iBasso - DC03 PRO

I configured the dongle with ibasso UAC app and set it to NOS ( No over sampling). NOS is supposed to give you the raw output without any coloration Or sample rate conversion and that's what I prefer.

But for some reason it coloured all my tracks by adding a bit of energy in the upper mids and treble region. It made all my iems analytical, I tried other filters on the app thinking it will fix the issue but nothing helped. I also tried it on my pc and the sound was same. I was pretty frustrated.

Next day, after digging around on reddit I found the solution. All you have to do is go to device manager and uninstall the firmware named "Savi audio" by right clicking on the dongle and going into its properties. By doing that you will achieve true NOS. And also uninstall the UAC app from phone. The sound is pretty good once you do that.

Pros of this dongle-
1. Very cold during operation.
2. Not power hungry.
3. Very impressive imaging and soundstage.
4. Resolution is pretty good.
5. Faithfully uncoloured once you achieve NOS.

Cons of this dongle -
1. preinstalled firmware and ibasso UAC app doesn't let you achieve NOS causing analytical sound.

I'm a first time DAC buyer and I dont know fancy audiophile language . So do forgive my layman language.
Gear : using iBasso DCO3 Pro with Note 20 and ATHM50X or Presonus 3.5 BT(over aux).
This is an early review after only a few days of use.
Gotchas - Make sure your phone audio-quality effects are all turned OFF. Phone's Dolby atmos are turned OFF, graphic equalizer presets are all set to flat.
Build and features - Its well built and feels unbreakable. BUT. do take care to not unplug this along with your headphone wire. Its likely get banged around along with the dangling wire. Should be avoided to avoid needless abuse of the tiny device.
The iBasso UAC app provides a few tuning options like Gain, 100 step volume and filters. Honestly other than the volume and Gain, i have no idea how to use the filters. I'm not able to make any discernable difference in music between the filter settings.
Input quality - I use Apple Music Hires lossless settings and it plays music with a minimum lossless quality. Not all content is available in Hires Lossless.

Performance - I used to think Macbook Pro and iPad DACs were solid. This goes above and beyond! Be prepared to shocked if all your old songs sound different. It somehow boosts all instruments /sounds to the same level as vocals and yet maintains clear separation. So if there are some techno sounds going non stop in the background when ARR is singing Mental Manadhil (Ok Kanmani) it will sound much more prominent than it used to. All the sounds are brass tack sharp and brighter now. The vocals too. I dont notice bass getting muddy. In fact its muted and to my liking. My ears are sensitive to bass and i dont notice it much (at least in my gear) . Its like salt. Its present but you dont notice it.
The clear separation of all sounds is what makes the music enjoyable. So if you are hearing the sitar in Aaj Ibadat (Bajirao Mastani) along with the bass and some chorus. The sitar will be crystal clear and sharp and will not be muddied by the bass or other sounds. That's what makes it enjoyable.
I did not notice any change in temperature of the unit even after 1 hour.
Overall its worth the money paid for it. I'm sure there are better gear but this is the only one i've listed to and i like it.
The subject matter expertise that reflects in the headphonezone website is what gives the confidence in buying from this site. This is my first purchase from them.. I'm now convinced that this is the place to go to and I'll probably tell my friends to buy from here when opportunity presents.
I'm glad that my first shot at a DAC is turning out to be a good experience. Thank you headphone zone.

I'm not a big audio guy but using this dac with my Sennheiser HD599 SE has given a different perspective in audio listening. Didn't knew my headphones were capable to this kind of output before using this dac.

This little dc03 pro is like a racehorse...a little powerhouse to juice up even demanding cans. The ibasso uac app is only good for using digital filters and tuning gain control. But, i feel , the app interferes with hardware volume control.. now, for the part which audiophiles usually don't talk about... Get this dac if if only you have high impedence headphone/iem.. like for my blon one with 32 ohm, this is overkill, i do not find any difference with this and cx pro dac. Gain needs to be minimum or all sounds mix up, soundstage distorts..Even my monk plus sounds good with medium gain... Good headphone sounds even better. Hiby music or neutron player with exclusive usb mode and dsd file....just perfect! Anyway, keep expectations in check while ordering, as this will not magically transform anything you throw at it sound better. File, device everything playes a role to the output. And lastly, headphonezone is good man... My bundled usb c cable was faulty... I asked them for replacement of the cable as the dac is ok. And they sent me a cable free of cost! Not to be expected from likes of other e com sites.. thank you HPZ for the friendly touch.
For the cons, it will not transmitbmic signals well to mobile, so forget calling with this. Sometimes other person can hear, sometimes they don't. For calling look for the cheap ones like abigail/cx pro.

I own ibasso dc05, ibasso IT01x, zen signature stack hfm, hifiman headphones and my review will be referenced on these. I have reviewed quite a number of products here.

I would say from my experience that the cirrus logic dac chip used is not that good, sterile sound signature. Overall music sounds boring. The bass has no slam, the upper treble is recessed and absent soundstage. The mids is the only thing very good. The vocals r forward and intimate with a little thickness(opposite of lean). Use of silver plated cables recommended with very V shaped headphones/iems with thinner Treble.

Moreover the amp is disgusting H class🤣
In comparison, last year's dc05 is much better than this, at same launch price but those who haven't tasted a good dac amp can't feel this. So for beginners it's okay. Use this with less than 6k iems should be fine

But for the positives, I guess it has correct note weight and accurate reproduction of music, didn't feel wrong, so will do the job with a necessary clarity. Therefore recommended as the very first dac for a beginner