Soundbombe D3

Introduction

Soundbombe is a small Japanese microbrand that focuses on portable headphone amplifiers. You probably haven't heard of them before. I found out about the company while searching for unique products in Japan and shared it with a few friends. One of them is an avid adventurer, and now we have the Soundbombe D3 to test out. I'm excited to give it a try!

The D3 is a balanced in and out version. The Japanese are still making and people are buying single ended amps. I don’t know why. You should read the description before hitting buy. This is same advice for all makers.

https://soundbombe.booth.pm

Physical

Amp only, no dac
Charges via 12v barrel plug
Soundtiger style body (common in the Japanese makers scene)
Gain switch is within the case. It’s very powerful by default

Analytical test

Test Gear: iBasso DX340, Silverwidow v3, 64 Audio U18T

• Dark background
• Smooth presentation, notes are smoothed out, rather edged for resolution.
• Good separation
• DX340’s linear staging is present
• Solid bass when called for
• Leaning musical on the Musical——Technical slider.

The DX340 is high resolving, natural and reference sounding. On its own. Badly mastered tracks can render harsh. The Soundbombe D3, smooths out the notes into a highly musical presentation. It does not alter it so much that bad mastering is erased. Especially with highly analytical monitors. It does clean it up. Let’s just say 50%.

The background on the D3 is very dark, perhaps this is the variable for a large sound stage. Despite the smooth note edging, the notes are clear and distinct. This allows imaging that is natural, clean and precise at the same time without the digital feel.

The presentation here reminds me of AKM equipped devices. I am now thinking of feeding the Soundbombe D3 with a 4499 dac. I own an iBasso DX300 Max that can run on 8 channels, but it’s on loan out. I currently have an Onix Mystic on hand.

AKM Dac test

Test Gear: iBasso DX340, Silverwidow v3, 64 Audio U18T

As suspected, the Soundbombe paired with a 4499 DAC yields the best result. Thick rich, musical. This might just be the best AKM sounding pairing I have ever heard.

I have run out of time. The Soundbombe was returned to its owner. Right now it’s out of stock. It’s going to be a while before do more tests.