kobinski
New Head-Fier
During the last few days, I was somewhat annoyed with the whine that the iFi showed when connected to the usb port of the macbook... a whine that disappeared completely when connected to the SE300 —a pairing that, by the way, sounds excellent: with the DIABLO 2, the SE300 acquires the taste of a Pesquera red wine, while, without it, it is more Muga, both being, as we know, good wines. So, to secure my impression that the iFi did not isolate as much as expected, perhaps naively, I put a pair of JitterBug in parallel —yes I know, snake oil. A tweak, since the Macbook ports are usb-c. But a fix that, as I supposed, would allow me, at least, to intuit where the shots could go. The result: end of whining (or almost). The sound is not so shaky nor the scene so hollowed out. The bass also acquires greater definition. The sound now delivered by the imp is clean bordering on unobjectionable. It does not reach the black background of HUGO 2. But, in exchange, the performers come alive. The music is no longer sculpted on Carrara marble, which is not strictly a flaw either. Actually, I'm a fan of the HUGO 2.
Apart from the power —which is more than enough for a portable... as was the case of the OG—, this DIABLO 2 offers, without a doubt, a very good sound. Taking advantage of these days, I've been listening to it for many hours —some while working, others simply for listening to music, and most of them, especially at night, in critical listening mode—, and I'm more and more convinced... being aware of its "limits", which have nothing to do with power —obviously—, but with a profile that, I would say, accentuates the bright end of the notes. In fact, not that it is properly a limit. But I am aware that some may not like this accent.
In this sense, the OG is closer to "neutrality", giving you, by the way, the feeling that the notes finish whole. The D2 doesn't finish them, but it does let them float. Hence it produces the impression of greater depth or air. This effect is clearly perceived, for example, listening to the recording by Rinaldo Alessandrini and his troupe of the second book of Luca Marenzio's Madrigals —here—: you can even effortlessly hear the subtle acoustics of the hall... which was difficult to perceive with the OG. At first —and not only with this disc— I thought it was an effect that added the D2 —and hence my suspicion that the iFi guys were sneaking you an EQ between watts.... But this is not noticeable with pop music, which is usually recorded in a studio. And so I deduce that the D2 translates the ambience better... which does not exclude, however, that there is a minimum of EQ involved. Or at least, the impression is still there...
I also believe that, in the D2, the resolution is higher, although the difference is not abysmal with respect to the OG. Let's not exaggerate either. However, what is certain is that the timbral nuances and those related to the attack of the strings or the keys are shown more clearly. For example, Joel Frederiksen's lute —here— is more lute and less guitar, plucking included. In parallel, I get the impression that the dynamic contrasts are delivered with a bit more edge.
Apart from the power —which is more than enough for a portable... as was the case of the OG—, this DIABLO 2 offers, without a doubt, a very good sound. Taking advantage of these days, I've been listening to it for many hours —some while working, others simply for listening to music, and most of them, especially at night, in critical listening mode—, and I'm more and more convinced... being aware of its "limits", which have nothing to do with power —obviously—, but with a profile that, I would say, accentuates the bright end of the notes. In fact, not that it is properly a limit. But I am aware that some may not like this accent.
In this sense, the OG is closer to "neutrality", giving you, by the way, the feeling that the notes finish whole. The D2 doesn't finish them, but it does let them float. Hence it produces the impression of greater depth or air. This effect is clearly perceived, for example, listening to the recording by Rinaldo Alessandrini and his troupe of the second book of Luca Marenzio's Madrigals —here—: you can even effortlessly hear the subtle acoustics of the hall... which was difficult to perceive with the OG. At first —and not only with this disc— I thought it was an effect that added the D2 —and hence my suspicion that the iFi guys were sneaking you an EQ between watts.... But this is not noticeable with pop music, which is usually recorded in a studio. And so I deduce that the D2 translates the ambience better... which does not exclude, however, that there is a minimum of EQ involved. Or at least, the impression is still there...
I also believe that, in the D2, the resolution is higher, although the difference is not abysmal with respect to the OG. Let's not exaggerate either. However, what is certain is that the timbral nuances and those related to the attack of the strings or the keys are shown more clearly. For example, Joel Frederiksen's lute —here— is more lute and less guitar, plucking included. In parallel, I get the impression that the dynamic contrasts are delivered with a bit more edge.
But your Xbass is a killer feature in many of your products and the community like the feature a lot 
. Happy new years to iFi.
