So first quick feedback DX Max (burned in dunno several hundred h) vs DX300 (5h burn in)
Denon AHD9200 running on balanced out, digital filter on both player on slow roll off (they don't share the same filters due to different DAC vendors/chips)
MAX: Med Gain, Slow-Rolloff (Linear), DX300: Med Gain: Slow-Rolloff
playing Beyonce 4 (my wife's music
) in Mango running in Android mode
- DX300 playing warm and nice, bass impact good, mids thick and clear, good bass impact
- DX Max playing clear with authority, bigger bass impact, clearer high registers, more holographic soundstage
playing Billy Talent - devil on my shoulder
- DX Max playing clear with defined bass, high hats can be recognised and clearly separated from the rest
- DX300 playing not as clear as max, high hats can be separated but sound more melted into the rest
playing Birdy - Skinny Love
- DX300 showing nice deep stage, piano sounds a bit thick and congested, voice nice and unfatiguing
- DX Max playing clear and holographic right from the start, piano is clear, voice getting higher and airy but not piercing
playing London Grammar - Hey Now
- DX Max playing clear and holographic right from the start, voice is vibrating into the listener, punchy bass, good seperation
- DX300 deep stage, voice sounds darker in comparison, doesn't get as airy as max, bass more muddy and congested in comparison
so right from the start I would say the DX300 doesn't sound bad, but in comparison to DX MAX congested, I would even say in that condition it's an unfair battle.
Will burn in more and then check again at the weekend
Not so interesting for most of you but wanted to mention: seems bluetooth implementation hasn't been progressed since DX2xx, still only Apple devices could send their audio to the Ibasso device, my soundbar doesn't recognise the DX300.
So for watching TV I will still need to use my tiny Qudelix5k.
Keeping on listening on the DX300 is satisfying, it isn't really sounding bad, on the Denon phones it really sounds more tube-like in the early condition vs reference-authority-max-sound.
That can also be a plus depending on the music mix.