[sennheiserhd485]

Would AD700 benefit from iBasso D4 Mamba?  
 
Is it a waste of money to pay $200 on a D4 to use with the AD700?
 
I have a Zune 120. How would I bypass the Zune's internal amp and DAC?

 

[Mad Max]

AD700 will benefit a little bit from the D4 when you are using your computer.
I don' think you can bypass the DAC and amp in the Zune, so AD700 will benefit even less if your Zune is your source.
 
I'd get the D4 and then later upgrade to AD900 or K601.

 

[sennheiserhd485]

Is it possible to use the DAC and the amp from an iBasso D4 at the same time? For instance, if I had a portable CDP, and it has a line-out, would the D4 bypass the CDP's internal amp and DAC? Is the line-out of a CDP a pure digital signal?

 

[Mad Max]

You can use the D4 as a DAC and amp with laptops and desktop computers.
For your CD player, you would need for it to have optical or coaxial (SPDIF) digital outputs.  Then you would need the ibasso D10 or D12.  D4/D6 is for use with laptop and desktop computers only because they only have USB digital input.  With the CD player's line-out, you would use the Aux in and use the D4 as an amp only.

 

[sennheiserhd485]

I have a vintage Pioneer CDP. It has RCA-out. Is that coaxial/optical? Also, if I bought a D12, would I be using the amp and the DAC?

 

[Mad Max]

 
Quote:

I have a vintage Pioneer CDP. It has RCA-out. Is that coaxial/optical? Also, if I bought a D12, would I be using the amp and the DAC?

Two RCA outputs, one for left and one for right?  That's a line-out, so you plug it into the Aux in of the iBasso amp with a dual-RCA-to-3.5mm Y cable.
 
Check this out.  (Picked a random photo through Google.)  Looking at the backside (bottom) and going from right to left, there's the power inlet , some labeling, then the digital outputs (optical then coaxial).
Those you connect to the D12.  Both D12 and D6 have USB inputs for use with a computer.  These are the inputs you use to get the improvement in sound from their DACs.  With your vintage CD player or the Zune, you plug those into the Aux in and use only the amp section because they do not have digital outputs.
 
I hope that clears things up.  =]

 

[sennheiserhd485]

How can you tell what has a digital output? Wouldn't a pure digital output sound the best?

 

[Mad Max]

It will specify on the packaging, and the digital outputs tend to be grouped together apart from the analogue outputs (line-out, pre-out).  Pure digital output does not guarantee best sound.  What if the device you want to connect to the iBasso amp has a better DAC circuit?  Then feeding the line-out to your amp might be better.  It depends, but for portable equipment, digital output into the D12 will give you the best sound through the dac/amp.

 

[sennheiserhd485]

I am so sorry, I am new to all of this stuff. Now, would the DAC be in use at all with my Zune? I don't want to pay for the DAC if it isn't going to be in use with my Zune. Also, would it be worth it to spend about $50 on an amp to use with my AD700 and Zune? Big difference, or no difference?

 

[Mad Max]

Yes, the DAC would not be in use with your Zune.  Consider the P4 if you want a standalone amp.  $50 amp?  An E11 or cMoy?  AD700 isn't terribly transparent, so you may notice a slight difference.

 

[sennheiserhd485]

I have a different idea now. Would a iBasso D4 be fine to use with the HP-out of my Zune? Would it be worth $200 to only use it with my Zune, from the HP-out?

 

[Mad Max]

Perhaps, I don't know.  But for $200, there is the Minibox-ES, another excellent amp, no DAC, and low profile to boot, unlike the iBasso amps save for the T4/3/3D.  It even comes with a free RE0 IEM, lol.  I have the previous version, the E+, which is discontinued.

 

[sennheiserhd485]

That looks like a great deal. Does it come with a RE0 or RE-Zero? I get those confused. Would this IEM with the Minibox-ES sound better than my AD700?

 

[Mad Max]

RE0, RE-ZERO is different and goes by "RE-ZERO".  Head-Direct should have chosen a different name.  RE0 mates very well with the Minibox.  I personally like RE0 better than AD700, while others seem to take the two as complements to each other.

 

[sennheiserhd485]

The winter deal expired in 2010. Would I still get the RE-ZERO for free, and the price be $200? Can you please explain how much sound quality that I am losing by using the Zune HP-out instead of a true line-out? I will have to use the Minibox-ES with the Zune HP-out.