iBasso DX80 . . impressions and reviews. . and discussion NEW FW: 1.6.0 ** link . . 1st page . . .
Jan 17, 2016 at 12:26 PM Post #2,101 of 6,795
  I just got this and updated the FW. I notice a decently loud hiss when no songs are playing in DAC mode. Is this normal?


Did you notice this before the update? Also please do a factory reset after the FW update.
 
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Jan 17, 2016 at 11:07 PM Post #2,106 of 6,795
@milo8

In DAC mode, the amp section I always on, so it's normal to hear that hiss with sensitive in-ears when no music is playing.

So the hissing noise people are talking about in this forum is regarding regular audioplay with headphones or when no music is playing? Everyone gets the same noise through DAC mode that I experience? I would like to know if I have a defective device.
 
Jan 18, 2016 at 12:32 AM Post #2,108 of 6,795
 
@milo8

In DAC mode, the amp section I always on, so it's normal to hear that hiss with sensitive in-ears when no music is playing.

So the hissing noise people are talking about in this forum is regarding regular audioplay with headphones or when no music is playing? Everyone gets the same noise through DAC mode that I experience? I would like to know if I have a defective device.



In DAC mode, the Amp is always turned on (which is normal) and therefore you are able to hear hiss in quiet passages with sensitive in-ears (but not with full-sized cans).
When you are using the DX80 on its own as native music player, the Amp section is turned off when playback is paused -> no hiss for sure.

Everybody gets the same SNR from the DX80, however not everybody's ears are equally sensitive to hiss, not everybody is listening at the same volume and not every headphone/in-ear is equally sensitive (with full-sized HPs and insensitive IEMs, there will be no audible hiss even for those people who are sensitive to such things and listening at rather low volume).


If you are a bit interested in reading about hiss, here's an article by Shure: http://shure.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/3830/~/hiss-and-noise-when-using-shure-earphones
The German one is better and more detailed, but this one's okay as well (expect for the thing with the damper/attenuator mentioned at the bottom which surely lowers the IEMs' impedance and therefore lowers/eliminates hiss but also skews the frequency response of multi-driver in-ears).
 
Jan 18, 2016 at 5:26 AM Post #2,110 of 6,795
One question, on the box it and literature, it states that the Amp gain has a Low, Mid, High setting.. Mine has always only had a Low or a High.. Was that available on an earlier Firmware?


Only ever been low / high on DX80. (all firmware)

Probably a typo.
 
Jan 18, 2016 at 6:42 AM Post #2,111 of 6,795
So my fellow headfier's. I am considering the DX80 cause I've been a good boy and have been saving my pennies. I do have an oppo HA-2 paired with a Galaxy S3 so my question is how will the DX80 perform against the latter. Sometimes having a brick is a pain in the butt.If there is not a major improvement over my oppo stack I won't do it. I will put up with it. Only willing to spend if it gives me a noticeable improvement.
 
Cheers.
 
PS Anybody had the HA-2 paired with DX80??
 
Jan 18, 2016 at 10:17 AM Post #2,113 of 6,795
My testing tonight is for usb dac mode :
Via foobar2000 with wasapi - iBassousbaudio2 result are not so good, receive sparkling so often
Via foobar2000 with ds - ibassousbaudio2 result are little bit better but too wide Soundstage, sparkling less present

Via Ulilith with asio - iBassoaudio asio driver result are good for my ears, detail and warm :D

for first time I thought this unit has faulty at usb dac mode, it's volume was too small then I realized there are volume buttons lol :p
 
Jan 18, 2016 at 10:52 AM Post #2,114 of 6,795
Via Ulilith with asio - iBassoaudio asio driver result are good for my ears, detail and warm
biggrin.gif

 

FYI you can set up foobar2000 with ASIO as well. That's how I use it.
 
Jan 18, 2016 at 12:09 PM Post #2,115 of 6,795
So my fellow headfier's. I am considering the DX80 cause I've been a good boy and have been saving my pennies. I do have an oppo HA-2 paired with a Galaxy S3 so my question is how will the DX80 perform against the latter. Sometimes having a brick is a pain in the butt.If there is not a major improvement over my oppo stack I won't do it. I will put up with it. Only willing to spend if it gives me a noticeable improvement.

Cheers.

PS Anybody had the HA-2 paired with DX80??


The Galaxy S3 was one of my prior cell phones. I thought it was alright when using the Power amp Music player. Due to the sound customization. Especially once you root the phone and add Viper4audio. I remember countless sleepless nights messing with the endless possibilities. If you want to drop your current stack (Galaxy S3 & HA-2) to keep only a single unit, and have the money to do so, sure go ahead.
However, I've heard that the HA-2 synergizes with the Apple products better that the Samsung products. That could ultimately mean they compliment the Cirrus audio chip sets better than Wolfson Chip sets. In which, both the Galaxy S3 and Fiio X3 1st gen have. Which makes sense as to why you're feeling left with wanting more.
Ultimately, could mean just get the new Fiio X3ii that utilizes the Cirrus audio CS4398, which would theoretically be a better fit with the HA-2. Which sadly leads to more questions.
1) Do you want to stack the Fiio X3ii with your HA-2?
2) The DX80 uses a dual cs4398 (one for each channel) vs single cs4398 implementation on X3ii. Therefore, more of an analytical sound can be heard. (In my opinion after using both together)
3) Fiio X3ii has a more polished firmware than the DX80 (even though, yes, iBasso is quickly resolving theirs as we speak.)

Sorry for the lengthy post that probably just confused you more and put more questions and doubts, but just want to make sure you're completely informed with your decision. Buying a new DAP is and SHOULD be a big deal. You'll be using it intimately for the next couple of years. You should put a lot of thought into it. It's a big commitment.
Lol.. :slight_smile::beers:
 

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