Ibasso D6 versus Practical Devices XM 6

I've been curious of that same questions myself. I have no experience with either or any amp for that matter.

I only know from what I have read in the forums. It seems that the D6 will have more power. The XM6 has better DAC and rollable op/amps (correct terms?) and has quite the selection of buttons for varied customization of sound. I personally like customizing of sound on the XM6 but like I said no personal experience it just seems like a good idea. Oh, and the price difference. Probably wasn't too useful. Also I wanted to bump this and see what people who really know what they are talking about think of these two amps.

I have an XM4, which shares some features with the XM6.  It has variable crossfeed and bass boost.  The XM6 will also boost treble.  These features were fun to play with at first, but I never ever use them.  I'm a bit of a purist and perfer not to add any equalization to the signal.  The build quality is top notch.  I use my amp when I'm going to sleep and it has a feature where you can set it to shut off automatically after a certain number of hours.  I find this feature very useful.  The XM6 has this too.

No matter what comments are made here, nothing will compare with your personal experience with the D4.  I would say if you were happy with it, get another one.  Especially if you are looking for a "Wow", you are probably setting yourself up for dissapointment. 

However I know it is the nature of this hobby to want to branch out and get something better - been there done that.  :-).

The XM6 is arguably more powerful and has a ton more features compared to the D6. It's also quite a bit more expensive. If those features look appealing to you, then go with the XM6. If you don't think you'll use them, then stick with the simpler and cheaper D6.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Armaegis 

The XM6 is arguably more powerful and has a ton more features compared to the D6. It's also quite a bit more expensive. If those features look appealing to you, then go with the XM6. If you don't think you'll use them, then stick with the simpler and cheaper D6.

'arguably more powerful' ? Do you have any figures to back that up ?

Nothing other than the specs on their respective websites. The XM6 has more gain, the D6 more current available (maybe?) and higher battery voltage (I think).

I need mW into 32 ohms, under load, please.

XM6: gain of 10 or 18 dB (voltage gain roughly 3.2x and 8x), over 1W (load not given, but I assume 32 ohm)

D6: gain of 3 or 10 dB (voltage gain roughly 1.4x and 3.2x), up to 1.3W at 32 ohm

I can live with that - thank you.

Quote:

Originally Posted by maggior 

I have an XM4, which shares some features with the XM6.  It has variable crossfeed and bass boost.  The XM6 will also boost treble.  These features were fun to play with at first, but I never ever use them.  I'm a bit of a purist and perfer not to add any equalization to the signal.  The build quality is top notch.  I use my amp when I'm going to sleep and it has a feature where you can set it to shut off automatically after a certain number of hours.  I find this feature very useful.  The XM6 has this too.

 

No matter what comments are made here, nothing will compare with your personal experience with the D4.  I would say if you were happy with it, get another one.  Especially if you are looking for a "Wow", you are probably setting yourself up for dissapointment. 

 

However I know it is the nature of this hobby to want to branch out and get something better - been there done that.  :-).

I don't think its fair to compare the xm4 to the xm6. The xm6 is far Superior in its amp section, has a top notch dac and many more features. The xm5 however has a very similar amp to the xm6.

I received my fully loaded xm6 2 days ago & I highly recommend it. I haven't heard the D4 unfortunately but with the performance of of the xm6  and it's versatility I'm sure you'd be happy with either.

They've got a special on at Prac Dev atm so that's another advantage albeit a temporary one.

Good luck. 

Quote:

Originally Posted by customNuts 

The xm5 however has a very similar amp to the xm6.

 

Unless someone can demonstrate otherwise, I believe the XM6 has an IDENTICAL amp section to the XM5 - they worked on the DAC and it seems to have paid dividends.

The $150 bump in price for upgraded dac is hard to swallow (though I suppose there is that aux connector and control stick). I feel like those free goodies on the XM6 were just tacked on to the price then labled as "free" afterwards.