[bsphong]

Just bought it now I really hope Ibasso does something about the output for AMP9, i'll be really happy if it can drive my planars with ease like Amp8!

It is surely. True power of amp9 can drive your planars easily, even only with low gain mode. High gain mode can cause hiss clearer and damage your planars and your ear

 

[duyanh43]

It is surely. True power of amp9 can drive your planars easily, even only with low gain mode. High gain mode can cause hiss clearer and damage your planars and your ear

With hot-swapping features planar = easy

 

[bsphong]

With hot-swapping features planar = easy

My Des-T V2 iem, which is electrostatic drivers, was tuned by Tran Xuan Nam is extremely hard to be driven by even amp8. But so easy with the hot swapping amp9, only with low gain mode and give a sublime music quality. Similarly for another DES U electrostatic iem tuned by Soranik. I love these "two local flagships + amp9" combo than Katana so much

 

[arijitroy2]

Yes AMP9 is warmer than AMP8EX. I absolutely love AMP8EX and am finding it difficult to find a reason to go to AMP9. But that’s what I’m gonna do this week.

Do you already an AMP9?

Yes AMP9 is warmer than AMP8EX. I absolutely love AMP8EX and am finding it difficult to find a reason to go to AMP9. But that’s what I’m gonna do this week.

I am very interested to hear you're opinion on the AMP9 and the comparison with AMP8EX

 

[singleended5863]

I think Katana might stay permanently attached to Amp9/200Ti!

At CanJam SoCal 2019 I had a chance to listen to Katana with my DX220/amp1mk2 modded. To my ears Katana is best SQ contender.

 

[Paulo Abreu]

Yes, thats the point, but I’ve spent a lot of time and money to build it. And now I wont get even 50% of price of it. And I don’t want to sell anything)))

Although my home system is not so premium, I don't want to get rid of it and mostly with such losses in value.
I guess 98% of the music I hear today is portable and manufacturers are not easing this figure in the future as I predict will happen with me.

This could be the turning point for my Noble Katana. I bought at Canjam a while back as I like explicit, non-rolled off sound. But with my 200Ti, Questyle and Hugo 2, although good, I do prefer my other iems, even my old Shure 846 which with balanced cable has been great with Amp1Ti.

But paired with Amp9 it’s sounding better than it ever has. The Greta Van Fleet album ‘Anthem Of The Peaceful Army’ sounds so raw and drums realistic, that it’s even closer to imagining listening to early Led Zep in an intimate club. Brilliant. Synergy. I think Katana might stay permanently attached to Amp9/200Ti!

Great!

Did you have the chance to compare them to Kaiser Encore? or Khan? I only read wonderful reviews of Noble IEM's, a pity where I live I can´t try them...
About your other post, I don't perceive AMP9 to be smoothing treble as it burns, of course after a few hours it turns difficult to say for 100% sure, also because I've been alternating headphones/iems very often

AMP1mk2 also took +100 hours to settle, I don't know for AMP9? if for the Nutube, for the other components on PCB or for both? What do you thing @Whitigir? I ask since your AMP9 has been close to melt fusion... LOL

 

[Whitigir]

Although my home system is not so premium, I don't want to get rid of it and mostly with such losses in value.
I guess 98% of the music I hear today is portable and manufacturers are not easing this figure in the future as I predict will happen with me.


Great!

Did you have the chance to compare them to Kaiser Encore? or Khan? I only read wonderful reviews of Noble IEM's, a pity where I live I can´t try them...
About your other post, I don't perceive AMP9 to be smoothing treble as it burns, of course after a few hours it turns difficult to say for 100% sure, also because I've been alternating headphones/iems very often

AMP1mk2 also took +100 hours to settle, I don't know for AMP9? if for the Nutube, for the other components on PCB or for both? What do you thing @Whitigir? I ask since your AMP9 has been close to melt fusion... LOL

Smoothing with details is different than smoothing and dulling out the details. The Amp9 has smooth trebles but still sharp and vivid without grains and harshness, which is not easy to achieve ...especially for any Tube amps. Ibasso did a wonderful job on Amp9

 

[DaYooper]

I still won't believe that hot swapping it is any good for it.

 

[panasonicst60]

I still won't believe that hot swapping it is any good for it.

I don't think anyone thinks it's good for the amp. They just do it to get the power they need for full size headphones. Only ibasso knows the max limit they can push the amp with firmware without damaging the lifespan of the amp.

I wouldn't buy any used amp9 with this whole hot swapping going on.

 

[MaxD]

Got my AMP9 today hooray!. Not feeling it though, the waterfall is so load on the CA Solaris .. Booooo. Anyone have the same pairing ? Will it get better with burn in or do I have to live with hiss for the sake of openness ? Im only two hours in but it seems excessive. Wondering if this triggering malarkey will make any difference. Dont like hot swamping though. Wonder if we can get at the settings for the amp......

 

[gr8soundz]

I don't think anyone thinks it's good for the amp. They just do it to get the power they need for full size headphones. Only ibasso knows the max limit they can push the amp with firmware without damaging the lifespan of the amp.

I wouldn't buy any used amp9 with this whole hot swapping going on.

After trying lots of firmware this weekend (fyi, AMP9 doesn't work at all with older Android roms), I did the hot swap a couple of times. The additional power was enough to drive my T50rp mk3 with room to spare (just over 100 out of 150 volume at high gain). Swapped AMP9 has more power, in fact, than my Oriolus NT-1 amp. However, the increased hiss (much more than NT-1) was significant on most all of my <100 ohm headphones (I imagine this must be what iem users have been hearing under normal use). Battery life didn't change much and my DX150 (running Fidelizer rom) does not get any warmer than before.

To reduce potential issues, I've left the player on after swapping. AMP9 goes into sleep mode anyway after several seconds of no sound playing and the battery doesn't drain much at all (mine dropped less than 5% overnight in airplane mode).

So I believe the ONLY reason iBasso limited AMP9 output is due to hissing. Perhaps there just wasn't enough room in the module for sufficient noise-cancelling circuitry so they limited power output to make up for it. Strangely, their product page for the AMP9 still says "High Current Output."

Should be easy for iBasso to release new firmware so we don't have to swap, at least for users willing to deal with the increased hiss (I also plan to try it with my iFi iEMatch later today). I've no idea why they didn't do so initially unless they thought it would be an admission of failure in that area. Not the case imo as the fact that AMP9 even exists (and sounds fantastic) is a major achievement.

 

[jamato8]

Got my AMP9 today hooray!. Not feeling it though, the waterfall is so load on the CA Solaris .. Booooo. Anyone have the same pairing ? Will it get better with burn in or do I have to live with hiss for the sake of openness ? Im only two hours in but it seems excessive. Wondering if this triggering malarkey will make any difference. Dont like hot swamping though. Wonder if we can get at the settings for the amp......

My AMP9 got quieter with use. With regular tubes, I have had some that got quite and some noisier but normally, as they burn in, they got quiet. it varies. I had some waterfall hiss to begin with but now none. It also depends of course on what you are listening with. I use the IT04 and have no problem and the Focal Stellia a lot (which it drives with ease and the sound is excellent, reminds me of the Manley Absolute amp I have).

 

[Whitigir]

Got my AMP9 today hooray!. Not feeling it though, the waterfall is so load on the CA Solaris .. Booooo. Anyone have the same pairing ? Will it get better with burn in or do I have to live with hiss for the sake of openness ? Im only two hours in but it seems excessive. Wondering if this triggering malarkey will make any difference. Dont like hot swamping though. Wonder if we can get at the settings for the amp......

Hot swap will have very noticable hiss with in ears, so dont hotswap and try again ?

 

[zephyrstar]

Got my AMP9 today hooray!. Not feeling it though, the waterfall is so load on the CA Solaris .. Booooo. Anyone have the same pairing ? Will it get better with burn in or do I have to live with hiss for the sake of openness ? Im only two hours in but it seems excessive. Wondering if this triggering malarkey will make any difference. Dont like hot swamping though. Wonder if we can get at the settings for the amp......

Yes I have it and yes it does hiss. For quiet music like acoustic guitar it is very noticeable. For louder music with more instruments like regular rock, jazz, blues etc I can only hear the hiss between songs and on really quiet passages.

 

[AndrewH13]

With Amp9, hear a quick one second hiss with Katana just before track starts then it subsides. Reminds me of my Noisegate on my guitar pedalboard!

No problem for me, I grew up with records, LPs as we called them then, adds to authenticity!