[hk6230]

I like my DX90 with Sony MDR-EX650 IEM. Soundstage is wide, mids and high is great and bass just the right amount,

 

[Djinnenjous]

So my Objective 2 Headphone Amplifier arrived today and I'm putting it through its paces for the first time.  My signal chain is DX90 LO > O2 (4x gain [at John Seaber's personal recommendation]) > Sennheiser HD600s.  I've barely begun but so far my test tracks have included the following—all ALAC CD rips:
 
Seal - "Kiss From a Rose"
Opeth - "To Rid the Disease"
Celldweller - "Unshakeable"
Andy McKee - "Drifting"
Keb' Mo' - "Soon as I Get Paid"
Musk Ox - "Arcanum"
Finsterforst - "Mann Gegen Mensch"
 
At first I was like o_o because (A) Seal is the Voice of God, and (B) the dynamics, soundstage, and instrumental separation were SICK, and then I was all 0_o throughout Opeth's bleak, silken masterpiece.  Then Celldweller hit and I realized that the HD600s will never produce adequate sub-bass for this kind of music, so I went D: for just a moment.  The bite, reverb, and warmth of Andy McKee's acoustic airtap and transparency that highlighted what seem to be some kind of odd imperfection in the recording revitalized my senses, leaving me feeling .  Right out of the gate, Keb' Mo's flawlessly mixed blues put my jaw in my lap () with spectacular channel panning and layering.  "Soon as I Get Paid" lit my Senns up like Christmas trees.
 
Although hampered by brickwalling, the 3D presentation of "Unchain Utopia" and the amplified soundstage made this song sound enormous.  Simone Simon's crystalline vocals have never sounded so natural to me—and I've seen Epica live in concert.  So I went >:O, which evolved rapidly into \m/ (>_<) \m/ when Finsterforst's double-kick and gutteral bass assault stomped my ass.  At about 2:00 into this song there's a fantastic passage sounds like a war chant shrieked over a marching band.  I had to fight my urge to headbang blindly into a wall.  So much fun!—but at the same time I'm fairly certain that this rig allowed me to hear production flaws I'd never noticed before.  (I guess that's why people use HD600s for studio monitoring, huh?)
 
And then there was Musk Ox, an instrumental Canadian neofolk band consisting of an acoustic guitarist, a cellist, and a violinist.  Their 17-minute epic "Arcanum" is nothing shy of a religious experience through this setup.  The instruments' natural elegance and sorrowful timbres were conveyed without flaw, in a deep and wide soundstage put to full use by world-class channel panning.  It's as if the string trio was holding an intimate conversation for my personal benefit—but I was always on the cusp of understanding their language, and never quite clever enough to grasp it.  Simply put, it was above my emotional and intellectual pay grades.  You don't listen to music like this, you feel it in your soul.  (@_@)
 
Now all that's left is to wipe away the tears and apologize for the unsolicited book I just wrote here.  But I'm not going to do that because it feels totally justified to me—and anyone else who's ever heard music this way before should understand.  That said, none of this would be possible if I didn't have an absolutely marvelous, technically capable source to pull from.  I would like to close this (enormous) post by deeply and sincerely thanking iBasso for all of the work they've put into the DX90.  It truly is a gorgeous DAP, and I love it with all of my heart.
 

 

 

[uli87]

Great read, love the enthusiasm
 
DX90 > O2 > HD600 sounds like a really nice setup that could last you forever. The HD600 should work well with all types of music I believe.

 

[Djinnenjous]

Let's put it this way: even if I could afford to spend more on my rig at the moment, I'm not sure the law of diminishing returns justifies it.  Maybe I'm wrong but I can't imagine things get exponentially better than this.  Incrementally, sure; but by leaps and bounds?  (Maybe it's better for me never to find out in the first place.)
 
This isn't DX90 related, but one more fun thing I've found to do with my O2 is to lay on my bed facing my TV and plug my Dualshock 4 into the O2's line in, then feed my headphone of choice into the amp's headphone jack.  High Quality Vidjagaem Soundtrack of Win +1!

 

[shootertwist]

^reading your post bro makes me wanna get to a store and buy the DX90 already... if only it had dual micro sd slots, it's the only thing keeping me from getting one, and of course the fact that its been almost a year old and a new one might be coming up. I've actually not been frequenting audio forums the past year and only recently decided to check out headfi and figured i might add a new dap to my gear.
I dont mind any other improvements the next iteration or player from ibasso in the price range will be, but it might have two micro sd slots and i'll blame myself for buying the first gen late in its cycle...

 

[KT66]

If you like the O2 , and I love my Epiphany, wait to you hear the DX90 with the Lehmann Traveller. Next level stuff

 

[tepet08]

It would be a smart move by ibasso to put 2 memory cards slot.People still talk about it on the X7 thread even when the product is supposedly like 70% ready.

 

[Djinnenjous]

  ^reading your post bro makes me wanna get to a store and buy the DX90 already... if only it had dual micro sd slots, it's the only thing keeping me from getting one, and of course the fact that its been almost a year old and a new one might be coming up. I've actually not been frequenting audio forums the past year and only recently decided to check out headfi and figured i might add a new dap to my gear.
I dont mind any other improvements the next iteration or player from ibasso in the price range will be, but it might have two micro sd slots and i'll blame myself for buying the first gen late in its cycle...

I'm sorry to hear that's kept you from buying a DX90.  I remember when mine showed up at my house and I realized it didn't have a second card slot.  I'd been reading so many X5/DX50/DX90 reviews that I'd gotten details tangled up in my brain and wrongly assumed it did.  Even with the memory limitations and how cost prohibitive 128GB MicroSD cards are (for me, at any rate), I've never once regretted my purchase.  This thing is a steal at its MSRP.

 

[tepet08]

 

 
full size SDXC and a microSD extender.these can be a 'temporary' remedy until the microSD get cheaper.

 

[Djinnenjous]

 

It's like Extenze for your DAP!  Also available ribbed and in banana, chocolate, and asparagus flavors.
 
(Actual product bears no resemblance to Extenze.  Some assembly required.  Possession of product voids warranty in all territories.  Colors and parts may vary without warning.  This item has been deemed carcinogenic by the state of California (CARS m-13.09-c).  May not be shipped to AL, ID, ME, or Puerto Rico.  Do not ingest: product is not actually flavored.  If ingested, allow natural selection to run its course.)

 

[jon parker]

NOT true
I have a 128 gb card inside my dx90 and a 64gb card plugged into the external connection using the excellant: http://www.meenova.com/st/p/m3r.html
 = 2x micro sd slot !  

 

[Paul - iBasso]

You can use the Meenova. It works very well. That can give you a potential 256gb of memory.
 
Some manufactures have gone from one memory slot to 2 and some from 2 to 1. We will continue to work on the best options.

 

[Djinnenjous]

Paul, maybe you can explain something over my technical level:
 
DAPs typically specify what the maximum capacity is for the cards they're able to read.  I understand that in some cases the products on the market don't even reach, much less exceed, those figures, but why is there a limit in the first place?  I fail to understand why "DAP [X]" could read, say, a 128GB MicroSD card, but not a 2TB variety—were such a thing available.

 

[Paul - iBasso]

It has to do with the chips used for designing the dap. As chips advance so does the ability to use newer types and capacities of cards.

 

[Djinnenjous]

  It has to do with the chips used for designing the dap. As chips advance so does the ability to use newer types and capacities of cards.

That seems really odd to a guy who doesn't understand computer programming or hardware.  It sounds to me like saying, "We can teach the kid to read books of up to ten pages, but s/he can't read eleven."  Oh well, that's what I get for bein' good at reedin' n' rightin' instead of maths.