Ibasso D4 / T3 Review Thread

[madwolf]

Cannot find anything on google regarding this OPA1678. Which company is producing this chip ?

 

[HiFlight]

Madwolf...
My mistake...I had been working with a bunch of OPA's so had that on my mind, but it is an LT1678 made by Linear. I corrected my previous post.
Sorry for the confusion.
 
Quote:

Cannot find anything on google regarding this OPA1678. Which company is producing this chip ?

 

[donnaeizc1]

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I got my T3 today, will post picture tonight. damn it is tiny. no bass boost button. 2 switch to adjust between 4 gain setting. brown alunimum on one side of case the other side is mirror chrome semi transparent plastic which is finger print magnet. the package come with warranty card, wall charger with USB port, a USB charging cable and ~5 inch interconnect.

I am using UM3X and 5800XM/Clip+ as source. To my untrained ear the first impression is stronger bass but does not darken the vocal. there are tiny hiss, as long as the source is clean the hiss is minimum. not only the bass, it seems like the treble is a little stronger too. not sure if I need to burn it in but this is what's out of the box for now.

Thanks for your analysis! This is what I'm looking for.

 

[olsonc84]

I love the compact-size of the T3 and it sure sounds great. Not bad for ~$120. Was debating between that and the T3D and T4. 

 

[Phoenyx1]

Which do you guys think would be better for a pair of SM3s and TF10s?  

 

[roma101]

Hey guys - I'm pretty much a noob when it comes to amps. Would a t3 pair off well hd 25's and a 4th gen ipod nano? Or is there another amp that would pair well? Also I was thinking of getting an amp/dac although it's not a necessity - I usually listen to my music on the go.
 
If anyone has any recommendations, I would really appreciate it.

 

[soviet911]

Quote:

Hey guys - I'm pretty much a noob when it comes to amps. Would a t3 pair off well hd 25's and a 4th gen ipod nano? Or is there another amp that would pair well? Also I was thinking of getting an amp/dac although it's not a necessity - I usually listen to my music on the go.
 
If anyone has any recommendations, I would really appreciate it.

I run the following rig 
Zune HD>T3>HD25-1
and find that with T3 the Hd25-1 get slight improvment in sound quality such as a better rounded bass, but Im not sure as I didnt do proper AB tests since I use the T3 primaraly for its analog controls and dont need to take out the player to turn off the headphones or lower the volume. In my opinon skip the T3 and eather go for the headstage arrow or a better player that will have a LO or can be used with LOD as other wise you will just degrade the SQ more then help it. Hd25-1 are very easy to drive and unless you use some rediclus amp I dont see how much its SQ can improve (for example im eyeing the ibasso PB2 to  try out...) 

 

[roma101]

Yeah if I get an amp, I might as well save up and go all out. Maybe one day get either, the hornet, pico, or the lisa III. I'm just not sure which amp would be the best for my rig, but all in due time. At this point, i'll be staying with the nano but somewhere down the line I may upgrade to a cowon. Unless I get an amp that's so good I won't need to even upgrade my source? Is that possible?
 
Anyway thanks for the response soviet! 

 

[estreeter]

 
Quote:

At this point, i'll be staying with the nano but somewhere down the line I may upgrade to a cowon. Unless I get an amp that's so good I won't need to even upgrade my source? Is that possible?
 
 

The 6G Nano is the first iPod I have owned with a sufficiently good headphone out to make me happy without an amp. Even my 2008 Classic lacked the all-important air around each note - with the 6G, I am blown away by how much 'bigger' the sound is - the only other DAPs to give me that same sensation from the headphone out were from Sony. I have only had a single Cowon DAP and I cant comment on the current lineup - my suspicion is that you will want to pair whatever DAP you have with an amp once you have experienced the combination, but I am happy that I dont have to carry the D4 around just to enjoy music in a fast food joint or a Net cafe.

 

[Redmetal1897]

Just got my Ibasso T3 today 

! Really a cute little device. In terms of impacting the sound, it seems to tighten up the bass but I need to A/B more to see if its placebo or actual difference. But I bought it to drive my more demanding phones RE262 and FA-003 and it's doing that perfectly!

 

[slapshot30]

Are there any numbers in terms how much the bass is increased in decibals? I am looking at the T3. My Fiio E5 has a 3.5 dB bass increase and that isn't enough, just wondering if a T3 will do any better.

 

[ExpatinJapan]

 
 
I bought a filo E5 and a ibassot3 shortly after, the t3 is far superior for its price, and certainly opens up my ipod. i
n one of my first threads i made, someone posted the decibels in there, dig it out.

 

[ExpatinJapan]

 
 
i dug it out for you.
 
ellisdee wrote:
 
 
Oh yea and the iBasso T3 gain switch options are as follows:

When both gain switches are to the left Gain= 0dB

When the left hand switch is to the left and the right hand switch to the right Gain= +3dB

When the left hand switch is to the right and the right hand switch to the left Gain= +8dB

When both switches are to the right Gain= +10dB

 

I tend to leave them off (both left) unless I can here a track is lacking bass then I switch the right one to the right giving you the +3dB boost which seems to brings the bass up a little.

The +8dB and +10dB always seem a little harsh on 32ohm IEMs

 




 

 

[soviet911]

Quote:

Are there any numbers in terms how much the bass is increased in decibals? I am looking at the T3. My Fiio E5 has a 3.5 dB bass increase and that isn't enough, just wondering if a T3 will do any better.

The T3 doesnt have a bass boost switch T4 does.

 

[slapshot30]

Sorry if this seems like a dumb question but I am fairly new to portable amps. What is the difference between gain switches and bass switches? Will the T3 gain switches increase the bass anyways? Also, it says these are for IEM's, will they work fine for my full-sized Crossfades?

 
Quote:

The T3 doesnt have a bass boost switch T4 does.

 

Thankyou. This leads me to believe even though they aren't bass boost switches, each gain switch still improves the bass quantity... correct?
 
Quote:

 
 
i dug it out for you.
 
ellisdee wrote:
 
 
Oh yea and the iBasso T3 gain switch options are as follows:

When both gain switches are to the left Gain= 0dB

When the left hand switch is to the left and the right hand switch to the right Gain= +3dB

When the left hand switch is to the right and the right hand switch to the left Gain= +8dB

When both switches are to the right Gain= +10dB

 

I tend to leave them off (both left) unless I can here a track is lacking bass then I switch the right one to the right giving you the +3dB boost which seems to brings the bass up a little.

The +8dB and +10dB always seem a little harsh on 32ohm IEMs