iBasso DX300 Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 Octa-core 6GB RAM ******NEW Firmware 2.00 Android 11******

[quodjo105]

I actually prefer the android mango player .. I don’t know .

 

[Ojisan]

Jump!! How is your experience so far ?

Early impressions still (about 30 hours) but I would say that DX300 follows the DX220 (Amp8EX) tuning with a hint of smoothness in the bass to lower mids. I think the smoothness accentuates the slight presence of sharpness (Shh-sound) but it also helps to bring the vocals forward and give tighter decay for instruments. This part is somewhat similar to DX220/Sabre DAC character (and may even be better than Amp1Mk2, I haven't compared that yet). If it's like the Amp8, I think the bass should improve, so I'm still listening.

It's really hard-to-go-wrong device. It sounds dynamic, wide stage, good resolution, drives demanding headphones, fast UI, and excellent battery life (probably nearing Sony level). No hiss with Andro. It's everything I wanted the original FiiO M11 to be 2 years ago.

 

[Whitigir]

Comparing DX Max and DX300 using Campfire Andromeda Gold
Max on Med Gain slow roll of filter (to compensate a bit )
DX300 on high gain D1 filter

Song: Last Resort (reloaded) by Papa Roach and Jeris Johnson

Hissing: DX Max is hissing but much less than DX300. Hissing is not loud but very audible also when not playing songs

Stage and clarity: Again discipline of the max, no match

Low mids and bass: clearer and better separated on Max, punching dryer
Bass muddy on DX300 and bleeding into midrange

I have been listening also to other songs and have the feeling that the low impedance Andromeda Gold is for me not a good pairing as it seems to be warm itself and profiting from clearer more revealing DAPs.
Using ifi iematch is clearing things up but actually I want A DAP to sound good with my favorite IEM without it.

Kind of struggling now as this was one main use case for me for portability using DX300 and Andro Golds...
For me the brick dx max seems to be a better pairing here.
With my Denon Ah D9200 it's a bit different.
There the tube character of DX300 doesn't kill the overall signature of my headphone I like, it's even becoming my preference currently...
Will give it another day for settling down...

Is your MAX with Lurker firmware mod yet ?

 

[behemothkat]

Is your MAX with Lurker firmware mod yet ?

Vince, do you assume any impact because of Lurker0 mod?

 

[FooFighter]

Have you tried a Lotoo Paw S1 with your Andro Golds? I found it to have the best synergy with my AG’s out of all the sources I’ve got. It may look a little unorthodox and I’m not even sure if it’s possible with the DX300, but in the past I’ve just used an Android dap and UAPP with my Paw S1 attached. It may seem silly to use a dac/amp dongle attached to a dap but those Andro Golds are super picky.

With our obsession I feel like the limit for unorthodoxy is floating anyway
I bought Qudelix 5k before Christmas and they are dead silent, also running them balanced with the Andro Gold.
They have and output impedance of 0,38 Ohm.
The thing with the Andro Golds is that they get bassier with less phone put impedance but also lose stage and transparency.
I will compare DX300 to Qudelix with Andro Gold later and give some feedback.
Your question about hookup options is interesting though.
As far as I understand Dx300 can connect via Coax out but not via USB to another DAP, correct?
Paw S1 doesn't have an analogue line-in port, right?
Though it seems to be a top device for IEMS from what I read, even decoding hires in formats that only non dongle-DAPs support: PCM 32K-384KHz, DSD64/DSD128.
But I don't want to strive away too much in this thread.
Don't we all want one DAP for both IEMs and full size cans?

 

[FooFighter]

Is your MAX with Lurker firmware mod yet ?

Yep!

 

[FooFighter]

Early impressions still (about 30 hours) but I would say that DX300 follows the DX220 (Amp8EX) tuning with a hint of smoothness in the bass to lower mids. I think the smoothness accentuates the slight presence of sharpness (Shh-sound) but it also helps to bring the vocals forward and give tighter decay for instruments. This part is somewhat similar to DX220/Sabre DAC character (and may even be better than Amp1Mk2, I haven't compared that yet). If it's like the Amp8, I think the bass should improve, so I'm still listening.

It's really hard-to-go-wrong device. It sounds dynamic, wide stage, good resolution, drives demanding headphones, fast UI, and excellent battery life (probably nearing Sony level). No hiss with Andro. It's everything I wanted the original FiiO M11 to be 2 years ago.

That's interesting that you say no hissing with Andro.
Which Andro are you using?
Balanced or unbalanced?
Can there be such a difference to Andro Gold?
Both Max and DX300 are hissing yet without music playing and that is not like tiger-ear silent but can be heard without efforts.
Max I would say 50% less hiss with Andro Gold running balanced.
Only an ifi iematch does eliminate the hissing in my case

 

[Whitigir]

Yep!

That is another reason to love MaX. It is like a ripen fruit over the years from many people, and based on an ancient 4-5 years old platform.

Let Dx300 burn in some more , but on some senses, I still would love Fidelizer or Lurker to jump in on to it LOL

Vince, do you assume any impact because of Lurker0 mod?

Yes, Lurker mod brought out better dynamic and impacts for the Max. It mainly improve the energy within a tonal body, the cohesiveness, textures and fluidity as a whole, and hence also with better clarity as well.

The DX300 has impacts but not as much as MAX, but if MAX has Lurker firmware then it stretches the differences further

 

[FooFighter]

What also is of course very tempting is the flexibility with changeable amp cards.
But that's a gamble in my case of course hoping for a better synergy with my iems with a future card...
With my Denon full size cans I am yet more and more satisfied with the Dx300

 

[tawmizzzz]

I’ve been asked why I’ve bought a DX300 when I have an R8. I guess I was interested in whether iBasso has set a new flagship price point with the DX300. With the R8 and M8 (the latter with ancient Android version and slow chip) at around 1500GBP and the iBasso at around 1000GBP, price/functionality/sq ratio seems increasingly difficult to pin down. Of course it depends on personal preferences and priorities. I understand that.
What I can say is, in my experience so far, the R8 is some way ahead of the DX300. More euphonic, musical and full bodied, with easily enough detail through the EE Odin. In comparison, the DX, while extremely detailed and broader in soundstage, doesn’t come together yet as a whole package. Still screechy in upper mids and sometimes quite sibilant, it needs to improve in burn in for me to get anywhere near the wholeness of the R8

Which IEM are you getting intense upper mids and some sibilance from with ur DX300? I do agree that R8, so far, is a bit above overall in airiness, texture and the higher frequencies whereas DX300 has more body and energy in the mids and bass. (Ultimately, complimentary). But I feel DX300 is actually quite laid back on upper mids and treble yet very smooth, so I can’t imagine any sibilance (from my IEMs at least).

 

[Whitigir]

Which IEM are you getting intense upper mids and some sibilance from with ur DX300? I do agree that R8, so far, is a bit above overall in airiness, texture and the higher frequencies whereas DX300 has more body and energy in the mids and bass. (Ultimately, complimentary). But I feel DX300 is actually quite laid back on upper mids and treble ywr very smooth, so I can’t imagine any sibilance (from my IEMs at least).

I agree and that is coming from Hd800S and gold 800S as well

 

[CANiSLAYu]

Why is it burn in only “fixes” what people don’t like about an item? It’ll “open” whatever is congested, “tame” whatever is peaky, “tighten” whatever is loose, etc.? Why doesn’t anyone ever say it sounds worse after burn in if there are actual changes to the sound The mind is a powerful thing.

 

[Tristy]

This forum really does make me laugh sometimes... some of these comments hahaha. Endless entertainment.

 

[Tristy]

Why is it burn in only “fixes” what people don’t like about an item? It’ll “open” whatever is congested, “tame” whatever is peaky, “tighten” whatever is loose, etc.? Why doesn’t anyone ever say it sounds worse after burn in if there are actual changes to the sound The mind is a powerful thing.

I've heard a few people say they prefer the IER Z1R bass before burn in ... this is the only instance that I have heard of haha.

 

[DarginMahkum]

Why is it burn in only “fixes” what people don’t like about an item? It’ll “open” whatever is congested, “tame” whatever is peaky, “tighten” whatever is loose, etc.? Why doesn’t anyone ever say it sounds worse after burn in if there are actual changes to the sound The mind is a powerful thing.

One explanation for that would be that the developers of the hardware are tuning the final signature with "burned-in" components which is more acceptable for the end user in several parameters you have mentioned. Then again, isn't any of those parameters compromised during that process?