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DX220 A new view to your music. *** LATEST FW: 1.19 Local *** Link for User Guide 1st Page.
Apr 3, 2020 at 3:12 PM Post #11,491 of 13,478
jburks725 said:
I installed the Fidelizer ROM via a Mac last night and wanted to share my experience in hopes of saving others some pain. I've also sent these suggested documentation updates to Keetakawee. First, I want to make clear that I am in no way complaining about Keetakawee or his support of his ROM. This is *not* a rant. I'm simply trying to share what I learned so that others might benefit.

First, for those not familiar, the Windows-based instructions for flashing the ROM are here. There are also Mac instructions for flashing. The important thing to note is that steps 3-6 from the Windows instructions are not mentioned anywhere on the Mac instructions, and I was an idiot and just skipped straight to the Mac instructions. Installed rkflashtool through Homebrew was simple enough, and I had mixed luck with getting into "factory flash mode" with a USB-C cable, but a dongle that converts to USB-A, with the iBasso charging cable, worked much better. I happily flashed the boot and system partitions, rebooted, and was met with a lovely boot loop. Crap!

So now I have a non-functional device, and no obvious way to get back to stock ROM, since the OTA update needs to be installed from a running system. Or does it? There are Windows instructions for flashing via USB, so I figured it must be possible to do without a running Android system. After much trial and error, I figured out how to flash the OTA from SD card in Recovery mode. To prep the card, format it as xFAT. Download the newest OTA from iBasso's site, then extract the zip file. Inside that, you'll find another "zip" file (it's actually a jar) named DX220-ota-full-1.16.242.zip. Copy that to your SD card, then rename it update.zip. Eject the SD card safely from your Mac, but don't plug it into the DX220 just yet. Boot to recovery mode: power off the device, then without a USB cable plugged in, press and hold play/pause, then press power. Release play/pause when you see the first DX220 splash screen. Now, in the Recovery screen, you can use the volume wheel to scroll, and power to select. Insert your SD card and select Install update from SD card. In the next screen, select update.zip and wait for it to flash. You should now have a working, stock device. Huzzah!

So now, back to getting Fidelizer installed. First, I installed android-platform-tools on my Mac via Homebrew. Next, I enabled Developer Mode on the DX220 and turned on USB Debug mode (see the Windows instructions). I plugged in my USB cable (again through a dongle), and typed "adb devices" in a Terminal window. My Mac complained about ADB being from an untrusted developer, but that can be fixed in Preferences->General. Once adb actually ran, it listed the device and said it was unauthorized. However, a prompt now appeared on the DX220 asked if I trusted the computer. I said yes, and ran "adb devices" on my Mac again. This time it showed the device was ready. From here, I ran three ADB commands:

1. adb root
2. adb disable-verity
3. adb reboot

At this point, you should be ready to flash. Power down your DX220 again, go into factory flashing mode (hold play/pause, plug in USB, release). After confirming that rkflashtool can see your device, you may proceed with flashing the boot and system partitions according to the original instructions. When you boot up, you should now have a working DX220 with Fidelizer ROM installed. I did a factory reset at this point, just in case, but so far everything seems to be working as expected. Hope this helps someone else avoid a couple hours of Googling and piecing together clues on how to work with ADB and Recovery Mode on a Mac.
Click to expand...


Figuring it out and getting right can be tricky the first few times. The device is basically unbrickable so no matter how wrong you get it, you can always recover from it.
I'm not sure how different it is with a Mac but with Windows I just use the AndroidTool and erase the the flash and then start over from the beginning.
 
Apr 3, 2020 at 7:14 PM Post #11,493 of 13,478
Anyone have experience comparing amp1 mk2 and amp8/amp8ex? I'm looking to really maximize my IER-Z1R. Looking for the most resolving imaging and soundstage with emphasis on quality and quantity of sub and mid-bass while maybe enhancing the mids for lush vocals. Trying to get the most WOW factor out of my dx220 amp module combo. :p

EDIT: I am actually more impressed with amp1 mkII than I am the amp9 so far.
 
Last edited:
Apr 3, 2020 at 7:27 PM Post #11,494 of 13,478
xdbvdbx said:
Anyone have experience comparing amp1 mk2 and amp8/amp8ex? I'm looking to really maximize my IER-Z1R. Looking for the most resolving imaging and soundstage with emphasis on quality and quantity of sub and mid-bass while maybe enhancing the mids for lush vocals. Trying to get the most WOW factor out of my dx220 amp module combo. :p

EDIT: I am actually more impressed with amp1 mkII than I am the amp9 so far.
Click to expand...
You just described the pairing for IER Z1R and Amp8EX experiences. However, your mileages may varies
 
Last edited:
Apr 3, 2020 at 7:48 PM Post #11,495 of 13,478
Whitigir said:
You just described the pairing for IER Z1R and Amp8EX experiences. However, your mileages may varies
Click to expand...

Finding the Amp8ex is poseing difficulty though. :\
 
Apr 3, 2020 at 9:08 PM Post #11,498 of 13,478
Last edited:
Apr 3, 2020 at 10:50 PM Post #11,499 of 13,478
Shawnb said:
Figuring it out and getting right can be tricky the first few times. The device is basically unbrickable so no matter how wrong you get it, you can always recover from it.
I'm not sure how different it is with a Mac but with Windows I just use the AndroidTool and erase the the flash and then start over from the beginning.
Click to expand...
Agreed. It's been a while, but I've done Android development in the past, so I was pretty sure I could recover from whatever mess I made, even on a Mac. The instructions for Mac are pretty scant, though, so I thought I'd write up what I found to help others. The DX220 is awesome, and I'm totally satisfied with my purchase!
 
Apr 3, 2020 at 11:07 PM Post #11,500 of 13,478
jburks725 said:
Too soon to tell. I spent my listening time last night figuring out the install instructions I wrote up. I’ll add some impressions tonight or tomorrow.
Click to expand...
I've spent a few hours listening to the DX228 with Fidelizer last night and tonight. Initial impressions are positive, though the difference is subtle. I asked that my Advanced ROM be set up in Purist mode. The differences I've noticed so far are slightly smoother operation, no bitrate indicator in the notification bar at the top (I kind of miss this), and sound that I can only describe as a tad more "present". I'm not convinced that this latter observation isn't confirmation bias, but Tidal and Amazon both sound just a little more "in the studio" with the DX228 and my CA Andromedas. I'm new at this, though, so my terminology probably isn't quite right. Battery life also seems slightly better, but that may be placebo effect from a clean flash. Finally, the App Store that's included didn't work for me, so I ended up added Lurker's add-on to get Google Play.

I've also listened a bit with the DX228 direct into my HD-650's (with Corpse Gravedigger 4.4mm balanced cables). I feel like the AMP8 is still a little under powered for these phones, but turned up to 100 or so (on low gain), I'm struggling to say whether I like this combo or my Jotunheim MB-DAC (with MBP and Amazon Ultra HD) better. One interesting observation is that the Fidelizer flash seems to have fixed the USB-C out to the Jotunheim, so I'm super pleased with that (see earlier posts in this thread about this issue). More testing needed here, though.

For what it's worth, I spent the $100 for the Advanced ROM to support the dev. I love that he's supporting these devices, and I want to encourage it! He did update his Mac flashing instructions based on my feedback, which I'd say I say is a definite positive. I haven't spent any time with the free ROM, so I cannot say whether there's a $100 difference between this and the free ROM.
 
Apr 3, 2020 at 11:25 PM Post #11,501 of 13,478
jburks725 said:
I've spent a few hours listening to the DX228 with Fidelizer last night and tonight. Initial impressions are positive, though the difference is subtle. I asked that my Advanced ROM be set up in Purist mode. The differences I've noticed so far are slightly smoother operation, no bitrate indicator in the notification bar at the top (I kind of miss this), and sound that I can only describe as a tad more "present". I'm not convinced that this latter observation isn't confirmation bias, but Tidal and Amazon both sound just a little more "in the studio" with the DX228 and my CA Andromedas. I'm new at this, though, so my terminology probably isn't quite right. Battery life also seems slightly better, but that may be placebo effect from a clean flash. Finally, the App Store that's included didn't work for me, so I ended up added Lurker's add-on to get Google Play.

I've also listened a bit with the DX228 direct into my HD-650's (with Corpse Gravedigger 4.4mm balanced cables). I feel like the AMP8 is still a little under powered for these phones, but turned up to 100 or so (on low gain), I'm struggling to say whether I like this combo or my Jotunheim MB-DAC (with MBP and Amazon Ultra HD) better. One interesting observation is that the Fidelizer flash seems to have fixed the USB-C out to the Jotunheim, so I'm super pleased with that (see earlier posts in this thread about this issue). More testing needed here, though.

For what it's worth, I spent the $100 for the Advanced ROM to support the dev. I love that he's supporting these devices, and I want to encourage it! He did update his Mac flashing instructions based on my feedback, which I'd say I say is a definite positive. I haven't spent any time with the free ROM, so I cannot say whether there's a $100 difference between this and the free ROM.
Click to expand...

I also just bought the advanced purist ROM for my DX160.
 
Apr 4, 2020 at 7:06 AM Post #11,503 of 13,478
jburks725 said:
I've spent a few hours listening to the DX228 with Fidelizer last night and tonight. Initial impressions are positive, though the difference is subtle. I asked that my Advanced ROM be set up in Purist mode. The differences I've noticed so far are slightly smoother operation, no bitrate indicator in the notification bar at the top (I kind of miss this), and sound that I can only describe as a tad more "present". I'm not convinced that this latter observation isn't confirmation bias, but Tidal and Amazon both sound just a little more "in the studio" with the DX228 and my CA Andromedas. I'm new at this, though, so my terminology probably isn't quite right. Battery life also seems slightly better, but that may be placebo effect from a clean flash. Finally, the App Store that's included didn't work for me, so I ended up added Lurker's add-on to get Google Play.

I've also listened a bit with the DX228 direct into my HD-650's (with Corpse Gravedigger 4.4mm balanced cables). I feel like the AMP8 is still a little under powered for these phones, but turned up to 100 or so (on low gain), I'm struggling to say whether I like this combo or my Jotunheim MB-DAC (with MBP and Amazon Ultra HD) better. One interesting observation is that the Fidelizer flash seems to have fixed the USB-C out to the Jotunheim, so I'm super pleased with that (see earlier posts in this thread about this issue). More testing needed here, though.

For what it's worth, I spent the $100 for the Advanced ROM to support the dev. I love that he's supporting these devices, and I want to encourage it! He did update his Mac flashing instructions based on my feedback, which I'd say I say is a definite positive. I haven't spent any time with the free ROM, so I cannot say whether there's a $100 difference between this and the free ROM.
Click to expand...
The sound is already good, any improvement, even if small, takes a big step forward
 
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