iBasso D10. .UPDATES 1st page, with Current Opamp Choices by HiFlight . . . images page 1, 12,... - Page 26

My D10 only has about 20 hours on it so far, but on first impression the amp seems OK and the DAC seems very good when output to an offboard amp (SR71a). My main interest is how the DAC will compare to my MicroDAC...but like Headphone Addict says....that will take awhile.

Besides the sound which is premature to comment on, I do have the following observations/questions on other aspects of the D10:

- The unit seems well built and has a nice overall feel. My only complaint (on the outside as I haven't opened it) is that the volume/power knob doesn't have much resistance and is a little sloppy. On the good side...zero channel imbalance even at the lowest volume.

- The high/low gain switch makes very little difference on my unit. Much less than between say, Low and Medium settings on an RSA amp.

- The volume is plenty sufficient, but it does have less overall volume output than my SR71 or SR71a.

- It's a perfect fit with the H140 and looks great when attached to the iriver. However, I'm still stumped on how to carry this thing around as it won't fit in any camera bag or case I have due to the optical cable sticking out at the bottom.

- The auto switching on this device is pretty cool, just plug in any combination you want and it just works. I do notice that everytime the signal stops (such as when manually selecting a new song), the D10 emits a small click or pop through the headphones as the device re-discovers the active input and starts working again. This has proven to be a little annoying with IEM's.

- The charger is very clever as a half USB cable and half AC adapter. The one page manual doesn't clearly say this...but does the D10 charge through USB as well? I plugged in the D10 to charge via AC...and after 10 hours there was still no change in the charge light indicator (still orange). However, it was also burning in at the time so maybe it can't show full charge if it's operating at the same time. The charge switch was "on" of course.

That's it so far.

I have seen camera bags in the past which are wider than they are tall and would let you put the iRiver/D10 combo in sideways, and with a 90-90 degree optical cable in a u-bend you could fit it in there nicely.

As far as my update - I have about 127 hours on mine. Sunday about midnight will be 150 hours and halfway through my burn-in. Up until now it has been sounding pretty good the whole time - with the impression that it sounds very similar to my D3 and Pico, while the Predator and XM5 or 3MOVE have a different flavor.

Yesterday I switched from burn-in with the D2000 to the RS-1 and it still sounded good, and today I have the HD600 with APS V3 cable plugged in. Tonight it has been sounding just "a little" duller and less crisp than usual. It's too dark here in the bedroom with my wife asleep to see and dig out the D2000 or RS-1, so I'll chalk it up to the changes Jamato8 was hearing at about this point.

Just for a lark I did briefly crank it up to max in high gain with HD600 and Diana Krall Live in Paris via optical out of Macbook Pro, and it was quite loud without clipping.

What's the best way to connect a Macbook pro to a D10, and then a d10 to a pair of d7000s?

Could you be more precise: D10 vs 3MOVE what do you mean "different flavour"? I'm thinking about Arietta and I have D3 so this information might help me to choose.
Is crossfeed filter in Meier's amps (3MOVE) worth of buying Arietta instead of D10 (don't saying anything about its DAC)?

With any present Mac model (MacBook/Pro, iMac, MacMini and MacPro), the headphone output is an optical digital/analog combo jack. So you have a choice of either USB2.0 or optical on the Mac working as digital transport for D10. There is more limitations in term of sampling rate and bit resolution for USB2.0 as compared with traditional optical digital audio interface (set up with Audio MIDI Setup utility located in Applications/Utilities folder), thus the best way is to use an optical link to connect from headphone jack (mini plug) of MacBook Pro to optical input of D10 (standard Toslink plug).

This has been the setup for connection between my iMac and various models of DAC (D1, Zero, Beresford, Octavart and DACMagic right now) working as desktop audio system.

i do agree it a little pricey. But for portable we only have limited choice to choose from.

See here: UPDATED 01/04 REVIEW 12 USB DAC amps - Predator, Pico, 2/3MOVE, D3 D2 Viper/Boa D1, Lyrix, MicroAmp, Vivid V1, Nuforce, XM5 - Head-Fi: Covering Headphones, Earphones and Portable Audio

It's a long read but it compares several of the amps you mentioned - early in the review there is the 2MOVE, then later the D3 and then some discussion of the 3MOVE even later on in the 1st and 2nd post. I will start my D10 review next weekend after 300 hours of burn-in.

Pics of my D10 setup.

Attachment 13766

Attachment 13767

P.S. - I already have right angle optical adapters...but as you can see, they wont gain me much over the current u-cable.

I have 100's of hours of experience with an h140/D1 optical setup as my main rig and I think the sound is amazing with AD797 opamps. Here are I think some helpful some comments, and random ramblings, after reading this D10 thread so far:

Bass - To me, the D1 bass was clearly anemic with the stock LT1364 Op amp. Other people agreed. When I added the AD797 and bypassed buffers, the bass got GREAT. Much more apparent, but still very tight, no boominess. Other people agreed with this also. So maybe there is an op amp the D10 can tolerate that will increase its bass, even if the AD797 requires too much power for it.

Ref. D10 volume knob being too easy to turn - The D1 volume knob is also too easy to turn and can be dangerous with my SE530's that don't take much volume to drive. I think iBasso should add more resistance to its volume knobs. My Portaphile V2 has nice resistance and I've never accidentally blown my ears out like i have with my D1 (ouch!).

Ref. this comment from Hi-Flight: "I have seen camera bags in the past which are wider than they are tall and would let you put the iRiver/D10 combo in sideways, and with a 90-90 degree optical cable in a u-bend you could fit it in there nicely."

I bought a bag exactly like that and it fits my H140/D1 very well. Sideways is the way to go for lowest profile. That being said, this rig is still somewhat of a beast for me when exercising. I also appeared to have put too much strain on my "Headphone" input jack (my headphone cable being pulled/torqued sideways against it I guess) and it is loose now and the sound cuts out so I'm asking for an RMA.

My Sansa Clip/SE530 has now become my gym rig of choice. Amazingly, it sounds almost as great to me and is so much more manageable. I've matched my ER-4S with my D1/H140 for more sedentary activites. The ER-4S doesn't have nearly the bass of the SE530 of course, but with the D1 loaded with AD797 is does a pretty good job and of course the ER-4S opens up more treble and overall presence that the SE530 lack.

I think iBasso has done a nice job of opening up more options for Head-fi'ers and done so at great price points. I hope the D10 proves to the next great evolution/solution for other iRiver owners, let's see how it goes...

Actually, that was me in post #379.

Fortunately, my D10 volume knob is not too easy to turn, and I'm sorry about your headphone jack.

I try to surround my self in hi-fidelity almost everywhere that I go, but there are certain places that I find that the headphone out jack is as good as you can get, and working out is one of them.

One of the true definitions of "The Law of Dimishing Returns".

Aaron, have you used the iBasso T4 amp? It is super tiny but man does it sound good.

I have been thinking of picking an 8 Gb 3rd Gen Nano to pair w/ the T4 and a low profile line out dock. Something like EFN builds.