Highest Dynamic Range Portable DAC/AMP?

[HiFiHelp]

Is it the Luxury & Precision W4? They claim it has a dynamic range of 134 dB. It's quite expensive at 449 USD, but I haven't found anything with a higher spec'd dynamic range than this. For USB input, the W4 makes desktop DACs seem completely pointless, unless your system benefits from a DAC with higher than 4 Vrms of line level voltage.

 

[Redacted]

Loan one to Amir for independent tests, lest we assume this is just an advert.

 

[HiFiHelp]

Loan one to Amir for independent tests, lest we assume this is just an advert.

Measurement&Review of Luxury&Precision W1/W2 Portable USB DAC-Amp

Recently I have measured a lot of Portable USB DAC-Amps. To be honest... I am not satisfied.The first is that almost all Portable USB DAC with CS43131 have bugs (suspected digital filter overload appears under the Multitone measurement of 48KHZ 0dbFS).Then there is the phase shift problem of...

www.audiosciencereview.com

Measurements of their lower end device, the W2, have confirmed its 131 dB dynamic range spec.

I don't see any reason why their spec would be inaccurate for the W4.

 

[staticV3]

Measurements of their lower end device, the W2, have confirmed its 131 dB dynamic range spec.
View attachment 537182

I don't see any reason why their spec would be inaccurate for the W4.

That is with DRE though, which comes with some unfortunate distortion artifacts.

 

[HiFiHelp]

That is with DRE though, which comes with some unfortunate distortion artifacts.

The W4 uses a custom chip developed by L&P

 

[staticV3]

The W4 uses a custom chip developed by L&P

I meant that the W1 and W2 used DRE to reach 130+ dB DR.

It's also highly likely that the W4 uses the same trick.

 

[HiFiHelp]

I meant that the W1 and W2 use DRE to reach 130+ dB DR.

It's also highly likely that the W4 uses the same trick.

Yes, I understood the first point. Why do you think the W4 uses the same trick? @amirm will you update your DAC testing protocol to recognize DRE-enabled issues?

 

[staticV3]

Yes, I understood the first point. Why do you think the W4 uses the same trick?

Because I don't believe that L&P are capable of developing a DAC chip from the ground up, and that their first ever DAC chip leapfrogs what AKM and ESS can achieve, and that they debut this technological wonder in a dongle DAC.

The much more likely scenario is that they had a customized version of the cs43131/43198 made and gave it their own name.

 

[RandomEar]

Yes, I understood the first point. Why do you think the W4 uses the same trick? @amirm will you update your DAC testing protocol to recognize DRE-enabled issues?

This issue should be caught by the IMD sweep. It's part of the standard tests run by Amir, but he's been dropping it for some reviews - I assume due to time constraints.

 

[HiFiHelp]

This issue should be caught by the IMD sweep. It's part of the standard tests run by Amir, but he's been dropping it for some reviews - I assume due to time constraints.

The "clicking" noises issue is not caught by the IMD sweep. Fosi DS2 does not exhibit an IMD hump, but clearly has audible clicking issues with the reference audio analyzer test clip from Dune

CS43198 and CS43131 DAC sound defects

reference-audio-analyzer.pro

 

[RandomEar]

The "clicking" noises issue is not caught by the IMD sweep. Fosi DS2 does not exhibit an IMD hump, but clearly has audible clicking issues with the reference audio analyzer test clip from Dune

CS43198 and CS43131 DAC sound defects

reference-audio-analyzer.pro

The DS2 review does not contain the IMD sweep. How do you know if it would show the hump?

 

[HiFiHelp]

The DS2 review does not contain the IMD sweep. How do you know if it would show the hump?

https://reference-audio-analyzer.pro/en/report/amp/fosi-audio-ds2-bal.php#rw44

Also, see this thread:

On the Distortion of Cirrus Logic CS431xx-Based Devices: A Comparative Review

TL;DR / Changelog [5/20/25] Eleven DAC/HP amp combo devices adopting either the Cirrus Logic CS43131 or CS43198 were tested, and seven of them were found produce the distortion dubbed a "Cirrus hump." Based on measurements from multiple sources (including this review), a list of...

www.audiosciencereview.com

 

[Tell]

What would anyone ever need 134dB of SNR for? Listen to a feather dropping and a jet engine blasting at the same time?

 

[HiFiHelp]

I highly doubt that W4 uses a customized Cirrus Logic chip. The dimensions of the chip are completely different.

Headphone Reviews and Discussion - Head-Fi.org

www.head-fi.org

 

[RandomEar]

https://reference-audio-analyzer.pro/en/report/amp/fosi-audio-ds2-bal.php#rw44

Also, see this thread:

On the Distortion of Cirrus Logic CS431xx-Based Devices: A Comparative Review

TL;DR / Changelog [5/20/25] Eleven DAC/HP amp combo devices adopting either the Cirrus Logic CS43131 or CS43198 were tested, and seven of them were found produce the distortion dubbed a "Cirrus hump." Based on measurements from multiple sources (including this review), a list of...

www.audiosciencereview.com

It would be helpful if you could write a couple of words about what your idea is/what point you are trying to convey. From skimming the links, I assume that the DRE distortion issue is separate from the noise issue and devices can show no IMD problems (like the JCally JM 20 MAX) but still show a varying noise floor?

 

[HiFiHelp]

It would be helpful if you could write a couple of words about what your idea is/what point you are trying to convey. From skimming the links, I assume that the DRE distortion issue is separate from the noise issue and devices can show no IMD problems (like the JCally JM 20 MAX) but still show a varying noise floor?

JM20 Max has audible clicking noises in the CMaj test file, as you can hear in the files linked at the bottom of JKim's post.

 

[HiFiHelp]

@staticV3 was right
"W4 does use CS431xx as the base module for their chip set." - MusicTeck USA