[Dadracer]

 

 

Click the top picture to open it full size and take a closer look

I mean two amps connected is an overkill, no?

The top amp is my micro iCAN.

The bottom amp is the all new micro iCAN SE which I have on trial.

Both amps are connected so that I can flip between them to compare them.

Are you using any kind of iUSB power in your system? I just bought my iCAN SE today from my dealer after having one on loan from ifi and being surprised at the extra quality it brought to my iDSD. So now I have a triple layer ifi system........it's like a silver club sandwich of audio goodness.........mmmmm  

 

[technobear]

Are you using any kind of iUSB power in your system? I just bought my iCAN SE today from my dealer after having one on loan from ifi and being surprised at the extra quality it brought to my iDSD. So now I have a triple layer ifi system........it's like a silver club sandwich of audio goodness.........mmmmm  

No.

I used to own an iUSB Power but I couldn't hear it doing anything positive so I sold it. My music laptop is an Acer Aspire V11 fanless jobbie. I guess it is quite quiet already.

The iPurifier 2 made a difference I could hear so that has stayed but I didn't feel the iUSB3.0 did any more in the short time I had it. There again the iUSB3.0 required considerable burn in before it started doing anything of note so it may have had more to give.

The iCAN SE is still playing away in the background here. I hope to have another listen tomorrow to see if it is fully cooked yet.

 

[Shetzu]

I am glad I choose iFi iCan Micro as amp over other amps. I like its sound and have been using it as desktop amp with my iMac and really liked its sound. I hope to buy the iTube next and slowly build up my stack followed by iDac 2

 

[Dadracer]

 

Are you using any kind of iUSB power in your system? I just bought my iCAN SE today from my dealer after having one on loan from ifi and being surprised at the extra quality it brought to my iDSD. So now I have a triple layer ifi system........it's like a silver club sandwich of audio goodness.........mmmmm  

No.

I used to own an iUSB Power but I couldn't hear it doing anything positive so I sold it. My music laptop is an Acer Aspire V11 fanless jobbie. I guess it is quite quiet already.

The iPurifier 2 made a difference I could hear so that has stayed but I didn't feel the iUSB3.0 did any more in the short time I had it. There again the iUSB3.0 required considerable burn in before it started doing anything of note so it may have had more to give.

The iCAN SE is still playing away in the background here. I hope to have another listen tomorrow to see if it is fully cooked yet.

Maybe it's because of all the ley lines around the Tor????
Happy listening with the iCAN SE

 

[quodjo105]

So with all the praise the ican SE is getting , will it be worth it selling my Ican v1 and upgrading to the special edition version?. I do enjoy my ican paired with the micro idsd but I just want to know if ican se is superior.

 

[Dadracer]

So with all the praise the ican SE is getting , will it be worth it selling my Ican v1 and upgrading to the special edition version?. I do enjoy my ican paired with the micro idsd but I just want to know if ican se is superior.

I haven't heard them side by side but I would be surprised if the difference between them is massive. Maybe you could try sending a PM to Technobear as he has both on hand right now as I understand it. If you still have some spare cash that you want to spend I would say go with an iPurifier 2 and that will have your system working at its best from any USB based source......also it's not expensive. 

 

[technobear]

So...

After over 400 hours of burn-in, I can now no longer reliably tell the difference between the micro iCAN and the micro iCAN SE in straight through performance.

I also can't spot any reliable difference between the XBASS settings on the two.

However, having played a bit today with the 3D switches, I can say that whilst the crossfeed setting is much the same, the 3D Holographic setting is quite different on the two. The 3D on the micro iCAN SE is more like the 3D on the micro iDSD. It is more subtle than the 3D on the micro iCAN. It also has no treble emphasis that I can hear. Is it better? Hmmm. Depends. I prefer the original for movies. In fact I think I prefer the original all round - but that is just my preference.

I can't say anything about the higher power output of the SE as I don't have anything that could use it.

So far then, the micro iCAN SE is definitely following in the iFi Audio tradition of great sound for a modest price.

So far though, I won't be upgrading my micro iCAN (because decent headphones don't need all that power ).

iFi Audio aren't asking for the SE back just yet. I wonder if they will let me keep it until the Bristol Show in three weeks time. I shall keep playing and listening and do another comparison in a few days.

 

[Shetzu]

So...

After over 400 hours of burn-in, I can now no longer reliably tell the difference between the micro iCAN and the micro iCAN SE in straight through performance.

I also can't spot any reliable difference between the XBASS settings on the two.

However, having played a bit today with the 3D switches, I can say that whilst the crossfeed setting is much the same, the 3D Holographic setting is quite different on the two. The 3D on the micro iCAN SE is more like the 3D on the micro iDSD. It is more subtle than the 3D on the micro iCAN. It also has no treble emphasis that I can hear. Is it better? Hmmm. Depends. I prefer the original for movies. In fact I think I prefer the original all round - but that is just my preference.

I can't say anything about the higher power output of the SE as I don't have anything that could use it.

So far then, the micro iCAN SE is definitely following in the iFi Audio tradition of great sound for a modest price.

So far though, I won't be upgrading my micro iCAN (because decent headphones don't need all that power

).

iFi Audio aren't asking for the SE back just yet. I wonder if they will let me keep it until the Bristol Show in three weeks time. I shall keep playing and listening and do another comparison in a few days.

Any other difference between original iCan and iCan SE besides the 3D difference that you have experienced. You mean to say the original 3d is better than the new iCan SE 3d !. I am still burning in my new iFi iCan purchased a week back. IN fact I was arguing with my dealer as he hid from me the launch of new SE which is just a month away. I told him I could have waited but now I have bought the iCan there is no going back. 

 

[Luckbad]

Originally Posted by ****zu /img/forum/go_quote.gif
  Any other difference between original iCan and iCan SE besides the 3D difference that you have experienced. You mean to say the original 3d is better than the new iCan SE 3d !. I am still burning in my new iFi iCan purchased a week back. IN fact I was arguing with my dealer as he hid from me the launch of new SE which is just a month away. I told him I could have waited but now I have bought the iCan there is no going back. 

 
The 3D is notably subtler on the SE, which I find to be an improvement. There is a slight treble emphasis still, particularly with the max setting.
 
The bass is also slightly different. The max setting in particular has been pushed back a bit to encroach less on mids.
 
In both cases, they are more generally usable and versatile (bass and 3d settings).
 
The power is also there if you need it, which is nice. On a 300 Ohm headphone, if you have one, you'll be getting better sound out of the SE.

 

[Shetzu]

   
The 3D is notably subtler on the SE, which I find to be an improvement. There is a slight treble emphasis still, particularly with the max setting.
 
The bass is also slightly different. The max setting in particular has been pushed back a bit to encroach less on mids.
 
In both cases, they are more generally usable and versatile (bass and 3d settings).
 
The power is also there if you need it, which is nice. On a 300 Ohm headphone, if you have one, you'll be getting better sound out of the SE.

Thanks for your inputs appreciate all. But now I am in doldrums. If the seller had provided me the correct details in time I would have waited and bought the SE model in March. But he preferred to sell the 1st gen iCan and now there is no returning. Nevertheless unless unless one  is looking for perfection then the difference matter but for me iCan  1st Gen sounds equally good. The only issue is i got mislead by the seller for the SE.

 

[Luckbad]

Originally Posted by ****zu /img/forum/go_quote.gif
  Thanks for your inputs appreciate all. But now I am in doldrums. If the seller had provided me the correct details in time I would have waited and bought the SE model in March. But he preferred to sell the 1st gen iCan and now there is no returning. Nevertheless unless unless one  is looking for perfection then the difference matter but for me iCan  1st Gen sounds equally good. The only issue is i got mislead by the seller for the SE.

 
How'd you get misled? If you bought a normal iCAN in March, it was 9 months before the SE came out.
 
Truthfully, the differences between the amp section's sound are extremely subtle on all but the most demanding headphones.
 
I couldn't blind test the two on my normal headphones unless you turned on 3D.

 

[Shetzu]

   
How'd you get misled? If you bought a normal iCAN in March, it was 9 months before the SE came out.
 
Truthfully, the differences between the amp section's sound are extremely subtle on all but the most demanding headphones.
 
I couldn't blind test the two on my normal headphones unless you turned on 3D.

I meant it will be launched by my distributor coming March. (sorry I should have specified that.) I bought the iCan a week back This is the upgraded version with gain switches but not the SE model.
If the seller would have told me to wait for a month I could have got the newer SE model.
 
Also do you have the exact specs comparison. Is the difference too large or  just small tweaks here and there.

 

[technobear]

Any other difference between original iCan and iCan SE besides the 3D difference that you have experienced.

Nothing I can hear yet but remember it has taken 400 hours to get to this point. Another 100 hours may see the SE pulling ahead. We will see.

You mean to say the original 3d is better than the new iCan SE 3d !.

No, I don't mean it's better and I didn't say it's better. I simply said I prefer it.

I am still burning in my new iFi iCan purchased a week back.

Then you have yet to hear what this little amp is capable of.

That said you will need a better DAC first.

 

[technobear]

The bass is also slightly different. The max setting in particular has been pushed back a bit to encroach less on mids.

I haven't used the max setting much yet. I've been concentrating on the better quality tracks in my collection and these don't need full-on XBASS.

Next time, I will listen to some of the older stuff that needs it and see if I can hear a difference.

 

[Shetzu]

Nothing I can hear yet but remember it has taken 400 hours to get to this point. Another 100 hours may see the SE pulling ahead. We will see.
No, I don't mean it's better and I didn't say it's better. I simply said I prefer it.
Then you have yet to hear what this little amp is capable of.

That said you will need a better DAC first.

I really appreciate all the feedback you have given and answered my queries. Indeed I am glad I purchased the iCan. Do you have any suggestions for a dac to go along. I was thinking build my stack on iFi products like iTube  & iDac 2. Your thoughts?
Also I see that you have the micro idsd. How is it in combo with iCan. Do you find sweetness in sound. Is idsd better or the idac2 and what is the difference before I make my investment. In a year's time I plan to buy the HD 800. Will it drive them comfortably or do I have to make another amp/dac investment.
I see that you are using T1 which is almost in par with HD800 so I have asked you this question.