The Watercooler -- Impressions, philosophical discussion and general banter. Index on first page. All welcome.
- Thread starter Rockwell75
- Start date
dmphile
500+ Head-Fier
Just another day turning into night
Enjoy ...
.
Is it just me or does music sound better at night? It's like the quietness brings out all the details and nuances of the music so much more. Maybe it's my brain but I just get that feeling when I go into tube mode with my N3Pro and Solaris 2020.
Also, I couldn't resist trying out the iBasso DX170.
Last edited:
Just another day turning into night
Enjoy ...
.
The original and arguably better Reckoner.
I’ve been meaning to type something up about it, ugh, I love it.Also, I couldn't resist trying out the iBasso DX170.
Would you describe it as warm leaning, bright leaning, neutral etc?
dmphile
500+ Head-Fier
You and @twister6 are the reason I wanted to try it out. Canada does not have ANY distributors for iBasso gear which sucks so I just went and pulled the trigger on Hifigo. I spoke with the owner at Headfoneshop here for literally 2 hours on just life and gear and asked him why he never sold iBasso and his answer was, 'they wouldn't take him as a reseller.' LOL, I found that to be one of the strangest answers ever.
Oh well, Canada has limited pickings for retailers that sell niche gear.
ljnew
Headphoneus Supremus
- Joined
- Dec 24, 2015
- Posts
- 1,578
- Likes
- 789
Yeah i had the old jvc wood iem. The timber is a strong factor in what made me purchase the 1800.
Definitely reminds me of the old car audio days where the subwoofers were stored in a special wooden box.
The knocking wood sound definitely adds something unique to the collection of iems IMHO.
Last edited:
I’d say neutral/smooth with a little bit of richness to the notes. Maybe some people would describe that as warm but not for me. I find it really easy to listen to and “musical”, it’s been an awesome match for all of my IEMs. The UI can be a little laggy but its nothing I find a deal breaker for the price and sound quality.
N8ii has better texture and more detail, it’s a more revealing sound and as more emphasis on the upper mids and treble area.
How powerful is it? I'm looking for a more powerful pocketable option alongside my SR25ii...this is one of the DAPs I'm considering. Shanling's new one is another...but I've never heard an Ibasso DAP and the curiosity is there.
dmphile
500+ Head-Fier
I found Bloom Audio's description also interesting and potentially resonates with my taste. Remains to be seen but I have high hopes for it! I still haven't heard a good description of iBasso's house sound.
In the bass, DX170 provides deep extension and good dynamics along with detail and texture that provides a lifelike feeling to bass guitars and kick drums. The overall low-end feeling is one of linearity and accuracy. The mids are very well balanced. For headphones with stronger midrange, you have a rich detailed presentation, and more v-shaped headphones will have the midrange well-supported to fill in some of the missing mids. The treble extends strongly, with a great sense of resolution and transparency along with a strong definition that can border on graininess with brighter headphones. The treble ultimately avoids any tendency towards sibilance and fatigue, given you a reference sound, not an analytical one.
DX170’s power delivery is another highlight. The specs lists the power at 3.2V max unbalanced and 6.4V max balanced, without providing specific wattage at various impedance levels, but the current delivery seems very consistent. Testing with moderately power hungry headphones ranging from the Dan Clark Aeon 2 Noire to the HIFIMAN HE1000v2, DX170 provides excellent performance from the balanced output (though the maximum volume will leave some listeners unsatisfied with headphones at the level of the HE1000v2), but even in single-ended operation, the Aeon Noire, sounded quite good, as did a range of other moderately hard to drive headphones like the Audeze LCD-2.
With IEMs, the noise floor was very low, giving you a pitch black background with most IEMs, with the balanced output feeling particularly inky. If there was any hint of hiss with sensitive IEMs, it was nearly imperceptible and less audible than the ambient noise/vibration of my cubicle or bedroom. The general shielding also seems to be a step up from the DX160. DX160 could occasionally pick up interference while on the wifi with sensitive IEMs, but I didn’t experience anything of the sort in my time with DX170.
SOUND
DX170 maintains the iBasso house sound, and moves the overall performance a step closer to the high end sound quality of the DX240 or DX320. You get good treble extension, rich mids, and excellent, accurate bass delivery. The soundstage and stereo image are excellent as well, providing a three-dimensional, holographic delivery.In the bass, DX170 provides deep extension and good dynamics along with detail and texture that provides a lifelike feeling to bass guitars and kick drums. The overall low-end feeling is one of linearity and accuracy. The mids are very well balanced. For headphones with stronger midrange, you have a rich detailed presentation, and more v-shaped headphones will have the midrange well-supported to fill in some of the missing mids. The treble extends strongly, with a great sense of resolution and transparency along with a strong definition that can border on graininess with brighter headphones. The treble ultimately avoids any tendency towards sibilance and fatigue, given you a reference sound, not an analytical one.
With regards to power, this might help answer your question? Also from the Bloom Audio Blog.
DX170’s power delivery is another highlight. The specs lists the power at 3.2V max unbalanced and 6.4V max balanced, without providing specific wattage at various impedance levels, but the current delivery seems very consistent. Testing with moderately power hungry headphones ranging from the Dan Clark Aeon 2 Noire to the HIFIMAN HE1000v2, DX170 provides excellent performance from the balanced output (though the maximum volume will leave some listeners unsatisfied with headphones at the level of the HE1000v2), but even in single-ended operation, the Aeon Noire, sounded quite good, as did a range of other moderately hard to drive headphones like the Audeze LCD-2.
With IEMs, the noise floor was very low, giving you a pitch black background with most IEMs, with the balanced output feeling particularly inky. If there was any hint of hiss with sensitive IEMs, it was nearly imperceptible and less audible than the ambient noise/vibration of my cubicle or bedroom. The general shielding also seems to be a step up from the DX160. DX160 could occasionally pick up interference while on the wifi with sensitive IEMs, but I didn’t experience anything of the sort in my time with DX170.
Last edited:
I had no issues “driving” the Elysian Annihilator and Diva with it which are the two most power hungry IEMs I had in my possession. I couldn’t notice any loss of dynamics. The bass control isn’t as impressive as the N8ii, it’s a little more boomy and not as tight but I mean… I’m not expecting it to match that level of SQ obviously. It’s seriously impressive though, and the fact it’s $450 has me
.
wolfstar76
Headphoneus Supremus
Interestingly @twister6 described the sound from DX170 4.4mm similar to that from tube mode of Cayin N3pro.
dmphile
500+ Head-Fier
When I asked @twister6 to describe the difference, that statement alone probably contributed to 80% of my decision to pull the trigger. Its such a good looking DAP, form factor and aesthetics for everyday usage looks to be right up my alley and use case. It'll be an interesting compare for me between this and the N3Pro.
Actually, we had ljokerl and ClieOS who i find to be much better reviewers compared to all the current ones. Too bad they quit long ago, ClieOS still drops by once a while but isn't much in the scene any longer while ljokerl has totally dropped off the radar
ljnew
Headphoneus Supremus
- Joined
- Dec 24, 2015
- Posts
- 1,578
- Likes
- 789
How does it compare to Cayin n3pro?I had no issues “driving” the Elysian Annihilator and Diva with it which are the two most power hungry IEMs I had in my possession. I couldn’t notice any loss of dynamics. The bass control isn’t as impressive as the N8ii, it’s a little more boomy and not as tight but I mean… I’m not expecting it to match that level of SQ obviously. It’s seriously impressive though, and the fact it’s $450 has me
