[samandhi]

Nice, congrats! That's the big big brother of the ifi ZEN CAN, right? I'm pretty happy with my ifi ZEN stack! I think some folks have issues with the Burr Brown DAC on ifi DACs, but i don't mind the combo. What's your dac going to be?

Ah, thank you very much!

I suppose it is the big brother of all the iFi products, or at least a cousin (including the iFi Pro iDSD Signature, which is actually more expensive, but has a lesser amplifier section). It is pretty large and chunky compared to the normal smaller stuff. But, it DOES have the bigger brother of the iFi pro iCan Phantom (Perma-stacked DAC/amp combo). I have never had any issues with Burr Browns as well, though I have not too much experience with them. Doesn't the Little Bear have those OOTB?

Heck I am even in love with (among the usuals) the Cirrus Logic (formerly Wolfsen) DACS of today. There are 4 of them in my DX300. I didn't used to like CS chips, but their flagship ones have come a really long way. Maybe one of these days I will give a go with the Rohm DACs (the ones that are in the DX320 and some Cayin stuff). It seems as though today's DACs don't have much room to get better because even some of the cheap "ChiFi" stuff nowadays have specs that exceed human hearing.

For now, I am going to use my DX300's top notch DACs, but I will eventually get a "stacking partner" for the iCan Sig... How do you find the iFi stack? I am brand new to the iFi products (other than research)...

 

[ttorbic]

Ah, thank you very much!

I suppose it is the big brother of all the iFi products, or at least a cousin (including the iFi Pro iDSD Signature, which is actually more expensive, but has a lesser amplifier section). It is pretty large and chunky compared to the normal smaller stuff. But, it DOES have the bigger brother of the iFi pro iCan Phantom (Perma-stacked DAC/amp combo). I have never had any issues with Burr Browns as well, though I have not too much experience with them. Doesn't the Little Bear have those OOTB?

Heck I am even in love with (among the usuals) the Cirrus Logis (formerly Wolfsen) DACS of today. There are 4 of them in my DX300. I didn't used to like CS chips, but their flagship ones have come a really long way. Maybe one of these days I will give a go with the Rohm DACs (the ones that are in the DX320 and some Cayin stuff). It seems as though today's DACs don't have much room to get better because even some of the cheap "ChiFi" stuff nowadays have specs that exceed human hearing.

For now, I am going to use my DX300's top notch DACs, but I will eventually get a "stacking partner" for the iCan Sig... How do you find the iFi stack? I am brand new to the iFi products (other than research)...

I really like the build quality and usability of ifi products.

And the CAN has plenty of power for me

 

[samandhi]

I really like the build quality and usability of ifi products.

And the CAN has plenty of power for me

Fantastic! Hopefully the incoming amp will live up to those features...

 

[mt877]

Well, I mentioned I might do this much earlier, but until now I have not had the dough to throw at it. I have decided to pull the trigger on the iFi Pro iCan Signature amplifier. I am confident that I will now be able to drive my beloved Yinman 2.0 600 VERY well (considering it has 14W potential from balanced; heck it has 7.8W out of SE as well). It should also be able to push my HD800S as well (easily since they are so sensitive; 300ohms @102dB/mW).

I chose it for a few reasons. First, it has a built in bass boost (that is not DSP) for those days when I want "fun" listening. Then there is all the connections; both in and out. I have such a varied set of head gear that I need lots of choices here, and there really isn't much on the market that has this much choice. Also, and one of the most important, the numbers (THD, SNR, etc...) are at least the same or better than my DX300, combined with the power output is harder to find that you might think unless you are willing to shell out $5K or more. One more reason is I get the best of both worlds here with SS and valve tubes. It isn't a "hybrid", it is either one or the other at a time. And both are class A circuits... Again, this is not too common with all the other bells and whistles without going in at a higher price tag.

Something new I have not had the opportunity to look into is something called IEMatching where it will adjust the attenuation based on the sensed impedance of the IEMs so as to not have any hiss or distortion. To me, this means that the output resistance is adjusted based on load... This is fantastic because I have impedance sets ranging from 9ohms to 600ohms...

We shall see how good it is, but I have 30 days to return it (no questions asked), so it will be worth it IMHO. I just thought I would share with my earbuds family. I am really excited!

Wow, that's great. I remember when we were chatting about amps, you said you were were highly interested in the iFi Pro iCan Signature and now you're making it happen. I only have one iFi product, the Retro Stereo 50 (mentioned in previous chat) and I can say I'm very happy with it's performance as an Integrated Amp/Dac for driving speakers and head gear (earbuds / headphones). Anyway, congrats and I hope it meets and exceeds your expectations.

 

[Brillig]

This, I would trust. It is the cheap ones that are sold by (who really knows) sellers on AE that warrant much wariness. Good find sir!

Edit: again a brain f*rt... I thought that was one of the 4.4mm to 3.5mm adapters we were talking about being wary of...

No no, I had the original brain fott. As @mt877 points out, this adapter is the figure 4 category with zero problems.

 

[Brillig]

Well, I mentioned I might do this much earlier, but until now I have not had the dough to throw at it. I have decided to pull the trigger on the iFi Pro iCan Signature amplifier. I am confident that I will now be able to drive my beloved Yinman 2.0 600 VERY well (considering it has 14W potential from balanced; heck it has 7.8W out of SE as well). It should also be able to push my HD800S as well (easily since they are so sensitive; 300ohms @102dB/mW).

I chose it for a few reasons. First, it has a built in bass boost (that is not DSP) for those days when I want "fun" listening. Then there is all the connections; both in and out. I have such a varied set of head gear that I need lots of choices here, and there really isn't much on the market that has this much choice. Also, and one of the most important, the numbers (THD, SNR, etc...) are at least the same or better than my DX300, combined with the power output is harder to find that you might think unless you are willing to shell out $5K or more. One more reason is I get the best of both worlds here with SS and valve tubes. It isn't a "hybrid", it is either one or the other at a time. And both are class A circuits... Again, this is not too common with all the other bells and whistles without going in at a higher price tag.

Something new I have not had the opportunity to look into is something called IEMatching where it will adjust the attenuation based on the sensed impedance of the IEMs so as to not have any hiss or distortion. To me, this means that the output resistance is adjusted based on load... This is fantastic because I have impedance sets ranging from 9ohms to 600ohms...

We shall see how good it is, but I have 30 days to return it (no questions asked), so it will be worth it IMHO. I just thought I would share with my earbuds family. I am really excited!

Looks like an amazing amp! Please give a full report with different buds/etc.. I'd love to hear how the Yinman 600s sound with it.

 

[samandhi]

Wow, that's great. I remember when we were chatting about amps, you said you were were highly interested in the iFi Pro iCan Signature and now you're making it happen. I only have one iFi product, the Retro Stereo 50 (mentioned in previous chat) and I can say I'm very happy with it's performance as an Integrated Amp/Dac for driving speakers and head gear (earbuds / headphones). Anyway, congrats and I hope it meets and exceeds your expectations.

I do remember. Your impressions are one of the reasons (at the beginning of my research) that I never gave up on wanting the iCan Sig (among other good impressions regarding iFi products), so I suppose I owe you a thanks for unwittingly keeping me in the positive. Of course, if it DOES suck, then you might also get the blame as well...

This is a very important purchase for me. When I told my wife about getting it (yes I told her, the package is way too big, and the cost makes it VERY hard to simply slip it into my gear haha) she said ok, but I could tell she was very disappointed because she has no idea of what a good amp could do. She still doesn't understand why I have so many different pieces of head gear. My point is it isn't like some others you might read about on Head-Fi that just change high end gear at will. Something like this is pretty much a one-time thing in my household.

Thank you very much. I am hoping much the same as well.

Looks like an amazing amp! Please give a full report with different buds/etc.. I'd love to hear how the Yinman 600s sound with it.

It does to me as well, and I certainly will. The Yinmans will probably be the first set that I use with this. I am not unhappy with how they sound from the DX300, but knowing what I know about the power requirements, I have only been able to wonder how much better they might sound from a proper desktop solution (this set and the Draco as well).



One edit to my own post is that earlier I mentioned that the Sennheiser HD800S were a higher sensitivity. Well, I didn't realize it when I posted that, but they are actually not that easy... The figure that Senn gives is in VRMS rather than mW. So, 102dB/1VRMS is actually closer to 96.6dB/mW, which still isn't that bad, but at 300ohms, it DOES make a difference.

 

[Brillig]

This is a very important purchase for me. When I told my wife about getting it (yes I told her, the package is way too big, and the cost makes it VERY hard to simply slip it into my gear haha) she said ok, but I could tell she was very disappointed because she has no idea of what a good amp could do. She still doesn't understand why I have so many different pieces of head gear. My point is it isn't like some others you might read about on Head-Fi that just change high end gear at will. Something like this is pretty much a one-time thing in my household.

Totally get it... Take her on a date night, with flowers. Tell her how much it meant to you (especially if you really like it!) -- and how much you appreciate HER -- right? Hope you love the amp, and... there's always the 30 day guarantee to fall back on.

 

[samandhi]

Totally get it... Take her on a date night, with flowers. Tell her how much it meant to you (especially if you really like it!) -- and how much you appreciate HER -- right? Hope you love the amp, and... there's always the 30 day guarantee to fall back on.

LOL That is some good thinking right there... I might even have to wash the dishes for her as well (something I haven't done in the entire 24 years we have been together ROFL).

Yeah, I was counting on the 30 day return policy as a "just in case", since I have 0 options to audition any sort of head gear where I live.

Every time I think of a desktop solution, I can't help but think of @WoodyLuvr's custom made piece of artwork that is called an amplifier (it's just stuck in my head ). I certainly hope that this amp coming to my house, gives me the same joy that his does for him; or those that love their Megatron, or Shiit, or etc...

BTW! Tonight I am listening to an old friend (though I am using full foams, unlike what is shown in the older picture); the Smabat ST10S B&G. I still love these buds. They were one of my first (if not THE first) sets that had some really deep and "rumbly" bass on an earbud.

Spoiler

 

[baskingshark]

Something new I have not had the opportunity to look into is something called IEMatching where it will adjust the attenuation based on the sensed impedance of the IEMs so as to not have any hiss or distortion. To me, this means that the output resistance is adjusted based on load... This is fantastic because I have impedance sets ranging from 9ohms to 600ohms...

We shall see how good it is, but I have 30 days to return it (no questions asked), so it will be worth it IMHO. I just thought I would share with my earbuds family. I am really excited!

This IEMatch is actually useful as it doesn't change the frequency response of gear with variable impedance curves (unlike some other regular impedance adapters). Helps with hiss too for some ultra sensitive fussy IEMs.

For now, I am going to use my DX300's top notch DACs, but I will eventually get a "stacking partner" for the iCan Sig... How do you find the iFi stack? I am brand new to the iFi products (other than research)...

Most of the IFI house tuning sounds warmish or warm neutral, so their gear is excellent for relaxing to and chilling. Not the most ultra detailed for critical listening, but generally buttery smooth and non-fatiguing.

BTW! Tonight I am listening to an old friend (though I am using full foams, unlike what is shown in the older picture); the Smabat ST10S B&G. I still love these buds. They were one of my first (if not THE first) sets that had some really deep and "rumbly" bass on an earbud.

Spoiler

I have been tempted to sell away my Smabat ST10 and ST10S Black Gold a few times. But in the end decided to keep them for the huge sub-bass (from special acoustic labryinth acoustic tubes). They do not have the best timbre and have the usual Smabat zealous upper mids, but the bass is really special for a flathead.

 

[ttorbic]

Most of the IFI house tuning sounds warmish or warm neutral, so their gear is excellent for relaxing to and chilling. Not the most ultra detailed for critical listening, but generally buttery smooth and non-fatiguing.

Yeah I keep seeing people mention this, but I struggle to hear it... Maybe because I always use the full stack? But I don't think the amp is supposed to affect the sound... I do think that the ESS of my Qudelix is rather clinical though, so am I actually hearing DAC differences??

@samandhi is getting just the amp right? Do you think he should still expect a warmish sound?

 

[0ostin0]

Hey, men. How can I supply power to the USB dongle when using it with a smartphone? Are there any adapter cables for this?
I don't want to charge a smartphone, because I already found such an adapter (DD HiFi ТС28C Pro). But this is not exactly what is needed.
I don't want to discharge the smartphone and charge it at the same time, because that's kind of stupid! I want to supply power directly to the dongle.
Are there such solutions?

 

[hiheaded]

Hey, men. How can I supply power to the USB dongle when using it with a smartphone? Are there any adapter cables for this?
I don't want to charge a smartphone, because I already found such an adapter (DD HiFi ТС28C Pro). But this is not exactly what is needed.
I don't want to discharge the smartphone and charge it at the same time, because that's kind of stupid! I want to supply power directly to the dongle.
Are there such solutions?

It's possible with the new fiio ka17 because it has two ports. Not sure about rigging other dongles.

 

[rkw]

She still doesn't understand why I have so many different pieces of head gear.

Well, she's right. Don't you agree?

 

[Billyak]

Hey, men. How can I supply power to the USB dongle when using it with a smartphone? Are there any adapter cables for this?
I don't want to charge a smartphone, because I already found such an adapter (DD HiFi ТС28C Pro). But this is not exactly what is needed.
I don't want to discharge the smartphone and charge it at the same time, because that's kind of stupid! I want to supply power directly to the dongle.
Are there such solutions?

Apologies misread your post.