iBasso DX300 Review

Sound performance

For the purpose of this review, I used the Meze Rai Penta and my good old Onkyo IC-E3 for IEM testing, and the Sennheiser HD800S for headphone comparison. All files were streamed from Qobuz/Amazon in Hi-Res, when available, Spotify, and my own catalog.

Overall signature

Okay, now that I’ve used the DX300 for a few weeks, I can say one thing: this is, by far, the best DAP iBasso ever made.

Not only that, but it’s also one of the best player I had the chance to try in this price range, and above. The overall sound quality of the DX300 is excellent and nothing short of what you expect from a high-end DAP. It’s a lot closer to A&K than FiiO, with superb layering, great detail retrieval, and a sharp signature, favoring the high-mids.

In fact, out of the box, I found the bass a bit too shy with my Onkyo, missing the usual punch of my FiiO M15. If the FiiO’s flagship sounded more relaxed, with that mellow vibe in the mids, the DX300 is more linear, almost dry.  

Dynamic is superb, even more, if you use the 4.4mm output, and with the right headphone, you really feel surrounded by the sound. Paired with the HD800S, the voices were natural, poised, well-controlled, and I could easily pinpoint each voice or instrument. My usual pan-test-track, Money from Pink Floyd, gave me the expected level of dizziness I only encounter when listening to very precise gear. And if I still prefer Sabre’s sound signature, the new Cirrus-Logic overthrow the previous AKM chip on my personal ranking: it’s more refined, with sharper highs, more extension, clarity, and realism.

Every nuance, every sensation is there, heightened by the dryness of the sound. Yet, this is not the same one found in comparative models, like the FiiO M11 Pro or Shanling’s M6 Pro. It’s dry – much more than the two others  – but with an IEM like the Meze Rai Penta, the synergy works like a charm.

Head-to-head against its predecessor, the iBasso DX300 sounds like a completely different breed of player. In some aspects, I still prefer the sound of the DX220/DX150, but on the other hand, the massive leap in resolution alone justifies the various changes. If the DX220 remains softer, with a rich presentation and super layering even up to this day, the DX300 pushes even further in terms of finesse. 

All in all, this is a very nice upgrade from the previous model. It pushes further than the previous DX220, which I already loved, by polishing every good trait and gets the DX160 vibes, with sharp and tight transients, massive dynamic and outstanding raw performances, 

Bonus point: you can change the amp (!),  and if the default circuit feels like a solid choice in my opinion, I’m pretty curious to try other modules as soon as they’ll be available.

Tonality

Highs: sharp and distinctive. There is a clear emphasis on highs and high-mids, and the DX300 is just a few inches from being sibilant. Those sharp tone magnifies every details of your songs, but that also make bad recordings absolutely painful to listen to. I’m usually not a fan of this kind of signature, but iBasso did a great job here, to my surprise.

Good test track : Bernard’s Song – Veronique Sanson

Mids: flat and linear. Wide soundstage and clean voices, a delightful cocktail for your ears. In my opinion, this is the DX300 forte with its airy presentation and super-wide soundstage. Even through the single-ended port, the player managed to convince me.

Good test track:  Obama – Dombrance

Lows: deep and solid. If at first, the player seemed a bit shy, as soon I heard the first notes of Flight of the Cosmic Hippo, all my doubts simply vanished. The DX300 was able to reach deep notes and sub rumble, with ease. The solid amp section, combined with the new Cirrus-logic DACs gives a great experience, with full, impressive, bass. Even, paired with my faithful Audeze LCD-X, the result was astounding. 

Good test track : Flight of the cosmic Hippo – Bela Flack and the Fleckstone

Power and noise

The iBasso DX300 is powerful, but so was the previous DX220. What I wanted to check first was… ground noise. And… there is none! Finally!

I tried it with my Onkyo CIEM, the FiiO FA9, and the BGVP DM8, but none picked more noise than I could hear on other high-end players. In fact, for the first time, I’d put iBasso above FiiO and below A&K on this aspect. A massive improvement from before! 

In terms of power, the player drove my Audeze LCD-X with ease, as long as I remained in Balanced mode. The power gap between 4.4mm/2.5mm and 3.5mm is simply massive and I can’t urge you enough to stick to the balanced out, as much as you can do. 

Even with my old, but mighty, Sennheiser HD800S, the player managed to deliver powerful kicks and solid lows. Sure, turning on the high-gain knob helps, but even before that, I could already feel how strong the player was.

Like Shanling, there is now a mid-level gain, plus the two usual low and high-gain levels. And, unnless you really need maximum power, you’ll always use the low-gain setting. Even more if you use the balanced output.

On Spotify, Qobuz, and Amazon, I was pleasantly welcomed by the same pitch-perfect background I heard with local tracks. So yeah, it’s brilliant!

Associations

iBasso DX300 + Meze Empyrean: pure power. The Empyrean remains one of my favorite headphones up to this day and paired with the DX300, results are astounding. The bass is super deep, the voices are so sharp it’s even uncanny and most of all, the soundstage seems absolutely massive. If your wallet can go this high, this is my top choice.

iBasso DX300 + BGVP DM8: flat and linear. Wide soundstage and clean voices, a delightful cocktail for your ears. In my opinion, this is the safest combo with an airy presentation and super-wide soundstage. Even more, once you’ve plugged everything in 4.4mm or 2.5mm

iBasso DX300 + Meze Rai Penta: sharp and natural. The DX300 with the Rai Penta, is a great choice for anyone that wants a full sound, with excellent layering. . The combo was able to reach deep notes and sub rumble, with ease. The solid amp section, combined with the new Cirrus-logic DACs gives you a very transparent and clean feed.

Conclusion

Let’s make it short: the iBasso DX300 is my new go-to for any high-end player. The brand did the same as they do for the DX160 and polished every aspect of his player, from top to bottom. It’s insanely fast, magic to use, and fantastic to listen to, even with big cans like my old Sennheiser HD800S. 

At $1199, the DX300 is definitely not cheap, but it’s still a no-brainer, outperforming many players, sometimes much more expensive. The only drawback? It’s a big player, like two iPhone Max paired together, but that’s the only caveat I could point.

So yes, this player goes directly in my recommendation list, and if you’re out for a TOTL player, you should definitely try this one first, or at least add it to your list. 

Page 1: about the brand

Page 2: Design, bundle

Page 3: UI, Usage

Page 4: Technical specifications