Update your iBasso DX50 to a new firmware in 3 minutes!
A guide to hassle free update - without a computer.
Note: I drew inspiration from someone else (couldn't find his post so not very sure where I saw it and credit him for the tip).
Summary:
1. Extract "update.img" to the root folder of your SD card.
2. Insert SD card to a well charged, unplugged and turned off DX50.
3. Press 3 buttons (on, vol+, vol-) together and hold for 10 seconds.
4. Select "update rkimage from external" (v1.00) or "apply update from SDcard" (v1.15/1.16).
5. Be patient. It took me 2 minutes to apply the update from a 32gb class4 microSDHC Kingston card.
6. The DX50 will do a "wipe data/factory reset" automatically once the update is completed. It will also automatically reboot.
7. Scan for songs! Took 3 minutes to scan a 16gb class4 microSDHC card filled with 10gb of songs.
8. Enjoy
Here goes the detailed version, with pictures of course. I forgot that the recovery menu will be changed after v1.00 and didn't manage to take a photo of the original recovery menu. But the option to apply the update is to "update rkimage from external".
Step 1:
My laptop was 3 floors down in the car and I didn't want to connect my DX50 to the laptop and then create a WiFi hotspot from my phone for my laptop to download the new firmware, but I really wanted to get the newer firmware to play song files with '. So I decided to download the file directly from my China made phone. I inserted a brand new class4 32gb microSDHC into the phone, used chrome and got the file in about 20 minutes. I downloaded the firmware from Soremsiim's hosted copy at
http://www.sorensiim.dk/stuff/DX50Firmware_V1.1.6.zip.
Step 2:
I downloaded AndroZip from then play store to extract the "update.img" from the zip file. Extract to the most basic level instead to into any folders (e.g. so that it becomes E:\update.img instead of E:\downloads\v1_06\update.img). There were some error about UI but the file extracted just fine. Extracting "Readme.txt" is optional.
Step 3:
Unmount the microSD card. You might need to shut down for some phones if the card access is blocked by the battery.
Step 4:
Turn off a fully charged DX50. Mine probably had 30% battery in it, but the indicator showed 3/4 battery. Updated fine, in case you are wondering.
Step 5:
Insert the microSD that has "update.img" into the DX50.
Step 6:
Get to recovery menu by turning on the DX50 with 3 buttons. Press and hold "on, vol+, vol-". Hold for 10 seconds. Just on and vol+ might work, but I didn't try. Just on and vol- doesn't.
Step 7:
You should see this if you are coming from v1.15. If you are coming from v1.00, just look out for "update rkimage from external". Don't choose the one above it. Forgot what that was, but it also reads update something from external.
Use a headphone jack to move the menu options downwards. To move the selector updates, each flip of the lock switch will move it up one option. Newer firmwares support the use of the volume buttons to move the selector. The on/off buttons acts as an enter key. I prefer the headphone jack option because it allows me to very quickly go down the options instead of having to do multiple presses on the volume keys. Touchscreen doesn't work in recovery mode, for good reasons.
Step 8:
Select the correct option and wait. It took a quick 2 minutes to update my DX50, but the lack of an indicator bar night drive some impatient or insecure users nuts. So chill. Grab your earphones and go listen to anything from an iPod touch or an iPhone. Trust me, it makes you appreciate the DX50 even more. However, if it get stuck on the same screen for more than 10 minutes, something probably screwed up somewhere. So a hard reset by holding the power button for 15 seconds or more. Otherwise, the device should do a factory wipe and reboot itself.
Step 9:
If it reboots into recovery menu for whatever reason, just power off. Swap your original music card back into the device. I am fairly confident that it will work if you loaded the update.img onto the same card that stores your music, but I didn't try.
Step 10:
Scan for music again and enjoy! It took 3 minutes to scan 10gb of music from a class4 16gb card.
Notes:
1. I thought it would have been obvious, but just in case some of you are wondering, nothing was connected to my DX50 while the update was done. Mainly because I didn't use any USB cable to transfer any files in the first place.
2. The bass got bumped up after the firmware update. I jumped directly from v1.0 to v1.16. I am not stating this as an official statement from iBasso, but I didn't recall the bass being so intrusive on low gain. I'm not a bass head, though I appreciate the deep low rumbles that seem to stroke and tickle my eardrums.
3. The hiss seems stronger after the firmware update. To give you some context, I have been using a Rooth reshelled Fischer Audio DBA02 with a Null Audio Arête mkII cable. I couldn't pick up any hiss with my other headphones. Haven't tried with any other IEMs yet because the DX50 managed to bump up the audio performance of on-the-go rig significantly compared to my nokia express music 5800. Don't think I will go jogging and skating with a DX50 though.
Additional notes on DX50:
To put it simply, if you already have a pair of $100-300 IEMs and is thinking of upgrading, $250 will get you a better audio improvement if you spend it on a DX50 than getting a new pair of customs. Assuming of course your current DAP is a clip+ or , I pity you, an iPod touch. And while you can pay to add drivers, $250 would be best spent on the DX50 in thus case. Cheaper than making a jump to a pair of better headphones or IEM, and giving another dimension to your music as well. The improvement is not only limited to FLAC or well mastered tracks. Even "low" bitrate 128kbps mp3s are presented with a space that is not available in similarly priced players. (OK some tracks are really not that great and makes you wish the musicians actually made better quality music, but in general, the DX50 gives a different sense of improvement to the listening experience than upgrading to a better pair of IEMs.
I didn't have much expectations when I bought the player except for it to sound good in a portable package. The DX50 is just that. The most important features that I wish for now is to have a scroll bar for easy navigation and support for adjusting volume, brightness and playback position using finger gestures similar to the app mxplayer.
Having said that, you do have to understand that I can learn to live with most UI quirks as long as the player can play good music. Thus if you are a die hard fan of doing things in a certain way, the DX50 will bother you.
