iBasso DC05 Portable USB Dongle DAC, Black

Product Information

PRaT, Texturization, Detail, Resolution, Dynamics, Impact, and overall tonality are all revealed by those songs. All of those were easily driven by DC05, and I couldn’t notice any hissing or background noise with any of them, but I could notice excellent control, low distortion, and a good overall instrument separation with all of them. Please keep in mind that these are rough estimates and shipments can be delayed due to unforeseen circumstances, like postal strikes or severe weather. The DC05 features a parallel dual DAC chipset configuration with two high-performance ES9219C to achieve better SNR and THD. The sound is actually fairly similar, and both are pretty peppy, pretty forward, lively and punchy, and also dynamic.

IBASSO DC05 Portable USB DAC/AMP - SHENZHENAUDIO IBASSO DC05 Portable USB DAC/AMP - SHENZHENAUDIO

It can bring all of those to very satisfying levels, and I’m one of those crazy listeners that goes loud, so if it wasn’t powerful enough, I would tell. This reflects well for EDM, Dubstep and Electronic music in general, where you can hear the deepest bass notes in every song, and you can even notice nuance and depth quite easily.

You should know that they didn’t pick a random ESS chip for the job, and ES9219C is part of Sabre’s Hifi Line of DACs, offering a 64-step internal volume control, which adds some control for IEMs, if you find that there’s too much variation between two steps of volume.

iBasso DC05 DAC/AMP Dongle – Power For Androids iBasso DC05 DAC/AMP Dongle – Power For Androids

I will also be comparing DC05 to Spectra X2 from Maktar (200 USD), Soundmagic A30 (50 USD), and Audirect Beam 2 (100 USD). The treble has excellent extension, and you never hear a roll off, but you don’t really feel any fatigue, as the treble is not harsh nor metallic. Despite consuming rather little from my smartphone’s battery, it is normal for DC05 to get fairly warm, and it consumes more battery while it is not playing something and turns cooler while it is playing something, having a Class-A like behavior. It sounds live, and if you’re looking for a high-quality dongle to power both your IEMs and your Headphones, with a dynamic and punchy sound, DC05 should be the one to go for, at 69 USD.

In short, there is more than one brand that can lead you to part with a lot of money for an exquisite (portable-ish) digital audio experience. The sound is actually comparable, but Spectra X2 has a bit more dynamics and more detail, where DC05 has more punch in the lows and more impact in the bass. More surprising is that DC05 has enough power for Sivga Robin SV021, Avantone Pro Planar, and even Sivga Peacock.