[NAD Fi]

When it comes to the iems, i noticed that i have very similar taste to the Crinacle's. So if you want to ask me about iems, just look at the Crinacle's ranking. Im exactly with him. After many, many tests i agree with this guy. Hes genius, he honestly knows what a great tuned iems/headphones should sound like.

Crinacle’s frequency response curve is very popular. Crinacle made me discover the lowly Apple dongle and I haven’t used my Ztella after hearing the Apple dongle.

 

[SteveK27]

I find the 11.2s more vivid, the EXN is more diffused and polite. I think that the stock amp is finally burned in. The sound is out of this world. Very very alive and dynamic, punchy and focused, orgasmic.

I can second this as I've A/B tested and compared between the two amps.

11.2s simply sounded much better even before burn-in and the way Rigatio differentiated the two amps is pretty consistent with my experience.

11.2s is just simply vivid, more dynamic, with better transients. Whereas AMP12EXN was more diffused and polite with a more analog sound.

11.2s sounded more transparent and lively that I didn't find the need to keep the EXN and decided to sell it for more funds.

 

[AnalogandDigital]

Still following all
So filtering through the posts it seems:
DX320 + OG software + Amp11.2S is THE combination ?

 

[RIGATIO]

Following all
So filtering through the posts it seems:
DX320 + OG software + Amp11.2S is THE combination ?

IT IS where the MAGIC happens: DX320 + OG software + Amp11.2S + the Monarchs 2. Thats all you will ever need i would say.
But the notes are very well defined, with sharper edges. The sound is very emotional and direct.
If someone needs slightly more "polite" and laid back type of a presentation, then go for the Shanling M9.
Both are on the same level, just slightly different.

 

[NAD Fi]

Still following all
So filtering through the posts it seems:
DX320 + OG software + Amp11.2S is THE combination ?

The silver (magic) bullet .

 

[Whitigir]

I think latest firmware is great too. Fixed a few bugs for me and sounds great too

Yes, definitely is better than the 2nd version of the firmware. The best way to listen to the latest firmware is actually by using MangoOS

But I do agree about the OG being the best of it all

 

[German Expat in Vietnam]

I agree 100 % . I hope in the next Update iBasso go back to this Sound !!!!

 

[vilhelm44]

Interesting reading all these posts regarding the OG fw sound on the DX320. What are the major differences between the two that people are hearing? I'm currently on the latest FW listening via Mango and think it sounds great.

 

[Alexzander]

Still following all
So filtering through the posts it seems:
DX320 + OG software + Amp11.2S is THE combination ?

Or the latest firmware + Amp 13 if you like one of it’s outputs flavors.
Plus unfortunately for me as I’m into streaming but in Mango you really get more better sound quality.

 

[Alexzander]

@RIGATIO finally one thing that we won’t agree to each other is M17
I’ll put it above even in battery mode over DX312 all the times and on par with DX320.

But it also need to go through break-in period and synergy with your headphones/iems matters here.

 

[Altes]

Got the DX320 a few days ago and I am surprised I prefer using it to drive OG Arya over my desktop amp.
With the OG Arya, the differences between the Original Firmware and the latest firmware sound is displayed with no excuse of hearing bias. This is because the easiest sound difference to hear for me is sibilance piercing through my ears vs no sibilance piercing through my ears. No need for subjectivity or bias for something this simple to differentiate. Clear difference in sound between firmwares.

The latest firmware 2.02.834 is also superb and either firmware with stock amp is better than other things I've purchased at this price point. Firmware 2.02.834 expanded the soundstage height and the drums kept hitting outside the top rear of my head. I was a bit annoyed actually and wondered for the first time if the drums would stop hitting me. Bass is also hitting harder on new firmware, sometimes mid-bass hurting my ears actually. I did not compare to know if it has more sub-bass than Original Firmware, but I can say firmware 2.02.834 has beautiful sub-bass. When listening to natural sounds like water flowing, I believe the sound is more clear and natural here.

The word "magical" is used fittingly for the Original Firmware not simply because the sound is musical, but because of the unexpected sound you get when pairing with headsets where it seems to ignore matching signatures and rather fixes the sound instead. With my warmest gear, the Original Firmware fixed everything I disliked while still maintaining the warm flavor, but instead of veiled and undefined, it sounds full and musical with better resolution now. I would expect to have sibilance when I pair it with my brightest gear (OG Arya), but the opposite occurs. This is most obvious with Original Firmware.

Back to the new firmware 2.02.834, there is a difference between high volume vs low-medium volume. The sound seems to start popping and expanding more the higher volume you go. This felt a bit less musical where you start to pick out each sound separately. When I lower the volume, it becomes more musical. I am going to guess at 50dB and below. The details are there, and the sound is much more comfortable to my ears. Sub-bass is arguably more beautiful sounding and still resounds. Basically the volume level to go for on new firmware if I am in a quiet room, or have good isolation IEM/headphone. (E.g., I was listening to as low as level 8 on the volume wheel on earbud on low gain)

I was only able to try the Amp13 with Original Firmware and preferred the Original Firmware with stock amp.

The latest firmware 2.02.834 has more soundstage height and is more analytical and seems to push your gear to do what it does better. Can be sibilant if your gear is. For enjoying music, I prefer at low-medium volume.

The Original Firmware does whatever it wants to your gear and achieves a musical and non-sibilant sound (and then you decide if you prefer it). If you have gear that you dislike, always try to test it with Original Firmware is my experience. Might make you change your mind about returning some headsets.

I should note if your headset is not technically impressive, it likely won't scale well enough to impress, like my Meze 99 classics or $20 earbuds. But if it is technically good with sound signature you dislike, then DX320 might make you change your mind.

The ThieAudio Monarch MkII is an IEM that can transform a lot depending on the source. I have unfortunately returned mine a long time ago and never got to try it with the DX320. Last I recall, Monarch MKII with wolfson chip sounded magical.

Btw, I am not defending the fact that we have to change firmware so inconveniently. It is crazy to do Rigatio's (but thanks for the info) system factory reset -> boot factory reset -> 660 Tool firmware installation via CPU -> system factory reset -> boot factory reset -> reinstall all apps and reset all apps settings again.

It is also not good that the sound from the Original Firmware means you do not get the new features. I hope iBasso figures something out.

Nonetheless, for the price of the product, without purchasing any addons/amp cards, the sound I am getting exceeded my expectations. Did not exceed by 10%, but exceed by twice my expectations. Based on sound alone, this product is worth it at its retail price.

For the cons/issues:
-Inconvenient to change firmware.
-Charging and battery drain so far on first few days of use has been uneven.
-Even with no headsets plugged in, if you push a button, the player will play music without you knowing!
-The leather case so far causes accidental button clicks 9 out of 10 times you pick up the DAP.
-I haven't been able to figure out how to get the lockscreen to display the now playing widget with Mango Player. It only shows how long ago Mango Player was active. Other players seem to have their widgets on lockscreen.
-Volume wheel is not very easy to adjust, and have to adjust differently (i.e., can push up on top for volume up, but must pull from below for volume down).
-Double tap to wake is buggy with both firmware versions and even interferes with the physical volume button making you press 3 times if screen stays off for a period of time. Eventually had to disable double tap to wake.
-Cannot double tap to wake at all if screen is off for too long.
-Can't swap batteries (not sure if we have to send unit to iBasso to swap batteries), and USB DAC mode won't work unless the device has battery to boot into UI to select it. (I am always worried about these things eventually becoming useless bricks)
-No mic.
-Audio/video sync issues with majority of video players.
-Screen is IPS panel, which is clearly inferior when compared to OLED panel. (But I am grateful it is not the other worse types of LCD panels and I imagine OLED will just jack the price up (not worth it for a DAP)).
-Bluetooth DAC audio/video desyncs occasionally.
-Digital battery is draining when connected as laptop usb dac.

 

[HarlanDraka]

@RIGATIO finally one thing that we won’t agree to each other is M17
I’ll put it above even in battery mode over DX312 all the times and on par with DX320.

But it also need to go through break-in period and synergy with your headphones/iems matters here.

I agree with you.Tbh I have both M17 and dx320 og firmware and stock amp. Both burned in 200hrs+. Even in battery mode I find M17 smoother, fuller sounding, sweeter and with bigger soundstage. This is with my iems and headphones and I’m not a fan boy of any brand. If anything, I mostly had iBasso products since the old dx90. I think M17 is pretty underrated here on headfi and most people did not even have a listen and make their judgment on Fiio reputation or on what they have read somewhere.
That’s not to say the dx320 sounds bad because it does not, it actually sounds amazing. And it’s more or less 3 times lighter than m17. I also think that the usage scenarios of the 2 daps it’s quite different by design (m17 is an at home dap, it’s big and heavy) and In fact I may keep them both. But this is just to say that before saying x sounds better than y,
maybe people should first have a listen.

Some people may not like the pairings or the sound signature of a product but judging without even listening and writing whatever just because they bought brand x which they are fans of and so it must better than brand y I think is just wrong. My 2 cents

 

[samandhi]

Power doesn't necessarily equate to higher fidelity when there are other aspects to take into consideration - dac chip and amp capacitors.
I've tried the M17 back when I had the dx312EXN, and I've found the latter to be more musical and enjoyable to my ears, albeit the caveat of not having fully burned-in the M17. On the other hand, I was immediately taken back and impressed with the dx320 with its stock amp from right out of the box.

This! I listen to some moderately hard to drive head gear with the Amp13 card for instance, and we all know it is NOT very powerful in its output power. Most people that have tried this amp have been (much like me) surprised at how well it drives most things one throws at it.

But, also to be taken into consideration; while more power might (correctly) drive some head gear, some find that a set that is incorrectly driven sounds more pleasing to their ear (whether they know it is being driven correctly or not). All of this is really more about synergy than anything else. Yes, it is nice to have a portable DAP that will drive anything/everything, but first and foremost is how good they sound to YOU regardless of if the math works for it or not. I prefer a neutral or reference sound from a DAP, and then I use my head gear (or even EQ) to color the sound to the way I want to hear it at that moment. This is why I have way more head gear than I do DAPs.

So, to say that this DAP is better than another one (all things being mostly equal) only means something if others are looking for the exact same things as you are; though it IS good to hear other people's opinions also. We all know that iBasso is capable of making great sound regardless, and I still maintain that all of the TOTL DAPs out there have some great things to offer; iBasso having checked all of the boxes for me. It all boils down to whether it best fits into your life (sound, size, versatility, etc...).

For instance, I really love the size of the DX300/DX320. I also have the DX160 (which is the same size as the DX240), and while I like how small it is, I actually prefer the size of the DX300/DX320. It also happens to have the sound that I love and being able to change the amp cards to differ the sound makes it like 3 different DAPs to my ears. Add to that the multiple IEMs/headphones/earbuds and you have (pretty much) thousands of possible combinations for sound.

@Whitigir I hope you don't listen to comments like the troll made?! While I haven't splurged for any of your mods as of yet, I absolutely love that you (and Steve too) take the time to try and make things better by adding your own twist on things. I love that there are even more options than there are OOTB. Keep doing what you do!

 

[Skeith]

Can you guys tell the difference in sound between gapless off and on ?

 

[Skeith]

Lol I don't know about that.

Anyone with DX320 can confirm my finding ? Try install GoFigure from Chord. Can you tell sound difference ?

Play the same music via Mango Player before and after install.