I'm not one that necessarily subscribes to loyally following one chip or technology over another and making that a primary decision factor. IMO it all comes down to the implementation and further, ultimately how it sounds to me.
DX260 Digital Audio Player, a New avenue to your music. Preorders have started. Easily replaceable battery. NEW Firmware Update! 2.02
- Thread starter Paul - iBasso
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In my opinion we can't judge sound performance just by the chip being used. CS43198 is an entry level chip but DX260 has 8 of them !! FYI, I still own a 10 years old headphone amp which uses PCM1795 DAC chip and it sounds excellent (that is still my most preferred DAC + headphone amp).
DX260's performance is definitely not entry level, it is one of the best in mid level. As I said earlier, most of the "top" level performers have some kind of colouration, e.g. Sony WM1ZM2 - I wouldn't say they 'sound' better than DX260 in general, but if you enjoy that tuning then it could be a reason to go "up" further.
I don't own Ananda Nano (for Hifiman I only have Arya Stealth). Look at the spec, both headphones have 94 db sensitivity at 14 and 32 ohm respectively, so Ananda Nao should be easier to drive. FYI, with DX260, I only need to set volume to 60-70% at low gain (with 4.4mm balance) with satisfactory volume level and dynamics.
I don't have Ananda Nano but my DX260 drives my headphones really well namely, Hifiman Edition XS and ZMF Bokeh.
I recently got DX260 and have a question. From product description, it said that DX260 can by pass Android SRC so all other music apps will not be resampled. For streaming music apps, it seems ok and I can see the display of bit rate matching the content (btw, all of my streaming apps only streams hi-res using PCM, not DSD). However, with playback of offline music files using 3rd party apps, it seems that only music files with PCM encoding work properly with bit perfect. For DSD encoded music files, looks like they are always converted to PCM unless using the stock Mango player. While it could be just the problem of not showing the correct bit rate in the header, but I did hear difference in sound quality with the stock Mango player so I believe there was actual DSD to PCM conversion happened when using those 3rd party music app.
I would like to use 3rd party music app because UX of Mango player is quite poor ... not end of the world, but if possible, would like to use 3rd party app such as Fiio or Riby music app.
I would like to use 3rd party music app because UX of Mango player is quite poor ... not end of the world, but if possible, would like to use 3rd party app such as Fiio or Riby music app.
Btw, I found that USB Audio Player Pro can do the job ... it can recognize DX260 and knows that it has internal high res DAC. DSD files can now be played at native sampling rate.
Interesting. I've decided I can't put up anymore with Mango; the UI is awful. I've been trying Poweramp, but I don't think it sounds as good as Mango. Are you using UAPP as your main/only player? How does the SQ compare with Mango and how does the UI compare with Poweramp? I'm asking as there doesn't appear to be a trial version of UAPP. Many thanks.Btw, I found that USB Audio Player Pro can do the job ... it can recognize DX260 and knows that it has internal high res DAC. DSD files can now be played at native sampling rate.
For sound quality, I need to do further testing, but at least sampling rate can be shown correctly for all types of audio - PCM 44kz, 96Kz, 192Kz, DSD 64, 128, etc. I am using USB Audio Player Pro which is a free app with a few features require to purchase (but I don't need those features).
I can only see a paid version at £6.99?
May be I purchased a few years ago for my phone ... I can't remember sorry
I tested for a few sounds ... I think the sound difference is nearly the same as Mango - if there is difference it is very minor (need to test more to confirm whether there is real difference), and it is definitely not like playing with other players such as Fiio Music App, Hiby Music Player ... the sound difference for DSD files is very noticeable.
sechsterangriff
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UAPP is by far the most versatile music player software for Android and well worth the asking price in my imho. It works well with playlists generated by library management software. And for those who care, It also supports native DSD playback when other software only supports D2P or DoP.
At this point in time I can't see myself using anything else regardless of the actual player.
At this point in time I can't see myself using anything else regardless of the actual player.
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nekromantik
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not UAPP thread but how is the shuffle mode on it? I find the shuffle on neutron not great as it repeats same tracks sometimes after reboot.
sechsterangriff
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For me it's fine, at least in the same playlist or album. But I don't use the shuffle mode that often, so this is probably better to ask in the dedicated thread.
I had the Shanling M7 and Cayin N7, and compared the DX260 with both of them. To my ears, the DX260 was miles ahead in performance. Sure N7 had a slightly more organic midrange, but was no match in technicalities.
