iBasso DX340 Review

Today, we are reviewing the iBasso DX340 Digital Audio Player, priced at $1,699 USD.

Disclaimer: iBasso sent us the DX340 DAP for this article. As always, these words reflect my honest experience with the product. We thank Paul from iBasso for the opportunity.

iBasso Audio

Established in 2006 in Shenzhen, China, iBasso Audio is one of the true veterans of the personal audio space. The company has been designing, developing, and manufacturing high-performance products since forever.

Over 10 years ago, I had some of their first DAPs, the DX50 and the DX90. DX50 had a Wolfson chip, and 90 had the ESS at the time. A lot has changed since then, as with technology, iBasso’s evolution has been fun to watch and experience. What sets iBasso apart is their unrelenting pursuit of better sound. I believe that iBasso has had an immense impact on the evolution and acceptance of personal audio worldwide. They are one of those companies that push the industry to do better.

Their specialty is digital audio players, but they also created incredibly competent DAC/AMPs, as well as several IEMs and a couple of headphones.

Today, I’ll be looking at the all-new DX340, the iBasso’s new magnum opus. iBasso positions the DX340 at the top of their DAP lineup, and I’ve been spending quality time with it. For more new iBasso products, you can check out iBasso’s latest via their Facebook page.

iBasso DX340 – Flagship Digital Audio Player

In the works for quite some time now, the DX340 makes the debut of iBasso’s FPGA Master 3.0 technology. We’ve experienced FPGA Master 2 GEN2 with the TOTL D16 and were very impressed, so I am especially excited about this review. The DX340 is iBasso’s flagbearer and reflects the current top-tier offering in their lineup of portable digital audio players.

It features a custom 16-cascade 8E PWM DAC configuration, so it is built around 128 Discrete PWM-DACs, probably what we saw in the critically acclaimed D16, powered by iBasso’s patented dual battery PSU architecture. There are lots of grounds to be covered, and I aim to cover all of them for Headfonians who enjoy a nicely designed DAP like this.

The DX340 is a dual OS DAP with Android 13 on one side and custom Mango OS on the other. As for the processor, the DX340 is powered by the Snapdragon 665 chipset, 8GB of RAM, and 256 GB of internal storage, running on Android 13. It comes with Google Play and Aptoide installed. The DX340 retails for 1699 USD on iBasso.com and authorized partners around the world. Let’s take a look at the specs and highlights below.

Specifications and Highlights

• 128 Discrete PWM-DACs

• FPGA-Master 3.0 Signal & System Controller

• 6-inch 1080*2160 AMOLED Touch Display

• Qualcomm Snapdragon 665, 8GB RAM, 256GB ROM

• MicroSD up to 2TB

• Dual OS with Mango OS and Android 13

• Replaceable AMP Cards

• 4.4mm BAL & 3.5mm SE Headphone Outputs

• AMP Power Boost through 12V DC-IN (2150mW@32Ω)

• 1200mW@32Ω through 4.4mm HPO

• 3.5mm SPDIF Out

• Wi-Fi (2.4/5GHz), Bluetooth 5.0

• LDAC, AptX HD, SBC, AAC

• Patented Dual Battery System

• 3.8V 4000mAh Li-Polymer battery (DAC section)

• 3.8V 2100mAh Li-polymer battery (AMP section)

• 316 Stainless Steel Chassis with Easy-Access Battery

• Coaxial, Line Out, and Phone Out Modes & USB 3.1 with OTG Support

• 150mm x 78mm x 19mm – 485g

Accessories & Package

The DX340 arrives in a well-thought-out package that looks premium and exciting. The outer sleeve is gray with a chromatic/rainbow effect, wrapping around the bigger blue box. Its design is free of unnecessary text and bloat, which I really like. Removing the sleeve reveals the iBasso logo, and once the box is opened, the DX340 sits inside a velvet-lined cradle, with the company’s font highlighted across the lining. The eloquent stainless steel body, massive display, and substantial size give it an immediate high-end vibe.

Lifting the cradle is easy thanks to a small lip at the bottom, and underneath, three neatly arranged boxes hold all the included accessories. The largest box contains a gray faux-leather protective case designed specifically for the DX340. This isn’t just any generic case, though; the back panel has a nicely designed wavy pattern and features the same color tone as the stainless steel chassis. The pattern has holes, and the case provides some heat dissipation thanks to those.

The fact that iBasso includes a case in the box is a huge plus. If you’ve ever owned a flagship DAP, you know the struggle. Third-party cases take at least a month to become available, leaving you using an expensive device unprotected. With the DX340, that problem is solved right out of the box.

Another major upgrade is the screen protection. The DX260 came with basic film protectors, but they had a somewhat sticky texture and weren’t the best in terms of feel. This time, iBasso ships the DX340 with a pre-applied tempered glass screen protector and includes two additional glass protectors in the box, which feel amazing compared to the plastic tempered ones. In total, the DX340 comes with four front and four back protective films plus three front glass protectors.

There are also some surprises in the box, like spare rubber protectors for the AMP15 amp card’s plastic socket. I wasn’t expecting this, but it’s a thoughtful addition that will be useful in the long run. The quick start manual and warranty card are standard inclusions, but what stands out is the external 12V power adapter for the AMP15 card. This allows the amp to nearly double its power output when plugged in, something we’ll get into later.

All in all, this is how you package a flagship DAP. Nothing feels like an afterthought, and everything you need to start using the DX340 at full capacity is included. iBasso has covered all the essentials, leaving no room for frustration. Kudos.

Build Quality & Design

The DX340 continues the bold, industrial design language that began with the DX260. The sharp edges, angular elements, and solid metal chassis create a striking, aggressive look. There’s a noticeable shift in materials to the premium side, though: where the DX260 had an aluminum chassis with a matte textured finish, the DX340 has been upgraded to stainless steel with a finely brushed, glossy finish. It feels heavy, premium, and built to last. Much of the weight comes from the solid stainless steel chassis machined from a single block.

The layout of the buttons hasn’t changed from the DX260, and I’m not sure if that was the right decision. The power button is integrated into the volume wheel, which keeps things streamlined and avoids unnecessary button clutter. The tactile feedback on the buttons is excellent, and the volume wheel has a smooth, precise feel. However, I wish there was an option to disable the playback buttons. Because of the weight of the DX340, I naturally hold it tight, and my fingers end up pressing right where the playback controls are. This makes accidental presses more common than I’d like, and a lock feature could have prevented this.

On the bottom of the unit, you’ll find the headphone outputs and the 12V amp input, keeping things consistent with the rest of the DX series. The DX340 comes with the AMP15 amplifier card, which uses BUF634 amp chips and offers both a 4.4mm balanced output and a 3.5mm unbalanced option. The top panel has a 3.5mm SPDIF output, a USB-C charging port, and a microSD card slot. The microSD slot has no cover, which makes it easier to swap out cards, and if you use a microSD-to-SD adapter, you can even use full-size SD cards without issues due to the no-flap design.

Let’s talk about size and portability because this is no small device. The DX340 has a footprint similar to an iPhone 16 Pro Max, but it’s about 2.5 times thicker. I think this is not a pocket-friendly DAP at nearly half a kilogram. It’s firmly in transportable territory rather than truly portable. However, carrying it in a sling bag or compact backpack is still much easier than lugging around a Hugo 2 or a D16 + PB5 stack. The slight inconvenience of its size and weight is absolutely worth it once you hear what it’s capable of.

From an aesthetic standpoint, the DX340 is one of the best-looking DAPs I’ve ever seen. I’ve always preferred sharp edges and textured designs, and this unit pulls it off perfectly. It looks especially stunning without its case, although I’d be a little hesitant to carry it around like that every day. The AMOLED display is another highlight. It’s hella crisp, incredibly bright, and easily on par with modern flagship smartphones. It’s rare to see DAP screens this good, and iBasso’s decision to go with a high-end AMOLED panel absolutely pays off. Overall, I love the way DX340 looks.

Replaceable Battery System

iBasso has always been one of the few pro-consumer brands in the DAP market, and their stance on replaceable batteries is proof of that. Back in the day, their DX50 and DX90 DAPs used Samsung S3 smartphone batteries, making replacements cheap and easy. I remember how convenient it was; you could swap a dying battery in seconds and even carry a spare for long listening sessions. It was a level of accessibility we rarely see in this industry, and iBasso has kind of stuck to that philosophy while most brands have moved in the opposite direction.

One of the things I’ve always appreciated about iBasso is that they don’t abandon their old products. They still manufacture replacement batteries for the DX100, a player that came out more than 13 years ago. That kind of long-term support is almost unheard of, and it means you don’t have to worry about your device becoming a paperweight just because the battery wore out. Knowing that iBasso doesn’t treat their DAPs as disposable tech adds a level of confidence that most other brands simply don’t offer.

On the DX340’s backplate, there’s a small panel in the top-left corner, held in place by two screws. Remove it, and you get direct access to the battery, making replacements a five-minute job. For a modern DAP, this is almost unheard of. Most companies seal their devices shut, forcing you to either send them in for service or live with a degrading battery until it’s too late. If you’ve ever dealt with the frustration of having to ship a device overseas just for a simple battery swap, you’ll know exactly why this is such a big deal. Instead of retiring your DAP after a few years, you can swap in a fresh battery and keep going. It makes so much sense, yet almost no one else is doing it.

The review continues on Page Two, after the click HERE or by using the jump below.

Page 1: iBasso, DX340 DAP, Accessories & Package, Build Quality & Design, Replaceable Battery System

Page 2: Technology Inside & FPGA-Master 3.0, User Experience & Software, Battery Life, Wi-Fi & Bluetooth Performance

Page 3: iBasso DX340 Sound Impressions, Technical Capability, Comparison, Last Words