A review of the iBasso player DX150 — when it is cheaper does not mean worse

Date:

2018-06-15 11:15:15

Views:

4907

Rating:

2Like 0Dislike

Share:

A review of the iBasso player DX150 — when it is cheaper does not mean worse Source:

I do Not know whether iBasso does not understand the essence of modern marketing, whether, on the contrary, know all too well, but after the release of the youngest model was only a matter of time. Amazing also was the fact that almost all aspects of the DX150 has turned out not worse.

IBasso decided not to change almost anything that has brought success to the older model: big touch screen, good for speed chipset, 2 GB of RAM to provide acceptable performance. DACs changed a couple AK4490, the dumb changed the design and added support for QuickCharge. In the same way as the older model, the novelty allows to change the amplifier modules, and this is where lies the most interesting step for the company. DX150 «out of the box» equipped with a new amplifier module AMP6, allowing him very effectively to compete with a bunch of DX200 + AMP1 with a very slight delay in sound. In addition, the product managers of the company quite nice, lowered the price, at the moment, «strategemata» costs about $ 500.

the

specifications

the
    the
  • OS: Android 6.0
  • the
  • Processor: RK3368 (8-core ARM Cortex-A53)
  • the
  • RAM: 2 GB LPDDR3
  • the
  • Flash memory: 32 GB
  • the
  • memory Card: MicroSD up to 2TB
  • the
  • Screen: the 4.2″, multi-touch, 768 x 1280
  • the
  • Wireless connectivity: Wi-Fi 802.11 n, Bluetooth 4.1
  • the
  • USB interface: XMOS XU208
  • the
  • DAC: 2 × AK4490EQ
  • the
  • Maximum resolution: 384 kHz/32 bit, DSD256
  • the
  • Battery: LiPo, 4400 mA/h
  • the
  • working Time per charge: ≥10.5 h
  • the
  • full charge Time: 2 h with QC 2.0
  • the
  • Dimensions: 129 mm × 69 mm × 20 mm
  • the
  • Weight: 245 g

Balanced output

the
    the
  • frequency Range: 10 Hz – 40 kHz ±0.5 dB
  • the
  • Output voltage: 3.7 Vrms @ 32Ω
  • the
  • output power: 425 mW @ 32Ω
  • the
  • Total harmonic distortion (at 32Ω load): -110 dB
  • the
  • Division: 119 dB
  • the
  • Dynamic range: 118 dB
  • the
  • the Ratio signal/noise: 118 dB

3.5 mm output

the
    the
  • frequency Range: 10 Hz – 40 kHz ±0.5 dB
  • the
  • Output voltage: 2.4 Vrms @ 32Ω
  • the
  • output power: 185 mW @ 32Ω
  • the
  • Total harmonic distortion (at 32Ω load): -108 dB
  • the
  • Division: 115 dB
  • the
  • Dynamic range: 117 dB
  • the
  • the Ratio signal/noise: 117 dB

line out

the
    the
  • frequency Range: 10 Hz – 40 kHz ±0.5 dB
  • the
  • Output voltage: 2.4 Vrms
  • the
  • Total harmonic distortion (no load, 1.5 Vrms): -108 dB
  • the
  • Dynamic range: 118 dB
  • the
  • the Ratio signal/noise: 117 dB
the

Packing and delivery

The Box was easier, from the architectural frills packaging DX200 abandoned in favor of a conventional circuit «cardboard box + paper cover», although the overall quality of printing and materials used remained at a very good level. Inside are:

the
    the
  • the player
  • the
  • spare protective glass on the screen
  • the
  • USB-C cable,
  • the
  • adapter for coaxial output
  • the
  • load «warm» player
  • the
  • case, this time it made suseptable material
  • the
  • manual and warranty card

As you can see, the package in iBasso to save clearly did not, especially as thanks to them for the bag and pasted straight from the factory protective screen.

the

Design and control

The New model is very similar in size and dimensions to its predecessor, but as it was, for example, the transition from the first to the second generation of FiiO X7, on the appearance a bit, making it more modern. The screen is now flush with the front panel removed a strange ribbed rear panel, side panel volume control and playback control buttons has become smaller, largely due to the fact that I have removed the bracket, passing over the DX200 volume control. Insert color changed from black to silver.

The Cabinet is made mainly from metal, it features a pleasant visitest and very decent build quality — no backlash, no squeaks and so on.

On the left side put the card slot on top are the power button and lock, the USB-C connector and S/PDIF output. Traditionally, the USB connector is for charging and to access the memory and to use the player in the role of the DAC. As for the latter, use a separate XMOS chip, this role DX150 well.

On the right side are three buttons control the playback, they are a little free to go, but at least it's not rumble, and volume control. The latter is implemented using a quality encoder, so it clearly registers the click and the stress during the rotation are chosen so that to reduce the likelihood of inadvertent changes.

Below are the modules of gain, they determine what player will be the audio outputs, regular and ordinary AMP6 is equipped with a 3.5 mm output, and 2.5 mm balanced socket. To connect external power amplifier provides line output with a 3.5 mm connector. The amplifier continues to be changed by loosening the two side screws, nothing has changed.

Most of the front panel covers the screen, it is quite good and the brightness and resolution with colour reproduction. Of course, it's not modern smartphones with their 4K displays, but how to player, screen DX150 is quite decent. Can be a bit of reproach imperfect oleophobic coating, but fingerprints are easily erased.

A Nice bonus is the support QC2.0 full battery power from a compatible power supply now takes only 2 hours, enough charge usually 10 hours or more, depending on load. This is a great indicator that if you want you can improve , it also adds Google Play and a number of additional optimizations. Not very effectively implemented DX150 while in sleep mode, as «sleep» very anxiously and actively loses charge when idle, so in the case of prolonged inactivity of the player is better off.

the

Firmware

Only, perhaps, a change in the firmware regarding DX200 was the absence in Junior model mode, the Mango. Realizing his almost complete uselessness, Yes, if you were his fan, you should not break to write about it, statistically, the vast majority of users they still do not use. In iBasso went for a bold move and easy job, just throwing on dual booting. The rest of the firmware here — almost naked Android without Play Services support, but with the ability to install third-party software via APK. By the way, that it needs to be optimized in the case of the iBasso players, many popular software players have learned to work with their DACs directly, providing bit-perfect.

But, of course, iBasso could not be embedded in the firmware of your own player is also named them Mango Player. I'm not even going to describe its functionality, first, I already did in the review of the DX200, and secondly, the player is very simple, even though it stylish. There is a media library with viewing folders/genres/albums/artists, and playlists, the basic setup, options like creating playlists and adding to favorites — in General, what distinguishes the modern player. Everything is very optimized to control the fingers, the menu is large, and black-and-red range looks impressive. By the way, tip: to exit the player have to swipe up from the bottom of the screen, you will see standard buttons Android.

Overall the firmware is quite stable, although not perfect, as it always happens in the case of «open» version Android. The company has already released two updates, adding a number of useful features, for example, a wireless DAC, and correcting a number of errors, including the lag when switching from PCM to DSD, rasstraivatsya some fans to evaluate a player by YouTube videos.

IBasso has obviously realized the advantages of a single code base, so DX200 and DX150 receive updates with new features almost simultaneously, which gives grounds to count on continued support in the future.

the

Sound

To listen To the device used the following headphones: iBasso IT04, , , , , , and others.

I Think, for anybody not surprising is the fact that the Junior model, the developers have kept the tendency to the neutral and technical supply, and due to the upgrade of the amplifier the difference between the DX200 and the DX150 was very small. The developers did not artificially «clamping» player sound, to reduce the supported frequencies or remove support Native DSD, for what they honor and respect.

Bass is fast, just a little bit shifted towards the dry feed, but they have excellent density and perfectly controlled. Player well work out the texture of the bass and perfectly conveys the texture. NCH go to a decent depth (although not as deep as DX200), so the bass sounds realistic and natural.

Have a DX150 midrange is very detailed and tend to monitor the flow, there is no attempt to add «myself» emotions or artificially inflate the stage, so the recording quality, the player is quite picky, although not as much as his older brother. The imaginary stage is considerably greater average depth and width, with the holographic nature...

Recommended

That can headphones with hybrid noise reduction, and a Qualcomm chip

That can headphones with hybrid noise reduction, and a Qualcomm chip

When you meet the sound and advanced technology, it turns out something interesting. the Market for Bluetooth headphones with active noise cancellation at a price of about 20,000 rubles is developing rapidly. Bose may have been a pioneer in this segm...

What are the mystical sounds under water in the ocean and where they come from

What are the mystical sounds under water in the ocean and where they come from

Under water can be found anywhere. Even the sounds. Water generally is a very interesting element. Due to its properties, it very well conveys the sound. To understand this process it is enough to remember that sound — it's just a vibration env...

Overview Highscreen TrueSound Pro — in shelf portable DAC arrived

Overview Highscreen TrueSound Pro — in shelf portable DAC arrived

Among lovers of quality sound it is quite widely believed that listening to music you only need use a separate player and headphones, are specifically matched to him. However, the cost of such a set usually varies from about 30 thousand rubles to inf...

Comments (0)

This article has no comment, be the first!

Add comment

Related News

An overview of the amplification module AM4B FiiO and FiiO adapter BL44

An overview of the amplification module AM4B FiiO and FiiO adapter BL44

it Seems that the world is gradually sweeping wave of popularity of contact Pentaconn (aka 4.4 mm 5-pin plug). Initially it was used only Sony, but more and more manufacturers are turning their attention to it, recently , and now ...

Review headphones Unique Melody Mason v3 — severe price of perfection

Review headphones Unique Melody Mason v3 — severe price of perfection

so, are you ready to Express your opinion about the most expensive headphones in form factor IEM of the ones that was on my review? As for the cause this time came from one of the acknowledged leaders of this segment of the market...

Review headphones MEEAudio Matrix Cinema — digital technology

Review headphones MEEAudio Matrix Cinema — digital technology

don't need to be an advanced mobile analyst to see an increasing shift of portable audio in the area of wireless technologies (yeah, the good old Bluetooth), so I hope the market will delight all of us a lot of interesting wireles...

Overview of in-ear headphones Penon BS1 Official — a new experience

Overview of in-ear headphones Penon BS1 Official — a new experience

Not often to me to review get in-ear earphones (they «droplets», «tablets», «earbuds» and a bunch of other names), and I still believed that this is not my form factor. But sooner or later, appear mod...

Review headphones Alpha&Delta D6 — neutrality and durability

Review headphones Alpha&Delta D6 — neutrality and durability

What I'm attracted to Alpha&Delta as the company is willing to give as much as possible for the price of their headphones, and secondly, the ability to make a really unusual sound. After it is time to talk about the flagship ...

What surprised the Art Monitor headphones from Audio-Technica

What surprised the Art Monitor headphones from Audio-Technica

Audio-Technica needs no special introduction to most audiophiles. Their headphone always offer excellent quality at reasonable prices, that's why claim that every other headphones sold in Japan, made by this company. Therefore, we...

Overview FiiO M7 player with the manners of a smartphone

Overview FiiO M7 player with the manners of a smartphone

In may this year, FiiO has pleased his fans a new audiophile player — in stock portable music players began . The main difference of the novelties is the new chip Samsung Exynos 7270 — thus the manufacturer has decided to bring th...

Review headphones IMR Acoustics R1 — pressure, weight, and involvement

Review headphones IMR Acoustics R1 — pressure, weight, and involvement

Ceramic emitters in the role of high-frequency twitters in portable audio has not used them and the Japanese from the Radius, and the Chinese from 1More, while achieving very respectable results in the upper frequencies. But the m...

Review headphones LZ A5 — when reached petitional scheme

Review headphones LZ A5 — when reached petitional scheme

LZ, the Company quickly achieved popularity, releasing hybrid headphones A-series, staked out a place under the sun, periodically updating the data model, slowly increasing the number of drivers (and also price). Today we will tal...

Review headphones Alpha&Delta D3 — style and beauty budget segment

Review headphones Alpha&Delta D3 — style and beauty budget segment

the Last time turned out to be quite fruitful for headphones budget (relative to the main mass overlooked) segment. While some models make you wonder: «how they were able to do it for this price?». Today we'll talk about...

Review of the second generation of earphones MEEAudio M6Pro — monitormost

Review of the second generation of earphones MEEAudio M6Pro — monitormost

a Few years ago, the company MEEAudio «rolled out» is a very popular model of headphones . These IEM, fully justifying its name, was focused primarily on the poor musicians and sound engineers who appreciated the novelty...

An overview of the player xDuoo Nano-D3 — for next summer

An overview of the player xDuoo Nano-D3 — for next summer

«what would you highly no off, don't forget about their roots» — decided in xDuoo and decided to update the model, which has led to their current success. Simply put, they have released the successor to the X2, developin...

A review of theBit player OPUS#1S is a good step forward

A review of theBit player OPUS#1S is a good step forward

Looking back, we can recognize that the company theBit has already proved its worth in the market of portable audio. Their players and showed that we are able to produce stylish solutions with good sound and usability, it is compe...

Overview headphone Audio Campfire Cascade — debut in full size

Overview headphone Audio Campfire Cascade — debut in full size

Hard to think of a phenomenon in the world of portable audio is more interesting than the well-known company producing a new product. This time, as such, made Campfire Audio, new is their first full-sized headphones Cascade. on t...

Overview headphone Audio-Technica ATH-SR9: portable displays

Overview headphone Audio-Technica ATH-SR9: portable displays

Japanese autogiant with the speaker called the Audio-Technica was founded in distant 1962, but to this day pleases us with interesting devices. Starting with the production of pickups for phonograph records, the company soon began...

Review headphone Lear Kaleido — kaleidoscope sound

Review headphone Lear Kaleido — kaleidoscope sound

the Company Lear in the past have pleased lovers of quality sound headphones, perfectly combines the price and quality, worth to remember . Not alien to them were experiments that resulted in the . The last time I watched the news...

An overview of the player xDuoo X20 — no discounts and compromise

An overview of the player xDuoo X20 — no discounts and compromise

the Company already xDuoo can rightfully be regarded as an experienced market player portable Hi-Fi. Let everyone their product does not become a revelation in terms of sound quality, value for money and offer opportunities for th...

Review of FiiO portable DAC Q5 — the ship that waited so long

Review of FiiO portable DAC Q5 — the ship that waited so long

it Seems that the longest protracted FiiO finally saw the light. Announced a few years ago, top-end portable DAC and amplifier Q5, having undergone some redesign and changes of the concept, has found the real embodiment and will s...

Review headphones HiFiBoy OS V3 model is not a boy, but her husband

Review headphones HiFiBoy OS V3 model is not a boy, but her husband

introducing unknown Chinese brands sometimes resembles a hobby type of fishing: you never know what will be «catch». This time abandoned almost at random bait brought me a very interesting result, hybrid OS V3 headphones...

The Japanese have been able! Overview headphone Audio-Technica ATH-CKR100iS

The Japanese have been able! Overview headphone Audio-Technica ATH-CKR100iS

the success of Audio-Technica is interesting to watch not only because the Japanese "know the sound". Over the last few years, they gave the market Hi-End than one or two interesting models of headphone — take the same MSR7,...