A moment with iBasso DAPs
- DX220 with AMP1 mk2: overall wide soundstage, quiet background, reference sound, pairs well with neutral to warm headphones and IEMs: Ananda, LZ A7, KBEAR Believe... Very detailed and textured, but treble is a bit grainy.
- DX300 with AMP11 mk1: deeper soundstage than DX220 - AMP1 mk2, but less wide. Slightly higher noise floor. Bass separation is worse than DX220. Added energy around 3kHz making the sound a bit shouty, in-your-face. Slightly less treble than DX220. Pairs well with neutral to cold HPs and IEMs, especially though with less than Harman 3kHz gain: LZ A6 mod, IE40 Pro, IE100 Pro, IE300, IE400 pro ... It is also better than DX220 in atmospheric songs focusing on vocals and few instruments, but worse in complex tracks.
- DX300 with AMP12: the widest soundstage of the three in all directions, more subbass than DX220 and DX300/AMP11mk1, with similar bass texture to DX220. The quietest background. Not shouty at all. Mid and treble are the smoothest, but very detailed, more detailed than DX300/AMP11mk1, and smoother than DX220.
For me, DX300/AMP12 > Fiio M15 >= DX220/AMP1mk2 > DX300 /AMP11mk1
Now if I can find a way to connect the 4.4 lineout to 3.5 on my KSE1200, I would buy AMP12 in a heartbeat. It's easy to custom an IC cable in my country, so if anyone here know about the cable layout it would be great!