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iBasso DX240 DAP. Thoughts?

spydah

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Jan 24, 2023
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I am thinking about getting the iBasso DX240 DAP. I will mainly listen to hi-res music on the Tidal streaming service. Thoughts?
Music genres I listen to range from Classical to Phonk, Jazz to Heavy Metal, etc. Basically everything.
 

caliraftdude

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I have had this device now for probably 3 weeks, maybe a tad longer. My musical tastes are about the same as you listed, although lighter on the Classical side of things and additionally "classic rock" (although that seems to be a discouraging moving window...).

I do NOT use it for streaming through Tidal, so I probably cannot give you a very good review/opinion on that particular use case. I supplanted an iPod (namely because they stopped selling them and I'll be damned if I am going to pay premium $$ for just 'more memory') with the device which required several days of cleaning up my library, fixing album photos, and all the tags so they would sort correctly. One annoyance is that if you put books AND audio the included player (which is very good) will source all of it.. so your books are now mixed in with your music and there is no way to exclude directories from the search for media. My solution to this will be to put books on the included memory and then leave music/media on the sdcard which can be searched independently.

I digress from you question however.

I would recommend a little bit of hygiene on the device when you first get it. They have some Chinese App installers included on the Android build that I was NOT going co-mingle with any sort of accounts I had. You want to install the google app store (which will need to be granted access) and then go about uninstalling the Chinese options. Once thats cleaned up you can run the app armor check to ensure everything is cleaned up. At that point, I would install Tidal (or other streaming apps) from the google app store and proceed accordingly. I used a separate account for my device, proceed as you feel comfortable.

As far as the device goes - its a tremendous upgrade from the iCrap I have used in the past, although not nearly as portable. There are details, separation and 'layers' of the exact same music that was not noticeable on the other player.. using the same earbuds/headphones. The EQ in the app is... meh. Not quite great, and I don't think their app team is real responsive to requests or RFEs. I have talked with "Paul" at iBasso (check the FB page) who, is unlikely named Paul if not a bot and while very responsive I didn't get the sense that incorporating user F/B was a high priority. Anyhow - the processing seems very snappy and when connected to my WiFi it quickly downloaded updates without issue.. so I imagine that its streaming capabilities will not limit the app in any way. Since you are using the Tidal App.. whatever you are comfortable with in the app is likely going to be the same experience.

However, since you can really install whatever app you want, I imagine whatever limitations the installed software presents can be overcome and the HW definitely performs. The controls feel solid to me and I have used it extensively while on vacation abroad for the last two weeks without any complaints or reservations. Overall - its a pricey device, but I feel I have got my money's worth and will likely use this device for a very, very long time.


hth~
 
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S

spydah

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Thank you very much!
Have you tried the other amp modules?
 

caliraftdude

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Anytime -

I only have the amp module that came with the device and I haven't dug too deeply into the alternatives. From what I understand, the amp module it ships with is the "best" (mind you... this is tragically subjective) option. Currently the connections the amp module has work for me and this amp seems to drive everything I currently own so its not an immediate priority personally.

Sorry I can't be of better assistance. Steve of BloomAudio was the guy I worked with when buying and he has done several reviews of these devices (all on youtube). He told me he uses these devices a lot so you might want to reach out that direction and see if he can answer some questions for your or point you in a right direction.

Cheers!
 
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