amazon iBasso DX80 reviews
The player will be iBasso’s key weapon in an effort to regain the under $500 segment of the player against Sony, FiiO or recently Astell & Kern.
The DX80 inherits the traditional design from the predecessor DX90 but is slightly larger, with four beveled angles and slightly bulged. The front side is a 3.2″ 480 × 800 touch screen with 3 physical controls.
The display quality of the DX80 is very good, the colors are beautiful and natural, users will use the swipe from the edge to access different pages of the machine. For example, from the now playing screen, you swipe from the left edge to display the My Music menu, or swipe from the right to display the Settings menu, set EQ, and more.
However, the speed of display and responsiveness on the touch screen is not really smooth, sometimes quite unpleasant delay. Hopefully iBasso will quickly fix this point on the new firmware updates for the DX80. Also in my opinion, upgrading from 2.4 inches (DX90) to 3.2 inches does not make much difference, apart from displaying some more information.
According to iBasso, with 3600 mAh battery capacity, the DX80 can listen to music for 12 hours continuously compared to just 9h on the DX90. However, with the non-removable back cover design, users will not be able to use the backup battery in case their DAP power fails, unlike what the DX50 / 90 (removable back cover) does.
where can you get a iBasso DX80 online
iBasso DX80 High Resolution Audio Player with Extreme Audio USB/Mobile Charger Kit [USA One Year Warranty Included]: Buy it now
iBasso DX80 High Resolution Audio Player with Dignis Leather Case (Black) Extreme Audio USB Charger Kit [USA One Year Warranty Included]: Buy it now
To be honest, with its slim design, the DX80 does not feel as easy to handle as its predecessors. However, this weakness is completely overcome with the silicon bag attached.
The heart of the DX80 CIRRUS CS4398 DAC chip allows the machine to decrypt DSD files directly without converting to PCM. Besides, you can also turn the DX80 into a USB DAC for PCs through the famous XMOS tranceiver circuit. Another plus is that the DX80 has an output impedance of less than 1 ohm which makes it easier to play with much lower IEM impedance.
Hearing the Sony MDR-1A, the HIFIMAN HE400i and a tough partner like the Sennheiser HD600, the DX80’s overall sound reproduction is as familiar as its predecessors: the relatively dense, Pretty and well controlled, mid strips separated, detailing in color and finally treble up to smooth. I think that the DX80 is still fit for pop music, jazz, vocals (especially female vocalists with sweet midrange bands) than rock, pop, and dance need fast, powerful rhythms.
The power of the DX80 is quite strong when the HD600 is pulled at 120/150 audio level, though still not fully utilize the sound of this headset. This is also a plus for the DAP when compared with other competitors in the market, for example, the Walkman A25 / A26HN recently presented by Sony. In general, the DX80 suffers the power to pull most of the inear headphones and portable current models.
Ignoring some of the minus points like no battery backup, no memory or delayed sensor, the DX80 is still a music player deserving to be “picked up” in the future.
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