I was lucky enough to get to demo the iFi Audio iDSD Black Label for about a week thanks to the good folks at iFi and I just wanted to share my experience with this great little piece of equipment. The headphones I used for my review included an HE1000, LCD-3F, Ether C and a pair of Andromeda IEM's.
 
The first thing you'll notice when you open the box is that they've included just about every adapter or accessory you can think of (except an OTG cable apparently), so right out of the gate you'll pretty much be ready to use this device with whatever gear you've got. The next thing that stands out is how well it seems to be built. Considering it comes in at what I would consider a budget gear range, I was very impressed because it had the build quality of more expensive gear. As I began using it with my different headphones I found out it was pretty damn versatile too, it could go from driving my Campfire Audio Andromeda's (which are very sensitive) on the IEM setting, all the way up to my HE1000's, which needed the Turbo setting to really shine. No other device I've got can achieve that feat of being able to drive anything you throw at it. That was my biggest takeaway from my week with the iDSD BL too, is how versatile it was. It can literally plan any file type, on any headphone and it sounded great doing so. 
 
Another thing I really liked about it was the bass/treble boost switches. Normally stuff like this is very gimmicky and doesn't sound good, so I really wasn't even planning to try them but luckily I gave them a chance because I actually had a lot of fun using them! They are very subtle effects, nothing like I've been used to before, and they allow you to modify the sound very slightly which I found helpful for dealing with tracks that were either too closed in sounding and could use a little more air (mostly newer recordings), or other recordings that could stand for a little more bass. 
 
In terms of headphone pairings, my guilty pleasure, and the one that's got me thinking about buying the iDSD BL was the LCD-3F pairing. I admit to using the bass boost with it quite a bit too, was just so fun sounding and really got me into the music. The Ether C's and Andromeda's were my next favorite pairings, but the HE1000 came across as a little bright sounding to me with the iDSD, just wasn't a great pairing IMO, but it certainly had the power to drive them adequately, I would just say it's a sound signature preference. 
 
My only con for the device would be the size that fits it squarely into TRANS-portable territory. Unfortunately it's just too big to carry around in your pocket along with a phone for example, but if you are thinking about using it with a laptop for example it would be the perfect fit. 
 
So in conclusion here are my main takeaways from the iDSD BL, in terms of pro's and cons:
 
PRO's:
-Versatile (Plays Anything, Powers Anything)
-Subtle but Fun Bass/Treble Boost
-Reasonable Price for Everything it Offers
-Perfect for Transportable Setup
 
Con's:
-Too Big to be Used for a Portable Setup
-Can Be a big Bright with certain headphones (particularly with bright recordings)
 
So in Conclusion, I would say this device is like a swiss army knife for headphone enthusiasts in that it can be used in so many various setups, with any kind of headphones, and offers a great sound that is easily customized to user's tastes. It's an easy piece of gear to justify for a reasonable price for everything that it offers, highly recommened.

FOCAL UTOPIA REVIEW
 

 
 
Intro:  First I just wanted to start by saying thanks to Todd over @ TTVJ for letting me demo the Focal Utopia's. I had meant to post this review sooner, but my wife has had some medical issues and we ended up spending the better part of last week in the hospital so this review went on the back burner. Fortunately she is doing better now and I've had a chance to reflect on my week with the Utopia's. My review will include comparisons of the headphones I tested them against (HE1000, LCD-3F, TH-900 & Ether C) and the gear I used was an Auralic Mini feeding hi-res music into a Schiit Yggdrasil DAC and my amp was the Studio Six. I will say having the Studio Six really made my job easier as I made good use of the 4 headphone outputs, switching between headphones very easily in mid-song to help make better comparisons.
 
 
Design:  For the first part of this review, I want to say a few words about the design of the headphone, because it really is it the best designed headphone I've ever experienced in almost all aspects. First, it's a stunner. Hands down, best looking headphone I've ever seen in person. Pictures don't really do it justice, but everything about it feels premium, including the carbon fiber headband. And that's good because it's what you would expect for a $4000 headphone. That being said, it's not always the case, as my HE1000 feels anything but uber premium despite costing a slightly less, but still very expensive $3000. Besides just looking and feeling the part, the headphone is also very comfortable. It fit my head perfectly and there was no looseness like there can be with my HE1000, and no extreme weight and hot ears that comes with the LCD-3. The only knock I would have on the Utopia's design is the 13 foot long cable. For my listening room this was just way more cable than I needed but after reading someone's comments about how well this headphone does with movies I kind of wish I thought to try it in my living room. Maybe that's what Focal was thinking as most people sit around 9 feet or so from the TV, it would have been great to try it late at night when I'm watching TV and my wife is asleep. But since I didn't think to try it I can only guess and say I think it would work splendidly with movies and TV also.
 

 
Sound Impressions:  So this is no doubt the part you've scrolled down to while eyeing the pictures along the way, right? It's always difficult trying to put into words how a headphone sounds, but for me the things that stood out with the Utopia were how Dynamic it was, how much Resolution into the music it offered and how Balanced it's sound signature was. It is quite simply the best imaging headphone I've ever heard, and honestly after hearing the details it was picking out of the music, my HE1000 and LCD-3 in particular sounded muddy by comparison. Despite reading some impressions stating that it was a bright headphone, I have to state that I disagree. Perhaps with a brighter source, but with a tube amp like the Studio Six and an analog sounding DAC, like the Yggy, it didn't give me any brightness issues like I've had with other headphones (namely the HD-800). I actually kind of thought it was similar to the HE1000 in terms of balance, but offered a slightly more closed in sound or smaller soundstage while improving on the bass and attack that the HE1000 needs. In terms of soundstage, it's not huge but it offers a different experience that's more akin to speakers in that the imaging is so excellent you can really hear every aspect of the music. A cymbal crash stands out from piano being pounded where on other headphones (even TOTL ones) similar sounds like those may often blur together. And the dynamics really are spectacular too, you're able to really feel the force the musician puts into their playing aside from just being able to separate out the individual instruments. Let's move on to some comparisons now:
 

 
Utopia vs. TH-900:  Really not a fair comparison. Two totally different headphones and the Utopia is eminently better than the TH-900 across almost all genres, except Electronica/EDM where the TH-900 still reigns supreme. The V-shaped sound signature just lends itself better to music that needs bass/treble but lacks the midrange. I also like a more closed-in sounding headphone for EDM to give it the "club music" appeal and the TH-900 also has that so I will still hang on to them for those genres but otherwise the Utopia pretty much outclasses the TH-900 in every way, as it should for the price.
 
Utopia vs. Ether C:  Again, these two headphones are in a different league so this also isn't really a fair comparison. I will say the Ether C actually has a somewhat similar flavor to the Utopia as it's a very balanced sounding headphones (with some tuning to boost the bass anyway) but that's about where the similarities end. The imaging, dynamics and clarity are a mile aboveon the Utopia. I will say that if you're a fan of the Ether C, chances are you'll like the Utopia's flavor. Balanced sound is on offer with both. 
 
Utopia vs. LCD-3F:  These two on the other hand couldn't be more different. Chances are you all know the Audeze "House Sound" by now if you're reading a review for a $4000 dollar headphone so I'll just say this headphone goes in the opposite direction. Audeze has that boosted midrange and bass that creates that lovely warm sound signature of theirs but it pays the price in having rolled off treble and a more closed in and less resolute headphone. Switching from the Utopia to the LCD-3 in mid song was actually a bit shocking and kind of sounded like someone dropped the headphones in mud. I finally get that "lifting the veil" cliche audiophiles are always using, this was exactly that. The Utopia were a much more well rounded headphone and so again the Utopia is the winner here, but I still love the LCD-3's also for when you want that kind of sound signature that they do so well so they won't be going anywhere. 
 
Utopia vs. HE1000: Lastly I will compare them with my current favorite headphone, the HE1000. For me, until now, the HE1000 were the most well balanced headphones I'd ever heard. They have good bass, good midrange, good treble, wide soundstage and are very dynamic and have great resolution. The Utopia takes all of that and improves the bass, dynamics and resolution while sacrificing only a bit in the soundstage department. They don't blow the HE1000 out of the water, but they are definately the new standard for TOTL headphones IMO. 
 

 
 
Conclusion:  So to conclude I think Focal has just moved the yardstick a little bit further and have produced a new TOTL headphone that takes the cake as best headphone I've currently heard to date. Granted I haven't heard some big ones yet (SR-009, Abyss, LCD-4, Orpheus) but all of those have things that turn me off from them based on what I've read about them, Abyss is too bass heavy, SR-009 is probably too bright for my tastes, LCD-4 still has the nice, but ultimately unbalanced "Audeze House Sound" and the Orpheus is just way too expensive, just to name a few. The HE1000 was my favorite because I felt it offered a very balanced sound which is usually what I lean towards, or slightly warmer than neutral. I will say that whoever thought it was bright should try some different gear because if anything it leaned to the warmer side on my setup. The only complaints I would lodge are the cable is a bit long (though maybe it would work in the living room for movies), that it can reveal poor sources (but any good headphone will really) and for me, the big one is the price. I think the headphone industry seems to be going the way of the speaker industry in that every new darling of the moment feels the need to raise the price. Not that long ago people were upset that the HE1000 cost $3000, and here already it's gone up to $4000 for a new TOTL headphone can. Because of that I won't be buying them at this time, despite how much I enjoyed them. For me it's just a personal decision because to sell my HE1000's and then buy these would probably mean sinking another $2000 into this hobby and honestly they are not $2000 dollars better. So I will stick with my HE1000's as my go-to can for now, but no doubt I will covet the Utopia until one day we can meet again. Anyway, sorry if I rambled too much, hope you enjoyed the review, feel free so shoot me any questions if you want. Also, thanks again to Todd for making the demo available to me, it was a pleasure getting to listen to these wonderful headphones!
 
TL;DR
 
PROS:
-Beautiful Looking
-Premium Construction
-Very Well Balanced Headphone
-Excellent Dynamics
-Reference Quality Imaging
-Best Overall Headphone I've Heard to Date
 
CONS:
-PRICE!
-Super Long Cable
-Reveals Poor Sources for what they are!

Schiit Ragnarok: Is It Love, or Is It Just Schiit?
 

 
 

 
 
Introduction:
 
This part is just to give you some background on my experience and how I’ve arrived at the Schiit Ragnarok before I delve into my full review, obviously feel free to skip ahead if you just want to hear about how the Ragnarok performs.
 
I am a 29 year old audiophile that’s been listening to music for as long as I can remember, but I really got into music when I was about 13 years old and my Dad gave me my first classic rock CD, Bob Dylan’s “Blood on the Tracks”.  Ever since then, I’ve been hooked, collection hundreds of CD’s over the years, and recently making the transition to a fully digital, and mostly hi-res, music library in the past 2-3 years. While I have been lurking the Head-Fi forums for the past 10 years or so (gosh, that sure sounds creepy), I have only become an active member in the past year or so. I have slowly been acquiring better gear and upgrading components over the past 15 years, searching for something I could: A) Live with for a long time and B) Afford. After spending most of my time with lower end gear, I’ve begun getting into the higher end of things recently, looking for a pair of headphones and amp that paired well together and had that sound I was searching for that I could live with for a long time. I started with a pair of Audeze LCD-2’s and a Schiit Lyr amp. I thought that was a fun combo, but it was ultimately too tubey and thick sounding for me, and certainly wasn’t the last word in resolution. The next amp I tried was the Burson Conductor, which I read was an excellent pairing with the Audeze’s. And it was, and so I enjoyed that combo for a good 6 months or so, but ultimately that amp never really drew me and just felt cold & metallic to me after a while, and when I began using my portable combo more than it (The excellent Fiio X5 DAP & E12 portable amp), I decided the Conductor had to go and the search had to continue, cue wife sigh.  I tried getting different headphones to pair with it first though; to see if that could get me closer to what I was looking for, a setup that had excellent resolution, clarity and control but also great musicality, tone and warmth. I purchased a pair of HD-800’s, LCD-3F’s and a pair of Mr. Speakers Alpha Dogs as well. The LCD-3F’s getting closest to the sound I was craving but still not quite there. After selling the Burson Conductor I began to look into endgame amps, figuring if that didn’t get me what I wanted then nothing else would. I was mainly considering the ALO Audio Studio Six, Cavalli Liquid Gold and the Auralic Taurus MK II. I hadn’t actually even been considering the Schiit Ragnarok, though I was aware of it, and only signed up for the Beta mainly because I figured it was no commitment to try some new gear, and I already knew I liked the Schiit Lyr, so maybe it would be worth it so see what Schiit could do with solid state. I thought it would be a pretty good headphone amp, but I wasn’t sold on it as a speaker amp, given that I have a pair of relatively inefficient speakers (KEF LS50’s – 85 dB sensitivity). But, I figured I would just give it a shot, and assuming it wouldn’t be sufficient to power the speakers or wouldn’t be quite the sound I have been searching for in a headphone amp, and figuring I would just return it after the 2 week trial period. Well this little piece of Schiit really dug its claws in me because it isn’t going anywhere. The Schiit Ragnarok is the endgame amp I have been searching for, and offers even more than I had thought it would.
 
Associated Equipment:
 

 
 
Source: Windows PC using JRiver PC
DAC: Auralic VEGA
Speakers: KEF LS50’s (in a near field setup)
Headphones: Audeze LCD-3F’s, Mr. Speakers Alpha Dogs & Shure SE-846 (IEM’s)
Cables: Audioquest USB & Interconnects, Shunyata Power Cables & Stock headphone cables (working on upgrading those next)
 
 
Cons:
 
Though I think this the best amp I’ve ever heard, nothing is perfect and so there are a few negative things I found about it so far in my limited time with the amp, and in all honesty they are really just nitpicks for me, but they may be deal breakers for others so I will list them all in the order of most negative to me.
 
1.)    There is definitely some hum going on with this thing, thankfully not when it’s on though, only when it’s turned off. But when it is off you can hear it in the other room, so it’s pretty loud. If anyone has any recommendations that may help reduce the hum though I would gladly try them.
2.)    There’s also no way around the fact that this thing runs hot, like seriously HOT, even the volume knob gets warm. It’s certainly not enough to burn your hard or anything, but it can certainly warm a room up a bit, so on the bright side it may save on your electricity bill in the winter.
3.)    The button to change from speaker to headphones and also to speaker/headphone output is also the input button, and there is no way to tell which mode you are switching to. This is also not a big deal for me though because I’ve already memorized the order the outputs go in, but still a switch or a dedicated button would have been nice.
 
So, that’s it for the negative aspects for me. Like I said nothing that was a deal breaker for me, but like anything it’s not perfect and those were the biggest turnoffs for me. On to how it performs as a speaker amp.
 
Speaker Amp Impressions:
 

 
Like I said earlier, this is the part of the Ragnarok that I thought would struggle, I honestly thought it was a headphone amp with a speaker amp section tagged on just because. Boy was I wrong; this thing has got serious guts! Not just guts though, it brings a level of refinement that matches or betters my Peachtree Audio 220 watt power amp. While the Peachtree amp can certainly go louder, the Rag certainly went loud enough for me to handle and brought better dynamics, tone and soundstage than the Peachtree offered, right out of the box, and even now I probably only have about 25 hours or so on it as I’ve only had it about a week (but have been using it a lot J) Color me impressed right way, because I was wrong about the Rag as a speaker amp, it is more than capable, it is exceptional. I was also impressed because I have a REL T-7 subwoofer that gets its power from the same cables delivering power to the speakers and even that still sounds excellent, robust and I am still able to enjoy individual notes as they are being played, so it’s certainly got power to spare.
 
Headphone Amp Impression
 

 
Single-Ended Headphone Output:
 
Next up is the single ended section of the amp. I tried all my different headphones with this section of the amp next, and had there never been a balanced output to try as well I think I would still be very happy with this amp and could even see myself living with it long term. It has plenty of power to drive everything from my Shure SE-846 IEM’s to my Audeze LCD-3F’s. It provides a good soundstage, excellent dynamics, very tight controlled bass and has an excellent inviting tone. I wasn’t aware that this amp could drive both single-ended and balanced headphones at the same time so I was delighted to find out that it could so both my wife and I were able to listen to it at the same time! I listened via the balanced out with the LCD-3’s and her with the Alpha Dogs and the single ended output. I will note that there was a volume mismatch, due to the fact that the single output puts out less power, so even though I did not notice any loss in dynamics when plugging in the Alpha Dogs, I had to crank my volume a bit higher to get it to a good level for her. This may mean some better headphone matching is in order, maybe using something harder to drive with the balanced output, like the LCD-3’s, and something that is easier to drive, like the LCD-X or XC’s for the single ended output. This may be something I will have to explore more in the future, probably with the XC’s though because I don’t think 2 open backed cans right next to each other is the brightest idea obviously. Anyway, it’s a neat feature I wasn’t even aware of and one that I can see us both getting a lot use out of once I find a better match. Now on the final and best section of this amp.
 
Balanced Headphone Output:
 
So I wasn’t sure what to expect when trying the balanced output, which I saved for last because I was hoping it would be the best and brightest part about this amp, and right I was. I figured it would be just like the single ended output but with more power, but it is clear right away that it is more than that. This is, to me, what an endgame amp should sound like. Black background, wide and almost 3D like soundstage, excellent dynamics, wonderful blooming bass, lush and warm midrange and non-fatiguing treble. There is so much space between instruments that I’ve never heard before in any amp, you can focus on bass player’s line and let the other instruments swirl around your head, it’s incredible. I’ve never heard my LCD-3’s like this before, which means I never truly was hearing them at their best, and this amp is capable of showing you what your system is made of for sure. In terms of content, I will say it is very easy to notice the difference between your source files. I tried many DSD albums which all had a lovely analog sound to them with the black background and wide soundstages. Most of my other hi-res tracks (24/96 & 24/192 downloads) were about the same, if only slightly less dynamic. Lossless CD rips at 16/44.1 sounded excellent also, though the soundstage definitely tightens a bit more noticeably. And lastly, lossless Spotify streams are shown to be what they are, not very good. I would save that for casual background listening only via the speaker outputs because the balanced output is a bit too revealing for poor quality material.  This amp will bring out the best in your music if you feed it high quality sources, but it will also reveal poor recordings as well so it may be best to make sure the rest of your music library is in order first before trying the Ragnarok.
 
Closing:
 

 
So, as I said earlier, I went into this Beta testing program thinking this would just be a good opportunity to try some new gear and broaden my horizon a bit more, thinking that I had my mind made up on the “true” endgame amps. Well, considering the fact that in only one week of living with it I’ve already listed my Peachtree gear for sale and have decided this thing does headphone amplification and speaker amplification than gear I had paid a total of $4200 for (the Burson Conductor and Peachtree setup) and that this was only going to be $1700 (well actually only $1500 because I got picked to beta test it, lucky me J) It is also a very non-fatiguing amp, unlike the Conductor was for me, and I found myself listening for 4-5 hours at a time. I will note that it does need some warmup time to sound it’s best, at least 30-45 minutes or so, but once this thing gets hot enough to cook on (you think I’m joking!) then it starts making wonderful sounding music.  So I have found my endgame amp and I would just like to say hats off to Jason and his team at Schiit, the Ragnarok is an amazing amp and deserves a place among other true endgame amps and perhaps offers the greatest value and versatility of them all, well done!