[arftech]

what's wrong with sp2k? (I don't have it and never listened to it)

You should.

 

[Whitigir]

You should.

Should try everything out as soon as it peaks your curiosity , and that is how my pocket is draining empty

 

[Vitaly2017]

A Billie Eilish recording made on GarageBand or pro tools by her brother in their bedroom sure but all recordings mastered in studios today is perfectly mastered with normalization at 0 dB with less dynamic range to compete for the Loudness Wars in Da Clubs.

If you get say a Taylor Swift recording it’s “perfectly” mastered with modern dsps like de-esser, perfectly fixed time variants with a “steady” beat that’s unnatural and impeccable “cut & paste” time keeping. Also, DAW programs and with better and groundbreaking algorithmic DSP plugins can do a crapload of mastering with insane “sound effects” dsps are well much like the high end daps have as their features for better sounding files.

The streaming services at least put caps on the loudness to broadcast standards at -14 LUPS so that’s what “equalizes” older music “mastering techniques” with modern ones. This however does have its drawback in that all music shouldn’t have a standard LUPS for all mastering dictated by streaming services or broadcasting standards and Should be the choice of the artists and the sound engineer. In my opinion this is one reason people tend to think streaming services sound good because of this loud ness standards makes playlist universal and kept at certain volume moving from song-to-song with the same loudness ”intensity.”

Here’s a list of streaming services LUFS normalization standards for Tidal, Spotify, Apple Music, etc

https://youlean.co/loudness-standards-full-comparison-table/

Unfortunately these were the byproducts of the rapid rise of widespread MP3 usages starting in the early 2000 and throughout the early 2000s which now have become the habitual habits and rituals in which many newer generations were now learning newer listening habits by newer music making by Engineers who were just accommodating the demand by the on-the-go MP3 player owners “wants.”

Streaming is just a continuation of having a large library of songs with you at all times that MP3 players once boasted of having 10,000 songs in your pocket. There’s no going back...with the emerging of daps of all prices ranges with these services. Moreover, the MP3 files will sound better albeit not as good as loseless files but due to better software and hardware will result in better frequency response even with low fi & add AI & Machine learning to mix makes the gap even closer. Sony already has DSEE HX AI will improve along with others as they learn from cloud service provided by streaming with 5G. Google uses this tech with Pixel cameras that makes up the lack of hardware “specs” with their AI cloud that “makes up” the “missing” information not captured by high end equipment. I.e. Prosumer market.

And thats the future pretty much we all know it.

Hopefully we will have good audiophile grade brands who will continue to serve purist audio lovers

 

[HeyManslowdown97]

And thats the future pretty much we all know it.

Hopefully we will have good audiophile grade brands who will continue to serve purist audio lovers

It’s not just audiophile gear. It’s how new music is being Mastered for consumption that’s changed a lot!

 

[Vitaly2017]

It’s not just audiophile gear. It’s how new music is being Mastered for consumption that’s changed a lot!

By the way those features you talked about can be disabled in the options. I always turn off all options in spotify and the dynamic range normaliser as well...

Only use maximum bit rate quality and no features in the way. Sounds very good!

I also had zx507 prior R8 and you are absolutely right the ai dsee hx on it was making magical stuff but its still no near a true ToTL dap level lol. But very good and enough for a regular joe

 

[HeyManslowdown97]

By the way those features you talked about can be disabled in the options. I always turn off all options in spotify and the dynamic range normaliser as well...

Only use maximum bit rate quality and no features in the way. Sounds very good!

I also had zx507 prior R8 and you are absolutely right the ai dsee hx on it was making magical stuff but its still no near a true ToTL dap level lol. But very good and enough for a regular joe

The streaming services actually do a pretty good job at recovering dynamic range but the demand for loudness is now baked into an entire generation unless you listen to only Classical or Jazz with older recordings. I also doubt the newer studio recordings don’t use dsp limiters. There has always been compression done on mixes for different instruments. The only difference is back in the days the engineers Mixed with a lot of headroom because of fear of clipping. I have a Kanye West recording from about 10 years ago on lossless flac and there a major issues with digital clipping and the bass sounds are crazy loud and distorted (no matter what audio gear). To me a Pink Floyd record just sounds better because it mixed with incredible dynamic range that you don’t “miss” it not being crazy loud.

The Audiophiles yearn for a flat eq meanwhile most music and styles/genres aren’t mixed with this in mind so it’s just something else to notice. That’s why the tunings have to be flexible and machine learning will need to “learn” what should empathized and tamed an AI cloud streaming service that runs stimulations with other music styles will probably do it better than humans only thing that will be different is who’s got the best algorithms to do it. Also too many Dsp turned on a daps and streaming services will also affect the sound in not so good ways. Hardware won’t be as important and prices could go down and in the near future it won’t be about who’s got the best specs but how it’s tuned will be the “Meat and Potatoes” of all things audiophile. Just take iems a 100 dollar one isn’t that much different 1200 cosmetically and the real estate is relatively the same. The components I doubt cost 120% more, etc. so it’s all about the tuning. This is what’s exciting about re-programmable chips and tuning mods along with WiFi capability but I don’t see a path that doesn’t involve Corporatization of Music in order for this to happen...data mining, etc.

 

[ExpatinJapan]

Via iBasso FB

 

[Whitigir]

Via iBasso FB

Moreee! I am starving

 

[weexisttocease]

Via iBasso FB

Not a fan of the volume knob, otherwise looks great.

 

[HeyManslowdown97]

Via iBasso FB

Nice but that gold Side button looks like a loose tire. HAHa

 

[Whitigir]

I agree with that volume knob LOL! Ibasso will announce DAC tomorrow ! Or could be a grand-presentations

 

[aaf evo]

Via iBasso FB

I love it.

 

[feverfive]

Yeah, volume wheel/knob looks cheap/an afterthought, regardless of what it's made of. Disclaimer: I am a hated Apple fanboi for whom design language means something, hahahaha.

 

[Vitaly2017]

I agree the volume knob design wise seems not like it's fitting there...
But it might be a mich nicer look in person!

I also think it will be very easy and handy to use though. I always wanted a dedicated super tactile precise knob lol. Looks like ibasso answered my demand hahahha

 

[Whitigir]

I agree the volume knob design wise seems not like it's fitting there...
But it might be a mich nicer look in person!

I also think it will be very easy and handy to use though. I always wanted a dedicated super tactile precise knob lol. Looks like ibasso answered my demand hahahha

I think this volume knob will fit better with a case that may/will come with the player ? Since most of the time it does