Oh, and if anyone is interested, I posted a review of the DX160 a couple of days ago.
https://www.head-fi.org/showcase/review/23101/
I compare it to the DX220 (with stock AMP1 Mk II) and Sony's ZX300.
I describe how they both sound with EE Phantom and Stealth Sonics U9, and how the DX160 sounds with iBasso IT01 and IT04 and Stealth Sonics U4.
If you don't have time/inclination to wade through it all, I can give a summary as follows:
In my humble opinion, I think reports of the DX160 sounding only a tiny bit less good than the DX220 are overstated.
I thought the two players were very close, when I simply played one for a few days and then played the other.
But actually A/B testing them back to back on particular test tracks, I do hear a significant step up in quality with the DX220, which shouldn't be that much of a surprise
I'm not saying this to disparage anyone else's perspective, simply providing my own personal view. We all hear things differently and I respect that.
Regarding the DX160 specifically, I find it to be a bit L-shaped.
Not to a great extent, like Legend X or iBasso's IT01 for example, but I found the lows to have some emphasis, whereas the rest of the sound signature was tuned relatively neutrally in comparison.
It was rather more energetic in comparison with the DX220 (AMP 1 Mk II).
I also felt that the soundstage was reasonably wide, but just average in height and depth (others may disagree, and IEM pairing is a factor).
What this means in practice is that it could be a very good DAP choice, or not, depending on what IEM's you're planning to pair it with, and what you'd like to enhance/decrease/maintain/change with regards to the sound signature of those IEMs.
With something like the Legend X, I think you'll be doubling down on that L-shaped signature, so if you're someone who hears the Legend X and thinks "wow, I really like this IEM, but if only it could have a bit more emphasis on the low end", then this combo would be for you!
NB: I imagine no one ever said that, ever
Suffice to say, it didn't pair well (for my tastes) with the IT01,
Whereas with my two Stealth Sonics IEM's and the iBasso IT04, I found there was a good synergy.
With EE Phantom, I found that it could also pair well, but it depended again on which aspects of the Phantom's sound signature you wanted to draw out.
The DX220 highlighted the technical ability of the Phantoms (whilst not diminishing its other qualities), whereas the DX160 was all about richness, tone and timbre, with a slight reduction in those technical abilities.
