[JoeyGS]

Thanks ..... It worked! Now charging.

 

[Franatic]

The second wave of idsds are here! After waiting too long I find it is well worth the wait. I previously posted this as a concern prior to receiving my idsd:
*********************
"I have a 2 pc steamer with AO and jplay. I use a Paul Pang usb output card > Paul Pang red usb cable > iusb power > gemini cable > idsd nano. It bothers me to have to put my input to the micro through a rather generic looking B to A usb adapter."
*********************
I received my micro idsd a few days ago. After the obligatory charging period I used my setup chain stated above and plugged into the provided B to A adapter. I must say my results are quite impressive. This is a big leap in SQ from the nano. I am very pleased. I use this strictly as a dac with the RCA output to my Woo WA2 which is a combo headphone amp and preamp for my main system.
This thing plays DSD like a high end device. So much depth and detail. I especially like the 3D effect. My main speakers are only 7 feet apart. This feature make the soundstage blow up much bigger, yet still sounds very full. Xbass function is also very nice and happily not excessive. I am still playing with the filters but prefer minimum phase for now. And it will just get better as it is not burned in yet!
I got the idsd primarily to play DSD but it also plays PCM very well. It rivals my other chain of an Sotm DDC and Audio GD dac combo cost me 3X as much......it may be even better after burn in.
I will continue to look for an audiophile B to A adapter but I see no problem with the one provided.
Kudos to Thorsten and the ifi team on this amazing little future proof device! I am a huge ifi fan.

 

[maricius]

  The second wave of idsds are here! After waiting too long I find it is well worth the wait. I previously posted this as a concern prior to receiving my idsd:
*********************
"I have a 2 pc steamer with AO and jplay. I use a Paul Pang usb output card > Paul Pang red usb cable > iusb power > gemini cable > idsd nano. It bothers me to have to put my input to the micro through a rather generic looking B to A usb adapter."
*********************
I received my micro idsd a few days ago. After the obligatory charging period I used my setup chain stated above and plugged into the provided B to A adapter. I must say my results are quite impressive. This is a big leap in SQ from the nano. I am very pleased. I use this strictly as a dac with the RCA output to my Woo WA2 which is a combo headphone amp and preamp for my main system.
This thing plays DSD like a high end device. So much depth and detail. I especially like the 3D effect. My main speakers are only 7 feet apart. This feature make the soundstage blow up much bigger, yet still sounds very full. Xbass function is also very nice and happily not excessive. I am still playing with the filters but prefer minimum phase for now. And it will just get better as it is not burned in yet!
I got the idsd primarily to play DSD but it also plays PCM very well. It rivals my other chain of an Sotm DDC and Audio GD dac combo cost me 3X as much......it may be even better after burn in.
I will continue to look for an audiophile B to A adapter but I see no problem with the one provided.
Kudos to Thorsten and the ifi team on this amazing little future proof device! I am a huge ifi fan.

It's great to hear you're enjoying!! Do post your post-burn-in impressions and comparisons with other DACs

 

[Dixter]

When you get everything setup the way you want then have JRiver Media Center 20 convert your non DSD files into DSD on the fly... depending on your computer and how power full it is you can convert them upto 4X DSD...   If you like the micro with your WOO then
the conversion of red book files to x2 or x4 DSD with JR and micro go well together...   Use the AISO driver....

 

[Franatic]

  When you get everything setup the way you want then have JRiver Media Center 20 convert your non DSD files into DSD on the fly... depending on your computer and how power full it is you can convert them upto 4X DSD...   If you like the micro with your WOO then
the conversion of red book files to x2 or x4 DSD with JR and micro go well together...   Use the AISO driver....

That conversion option is something I considered. I believe I have the engine and computing power to do it. My friend AudioPhil doesn't think it best. What I have read leads me to believe it best to play files natively whenever possible. You might find this page interesting:
http://www.audiostream.com/content/qa-thorsten-loesch-amrifi-audiostream-addendum-pcm-vs-dsd
Thorsten himself would question converting. The gist of it is you emphasize the weakness of each format when you convert. Of course, if the the idsd's strength is playing dsd it may outweigh the losses. The best thing is to give it a try. I may try it when I get some time to play. Thanks for the input.

 

[Dixter]

Yes... playback of DSD should always be Native....    the suggestion for the DSD conversion actually came from thorsten...   ifi in earlier posts recomended that we use the ASIO driver set from Foo Bar....     but recently we are testing the ASIO ifi driver set now... I'm sure they will be releasing it soon...
 
best way to test the conversion is to just try it out and see...  I think of it as just another type of filter...   it tames the edges for red book files and seems to work quite well on FLAC...
 
A good source for listening/testing FLAC files for conversion is here..
 
http://www.lisagerrard.com/
 
she also has other great works that show off the micro abilities 

 

[Franatic]

"A good source for listening/testing FLAC files for conversion is here..
 
http://www.lisagerrard.com/"
**************************************************
Thanks for that.
 
2L Nordic has a test page with every kind of file you could want. It's a great tool for testing your system. I plan on having fun with this and posting my findings..............and you get great music to boot!
http://www.2l.no/hires/

 

[Franatic]

On the 2L Nordic test bench page http://www.2l.no/hires/
Please note this download instruction: 
To download audio files username: 2L and password: 2L is requested

 

[JoeyGS]

Do you you still connect the micro iDSD to the iUSB/gemini cable? Does it still provide benefits to soumd quality?

*********************
"I have a 2 pc steamer with AO and jplay. I use a Paul Pang usb output card > Paul Pang red usb cable > iusb power > gemini cable > idsd nano. It bothers me to have to put my input to the micro through a rather generic looking B to A usb adapter."
*********************

 

[Franatic]

Do you you still connect the micro iDSD to the iUSB/gemini cable? Does it still provide benefits to soumd quality?

Hi Joey
I believe the high quality transport I built with the Paul Pang usb cable > iusb power > gemini cable still gives much benefit to the sound quality. My micro idsd is playing at a very high level, even with the adapter. It's impossible for me to say how much better it would be with a better adapter. Are you feeding the gemini cable from an iusb power? I can't comment on its benefit without it.
I still hope to find an audiophile B to A usb adapter. I thought Audioquest might have one, but they don't. I've googled  worldwide without finding one. If anybody finds one, please post it.

 

[JoeyGS]

  Hi Joey
I believe the high quality transport I built with the Paul Pang usb cable > iusb power > gemini cable still gives much benefit to the sound quality. My micro idsd is playing at a very high level, even with the adapter. It's impossible for me to say how much better it would be with a better adapter. Are you feeding the gemini cable from an iusb power? I can't comment on its benefit without it.
I still hope to find an audiophile B to A usb adapter. I thought Audioquest might have one, but they don't. I've googled  worldwide without finding one. If anybody finds one, please post it.

Yes I do use the gemini cable with the iUSB. 
 
Have you noticed how much burn in time is needed before it stabilizes and show its character?

 

[Franatic]

 
Yes I do use the gemini cable with the iUSB. 
 
Have you noticed how much burn in time is needed before it stabilizes and show its character?

I believe we benefit from using the gemini cable and iusb with the adapter over the straight usb cable provided.
 
This unit will take a couple hundred hours to burn in. That is typical for all DACs. You will find the sound profile will change over the course of the burn-in. I am about 50 hours in and mine is going through a period where the sound is a slightly flatter than at first. It's a little disappointing that it seems to have gone slightly backward in SQ. It still sounds great though. Based on others experience, I am sure it will begin to open up and eventually will exceed any SQ I have experienced yet. 

 

[Franatic]

In my last post I stated that at 50 hours my idsd micro might have regressed in SQ a little. I have been playing it the last 2 days continuously. I'm probably over the 100 hour mark. It has really begun to open up nicely. This unit is definitely a substantial step up from the nano it replaced. Improved details, imaging and bass.....and the soundstage is much bigger even without the 3D effect. I use only the RCA output and can say it is very worthy to be the main DAC in my home system. 
 
I have lots of dsd, high bit flac and cd quality PCM.  The nano played dsd well but seemed to not play pcm so well. Not so with the micro, it plays every format and type of music very well. I'm still playing with the filters and settings to figure out which are best. I have an unbelievable number of variables and settings in my system. The micro gives me 4 or 5 more.
 
There is really some ifi magic here in this unit . I will enjoy getting to know it.

 

[iFi audio]

Show a little leg...can you guess what "it" is?​

We took our time as “it” needs to look and feel special. Over the last few months, We went through nearly a hundred or so versions.​

​

​

At iFi, we don’t do things by half. Well, we think we have accomplished our objective – and then some.​

​

​

What is it?​

http://ifi-audio.com/audio_blog/iclub-show-a-little-leg/​

 

 

[Vartan]

I have no idea what is it