[Elwood86]

@Elwood86 great to hear your experience.
i'm still looking for a new set of speakers, this certainly helps.
by the way I heard a rumor the production of the Retro50 will stop soon, and a new model, without EL84s, will be introduced.

Ok didn’t know that. Than I’m very curious. Because I just found out that the retro is really at a high level.. the dealer told me that an amp like Devialet is really at the top of the market so that has to say something about the retro. Hope the next one will be even better! How did you get this info XjunkieNL? Yes audiovector also has cheaper models.. it’s a really good combo! If you have the possibility go for an audition.. I’m very curious about your findings.

 

[GeorgeLY]

Want to upgrade my computer audio and saw this beautiful system. But have couple of the questions to the users of it before I take the plunge .
1. Did anybody use it from Linux? E.g. how well it works with default Linux driver?
2. Does anybody use it with USB switch? If so - are there any outstanding problems? I am going to use it with both my desktop and laptop - I usually switch keyboard and mouse with usb 3.0 switch, wonder if it breaks it in any way.
3. My on table space is really limited so I probably going to get one with the default speakers. But I do have enough space underneath the table for subwoofer, so I am thinking of buying SVS for that. Does anybody use the subwoofer with the system? How good does it sound?

Thank you for all the info you give me!

 

[aerosuffly]

Want to upgrade my computer audio and saw this beautiful system. But have couple of the questions to the users of it before I take the plunge .
1. Did anybody use it from Linux? E.g. how well it works with default Linux driver?
2. Does anybody use it with USB switch? If so - are there any outstanding problems? I am going to use it with both my desktop and laptop - I usually switch keyboard and mouse with usb 3.0 switch, wonder if it breaks it in any way.
3. My on table space is really limited so I probably going to get one with the default speakers. But I do have enough space underneath the table for subwoofer, so I am thinking of buying SVS for that. Does anybody use the subwoofer with the system? How good does it sound?

Thank you for all the info you give me!

1. Yes. Linux USB audio driver is as good as PC or mac. Most audio streamer boxes are Linux based in fact.
2. I connect my Retro 50 USB input to the USB output from my monitor which act as a hub. It does affect the sound quality a bit, but that will depend on how much jitter your USB hub added to the signal. I add iPurifier2 to the Retro, plugging it directly to the unit, which improve the sound quality quite a bit.
3. I have the LS3.5 (the default speakers), and I found the bass satisfying enough. Sound quality is subjective, so you will have to try yourself. However, note that the Retro 50 does not have a dedicated subwoofer output, so you will have to connect the Retro 50 speaker output to a subwoofer with high-level input and manually set cross-over frequency.

@Elwood86 great to hear your experience.
i'm still looking for a new set of speakers, this certainly helps.
by the way I heard a rumor the production of the Retro50 will stop soon, and a new model, without EL84s, will be introduced.

That's an interesting information. I wonder if one of the reason is the fact that EL84s seem to be very hard to match as many users in this thread, including myself, have experience pops and clicks from the tubes.

I hope that will also make Retro 50 Pro, maybe scaling down iDSD Pro and iCan Pro and add a balanced speaker amps, or just make a pro series balanced speaker amp please ...

 

[gr8soundz]

I hope that will also make Retro 50 Pro, maybe scaling down iDSD Pro and iCan Pro and add a balanced speaker amps, or just make a pro series balanced speaker amp please ...

I hope iFi does this and can keep pricing similar to the current Retro 50.

Like many others, I've followed the iDSD Pro's development and am torn between pursuing it or just getting the Retro. I enjoyed the iDSD Micro as an all-in-one device that performs very well but the Pro lacks any tone controls. The Retro has them all (xbass/3d and more although I'm unsure if the larger bass/treble knobs work when using headphones) but is single-ended (and a single DAC chip) instead of balanced.

 

[aerosuffly]

I just want to give everyone information about the Retro 50 and the new Gibbs Transient Optimised filter in firmware 5.3c. If you have not been following the forum, basically it is a kind of internal upsampling filter. You can read all about it in their tech doc. Although upsampling might sound unappealing, I found the result very pleasant. It adds (a lot) of space and resolution to the warm and punchy Retro 50 sound (the warm is still there). The transient response is also significantly improved , which is arguably something the Retro 50 was lacking. The new firmware also seems to solve occasional click and pop issues that I have with MQA stream from Tidal. I suggest everyone try it out. I think you can always re-flash it to the older firmware.

 

[murphythecat]

ive been using more and more the ifi stereo 50 with my utopia. Stunning amp.
the reviews ive seen seem to imply the stereo 50 is bright, but I feel its only the built in dac that is indeed bright, the amp itself is not at all bright, if anything warm. feels like such a good deal with the phono stage of good quality, speaker amp and headamp

 

[pdvm]

I still use the Stereo 50 as my daily driver for headphones (Hifiman Arya) and speakers (Focal Aria 906). It continues to amaze me how good it sounds and the amount of power that comes out of this small box.