iFi audio

Pro iDSD

iFi Audio Pro iDSD
The official Launch release



Having sparked a revolution with its low-cost DACs that offered music fans portable 256 stereo for less than £500 a few years ago, iFi has maintained its position at the vanguard of the audio world with the launch of the ground-breaking Pro iDSD. There is simply nothing like it.



We have paid great attention to every section of this DAC/headphone-amp/preamp – no stone has been left unturned. Tried and tested classic noise reduction techniques found in tube equipment have been combined with cutting-edge, 21st century technology to deliver a superlative performance.

The quad section uses a quad “stack” of Bit-Perfect DSD and DXD DACs by Burr-Brown in a custom “interleaved” configuration. This arrangement enables a total of eight pairs of differential signals to be used and mixed totalling four pairs of signals per channel.

In a nutshell

The iFi Pro iDSD is a revolutionary DAC that combines a number of different features to give your home audio system the best possible playback resolution and sound. It can handle all audio formats to DSD1024 or DSD512 or PCM 768K with user-selectable digital filters.

Wireless Playback

With LINKPLAY™ WiFi/network playback, built-in Spotify and Tidal, and wide protocol support for 32-Bit/192kHz and DSD64, the Pro iDSD can directly link to a router for online music play. This gives it the option to:

• Play direct from SD card
• Link to a router and directly stream (TIDAL/MQA, Spotify etc)
• Use DLNA (Digital Living Network Alliance) via music stored on HDD

It’s taken a while to come to market but, boy, has it been worth it. This innovative digital engine will shape the next generation of iFi products and they will rock the digital world.

The gang of four



A quad “stack” of Bit-Perfect DSD and DXD DACs by Burr-Brown work in a custom “interleaved” configuration so that up to eight pairs of differential signals can be used and mixed.

Digital Processing



The new XMOS XU216 X-Core 200 Series 16-Core processor has a maximum of 2,000 MIPS (two billion instructions per second) calculation power in dual-issue mode as a USB interface.

Crysopeia FPGA Digital Engine



The FPGA excels, by handling the up-sampling duties to attain the DSD1024 audio format. In fact, the Pro iDSD can handle all audio formats to DSD1024 or DSD512 or PCM 768K with user-selectable digital filters.

Wireless playback



With LINKPLAY™ WiFi/network playback, built-in Spotify and Tidal, and wide protocol support for 32-Bit/192kHz and DSD64, the Pro iDSD can directly link to a router for online music play.

Many format options



It can handle all audio formats to DSD1024 or DSD512 or PCM 768K with user-selectable digital filters and also gives the user the option to listen to tracks via MQA.


Sample Rates:

• PCM up to 768kHz
• DSD up to 24.576MHz
• DXD and double speed DXD (2xDXD)

Inputs:

• USB (required for DSD, DXD and sample rates above 192KHz)
• AES3 (XLR - single link)
• SPDIF (RCA/Optical combo)
• BNC multifunction In (SPDIF/AES3id In, DARS In, 10MHz In, Atomic clock in)
• BNC multifunction Sync Out (DARS out, 10MHz out)

Outputs:

• Balanced XLR at 4.6V (+15.5dBu - HiFi) or 10V (+22dBu - Pro)
• Single-Ended RCA at 2.3V (HiFi) or 5V (Pro)
• Headphones 6.3mm & SE 3.5mm Jack at 0.55V/2.1V/5V
• Headphones BAL 2.5mm Jack at 1.13V/4.6V/10V
• Headphones out 1,500mW RMS X 2 @ 64 ohm, 4,000mW max. 2 X @ 16 Ohm

Volume Control:

• Balanced (quad) Alps potentiometer, motorised with IR remote control
• XLR/RCA outputs can be selected as fixed level or adjusted
• 6.3mm Headphone Jack is always adjusted

Other Functions:

• Various digital and analogue filters can be selected for DSD and PCM up to 192KHz

PCM Filters:

• Bit perfect (no digital filter, minimal analogue filter)

44.1 - 192KHz, always used for 352.8 - 768kHz

• Bit perfect II (no digital filter, analogue filter corrects HF roll-off)

44.1 - 96kHz

• Minimum Phase (Filter minimises pre- and post-ringing)

44.1 - 192KHz

• Standard FIR (Brickwall Filter)

44.1 - 192KHz

• Additional fixed second order analogue filter @ 80kHz

DSD Filters:

• Four different filters (selectable) with varying bandwidth
• Additional fixed second order analogue filter @ 80kHz

The retail price of the Pro iDSD is:

• US $2,499 (ex-tax)
  
• €2,749 (incl. VAT)
  
• £2,499 (incl. VAT)

And lastly, Wojciech Pacuła of Polish HighFidelity.pl reviewed Pro iDSD and awarded it his Red Fingerprint. English version of this publication is to be found here:

• http://www.highfidelity.pl/@main-828&lang=en

Privacy Policy - May 2018

Privacy Policy
iFi Audio recognizes the importance of protecting the information collected from users in the operation of this Web site, and takes reasonable steps to maintain the security, integrity and privacy of any information in accordance with this Privacy Policy. By submitting your information to IFi Audio you consent to the practices described herein.

Many of the tools and information available on this Web site do not require you to provide personal information. To take advantage of certain features, we may ask you to provide personal information, such as your e-mail address, name, home or work address, telephone number, job title or industry in order to transact business and respond to your inquiry. We may also collect demographic information. If you choose to make a purchase, we will ask for additional information, such as your credit card number and billing address. In all cases, your decision to provide us with personal information is voluntary, and such information will only be used to help transact your business or respond to your questions.

We may collect information about your interaction with our site and services. For example, we may use Web site analytics tools on our site to retrieve information from your browser, including the site you came from, the search engine(s) and the keywords you used to find our site, the pages you view within our site, your browser add-ons, and your browser’s width and height. We may also use technologies, such as cookies and Web beacons (described below), to collect information about the pages you view, the links you click and other actions you take on our site. Additionally, we collect certain standard information that your browser sends to every website you visit, such as your IP address, browser type and language, access times and referring Web site addresses. When you receive newsletters or promotional e-mail from iFi Audio, we may use Web beacons, customized links or similar technologies to determine whether the e-mail has been opened and which links you click in order to provide you more focused e-mail communications or other information.

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Most of the tools and applications available on this Web site do not require you to provide any personal information. Examples of personal information include name, address, e-mail address, phone number, and other information that may identify you. To take advantage of certain features, however, personal information about you may be requested to:

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In all cases, your decision to provide us with personal information is voluntary, and such information will only be used to help transact your business or respond to your questions. From time to time we might exchange, share and/or cross-reference information, including contact information about you with our affiliates that will enable our affiliates to contact you regarding products and services that may be of interest to you. iFi Audio and its affiliated brands does not sell or disclose any personal information obtained from our site visitors without their consent to any unaffiliated third party for purposes unrelated to servicing their requests, unless required to do so by law or other regulatory authority.

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You can stop the delivery of future promotional e-mail from IFi Audio sites and services by following the instructions in the e-mail you receive.

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iFi Audio does not knowingly collect information from children under the age of 13 and does not target its Web site to children under 13. We encourage parents and guardians to take an active role in their children’s online activities and interests.

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Our Web site may contain links to Web sites operated and maintained by third parties, over which we have no control. Privacy policies on such linked sites may be different from our privacy policy. You access such linked sites at your own risk. You should always read the privacy policy of a linked site before disclosing any personal information on such site.

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In order to improve our products and services and the Web site and provide more convenient, relevant experiences to our customers, we may use “cookies,” “Web beacons,” and similar devices to track your activities. A cookie is a small amount of data that is transferred to your browser by a Web server and can only be read by the server that gave it to you. It functions as your identification card. It cannot be executed as code or deliver viruses.

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Transfers outside the European Economic Area (“EEA”)

The information described in this section of the Privacy Policy, with respect to the transfer of data outside the EEA, applies to those individuals located in the EEA. To process information of individuals located in the EEA for the purposes set out in this Privacy Policy, it is sometimes necessary for us to share your personal data outside the EEA, for example:

With our offices outside the EEA
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Where we consider that the transfer is necessary for exercising, establishing or defending legal rights including, as appropriate, providing information to respond to a government, law enforcement, judicial or other legal request, or otherwise to comply with applicable law.

Non-EEA countries might not have the same legal framework for data protection as the EEA countries. In particular, the United States, which is the most common destination of our transfers of Personal Information outside the EEA, is not considered to provide a level of personal data protection equivalent to that of the EEA. We will, however, ensure the transfers comply with EU data protection law. Our standard practice is to use standard data protection contract clauses approved by the European Commission as the basis for such data transfers. You may read more about this on the European Commission Justice website at (http://ec.europa.eu/justice/data-protection/international-transfers/adequacy/index_en.htm). Financial Information Since features exist on this Web site that enable or will enable visitors to receive services and/or register for events online using their credit/debit card, the financial information collected by IFi Audio during these transactions is used solely by IFi Audio or IFi Audio’s vendors who collect this information for IFi Audio. This information is not shared with outside parties except for the purposes of finalizing the transaction.

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We take precautions to protect the security of your contact information that you share with us. Unfortunately, however, no data transmission over the Internet can be guaranteed to be 100% secure. As a result, while we strive to protect your contact information, we cannot guarantee or warrant the security of any information you transmit to or from our Web sites, and you do so at your own risk.

Questions or Comments Concerning This Privacy Policy

iFi Audio takes its Web site users’ privacy very seriously. If you have any questions or comments concerning this Privacy Policy, we invite you to contact iFi Audio at the following address:

iFi Audio
Attn: Legal Department re: Privacy Policy
139-141 Cambridge Road
Churchtown, Southport.
Merseyside
PR9 7LN
UK
Email: info@ifi-audio.com

Changes to This Privacy Policy

iFi Audio will occasionally update this privacy policy to reflect changes in our services and customer feedback. When we post changes to this Policy, we will revise the “last updated” date at the bottom of this Policy. IFi Audio encourages you to periodically review this Policy to be informed of how iFi Audio is protecting your information.

Revised May 2018

The NeXt Generation of Portable Audio

Introduction

When iFi audio launched its original micro iDSD headphone amp, preamp, and DAC back in 2014, it raised the bar for small, portable, high-performing DACs. It’s been lifting it higher ever since. Last November saw the introduction of the nano iDSD Black Label, with a host of new features including support for MQA (Master Quality Authenticated) audio. Now, iFi has excelled itself again with the launch of xDSD – the first in the company’s next generation of portable DACs.




A sonic step up

With a pure analogue volume control retaining full-resolution at all volume levels, the xDSD is a major sonic step up for all smartphones, digital audio players and computers. Its selectable 3D+ and XBass+ functions bring both sensitivity and power to the careful listener. The artist appears in the room with music and lyrics flowing all around.

The xDSD has pulled off the task of being ultra-portable and wireless while supporting high-resolution formats, including MQA, and delivering 500mW of power per channel. By means of aptX HD and AAC, it brings hi-res streaming to Bluetooth.


Feature laden

In terms of attributes, the xDSD is similar to the micro iDSD, though it’s more advanced:

• Burr-Brown Hi-Res True Native DSD DAC chipset for discerning listeners
• Dual-mono headphone amplifier with 500mW of power per channel, which can unleash the full potential of both 32ohm and 600ohm headphones
• High-resolution audio up to PCM768kHz and DSD512
• MQA ready for playing back all high-res MQA encoded files
• Wireless Bluetooth (aptX and AAC) for CD-quality wireless sound
• S-Balanced compatible 3.5mm headphone output brings the benefits of the balanced connection to single-ended headphones
• Advanced Analogue Signal Process (ASP), 3D+® and XBass+® headphone optimisation circuits
• Pure analogue volume control retaining full-resolution at all volume levels
• Audiophile Digital Filter 'Measure/Listen' selectable
• Large 2200mAh Lithium-Polymer battery providing six-to-eight hours of playing time

Small is beautiful

All these features have been packed into a rugged magnesium-aluminium body measuring just 95x66.5x19mm and weighing 127g. Though it has some similarities with the micro iDSD, it’s control layout is very different because of its Bluetooth wireless capability.

Take a look at the front panel controls (left to right) below:

1. 3.5mm HP Jack (TRRS balanced compatible, no microphone support, switchable to line out).
2. Right of the jack, two separate RGB LEDs indicate sample rate and input selection.
3. Volume (Rotary with ‘push’ button) with translucent centre and volume indication backlight.
4. Right of the 3D+/XBass+ button are two separate white LEDs to indicate 3D+ and XBass+.
5. The 3D+/XBass+ button push button cycles between all off, 3D+, XBass+ and both.

Rear panel controls (left to right)

1. 3.5mm SPDIF (Coax/Optical combo, 192kHz supported).
2. USB A-type OTG Input mounted centrally.
3. Filter switch that slides between ‘measure’ and ‘listen’.
4. Micro USB connection for charging (power input only, full charger detection for fast charge).
5. Below the micro USB port, an RGB LED indicates battery status.

Time flies by when the listener is immersed in the music played by the xDSD. Guitars sound real and a Steinway piano sounds ‘woody’ instead of ‘glassy’ like an electronic keyboard. Musicality overflows.

The retail price of the xDSD is US$399 (ex-tax) or €449/£399 (incl VAT).

iFi audio

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