IBasso DX200 early impressions-UPDATED-Mimouille

DX200 Impressions by Mimouille
Update 1 & Update 2.

 

[DX200 update 2]

Hello all,
I have spent time with the DX200 which has roughly 45 hours of burn in. I listened mostly to my SE5 Ultimate single ended, to compare with the WM1Z and LPG side by side.

To make a long story short, the strengths of the DX200 (AT THIS STAGE) are width of stage, airiness, detail and punch. The relative weakness (AT THIS STAGE, compared to much more expensive DAPs) is that it has less depth and less good layering than the WM1Z and LPG (which are particularly good in this respect). This difference could change when using balanced, or different filters, or with burn-in. Another trait, which is not necessarily negative, is that the DX200 is relatively more dry and analytical than the other two. This can be fine-tuned with the filters.

I have played with the filters as, and the changes are small but audible. I have settled on the apodizing linear phase, knowing that default is fast roll-off minimal phase. If you guys have inputs on the filters, I would be interested as I am not familiar with what they entail.

Finally, I have updated to the latest firmware, and it solved the navigation speed / stability problem, which is great! The only remaining issue I detect is the artist name cutoff in the display.

I have tested the battery life, and get roughly 8 hours on high gain at moderate volume, in balanced.