(Wasn't sure whether this should've gone in 'Dedicated Source Components' or 'Portable Source Gear' because it involves both... Mods feel free to move if you disagree!)
I recently bought an iBasso D4 Mamba (with topkit, dual OPA1611A replacing the AD8066) off of forum member Bencrest, to serve as my new 'portable' setup when I'm working in the lab with my laptop. My 'home' setup consists of a Firestone Audio Fubar III, which I've been quite happy with since I bought it last summer, but now that I have the D4 I'm wondering whether it is worth keeping the Fubar or whether I should sell it & use the D4 in its place as my 'home' setup as well.
At home I listen through speakers a lot more than headphones, so the Fubar usually serves just as a DAC & not as a headphone amp - its RCA outputs feed into my Tripath amplifier (TC2000 + 2x TK2050) which powers a pair of Mission 732 speakers. The Fubar uses a PCM2702 whilst the D4 uses dual Wolfson WM8470, the latter being in a whole different league if you believe some opinions. Another consideration is that the RCA output of the Fubar isn't a true line out, it goes through the headphone amp (Burr Brown OPA2604AP), such that the volume control on the front of the unit controls the level of the RCA output. This was useful when my Tripath amp was a power amp & the Fubar could server as a pre amp, but now that its been rebuilt with it's own attenuator/potentiometer (an Alps 'blue beauty') it is surplus to requirements & a possible source of degradation, as the OPA2604AP isn't the best op-amp in the world.
So my question is this - how big a difference is there between the D4's dual WM8740 & the Fubar III's PCM2702 + OPA2604AP? I haven't had time to do extensive auditioning between the two, but I wanted to get some input from the community early on, in case it brings to light anything I should be especially listening out for or considering whilst comparing. My initial 10 minutes of testing is already making me lean toward the D4, as the highs are much crisper & better defined, but with slightly drawn back mids.
The only benefit I can see of the Fubar over the D4 as my home setup is that I can leave it permanently in-situ, whereas with the D4 I'll have to take it out of my bag each evening & plug it in. But this small inconvenience is nothing compared to the possible difference in quality between the two units & the possible cash I might get for selling the Fubar to a new home!
