iBasso’s DC01 Offers Ultra-Compact Hi-Fi Solution

Whilst iBasso are better known for their line of high resolution portable music players such as the DX120, DX150, DX200, and more recently the DX220, they haven’t really released much in the way of accessories and other audio products apart from a couple of amplifiers and a few IEMs. However, iBasso has decided to target a wider audience with the introduction of the DC01.

The DC01 is a DAC/AMP product which is about as portable as it gets. Essentially, the idea here is that the DC01 is to compete with the likes of Audioquest’s Dragonfly line of products, as well as the Meridian Explorer and Hidizs Sonata. Except, the DC01 is even more compact that any of the aforementioned products.

What we’re getting here is a device that can plug straight into your USB-C equipped smartphone or tablet, or it can also be connected to your PC by using the supplied Type-C to USB-A converter. The DC01 houses an AK4493 DAC chip featuring AKM’s VELVET SOUND™ technology and boasts a frequency response of 20-40kHz, a maximum power output of up to 113mW into a 32-ohm load, and a THD+N of just 0.001%. What’s more, the DC01 is even able to decode DSD streams up to DSD x256 natively along with up to 384kHz/32-bit PCM streams.

Weighing a mere 11g in total, we can see just how incrdibly compact of a package this is considering what it’s capable of producing. Of course, being a device that has no internal battery, this does mean that the DC01 will draw power from whatever device it is connected to.
The other thing to take into account is that it’s equipped only with a 2.5mm balanced connection.

Pricing

Another great aspect of the DC01 is that it’s price is just as conservative as its physical size. Depending on which retailer you purchase it from, the DC01 will set you back somewhere between $52 and $62 (excluding shipping and/or taxes.