I can get the UP4 for €100 (€30 more than UP2, €40 more than btr3) but it would take at least 2 weeks. I don’t have any use for a balanced output at this moment though.
So honestly I think the best usage for these kinds of small devices is bluetooth. You are already going for something small so it won’t have the same quality as something that is bigger that has more clean power. So if you need bluetooth then these are definitely good. But for wired I would get something else.
I think the best options here are the UP4 and the BTR5. The UP4 will have a more warm sound, maybe add some bass, the BTR5 would be more analytical and transparent. The thing about the UP4 compared to the BTR5 wired though is that the UP4 only supports up to 16bit/48khz format. The BTR5 up to 32bit/384khz format. For bluetooth however, the UP4 probably has the upper hand in quality.
In short, I would say the UP4 wins for bluetooth in most cases, but the BTR5 for wired.
More than 16bit/48khz is not necessary for me I guess, since I only listen through Spotify anyway. I have no problem with buying something now and then upgrading it later down the line. I’ll look at the UP4 again, but I’m not sure I want to wait 2-3 weeks TBH. And bringing it in from US or Asia will simply add too much.
I’m selling my UP2 for 50 on ebay but I’d be willing to do 40 for you if you’re interested. 67mw output power on 3.5 jack is pretty good.
Unfortunately customs also apply when getting a package from a person rather than a company (plus shipping time will be looong I imagine). Thanks for the offer though 
np peep. I hope you find a good and convenient deal 
1 Like
May I ask why you are selling it? I see you own a pair of Starfields which happen to be on it’s way to me this week, are those and the up2 a good match?
They’re a really good match, nothing but good things to say about both of them. The thing is, I originally got the UP2 because my phone’s dac chipset is not good. But now I’m selling my phone cause it started getting finicky so I figured I might as well get a phone with a good chipset and call it a day. So now I’m just plugging the starfields into the LG V20 so I have no use for the UP2 besides perhaps car/gym use. Both of which aren’t readily available at the moment because of the crisis lol
1 Like
Yeah the V20 is a pretty good standalone DAP honestly if you don’t need a ton of power. I know many people who are satisfied with it.
1 Like
Hmm… yeah I think the UP4 is worth the wait honestly. You will be very happy with it I think.
I got impatient and ordered the UP2 already. For now there was no reason and I decided to not invest in anything anymore for a while. I don’t mind upgrading it later on when I need balanced or when I need something with more power. I just really couldn’t listen to my current Bluetooth setup anymore. The background hiss and lack of dynamics is fine when I’m on my bike with only one earpiece in but it’s undo-able when I lie in bed. Plus the guy was kinda vague about when the UP4 would be back in stock again.
1 Like
Unless you have hard to drive cans that would require the extra power of the balance output I would say 67mw unbalanced should be more then enough, in my opinion. I don’t think there’s a significant jump in audio quality either, the UP4 uses two of the same audio chip instead of one. I haven’t looked up direct comparisons but I don’t think it would be very noticeable. Either way, even if it is, I would say the UP2 is good value and is slept on.
1 Like
Cool! I hope you enjoy it. Feel free to share your thoughts on it when you get it.
1 Like
@Soren_Peregrine
A bit too early to really rate the UP2; but my first thoughts are: Wait… I don’t need an IEMatch when I hook up my FA1s? if I connect them to the E10K or RC-BT they will hiss, not with the UP2. Also the device feels nice, it’s a bit shorter than I’d expected, but it has just the right weight to it. Haven’t been able to connect it to my PC yet, but there’s a firmware upgrade that has PC support in the list of fixes so can’t complain about that until I did the upgrade. Then I can also try the companion app, though I find it kinda sketch that it’s an APK file included with the firmware download in stead of an app I can download through the play store…
2 Likes
Sounds like you are liking it so far. That’s great!
Many apps for companies that are not very well known such as this one do not upload their apps to the play store. Don’t worry if it is an APK file, I have had to use those for many things and they are totally okay.
Well I did the firmware update. The app is quite nice, can’t say I hear the difference between the filters but I’m not sure I would. The 5-band eq is kinda nice though, for if you just want to add a little bass. Unfortunately I haven’t been able to get this to work stably on Linux. However, I’m hopeful there’ll be a fix at some point, though Shanling has mentioned in the thread on head-fi that they don’t have a Linux PC so I’m not hopeful there’ll be a fix soon 
.
1 Like
Update: I have been able to get the UP2 working on Linux (Ubuntu 18.04) with a fairly simple fix I found on head-fi. Basically I needed to change the default sampling rate from 44.1 to 48 khz in the pulse daemon config and everything’s working excellent now.
2 Likes
Awesome! Sounds like it is a great piece of equipment for you.
Just leaving random thoughts here in case anyone happens to wander here lol. I tried the app; It feels like an unpublished app that you install through an APK 
. But it’s pretty decent in functionality. I have to say the UP2 with a bass boost through the app and the Moondrop Starfields sound very nice. I’m not much of a bass head but I do really appreciate the bass of this set-up. I cannot for the life of me tell the difference between the filters though…
2 Likes
After using the UP2 for a while I have to say it works pretty good with Bluetooth and IEMs, but you really shouldn’t be using it for anything else.
I feel like the UP2 has a hard time driving anything but IEMs, though it could be me. Whenever I listen to my porta pro, ksc75 or HE400i it will give plenty of volume, but sometimes it sounds like it’s struggling and it looses it’s balance. It sounds like it’s not able to supply enough power, even though I’m not running it at full volume yet.
I’m not sure whether this makes sense, if anyone knows what’s happening I’d love to know so I can pick a better solution for when I get back to the office.