[WarrenS]

Thank you @WarrenS. What difference do you hear between it and the stock?

I have just been spending the past hour comparing the ddHifi against the stock cables using my Multiverse IEM's.

The BC44B sounds tonally correct. Nice wide soundstage with good depth, layering and imaging. In comparison, the stock cable sounds veiled or dare I say it, a little muffled in comparison, especially in the higher frequencies. The soundstage also diminishes slightly in all directions. I changed to the second stock longer cable and it sounds the same as the shorter cable.

I was quite surprised because I thought the difference in performance would be quite marginal.

 

[Whitigir]

I have just been spending the past hour comparing the ddHifi against the stock cables using my Multiverse IEM's.

The BC44B sounds tonally correct. Nice wide soundstage with good depth, layering and imaging. In comparison, the stock cable sounds veiled or dare I say it, a little muffled in comparison, especially in the higher frequencies. The soundstage also diminishes slightly in all directions. I changed to the second stock longer cable and it sounds the same as the shorter cable.

I was quite surprised because I thought the difference in performance would be quite marginal.

It simply means that these devices are of high quality, they enable your senses to perceive even the most marginal differences in a discernible way . I found it for both PB5 and D16

 

[Zachik]

I have just been spending the past hour comparing the ddHifi against the stock cables using my Multiverse IEM's.

The BC44B sounds tonally correct. Nice wide soundstage with good depth, layering and imaging. In comparison, the stock cable sounds veiled or dare I say it, a little muffled in comparison, especially in the higher frequencies. The soundstage also diminishes slightly in all directions. I changed to the second stock longer cable and it sounds the same as the shorter cable.

I was quite surprised because I thought the difference in performance would be quite marginal.

Interesting!!!
Did you (or anyone else here) compare the included Coax cable to other coax cables? I am using DX260 as the transport feeding the D16 over Coax.

 

[antdroid]

I've used the PB5 for a few hours now and some things I like and may be not like.

First off, it looks great and feels nice. The sound quality is really nice for my needs. I wouldn't recommend this probably for something that is already overly warm and bassy, but for a neutral or bright IEM, this is a really nice compliment. I gives a great fun sound with additional bass response, and a holographic soundstage, with a bit of a reverb thrown in. It's quite tubey, at least so far. (possibly, still in the burn-in stage)

What I don't like so far?

• I know the stepped attenuator has advantages, and just like the 320Max, I just don't like using it as much as a normal smoother pot. The cut-in/cut-out and the accidental ability to leave something between steps is a bit annoying. It's not a deal breaker, but I'd prefer a normal smoother pot. Other stepped pots arent as annoying as this one is to me.
• The included 4.4mm bullet looking plugs are really cool looking but its too close to the volume knob and it makes it harder to use. Again, not a deal breaker.
• It doesn't do PD charging, which is a tad annoying for me given that most of my already available USB-C connectors on my desk are all PD since I use them for a variety of devices and they work with devices that aren't PD capable so I was a bit surprised these don't take them. Not the end of the world either, but just a strange caveat.
• I don't know if this is factual or not, as there's not real good battery indicator on this device, but it doesn't seem to charge the battery while in use, or if so, the charging does not keep up with the battery drain, as the battery will eventually die even while plugged in. It's happened twice in the 2 days I've had the device.

With my impressions above, I decided to measure it just to see if that big bass bump I'm hearing was actually measurable. (It's pretty large, so it better be...)

Source: Kiwi Ears Allegro portable DAC (it has 4.4mm and was an easy option to measure with)
Rig: IEC-711 coupler


Subtonic Storm, measured with the PB5 (Green) and without (Blue)


Dunu Zen, measured with the PB5 (Green) and without (Pink)


The bass shelf is definitely present and audible as I mentioned above. I can't imagine that is all just in the Nutubes itself. Is it part of the circuit to add a small bass shelf too? It's funny, because I was just tinkering around with PEQ the other day to add a small amount of bass to my Storm, and the setting I ended up with was almost exactly how this PB5 measured it with:


First public view of "bassdroid" target


Anyway, I really dig the pairing between the 320Max and the PB5 so far along with my more neutral/reference IEMs. I haven't tried it with anything really bassy so far so it'll be interesting to hear how it goes with those.

I also tried the PB5 with my Fiio M15S and also liked the results. That one is a bit more warmer than the 320Max, but I still found the results enjoyable, and it provided a little more soundstage size to the sound.

 

[MatW]

I've used the PB5 for a few hours now and some things I like and may be not like.

First off, it looks great and feels nice. The sound quality is really nice for my needs. I wouldn't recommend this probably for something that is already overly warm and bassy, but for a neutral or bright IEM, this is a really nice compliment. I gives a great fun sound with additional bass response, and a holographic soundstage, with a bit of a reverb thrown in. It's quite tubey, at least so far. (possibly, still in the burn-in stage)

What I don't like so far?

• I know the stepped attenuator has advantages, and just like the 320Max, I just don't like using it as much as a normal smoother pot. The cut-in/cut-out and the accidental ability to leave something between steps is a bit annoying. It's not a deal breaker, but I'd prefer a normal smoother pot. Other stepped pots arent as annoying as this one is to me.
• The included 4.4mm bullet looking plugs are really cool looking but its too close to the volume knob and it makes it harder to use. Again, not a deal breaker.
• It doesn't do PD charging, which is a tad annoying for me given that most of my already available USB-C connectors on my desk are all PD since I use them for a variety of devices and they work with devices that aren't PD capable so I was a bit surprised these don't take them. Not the end of the world either, but just a strange caveat.
• I don't know if this is factual or not, as there's not real good battery indicator on this device, but it doesn't seem to charge the battery while in use, or if so, the charging does not keep up with the battery drain, as the battery will eventually die even while plugged in. It's happened twice in the 2 days I've had the device.

With my impressions above, I decided to measure it just to see if that big bass bump I'm hearing was actually measurable. (It's pretty large, so it better be...)

Source: Kiwi Ears Allegro portable DAC (it has 4.4mm and was an easy option to measure with)
Rig: IEC-711 coupler


Subtonic Storm, measured with the PB5 (Green) and without (Blue)


Dunu Zen, measured with the PB5 (Green) and without (Pink)


The bass shelf is definitely present and audible as I mentioned above. I can't imagine that is all just in the Nutubes itself. Is it part of the circuit to add a small bass shelf too? It's funny, because I was just tinkering around with PEQ the other day to add a small amount of bass to my Storm, and the setting I ended up with was almost exactly how this PB5 measured it with:


First public view of "bassdroid" target


Anyway, I really dig the pairing between the 320Max and the PB5 so far along with my more neutral/reference IEMs. I haven't tried it with anything really bassy so far so it'll be interesting to hear how it goes with those.

I also tried the PB5 with my Fiio M15S and also liked the results. That one is a bit more warmer than the 320Max, but I still found the results enjoyable, and it provided a little more soundstage size to the sound.

Excellent overview of the pros and cons of this device, kudos! My main nitpick is the lack of a battery indicator.

 

[Edric Li]

it doesn't seem to charge the battery while in use, or if so, the charging does not keep up with the battery drain, as the battery will eventually die even while plugged in. It's happened twice in the 2 days I've had the device.

Can anyone else confirm whether this is by design?

 

[Beh0lder]

Can anyone else confirm whether this is by design?

Mine was able to survive the night on the charger, in the morning the indicator was off so I guess the charging was off, and it was able to play for a few hours so it seems to have really charged.

Edit. I also have a custom IC on the way, nothing too fancy (local maker, nylon sleeve might fit the green of the case) since the barrel is comically large and the short cable is a little bit too short to sandwich. I also don't know if it's the cable or the socket but the PB5 is the only device that I had to reconnect the cable a few times, it's hard to insert fully and the sound is audibly "wrong" in layman's terms.

 

[Infoseeker]

When I first got the device I would find it would shut down while I burned it in overnight being charged.

But lately it has stayed on overnight. I feel like the circuit earlier was calibrating and wrongly estimating how much battery was left; much like a new cellphone. Because now it has been surviving being left on overnight.

 

[Beh0lder]

Does anyone know what the blinking indicates? I don't know if it's 15% low or I'm gonna die 5% low, what is the estimated runtime etc

 

[Whitigir]

I've used the PB5 for a few hours now and some things I like and may be not like.

First off, it looks great and feels nice. The sound quality is really nice for my needs. I wouldn't recommend this probably for something that is already overly warm and bassy, but for a neutral or bright IEM, this is a really nice compliment. I gives a great fun sound with additional bass response, and a holographic soundstage, with a bit of a reverb thrown in. It's quite tubey, at least so far. (possibly, still in the burn-in stage)

What I don't like so far?

• I know the stepped attenuator has advantages, and just like the 320Max, I just don't like using it as much as a normal smoother pot. The cut-in/cut-out and the accidental ability to leave something between steps is a bit annoying. It's not a deal breaker, but I'd prefer a normal smoother pot. Other stepped pots arent as annoying as this one is to me.
• The included 4.4mm bullet looking plugs are really cool looking but its too close to the volume knob and it makes it harder to use. Again, not a deal breaker.
• It doesn't do PD charging, which is a tad annoying for me given that most of my already available USB-C connectors on my desk are all PD since I use them for a variety of devices and they work with devices that aren't PD capable so I was a bit surprised these don't take them. Not the end of the world either, but just a strange caveat.
• I don't know if this is factual or not, as there's not real good battery indicator on this device, but it doesn't seem to charge the battery while in use, or if so, the charging does not keep up with the battery drain, as the battery will eventually die even while plugged in. It's happened twice in the 2 days I've had the device.

With my impressions above, I decided to measure it just to see if that big bass bump I'm hearing was actually measurable. (It's pretty large, so it better be...)

Source: Kiwi Ears Allegro portable DAC (it has 4.4mm and was an easy option to measure with)
Rig: IEC-711 coupler


Subtonic Storm, measured with the PB5 (Green) and without (Blue)


Dunu Zen, measured with the PB5 (Green) and without (Pink)


The bass shelf is definitely present and audible as I mentioned above. I can't imagine that is all just in the Nutubes itself. Is it part of the circuit to add a small bass shelf too? It's funny, because I was just tinkering around with PEQ the other day to add a small amount of bass to my Storm, and the setting I ended up with was almost exactly how this PB5 measured it with:


First public view of "bassdroid" target


Anyway, I really dig the pairing between the 320Max and the PB5 so far along with my more neutral/reference IEMs. I haven't tried it with anything really bassy so far so it'll be interesting to hear how it goes with those.

I also tried the PB5 with my Fiio M15S and also liked the results. That one is a bit more warmer than the 320Max, but I still found the results enjoyable, and it provided a little more soundstage size to the sound.

Thanks for the measurements!!! That was such a a nice graph comparison. From what I have known and been through modding Ibasso stuff, I gotta say that it was intended to be tuned this way. I love neutral and natural signatures, and I gotta say that when paired it with bassy stuff like IER Z1R, it is indeed a bit too much. There are some tweaks that one can bring into it to get a more neutral signature. Changing out the IC cables is one of those. Now, this is more into personal preferences stuff which includes Pairing and I think it was tuned with Max series as a pairing target. Onto the technicality of it, it is a wonderful amp. It has almost 0 tubes ringing, it has nice resolutions and dynamic extensions, it is very punchy and with great Dynamic variations. All of those attributes are very surprising for a tiny amplifier in a pocketable form this way.

Stepped attenuator can be very smooth turning. The trick is not to grip the knob. But use your thumb on the front of the knob and turn. Try it

Yes , the large Plugs barrels is annoying, it is too hard to grip on and making it very hard to unplug. It has it pros and cons. It is a nice looking one, great aesthetic for sure.

Yes, the primitive Zero battery indication is annoying. Also no PD charging it annoying. But it does charge while in use, by using regular Type A usb charger. Another annoying thing is that it has battery preserves limits in there. Once it is fully charged, it will stop charging until it is Unplugged and Plugged in again.

 

[Smirk 24]

I wouldn't recommend this probably for something that is already overly warm and bassy

Can confirm PB5 is way too bassy/warm with Singularity. Sounded great with Storm though!

 

[slumberman]

Can confirm PB5 is way too bassy/warm with Singularity. Sounded great with Storm though!

Also sounds great with Dita Perpetua!

 

[Beh0lder]

I could care less about charging protocol, but USB A only charging is troublesome. But in the end dare I say this one device is worth the struggle, I was more annoyed with DX300's charger pickiness than I am now having to find that one last USB A charger in the house

 

[antdroid]

Once it is fully charged, it will stop charging until it is Unplugged and Plugged in again.

Oh this workaround seems to work for me. If I am using the PB5 and let it drain for a bit, and then unplug/replug it, it looks like its charging again while in use.

 

[ehjie]

Moment of truth a bit later after full charges