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iFi Audio Nano iDSD discussion + impression
Jul 20, 2014 at 1:19 PM Post #766 of 2,063
kalavere said:
   
Ah, I had no idea it was unreleased! I currently have the Nano, I really like the sound and was looking for something with a bit more bang, the Micro seemed way go.
 
This is probably an obscenely redundant question, but what's the ETA for the Micro iDSD?
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July 22  
biggrin.gif
 I can't wait to get a hold of mine.
 
Jul 20, 2014 at 1:24 PM Post #767 of 2,063
skeptic said:
Has there been any word on whether the micro idsd includes a linear regulated psu?

I understand from other sites and posted o-scope measurements that the isub unit uses a somewhat noisy switching wallwart and that the output from the iusb is meaningfully improved by using something like a diy sigma11 to power it. I was surprised to read this since I thought the whole point of the iusb was extra clean power and a corresponding decrease in jitter on the usb input.
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No, it doesn't have a linear regulated psu. It will run on either USB or battery power.
 
To be frank, I never heard any noise from the switch mode PSU packed with other iFi gear. While it is not as quiet as a very expensive linear regulated PSU, it is still far cleaner sounding then most switch mode PSU out there, and definitely well under the audible range. Check this out: http://ifi-audio.com/wp-content/uploads/data/ULNAdapter.pdf
 
Also it is worth noting that the ULN wall adapter doesn't power the iUSB directly. There is extra circuit inside iUSB to further regulate and filter the 9V from the ULN adapter down to the 5V line for USB power.
 
Jul 20, 2014 at 1:28 PM Post #769 of 2,063
john57 said:
The micro iDSD is still battery or USB power device. Just go to the micro iDSD thread.

http://www.head-fi.org/t/711217/idsd-micro-crowd-designed-phase-2-for-octa-adopters-eyes-only-page-97
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Thanks John! It is really awesome how they have essentially provided a design log in that thread with a TOC at the top.

Looks like it isn't a linear supply and relies on switching converters but the quoted noise of only a few microvolts is very impressive. I think AMB says that a sigma11 has about 12microvolts of noise unloaded, so the micro idsd appears to top that at least in terms of noise. Will be very interested to follow this product and read up on user impressions post release.
 
Jul 20, 2014 at 1:31 PM Post #770 of 2,063
The global launch has been rescheduled to July 28 due to last minute code changes which is already finished and the units are already being shipped to the distributors as we speak. That is my current understanding.
 
Jul 20, 2014 at 1:35 PM Post #771 of 2,063
john57 said:
  The global launch has been rescheduled to July 28 due to last minute code changes which is already finished and the units are already being shipped to the distributors as we speak. That is my current understanding.
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28?? I knew it was moved due to the increase in its power output but I thought it was moved to 22… damn it… my bad guys ONE MORE WEEK… ughh… I got my own hopes up with misinformation 
 
Jul 20, 2014 at 1:36 PM Post #772 of 2,063
maricius said:
kalavere said:
 
Ah, I had no idea it was unreleased! I currently have the Nano, I really like the sound and was looking for something with a bit more bang, the Micro seemed way go.

This is probably an obscenely redundant question, but what's the ETA for the Micro iDSD?
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July 22  :D  I can't wait to get a hold of mine.
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kalavere said:
What a result! I might see if I can pick one up on Tuesday! :D  
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The micro iDSD launches on July 28th.

This would appear to be a definite date as the first units have left the factory.
 
Jul 20, 2014 at 1:51 PM Post #773 of 2,063
maricius said:
   
28?? I knew it was moved due to the increase in its power output but I thought it was moved to 22… damn it… my bad guys ONE MORE WEEK… ughh… I got my own hopes up with misinformation 
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Yes another week.. I am waiting on mine also. When IFI increased the power output it was decided that code changes will be needed. IFI even show a small sample of the code here on Head-Fi.
 
Jul 21, 2014 at 5:57 AM Post #774 of 2,063
john57 said:
 

This sounds like a classic example of a buffer under-run. This stuttering issue can be caused by many things. Sharing USB with other devices, bad cables, hub issues, background process.  If you set J.River buffering of 500ms with large buffers. Tried setting IFI ASIO buffers to the max and  extra safe.  Nothing is sharing the USB bus that the IFI Nano is on. Try memory playback setting in J.River. These are just few of the things you can try. A native 4xDSD file of 3 mins is about a bit more than 500megs and that far amount of data to transfer from the hard drive to the USB pipeline without stuttering. It is like  streaming a bit faster than Blue-ray video on USB. You doing the same thing when you converting to 4xDSD in realtime. The slowest J.Mark speed I have ever seen for DSD playback is 2500 reliably but it sounds like you are converting to 4xDSD in realtime. A JMark of 3000 or better is what the developers of J.River like to see for DSD playback. The J.Mark score is just a guide.
 
If all fails you can try to use J.River offline conversion tool found under advance tools section of J.River. To see if you get better results.
 
Yes with JRiver most of the audio processing is done with using just one thread. I like that because you will run into issues with micro stuttering like on my Ethernet port for DLNA which is set for load balancing and off loading for server needs but not good for streaming on my previous setup that was with a slower 4 core CPU. Sometimes you may run into issues with CPU parking and unparking in some cases.  With the 4xDSD you ran into the max of your CPU can handle in your case. Have you tried to turn off speed step in the BIOS if you have it?  Sounds like you still converting PCM to DSD. Have you tried using DSD files in bit streaming mode?
 
With my old setup I was running into 31% load on the CPU but it was the spikes I was concerned about. Not a problem with copying files but near the edge of what my old setup can do with continuous data streaming.
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Thanks for you advice.  Firstly, the latest version of JRMC seems (not sure) to reduce the stutter.  Yes, playing from memory too reduces it.  As for USB loading, it doesn't seem to be an issue since 1) DoP has higher overheads (when compared to Native 2xDSD) and 2) when streaming DSD256/4xDSD, there is no problem and is very smooth.  As for USB bus, there is only the nano iDSD; no other USB port is connected at all.
 
I agree with the buffer underrun diagnosis.  What I don't understand is why DoP is fine while native stutters.
 
In any case, I will be upgrading from the machine in about 6 weeks time; I've ordered the i5/8GB version of the Surface Pro 3.  Let see how that baby performs.
 
Jul 21, 2014 at 3:30 PM Post #775 of 2,063
koolas said:
I have noticed the biggest difference in the way violin sounds. In the PCM mode they sounded constrained by some plastic cage, while in DSD mode they sounded unconstrained and very clean. It didn't really matter if source material was DSD or PCM converted on the fly to DSD, I heard no difference what so ever. I also couldn't hear any difference between 96kHz and 352kHz PCM - they both sounded to me the same. The difference was only audible between iDSD being physically in PCM mode or DSD mode. In this tests I used Alpha Dogs powered by Pan Am. These two actually couple very nice with iDSD.
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Curious, but how do you use the iDSD in DSD mode with PCM content?  I'd like to do the same to produce the best SQ.
 
Jul 21, 2014 at 5:30 PM Post #776 of 2,063
ljbrandt said:
Curious, but how do you use the iDSD in DSD mode with PCM content?  I'd like to do the same to produce the best SQ.
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One very good player is for Linux: http://www.signalyst.com/consumer.html
The SQ in real-time PCM-to-DSD256 conversion from that guy is stunning!

Other choice is Windows and Foobar2000 http://www.audiostream.com/content/how-play-dsd-file-using-foobar2000
The SQ in this configuration is very good, but I think HQPlayer under Linux does it even better.
 
Jul 22, 2014 at 6:50 PM Post #778 of 2,063
Hey guys!
 
Just picked up a Nano iDSD and I really like it.
 
My only issue is that it is waaaay to loud with my Focal Spirit Professionals.  If I try to go any lower, the device will click off, but any higher and it's borderline uncomfortable.
 
I remember reading something about a line attenuator that ifi sold, but i can't find anything on their website about it.  Any ideas?
 
Thanks guys,
 
Jul 22, 2014 at 7:01 PM Post #779 of 2,063
For the pair of external cable attenuator dongles, contact an official reseller of iFi audio products-
received mine from Avatar Acoustics.
 
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