iFi audio nano iDSD Black Label

Quick Read Conclusion

A superb sounding compact DAC/Amp that really packs a punch. Less suitable for pockets than some DAC/Amps, it is still a portable winner for me. Sound quality is fantastic, slightly warmer than purely neutral, with one of the best soundstages I have (in my admittedly limited experience) heard. Most of all, at £200 it is epic value for money, making it very easy to recommend. In fact, I recommend it so highly, I put my own money where my big mouth is and bought one.

Introductions and General Bumf

I was originally part of the tour for the iFi Audio nano iDSD Black Label ("Nano BL") but have actually purchased one for myself. Read into that what you will. For clarity, I am in no way associated with iFi and have received no inducement (other than the chance to use a Nano BL for a week) to write my review. I would like to thank Karina and the team at iFi for allowing me to take part in my first tour.

Test Kit: I have tested the Nano BL with Shure SE215, SE425, Sennheiser HD600, Ultimate Ears UE900s and KEF M500 headphones/IEMs. Sources have been a Samsung Note 8 and Galaxy S8 (using both Hiby music and USB audio player pro), Dell E7270 running Windows 7 and 11" Macbook Air (2012 vintage). I also ran the line out through a Schiit Vali 2 to compare against the Modi 2.

Preparation: I have given the Nano BL a shade over 50 hours of burn-in (unsure if I believe in burn in, but figured this should help for people who do) and I did not start any critical listening without giving it at least an hour to warm up (I think warm up of DACs does help, and have read a couple of papers on this, but given this is a "mobile" DAC I don’t think real world use will involve having had this thing plugged in for 24 hours before listening).

Me as a listener: I am not a pro by any stretch of the imagination. I have always enjoyed my music, and my tastes are pretty broad. I go to live music ranging from rock and pop concerts to orchestra and opera. I would not describe myself as having a trained ear, but I am attentive and my ears are in pretty good nick for a 34 year old (my hearing cuts off around 17.5 kHz per my frequency generator).

My tastes: neutral to warm, but I do like good punchy bass and I love to hear decent instrument separation.

Test tracks: I've tried to keep it broad and I have cited my music sources below, so (where possible) people can download the tracks themselves.

1) Wiz Kalifah – On My Level (320k MP3, Google Store)

2) Norah Jones – Turn Me On (24/192 FLAC, Qobuz)

3) John Williams – Throne Room from Star Wars performed by Prague Philharmonic Orchestra (16/44.1 FLAC, Qobuz)

4) The Verve – The Drugs Don’t Work (16/44.1 self ripped FLAC)

5) Ed Sheeran – Castle on the Hill (320k MP3, Google Store)

6) Grieg – In the Hall of the Mountain King (from the Peer Gynt Suite) performed by the Zech National Symphony Orchestra (24/48, Musopen Kickstarter Project)

7) Otis Redding – Dock of the Bay (24/192, HD Tracks)

8) 30 Seconds to Mars – Stronger (Radio 1 Live Lounge Cover) (16/44.1, self-ripped FLAC)

9) Pearl Jam – Yellow Ledbetter (320k MP3, Google Store)

10) Rage Against the Machine – Wake Up (292k m4a, iTunes)

So, on to the main event. [/General Bumf]

Unboxing

There are plenty of videos on youtube and some pictures below, so I won't bore on about this. Suffice to say, a good experience which felt suitably special. In the box, you get the Nano BL, a tactile "crushed velvet" (suspect not actually velvet) carry bag for it, a couple of silicon bands for attaching it to a phone, some cables and adaptors, a few (very basic) booklets and a little bag of silica gel.

I've seen a few criticisms about the lack of an OTG cable and/or lack of a shorter cable. To be honest, I think iFi would struggle to win here – their user base is likely to be a mixture of iPhone (lightning) and android (usb-c or micro usb) so whatever they could include is not going to work for everyone (and at £200 I don’t think you can reasonably expect a full complement of cables). They're only a few quid after all, and I am sure iFi recognised that most of their target audience would either have one already, or could easily source one. I did not see this therefore as a massive omission.



Practicalities

From the tip of the volume nob, the Nano BL is (by my approx. measurements) 9.5cm long, at its peak it stands 2.5cm high and is 6.5 cm wide. iFi tell us this is a portable unit, and that is broadly true, but there's portable and there's portable. Bolted to the back of a phone, this is not (in my opinion) practically "pocket portable" unless you are wearing a coat/clothes with very large pockets. I don’t really like attaching to my phone using rubber rings, so I don’t do this. For me, portability relates predominantly to my train commutes and for this it is perfect as I can set it on my table with my phone and drop it in my bag when not in use. It's reasonably light, and does not get particularly warm during use so I don’t see any bar to using the Nano BL on the bounce, other than general size.

Battery life is claimed to be up to 10 hours by iFi on the packaging. My experience, with the volume at about 9 o'clock (off is c. 7 o'clock) I am seeing a shade over 7 hours. Also worth noting is that if the Nano BL runs out of battery life, you can continue to run it so long as the USB port can provide it with sufficient power. It won't charge the battery at the same time however. I think iFi have missed a trick here as being able to recharge on the fly whilst listening, would have been a great inclusion.

I want to take a minute to talk about the USB implementation too. I have to say this is brilliant – the USB port is USB A male, meaning if you are using an OTG cable from a phone or android device (I suspect most people reading this review would do this) it simply plugs straight in. One note of caution though, watch your OTG cable as the one in the pic below fits perfectly, but I have a chunkier plastic one I had to shave with a Stanley knife to achieve a fit.



I have seen a few comments on forums, complaining about non compatibility. Across my devices (listed above) I have had no problems with instant recognition of the Nano BL.

*EDIT* a few people have noted on forums that their bag has a hole in the bottom which they consider a fault. Have a look here from about post #415 https://www.head-fi.org/threads/ifi...-participants-page-26-post-386.864211/page-28 i think it is meant to be there, for poking cables through when you are out and about. See below.



Finally, I'm not going to list out all of the functions available, stats etc. – you can see them here on iFi's website https://ifi-audio.com/portfolio-view/nano-idsd-bl/, or discussed excellently in @glassmonkey 's frankly brilliant review (I especially like what he had to say about MQA) https://www.head-fi.org/showcase/ifi-audio-nano-idsd-black-label.22770/reviews#review-19505 .

The Sound

I have decided to split my review into the increasingly standard format of highs, mids, lows and soundstage. I am also going to focus a little on separation, as it is something I enjoy hearing.

Highs

I'm yet to experience sparkling or fatiguing treble and so whilst I have read a lot about it I can't say I have a reference point for it. Of the Nano BL I cannot say the highs are not disproportionately pronounced or notable to my ears. I enjoyed clearly hearing the triangle and cymbals in Throne Room, distinguishable through the entire orchestra. This is particularly notable on the SE425s which, along with the M500s, have probably seen the most use with the Nano BL. Similarly, the crashing waves and whistling through Dock of the Bay are right where you want them to be – present and clear but in no way overpowering.

Mids

From the headphones and tracks listed above, you can probably tell I'm a sucker for mids. And the Nano BL does not disappoint. Its performance of Yellow Ledbetter almost left a tear in my eye, the guitar absolutely consuming, ringing clear with the Nano BL faithfully re-creating the interplay of an increasingly complex fall off against each new note; a sound interplay which is often lost on lesser sources, particularly straight from my smart phones. Norah's Turn Me On is delivered with all that wonderful richness, the Nano BL evidently talented with this sort of track, I think assisted by the fact that its silences are really, really silent (subject to the below), no buzz or machine noise at all – just sweet, sweet silence! Even Rage's Wake Up is served up competently, each riff distinguishable amongst the constant noise of the track.

Lows

Here, the Nano BL again shows itself to be a class act. With the HD600s and M500s, the rumbling bassline in On My Level is suitably huge, creating that real sense of big bass I think can be hard to recreate without a chunky subwoofer. Where it really shows itself to be ahead of the pack though is how it covers the same song with the SE425s – these IEMs are definitely lighter (albeit usually tighter) with bass, but with the Nano BL pushing, that Wiz Kalifah bassline is still the leading sound to the song, with the rest of the track following. Each note is delivered with impact and more tremor than I've heard the SE425s deliver elsewhere. I wonder if iFi have enhanced the bass a little with this DAC? Not so much it's unpleasant, but with my setup it is noticeable.

Soundstage and Separation

So whilst the tonality and musicality are definitely sweet, something I really noticed with the Nano BL is its pronounced soundstage and instrument separation. This is the first time I have listened to music from an in-ear source and have felt anything like the sense of size you get when sat in front of an actual orchestra. I don’t particularly experience height of sound, but I definitely perceive width very clearly, especially on the orchestral pieces. I would also say separation is the most exceptional I have yet heard. In the verve's Drugs Don’t Work, both guitars are very clearly there, in no way blending as they often do, especially direct from phone outputs. Similarly in 30 Seconds to Mars' Stronger cover from Radio 1's Live Lounge, not only is there width, with each layer of the track sounding like it is physically placed somewhere else, but as the track layers up every drum tick, cymbal, guitar note and synth sound is clearly distinguishable, with the vocals holding everything together. I've posted previously how I've been really disappointed with Ed Sheeran's divide album on good earphones, but particularly my 425s. The complex track building has sounded very muffled and confused, with an overall effect of clashing. The Nano BL managed to hold it together here, with the layers distinguishable but coherent and complimentary without clashing.

A criticism (which is probably down to recordings rather than the device) is that the pronounced separation and width of soundstage can occasionally sound artificial. A couple of the Otis Redding tracks on the same album as Dock of the Bay end up with a sort of "half-half" effect where all the vocals are in the left ear and everything else in the right. This was distracting for me, and took away from the enjoyment of the track a little, but I only noticed it on a few, older tracks. Further, it can pick up the odd thing it isn’t meant to – the musopen kickstarter's high res files have a few noticeable turns of page, musicians shuffling etc. and you can hear each and every one in In the Hall of the Mountain King.

Comparisons v. Schiit Stack

As you'll see from the photos below, I had a bit of fun feeding the Nano BL's line out into my Vali 2 and listening to the Nano BL v. the Modi 2 Uber (and for the below, "Schiit Stack" means the Modi 2 Uber and Vali 2) to see if there was much difference just in the DACs. For the purposes of this test, I only used my HD600s. Now, let's be clear about this, the Schiit Stack reopened my music collection for me, delivering clarity and detail I had never heard before. It was a massive upgrade for me, and so, for a portable £200 unit, I am really pleased to say that, across the piece, I think these two are pretty close. The Nano BL is possibly a little tighter and more impactful with bass, and the Schiit Stack perhaps a little more "tingly" in the highs, but not much in it. Where there is a difference is in the width of soundstage, the Nano BL definitely wider, and with more pronounced separation. My preference depends on mood, and I can't honestly give a "better" opinion – not better, not worse, just different and equally enjoyable.



Other thoughts

iFi are making a lot of their "semi balanced" output. I started a thread here a while ago on unbalanced v balanced and know that it is an emotive issue for some and not a debate I am going to enter into (due to self-recognised ignorance on the topic). Technical implementation aside, and subject to the buzz point discussed below, silents are silent so for example, in In the Hall of the Mountain King, the almost silent start of the track, with very quiet plucking is not detracted form by any sort of buzz or hum. For clarity, I have not tested with a 3.5mm TRRS cable and so cannot comment on any difference between unbalanced v (sort of) balanced on this device.

If I plug my IEMs into the direct output and crank the volume up there is a hiss. However this would be a listening level that would probably burst my head, so not a real world problem. This is not noticeable at low level/with non-IEMs/from the IE Match port.

For all headphones I tested in both ports. The IE Match port doesn’t go loud enough to drive the HD600s at a pleasant listening volume for me, but the direct port definitely does. If I'm being very picky, I would say that the IE Match port sounds ever so slightly veiled compared to direct, particularly in the mids with guitars. But it's slight, barely noticeable, and wouldn’t stop me from using it for IEMs.

Measure/Listen switch – switched this a few times and couldn’t discern a difference. All testing was done on Listen.

Niggles and Solutions

Early on I was experiencing a mixed amount of battery drain on both my S8 and Note 8. Intermittently, the Nano BL seemed to suck a big chunk of juice out of the phone, and then the phone goes back to operating normally. I couldn’t explain this initially, but have now realised that if you turn it off and leave it plugged into the phone (certainly on the S8 and Note 8) it will pull power and recharge itself, rinsing your phone!

I also experienced a pronounced clicking and popping (not interference, just intermittent pops and clicks) for a while. I isolated this to one of the cables (in fact, the one I shaved down so it could fit the USB port), but I don’t get the same issue with this cable on other devices so perhaps a fit issue? In any event, it was the cable not the Nano BL but one to watch for.

Conclusion

All in all, the Nano BL delivers some of the best sound I have ever heard, standing shoulder to shoulder with my Schiit Stack. That it does this in a reasonably portable package is remarkable, but when it does that for £200 I find almost nothing to fault. This game is all about compromise and personal taste for me, as I will probably always be able to buy "better" than I have. The question I ask myself is, can I tell the difference, and if so, is it worth it? Hence, compromise. At this price point though, there is little or no compromise on sound and in fact I suspect a number of manufacturers making similarly priced and even more expensive devices are, correctly, a little worried. If the compromise for this product is that it is a little chunkier than would be absolutely ideal, it is one I am happy to live with – so much so, I have bought one with my own, hard earned dosh.

iFi iDSD Nano Black Label - Mighty Little One

iFi made the world a bit brighter when they designed and started selling their iDSD Micro BL, which we reviewed in the past, and now they are back at it again. iFi iDSD Nano Black Label is the refinement (Black Label) version of their highly acclaimed iFi iDSD Nano DAC/AMP, which made a many music enthusiasts on a budget happy back when it was released. We're going to look at what iDSD Nano BL brings to the mix!






Introduction

iFi is a large company, part of the Abbingdon Music Research Group (AMR), which by itself is one of UK's largest audio equipment designers and producers. iFi has been known for a good while for their very healthy ethics, excellent standards of work and extended customer support, providing service and friendly support even for products which have been long out of their warranties. iFi is also one of the companies which is quickest to answer fan / customer mail and questions and they are always managing tours for their products, and designing new awesome products, both standalone (like the one we are reviewing today), and add-on products which extend the fun of other products like iFi AC iPurifier, which we reviewed in the past https://audiophile-heaven.blogspot.ro/2018/02/ifi-ac-ipurifier-power-immaculate.html

It should be noted that I have absolutely no affiliation with iFi, I am not receiving any incentive for this review or to sweeten things out. This review is not sponsored nor has been paid for by iFi or anyone else. I'd like to thank iFi for providing the sample for the review. The sample was provided along with iFi's request for an honest and unbiased review. This review will be as objective as it is humanly possible, and it reflects my personal experience with iFi iDSD Nano Black Label. Every opinion expressed is mine and I stand by it, the purpose of this review is to help those interested in iDSD Nano BL find their next music companion.



About me

https://audiophile-heaven.blogspot.ro/p/about.html



Packaging

First things first, let's get the packaging out of the way:

























iFi's packaging has become a standard in this niche by now, with their beautiful white boxes of immaculate imagery, all wearing the banner of being environment friendly, and processed with organic ink. Those might not be important aspects to all customers, but it warms the heart to know that iFi is doing all their best to protect the world while providing a very interesting product.

The packaging includes iNano BL, along with a carrying bag, cables, rubber straps, a few exotic connectors, and iFi's warranty card. It seems that the device has almost everything it could require included in the package, minus an OTG cable, which we felt might have been welcome with iDSD Micro BL.

iFi's blue USB cable can connect to anything, from an OTG to a desktop computer, but you'll require that OTG adapter for a smartphone. iFi's cable is of a very high quality and it always served us well during our tests, providing a hassle-free and perfect connecting for our devices.

As for all the exotic extras iFi includes with their packaging, neither our workstation nor our high-end desktop isn't able to use those, so they are rather made for a very specific purpose, and while we think that only few users will be able to take full advantage of those, we are very happy that iFi includes them with their devices.

The carrying pouch should only be used while storing iNano BL as it won't provide much protection to it, and using it while iNano BL is in usage can also lead to overheating.



What to look in when purchasing a high-end DAC/AMP

https://audiophile-heaven.blogspot.ro/p/what-to-lookl.html



Technical Specifications





Build Quality/Aesthetics/UI/Firmware

Starting with the build quality, iNano BL is built like a tank. It doesn't have any edges that can be affected by other objects if it is kept in a pocket next to them, the volume wheel is much larger in diameter and much shorter in length when compared to iDSD BL Micro, thing which makes the volume wheel much much less prone to any kind of damage, and all buttons feel trust-worthy.















































The whole device is painted in a semi-glossy black color, and it has a very fine texture on it. The edges are less exposed when compared to iDSD BL Micro, making iNano BL easier to slide in and out of a pocket / bag, and making stacking much easier with a wider range of devices.

The design is more elegant and less industrial this time around, iFi making iDSD BL Nano a device that can easily fit with a wider range of environments and making sure that it won't look strange placed in any kind of other environment.

The rubber feet are also attached to the device from the factory now, thing which we liked quite a lot. It seems that iFi iDSD BL Micro also comes with its feet attached via factory in the latest releases, but we couldn't confirm this information with an official source.

The firmware of iDSD Nano BL is very hassle-free and it works without any drivers on Android devices. From all our Android devices tested, it worked just fine on every device, without any lag and without any issues. On Windows, one needs to install iFi's driver for Windows for the iNano BL to work. The drivers work very fine, do not require any kind of special settings, and you are able to just set and forget for those moments when you don't want to tinker with fine settings.

There are two filter settings, measure and listen. What they do, basically, measure applies absolutely no special smoothing or any kind of enhancer over the music, and plays it bit-perfect, while listen will apply some filters and some smoothing over the signals played to provide a more musical experience. In our experience, measure is better than listen for music that has a lot of sharp transient and a lot of textures in the instruments, while listen works better for music which relies a lot of very liquid and smooth instruments and vocals. The changes each filter adds to the music are rather small and one doesn't need to bother with them, but they do provide some fine tuning for those who want an either bit-perfect or a more musical experience.

There is an iEMatch button built-in to iNano BL, and it does what it should do, providing a little bit of attenuation where it is required. We never used it as almost all our IEMs were not too loud without it, although there is some hiss present with some IEMs when using them from the Direct port, so we recommend experimenting with those ports to find the perfect balance.

There is an option for Balanced cables, or rather, iFi has built in a balanced output in the 3.5mm jack, with a TRRS 3.5mm connection which also accepts SE cables. Basically, you can use any 3.5mm connector, or make a 3.5mm balanced connector. The theoretical advantage is that iNano BL should have all the advantages of a balanced setup, all while remaining Single ended when the user doesn't have any Balanced cables. As we didn't have any 3.5mm balanced cables (not exactly a standard), we couldn't test this feature in any way, but the amplification iFi built is indeed very good and it does amplify the signal in a balanced way, although it is questionable whether this is audible without the proper cables.



Sound Quality

All good and well, iFi always makes trusty devices, but now it is the time of judging its sound quality. This will be rather interesting because iNano BL is rather inexpensive 200$ current Amazon price mark, being less expensive than DH1000 which we reviewed quite recently, and much less expensive than FiiO Q5, which runs for about 350$.



The overall signature of iDSD Nano BL is really really similar to that of its bigger brother, iDSD Micro BL. In fact, they are so close, that just going from one to the other doesn't immediately reveal the differences, and one would require an extended period of time to spot the differences properly. Since this is a standalone review, we'll try to focus a bit on iNano BL's signature rather than just compare it to its bigger sibling for now.

iDSD Nano BL is a pretty neutral tuned DAC/AMP with an excellent depth to its sound, a very good vocal timbre and a rather neutral overall tuning. It has a bit of an added sparkle in the treble, but nothing too much, while the bass has a good depth, whilst keeping a good impact as well.



Bass



The bass of iDSD Nano BL is one heck of a deal. We're talking about a device costing 200$, and we can be amazed. The bass goes as low as one can imagine it would go, and it hits as deep as one can imagine it can hit. The fine refinement of percussion textures is rather amazing, and there is something about deep bass notes that never ceased to impress us during our tests. The impact is quite amazing as well, along with the rather interesting revealing abilities in finer bass textures and nuances. This being said, we're not sure if it quite reaches its bigger brother's level, but it still is an amazing experience.



Midrange



The midrange of iNano BL is once again quite excellent. It has a very good resolution and very good revealing abilities, a very natural and spot-on tonal timbre, and it has a great amount of detail and micro-detail. Due to some crazy good and quick timings, it is able to reveal fine textures in Mindless Self Indulgence music, all whilst keeping the vocals of Jill Tracy as musical and emotional as ever. Guitars have a very juicy presentation, with a very engaging overall feeling, while pianos have the right amount of emotion and depth to sound realistic. Everything is fairly well presented and feels spot-on, and once again, while not having quite exactly the performance of its bigger brother, it still is an amazing performance.



Treble



The treble experience of iNano BL is once again, quite amazing. The treble extends very well up to the highest registers audible to the human ear, while cymbal crashes last for the right amount of time. At times, it has a shorter decay than its bigger brother, sounding maybe a tad less extended in its soundstage, but it still has a good amount of air in its treble and between its instruments. Trumpets bear excellent impact and aren't made any romantic where they should be more brilliant rather than friendly, while the very fine touching of a cymbal during a cabaret is rendered perfectly romantic with a very sensitive touch.



Soundstage



Another interesting aspect of iDSD Nano BL is its soundstage. The soundstage size is on the larger side for the price range, but smaller than its bigger brother, iDSD Micro BL, where Micro BL feels more extended and things can be spread on a wider scale, with more depth, and where Nano gives more of a room impression in its soundstage. Even so, the instrument separation is golden for the price, and everything placed together, the whole soundstage / instrument separation and imaging are amazing.



ADSR/PRaT



The ADSR / PRaT are another part of iNano BL that amazed us, as it quickly reminds of its bigger brother, Micro BL. Given that Micro BL is one of the best DAC/AMPs we tested to date in its timing and (Attack Decay Sustain Release), iNano BL is also quite amazing. Setting the filter slider to measure will result in excellent timings all-around, with a natural decay that doesn't smear and isn't prolonged, and with a quick and tangible attack for every musical note. The overall feeling is that micro-textures and textures are revealed nicely, with a very good introspection in their finer nuances, whilst if you want a smoother and more laid-back presentation, you can always engage the listen filter, which will make the whole timing more fit with laid-back music, giving the whole device a more relaxed feeling.



Portable Usage

Interestingly enough, we still aren't quite that enthused about an external DAC/AMP, but we found iDSD Nano BL to be much more portable than its bigger brother (literally). iDSD Micro BL was larger than any smartphone on the market, being both longer, thicker and actually narrower, providing a rather bad fit for smartphones, but it was the perfect width and length to be stacked with a DAP (Digital Audio Player) as a transport.



iNano BL, on the other hand, is rather thin and small compared to iDSD BL Micro, as iNano BL really fits wherever you need it to fit. It is amazing to think what tech iFi was able to craft inside the small shell of iNano BL and how good they have been at optimizing every little bit of space inside it.

The cable thing, on the other hand, is interesting to say the least. You can find an OTG that would fit inside iNano BL's USB input in such a way that you can literally wear it using only one short OTG cable, so that is a huge plus for portability.

It doesn't suffer from any kind of interference from outside sources, but it doesn't sport any extra portability feature like Bluetooth either, iNano BL being at the sweet spot of being portable.



Comparisons

Most comparisons have been taken with Edifier S1000DB, Audeze LCD-MX4, Cleartune SV4, Dita Truth, Hifiman RE2000, Ultrasone Signature Studio, Hifiman RE800, Sennheiser ie800, and Dunu Falcon-C.





















iDSD Nano BL vs FiiO Q5 (AMP5) - We know that most of our readers seek this part the most, so let's get started with the most interesting comparison we can have. Since FiiO Q5 is priced between iDSD Nano BL and iDSD Micro BL, and since adding AMP5 increases Q5's price a bit, this is going to be the most interesting comparison to look at today. Starting with the device itself, iDSD Nano BL is a smaller overall device, with a smaller footprint, while Q5 with any of its amps looks much more like a typical DAP, and its body would probably stack better to a DAP. Stacking to a smartphone, or at least to our test smartphone, Xiaomi Mi Max 2, is the same issue with both, both are very narrow to stack to it perfectly, but the fact that FiiO Q5 is longer actually makes it stack better. The features within are many and useful on both, as FiiO Q5 comes with a 2.5mm balanced port ex-factory, where iDSD Nano BL comes with a 3.5mm Balanced port. Q5 has Bluetooth support, but it will not work with a typical OTG cable, requiring a microUSB to microUSB cable or a USB Type-C to micro-USB cable to work with a smartphone. Volume control is done via a wheel on both devices, and it works fine on both, the wheel has proper protection on both devices. FiiO Q5 looks a tad more stylish in the long run, but leaving a larger footprint, this is also to be expected. When it comes to their sound, the sonics are quite different, especially with Q5 having multiple AMP modules which provide different sonic experiences. With AM05, FiiO Q5 has a similar level of control over the bass, comes with a slightly larger soundstage in width and especially in depth, all while staying at a similar height as iDSD Bl Nano. The treble is similar between the two, along with the overall tonal balance, although iDSD BL Nano has a tad more sparkle in the treble. Q5 tends to be more dynamic where iNano BL tends to be more energetic and emotional, although Q5 is quite emotional as well. FiiO Q5 has a lot of driving power behind it, and it is considerably more able than iNano BL when it comes to heavy loads, but we didn't really turn the volume to max on iNano BL with many headphones, so most users purchasing iNano BL at a considerably lower price might own easier to drive headphones, and feel content with the results. The details are a tad higher on FiiO Q5, but the differences are rather hard to spot and require careful listening and revealing headphones / IEMs for proper analysis.

iDSD Nano BL vs iDSD Micro BL - This comparison will also be quite important, and starting with the obvious, iDSD Micro BL is the better device on every level possible, but it also is around 2.5 times as expensive. We reviewed iDSD Micro BL in the past, and we still hold it in very high regards, as being one of the best DAC/AMPs there are. https://audiophile-heaven.blogspot.ro/2017/05/ifi-idsd-bl-pinnacle-of-dac-and-amp.html On the other hand, iNano BL comes at a significantly more affordable price and a much more portable size. The first and very obvious difference is in raw power, iDSD Micro BL being probably the strongest portable DAC/AMP made to date, and still keeping that title among the devices we tested, while iNano BL is considerably lower powered. Even so, iNano BL has a lot of power for portables and for what we feel most people will combine it with headphones that will not require more power, having around 285mW for 30 OHM on Direct. The difference in sonics becomes more obvious upon more listening and upon using quick-switching, but iDSD BL Micro has a larger soundstage in every direction, painting what could be called a soundscape on its side, rather than just a soundstage. Micro BL also has much better control at louder volumes, and overall control over transients and transient response, and it feels more musical and smoother, doing everything quite effortlessly, with a strong emotional touch, where iNano BL seems more energetic, but not as effortless and not as detailed either. There are details that iDSD Micro BL is able to extract and present to the listener with much better definition than iNano BL. The PRaT and ADSR is better on iDSD Micro BL as well, fine textures being one step ahead in resolution and presentation, although without very specific music and without knowing what to search for, this can be rather hard to distinguish.



Value and Conclusion

When it comes to iFi, we're talking about a huge company, part of AMR, one of the largest audio companies in the world, so we know we are talking about a serious company with a lot of support and a very strong background. iDSD Nano BL is their product offered to those who can't afford their more expensive offerings. Regarding offering an amazing device at a very affordable price, they do it in style and with elegance. iDSD Nano BL is probably one of the device we can recommend the most at its price, and for a good reason. It sounds better than most DAPs that can be found at this price, and ultimately, it might even be hard to distinguish it from the mighty Micro BL, if not using very revealing headphones / IEMs or without proper listening.

We didn't have a chance to compare it to virtually every other DAC/AMP that is priced at 200$, but we are confident that one would have a hard time finding anything at a similar price that has the same sonic abilities, along with iFi's trusty support and warranty.

All in all, iDSD Nano BL is one heck of a device, having not only a good price but also an amazing sound to it, amazing hardware to back it up, and a lot of useful features like balanced output, iEMatch built-in, multiple filters, and many others. It will connect hassle-free to your source / transport, and it will provide a good amount of fun and enjoyment with music, being neutrally tuned, with a touch of emotion, being rather vivid and detailed, and having a good amount of dynamics in its sound. It is hard to recommend something as much as iDSD Nano BL from iFi for just 200$, and we're sure that owners can confirm the enjoyment they are experiencing with it.




Stay safe and remember to always have fun while listening to music!



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There is a very good reason why I took a photo of the Nano Black is sitting atop my existing ifi Audio “Stack” which consists of Micro iDSD; Micro iCAN SE; iUSB; Gemini cable; Mercury cable and iPurifier2.


The reason is that unexpectedly I spent a lot of time and effort comparing these and constituent parts thereof. Initially I had fully expected to get my trusty Meze 99s warmed up and a quick listen to the Stack and then compare the Nano Black and job done. But oh no that was not nearly sufficient……….


The Meze 99 is a good headphone and for a closed back has very good imaging properties. It also has a warm and generous bass with an ever so slightly laid back treble. But that wasn’t the problem. The problem was that I could not easily decide which was better through the Meze 99s the Stack or the Nano Black. The comparison was using some favourite album tracks on Tidal HiFi from my laptop.


The Meze 99s is one of my favourite travel headphones due to their sound quality, ease of drive and cost. Therefore I had expected they would be a good combination with the Nano Black.


So with my initial plan now thwarted I turned to my HD800s in order to get more resolution and neutrality and imaging so to be sure what the key differences were.


I started back with the same album tracks as before but this time comparing the Micro iDSD on its own to the Nano Black using Tidal HiFi from my iPhone and then a selection of Hi Res album tracks from the phone. All of this was via the HD800s.


The first thing is that the Micro iDSD has a more potent amplifier and so was able to drive the HD800s from a lower volume setting. The Nano Black does drive the HD800s but needs a bit more from the volume control so it took a bit of trial and error to get the volume levels matched (by ear as I don’t have a meter!).


Oh my goodness it was still very close. The Nano Black has a warmer/fuller bass as though it had one click of Xbass. In fact if you gave the Micro iDSD one click of Xbass the sound was astonishingly close, to the point where it made me wonder if this was a design feature???


The Nano Black does not quite deliver the image depth of the Micro iDSD, but in fairness other than those points you would not have thought one was twice the price of the other.


Then I joined the Micro iDSD back up with its chums in the Stack and tried again. Well this just doesn’t seem right but it’s still a close thing. The Stack is a bit better resolving, bit better depth, bit less warmth to the bass, bit more treble energy. That might seem a lot but it took a lot of the day to determine this and by a bit I mean 10-15% better.


And here’s the thing. When I just sat and listened to the Nano Black playing Hi Res tracks via HD800s I wasn’t thinking any of that I was just enjoying really good sound reproduction of really good music.


The ifi Stack I have is remarkably good for the money to the point where I listen to it more often than my main system simply because it is so easy to use and the sound quality is so high. Using it with Tidal is very easy and gives me an almost limitless supply of music.


What the Nano provides is a portable version of that Stack with nearly as good sound and all for £200. It is ridiculous!


You can read all the details and specs of the Nano Black here… https://ifi-audio.com/portfolio-view/nano-idsd-bl/


So there is no need for me to tell you what ifi Audio can tell you more comprehensively!


Meantime I’d like to mention a couple of the Nano Blacks features. The first is the amp as mentioned will drive high impedance headphones such as the HD800s and drive them properly. The one thing I don’t have is a 3.5mm TRRS plug so that I could have used the HD800s in balanced mode. This would be worth trying as I have heard the HD800s in balanced mode via an XLR plug and it improves them even further.


Likewise I didn’t try MQA or rather Tidal Master tracks as my Micro iDSD doesn’t unfold these and so it would not have been a fair comparison, and that’s why I used 24/192 and DSD files from my iPhone instead for the His Res comparison. I will probably try the Master file later on and once I download the new firmware.


In conclusion I must thank ifi Audio for the kind loan of the Nano Black. I think that it is as good a device as they have ever made and for the price I am truly dumfounded. I will certainly be purchasing one for myself when this loaner goes back as it offers the possibility of very nearly Hi End HiFi on the move. Indeed if you were listening to this while travelling or in a hotel on business of an evening then I think you would be highly impressed with the quality of sound this device brings to CD and Hi Res music.

<a href="https://www.hostingpics.net/viewer.php?id=409475IMG201712120959163.jpg"><img src="https://img15.hostingpics.net/thumbs/mini_409475IMG201712120959163.jpg" alt="Hébergement photos" /></a>
First,i want to say i have NOT been influenced in ANY way(should it be a discount coupon if i post a positive review or whatever you might imagine)by iFi Audio who sent me the DAC as a group test,this is the 1st time i EVER participate in this,i never thought i would ever have been chosen,just feel free to PM if you're skeptical(as i was myself before).I'm a human being,i either like or dislike a music/hi-fi gear,i'm no MUSIC surgeon so i won't go into FR analysis(as you find a lot in these pages)BECAUSE in the end i find them confusing(contadictions in terms,misuse of words or lack of clear and honest impressions).
At first listen i felt quite unimpressed but the Nano's charms slowly grow up on you to become utterly addictive in the end.The bass are well rounded just as i love them(nothing close to the dry bass of ,say,the Pioneer XDP30R),the mids glorious(slight tilt to it which makes the whole difference with an average sounding DAC),the highs are detailed without EVER being harsh(any harshness will come down to the HPs used or poorly recorded materials).This DAC simply outperforms well-established "killers" like the Mojo,or the Sony WM1A.When listening to the Sony i find myself missing the sheer sparkle and life of the Nano,making the Sony sounding dull.Instrument separation is better than of an old fav of mine,the IBasso DZero Mk2,which shares with the Nano an outstanding midrange.
Final word:i wish this DAC will meet the success it truly deserves as this is the cleanest sounding i have ever had,its value(regardless of price) is simply outstanding,even more so than the exceptionnal Dragonfly Red.

Have a lot of gear at work and at home? Worried if the iFi Nano iDSD Black can work with all your gear? Well here’s a post of the Nano Black and all the gear I connected it to.

1) Connectivity (digital and analog)

The Nano BL has built in USB 2.0 type A “OTG” Socket. This means if you wish to connect to either a Micro B OTG, USB C OTG, and or the Apple Camera Connecter you’ll need to purchase these perspective cables accordingly. The Nano BL has the needed cables for PC.

Figure 1

From left to right. USB C OTG, Micro B OTG, Apple Camera Connector, generic Apple Camera Connector, USB A Female to B Female Cable*, USB A Female to B Female Adapter*, and a USB 3.0 A Male to A Female cable*. * These are included with the Nano Black, the rest ARE NOT!

Figure 2

Figure 3


PC

USB A Female to B Female Cable, USB A Female to B Female Adapter*, and a USB 3.0 A Male to A Female and special guest the iFi Mercury 3.0.

Figure 4 Figure 5


iFi Nano Black and the Matrix Audio M-Stage HPA-2 Classic

Nano connected to a PC via the iFi Mercury 3.0

Figure 6

iFi Nano Black and the Matrix Audio M-Stage HPA-2 Classic


While not all of these are necessary, they can be used with whatever gear and or wires you may already own. While you can use the Nano directly connecting to the PC, it's best you download the drivers from iFi’s site. I personally recommend the Mercury 3.0 cables. Smooth sound!


Apple

USB C OTG, Apple Camera Connector, generic Apple Camera Connector, and USB 3.0 A Male to A Female.

Figure 7

The USB C OTG and or USB 3.0 A Male to A Female is needed for Macs and or Mac Books. The Apple Camera Connector is to be used for iPads, iPhones, and or iTouch/iPod OS 10 and above. The generic Apple Camera Connector can be used on ALL Apple products OS 9.3 and below. In case you’re wondering why you would do this, the iPods 5th generation and below have Wolfson sound chips. Best you go find one while you still can…

Figure 8 Mini Mac and the Nano Black Figure 9 Mini Mac audio via the Nano Black.

Figure 10
Mac Book and Nano Black

Figure 11

Mac Book Pro audio output control panel

Figure 12 and 13

6th Generation iPod/iTouch connected via Apple Camera Connector to the Nano Black

Figure 14

5th Generation iPod/iTouch connected via Apple camera connector to Nano Black

Figure 15

5th Generation iPod/iTouch connected via generic Apple camera connector to Nano Black



Pioneer XDP-300R


Needed the Micro B OTG on this. Not a problem.

Figure 16 and 17

Pioneer XDP-300R connected via Micro B OTG to the Nano Black



Shanling M2 & M3s


USB C OTG worked like a charm.

Figure 18 and 19

Shanling M3s and the Nano Black via the USB C OTG cable

Figure 20 and 21

Shanling M2 connected via USB C OTG to the Nano Black


Cayin i5

Figure 22 and 23


Cayin i5 connected via USB C OTG



Analog audio output


While the Nano has an audio output, there is no audio input so those of you looking to use it this way, cannot. As for the audio output it can't be used as a preamp, just as a DAC. The audio output is fixed, so your external gear will have handle the sound output.



3.5 to RCA outputs or a 3.5 male to 3.5 male cables are your friend if you wish to go this route.

Figure 24 & 25

Figure 26, 27, & 28

iF Nano Black and the Matrix Audio M-Stage HPA-2 Classic

With this in mind, there isn't ANYTHING I could not connect this amp to. Worked flawlessly with PC’s, Mac Books, Mini Macs, iTouch, (the included cables and or the Apple Camera Connecter) the Shanling M2 & M3s as well as the Cayin i5. (USB-C OTG) Pioneer XDP-300R (Micro B OTG)


So if you have any concerns about this Nano connecting with your gear, don’t worry.





Think of this, if you pardon the play on words, an OTG view of the Nano Black!



Figure 1

The included accessories and cables of the Nano.


Size and weight, hah! This thing is nice and compact. However it is a little bulky (thick). So those of you with large size DAPs, may need to check and see if this won’t be a problem for you. A decent sized bag or space in your backpack should suffice. So while not thin, its size isn’t that overwhelming. Also you will need to consider getting shorter and more compact OTG cables to use. Longer, unyielding ones can be problematic in tight spaces.

Figure 2 Figure 3

Side view comparisons of the

Little Bear B4, Oppo HA-2 SE, Chord Mojo, xDuoo XD-05 and the iFi Nano iDSD Black.


Figure 4 Figure 5

The Nano Black and a Little Bear B4


Figure 6 Figure 7

The Nano Black and an Oppo HA-2 SE


Figure 8 Figure 9

The Chord Mojo and the Nano Black



Figure 10 Figure 11

An xDuoo XD-5 and the Nano Black

The Nano comes with a carry bag, but it is not big enough to carry all the included cables or the OTG ones you may need for your particular gear.

When not being used or in transport I don’t like using just bags, I prefer a solid case. So behold a Lowepro carry case I found on sale in Hong Kong.



Figure 12 Figure 13

Hard case Storage space

So does everything that came with it fit? Yes it does!

So as you can tell, it isn’t that much thicker than both the B4 and the XD-5 and just a tad wider and thicker than the Mojo. So size shouldn't be an issue. Unless, of course, you love the HA-2’s thinner size.

So that concludes the connectivity and portability aspect of this 3 part review. Sound is forth coming. See you all soon!

This review is part of iFi Audio’s generous Nano BL Tour, where I am happy and proud to be selected as one of the reviewers for the European leg of the Tour. Therefore, a disclaimer is due here:

Disclaimer: the unit tested was a loaner from iFi, which means exactly this: I received it from iFi free of charge and returned it after the review. I have not been otherwise incentivized by iFi to write a positive review. And frankly – I didn’t need any additional incentives!

Disclaimer 2: the review contains a few very technical and detailed abstracts, that may be way too lengthy and detailed for a captivating reading, therefore, those abstracts will be titled as Geeky Tech Notes and will be hidden under spoilers, which you may or may not wish to open.

Background with iFi products

I have been for three years and I still am a happy owner of iFi’s original Nano iDSD (the fully-featured one, not LE!), that I’ve had enough time to put through its paces in both desktop and portable applications. I must confess I am absolutely in love with this little piece of genius engineering, although, as it is always the case with beloved partners, Nano iDSD wasn’t without its flaws. Needless to say I was eagerly awaiting for the opportunity to get my hands on the new Black Label incarnation of this tiny magic box to see what has changed and in what direction, apart from the obvious switch from “blonde” to “brunette” appearance. So inevitably, throughout this review I will be comparing the new BL to the original iDSD Nano.

Packaging and contents

The unit I reviewed was a brand-new, unopened retail unit (not a tour unit), therefore I can be confident that the packaging and contents are exactly what you’ll find on the shelves of retail stores/in boxes coming from online stores.



The packaging style is very similar to the original iDSD Nano that I own: you’re met by an outer sleeve with a colorful product picture and a wealth of both marketing and technical information. It even has a little special sticky black label (no pun intended… or is it? ) on the top of the box, showing off 4x Extra Power, Dual Mono Output and MQA Authenticated features. The sleeve off, you will find a typical iFi white tight-fit box (a bit “Apple-style”). Note the obvious difference between box dimensions of the original Nano and the BL: the latter is much slimmer, with roughly the same length and width.


Nano Black Label on the left, original Nano iDSD on the right

Great job by iFi on slimming down the box, given that the Nano BL has a lot of stuff included:



The most notable difference is the set of cables, which is logical given the change of physical USB connection on the BL compared to the original.



The BL comes with the total of 3 cables/adaptors:

- 1m/3ft long USB3.0 A Male to A Female cable. This one looks like the regular USB3.0 extension cable, and technically this is exactly what it is. It will be your main cable for charging the unit from any wall plug adapter/powerbank/computer port, as well as your USB DAC connection cable to connect the BL to a PC.
- A short (slightly less than 20cm/about 7in) USB2.0 A female to B Female cable. This will allow you to connect whatever existing USB A to B male cables you may already have in your desktop or portable setups.
- An even shorter single-piece solid A Female to B Female adaptor, which obviously has exactly the same purpose as the aforementioned 7 inch cable, but in a different form factor.

I will get back to this with a more in-depth analysis of connectivity options later in my review.

Unlike the original Nano iDSD, which included a regular, but decent, stereo RCA cable, the new BL bundles no analogue interconnects at all.

In addition to the set of cables and adapters, the BL also comes with a pair of rubber bands to “sandwich” it with a portable source – a smartphone or a DAP, however, the rectangular silicone spacer that came with the original Nano iDSD, is no longer included.

To finish with the packaging, I’ll mention the much discussed carrying pouch. Yes, it does have an opening at the bottom, and no, this is not a stitching defect, but a wise feature to run cables through.

I am personally not a big fan of soft-cloth carrying pouches, especially made of velour-esque materials. To say that this is a dust/debris magnet is a classical British understatement. Moreover, it offers only limited protection against scratches, but not more. Don’t get me wrong – this is perfectly fine, and very thoughtful on behalf of iFi to include the pouch free of charge, but I always want my beloved gadgets well protected. My original Nano iDSD has been kept in a small digital camera pouch that I got dirt-cheap in the local camera store, and, as you can see, after 3 years of heavy use it is still in a pristine condition.



Given that Black Label is black (what a surprise ), I’d strongly recommend getting something similar for your new toy, as the black coating may be even more prone to accidental bumps and scratches.

Exterior, connections and controls

I can’t agree more with Henry Ford who once said that “The car can be of any color, as long as this color is black”!
The Nano BL, with its high-grade matte-black finish and glossy black/orange markings is beautiful. Full stop! Front and rear plates are perfectly machined and beveled edges add to the overall impression of a quality product.



Don’t get me wrong – the original Nano iDSD made me have the same feelings of shimmering quality when I first got it in my hands, but there’s nothing I can do – BLACK is BLACK. I love it.

While it’s a pure question of personal taste, I was not overly happy with the overall change in the front and rear plate shapes. I really loved the complex multi-angled “raised eyebrows” shape of the original Nano and Micro series.



The new BL has a much simpler, more “boring” trapezoid face. I can see it being more comfortable in the portable set up, as it has less bumpy edges now, but to me it kind of lost that signature bold look of iFi Nano/Micro series. Other than this, the overall physical dimensions of the two units remain very close, with exactly the same chassis length and width. The BL has a slightly smaller overall length thanks to a very wise move by iFi of making the volume knob almost twice as short as the original Nano iDSD.



Bravo, iFi, you really nailed this one! While still offering perfectly sufficient grip for convenient volume control, the new BL does not have this unnecessarily protruding volume knob of the original Nano iDSD. Moreover, the new knob is also more visually informative, thanks to an orange mark against a black background – a step forward from barely visible silver mark on a silver knob of the original Nano iDSD.



However, both the original Nano iDSD and the new BL volume knobs could in my opinion do a much better job in portable use, if they were a little crown-shaped, as opposed to cylindrical.



This would allow much easier “blind operation” of the unit if in a pocket/pouch/bag, because with a little practice you’d be able to tell the dialed volume just by feeling the knob position relative to the unit body.

Geeky Technote on volume control
Adding more to the overall compactness of the unit, the new BL has no protruding RCA connector for SPDIF out on the back (although this one comes at a price of actually losing the functionality), and the filter switch is now a nicely recessed design.



Front controls and connectors

One of the headline features of the new BL is a totally reworked amplifier part, which now offers two 3.5mm connectors for your headphones, located in the left part of the front panel. The left one is marked as “iEMatch”, the right one as “Direct”.



While having two headphone outputs may sound better than one, I personally don’t think so. In a small portable package, where every millimeter and gram counts, having two basically identical headphone connectors with just some internal impedance-matching circuit that differ is a bit of a waste, in my view. I am not an audio engineer, but it seems to me iEMatch could well be a toggle switch feature, instead of a separate connector. The valuable space taken by the second connector could be then used to provide some more useful features, such as 2.5mm TRRS balanced connector (to complement 3.5mm TRRS connector which is already there). I don’t think a full-size ¼ inch (6.3mm) jack is that important in a device that is tailored for portable use, but even this would be a more useful feature than what we have now.

Between the pair of headphone output connectors on the left and the volume knob on the right now resides the main RGB LED which signals battery states, connection states and formats of tracks played. More on it later, but I wanted to highlight another perfect hit by iFi for moving the LED from the top of the original Nano iDSD to the front plate, where it really belongs. I loved how discreet and unobtrusive was the tiny LED on the original iDSD Nano, but its placement could feel awkward at times, especially if you try to stack several units in desktop use, or put your “sandwich” into a pocket/pouch/bag in portable use. In many normal usage scenarios you simply could not see or, at least, could not easily see the LED on the original Nano iDSD. This problem is simply inexistent in the new BL. Ideally, I’d personally prefer the old, smaller and less bright LED of the original Nano iDSD at the new Nano BL location, but this is probably asking too much.

Rear controls and connectors



The left corner of rear plate of the unit houses the 3.5mm stereo mini jack line out, which is a fixed-level 2v stereo output.

Geeky Technote on Line Out
Next to the line out is the tiny digital filters switch, which seems to be exactly the same filter switch as in the original Nano iDSD, but with different naming. It looks on paper that “Listen” on the BL is the old “Minimum Phase” on the original Nano iDSD, and “Measure” is “Standard”. To be frank with you, I have never been able to hear any difference beyond the autosuggestion between the two, neither on the original Nano, nor on the new BL, no matter what music I listened to with what headphones. If this sounds to you as a verdict that I am deaf or at least hearing-impaired, you might want to skip my listening impressions altogether

The right corner of the rear plate is occupied by the digital USB input, which represents another novelty introduced on the BL.



Unlike the original Nano iDSD, which had a traditional USB3.0 Type B Female (USB3.0 shaped, but USB 2.0 electronically, to be precise) connector for digital input, the new BL offers the recessed USB Type A Male connector. This smart move (as well as a few other feature differences that I will mention later) to me is a clear sign that iFi is shifting the positioning of the unit more towards the portable use rather than desktop use.

Electronically, this is still the USB2.0 asynchronous digital input, just like on the original Nano iDSD. However, the use of a recessed male connector now allows users to connect the BL to both Android and iOS devices with a lot less cable clutter.

iOS connections

As you all know, in order to get true digital USB audio out with current generation of iOS devices, you need to use Apple’s Lightning to USB camera adapter (and special software, and some luck – but more on this later).



This adapter has a USB Type A Female socket at the device end, where you’re normally supposed to plug the regular USB Type A Male end of the cable connecting your camera to import pictures. (Yes, Apple officially says that this connector is only for importing pictures from compatible digital cameras. He-he ) With most other USB DACs/Amps, this is exactly what you’ll have to do: plug the Type A Male end of your normal USB cable into this Apple adapter.



What you can do now, with iFi Magic (or shall I say clever thinking), is have this regular USB cable disappear! Instead, you simply plug the Type A Female end of your Apple adapter right into this rectangular hole with rounded corners, where it fits just perfectly.


Sorry for the fingerprints on the dirty iPad screen

Geeky Technote on Apple USB adapters and USB Audio Out
Side note. Apple Lightning to USB Camera Adapter is not just straightforward wires with different connectors: they do have some Apple’s proprietary digital circuitry inside, so the result is only guaranteed (sort of ) with original adapters.

Android connections

In order to connect a USB DAC to an Android device, you need to use the so-called USB OTG (or On-The-GO) cable. This cable is a lot simpler than the Apple adapter, and is in fact just straight wires with different connectors, but wires are soldered in a specific way so that the cable conforms to OTG specs.

Typically, an OTG cable will have a micro USB (or, with recent smartphones, USB Type C) connector at the phone end, and then a USB Type A Female socket on the other (device) end. And while technically very different, both Apple adapters and Android OTG cables share physically identical USB Type A Female connectors at the device end, meaning both of which can be plugged directly into the new BL, without any additional cables or adapters.


A typical Android USB OTG adapter (left) next to Apple Lightning to USB Camera Adapter (right)

This is where the new “recessed USB Typa A Male” connector of Nano BL really shines in its full glory: all you need to have is a standard USB OTG adapter (Micro USB or USB Type C at the phone end, depending on your device), which you can plug directly into Nano BL.



I can’t stress enough how much more convenient and compact this is, compared to, for example, the original Nano iDSD. This is the mess of cables you’d normally have to live with when using Nano iDSD in portable mode:



In order to make the portable package with Nano iDSD nicer and more compact, I ordered a wonderful custom-built copper litz Micro USB to USB Type B OTG cable, which worked perfectly, but required quite an additional investment.



With the Nano BL, this is not necessary. Of course, those of us who fancy aftermarket custom cables, could still bother ordering a custom-made higher-quality OTG cable with typical USB Type A Female connector, but the ability to use almost (and this is an important “almost”!) any commercially available USB OTG adapter is a huge plus.

However, a special note must be made here: while Apple’s original Lightning to USB Camera Adapters are all exactly the same in terms of physical dimensions, unfortunately, USB OTG cables are offered by hundreds of different manufacturers, and the size of the outer plastic shell of the female connector can vary quite significantly. Being more of an Android guy rather than Apple person, I have quite a selection of different OTG cables, and I was able to find both those that fit perfectly, those, that fit with a very tight squeeze, and those, that just won’t fit at all.


From left to right: perfect fit, barely fits, does not fit at all.

Therefore, if you plan to use the BL in an Android-based portable set up and you’re planning to use the USB OTG cable directly plugged into BL’s USB socket – take the BL with you when you shop for the OTG cable to try the fit, or be prepared to do some sanding off of the plastic shell. Do NOT force the connector into the socked – you risk to bend/damage the contacts. The connector must enter without any excessive force.


Note the striking size difference between the bundled USB cable Type A female connector and the worst-case Android USB OTG connector – it is well over 1.5 mm!

I wish iFi made this square opening just another half-millimeter larger in each direction – this would have solved a lot, if not all, of the physical compatibility issues with all sorts of cables and adapters.

As you may have noticed, gone is the SPDIF RCA output of the original Nano iDSD – yes, the new BL omits the Digital-to-Digital Converter (DDC) functionality altogether. Whether to lament it or not strongly depends on your intended use. If you happen to own and cherish one of those older-generation coaxial SPDIF-only DACs – then you’ll lose the ability to hook it to your PC via USB to SPDIF conversion offered by the original Nano iDSD. If not (my case) – this omission is nothing to regret about. Obviously, the DDC is a lot more “desktop” rather than “portable” feature: I can hardly imagine when you could need to have an SPDIF output in a truly portable scenario. Yet another sign of iFi clearly wanting the BL to be perceived as a portable solution in the first place.

This closes the section on external controls and connectors. All other sides of the unit are free of any connectors/controls etc. The “belly” has four pre-installed small silicone bumps which provide good grip for the unit sitting on the desk, and some protective clearance between BL and the phone/DAP, if used in a portable “sandwich” set up. Note that the original Nano iDSD also came with preinstalled silicone feet, but those were much larger and taller, making the entire portable “sandwich” noticeably thicker, than in case of Nano BL.

Since this is a loaner unit which I am supposed to return in impeccable condition, there will be no disassembly/teardown, sorry .

Test equipment and music



Sources

In desktop mode, the BL is fed by the digital signal from a dedicated music PC running Windows Server, via a NEC-based PCIe USB 3.0 card. I installed the most up-to-date USB Driver package from iFi, v.3.20.0. The playback software is Foobar2000 v1.3.17, packed with foo_out_asio v2.1.2, foo_dsd_processor v1.1.0 and foo_input_sacd v1.1.0.

In portable mode, the BL is connected to Sony Xperia Z5 Compact, non-rooted, and running latest stock FW. The playback software is the latest version of USB Audio Player Pro (UAPP)v.3.8.5 and/or Hiby Music v.3.0.0 International build 5481. I have also tested the iOS playback using an iPad Mini 4, running the latest iOS 11.2.2 and Onkyo HF Player (full license) for bit-perfect hi-res USB Audio output tests, although I do not primarily use iPad as a portable music source.

The Nano BL was tested with three different firmware binaries: the original 5.2 Limoncello, the 5.2A “DSD256 DoP” variation, as well as the 5.3C RC2 MQA-enabled. More on this later.

Headphones

Full size: AKG K501; AKG Q701; Audiotechnica ATH-A700; Audiotechnica ATH-ES10; Sony MDR-7506; Philips Fidelio X2

IEM: Etymotic ER4P Custom eartips + recable.

Compared to/paired with:

iFi Nano iDSD USB DAC/Amp
M2Tech HiFace USB DAC
Ray Samuels Audio RSA Predator USB DAC/Amp
Laconic HA-04AF Tube Headphone Amp
Genelec 6010 Near-field studio monitors

Test music

While I have listened to a large variety of music during burn-in, I will base my listening impressions for this review on a playlist of test songs that I try to use in whatever equipment listening tests, in order to have more comparable results.

Format compatibility and audible differences between formats (or absence thereof ) was tested using the excellent selection of hi-res samples offered by 2L – a Norwegian record label. The advantage is that I truly compare apples to apples: 2L offers the same track, packaged in a variety of different formats (FLACs ranging from Redbook to DXD, DSD from 64 to 256, and even MQA-encoded files) all coming from the same highest-quality studio master source. In my compatibility tests I used the Mozart Violin Concerto in D major KV 218, I. Allegro, performed by Marianne Thorsen & TrondheimSolistene and mastered in hot and fresh MQA remix of 2016.

Sound signature and sonic qualities were tested using a selection of my favorites tracks, mainly coming from big audio companies’ or record lables’ test/demonstration disks. The track list is below:



Basic operations

PC operation

BL is recognized by Windows-based PCs as a USB Audio device and appears under “Sound, video and game controllers” as “iFi (by AMR) HD+ USB Audio”.

I used the supplied USB3.0 Type A Female to Type A Male cable for connection to my PC. In fact, any USB Type A Female to Type A Male extender cable would work, no matter USB3.0 or USB2.0, because electronically the USB input on the Nano DL is USB2.0.
However, this is not the only cabling option. The Nano DL includes two adapters that allow you to use any USB2.0 Type B terminated cable to connect to your digital source. USB Type A to B cables are quite common among higher-end aftermarket USB cable manufacturers. The USB Type A end would usually go to the source – a PC, or a network player/streamer, and Type B would usually go to the DAC. This is not a rule nor a standard, so other variations also occur.

As I mentioned earlier, both included adapters do exactly the same thing and only differ in shape and length. In my opinion, including both of them is a bit of a redundancy. Moreover, unlike the original Nano iDSD, which had “USB3.0-shaped” Type B socket (with the cutout for the raised part of USB3.0 compliant cables), both included adapters would only physically accept “square” USB2.0 Type B cables. Technically, USB3.0 fully-wired cables would make absolutely no difference, as only the USB2.0 part of contacts will be used anyway. However, as USB3.0 is gradually replacing USB2.0 virtually everywhere, the physical compatibility of the original Nano iDSD with the new generation of cables is an added bonus.

With Firmware 5.2 Limoncello the unit is absolutely stable, and gets recognized by the system every time I connected it, both in “battery power mode” (where you have to first turn the unit on with the volume knob, and then connect the USB cable), and in “USB power mode” (where you plug the cable first and then turn the device power on with the volume knob).

Geeky Technote on power circuit
Using Foobar2000, I had absolutely no problem playing back all almost all declared file formats. The unit correctly accepted PCM signals ranging from your Redbook 16/44.1 all the way up to whopping DXD 24bit/352kHz files. As far as DSD is concerned, I was able to effortlessly playback DSD 64 (2.8MHz) and DSD 128 (5.6MHz).

DSD256 files could not be played back though Nano BL flashed with 5.2 Limoncello. The original Nano iDSD running the same 5.2 Limoncello firmware (and yes, this is exactly the same FW, the binary file is absolutely identical) could not play DSD256 neither. However, for the original Nano iDSD there’s 5.2A firmware variant officially listed on the web site, which unlocks DSD256 in DoP (DSD-Over-PCM), and allows to play back DSD256 files.

While 5.2A is not officially listed as compatible with Nano BL, after consultations with iFi technical specialists I tried flashing this binary to Nano BL, and it went totally fine. The unit was initialized by the driver now displaying 5.2A firmware, and DSD256 tracks played just fine, with the control panel correctly reporting DSD256 (DoP) output format and a whopping 705600kHz sampling rate.



While I strongly believe that the ability to play back DSD256 content in a normal, “consumer listening” environment, let alone portable set ups, is more of a demonstration of iFi’s excellent engineering rather than a practical necessity, credits given where due. iFi managed to cram an incredible amount of versatility and flexibility in such a tiny footprint (both in terms of physical dimensions and the price bracket). There’s certainly some magic going on inside those tiny boxes. Black magic in this case

I have also tried the newer Release Candidate firmware for the Nano BL – namely, 5.3C RC2. This firmware unleashes MQA decoding capabilities of the Nano BL, is said to lock PCM up-sampling to 8x, and changes the logic of LED color indication of the incoming signal format.

As far as MQA is concerned, unfortunately, I could not test this feature. TIDAL is not available in Russia, and I could not find any other way of testing MQA-encoded tracks on a PC source. So no magenta light has ever shown up on my Nano DL.

DSD playback in 5.3C RC2 is unchanged compared to 5.2 – full support of DSD64 and DSD128 tracks, the LED correctly turns cyan. DSD256 tracks cannot be played back again – you do need 5.2A to unlock DSD256 DoP mode.

With the PCM material the unit behaves quite differently compared to the stock 5.2 Firmware. The 5.3C RC2 is said to always show the white LED on PCM material because it is “upsampled 8x”. And indeed, instead of showing individual color coding for up to 96kHz (green) or 174/192kHz (yellow) or DXD (white), the Nano BL is now always white with PCM tracks. However, I could not perceive any audible difference between non-upsampled playback of PCM tracks and 8x upsampling.

I must note, however, that in terms of the overall stability the 5.3C RC2 is still what it is honestly called – a release candidate. I did have a couple of occurrences where Nano BL would not be recognized by the system at first connection attempt (no matter “Power then cable” or “Cable then power”), and required re-plugging it one or two times. Once recognized, the unit remain rock-solid in terms of stability. This only happened to me on the 5.3C RC2 firmware – I have never had any issues plugging/unplugging/re-plugging dozens of times with neither Nano BL, nor Nano iDSD, with officially released 5.2 and 5.2A firmware.

Android operation

Nano BL was tested with my Sony Xperia Z5 Compact, which supports USB OTG connection (this is a mandatory requirement to properly use outboard USB DAC on an Android device, bypassing any internal system audio processing).

The only caveat is the physical compatibility of the Nano BL’s square opening and the size of the outer shell of the Type A female connector on the OTG cable. I covered it in the “Packaging and contents” section of this review, just a reminder: not all USB OTG cables are created equal, so please try before you buy!

On my Xperia, in order to use the Nano BL (or any other external USB device), I needed to initialize it manually, by going to Settings -> Device Connection -> USB Connectivity, and tap the “Detect USB Device”.



Your mileage may vary, as I think it strongly depends on the USB OTG implementation and can differ from phone to phone and from Android version to another.

In portable set up, you will want to use Nano BL’s Battery Power Mode, so please make sure to turn the unit on with the volume knob first, and then connect your cables and perform whatever actions are necessary to initialize the device on your smartphone or tablet.

Nano BL demonstrated perfect compatibility with both USB Audio Player Pro (UAPP) and Hiby Music – the two leading Android apps capable of completely bypassing Android system sound mixer and output bit-perfect USB Audio to outboard DACs. I had absolutely no problem playing back the entire selection of my test tracks, including (with some quirks) DSD256 tracks.



Track format indication by the LED was accurate with all the files. Most of my testing was done using USB Audio Player Pro, with Bit Perfect set to “ON”, DSD Mode set to “Native”, and no USB Tweaks selected. I must once again acclaim iFi’s excellent format compatibility across any platform!

Geeky Technote on DSD256 playback on Android
iOS connection and operation

While I don’t normally use iOS devices as my digital music sources (I could’ve elaborated on this on 3-4 more pages, but I will not start this Holy War ), for the purposes of testing I used my iPad Mini 4 with Onkyo HF Player, connecting Nano BL directly by Apple Lightning to USB Camera Adapter.

A note to be made here: make sure to always use “Battery Power Mode” when connecting Nano BL to your iOS device, by turning the power on first, and the plugging the cable in. Otherwise you will most likely get the famous annoying Apple’s “The attached accessory uses too much power” error message, and your Nano BL will not be initialized.



Your mileage with more powerful Apple devices such as iPads Pro may vary, but to be on the safe side, I recommend sticking to the Battery Power Mode all the time. Even without the error message, this makes perfect sense, as you don’t really want Nano to draw power from your mobile device.

Connecting Nano BL in Battery Power mode is a breeze. Once initialized by the system, the unit becomes visible to Onkyo HF Player.
Nano BL demonstrated once again excellent format compatibility, playing back all my test PCM and DSD tracks. Note that, unlike UAPP or Hiby on Android, Onkyo HF Player only offers DSD-Over-PCM (or DoP) playback for DSD files (in addition to DSD-to-PCM conversion, which is a totally different thing). It may well be an iOS platform limitation, although being able to play hi-res or DSD content and output it to an external USB DAC form an iOS device is already a huge achievement by Onkyo!



The Nano BL LED indicator correctly reported all the signal formats, from green for PCM all the way up to blue for DSD256 DoP.
The only unpleasant experience of using Nano BL on iOS device is a sudden and very loud unpleasant “scratching” sound, quite often coming from the headphones the moment you close Onkyo HF Player after playing back a DSD file. This has nothing to do with Nano BL and must be something about the app or the iOS platform in general, as this happened to me with every USB DAC I tried on my iPad. It does not happen but make sure to switch the unit off before closing the Onkyo HF Player.

I did not test any other third-party music software on my iPad, since Onkyo HF Player is the only true bit-perfect USB Audio app that I know of, and I own a full-licenced version which allows you to load and play back hi-res content. Please note that for all your fancy hi-res PCM and/or DSD tracks, you’ll need to load them directly to Onkyo HF Player using iTunes’ application-specific file sharing. Onkyo HF Player can read your iTunes music library locally stored on your iPad, but the playback will be routed via iOS audio mixer.

The native Apple music app can play through Nano DL too, but of course, only those tracks that are in your iTunes library.

Listening impressions



This is the trickiest part of any review, but probably for most readers, the most important one. My problem with listening impressions has always been that I know this is always purely subjective, and as such maybe the least reliable part of any review. On the other hand, this is exactly what makes multiple reviewers’ tours the most useful form of product presentation – readers get a wide range of different opinions, and where such opinions converge would most likely be as close to objectivity as possible.

I will start with a few general comments about Nano iDSD Black Label, and then would add some finer details and impressions on various gear combinations and music tracks.

Unique sonic characteristics of different headphones driven by Nano BL remain very recognizable

This one is important. In other words, Nano iDSD Black Label does a good job of not adding too much of its own sonic character to different headphones it drives. Some reviewers would call it neutral sounding, and it may be a good term, although to me, it is neutral not in the sense of perfectly flat frequency response curve, but in the sense of not affecting much the overall tonal characteristics of given headphones.

What it means in practice, with Nano BL, for example, my Etymotics sounded pretty much what they are supposed to sound: a high-precision surgical scalpel, capable of dissecting music into its finest layers and pieces. And not a Thor hammer that slams base notes into your head like a very colored and punchy ES-10 by Audiotechnica.

Nano BL does not try to be nice sounding (by emphasizing lower end, or adding more sparkle to the treble), it tries to be sounding honestly. This may or may not what someone is looking for.

For example, the M2Tech HiFace DAC + RSA Predator combo are a totally different sounding set up, with much more coloration, much more involving sound. Great lower end punch; lush, rich and forward-sounding mids, and slightly recessed treble may sound more appealing, especially with some genres.

However, the price to pay for this emotional involvement is that there’s much less sonic character difference between different pairs of headphones, and all of a sudden your darker, more aggressive and impactful Fidelio X2 start sounding not that different from you normally airy, light and laid-back AKG K501.

Nano iDSD Black Label is a true powerhouse of a headphone amplifier

This one is obvious. The Black Label is a HUGE improvement over the original Nano iDSD in terms of headphone amplification.
It easily coped with anything I was able to throw at it, from sensitive Etymotic IEMs and ATH-EW9 clip-ons to much harder to drive AKG K501.


I hope this is the biggest thing ever plugged into Nano BL

Even without going to the extremes of the headphones range (no, I don’t own any planars, orthodynamics or old-school 600 Ohms studio monitoring cans), I can tell the power reserve of this tiny box is absolutely amazing!

This is probably the most notable difference with the original Nano iDSD. I have always thought (and I still do) that Nano iDSD is a much better DAC than the headphone amp, and in my personal set up it was mainly a desktop unit. Its headphone jack was its Achilles heel.
Certainly not the case with the new Nano BL! A combination of clever iEMatch technology, new fully analogue volume control and the S-Balanced topology make it a much more capable headphone amp than its predecessor.

If any criticism could be applied to headphone amplification of the Nano BL – this would go towards the iEMatch socket. It does sound slightly veiled, less transparent and detailed, than the Standard output, even at normalized volume levels. Whether it has to do with iEMatch additional circuitry in the signal path, or I simply don’t have uber-sensitive 16-ohms IEMs to really benefit from this technology – I am not sure. But here’s the fact: most of my listening was done via the Standard output.

I must admit I was not able to test the advantages of the “S-Balanced Technology” offered by iFi, simply because I could not get hold of any balanced-cabled headphones that would be terminated in a 3.5mm TRRS plug.

Geeky Technote on balanced headphone connections
Nano iDSD BL as a DAC kept all the good things of the original Nano iDSD

I compared Nano iDSD Black Label to the original Nano iDSD, as well as to M2Tech HiFace DAC, in DAC only mode, driving either an external headphones amp or my active monitors from the devices’ line outputs. My findings confirm that the DAC part of both generations of Nanos is almost, if not exactly, the same: the best DAC I have ever heard in sub-$500 class, hands down, especially with DSD material.



It has a very neutral, open sound signature, with a very cohesive overall sonic picture, very good level of detail, and excellent timber reproduction – very natural and delicate. With PCM material it retains most of its qualities, however, it does sound a little less refined and detailed. The differences are very subtle, and require very careful listening with very detailed and neutral headphones (I use my Etymotics for these purposes), but they are audible. This is perfectly in line with my earlier impressions from the original Nano iDSD, and I can only repeat that if you really want to get the best of your iFi Nano – go for DSD material.

I must say that overall the Burr-Brown platform iFi chose for its portable range is really great, and iFi certainly learned well how to make a good DAC on this chip. In my personal ranking, it beats all of the Sabre portable implementations I have heard in this price bracket, and is a very solid contender even against my preferred (albeit not yet owned) AKA4490-based portable platform, such as Shanling M3S. However, this comparison is not very accurate, as I did not have M3S at hand during the review, and had to rely on memorized sonic impressions of the latter.

One thing to note here. It is not a warm and bright sounding DAC, nor a dark, bass-hammering DAC. So if you prefer this type of sound signature – look elsewhere.

Individual sound impressions

With open full size cans (AKG K501/Q701, Philips Fidelio X2)

The Nano BL did a great job allowing K501 and Q701 unleash their strongest features: excellent airiness, fantastic detail and wide and precise soundstage. You could almost physically feel the intimate chamber space where TACET went on with tube only recording of Stuttgarter Kammerorchester performing Boccherini’s La Musica Notturna, while at the same time enjoy the spaciousness of a concert hall with the Concertgebouw Orchestra of Amsterdam, conducted by Anatole Fistoulari, made you plunge into the Swan Lake’s Act 2, Scene 10.

Timbre accuracy was also excellent, and I am not adding “for the price” this time. TACET’s tube-only recordings have, to my taste, the most-natural sounding string instruments I have ever heard, and Nano BL was able to convey them without any undue interference. This is something that, for example, none of the Sabre-based portable devices I auditioned was capable to do.

With Fidelio X2, Nano BL managed to drive them to their usual more punchy, heavier-weight and full-bodied sound. “You and your friend” by Dire Straits sounded as energetic and full of drive as you’d expect it to sound, and the same applies to the heart-touching acoustic guitar reefs and voice by Nils Lofgren in his “Keith Don’t Go’.

With closed-back cans (Sony MDR-7506/Audiotechnica ATH-A700/ES-10)

Those are the cans I’d normally use for recordings that benefit from a more intimate, in-your-ears sound signature, with a lot of presence. And Nano BL did not disappoint! John Campbell’s infernal voice sounded infernal enough to make you shiver listening to his Down in the Hole. And the incredible Melody Gardot would literally whisper into your ear her “So we meet again, my heartache”.

The lower end of the spectrum was punchy and accurate, if only just a tiny bit lighter-weight than, for instance, my desktop tube amp is capable of delivering into the same cans. This totally conforms with the term “neutral-sounding” that can be applied to Nano BL – as much as I enjoy the whopping bass response of my Laconic tube amp, its sound signature is anything but neutral .



At home, in my desktop system, I’d probably have more enjoyment of Alan Taylor’s “Dedicated to…” bass line, however, on the go Nano BL was more than persuasive with this piece.

With Etymotic ER4P Custom re-cabled IEMs

Nano BL had absolutely no problems driving Etymotics, and I did not even have to recourse to the iEMatch socket – they played just fine from the Standard output. No matter Standard or iEMatch, Nano BL demonstrated a totally black background, with no hum or hiss whatsoever, even with the volume knob turned all the way to max. Excellent job by iFi, and apparently "iPurifier technology built in" does its job.

Plugged into Nano, ER4P remained exactly what they are: an extremely accurate, sharp and sterile medical scalpel, which is capable of carving out the smallest details of the music texture. Etymotics and Nano BL turned out to be an excellent testing and evaluation combo, but…

This is probably the only case where in terms of the actual listening pleasure and enjoyment I might say I liked my M2Tech HiFace DAC/RSA Predator more than the Nano BL. The much livelier sonic character of M2Tech HiFace DAC, combined with RSA’s signature dark, laid-back and lower-end focused sound are simply more fun with Etys because they offset nicely the uber-flat, even and sterile sound signature of Etymotics. This in no ways mean something is wrong with Nano BL, it is just that ER4 are a very specific pair of IEMs, and not all DACs/Amps are a synergetic match.

Conclusions and final word

Bravo, iFi, you did it again!

You started this game with the original Nano iDSD – opened up the world of excellent sound in a portable package to a sub-$200 market. Then you took the original Nano iDSD, painted it in black, improved on every single aspect that needed improvement, added a few new features (some more practical than others , and still crammed the whole thing into the same $200 envelop.
The only question that I have is how do you guys do it. Black magic?

Is Nano BL ideal? For its price it certainly is. It’s small, incredibly versatile, packed with features and has a very pleasant, clear and neutral sonic character.

Is it for everyone? Well, in my view, it will definitely fit the bill with most users. However, a distinctly neutral sound may seem a bit uninspiring for someone who is addicted to colored sound. Others may note some lacking energy and emotion, especially with some headphones, but this is certainly not Nano BL’s fault.

Did I like it? I absolutely did, and this is not surprising: I like my original Nano iDSD a lot, and here comes the successor that is simply a better, improved version of it.

Oh, and now it is BLACK!