A truly modern dap, Light, low noise, long battery life, fast ui, great wifi, swappable amp modules, excellent sound….the list goes on.
When i first got the iBasso DX300 i wanted to get the usual hours on it based on past experience of other iBasso daps.
Size seems large at first, but later shrinks to comfort.
IBasso DX300 Build, Ui And Wifi Speed Check, Unboxing Etc
The iBasso DX300 has arrived with mass speculation and high expectations and specifications.
iBasso DX300 with iBasso IT07 and CB16 cable
General build whereupon we leave the usual colorful Head pie tableau shots for a more uniform and perhaps tiresome on the eyes format.
The toasted egg and ham sandwich i had for lunch is rewarding me greasy fingermarks. Timing is everything.
All self explanatory really
Note one side is slanted. This makes operating the multipurpose volume wheel easy.
Accessories
Warranty and starter guide
Coaxial and a burn in cable
Two thin and one thick screen protectors.
Usual charge and data cable. Although i ave often found i needed to use a different usb-c cable for data transfer with several usb c daps.
The case
Lets get this party started already
AKPpure and CoolApk enable you to download your usual apps and the Google play store etc
Several backgrounds to choose from
Main Settings overview
5G and 2G wifi test
Developer mode for extra tweaking
The Android Mango music player
General User Interface scroll speed test
Various filters
Scanning is fairly fast... ooh so close.
I highlighted every option below as it was more clearer in the photograph. Then turned them back off.
Advanced menu in the Android Mango player
Loving the marbled paper look
Playing with album art which colors the wider edges of the screen
Size comparisons
iBasso DX160, DX300 & iphone SE
Some background options
One can choose a traditional square album art or circular
To EQ or not to EQ...
Mmm, smexy.
Photo below says six hours to charge which is not my experience. It charges quite rapidly.
Amp module 11 close ups
IBasso Amp11mark2 and amp11mark1 Impressions
I stuck mostly to Campfire Audio MW10 at this point for consistency.
iBasso DX300
Random notes:
0 to 60 hours.
*I purchased the amp11mark2 to satisfy my curiosity and to enjoy some tinkering.
out of the box is good. Gets a bit ill defined after 10-20 hours but returns ok after 30 - 50 hours.
it needs less burn in, or is not as noticeable as amp11mark1. This could be the amp or a combination of the DX300 having 500+ hours on it.
Repeating an earlier post for continuity:
At 60 hours and enjoying it with a variety of music.
looking forward to a/b amp11mark1 versus amp11mark2, dx220 stock amp and amp8EX and Max. Maybe dx160 - although that comparison boat may have sailed now.
I do imagine iBasso initially set out just to replace unavailable parts and recreate the same sonic sound, but in the end created something else when it went from the hand soldering to the full oven cooking. Magic.
At this point amp11mark1 owners/users might be thinking ‘do i have a lesser amp module?’
Hard to say until i do another a/b at 100 hours. But as i have written i think amp11mark2 completes the DX300 for me as a release unit.
Others also have amp11mark2 on the way and their opinion may differ.
So lets not get ahead of ourselves just yet and wait for contrasting or agreeable opinions.
*Often the first opinions get written in as gospel - but @whitiger and myself might be completely off in our findings so far.
Looking forward to others impressions
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Hot swapping iBasso DX300 amp11 mark 1&2.
*Amp11mark2 at over 100 hours now
Amp11mark2
Tighter faster bass
‘Still lingers where required
Bass still goes deep
More coherent
Layering is great
Timbre is great
More micro detailing
Faster, tighter..just more coherent.
Instruments well separated.
More an even true presentation with the vocals floating just on top or above of the music.
Amp11mark1
Bass is a but bloomy and bleeds
Bass can be woolly
Some sounds are a bit distant
Feels more closed in, not in an intimate way.
Vocals a bit more forward.
More strident at times.
Can be a V shaped with forward vocals
Not as soaring as mark2, a bit duller.
Summary
They are very close
Amp11mark2 edges ahead overall
It just does it better
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Amp11mark1 on top
Amp11mark2 on the bottom
Bonus shots of the needed screwdriver as it is unlisted and not included in this package.
CRV T4 Torx
Head-fier whitiger early impressions >>
The DX300 amp11mark2 can be ordered by emailing iBasso
Further On The DX300 Amp 12
DX300 Amp12 - Noise Testing
Update: june 24th
IBasso DX220 Amp8EX Versus IBasso DX300 Amp11mark2
As written earlier, i dont really have anything to add.
This is a modern dap. One of the first of this new generation. Others like myself who went through the years of early daps where there was always some wrong…bad ui, terrible wifi, bad battery life, few outputs, low power etc the list goes on. Everything was a compromise- it was tiring. I myself skipped the first dew generations and stayed with an ipod touch/iphone 4 as transport and external dac/amp for ages…
But here we are - a well executed dap with all the bells and whistles we wanted.
Light, low noise, long battery life, fast ui, great wifi, excellent sound….the list goes on.
I expect the iBasso DX300 will be a current totl dap for sometime and is a line in the sand between the old gen and next gen.
Well done iBasso and lucky us.
Thank you to iBasso for sending the DX300 to Head pie for review.
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