I always love try Italian products, especially when they have just come out and are entirely Made in Italy,
This is the first review based on translation for new Young   DSD  DAC/Preamp combination product from Italian manufacturer M2TECH from my site, www.stereo-head.it .
 

 
 
The DAC under test is the successor to the previous Young from M2Tech and introduces substantial changes such as the functions of a preamplifier, DSD and DSD X2, (Both supporting DoP) a fully balanced design and a new analog output stage.
 
Along with the new DAC, M2Tech also presented a fully balanced headphone amplifier for our consideration called Marley (review coming soon), which uses the same high grade tooling.  Put together as source devices these units can go a long way to making a great setup for high-level headphones, digital audio and  high resolution PC audio, in both in desktop or listening room environments.
 
Here's the test setup:
 
Source: PC with JRiver Media Center software and the M2Tech Young DSD.
 
Headphone Amp: Schiit Asgard , Questyle CMA800R , Fostex Hp A8C, M2TECH Marley
 
Headphones: Sennheiser HD650, Denon AH-D2000, Heir Audio A.4i, Hifiman HE500, Sennheiser
HD800
 
Power amplifier: EAM Lab 3.8
 
Speakers: KEF LS50
 
Note: The M2Tech Young DSD and the Marley, are distributed with a suggested retail price of 1,250 Euros each.

 
 
 

Tech spec

 
 
 

Construction and ergonomics

 
 
M2Tech for its new line has chosen a very minimal and simple design that makes the Young DSD an extremely elegant device to own and to use.
As mentioned before the size of the casings are very small, just 200x50x200mm, which makes it perfect to be positioned on a desk next to a PC, perhaps combined with Marley or a nice pair of active monitors, as well as in the classic rack or cabinet or larger room enjoyment.
The exterior case is made entirely of aluminum, in a silver color produced by the extrusion of a single bar, and offers excellent shielding due to its thickness. The top of the case is engraved with the traditional brand logo for M2Tech.
The main body measures only 165 x 55 x 175 mm with a weight of 0.86 kg.

 
The front is very clean, no-frills and covered with a black Plexiglas plate which is fixed with four hex screws that makes it almost invisible when the screen is switched off.  During operation, the blue screen is very clear and displays all relevant information such as the sampling frequency of the running track, the selected input and volume, as well as allowing you to navigate within the menus. You can also select the level of backlight based on personal preference. In addition to this, there is only a small button used to turn the unit on or off and activate and release a mute function.  A rotary knob with push button function control allows you to adjust the volume and select options from within the systems menus.  As a volume control, the turning knob provides good resistance and rotates with small steps that correspond to a step of 0.5 dB in volume.
The rear on the other hand is much more crowded to allow for an array of inputs and outputs.
The input selection is very comprehensive and consists of a USB port type B, an input for AES / EBU, two coaxial (one RCA and one BNC) and a Toslink input.
Fully balanced outputs are provided for AES cables and include highly counter-balanced XLR connectors. The M2Tech Young DSD also provides two high quality signal adapters for switching the outputs from XLR to RCA.  These adapters also provide the output path to raise the output voltage of 5 V to the value of 10.0 V,  providing ample power to drive most amplifiers directly, bypassing the need for a system preamplifier.
On the back we find the input for an external power jack (5.5 / 2.1 mm), for the standard power supply that is provided with the Young DSD. 
The power supply is a switch mode 15V/1A that can be easily replaced even after considering the dimensions of the standard power jack.
In the box you will find a great remote control for controlling the Young DSD from the couch.
The remote control is an example of how a remote should be made as it is extremely clear and immediate, with a button dedicated to the most useful functions. From the remote you can also invert phase for those recordings with phase inverted with respect to the standard.
Remote control was also implemented for the HID interface that allows you to control many software based music players in use on your PC, by allowing you to change tracks and select play, pause and playback modes.

 
The Young DSD DAC works very well as pre amplifier, using an analog control in the field based on the Cirrus Logic CS3318 chip which is digitally controlled by the knob on the front (and has now replaced the classic potentiometer). The chip in question is basically a scale of resistors on a chip; it offers excellent matching of the channels and does not suffer from loss of resolution working in the  analog domain. It is well known that digital control of an analog volume circuit provides a warmer and smoother output experience for the listener.
The Young DSD is able to provide a maximum voltage of 10.0 V and 5.0 V XLR out on RCA in normal mode, but can be doubled by setting the output to "high" from the menu allowing you to saturate even the final amplifier demands that require higher voltage to make full power.
Another interesting feature included is the "balance" control that allows you to adjust the balance of the two left and right channels in order to better adjust the response in irregular environments.

 
From the menu you can also set the timer off (For meeting ZEU requirements of inactivity), and the brightness of the display.
After removing the screws hidden beneath the feet we were able to remove the card from the case of the Young.  Digital to analog conversion is performed by a PCM chip (BB-TI-1795), as was used in the previous Young.
XMOS (so dear to M2Tech), is also used for USB while the SPDIF receiver is based on a Burr Brown PCM9211 chip.
The PCM1795 is able to reproduce (without converting the files), in DSD up to a sampling frequency of 5644 kHz (DSD128, then 44.1 kHz x 128) than the classic file in PCM. The Young supports USB pathway  files up to a resolution of 32 bits with sampling frequency of 384 kHz, while the coaxial and optical inputs are limited to 24-bit files.
Alongside the converter chip is present a Xilinx Spartan II FPGA chip that is used for DSP up sampling. Obviously the code has been completely rewritten from the old Young providing numerous improvements to support DSD64 and DSD128 (Both are DoP compliant).
The analog output stage is symmetrical with the DAC chip.

 
The clock used by M2TECH is custom made specifically for the Young DSD and with extremely high precision.
The analogue output stage is totally symmetrical with the DAC chip and balanced as you can see from the photo.
 
 

 
 

How it sounds

 
 
As in almost all the tests with the Young DSD, we mostly will use the USB input given that now with the adoption of receivers such as XMOS, we allow this input to surpass others in quality (And this is the only to support the DSD format because of the limitations of other protocols).
Starting the test as a pure DAC we immediately realized that the Young DSD has brilliant character and highly detailed, very transparent dimensionality.
The strengths of the Young DSD are definitely the high range of detail that we can guarantee, as well as the yield of the scene, truly three dimensional, extensive and precise.
For this reason, however, the Young is unforgiving on files of low quality (No YouTube or MP3 please), and recordings done poorly, while files with high quality achieve high peaks and superb imaging with the playback of high resolution PCM and DSD files truly sounding more “analog” than any other DAC we have used.
The bass is certainly noteworthy and without being overstated or inflated, really comes down quite a bit, not losing articulation and precision, resulting in an always fast articulation.
The midrange is more geared to an upper-middle that makes it a little bright, maybe too much if, for example, combined with the Questyle CMA800R with the HD800. The result is very good with headphones a bit darker as the HE500 or HD650. The instrumental performance is excellent and shows an excellent realism with a yield of violins and acoustic guitars that is truly wonderful to hear. Vocal performance is good, natural and vivid, albeit with some combination a bit open (and with bad recordings the unit presents some hissing as part of the weaker recording process that was applied). 
The high range is very extensive and very detailed, not resulting in any case of biting or fatigue caused by long hours of listening.
Excellent dynamics also allow the Young DSD to work very well also in more complicated set-ups.
As you may have guessed the DAC is more suitable for those who appreciate the sound as brilliant, fast and detailed, and less for those looking for musicality at all costs. We, as you'll see from the reviews, belong to the first category (Woo Audio WA6 beats WA2 If for instance).
For those who are concerned about the presence of adapters for the RCA outputs I would like to clarify that this is not a problem since the yield is practically identical with the adapters XLR output and you do not notice any loss of quality. Furthermore, the quality of these adapters is outstanding.
How conceivable is also excellent synergy with the amp's home, Marley, but we will return to this in the live tests while reviewing Marley at a later date.
We also tried to connect it directly to our EAM Young Lab To3.8 and KEF LS50 to test the characteristics of the pre-amp to tell if it was able to replace a classic preamp (and the answer is definitely yes).
With analog attenuation the Young DSD does not suffer any loss of resolution even at very low listening levels (volume control works for digital compression and loses 1 bit for every 6 dB of attenuation), and with the ability to go out at a voltage twice as the standard (selectable from menu) is able to send full power as required for a wide selection of amplifiers.
The Young DSD is extremely transparent and maintains the sonic characteristics of the DAC with the same results and brilliant detail.
 
 

Conclusions

The Young DSD has proved to be a great DAC with very good performance as well as a preamp and packed with features..
The best characteristic of the Young DSD are his has brilliant character and great detail., but it don’t reproduce a fatiguating sound. There is sibilance problems only  if you put it in an already briliant setup.
The construction is excellent and the minimalist design is truly elegant and lends itself very well for any listening environment. The only flaw that we can see or experience is the presence of balanced XLR outputs only, (although to remedy the problem the high quality balanced to unbalanced adapters are provided.
 
 

Review in brief

 
Rating: 9 out of 10
 

Pros:

 
- Selection of input configurations and connections
 
- Excellent construction and design
 
- Excellent USB input
 
- Yields excellent Sonics with detailed brilliance and a naturally wide soundstage.
 
- Packed with useful features, such as the excellent preamp section, analog output stage and balance control
 
- Full function remote included
 

Cons:

 
- Outputs for RCA unbalanced connections required the supplied adapters
- - Sibilance problem in a very brilliant setup with poorly recorded digital files or other inferior recordings.

 

I want to thanks Vincent from IFI who has sent me the sample for the review.
 

 
In the past, on my site www.stereo-head.it and on head fi, I’ve already reviewed some IFI’s electronics and i have always loved it, but in this review we won’t be talking about one of their electronics but we will be talking about one of their cables, the Gemini usb cable.
The Gemini cable’s distinctive characteristic is that is a double-headed cable with the 5 volt supply conductor separated from the data conductor, so you will have a type B usb connector which will stay in the dac and two type A usb connectors on the other side, one for the data and one for the supply. The cable is designed for work at his best with the IFI iUSB which have a separated data and power usb output but it can be used also with other equipment’.
 
Reviewer’s setup:
Source: Concero HD, Oppo BDP105, IFI iDac
Amp: Questyle CMA800R, Woo Audio WA6 SE
Headphones: Hifiman HE500, Sennhesiser HD800 e Denon AH D2000
 

Construction

The Gemini’s building is really spectacular, especially for the all aluminium usb connector.

 
The connectors are all made in alluminium so they look like the other IFI electronics. As I said previously the dac connector is a type B connector with the IFI trade on it printed in black and on the other end of the cable we found two type A connector, one for the data and on for the 5 V supply. On the type A connector are printed mark: on the data connector there is note and on the supply connector there is a battery with a thunder icon inside.

 
In the box there is also a type A > mini usb adapter for the dac which use this connector.
Starting from the type A connector are two separate cables so the data and the supply travel without interfence and disturbance. The cables are covered with black weave and they are keep together by three black plastic blocks with the IFI trade in white on it. This allows the user to regulate the distance between the two cables and to manage it easily. In spite of his dimension the Gemini is very flexible, like a normal usb cable.

 
The first use that came to my mind when i received the cable is with the IFI iUSB which use two separeted usb output for supply and data, but it can be used also in another way: for example you can supply the dac with an external usb battery with the connector connected to the battery and the data connector connected to your pc or you can connect the power connector to a wall usb power supply like the one it used for smartphone so the dac will receive a clean 5 v supply instead of the low quality 5 V from the pc. The Gemini it can be used also with dacs that have a supplied usb receiver by connecting only the data side and avoid all the disturbance from the supply conductor.
In the packing there also a nice black travel bag with the IFI logo printed in gold.

 

How it sound

Obviously the most important characteristic of the cable is it’s particular design that keeps separate the data from the supply line.
The benefits from swap from dirty PC’s 5 V to a clean 5 V from a dedicated supply or from a battery are heavier than any cable change.
With a clean 5V all the usb supplied dac and trasport improved a lot, especially in bass range and in details and with the IFI Gemini this operation it’s very simple.
Also the dac with a supplied usb receiver perform better because with a data only cable there isn’t any disturbance from the supply line that usually is near to the data line in normal cable. Also in this case the detail is better and the sound becomes more musical.

 

Conclusion

The IFI Gemini is a very good usb cable.
With this cable it easy to provide a better supply for the usb dac with a simple usb battery or a wall power supply.
I’ve found a good improvement also with usb supplied dac that take advantege from the absence of a supply line in the cable.
The buil quality it’s fantastic, especially the beautiful connector.

  I would like to thank Vincent at iFi for sending me this sample for review,
 
I’m a fan of IFI products. I have loved their dac and usb power supply (here is my review) so i have decided to
give a chance to the lastest product from the Micro line, the IFI iTube.
But first, who is IFI?
Ifi is a young English company with trickle-down technology licensed from AMR (AMR is a producer of Hi 
End valve components). Recently they released their new Nano line dedicated to portable listening which 
includes the battery supplied iDSD, a very interesting portable DSD dac, and the iCAN Nano, a portable 
headphone amplifier.
 

 
 
The iTube it’s a very unusual component, it’s a valve buffer stage that can be used also as a preamplifier 
which can be added to audio chain between the dac and the dedicated amplifier for our headphone. The 
goal is to remove from your setup the “digital and metallic” sound and reach the famous tube sound without 
losing the detail and dynamics that are typical of a digital system. 
Will the iTube sound good as the other IFI products?
 
Test setup

 
Source: PC with Jmedia River, Resonessence Labs Concero HD, Dragonquest Audiofly
Amplifier: Schiit Asgard, Questyle CMA800R
Headphone: Sennheiser HD650, Denon AH-D2000, Heir Audio A.4i, Hifiman HE500
 
Tech specs
 
Input voltage: AC 100-240v, 50/60Hz
Power consumption: <4W Idle, 10W max
Input impedance: 1M ohm Direct Tube Buffer
100k ohm Pre Amplifier with Volume Control
Output stage output impedance: <1 ohm
Corrected output impedance: <200 ohm
Dimensions: 175(l) x 67 (w) x 28 (h) mm
Weight: 278g (0.61lbs)
 
Packaging
 
The packing is the same of the other product from Micro line. Inside is the iTube, a power supply marked IFI 
and his extender, a couple of RCA cables, a small screwdriver that you will need to change the position of the 
little switch and four silicon feet.
 
Construction

 
The iTube shares the same good casework of the other products from IFI Micro Line. We have been really
impressed on how IFI it can put a valve in a such small case (175(l) x 67 (w) x 28 (h) mm).
The case is all made by aluminium with silver color and the assembly is good.
On the upper part there is the IFI logo printed, but instead of the dot on the “i" you find a small hole from 
where you can sees the light of the tube, a really nice thing. Another difference is the power supply hole on 
the side of the case. This is the only position allowed on the case, the two front panels are already full of 
connectors and switches.

 
Under the iTube there are 8 small switches that allow to choose between the four functions:
- Buffer stage with no gain (0 dB)
- Buffer with gain (6 dB)
- Preamplifier with no gain (0dB)
- Preamplifier with gain (6dB)
Next to the switches there is an illustration of their position to allow the various functionalities.
The gain function can be used in case of low output voltage source, but if the source has a standard 2 V exit 
it’s better to use the iTube with no gain.
On the iTube the input/output position is better than on the other Micro products, they are all on the same 
side. The four connector (2 pair of RCA) are very near but I didn’t have a problem with big connector like one 
of the Audience 24 s cables.

 
On the opposite side there are two curious switches and the volume knob. The knob it works also as an on/off 
switch and it doesn’t effect the volume if you use the iTube as a buffer.
The two switches turns on two patented circuit: 3D HolographicSound® and il Digital Antidote Plus®.
The first it can be set on three positions and it allows to increase the sound stage.
The second it can be set to two positions (on/off) and it can remove the digital signature and the digital
distortion.
The power supply is marked IFI and it’s a super low noise supply with a 9V and 2 A current.
After we have removed the two front panel it’s possible to take a look on the inside. The tube use by IFI is 
a NOS General Electric 5670 which is welded to the base. Don’t worry its life is evaluate in 100.000 
hours. The valve is parallel with the board. The board is divided by some white lines and every sector 
its marked with its function with a white writing. 
 

 
 
How does it sound
 
The best use of the iTube is as a tube buffer. The pre amp function has to be used only in case you don’t have 
a analogue volume on you amplifier so you can avoid using the PC’s digital volume. This review is focused on 
the buffer function.
The first time I had put it in my setup i didn’t know what to expect.
The first surprise was that iTube is noise-free and it lack the typical swish of tube components.
After i connected it up, I expected a strong frequency response change with a fatter bass and a lower detail 
and dynamics, but this didn’t happen. The iTube added only the best virtues of “tube sound” and the result 
is a more musical and warm sound, but the basic sonic signature of your setup it will remain the same.
The result is remarkable special with low end dacs that will lose their digital and metallic sound to enable 
them to perform much better. The iTube can also enable low quality files sound better. I have tried to 
connect the itube to the integrated sound card and the improvement was awesome. With high level dacs the 
improvement was less impressive, but it still makes their sound better anyway.
The 3DHolographicSound® is a really nice feature and it can increase the sound stage with a wider 
presentation. If you choose the lower level the sound stage it will be the same of your source, at level 1 the 
difference it will be a little difference but at the level 2 the soundstage it will much wider with the sound that 
seems to came from the outside of the headphones and with a lower congested sound . I have connected it 
also to my speaker and the effect was also better, especially with nearfield listening.
The effect of the Digital Antidote Plus® is less noticeable and it depends by the quality file and dac quality. 
In case of old style Upsampled or bad dacs, it removes the metallic sound but if you have a recent or a Nos 
dac you can turn it off. A good improvement can be noted if you use low quality file, like YouTube or Spotify 
recordings.
 
Conclusion
 
One again, IFI has impressed me.
This small buffer will add a fuller and warmer sound to your setup and also poor components made more 
enjoyable. With its preamp function it can be used instead of the digital sound of the PC with a better sound 
quality and with the gain function you can use low output voltage sources without any issues.
The 3D HolographicSound® will increase the sound stage and the Digital Antidote Plus® will remove the 
sense of digital from lower quality dacs or audio files, but it’s quite aimless with modern dac..
The build quality is good and the production engineering is fantastic, putting a tube in a such small case isnt’ 
that easy.
 
Summary
Score: 9 su 10
Pro:
- Good build and product engineering
- A loto f functions
- It adds the “tube sound” without any weaknesses
- Excellent 3D HolographicSound®
- The tube life is estimated at 100.000 hours
- The iTube will increase a lot the performance of the old dacs
Contro:
- The tube can’t be changed
- If you use with extremely big RCA connectors you may have spacing issues
 
Source: Stereo Head