ok this is not really a review, more like an impression. i havent spent that much time with it, its not mine, its my friend's. im only writing this because theres no one else reviewing it. i listened to it a while ago, and at that time i only had an ipod classic with a fiio e17 strapped onto it and headphone used was my beyerdynamic dt990 pro 250ohm, cable was a cheap 10 bucks radioshack cable. using the mp5 makes the sound seem warmer and less fatiguing but i dont know if its my electricity outlet or something, it was very noisy. just using the e17 gave a much cleaner sound and had blacker background, i ultimately prefer the sound of just the e17 more. take my impression with a grain of salt though because of double amping, ipod dac is nothing high end, cable was only a cheap 10 bucks cable... so many things were not optimal... but i also have to add, later when i had my ibasso dx100 and used it (when my dx100 was still working) via lineout, the noise was still there, i dont know about using another wall outlet though since i didnt move the amp to other place to try out, hopefully this is not the amps problem. im going to rate the amps overall rating (otherwise i cant submit this) with my own experience but again it barely means anything as so many things can go wrong instead of the amp itself.
UPDATE: ok, now i have a cheaters plug to use with this amp. the hum is almost all gone but is still slightly audible when listening from my beyerdynamic dt990. i prefer using the ibasso dx100 alone because its cleaner without the hum. everything else is not that much different, to be honest. that is of course in my humble opinion and YMMV.
SECOND UPDATE: the dared mp5 sounds thicker than the ibasso dx100's internal amp and the dx100 sounds cleaner. the mp5 can sound a bit congested at times especially for tracks that have a lot of bass, pairing that with my dt990 does not sound very good.
UPDATE: ok, now i have a cheaters plug to use with this amp. the hum is almost all gone but is still slightly audible when listening from my beyerdynamic dt990. i prefer using the ibasso dx100 alone because its cleaner without the hum. everything else is not that much different, to be honest. that is of course in my humble opinion and YMMV.
SECOND UPDATE: the dared mp5 sounds thicker than the ibasso dx100's internal amp and the dx100 sounds cleaner. the mp5 can sound a bit congested at times especially for tracks that have a lot of bass, pairing that with my dt990 does not sound very good.
