NEW! iBasso D-Zero Mk2
Jun 21, 2015 at 5:37 AM Post #242 of 334
Sure I only own bright cans like HD 800, ER-4S, H8P, RS2i should arrive tomorrow.
 
Jun 22, 2015 at 4:07 PM Post #243 of 334
It seems the iBasso manual ist really confusing... http://www.ibasso.com/uploadfiles/20141113/201411132259162695.pdf
 
 
 ... The charge lamp turns to orange at that time.

?
 
I have the button charge OFF and the device is OFF. I connect to my phone and power ON the D-Zero the lamp turns yellow. The D-Zero runs on battery.
 
If  I change to charge ON and the device is OFF and I connect my phone and the power is still OFF from the D-Zero, the lamps turns to red and it starts charging the D-Zero.
 
 
Anyway great little device on high gain enough power to drive my HD 800, which I use mostly together with my micro iDSD.
 
Jun 24, 2015 at 4:17 PM Post #244 of 334
It seems the iBasso manual ist really confusing... http://www.ibasso.com/uploadfiles/20141113/201411132259162695.pdf


?

I have the button charge OFF and the device is OFF. I connect to my phone and power ON the D-Zero the lamp turns yellow. The D-Zero runs on battery.

If  I change to charge ON and the device is OFF and I connect my phone and the power is still OFF from the D-Zero, the lamps turns to red and it starts charging the D-Zero.


Anyway great little device on high gain enough power to drive my HD 800, which I use mostly together with my micro iDSD.


How much better do you find the Micro than the ibasso? Have you got the larger idsd or the Nanotube? I was looking at getting the Micro Idsd £400 in the UK as the next upgrade to mine and myrPAC.
Jim
 
Jun 24, 2015 at 5:02 PM Post #245 of 334
The micro iDSD on bit perfect filter setting has cleaner slightly fuller sound, zero hiss and with enabled crossfeed (3D sound option) best battery powered DAC/AMP for under 500 EURO for hard to drive headphones. It is NOT like day and night, no the D-Zero MK2 provides for such a low cost device amazing sound quality and in my eyes (ears) a great small battery DAC/AMP combo for Smartphones.
 
I owned the nano iDSD and the nano iCAN, this both together sound similar to the micro iDSD (on minimum phase filter setting), but more bulky, need of two devices and the micro iDSD has more features, power and options.
 
Only one bad side of this two devices (micro iDSD and D-Zero MK2), none of them has a battery indicator for remaining battery life. Only short before almost empty battery you will know about. Thats the only thing really complain.
 
Jun 27, 2015 at 5:24 AM Post #246 of 334
After a coulple of days still pretty happy with my choice:
 
 
 


 
 
 

 

 

 
 
Question, did nobody use the D-Zero MK2 together with his phone with WiFi enabled?
 
I get really strange EMI noise if I enable WiFi on my Samsung phone...
 
I fixed that issue with simply aluminum foil inside of my phone (red marked), WiFi signal is still strong enough and works as before, but now with zero EMI noise:
 

 
Jun 27, 2015 at 4:08 PM Post #247 of 334
For my work setup, I have a Cayin C5 amplifier. I sold my CEntrance DACport that was to be used just as a DAC because it was beyond what I needed for my setup. I don't care about portability, but I can't do anything internal on my work machine like install a sound card.
 
This iBasso D-Zero MK2 caught my eye because I'm a basshead and I hear the Wolfson chip(s) in the DAC are awesome for bass.
 
How will the iBasso pair as a DAC only with the Cayin C5 when driving a variety of headphones like the Fostex TH-600, Sennheiser HD650, Noble 5, Sony XB90EX, and JVC HA-FXZ200?
 
Again, I'm a total basshead, so I'm looking for the best DAC for bass under ~$200, not the most transparent DAC (I have the O2/ODAC for that if I want it).
 
Computer USB > DAC > Cayin C5 > Headphones
 
Thanks!
 
Jun 28, 2015 at 2:40 AM Post #248 of 334
The Wolfson DAC chip's strength is having a very mellow and analogue sound from what I can tell using my D7 Sidewinder's line-out.  I don't know if iBasso improved the bass in their current line-up.  The Burr Brown/Texas Instruments PCM5102 DAC chip is the one with the bass quality that you want, found in the Meridian Explorer2 which you might be able to get for ~$200 used.  The ME2 has a line-out as well to bypass its headphone amp.
 
Jun 28, 2015 at 3:25 PM Post #249 of 334
  The Wolfson DAC chip's strength is having a very mellow and analogue sound from what I can tell using my D7 Sidewinder's line-out.  I don't know if iBasso improved the bass in their current line-up.  The Burr Brown/Texas Instruments PCM5102 DAC chip is the one with the bass quality that you want, found in the Meridian Explorer2 which you might be able to get for ~$200 used.  The ME2 has a line-out as well to bypass its headphone amp.

 
Thanks! I have Burr Browns in my Creative X-Fi Titanium HD at home and I sometimes prefer the sound of that card to my discrete stuff.
 
I had the Meridian Explorer (1, not 2) for a while and honestly thought it was super overhyped and not worth the $250 I paid for it at all. Did that also use the same Burr Brown DAC? I had a bigger problem with the amp section feeling pretty anemic, not to mention a bad taste in my mouth when at one point its software freaked out and switched to line out on me, so it became at least partially responsible for me having tinnitus now with how insanely loud it made my headphones go for a couple seconds.
 
Anyway, it looks like the Fiio E10k has the same DAC. Is that the lowest cost decent implementation if I'm only going to use it as a line out? I have no need of an amp section, so it seems super wasteful to step up to a Meridian or something similar when I'm not going to use the amp.
 
Thanks!
 
Jun 28, 2015 at 9:13 PM Post #251 of 334
   
Thanks! I have Burr Browns in my Creative X-Fi Titanium HD at home and I sometimes prefer the sound of that card to my discrete stuff.
 
I had the Meridian Explorer (1, not 2) for a while and honestly thought it was super overhyped and not worth the $250 I paid for it at all. Did that also use the same Burr Brown DAC? I had a bigger problem with the amp section feeling pretty anemic, not to mention a bad taste in my mouth when at one point its software freaked out and switched to line out on me, so it became at least partially responsible for me having tinnitus now with how insanely loud it made my headphones go for a couple seconds.
 
Anyway, it looks like the Fiio E10k has the same DAC. Is that the lowest cost decent implementation if I'm only going to use it as a line out? I have no need of an amp section, so it seems super wasteful to step up to a Meridian or something similar when I'm not going to use the amp.
 
Thanks!

 
You live up to your forum name, hahaha!  Damn, that sucks royally.  Are you sure you didn't plug into the line-out jack by chance that fateful day?
 
Well, I'm quite fond of the TPA6130 headamp chip for compact/low-power equipment used in the Meridian units, but it seemed like they somehow borked it in the Explorer1.  Too colored sounding in that one for whatever reason(s).  Then the FiiO E5/6/7 implementation is just absolutely terrible.
It's kind of anemic with higher-impedance headphones, sure, since it is best suited to low impedance.
 
Try the E10k out if you want then, but it will surely lack the power conditioning found in the Meridian units (clean powering being the prime ingredient for hi-fi sound), not to mention that the Meridians also have the awesome XMOS chipsets for USB communication, a hefty plus, so it will surely be a downgrade by comparison.  We're not talking a big difference, of course, as this is all entry-level gear anyway.
 
E10k also has a headamp that you would be bypassing, just so you know.  It's not "super wasteful" to bypass the Meridians' TPA6130, it bottlenecks the DAC anyway.
 
If there could be a revised WM8740 with PCM5102 bass, that would be really awesome.
 
Jun 30, 2015 at 10:58 AM Post #252 of 334
I was wondering if I should purchase this as my first amp.

A few questions:
1: Will this amp work with Fiio X1 Line out?
2: Will this work on the pc using a USB cable?
3: Would an amp be necesary for a Dunu Dn1000?
4: Would this work on a Nexus 5?
5: Are there better options, eg Fiio E12A?
6: If yes, which amp would be more suitable for Dn1000 with the Fiio X1/Nexus 5/PC as the source?
 
Jun 30, 2015 at 12:30 PM Post #253 of 334
I was wondering if I should purchase this as my first amp.

A few questions:
1: Will this amp work with Fiio X1 Line out? Yes
2: Will this work on the pc using a USB cable? Yes
3: Would an amp be necesary for a Dunu Dn1000? Can't see any reason why not. It drives all my IEMs well (like Custom Art Harmony 8 Pro or Etymotic Research ER-4S and others).
4: Would this work on a Nexus 5? My guess if the Android USB Audio is not broken for unkown reasons - Yes no problem. Works on my Sony Z1 with Android 4.4.4 and Samsung S4 with Android 5.1.1 very well no need for 3rd party apps like USB Audio Player Pro.
5: Are there better options, eg Fiio E12A? Depends, if you don't like the small hiss on very low noise from the iBasso, the E12A on Low Gain would make a better job (as I read on reviews), but the iBasso has enough power to drive i.e. a Sennheiser HD 800 to a very load level, without issues.
6: If yes, which amp would be more suitable for Dn1000 with the Fiio X1/Nexus 5/PC as the source? Do you want a amp only or a dac/amp? The iBasso is a dac/amp or usable as amp only, the FiiO is amp only, no dac or USB input.

From functionality, build quality, options, power etc. the iBasso is a real steal IMHO
wink.gif

 

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