[Skullar]

I don’t think it will be a simple decision for you. Both R8 and DX300 are top quality. It may just come down to what flavour you prefer.

You bet. In general i would like to call dx300 musical and organic. And R8 precise and technical.
Unfortunately dx300 has as good technicalities as R8 is musical.

Jeez, this is probably a biggest nonsense i have ever wrote. Or is it? Lol

 

[Deferenz]

You bet. In general i would like to call dx300 musical and organic. And R8 precise and technical.
Unfortunately dx300 has as good technicalities as R8 is musical.

Jeez, this is probably a biggest nonsense i have ever wrote. Or is it? Lol

Ha ha...it makes perfect sense to me. Oh decisions, decisions! Whichever one you give up you will miss, and whichever one you keep you’ll love. I don’t think I’m helping much here am I?

 

[KevP]

You bet. In general i would like to call dx300 musical and organic. And R8 precise and technical.
Unfortunately dx300 has as good technicalities as R8 is musical.

Jeez, this is probably a biggest nonsense i have ever wrote. Or is it? Lol

R8 still more organic and euphonic for me, but still only about 90 hours on the DX300

 

[ThomasHK]

I have yet to plug the DX300 into my Romi BX2 +...need to give it a try. Possibly one of the best transportable amps I have heard

Any update on this?

 

[vanhalen26]

R8 still more organic and euphonic for me, but still only about 90 hours on the DX300

Is it close to even or is R8 a clear winner. I’m trying to decide what to buy. I can’t demo anything here in toronto but I’m still leaning to the dx300 or something second hand, and wait to see what the fiio m17 turns out to be about.

 

[Bosk]

Is there any Lurker Firmware available so far?

Interesting subject.

This is my first iBasso DAP so I've no experience using non-authentic firmware with them. I do follow Bad Guy Good Audio Reviews on YouTube and he made point of advising to use these DAPs only with official firmware, however I'm not sure why. Would be interesting to hear the thoughts of those more knowledgable on the matter.

 

[jamato8]

Interesting subject.

This is my first iBasso DAP so I've no experience using non-authentic firmware with them. I do follow Bad Guy Good Audio Reviews on YouTube and he made point of advising to use these DAPs only with official firmware, however I'm not sure why. Would be interesting to hear the thoughts of those more knowledgable on the matter.

If the coding person is good, there is no reason not to use modified or other FW.

 

[ThomasHK]

@Paul - iBasso

There remains some confusion surrounding the LO/PO, gain settings and volume control.

• LO is supposed to be real line out bypassing amp section, but Gain setting influences LO level. Please explain the signal chain.
• Where is the digital volume in the audio chain?
• Since gain setting influences LO level, do you have Max voltage levels for the different outputs 3.5/4.4 for diff gain settings. This is important to know when hooking up to external amps.

Thanks.

 

[Whitigir]

Gain should be digital gain, and that happens on many DAPs
Volume is also digital volume, and that had been going on for years
the voltage output has already been published by Dx300 User manuals for both Balanced LO and headphones LO
The only question is rather the LO is true line out that is only buffered line voltage or rather a constant voltage but through the amp architecture without current boost ?

 

[ThomasHK]

Gain should be digital gain, and that happens on many DAPs
Volume is also digital volume, and that had been going on for years
the voltage output has already been published by Dx300 User manuals for both Balanced LO and headphones LO
The only question is rather the LO is true line out that is only buffered line voltage or rather a constant voltage but through the amp architecture without current boost ?

You've not answered anything I'm afraid.
Digital gain would imply changing the gain in the digital domain before DAC stage which is not what's happening as the background noise gets louder with increasing volume setting with no audio playing.

An electronically controlled analog gain would make more sense to explain that behavior, but where is it in the signal chain?

Same for the gain settings, is it just modifying the range of the volume setting? Or switching in different circuits? The former would make sense and matches with the impression that noise levels on different gains are equivalent for similar listening levels.

And finally, there is no info on the Max output for different gain settings in the manual.

 

[KevP]

Is it close to even or is R8 a clear winner. I’m trying to decide what to buy. I can’t demo anything here in toronto but I’m still leaning to the dx300 or something second hand, and wait to see what the fiio m17 turns out to be about.

It’s really hard to be definitive as it’s obviously based on personal preferences in terms of SQ. User experience I’d say was equal. Both have Android 9 and 660 chip, which puts them way ahead of others. I love the sound out of my Cayin N6ii, but it’s terrible laggy compared to the R8 and DX300.

I thought R8 was endgame for me. But something made me want to try the DX300. At first R8 was the clear winner. But after around 80-90 hours on the iBasso, the gap is narrowing. I still find the DX a bit aggressive in the upper mids. The R8 is wonderfully euphonic and cohesive to my ears. But others have said differently. I won’t decide completely until I’ve got another 100 hours on the DX300.

One thing is for sure The gap in SQ is nowhere near in line with the 500GBP difference in price here in the UK. IBasso has definitely made that gap a nonsense. When you see it’s the same price here as the N6ii, the DX300 is head and shoulders above it in SQ and user experience. But then Cayin may have something up its sleeve to leapfrog again. And so it goes on...

 

[ThomasHK]

Hi everyone,

Is there any SQ comparison between Hiby R6 2020& iBasso DX300 in this thread? I cannot find one Just curious about their differences.

I would be interested in this too!

 

[Bosk]

For anyone choosing between the DX300 & R8 my opinion is biased & should be taken with a grain of salt as I only own the DX300. However I recommend the DX300 on the following grounds: In terms of processing power & screen size I believe the DX300 is state of the art, and usability & functionality are underestimated qualities of any device.

Moreover the DX300's sonic flavor can and probably will change and potentially improve over time with the release of new amp cards. I don't think enough people grasp just how big an impact the amp section has on the sound of a DAP, or any audio system for that matter. There's a reason long-time audiophiles are often obsessed with amps, especially tube amps. Would it surprise me if a DX300 with a future Nutube-based amp card that's modded to the hilt wipes the floor with most TOTL DAPs? Not remotely.

The only real downsides of the DX300 are the size and the case. You'll get used to the size pretty quickly as I have which just leaves the case, and the decision of how best to destroy it once your TPU replacement arrives. (fire, explosion, dipped in maple syrup & fed to crocodiles etc.)

 

[DarginMahkum]

For anyone choosing between the DX300 & R8 my opinion is biased & should be taken with a grain of salt as I only own the DX300. However I recommend the DX300 on the following grounds: In terms of processing power & screen size I believe the DX300 is state of the art, and usability & functionality are underestimated qualities of any device.

Moreover the DX300's sonic flavor can and probably will change and potentially improve over time with the release of new amp cards. I don't think enough people grasp just how big an impact the amp section has on the sound of a DAP, or any audio system for that matter. There's a reason long-time audiophiles are often obsessed with amps, especially tube amps. Would it surprise me if a DX300 with a future Nutube-based amp card that's modded to the hilt wipes the floor with most TOTL DAPs? Not remotely.

The only real downsides of the DX300 are the size and the case. You'll get used to the size pretty quickly as I have which just leaves the case, and the decision of how best to destroy it once your TPU replacement arrives. (fire, explosion, dipped in maple syrup & fed to crocodiles etc.)

As a previous owner of R8, I would be happy with both and not miss the other - in terms of sound. There are some differences in sound but if I am not doing a side by side comparison and aiming just to detect that - at least with my transducers - there wouldn't be a clear winner for me as both have different points to like about. Other than that, it comes down to other features.

- R8 has a real and separate LO, DX300 (at the moment) does not. It is a useful thing to have them separated if you are using the LO often and want to reduce the risk of accidentally forgetting to switch to PO mode.

- DX300 is lighter, R8 is quite heavy.

- R8 is shorter but DX300 is as long as a mobile phone (could be positive or negative).

- But in hand, DX300 is easier to control - especially the volume, which is a downside of R8 design (at least for me).

- R8 has a larger battery and does not have the charging quirks of DX300. Whereas DX300 has a more energy efficient DAC setup, so spends less energy there, ending up with about the same play time and less heat.

 

[Skullar]

As a previous owner of R8, I would be happy with both and not miss the other - in terms of sound. There are some differences in sound but if I am not doing a side by side comparison and aiming just to detect that - at least with my transducers - there wouldn't be a clear winner for me as both have different points to like about. Other than that, it comes down to other features.

- R8 has a real and separate LO, DX300 (at the moment) does not. It is a useful thing to have them separated if you are using the LO often and want to reduce the risk of accidentally forgetting to switch to PO mode.

- DX300 is lighter, R8 is quite heavy.

- R8 is shorter but DX300 is as long as a mobile phone (could be positive or negative).

- But in hand, DX300 is easier to control - especially the volume, which is a downside of R8 design (at least for me).

- R8 has a larger battery and does not have the charging quirks of DX300. Whereas DX300 has a more energy efficient DAC setup, so spends less energy there, ending up with about the same play time and less heat.

Spot on. I think its fair to consider all above if cant choose.
Just to add;
Wifi - while either are good i have couple of odd drop outs on R8 where as on DX300 its dead solid.
Software - R8 is Flawless, this is how you do software on dap. DX300 needs some polishing via FW releases especially compatibility with some external apps. But its happening. And issues that do exist are not deal breakers.
Screen - for those who care about it. DX300 is best (and biggest) screen on dap to date. By a long shot. Then probably 2nd R8. But its smaller and i have significant backlight bleed on my one.

Disclaimer: R8 is only few days in my possesion.