Sold: ifi micro iDSD Finale (signature)
Listing ID: 59721 Views: 6215
400.00 USD
Condition
Excellent/Like new
Negotiability
Firm
Ships to
  1. United States of America
This is a catch and a release. The last edition of ifi's micro series. This has the upgraded ELNA Silmic II capacitors and newer XMOS chip so it can decode MQA. Probably at most 20hrs use I bought it in October. I'm selling this as I have too many portable units at the moment.

I've had all versions of this model and I can confirm this is the best sounding of the bunch. I even prefer this over the diablo for my ZMF headphones as this has a smoother sound.

https://ifi-audio.com/the-finale-feast/

For the price to power ratio, this is hard to beat.

Reach out for any questions.
Listed by: mblain (33)
Listed: 2023-12-27
Last edited: 2024-01-20
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mblain

mblain

100+ Head-Fier
It's not world's apart, I would say it has slightly tighter bass and a little more air. Maybe 5-7% better. I probably only spend 20-30hrs listening so the Similac II capacitors have yet to be broken in. They should have have 100hrs before you can truly hear a difference. I should probably run in another 80hrs and test is again.

I don't think it's really necessary if you already have the signature as that unit is really nice and I loved it with my ZMF Aeolus, it was a better sound over the diablo in my opinion. For some reason the Diablo always sound off, it was more clear, but wasn't as natural or organic sounding as it was with the signature.

Hope that helps.
 
P

pcsgcs

Head-Fier
mblain said:
It's not world's apart, I would say it has slightly tighter bass and a little more air.
Click to expand...
Interesting.
mblain said:
Maybe 5-7% better. I probably only spend 20-30hrs listening so the Similac II capacitors have yet to be broken in.
Click to expand...
Hold on, so there's an actual difference in sound when hardware gets broken in? I thought that only happens with headphones as the drivers are sensitive at first.
mblain said:
They should have have 100hrs before you can truly hear a difference. I should probably run in another 80hrs and test is again.
Click to expand...
Yeah please do, I am interested if there's an actual difference as I might acquire one in the future cause I think the same regarding the Diablo sounding worse than the Signature, at least for my HD650 which need the xbass and 3d to be enabled otherwise sounds lifeless and sibilant (xbass does tone down the highs enough)
mblain said:
I don't think it's really necessary if you already have the signature as that unit is really nice and I loved it with my ZMF Aeolus, it was a better sound over the diablo in my opinion. For some reason the Diablo always sound off, it was more clear, but wasn't as natural or organic sounding as it was with the signature.

Hope that helps.
Click to expand...
To be fair, I have had the same experience when I AB tested both Diablo and Signature at a shop. The Diablo sounds cleaner and has more soundstage but the Signature sounds more organic and that will help bad recordings although I feel like its still too sensitive but that's not a bad thing at all, you just need to listen to well recorded tracks and you are good.
 
P

pcsgcs

Head-Fier
Also, I forgot to ask this: since I have the Signature for about a month now, I notice that if I leave the jack plugged in all the time, I get channel imbalance where the right channel (right can) has less power (less volume). If I replug it in, it gets fixed. Is this normal?
 
mblain

mblain

100+ Head-Fier
pcsgcs said:
Interesting.

Hold on, so there's an actual difference in sound when hardware gets broken in? I thought that only happens with headphones as the drivers are sensitive at first.
Click to expand...
Yep, electronics need time to settle and burn in. Some more than others. With specific capacitors like the like the Elna Silmic II, I've heard they need at least 100 hrs to sound proper. I'll burn it in for the next couple of days and see if I can hear an improvement.
pcsgcs said:
To be fair, I have had the same experience when I AB tested both Diablo and Signature at a shop. The Diablo sounds cleaner and has more soundstage but the Signature sounds more organic and that will help bad recordings although I feel like its still too sensitive but that's not a bad thing at all, you just need to listen to well recorded tracks and you are good.
Click to expand...
I will say when I run my Meze Elites off the Diablo it does sound fantastic. Like you say, it's a cleaner sound. For some reason my Aeolus just doesn't like them as they sound almost lifeless and flat. But also with the elites they tend to sound good on pretty much anything.

So, it all comes down to what you're running off them and what type of sound you like. I know they originally designed the Diablo with a cleaner sound for the market in China since that seemed to be more of sound that was preferred. This is just what I read so who knows.
 
mblain

mblain

100+ Head-Fier
pcsgcs said:
Also, I forgot to ask this: since I have the Signature for about a month now, I notice that if I leave the jack plugged in all the time, I get channel imbalance where the right channel (right can) has less power (less volume). If I replug it in, it gets fixed. Is this normal?
Click to expand...
No, I don't have that issue. I would submit a ticket with ifi if you bought it new. I would also try it with another set of headphones or cable to make sure it's the device.
 
P

pcsgcs

Head-Fier
mblain said:
Yep, electronics need time to settle and burn in. Some more than others. With specific capacitors like the like the Elna Silmic II, I've heard they need at least 100 hrs to sound proper. I'll burn it in for the next couple of days and see if I can hear an improvement.
Click to expand...
I am interested as well, lets see.
mblain said:
I will say when I run my Meze Elites off the Diablo it does sound fantastic. Like you say, it's a cleaner sound. For some reason my Aeolus just doesn't like them as they sound almost lifeless and flat. But also with the elites they tend to sound good on pretty much anything.
Click to expand...
I see, i see.
mblain said:
So, it all comes down to what you're running off them and what type of sound you like. I know they originally designed the Diablo with a cleaner sound for the market in China since that seemed to be more of sound that was preferred. This is just what I read so who knows.
Click to expand...
Yeah, that's what I heard as well from Mr. Loesch. It turned out to be a product intended for the CN market, hence the red colour lol.

Jokes aside, about the clearer sound that might be cause they actually are into this kind of sound. Looking back during the 90s era in HK, they still produce and remaster those songs in SACD format, incredible right?
mblain said:
No, I don't have that issue. I would submit a ticket with ifi if you bought it new. I would also try it with another set of headphones or cable to make sure it's the device.
Click to expand...
Nah, i actually got it s. hand pretty cheap but might look into getting this final one new cause I started loving it.

Personally, I would stay away from their cs, no joke.
 
mblain

mblain

100+ Head-Fier
Haha. yeah I got into the weeds a little. If it helps make a sale I'm happy to answer any questions. Especially within this community.
 
Voxata

Voxata

Headphoneus Supremus
pm
 
Last edited:
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