I became addict of the iPurifier when it fist brought it to my first edition iFi Micro iDSD, at the time I was discovering the iFi Products, and the iPurifier was an interesting product then in price and quality.
The original changed the sound signature of my system in a positive way, giving me more information and after that I brought the original Micro iUSB, but with the micro iUSB I also purchased the iPurifier 2, and they work paired giving me a lot or more information and dynamics, better sense of dimension with the harman kardon GLA-55, the effect was present in texture, better highs and lows, better small dynamic perception.
This small changes that sometimes when reading could be interpreted as big and that your system changes completely, but they are not in the magnitude of the words, but the words used are a good guide to focus a user in the perceptible changes in an easy to better evaluate the perceived benefits , for me in the way they work are in a magnitude way bigger than the 100 euros could give.
But this review is not about the iPurifier 2, instead the new iPurifier 3.
The iPurifier 3 is a USB gadget that reclocks, regenerates and has a rebalance tech, it incorporates a active noise cancelation technology that works impressively, a revised and upgraded version of the last itineration of their iPurifier 2 I also own, as always the unbox experience of the package from iFi products is very special.
The little package comes with a lot of extras and no one will indifferent of the construction quality of the iPurifier 3, it’s a rewarding hardware tech marvel.
Ifi upgraded all the internals resulting in a little bigger piece of hardware, there are new OS-CON capacitors, a new version of the noise canceling technology named “Active Noise Cancellation2® (ANC2)” and all the internals are better quality.
What about the iPurifier 3 in sound when compared to the 2.
The iPurifier 2 was a great product and it made an very good sonic upgrade, the iPurifier 3 feels a lot more refined, it has most the benefits form the iPurifier 3, but is more transparent, musical and natural, when connected to the system it does not have a defined personality, to explain I will try to explain the effect of the iPurifier 3 and the original iUSB, it added bass and highs noticeably, and when I connected to some of my higher quality and recent components like the iFi Pro iDSD version 2 gave a small veil in the sound. Notice that the iFi Pro iDSD does not need an iPurifier 2.
Anyway I tried the iPurifier 3 in my iFi iDSD pro to see if the same issue was present, and it was not, it simply cleaned the sound without any added issue, so this was an interesting test, the product has no degradation effect on the cables.
After that, as I brought it to the micro iDSD Black Label for my son I, removing the iPurifier 2 and connecting the iPurifier 3, it does give a more realistic and neutral musical presentation, also it really cleans more as some little sound are more perceptible like if o had sharpness to little details that where there but not so audible, the high frequencies are substantial more natural and less “irritating”, the lows are also more perceptible, and example is the Album Tubular Bells 3 from Mike Oldfield, the first track in the beginning has a bass that goes from left to right and right to left and that perception with the iPurifier 3 is a lot more defined and engages you more on the music track.
Also, the sound stage has benefits, as you gain small details and separation, you also gain in density of information, focus on all the dimensions of the soundstage and a global better enjoyment of your music.
Reading all the above and buying the iPurifier 3 is a no brainer if you have a system transparent enough that could show changes in the whole, I used the iFi new Gemini 3.0 Cable and also an Audioquest Diamond, and the original version of the iFi Gemini.
As I have been upgrading my system a lot in the last year, every step comes with trades and benefits, my system has turned out to become more revealing each time, some hardware results very well other not that so. The iPurifier 3 made no degradation and gave me a more beneficial effect with the iDSD Black Label.
I have to give my regards to iFi as each itineration of their product line, has been really an upgrade from the last, the iPurifier 3 deserves a very good listen.
