24Bit
100+ Head-Fier
- Joined
- Jul 29, 2013
- Posts
- 153
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- 50
Full review coming in a few days.
My experience with the iBasso DX50 has been one hell of a wild ride. Many bumps in the road, trials and tribulations along the way but somehow, as if by the grace of the Audiophile Gods themselves the DX50 has finally evolved into something functional. By no means did it start out that way, but I don’t want to bore you with the details right in the beginning of this review. I will start off with the conclusion first, you can read the details afterwards. That is just how I roll. #likeaboss
The After
I am astounded by the overall clarity and dynamics the DX50 is capable of. It sounds pretty much the same as the Astell & Kern AK100 to me, which itself sells for a blistering $700. The $239 iBasso DX50 is the best overall value portable media device I have ever touched or have been made aware of. Nothing even comes close to this type of a value...that is if you ignore the fact that it is also the buggiest and most glitchy portable music player ever. In the Hi-Fi Dap world, this is a serious statement. Most, if not all of the most expensive and popular "Audiophile" music players have one trait in common: an impaired User Interface. Despite the near infinite failure of the DX50's Buggy Interface, the sonic experience itself has been nothing short of sublime. Drunkenly stumbling into the portable music player world, it somehow managed to pull out a win. Despite having the most needlessly rushed and imperfect launch of a portable music device that I have ever witnessed, the player sounds like a true heavy hitter.
My experience with the iBasso DX50 has been one hell of a wild ride. Many bumps in the road, trials and tribulations along the way but somehow, as if by the grace of the Audiophile Gods themselves the DX50 has finally evolved into something functional. By no means did it start out that way, but I don’t want to bore you with the details right in the beginning of this review. I will start off with the conclusion first, you can read the details afterwards. That is just how I roll. #likeaboss
The After
I am astounded by the overall clarity and dynamics the DX50 is capable of. It sounds pretty much the same as the Astell & Kern AK100 to me, which itself sells for a blistering $700. The $239 iBasso DX50 is the best overall value portable media device I have ever touched or have been made aware of. Nothing even comes close to this type of a value...that is if you ignore the fact that it is also the buggiest and most glitchy portable music player ever. In the Hi-Fi Dap world, this is a serious statement. Most, if not all of the most expensive and popular "Audiophile" music players have one trait in common: an impaired User Interface. Despite the near infinite failure of the DX50's Buggy Interface, the sonic experience itself has been nothing short of sublime. Drunkenly stumbling into the portable music player world, it somehow managed to pull out a win. Despite having the most needlessly rushed and imperfect launch of a portable music device that I have ever witnessed, the player sounds like a true heavy hitter.
