[bluestorm1992]

That's brave and also shows how much the technology has improved.
Now, imagine a USB dongle amp similar to the W2 made by Chord Electronics.

I hope they will! But Chord cannot even deliver their 2yu.

 

[NYanakiev]

Of course.

Wow. I can hear a MASSIVE difference between the two products. I suppose I also dislike the form factor as well.

Luckily I get no playback interruptions with the S21 Ultra so the W2 won't be going up on headfi.

 

[bluestorm1992]

Wow. I can hear a MASSIVE difference between the two products. I suppose I also dislike the form factor as well.

Luckily I get no playback interruptions with the S21 Ultra so the W2 won't be going up on headfi.

I agree that the difference is massive, but Hugo 2 is a bit embarrassing in my setup. It cannot be used as a DAP. I originally used it as a Roon end point with 2go, but later replaced it with SP2000 which is now also Roon ready and much more convenient.

 

[Babayagga]

Hello I had been following this thread for awhile now, how does the W2 compare to the sound of Chord Mojo? @rocketron ? I love the sound of the Mojo but its not really portable, so want to see if the W2 is on par with the audio quality? Or Would you say W2 had already exceed the quality of E1DA or Dragonfly Quest?

Thank you for your time

I can't speak to the Mojo or Dragonfly, but I do have the E1DA and I'll honestly probably never use them ever again.

 

[HiFyAK2020]

I got interruptions while playing Tidal on Macbook by only slightly touching the cable, not so much with IPhone though I remember there were complaints from other users.
I have ordered different cable at Aliexpress:
https://m.de.aliexpress.com/item/1005001777026395.html

This cable was also praised:
https://penonaudio.com/audio-cable/...lver-plated-cable.html?sort=p.price&order=ASC

or something like this:
Either way - a 90 degree cable will prevent the problem from happening...

 

[HiFyAK2020]

Did you read what I wrote? I said the Hugo 2 was better in every way than the W2. Someone commented that their Utopias use with the W2 using balanced output and experiencing too much resolution. That wasn't me. I can't compare the Hugo 2 to the W2 with balanced output since the Hugo 2 is only single ended.

I did say that the sound quality from the W2 was superior to my Hiby R6 2020, but it has applications features which is what I use it for.

I use the W2 with balanced output only and it sound is superb - but whatever - you think the Hugo 2 is that much better then - that is fine with me, but does not change much for me either - I won't use those big things and the W2 is as much as I need

 

[vanez1985]

I know you didn't mean it, just wanted to warn about the general danger of the HID key setting in combination with the source settings.
That is the config screen in Tidal (sorry in German), the 2nd option "keep volume at 100%" was activated once I switched to exclusive mode.

Did you make this screenshot on mobile or PC? Exclusive mode is the only reason why I have to use UAPP instead of native app for Tidal, it will be really great to get rid of UAPP and use native UI on my Android phone

 

[HiFyAK2020]

I will struggle for now to move away from my locally stored files to streaming only - even though logically I know it makes sense, and this has become increasingly apparent in the last week even while using Tidal more, I have been very impressed by SQ and the pretty vast library available, even in genres I hadn't expected. There are however quite a few artists/albums I can still only access on Bandcamp - my preferred source for buying music due to flexibility of formats, a means to store my collection online and the fact that the artist/label are treated well in terms of what they earn.

I have been buying CDs and vinyl for about 30 years and have a large collection - I started to compliment this with digital in the early 00's when I began ripping/downloading and enjoyed the benefits of digital on-the-go, but at home, still very much listened to physical formats. Just late last year, I found I was actually running out of space for storing and being able to access my physical music so I made the decision to focus more on digital only but with the odd exception for CDs or vinyl. That shift from spending money on physical music formats (expensive when you take shipping etc into account) allowed me to channel the cash towards this hobby instead and I have loved every minute.

My (potentially complicated!) solution for now in terms of local library & streaming is a 1TB micro SD via a USB hub on my Mac (along with using some internal Mac storage) pointed to Audivarna and Tidal also linked. I then have my DAPs which have pretty much the same library on SD cards - so for portable use, I listen on my DAPs in various parts of the house or out and about - when at my laptop, I now use the W2 to play a combination of local library, Tidal, YouTube, Netflix etc. This being of course when using earphones etc, I have other solutions for playing music via regular speakers.

While complicated and not logical, I have an emotional attachment to storing local files - I even enjoy sorting them in folders and have a system I've used for many years in that regard. I suspect one day this emotional attachment will be beaten by logic - i.e. streaming to all systems in my house, with one control panel for all... makes sense but I'm a while away from that yet I think!

Anyway, moral of the story is that the W2 has moved me a bit further on that journey, especially as I've now started to use Tidal and Audivarna, all combined, they've opened my eyes to the posibilities!

Well I still do have CD's and scan them on a server and do have vinyl as well - it's just some magic to listen to pure analogue music - but it is easier to just plug IEM's in - take the smartphone and pick from the music library whatever is flashing up. W2 is one element that puts the sound quality in very good levels..

 

[FooFighter]

Did you make this screenshot on mobile or PC? Exclusive mode is the only reason why I have to use UAPP instead of native app for Tidal, it will be really great to get rid of UAPP and use native UI on my Android phone

It's MacOS I am afraid.

 

[FooFighter]

or something like this:
Either way - a 90 degree cable will prevent the problem from happening...

Thx for the suggestion with dual USB adapter.
I have ordered a Shanling Q1 as a minimum footprint digital source but reading through forums it could turn out not to work as W2 is drawing too much current.
Should such a dual adapter solve this and charge on one side while playing music to W2 on the other?
Do also other forum members have tried this and can recommend a dual USB-C adapter which is working also with other DAPs like Shanling Q1?

 

[HiFyAK2020]

Thx for the suggestion with dual USB adapter.
I have ordered a Shanling Q1 as a minimum footprint digital source but reading through forums it could turn out not to work as W2 is drawing too much current.
Should such a dual adapter solve this and charge on one side while playing music to W2 on the other?
Do also other forum members have tried this and can recommend a dual USB-C adapter which is working also with other DAPs like Shanling Q1?

i tried both and both work perfect - but that is only one user...

 

[FooFighter]

i tried both and both work perfect - but that is only one user...

That's the one, right?
https://smile.amazon.de/dp/B07YD3BF4N/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_VHDEKS1NMXJGWRP6420Z

 

[markel]

I ordered a Lotoo Paw S1 leather case for my W2. When I get it, I'll report back with photos. It looks like it should be a good fit, based on the dimensions.

https://shop.musicteck.com/products/lotoo-paw-s1-leather-case?variant=32276928135230

 

[Scubadevils]

I had originally felt the W2 was better sounding than the ZX507, less inclined to say that now - I think more a case of different, certainly brighter which when A/B'ing gives an immediate sense of more detail but on balance, its a smoother/fuller presentation from the ZX507 which I feel I might enjoy more for longer sessions/specific genres - there was a recent firmware update also for the ZX507, maybe this has played a part. Current impressions anyway, could of course change over time!

 

[becauseim]

Are there anyone here who bought a W2 on AliExpress?
Are you convinced of the originality of the product?