UPDATED 2/22 REVIEW 13 USB DAC amp - Predator, Pico, 2/3MOVE, D10 D3 D2 Viper/Boa D1, Lyrix, MicroAmp, Vivid V1, Nuforce, XM5

[HeadphoneAddict]

I have not tried the OPA1678 in the D4, sorry.  I haven't heard the P4 either.

 

[musedesign]

Headphone Addict,
  Thank you for your help with selecting the iBasso D4 with Topkit, I have been loving it!

 

[HiFlight]

 
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Headphone Addict, thank you for your advice!
 
Last night received the iBasso D6, after several hours of listening prefer the sound quality D4. 


iBasso D4 - Potentiometer a little "squeaky", makes a mechanical echo noise on turn on, as if something is vibrating inside the case.  Gain and Battery / USB switch throw to long and feel cheap.  Slightly less tall case than D6.  Larger soundstage, more air, blacker background than D6.  Non rechargeable 9V battery

iBasso D6 - Silver, still deciding if I like the silver, I ordered in black and silver arrived.  Switches more solid feeling than the D4.  Potentiometer quiet on turn on, Gain and Battery / USB switches quiet.  On first listen, D4 sounds more powerful with more air than D6.  Smaller soundstage than D4, more intimate sounding.  More analytic sounding than D4 and a little "brittle" sounding. 

Tested with Beyer Dynamic DT770 Edition 250 ohm
 
Headphone addict can you recommend a 9V or 9.6V rechargeable battery for the D4?  I will order the Topflight kit for the D4.
 
Thanks!
-Mark

When comparing the SQ of the Topkit D4 vs D6, please keep in mind that they do not contain the same opamps, therefore one should not expect them to sound exactly alike.  By changing the opamps, you can tailor the sound of either to your own preferences.  The biggest difference between the two is the extra L/R sockets, rechargeable battery and case design of the D6.  Some folks prefer the 9v replaceable battery supply of the D4.  The only real downside of the D4 is that it takes longer to swap opamps because of the case design.
 
It really isn't too beneficial to ask the opinion of others regarding their favorite combinations of opamps, as each individual hears differently.  Try all the combinations that you have listed and let your ears be your guide!  Your favorite will likely be different from someone else's. 
 
The LT1678 Class A has a detailed and airy soundstage with tight bass and excellent imaging.   Probably not the best choice for headphones with an overly bright SQ.
 
Regarding the P4, if one has no need for a DAC, IMO, the P4 is the best amplifier that iBasso has yet introduced to the marketplace. 
 

 

[cooperpwc]

Quote::

 
Regarding the P4, if one has no need for a DAC, IMO, the P4 is the best amplifier that iBasso has yet introduced to the marketplace. 

That is very interesting.
 
 

 

[JamesMcProgger]

What an awesome and useful thread, thanks Headphoneaddict.
 
I got me a D3 at the FS forums for a bargain, and I like the way you describe it. cant wait to receive it!

 

[HeadphoneAddict]

Quote:

What an awesome and useful thread, thanks Headphoneaddict.
 
I got me a D3 at the FS forums for a bargain, and I like the way you describe it. cant wait to receive it!

To me, the D3 was the turning point in the iBasso portable sound quality.  The D2 Viper really needed the opamp upgrade to shine and surpass the D2 Boa and upgraded D1.  But the D3 shipped with a sound that told me they had spent more time evaluating their choice of opamps. The main thing I didn't like about it was needing FIVE AAA batteries, although they do last much much longer than a single 9v battery in my D4.

 

[JamesMcProgger]

Quote:

To me, the D3 was the turning point in the iBasso portable sound quality.  The D2 Viper really needed the opamp upgrade to shine and surpass the D2 Boa and upgraded D1.  But the D3 shipped with a sound that told me they had spent more time evaluating their choice of opamps. The main thing I didn't like about it was needing FIVE AAA batteries, although they do last much much longer than a single 9v battery in my D4.

over 100 hours is some sort of record for a portable amp indeed.it totally makes it up for the 5 AAA batteries crime.

 

[JamesMcProgger]

I'm really liking the D3. I use it for my transportable rig and as a DAC only for my home rigr, to feed the Gilmore Lite.
 
and yes the 100 hours battery is superb. build quality and look are top notch.
 
one complaint only, I cant seem to place my cellphone anywhere nearby it , the interferences gets really really terrible. to the fact that once I hade my cellphone ontop when a text came trough and that sound almost blew my ears. if the cellphone is not near, its totally OK.

 

[HeadphoneAddict]

Quote:

I'm really liking the D3. I use it for my transportable rig and as a DAC only for my home rigr, to feed the Gilmore Lite.
 
and yes the 100 hours battery is superb. build quality and look are top notch.
 
one complaint only, I cant seem to place my cellphone anywhere nearby it , the interferences gets really really terrible. to the fact that once I hade my cellphone ontop when a text came trough and that sound almost blew my ears. if the cellphone is not near, its totally OK.

I seem to recall mentioning RFI with iPhone and D3 in my review.  I bought an RF blocking card from http://www.quickbridgesolutions.com and it helps a lot when placed between amp and phone.
 

 

[JamesMcProgger]

yes you did.
Luckily I dont use an iphone, I use an ipod or mostly computer, but if Im texting, some interferences get into the way. maybe a couple of those cards would fix it. 
 
shame, otherwise a great dac amp, although If I can place my, or others, cellphones away from it, its not big deal.

 

[cat6man]

hopefully tangentially related to the topic:

does anyone know if the manufacturers in the top 10 list above are working on a digital iPod connection?
since the iPure is less than $100 retail, the cost of the required chip to add this functionality can't be that high. I am quite happy with an RSA predator and
etymotics (i only use my portable rig on airplanes), but the addition of digital i/o from an ipod to a predator-like amp/dac would seem to be a perfect match.

i see stuff beginning to hit the market, like the iPure and Fostex, so hopefully it won't be long before a digital ipod connection makes it way into the top 10.

 

[HeadphoneAddict]

Quote:

hopefully tangentially related to the topic:

does anyone know if the manufacturers in the top 10 list above are working on a digital iPod connection?
since the iPure is less than $100 retail, the cost of the required chip to add this functionality can't be that high. I am quite happy with an RSA predator and
etymotics (i only use my portable rig on airplanes), but the addition of digital i/o from an ipod to a predator-like amp/dac would seem to be a perfect match.

i see stuff beginning to hit the market, like the iPure and Fostex, so hopefully it won't be long before a digital ipod connection makes it way into the top 10.

 
 
Well, I tried searching for the iPure and can't find it.  There's the $199 HRT iStreamer that Skylab really likes, and the Nuforce iDO which is about $249 and I think sounds very good. The Nuforce offers straight iPod digital > S/PDIF out, and also has a DAC for RCA out and headphone out. The $299 Cambridge Audio iD100 Digital iPod/iPad Dock seems to have a following too.
 
I don't know of anything cheaper than these. And they all need AC power. The Cypher Labs Algorythm Solo would be tops on my list for portable, it it didn't cost almost $600.
 
And, I don't know of anything that can add a USB output to the 30-pin dock of the iPhone like the Camera connection kit does for the iPad. With that I can feed a low power draw USB DAC/amp directly from the iPad.  But only the Pico DAC-only with it's up-sampling to reduce jitter, or my DACmini seem to offer a fully transparent output with the Camera Connection kit.
 
[edit - okay, I found the Pure i-20 http://www.pure.com/us/products/product.asp?Product=VL-61429&Category= but I haven't heard it.  Seems like a deal though.]

 

[cat6man]

I first saw the IPure at the North New Jersey meet last month. A number of folks were using that with ipods, spdif out to their DACs. Therefore, the incremental cost of ipod digital out cannot
be expensive if the entire IPure is less than $100.

Now I don't know the format of the ipod digital out but it may be possible to run digital directly to the DAC input circuitry, or there may need to be something like a spdif receiver, none
of which should be very expensive incorporated inside a DAC/AMP combo..........since this can be internal, there is probably no need to create a usb option to be backward compatible
with "old" amps like the predator (my current amp)...............just an adapter cable to go from ipod to whatever connector the DAC/AMP designer chooses to implement.

i don't expect it will be long, as the fostex and solo should be just the first (overpriced) salvos.................i'm just getting impatient since i can smell it and taste it but can't see it or hear it yet.

 

[Mach3]

Very informative reading. Thank you

 

[HeadphoneAddict]

I know this sounds strange to say this in this thread, but at some point there is a point of diminishing returns with this portable gear.  
 
Yes, at one time I was looking for the best in portable USB DAC-amps, but once they started using high end DACs like Wolfson and others the differences just got smaller.  Lately I've been very happy with the DAC/amp in the D4 or D10 (with upgraded opamps), or Pico DAC-only paired with my Pico Slim or SR-71b balanced amp.  As soon as I was happy with what I had, then I stopped being interested in expanding this thread with new products.  So, I never went on to investigate more recent models like the D6, D12, or XM6 (at least not yet, but the XM6 interests me).  Plus I'd filled up the 1st and 2nd post to the max limit for a while.
 
I did just recently sell my D10, but only because I have too much gear to listen to everything these days and a friend was in need of one.  Add to that the fact that USB DAC's have gotten to the point where they work as well as the D10 did via optical from my Macbook.  And when using USB as source with my D4, Pico DAC, DACport and uDAC-2 I don't have to worry about a battery running low or dying.  Of course I could have used the D10 with optical while charging it via USB at the same time, but it was easier to toggle between USB audio and the built-in speakers when I didn't have something plugged into the optical-out jack.  
 
Finally, when I'm not mobile and just using my Macbook at home I find my DACmini to offer superior performance to the portable rigs, which I now use mostly when I travel but not at home.  For listening to my iPad2 on the back deck (watching the sun set over the mountains) I found the Pico DAC-only had the best performance due to it's jitter reduction through the ASRC, and I pair that with my Pico Slim or SR-71b depending on how easy my phones are to drive.
 
While the uDAC-2 or DACport are portable for laptops but not for smaller analog sources like iPods/iPhones, once we start looking at digital iPod docks (like those discussed above) most of them are pretty much out of the portable realm and plugged into the wall, even though they get paired with portable music players - one exception being the Cypher Labs Algorythm Solo (CLAS) which is no cheaper than a netbook + USB DAC/amp.  The one time I heard the CLAS I thought it was excellent, and maybe a good choice for those who can't tote around a laptop.
 
I still own many of the DAC/amps from this review, including D4, 3MOVE, XM5, V1, Micro DAC/amp, and Nuforce Icon, while the Pico DAC/Slim replaced my standard Pico DAC/amp and Pico DAC/SR-71b replaced the Predator.  The SR-71b gets used a lot in balanced mode with my laptop rig at home, and the Slim gets used a little with my iPhone when I'm out and about.  I occasionally use the Icon for Skyping with an iPhone headset, or take the XM5 on long trips for it's sleep timer to use at the bedside with IEM and iPhone, but many of these don't get used much anymore.  Since my son traded me his Stax Lambda Nova Signature for my HD600 I don't use the V1 much anymore.  And while the 3MOVE amp is excellent I just find the DAC isn't resolving enough, and since it doesn't have a built-in battery charger I don't use it much.  The D4 with upgraded opamps is wonderful and sounds exactly like my old RSA P-51, but it really needs to use 9v power to drive my full-size phones well, and the 8-10 hour battery life with no built-in charger just doesn't cut it for me either.
 
So, there is more than just the sound that guides which one of these is best for a person, and the features will often play just as big of a role in choosing which one to use.