[samandhi]

All I know is, if it can drive my 600ohm buds, then I am in (Amp13 can't quite get it, though Amp11.2 can nicely)...

 

[weexisttocease]

All I know is, if it can drive my 600ohm buds, then I am in (Amp13 can't quite get it, though Amp11.2 can nicely)...

Stock amp and AMP12 has more than enough power to drive high impedance earbuds. I just bought a portable vacuum tube amp but AMP14 is a welcome addition to the DX320/DX300.

 

[samandhi]

Stock amp and AMP12 has more than enough power to drive high impedance earbuds. I just bought a portable vacuum tube amp but AMP14 is a welcome addition to the DX320/DX300.

Agreed!

Amp 12 drives them and synergizes with them to a heavenly level (IMHO). I am just excited that I will (soon) have that option to drive them with a tube amp card also (from the DX as portable).....

HMMM! I wonder what case they will put in with this amp card?!

 

[weexisttocease]

Agreed!

Amp 12 drives them and synergizes with them to a heavenly level (IMHO). I am just excited that I will (soon) have that option to drive them with a tube amp card also (from the DX as portable).....

HMMM! I wonder what case they will put in with this amp card?!

My modded AMP13 sounds amazing but unfortunately it doesn't have adequate power to drive the Tantalus. AMP14 will fix that.

 

[Maxx134]

So latest firmware getting OG Firmware majic back, then new amp14 sealing the deal with an new sounding amp. This is a one-two knockout blow for the competition.

 

[Maxx134]

We have summed the Phases errors by using the Ground references, and hence eliminating Crossover Distortions

Also there is another possibility that such a design might do...
Eliminate radio interference that amp13 tubes were susceptible to ?(!).

 

[NAD Fi]

So latest firmware getting OG Firmware majic back, then new amp14 sealing the deal with an new sounding amp. This is a one-two knockout blow for the competition.

What competition .

 

[Whitigir]

Also there is another possibility that such a design might do...
Eliminate radio interference that amp13 tubes were susceptible to ?(!).

Not sure, lets hope lol

 

[twister6]

Differential stages = it Can sum Balanced into Single ended, and or Single ended to be Balanced.

1 single Korg tubes = Single ended. So in this case, amp14 is using the Single Ended source from Korg to output Balanced output

Of course I'm speculating since I don't have amp14 schematic, but I think the solution should be similar to SP2000T implementation which has a single NuTube and balanced output, using BTL (Bridge Tied Load) with two outputs, inverting and non-inverting, creating a fully balanced higher power output signal.

for the reference from SP2000T block diagram:

 

[Jeffyue]

Of course I'm speculating since I don't have amp14 schematic, but I think the solution should be similar to SP2000T implementation which has a single NuTube and balanced output, using BTL (Bridge Tied Load) with two outputs, inverting and non-inverting, creating a fully balanced higher power output signal.

for the reference from SP2000T block diagram:

Just need some education from all the masters here, as I m a bit confused.

Compared a SE tube to Bal output, what s the advantages of a dual tubes to Bal output then pls?

 

[mformoriarty]

Oh cool, the Amp14 is launching next week!

 

[samandhi]

My modded AMP13 sounds amazing but unfortunately it doesn't have adequate power to drive the Tantalus. AMP14 will fix that.

Aren't those also 600ohms? If so, you are in the same boat as me with the Yinmans, and I am looking forward to some "tube" goodness for those...

Just need some education from all the masters here, as I m a bit confused.

Compared a SE tube to Bal output, what s the advantages of a dual tubes to Bal output then pls?

Think of the word discrete. Less crosstalk, less noise/distortion; a cleaner sound overall, and more power/current potential. It has the potential to give better separation between left and right (though not a given). And as mentioned earlier, it might not totally alleviate the RF noise from the Nutube module, but it could make it less if not lower than the ear can hear (or close to it). The last part I am totally guessing on though.

Having said that, some really good amps have SE to balanced, and you may never know it. It is all going to come down to implementation by iBasso IMO. Balanced to balanced might be easier to implement (comparatively and in general), but SE to balanced is totally doable and can sound as good if done properly.

As for myself, I have (much) faith that iBasso will indeed implement it right, and it will be fantastic!

 

[ttfka]

Hi,

Have been listening to DX320 since the its release (I pre-ordered it), I'm glad that it sounds so great and IMO it definitely competes with other TOTL DPAs with a much better price. With the release of firmware v2.04, most of the issues have been fixed now. But there are a few remaining ones that I would like to list here. I certainly can send a private email to @Paul - iBasso but I would like to type them here to know if any of you are having the same issues.

1. On Android OS, when you wake the screen up either by pressing the power button or double taping the screen, the touch screen does not activate immediately. There's a delay of 1-2 seconds before you can do a touch or a wipe on the screen.
2. In very rare cases, you wake the screen up, but the touch screen doesn't work at all. The DAP still works correctly, except the touch screen. You can adjust the volume, turn the screen on or off with the power button, you can even press the button for a few seconds and see the 3 options for going to Mango OS, restarting, or powering off the DAP, but you cannot touch anything. This problem occurred only 2 times since I have been using the DAP for months. The only option I had was to connect the DAP with a computer and reboot it with the `adb reboot` command.
3. Some UI elements are not optimized for dark theme yet. There are still black texts on a black background on some settings screens.
4. Another issue for me is the side buttons. They are placed at a position that makes the DAP look balance and nice, but not very practical for me. I found out that 9 out of every 10 times I would accidentally pressing the button nearest to the bottom if I just pick the DAP up without looking carefully at my fingers position. I hope that iBasso will make it better in their next devices.

For enhancements, I hope that the navigation in Mango OS will be better. For now, I don't see any option to quickly navigate from the Now Playing screen (the screen with the square album cover image and the playing progress bar) to the corresponding album screen, the artist screen, or the directory where the playing track is located. On the Mango app in Android, you can quickly switch between any screen to the current track screen because there's a control for that. This doesn't exist in Mango OS.

Having said that, there are a lot that I like from this DAP. The ability to switch amps is the best selling point for me and I'm also excited on the coming amp14. Let's see if it deserves a significant upgrade or a better alternative to amp13.

Edited: corrected some typos and added the forgotten issue 3.

 

[Whitigir]

Of course I'm speculating since I don't have amp14 schematic, but I think the solution should be similar to SP2000T implementation which has a single NuTube and balanced output, using BTL (Bridge Tied Load) with two outputs, inverting and non-inverting, creating a fully balanced higher power output signal.

for the reference from SP2000T block diagram:

Yes, with the only exception is that Korg tube from 2KT is only using half of it DAC 2/4 and with the least signals lines being used

 

[Whitigir]

So, coming from 4 active signals lines, even 8x of them. We will be thinking that we can amplify these signals directly and have no consequences but only benefits ? In reality, there are always trade offs. Nothing is all good, and nothing is all bad either. In this case of being Solid states and Opamps, when we combine 4 active signals lines into only 2 lines with Ground references…AKa, differentials, and AKA, Single ended from a Balanced output.

What do we loose ? First of all, we loose the high voltage from Swing to Swing, and it is cut in halves. For example, it should have been 4.4V, but now it is 2.2V instead.

What do we gain ? Higher quality from the Single ended, or whatever remained. The L+ and R+ is now have been improved technically. How so ?

1/ We have summed the Phases errors by using the Ground references, and hence eliminating Crossover Distortions



2/ We also summed the signals up and in turn, canceling out errors, noises (a form of Analog error corrections). Hence, lower floor noises, lowered distortions, and higher dynamic range. One Example is that if you take ESS9038Pro, and you utilize all channels on one single chip, you are not getting 140Db dynamic range, rather you are getting only 133Db or so. However, when you sum them all up into 1 channel, the dynamic range actually is improved

Finally, the benefits we have gained ? Better performances, at the trade offs of Power output. Then again, how did you sum them up, how did the differential stages get implemented ? It play a huge key roles. It is very complex in lab measurements, and also subjective acoustic tuning. Most of the people would want to make it simpler and easier, and to simply follow balanced to balanced and single ended to single ended

Wait! So how come most of the time Balanced output resulting in better separations and soundstage ? Because of power …. Remember ? We trade off the power output for better quality ! Especially when power is such a vital part on the little system of DAP

Now, back to the Differential stage for the output on Amp14. Did we not talk about how beneficials being single-ended could have been ? Then why do we go back to separating it out to be balanced again ? Because Power baby ! We want more power ! And because it is essential for a DAP.

Ok, I am confused, why did we started with Single ended again ? Because we don’t have space for 2 Korg Tubes . Also, Because we want tube distortions and overtones

Is it bad ? Is it good ? It depends on the implementations! Let your ears judge ! But I believe it is the best solution here given what Ibasso have to work with. At least, we are not seeing another “Non innovated ideas as other brands ”

Just need some education from all the masters here, as I m a bit confused.

Compared a SE tube to Bal output, what s the advantages of a dual tubes to Bal output then pls?

Here is for your answer