[Gintaras]

from my experience iBasso DX50 phone out is prone to hiss. i find it less audible on low gain and prefer it this way. high gain does not work well and better to be ignored. my DX50 is 8 batch and comes with 1.2.2 FW.
 
in any case i find DX50 benefits a lot from amping from line out which transforms DX50 into another higher quality DAP. i believe amp section of DX50 is not so well refined.
 
but considering price in question i still believe DX50 will be a winner and ... and... DETAIL MONSTER fun sounding DAP.

 

[Gintaras]

   
yeah the dx50 and T1 was just amazing but the form factor of the t1 was just not doing it for me.  Why i ended up with a c5.

 
perhaps Pico slim could be better in this case?
 
for me DX50 is good enough to be used alone without amp when on the go, but using it at home i find no problem in T1 form factor. that's me of course.

 

[bearFNF]

  from my experience iBasso DX50 phone out is prone to hiss. i find it less audible on low gain and prefer it this way. high gain does not work well and better to be ignored. my DX50 is 8 batch and comes with 1.2.2 FW.
 
in any case i find DX50 benefits a lot from amping from line out which transforms DX50 into another higher quality DAP. i believe amp section of DX50 is not so well refined.
 
but considering price in question i still believe DX50 will be a winner and ... and... DETAIL MONSTER fun sounding DAP.

In my case with the UE7 pros the high gain was the better of the settings. The hiss was noticeably less or almost gone on high gain.  As other s have said the hiss is not noticeable when music is playing, IMHO.
 
I also agree that amping from line out is very nice and vastly increases the usability with full size cans or iems.

 

[Hellkitchen]

Tomorrow I'll get mine, I can't wait no moreeeeee

 

[Scott Blake]

Stupid question time - we have a phone out and a line out.  I understand the line out bypasses the internal amp but does digital volume control; ok, but what amplified the signal then?  Also, interesting to me is if I hook up headphones to the phone out, they work, to the line out they don't.  Hook up the phone out to my trs cable in the car stereo and nothing, line out, music.  Somehow the outs can sense whether you have a headphone or not attached?

 

[LeeC]

Listened to DX50 with 3 IEMS, GR07, SE535 and W4R. So far SE535 has the most noticeable hiss and is too sibilant. No hiss from GR07 and hard to notice from W4R. Overall W4R has the best sound quality, more fuller and detailed.
 
Also I noticed when power on or power off the DX50, you can hear a weak click inside (physical click, not from IEM). Seems there is a relay switch inside. Anyways I'm still happy with DX50 and probably will keep it for a while.

 

[bearFNF]

  Stupid question time - we have a phone out and a line out.  I understand the line out bypasses the internal amp but does digital volume control; ok, but what amplified the signal then?  Also, interesting to me is if I hook up headphones to the phone out, they work, to the line out they don't.  Hook up the phone out to my trs cable in the car stereo and nothing, line out, music.  Somehow the outs can sense whether you have a headphone or not attached?

not sure what's up with your DX50, but I get sound out of HP and line out, just obviously at different volumes due to amp and no amp.  Tried it with four different sets of phones. (x10, HD800, SR325i, HE500).  No magic ports sensing the device connected, just need to adjust the volume (HP out)/out put level (line out).

 

[JosephKim]

Just wanted to give a quick update! I received the Vsonic VSD1S in a trade and I must say the synergy is much better than with the Hifiman re400. I will still be looking to upgrade--the clarity that I remember with the Vsonic gr07 still isn't quite there--but I am relieved that it wasn't the dx50 on it's own that was giving me lackluster sound. Looking forward to going to sleep with the combo in my ears tonight

 

[Jpfe8851]

   
Then I owe you an apology, because I did take it the wrong way.  I am sorry for jumping to conclusions and I will take total blame for that.  I've tried to read as many posts on this thread prior to purchasing my DX50 and even now that I have owned it for about 4 days, but it is hard to read all (especially since it is up to 499 pages).  I will admit I did miss your posts, but I read so many more horror stories and that is what led me to clean and organize my music library prior to receiving the DX50.
 
I just hated to hear everyone's frustrations with this player and I felt bad for each and everyone who felt defeated by this device and it's software.  I do agree with you that iBasso should have been more diligent in their software releases, but it does appear that they are on the right track.
 
I never had to deal with the earlier firmware releases, so I did not have to go through the headaches that the veteran owners have.  And I also apologize to all who read these posts as coming off as some brash newbie, thinking he know's everything.  I am beginning to think that it is not so much of how I prepared my musie library that has allowed me to use this device without the troubles posted in the past, rather I just got on board at the right time when iBasso is starting to release some stable software.
 
I hate it for you and all the early users that have endured the trouble software from day one, but at the same time I applaud you all that have stuck with it and helped all the newbies like myself to enjoy this player.
 
I cannot express enough how much head-fi has helped me in this hobby and it is really neat to have the opportunity to communicate with great folks around the globe that share an interest and help each other.
 
BTW, I you mentioned that you have used/owned the AK100; I'm just curious how that (a $700 unite) compares to the DX50?

Hey DG... no worries and no need for an apology... heck it's a hobby, not a profession! And I guess that is where little guys like iBasso fit in. They are small guys, probably as much enthusiasts trying to make a buck from their interest. I mean that's how Gates and Jobs started off! And going by the firmware updates we get from Windoze and Apple, they still don't get it right after 30 odd years!
 
Now, about the AK100 vs DX50. The former is a good little DAP but not perfect. The HO impedance issue is well documented. I sold it and got a DX100 instead. As good as they are, it was too big to lug around in my pants pocket so I tracked down a used RWAK100. It was almost perfect, especially with the recent firmware. SQ wise it is about 85% of the DX100, let down mostly by the amp. The DX is also much more versatile. Happy with the DX100, I ordered the DX50 as much as anything to have less costly alternate to the RWAK100 to lug in planes and places like that so if I lost it, I wouldn't lose any sleep. Of course the DX50 has been a big surprise in how good it is for the money. It's SQ is almost on par with the A&Ks but I find it less synergistic with a variety of headphones. Some it is great with and some less so. Whereas the RWAK100 and DX100 seem to drive most of my IEMs and headphones nicely without an amp. The UI of the A&Ks are much nicer to use and look better, especially album art. This to me is the big letdown of the DX50. It looks poor by comparison. After getting the DX50, I thought I'd sell either the DX100 or RWAK100 to fund some new higher-end headphones and the RWAK100 sold first. I did like it better than the DX50, but I would compare them best by saying that while the A&K is a better DAP, it isn't by that much. I'd say it's 80-90% of the A&K. But in terms of value, it's streets ahead. So the A&K are over-priced but nice, and the DX50 a great value alternate that doesn't lose out much to the more expensive AK. But they all have a place and I wouldn't say anyone should by one over the other. It is hard to justify the 3 times price tag for marginally better sound... and I mean marginally. If money isn't an objection though, then go the A&K or DX100 or AK120.
 
Not sure if that confuses people but hang that's MHO.

 

[ratinox]

  Stupid question time - we have a phone out and a line out.  I understand the line out bypasses the internal amp but does digital volume control; ok, but what amplified the signal then?

 
It isn't amplified.
 
One of the neat things about digital representations of sounds is that you can manipulate gain without introducing distortion. Take a single tone. As a CD-DA sample it might look like "0000000010000000". If you want to increase gain then you can simply shift right: 0000000001000000. You can keep doing this until sounds fall off the end. That's clipping and it's the main reason why sound engineers like 24-bit (sometimes larger) samples. It gives them headroom if they set the recording level too high for the session. If you add a filter to keep sounds from falling off then you get dynamic range compression. The Wolfson DAC does this kind of digital gain manipulation before the actual digital to analog converter stage but in smaller increments than bit shifts and constrained to prevent clipping. The manipulated bits are fed into the DAC which feeds the the preamp which sets the LO jack to line level voltage and feeds the amplifier for the HO jack. What you get on the LO jack is a true line level signal without amplification.
 
It's an equipment interconnection thing. Your ears don't care. A C sharp at 89dB is a C sharp at 89dB regardless of how it got there.

 

[Jpfe8851]

  Listened to DX50 with 3 IEMS, GR07, SE535 and W4R. So far SE535 has the most noticeable hiss and is too sibilant. No hiss from GR07 and hard to notice from W4R. Overall W4R has the best sound quality, more fuller and detailed.
 
Also I noticed when power on or power off the DX50, you can hear a weak click inside (physical click, not from IEM). Seems there is a relay switch inside. Anyways I'm still happy with DX50 and probably will keep it for a while.

Yep.. don't have the GR07 but of the Shures and Westones, the W4R sounds nicer. But nicer again is the UM3x as it overcomes that edge some other people have referred to. Just a bit warmer, nice mids and highs and no sibilance or hiss (at least with my wooden ears).

 

[JoeDoe]

Hey there DX50 owners. Just FYI I'm selling my 128gb flash drive with OTG cable. If anyone is looking to carry around more music than can be stored on a MicroSD, this is a great alternative. PM me for more info.
 
As far as my recent DX50 experience goes, I'm hearing micro details in Ed Sheeran's + album that the 225i's have yet to reveal to me before. Very pleased!

 

[highfell]

It isn't amplified.

One of the neat things about digital representations of sounds is that you can manipulate gain without introducing distortion. Take a single tone. As a CD-DA sample it might look like "0000000010000000". If you want to increase gain then you can simply shift right: 0000000001000000. You can keep doing this until sounds fall off the end. That's clipping and it's the main reason why sound engineers like 24-bit (sometimes larger) samples. It gives them headroom if they set the recording level too high for the session. If you add a filter to keep sounds from falling off then you get dynamic range compression. The Wolfson DAC does this kind of digital gain manipulation before the actual digital to analog converter stage but in smaller increments than bit shifts and constrained to prevent clipping. The manipulated bits are fed into the DAC which feeds the the preamp which sets the LO jack to line level voltage and feeds the amplifier for the HO jack. What you get on the LO jack is a true line level signal without amplification.

It's an equipment interconnection thing. Your ears don't care. A C sharp at 89dB is a C sharp at 89dB regardless of how it got there.

Trying to understand ......

If gain (or volume increase) adds a zero what does amplification do differently? Or is amplification am analogue process?

 

[DrGonzo]

Thanks, jpfe8851, for your comparison. Just further adds confidence that I chose the right DAP. I contemplated, before purchasing the DX50, to save a little extra cash and get the AK100. But you are not the first to describe the AK100 being only marginally better than the DX50; I've read from others who share the same view. So I ultimately decided to save the cash and get the better bang for the buck. So far I am very pleased with the DX50.

 

[SergeKo]

Trying to understand ......

If gain (or volume increase) adds a zero what does amplification do differently? Or is amplification am analogue process?

 
 
amplification - is analog part of process. its just add constant multiplicator to incoming apmlitude of sound..
 
ps
 
i hope that dogital sound control works with upsampled digital input