We know that you are nuts, but accept you as one of us.
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You are nuts: spending so much money just for audio enjoyment is insane.
But you are asking like-minded people here, so itās ok 
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you folks rock pretty hard
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Ok, I received the L&P W2, and its great! Zero hiss and great list of features, super portable and easy to use, and it drives earbuds and sensitive IEMs very well. Dark Magician sound the way I hoped they would/could, and the W2 hits a little harder in some areas than the hip-dac2.
I noticed right away the sound stage and āholographicā space was larger and more crisp than the hip-dac2, and the EQ of the W2 allows me to better fine tune many aspects of the sound, including low frequency roll-off speed(fast/slow/low latency fast/slow, etc), 2 stage gain, tuning (āgentleā/ārefinedā), something labeled āSDFā that I do not understand, which has these options: āSDF: normal, IER-Z1R, SE 846, IE 800 S, Xelentoā (filters??), SPDIF on/off (it uses a 3.5mm jack for this), and a toggle for HID mode to allow the DAC to control device volume & vice versa. The device also allows UAC 1/2 switching.
I had to post the front AND back of this little DAC because I like the carbon fiber back. The small digital display is bright and legible, but was not on in the photo. The display shows vol, H/L gain, file format, birate, freq.
W2 has 3.5mm unbalanced and 4.4mm balanced outs, and the 4.4 was the lucky socket into which my new DMs were inserted with a āsnickā that made me smile, and since then my dac/iem and I have been inseparable.
Have had around 4 hours with it on my note10+ and it uses less energy than the onboard bluetooth controller when streaming music to a stereo. The bt will use 25% battery inside 25 mins, whereas Iāve been letting the W2 leech my Note10 for 4 hours and Im now at 55%. I could probably get 6-8 hours out of this.
The sound is very good overall, itās spacious & clean, and there is zero hiss or distortion anytime before or during playback. On high gain settings, the volume coming from this thing was more than enough to keep me from going above 60%(on my IEMs) for most content. The eq is a joy, and is a simple list of presets like jazz, bass, rock, pop, movie, game, etc. I keep mine on bass usually lol.
The DM sound great on these and Im super happy it worked out this way and gave me the chance to try a couple devices! Hip-dac2 and DM sounded great except for the hiss, but the W2 + DM is, right now, my go to listening device. I do miss the analog volume control of the hip-dac2, but Iām able to use the very sensitive onscreen vol slider in UAPP pro on my phone to control it about as well.
EDIT: forgot to mention headphones ā the W2 can push some large headphones, but lacks volume and possibly detail. I havent done much testing there, but will at some point.
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If it requires a disclaimer, Iām not very sold on it being all that good. I am concerned about its technical skills, bass, and treble refinement being merely a DD. I suppose Iād expect more for such a price, though this certainly isnāt traditional TOTL price level.
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Anyone here has the revised tuning for the MiM DM?
The one Ian has is the DM V2. OG is no longer sold.
Yes, we all have the OG, V2 just showed up. Im not sold by any meansā¦
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Personally I found the OG DM to be much more attractive sound colouring wise. Sure the new version is cleaner and more precise but it just doesnt have that special vocal sauce that the slight reverb and vocal thickness brings.
That being said its much easier to blind rec the V2 because of that if you dont know what they listen to.
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DM OG is end of the line material.
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Interesting choice from the maker. Not sure why the upper mids got squished.
@nymz your OG freq response is rather different to Ianās in the treble region. Any idea why?
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Im not sure. Mine looks like everyone elses. Either its a coupler thing or he got a different version, I donāt know. Already asked for a manufacturer graph
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Looks like they removed a filter on the nozzle for the new one.
(the coupler peak aint aligned so take that into consideration.)
Does anyone know ā if I bought my DM early March, would that be the OG or the V2?
EDIT: by my best guess, I have the OG.
Oh you have tried the revised edition yourself?
Yeah Ethenmusic7 the local distro and shill of the DM let me try both the orginal and revised version. I think the revised version is very good but its too generic and as I already have the Fiio FD7 there is no reason for me to get the DM, that being said its still a pretty easy rec if you dont need precise details.
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Michael Bruce strikes again with these fantastic mods / EQs. Canāt afford the DM but Iām glad weāve got a tinkerer like him in this hobby!
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Just to update this after 3+ months using my Dark Magician (OG) and my L&P W2 (not the 131 version):
Its been very good. DMs are solid, no signs of wear or damage even though I fall asleep with them in my ears often. My only problem giving feedback for these is that I have limited experience with IEMs in general, and have only used a couple good DACs, andā¦ I only have one DAC or source device with a 4.4mm out. So I can only try the DM on my Samsung Note 10+ with my L&P W2 attached.
That being said, I love the DM. They smoke every other headphone, earbud, or IEM Ive tried. (haha Ive only tried one IEM) One of my favorite aspects, in addition to sound, still remains the fit ā I like how the cable sits around my ear, over, and into my canal. They are rock solid in there even with walking or cycling. They dont work their way out of my ears, like all others have.
I love these! Cant wait to have more experience with which to compare them!
Over time, I have realized that there are headphones and IEMs that probably have a wider or more holographic soundstage, but in comparison to my DT 1990, Klipsch x10i, and other lower-end gear, the DM is very good. Bass hits heavy and does not distort, I feel no ear pain or fatigue from wearing them for a couple hours, all genres respond well to them including classical, rock & grunge, and even basic podcasts, and I feel like I might be able to pull even better sound dynamics out of them with a better battery/self powered DAC. The day I am able to try these out on another DAC, I will certainly post that experience.
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