[panasonicst60]

Which do I perfer?

 

[rutter]

Probably DX220 with amp8? I found the Micro Black Label to be an inert thin black brick. Returned it and kept the Nano Black Label as it sounded the same to me. Then returned that after a laptop edged it out.

 

[jmills8]

Probably DX220 with amp8? I found the Micro Black Label to be an inert thin black brick. Returned it and kept the Nano Black Label as it sounded the same to me. Then returned that after a laptop edged it out.

Burr Brown dac isnt thin sounding. Guess you must have had a bright headphone.

 

[Raketen]

It's not the case with everyone.
For me I just don't want to change the default sound except add just a little bass boost. If you ever used a Cowon, you will know what's the best implementation of an EQ.
The problem with the EQ on the DAPs that drop volume to avoid clipping or what ever is that you need to have two of the same DAPs to compare if the EQ is changing the sound to exactly what you want.

Is there no "Preamp" slider on the EQ options? If not I think this would be a good suggestion for iBasso- IIRC some EQ plugins do this and it basically lets you adjust gain relative to your EQ curve so you can maintain headroom/avoid clipping without having to redo all of your parameters (visually it would just mean moving the 0db line up and down).

 

[rutter]

Burr Brown dac isnt thin sounding. Guess you must have had a bright headphone.

Not thin, inert. Didn't sound like it did anything. In comparison to a basic Schiit stack thin, yes. I was using a Hifiman Edition X v2. The Chord Mojo made it bright, but at least it was doing other things. Crisp, detailed, clear, rather bare-boned and hard. I imagine the higher level Chord products being interesting. A good number of people regard them highly.

 

[toughnut]

Not thin, inert. Didn't sound like it did anything.

Correct term is transparent?

 

[rutter]

Correct term is transparent?

Correct term is if iFi were a charity and I had literally disposable money I might've kept it.

 

[panasonicst60]

Comparing the ifi micro black to dx220

First impression, granted they are both not burnt in yet. Ifi 1hr and dx220 10hrs or so. Ifi definitely has more power and a slightly fuller sound. Bass on the ifi seams slightly boosted and dare I say bloated. Sound stage is a bit bigger than ibasso's.

Ibasso is slightly more detail and cleaner. Bass seems tighter, more controlled, quicker. Ibasso seams more flat which I perfer. This is my quick first impression. I will listen for a few days at least

Tested with all switch off on the ifi, no bass boost or 3d. Ibasso with amp8.

Update:After further listening, the ifi definitely improved a bit more. Bass seam to have improved. It's definitely a thicker sound than the dx220. Not warm sounding, but slightly warmer than the dx220. The DX 220 does sound a bit more analytical.

To be honest they both sound really good. I think it comes down to preference. I will more than likely keep the dx220. When I got the ifi I was looking for it to blow out the dx220 and if that was the case I would have returned the dx220. But it didn't. So the dx220 is here to stay due to the portability.

 

[rutter]

What gain on both?

 

[panasonicst60]

What gain on both?

Medium

 

[rutter]

I think medium on the DX220 is what low was on the DX200. They introduced a lower "low" for very sensitive iems like some Campfire Audio stuff (e.g. Solaris) and renamed the previous low to medium. Then again if you go to high with amp8 I think you'll have to try turbo on the Micro BL too. Amp8 actually edges it out in power unless I'm mistaken.

 

[CobraMan]

So after reading all of the thoughts shared on EQ since I posted earlier today (I appreciate all the constructive and healthy dialog) all I will add is this - I learned about EQ way back in the mid/late 1970's in the day of analog EQ equipment and was taught to use boost (or cuts if needed) as desired to achieve the sound one wants and to do so carefully to avoid clipping/distortion. So should you cut frequencies and then turn up the volume or boost frequencies and turn down the volume - probably not a significant difference in either approach as long as you stay well clear of clipping/distortion. For my ears the key of all this is the overall shape of the equalization curve to what is pleasing and enjoyable for me.

What is being brought up here is also why the EQ implementation back on the DX50 and DX90 was based on an overall significant cut in output prior to applying the user settings - as such one would have to turn the volume up to compensate. This was the explanation shared by iBasso/Paul way back in those threads when asked about the drop in volume with EQ on.

With respect to the PEQ - this is my first foray into any device with PEQ and I did state up front I have not spent a lot of time with it yet. So I will continue to experiment, read, and learn from all the great knowledge that is shared here.

Best of all - the DX220 keeps getting better and better for me!

Enjoy,
Tim

 

[McCol]

So I have found something interesting with Tidal and the DX220. When I am using Tidal with downloaded tracks, I notice that masters will play at either 44.1khz or 48khz instead of the 88.2khz or 96khz. I do have download quality set to master. If I am on a wifi network and play a master that I don't have downloaded it plays at 96khz but if I add it to a playlist that is set to download and then play it again it drops to 48khz. I am guessing this is a bug in tidal and not the DX220?

Exact same thing happens with Tidal on the R6 Pro, there's a discussion on the R6 Pro thread regarding the issue.

 

[panasonicst60]

Wish they make a plain tpu case for this thing. Something that thin and actually protects it. The leather case is ok. Stretches out too easy. Anyone know of a case?

 

[rutter]

Hmm, the DX228 is sounding good right now. Full, separated, effortless (clean and capable of picking up smaller details). Sounds a little bit too relaxed but that could be the iems. I've been burning it in continuously for a long time. Yesterday and today it got its first breaks in a while. Does that have any effect? I'm at around 170 hours, as high as nearing 190.

On certain songs I wouldn't listen to normally this is fun. Hearing details with some spacing. Instruments and things sounding more life-like. Makes some skip stuff interesting.





Don't know how these sound on youtube. Low res m4as on the iBasso on Mango OS. Like I mentioned, not like my hi-res Russian forum downloads made much difference. There's also some very weird bug with going back and forward through tracks with the buttons. Jumps. My Magni and HD650s sound a lot less engaging, but they also cost $450 rather than $3000.