DX340 iBasso developed Discret DAC, Easily replaceable batteries, Amp Modules! ***New firmware on 1st page. v1.04 local update. ***

[Nosibilance]

My Jutem leather case was delayed for another 3-4 days, was told they will send out within that time.
I rather delayed a bit than to receive a rush job.

Mine just shipped ordered on 13 Jan

 

[pmichaelro]

My Jutem leather case was delayed for another 3-4 days, was told they will send out within that time.
I rather delayed a bit than to receive a rush job.

Makes sense...however the initial 35 days were a long term to begin with even so...waiting impatiently to get a more protective leather case that fits the mighty build of the DX340

Currently I use low amp gain on the DX340. When you pair the 340 with PB5 using lineout, would you leave the amp gain on the DX340 at low or change it to high?

I'm on DAC high gain, AMP medium gain, volume set to 100 and using the AMP14 dedicated LO 4.4mm port to link to PB5

 

[Whitigir]

So my Exceria arrived!

Made In Japan ! Dont see these stuff much anymore

The funny thing is that, I applied Deoxit right away! The typical brushing on, then wait for 5 mins and wipe clean with a good silk fabric.

This card is exceeding my expectation. I thought it was about the same Extreme Pro, but this card actually can replace EDGE

It doesnt have the same warmth and musical as Edge but what it does have is a mixture between Edge and Micron. It has nice bass textures smooth and musical like EDGE, yet upper bass into mid has airiness from Micron and then it upper high is also similar to Micron with detailes and extensions, not to the sharpness or vividity of Micron but more than Edge!

This mixture of balanced signature do give Exceria more holographic appearances as well

**not burned in yet**! But this is another awesome card

@Sonywalkmanuser , you did a great educated guess on Exceria G2

 

[Sonywalkmanuser]

So my Exceria arrived!

Made In Japan ! Dont see these stuff much anymore

The funny thing is that, I applied Deoxit right away! The typical brushing on, then wait for 5 mins and wipe clean with a good silk fabric.

This card is exceeding my expectation. I thought it was about the same Extreme Pro, but this card actually can replace EDGE

It doesnt have the same warmth and musical as Edge but what it does have is a mixture between Edge and Micron. It has nice bass textures smooth and musical like EDGE, yet upper bass into mid has airiness from Micron and then it upper high is also similar to Micron with detailes and extensions, not to the sharpness or vividity of Micron but more than Edge!

This mixture of balanced signature do give Exceria more holographic appearances as well

**not burned in yet**! But this is another awesome card

@Sonywalkmanuser , you did a great educated guess on Exceria G2

Some news about Kioxia's latest Nand products:
https://www.anandtech.com/show/2146...3d-qlc-nand-enables-highend-highcapacity-ssds
https://www.anandtech.com/show/21519/kioxia-details-bics-8-at-fms-2024

Although Kioxia never publish what Nand process they used for this 2TB Exceria card, I would guess that it could likely be based on the current 2024/2025 BICS8 process node:
https://www.anandtech.com/show/1879...218layer-3d-nand-1tb-tlc-with-32-gts-io-speed

Kioxia said it had started sample shipments of 8th Generation BiCS 3D NAND memory devices to select customers. Still, there is no word when the company expects to initiate volume production of its next-generation flash memory. It is not unusual for companies to announce new types of 3D NAND quarters before they enter mass production, so it is reasonable to expect 8th Gen BICS on the market in 2024.

And nand isn't just a simple "flash storage" as per say, it contains additional peripheral circuitry:

Kioxia and Western Digital must disclose details about their CBA architecture and whether the I/O CMOS wafers carry other NAND peripheral circuitry, like page buffers, sense amplifiers, and charge pumps.

 

[reuben3]

Are there any advantages getting the g2? I bought the high endurance model a couple of days ago...

 

[Whitigir]

Are there any advantages getting the g2? I bought the high endurance model a couple of days ago...

If i am not mistaken, the G2 is made in Japan and with the newest Bics tech

 

[Shahed Hussain]

We do not like shielding everywhere as it can close down the sound. I heard this years ago and continue to. Shielding has to be used with prudence and understanding of where and when to use it and a lot of testing.

And we have not skimped on the quality of the DX340.

I guarantee you, if you knew our actual cost for production and R&D of the DX340 and many of our products, you would charge more, but we want to make quality and excellent sound available to as many people as possible.

Paul I agree with Ibasso is spending money with R&D. That is why you guys are a major player in the market with in-house PWM DAC. But when I am spending $1600 and if I can get a 5% improvement with sound within better shielding I would do it. Astell and kern 3000 , Ak 3000m and ibasso 340 has same potential. I currently own all of them. Ak 3000, 3000m is more natural with and dark black background and precious instruments separation with a 3D soundstage. It's really enjoyable you feel the music and emotion. Of course their amp section is nowhere near DX340. I strongly believe AK sound is ahead os DX340 because AK has shield on both DAC and AMP sections. Dx 340 only has a DAC shield and no shield on the AMP section. Trust me the sound of DX340 is good but lacks emotion and the 3D space sometimes high is too bright and analytical. Shielding of both the amp and DAC section with copper shield improved 3D space and instrument precious greatly. I agree that you must have to make sure the electronic is not touching or it will not work.

Ibasso has the potential to become something great. Small improvements in every aspect of a DAP can make it really great. Dx 340 has that potential and I tried the shielding aspect.

 

[Sonywalkmanuser]

Paul I agree with Ibasso is spending money with R&D. That is why you guys are major player in market with inhouse PWM DAC. But when I am spending $1600 and if i can get 5% improvement with sound withing better shielding I would do it. Astell and kern 3000 , Ak 3000m and ibasso 340 has same potential. I currently own all of them. Ak 3000, 3000m is more natural and dark black background and precious instruments separation with 3D soundstage. Its really enjoyable you feel the music and emotion. Ofcouse their amp section os nowhere near of DX340. I strongly believe AK sound is ahed os DX340 because AK has sheild on both DAC and AMP section. Dx 340 only has DAC shield and no shield on AMP section. Trust me sound of DX340 is really good but lacked the emotion and 3D space sometime high is too bright and analytical. shielding of both amp and DAC section with copper sheild improved 3D space and instrument precious greatly. I agree that definitely you must have to make sure electronic is not touching or it will not work.

Ibasso has potential to become something really great. Small improvement of every aspect of a DAP can make it a really great. Dx 340 has that potential and I tried the shielding aspect.

I agree with you on this bold part. I would think that one has to take a holistic approach when it comes to further optimising their audiophile equipment for better sound quality.

On top of addressing EMI shielding, one also needs to pay attention the software side of things as non-optimized software, bloatware and non-audio related processes would increase the amount of excess electrical interference(causing more jitter) internally and these are things which shielding cannot eliminate. This is where Ibasso is better than the likes of Fiio, A&K, Hiby, Shanling and Sony as their platform is more open, allowing root access and access to system rom images which would allow for even more advanced forms of optimizing and debloating.

Other areas include addressing the issue of oxidation and also system components like microsd card selection(for offline playback), proper formatting of microsd cards. Even the selection of software Music players and high quality software EQ is important too.

My own experience with Sony walkman(s) is that there is sound quality improvements to be had and all these incremental steps that I took to improve things, resulted in a net sound quality improvement of at least 30%(my own estimates, as its not easy to quantify sound quality) or more vs a stock walkman without any audiophile tuning/debloating.

 

[Whitigir]

Paul I agree with Ibasso is spending money with R&D. That is why you guys are major player in market with inhouse PWM DAC. But when I am spending $1600 and if i can get 5% improvement with sound withing better shielding I would do it. Astell and kern 3000 , Ak 3000m and ibasso 340 has same potential. I currently own all of them. Ak 3000, 3000m is more natural and dark black background and precious instruments separation with 3D soundstage. Its really enjoyable you feel the music and emotion. Ofcouse their amp section os nowhere near of DX340. I strongly believe AK sound is ahed os DX340 because AK has sheild on both DAC and AMP section. Dx 340 only has DAC shield and no shield on AMP section. Trust me sound of DX340 is really good but lacked the emotion and 3D space sometime high is too bright and analytical. shielding of both amp and DAC section with copper sheild improved 3D space and instrument precious greatly. I agree that definitely you must have to make sure electronic is not touching or it will not work.

Ibasso has potential to become something really great. Small improvement of every aspect of a DAP can make it a really great. Dx 340 has that potential and I tried the shielding aspect.

I am all in for modifications! But I will be honest with you. Modifications is not always an upgrade. It is to be unique in a sense that you are following the modder preferences or just to be different than stock.

Most of the time we consider it an upgrade as we can opt for parts that are better and also observe the differences

Out of all of the manufacturers, Ibasso is the only one that cares about tuning with different components, for example the Max series, D16, Pb5. Even amp modules in flagship DAP. I say that because I can see the varities of different concepts with different tunable components vs Released products

 

[Shahed Hussain]

I am all in for modifications! But I will be honest with you. Modifications are not always an upgrade. It is to be unique in a sense that you are following the modder preferences or just to be different than stock.

Most of the time we consider it an upgrade as we can opt for parts that are better and also observe the differences

Out of all of the manufacturers, Ibasso is the only one that cares about tuning with different components, for example the Max series, D16, Pb5. Even amp modules in flagship DAP. I say that because I can see the varities of different concepts with different tunable components vs Released products

I agree not all modifications are perfect. But this hobby is all about sound, and how to make it great. You try modification and find something really good and that is called R&D. Shielding is the one aspect that was found to improve sound by many research. I am trying out something already established and can make DX 340 even more great.

I can't agree more that ibasso is the company that I am excited about with the new release because they always taking new steps and releasing new products. But you have to also keep in mind many products do not always equal great products. If you have only 1 release a product once in a while and that is perfect in all aspects especially sound-wise that is loved by everyone.

 

[reuben3]

the sound of DX340 is good but lacks emotion and the 3D space sometimes high is too bright and analytical. Shielding of both the amp and DAC section with copper shield improved 3D space and instrument precious greatly. I agree that you must have to make sure the electronic is not touching or it will not work.

Did you try adjusting the filters? I was blown away by DX340's versatility and SQ character (reminds me a tiny bit of the chord dacs)
Filter 1 - Surgical precision, Ibasso prowess! Filter 2 - Smooth, diffuse, musical. Filter 3 - My favourite, technical with a touch of coloring (sits closer to 1 than 2). Filter 4 - touch brighter in the upper end. Filter 5 - forgot lol

 

[DAPpower]

I always tend to prefer D4 filter with UAPP specifically because it allows more breathing room compared to D2 and D3, more air for the treble and upper mids. Bass also gets slightly tighter I think? This will also depend on synergy with your IEMs and eartips.

 

[kenz]

A considerable number of flagship and higher priced iems were tuned with lower power output daps in mind, and they sound good.
However, with sources and daps that actually deliver significant clean gain, these iems either get too bright, lose their "sweet spot" tonality and other less synergistic technicalities.

Example would be Sony's IER-Z1R iem, impeccably tuned and sounds like a dream on their Signature Walkman series, but sound totally off character with other sources (in my experience, the Dethonray DTR1).

In my experience, with any change of sources and daps, there's a likelihood of changing the iems and headphones, to get back that "sweet spot" our ears crave.
It's just the way the hobby works.

That said, the DX340 is perhaps among the best built dap out there, right up there with A&K.
And to my ears, ibasso currently has the best tuned sources along the likes of Luxury & Precision, a brand who's tuning is perhaps industry leading (price wise too).

 

[Whitigir]

A considerable number of flagship and higher priced iems were tuned with lower power output daps in mind, and they sound good.
However, with sources and daps that actually deliver significant clean gain, these iems either get too bright, lose their "sweet spot" tonality and other less synergistic technicalities.

Example would be Sony's IER-Z1R iem, impeccably tuned and sounds like a dream on their Signature Walkman series, but sound totally off character with other sources (in my experience, the Dethonray DTR1).

In my experience, with any change of sources and daps, there's a likelihood of changing the iems and headphones, to get back that "sweet spot" our ears crave.
It's just the way the hobby works.

That said, the DX340 is perhaps among the best built dap out there, right up there with A&K.
And to my ears, ibasso currently has the best tuned sources along the likes of Luxury & Precision, a brand who's tuning is perhaps industry leading (price wise too).

I love my IER Z1R on 340 ! Even the MDR. But my always go to is 800s

 

[kenz]

While they’re similar somewhat sonically, this combo is seriously taking up plenty of airtime recently.

The ibasso D16 Taipan and PB5 Osprey, driving the latest 64 Audio Solo single Planar iem.

The DX340 is a perfect source for 64 Audio iems.
Draws out everything these iems can present.