[Lurker0]

Cons... same as DX200 regarding software

Don't forget than on both DX200 and DX150, UAPP and Neutron play bit perfect even with stock firmware, and extend functionality a lot, including streaming. Android itself is rock stable.

it;s battery (on paper) looks good

Even better in real life - see above

 

[Dobrescu George]

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.

Will make sure of that, along with testing done in multiple listening sessions, and with multiple more neutral IEMs to assert the sonic abilities of each

 

[seanwee]

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...

The DX200 would be the best imo. The WM1A's balanced out wasn't that good and its SE sucks. Its really unbecoming for something of that price to sound like a sidegrade compared to DAPs like the N5ii which is only $369. The ZX300 is basically a worse version of the WM1A. Sony players have a problem of sounding congested on orchestral type music so that's why I'll recommend the DX200 over all of them except maybe the WM1Z, it's more versatile with different genres of music.

 

[maira]

Anybody able to compare Soundstage and tonality to DX90? Thanks!

 

[Hawaiibadboy]

 

[mrmoto050]

Ha, you bought one! How do you like the sound signature?

 

[BlueWindNoise]

Anybody able to compare Soundstage and tonality to DX90? Thanks!

This doesn't really answer the question directly but I'd been wondering how the DX90 measured up against the DX150. So, I took a few minutes to compare the two and while I do prefer the DX150 over the DX90, I was quickly reminded of just how good the DX90 is. The following is very subjective and merely my opinion.

It wasn't a terribly scientific comparison. I used iBasso IT03 IEMs with the single-ended cable from the IT01 (which is a great cable, btw). I approximated volumes between the two and went back and forth listening to specific sections of certain songs. Note, if you do this, pay close attention to where the line out and phone out jacks are on the devices (hint: they don't match and if you get it wrong and have the line out volume all the way up...well it's breathtaking.).

The DX90 still sounds great. It's got that sparkle that I've always enjoyed and it does have some low-end impact. The mids are very solid if not a tad recessed to me. Its soundstage is very good. It's resolving and the background is as black as can be.

Comparing it to the DX150 though, I started to notice a few things. The DX90's high end seemed to be a little more up front and perhaps have a little more impact. The bass felt more prominent on the DX90 as well, leading me to feel like the mids were a bit more recessed than I thought. The DX90 never sounded congested but it just didn't have the same openness or air that the DX150 had.

I found the DX150 to be more resolving, and more balanced across frequencies. The bass to me wasn't quite as upfront on the DX150 but it still had impact. I thought the quality of the low end was improved as well. The same held true for the highs. The sparkle and decay was better on the DX150. As a result, I enjoy the mids more on the DX150. Everything has a bit more room with the wider soundstage. The DX150 feels more open and airy leading to greater separation. To me, it's just a little bit better across the board. A bit smoother. A bit more resolving.

These aren't huge differences of course but going from one to the other and back again they were noticeable to me.

So, I love my DX90. It's the DAP I've spent the most time with overall. It's small and can fit in a pocket. It has removable batteries that are easy to source. Its line out doesn't overpower the aux in on my car stereo. It's very well made and it's given me no trouble at all. I much prefer it over the DX80 that I had for a short time. And it sounds fantastic.

Between the DX90 and the DX150 though, the latter wins for me. And that shouldn't really be a surprise as the DX90 has been around for years now and the DX150 is the latest creation from iBasso. The DX150 edges out the DX90 in sound quality, at least to my ears. Add to that the updated form factor, changeable amp modules, balanced output, Android, and larger screen, and the DX150 brings a lot to the table.

Right now, on Amazon in the US the DX90 can be had for $367 which is a good deal. The DX150 direct from iBasso is $499 and I believe that's a great deal as well. For me, I'd spend the extra money and get the DX150, without a doubt. If you already have the DX90, then it's a harder decision but I still think the DX150 offers a lot of advantages and is a very worthy upgrade to the DX90.

I'm really digging the DX150 and think it's a great DAP that checks most, if not all, of the boxes for me. That said, I have no plans to part with my DX90.

 

[HarlanDraka]

Hi guys, what is the difference between sound style standard vs full sound? I’m testing the dx150 with amp5 and PP8 and trying to figure out the differences between the two sound styles...to my ears full sound has sligthly more bass but I may be wrong..

 

[maira]

This doesn't really answer the question directly

Maybe, but its a great comparison. As i remember the DX90 i think DX150 is at best on par with the Pono Player i own. Cpmpared to the DX90 it is less aggressive, better Stage etc. .

 

[BlueWindNoise]

Maybe, but its a great comparison. As i remember the DX90 i think DX150 is at best on par with the Pono Player i own. Cpmpared to the DX90 it is less aggressive, better Stage etc.

I don't have the Pono but hopefully someone can provide a comparison. I'm really impressed with the DX150 and would definitely be interested in hearing how folks think it measures up against other DAPs.

 

[Hawaiibadboy]

 

[cleg]

Well, what can I say, about DX150…



I must admit that iBasso aren't good businessmen . While 99% of other companies would artificially limit their lower-priced model to make flagship more competitive, iBasso releases model that is really close to flagship.
And I want to thank them for it

For sure, DX200 is sonically better DAP, but difference isn't big, and in some aspects I prefer DX150 even more

 

[mfrahme]

Hi!
Here's what's happening with my DX 150: I will select an album to play. The album will play just fine until the last song. At that point, the song stops about 3-4 seconds before the end. However, if I play the final song by itself, it will play all the way to the end. I've tried a factory reset, as well as trying all the different digital filters. No difference. I've contacted Paul about this and they are looking into it. Has anyone else had this problem?

I figured out the problem with my DX150. It seems that the player i snot Apple friendly . Here's a copy of the letter stating my discovery that I just sent to Paul:

"Hi Paul,



As you know, I got frustrated over the problems that I was having with my DX150. The last song of every album would stop 3-4 secs before the end. You and I conversed many times in an effort to find a solution, but we were not able to do so. The only thing that I could think of at that point was that my DX 150 was defective. I sent it back to you and am awaiting a refund. Honestly, it hurt me to return it. It sounded SO GOOD! Hoping that had a defective unit, I went ahead and ordered another one on Amazon, knowing that I would have a 30 day return policy, if I needed it.


My new DX150 arrived yesterday and I looked forward to setting it up the next day. I did NOT install the new firmware, thinking that my problem could be related to that. I loaded my sd card, had the device scan it and I played an album…..all sounded good until I got to the last song and then it stopped 3-4 seconds early!!!! I couldn’t believe it!


I noticed that the file counter beneath the album art was twice as large as it should be. For example, if I was listening to an album with 14 tracks, the counter would read “1/28” instead of “1/14” as it should. Out of curiosity, I went into the sd card on the DAP through the explorer app. I found that there were duplicate “ghost” files/icons in every folder and every subfolder. For every song, there was a “ghost’ file/icon. Over 14,000 songs!! I’m assuming that this happened because my original music files were created on my MacBook Pro and the DX150 is Android-based. In other words, there was a Windows icon and a Mac icon. I will use the Beatles song, Let It Be as an example. The files would resemble this:


._Let It Be ( and so on) (these were the “ghost files/icons) Mac


as opposed to :


.Let It Be (and so on.) Windows


I deleted the “ghost” files/icons on one album and tried playing that album. The album played all the way through to the end without stopping early. It was perfect! I went back into the sd card and continued deleting the “ghost” files/icons. I continued to play 5-6 more albums, all of them playing correctly! My other players (iBasso DX 80, Onkyo DP-X1A and FiiO X7) play these same files perfectly (even with the “ghost” files/icons on the card.) I don’t understand why the iBasso doesn’t. I’m hoping that a future firmware update may address this problem. I wonder if other Mac owners are experiencing the same problem? If not, I will have to go into the sd card on the DX 150 and manually remove these files every time I put new music on the sd card.


Paul, thank you for your patience with me as we dealt with this problem. I am so glad that I figured it out. The DX150 is an amazing player and I’m looking forward to many, many hours of listening pleasure with it."



Are there any other Mac owners that are having this problem? If not, what are you doing differently from me, or what am I doing wrong???

 

[TBomb06]

I noticed this as well, but thought something else was going on initially. I had a ton of unorganized songs and I thought something was wrong with my ID tags, then when I looked at the SD card on a non-Mac computer I saw all of the duplicate "._" files, which I believe OS X utilizes for indexing purposes (Time Machine, Spotlight, etc.) You can manually delete them like you have, or you can run the "dot_clean" tool in OS X. I did not notice this issue with my Cayin N5ii, so there is something about the DX150 that recognizes these files while others ignore them. It's definitely annoying.

 

[alphanumerix1]

Someone test the dx150 and dx200 with the same amp