I thought I would take a crack at evaluating the Ibasso Dx100 which I received 5 days ago. It's probably got about 40 hours of playtime with a variety of music, so things will definitetly get better with time. When I review a piece of equipment I like to measure it against criteria that I believe will tell me whether or not it is of audiophile quality. These are some of the criteria I use to judge:
- It has high resolution and is able to resolve complex musical passages.
- It is detailed
- Bass is full range from top to bottom
- Strong dynamics
- Excellent imaging
- A realistic sound stage
- Space and air between the instruments
- Realistic decay
- The timbre of acoustic instruments must be natural
- You've become addicted to your music and or you've re discovered it.
In order to give this review some context I've included a few of the songs that I will reference throughout the review; this way you can be an active participant.
“The One” by John McLaughlin is a jazz oriented album with superb musicianship and is very well recorded. On this album I've chosen the 2nd track "special being" because of the delicacy of the interplay between the drummer's hi hat and cymbal work. He plays his hi hat on the beat then off the beat with occasional splashes of the hi hat for accent purposes. This is when you use the heel of your foot to strike the hi hat which creates the splash sound. I can also tell he's using a wood snare drum with a depth of probably 4 inches. This is incredible detail and is not always apparent on other systems, where you would be hard pressed to know if he was playing a brass or wood snare. Cymbal articulation is pin point exacting. The bass on this song is very full; let's be frank these guys are sooo good...nice decay at the end of the song.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sx-Brpx6pDE
This next one is a song titled “Real Life' by Phil Woods on his album Real Life (Chesky Recording). All of the instruments are acoustic. This one I have hard time listening to on lessor systems because of the use of brass instruments and the way they can be poorly rendered: alto sax, trumpet, flugelhorn, trombone, baritone and tenor sax. Here I can clearly the hear and see the delineation between the instruments. Brass instruments when played together can sound like one big honking noise, but the Ibasso does a great job of resolving complex passages when the brass instruments are all playing together. The stand up bass is well rendered and I can hear when the bassist's finger nail strike the bass after he hits a note.
This next one is an excerpt from Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition featuring a gigantic pipe organ (Dorian recording). This one goes real low and has been known to melt lesser sub woofers if played too loud. There's a beautiful call and response where the spacing and depth is breath taking. Do not play this in front of your young children, this will frighten them.
"When the Music's Over" (Strange Days Electra 96/24 Paul Rothchild production) by the Doors is a nice example of dynamics with Jim's voice rendered in all its glory: front and center with a very, very black background. Between the 6:20 and 6:40 minute mark, the drummer is playing his hi hat while cross sticking the snare drum. You can actually hear him alter the pressure of his foot on the hi hat as the tone changes. This is crazy stuff.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5gTpvcSVWFU
On Jeff Beck's Emotion and Commotion with Joss Stone singing“I put a spell on you” you can hear her breathing between notes and the saliva building up in her mouth at the 2:39 minute mark. On “There's no other Me” the Ibasso demonstrates excellent dynamics with the drummer's bass drum beats clearly pressed up against your ear drums.
“You had it Coming” by Jeff Beck featuring Roy's Toy and Dirty Mind just simply rock and you are allowed to get up and dance to “Dirty Mind”, where there's an explosion of energy that takes place at the 2:29 minute mark; again the Ibasso captures this energy nicely.
I put a spell
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HEomylSgqeY&feature=fvst
There's no other me
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QCX71vxVGj0
Roy's Toy
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3VvgExnerp4
Dirty mind w/imogen heap
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fcb36OSUTzg
I wanted to include many more songs but I thought I should get this out there ASAP. So is the Ibasso DX100 an audiophile player? YES! This is one impressive all in one player and meets or exceeds my expectations in all areas of sound quality. As I measure what I hear against my criteria I can check mark each and every item. I can't wait to put more hours on this player as I can imagine I'm in for a real treat.
For this review I used Sennheiser HD 650's and Ears 1964 Quads. Everything is in stock form. The music was ripped to my computer and uploaded to the Ibasso.
As a musician and music lover I want to thank all of you for peaking my passion even more, if that was even possible.
