HiFlight
Headphoneus Supremus
After only a 3 day trip from China to Florida, my P3 and D3 safely arrived! I always like to post my initial impressions right out of the box, before any burn-in, so here goes:
First, packaging is very well done on both. Everything is packed in foam and should withstand any shipping rigors and abuse without damage. Both of mine arrived in perfect condition.
First, the D3....In the package comes an extra black case, in the event that one does not care for the rather striking titanium-colored case that houses the D3. Also included is a warranty card, leather pouch, USB cable, 6" mini-mini cable, instructions, and some spare thumbscrews and T-6 torx screws. Sizewise, the D3 is exactly the same length as the D2 Viper, but about 1/8" wider. It is exactly the same size as the P3 Heron. This makes for a very nice matching pair when feeding the D3 DAC into the P3 amp.
The battery compartment is very well marked as to polarity, and requires (5) AAA cells. If rechargeable cells are use, they must be recharged using an exterior means, as there is no provision for onboard charging, nor is there an input for external power. This is not really a disadvantage, as the battery life should be in the 100 hour range.
The DAC can be used as a "stand-alone" DAC by simply plugging your USB cord into the D3 and outputing the decoded signal via the front panel input jack, which becomes an output when the amp itself is not in use.
Battery power is NOT required when using the DAC as a stand-alone, as it is powered by the USB input. In fact, the amp can be shut off when using the D3 in this manner.
How does it sound??? Very good! Well balanced with a rather neutral SQ. Bass is well-defined and tight. The highs are all there, well balanced and not strident.
The D3 DAC is superb. It sounds better than that in my D2. It likely can be considered very similar to the D1 DAC which has always been highly regarded. I can hear no audible difference between it and my HR Ultra Micro DAC ($600)!
Now on to the P3! This is a huge change from the P2 in all respects. First, there are no bass boost settings, nor are any needed. Gain change, if required, is by an internal jumper and can be set for a gain of either 3 or 10.
This amp is an opamp-rollers dream! All opamps are socketed, including LR, Buffers, and Ground. A leather case is included as is an extra black enclosure, matching that which is included with the Python. In addition to the warranty card, very explicit instructions and extra screws, there is a really good selection of extra opamps and buffer transistors. There is even a tool included to safely insert and remove the opamps.
iBasso has certainly not scrimped on the included opamps...the kit contains (4) NE5534 opamps, 2 buffers, 2 buffer bypass dummies, 2 empty adapters if you wish to solder on a couple of your own opamps, an LTC6241HV, LM6172, and 2 (expensive) AD797s, one of the most highly regarded of all audio opamps.
iBasso installs the AD797s with bypassed buffers and the ground channel LM6172 prior to shipment.
Out of the box, with no changes to the opamp configuration, this amp surely will prove to be one of the best amplifier sections that iBasso has yet introduced. The sound is full, tending to be slightly on the warm, or tube-ish side. Soundstage is wide and deep.
The socketing is designed in such a manner as to allow the use of both dual and single opamps. Care should be taken to familiarize oneself completely with the excellent instructions and circuit diagrams included with the amp prior to making opamp changes.
Power for the Heron is provided by (6) AAA cells or the included 9v wall-wart. As is the case with the D3, there is no provision for onboard recharging should this type of cell be used. If used as desktop amp, I would suggest the use of the power adapter, as the battery life will undoubtedly be markedly less than that of the D3.
Designing the Heron without all of the necessary circuitry for charging and without permanent batteries IMO is an excellent decision by iBasso, as AAA cells are readily available everywhere, and most of the warranty problems with previous iBasso amps have been a result of these components.
At this point, I am satisfied that iBasso has raised the bar as far as reasonably priced portable amps and amp/dac combinations are concerned. I am really impressed that they have provided an amp for folks who like to tailor the sound to their individual preferences. Providing extra opamps as well as detailed instructions for their use and the necessary tool to safely accomplish this task is further evidence of iBasso's devotion to their customers and their willingness to act on suggestions made by owners of earlier models.
Out of the box, these two amps differ a bit in their sound, but at this point I am not going to say that one is better than the other. I can only say that at this time, they do not sound identical. Certainly there will be some changes as the amps accumulate hours of usage.
I am getting the best of each at the moment by using the D3 DAC as an input to the P3. Both amps are exactly the same size and match perfectly, so they make an ideal desktop pair.
I will submit further impressions after I get a reasonable amount of listening time with all of my phones, but at this point, I would certainly like express my thanks to iBasso for continuing to evolve an already noteworthy line of fine audio products!
First, packaging is very well done on both. Everything is packed in foam and should withstand any shipping rigors and abuse without damage. Both of mine arrived in perfect condition.
First, the D3....In the package comes an extra black case, in the event that one does not care for the rather striking titanium-colored case that houses the D3. Also included is a warranty card, leather pouch, USB cable, 6" mini-mini cable, instructions, and some spare thumbscrews and T-6 torx screws. Sizewise, the D3 is exactly the same length as the D2 Viper, but about 1/8" wider. It is exactly the same size as the P3 Heron. This makes for a very nice matching pair when feeding the D3 DAC into the P3 amp.
The battery compartment is very well marked as to polarity, and requires (5) AAA cells. If rechargeable cells are use, they must be recharged using an exterior means, as there is no provision for onboard charging, nor is there an input for external power. This is not really a disadvantage, as the battery life should be in the 100 hour range.
The DAC can be used as a "stand-alone" DAC by simply plugging your USB cord into the D3 and outputing the decoded signal via the front panel input jack, which becomes an output when the amp itself is not in use.
Battery power is NOT required when using the DAC as a stand-alone, as it is powered by the USB input. In fact, the amp can be shut off when using the D3 in this manner.
How does it sound??? Very good! Well balanced with a rather neutral SQ. Bass is well-defined and tight. The highs are all there, well balanced and not strident.
The D3 DAC is superb. It sounds better than that in my D2. It likely can be considered very similar to the D1 DAC which has always been highly regarded. I can hear no audible difference between it and my HR Ultra Micro DAC ($600)!
Now on to the P3! This is a huge change from the P2 in all respects. First, there are no bass boost settings, nor are any needed. Gain change, if required, is by an internal jumper and can be set for a gain of either 3 or 10.
This amp is an opamp-rollers dream! All opamps are socketed, including LR, Buffers, and Ground. A leather case is included as is an extra black enclosure, matching that which is included with the Python. In addition to the warranty card, very explicit instructions and extra screws, there is a really good selection of extra opamps and buffer transistors. There is even a tool included to safely insert and remove the opamps.
iBasso has certainly not scrimped on the included opamps...the kit contains (4) NE5534 opamps, 2 buffers, 2 buffer bypass dummies, 2 empty adapters if you wish to solder on a couple of your own opamps, an LTC6241HV, LM6172, and 2 (expensive) AD797s, one of the most highly regarded of all audio opamps.
iBasso installs the AD797s with bypassed buffers and the ground channel LM6172 prior to shipment.
Out of the box, with no changes to the opamp configuration, this amp surely will prove to be one of the best amplifier sections that iBasso has yet introduced. The sound is full, tending to be slightly on the warm, or tube-ish side. Soundstage is wide and deep.
The socketing is designed in such a manner as to allow the use of both dual and single opamps. Care should be taken to familiarize oneself completely with the excellent instructions and circuit diagrams included with the amp prior to making opamp changes.
Power for the Heron is provided by (6) AAA cells or the included 9v wall-wart. As is the case with the D3, there is no provision for onboard recharging should this type of cell be used. If used as desktop amp, I would suggest the use of the power adapter, as the battery life will undoubtedly be markedly less than that of the D3.
Designing the Heron without all of the necessary circuitry for charging and without permanent batteries IMO is an excellent decision by iBasso, as AAA cells are readily available everywhere, and most of the warranty problems with previous iBasso amps have been a result of these components.
At this point, I am satisfied that iBasso has raised the bar as far as reasonably priced portable amps and amp/dac combinations are concerned. I am really impressed that they have provided an amp for folks who like to tailor the sound to their individual preferences. Providing extra opamps as well as detailed instructions for their use and the necessary tool to safely accomplish this task is further evidence of iBasso's devotion to their customers and their willingness to act on suggestions made by owners of earlier models.
Out of the box, these two amps differ a bit in their sound, but at this point I am not going to say that one is better than the other. I can only say that at this time, they do not sound identical. Certainly there will be some changes as the amps accumulate hours of usage.
I am getting the best of each at the moment by using the D3 DAC as an input to the P3. Both amps are exactly the same size and match perfectly, so they make an ideal desktop pair.
I will submit further impressions after I get a reasonable amount of listening time with all of my phones, but at this point, I would certainly like express my thanks to iBasso for continuing to evolve an already noteworthy line of fine audio products!
