iBasso D10 review

[admin_exported]

Well, my iBasso D10 arrived and I'm listening to a variety of lossless sources through it on my headphones.

First 20 minutes worth of impressions, wider sound stage, more clarity to the instruments. Trying a/b on the same sections of music the differences are solidity in the bass and clarity in cymbals etc (I'm listening to pink floyd). I'm certainly hearing new things, but I never know whether this is just me paying more attention to the music. It sounds fuller certainly and less muddy.

Comes with all sorts of bits, but I also got the line out dock and possibly the cutest jack to jack cable ever made. 20085192325.jpg

It seems well made, comes with some charge in the batteries, which is a nice touch. Opamp rolling kit looks fun and comes with extra screws and the right size of screwdriver.

I'll let it settle down for a burn in / me getting used to it and update this later in the day.

 

[Anonymous]

Okay, this DAC is fab, 00:43 into "wish you were here", (title track 4) there are noises I've never heard before, like sniffing very odd indeed. Lots of detail is being dug up by this little DAC.

Music seems more rhythmical too, certainly the bassline and drums on this track feel really integrated, like the underpin what else is going on. rather than spam the recently active topics, I'm just adding thoughts here.

Curious as to how I'd compare this with a beresford 7520. Anyone in London and might be interested in hearing a comparison? I'm in Walthamstow so nearby would be good.

 

[Anonymous]

I understand why people buy separate headphone amps now and also spend money on expensive CD players. Lossless plus this DAC feels pretty close to some nice CDPs I've heard. I'm assuming that with one wolfson 8740 this won't be quite as good as a dacmagic which has two, but certainly this is the best audio I've had yet.

In case you are wondering what I'm going on about, see http://www.ibasso.com/en/products/show.asp?ID=39

The iBasso D10 Cobra DAC / Headphone AMP offers:

USB / Digital Audio over coax / Digital Optical toslink.

It will act as a headphone amp with opamp rolling encouraged (they supply some ones to try), plus it will provide a line out signal.

All that and battery powered and can charge over USB.

Favourite headphone amp in this comparative review on headfi

http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f105/updated-2-22-review-13-usb-dac-amp-predator-pico-2-3move-d10-d3-d2-viper-boa-d1-lyrix-microamp-vivid-v1-nuforce-xm5-306883/

The D2 was reviewed recently http://whathifi.com/Review/iBasso-D2-Boa/ giving it a solid four stars, the D10 adds digital audio in and an improved amplifier stage. I like mine =)

 

[Anonymous]

Whole weekend into playing with my new DAC and it is great fun. Gives a whole new level of detail to the music and more clarity to the bass too. With two little boys around I haven't had time for any detailed a/b testing, but it is noticeably better. Even works well with stereo DVD soundtracks. I'm hearing much more from the music and it feels more musical.

Well worth the 200 odd quid I paid, excellent value for money.

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the impressions and review of the iBasso D10. I've been thinking of going for the D10 DAC/headphone amp/pre-amp for some months now to upgrade my Airport Express setup at home and also for portable use.

It would be useful to me for portable use as a headphone amp for music production and DJ work. Can you tell me if it's really small and lightweight enough to carry around with a laptop?