DX320 ROHM dac chips, Android 11, AMP11MK2s. *******NEW FW: 2.07*******

Dec 13, 2024 at 2:49 AM Post #10,501 of 10,576
You are welcome! :)

Most portables will have "unity gain" in place. And jamato8 is correct here. And there is very good reason that it is the "norm" (especially for portables).

I think you have the right of it. The lower gains are mainly for sensitive IEMs and having finer control over your overall volume.

So, the technical definition of the concept is this: A unity gain buffer (also called a unity-gain amplifier) is an op-amp circuit which has a voltage gain of 1. What this means is that the op amp does not provide any amplification to the signal. The reason it is called a unity gain buffer (or amplifier) is because the output voltage signal is the same as the input voltage (hence the name unity). This is especially important on portable devices that are not capable of making a ton of current (being battery powered) because an op amp circuit is a circuit with a very high input impedance. This high input impedance is the reason unity gain buffers are used. When a circuit has a very high input impedance, very little current is drawn from the circuit. Bottom line is that the Unity circuit draws very little current, not disturbing the original circuit, and giving the same voltage input signal as the output. They also act as isolation buffers, isolating a circuit so that the power of a circuit is disturbed very little as well.

Some music might be more noticeable than others where your hearing, and noticing it, is concerned. So, YMMV and it might be more desirable to listen in medium or even low gain even knowing you aren't getting "all" the potential sound you could be getting; just like a tube amp that adds distortion to the sound.

No, I believe that the normal signal is still high gain on the Amp12 card. But remember that this card is capable of over 2W and 2Amperes of current, which could both damage your IEMs and/or your ears easily with higher dB of volume.
Been reading you conversation from last year guys and can't help but asking : recently got DX180 and start using FatFreq HBB Deuce along....(Deuce is a very hard to drive p iem 2DD configuration) on DX180 in lower gain setting even if i had reached 90 out of 100 steps in volume range it was simply awful ....an absolute disaster.........quickly changed to high gain setting and it was like night and day difference....a true revelation to my ears as far as dynamics and drivability goes............
 
Dec 13, 2024 at 2:57 AM Post #10,502 of 10,576
Been reading you conversation from last year guys and can't help but asking : recently got DX180 and start using FatFreq HBB Deuce along....(Deuce is a very hard to drive p iem 2DD configuration) on DX180 in lower gain setting even if i had reached 90 out of 100 steps in volume range it was simply awful ....an absolute disaster.........quickly changed to high gain setting and it was like night and day difference....a true revelation to my ears as far as dynamics and drivability goes............
I confirmed with Paul that high gain is the purest sound from Amp. Lower gains use resistors which to some can change the sound. Samandhi is correct.
 
Dec 13, 2024 at 3:26 AM Post #10,503 of 10,576
TOTALLY GREAT NEWS mattclarke18
:scream: :v::thumbsup:
thats all we need to know.............
 
Dec 14, 2024 at 6:53 AM Post #10,504 of 10,576
Been reading you conversation from last year guys and can't help but asking : recently got DX180 and start using FatFreq HBB Deuce along....(Deuce is a very hard to drive p iem 2DD configuration) on DX180 in lower gain setting even if i had reached 90 out of 100 steps in volume range it was simply awful ....an absolute disaster.........quickly changed to high gain setting and it was like night and day difference....a true revelation to my ears as far as dynamics and drivability goes............
Yeah totally agree, low gain just doesn’t cut it for the Deuce. High gain transforms the sound completely, letting those drivers really shine.
 
Dec 14, 2024 at 7:09 PM Post #10,505 of 10,576
Because you can get better battery life by changing some CPU/GPU settings. @Whitigir wrote a thread on this. I am just doing a guide for Dx180 with lots of screenshots to make it easier for people but this also applies to Dx320. Ibasso pretty much gives you everything you need to do it.
Just curious, what kind of battery gain are you getting? I'm currently burning about 9% / hour on the Digital side - If I could squeeze an extra hour or two, that would be great!
 
Dec 14, 2024 at 7:30 PM Post #10,506 of 10,576
Just curious, what kind of battery gain are you getting? I'm currently burning about 9% / hour on the Digital side - If I could squeeze an extra hour or two, that would be great!
The last calibration test I did on the DX320 and this was with CPUs/GPUs not set at most battery efficient settings was over 10 hours with 5% remaining in Digital. I recently sold my DX320 so can't do more tests on it. The Rohm chips themselves use a lot of juice.
 
Jan 15, 2025 at 1:20 PM Post #10,508 of 10,576
All of a sudden this week, when the device is plugged in to charge, it has started to turn on and stay on. Previously it has remained off but charged but now even after switching off again, it immediately turns back on.

Anyone else come across this ?
Not here. I plug it in to charge, then turn it off. That works for me. But today I noticed at 7:00 AM it was on charger at 100%, so I took it off the charger, leaving the unit powered off. At 10 am I powered it on and it had chewed 7% in powered down standby. I love the DAP but the battery consumption is horrendous.
 
Jan 15, 2025 at 3:44 PM Post #10,509 of 10,576
Not here. I plug it in to charge, then turn it off. That works for me. But today I noticed at 7:00 AM it was on charger at 100%, so I took it off the charger, leaving the unit powered off. At 10 am I powered it on and it had chewed 7% in powered down standby. I love the DAP but the battery consumption is horrendous.
How old is the unit? The Rohm chips are desktop DACs so use a lot more power. If you are loosing that much in stand-by either the battery is going bad or there is some process/processes that are consuming a lot of resources.
 
Jan 15, 2025 at 3:45 PM Post #10,510 of 10,576
All of a sudden this week, when the device is plugged in to charge, it has started to turn on and stay on. Previously it has remained off but charged but now even after switching off again, it immediately turns back on.

Anyone else come across this ?
Use my guide and 660 tool the latest firmware and reset data in recovery mode. See if that helps. OTA updates if you have done in past are not the most reliable.
 
Jan 15, 2025 at 3:59 PM Post #10,511 of 10,576
How old is the unit? The Rohm chips are desktop DACs so use a lot more power. If you are loosing that much in stand-by either the battery is going bad or there is some process/processes that are consuming a lot of resources.
I would concur. Over 3 months of being powered off, my DX320 has lost about 7% battery life - equally on both analog and digital.
 
Jan 15, 2025 at 4:01 PM Post #10,512 of 10,576
Use my guide and 660 tool the latest firmware and reset data in recovery mode. See if that helps. OTA updates if you have done in past are not the most reliable.
I’m on a Mac and don’t want to root the device or mess about with it. Thanks anyway.

It was just a general question.

The last update was done last September so not sure why suddenly this week it would have the noted effect on powering on.
 
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Jan 15, 2025 at 4:05 PM Post #10,513 of 10,576
I would concur. Over 3 months of being powered off, my DX320 has lost about 7% battery life - equally on both analog and digital.
I loose 1% if my DX260 has been powered off for several days. Charge it and says 100% and power off and 99% after a few days and its a newer unit but has same Android version as the DX320. My DX180 still shows 100% if I have not powered on in a long time.
 
Jan 15, 2025 at 4:07 PM Post #10,514 of 10,576
I’m on a Mac and don’t want to root the device or mess about with it. Thanks anyway.

It was just a general question.

The last update was done last September so not sure why suddenly this week it would have the noted effect on powering on.
If it continues do a factory reset in recovery mode. You don't have to root or anything else. 660 tool is just used to install firmware on device. It does it much better than OTA because it formats the storage before writing image so its clean.
 

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