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

Mar 16, 2025 at 1:13 AM Post #4,607 of 6,343
i had the DCE and like its tonality. im curious how the dx340 compare to the r8ii
DCE is a great dongle. But not on the same league as a 340. The 340 rendering is a highly refined sound. Experienced audiophiles will appreciate the overall naturalness. Didn’t like the R8ii. For close to the same amount used. I would run with the 340.

There was a previous post asking about the C9ii, PB5 and EA4. I’ve owned the C9ii, own the PB5, never bought the EA4.

C9ii is solid Cayin flavor. There are a lot of options. But there is only one really solid setting. Thick, rich, textured mids. Like riding on a river of honey. Stage is the smallest. Pairing wise, the N7 is the best. 340 doesn’t really bring out the best of the C9ii.

PB5. A lot has been said. Harder bass, more stage expansion. Notes get more defined, which in turn sounds like an overall upgrade of the technicals. I describe it was completing the circle. It’s not a huge difference from just the 340 alone. But enough changes for one to go oh, that’s good.

EA4. Overall better in all ways than the PB5. Let’s say for the sake of having some clarity. 10 to 15% better. It comes in at much much higher costs. If you’re going to be using power hungry headphones. Maybe it’s worth considering. If you’re not. Then you’re paying for power you won’t be using.

Another option is the Amp14. You get it shoved in the 340. Super compact. Downside is, no solid state and tube switch. You have to swap amp cards. Noise floor is also higher than the Amp15. Sonics is good Nutube setup. On par with maybe the original C9. Bass hits hard, mid range sweeten up. Stage is bigger. A slight tube tonality. Since it’s nutubes. The tube bloom is not present.

Of course, in a few days we get the Amp16. So those are your transportable tube options and they’re pros and cons in a nutshell.
 
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Mar 16, 2025 at 2:46 AM Post #4,610 of 6,343
thanks for the replies. my friend's 340 will be arriving soon. do the "in-house DACs" affect the flagship pricing today? it is half the price of 320max as the r8ii to rs8
I even preferred the sound of my DX340 w Amp14 compared to my Sony WM1ZM2.
I think many have a mindset whereby more expensive equal more superior sounding, but that not always the case.
I had listened and owned many TOTL DAPs before, DX340 w Amp14 is the best sound I heard so far.
 
Mar 16, 2025 at 2:55 AM Post #4,611 of 6,343
I even preferred the sound of my DX340 w Amp14 compared to my Sony WM1ZM2.
I think many have a mindset whereby more expensive equal more superior sounding, but that not always the case.
I had listened and owned many TOTL DAPs before, DX340 w Amp14 is the best sound I heard so far.
true. Im just curious about the sudden drop in the price but thanks.. i plan to get the 340 also
 
Mar 16, 2025 at 6:36 AM Post #4,612 of 6,343
Is anyone else listening the Meze Elite with the dx340? After the full burn-in and Stouthart's tweaks, all high gains and DC-in Super gain mod, I have non-stop goosebumps and ear-gasm. The sublime clarity and micro-details on voices and instruments with very good, tasteful textures on all frequencies won't stop to amaze me!

Now, my itch is to step also in the IEMs territory, and after I devoured this thread, the last year's post in the watercooler and NY Canjam's impressions thread, now I'm more overwhelmed by the amount of reading material and thinking that is better to ask here, especially the dx340 users with many TOTL / near to TOTL iems,

WHAT ARE YOUR FAVORITE PAIRINGS (with dx340)??

Budget: 1.5k to 2.5k $.
I listen to Rock, Pop, EDM. Great low and mid bass, punchy but textured is mandatory. Organic mids with detailed, but not to analytical sounding voices (I prefer male voices). Good resolution, soundstage and imaging are what I want to get also.

I've eyed the Clara, Astrolith, Apostle, UM Jet Black, Ice Lab Spectrumica.
Cheers!
Empire Ears Triton! Can't believe this IEM doesn't get more love on this site.
 
Mar 16, 2025 at 7:26 AM Post #4,613 of 6,343
Has anyone tried this type of USB c to DC adapter?

https://a.co/d/dzi6kdP

I was thinking about buying one as the current adapter cable I have is way too long for a clean desktop connection to my power Bank.

It looks like there are 3 options that I don't understand the difference in

PD 12V to DC

12V PD to DC

12V to DC

Can anyone explain the difference in those 3 options?
 
Mar 16, 2025 at 7:27 AM Post #4,614 of 6,343
I even preferred the sound of my DX340 w Amp14 compared to my Sony WM1ZM2.
I think many have a mindset whereby more expensive equal more superior sounding, but that not always the case.
I had listened and owned many TOTL DAPs before, DX340 w Amp14 is the best sound I heard so far.
Many people have that mindset that pricing or MSRP will reflecr subjective sound performances and also associating the Brand/Name with it as well...such as associating A&K with 3k+ as nornal pricing and automatically being good sound quality.
 
Mar 16, 2025 at 7:40 AM Post #4,615 of 6,343
iBasso DX340 Debloating & Tweaking Guide

Version v4.7 is live (only code optimizations). Please check the release notes for changes and additional options.

I was about to launch an option to lower the minimum frequency for the 8 CPUs in the DX340, because - according to many - this could increase battery life. Below you can find the reason not to do this. Warning: nerd-talk ahead.

The CPUs in the DX340 are configured in 2 so-called big.LITTLE clusters: 4 energy-efficient cores for background tasks and 4 CPUs for foreground and "top" app's. iBasso and/or Qualcomm decided not to set the minimum CPU frequency value to the lowest possible number (300 MHz), but a bit higher. So I just set the minimum frequency for all cores to 300 MHz and started monitoring the actual usage.

Android/Linux provides an easy way to check the amount of time spent on each of the frequencies supported by a CPU (cat /sys/devices/system/cpu/cpu*/cpufreq/stats/time_in_state). For CPU0 (of the "LITTLE" cluster), these were the results after a period of mixed usage:

Code:
Freq    Time
300000  0
614400  151285
864000  62900
1017600 2203
1305600 1717
1420800 105
1612800 129
1804800 4342

As you can see, the CPU frequency NEVER drops to the lowest value. And most of the time is spent at 614.4 MHz, exactly the predefined value for scaling_min_freq.

For CPU7 of the "big" cluster, the results were as follows:

Code:
Freq    Time
300000  0
652800  162084
902400  17890
1056000 3700
1401600 17173
1536000 1189
1804800 1859
2016000 7531

Similar results, right? Not quite. When idle, it dropped to 652.8 MHz. When streaming audio however, the sweet spot seems to be 1401.6 MHz. And I swear that when I set this value as the minimum allowed frequency, the sound quality improves. That has to do with - most likely - the "cost" of frequency transitions (a topic for another time).

The moral of the story: just setting the minimum scaling frequency to 300 MHz is pointless. I may add an option in the future to tune the "big" cluster (CPUs 4-7) for battery life (652.8 MHz) or performance (1401.6 MHz), as the current default value of 1056 MHz does not make much sense.

If you've gotten this far... please get back to the music ;)
Hey Stouthart,
I just wanted to thank you for sharing all your hard work, and putting it all together in such a nice easy to run package. I ran them yesterday, and all went flawlessly.
Thank you,
 
Mar 16, 2025 at 8:02 AM Post #4,617 of 6,343
Many people have that mindset that pricing or MSRP will reflecr subjective sound performances and also associating the Brand/Name with it as well...such as associating A&K with 3k+ as nornal pricing and automatically being good sound quality.
When you made that glourious review about the n8II the price was 1700 euros? Ooooo forget that.....the n8Ii turn out to be bad because Cayin cut off your flights...this forum is like politic ....for some....
 
Mar 16, 2025 at 8:07 AM Post #4,618 of 6,343
Hey Stouthart,
I just wanted to thank you for sharing all your hard work, and putting it all together in such a nice easy to run package. I ran them yesterday, and all went flawlessly.
Thank you,
I subscribe to this. Great work and great improvements! @Stouthart Thank you, sir! 🤝
 
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Mar 16, 2025 at 10:47 AM Post #4,619 of 6,343
Has anyone tried this type of USB c to DC adapter?

https://a.co/d/dzi6kdP

I was thinking about buying one as the current adapter cable I have is way too long for a clean desktop connection to my power Bank.

It looks like there are 3 options that I don't understand the difference in

PD 12V to DC

12V PD to DC

12V to DC

Can anyone explain the difference in those 3 options?

You are looking for this - USB C 12V PD to 3.5 - 1.35 converter.
It has a sewn-in marker/chip forcing 12V voltage from a USB C charger with PD protocol.
I think the issue of different names is related to ease of searching.
The price is unjustified.
Make sure your usb charger or powerbank supports 12V.

1742128862968.png

https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256...g2NjcuMjguMC4w&gatewayAdapt=glo2usa4itemAdapt



1742129684861.png


https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256805695168848.html?spm=a2g0o.detail.pcDetailTopMoreOtherSeller.1.7b4cpK5npK5nXn&gps-id=pcDetailTopMoreOtherSeller&scm=1007.40196.417130.0&scm_id=1007.40196.417130.0&scm-url=1007.40196.417130.0&pvid=49510d08-bd5a-4b25-a561-c9d923242b76&_t=gps-id:pcDetailTopMoreOtherSeller,scm-url:1007.40196.417130.0,pvid:49510d08-bd5a-4b25-a561-c9d923242b76,tpp_buckets:668#2846#8110#1995&pdp_ext_f={"order":"134","eval":"1","sceneId":"30050"}&pdp_npi=4@dis!USD!5.49!3.13!!!39.58!22.53!@210391a017421293306945614e67d3!12000034692903303!rec!US!1688551505!X&utparam-url=scene:pcDetailTopMoreOtherSeller|query_from:

Before you use such a solution for a dollar, it is worth checking everything with a USB tester.


(adapter examples)
1742131219228.png
 
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Mar 16, 2025 at 11:17 AM Post #4,620 of 6,343

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