ibasso D3 Review!
Nov 3, 2008 at 11:55 PM Post #16 of 200
Its very subtle, no pops and cracks but definite analog warm sound...much different than CD quality. You cant hear that stuff over the loudspeakers.

Quote:

Originally Posted by HeadphoneAddict /img/forum/go_quote.gif
Hear the needle?
tongue.gif


You mean all the pops and crackles in their full glory. No thanks.
darthsmile.gif



 
Nov 4, 2008 at 3:18 AM Post #17 of 200
I got my first vinyl rig in 1975 in the 7th grade. I was college senior when CD became widely available in 1983, and had spent $800 on my first CD player in 1984 when I started medical school. Oh the joy of no more pops and crackles. I got rid of my vinyl rig in 1991 when I moved to Colorado, and haven't looked back.
 
Nov 4, 2008 at 2:18 PM Post #18 of 200
Quote:

Originally Posted by HeadphoneAddict /img/forum/go_quote.gif
I got my first vinyl rig in 1975 in the 7th grade. I was college senior when CD became widely available in 1983, and had spent $800 on my first CD player in 1984 when I started medical school. Oh the joy of no more pops and crackles. I got rid of my vinyl rig in 1991 when I moved to Colorado, and haven't looked back.


The first cd players sounded like crap. Hell, creators of cd players didn't accept the fact that jitter existed until the early 90s. What was their slogan at first? "Perfect sound forever?" Redbook is practically obsolete now.

I was very young when CDs first came out, so I can't speak from personal experience. But I listened to a lot of vinyl as a child, and when I finally got back into vinyl this past February, it was quite an experience. Yes, I suppose some of the experience is "nostalgia," but that vinyl sound is definitely special in other ways. Much smoother. I like digital through headphones, but when it comes to a loudspeaker system, vinyl is better at reproducing spatial information than standard redbook digital audio. So I'll take the good with the bad (pops and ticks, having to clean records, buying used ones that are destroyed and not knowing it at the store, etc.)
 
Nov 4, 2008 at 3:45 PM Post #19 of 200
I started as a Turntablist in 1993 and then with the advent of CDs and CD turntables people started crossing over...now with computer technology they are able to dust off the Turntables and access MP3s using time coded vinyl....it is very cool stuff. So you get digital quality sound, the ability to scratch and mix using the gold standard Technics 1200s like you had the song on vinyl.

Its interesting to think about these transitions...my son will never know cassettes or 8-track tapes (not a bad thing), I used to have a pencil in the car to wind up eaten tape. He will know records and turntables for sure.

I didnt have anytime to use the D3 yesterday and REALLY wanted to...which is a sign that I like it. I should send a shout out to the Ultrasone PL750s they are very nice...when they say closed back, they were not kidding. I have had phones before that were closed but not like this...my wife literally had to tap me on the shoulder, she was yelling at me...

More review to come.

Im working on getting some custom cables made right now.
 
Nov 4, 2008 at 4:06 PM Post #20 of 200
Quote:

Originally Posted by paulybatz /img/forum/go_quote.gif
I started as a Turntablist in 1993 and then with the advent of CDs and CD turntables people started crossing over...now with computer technology they are able to dust off the Turntables and access MP3s using time coded vinyl....it is very cool stuff. So you get digital quality sound, the ability to scratch and mix using the gold standard Technics 1200s like you had the song on vinyl.

Its interesting to think about these transitions...my son will never know cassettes or 8-track tapes (not a bad thing), I used to have a pencil in the car to wind up eaten tape. He will know records and turntables for sure.

I didnt have anytime to use the D3 yesterday and REALLY wanted to...which is a sign that I like it. I should send a shout out to the Ultrasone PL750s they are very nice...when they say closed back, they were not kidding. I have had phones before that were closed but not like this...my wife literally had to tap me on the shoulder, she was yelling at me...

More review to come.

Im working on getting some custom cables made right now.



Yes getting back on topic:

This makes me want to try this D3. It's a little more than I wanted to pay for my first headphone amp, but it really isn't that expensive, considering how much I've spent on my loudspeaker setup at home. I actually just posted a thread in this forum about which amp I should use for the LOD on my iPod 5th gen and my Beyerdynamic DT770 Pro-80s. I know those cans are good, but I'd still consider them more on the entry level side, which is good for now. To me, they sound fantastic. I imagine putting a D3 in the chain would only make them sound better.

Does anyone have any more comments on the sound of the D3? What about the difference between using the internal DAC and other DACs?
 
Nov 4, 2008 at 6:20 PM Post #21 of 200
Quote:

Originally Posted by jsplice /img/forum/go_quote.gif
The first cd players sounded like crap. Hell, creators of cd players didn't accept the fact that jitter existed until the early 90s. What was their slogan at first? "Perfect sound forever?" Redbook is practically obsolete now.


That's one of the reasons why I stayed in vinyl till the early 90's
 
Nov 5, 2008 at 1:22 PM Post #22 of 200
in my opinion the d3 is the BEST entry level amp out there if you are looking for a dac combo amp. Have no reservations, if you have money to burn there are two much more expensive units; most gurus note very slight differences, not enough to justify $200 more and to boot I don't think that they offer the line out, DAC only option and user replaceable batteries that last 100 hours.
 
Nov 5, 2008 at 6:42 PM Post #23 of 200
I got my D3 from my local stereo store last evening to find myself very happy with a pair of Ultimate Link Silver Master-i LOD.

It gives my ER4P-S a very good sound rather than straight from my 1st gen Nano.

Now my only trouble will be to keep the Amp and player together... Anyone can recommend a good case to store the iPod and my D3?

Regards.
 
Nov 5, 2008 at 6:46 PM Post #24 of 200
Stick some velcro pads on each and put them together.

You can always talk off the velcro if you sell the amp and the glue will come off with goo be gone or other solvent w/o hurting the finish
 
Nov 5, 2008 at 6:51 PM Post #25 of 200
Hi tomjtx,

Which brand of Velcro should I be Looking at? I need to be sure they're not the ones with a permanent bond.

Sounds interested but i still need a case to hold all of them together after all.

Regards.
 
Nov 5, 2008 at 6:54 PM Post #26 of 200
Don't know which brand but none of the adhesives are permanent. Goo-be-gone will take off any glue.

Headroom makes some nice gig bags . I put my velcroed 160gb classic and either D3 or Move with my IEMs and LOD w/o a problem.
The bag has a shoulder strap which is convenient for on the go.
 
Nov 18, 2008 at 1:12 PM Post #27 of 200
The D3 has a major interference issue that should be know to all...if you plan to use it with an iphone as I did, find another amp...if you are using it for the DAC or with an ipod, etc then you should be OK, but if you are around a lot of cell phones or other RF interference, you will get a headache. I thought it was normal until I read some recent posts and did my own investigation:

http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f105/i...ervice-381705/

http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f105/h...oblems-381351/

I emailed ibasso and they said it was an opamp issue and they were unwilling to rectify the situation...here are two of their replies to me:
Dear Sir,
Thank you for your email.
The RF interference problem is because of the opamp. It cant be eliminated except we change the opamp. But these opamps on the D3 has very good sound quality. We are not planningto change them.
We suggest you to keep your cell phone away from the D3, and the D3 can work fine.
If you have any further questions, please feel free to contact us.

Sincerely
iBasso Audio

Dear Sir,
Thank you for your email.
I dont think the RF interfernce is a problem on the D3 design. The RF interference is because of the design of the opamp, which is produced by AD. If you consider the D3 has problem on the design. I think AD need to call back many of their chips.
Also, we consider sound quality in the prior position, the D3 has very good sound quality, and we consider it is a very successful design.
If you dont like the D3, you can return it for refund.


Sincerely
iBasso Audio


Then when I go to send a reply to the first email, my email was blocked by a spam blocker, so I sent another message from my work email to make sure it went through, then the subsequent attempt to respond to their reply was blocked. It is a great sounding amp, dont get me wrong but I am not in a situation to own two amps...I need one that functions for all of my purposes and thought this was it. I feel that ibasso should have made public this issue as it sounds like they were fully aware, so do I lose $$$ and mail it back...
 
Nov 19, 2008 at 2:10 AM Post #28 of 200
You are getting very boring with your unwarranted criticism of the D3.

i have have had NO RF probs with cellphones anywhere.

It is likely your bad karma causing the interference :)
 
Nov 19, 2008 at 3:55 AM Post #29 of 200
Quote:

Originally Posted by tomjtx /img/forum/go_quote.gif
You are getting very boring with your unwarranted criticism of the D3.

i have have had NO RF probs with cellphones anywhere.

It is likely your bad karma causing the interference :)



He has a right to warn people of his issue, even evangelize if he wants. Not everyone will have issues, but there are more victims of this problem than he alone.

I too discovered RF interference with my D3 and iPhone and radio station antennae in my back yard after I had the 325 hours of burn-in done and started my review. In my case I have chosen to live with it or work around it. I have also found my D2 Boa and D2 Viper susceptible to some degree. In my case, I put this information in my review and that was good enough for me. When people ask me about the D3 I link them to my review and they can make an informed decision. He isn't obligated to behave in the same manner. I do know for a fact that he did a lot of research before buying his amp, and the RF problem wasn't well known at the time (not even I was aware until the night I wrote up my review).
 
Nov 19, 2008 at 4:33 AM Post #30 of 200
Quote:

Originally Posted by HeadphoneAddict /img/forum/go_quote.gif
He has a right to warn people of his issue, even evangelize if he wants. Not everyone will have issues, but there are more victims of this problem than he alone.

I too discovered RF interference with my D3 and iPhone and radio station antennae in my back yard after I had the 325 hours of burn-in done and started my review. In my case I have chosen to live with it or work around it. I have also found my D2 Boa and D2 Viper susceptible to some degree. In my case, I put this information in my review and that was good enough for me. When people ask me about the D3 I link them to my review and they can make an informed decision. He isn't obligated to behave in the same manner. I do know for a fact that he did a lot of research before buying his amp, and the RF problem wasn't well known at the time (not even I was aware until the night I wrote up my review).



Larry, of course he has the right to warn people of a valid issue.
But he has posted the same thing in numerous threads and I also have the right to tell him it's boring :)

Also, in another post he has unfairly made the assumption the D3 will have a problem if in the vicinity of all cellphones simply because he had an issue with his iphone.

He should explain his issue w/o making up other issues and it is unnecesary to repeat this in multiple threads.

I have used my D3 around many cellphones with no problem.

This unwarranted bashing in numerous posts is obnoxious and boring IMO.
 

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