[bluesyfluesy]

Some people said the 1.5.0 got warmer from 1.2.8. You gotta be kidding me it has gotten a lot brighter for me! Any plausible reason for that?

Could be due to differing tastes, earphones and especially how each of us differently perceive changes in sound.

 

[olddude]

Some people said the 1.5.0 got warmer from 1.2.8. You gotta be kidding me it has gotten a lot brighter for me! Any plausible reason for that?

Brighter?  Lots of people say darker.  I find (using an amp, so ymmv) that it's got lots more low-end timbre and punch and the mids seem a bit more forward (especially vocals).  Highs seem a bit more modulated than 1.2.8 to me, still there but not edging quite so close to sibilance.  I've been using 1.5.0 since the day it was released and I'm still liking it a lot.  
 
I tried 1.5.0 Sound Explosion V. 2 and found that too hot for me in the mids.  Went back to 1.5.0 stock within the hour.  
 
Of course, SO much depends on if you are using an amp, what you are listening to and what you are listening with.  

 

[Lilfurbal]

Lol, like pages upon pages of firmware sound differences and I still find every firmware sounds exactly the same.  I've been on nearly every firmwares aside from rock box and custom, all sound equally good to me.  Wish I could actually chime into the debate, but I clearly am deaf to what people are claiming to hear.  Ah well, only time I notice changes is when I manipulate the EQ.   
 
On that note, I don't find the 1.5.0 firmwares to sound 'dark', or any different from 1.2.8 for that matter.  However they fixed the glitchy looking progress bar, and apparently they also fixed the random volume spike issue.  I, for one, am glad that the sound has been staying the same (to me) between firmwares, otherwise I might be going crazy changing firmware every day like everyone else.  

 

[olddude]

"I still find every firmware sounds exactly the same."
 
Really?  I'm old (no, I mean old!) and I can hear differences.  Even after all those years of going to shows at the Fillmore and the Avalon in the '60s and getting my ears blasted, I can hear differences.  1.2.8 is pretty even-sounding.  Lows-mids-highs.  1.5.0 has a lot more bass, more punch and timbre, I can hear kick drums.  Sound Explosion V2 from 1.5.0 has a lot more activity in the mids, which I found fatiguing, and even more bass and highs than 1.5.0 stock.
 
Well, I guess you are lucky, you can just pick one firmware and be happy.  Takes a lot of the guesswork out of it.  

 

 

[Lilfurbal]

  "I still find every firmware sounds exactly the same."
 
Really?  I'm old (no, I mean old!) and I can hear differences.  Even after all those years of going to shows at the Fillmore and the Avalon in the '60s and getting my ears blasted, I can hear differences.  1.2.8 is pretty even-sounding.  Lows-mids-highs.  1.5.0 has a lot more bass, more punch and timbre, I can hear kick drums.  Sound Explosion V2 from 1.5.0 has a lot more activity in the mids, which I found fatiguing, and even more bass and highs than 1.5.0 stock.
 
Well, I guess you are lucky, you can just pick one firmware and be happy.  Takes a lot of the guesswork out of it.  

 

 
I'm young and can't figure it out
 
I can hear significant differences when I move a single EQ band up or down one number.  But can never hear any differences between firmware to firmware.  Unless, of course, each firmware does sound the same when using the EQ exclusively on the same settings.  I never use the thing with the EQ off, but I make sure to use the same EQ settings every time the firmware is changed.  Sounds identical.  That is good though, as it sounds phenomenal and don't want it to change in any manner.  Though if I did I can manage that with a flick of the EQ, easier than migrating to different firmware with different available features and different bugs.  lol

 

[AladdinSane]

1.50 treble is definitely rolled off a bit for me with my Dunu 1000s vs. 1.28. Several recordings from artists that can be overly harsh on the high end are now significantly less trebly and problematic. Example: tracks from Oasis, "(What's The Story) Morning Glory?" were problematic on 1.28 and are quite warm now. Mids have definitely benefited so much so that I had to look at the readme.txt to see if they had implemented Replay Gain. Tracks that were quiet and somewhat lifeless are pretty darn glorious right now (eg. Violent Femmes, New Order). I can see experimenting with EQ on the upper bands but for now, really a good improvement for what I listen to (AltRock, Rock, EDM, New Wave, Punk and Post Punk). Not sure if the bass is actually better or it just sounds better because of the wider sound stage and improved instrument separation. YMMV.

 

[olddude]

W/my Dunus, I really get a stronger bass/timber/punch.  But I'm using a JDS Labs C5 amp through Line Out.  I did take a listen through Headphone Out and it seemed like a nice sound.  But I love the sound I get with the amp.  The right up against sibilance is a bit less, vocals are more forward, the bottom is stronger and timber is more present even in the mids.  I liked 1.2.8.  1.5.0 is a really good improvement (for me).

 

[headwhacker]

1.5.0 either has a boosted bass, overpowering everything else. Or the treble is rolled off. This is with both JH16 and Roxanne off HO. Seriously, all I can hear is the bass. 1.2.8 already is warmer compared to Rockbox. 1.5.0 is just overdoing it.

 

[SilverEars]

That's odd, how does the firmware change the sound signature?  I thought the firmware is just the OS of the device.  Anyhow, there are ways ears can perceptively hear differences especially if it has been a long time since you last heard the setup.  For example, bright headphones will sound pretty bright initially, and if you continue listening, brightness will not be as overbearing and therefore your ear adjusted to the brightness so it can sound better to you.  Then you stop listening to the phones for a long time, and listen again, it will sound noticeably different than where you left off.  This can happen if you switch headphones often also.  Just some things to be in mind of before assumptions.

 

[olddude]

I'm not a basshead, I don't want too much thump.  I found 1.2.8 slightly thin on the bottom in terms of "feel." Bass was there, but it was pretty equal to everything else.  Made for a nice, un-eq'd sound through LO using my C5.  With 1.5.0, I can hear the bass more clearly, including at times the foot pedal, without it being overpowering.  Though on some of my more poorly-mastered stuff the sound is still a bit thin, even with 1.5.0.  What I like is that while I can hear the bass, it's really that the timbre, the lower sounds on lots of frequencies, is better with 1.5.0.  And it doesn't overwhelm the rest.  I still hear cymbals and tapping at the top, and I hear plenty of mids and forward vocals.  It's, to me, a much richer sound.  Like chocolate pudding made with milk as opposed to chocolate pudding made with water.  
 
I'm using Comply tips on my Dunu 1000s, eq is off, my C5 on low gain, and the sound is very good.  It's not tiring me out, I don't feel like I'm in my car next to some foo, er, some guy with his subwoofer turned all the way up making the change in my center console rattle.  
 
What I hear here is that all of us have different musical tastes with different expectations and are using different listening equipment running into our very different ears.  
 
Makes for good discussions, don't it.

 

[headwhacker]

That's odd, how does the firmware change the sound signature?  I thought the firmware is just the OS of the device.  Anyhow, there are ways ears can perceptively hear differences especially if it has been a long time since you last heard the setup.  For example, bright headphones will sound pretty bright initially, and if you continue listening, brightness will not be as overbearing and therefore your ear adjusted to the brightness so it can sound better to you.  Then you stop listening to the phones for a long time, and listen again, it will sound noticeably different than where you left off.  This can happen if you switch headphones often also.  Just some things to be in mind of before assumptions.

 


It's not an assumption, iBasso is rolling with the daily builds for the sound libraries as someone pointed out before ( I think it was @cooperpwc) when they release new FW. Doc2008 basically does the same thing if I'm not mistaken to influence the sound. Firmware here includes everything, not just the libraries but the player itself. You will have to try it yourself and not assume that the FW change in iBasso's DAPs should not change the sound.

 

[SilverEars]

 

  That's odd, how does the firmware change the sound signature?  I thought the firmware is just the OS of the device.  Anyhow, there are ways ears can perceptively hear differences especially if it has been a long time since you last heard the setup.  For example, bright headphones will sound pretty bright initially, and if you continue listening, brightness will not be as overbearing and therefore your ear adjusted to the brightness so it can sound better to you.  Then you stop listening to the phones for a long time, and listen again, it will sound noticeably different than where you left off.  This can happen if you switch headphones often also.  Just some things to be in mind of before assumptions.

 


It's not an assumption, iBasso is rolling with the daily builds for the sound libraries as someone pointed out before ( I think it was @cooperpwc) when they release new FW. Doc2008 basically does the same thing if I'm not mistaken to influence the sound. Firmware here includes everything, not just the libraries but the player itself. You will have to try it yourself and not assume that the FW change in iBasso's DAPs should not change the sound.

So, are you saying, that they are modding the sound with software?  It's not outputting the sound the way the hardware should output?  So you can't know if their neutral is really neutral?

 

[headwhacker]

Yes, the change is by software. Even Rockbox on DX50 sounds completely different than the stock FW which is what I use as a neutral reference. It appears like each FW iteration has different EQ presets, usually on different level of warmness.

 

[chailee80]

1.5.0 either has a boosted bass, overpowering everything else. Or the treble is rolled off. This is with both JH16 and Roxanne off HO. Seriously, all I can hear is the bass. 1.2.8 already is warmer compared to Rockbox. 1.5.0 is just overdoing it.

As i was comparing it with my beyerdynamic a200p i found the bass seems to have been boosted a bit, mids are thicker and the highs rolled off a bit. The bass is at a level i really like but the highs are a tad too rolled off which i think has reduced the soundstage somewhat.

 

[malifact]

Has anyone tried installing the Pure Doc2008 firmware?  I have managed to install it fine, but if I try and scan the MicroSD card it either hangs or it does not detect of the files.  It definitely isn't a problem with the card, as it works fine with the other firmwares.