[Paul - iBasso]

An hour or more into testing. I really like the amp13. My thoughts remain the same so far, the sound feels more natural/transparent because of that extra reverb. The bass feels less impactful or punchy but with more air. Can't say one amp is better than the other, just different. The treble feels mostly the same I think, something I gotta compare with the Ex, but it doesn't feel peaky at all. Perhaps the Amp12EX feels more fun, and this more lively.

There are some special components to burn and that need to settle but I think most are going to enjoy the AMP13 a lot. Enjoy the Music!

 

[mformoriarty]

There should be no damage but a few of the AMPs are different and the pinout is different and if the DX isn't off or restarted, the DX and AMP will not be optimal for the connection. The pinout for the AMP12 and AMP11MK. . are different so a restart is needed so that the DX connects correctly for the firmware to work as it should.

Good to know, I'll keep than in mind going forward but I'll stick to turning off the device for safe measure.

There are some special components to burn and that need to settle but I think most are going to enjoy the AMP13 a lot. Enjoy the Music!

Really enjoying it so far, as expected, you guys did awesome work. My bet is that it can only get better from here.

 

[Shecky504]

@mformoriarty Are you using a cable terminated in 3.5mm or a cable adapter with AMP13? I just received mine but my cables are terminated in 4.4mm and I use adapters for 3.5mm but none of them are working properly. I updated the firmware on my DX300 but there is major channel imbalance between left and right channels on all IEMs I've tried (the right channel is barely audible vs. the left which seems normal level).

 

[mformoriarty]

@mformoriarty Are you using a cable terminated in 3.5mm or a cable adapter with AMP13? I just received mine but my cables are terminated in 4.4mm and I use adapters for 3.5mm but none of them are working properly. I updated the firmware on my DX300 but there is major channel imbalance between left and right channels on all IEMs I've tried (the right channel is barely audible vs. the left which seems normal level).

Using the 2.5mm to 3.5mm adapter that comes included with the stock cable on the iBasso IT-07. The rest of my cables have swappable connectors except for the CB16, just tried some and they worked fine.

 

[Shecky504]

Using the 2.5mm to 3.5mm adapter that comes included with the stock cable on the iBasso IT-07. The rest of my cables have swappable connectors except for the CB16, just tried some and they worked fine.

Thanks, I'm still trying various things to get it to work but so far no luck. The AMP11 3.5mm output works fine with my setup as I just re-tested it. Still mostly left channel only with AMP13.

 

[mformoriarty]

Thanks, I'm still trying various things to get it to work but so far no luck. The AMP11 3.5mm output works fine with my setup as I just re-tested it. Still mostly left channel only with AMP13.

That's weird. They do some manual tuning on each unit with some potentiometers that are on the side of the tube, perhaps they didn't tune yours. Contact Paul or iBasso, they should know more.

 

[Shecky504]

That's weird. They do some manual tuning on each unit with some potentiometers that are on the side of the tube, perhaps they didn't tune yours. Contact Paul or iBasso, they should know more.

Thanks, yeah I'm in touch with him but so far all signs point to a defective unit. Hopefully there's a way to fix.

 

[samandhi]

The only hope I've got that there won't be sound changes like it was with dx220. I've read several times on some threads that last updates made it sound worse than before.

As long as you don't have the Amp 13 card, you can always go back to any version of the FW you want to. Now, if you DO have Amp13 and they changed something like that, you might be hosed....

For some reason the site doesn't load or start the download if on the pc. I managed to download it using my cellphone, transferred the file to my pc after.

Sometimes, clearing cache in your browser helps with this.

That would save a bit of time, are the modules hot swappable? Turning the device off and on takes extra time as well. Will try the IT-07 later with the DUW-02S from my EST112, it has an easy to swap connector. That way the cable I use remains constant between tests. Also have the Kinera Leyding but the connector is a lot harder to swap there.

I have hot-swapped them (11.2 to 12), though I don't recall which order in which I DO have to turn it off first, and the other way I don't. Well, I don't have to turn it off, it simply powers itself down, and I have to turn it back on. I no longer hot swap after seeing this behavior, thinking that I must have shorted something out in the process... LOL

 

[mformoriarty]

Thanks, yeah I'm in touch with him but so far all signs point to a defective unit. Hopefully there's a way to fix.

Sad to hear, I hope you manage to solve the issue soon.

 

[mformoriarty]

Just tried comparing some tracks between the M11 Pro and the DX300+amp13 out of curiosity. The M11 Pro sounds dead, boring, the sound stage feels compacted lol.

 

[samandhi]

Just tried comparing some tracks between the M11 Pro and the DX300+amp13 out of curiosity. The M11 Pro sounds dead, boring, the sound stage feels compacted lol.

So, which connection of the amp do you prefer at this point? Is there any perceptible distortion (other than the noticeable increased tube effect iBasso touts) that is heard from the higher-powered connection?

Also, is there any noticeable "tube hum" from either connection? And, do you hear any noise when you move the player around while head gear is on/inserted? I know this was a problem when Cayin first used the Nutubes in theirs, and they rectified it by using a spring loaded suspension to minimize vibration.

 

[mformoriarty]

So, which connection of the amp do you prefer at this point? Is there any perceptible distortion (other than the noticeable increased tube effect iBasso touts) that is heard from the higher-powered connection?

Also, is there any noticeable "tube hum" from either connection? And, do you hear any noise when you move the player around while head gear is on/inserted? I know this was a problem when Cayin first used the Nutubes in theirs, and they rectified it by using a spring loaded suspension to minimize vibration.

I've been stuck to the dap for hours now. Liking this a lot. Haven't seen any distortion that doesn't sound out of place I think. The hum you mention might be the reverb I'm feeling, dunno. I did hear some high pitch noise earlier when I first tried the unit and moved it around a bit more suddenly to test that same thing, it made the noise the first time but not the second or the third. Went walking with it an hour ago for some light cardio, no added high pitch noise during all that time it was in my pocket. Would say it is safe to use in any normal day activity without worry. The high pitch noise does occur anytime you switch sockets on the amp13 but it goes away fast.

 

[samandhi]

I've been stuck to the dap for hours now. Liking this a lot. Haven't seen any distortion that doesn't sound out of place I think. The hum you mention might be the reverb I'm feeling, dunno. I did hear some high pitch noise earlier when I first tried the unit and moved it around a bit more suddenly to test that same thing, it made the noise the first time but not the second or the third. Went walking with it an hour ago for some light cardio, no added high pitch noise during all that time it was in my pocket. Would say it is safe to use in any normal day activity without worry. The high pitch noise does occur anytime you switch sockets on the amp13 but it goes away fast.

Interesting. Keep your impressions coming as you discover them?! I know this unit will need burn-in time (probably moreso than the other amp cards), but can't hurt to maybe give some comparisons from new to fully burned-in. I can't wait until they are available here (locally just in case I need to send it back).

I think this is going to sound great with my Sennheiser HD700s!

 

[AnalogandDigital]

Friday night so what do we do ?
Update our DX300 ...
.

.

 

[mformoriarty]

Friday night so what do we do ?
Update our DX300 ...
.

.

Never a bad day to update I think. Someone mentioned earlier, here or in another thread that sometimes the degrade the sound quality. I hope that's never the case with this dap.