Big things come in small packages Pros: The best sound quality, evenly matched with DMP Z1
Outstanding build quality, best in class hardware (runs cool)
Portable and pocketable
Non-Android, Custom OS (Great battery life) Cons: High price of admission
Custom OS can be challenging to use
Requires extra steps from end user to assume basic functionality (can require computer scripts)
Volume Control/Buttons not easy to use
Preface and Disclosure
I would like to thank @bluestorm1992 who very generously loaned me his personal LP6 Platinum and made this review possible. I would also like to extend my appreciation to @ActuallySparky who was patient enough to guide me in the scary world of photo editing software. This review is framed around my personal preferences, these are subject to change over time. If you have any questions about this review or my preferences, please drop a comment below or send a PM. Disclosure, I have been on an ‘advanced interest’ list for the LP7 Ti pre-orders (via Musicteck) since April 2021. After experiencing LP6 Platinum, I put plans to acquire a DCS Bartok on hold (which I have demo’d). This is probably an indicator for what’s to come…
Setting the Stage
Throughout the years, we’ve noticed the rise of audiophile class digital audio players (DAPs). While Sony may have pioneered audio players, with the first release of the Walkman in 1979, most audiophile DAP offerings we find on the market today are supplied by Chinese firms, mostly powered by Google’s Android. While there are exceptions, particularly at the higher end segment such as Sony or Astell & Kern, most of us likely own a DAP from brands such as iBasso, FiiO, Shanling or Hiby. I am grateful such companies have pushed relentlessly forward, outcompeting each other, seemingly with a new product reveal every few months. The result of this competitive landscape has left the end user with excellent options at nearly every price segment. Over the past few years there has been an expansion of products in the summit tier space. Personal audio companies such as Astell&Kern have kickstarted the summit-tier DAP market several years ago with the AK240. Fast forward to now, with the release of Sony’s DMP Z1, personal audio companies are beginning to address the emerging need of space efficient cost-no-object personal audio systems. Some have raised the question why such products are needed in the market. For those unfamiliar, property prices in cities such as Jakarta, Hong Kong and Seoul are quite high. So much so, that modest speaker systems or even large tube amplifier headphone systems are essentially unfeasible even to those with high earning power due to living space constraints. It is no coincidence population dense areas such as China and Singapore represent the main growth centers of the personal audio industry. To that end, competition in the burgeoning summit-tier DAP space has taken shape in Shanling’s M30 platform, FiiO’s M17, iBasso’s DX300 MAX and Luxury & Precision’s LP6.
Within this lens, perhaps it becomes easier to understand why products such as DMP Z1 or LP6 have a place in the audio world, particularly in Asia. Such summit-fi DAPs are made for those who can afford speakers systems that may cost double or triple that of a flagship DAP but ‘settle’ with gear such as Unique Melody Mason Fabled Sound + LP6 due to its convenience and portability. Other headfier’s may prefer DAPs as it serves an appeasement to the wife, a subtle alternative to flashy speakers in the living room serving as a constant reminder to our SO and/or progeny of how far down the rabbit hole we have gone. Or just maybe it’s easier to ‘sneak’ a DAP in a drawer and lead a double life as a headfi hobbyist. Regardless of the use case, there is a growing demand for this segment, and one should expect this market to expand over time.
L&P has its beginnings in 2014, when it was cofounded by Peng Wan (aka Mr. Wan) a former GPU Product Manager of AMD China. Prior to cofounding L&P, Mr. Wan served as a Lead for Colorfly’s audio/hifi department and had a hand in developing the Colorfly C4. One can observe Mr. Wan’s aesthetic influence already in the Colorfly C4 and would serve as a design blueprint for future DAPs under his direction. While L&P is known for its R2R range of DAPs, it has an extensive product range listed on the website (L5, L5 Pro L6 etc), most of which employ AKM DAC chips. However, at the very pinnacle of the L&P product family stands the LP6 line (at the time of writing this review). The LP6 family of products represents the best of L&P, a result of no expense spared engineering and craftsmanship to achieve the very best high-end audio experience Mr. Wan can envision. The LP6 family consists of a few variants of LP6 devices. This includes the ‘base’ model LP6 Gold, the limited edition LP6 Platinum (which I am covering today) and the LP6 Titanium. LP6 Gold is the standard LP6 model, whereas the LP6 Platinum is a Japan only release with 40 units made. The LP6 Gold and LP6 Platinum share the same electronics and differ only in aesthetics. The LP6 Titanium (also a limited edition) however doubles the amount of R2R chips from two to four and has a more powerful headphone amplification stage which was explicitly optimized around the Sennheiser HD800. The LP6 Titanium is designed to replace desktop gear for those who either do not want or cannot accommodate larger amplifier units. Whether LP6 Titanium delivers on this premise is something I’ve yet to verify. Only 199 units of LP6 Titanium were ever made and retail price was $5980 USD. For LP6 flagship series of DAPs, Mr Wan has chosen to implement R2R. To appreciate this choice, I will briefly cover this technology.
Climbing the ladder
To enjoy digital music, DAC systems are necessary to convert the source file from the digital domain (music file) to the analogue domain (sound waves for our ears). On the DAC market today, you will find two types of DAC technologies, delta sigma (DS) or resistor ladder (R2R). DS DACs today contain chips from either ESS Sabre or AKM AK series chips. These chips are ‘off the shelf’ and are readily available to manufacturers due to the modern miracle of large-scale chip manufacturing. Since these DS DAC chips are premade, manufactures such as SMSL or Topping simply design a circuit around whichever DAC chip they choose and manufacture these boards at a larger scale. This allows for DAC manufactures to provide high performant DAC systems at nearly every price segment imaginable. However, there are some compromises with using DS architectures. Even if well measuring, DS systems share a common ‘flaw’ due to digital filtering processes native to the DS signal path, such as oversampling, demodulation and noise shaping. There is a great article which goes into more detail about how these processes can alter sound (https://sw1xad.co.uk/delta-sigma-vs-nos-r2r-dac-designs/). In short, the real-world effects of digital signal manipulation can negatively impact musicality by introducing oversampling artefacts such as ‘ringing’. Such digital processes are integral to a signal being processed in a DS DAC; a user is forced to listen to music with these extra steps in the signal path which can detract from the listening experience. In the DAP world, much like smart phones, economies of scale are crucial to be able to cater to lower price points. Therefore, nearly all DAPs on the market employ DS chips. This is not to say nearly all DS DAPs are of poor audio quality, in-fact one of my favorite DAPs of all time is the Shanling M8. However, from a technical point of view, there is room for improvement with an opportunity to eliminate the excessive digital filtering processes found in DS devices. To achieve the ‘purest’ audio playback (sans digital filtering), one needs to look to a non-oversampling (NOS) architecture.
R2R (R/2R) refers to a resistor ladder configuration of two values, R and 2R. A ladder of resistors consisting of R and 2R is constructed, either as discrete surface mounted resistors or within a silicon wafer chip. It works by the principle of superposition, where switching on binary (digital) inputs adds more voltage (analogue) at the output. A key feature of R2R is the audio signal going through a R2R pathway isn’t subject to the mandatory digital filtering processes used by DS DACs. In this way, R2R in NOS mode can be considered ‘better’ than DS DAC architecture. While modern favorite R2R DACs employ discrete surface mounted resistors such as Kitsune’s Holo May or Denafrip’s Terminator, there are some of us who are familiar with classic R2R wafer chips such as Philips TDA1543 or Texas Instruments PCM1704K series found in older hi-fi gear such as Magnavox or Krell KAV CD Players respectively. L&P offers both types of R2R implementations. The P6Pro is L&P’s implementation of the surface mounted discrete ladder DAC, while the LP6 series employs a silicon wafer R2R architecture.
Industrial Design
The LP6 Platinum is defined by hard edges, liberal use of wood and exposed screws. Picking LP6 up, this device is as dense as it looks, seemingly packed to the gills with advanced hardware. It seems no expense was spared in this design, as expected for a product which occupies the flagship slot in L&P’s lineup. In the hand, the LP6 feels similar to the Hiby R8, one of the heaviest DAPs I have used recently. The LP6 is not a device you would want to run around with. One will appreciate the LP6’s tight tolerances as there are no panel gaps between the wood and metal to be seen. Upon closer examination however, this narrative of careful design intent begins to unravel, revealing some user interface oversights.
If we look at the side buttons (right side of the device), we can see chunky sized media control buttons. These actuate with shallow satisfying clicks due to the high-quality ALPS switches. However, these media buttons are labeled quite poorly. Even when photographed in optimal studio lighting conditions, it’s quite difficult to make out the engravings on these side buttons. A user will likely need to memorize these functions as these buttons aren’t concave or convex to allow a user to ‘feel’ these functions.
Moving to the top of the device, we notice an array of headphone ports consisting of ¼ inch jack (PO), 4.4mm jack (PO) and a 3.5mm jack (LO). It’s quite unusual to see a full size ¼ inch jack on a portable player, the last time I saw this was on the Colorfly C4, another of Mr. Wan’s designs. The 3.5mm jack does serve as true LO, an interesting choice for a modern flagship DAP. I suspect the next generation will move the LO function to the 4.4mm. For those who prefer to use 4.4mm as the LO, one can use the 4.4mm PO as a pseudo LO for devices like the Cayin C9. Mr. Wan states the LP6 generates such a low distortion at maximum volume on 4.4mm, double amping in this fashion can be used without noticeable distortion. Having used this combination across many of my gears, I can testify there was no noticeable distortion in any music I tested. Adjacent to the trio of sockets, you’ll find a volume control. This volume wheel turns as smooth as butter as L&P implemented a high-quality ALPS volume pot. Furthermore, this volume control is unique as it’s entirely analog. However, there are some quirks with this, notably it is impossible to determine your volume level via the software as the volume control mechanism functions entirely in the analog domain. This may not have been an issue if it were not for the lack of adequate labeling on the volume controls. First, there is no visual aid to tell the user in which direction volume is increased or decreased. Second, there is no indication on the wheel itself to communicate to the user how loud one is listening. If you perform frequent volume adjustments, this can become a tricky exercise. This becomes even more pressing as LP6 uses one of the most aggressive amplification systems I’ve encountered in a DAP, any erroneous turn of the wheel may cause intense discomfort or worse. I have accidentally blasted my ears on more than one occasion.
My comments so far can be applied to LP6 Gold and LP6 Titanium. However, there are a few aesthetic differences with the LP6 Platinum that sets it apart from other members in the LP6 family. First, the LP6 Platinum is coated in Platinum instead of Gold. This lends itself as a more subtle looking DAP rather than the Rolex-inspired Uber Yellow 24k Gold which a few of my Persian friends would be proud to own . Moving to the rear of the device is where one can appreciate the main distinctive feature of the Platinum model, the Echizen lacquerware treated wood. Echizen lacquerware is a traditional Japanese craft and has its origins in approximately 1500 AD from Sabae City (Kawada area). This technique is adored for the luster and rich color schemes it produces. As with much of Japanese artisanship, one must be trained for many years to specialize in one step after which the artisan will receive a title corresponding to what technique they trained in. Such titles include kiji-shi (woodworking specialist), nuri-shi (lacquer application specialist), and chinkin-shi (inlaid gold decoration specialist). One can imagine the kiji-shi who spent time meticulously coating the wood to create a rich and highly polished appearance one can observe on the LP6 Platinum. It’s a shame only 40 of these were made, and only for sale within Japan. From what I’m told there is very strong demand for the LP6 Platinum in the Chinese secondhand market, so perhaps L&P would consider a wider release for future special editions.
In summary, we have observed a few points. L&P has crafted a device which clearly communicates a no expense spared approach to DAP design. From case materials and artisan craftsmanship to physical components such as ALPS switches and the volume pot, one can appreciate the ToTL vision L&P’s design team has. However, there are some design oversights which detract from the user experience such as lack of adequate button labeling and confusing volume controls. Such shortcomings are not something I would find in a DAP in the $1000 range let alone one that commands approximately $4000.
