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Headphoneus Supremus
Firmware 2.04 feedback:
Battery Saver - I plan to leave my DX320 on nearly 24x7 and connected to power when not in use. Battery saver will prevent over charging. In this configuration, the DX320 is cool to the touch so I am not worried about heat shortening battery longevity. When listening on the DX320 and charging simultaneously, the battery saver function still works as long as you have a sufficient power supply. In this configuration, the DX320 is warm to the touch. I will likely unplug power whenever I am listening and plug back in when I'm done - pretty much like I do with my phone. Disclaimer - these are only my experiences and opinions so please don't take this as absolute. Make your own decisions on how you want to use this feature.
Google Play - For those who prefer to use Google Play for installing apps, there is a catch-22. In order to install Google Play, you have to use APK Pure since DX320 doesn't come with Google Play installed. This is ok, but Google Play updates are also only available via APK Pure since apps cannot update themselves - it has to be updated via an App Store. The slight problem is not all versions of Google Play work on the DX320. It's basically trial and error to see which one does. What I do is start with the most recent version and then work backwards if it doesn't work. At the moment the 12/4 release works but the 12/7 does not. Not sure how often one needs to update Google Play so I plan to check once per quarter or so.
APK Pure - If you want apps that iBasso has tested and confirmed for a given firmware release, it is very likely you will need to use APK Pure to find the specific version that iBasso has confirmed. Once you installed you are faced with the same challenge as Google Play above - app updates via APK Pure may be incompatible with DX320 so you will have to remember the working version and roll back. Fortunately APK Pure keeps a version history so rolling back is a simple as uninstalling than re-installing the last working version.
Random thoughts
In the past 4 months or so I've been exploring the latest Chi-fi IEMs that are getting a lot of attention - 7 Hz Timeless and Tanchjim Hana (2021). Both are very impressive especially given their price. Honestly, I wish I had started with these when I decided to go audiophile. Of course that's wasn't possible back then because it took many years for the top IEM companies to advance technology to where it is today. These $200 IEMs easily beat the $1000+ IEMs from 5+ years ago. Now the gap from $200 to $1000+ is much smaller as well. When I listen to these from my MacBook, then dongle, then external DAC, then DX320 I can hear increasing resolution and space at each step. I'm not so sure I'll be "upgrading" my IEMs for the foreseeable future since a "big" step up in performance is likely in the $3K+ range. I would rather wait a couple years for the next $200 IEM. One caveat to all this is that I tweak the EQ for every IEM and headphone I own. While I do agree that it's a lot less hassle to use no EQ, I've spent way too much money on "upgrading" IEMs trying to find the tonality I like. EQ is essentially free - one time app purchase and just time to setup. I get an IEM that is close to what I like and then apply light EQ - no more than +/- 3 dB.
In a long winded way, my impression of DX320 is that it is fairly neutral and more analog in presentation than digital. DX320 will let you hear how your IEMs and headphones are tuned. This is perfect for me as it gives me a blank slate where I can EQ to what I want.
- Battery saver works great with battery levels on both D and A staying at 75-80%.
- Double tap wake - no mention in the notes and it is still randomly working for me.
- Amazon Music - using the Google Play version, it still doesn't work (no sound and always showing 192K). I assume APK Pure has a working version but I don't use this anyway.
- Dark theme - finally can see everything properly. There were several places where the background remained light with text also being light in the last version.
- Netflix works but need to install from APK Pure since Google Play says device not compatible
- Sound - no obvious changes to my ears
Battery Saver - I plan to leave my DX320 on nearly 24x7 and connected to power when not in use. Battery saver will prevent over charging. In this configuration, the DX320 is cool to the touch so I am not worried about heat shortening battery longevity. When listening on the DX320 and charging simultaneously, the battery saver function still works as long as you have a sufficient power supply. In this configuration, the DX320 is warm to the touch. I will likely unplug power whenever I am listening and plug back in when I'm done - pretty much like I do with my phone. Disclaimer - these are only my experiences and opinions so please don't take this as absolute. Make your own decisions on how you want to use this feature.
Google Play - For those who prefer to use Google Play for installing apps, there is a catch-22. In order to install Google Play, you have to use APK Pure since DX320 doesn't come with Google Play installed. This is ok, but Google Play updates are also only available via APK Pure since apps cannot update themselves - it has to be updated via an App Store. The slight problem is not all versions of Google Play work on the DX320. It's basically trial and error to see which one does. What I do is start with the most recent version and then work backwards if it doesn't work. At the moment the 12/4 release works but the 12/7 does not. Not sure how often one needs to update Google Play so I plan to check once per quarter or so.
APK Pure - If you want apps that iBasso has tested and confirmed for a given firmware release, it is very likely you will need to use APK Pure to find the specific version that iBasso has confirmed. Once you installed you are faced with the same challenge as Google Play above - app updates via APK Pure may be incompatible with DX320 so you will have to remember the working version and roll back. Fortunately APK Pure keeps a version history so rolling back is a simple as uninstalling than re-installing the last working version.
Random thoughts
In the past 4 months or so I've been exploring the latest Chi-fi IEMs that are getting a lot of attention - 7 Hz Timeless and Tanchjim Hana (2021). Both are very impressive especially given their price. Honestly, I wish I had started with these when I decided to go audiophile. Of course that's wasn't possible back then because it took many years for the top IEM companies to advance technology to where it is today. These $200 IEMs easily beat the $1000+ IEMs from 5+ years ago. Now the gap from $200 to $1000+ is much smaller as well. When I listen to these from my MacBook, then dongle, then external DAC, then DX320 I can hear increasing resolution and space at each step. I'm not so sure I'll be "upgrading" my IEMs for the foreseeable future since a "big" step up in performance is likely in the $3K+ range. I would rather wait a couple years for the next $200 IEM. One caveat to all this is that I tweak the EQ for every IEM and headphone I own. While I do agree that it's a lot less hassle to use no EQ, I've spent way too much money on "upgrading" IEMs trying to find the tonality I like. EQ is essentially free - one time app purchase and just time to setup. I get an IEM that is close to what I like and then apply light EQ - no more than +/- 3 dB.
In a long winded way, my impression of DX320 is that it is fairly neutral and more analog in presentation than digital. DX320 will let you hear how your IEMs and headphones are tuned. This is perfect for me as it gives me a blank slate where I can EQ to what I want.
