D7 Sidewinder....Initial impressions

[Thraex]

Regarding best sound quality and best possible source (24 bit files) streaming to iPad, with iBasso D7 I've obtained a significative sound upgrade changing from iTunes Home Sharing to Logitech Media Server + iPeng player (no need to have a Logitech device to work), the latter is also able to play 24 bit-perfect Flacs and the interface is better than stock iPad music player.
PlugPayer and UPnP server always downsample in the chain to 16 bits.

The D7 sounds better with iPad + CCK + battery powered USB Hubs (note not any USB chargers pas data too, Y split cable eventually needed) than any USB port of a notebook/computer tested, and you've to mess so much with OSs settings to become crazy and it's nearly impossible to have a clean power feeding the USB Dac.
For the same clean power reason which attects sound quality, I've rouled out non battery powered USB Hubs.
With batteries you've also a portable (maybe not pocketable) system.

With iPad, without a portable storage wi-fi device able to 24bit perfect streaming (until now none confirmed working without downsampling), we're still limited by its internal storage capacity or by wi-fi coverage.

Look here if you're really interested in sound quality 24 bit-perfect portable configs with iDevices http://www.head-fi.org/t/625493/ipad-with-24-bit-files-high-storage-capacity-portability-which-configuration-works-without-downsampling#post_8667839 .

 

[Solitary1]

Well, my D7 died on me last night. I  was swItching over to my Window 7 in BOOTCAMP. I restarted came back Mountain Lion, no sound. It power on, and the payback LED show it see a signal, but no audio with line out or headphone amp. Just i emailed them. I have had my D7 for 8 months. 

 

[Dha6892]

Hi,
I am still new to this and I don`t know much about technical details. However, is there a way to modify the IBasso D7 so that it can be portable and compatible with Iphone?
I have been using the D7 for 5 months and I am very impressed. I will be traveling a lot in the upcoming months so I will not be able to carry my laptop around all the time.

 

[dannytang]

Quote:

Hi,
I am still new to this and I don`t know much about technical details. However, is there a way to modify the IBasso D7 so that it can be portable and compatible with Iphone?
I have been using the D7 for 5 months and I am very impressed. I will be traveling a lot in the upcoming months so I will not be able to carry my laptop around all the time.

 
If you want to use it with your iPhone, you'll need jailbreak it and install "CameraConnector" on it. You'll also need the Camera Connection Kit (CCK) and a powered USB hub. You would connect USB hub into the iPhone via the CCK and the D7 into the USB hub. I confirmed this to be a working solution for me back in August, but I used it in that configuration since then and no longer have a jailbroken iPhone to test it anymore.

 

[Leveler]

Has anybody been able to compare the D7 with the Audioengine D1? just from reading the iBasso sounds better, but I would rather see a direct comparison
 
thanks
 
Diego

 

[adamlr]

Quote:

Has anybody been able to compare the D7 with the Audioengine D1? just from reading the iBasso sounds better, but I would rather see a direct comparison
 
thanks
 
Diego

+1
 
i have found many positive reviews for the d1, and also one or two reviews of the d7, but i couldnt find a comparison.

 

[Leveler]

BTW, does anyone know if it would pair well with V moda M80?, other phones I have are SRH440 and philips citiscape uptown

 

[Solitary1]

Have anybody compare the D7 with ODAC?

 

[CPhoenix]

Quote:

Have anybody compare the D7 with ODAC?

Bump, I'm really interested in this as well.

 

[tomscy2000]

FYI, iBasso released the V1.61 of the Thesycon TUSB driver for the XMOS chip... this is probably old news, but I didn't notice it until now.
 
I don't notice any improvements in stability or support over V1.48, but it wouldn't hurt to upgrade.

 

[CJG888]

Quote:

Regarding best sound quality and best possible source (24 bit files) streaming to iPad, with iBasso D7 I've obtained a significative sound upgrade changing from iTunes Home Sharing to Logitech Media Server + iPeng player (no need to have a Logitech device to work), the latter is also able to play 24 bit-perfect Flacs and the interface is better than stock iPad music player.
PlugPayer and UPnP server always downsample in the chain to 16 bits.

The D7 sounds better with iPad + CCK + battery powered USB Hubs (note not any USB chargers pas data too, Y split cable eventually needed) than any USB port of a notebook/computer tested, and you've to mess so much with OSs settings to become crazy and it's nearly impossible to have a clean power feeding the USB Dac.
For the same clean power reason which attects sound quality, I've rouled out non battery powered USB Hubs.
With batteries you've also a portable (maybe not pocketable) system.

With iPad, without a portable storage wi-fi device able to 24bit perfect streaming (until now none confirmed working without downsampling), we're still limited by its internal storage capacity or by wi-fi coverage.

Look here if you're really interested in sound quality 24 bit-perfect portable configs with iDevices http://www.head-fi.org/t/625493/ipad-with-24-bit-files-high-storage-capacity-portability-which-configuration-works-without-downsampling#post_8667839 .

 
I have assembled a portable (well, transportable) rig around the following:
 
iPad2 / Chinese "unofficial" CCK powered hub and card reader / D7 / ZY Cable SPC interconnect / P4 / either HD25 or Shure SE425
 
At present, I am powering the USB hub with an Eneloop KBC-E1A USB booster (normally for recharging mobile phones on the go, powered by two 1.2V rechargeable cells). With the P4 in circuit, it works perfectly. Today, however, I tried using the D7 on its own in a more portable configuration with the SE425s. Unfortunately, after about 30 seconds, I could hear a loud ticking noise, which was independent of the volume setting. I presume this has something to do with voltage conversion within the USB booster. Using a switch-mode USB power supply (wall wart) I could hear a significant noise floor, which was quite obtrusive. Finally, I tried plugging the D7 into my laptop. This was worst of all, with a cacophony of power supply noises distracting from the music. At all times, the gain switch was set to "low". As an experiment, I connected the IEMs directly to the line out socket, and found a clean signal without the aforementioned noise problems.
 
Clearly, the headphone amp section is extremely sensitive to PSU quality. Do you know where I can order a battery-powered USB hub which offers clean power, not regenerated from a lower voltage with the consequent "noises off"?

 

[CJG888]

Today, I tried using my D7 as a USB to SPDIF converter in my PC system. Using a Lenovo T400 with the supplied drivers installed (from the CD ROM in the box), I connected the D7 using the iBasso stock (long) cable to the USB port directly connected to the motherboard. The SPDIF output was hooked up in turn to the Little Dot DAC_1 and the TeraDak V3.1D. Music files (FLAC and AIFF) were played via Foobar2000.
 
Whilst the sound was a notable step up from the USB inputs of both DACs, I have noticed occasional dropouts (where music is replaced by a sine wave tone for about a second or so). What could be causing this?

 

[tomscy2000]

Maybe go into the TUSB Control Panel and switch it from "Power Saving Mode" to "Always On"?

 

[CJG888]

Quote:

Maybe go into the TUSB Control Panel and switch it from "Power Saving Mode" to "Always On"?

Thank you for your advice. May I ask which version of TUSB you are using? My control panel (v 1.22.0) has no such options....

 

[tomscy2000]

Quote:

  Thank you for your advice. May I ask which version of TUSB you are using? My control panel (v 1.22.0) has no such options....

 
I'm using 1.61, but it has had it since 1.48... maybe you should download the latest drivers: http://ibasso.com/en/download/index.asp
 
EDIT: Direct Link in my older post: http://www.head-fi.org/t/587361/d7-sidewinder-initial-impressions/645#post_9110043