[pOOB73]

  haii..can someone tell me good head amp without dac for dx90 in range $100-$120?
i am curently using westone 4 for iem

From my experience (and some others as well in this thread) the DX90 was the device that made me sell my external amp which I used with the DX50. I have tried the Meier Audio Quickstep, a $400 homemade high end device and I couldn't tell any difference in the sound when comparing with the direct HO of the DX90. With the DX50 it was a totally different kind of story. The Quickstep brought a significant improvement in sound, but with the DX90, the internal amp section is really really good.
Unless you need to drive some very high impedance cans at very loud levels, IMHO the DX90 is more than you need, especially for (C)IEMS.
 
I am currently very very happy with my combination of DX90 and B&O Beoplay H6. Slightly less (boosted) bass than my $1500 8.A, but beats it in detail, soundstage and crystal clear highs.

 

[caracara08]

Got my battery in today.  I was skeptical about any SQ change but I feel there is some compared to stock.  Less bass, clearer mids, more treble.  Not sure if I like it like that or not.  I appreciate clearer mids but I liked how the treble and bass sounded from my Tenores. 
 
Purchased from Jam's ebay link.

 

[jamato8]

I enjoyed using a good amp with the DX50, sounded great. And I agree with the above statement. As good as my fi.Q is, and it is the best portable I have ever heard, bar none, and better than some 2000 dollar home amps, and compared to them by others, I do not feel a need to use it with the dX90 and rarely do. I will say that the latest FW for the DX50 has also brought it up a level and makes it a very good choice for a Wolfson based dap whereas you have the Sabre dap in the DX90 

 

[ropie]

I was wondering the same; what is the difference between DX90 on 2.0.5 and the DX50 on 1.5.0?
 
I have been comparing the two players for a little bit on Sennheiser IE8 and Philips Fidelio L2
Both Ibasso's loaded with the same music and fiddling a bit on the volume, to even the output because the DX90 is louder. Both equipped with the stock pisen battery
 
To cut to the chase; to me the DX90 is the better sounding player;

1. It sounds more interesting, creates a truer soundstage
2. has more detail
3. less boomy bass, but digs deeper
4. gets less congested with difficult music
5. has better instrument separation
6. sounds more dramatic, because of better dynamics

 
Do I find the DX50 a bad player?
 
Absolutely not. I think it is a very nice player. It scores better on price and battery life.
The reason I bought the DX90 is because I already liked the DX50 that much.(I guess this counts for many other DX90 owners, how many of you first had the DX50?)
The differences between the 50 and 90 are not day and night. It is the law of diminishing return, as always
 
Do I think the DX90 can be improved?
I have my hopes up for the new firmware. I hope the new firmware will sound a little bit towards the original 2.0.0.
A bit more punchy, but not as overdone as 2.0.0. That sound was too much on anabols to my ears.
When I compare the DX90's sound to my Benchmark DAC1, the DX90 would benefit from a little extra muscle.
I agree on what ne of our forum members wrote about the sound in 2.0.5. He stated the sound seems a bit drawn too much to the left and right and leaving a bit of a gap in the center (or something similar, my excuses if I misquote)
So Ibasso, give it your best!
 
 
There is a lot going on about the stock and original Samsung batteries.
I do not own an original Samsung battery, but I am curious about this subject, so I have two questions:
 

1. Samsung vs Pisen, why has this never come up with the DX50?
2. Do you guys who are experimenting with different batteries, maybe hear a difference when the player is charging, or connected to an external battery, such as a powerbank?

 
Thanks for any reply
 
Enjoy

 

[geagle]

   

1. Samsung vs Pisen, why has this never come up with the DX50?

Well, it did.. there's a ton of discussion on the subject, with the original discoverer stating that the Japan/China Samsung battery was a lot better than an alternative OEM
 
post #4391

 

[frankrondaniel]

 
Got my battery in today.  I was skeptical about any SQ change but I feel there is some compared to stock.  Less bass, clearer mids, more treble.  Not sure if I like it like that or not.  I appreciate clearer mids but I liked how the treble and bass sounded from my Tenores. 
 
Purchased from Jam's ebay link.

 
I had the same experience - less bass, clearer mids, more treble.  And like yourself, I'm not sure if I like it after listening for a while.  I think I'm missing the bass.

 

[goodvibes]

Make sure to use the slow filter and high gain for most warmth.

 

[salavat]

haii..can someone tell me good head amp without dac for dx90 in range $100-$120?
i am curently using westone 4 for iem

I cant see any amp in that pricerange bettering the build in amp. The only real reason I'm using my SR71-B with the DX90 is because I allready had it and my phones are balanced, I would probably never haf gone out and bought an amp for the DX90

Objective 2 amp

 

[caracara08]

   
I had the same experience - less bass, clearer mids, more treble.  And like yourself, I'm not sure if I like it after listening for a while.  I think I'm missing the bass.

 
Oh wow, good to know I wasnt just hearing things.  I think most here would enjoy it due to the clearer mids though.  

 

[lin0003]

The O2 can be slightly better with some IEMs but I don't think it is worth the bulk. 

 

[headwhacker]

  A Question on Using an Headphone external amp with the dx90
 
I find myself with something of a brainfart on this topic:
 
if I use an external amp through the LO of my DX90 does this then 'bypass' the DAC chip/internal amp in the DX90 and thus you are hearing the sound of the external amp ONLY 
OR are you getting a 'mix' of the specific qualities of the DX90 DAC chip and the Chip/amp/circuitry of the external amp as well
 
I appreciate the extra levels which is great for using my DT880 cans - The sound is certainly a tad colder, more analytical but not in an unpleasant way...just different
(I use neco soundlab - Dual single channel  BurrBrown dual mono AD8610)

 
Using the LO, you are only bypassing the internal amp of DX90. The DAC in DX90 directly feeds LO.
 
The Coax Out totally bypass both the DAC and amp of DX90.

 

[jon parker]

   
Using the LO, you are only bypassing the internal amp of DX90. The DAC in DX90 directly feeds LO.
 
The Coax Out totally bypass both the DAC and amp of DX90.

Ahh ok thank you - so then does that mean then with an external amp you are getting a mix of the audio characteristics of 2 seperate devices? - I would have thought that makes finding a good/perfect pairing [including the specific attributes of ones own headphones]  almsot impossible (on paper anyway) interesting !

 

[Lad27]

  A Question on Using an Headphone external amp with the dx90
 
I find myself with something of a brainfart on this topic:
 
if I use an external amp through the LO of my DX90 does this then 'bypass' the DAC chip/internal amp in the DX90 and thus you are hearing the sound of the external amp ONLY 
OR are you getting a 'mix' of the specific qualities of the DX90 DAC chip and the Chip/amp/circuitry of the external amp as well
 
I appreciate the extra levels which is great for using my DT880 cans - The sound is certainly a tad colder, more analytical but not in an unpleasant way...just different
(I use neco soundlab - Dual single channel  BurrBrown dual mono AD8610)

The simplified path within DAP:
 
1. from your music files in digital form (1's and 0's) stored in memory
                                                                                                  ---------------->  COAX OUT (or Optical Out)
 
2. to internal DAC which converts 0's and 1's to analogue waveform
                                                                                                  ---------------->  Line Out (LO)
 
3. to amplifier which further processes the analogue waveform
                                                                                                   ----------------> Headphone Out (HO)
 
So if you use coax out you need to have an external DAC and external Amp (if amp is not built in DAC box)
 
If you use LO then you are using the DAP internal DAC and you need an external Amp and use HO on external Amp to connect headphones
 
HO on DAP is self-explanatory. 
 
Hope it helps.

 

[Lad27]

And while I'm here....
 
Just ordered DX90, but I already have one gripe with it  - I don't understand the iBasso's logic of placing HO on the bottom of the DAP 

. I bought it to serve as a portable player so it will spend most of its life in my pocket. To prevent it to sit on and put pressure on the straight ended headphone jack I can of course put it in my pocket upside (display) down. No big deal? Yes it is, because now my Volume UP button now sits wrong way! One would just assume that the bottom button will reduce the volume. Not so in iBasso universe it seems.
 
I know, it may sound ridiculous to some, but I've been using DAPs (iRiver iHP1xx) for quite a while and I know how often I have to slightly adjust the volume up or down by touch, without taking the thing out of my pocket. I also know that eventually I'll get used to this anomaly, but why? It would be my guess that 99% of portable devices that can have a headphone output would have it placed at the top.
 
I also suspect that I may belong to minority group of DAP users who carry their DAP in their pockets....
 
[/end rant]
 
Cheers.

 

[headwhacker]

[VIDEO][/VIDEO]

Ahh ok thank you - so then does that mean then with an external amp you are getting a mix of the audio characteristics of 2 seperate devices? - I would have thought that makes finding a good/perfect pairing [including the specific attributes of ones own headphones]  almsot impossible (on paper anyway) interesting !

That's correct. Unless you get a completely transparent (wire with gain) amp then you don't need to worry how the amp pairs with your source