I have no problem powering my modest headphone collection from the D4, but the D6 does have a considerably higher claimed power rating - this might be the tipping point if you want to driver 'big' cans. I admit that I still equate power with the size of the casing, but I have had a couple of fullsize Chinese DAC/amps which struggled to give me anything approaching the result I get from the D4 - its about so much more than being able to crank up the volume.
Thanks for the input guys. I emailed Ibasso to see if I can get a refund for the D4 which hasn't shipped yet and will look at the D6. The rechargeable battery is one of the selling points I guess.
They also sound great with my RE0's. I just tested critically for the first time. Not a huge difference between the E7 and the D6, but they are just IEM's.
Ugh, you make my mouth water everytime you describe the 797s! I'll probably order some pretty soon and compare them to the THS4031/2s.
Speaking of which, the THS403x runs really well on USB power. I can't actually tell the difference when it's running on battery power. Sounds superb either way. And it's only .5v less than the 797 (minimum of 4.5v instead of 5). Why would .5v make such a difference? Am I missing something about this inefficiency of using USB power?
Hah, sorry for the drool.. the 797B's are a sweet ride. The Radius TWF11K Pro 's sound Unbelievably good with this setup too, should a friend have a pair... jack 'em! lol
Yes a THS4031/2's compare would be interesting. I've read that class-A biasing may be quite useful on Classic older gen. op-amps like the AD797.
hmmm.. class-A biased AD797B's argh... must resist! lol
@jaechung253: I wondered the same myself, in the end the Higher voltage, and longer runtime of the "replaceble" Lithium battery in the D6 was the clincher for me.
The USB 24/96 and the other PCB/circuit design enhancements are just a Bonus.
NOO. They already shipped the D4. Oh well... might as well enjoy with what I got. D4 is still a good capable bang for the buck portable amp. But seriously... I really wish that the D4 had a lithium ion battery.
Oh vpsporb... can you explain the USB 24/96 thing? that seemed like one of the major differences they stressed. What is it and how much more different is it to the D4?
The 24/96 refers to 24 bit / 96kHz, which is the maximum quality at which the DAC can render input. Most rips -- even lossless ones -- do not utilize this feature unless you specify it in the FLAC codec. I think I have like one album that actually utilizes this 24/96 capability.
Some say that even on lower quality music the 24/96 DAC will sound slightly better than a DAC at 16/44. I'll leave that open for discussion -- personally, I can't tell the difference.
NOO. They already shipped the D4. Oh well... might as well enjoy with what I got. D4 is still a good capable bang for the buck portable amp. But seriously... I really wish that the D4 had a lithium ion battery.
Oh vpsporb... can you explain the USB 24/96 thing? that seemed like one of the major differences they stressed. What is it and how much more different is it to the D4?
I guess it depends upon the phones used or hearing but I do hear a difference between the 16/48 and 24/96 on 16/48 recorded. I first noticed then when I had changed my Mac to 24/96 but then thought something had lost something in the chain. The sound was just not as open and transparent. I couldn't figure it out and then noticed my Mac had reverted to 16/48. This has happened a few times over the months, kind of like a double blind study.
I did not have had much time for testing, but so far it sounds good. I did a quick A/B with my Meier Audio Stepdance and the Stepdance seems to give me a tad bit more clarit when compared to D6. When I pluged the Stepdance into a power adapater at 12.6V the difference became more apparent. What is most important though, is that I can now watch movies on my laptop with D6 as a DAC/ Amp and have no hiss on my T5s.
D6 has a great form factor and built quality. I would say Jan Meier should really think more about design because my Stepdance looks awfully cheap next to D6.
All in all I would say I am pleased with the product.
@jaechung253: I've never heard a D4 but I'm sure you'll love it! The D6 looks to be an evolution of the D4.. so the "DNA" should be quite close.
what enjaygee said.. and welcome to team iBasso.
I don't know much else about it really, probably a better/futureproof implementation?. There are some HD music out there @24/96 so, native playback?
In Win7 iBasso speakers.. the D6 can set to only 24bit. and can change between 44hz,48hz,96hz. pretty nice for USB
On my Gamma1 DAC, COAX-in has:16bit,44,48,88,96,176,192hz. 24bit,44,48,96,192hz selectable... What! Talk about a loooong testing session to sample them all! hahaha.
ohhhhhh you have one o' them Stepdances do you? *drool* always wanted to try the "Legend" I agree about the designs or lack of... is why I have not bought a Meier amp.
A good thing about the D6 is the amp design looks to be quite robust, so rolling certain finicky op-amps is possible and will bring the D6 audio quality a couple of steps up @least.
My favs so far are.. "4xAD797BR- buffers, 2xAD797B- center" or "OPA627AU- L/R and stock LM6655 buffers". Both are not cheap.... but both are clearly a step-up in SQ.
I did not have had much time for testing, but so far it sounds good. I did a quick A/B with my Meier Audio Stepdance and the Stepdance seems to give me a tad bit more clarit when compared to D6. When I pluged the Stepdance into a power adapater at 12.6V the difference became more apparent. What is most important though, is that I can now watch movies on my laptop with D6 as a DAC/ Amp and have no hiss on my T5s.
D6 has a great form factor and built quality. I would say Jan Meier should really think more about design because my Stepdance looks awfully cheap next to D6.
All in all I would say I am pleased with the product.
ohhhhhh you have one o' them Stepdances do you? *drool* always wanted to try the "Legend" I agree about the designs or lack of... is why I have not bought a Meier amp.
A good thing about the D6 is the amp design looks to be quite robust, so rolling certain finicky op-amps is possible and will bring the D6 audio quality a couple of steps up @least.
My favs so far are.. "4xAD797BR- buffers, 2xAD797B- center" or "OPA627AU- L/R and stock LM6655 buffers". Both are not cheap.... but both are clearly a step-up in SQ.
Yes, Stepdance is indeed a great amp. I bought D6 because I was mainly after a DAC for my laptop and thus decided to buy a good amp at the same time, and one that would not break the bank - buying Beyers T5s and the Stepdance was a big thing, so I am trying to take it easy (right, waiting for Brainwavz M3 and now thinking about Sony EX1000
).
I really thought that after buying D6 I would buy an upgrade kit that would make it a bit more mellow and warmish sounding, but from the first few hours of listening I do not think Iwill be doing that anymore. It seems that I got used to the detailed and transparent sound of my T5s with the Stepdance and now prefer this kind of sound. So the only option seems to be to purchase the HF TopKit adjusted to my liking and make this amp as close to Stepdance's performance as possible with the added DAC feature and more portabiity in this form.
I would also love to know whether anyone tried to use a portable charger with D6, one like Energizer XP8000 (Stepdance users ot it workin with no soldering or anything) and then this would be a dream portable amp.
I borrowed a pair of very new, not broken in 600-ohm DT-880's and tried them with my D6. If I didn't know it before, I know it now: The 600-ohm cans are much harder to drive than the HD600
I can get them to the same volume level that I use with my HD600's but in high gain I've got the D6 cranked to almost 3pm on the pot. Setting the volume to max yields much distortion, so not recommended! Duh!
I've got 100+ hours on the D6 and I believe the DT's have no more than 10. Now, I don't know the sound signature of the DT-880 (except for what I've read on HF), and it's quite new, but boy are they bright with the D6 at this stage. I won't get much more of an impression as I won't have these phones for much longer. Perhaps I'll give it another go after the 880's get a lot more hours. I can't say I would never try to drive these phones with the D6 but the 250-ohm likely makes a better pairing. Haven't tried that though.
There should be no reason why you couldn't use one of these if you select one with the correct tip for the D6. Of course for desktop use, the included charger works just fine as a power supply. It will not harm the D6 to leave it plugged in continuously.
Ron
Yes, Stepdance is indeed a great amp. I bought D6 because I was mainly after a DAC for my laptop and thus decided to buy a good amp at the same time, and one that would not break the bank - buying Beyers T5s and the Stepdance was a big thing, so I am trying to take it easy (right, waiting for Brainwavz M3 and now thinking about Sony EX1000
).
I really thought that after buying D6 I would buy an upgrade kit that would make it a bit more mellow and warmish sounding, but from the first few hours of listening I do not think Iwill be doing that anymore. It seems that I got used to the detailed and transparent sound of my T5s with the Stepdance and now prefer this kind of sound. So the only option seems to be to purchase the HF TopKit adjusted to my liking and make this amp as close to Stepdance's performance as possible with the added DAC feature and more portabiity in this form.
I would also love to know whether anyone tried to use a portable charger with D6, one like Energizer XP8000 (Stepdance users ot it workin with no soldering or anything) and then this would be a dream portable amp.
This site uses cookies to help personalise content, tailor your experience and to keep you logged in if you register.
By continuing to use this site, you are consenting to our use of cookies.
The Radius TWF11K Pro 's sound Unbelievably good with this setup too, should a friend have a pair... jack 'em! lol
They already shipped the D4. Oh well... might as well enjoy with what I got. D4 is still a good capable bang for the buck portable amp. But seriously... I really wish that the D4 had a lithium ion battery.
