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Fast Review of Luxury&Precision E7 DAP(Prototype)

WolfX-700

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I still remember the day I released the Sony DMP-Z1 review a year ago, Eclipse (the R&D director of Luxury&Precision) approached me and said: Do you think the performance of the Z1 is extreme? My answer is yes, after all, among the bunch of DAPs I tested at that time, DMP-Z1 is the representative of extreme performance. (I still remember that a high-end DAP joint test was conducted at that time).Then Eclipse told me: I want to make a 4497 player that exceeds the performance of DMP-Z1. I even laughed at the time: 4497 is gone! do you know? It's over!Then he emphasized to me: I want to design a device that uses 4497 and has extreme performance!I think he's going a little too far, trying to calm him down:Do you know that someone has made 120+SINAD performance on 4497? He was shocked at the time... what? 120? are you kidding me?I showed him the Topping D70s measurements...then Eclipse kept silent...until...July/August of this year...he told me: 4497 project is still going on...and then I received the Luxury&Precision E7 (Prototype) a few days ago
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Measurement:
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Summary: 120SINAD's DAP! Based on the 4497 (I don't know how they got it) chip... the most powerful DAP I've ever measured Well done! I wanted to make some more comments, but the completion of this engineering machine is actually not very high, and there are still many places that need to be adjusted in the software part. Let's wait for the retail version to come out and test again...
 

staticV3

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What's so special about the 4497?
Production for the AK4497 stopped in October 2020 when AKM's factory in Japan burned down. It's basically unobtanium now.

That Wolf's 4497 DUT shows the same IMD hump as AKM's next gen 4499EX chip is a bit suspicious though:
1671151092-SMPTE-Ratio (1).jpg 1668347120-SMPTE-Ratio (1).jpg

Here's how the 4497 performed when it was still around:
SMPTE-Ratio-10 (1).jpg

@WolfX-700 any chances you could open the E7 up and confirm the DAC chip in your prototype?
 
OP
WolfX-700

WolfX-700

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Production for the AK4497 stopped in October 2020 when AKM's factory in Japan burned down. It's basically unobtanium now.

That Wolf's 4497 DUT shows the same IMD hump as AKM's next gen 4499EX chip is a bit suspicious though:
View attachment 252454 View attachment 252453

Here's how the 4497 performed when it was still around:
View attachment 252455

@WolfX-700 any chances you could open the E7 up and confirm the DAC chip in your prototype?
Considering this is a prototype, I'm not being respectful to the manufacturer by tearing it down now. But I'll try to get permission to disassemble this unit before it retails. And I don't think the manufacturers need to lie about this.
 

tifune

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Impressive like all of L&P's offerings! I'm still struggling to understand the value of a DAP in 2022 outside of a select few that offer significant power output over what E1DA etc dongles can offer? Even if I wanted to, say, unplug from the world with my music there's always airplane mode.

Theres obviously a market for it, because companies keep producing them. So I must be missing something?
 
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WolfX-700

WolfX-700

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Production for the AK4497 stopped in October 2020 when AKM's factory in Japan burned down. It's basically unobtanium now.

That Wolf's 4497 DUT shows the same IMD hump as AKM's next gen 4499EX chip is a bit suspicious though:
View attachment 252454 View attachment 252453

Here's how the 4497 performed when it was still around:
View attachment 252455

@WolfX-700 any chances you could open the E7 up and confirm the DAC chip in your prototype?
I got permission from Eclipse, but for understandable reasons he asked me to properly hide everything except the DAC chip. So here are the photo that could be posted:
 

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Matias

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Just like 4493 I guess the 4497 should resume production sometime soon, no? Maybe with an S suffix too for some improvement (after all the R&D department was probably home office for 2 years, something must have been improved lol).

Great DAP performance. I also wonder the need for it in a market full of affordable and high performance dongles, but maybe I am wrong.
 

Jimbob54

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Great DAP performance. I also wonder the need for it in a market full of affordable and high performance dongles, but maybe I am wrong.
Ive seen and had this debate a few times on here. There are people who want a standalone device that looks and operates a lot like a phone + dongle but that isnt actually a phone. Issues like storage addition (SD cards etc), leaving the phone behind , no unnecessary apps etc seem to be the main arguments for a DAP.
Personally, I would still buy a cheap android (possibly with SD card slot if I needed lots of local files) and get a good dongle as it would be way less than most DAPs. And I say that as a reformed A&K owner (SR15- worst audio investment ever)
 
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WolfX-700

WolfX-700

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Ive seen and had this debate a few times on here. There are people who want a standalone device that looks and operates a lot like a phone + dongle but that isnt actually a phone. Issues like storage addition (SD cards etc), leaving the phone behind , no unnecessary apps etc seem to be the main arguments for a DAP.
Personally, I would still buy a cheap android (possibly with SD card slot if I needed lots of local files) and get a good dongle as it would be way less than most DAPs. And I say that as a reformed A&K owner (SR15- worst audio investment ever)
Personally, I have no reason to buy DAP, but it is clear that the market is the market. The market for DAP still exists. I also can't understand the existence of some high-end DAPs...but maybe it's like a mechanical watch...
 

Twx

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No more pictures of the outside of the DAP available? It’s got swappable DAC, yes?
 
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