[Shawnb]

That is pretty much the thing, when I mentioned that it is a hit against the credibility of iBasso. I understand the fun part of it, but if the company with years of experience is being judged so quickly even long before the so praised burn-in period end, as lacking the qualities of some hardware hacks people figure out in minutes of time, that is definitely not good. There is a credibility issue for the company and/or the mods. A considerable part of the cost of a product is the engineering time costs spread over time. Which cap was used, is one of the last things that would add up to the costs for a unit that costs close to €2000. And for a company acquiring these components in bulks is cheaper than a few people buying 2-3 of these pieces.

There is another point, though. There is a different attitude in this forum. When I got my FiiO unit, although it was very refined, I collected some ideas that can improve my usability of the device, sent FiiO the list and some of them were implemented with the next beta firmware. They collect the software ideas of what the users want to see over Facebook and try to implement them. I have seen ifi people here. James from FiiO was here (I saw his name below in the list of users) probably reading the possible M15 feedback, Hiby is bringing out R8 and Hiby rep on their forum is making jokes talking about their product.

This expensive product is not just bought by a few people that want to enjoy their mods, but also by users that want to enjoy it as it is. 1000 units and the number of mod candidate units is definitely significantly small number of it. I am sure 95% of the buyers depend on the inherent feature set. Software is what can still be updated by the company, that can influence the usability of the device. That kind of an approach here, that someone wants to see some simple logical refinements (like adding the USB DAC shortcut and cleanup of shortcuts that don't make sense) is what makes this product to a larger group more appealing. It just becomes more refined.

I would expect iBasso value these feedbacks, including the ones about the mods, rather than going silent. A few people might be happy about the small world they created, but I am sure since the mod talks and other criticisms taken completely off-the-rail of the original intention, they lost several customers.

If Ibasso was against mods they wouldn’t of sold the modded AMP8 EX.

 

[denis1976]

If Ibasso was against mods they wouldn’t of sold the modded AMP8 EX.

I don't say that Ibasso is against, maybe they have not enough knowledge or competence to do what the Mods wizards do, maybe they are limited, in fact that man in the chair don't look to happy....

 

[strooper]

I'm certain Ibasso has enough expertise to mod the f&^% out of their products. But they are a mid-fi company producing players that punch above their weight. Affordability, aka, sales volume, matters greatly. The MAX is a step further than they've gone before. Kind of like when Toyota spawned Lexus. But even Lexus has to sell a lot of cars to make money.

 

[Paul - iBasso]

I think you can see from the comparison of our products that we don't have some arbitrary level to the sound to our products. The DX100 was the first high end dap to do DSD. We also have our own engineers for software with years of experience and our hardware engineers also have years of experience in analogue and digital design. Our DX200 and the DX220 perform among the best daps on the market and we offer the AMP modules so a person can tune to their own preference. Even the oscillators we use, were designed to a PPM that had not been done before in such a small packaged chip and this was with our lead and request. If someone does a software or hardware change that does not mean that what we have done is not enough but everyone's desire and taste in sound varies and it is not due to lack of design or parts quality, just a different take on what someone may desire. Enjoy the music and stay safe out there.

 

[strooper]

I think you can see from the comparison of our products that we don't have some arbitrary level to the sound to our products. The DX100 was the first high end dap to do DSD. We also have our own engineers for software with years of experience and our hardware engineers also have years of experience in analogue and digital design. Our DX200 and the DX220 perform among the best daps on the market and we offer the AMP modules so a person can tune to their own preference. Even the oscillators we use, were designed to a PPM that had not been done before in such a small packaged chip and this was with our lead and request. If someone does a software or hardware change that does not mean that what we have done is not enough but everyone's desire and taste in sound varies and it is not due to lack of design or parts quality, just a different take on what someone may desire. Enjoy the music and stay safe out there.

Well said Paul! I love my Ibasso DAPs and am excited to see where the company goes in the future.

 

[rpade]

I'm curious how many MAX owners do most of their listening through streaming services versus DAC/Internal or Micro SD? I suppose I'm a dinosaur, but almost all my listening is either from the onboard memory/Micro SD when out and about, and from Audirvana playing my RAID-box music collection. Actually, it's not just most, it's all of my serious listening. I subscribe to Spotify to learn about new music and for music as background noise, but anything I like/love I own. Like I said--dinosaur.

I use Spotify most since it lets you discover a lot of new songs then I try to find the songs I like and download them in better audio formats. Unfortunately, you can't find the newer songs readily in ProStudioMasters

 

[John Blackshear]

Is it possible to set up the Max to run Roon?

 

[iFi audio]

I have seen ifi people here

It's difficult to not see me. I'm all over the place

 

[strooper]

This argument seems to be going nowhere fast. An owner is disappointed in the WiFi performance. If you stream your music, that's a valid complaint, especially on a TOTL DAP with WiFi. If it's software related, it's important to let Ibasso know because they might be able to fix it. If it's hardware related (e.g., shielding), they should let us know that there isn't a fix. I'm not a frequent streamer, but the performance seems, to me at least, to meet demand, but doesn't have a lot of "head room" in that regard, at least at 2.4 GHz.

The arguments about mods I don't get. If people want to mod their device, they want to mod their device. It's their's, let them mod it. Does it need to be modded to be satisfying, obviously not. Is it insulting to Ibasso to suggest modding? I doubt it. People have preferences--designers and engineers get that. And people have aspirations (and beliefs) that drive them to seek more. I get into RC cars and airplanes. There's a huge market for mods (primarily for the former). In that case, people want an edge in races, but it's the same thing with audio--can I squeeze out a little more and how much am I willing to pay for it? For RC cars, aftermarket companies service the parts. Audio modders do it for themselves as a community. It's no different. That said, would I mod a device I hadn't put months of listening time into? I wouldn't. Would someone else? Sure. Am I wrong for not modding; are they wrong for modding? No and no.

As I see it, the device has some limitations (every device does). Some might (MIGHT) be fixable with a software upgrade. As we know, Ibasso issues those often enough. If it's hardware related, it's okay to be disappointed if the shortcoming affects your usage. Telling someone who shelled out nearly $2K to sell it (at a loss) if they don't like it is pretty harsh if the shortcoming was not common knowledge. But so is telling people to be quiet about mods. Both sides would like something more. Reality is, we all want something more. And that's okay. That's what drives companies, Ibasso very much included, to improve their products. It's what drives the entire tech industry.

That's my two cents worth and now I'll shut up. Sorry if I've offended anyone. I didn't mean to.

 

[rpade]

This argument seems to be going nowhere fast. An owner is disappointed in the WiFi performance. If you stream your music, that's a valid complaint, especially on a TOTL DAP with WiFi. If it's software related, it's important to let Ibasso know because they might be able to fix it. If it's hardware related (e.g., shielding), they should let us know that there isn't a fix. I'm not a frequent streamer, but the performance seems, to me at least, to meet demand, but doesn't have a lot of "head room" in that regard, at least at 2.4 GHz.

The arguments about mods I don't get. If people want to mod their device, they want to mod their device. It's their's, let them mod it. Does it need to be modded to be satisfying, obviously not. Is it insulting to Ibasso to suggest modding? I doubt it. People have preferences--designers and engineers get that. And people have aspirations (and beliefs) that drive them to seek more. I get into RC cars and airplanes. There's a huge market for mods (primarily for the former). In that case, people want an edge in races, but it's the same thing with audio--can I squeeze out a little more and how much am I willing to pay for it? For RC cars, aftermarket companies service the parts. Audio modders do it for themselves as a community. It's no different. That said, would I mod a device I hadn't put months of listening time into? I wouldn't. Would someone else? Sure. Am I wrong for not modding; are they wrong for modding? No and no.

As I see it, the device has some limitations (every device does). Some might (MIGHT) be fixable with a software upgrade. As we know, Ibasso issues those often enough. If it's hardware related, it's okay to be disappointed if the shortcoming affects your usage. Telling someone who shelled out nearly $2K to sell it (at a loss) if they don't like it is pretty harsh if the shortcoming was not common knowledge. But so is telling people to be quiet about mods. Both sides would like something more. Reality is, we all want something more. And that's okay. That's what drives companies, Ibasso very much included, to improve their products. It's what drives the entire tech industry.

That's my two cents worth and now I'll shut up. Sorry if I've offended anyone. I didn't mean to.

Well, that was eloquent.

 

[Shawnb]

If the cord of the DC charger happens to break down the road will we have to purchase a new one or would that be covered under warranty.
Since that likely wouldn't be covered, will the charger eventually make it's way to the Ibasso site or will we have to contact @ibasso directly?

 

[mungster]

If the cord of the DC charger happens to break down the road will we have to purchase a new one or would that be covered under warranty.
Since that likely wouldn't be covered, will the charger eventually make it's way to the Ibasso site or will we have to contact @ibasso directly?

Most acessories and power cord are cover for 6 months and after that you will have to buy directly from manufacturer.

 

[jamato8]

If the cord of the DC charger happens to break down the road will we have to purchase a new one or would that be covered under warranty.
Since that likely wouldn't be covered, will the charger eventually make it's way to the Ibasso site or will we have to contact @ibasso directly?

Looking at the cord now, and it is pretty well made, and has a strain relief. I doubt it is going to break and if someone breaks it, then just buy an 18 volt charger.

 

[Shawnb]

Thanks. Just making sure as I’m prone to breaking cables

 

[gannjunior]

Guys,
Arrived me too.
Batch 94.

I can burn in the circuit using all the output, correct ? It does not matter the output, if I use one of the two 4.4 or 3.5, right ?

Thanks u