Receiving some hype over at Head-Fi but I'm curious to hear what people on these boards have to say.

Ooops this should probably be moved to the portable forum

it basically only has one dap that can work with it (not counting pcdps)

other then that, it looks sweet

ah stupid editing time

it works as a standalone dac or an amp or as a combo.

that is pretty sweet

Why is it only 1 DAP works with it?

yea i messed up on that one

I meant that theres only one dap with a optical out, sorry

other daps can be used just for the amp part of the dac/amp thing

To be honest, the thing looks pretty sweet and if the price really is $229, then I may have to pick one up myself if the reviews start coming up favorably. I've been in the market for an Apogee Mini-Dac for a while, but if we're talking about $400 less, then I'll definitely be keeping my eye out for the iBasso.

Considering the Headroom portable amp/dac is $999, it certainly looks strong. Justins upcoming creation sounds pretty interesting but it will still be a good bit more expensive. The iBasso might be the best bang for the buck and I've been looking for something just like this. Does anyone have a link to it's spec page? How big/small is this thing? Battery type/life? Rechargeable? I'd love a link if anyone has it.

http://ibasso.com/ShowNews.aspx?ID=60

Initial impressions seem to be pretty favorable, although I guess we'll have to wait and see. This sounds like a great investment if it turns out to be worth the money.

What's the op amp used in the amp circuit?

Here's the thread on it at the other site

God i really want to bite on this and sell my hornet, but I don't know anything about it. ARG!

Looks nice, but I'd wait for Justin's device if you can float the extra cash. I have quite a decent chunk of faith in Justin and filburt said it looks tasty as well.

I'm not sure I could take a flier on the iBasso. If I had to bite at that price point, I'd probably go for the Move instead. A bit safer and resale would likely be better. Justin's mini might is what I'm waiting on. Pretty much done with headphones for a while, but I'm thinking I might keep the Denons and get a nice little amp/dac package to driver them decently. Hope some protos will be forthcoming from Justin soon.

Was actually thinking about waiting for Justin's thing too, can't just take the bite and get disappointed knowing that I'm on a very limited med school budget

Well, after looking at the pictures of this thing in the thread on the other site, I'm beginning to lean back towards getting one of these. The only reason I'm still not sure about it is that there aren't enough reviews on how the thing sounds. While the MOVE sounds good, I'm looking for something with a optical in, since I'd like to use this with my AEX.

The thing with the Move and Justin's upcoming DAC/Amp combo is they are USB only DAC's which might work for many people but personally I'm most interested in something like the iBasso that has more versatile DAC connectivity. Having USB, toslink and Coax makes it incredibly versatile but of course it has to be of reasonable quality. I had been considering getting a friend to build a Monica 2 but the iBasso is intriguing because it's more portable. Jamato8 is a big Monica 2 advocate so it will be interesting to read his thoughts on how the DAC compares. Before I do anything though I need to talk to Justin, something like the iBasso but with an AE-2 amp section and DAC section like he's talking for his other new portable would be killer.

While I'm selling off most of my headphone gear, I'd still like a "team minimal" rig to enjoy from time to time. Since I'm toying with the idea of keeping the Denons, I figure an small/portable amp that would drive them well would be a nice addition. If it has a DAC that would allow me to use the optical/usb/coax of my Mac or Squeezebox, that would be great. If it's also an adequate portable amp, that's a big plus. Justin's will probably be a killer but at a pretty steep price. The iBasso is really the king in this area when you factor in the price. As you and others have mentioned, it really depends on how it sounds/performs. If the amp can hang with the Move and the dac is servicable, it would be hard to pass up. Of course, I'm determined to try Justins new one so it should make for an interesting comparison.

Of course, the smart move financially would be to sell the Denons. Kind of a pricey can to only use occasionally and from such average sources like a laptop/ipod.

I already have an AE-2 for amping purposes so my interest lies more in how the DAC sounds. At this point I have approx. $200 - $250 for a source upgrade, that could be put towards a Monica 2 or something like the iBasso, that the iBasso has an internal amp doesn't really factor in to the equation for me, if it's decent all the better but I already have an AE-2 for amping purposes so my interest lies more in how the DAC sounds.

I've already gone the "team minimal" route and have some solid ideas of what I'd like to have in my future minimalist rig. Although unlikely, optimally I'd love to have an iPod with a digital output to a reasonably small DAC/Amp combo unit that could also be connected to a home rig or computer if desired. The iBasso is the first product I've seen with most of the functionality I'd like to see. At it's price point I don't expect it's is going to perform miracles as an all-in-one though, it might serve as an interim solution for a portable DAC but as I've said optimally what I personally would like is an AE-2 (or similar quality) with the same connection scheme it has now but that has a decent quality DAC with similar connectivity and function as the iBasso.

It looks OK. I'm not exactly enthused, though, as the output stage is AD823+NE5532. I don't really understand this selection, other than it being cheap. At first I thought it used the PCM2902, but I see some chip on top that I can't exactly make out based on the pictures. Looks like a Cirrus Logic chip (such as a CS4398) if I were to guess.

It looks OK. I'm not exactly enthused, though, as the output stage is AD823+NE5532. I don't really understand this selection, other than it being cheap. At first I thought it used the PCM2902, but I see some chip on top that I can't exactly make out based on the pictures. Looks like a Cirrus Logic chip (such as a CS4398) if I were to guess.

From iBasso's site,

The following are some main specifications of D1.

iBasso D1 Portable USB DAC/AMP combo.

- PCM2906, convert USB into a S/PDIF signal

- CS8416, DA-receiver chip

- CS4398, D/A chip, one of Cirrus Logic's Flagship Chips

- OP+BUF structure for amplification

- Dedicated MCU (Micro Controller Unit) to manager inputs, outputs, and functions.

- Flexible input and output compatibility. It has USB, optical, coaxial, stereo input, line out, and stereo output

- Works as a combo or a dedicated AMP, dedicated DAC, USB soundcard

- Built-in two 2A rechargeable Li-ion batteries, plays up to 40 hours

- Measures 78*32*120mm, and weights only 320g

Comes with: genuine leather case, high quality optical cable, USB cable, coaxial cable, AC adapter.

The SMC EZ-Stream box I have uses a CS4345 DAC, which is pleasant enough sounding. Not as refined as some of the BB stuff, but definitely better than a lot.

I decided to go with the E-MU 0404 USB. I thought about it long and hard and I don't really like having a bunch of clutter when it comes to the portable setup. The DAC on the 0404 seems very promising and who knows what you can do to mod it. It was $170 off of Amazon, so I had to go for it.

Yeah no regrets with mine. It's a great transportable option and I definitely think it can be improved significantly with mods.