Lotoo paw 5000 MK2 audio player review: small in body but big in deed!

Have you ever met an old love years later?? Nothing ticked over? And I got a chill when the package arrived, and in it was another novelty, by the way, claiming to be the “best budget player” at the beginning of 2018. Today we’re talking about an updated version of the already familiar Lotoo paw 5000, only this time with the prefix MK2. Externally – well, purely my old love: same design, same buttons, but the internal content has changed a lot over time: above all the circuitry… Well, let’s turn it on?

Thanks to XChesserAudio for providing a sample for listening.

Technical Specifications

Processor: ADI Blackfin 514 DSP

DAC chip: AK4490EN

OP-AMP: OPA1622

Display: 2″ TFT

Supported formats: DFF, DSF, ISO, WAV, MP3, FLAC, APE, OGG, M4A, AAC, ALAC, CUE

Output power: 150 mW 32&Omega

Built-in memory: No

Memory Card Support: 1 microSD slot

Battery: 1700 mA/h, run time 6 h.

Support for Bluetooth with A2DP

Input: USB 3.0

Outputs: Combined: Line/SPDIF optical, 3.5mm headphones, 2.5mm balanced

Dimensions: 98×55×17 mm

Weight: 110 g

The look and set

The unit is packed quite glamourably: a slide-out silver gray package on top of the box. The two black accents, the logo and the model name, only emphasize the refinement of design. Inside – a black casket, touched with a silver veil. The player is easy to take out, then comes the USB 3 cable.0/USB to synchronize with PC and connect to power adapter , warranty papers, hand strap pouch very handy accessory for running and clip clip that attaches to the back of the player and interacts with this strap. In general, all that “Maestro” prescribed, but without fanaticism.

The device is very light and cute. Assembly inspires confidence: no backlashes, gaps, nothing dangles. The shape – perfect, the color, design and firmware – also at the level. The moment you take the player in your hands you know: Of course, everything is brilliant – it’s simple. The material is metal, more precisely – depressed aluminum. Color – graphite, metallic gray. For me PAW 5000 MK2 is a perfect combination of size, price, build quality and logic.

Almost all the buttons are made of black plastic, only the power button is of golden metal with neon lighting. Stop/start button is silver and located in the middle of the navigation wheel.

The player has a rectangular shape with rounded edges. On the front of the player is a color screen, two inches, underneath it are the control keys and a plastic wheel for surfing through menus, and the “cherry on the cake” is that silver selection button, stop/start.

On the left side of the player are keys switch DAMP High/Low , volume control keys +/- and gain switch Gain High/Low .

On the right side you can find the USB 3 cable socket.0.

On the top end you can find the headphone jack 3.5 mm, combined line/optical SPDIF , and balanced 2.5 mm TRRS.

On the bottom end of the player we find the slot for microSD memory card. The rear panel is smooth, clean, it is decorated with messages that it is a hi-fi player, and technical standards.

In the hand the unit lies pleasantly. Ergonomics is convenient and simple, the buttons are within one finger: all navigation is under the screen.

The menu is simple and logical, understandable even to a child. The screen keeps on jumping peak indicators, pulling records of Tsoi the stoker and the beetles from the subconscious… By the way, the equalizer in the device is parametric – you can tune it as you like.

The device plays virtually all modern formats: DFF, DSF, ISO, WAV, MP3, FLAC, APE, OGG, M4A, AAC, ALAC and CUE. Also Paw 5000 MK2 supports Bluetooth A2DP.

On a single charge the player worked for about 6 hours, modestly! It may be less, depending on what file format you are going to load and what kind of headphones you have on your head.

Well and all the rest: I would like to pick on it, but it doesn’t work.

Sound

We used the following headphones: 64 AUDIO A18 Tzar, 64 AUDIO U12t, Ambient Acoustics AM5 LAM, Etymotic ER-4S, Etymotic ER-4SR, Westone UM PRO 30/50, Custom ARTFIBAE 2, Beyerdynamic dt 250/250 Ohm, Beyerdynamic dt 1350, Phonon SMB-02.

With all headphones the unit played properly. I did not notice any genre preferences in the device.

The device sounds pretty lively, with good processing of fine details, giving out all the musical material in a positive way, although there are still nuances.

There is such a moment. Switching back and forth between DAMP switch on the left end I noticed that the sound in lower position “L” becomes more even, reserved, with a slight dip around the edges of AFC, and in position “H” the sound becomes colorful, getting more massive character and adding emotion in high frequencies and depth in low ones.

In position “H” the general picture becomes not only more sated and emotional, but also more musical in general, which gives the sound a driving, expressive and beautiful touch.

Bass parts sound solid, energetic, with good working out of the depth.

Middle, depending on the “DAMP” position can vary from smooth, a little restrained and smooth in “L” position to contrasting, emotionally rich and detailed in “H” position . There are some common notes in the voice of this unit with its older brother, my favorite Lotoo paw Gold. It’s hard to say what exactly they have in common, but they sound in a similar way to convey emotion. Of course, the Paw 5000 mk2 player simplifies the picture as a whole, but when the brain adapts and you stop analyzing individual parts of the frequency range and just listen to music as a whole, taking the melody as the basis, you begin to feel in many moments that the older and the younger fellow made in the same place.

The high frequencies sound a bit simplistic, but are served without being overly obtrusive. For those who would like to turn them down, I would recommend turning the rocker switch to position “L”. And for those who have a soul that asks for more expression, “welcome” to the “H” position. In general the tweeters have good resolution, sounding quite cool and extended, adding contrast and airiness to the overall picture.

Bottom line

In general I would label the sound of the Paw 5000 MK2 as beautiful, with drive and genre versatility. A big plus is that you can adjust the “voice” and power at your discretion with the toggle switches DAMP and Gain, which gives more opportunities to fine tune the player for specific headphones.

With its small size it not only does a good job with the main task – to work with headphones, but also serves perfectly as a transport for digital signal via S/PDIF and no less worthy serves as a DAC in the output of sound from the line output to an external amplifier. So who needs a good assistant for listening music in the car with AUX connection to the head unit, I recommend to think about it. Unless of course 6 hours of music playback is not enough for you.

Conclusions

I liked the device very much. Its main advantages over competitors are size, light weight, ease of use and of course the sound. Frankly speaking, it’s hard to choose the best player from the latest additions to our reviews: the final verdict, no matter how you turn it on, will depend on individual preferences.

Cayin N5 MK2 player has a more elegant and modern design, touch screen and a fairly neutral sound. In my opinion, it combines better with vocal and instrumental genres, although it is quite decent for other musical styles.

The Hiby R6 is the most advanced and powerful of the three. It combines all modern features: a stylish and modern design, powerful processor, 3 GB of RAM, built on two DAC chips, has a beautiful screen, the ability to seamlessly work on the Internet, has a very good sound, but there is a nuance: it is almost twice the price of its competitors. Although, its price is quite adequate to the proposed functionality and sound quality.

And our today’s hero – Paw 5000 MK2, differs by its small size, convenient controls, classic design and, most importantly – decent sound. Compared with its “fellows” it sounds with more drive. For those who prefer to listen to rock music, I think this will be the best option. In fact, this device plays back almost any genre with flying colors, and in terms of musicianship and the transfer of inner emotions of the composition it is probably the best in terms of price/quality ratio. At the time of writing the review on its price tag wrote 20 700 Dollars. Quite a justified price tag, I should say.

From me personally, this vocal “toddler” gets the Audience Choice Award and the title of “best” in its price category.

Design, controls, sound, price.

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