[vlach]

Have you heard the 2Stepdance?

 
Quote:

Haha, you've been reading another thread haven't you....
 
The P4 has considerably more power (enough for HE-4's) the 2Stepdance does not. The P4 is a lot of fun for people like me who like to tweak and customise a signature to suit other gear. The 2Stepdance uses 5 x OpAmps (OPA209) and a circuit optimised for them. I'm not sitting oon the fence here but they are both great amps with strengths (and weakness) in different areas. The 2Stepdance makes my ES5's sound better than my P4 but lacks some authority with hard to drive full sized phones whereas my P4 is still great with my IEM's on low gain but in high gain it has the grunt to power almost anything well. The only thing I would consider trading my P4 with is the other high powered iBasso PB2 (32v voltage swing).
 
So they are both keepers but for different reasons.

 

 

[imackler]

Yeah, SpudHarris owns it.
 
Quote:

Have you heard the 2Stepdance?

 


 

 

 

[estreeter]

He certainly does, and I value the fact that he can compare both amps directly, unlike one or two in the Stepdance camp who are convinced that they have the most powerful portable amp in the history of the known world  

 

[SoupRKnowva]

 
Quote:

He certainly does, and I value the fact that he can compare both amps directly, unlike one or two in the Stepdance camp who are convinced that they have the most powerful portable amp in the history of the known world  

 how could anyone think that? lol the PB-2 swings what 32V p-p in balanced mode?
 
that isnt a comment on the SQ though, just a statement of power.

 

[estreeter]

Careful - you'll fire Ray up - he is adamant that the SR71B is that most powerful portable amp and nothing else comes close.

 

[vlach]

Thanks. In that case i'm interested to know which has the best SQ regardless of power output.
 
Quote:

Yeah, SpudHarris owns it.
 


 

 

 

[SoupRKnowva]

Quote:

Careful - you'll fire Ray up - he is adamant that the SR71B is that most powerful portable amp and nothing else comes close.

 haha i havent looked into it too much, lets just say they're both about the same then

 

[Armaegis]

Oh goodness, I remember that debacle when it first surfaced...

 

[SpudHarris]

Quote:

Thanks. In that case i'm interested to know which has the best SQ regardless of power output.
 

I have commented on this before.
 
For IEM's and some phones not requiring the power the 2Stepdance is better, there I've said it. But, if you want something that has the power to drive tougher phones (including orthos) but is still able to work well with IEM's and the lower impedance phones then the P4 is the way to go, it is far more flexible in that respect. Of course with the right chipset you can probably get close to the SQ 2Stepdance, just not quite
 
I'm not sitting on the fence it's just that they are both excellent amps but each does something the other one doesn't.
 

 

[iwantsilence]

hey guys ! allow me to join the club
 
this amp sounds really good ! using it to drive my esw10 and loving it ever since ... much better than my previous govibe petite. Had not started opamp rolling just yet because i am very happy with the current sound. Portability of this amp is good, expected it to be heavy but amps without alkaline batteries is so much lighter. The built of it is lovely, black matt finish to the knobs to the switch,everything in perfection. A very well made pretty amp indeed!
 
Quality is not compromise by its attractive price tag! good job ibasso!
 
 

 

[vlach]

Hi SpudHarris, you're right, you did make that comment earlier, i somehow missed it sorry.  Anyway, thanks again for the clarifications, i think for me the decision will boil down to the 2Stepdance or the MKll, however the general consensus seems to favor the former...
 
 
 
Quote:

I have commented on this before.
 
For IEM's and some phones not requiring the power the 2Stepdance is better, there I've said it. But, if you want something that has the power to drive tougher phones (including orthos) but is still able to work well with IEM's and the lower impedance phones then the P4 is the way to go, it is far more flexible in that respect. Of course with the right chipset you can probably get close to the SQ 2Stepdance, just not quite
 
I'm not sitting on the fence it's just that they are both excellent amps but each does something the other one doesn't.
 

 

 

[estreeter]

Quote:

Originally Posted by iwantsilence /img/forum/go_quote.gif
 
 much better than my previous govibe petite.

 
Sweet Jesus, I would HOPE its much better than the govibe ! What sort of price differential are we talking here - 3-4 times the price ?
 
 

 

[cosmicreality]

I just placed an order for an Ibasso P4 and was shocked to see how fast the shipping is to the US.  It's practically 2-3 days!  I'm planning on trying it out with AKG Q701 headphones (similar to K701s) with an iPad as the source.
 
I've also been considering the Ibasso D6 unit (instead of P4), but unfortunately, it will not work as a DAC with the iPad (according to Ibasso).  It's still tempting though, because I'd be able to use it as an amp only with the iPad - and also use it as a Dac/Amp when connected to my desktop PC.
 
Can't wait to see if the P4 and Q701's work well!  It's also great to know that the sound can be changed by rolling the included opamps.
 
Does anyone know which opamps should work best with these cans?  (Included are the AD797, OPA604, TLE2141 Class A, BUF634P WB*2, BUF634U*2, Transistor BUF*2, Dummy adapter*4).

 

[NewAKGGuy]

Cosmicreality,
 
I'll be very interested to hear what you think about the P4 and AKG-x70x phones.  I occasionally use my P3+ with my 702s but that setup could use more juice, so I usually go with an RSA and use the P3+ with my IEMs.  Anyhow, I really like the iBasso house sound and they represent real value.  I like the idea of an iBasso that can really drive the AKGs.  Say it's so.

 

[SpudHarris]

P4 drives everything I own with authority. Same goes, I used to keep the P3+ mainly for IEM's but the P4 is way more flexible. The only negative is that the gain jumpers are inside the amp so if you want to change the gain to suit a specific phone (orthos for instance) then you have to open it up....