IBASSO DX220/AMP1 MK II REVIEW
One Incredible Top-of-the-Line (TOTL) DAP!
Music has calmed, comforted, assured, and provided strength, as we have lost love ones, ended relationships, encountered sad or troubling times or simply needed a familiar voice/song/lyrics to assure, calm, motivate. Music has also made us jump for joy, dance, shout, ‘get busy,’ relax, etc. And music has been found to be a curative and connective medium responsible for a number of therapeutic benefits*:
Easing anxiety and discomfort during procedures
Restoring lost speech
Reducing side effects of cancer therapy
Helping with physical therapy and rehabilitation
Aiding pain relief
Improving quality of life for people with dementia
Helping to relieve depression
Helping to restore some cognitive functions
In this respect, music is and has been curative, companion, energizer for us/humanity for thousands of years. Safe to say that music is a very important part of our existence, though there are those for whom music plays almost no role or no role at all in their lives. And this is not good.
We review Music Rendering Devices (MRDs)—headphones, In-Ear-Monitors (IEMs), Digital-to-Analog Converters (DACs), Digital Audio Players (DAPs), headphone amps, etc.—as wedded to particular songs/tracks that we detail within the review. We do this in the hope that we may inspire our readers to seek out the MRD in question if not the music as well. Additionally, we believe that the world would be a much better place if more people simply listened to music!
This leads into our review of the iBASSO DX220 DAP with AMP1 Mk II module, a true music maker. Initially, our research results—customer, amateur, professional reviews—proved inconsistent with regard to how this player actually sounded. For some it was reference/neutral, for some warm/reference/neutral (huh?) and for others, well, warmish, as in “south” toward the equator, but yet “technically competent.” Hmmmm.
Generally, we rely on research consensus that aligns with our “Wheelhouse” of desired sound—musical, transparent, engaging. Why? There are far too many MRDs to review them all. And why should we review those that are anathema to our “Wheelhouse?” This would be a waste of our time and the manufacturers. We send back inexpensive and very expensive MRDs every week, that have been sent to us for review, that do not line up with our desired voicing. Why? You see this dovetails with our Modus Operandi—do no harm. Reviews are wildly subjective, so why destroy a product or a manufacturer on a wildly subjective basis? Suffice to say, that the iBASSO DX220 with AMP1 Mk II fell beautifully into our “Wheelhouse,” despite our initial hesitations and a host of contradictory reviews. But more on that below.
REFRAIN: Unlike most reviews, this review will be non-sequential, as it will start with how the equipment actually sounds and not the process of physically “undressing” it and/or laying out its various accoutrement, specifications, etc. Think of this review then, as a non-linear movie—Memento, Kill Bill, Pulp Fiction, Terminator, The Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, etc—that, likewise, starts at the end and winds its way to the beginning.
The Sound
Though IBASSO was not the first Audio company to use modular amplification devices on its DAPs to tailor the tone, transparency, and power, it has beautifully embraced the concept. IBASSO has, as a result, given the consumer options for experiencing completely different “flavors” of sound for a fraction of the initial cost of its DAP units—DX220, DX200, and DX150. There are currently five amp modules listed on the iBASSO website—AMP3, AMP5, AMP7, AMP8, AMP9—in addition to the amplification modules that come as prix fixe (set priced) to the various DAPs—AMP1 Mk II (DX220), AMP6 (DX150).
We were initially going to review only the iBASSO DX220 as aligned to the AMP9—a tubed module wherein there was great consensus that it would fall within our “sound niche.” But then we took a cursory listen to the iBASSO DX220 with the prix fixe AMP1 Mk II card with several headphones/IEMs, well, ‘it was on!’ Apparently, the DX220 with AMP1 Mk II was more simpatico with our “Wheelhouse” than any of our research had led us to believe.
Massive Attack’s Angel (Mezzanine, Virgin) plays and its bass THUMPS(!) as if on a deadly cocktail of drugs and sugar and outsized expectations. At first the bass notes on this track are telegraphed in small bite-sized packets. And then the bass notes are in the room, as tank-like riffs that rumble across the floor. The iBASSO DX220 and oBravo EAMT-2C handle it with aplomb. The iBASSO DX220 and the Meze Empyrean handle it with aplomb. The iBASSO DX220 and Rosson Audio RAD-0 handle it with aplomb. The power, weight, the gravity of the notes are beyond exceptional. The capture of the Holy-Bass-Head-Grail is a walk in the park for the iBASSO DX220 AMP1 Mk II allied to any of the above collaborators and, no doubt, countless more.
I know “reference/neutral” very well, indeed, for its soul-sucking and/or flat, uninspired, unengaging, zombification (see Modus Operandi) of music. I also know “bright” for the listening-fatigue-inspired headaches that follow shortly thereafter. Perhaps the iBASSO DX220 AMP1 Mk II then is more of a chameleon adapting, as best it can, to whatever headphone or IEM it is paired with. Pair it with the musical and it is musical. Pair it with the reference, analytical, etc. and it is almost such, yet still very musical and engaging. This is one of the only ways that I can explain such a wide spread of opinions/reviews. Suffice to say, that for music lovers who, doubtless, curate musical gear, it will be beautifully musical and possessed of wondrous tone, timbre, texture, and transparency. Yes, count us surprised as we did not, at all, expect this given the widely differing reviews.
The DX220/AMP1 Mk II’s volumetric cube—its soundstage—width, depth, height layering, positioning, and separation—is vast and impressive! The DX220 AMP1 Mk.II also posses a black-quiet background, that will be quieter still when its 2.5mm balanced headphone out is employed. There is even greater transparency, as a result, which gives birth to excellent detail retrieval, resolution, microdynamics, and staging cues (separation, layering, positioning, etc.). The previous ingredients combined create intimacy or grandeur or a completely holographic experience when called for.
The IBASSO DX220/AMP-1 Mk II for the purposes of this review was paired with the Rosson Audio RAD-0, the Meze Empyrean, Obravo EAMT-2C, and the iBASSO AM05 (review coming shortly) all of which were powered effortlessly and quite beautifully.
Bass
Regardless of the IEM—oBravo EAMT-2C ($3,000), iBasso AM05 ($299)—or headphone—Meze Empyrean ($2,999), Rosson Audio RAD-0 ($2,600)—used, the DX220/AMP1 Mk II dropped prodigious bass upon them all. Even the iBasso AM05 was able to make the journey to the Stygian depths of the Holy-Bass-Head-Grail on the back of the DX220/AMP1 Mk II. Eiji Oue’s The Sacrifice: Ritual of the Ancestors (Stravinsky, Reference Recording) opens as a brooding almost macabre piece, spread out across a broad stage. It then transforms into an explosion of bass notes with a single timpani masquerading as a quartet or more of timpani. The extension, power, weight, and speed of the DX220/AMP1 Mk II on this track, regardless, of its traveling companion—Meze Empyrean, Rosson Audio RAD-0, oBravo EAMT-2C—is phenomenal. Further, across a mix of bass-intensive and bass-dotted tracks from David Holland (Emerald Tears) to Erykah Badu (Baduism) to Patricia Barber (Verses) to Maxwell (Maxwell’s Urban Hang Suite) to Massive Attack (Mezzanine) the iBASSO DX220/AMP1 Mk II’s bass makes no apologies and can be said to pull away from a host of competitive DAPs at and far above its price point.
Midrange
In Joan Shelly’s song Wild Indifference (Joan Shelly, No Quarter) a guitar enters stage right, Shelly’s guitar. Moments later an accompanying guitar enters stage left. Their positioning across the soundstage is solid, distinct, palpable and their tone and timbre are rich and fluid. The notes float and then decay through space naturally, as though measuring the space. Shelly’s voice enters textured and intimate and every word is articulated clearly and smoothly. Stridency, harshness, sibilance are all noticeably truant. At one minute and forty-five seconds a tambourine sounds and it is placed not just outside of my head, but behind me deep stage right, somewhere in the middle of the room. Shocked, I pause the DX220, retreat the song to the one minute and thirty second mark, and hit play. Yes, its on the track and not a lone specter joining in with a tambourine from behind me. This then is holography at its finest, thanks to the DX220 AMP1 MkII’s subterranean noise floor and its alignment to Empyrean, RAD-0, and EAMT-2C. Apparently, the musical components that I/we have curated and have used in conjunction with the iBASSO DX220 AMP1 Mk II have drawn forth its chameleon-like musicality as aligned to its incredible transparency. Brilliant!
Treble+
Patricia Barber’s Invitation (Night Club, Blue Note/Premonition Records) is infused by the drum playing of Adam Nussbaum. Drumsticks or brushes tapping/brushing high-hats, crash cymbals, and or ride cymbals are everywhere across the track and are beautifully and naturally resolved. The highs are sweet, wonderfully extended with shimmer and sparkle and natural decay. This is to say, that the DX220 AMP1 Mk II’s treble will never be mistaken for the indecipherable or the unnatural or the “Cccshhhhhschhhhh” sounds of some other DAP/IEM/headphone combination. And then there is the black-quiet background rendered by the iBASSO DX220 AMP1 Mk II that brings notes to life and that finds air dancing around both instruments and performers in ready abundance. Bravo!
Courtesy of Mobile Fidelity Magazine
The Wrappings and Accessories
The iBASSO DX220’s containing box is a minimally-printed, silver sleeve, that houses a red, inner box, which is just partially exposed. Once the sleeve is removed a red, textured, diagonally, die-cut box remains. The box features on its face a line drawing of the DX220 under printed by its product name.
Once the box’s top is lifted a foam inner casing is revealed that finds the DX220 affixed to a printed, cardboard platform. The platform and the DX220 can then be pulled from the box. The tray holding the DX220 is then lifted from the platform to expose a bottom compartment beneath. The bottom compartment contains three black rectangular boxes of various dimensions. The largest of which contains the following:
2 x Screen protective films
1 x Leather case
1 x User Manual
1 x Warranty Card
The second box, the smallest, contains the following:
1 x USB Type-C Charging/Data Cable
1 x Coaxial (SPDIF) Cable
1 x Burn-In Cable
While the last box is simply to balance the design of the lower compartment and is itself empty.
The design of the iBASSO DX220’s outer box is elegantly, clean, and professionally executed, which projects quite clearly that a reference-level, Top-of-the-Line product reside therein.
Design—Look and Feel
The IBASSO DX220 is a smooth, clean, rectangular design of bevelled edges, that is fabricated of “All-metal CNC (aluminum milling),” with Corning glass front and back facades. Its directional controls, inputs, and outputs are all flush mounted with only the volume control breaching its rectangular form.
The IBASSO DX220 is a clean, space-aged, industrial design, that is, relatively, light (240g), that fits very comfortably in the hand, and that is as easy as a smartphone to pocket and take for On-The-Go (OTG) listening.
Functionality/Features
The DX220 features dual SABRE ES9028PRO DAC chips which together are said to have a total of eight (8) DAC chips employed in parallel for each channel. iBASSO states that this “design optimizes the THD+N, S/N, dynamic range, and crosstalk.”
Though not the first, iBASSO is one of the few manufacturers to utilize replaceable amplifier cards in order to tailor the sound of its various players—DX150, DX200. And now the DX220 joins the mix with its own updated amplifier card—AMP1 Mk II. The interchangeable amplifier cards come as a direct result of iBASSO saying “No” to planned obsolescence, to which I say, “Bravo.”
The new AMP1 Mk II card comes with three outputs—a 3.5mm Line Out, a 2.5mm balanced headphone output, and a 3.5mm single-ended headphone output (please find their specification below). The DX220 like it predecessor the DX200 carries its digital inputs and outputs along its top face. Its main output a dual SPDIF coaxial/optical output and a USB-C input/output for charging and data transfer.
The new AMP1 Mk II card also comes with three (3) gain stages—Low, Middle, High. The “Low” gain stage, perhaps, implemented to deal with the very high sensitivity IEMs and the elimination of hiss typically associated with them. This has the added benefit of a lower noise floor and thus a dead-quiet background. And though the AMP1 Mk II card carries fractionally more power noted by an increase of 0.2Vrms for the 2.5mm balanced output and 0.1Vrms for it 3.5mm single-ended output, the balance of the specifications—THD+N, SNR—remain practically the same.
At the time of its launch iBASSO spoke to the fact that the DX220 was the first DAP to support “two-way Bluetooth 5.0, which provides native support for LDAC and aptX.” An immediate translation is that maximum range, stability, and faster data transfers lead to improved streaming abilities. Additionally, the DX220 operates now as both a receiver and a transmitter via Bluetooth 5.0. And as a direct result one’s smartphone now becomes a receiver of the DX220’s signal.
The iBASSO DX220 also features MQA “unfolding” and “rendering” which delivers TIDAL’s and or the music of other MQA renderers as it was intended.
The iBASSO DX220 supports fast charging via QC3.0, PD2.0, and MTK PE Plus, which accomplish up to a 70% charge in less than one hour, a full charge in two hours, with a purported play time of 8 to 9 hours via a 4400mAh 3.8V Li-Polymer battery. The quick charging is no joke and within an hour you’ll be ready to go again at up to a 90% charge!
Below are a bulleted list of the complete list of FEATURES taken directly from the iBASSO DX220 instruction manual:
Dual SABRE ES9028PRO DAC Chips.
Bit for Bit Playback With Support up to 32bit/384kHz.
Support of Native DSD up to 512x.
5.0" IPS Full Screen (1080*1920), With Cell Capacitive Touch Panel.
Corning Glass on The Front Screen And Rear Panel.
Support of QC3.0, PD2.0, & MTK PE Plus Quick Charge.
XMOS USB Receiver With Thesycon USB Audio Driver
A Total of 5pcs of Femtosecond League Oscillators, With 2 of Them Being Accusilicon Ultra Low Phase Noise Femtosecond Oscillators.
Mini Optical Output And Mini Coaxial Output. - 8-core CPU.
4GB LPDDR3
64G of Internal Memory.
5G WiFi And Bluetooth 5.0.
Support SDXC And SDHC Micro SD Cards. - Three Settings of Gain Control.
Patented User Exchangeable AMP Cards.
150-Step Digital Volume Control.
Audio Formats Supported: MQA, APE, FLAC,WAV, WMA, AAC, ALAC, AIFF, OGG, MP3, DFF, DSF and DXD.
Support for M3U Playlists.
4400mAh 3.8V Li-Polymer Battery (Playtime Will Vary With AMP Cards Used)
The Specifications
2.5mm Headphone Out:
Output Level : 6.2Vrms
Frequency Response : 10Hz~45kHz +/-0.3dB
S/N : 125dB
THD+N : 0.00018% (no Load, 3Vrms), 0.0002% (32Ω Load, 3Vrms)
Crosstalk : -119dB
3.5mm Headphone Out :
Output Level : 3.1Vrms
Frequency Response : 10Hz~45kHz +/-0.3dB
S/N : 123dB
THD+N : 0.00031% (no Load, 1.8Vrms)，0.00035% (32Ω Load, 1.8Vrms)
Crosstalk : -117dB
Line Out :
Output Level : 3.0Vrms
Frequency Response : 10Hz~45kHz +/- 0.3dB
S/N : 122dB
THD+N : 0.00035% (no Load, 1.8Vrms)
Crosstalk : -116dB
Average Play Time:
8 hours. (The play time varies with different resolutions and headphone/IEM loads.)
Compatibility (Synergy)
The iBASSO DX220/AMP1 Mk II was played in “High Gain” mode, with Digital Filter 2—“Slow Roll-Off, Linear”—selected for playback, connected to the 3.5mm single-ended output and the 2.5mm balanced output when possible, in each of the pairings below (oBravo EAMT-2C).
iBASSO DX220/AMP1 Mk II with MEZE EMPYREAN
With this combination there is incredible refinement and air and a lavish musicality that is mesmerizing across the frequency spectrum. Voices are textured, clear, wonderfully communicative, evocative of an analog-ease, sibilance free and sublime. And yet there is a wonderful transparency, that liberates detail, microdynamics, and positioning cues that few such combinations could match. The bass is rendered with a tautness, weight, drive, and rumble reminiscent of good analog. And the treble via this combination is sweetly addictive, detailed, and well textured. While it does not create the enveloping richness that the iFi Pro iDSD in ‘Tube+’ mode, with the GTO filter engaged, and DSD1024 upsampling, the DX220/AMP1 comes incredibly close as aligned with the Meze Empyrean and at nearly one third the cost of the iFi Pro iDSD, this is quite impressive. However, what the DX220/AMP9 and the Empyrean pairing will render relative to the Pro iDSD is quite exciting. More on that in its upcoming review.
iBASSO DX220/AMP1 Mk II with ROSSON AUDIO RAD-0
There is greater treble extension and increased resolution on the high end, which leads to a more refined depiction/rendering of brushes passing over high-hats/cymbals and triangles operating in space and the diminution of notes is very natural. There is a greater sense of air and space and sparkle. Voices likewise with the DX220/AMP1 and the RAD-0 are natural, engaging, clear, with wonderful articulation, richness, and breathtaking resolution. Yes, the voices will draw one in immediately. Bass, with this combination is rendered with attitude and it will rumble with the best, while providing detailed insight via texture, resolution, and speed.
iBASSO DX220/AMP1 Mk II with oBRAVO EAMT-2C
This combination, like the above, is also quite magical. That an IEM can deliver the bass goods on a level that nearly competes with the above planar magnetic headphones is astounding. But make no mistake the bass from this combination is powerful, taunt, incredibly detailed, and very fast. Relative to the various IEMs that I have listened to the oBRAVO EAMT-2C provides for moments of “wonder-shock” with regard to its rendering of bass notes, its midrange beauty, and its treble extension. The highs with this combination, reflective, perhaps, of the oBravo EAMT-2C Air Motion Transformer (AMT) tweeter, are incredibly extended, lightening fast, detailed, and never sibilant or harsh. This combination is as rich as the above planar magnetics and as smooth and delicate and easy. And when the oBravo EAMT-2C is attached to the 2.5mm balanced output of the AMP1 Mk II, the lowered noise floor, the lowered distortion, the doubling of power, and the minimization of crosstalk make this a combination that music lovers will fall head-over-heals in love with, as it is truly sublime.
Conclusion
The experience with the iBASSO DX220 was both unexpected and profound. It was difficult from our research to gauge its “sound profile”—reference, bright, neutral, warm—given the divergence of reviewer opinions. Then upon use with our stable of reference gear (analog-like, organic, rich with sublime transparency) its modus operandi became clear to us—it is that rarest of creatures—a “sound chameleon.” There was not the slightest inkling, whatsoever, of the iBASSO DX220 being “analytical” via our review process at all (even when allied to other “analytical” equipment, that we subsequently sent back, for being analytical)! That’s our subjective explanation, of course.
Suffice to say, that the iBASSO DX220 with AMP1 Mk II fell beautifully into our “Wheelhouse,” as a very musical, incredibly transparent, addictively engaging, and quiet beyond measure DAP. Further, it is a sound staging champion, perhaps due to its incredibly black-quiet background, wherein the intimate, the holographic, the ethereal need only be on the song/track in use to be fully experienced. And it brings the juice (power) necessary, particularly, in balanced use, to drive all but the clinically and morbidly inefficient.
The iBASSO DX220 with AMP1 Mk II fits nicely in the hand, is easy to pocket for OTG listening, is of a beautiful industrial design, is modular, and priced very competitively, as it will best players far above its price point. Finally, this player will have you listening to a universe of genres and music. That said, we highly recommended the iBASSO DX220 with AMP1 Mk II. And we give it our GOLD KEYNOTE award.
Music—Qobuz, Tidal exclusively
Alexander Tharaud—Tharaud Plays Rachmaninoff
Omar Sosa—Ballads, Calma
Patricia Barber—Verse
Rickie Lee Jones—Pop Pop
Sade—Lovers Live
Sheku Kannah Mason—Inspiration
Tracey Chapman—Where You Live
Olafur Arnalds—Island Songs
Olafur Arnalds—The Chopin Project
Melody Gardot—My One and Only Thrill
Melody Gardot—My Worrisome Heart
Eiji Oue—Rachmaninoff: Symphonic Dances
Hilary Hahn—Tchaikovsky
Mechell Ndegeocello—Bitter
Jordi Savall—Tous les Matins du Monde
Maxwell—Maxwell’s Urban Hang Suite
Sarah Jarosh—Undercurrent
Igor Stravinsky—Stravinsky: Le sacre du printemps (The Rite of Spring)
Annie-Sophie Mutter—Mendelssohn, Brahms: Violin Concertos
London Grammar—If You Wait
Stevie Wonder—Innervisions
Miles Davis—Kind of Blue
Jóhann Jóhannsson—Orphée
Alexis Ffrench—Evolution
Dave Holland—Emerald Tears
Kremer, Trifonov, Dirvanauskaite—Preghiera/Rachmaninov Piano Trios
Joan Shelly—Joan Shelly
Magdalena Kožená—French Arias
Andy Bey—American Song
Erykah Badu—Baduism
Kronos Quartet—Kronos Caravan
Massive Attack—Mezzanine
Ancillary Equipment
Cayin N6ii/A01
Cayin N6ii/E01
Rosson Audio Design-RAD-0
iBASSO DX220-AMP1/MK II
iFi Pro iDSD
Meze Empyrean
OBravo EAMT-2C IEMs
Final Sonorous III
FiiO FH5
AudioQuest Cobalt
AudioQuest Red
AudioQuest Dragon Tail
Samsung S10
Apple X iPhone
The Company
IBASSO
paul@ibasso.com
DISTRIBUTOR (U.S.)
Urban HiFi/Linear Tube Audio (LTA)
sales@urbanhifi.com
*Publishing, Harvard Health. “How Music Can Help You Heal.” Harvard Health, www.health.harvard.edu/mind-and-mood/how-music-can-help-you-heal.