[KmanChu]

Cool, when will the winners from the design contest get theirs? Early next month?

 

[iFi audio]

  Cool, when will the winners from the design contest get theirs? Early next month?

 
Hi,
 
Early July - the 512 units are going to be shipped out to the distributors around the globe.
 
Mid-July - they will then contact you to confirm delivery.
 
For example, someone who is in USA will see their unit dispatched by Avatar Acoustics (AMR/iFi North America) - you get the gist.
 
There are one or two who are in far flung places but either iFi or the nearest distributor will arrange individual delivery options.
 
Here are some pictures some of the units coming your way:
 

 

 
Units are undergoing burn-in tests on some of our headphones. So we prised Thorsten away from his listening tests. This is what he had to say:
 
"During playback the case temperature becomes around 10 degrees above ambient.

We inspected the unit - battery under load is well within confines. So we should easily get the run times and then some.
 
Heat, in Economy mode, cold as ice. In normal mode, warm to the touch. In Turbo mode, pretty warm, but you can still leave your hand on the chassis.
 
Running Audeze LCD2 (£1,000) on iDSD micro. NICE..."

 
The following are some of the headphones we use for testing.
 
Etymotyic HF-3 IEMs (£150) - not the last word in bass but a great all rounder.

 
Apple Earpods - gotta have these to demo with. For the price, they are not half bad.

 
Shure 530s (£350) - damm good and a reference at this price point.

 
Kliptsch S4i IEMS (£60ish) - very underated. We recommend these little puppies to family and friends who are not gaga over IEMs.

 
Fostex TL-50 RP (not a typo) these unassuming headphones are the "Mad German" version. Suffice to say, it is seriously good! 

 
Sennheiser SE-250 or something (£70) - company auditioning headphones. We have about 50 pairs of these, they are semi-decent, good enough for quick testing/analyses.

 
We hope you liked this little overview of the headphones we use.
 
We often get asked "what headphones does iFi use?" Well now you know. 

 

 

[NuClear235]

I miss test with Sennheiser HD800.

 

[KmanChu]

Nice! I am very curious to see how it measures up as a single device head-fi dock with Audezes. Maybe it will be good enough to rip me away from my Sabre based PureDAC? I certainly would like the form factor better...

 

[obsidyen]

Will you have dealers in other countries? I live in Turkey but there's no iFi Audio dealer here.

 

[maricius]

iFi,
 
What would you describe the sound signature of:
 
DAC section alone
 
Amplifier section alone
 
DAC/amp combo
 
Is the DAC warm and sweet? Mid-centric? V-shaped? Is the amplifier neutral or does it add even extra warmth? I can't wait to see sound impressions soon but I want to see the exact goal for iFi's tuning. 

 

[iFi audio]

  Will you have dealers in other countries? I live in Turkey but there's no iFi Audio dealer here.

 
Hi,
 
You can contact: Audio Soul in Greece. 
 
info@audio-soul.gr
 
Thanks.

 

[iFi audio]

  iFi,
 
What would you describe the sound signature of:
 
DAC section alone
 
Amplifier section alone
 
DAC/amp combo
 
Is the DAC warm and sweet? Mid-centric? V-shaped? Is the amplifier neutral or does it add even extra warmth? I can't wait to see sound impressions soon but I want to see the exact goal for iFi's tuning. 

 
Hi
 
All iFi products exhibit the same, organic sound that gives a depth, texture and realism to proceedings. The micro iDSD we would say in addition gives a heft across the freq range hence "meat on the bones" aka project name: Meaty Monster.
 
If you listen to the nano iDSD, it is more of that - plus the perfect-matching with Power modes and iEMatch is as you would expect, quite huge. Once dial-in, it should really open up whatever headphones or IEMs are being used.
 
Do a search of the previous pages, we have given a little insight and also Peking Duck (we recall) has also reported back auditioning from the prototype at a show using JH Roxannes.
 
We best leave it to reviewers and customers to post here when they get their paws on it.
 
Back to the updates.

 

[iFi audio]

Super Duper feature 2.2
 
iPurifier
 

 
 
Background
This is the last of the Super Duper features so it is fitting that we cover one of the Crowd-Design features you asked for - the iPurifier to be incorporated into the micro iDSD.
 
Well, the micro iDSD features iPurifier technology to tackle issues surrounding USB transmission.
 
 
Explanation
The USB carries the audio+power signal downstream from the PC.
 

 
Due to the general implementation of costing-cutting in PC hardware (mass market product), the USB signal coming from the PC is usually low-quality and certainly inadequate for quality USB audio playback.
 
Together with the unwanted EMI/RFI picked up along the way, the USB signal (which is a balanced signal) becomes unbalanced, noisy and exhibits detrimental DC offset.
 
This imperfection can easily be confirmed just by applying an oscilloscope on the USB signal (the oscilloscope needs to have sufficient bandwidth, say 300MHz, otherwise the oscilloscope will be too slow and the issue will not be visible).
 
The iPurifier in the micro iDSD:
 

• Cleans up the data lines
• Re-balances the USB signal
• Removes the DC offset and
• Filters out the EMI/RFI noise. 

 
Graphically, like this:

The iPurifier filter in the iDSD micro forms a lowpass which rejects High Frequency noise. At 1MHz it reduces noise by around 50dB (300 times).
 
The filter is designed to filter both differential and common mode noise, it will also stop noise radiating along the ground line and thus polluting the audio grounds with RF noise.
 
 
How this benefits the listener
Better inner resolution and better noise floor compared to one without the iPurifier.  The iPurifier also renders the USB cable/adapter issue much less of a concern.
 
Later on, we will add an addendum to answer your questions surrounding the CCK/OTG Type A port.

 

[Vartan]

Integrated iPurifier 

 

[earwaxxer]

I'm a big fan of the iPurifier! It seemed to take some time to 'burn in' if you will, but very good results with the iDSD Nano (my first impression was "well worth the $99"). Smart move by iFi to include it with the Micro. Pulling out all the stops!

 

[technobear]

Hurrah, hurrah! The cloud of doom that descended with the announcement of the CCK/OTG Type A port has been blasted into oblivion and replaced with a rainbow :bigsmile_face:

Looks like this DAC will be as significant in the DAC market as the iCAN was in the headphone amp market (basically makes all the others redundant).

Level 1 XBASS is the perfect complement to the T1 for 'normal' recordings.

Level 3 XBASS is perfect for all those bass-free rock and pop CDs from the 80's.

Level 0 XBASS is perfect for bass-heavy club and dub stuff.

My last wish now is that the micro iDSD implements Level 2 XBASS so I have one more option for tweaking the bass.

 

[JuleZ3C]

 
Level 1 XBASS is the perfect complement to the T1 for 'normal' recordings.

Level 3 XBASS is perfect for all those bass-free rock and pop CDs from the 80's.

Level 0 XBASS is perfect for bass-heavy club and dub stuff.

My last wish now is that the micro iDSD implements Level 2 XBASS so I have one more option for tweaking the bass.

 
It pains me to be the one to remind you, but X-Bass is ON/OFF only on the micro iDSD. (or is it that you'll cascade the iDAC and the iDSD ?)
 
It also pains me dearly that it's the way it's gonna be (I'm a bit fearful when it comes to On or OFF sound tweaks, usually too much when ON and in turn makes it like something's missing when OFF)
By the way, could we have some numbers/graphs regarding this feature?
 
Also, why's nobody addressing the USB filthy signals problem inside the DAC like you do? I guess, the question behind this one is 'are you the first to propose such a design on this form factor / product category... ?' If that's the case, shame on all the other designers! (I could also ask what took you so long... but it wouldn't be fair I guess)
 
Nevertheless (re. X-Bass), good job iFi, can't wait to have my hands and ears on the micro and read about how it sonically compares with the Hugo that everyone and their mothers are raving about...
 
Cheers

 

[jexby]

   
can't wait to have my hands and ears on the micro and read about how it sonically compares with the Hugo that everyone and their mothers are raving about...
 
 

 
FWIW, not having owned a Hugo (and never will for that price) -
haven't seen 100% glowing comments about Hugo, some folks at meets didn't exactly rave about it and stated the Geek Out sounded "as good" if not better in some regards.
 
back to iDSD products now....

 

[technobear]

 

Level 1 XBASS is the perfect complement to the T1 for 'normal' recordings.


Level 3 XBASS is perfect for all those bass-free rock and pop CDs from the 80's.


Level 0 XBASS is perfect for bass-heavy club and dub stuff.


My last wish now is that the micro iDSD implements Level 2 XBASS so I have one more option for tweaking the bass.

It pains me to be the one to remind you, but X-Bass is ON/OFF only on the micro iDSD. (or is it that you'll cascade the iDAC and the iDSD ?)

It also pains me dearly that it's the way it's gonna be (I'm a bit fearful when it comes to On or OFF sound tweaks, usually too much when ON and in turn makes it like something's missing when OFF)
By the way, could we have some numbers/graphs regarding this feature?

Oh dear! Another newbie leaping in, both feet first, having utterly failed to comprehend my post :rolleyes:

For the hard of understanding, what I meant was that I hope the single XBASS setting on the micro iDSD falls somewhere between the Level 1 and Level 3 settings already provided on my micro iCAN.

Geddit? :normal_smile :