[paulybatz]

Quote:

Originally Posted by burgunder /img/forum/go_quote.gif Has Ibasso ever announced a stand alone dac with a form factor like the D4 or D10? Anyway the D4 looks rather intruiging and with that pricebracket it's hard to resist

Im trying to decide on either the D4 and the T3, I may just buy both or ask them to send me a sample, LOL

All this new gear definitely gave me the bug!

Any one have any comparison between those two amps and perhaps both against the D3, which is what I have to go against.
The D3 is a great amp, however it could have better separation and the silent/black is not totally black as with the LISAIII for example

 

[jamato8]

I have tried the 8397 in a number of different configurations and never quite liked the highs. I know Xin first used the op amp a number of years ago before anyone else was using in in small portables and finally opted for something else even though he tried it in the Mini for a while. I figure that since the Pico is very popular that the highs have been tamed. I have never heard the Pico but would like to some day. I do understand what iBasso refers to though but again, I have not heard the Pico so I make no assumptions.

 

[HiFlight]

Quote:

Originally Posted by burgunder /img/forum/go_quote.gif Has Ibasso ever announced a stand alone dac with a form factor like the D4 or D10? Anyway the D4 looks rather intruiging and with that pricebracket it's hard to resist

The D4 is essentially a stand-alone USB DAC. When USB is plugged in, it will pass thru a a decoded USB signal via the Aux output with no battery power required at all. IMO, the SQ of the D4 DAC is excellent in all respects.

 

[akdmx]

Quote:

Originally Posted by gopack87 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Sorry if this is a dumb question, but do you guys think the D4 could power the likes of Beyerdynamics or maybe the Denon Ahd2000's?

I am using my D4 with my hd650s without power issues. It's certainly not an infinite-headroom type situation, but I listen comfortably at around 11 or 12 with the gain switched on. Also, maybe there is something wrong with my batteries, but it doesn't sound much more powerful on 9v than on usb.

 

[V3ng3anc3]

Quote:

Originally Posted by akdmx /img/forum/go_quote.gif I am using my D4 with my hd650s without power issues. It's certainly not an infinite-headroom type situation, but I listen comfortably at around 11 or 12 with the gain switched on. Also, maybe there is something wrong with my batteries, but it doesn't sound much more powerful on 9v than on usb.

Yeah, I don't think I really notice any difference between the battery and usb; power and sound quality-wise.

 

[HiFlight]

Quote:

Originally Posted by V3ng3anc3 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Yeah, I don't think I really notice any difference between the battery and usb; power and sound quality-wise.

With the appropriate opamps, the D4 will not sound noticeably different, as the higher voltage setting will only be noticeable with a higher input voltage from the source. It is then capable of playing at a higher volume levels without clipping.

At lower input source voltages, such as line-level inputs, the input voltage is considerably less than the supply voltage of the D4, even in the 5v setting, so output sound levels will be similar to other amps.

Also, some recordings are mixed at a high levels, and these can be played at higher volume levels before clipping levels are reached when the voltage selector is in the 9 volt position

The higher voltage will not necessarily result in better SQ unless the chosen opamp is operating right on the edge of its performance envelope at the 5v setting. Probably the biggest advantage of the higher voltage setting is the increased headroom and the ability to deal with heavy transients, especially in the lower frequencies.

Surprisingly, a small power output such as is found in most DAPs of about 10ma can often produce very high volume levels, especially with recordings that are compressed quite a bit, but one heavy bass drum strike can result in the momentary requirement of 10x or more of the average output current being used, plus it results in much higher momentary input voltage swings . This, of course, will result in severe clipping and/or distortion in the lower powered devices. This is where the real advantage of an external amp is realized.

Of course there will be audible changes between opamps that are chosen specifically for the different voltage levels, but many (the best choices) sound equally good at both voltages with the 9v setting more able to handle transients at high volumes.

 

[V3ng3anc3]

hmm for some reason when using the D4 i can hear some of my songs skip quite a lot, but when I'm using my headphones straight out of the laptop, it doesn't skip. Is it just a bad mp3 file that the dac can pick up?

 

[darkswordsman17]

Quote:

Originally Posted by V3ng3anc3 /img/forum/go_quote.gif hmm for some reason when using the D4 i can hear some of my songs skip quite a lot, but when I'm using my headphones straight out of the laptop, it doesn't skip. Is it just a bad mp3 file that the dac can pick up?

Can you describe this skipping more? It could be a USB latency issue, what software (OS, media player, plug-ins, etc) are you using? You have it directly connected to the computer itself and not through something else (monitor, USB hub)? Do you have any other USB devices plugged in?

 

[paulybatz]

I bit the bullet and bought both the D4 and T3...reviews and comparisons to come!!!!!


Quote:

Originally Posted by paulybatz /img/forum/go_quote.gif Im trying to decide on either the D4 and the T3, I may just buy both or ask them to send me a sample, LOL All this new gear definitely gave me the bug! Any one have any comparison between those two amps and perhaps both against the D3, which is what I have to go against. The D3 is a great amp, however it could have better separation and the silent/black is not totally black as with the LISAIII for example

 

[RAQemUP]

Quote:

Originally Posted by paulybatz /img/forum/go_quote.gif I bit the bullet and bought both the D4 and T3...reviews and comparisons to come!!!!!

Nice. I look forward to your impressions. I am on the fence whether to get the D4 or wait for a D10+. Currently own a T4 and D2 Viper.

 

[V3ng3anc3]

Quote:

Originally Posted by darkswordsman17 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Can you describe this skipping more? It could be a USB latency issue, what software (OS, media player, plug-ins, etc) are you using? You have it directly connected to the computer itself and not through something else (monitor, USB hub)? Do you have any other USB devices plugged in?

I just got back from class now and I'm replaying the songs, but it seems like the skipping problem has gone away. I'm guessing that the usb cable wasn't properly connected. Sorry for the trouble.

EDIT: I was using Windows Media Player on Windows 7 Professional, which is where the skipping occurred. After I listened to a couple more songs, some had just a little skipping (not nearly as bad as earlier), but once I loaded onto foobar it was fine. So it was probably a combination of usb connection and Windows Media Player.

 

[tav]

Does anyone know if the Mamba supports USB 2.0 specs? What's the highest supported sampling rate?

Any reviews? I haven't found any yet.

 

[HiFlight]

Quote:

Originally Posted by RAQemUP /img/forum/go_quote.gif Nice. I look forward to your impressions. I am on the fence whether to get the D4 or wait for a D10+. Currently own a T4 and D2 Viper.

The D4 is a really great device. There will be a LONG wait for a D10+ according to iBasso.

It is their opinion that the SQ of the D4 is the best of any of their amps, and I tend to agree, based upon my comparisons to date.

In the case of the D4 vs the D10, it would first appear that iBasso is competing against itself, but upon further analysis, they have, in the D4, essentially created a stand-alone DAC with an amp section that does full justice to the dual DAC performance.

For those who really use USB for CDs, streaming music, etc, the D4 is hard to fault, despite the very modest price.

The D4, D10, and P3+ all have their own particular niche in which they are most appropriate.

 

[V3ng3anc3]

Quote:

Originally Posted by tav /img/forum/go_quote.gif Does anyone know if the Mamba supports USB 2.0 specs? What's the highest supported sampling rate? Any reviews? I haven't found any yet.

I think the highest supported sampling rate is 16bit 48000 Hz

 

[tigon_ridge]

It's very interesting that the D4 could perform so well while costing considerably less than the D10.