iBasso D55 DAC/Amp...anyone used it?

[freeryder05]

Have you tried the fiio e18 or e17? I have been using that to drive my HTC one M8 and my computer when I'm not home and it sounds pretty nice. I wonder how they compare.

 

[kawaivpc1]

I haven't. As far as I know fiio DACs don' t support 88.2kHz high res files. Also, Its maximum is 96kHz and its frequency response is 20 - 20 kHz.

D55 supports all formats besides DSD. It's simply the best I've heard. I think it sounds better than Zodiac Plus DAC. I've used HM901, R10, iPod Classic, Sony PHA 2, Fostex HP A4, and Zodiac Plus. D55 simply wins everybody in sound quality, size, battery life, portability, compatibility, and price!!

I'm not joking. This D55 is clearly a big upgrade from their R10.
It sounds much better. Its sound stage is very wide.
Check it out by yourself. Their D42 is also known to be a great sounding device, but its maximum output is 16bit 48kHz.

D55 supports all the way up to 24bit 192kHz. Its core processing chip is 32bit. Its frequency range is 0 - 100kHz.

 

[kawaivpc1]

I've tested it with my Shure SRH1840 and Sennheiser ear buds. It makes my ear bud sound like cans!

 

[freeryder05]

This sounds like something I should try if I can get my hands on it. My library is mostly from HDtracks.com, and is 24 bit flac, but I didn't know I could be missing so much. My desktop amp does a much better job than my fiio e18. I have been using the aune tk1 and sounds amazing! I wonder how this would compare to that. 

 

[revolutionz]

Well, now you've sparked my curiosity a bit...I may have to buy one of these things to try out now.  How does the size of it stack with your phone?  Easy to carry around?

 

[kawaivpc1]

It's about the size of a cigarette box.

It's extrememly portable. Its battery never dies. You can charge while playing music.

It sounds better than desktop headphone out, of course.

 

[TonySunshine]

whats the overall tilt of the sound signature? warm? bright? neutral?

 

[kawaivpc1]

It sounds deep and digital, while I can hear all details very well.
Imagine an upgraded sound of R10 and DX100.
I haven't heard AK240 and other more expansive devices. I can say this is the best I've heard so far. Someone told me that AK240 is slightly better than DX100 so I guess D55 is on par with AK240.
It has very good instrument saparation and sound stage.
I love the high gain set up! It makes sound very powerful and strong. You can't get this kind of sound from PC or audio interface. As I said, it makes my earbuds sound like cans! I've never heard something like this before.

It totally worths it. I will buy again if I lose it.
I still prefer signature of Sabre chips but implementation of this Japanese DAC chip backs it up well.

 

[kawaivpc1]

It is much better than HM901 for sure. D55 has at least three time wider sound stage and more details.
It sounds a bit bright and digital. That's one con. I know Sabre devices sound very warm and analogue.
But I think D55 still wins HM901 and R10 hands down.
As long as you have a good tablet or phone, laptop, you will be able to use D55 forever.
I've used it for the last five days. Its battery never died once!!! Not a single time. I don't think its battery will ever die. It's still working without charging once.

It automatically charges up while playing from tablet, PC, and phone. I think it uses a very efficient battery so it gets enough power from its source compononet.
I see why they didn't send an extra charging adapter. It's more compatible than Geek Out. It comes with an ASIO driver software so you can use it with your DAW too.

D55 is slightly bigger than my Geek Out 1000.
While Geek Out has no internal battery so it causes hassles with tablet, phone, etc, D55 has an internal battery and supreme sound quality at the same time. It's very light too.

 

[TonySunshine]

Thanks kawaivpc1. you're like the patron saint of this amp
Any thoughts on the sound signature of the D55 vs the Geek out? 

 

[hoth]

It looks interesting but have you tried to power anything but earbuds with it?  From the specs it seems like it wouldn't be able to drive anything with authority except everyday consumer cans.  I wonder why they didn't give it more power.

 

[kawaivpc1]

It can drive my SRH 1840 with powerful gain. It sounds very powerful.
R10 and DX100 have high gain setup as well, but this D55 is way beyond that.
I think it can drive any phones.

I haven't had a chance to test my Geek Out yet. Give me a few more days.

D55 came out more than a year after R10. They clearly made an advanced product .

 

[kawaivpc1]

I just finished installing Geek Out driver and checked its sound.

D55 has much wider sound stage than Geek Out 1000.
I would still choose D55 over Geek Out 1000. Geek Out 1000 sounds a lot more neutral and plain compared to D55.

Geek Out has more volume levels than D55.
Geek Out sounds a bit more balanced due to its neutral sound, but I'd say it sounds a slightly breed than my desktop headphone out.
I'm considering returning my Geek Out 1000 now.
I'm not 100% sure. Someone told me than Geek Out 1000 sounds better than AK240, but I don't find it engaging.
I might switch to Benchmark DAC2 HGC.

 

[kawaivpc1]

Geek Out 1000 doesn't worth 299 dollars. I would say it worths about 180 dollars for what it's doing now. Geek Out 1000 is much better than Sony's PHA-2, IPod Classic, and HM901, but worse than R10 and D55.

R10 and D55 have wider sound stage and more details.
Zodiac Plus is better than Geek Out 1000.
D55 is comparable to Zodiac Plus, maybe a bit worse.

 

[burgunder]

  It looks interesting but have you tried to power anything but earbuds with it?  From the specs it seems like it wouldn't be able to drive anything with authority except everyday consumer cans.  I wonder why they didn't give it more power.

 
I personally think that the powergame, where amplifiers are getting more and more powerfull has gone too far. If you look at this http://www.mediafire.com/view/dzwe1g73q6pbhnx/headphone%20power%20table.pdf you will find that most modern headphones don't need much power even LCD-2 etc that people are running from speaker amps.