I’ve now purchased both the DX300 and the R6. They’re both flawed in a myriad of ways, but I thought I should at least write up a quick comparison of the two and explain why I’m keeping the DX300 and returning the R6.
Physical features
TL;DR: Both of these units are very well built, but I’d say that the R6 just takes this category with its aluminium chassis and volume knob. The DX300 isn’t poorly built, and its screen definitely beats out the R6’s, but with a plastic volume knob and somewhat recessed buttons it just doesn’t feel as premium quality as the R6.
DX300
The DX300 is a behemoth. I did a lot of research into it prior to purchasing it but was still surprised by just how huge this thing is. As a reference, it’s more than double the overall volume at least of the R6 and, with a case on it, it’s nearly the same size as the Cayin C9, or twice as thick as my Pixel 4 XL, making it more of a transportable device than a truly portable one.
The volume knob and other buttons feel like cheaper plastic.
All connectors are firm and securely hold whatever you plug into them. The DX300 has a single USB Type C port for charging and data connectivity, a 2.5mm balanced phone out, and both a 3.5mm and 4.4mm pentaconn connectors which are software-configurable for either phone or line out. It also has a 3.5mm line in which I have not tested.
The screen is really where the DX 300 shines (pun absolutely intended). The screen is easily bright enough to be visible during the day, while still being able to dim and retain its clarity for darker-room night time viewing.
There are two batteries in the DX300 - one for the analog section and one for the digital section. iBasso claims this improves sound quality. Unfortunately, this also means you have two separate battery level meters you need to keep an eye on and in all of my testing, the digital section’s battery drains at almost double the rate of the analog section’s battery, which is very inconvenient. When watching movies, you may find that the digital portion only lasts 4-5 hours.
The DX300 has a quad-DAC implementation using two Cirrus Logic CS43198 chips per channel.
R6
The R6 is built with a solid aluminum chassis, resulting in a very premium look and feel. The volume knob and buttons are also aluminum and feel very tactile. Unfortunately, I did on several occasions have the volume knob miss inputs when turned too quickly.
All connectors feel firm and seem to securely hold whatever you plug into them. The R6 has a USB Type C port for charging and data connectivity, as well as two 3.5mm ports and two 4.4mm ports, one each dedicated to line out and phone out. It is missing the 2.5mm connector that the DX300 has, but it does have dedicated line out connectors.
Its screen is about the same width as the DX300’s but is much shorter.
The R6 uses a dual-DAC implementation using one Sabre ES9038Q2M chip per channel.
Software features
Both of these devices have very similar software features and honestly it’s a draw between the two. They both have the ability to install apps from the Google Play Store (note that it comes installed by default on the R6, but you’ll have to install it from the pre-installed APKPure on the DX300), which allows you to stream from services like Tidal.
Note that not all services actually worked on these devices. Netflix, Pandora, and YouTube TV, for example, do not load on either the DX300 nor the R6. I suspect this is because they’re looking for some kind of cellular connection when there is none. YouTube and Tidal on the other hand worked just fine.
The one feature that the DX300 has over the R6, as far as I can tell, is that it can act as a standalone DAC/Amp for any USB-enabled device, such as a laptop. However, I will warn against using it in this manner as the latency introduced is noticeable (around 200-400ms).
Sound Impressions
TL;DR: The DX300 takes the cake for me hands down with it’s clean, clear, detailed presentation. The R6, while also clear - almost clinically so, has a certain amount of shoutiness in the treble which I couldn’t stop hearing, despite the fact that I’m not particularly treble sensitive.
DX300
The DX300 is just as natural sounding as my RME ADI-2 Pro FS R Black Edition while being more resolving, especially in the bass. It’s a far more enjoyable listen than my Topping D90/A90 stack, which I find more analytical, but far less “musical” than the DX300. The DX300 is definitely a warmer sounding device than the D90/A90 stack, but I wouldn’t call it warm per-se, since the mids are still very clear and I don’t find the highs to be rolled off at all.
In fact, this may be one of my new favorite DAC/Amp devices that I own.
R6
The R6 sounds much closer to the D90/A90 than anything else I own, but it has more bite in the treble region. In fact, the treble is so harsh without EQ that I find the device to be painful to listen to for more than 15-20 minutes, and even with EQ I never got the treble to not sound draining.
Conclusions
I’ll be keeping the DX300 and returning the R6. The DX300, with flaws and all, is not just listenable out-of-the-box, but an absolute joy to listen to. It really nails the balance of tonality, detail, and clarity for my tastes. The R6, while a better device in almost every other respect apart from the screen, is just too hard to listen to for my tastes.