[monkeyboylee]

To add another view, I have just sold my fiio e12 as it made no difference other than volume for all of my phones, from my portable use momentums, to home use w1000x and he-400s. I went back and forth over several nights and unable to spot any difference. I have now decided to try a vali amp to power my he-400s at home as they definitely do need more power, and I'm interested to see what the fuss is about. I believe I have been guilty of wanting a stack, ratinox's stack envy, irrespective of actual benefit because it looked audiophile to do so and we are all naturally looking for the next step up in sound quality too in a hobby we all love. The only thing that affected my listening experience was swapping between my headphones!

 

[SkyBleu]

thanks for the recommendation skybleu but that amp is huge.
the thing i liked about the c5 is its compact form factor. anyway how much does that amp set me back?

any other recommendations for dx50-v3 ?

That amp should set you back by around $250 USD. I was getting bored of the C5, so I find this to be a good upgrade/sidegrade. The bass boost on this amp is more subtle and it sounds smoother with better channel separation.

With this amp, there's two batteries in which each will power, pretty much, two amps per channel, with dual AD8610.

 

[howdy]

Screenkiller, you should try the Ibasso D42, it sounds amazing together and is almost the same size. This was recommended by Ibasso for the DX50.It is only 188.00 shipped. I've had mine for about a month and have been extremely happy with it.

 

[irrational]

   
 
All my 192khz FLAC files clicked, downloaded from HD Tracks, Linn Records, 2L etc...
Ibasso could easily download a 24bit/192 khz FLAC file from any of these websites and test it 

It is interesting to hear this.  I listened to dozens of files downloaded from 2L and others and heard no clicks at all.
 
In fact, I am listening to one now and it sounds fine.

 

[headwhacker]

I disagree with the statement as an absolute. Really. If you're using 600 ohm headphones then you're going to need a more powerful amplifier than what DX50 has just to get reasonable volume levels. As to why you'd be trying to drive headphones like that from a consumer-grade portable music player, well, that's a different issue, one that may be getting into stack envy and showing off territory. Or perhaps not. Just because I can't think of a practical reason for doing so does not mean that such reasons do not exist.

 


It may not be practical to you but that doesn't mean the same for others. I have both a 600-Ohm headphone and a "stupidly" sensitive iem simply because I like the way they sound. Basically, one for desktop use and the other for mobile.

I just want a player that plays high resolution files (multi-format) which is convenient enough on the road. DX50 fits the bill for me without costing much.

From your rationalization both phones are not a good match for DX50. So I slap an external amp to compensate for the mismatch. For me that's more practical than buying a separate desktop amp and another DAP just for the IEM.

The word "practical" is a relative term so as many other things here in headfi.

I'm pretty sure we are all if not many of us dream of the "one" device. DX100 I think came close for me. Just a tad on the thick side and missing those discrete play/fwd/rew buttons.

 

[cooperpwc]

 

+1 to the DX90. Would have hold off the DX50 if I found out about it earlier.

copperpwc , maybe you could try to charge the stock battery if it is still with you so as to determine if the problem lies with the new one. It may have only 4+ hours of battery life but will tell you something if it can be charged. Best of luck.

 
This is what I have done. And indeed, the original battery which I also burned right down charged overnight adding all but the final bar. (It was already definitely dying which is why I replaced it.) So it looks like the problem of not charging at all was with the new battery.
 


Quote:

Anything more recent than, say, 2003 should be more reliable as the circuits were altered to prevent this kind of self-discharge fault. Still, faults happen. Unfortunately, it's usually impossible for consumers to fix or reset a Li battery once it gets into this state. A dedicated charger might be able to get it working again but that depends on the battery and the charger; it's not a universal thing.

 
Yes, it appears that the circuit in my new "genuine" battery was faulty. I just ordered a Momax battery on Amazon China. Buyers are speaking very highly of it and it is not a famous brand here in China which makes it unlikely to be a poor quality fake.
 
So my DX50 is probably fine. here is hoping.

 

[ratinox]

From your rationalization both phones are not a good match for DX50. So I slap an external amp to compensate for the mismatch. For me that's more practical than buying a separate desktop amp and another DAP just for the IEM.

It's not a rationalization, at least I don't think so. I see all the questions about pairing headphones and amplifiers in the various headphone threads. Why should anyone treat an onboard amplifier any differently? Which makes more sense, buying a portable amplifier or buying headphones that are a better match for the device and cost half as as much as the portable amp?

Buying the amp makes no sense to me.


As for the one perfect device, it will never happen for me. I'm too fickle for anything to ever be the one true perfect media player. I have too many contrary desires for any single device to fulfill them all.

 

[Leo888]

Yes, it appears that the circuit in my new "genuine" battery was faulty. I just ordered a Momax battery on Amazon China. Buyers are speaking very highly of it and it is not a famous brand here in China which makes it unlikely to be a poor quality fake.

So my DX50 is probably fine. here is hoping.

Good to know that you found the root of the problem. Doubt it's the player issue as it charges the stock battery. Cheers.

 

[cooperpwc]

Good to know that you found the root of the problem. Doubt it's the player issue as it charges the stock battery. Cheers.

 
And after listening for an hour, I plugged my DX50 in and went out to lunch. This time I came back and the original battery had fully charged - solid green and I have all bars.
 
I am now of the conclusion that you should charge the DX50 as often as possible. Looking forward to the new battery and treating it right.

 

[headwhacker]

 
And after listening for an hour, I plugged my DX50 in and went out to lunch. This time I came back and the original battery had fully charged - solid green and I have all bars.
 
I am now of the conclusion that you should charge the DX50 as often as possible. Looking forward to the new battery and treating it right.

 


I only let my DX50 totally run out of juice 3 times when it was new and doing the burn-in ritual. Since then, it always find itself plugged into a power source at night and fully changed in the morning. I never ran out of juice while on the road during the day.

Even now after 3 months, the battery life is still at least 10 hrs. I'm not sure about the actual battery life on full charge. A few times, I see the battery indicator bar at the lowest level (no bars showing) but still managed to play music for over an hour straight and still have some juice left.

 

[cooperpwc]

Oh my goodness, the situation is completely hilarious. There is nothing wrong with my DX50. There is also nothing wrong with the new "genuine Galaxy 3S battery". (I bought it from a good dealer - it should be genuine). That new battery is charging now on a 1 amp iPhone charger and in less than an hour it went up from zero to three bars.
 
The issue was a damaged USB cable. In retrospect, there were other clues that something was wrong with the cable. Anyway I am happy. I just ordered a completely unnecessary new battery but it was only RMB75 - $13 so it cannot hurt.
 
I also just threw away the damaged cable. Exactly how it is damaged (and how it became damaged) I do not need to know. It's garbage.
 
There is a lesson in this folks. Learn from my silliness. When something is not working, you have to consider all possibilities. 

 

[xaddictionx]

Oh my goodness, the situation is completely hilarious. There is nothing wrong with my DX50. There is also nothing wrong with the new "genuine Galaxy 3S battery". (I bought it from a good dealer - it should be genuine). That new battery is charging now on a 1 amp iPhone charger and in less than an hour it went up from zero to three bars.

The issue was a damaged USB cable. In retrospect, there were other clues that something was wrong with the cable. Anyway I am happy. I just ordered a completely unnecessary new battery but it was only RMB75 - $13 so it cannot hurt.

I also just threw away the damaged cable. Exactly how it is damaged (and how it became damaged) I do not need to know. It's garbage.

There is a lesson in this folks. Learn from my silliness. When something is not working, you have to consider all possibilities. 

Lol nice one. The same situation happened to my iPhone too. Thought my phone was spoilt, ended up getting a replacement then to find that it was my cable that's causing the problem.

 

[cooperpwc]

Lol nice one. The same situation happened to my iPhone too. Thought my phone was spoilt, ended up getting a replacement then to find that it was my cable that's causing the problem.

 
Good to know I'm not the only one to experience this. I feel silly but also very relieved.

 

[treal512]

Are there any recent comparisons between the latest firmwares and their sound signatures?

 

[Leo888]

Good to know I'm not the only one to experience this. I feel silly but also very relieved.

+1. Have had problem which is caused by usb cable for whatever reason that I don't even know. Good to hear that you have resolve the issue. Cheers.