LOTOO PAW TOUCH GT2 ▀ FIRST IMPRESSIONS OF OWNING REFERENCE GRADE DAP PLUS SOME SUBJECTIVE RANT ON MY CURRENT AUDIO SETUP
UPDATED ON: 2026-03-24
₮ INTRODUCTION
It’s been a loooooooong two months since I ordered this audio device and more importantly, since I’ve been without a player at all.
Going without a quality audio source was truly torturous, especially since I sold my HiBy R8 II immediately after deciding to upgrade.
So, it’s a real delight that the DAP has finally arrived.
This place is well-known for it’s short, concise notes aimed at not wasting your precious time.
Today’s post will be no exception to that rule. Please note that I will update this in the future as I gather more listening experience to describe player properties and features more fully. So, without further ado, let’s get into it.
▀ ACCESSORIES
Additional stuff is less important thing for me so i’ll begin with it, if you don’t mind.
Nice type-C USB cable, two sheets of high quality tempered glass protection.
Cute cleaning cloth, neat packaging and that’s it!
▀ ERGONOMICS
Despite it’s weird shape player matches my hand like a glove and i have to admit that this is the most ergonomical device i’ve ever had in my life. Buttons are conveniently placed and are pressed very tactile even though case. Volume knob is nicely placed on top of the device and has a satisfying clicking sound upon touching it. Storage slot and charging port are accessible without removing the case. Weight of the device is less than 400g [388g to be precise], so it is quite portable. In comparison HiBy R8 II weighted around 530g and was larger due to massive 12000mAh battery, but a bit thinner.
▀ DESIGN
Player not only has first class ergonomics, the same thing could be said about it’s distinctive design, highlighting it from dull brick-like devices like iBasso or Hiby. Subjectively for me Lotoo easily outruns Astell & Kern weird shaped devices, that are looking strange and surely have worse ergo that Lotoo Touch GT2. Case fits device perfectly repeating it’s aesthetics. On the back there are practical line-shaped ventilation openings.
▀ SCREEN
Will not waste your time here. I just mention that is better that Hiby R8 II can provide.
Surely it is not an AMOLED fancy thingy, just a low resolution 800x480 4" IPS screen with good viewing angles.
▀ WIRELESS
WiFi is present but only for the purposes of firmware flashing, nothing else.
High resolution Bluetooth is present, but i don’t have any interest in it,
because good wires are still better in 2026.
▀ STORAGE
There is no internal storage at all.
High speed SD UHS-II 4.0 cards up to 2Tb and 300 Mb/s are supported.
My music library fits in 400Gb space, so 512Gb Sandisk Ultra card is totally fine for me.
▀ BATTERY
Not a 12000mAh monster like in HiBy R8 II, but at least Lotoo has brains to put 8300 mAh battery and not like Astell & Kern with their puny 5000mAh solutions. Battery should be good due to custom based firmware. Manufacturer declared 10 hours of playback, but i will be satisfied if charge holds up around 6-8 hours. I will update info on battery usage later on providing real life values.
▀ FIRMWARE
Player is based around custom non-android firmware.
It’s freaking fast, device boots and plays audio in a blink of 4 [!] seconds.
Astell & Kern or iBasso offerings take about forever to turn on, no surprise here since they need to boot into almost full-blown Android.
Lotoo’s software delivers the goods and just do things that i need, literally.
User interface is responsive and shows no lags, especially if we compare it with Luxury & Precision E7.
I’love the looks of Touch GT2 and the feel of it. You can set your own main color to the UI elements.
You can’t install any applications like in Android.
Believe it or not one of the reasons of Lotoo purchase was an absence of Android.
▀ AUDIO QUALITY
The most important part i left for the very end of the posting.
- pitch-black noise floor, signal-to-noise ratio 133db [desktop grade level of performance]
- pristine audio converters dual AK4499EX DAC chips plus AK4191EQ and AKM4137EQ for resampling purposes
- holographic realistic soundstage and clinical resolution
- sandwich structure of the casing and separated power delivery to isolate components for uncompromisable quality
- whopping 1mW/ch output on balanced 4.4
- no hiss on low impedance IEMs like Empire Ears Raven/Odin
- very high quality equalizer and resampling algorithms
KEYWORDS DESCRIBING FREQUENCY RANGES
| Freqs | Subjective description |
|---|---|
| LOWS | visceral with detailed slam |
| MIDS | razor sharp and transparent |
| HIGHS | highly detailed sparks w/o sibilants |
▀ WHAT COULD BE BETTER
First of all, and it is the main thing, currently, i have no objections regarding device audio quality.
It’s f#cking amazing!
Now to the cons of the device, there are few of them.
From the most important to least important.
- volume knob made of plastic and is a bit loose, could be surely made of metal and in a more quality way
- i wish that glow of volume knob could be customized in terms of color
- screen could be a bit brighter, lack of brightness feels only in direct noon sun light
- can be unforgiving for low quality recordings, because the device squeeze every possible detail out of audio stream
[but to my opinion, this is the problem related to audio engineer who mastered that music, but not a problem of the DAP]
▀ CURRENT AUDIO SYSTEM
For now, my current setup is the Lotoo PAW Touch GT2 + Empire Ears Raven/Odin + AudioCode Fusion 1.
For test tracks, I used Roosevelt’s album Polydans in 24-bit/96kHz FLAC.
The DAP and earphones delivered a satisfying, immersive, and highly detailed sound without any harsh sibilance.
The funk bass guitar sounded so real that I couldn’t believe my ears.
The lows are punchy and textured with genuine slam.
Retrowave synths are engaging in the midrange without bleeding into the upper bass.
High-frequency percussion is smooth and completely free of sibilance.
Grok’s opinion on the above mentioned system: is around 98% out of 100% possible for the systems on the go.
So it looks like it is the END OF THE GAME, for real!
Stay tuned for more updates in the future!
