[llysender]

@samandhi I only have the AMP11MK2 so its not apples to apples but I feel that the AMP12 is much more mid focused and closed off smaller sounding. Not really my cup of tea. I am curous what pairing would make the AMP12 card open up to sound better than the AMP11mk2 or AMP14?

 

[samandhi]

@samandhi I only have the AMP11MK2 so its not apples to apples but I feel that the AMP12 is much more mid focused and closed off smaller sounding. Not really my cup of tea. I am curous what pairing would make the AMP12 card open up to sound better than the AMP11mk2 or AMP14?

Very interesting that you find those things to be true. Did you listen to it via the DX300, or the DX320? The point is that either I have been very lucky with synergy with my head gear, or your ears are MUCH different than mine. Also, and IIRC, when the Amp12 first came out, there were lots of impressions posted in this thread, and it seems to me that the consensus was pretty much what I posted about the Amp12 card. On the other hand, consensus for the same card on the DX320 pretty well describes what you are hearing, and that Amp11.2S is more open and bigger, etc... (due to the difference in overall sound from the upgraded DACs).

As for pairings that might shed some light, pretty much everything I have confirms this to my ears, but here are a few anyhow:

• Sennheiser HD700
• AKG K702
• Raptgo Hook-X
• Raptgo Bridge
• iBasso IT-07
• Longyao Yinman 2.0 600 (600ohms)
• OG Tinhifi P1 planar
• Aur Aure
• Rose Technics Maria II
• Yincrow RW3000
• Moondrop Chaconne

Not an exhaustive list, but you get the idea here...

 

[llysender]

Very interesting that you find those things to be true. Did you listen to it via the DX300, or the DX320? The point is that either I have been very lucky with synergy with my head gear, or your ears are MUCH different than mine. Also, and IIRC, when the Amp12 first came out, there were lots of impressions posted in this thread, and it seems to me that the consensus was pretty much what I posted about the Amp12 card. On the other hand, consensus for the same card on the DX320 pretty well describes what you are hearing, and that Amp11.2S is more open and bigger, etc... (due to the difference in overall sound from the upgraded DACs).

As for pairings that might shed some light, pretty much everything I have confirms this to my ears, but here are a few anyhow:

• Sennheiser HD700
• AKG K702
• Raptgo Hook-X
• Raptgo Bridge
• iBasso IT-07
• Longyao Yinman 2.0 600 (600ohms)
• OG Tinhifi P1 planar
• Aur Aure
• Rose Technics Maria II
• Yincrow RW3000
• Moondrop Chaconne

Not an exhaustive list, but you get the idea here...

Thanks sorry for the lat reply, guess we have different hearing then. I am running the DX300 and find that the DX320 ROHM doesnt suit my tastes. Also god I forgot how much of a pain changing cards were. The AMP12 wasnt as closed off as I remember but it certenly quite A shape to my ears using the Hook X and K701(with a 4.4 to 3.5 adaptor) . Maybe it needs more burn in since I hardly used it besides the first 2 weeks of owning it. Gonna let it run for another 24hrs.

 

[samandhi]

Thanks sorry for the lat reply, guess we have different hearing then. I am running the DX300 and find that the DX320 ROHM doesnt suit my tastes. Also god I forgot how much of a pain changing cards were. The AMP12 wasnt as closed off as I remember but it certenly quite A shape to my ears using the Hook X and K701(with a 4.4 to 3.5 adaptor) . Maybe it needs more burn in since I hardly used it besides the first 2 weeks of owning it. Gonna let it run for another 24hrs.

Maybe your K701 have a different setup than my K702 (with its connector to the source), but I would not use a 4.4mm balanced to 3.5mm SE adapter if I were you (unless you know that the grounds aren't tied together). Because if you do you will be shorting the grounds in the amp card. The K701 and K702 are wired for SE only (at the driver, and cabled this way as well) unless you did the "recable mod" for them. That is a very good way to blow your amp card and/or your phones otherwise. (apologies if you already knew that).

You can always go from 3.5mm SE out to either 2.5mm balanced, 4.4mm balanced, or 3.5mm SE, but not the other way round without having a "special" adapter (balanced out can ONLY go to balanced out).

 

[llysender]

Maybe your K701 have a different setup than my K702 (with its connector to the source), but I would not use a 4.4mm balanced to 3.5mm SE adapter if I were you (unless you know that the grounds aren't tied together). Because if you do you will be shorting the grounds in the amp card. The K701 and K702 are wired for SE only (at the driver, and cabled this way as well) unless you did the "recable mod" for them. That is a very good way to blow your amp card and/or your phones otherwise. (apologies if you already knew that).

You can always go from 3.5mm SE out to either 2.5mm balanced, 4.4mm balanced, or 3.5mm SE, but not the other way round without having a "special" adapter (balanced out can ONLY go to balanced out).

My K701 is stock, also interesting, my local cable maker says the opposite that its safe to go from balanced output to single ended but the reverse is asking for a short to happen due to lack of floating ground.

Edit:
Nvm I checked and yeah I was wrong. Guess I'll stop using that adaptor then.

 

[samandhi]

My K701 is stock, also interesting, my local cable maker says the opposite that its safe to go from balanced output to single ended but the reverse is asking for a short to happen due to lack of floating ground.

Edit:
Nvm I checked and yeah I was wrong. Guess I'll stop using that adaptor then.

Fire your local cable maker... ROFL

Sorry to spoil your fun, I just didn't want you to ruin your equipment...

Edit: Just look at it this way (if you didn't already find this in doing your research); balanced just means that there is a ground for both the left and the right. Single ended means that there is a shared ground between left and right. If you go from single ended (shared ground) to balanced (separate ground), you will short those grounds together inside your amplifier circuit. It IS possible to get an adaptor that CAN safely work, but you won't be actually using a balanced circuit at the headphones, you would still be using SE. So, while you might gain the power that can be output to the drivers, you will not gain the crosstalk elimination that you would also get with balanced.

Also, having said that, be careful if you order one of those SPECIAL SE to balanced adapters online (or apparently from your local cable maker ), because I have seen a lot of tragedy stories about those that claim to be "balanced ready" but are not. iBasso can sell you one that is proven to be safe, as an aside.

 

[vanhalen26]

Hey, do you guys see transfer speeds reflective of usb 3.0 when adding albums to your memory cards over a PC? My PC is old (motherboard is from '09) and USB 2.0 only. It still meets most of my needs (it was high end at the time and I have lots of RAM and a still relevant processor) ...

Anyways, I installed a USB 3.0 card today in one of the PCIE slots and the transfer speed on files was identical over the old 2.0 ports and the new 3.0 ports. Apparently the DX300 supports USB 3.1, so I was a bit surprised. The 3.0 card was cheap so I'll return and try and mid range vs. lowest priced available and see if it makes a difference.

The DX300 wasn't the reason I purchased the card, but I used it to test the card and wonder why its the same speed.

 

[samandhi]

Hey, do you guys see transfer speeds reflective of usb 3.0 when adding albums to your memory cards over a PC? My PC is old (motherboard is from '09) and USB 2.0 only. It still meets most of my needs (it was high end at the time and I have lots of RAM and a still relevant processor) ...

Anyways, I installed a USB 3.0 card today in one of the PCIE slots and the transfer speed on files was identical over the old 2.0 ports and the new 3.0 ports. Apparently the DX300 supports USB 3.1, so I was a bit surprised. The 3.0 card was cheap so I'll return and try and mid range vs. lowest priced available and see if it makes a difference.

The DX300 wasn't the reason I purchased the card, but I used it to test the card and wonder why its the same speed.

Maybe your bottleneck is not the USB but is the card itself. Try writing files to the internal memory of the DX300 (rather than the card via USB) with USB 2.0 and then USB 3.0 and compare your speeds.

BTW! What sorts of speeds are you getting?

 

[vanhalen26]

Maybe your bottleneck is not the USB but is the card itself. Try writing files to the internal memory of the DX300 (rather than the card via USB) with USB 2.0 and then USB 3.0 and compare your speeds.

BTW! What sorts of speeds are you getting?

Good idea. I thought of that to after I boxed up the card to return it, maybe I’ll try tomorrow. Just too lazy to do today. But I checked the card and it’s rated for 100 mb/s which is about twice the speed of usb 2.0, so in theory it should be faster when I used the 3.0 card.

Not sure what speeds I’m getting - it didn’t show. But I timed how long it took to transfer a high res lossless album over and it was pretty much the same on 2.0 and 3.0 (about a minute for Back in Black). I did 3x with each and it was pretty consistent.

I’ve almost filled up my 1tb card so I’m going to buy a 1.5tb or wait for the soon to be released 2tb and that should last me many more years - and having faster transfer rates certainly isn’t critical but it would help when I transfer it all over.

 

[samandhi]

Good idea. I thought of that to after I boxed up the card to return it, maybe I’ll try tomorrow. Just too lazy to do today. But I checked the card and it’s rated for 100 mb/s which is about twice the speed of usb 2.0, so in theory it should be faster when I used the 3.0 card.

Not sure what speeds I’m getting - it didn’t show. But I timed how long it took to transfer a high res lossless album over and it was pretty much the same on 2.0 and 3.0 (about a minute for Back in Black). I did 3x with each and it was pretty consistent.

I’ve almost filled up my 1tb card so I’m going to buy a 1.5tb or wait for the soon to be released 2tb and that should last me many more years - and having faster transfer rates certainly isn’t critical but it would help when I transfer it all over.

If you are using Windows, when you copy and paste files, it should pop-up with a transfer window that tells the speed at which it is writing. Another thing to consider as a bottleneck is the (read) speed of the drive that you are copying from as well, and how busy your CPU of the PC is, as well as how busy the CPU is on the DX300.

Also, keep in mind that writing many smaller files will take much longer than writing one big file. This is how some companies can "fudge" their write speeds specified, and yet most won't see those speeds (not saying that is happening here, just putting it out there for knowledge sake). Plus, normally the speed at which most card makers advertise are peak write speeds, rather than sustained write speed (average speed) unless it is specified next to the speed rating in the specs. It is also possible that you might have gotten a "fake" card, and the specs are NOT what are advertised... Nowadays, it is hard NOT to get a fake (or cloned lesser quality) one now and again (even from brick-and-mortar stores) unless you purchase directly from the manufacturer's website.

 

[vanhalen26]

If you are using Windows, when you copy and paste files, it should pop-up with a transfer window that tells the speed at which it is writing. Another thing to consider as a bottleneck is the (read) speed of the drive that you are copying from as well, and how busy your CPU of the PC is, as well as how busy the CPU is on the DX300.

Also, keep in mind that writing many smaller files will take much longer than writing one big file. This is how some companies can "fudge" their write speeds specified, and yet most won't see those speeds (not saying that is happening here, just putting it out there for knowledge sake). Plus, normally the speed at which most card makers advertise are peak write speeds, rather than sustained write speed (average speed) unless it is specified next to the speed rating in the specs. It is also possible that you might have gotten a "fake" card, and the specs are NOT what are advertised... Nowadays, it is hard NOT to get a fake (or cloned lesser quality) one now and again (even from brick-and-mortar stores) unless you purchase directly from the manufacturer's website.

Thanks for the input. I’m going to switch the pci card anyways.

Bought it on Amazon and it was in a box that had a different product on it, and the cable was the wrong cable (was a male molex but should have been a female). Product had no reviews either … so I think the vendor was shady. Even the bag the card was in seemed worn - I wonder if it was a pull from an old PC. So I’ll order something a little better, and that way I can throw it in a new PC when I finally upgrade in a few months.

 

[Baz510]

The simple wording for it,
DX300 Better detail & layer, Great soundstage
S180 more fluid Vocal, that's all....

 

[Baz510]

The simple wording for it,
DX300 Better detail & layer, Great soundstage
S180 more fluid Vocal, that's all....

Hey I need some desperate help my friend I have got lastest ibasso dx 320 to max number 716 as only 800 ever made but I can’t get what I call proper high res music sound out of the machine and ad it cost a fortune I’m really disappointed in the product but reason I contact you because I think most of issues I’m having is my fault as this is first dap I have ever owned and wanted something that is top end. I’m not sure basicaly what issue is, these are my thoughts, am I using incorrect music format which some of it has been from HD tracks, is it my headphones which are 300ohm sivga 023 or just the wrong settings I have just don’t know but what I do know this doesn’t sound like 3400 dollar dap if you follow me, hope you can help me?

 

[paggio]

Hey I need some desperate help my friend I have got lastest ibasso dx 320 to max number 716 as only 800 ever made but I can’t get what I call proper high res music sound out of the machine and ad it cost a fortune I’m really disappointed in the product but reason I contact you because I think most of issues I’m having is my fault as this is first dap I have ever owned and wanted something that is top end. I’m not sure basicaly what issue is, these are my thoughts, am I using incorrect music format which some of it has been from HD tracks, is it my headphones which are 300ohm sivga 023 or just the wrong settings I have just don’t know but what I do know this doesn’t sound like 3400 dollar dap if you follow me, hope you can help me?

Basically you need similar tier headphones or iems to be able to appreciate a real performance boost. However even with your actual gear you need some time to burn in your brain. There is also another factor that may be important, what do you basically appreciate into the music listening: resolution and micro dynamics or music in general with it's macro coloration. Because ibasso's approach to the sound transmission is more about micro and detailed approach, and as a hypothesis maybe it's not yours. Try to compare some mp3 and some flac tracks or listen to some hi res tracks that you know well from your smartphone and than from ibasso, trying to understand if there is any difference

 

[jamato8]

Hey I need some desperate help my friend I have got lastest ibasso dx 320 to max number 716 as only 800 ever made but I can’t get what I call proper high res music sound out of the machine and ad it cost a fortune I’m really disappointed in the product but reason I contact you because I think most of issues I’m having is my fault as this is first dap I have ever owned and wanted something that is top end. I’m not sure basicaly what issue is, these are my thoughts, am I using incorrect music format which some of it has been from HD tracks, is it my headphones which are 300ohm sivga 023 or just the wrong settings I have just don’t know but what I do know this doesn’t sound like 3400 dollar dap if you follow me, hope you can help me?

The DX320MAX takes at least 100 hours of play time for form the capacitors and other components.