Intro:
Instead of writing 10, 15 or 18 pages of plain text as it can easily happen for me when I write a review about a digital audio player or amplifier, I am trying to keep this review short and leave out things that aren’t as important anyway – simply because they can be found on the manufacturer website that you have likely visited anyway if you are interested in the DX150, and also because I know that certain aspects are skipped anyway (and yet the review turned out longer than I planned it to be anyway – but there are basic parts/explanations I don’t want to leave out, so I guess it was sort of clear that it would turn out rather long in the first place. If you want a short summary, here’s the brief summary: quality materials, snappy operation and navigation, good streaming, really good noise performance, low output impedance, precise volume control that allows very quiet listening as well, clean sound). Additionally, the DX150 shares many aspects with the DX200, although at a lower price point ($499), so it wouldn’t make much sense to repeat everything. So this review will mainly focus on the things that I am personally most interested about in terms of sound, wherefore it is only them whom are captioned (bold and underlined).
So if you want to read more about the screen, user interface and hardware performance, I advise you to check out my DX200 review.
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Both players look somewhat (let’s better say “quite”) similar (although one could say that the newer but lesser priced DX150 appears more up-to-date in terms of styling, and the slimmer side plank definitely contributes to this impression, along with the flatter and more elegant implementation of the screen that is similarly resolving and of similarly high quality), are identically well made and feel very solid and also quite premium, have got replaceable amplifier modules that are compatible with both players and feature a very similar although not identical hardware design, such as the Dual-Mono implementation of the audio signal path, however while the DX200 uses ESS chips, AKM chips have found their way into the DX150.
Personally, I have to say that I prefer the DX150’s updated styling over the DX200’s. And the DX150’s grippy pleather case appears more premium and more beautiful.
One large difference on the software-side is that the DX150 lacks the pure “Mango” mode of the DX200 and is only equipped with Android OS with the Mango player app, however it is not much of a miss since the pure “Mango” OS, unlike the snappy Android interface, was quite slow and sluggish when it came to navigation and speed and only offered the advantage of slightly quicker boot time and more volume steps (256 with a linear scaling of 0.5 dB per increment, however even the Android OS volume control implementation allows for very quiet listening levels even with extremely sensitive in-ears, so I think that this loss is bearable (I have only used the Android OS mode anyway)).
Unfortunately both players lack the implementation of Google’s Play Services and Play Store, so Android apps such as Tidal, SoundCloud, Spotify etc. have to be side-loaded (one can also do this directly on the DX150/200 using the web browser and searching for “[app name].apk download”). But then they work without any issue. Some apps that strictly require Google’s Play Services, such as YouTube, will however not run on either device (the Google Chrome web browser works without any issues though).
The standard iBasso player app, called “Mango”, still lacks a search feature as well.
Another addition, software-wise, is that with the DX150, hidden in the “sound and notification” settings, there now is a “Sound style” setting (that will remain DX150-exclusive and won’t find its way into the DX200) where one can switch from “standard” to “full sound”.
What does it do? More on that later.
In recent days, many digital audio players let the users select the digital filters by themselves. While they don’t really play a greater role and are designed to operate mostly outside the audible range and – if even – only make a minor difference upon super critical listening, many manufacturers like to include most of the filters that the used DAC chip has to offer. In case of the DX150, there are five digital filter options in total.
More regarding digital filters can be found for example in my DX200 review.
Then there are some other small software changes, such as a renewed boot screen.
As already mentioned and tested in my DX200 review, hardware and software performance of the player is good and perfectly fluent without any sluggishness or hiccups. The same also goes for the DX150, which is not that much surprising since they share most hardware components.
Aside from the different DAC chips, one difference on the hardware side is that the DX150 allows for USB-C quick charging whereas the DX200 does not. Other than that, I don’t think that there are much other hardware changes, and so the DX150, while it also supports 2.4 and 5 GHz WiFi, only supports SBC Bluetooth and has no aptX implementation either.
What’s definitely different though is the used amplifier module the player comes bundled with, and the DX150’s “AMP6” module was designed for slightly increased battery life but seems to be rather similar otherwise although being somewhat less powerful.
WiFi Streaming:
Well, what seems to be different though is the WiFi/EMI/RFI shielding – my WiFi router only supports 2.4 GHz and the DX200 picks up quite some noise through that frequency while it doesn’t when connected to a 5 GHz network. For some reason, this is something where several streaming DAP manufacturers fail to some degree while the iPhone that many self-proclaimed audiophiles see as the root of all audiophile evil and claim that it is inferior to some really cheap digital audio players that have been proven to perform worse, somehow magically manages to avoid all that streaming noise when sensitive headphones and in-ears are connected to it.
The DX150 however doesn’t pick up any of that almost permanent noise even when it is connected to a 2.4 GHz network and only very occasionally outputs a short “blipse” (that isn’t present when it’s connected to a 5 GHz router) in my environment with many wireless sources nearby (even with 2.4 GHz connection, there are none of those rare “blipses” in a less “polluted” environment), so it seems like its shielding was noticeably improved.
Sound:
Needless to say, the stock AMP6 module was used for the following tests (3.5 mm headphone output, filter “3 Short Delay Sharp Roll-Off”, low gain, standard sound style).
Volume Control:
For the second time for an iBasso audio player, following the DX200, the DX150 got a rotary volume potentiometer instead of the traditional buttons. While I think it is quite clear, I better mention it anyway: the potentiometer does not control the volume in analogue form but digitally, so you get the benefit of perfect channel matching even at very low volume settings with the DX150 compared to the very few audio players on the market that are using a purely analogue volume control that is suffering from some channel balance issues at low listening levels.
Since it is stepped and also a little on the stiffer side but still easy to turn with one finger, chances to accidentally change the volume are rather minimal one can also feel each adjustment step.
There are 150 total (system-wide) attenuation steps, with a scaling of 0.5 dB per step in the medium and higher ranges and somewhat larger but still small enough steps in the very low range (getting the personally desired listening level even with super sensitive in-ears is still possible though and the DX150 can also be used for very quiet listening, which is a requirement for me for an ideal digital audio player).
Precise volume control that allows for really quiet listening? Definitely check (although the DX90 and DX80 allow even more precision and finer steps at really low settings – but even the DX200’s and DX150’s comparatively less fine steps at really low settings are finer than what most other manufacturers implement into their DAPs).
RMAA Frequency Response & Output Impedance:
No Load 3.5 mm:
One of the most basic and fundamental things an audio player should have is a flat unloaded frequency response in the important range of 20 to 20000 Hz. While it is anything but sorcery to achieve this in modern days, some (however mainly inexpensive and rather no-name) audio players still fail to achieve this basic thing.
Let’s see how the DX150 performs in this regard:
Instead of writing 10, 15 or 18 pages of plain text as it can easily happen for me when I write a review about a digital audio player or amplifier, I am trying to keep this review short and leave out things that aren’t as important anyway – simply because they can be found on the manufacturer website that you have likely visited anyway if you are interested in the DX150, and also because I know that certain aspects are skipped anyway (and yet the review turned out longer than I planned it to be anyway – but there are basic parts/explanations I don’t want to leave out, so I guess it was sort of clear that it would turn out rather long in the first place. If you want a short summary, here’s the brief summary: quality materials, snappy operation and navigation, good streaming, really good noise performance, low output impedance, precise volume control that allows very quiet listening as well, clean sound). Additionally, the DX150 shares many aspects with the DX200, although at a lower price point ($499), so it wouldn’t make much sense to repeat everything. So this review will mainly focus on the things that I am personally most interested about in terms of sound, wherefore it is only them whom are captioned (bold and underlined).
So if you want to read more about the screen, user interface and hardware performance, I advise you to check out my DX200 review.
- - -
Both players look somewhat (let’s better say “quite”) similar (although one could say that the newer but lesser priced DX150 appears more up-to-date in terms of styling, and the slimmer side plank definitely contributes to this impression, along with the flatter and more elegant implementation of the screen that is similarly resolving and of similarly high quality), are identically well made and feel very solid and also quite premium, have got replaceable amplifier modules that are compatible with both players and feature a very similar although not identical hardware design, such as the Dual-Mono implementation of the audio signal path, however while the DX200 uses ESS chips, AKM chips have found their way into the DX150.
Personally, I have to say that I prefer the DX150’s updated styling over the DX200’s. And the DX150’s grippy pleather case appears more premium and more beautiful.
One large difference on the software-side is that the DX150 lacks the pure “Mango” mode of the DX200 and is only equipped with Android OS with the Mango player app, however it is not much of a miss since the pure “Mango” OS, unlike the snappy Android interface, was quite slow and sluggish when it came to navigation and speed and only offered the advantage of slightly quicker boot time and more volume steps (256 with a linear scaling of 0.5 dB per increment, however even the Android OS volume control implementation allows for very quiet listening levels even with extremely sensitive in-ears, so I think that this loss is bearable (I have only used the Android OS mode anyway)).
Unfortunately both players lack the implementation of Google’s Play Services and Play Store, so Android apps such as Tidal, SoundCloud, Spotify etc. have to be side-loaded (one can also do this directly on the DX150/200 using the web browser and searching for “[app name].apk download”). But then they work without any issue. Some apps that strictly require Google’s Play Services, such as YouTube, will however not run on either device (the Google Chrome web browser works without any issues though).
The standard iBasso player app, called “Mango”, still lacks a search feature as well.
Another addition, software-wise, is that with the DX150, hidden in the “sound and notification” settings, there now is a “Sound style” setting (that will remain DX150-exclusive and won’t find its way into the DX200) where one can switch from “standard” to “full sound”.
What does it do? More on that later.
In recent days, many digital audio players let the users select the digital filters by themselves. While they don’t really play a greater role and are designed to operate mostly outside the audible range and – if even – only make a minor difference upon super critical listening, many manufacturers like to include most of the filters that the used DAC chip has to offer. In case of the DX150, there are five digital filter options in total.
More regarding digital filters can be found for example in my DX200 review.
Then there are some other small software changes, such as a renewed boot screen.
As already mentioned and tested in my DX200 review, hardware and software performance of the player is good and perfectly fluent without any sluggishness or hiccups. The same also goes for the DX150, which is not that much surprising since they share most hardware components.
Aside from the different DAC chips, one difference on the hardware side is that the DX150 allows for USB-C quick charging whereas the DX200 does not. Other than that, I don’t think that there are much other hardware changes, and so the DX150, while it also supports 2.4 and 5 GHz WiFi, only supports SBC Bluetooth and has no aptX implementation either.
What’s definitely different though is the used amplifier module the player comes bundled with, and the DX150’s “AMP6” module was designed for slightly increased battery life but seems to be rather similar otherwise although being somewhat less powerful.
WiFi Streaming:
Well, what seems to be different though is the WiFi/EMI/RFI shielding – my WiFi router only supports 2.4 GHz and the DX200 picks up quite some noise through that frequency while it doesn’t when connected to a 5 GHz network. For some reason, this is something where several streaming DAP manufacturers fail to some degree while the iPhone that many self-proclaimed audiophiles see as the root of all audiophile evil and claim that it is inferior to some really cheap digital audio players that have been proven to perform worse, somehow magically manages to avoid all that streaming noise when sensitive headphones and in-ears are connected to it.
The DX150 however doesn’t pick up any of that almost permanent noise even when it is connected to a 2.4 GHz network and only very occasionally outputs a short “blipse” (that isn’t present when it’s connected to a 5 GHz router) in my environment with many wireless sources nearby (even with 2.4 GHz connection, there are none of those rare “blipses” in a less “polluted” environment), so it seems like its shielding was noticeably improved.
Sound:
Needless to say, the stock AMP6 module was used for the following tests (3.5 mm headphone output, filter “3 Short Delay Sharp Roll-Off”, low gain, standard sound style).
Volume Control:
For the second time for an iBasso audio player, following the DX200, the DX150 got a rotary volume potentiometer instead of the traditional buttons. While I think it is quite clear, I better mention it anyway: the potentiometer does not control the volume in analogue form but digitally, so you get the benefit of perfect channel matching even at very low volume settings with the DX150 compared to the very few audio players on the market that are using a purely analogue volume control that is suffering from some channel balance issues at low listening levels.
Since it is stepped and also a little on the stiffer side but still easy to turn with one finger, chances to accidentally change the volume are rather minimal one can also feel each adjustment step.
There are 150 total (system-wide) attenuation steps, with a scaling of 0.5 dB per step in the medium and higher ranges and somewhat larger but still small enough steps in the very low range (getting the personally desired listening level even with super sensitive in-ears is still possible though and the DX150 can also be used for very quiet listening, which is a requirement for me for an ideal digital audio player).
Precise volume control that allows for really quiet listening? Definitely check (although the DX90 and DX80 allow even more precision and finer steps at really low settings – but even the DX200’s and DX150’s comparatively less fine steps at really low settings are finer than what most other manufacturers implement into their DAPs).
RMAA Frequency Response & Output Impedance:
No Load 3.5 mm:
One of the most basic and fundamental things an audio player should have is a flat unloaded frequency response in the important range of 20 to 20000 Hz. While it is anything but sorcery to achieve this in modern days, some (however mainly inexpensive and rather no-name) audio players still fail to achieve this basic thing.
Let’s see how the DX150 performs in this regard:
As it could be expected, the raw and unloaded frequency response is basically flat and therefore just the way it should be.
Ultimate Ears Triple.Fi 10 @ 3.5 mm:
Even when having a flat frequency response without load or with a simple load (such as a headphone that has got the same impedance over its entire frequency response), things are getting much more difficult with most multi-driver in-ears that have got more than just one driver and a crossover circuit that causes the in-ears’ resistance to vary along with their frequency response.
If the audio player’s headphone output doesn’t have a low output impedance, the in-ears’ frequency response and therefore heard tonality will be skewed and they will (depending on the player’s output impedance and the in-ears’ specific impedance response) sound more or less different than when driven by an audio player that has got a low output impedance. To maintain an unaltered sound even with low impedance multi-driver in-ears, it is therefore best to have an audio player that has got an output impedance of less than 1 Ohm (the closer to 0 Ohms the better).
This is what the DX150 puts out when connecting a critical, low impedance, multi-driver in-ear to its single-ended output:
iBasso doesn’t list AMP6’s output impedance in the specs. But using the measured deviation, it can be calculated and is just very small, around the value of 0.3 Ohms, which is a really good value and proves that the player can drive any multi-driver in-ear without altering its sound unlike players that have a rather high/higher output impedance.
Very low and IEM-diva-friendly output impedance? Checkidy check-check (at least over the single-ended output, but it is also safe to assume that the balanced output’s output impedance is very low as well given the experience with the other amplifier modules).
Sound Style:
Nothing is mentioned in the settings when it comes to “Sound Style”. And the frequency response and distortion measurements don’t seem to be affected by it either. Additionally the other RMAA measurements I have done don’t show a difference either. So does it actually do anything or is it just a switch that does nothing and was designed to trigger our imagination? A good question, since what I thought the “Sound Style” settings would do didn’t show up in the measurements where I thought they would, even though upon first listening I thought that I would indeed hear a slight difference, so it was either psychoacoustics and me imagining the slight difference, or something else, perhaps resampling, is going on.
When I asked iBasso about it, they unfortunately didn’t want to spill the secret, but they confirmed that it wouldn’t show up in those measurements, however they assured me that the signal “is handled slightly different[ly] by the [DAC]”.
Hiss Performance using extremely sensitive IEMs:
Gear that was used: Shure SE846 (white treble filters), Pai Audio MR3, Ostry KC06A.
I consider myself as someone who is rather sensitive to hearing hiss and have also got some very sensitive in-ears (for example the Shure SE846 and Ostry KC06A that are among the most hiss-revealing models on the market). So with the right in-ear, I hear hiss to a varying degree with about any digital audio player (in fact out of the players and devices I have and have heard, only the iBasso DX90, Luxury & Precision L3, Luxury & Precision L3 Pro, RME ADI-2 DAC, Leckerton UHA-6S as well as UHA-6S.MKII and Cowon Plenue 2 are basically entirely hiss-free, however the two L & P players do not have the most ideal output impedance for multi-driver in-ears and those with a varying impedance response).
Using the DX150’s single-ended headphone output with my Shure SE846, Pai Audio MR3 and the Ostry KC06A, I am happy to say that the amount of hiss that I am hearing with an empty audio file and in quiet passages of the music is very little and quite close to being not present/inaudible wherefore it is mostly little enough to be actually irrelevant.
Regarding hiss, the DX150 is therefore among the better and almost best players and puts out less hiss than for example the popular Chord Electronics Mojo. When music is playing, even at really low volume, the hiss is covered and inaudible even with these sensitive in-ears. So yeah, the DX150 does get a “thumbs up” from me in this regard.
Good hiss performance using super sensitive in-ears? Check (although the DX90 and Plenue 2 are even a bit more perfect in this regard).
Subjective Listening Impressions:
Gear that was used: Audeze LCD-X, Ultimate Ears Triple.Fi 10, NocturnaL Audio Atlantis, UERR, Etymotic ER•4S, Fidue A91 SIRIUS.
Now briefly to the subjective part of my review. My opinion and experience regarding the perceived “character” and “transparency” of source devices and amplifiers is this one: there can be an existing audible difference between various devices, but it should definitely not be overrated – simply because the basic character of a headphone won’t be completely changed (if the circuit follows a clean design philosophy and the output is load-stable), but sometimes rather slightly “shaped” and is usually very subtle in many cases and is (in most cases, if even, them) just slightly present (nuances!) and not huge, like totally different classes or night and day. DAPs, DACs and AMPs are also no music instruments and don’t “extend further” in the lows, don’t have “more bass and warmth” and don’t have “less mids” when compared unless their measured sound output says otherwise – and fortunately there are only very few devices that don’t have a flat output nowadays.
I am not a fan of exaggerations and hyperboles here because as long as the objectifyable parameters of an audio player are neutral and not too shabby (loaded frequency response, distortion, crosstalk, dynamic range, noise, …), the audible difference, if there is any, will be quite small at best if two devices are compared with proper volume matching that cannot be done by ear, since even small differences in loudness can be perceived as a technical advantage by our ear and brain.
So briefly, what am I hearing, especially compared to the DX200 (AMP1)? Both players sound subjectively neutral, as it was to be expected. The difference really is just present in nuances where the DX150 appears to be ever so slightly, a tad “softer” sounding, which might lead to the impression of it being a little less “transparent” sounding with sensitive in-ears, making it subjectively a touch lesser than the “reference” performance the DX200 (/AMP1 module) is supposed to convey, which it, to my ears, does. It’s realistically speaking really rather just a nuance though and otherwise both devices sound equally open/spacious when it comes to three-dimensional cues.
There is however one thing where the two modules differ: (volume-matched,) while I hear AMP1 to sound somewhat more spatially open when using the Fidue SIRIUS from its 2.5 mm output, along with a “crisper” high frequency attack/”character”/”glare”, AMP6 (2.5 mm as well) doesn’t really change its spatiality or “high frequency character”. So if you are into those small details and mainly using the balanced 2.5 mm connection, it might be that the DX200 (or AMP1 module, if you can find a spare one, or getting any of the other available amplifier modules for the DX150) would be the better choice for you individually. For all the others, getting the DX150 instead is worth more than just one thought.
Exchanging AMP1 and AMP6 leads to basically the same impressions, however on the other player.
Gapless Playback:
… works just as it should with FLAC files.
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Wait, there’s more:
AMP4S:
I could write an introduction about that this new module is based on the surprisingly popular AMP4 module and also features the quite new 4.4 mm balanced connection, but instead of telling you things that are already freely available on the product page, let’s focus on the product itself:
As always, the amplifier module comes with all the accessories you need to change it. For those (like me) who don’t have any 4.4 mm terminated cables, iBasso also offers an adapter that is called CA02, comes with a carbon fibre inlay and looks really premium (its only disadvantage is that it sticks out quite considerably).
While I cannot perform an RMAA measurement using my methods, iBasso, on request, stated an output impedance of 0.3 Ohms for the AMP4S module, which seems plausible given their other modules’ specs and past trustworthiness.
The official output impedance spec is rated at 0.3 Ohms and therefore pretty much ideal and unproblematic even for the most diva-esque in-ears when it comes to impedance response and the possible frequency response deviation because of too high output impedance.
Diva-IEM-friendly output impedance? Definitely check.
Quite obviously given the specs, the balanced connection offers the higher output voltage when compared to the single-ended output of either amplifier module, and the 4.4 mm connection, even though I personally don’t really like it for whatever reason, is more reliable and sturdier than the common 2.5 mm balanced connection, wherefore it is not surprising that several companies are starting to use it (the “new invention” of the 4.4 mm connection and hype surely contribute to this as well – nonetheless I definitely see the 4.4 mm balanced connection as superior as it is sturdier, and think that it (or the more compact 4-pin Kobiconn connector) should have become widely accepted and available long ago as 2.5 mm is quite obviously more prone to defects).
So, what’s the gist? Rather obviously, you get more output power compared to the other modules’ single-ended outputs, so if the achieved volume with your insensitive headphones isn’t enough, a module with a balanced headphone output (or a really powerful external amplifier) would be the way to go.
But more power also means more hiss – so if you aren’t using full-size headphones but in-ears of the sensitive kind and are generally sensitive to hearing hiss, all of the balanced outputs will introduce more hissing.
Further above I wrote that while there was some difference between the balanced and single-ended output on the AMP1 module (the 2.5 mm output being more spacious and a little “crisper” sounding in the overtones), the single-ended and balanced output on the AMP6 sound basically similar to me. So not worth using if you are into nuancedly flavouring your listening experience and only good for the output power plus, from my point of view.
AMP4S is different. While not an exaggerated, orgasmic, curtain-removing experience (that nobody should expect anyway between two rather well constructed modern devices with a flat frequency response output and low output impedance), it “brings back” what the AMP6’s balanced output is “missing” compared to the one found on the AMP1 module: the spatiality. The presented sphere, using in-ears, therefore appears somewhat more open than the one found in AMP6. To my ears, it’s also a hair more “open/spacious” sounding than the 2.5 mm AMP1 output. However, while AMP1’s 2.5 mm output appears to have some added, subjective “glare”/”bite”/”aggressiveness” compared to its 3.5 mm output, AMP4S’s overtones and highs appear more “organic” (despite me knowing that the output signal is linear with both). Nonetheless, at less subjectively to my ears using in-ears, its lows appear a hair less tight than AMP1’s.
It’s not a matter of “better” or “worse”, but what suits better to the needs of the user who likes to tweak the last nuances. So AMP1 (balanced) gives you a more “aggressive” presentation with in-ears whereas AMP4S appears “smoother”/”more organic” with the same level of perceived transparency and a slightly even subjectively more spherical staging, however with just a tad less tightness. Compared to AMP6 (2.5 mm), I do however think that AMP4S is “better”.
So in the end, what surprises me, I am quite inclined to recommend AMP4S if you are looking into getting into sturdy 4.4 mm balanced connections or are someone who likes to tweak his gear’s fine nuances purely on the hardware level and doesn’t mind the somewhat more audible hiss with in-ears of the sensitive kind.
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CB12S Cable:
If someone remembers my CB13 review, I sort of remarked that it didn’t come with any adapter or storage case/pouch despite the high (but compared to the competition still competitive, dare I say “affordable”) price tag.
And boom, here comes the CB12S that has fixed exactly those two issues, since the cable now comes with the same “iBasso Audio”-branded metal tin case the IT01 arrives with, as well as a 2.5 (TRRS) to 3.5 mm (TRS) adapter that matches the cable’s visual appearance very well.
The SB12S (not to be confused with the CB12 mouth wash) is a braided 8-conductor cable, just like the CB13, but has a somewhat more compact braid in comparison. Nonetheless it is very supple, doesn’t lack a chin-slider and has got well-machined MMCX as well as 2.5 as well as 3.5 mm plugs and looks premium.
Therefore, especially considering what some other in-ear manufacturers charge for their regular replacement cables that are inferior when it comes to suppleness and build quality, or what some “upgrade” cable makers want you to pay for similarly spec’d cables, the price of $99 for the CB12S package seems fair and in the middle.
As stated in my CB13 review, I am the wrong person to talk about a cable’s “sonic qualities” that exceed the obvious things (resistance, but also channel separation (which won’t be an issue due to separated ground cables)), so I’ll leave it at that.
Conclusion:
Even though the DX150 is designed to be a lesser model than the DX200, it actually is better in some areas, such as the updated exterior design, superior pleather case, better EMI/RFI/WiFi shielding, somewhat improved battery life and an added quick-charge feature. Other than that, it features all of the DX200 greatness but at a lower price point.
When it comes to sound (volume control, output impedance, hiss performance, subjectively perceived transparency etc.), the DX150 checks all the boxes and isn’t really inferior to the DX200, only ever so slightly “different” here and there, so it is definitely recommendable and deserves all the praise the DX200 already got.
What’s still left to be desired? Google’s Play Services for easier app installation and management, as well as aptX Bluetooth.