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 Review of iBasso D6, Fer-de-Lance

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TSsheenho
post Aug 30 2011, 12:17 AM, updated 13y ago

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Hi folks!
As I have mentioned before that I planned to upgrade my setup, and I wished to start with DAC. Since I'm not a portable guy, I opt for desktop DAC but there is just not much option of desktop DAC in the market.
My budget for DAC is within RM1000 so there isn't really much options left. After searched through the forum and Internet, I've narrowed down my choice to Maverick Audio Tube Magic D1. Then I gave Jaben PG a call and they confirmed me that they have ready stock.

Thus, I paid a visit to Jaben PG last Sunday to audit the DAC. But it seemed they made a mistake as the one they had was A1. Seriously, I was kinda down at that moment.
Still, I asked for their suggestions since I was already there. The first they recommended me was iBasso D6. Tried it out with my headphone and different amps available in the store in order to find out how the DAC part performs.

After spending around 3 hours there tried out lots of different combinations, I pulled the trigger and bought iBasso D6 Fer-de-Lance.
user posted image
So here's my very first and personal review; of iBasso D6.

Note that I'm auditing the DAC/AMP with the music (320kbps MP3 & FLAC) of
- Ken Hirai, Utada Hikaru, Josh Groban, Norah Jones, Zee Avi, LoTR and anime OST for ATH-AD900
- Basshunter, Beatmania IIDX 14th Gold, Groove Coverage for ATH-Pro700 MK2


DAC Part
The SQ is very clear and transparent. It's also a very natural sounding DAC, compared to GoVibe USB DAC which is quite warm.
Due to the reason that I've been using GoVibe USB DAC for few months already, I find the SQ of D6 DAC part a lil' bit too bright. I think the word can also be replaced with 'CLEAR' sounding for most people.
However, my AD900 hisses quite a lot with D6's DAC. *I've a few songs which I use for hissing test when I'm A/B-ing headphones or amps.* What I have noticed is that the hissing become more obvious than usual, might be due to the bright signature. I think some call it 'treble', but I would call it 'ear-piercing' to a certain extent.
I've tried pairing the DAC with lots of different amps(in Jaben when I audit it) and the hissing sound is still there. With brighter and more forwarded amps, the combination can be quite disastrous for 'hissing haters.' Yes, I'm referring to myself.
Soundstage, can hear/visualize the position of almost all instruments played in the music/song. But the separation is not really good as it sounds a bit muddy. Sometimes, the intruments just sound like they are being 'connected', not all mix up but kind of like overlapping with each others.
The bass, has been improved slightly, it becomes a lil' bit punchier. For AD900, this can be considered a good boost of bass. Heh...

Although the DAC supports up to 24-Bit/96KHz, I don't have any FLAC with that bitrate. So can't say anything about it. sweat.gif


AMP Part
Erm... It's kind of tough for me to audit and review only the AMP part as I will have to be really clear and know very well the DAC I'm using. So I will skip for the review on AMP part. Sorry.


DAC+AMP
Wider soundstage, can hear the direction of the instruments very clearly. But only applies to soundtrack or music without vocal. When there is vocal, the intruments' sound is sort of sunk and overtaken by the vocal.(Well, this is quite subjective as it depends on the genre of ur music)
Instrument separation is good and better than when it's just DAC, can really hear the different instruments without having to focus on the music, yah almost every single instrument.
If try harder to focus and pay more attention, u may find out/visualize the distance/position of each instrument.

Vocal: Quite suitable for male vocal as it's not warm and lush, not too bright nor too forward as well, just nice in the middle. I think the amp part has soften down the treble or the hissing sound a bit as it become less 'ear-piercing.'
I personally feel that the AMP part really compensates for the DAC part, or the other way round perhaps? As the DAC part being bright and forward, the AMP part makes the SQ a bit muddy(while maintaining the clarity of course) and reduces the hissing. The hissing for most of the songs are minimal, except for Ken Hirai's songs. He hisses way too much in his songs.
Another thing is that the high isn't really performing for this combination, which is the reason I find female vocal wouldn't shine with this combination. It sounds sort of weird if u ask me.

I've also tried it out with ATH Pro700 MK2 and I feel that D6 is very suitable to closed-can. I've never really enjoyed my Pro700 MK2 to the full since I've gotten it, not until I pair it with D6.
Pro700 MK2 always sounds muffle and gives me a feeling of congested, being a closed-can is supposed to sound like that I guess?
After pairing with D6, the can has improved so much in almost every aspect, especially soundstage. It has become tremendously wider than before. It's like the can suddenly 'open up' when I pair it with D6.
Moreover, Pro700 MK2 which is (in)famous for being overly bassy, has a much much tighter bass after pairing with D6. And it just sounds so nice now. I can enjoy my techno and dance music more with the improvement.
I used to experience listening fatigue with this can before, but now I can listen to it for quite a long period.

Things most satisfying(most significant improvement) when pairing D6 with:
AD900 - The overall SQ, mainly for being transparent enough. Soundstage and instrument separation is just superb.
Pro700 MK2 - The overall SQ, way better soundstage and much much tighter bass.


Just for the readers to know, I haven't read any review regarding iBasso D6 as I would like to keep my ears/view/opinions subjective and not being affected by other reviewers.
Please forgive me for my ignorance and last from me, thank you for your time. notworthy.gif

Oh ya, also thanks to the Kenneth who works there for explaining and sharing quite a lot with me. Not forgetting the tauke of Jaben PG(if what I heard is true) for explaining more technical stuff to me. smile.gif

Some pictures of D6.
» Click to show Spoiler - click again to hide... «


This post has been edited by sheenho: Aug 30 2011, 05:51 PM
EightPhantomz
post Aug 30 2011, 12:43 AM

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Nice review sheenho! thumbup.gif
cpchew
post Aug 30 2011, 01:05 AM

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Have you tried the DACport by Centrance?
Windcent
post Aug 30 2011, 01:07 AM

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Nice review!!!It's time to download Hi-res 24bit/96khz songs & try thumbup.gif

This post has been edited by Windcent: Aug 30 2011, 01:07 AM
TSsheenho
post Aug 30 2011, 06:21 AM

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Thanks everyone!!

Bro Windcent, the size of the bitrate songs is quite gigantic right?

QUOTE(cpchew @ Aug 30 2011, 01:05 AM)
Have you tried the DACport by Centrance?
*
Yup, I've tried it when I visited Jaben PG that day.
The SQ is much much more transparent and natural. I would have bought it if it's a pure DAC.
But unfortunately it cannot be used as DAC alone, we can't bypass the AMP part in the DACport, so I will have to give it a pass. And it's kind of over my budget. tongue.gif
Enigmatic
post Aug 30 2011, 07:34 AM

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Grab the Topkit opamps from HiFlight at Head-Fi. wink.gif
Windcent
post Aug 30 2011, 10:31 AM

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Yeah,I got the same song but difference bit per sample as example,

Scorpions - Still Loving you (FLAC 16bit/44.1khz)
Duration: 6:28 /Bitrate: 814kbps /Size: 37.6MB

Scorpions - Still Loving you (FLAC 24bit/96khz)
Duration: 6:27 /Bitrate: 3316kbps /Size: 152MB
Lennox
post Aug 30 2011, 11:15 AM

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Nice One!!!!!! interesting to read smile.gif
TSsheenho
post Aug 30 2011, 05:44 PM

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QUOTE(Enigmatic @ Aug 30 2011, 07:34 AM)
Grab the Topkit opamps from HiFlight at Head-Fi. wink.gif
*
The op amp in D6 can be changed eh?
Will read more on this later. If it's not so expensive, might consider changing it to improve the performance. tongue.gif

@Windcent,
Oh wow... The difference in file size is so huge, I will try to look for the same song with 24-bit so that I can A/B the quality.
If my ears can hardly hear any difference, then I might just stick to the usual 16-bit songs for now.
Thank you for the input. smile.gif

@Lennox,
Glad that u enjoy reading my novice review. laugh.gif
Actually I just kind of wrote this review on a whim as I can identify the differences in SQ after using D6.
Enigmatic
post Aug 30 2011, 05:56 PM

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QUOTE(sheenho @ Aug 30 2011, 05:44 PM)
The op amp in D6 can be changed eh?
Will read more on this later. If it's not so expensive, might consider changing it to improve the performance.  tongue.gif
*
If I am not mistaken it's slightly above RM100 or so including shipping. smile.gif A real boost in performance, if you ask me. Too bad you're in Penang else you can try out mine lol.
TSsheenho
post Aug 30 2011, 08:11 PM

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QUOTE(Enigmatic @ Aug 30 2011, 05:56 PM)
If I am not mistaken it's slightly above RM100 or so including shipping. smile.gif A real boost in performance, if you ask me. Too bad you're in Penang else you can try out mine lol.
*
Haha. Too bad then.
Anyways, will keep using the stock op amp for now la, change only when I really feel like the performance is not up to my taste anymore. tongue.gif
Windcent
post Aug 30 2011, 08:54 PM

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Do D6 line out to another amp i think it should be great some more thumbup.gif thumbup.gif
TSsheenho
post Aug 30 2011, 10:50 PM

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QUOTE(Windcent @ Aug 30 2011, 08:54 PM)
Do D6 line out to another amp i think it should be great some more thumbup.gif  thumbup.gif
*
I tried the line out to my very low-end hybrid amp and the result is kind of disappointing, as in nothing impressive. sweat.gif

Therefore I'm saving for the upgrade of amp now. rclxms.gif Have been eyeing on hybrid or pure tube amp for the moment.
In terms of price, la Figaro 336BE (or Classic, can't really remember the model tongue.gif )fits my budget quite nicely. Still, will need to audit more amps till then.
Iqbal_kakashi
post Sep 3 2011, 03:41 PM

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wait, Jaben PG got A1 stock? seriously?
TSsheenho
post Sep 3 2011, 05:28 PM

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QUOTE(Iqbal_kakashi @ Sep 3 2011, 03:41 PM)
wait, Jaben PG got A1 stock? seriously?
*
Yup, they have it when I visited them. And I think they still have it. Go try it out! biggrin.gif
neosh
post Sep 3 2011, 05:58 PM

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cool cool, nice review. Thanks bro
Iqbal_kakashi
post Sep 4 2011, 07:42 AM

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QUOTE(sheenho @ Sep 3 2011, 05:28 PM)
Yup, they have it when I visited them. And I think they still have it. Go try it out!  biggrin.gif
*
if jaben pg got, surely jaben subang got right?haha. gonna go to jaben subang, nearer to me. hehe
TSsheenho
post Sep 4 2011, 09:31 AM

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QUOTE(neosh @ Sep 3 2011, 05:58 PM)
cool cool, nice review. Thanks bro
*
You are most welcome! biggrin.gif

QUOTE(Iqbal_kakashi @ Sep 4 2011, 07:42 AM)
if jaben pg got, surely jaben subang got right?haha. gonna go to jaben subang, nearer to me. hehe
*
Erm... I supposed? Hehe..b
Better be safe call them up before u head out. Or u might end up spending more like me. tongue.gif

 

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