[grokit]

How does this compare to the Toucan in its stock form?

 

[jamato8]

The Pelican isn't out yet. It is supposed to be released around the 5th or 6th of January. Looking forward. I already have some ideas on opamps I want to try and some I am going to order. 

 

[kargi]

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I got my pb1&db1 one month ago... Do they make a special offer when we return them

Just enjoy what you have. First rule here is that there will ALWAYS be something new just around the corner. Always.

 
I am enjoying them well, they are awesome. Also they are cheaper and smaller. But if PB2 has a "silent" volume knob, I will be sad again because of my early buy

 

[wolfen68]

It seems the PB2/DB2 are aspiring to a different sub-market segment.  The larger bodies, additional cost and opamp rolling will appeal to the more hard core crowd which is probably a minority of potential ibasso amp buyers.  At it's size and pricepoint, the Toucan will still have it's place unless it's sound quality is significantly subpar to the PB2....which I would not expect as ibasso has done a good job selecting stock opamps on their recent releases. 

 

[Jalo]

Sure Ibasso makes good products, but if they want to be competitive in the portable market, they still have work to do.  I like their pricing, their customer service and the way they turn out new products.  But their design and look and feel need to improve significantly.  For instance, their unit is a little bit too large, they could shrink it down a little especially the thickness.  The matted finish on their amps and dac leaves little to be desired (The Pico amps always have beautiful finish).  I like the Hirose connector as it feels pretty solid, but it stick out almost a 1/4 of an inch from the faceplate, and by the time you connect another hirose connector to it, it is almost half the length of the amp/dac itself.  Now I can see the wisdom of the RSA Protector/SR71B connectors, it flushes even with the faceplate and leaves at an right angle and it hardly adds any bulk to it.  I hope by giving constructive feedback to Ibasso, we could get better products in the future.

 

[Gorthon]

I to like the feel/security of the Hirose connector, but I do wish there was a 90 degree option like the protector male connector.  That extra length makes it hard to fit into a mall case.  On the same token, I do with there was a stright male option for the protector adapter.

 

[jamato8]

On the PB-2 it would be hard to make it thinner and have interchangeable op amps. On the the finish, I have had the Pico Slim and I prefer a matt finish. I get tired of the fingerprints, which was also true of some of the earlier finishes of the iBasso amps. I find that the matt finish holds up much better and doesn't scratch as easily and since this is a portable amp, and for me, something I don't carry around in an individual case, I want a tough finish. 
 
I wish Hirose made a 90 degree connector as well. I have made some connectors shorter and they turn in a short radius but that is something I did. I also have some straight Protector type connectors but again, I customized them. 

 

[GeorgeGoodman]

I am looking forward to the release of this! It is in my consideration, as I have some Cardas balanced 250 ohm DT880s that I would like to hear close to their fullest potential. They are balanced by the 2X3 pin configuration, and I don't really want to buy an adapter from Ibasso for $42. Would it be easier and more efficient just to buy a Hirose pin from them and have a head-fier convert them to the Hiriose pin? It makes sense to me, as it would me my only amp. Anyway, this is pretty exciting. 
 
BTW, since the most obvious competitor to this is the RSA SR71B, the voltage swing for that amp is about 26-30 volts, about the same as this, but the rated power is 1.2wpc. I think that means the PB2 has twice the power at 2.4wpc, for what its worth. 

 

[paulybatz]

AWESOME!

 

[GeorgeGoodman]

Quote:

It seems the PB2/DB2 are aspiring to a different sub-market segment.  The larger bodies, additional cost and opamp rolling will appeal to the more hard core crowd which is probably a minority of potential ibasso amp buyers.  At it's size and pricepoint, the Toucan will still have it's place unless it's sound quality is significantly subpar to the PB2....which I would not expect as ibasso has done a good job selecting stock opamps on their recent releases. 

Quote:

Sure Ibasso makes good products, but if they want to be competitive in the portable market, they still have work to do.  I like their pricing, their customer service and the way they turn out new products.  But their design and look and feel need to improve significantly.  For instance, their unit is a little bit too large, they could shrink it down a little especially the thickness.  The matted finish on their amps and dac leaves little to be desired (The Pico amps always have beautiful finish).  I like the Hirose connector as it feels pretty solid, but it stick out almost a 1/4 of an inch from the faceplate, and by the time you connect another hirose connector to it, it is almost half the length of the amp/dac itself.  Now I can see the wisdom of the RSA Protector/SR71B connectors, it flushes even with the faceplate and leaves at an right angle and it hardly adds any bulk to it.  I hope by giving constructive feedback to Ibasso, we could get better products in the future.

IMO, these guys are all about value. If you want the collest new toy or the samllest amp, you might be turned off. If you want very good sound for a reasonable price, I think Ibasso whould be on your shortlist.
 
Tomorrow or the next day it is being released!

 

[trentino]

I'd only buy the pb2 if it would suit hifiman he6 better than the pb1. Would it? From would i read it seems they are equal in power? Is the only difference the op amp rolling?

Edit: Hm feels as if I've already asked this question. Man I'm tired.

 

[Xan7hos]

Quote:

I'd only buy the pb2 if it would suit hifiman he6 better than the pb1. Would it? From would i read it seems they are equal in power? Is the only difference the op amp rolling?

Edit: Hm feels as if I've already asked this question. Man I'm tired.

2.4w output and the ability to fine tune the sound signature to your liking seems plenty enough reasons to upgrade
 
These things are getting ridiculously powerful, I might pick one up to see if they can run my desktop full range speakers

 

[GeorgeGoodman]

Quote:

I'd only buy the pb2 if it would suit hifiman he6 better than the pb1. Would it? From would i read it seems they are equal in power? Is the only difference the op amp rolling?

Edit: Hm feels as if I've already asked this question. Man I'm tired.

I think the original Toucan only had 1.4wpc, and this one pushes 2.4. The rollable opamps are a plus too. Ibasso made the PB2 so they could be the leader in portable balanced sound, so I would think it is a significant or at least very notable improvement from the PB1. I am just waiting for the SR71B versus PB2 smackdown from Jamato, with pics.

 

[paulybatz]

I think Ibasso is unbeatable, you cannot match the price performance ratio here..with any of their products from the D4 forward...fit, finish and internals are just top notch, high quality resistors and pots...and not just high quality, they are pre-screened for tolerances before being used in the amps!
 
I cant wait to try that Pelican!

 

[jamato8]

The Pelican has very high grade SMD film caps and you can use two buf634 per channel for a total of 8. I would guess you could use and over and under adapter with 2 buffers and another one like that per channel but there is a diminishing return and a big current drain. Running one in high C could be the ticket, per channel.