fejnomit
1000+ Head-Fier
I concur. Seriously with the DC Elite and the RU7 it's hard to justify lugging around any bricks...
The iBasso Dongle DAC Thread – DC03 Pro | DC04 Pro | DC06 Pro | DC Elite | ...
- Thread starter 991 Carrera 4S
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fejnomit
1000+ Head-Fier
I agree. Best tuned iBasso product I have heard so far. Just wish I could control it from an iOS app....
RIGATIO
Headphoneus Supremus
Yeah the tuning of the Elite is sublime. I liked the dx220 tuning but it was too clinical. The dx300 series is better overall but i wasnt a fan of the mids that were bit too forward.
The Elite still has bit "tougher" mids (probably ROHM dac play the role here) but to my ears they are more balanced and in line with the rest of the frequency. Also there is enough of warmth to balance the analytical note decay. And the holography is purely fantastic.
RIGATIO
Headphoneus Supremus
To test sharpness, i use the old Xelento OG which are warmish and smooth but they have a significant peaks at 5 and 8k. I remember them as a very fatiguing from the dx300 with stock amp and bit less sharp but still too bright with amp12. With the dx320 they needed amp13 to keep these frequencies at bay but the sound turned to too warm and too smooth, lacking the edge- shortly- boring.
With the Elite i actually dusted them off and started to listen to them regularly as the tonal balance is just perfect. Nothing pops out, the sound is articulated, spacious and never fatiguing. The balance is just beautiful, very correct and somehow "romantic". They even sound bit too bright and sharp from a warm Zen Dac 2.
I enjoy it almost as much as the AK sp1000 + pa10 + Softears Twilight combo. I can listen to it for hours with full satisfaction.
With the Elite i actually dusted them off and started to listen to them regularly as the tonal balance is just perfect. Nothing pops out, the sound is articulated, spacious and never fatiguing. The balance is just beautiful, very correct and somehow "romantic". They even sound bit too bright and sharp from a warm Zen Dac 2.
I enjoy it almost as much as the AK sp1000 + pa10 + Softears Twilight combo. I can listen to it for hours with full satisfaction.
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holsen
Headphoneus Supremus
Now pick up a set of Divinus Velvet Tips and slap them on your Xelentos. They have transformed my Xelento 2. Wider more open open sound field. Same low end, just more articulate and open clear resolving treble. Mind you, I never had any issue with the treble on my Xelento OG. None the less, these Divinus Velvet tips have unseated Aazla Crystal on a couple of IEMs. On the subject of tips, just got back, literally a couple hours ago from a trip through Mexico and my favorite flying tips are Tennmak Strong Foam. They are a slow rebound dense silicone foam. As such they don't muddy the bass and have very little attenuation of the highs. They are COMFORTABLE, isolate well, wear like iron, don't rip and tear like Comply and are cheap as chips. Highly recommended.
On another note, finally got my hands on my last latest acquisition target, the Multiverse Mentor, so it time for the Elite to show up. Quick question, if I wanted to use it with my desktop amp, which only has RCA in, can I use a 4.4 to RCA cable from the Elite to the amp or would I need to go 3.5mm SE out to RCA in?
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FooFighter
Headphoneus Supremus
Don't think it's an issue.
Did the same testing my Ferrum Oor but to be sure you have to compare the amps input sensitivity against the output voltage of DC Elite
RIGATIO
Headphoneus Supremus
If im not mistaken, the RCA go only from 3,5mm out. To use your amp from a 4,4 mm on the Elite you would need double XLR to your amp which should be also balanced. Or im wrong?
FooFighter
Headphoneus Supremus
Usually you are right.
There are 4.4mm to dual RCA adapters - I am owning 2 of these too.
Depending on the direction I am getting either the low RCA voltage of some preamp into my PB5 4.4MM line in or getting the high LO voltage of for example D16 into RCA but still desktop amps should be able to digest it but better double check
holsen
Headphoneus Supremus
I really don't know, I haven't spent any brain power contemplating such things because so far I haven't needed to. Now I'm turning to the pros these answers
RIGATIO
Headphoneus Supremus
I wouldnt risk going from 4.4 mm on the Elite to RCA in your amp tbh. To be 100% sure that the connection is secure, you would need a balanced amp with double XLR inputs and then you could connect it via 4,4 mm on the Elite.
If your amp isnt balanced and you can only utilize RCA cables, then just use 3,5 mm on the Elite and everything should be safe.
If your amp isnt balanced and you can only utilize RCA cables, then just use 3,5 mm on the Elite and everything should be safe.
holsen
Headphoneus Supremus
Thanks. Pretty much the conclusion I've come to also. BTW, I've got an uncle in Karlsruhe, my wife is from Baden Baden and one of my favorite watering holes is in Rastatt! We may be coming over in August. I'll let you know.
I agree with RIGATIO it is always better to use 3.5mm output for unbalanced inputs on the amplifier (RCA) and the 4.4mm output for balanced inputs on the amplifier (XLR) the only thing is that for my RA2BFE amplifier the DC-Elite has so many volts at the output that I have to set the volume to 23/24 otherwise it sends the amplifier into saturation.
RIGATIO
Headphoneus Supremus
Monarch 2 sound super smooth with the Elite. Definitely smoother than with the Kann Max or the the Zen Dac 2.
The dx320 sounded bit too mid forward with the Monarch 2.
The Elite sounds just MAGICAL. The mids seem even very sligthly pushed back, like they are in a space just before my eyes.
The Monarch 2 are very revieling and detailed and the Elite doesnt show ANY sharpness or harshness with them. They sound better with the Elite than with the Shanling M8 lol.
IBasso you did such a great job with this dongle. The music just flows like butter.
The dx320 sounded bit too mid forward with the Monarch 2.
The Elite sounds just MAGICAL. The mids seem even very sligthly pushed back, like they are in a space just before my eyes.
The Monarch 2 are very revieling and detailed and the Elite doesnt show ANY sharpness or harshness with them. They sound better with the Elite than with the Shanling M8 lol.
IBasso you did such a great job with this dongle. The music just flows like butter.
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ayang02
500+ Head-Fier
2.5 months in with the DC Elite. Yesterday I tried the Andromeda MW10 with it and gosh 3 hours passed by before I realized it’s 4AM.
When 4.4mm dongles started appearing in the market, I felt that there’s no need to buy an entry level DAP anymore. Now I’m pretty sure I don’t need midrange DAPs given DC Elite’s performance. Okay that makes things simpler: just save up for future high end DAPs
When 4.4mm dongles started appearing in the market, I felt that there’s no need to buy an entry level DAP anymore. Now I’m pretty sure I don’t need midrange DAPs given DC Elite’s performance. Okay that makes things simpler: just save up for future high end DAPs
I’ve had my DC06 Pro for a few days now and probably done around 25 hours connected with the supplied lightening cable to my iPhone 14 Pro Max listening through various IEMs, here are some thoughts.
It’s not bad, it’s very simple to operate I just plug it in connect my IEMs and play the music. The two volume buttons on the DAC have enough resolution to be able to dial in the exact level I want to listen. There is no display telling you any details about what you are listening to, just an led that changes colour from red to green - it’s possible that there are other colours but those are the only two that I’ve seen so far. I’ve only listened to music via Plexamp and Apple Music, I don’t use Tidal or Qobuz.
I’ve used both the 3.5mm and the 4.4mm balanced outputs, and honestly, if it only had the 3.5mm I think it would be fine. I’ve tried my IE600 with custom cable in the 4.4mm socket, the IE600 are bright to begin with but I have managed to tame that brightness using some SednaEarfit Max tips and a Black Widow v3 cable from Toxic Cables - I intend to give a review of that cable in due course (spoiler alert - it’s a really nice cable). Pairing the DC06 Pro with IE600 was interesting, I listened to FabricLive 61 and was quite impressed by how textured some of the bass and sub bass frequencies were sounding, there was lots of detail retrieval in this mix, for example, I could hear the surface noise from some of the djs vinyl. The only downside of this pairing was that the treble was too bright and the bass was too far back, the bass is definitely there and solid but just not at the level that I usually want to listen to.
So, I connected up my E2000 to the 3.5mm output and started listening to John Digweed’s Bedrock 2023 mix on Apple Music. This pairing was much more satisfying, the treble was just right, clear but not too bright, the bass was more prominent but it bloomed a little making the mids feel a little muddy. But this was not an unpleasant or fatiguing sound in any way. This was a 3 hour mix, so I connected up another set of IEMs to see what difference they would make. I connected the Lypertek Bevi 2, these didn’t have the bass bloom of the E2000 but I felt the treble was a bit subdued with these ones and the bass was a little too forward and I also felt the kick drums could become a bit too fatiguing over time. So it was back to the E2000 again.
Overall, the DC06 Pro doesn’t seem to bad, the soundstage isn’t particularly wide but the resolution and detail sounds good to me. I think it’s important to find the right IEMs to pair with it, I prefer the Final Audio E2000 out of all the IEMs I’ve tried so far. I think it would be interesting to hear what a set of A5000 would sound like with the DC06 Pro, but I honestly think that you don’t have to spend lots of money on high end IEMs to get a sound out of the DC06 Pro that you are happy with. Would I get rid of my DAP and use only this, definitely not. However, this DC06 Pro is definitely a step up from the Apple Dongle DAC. I think photographers like to say the best camera is the one you have on you right now, I think this also applies to portable audio. The best DAP/DAC is the one you have with you right now, and for me, I think this iBasso DC06 Pro is small enough and light enough to always have in my bag or in the car ready to be connected up and put to good use.
Overall score 8/10
It’s not bad, it’s very simple to operate I just plug it in connect my IEMs and play the music. The two volume buttons on the DAC have enough resolution to be able to dial in the exact level I want to listen. There is no display telling you any details about what you are listening to, just an led that changes colour from red to green - it’s possible that there are other colours but those are the only two that I’ve seen so far. I’ve only listened to music via Plexamp and Apple Music, I don’t use Tidal or Qobuz.
I’ve used both the 3.5mm and the 4.4mm balanced outputs, and honestly, if it only had the 3.5mm I think it would be fine. I’ve tried my IE600 with custom cable in the 4.4mm socket, the IE600 are bright to begin with but I have managed to tame that brightness using some SednaEarfit Max tips and a Black Widow v3 cable from Toxic Cables - I intend to give a review of that cable in due course (spoiler alert - it’s a really nice cable). Pairing the DC06 Pro with IE600 was interesting, I listened to FabricLive 61 and was quite impressed by how textured some of the bass and sub bass frequencies were sounding, there was lots of detail retrieval in this mix, for example, I could hear the surface noise from some of the djs vinyl. The only downside of this pairing was that the treble was too bright and the bass was too far back, the bass is definitely there and solid but just not at the level that I usually want to listen to.
So, I connected up my E2000 to the 3.5mm output and started listening to John Digweed’s Bedrock 2023 mix on Apple Music. This pairing was much more satisfying, the treble was just right, clear but not too bright, the bass was more prominent but it bloomed a little making the mids feel a little muddy. But this was not an unpleasant or fatiguing sound in any way. This was a 3 hour mix, so I connected up another set of IEMs to see what difference they would make. I connected the Lypertek Bevi 2, these didn’t have the bass bloom of the E2000 but I felt the treble was a bit subdued with these ones and the bass was a little too forward and I also felt the kick drums could become a bit too fatiguing over time. So it was back to the E2000 again.
Overall, the DC06 Pro doesn’t seem to bad, the soundstage isn’t particularly wide but the resolution and detail sounds good to me. I think it’s important to find the right IEMs to pair with it, I prefer the Final Audio E2000 out of all the IEMs I’ve tried so far. I think it would be interesting to hear what a set of A5000 would sound like with the DC06 Pro, but I honestly think that you don’t have to spend lots of money on high end IEMs to get a sound out of the DC06 Pro that you are happy with. Would I get rid of my DAP and use only this, definitely not. However, this DC06 Pro is definitely a step up from the Apple Dongle DAC. I think photographers like to say the best camera is the one you have on you right now, I think this also applies to portable audio. The best DAP/DAC is the one you have with you right now, and for me, I think this iBasso DC06 Pro is small enough and light enough to always have in my bag or in the car ready to be connected up and put to good use.
Overall score 8/10
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