The Elite Force!

PROS: neutral-reference sound tuning with a clean natural tonality, huge soundstage expansion, deep black background, analog volume control with stepped attenuator, solid build with Titanium alloy chassis, quality usb-c and lightning cables, leather case.

CONS: price, getting used to volume adjustment with step attenuator and the guard next to the volume wheel.

The product was provided to me free of charge for the review purpose in exchange for my honest opinion.

Manufacturer website: iBasso. Available for sale directly or authorized retailers like Bloom Audio.

The latest iBasso UAC app can be downloaded directly from their site here since Google Play store doesn’t always have the updated version.

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Intro.

Many audiophiles are probably familiar with Max series of iBasso DAPs, a “money is no object” special edition platform designed to maximize the audio performance by focusing on the best sound quality without any compromises. Carrying over a similar idea into their DC series of usb-dacs, now iBasso introduced a new dongle under Elite model name. Referring to this new usb-dac flagship as a miniaturized version of DX320Max Ti, they designed it with the same ROHM DAC, similar custom analog volume stepped attenuator, and even Titanium chassis.

But just like with everything else in this industry, today’s market is heavily saturated, especially when it comes to usb-dac dongles. It takes a lot more than just fancy looks with an impressive spec and a flagship price tag to stand out from the crowd. I was fortunate enough to spend the last week and a half with DC Elite, analyzing its audio performance in pair ups with various IEMs and headphones, trying to determine where does it stand relative to DX320Max Ti and other premium dongles, and if it got what it takes to be called Elite. Here is what I found.

Unboxing and Accessories.

The unboxing experience of Elite reminded me of some of their smaller DAPs. The unit arrived in a compact size navy-blue carboard box inside of a sturdy sleeve. The magnetic flip cover of the box was stamped with iBasso logo on top. Under the cover with a protection foam layer, Elite was sitting securely in a foam cutout of the top tray. With the top tray out of the way, you will find a velour bag with 2 short OTG cables (usb-c to usb-c and usb-c to lightning), usb-c to usb-A adapter, a green leather case, a detailed quick start guide, and a warranty card.

The included OTG cables are braided and have 4 separate conductors, assuming being partitioned into power, ground, and data Tx/Rx wires to improve the isolation and to eliminate coupling between power and data while also trying to eliminate any possible crosstalk between data signals. The iBasso-branded leather case looks nice and has a tight fit with a generous opening for a side function button and status LED, 3.5mm/4.4mm headphone jack opening to accommodate even bigger cable plugs, and open top for a convenient access to the volume knob and usb-c port.

Design and under the hood.

If you are familiar with DC series of iBasso usb-dac dongles, you will find Elite to be bigger in size (64mm x 35mm x 14.5mm) and heavier in weight (60.5g), but not that drastically bigger in comparison to other dongles. Unlike Max series of DAPs crossing over from portable into transportable, Elite is still a portable device you can carry in the pocket attached to your smartphone. The extra weight of its aerospace grade Titanium alloy shell does add a nice amount of heft. And, along with tempered glass top and bottom panels, and shaped, curved, ridged design elements of chassis, Elite has quite a premium look and feel.

The bottom of the device hosts 4.4mm BAL headphone output and 3.5mm SE headphone output which also doubles as SPDIF Coax Out (3.5mm). The top has usb-c port (tested with Win10 laptop, iPhone XS Max, Galaxy S22, and different Android DAPs) and a volume knob to adjust the stepped attenuator. This volume wheel is surrounded by guard rails with an access on the front/back to adjust it, a tight fit with just enough room for thumb and index finger tips. According to iBasso, they wanted to be sure the volume wheel will not get adjusted accidentally while in your pocket, though I find stepped attenuator to have plenty of resistance between its 24-steps. Personally, I think these guards were not necessary or could have been shorter, but it is what it is. My only comment here is that the wheel could benefit from a marker to indicate its position, something I fixed later by adding a small sticker.

Actually, this volume wheel triggered a deja vu of DX320Max Ti discussion with a similar stepped attenuator. It’s analog, 24 steps, and by design of step attenuator the volume drops between the “steps” as they disengage. That is just how it works. But unlike 320Max where you have to deal with 3dB steps of coarse volume adjustment which could be a bit of a problem with sensitive IEMs, Elite has a clever 1dB adjustment workaround. On a side you will find a button which adjusts the volume in 1dB steps, a finer adjustment of the loudness. You can access it with either a side hw button (single click at a time from 0db, -1dB, -2dB) or through the latest iBasso UAC app (PCM volume reduction option).

The same hw button switches between 3.5mm headphone output and SPDIF when you long press it, or you can switch it from within the app. Next to the hw side button, you will find a status LED with multi-color indicator of red (standby), green (PCM), blue (DSD), and white (Coax output). I did enjoy iBasso UAC app (the latest 1.89.73) where you can select Digital D1/D2 filters, PCM Volume reduction (0dB, -1dB, -2dB), DSD Filter (low/med/high), PCM DSD Volume Match (on/off), SPDIF Mode (on/off). And I actually preferred it over other designs with small on-screen settings, considering that you don’t have to make changes as often and display by itself is a source of extra power drain and additional noise/interference.

Under the hood in the heart of Elite you will find a single ROHM BD34301EKV current output DAC, the same one used in DX320Max Ti. As far as I know, Elite is the first dongle to implement it, and with access to this DAC you have PCM support of up to 32bit/768kHz and native DSD support of up to DSD512. Of course, the DAC by itself doesn’t have a direct digital interface and that’s where usb receiver with iBasso’s own in-house developed FPGA comes into play. Here you got USB Receiver -> FPGA -> DAC -> I/V -> LPF -> VOL -> AMP architecture in parallel with high efficiency (less generated heat) synchronous DC-DC converter and various LDOs (low-dropout regulars), including premium ultra-low noise LT3045 LDO from Linear Tech dedicated to ROHM DAC.

As far as the spec of headphone output goes, 4.4mm BAL has a low output impedance of less than 0.4ohm and output voltage rated at 4.6Vrms with the actual power output rating of 280mW @ 32ohm and 70mW @ 300ohm where the buffer limits the output to make sure source’s battery won’t get drained fast. Single ended 3.5mm output impedance is less than 0.2ohm and output voltage rated at 2.28Vrms which translates to 162mW @ 32ohm. Since Elite is a dongle without internal battery, when connected to a source I measured a current draw of about 150mA @ 5.27V from usb-c interface. It’s definitely on a higher side due to use of a more power-hungry ROHM DAC, but not the highest I have measured. For example, RU7 will draw between 170mA (DSD64) and 230mA (DSD256), while DC06 Pro is down to 120mA and W4 is even lower at 100mA. But you have to keep in mind desktop grade ROHM DAC with its high current output and the efficiency of other analog components on the board.

Page 2 – Sound Analysis, Pair up, Comparison and Conclusion.