[Jensenchua]

  Since u got leather case + sd card too thats good price ahha. Btw do you live in Msia? or your malaysian living in china?

Yeah is a good price since I got it in China LOL

 

[Sweetmeat]

yeah I'm pretty sure that's incorrect, longer battery life has nothing to do with the power or sound quality

Its called placebo

Hope you are not trying to say that power supply quality does not affect sound quality. Because that would be incorrect.
 
The power supply for the DX90 is its battery. The larger 4400 maH battery is actually two batteries in parallel which reduces internal resistance and increases "fast" discharge current (stiffer supply). The improvement would especially be noticeable when driving higher inductive loads such as headphones with larger magnets, or multi-BA IEMs with RCL networks incorporated.

 

[Jensenchua]

 
Hope you are not trying to say that power supply quality does not affect sound quality. Because that would be incorrect.
 
The power supply for the DX90 is its battery. The larger 4400 maH battery is actually two batteries in parallel which reduces internal resistance and increases "fast" discharge current (stiffer supply). The improvement would especially be noticeable when driving higher inductive loads such as headphones with larger magnets, or multi-BA IEMs with RCL networks incorporated.

I never compare the SQ between the stock pinsen 2100mah battery and the currently 5500mah battery, so I have absolutely no idea on the SQ changes. Maybe if I'm free I should test it side by side with these batteries

 

[Lurker0]

Pretty looking, high performance DX90 firmware based on 2.1.0, International version
Brief description:

• Incorporates all the changes made in this firmware version.
• CPU is always working at the highest performance.

 
What does it mean?
Changes in the CPU working frequency during audio playback affects the stability of the power source and temperature, probably, also the stability of the sound stream from CPU to DAC. So, stable CPU speed also means stable power and temperature of other components: DAC, clock generator, op-amps. Stability of the environment parameters of the DAC and clock generator also leads to lower jitter.
 
I will not provide any comments on how it changes the sound. I only want to mention that some people have tested this firmware without communication with each other, and all of them provided very similar feedbacks, similar also to my personal opinion. The feedbacks only differ in how the changes are noticeable, and do testers like them or not.
 
Required comments
Obviously, this firmware is influenced by warming-up effect: from the cold start, it takes some minutes to achieve the working stable conditions. Then, it works in the most clean sound playback conditions that can be reached now.
 
Some people may feel that with this firmware the sound volume level is less than with any other firmware version. The main reason is that, due to minimized distortions, the level of comfortable volume is higher. Meaning, this difference has psychological roots.
 
The difference is less notable on materials that require high CPU load (DSD, 24/192).
 
Nobody noticed any reduce in the battery lasting time.
 
Download link
 
Detailed description

The OS kernel supports the following CPU performance governors:

• performance (highest frequency)
• ondemand (frequency depends on CPU load; fast raise, fast scale down)
• interactive (frequency depends on CPU load; fast raise, slow scale down)
• powersave (lowest frequency)

 
The CPU in DX90 supports only two frequencies: 312 and 504MHz. It means, it only can be switched between these two frequencies. The power consumptions at these frequencies differ in around 2 times, and power dissipation at the high speed is notably more than at the low speed.
 
I've found evidence in MandoPlayer and other components, that it was an intention to switch to performance mode during playback, and to ondemand mode during pauses, but it does not work such a way. Instead, the CPU works in interactive mode all the time. This firmware turns the performance mode at the early boot step, and then prevents changing the policy and CPU frequency, just in case. So, I can claim that with this firmware DX90 sounds exactly as it was intended by iBasso developers.
 
I've tested the permanent powersave mode as well. It does not add to the sound, probably, because the absolute difference in power consumption between powersave and performance is not so big. But situations when CPU speed is not enough are fatal: the player may hang or reboot.
 
More required comments
This firmware, like the previous firmware, is bit perfect. It means, with EQ turned off, the sound data is not affected by the software, and is transferred to the DAC exactly as it is.
 
Also, no a part of Android sound path (including audio policy configuration file and corresponding libraries) is used or ever loaded in this firmware.

 

[nmatheis]

Lurker0: Thanks for your work on this! Wondering how to package this with Rockbox, so we can choose between your tweaked stock FW or Rockbox. That'd really be the best of both worlds .

 

[borrego]

To Lurker: Great work you have done! This is the best sounding DX90 firmware ever. The sound is a lot more "elastic" with more layering of depth.

 

[mpawluk91]

Hope you are not trying to say that power supply quality does not affect sound quality. Because that would be incorrect.

The power supply for the DX90 is its battery. The larger 4400 maH battery is actually two batteries in parallel which reduces internal resistance and increases "fast" discharge current (stiffer supply). The improvement would especially be noticeable when driving higher inductive loads such as headphones with larger magnets, or multi-BA IEMs with RCL networks incorporated.

hey I could be wrong I'm just saying that when I plug it in the wall outlet it sounds the same

 

[Migou67]

@Lurker0 I like your modded firmware Thank a lot !

 

[hyper8]

  Pretty looking, high performance DX90 firmware based on 2.1.0, International version
Brief description:

• Incorporates all the changes made in this firmware version.
• CPU is always working at the highest performance.

 
What does it mean?
Changes in the CPU working frequency during audio playback affects the stability of the power source and temperature, probably, also the stability of the sound stream from CPU to DAC. So, stable CPU speed also means stable power and temperature of other components: DAC, clock generator, op-amps. Stability of the environment parameters of the DAC and clock generator also leads to lower jitter.
 
I will not provide any comments on how it changes the sound. I only want to mention that some people have tested this firmware without communication with each other, and all of them provided very similar feedbacks, similar also to my personal opinion. The feedbacks only differ in how the changes are noticeable, and do testers like them or not.
 
Required comments
Obviously, this firmware is influenced by burn-in effect: from the cold start, it takes some minutes to achieve the working stable conditions. Then, it works in the most clean sound playback conditions that can be reached now.
 
Some people may feel that with this firmware the sound volume level is less than with any other firmware version. The main reason is that, due to minimized distortions, the level of comfortable volume is higher. Meaning, this difference has psychological roots.
 
The difference is less notable on materials that require high CPU load (DSD, 24/192).
 
Nobody noticed any reduce in the battery lasting time.
 
Download link
 
Detailed description
The OS kernel supports the following CPU performance governors:

• performance (highest frequency)
• ondemand (frequency depends on CPU load; fast raise, fast scale down)
• interactive (frequency depends on CPU load; fast raise, slow scale down)
• powersave (lowest frequency)

 
The CPU in DX90 supports only two frequencies: 312 and 504MHz. It means, it only can be switched between these two frequencies. The power consumptions at these frequencies differ in around 2 times, and power dissipation at the high speed is notably more than at the low speed.
 
I've found evidence in MandoPlayer and other components, that it was an intention to switch to performance mode during playback, and to ondemand mode during pauses, but it does not work such a way. Instead, the CPU works in interactive mode all the time. This firmware turns the performance mode at the early boot step, and then prevents changing the policy and CPU frequency, just in case. So, I can claim that with this firmware DX90 sounds exactly as it was intended by iBasso developers.
 
I've tested the permanent powersave mode as well. It does not add to the sound, probably, because the absolute difference in power consumption between powersave and performance is not so big. But situations when CPU speed is not enough are fatal: the player may hang or reboot.
 
More required comments
This firmware, like the previous firmware, is bit perfect. It means, with EQ turned off, the sound data is not affected by the software, and is transferred to the DAC exactly as it is.
 
Also, no a part of Android sound path (including audio policy configuration file and corresponding libraries) is used or ever loaded in this firmware.

How is this firmware loaded and are we able to go back to an Ibasso firmware?

 

[Migou67]

  How is this firmware loaded and are we able to go back to an Ibasso firmware?

 
You update it normally through the advanced setting menu after copying the image (not the zip) on to the DX90 internal memory. Done a factory reset after the first boot and rescan your library. Yes your are able to go back doing the same.

 

[Lurker0]

Done a factory reset after the first boot and rescan your library.

If you change between stock 2.1.0 and any my build based on it, there is no a need to factory reset.

 

[Lurker0]

  This is the best sounding DX90 firmware ever.

All credits shall be addressed to DX90 hardware developers - they really have done a great job! I just corrected mistakes made by software engineers. I even can't call them bugs, because, formally, all is correct... but both hardware and software skills are required to analyse and realise how they influence each other and then tune them up.

 
Also, advocating iBasso programmers, please note that most of the time they listen debug versions of the software, that produce much more load on CPU, so that they had less chances to catch the problem.

 

[jamato8]

Great work lurker0. I also like the fact that it I like the fact that unlike the rock box, it is easy to go back and forth for the FW update. Interesting work you have done! 
 
I haven't tried this one yet. So is this different from the 1st one you did a number of pages back?  edit: I see from reading better, your above post, that it does. The only think I don't like is the font. I find it hard to read vs the original iBasso font. 
 
Ok, off to load the new FW. :^) The download speed is pretty good. Spoke too soon. For some reason it wouldn't finish downloading.

 

[headwhacker]

  Great work lurker0. I also like the fact that it I like the fact that unlike the rock box, it is easy to go back and forth for the FW update. Interesting work you have done! 
 
I haven't tried this one yet. So is this different from the 1st one you did a number of pages back?  edit: I see from reading better, your above post, that it does. The only think I don't like is the font. I find it hard to read vs the original iBasso font. 
 
Ok, off to load the new FW. :^) The download speed is pretty good. Spoke too soon. For some reason it wouldn't finish downloading.

 
Rockbox for DX90 is no more complicated than the stock FW when you want to switch between FW. Unless Lurker0 did something that makes switching much simpler than the stock.

 

[jamato8]

   
Rockbox for DX90 is no more complicated than the stock FW when you want to switch between FW. Unless Lurker0 did something that makes switching much simpler than the stock.

I know, it is easy to switch from one to the other. Sometimes though I just want to boot to the stock FW and not have the option come up. Just me. I think the work on Rockbox is great and you have contributed great work.