp and tight. Same situation, no clogs or dips. All smooth and plentiful.

In general, a very well balanced machine.

Conclusions

If you’re tired of running after a portable audio source,

If you want the most convenient player with a good sound and no embellishments,

If you need a player for sports,

if you use a stationary device at home and you need a portable device as a temporary measure to run to or get to work/study,

If you want to emphasize the sound of your favorite headphones,

If you need a convenient and cute audio device with all modern interfaces and for music on the go,

The Lotoo PAW 5000 audio player is YOUR OPTION!

At the time of writing this review, the price of PAW 5000 was around 24 000 Dollars. Remembering about today’s monsters – the dollar and the ruble, I think this price tag is justified.

Design, controls, sound, price.

Didn’t find it. I was looking for it well.