After having reviewed all these L&P DAPs, it’s no secret hat their UI still has room for improvement.The great thing about Luxury & Precision is that you know they each and every time nail the part on sound, and this is no different with this P6.
I sound-wise like every single L&P DAP so far but L&P each times manage to bring something different to the table. Of course here the R2R tech inside plays the biggest role for the quality of the sound.
If you look at the top of the line DAPs, the 3 most mentioned models will probably be the Astell&Kern SP2000, the Lotoo Touch Gold and the Sony NW-WM1Z. All of these players are in the high end price class, just like the TOTL L&P DAPs but most of them offer more functionalities and features and/or a better user interface. Even with that fact, there still there is a market for DAPS just like this one, and the reason is simple: they sound excellent. These are “sound first” DAPs, and looking at it like that, L&P absolutely nails it each time.
There are several kind of DAP users. There are those who want their DAP to be as cheap as possible while others want the best possible value for money. Then there’s a group that only wants the very best and are willing to pay for it big time. And then there’s a group with big pockets that doesn’t care about features and they just want the perfect sound. That’s where the P6 – and other L&P DAPs for that matter – fits right in. Getting the best possible sound at home and on the go, from a portable device while not caring about the simple UI and missing features such as streaming.
If I’m not mistaken, the P6 is the 3rd DAP in the L&P line-out featuring the R2R tech.The LP6 and LP6ti were first and next up will be the P6 Pro, but first let’s look at how the regular P6 sounds.
Sound General
For IEMs in balanced or in single ended mode, the volume gets loud fast. It’s not so that it’s too loud right away, there is enough room to play with, but I for inears never had the need to switch to high gain and get more power.
The part on sound was “done” with the P6 as DAP or as DAC/AMP from my laptop. A large series of IEMs was used as I have had this P6 for quite a while already. For this price – and taking into account that L&P states the P6 is all about sound – we expect to get a superb sound quality. Luckily that really is the case here, with a top level performance in all possible ways.
If I could describe the P6’s sound with 6 keywords only I would say it is engaging, precise, fast, rich, musical and natural.
From the moment you plug in your IEMs and start listening to your favorite tracks, you will see that the P6 delivers a very engaging sound. It makes you want to listen to more of your music and that’s always a very good thing. But there’s more.
The P6’s tuning is neutral but it comes with a very natural flavour. It’s never warm or cold but it’s realistic and easy on the ears, like the good old analogue sound. From top to bottom you get a good, normal amount of body. It’s not overly full or light, it’s just right and the impact it comes with is realistic.
Sound stage-wise the P6 to me also impresses. You get great extension on all ends and you won’t ever feel you’re missing out on anything. At the same time it (again) is very realistic, so you don’t get that pushed artificial stage some other DAPs give you.Together with the extension in the width and depth you get really great layering. From lows to highs the presentation is spacious and you get a realistic amount of air. The separation, detail retrieval and note decay is spot-on.
The P6 also has great dynamics, clarity and detailed retrieval. The P6 is highly resolving and the timbre is rich from the lowest to the highest note. It’s a very precise DAP, but it’s always presented in a musical and non-analytic way. To your ears it will always sound so effortless and there’s no listening fatigue whatsoever, though that also depends on the earphones using.
Some say the P6 is more vocal forward DAP, though I personally ca only partially agree to that. They may be a little bit but it’s probably linked more to the IEM used in that test.Of course to really enjoy the P6’s technical capabilities, you need to have a highly resolving top quality monitor as well. But if you’re spending $3K on a DAP, you probably are using reference IEMs already.
The story of balanced vs single ended is the same as usual. The balanced output (which is my preferred one) next to more power, gives you a wider, more spacious, natural presentation. It’s the best on a technical level and musical level if you ask me.
The P6’s bass is more about quality than it is about quantity. The bass reproduction of the P6 is natural and normal and of the highest quality. There’s no boost or big slam, it’s neutral in that regard but its all about the extension, tightness, detail and impact.
Bass extends low and has good sub presence, so if your IEM can render it, you’ll be very pleasantly surprised. The bass layering is really nice, and the presentation is clean and natural. In short: you get top quality, natural bass with an engaging and musical character.
The mids connect perfectly to the lows and they have the same amount of body. The mid section is spacious, precise and ultra-clean. The mids have an airy and natural presentation, and this combined with a very rich timbre, excellent decay and perfectly black back ground. Because of their naturalness and analogue character the mids are very easy to listen. The P6’s lower regions are great but the mids are even more spectacular. As said, some find the vocals to be very forward, but I don’t really feel that’s the case. If they are it’s just a tiny bit.
The highs share the same amount of spaciousness and air, and they extend well in all directions. Treble layering is excellent and notes are detailed and precise. The treble section is engaging and energetic, but it is never sharp or sibilant. It’s a very easy to listen to, easy to like and musical treble presentation.
The Astell& Kern SP2000 is miles ahead when it comes to versatility and user friendliness. Sound-wise both of these units perform at a very high level. Both have great sound stages, detail retrieval and speed but it’s the way it’s delivered to your ear that’s different.
The P6 has a tiny bit of extra bass body compared to the SP2000, but it’s less analytical and brighter sounding than the SP2000. The P6 is more natural and smoother sounding (especially in the treble region) and it carries a bit more warmth across the frequency range.
Sony’s WM1Z is starting to get older but it’s still a top level player. It’s not as versatile as the SP2000 and in that regard it’s closer to the P6. The Sony however is a lot more user friendly than the L&P P6 is. Sound-wise both units perform at a very high level and the sound signature here is much more a like. Both DAPS are not like the more neutral and analytical SP2000. And between the L&P and the Sony, the matter one is warmer, fuller and even smoother sounding. Especially the treble section of the WM1Z is soft, compared to that of the P6. Looking at a pure technical level and the precision that comes with it, I probably have to give the upper hand to the P6.
L&P’s previous R2R DAP, the LP6 Gold, has a different R2R implementation and it comes with a touch screen (yes!). The LP6 is the more powerful DAP as it was built to power full-sized headphones on the go (or at home) from a portable source. For the rest the versatility and interface are quite similar, there’s no surprise there. At the same time, the P6 has the BT capability and its design and form factor in its favour.
Sound-wise these two DAPs are fairly close to each other, but the LP6 has a slight edge over the P6 for what technicalities are concerned. They do share the same characteristics and present the music in the same way. The LP6 sounds more powerful, where the P6 is more normal sounding, and I mean that in a positive way.
Soon I hope to be comparing the P6 to the L6 PRO but I am still waiting for my Pro sample to arrive. So once we get to reviewing that one, you can expect a comparison to this “regular” P6. The P6 Pro features a touch screen, a partly different design and an even better R2R implementation.
Conclusion
This is the chapter to come to if reading long reviews isn’t for you. So here’s the TL;DR:
The Luxury & Precision P6 DAP sound signature can be described as follows: Effortless and natural with a high level of technicalities and a musical delivery.
The L&P P6’s design team did a great job and they’ve created a beautiful looking player.Usability-wise, as we’re used to from L&P by now, you get a limited versatility and sometimes the P6 is a pain to work with, especially if you have many files loaded to the player and SC-card.
If you can live with all that, then you’ll find that the P6 is one of the very best sounding DAPs on the market. It’s that simple.
