[seanwee]

Don't have Q5, but doesn't it have the same DAC as X7ii? In that case when you have the same dac/amp combo you can expect a similar sound.

DX200 and DX150 share the same modular design to take advantage of sharing the same interchangeable amp modules, but they have different DACs so you should expect a sound variation. Besides, why would a company release a product at almost half the price and identical performance of their flagship which going to kill sales of their flagship There has to be some trade off.

I'm slowly getting through my review queue, so hopefully will get to dx150 and new amp modules and all the comparison soon.

Nah I was just teasing George
He says that he can't hear any difference between the Q5 and X7ii

The Q5 and X7ii use different DACs. The Q5 has dual akm4490 and the X7ii has a single 9028pro.

The DX150 uses dual akm4490 DACs and the DX200 uses dual 9028pros.

See the correlation now? The only difference is that the DX200 has one extra 9028pro DAC.

 

[alphanumerix1]

Don't have Q5, but doesn't it have the same DAC as X7ii? In that case when you have the same dac/amp combo you can expect a similar sound.

DX200 and DX150 share the same modular design to take advantage of sharing the same interchangeable amp modules, but they have different DACs so you should expect a sound variation. Besides, why would a company release a product at almost half the price and identical performance of their flagship which going to kill sales of their flagship There has to be some trade off.

I'm slowly getting through my review queue, so hopefully will get to dx150 and new amp modules and all the comparison soon.

Different Dac in q5 and x7ii.

 

[Lurker0]

Firmware 2.9.250L0 is available for downloading!​

Note: The primary USB Audio function does not work as it should: USB DAC appears in the system and is recognized by applications, but playback produces no sound. I hope it will be fixed in future firmware builds. You can still use its System settings.

This build incorporates almost all changes that was done for DX200. The "missing" items are:

• No pure Mango mode.
• New power controller means my changes to the charging process are inapplicable.
• That unexpected fail with USB Audio!

My DX150 showed continuous playback of 16/44 pink noise (high gain, volume 70, burn-in cable) for 12 hours 44 minutes, which is more than 2 hours above the similar test with the stock firmware!

Frankly, I couldn't test all the functionality. So, you may consider this build as a public beta release. Should you find that something is worse than with the stock firmware, please PM me! But please don't bug me with problems identical to the official firmware

 

[BlueWindNoise]

Firmware 2.9.250L0 is available for downloading!

Updated and rebooting now!

 

[icefalkon]

Firmware 2.9.250L0 is available for downloading!​

Note: The primary USB Audio function does not work as it should: USB DAC appears in the system and is recognized by applications, but playback produces no sound. I hope it will be fixed in future firmware builds. You can still use its System settings.

This build incorporates almost all changes that was done for DX200. The "missing" items are:

• No pure Mango mode.
• New power controller means my changes to the charging process are inapplicable.
• That unexpected fail with USB Audio!

My DX150 showed continuous playback of 16/44 pink noise (high gain, volume 70, burn-in cable) for 12 hours 44 minutes, which is more than 2 hours above the similar test with the stock firmware!

Frankly, I couldn't test all the functionality. So, you may consider this build as a public beta release. Should you find that something is worse than with the stock firmware, please PM me! But please don't bug me with problems identical to the official firmware

Thank you once again Lurker for your awesome work!

 

[Vaiet]

Okay... I can't find a straight answer or I'm just blind. Does DX150 have 2 boot modes like DX200 - Android and Mango? Or is it somehow mixed with android mode + mango player?

 

[Lurker0]

Does DX150 have 2 boot modes like DX200 - Android and Mango?

It is Android only.

 

[Vaiet]

Ghh... I can't decide between DX200, DX150, Sony WM1A and ZX300A... And it's killing me!

 

[jerick70]

Ghh... I can't decide between DX200, DX150, Sony WM1A and ZX300A... And it's killing me!

But them all......

 

[jamato8]

Ghh... I can't decide between DX200, DX150, Sony WM1A and ZX300A... And it's killing me!

What do you want out of the player? IMO the best sound is the DX200 with AMP4 and give or take, DX200 with AMP3 with some differences, the WM!Z and DX200 are on the same footing. I had the WM1A and preferred and have the WM1Z as it is better sounding.

 

[Dobrescu George]

Don't have Q5, but doesn't it have the same DAC as X7ii? In that case when you have the same dac/amp combo you can expect a similar sound.

DX200 and DX150 share the same modular design to take advantage of sharing the same interchangeable amp modules, but they have different DACs so you should expect a sound variation. Besides, why would a company release a product at almost half the price and identical performance of their flagship which going to kill sales of their flagship There has to be some trade off.

I'm slowly getting through my review queue, so hopefully will get to dx150 and new amp modules and all the comparison soon.

Please let us know if you manage to hear a clear difference when using the exact same AMP module

DX150 comes with a different default module, there are many differences between the two, but DACs can sound darn close to each other sometimes, even different DACs/.

Q5 and X7mkii have different DACs and they sound the same using the same AMP module. I mean, I said this before, but on Q5/X7mkii, I do challenge people to tell them apart because they are so darn close when using the same AMP module. Well, there, they are different things as well, X7mkii is a DAP, where Q5 is a DAC/AMP.

For DX150 and DX200, I need more time to tell apart some differences, when using the same AMP module. The whole point of DX150 is that it doesn't look quite as premium as DX200, it seems to have a slightly different ability array and DX200 is still their flagship

 

[Dobrescu George]

BTW, I believe in differences between DACs, it is just that on X7mkii and Q5, they are darn hard to tell apart when using the same AMP module

 

[Vaiet]

This one's gonna be pretty long, so brace yourself

Before every each of my purchases, I am reading all I can find about particular piece of gear, to gather as much data as possible. All the pros, all the cons, all the angles I can cover to summarize the data and compare it to my needs and epectations.
I am myself writing reviews, mainly the portable gear but so far only in my native, polish language. I am nowhere near guys like @Dobrescu George or @twister6 but I'm trying

Anyway, I've owned only a few DAPs and few of them I had a pleasure to hear and/or review including Opus #1 and #3, iBasso DX200+AMP1, iBasso DX80 (@lurker), AK300, Fiio X5-3, Fiio M3, AK380, XDP-100R, Shanling M1, iPod Touch 1G and 6G and maybe few others I don't remember.

I'm sticking to XDP-100R because of it's amazing SQ, near perfect sound characteristic, great battery (12-13h FLAC playback with ease) and amazing functionality. To be perfect it needs 3 things - Balanced output, USB-DAC function and MOAR POWAH! Just a tiny bit at least.

In the IEM departament my wet dream came true - Fidue A91 Sirius and this is the only thing that can't change in my rig. Everything else - Cardas A8 30th AE and CA Ei.XX - can be replaced. Even tho the latter with my custom 8-strand hybrid cable are on a whole new level comparing to the previous Linum Bax, which lasted whole 5 months of use

But, to the point. WM1Z is hella out of my financial reach and I am not gonna sell my kidney to get one. There are the boundaries of reason which I am not willing to cross. At least not for now.

WM1A and DX200 are the maximum I can financialy stretch myself for now and I cen get both for the same price. Sony will be 6 months old but the DX200 will be brand new straight from iBasso with AMP1. AMP3 would join me in next... well, at least few months.

WM1A is almost a legend with it's epic balanced output SQ, it looks damn sexy, has an epic battery and big enough storage to delay buying a memory card. And it comes with a Valentinum case The cons are, it lacks streaming capabilities, USB DAC function and it's SE output is significantly weaker in terms of power and SQ from what I've heard.

DX200 is the beast I know and even with AMP1 I liked it more than... AK380 xD Kill me for it, they were playing in the same league, but somehow I liked iBasso more. It handles streaming, can work as a USB-DAC and practicaly it's a damn mobile powerhouse with it's 6V at BO and the AMP3 will make it even more suitable for my taste. It's battery is a joke tho, the software is known to change the sound characteristics between updates and the AMP3 is another expense.

ZX300A - cheaper, almost equally good with balanced as WM1A, works as USB-DAC, looks great, same functionality as WM1A (BT etc). It demands to buy mem card, case and I'm risking a customs and tax which all together place it like 200 USB away from WM1A I can get. Also it's SE is significantly worse than the WM1A has. At least from what I've read.

DX150 - damn sexy beast with replacable AMPs, near same functionality as DX200, has QC and costs as much as ZX300A with a Dignis Case (without those pesky taxes and customs of course), still has lots of power, it;s battery (on paper) looks good and comes with a spectacular case. Cons... same as DX200 regarding software, but we have @Lurker0 It's sound performance is still some kind of a mystery for me because there are no solid reviews as of yet and Paul didn't have a unit for me to review

I've had an option to buy Cowon Plenue 2 for as much as 800$ but I dropped the idea due to BO giving no advantage over SE.

So... well. I'm like a woman in shoe shopwho wants to buy a pair of each kind of shoes but she can only afford one. I can go for the more expensive option, but there is this sick temptation to go for DX150/ZX300A and buy another pair of IEMs...

 

[twister6]

BTW, I believe in differences between DACs, it is just that on X7mkii and Q5, they are darn hard to tell apart when using the same AMP module

Just make sure you are using less colored and more neutral tuned headphones, bud

For others who are deciding between DAPs, I always suggest to figure out your budget first and then prioritize the features. I ran into a number of cases where people drive themselves crazy just to realize later they wanted streaming thus should have crossed out sony dap from the list, or they prefer Spotify thus should have crossed out a&k from the list, etc.

 

[Vaiet]

Just make sure you are using less colored and more neutral tuned headphones, bud

For others who are deciding between DAPs, I always suggest to figure out your budget first and then prioritize the features. I ran into a number of cases where people drive themselves crazy just to realize later they wanted streaming thus should have crossed out sony dap from the list, or they prefer Spotify thus should have crossed out a&k from the list, etc.

All I have on my Tidal list, I can get as a MP3/FLAC version so the streaming is not a necessity. And after all I have my XDP-100R which will serve me until it's death ]:->
P.S. @twister6 you are one of the few guys (reviewers) whosee opinions really matters to me