[enjaygee]

Quote:

Thanks for the op-amp rolling impressions. Keep 'em coming peeps!
 
I also agree that added warmth is welcome with the D6. I went with AD797BRs in L/R and stock Buffs, it adds a fuller, richer sound to me. I don't want to remove my DDM's from my ears!
I have yet to try my 2- OPA627AU's on adapters, and have 2 single 797BR's on adapters coming in.... to see if they sound diff/better than the 2chips on 1adapter.
 
It always confuses me when peeps put Op-amps into the buff sockets... like you did! lol   I have 2x LME49720HA I could put into the buff sockets... hmm I wonder... any ideas to what may happen? 
 
I did test my DT990/600 with the stock D6... sounded real niice, but quite lacking in volume. With the AD797BR's in L/R a happy side-effect...the volume to my DT990/600 is VERY much increased!!!
If I can Roll the Buffs and gain even more volume without undue side-effects.... I'd be a happy Panda!
 

I'm strongly considering getting a couple 797s right now and some SOIC-to-DIP adapters. I put the 49720 in the headphone amp center socket the other day with the stock buffers and found it to be much to "digital" sounding -- nowhere near as clear as the stock AD8065As. My guess would be if you stuck 2 of them in the buffer slots you'd get kind of the same effect, if not a little lessened. It'd probably be much too analytic sounding. But then again, try it and see what happens.
 
I found the 2227 to be not a bad choice for the amp section. It provides a more pronounced bass and wasn't as laid back as I remember it being in a previous cMoy amp that I had. Transparency wasn't there like it is with the 8065s, but female voices were more rounded off and easier to listen to at higher volumes. For a ~$5 chip it's not bad.

I'm confused on how to determine what a good buffer would be though. Any ideas? What qualities should one look for in buffers?

 

[sfmatt]

So I've had my D6 for over 2 weeks now, about time to share some impressions.
 
The matte black version is absolutely gorgeous, the pictures don't do it justice, it's at the same time sleek and sober, just the perfect combination at work. Compared to my D2 Viper (about the same size) which was the iBasso prototype for this class of devices the quality has gone up too, the covers and screws fit better, the board is cleaner and the volume pot is a huge improvement (and less obtrusive too). I'd rather have the switches in metal instead of plastic although they feel firmer.
 
Straight out of the box I was struck by the unbelievable quality of the DAC section. The D2 uses the same DAC chip (albeit only one), I have a RME9632 in my desktop rig and the D6 is markedly better than both. As vpsporb said the D6 is very transparent (really transparent!), every single detail comes to life. But to me the most striking aspect is the spatial presentation, it's so 3D it's unreal. I never thought the DT250/250 were capable of so much beyond the stereo aspect and with my HD6x0s it's simply fantastic to be able to pinpoint every single instrument in space. Wow!
 
On the other hand I found the sound signature very cold, borderline sterile. The bass is very lean, very textured with an excellent definition and authority but too dry. The mids are excellent if a tad bit cold. But the highs are too present for my taste, the extension is almost too much, overall they're beyond crisp. That being said I found it to be an excellent match for my HD650, the bass gets the bit of weight they lack while removing some of the extra groove, the highs come to life without bothering, I really enjoyed the combination. But with my other phones the D6 was too bright, it left my ears ringing pretty quickly.
One thing needs to be said: the D6 packs a lot of punch, the bass has serious impact and despite it not being louder than the D2 at full volume, the impact it brings to the sound will give your ears with a serious workout if you try to get too much goodness out of it.
 
Initially I thought I would wait 100 hours or so before rolling but I could not live with the brightness so I tried various permutations with the stock opamps, LT1357, LT1363 and LM49710. Don't bother with LT1357, LT1363 is similar but just a bit better in every aspect. LM49710 are indeed a bit "plastic" but I really enjoy the compressed intensity that comes out of them, alone they're too much but it turns out they complete very well LT1363. Full sound without excessive bite, with the same transparency and spatiality as the stock config. Love it, even more so since it turns out they work really well on USB too, better than stock. Actually I listen 4-6 hours/day at work and I only charge on week-ends now as I don't know if I don't prefer the slightly less intense sound on USB for long sessions. Being so good on USB is a big feature of this little amp in my book. Still I won't resist trying AD797BR either, I got four on my way. Still, unless I find the signature much better I'm not inclined to give up the USB option.
 
Over the last 2 weeks the sound has changed quite a bit though and it's not only my ears adjusting... I remember having the same impression with the D2. The sound has become a tad fuller.
 
When I first got the D6, I was a bit meh because of the stock sound signature but knew straight away it was a terrific platform to try and get the sound I dream of and I'm certainly getting there. There's still a hint of aggressivity I'd like to tame but then I'm so used to my tube amp I need more time to adjust.
 
At this price the D6 is a killer DAC/amp. Hell, at this price the D6 is a killer DAC alone and the amp is perhaps still not equivalent to a desktop amp of the same price but certainly very close. I got almost 3 years out of the D2, it will take more than that to convince me to upgrade this time...

 

[sfmatt]

Forgot a couple things:
- my D6 too had a slight imbalance at low volume in the beginning but it went away over time
- it "bugs" if I switch from battery to USB without turning it off first

 

[vpsporb]

@enjaygee: one of my amps has Buffs, but they're non rollable... I'm a noob with buffers... as I haven't touched my D6's yet, even... lol
 
@sfmatt: If you love the 3D spatial presentation and soundstage of a stock D6.... both you and enjaygee will LOVE what the AD797BR's bring to the table. Listening to certain songs with the Radius DDM's the Spatial presentation is absolutely Stunning!! my mouth was litteraly agape with me looking around... to judge how far, and which direction music/voices were comin from.
I'm enjoying them so much.. they haven't been rolled-out yet.

 

[sfmatt]

Unfortunately the ebay source I bought the 797s from takes forever to ship so it will take a few weeks before I get to test for myself. Until then let me ask you how do they fare on usb? The specs say they're 10V min, I'm just curious about what happens when they're fed half that voltage. Is the sound garbled?
 
Beyond AS797 the other one I'd like to try is LME49990. No DIP version but I hope HighFlight can help me here...

 

[vpsporb]

Quote:

Unfortunately the ebay source I bought the 797s from takes forever to ship so it will take a few weeks before I get to test for myself. Until then let me ask you how do they fare on usb? The specs say they're 10V min, I'm just curious about what happens when they're fed half that voltage. Is the sound garbled?
 
Beyond AS797 the other one I'd like to try is LME49990. No DIP version but I hope HighFlight can help me here...

Did you order 2 single AD797B on adapters, or 1 dual AD797B's on adapter?  Mine are Duals.. so, I also ordered 2 Singles as well.
With AD797's, it will NOT run properly with only USB power. Suprisingly, with 2 single OPA627AU's rolled.. it runs WELL on USB power .... huh! [EDIT] Runs WELL on USB if using IEMs, I just tried with my 600Ohm headphones.. and the sound does start to distort past 2:00ish on the volume.  Sorry about that. 

To me, the two 627AU's impart more widely seperated instruments/soundstage..likely partly due to being on own adapters for L/R. 
The 627AU's also appear to have more pronounced lower Bass than the 797B's, while the 797B's seem to have a tighter, more dynamic sound.
 
In driving DT990/600Ohm mode: @full volume the AD797B's give my Beyers that slight itchy-ear feeling as the Drivers vibrate the cups on the sides of my head! Over the slightly less powerful/dynamic OPA627AU's.  I love BOTH tho, like HOT twins... they both push the right buttons.


I briefly tried... LME49720HA in Buff sockets. Like a Tim Burton movie... it's a nice sureal trip... that's not quite right....
Hard to put into words, it seemed the Vocals were less upfront... and kind-of intermixed/smeared into the Freaky Wide 3D SoundScape.... haha
In the Center Socket the 49720HA seems quite capable... perhaps the least colored of the 3 op-amps tried.

 

[HiFlight]

A couple of other suggestions for the D6 LR:  ....
 
 TLE2142 .... OPA2211.....AD744 Output Bypassed ....OPA1612 ....LME49860...THS4032.   It is hard to find a better buffer for the D6 than the LMH6655 which is the stock buffer.  THS4032 also works well as a buffer. 
Most of the LME49xxx series sound rather cold and over-analytical to me.  The 49860 seems to be the best of the lot that I have tried. 
 
Ron

 

[enjaygee]

I just found a potential problem that probably won't be an issue for 99.99% of people. But! It was a problem for me, so here it goes.
 
Do not, and I repeat, DO NOT, use the iBasso D6 with USB 3.0 ports! Occasionally, a quick, terribly loud static noise will blast through the output.
My motherboard is a Gigabyte 880GMA-UD2H. An easy way to test this problem if you're using USB 3.0 is to go to the volume tab in Windows taskbar and click the volume test button about 20 times or so in quick succession (be sure to take off your headphones when testing this).
 
I thought it was just a defect of my D6, but I think I have confirmed that it has something to do with its compatibility with the USB 3.0 ports on my motherboard.
 
Edit: perhaps this is placebo, but the D6 sounds slightly better on USB 2.0 as well...
Edit #2: not a placebo. After listening for a few hours, I would actually say the difference is night and day. The bass is so much fuller, the highs are no where near as piercing as they used to be, the soundstage is so much wider. It's like I'm listening to a completely different amp. My satisfaction in the iBasso just climbed exponentially. Does anyone know why USB 3.0 would make the D6 behave this way? USB 3.0 is supposed to be backwards compatible with 2.0 devices, I thought. Really don't know the explanation for this.

 

[vpsporb]

Quote:

A couple of other suggestions for the D6 LR:  ....
 
 TLE2142 .... OPA2211.....AD744 Output Bypassed ....OPA1612 ....LME49860...THS4032.   It is hard to find a better buffer for the D6 than the LMH6655 which is the stock buffer.  THS4032 also works well as a buffer. 
Most of the LME49xxx series sound rather cold and over-analytical to me.  The 49860 seems to be the best of the lot that I have tried. 
 
Ron

Thanks Ron, out of that line-up I'd really like to try the OPA211's and OPA1611's. I read that they are quite similiar, and If I had to choose... I'd have to give a nod to your golden ears!

If they are anything like my OPA627AU's, they are quite special chips indeed! 
 

 

 

[ZeroAtlas]

I have had the same problem using the D6. its has happened twice where i got hit with the most hurtful sounding static noise. I wasn't sure whether it was the amp issue or a PC issue. It is not a USB 3.0 problem. I have the same issue on my laptop, which has only 2.0. I have not been able to reproduce the error but i will test it using the volume test button as you suggested.

 
Quote:

I just found a potential problem that probably won't be an issue for 99.99% of people. But! It was a problem for me, so here it goes.
 
Do not, and I repeat, DO NOT, use the iBasso D6 with USB 3.0 ports! Occasionally, a quick, terribly loud static noise will blast through the output.
My motherboard is a Gigabyte 880GMA-UD2H. An easy way to test this problem if you're using USB 3.0 is to go to the volume tab in Windows taskbar and click the volume test button about 20 times or so in quick succession (be sure to take off your headphones when testing this).
 
I thought it was just a defect of my D6, but I think I have confirmed that it has something to do with its compatibility with the USB 3.0 ports on my motherboard.
 
Edit: perhaps this is placebo, but the D6 sounds slightly better on USB 2.0 as well...
Edit #2: not a placebo. After listening for a few hours, I would actually say the difference is night and day. The bass is so much fuller, the highs are no where near as piercing as they used to be, the soundstage is so much wider. It's like I'm listening to a completely different amp. My satisfaction in the iBasso just climbed exponentially. Does anyone know why USB 3.0 would make the D6 behave this way? USB 3.0 is supposed to be backwards compatible with 2.0 devices, I thought. Really don't know the explanation for this.

 

[vpsporb]

Addendum:
 Hmm, I just put the stock AD8065A back into L/R  and the Volume level does go to almost as loud as with the AD797,OPA627 driving 600Ohm Beyers, just not as full, rich, dynamic sounding.
I could have sworn it was waay lower originally, I must've left Gain on low or something when testing.? 
The D6 is better than I thought stock!   
My bad...

 

[enjaygee]

I haven't been able to reproduce this problem on my USB 2.0 ports (using the abovementioned method). Haven't heard the noise in over a day now (I was getting it a couple times a day with USB 3.0). Might be a potential fault of the D6 then if yours is doing it on a completely different system with 2.0 ports. That's unfortunate...
 
Quote:

I have had the same problem using the D6. its has happened twice where i got hit with the most hurtful sounding static noise. I wasn't sure whether it was the amp issue or a PC issue. It is not a USB 3.0 problem. I have the same issue on my laptop, which has only 2.0. I have not been able to reproduce the error but i will test it using the volume test button as you suggested.

 

[vpsporb]

Lucky I haven't had any USB issues myself, even having a Gamma1 DAC hooked to USB @same time as my D6 and switching between the 2 in Win7speaker/MediaMonkey.
 
Aww, I just noticed OPA627's don't reproduce "Ghosts n Things" by Deadmau5 properly...Keyboard/Organs? are Off.   
Rolled the AD797BR's back.... and "Ghosts n Things" sounds as creapy as sposed to!    [edit]  and, the vocals in "I Remember" are rendered back superlatively... just gorgeous Female vocals!
[EDIT]
The Organ offness with the OPA627's likely because of not synergising well with the LMH6655 buffers. The song sounds fine amped by my other amp with OPA627's and HA5002 buffers.

 

[Jalo]

Has this problem been reported to Ibasso and has anyone received any feedback from Ibasso yet?  I am just wondering with their rapid development of new products, could it be that the product testing be suffering from lack of attention?

 

[kiseki]

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