[pr0xy89]

so excited for the D6 to arrive.. never had a good DAC before!

 

[mab1376]

Thanks Ron for researching/making the topkit!
 
I've been using it for an hour or so and it it sounds amazing! Not much different from the stock op amps just a much more extended sound stage.
 
But wouldn't you know so far I haven't had any white noise issues since installing it, I figured since I didn't send it out to iBasso for an RMA yet, i'd give it s shot. So far so good! I've got my fingers crossed, maybe I had a bad buffer or something. Who knows!
 
I really don't want to have to send it to China!

 

[pr0xy89]

need help anyone.. just got my D6 a couple of days ago and i been noticing a major problem. Does anybody switch it to battery when connected to the USB? whenever i switch it to the USB there is a major difference in sound, in that the sound is more distorted and very staticy. When i put it on high gain and on USB switch the sound is completely distorted and destroyed. however, when i switch it to battery high gain the sound is perfect? is this a defective unit?
 
So in essence, USB = Horrible staticy and Batter = perfect? just days ago my USB is just fine but today it got crazy distorted and sounded horrble.

 

[mab1376]

Depends on the op amp you're using, I had the same issue with an ad797brz, it requires a min 5v per op amp and USB power only provides 5v total.
 
If you're still using stock op amps then there might be some bigger issue.

 

[pr0xy89]

odd.. kept playing music and the grainy/distorted sound went away.. maybe initial power shock??

 

[MrScary]

need help anyone.. just got my D6 a couple of days ago and i been noticing a major problem. Does anybody switch it to battery when connected to the USB? whenever i switch it to the USB there is a major difference in sound, in that the sound is more distorted and very staticy. When i put it on high gain and on USB switch the sound is completely distorted and destroyed. however, when i switch it to battery high gain the sound is perfect? is this a defective unit?
 
So in essence, USB = Horrible staticy and Batter = perfect? just days ago my USB is just fine but today it got crazy distorted and sounded horrble.

The USB is not providing enough power to power the opamps even the stock ones just use the battery and leave the adapter brick plugged in if you wish.
Personally I think the USB mode on the D6 is a joke it would work fine for IEM's but regular headphones with higher impedance it gives no headroom

 

[HiFlight]

 
Quote:

need help anyone.. just got my D6 a couple of days ago and i been noticing a major problem. Does anybody switch it to battery when connected to the USB? whenever i switch it to the USB there is a major difference in sound, in that the sound is more distorted and very staticy. When i put it on high gain and on USB switch the sound is completely distorted and destroyed. however, when i switch it to battery high gain the sound is perfect? is this a defective unit?
 
So in essence, USB = Horrible staticy and Batter = perfect? just days ago my USB is just fine but today it got crazy distorted and sounded horrble.

 
A couple of suggestions...
 
Do not use a USB hub. (unless it is externally powered)
Try a couple of other USB ports.  If you are using one that has other items such as keyboard, mouse, printer, etc on the same circuit, you will not get full USB voltage to your D6. 
 
I use my D6 with USB as my main computer monitor with headphones and it works just fine.
 
 

 

[Sid-Fi]

I received my D6 along with Ron's topkit yesterday. Two days after my order was placed it had traveled from China to my doorstep in Arizona. Such amazing speed and service from Ibasso and UPS. Very impressive.
 
I am really impressed with D6. I am sitting here listening to my HD 650 with Jena Labs cable and am having a really hard time believing what I am hearing - this little portable amp driving them pretty nicely! The USB implementation is light years ahead of that of my D10. The sound is extremely clear through USB and has very nice detail retrieval. 24/96 files definitely are supported as advertised and sound great. With the stock op amps, I felt like it was a little bright and that separation and sound stage weren't very impressive though. The top kit really delivered here. Separation and imaging really improved significantly right off the bat, and the brightness I was perceiving mellowed out. Overall, this is doing extremely well driving my HD 650 and I can hardly believe I can listen to them mobile now!
 
All these positives being said however, I definitely notice pretty readily how HD 650 scale a lot higher with my balanced Audio-gd NFB-10WM which has insane power. The NFB10 drive the HD 650 with much more authority and give it a much fuller and more controlled bass with more extension. However, this is not exactly a fair comparison and I am pretty thrilled that it can power my HD 650s as well as it does. Also, the D6 handles my Sennheiser IE8 IEMs great, with no perceivable hiss on most of my music, although I have noticed a little background hiss on certain tracks where I never hear hiss on my full-size setup. 
 
More impressions later with a little more burn-in.

 

[arman89]

I have an issue with very loud static noise occurring from time to time when using D6 as USB DAC/AMP or standalone DAC. And this what i got from ibasso as a reply:
 
"Hi,
Do you have a USB hub? This usually is the USB voltage supply problem. Some computer's USB cant output stable 5V voltage. A USB hub can solve this problem. Please try it.
Please feel free to ask me questions.
 
Sincerely
iBasso Audio"
 
So, my question is, should i really try using a hub, even though i'm using it only powered by internal battery? Thanks.

 

[jazzfan]

 
Just posted a few thoughts on the iBasso D6 over in the Head Gear area  http://www.head-fi.org/products/ibasso-d6-fer-de-lance for those who might be interested.

Thanks

 

[Sid-Fi]

Very nice review. It was well laid-out, thoughtful, and fair in my opinion. My impressions have seemed to match yours so far, except for the improvements the top kit brought. I would be interested in any updates, so please let  us know if you ever try the topkit or other opamps and update your review. For me, it all comes down to the D6 being very good for a portable, but there still being a noteworthy gap in sound quality between a good high-powered full-size unit.

 

[jazzfan]

Quote:

Very nice review. It was well laid-out, thoughtful, and fair in my opinion. My impressions have seemed to match yours so far, except for the improvements the top kit brought. I would be interested in any updates, so please let  us know if you ever try the topkit or other opamps and update your review. For me, it all comes down to the D6 being very good for a portable, but there still being a noteworthy gap in sound quality between a good high-powered full-size unit.

 
Thanks Sid-Fi.  It will likely be a while before I try out a Topkit, but I will provide impressions if and when I do.

For now, I'm just going to relax and enjoy the music.  (You're packing an awesome CPU rig, by the way.)

 

[pr0xy89]

Quote:

The USB is not providing enough power to power the opamps even the stock ones just use the battery and leave the adapter brick plugged in if you wish.
Personally I think the USB mode on the D6 is a joke it would work fine for IEM's but regular headphones with higher impedance it gives no headroom

took your advice and been using the Batt. instead of the USB.. there is a considerable amount for difference in the bass and the brightness. Batt. >>> USB
 

 

[qawsedrf]

took your advice and been using the Batt. instead of the USB.. there is a considerable amount for difference in the bass and the brightness. Batt. >>> USB
 

Indeed. My HD650 sounded tiny using the USB selector, but with the Battery, it gains more grunt and drive. I've accidentally left the power selection on USB for some time and have forgotten about it, so when I plugged in my HD650 it sounded surprisingly weird lol.

 

[pr0xy89]

^^ the difference is enormous.. i was definitely missing out.