[rickyleelee]

I went the AV Show and spent half day trying lots of headphones with my iDSD Micro. Lots of brands had been tested and I love 2 headphones most (among those other brands I have already tested) that I am really interested in for my next upgrade. My personal choices are Enigma Dharma D1000 and and Fostex TH-900. Having said that not other brands not as good as these two but value for money wise others are so expensive for little difference in performance. 
 
 
 
 

 
 
I also attached some images of headphones that I have tried for your interest. Some of those you may already familiar with. Enjoy!
 

 
 
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[semeniub]

My iDAC2 just arrived today. I immediately slotted it into my headphone system, played some DSD264 music (upsampled in HQPlayer), and my first thought was that I was listening to the micro iDSD. So yes, it has the iFi house sound. I'll do more critical comparisons after it has settled in some more, but I already know what I need to know.
 
Between the computer and the iDAC2, I have the following overkill setup to isolate noise from the computer:
 
Corning Optic USB > iUSB (powered by iPower) > Uptone REGEN (powered by LPS) > fixed USB adapter > iDAC2
 
The REGEN powers the iDAC2 via USB just fine like this.

 

[semeniub]

I will add that the switchable DSD filters on the iDAC2 seemed to have a more noticeable effect than the filters for PCM playback. Does anyone else have a similar experience?

 

[h1f1add1cted]

If you switch from Standard to Minimum phase its hard to hear a difference with PCM files, but on Bit-Perfect (NOS mode) I hear the difference quite easy (not only because the treble roll off) and for me it's my favourite for classical music. DSD I never really deep tried, because for me is 16/44 FLAC more than enough for best SQ.
 

 

[BrainFood]

 
 
 
 

Good to see some impressions finally rolling in ..

 

[bocosb]

yeah, i would like to hear some comparisons too, maybe someone has the asus essence stx, which i intend to replace with idac2

 

[semeniub]

More first impressions - the iDAC2 has muscle down low, with very authoritative bass. I was listening to "Born Under A Bad Sign" from Jimi Hendrix - Blues, and Geek USA from Smashing Pumpkins - Siamese Dream, and the sound was good. 
 
Will definitely have to check if there is more low frequency control and presence than the micro iDSD, at least in my setup.

 

[seeteeyou]

  - True Native on DSD256 and PCM384khz
 
- Bit-Perfect, Minimum Phase and Standard filter settings
 
- USB 'B' input with Jitterless Lite
 
- SPDIF output

 
Does it support DoP via S/PDIF output?
 
If so, are both DSD64 and DSD128 working with the current firmware version?
 

---

 

Is it possible to connect an iPhone/iPad to the idac2?

 

Originally Posted by iFi audio /img/forum/go_quote.gif
 
Yes but you'll need the iUSBPower.

 
Another question (USB only, totally unrelated to S/PDIF) regarding iPhone 6 with CCK / Lightning to USB Camera Adapter 
 
http://www.apple.com/shop/product/MD821AM/A/lightning-to-usb-camera-adapter
 
What apps were tested and confirmed to work with *native* decoding of DSD256 without downsampling to DSD128?
 
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/hibiki-3.5/id592396897?mt=8
 
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/iaudiogate-high-resolution/id997209451?mt=8
 
Some examples were linked above and please kindly test them with iOS 8.4, thank you very much.

 

[gixxerwimp]

 

  - True Native on DSD256 and PCM384khz
 
- Bit-Perfect, Minimum Phase and Standard filter settings
 
- USB 'B' input with Jitterless Lite
 
- SPDIF output

 
Does it support DoP via S/PDIF output?
 
If so, are both DSD64 and DSD128 working with the current firmware version?
 

---

 
Not sure about the iDAC2, but it would seem the micro iDSD does not.
http://www.head-fi.org/t/711217/idsd-micro-crowd-designed-free-pcm-dsd-sound-liasons-album-page-137/660#post_10608102
 

 

  Does the iDSD micro accept DoP through coaxial?

 
Hi,
 
We are not sure why you would wish to convert USB > SPDIF when you can go straight USB because any such conversion by nature is lossy.
 
DoP like this is not possible.
 
Instead, let the source to convert DSD to PCM.
 
Thanks.

 

[quodjo105]

Since the idac 2 is usb3.0 will it work with my usb2.0 wireworld audio cable using my Macbook pro retina?

 

[technobear]

Since the idac 2 is usb3.0 will it work with my usb2.0 wireworld audio cable using my Macbook pro retina?

Yes.

 

[quodjo105]

Yes.

Thanks

 

[iFi audio]

   
Does it support DoP via S/PDIF output?
 

 
Hi,
 
There is no 'industry standard' for this so it is not easy to implement because it could cause more headaches than it solves.
 
This is to not say we don't care but we have to work on it quite a bit.
 
It is a bit like using the XMOS firmware to solve the upstream DoP 'pop' which has to be 'out of the box.'
 
Hope you know what we mean.

 

[metebalci]

  This is a summary of the current iFi family of digital-to-analogue converters.
 
In descending order, think of them as BMW 5 series, 3 series and 1 series.
 

Model

Chipset​

no of DACs​

Native ​ DSD​

Native PCM​

Filters​

Zerojitter Lite​

SPDIF​

iPurifer Lite​

Battery​

Headphone Amplfiier​

XBass®​

3D Holographic®​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

micro iDSD

Burr-Brown (True Native)​

2​

Up to Octa-DSD512​

Up to 768kHz​

Bit-Perfect/ Min Phase/ Standard​

Yes​

In/Out​

Yes​

Yes​

Up to 4,000mW​

Yes​

For Headphones and Speakers​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

micro iDAC2

Burr-Brown (True Native)​

1​

Up to Quad-DSD256​

Up to 384kHz​

Bit-Perfect/ Min Phase/ Standard​

Yes​

Out​

No​

No​

350mW​

No​

No​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

nano iDSD

Burr-Brown (True Native)​

1​

Up to Quad-DSD256​

Up to 384kHz​

Min Phase/ Standard​

Yes​

Out​

No​

Yes​

150mW​

No​

No​

 
Does the micro iDAC2 have the same clock technology the micro iDSD has ? Specifically this, from http://ifi-audio.com/portfolio-view/micro-idsd/
 

Ultra low jitter GMT computer controlled Femto Clock

RMS jitter 12kHz – 1MHz < 280 Femtoseconds

 

[a1uc]

Anyone compare the micro iDSD and the iDac2