iBasso’s DX160 Is Aimed At FiiO

When it comes to Chinese-made portable Hi-Fi products, the main players seem to be Cayin, Shanling, iBasso, Hiby, and FiiO – the latter being the most recognisable. For a while now, the competition between these Chinese manufacturers has steadily grown more fierce, especially in the $400-500 segment, and we are now seeing the release of products from many of those manufacturers which seem to be blatantly directed at competing with one another. iBasso’s latest contender in the ring is the DX160.

Taking A Closer Look At The DX160

At this point it’s difficult to say where the DX160 fits in with regards to iBasso’s own lineup. Traditionally, this was indicated by the numerical value in the model name. For example, the DX200 was their top-of-the-line, and was then eventually the next model up became the DX220. Likewise, the DX150 was a more affordable and lesser-spec’d version of the DX200. However, what’s a bit confusing here is that, according to that trend, the DX160 should be “better” than the DX150, yet it has arguably less features (no modular amp design) and also costs less ($399 vs. $499).

Up front is a 5-inch display which boasts a full-HD resultion. That gives it an incredibly sharp pixel density of no less than 445 pixels-per-inch.  So, not only does it have nearly a 20% bigger display than both the DX200 and DX150, but the resolution is also up by just over 25%. After having a quick look at the specs of the flagship DX220, it seems that the DX160 might actually have the same display as the DX220.
More importantly, whilst the display is a touch smaller than the one found on the FiiO M11, the pixel density is up by a whopping 42% as compared to that of the M11’s display!
And it’s here that we start to see that iBasso has attempted to ‘one up’ FiiO in practically ever aspect.
The DX160 is smaller in width, height, and depth, and it also weight 16% (33g) less than the M11. Bluetooth 5.0 is also present, as is Android 8.1, rather than the customised version of Android 7.0 found on the FiiO. This is a biggie, because if the DX160 runs a full version of Android, then that will most likely mean that users will have access to the Play Store, rather than having to manually install APK packages as is the case for the M11.

Availability

Initial reports staed that the DX160 should be available by the end of August, but so far it seems that only this online store is taking order for the device, but it’s also not clear if these are pre-orders. The price is also $70 higher than the MSRP.