[alexeyi]

Local retailer has the original hip dac for 30% less the cost of the V2. Is it worth the extra cost for the v2? MQA is of no interest to me.

Need a portable solution for my he400se. Coming from iPhone dongle into a liquid spark.

The new iteration has also a new 16-core processor, with a better performance + it features a new crystal clock that should help to further reduce jitter in the digitial-analogue conversion. I believe that these two are the most important changes since MQA is not of interest to you.

Hope it helps you decide.

 

[pk4425]

Local retailer has the original hip dac for 30% less the cost of the V2. Is it worth the extra cost for the v2? MQA is of no interest to me.

Need a portable solution for my he400se. Coming from iPhone dongle into a liquid spark.

I've never used the v2. But the first version of the hip-dac works beautifully with the HE-400se. That's my daily driver combo.

The batteries in both units are the same, so v2 isn't going to fix perhaps the only weakness of the first version -- mediocre-at-best battery life. Otherwise, the hip-dac is a marvelous piece of kit, with excellent power output, especially through balanced.

 

[kemba1291]

I had no idea how good my Moondrop Arias are.
Just got the hip dac 2 and it's surreal. The xBass is phenomenal! Arias are mid forward, complex basslines used to disappear in the background. With the xbass on, I can hear them well without them bleeding into the mids, thanks to the mid forward presentation of the arias.

This is a total gamechanger(for my ears at least)!

 

[pail]

Hi, can it easily drive 300 ohm impedance headphones?

 

[alexeyi]

Hi, can it easily drive 300 ohm impedance headphones?

Hello,

Yes, it can drive 300Ohm imp. headphones, but you might want to go balanced for this. You can also use the SE, but balanced will just feel better with higher impedance because of the specification.

 

[Sebastien Chiu]

I had no idea how good my Moondrop Arias are.
Just got the hip dac 2 and it's surreal. The xBass is phenomenal! Arias are mid forward, complex basslines used to disappear in the background. With the xbass on, I can hear them well without them bleeding into the mids, thanks to the mid forward presentation of the arias.

This is a total gamechanger(for my ears at least)!

Hope you enjoy it! The Arias are great and scale well with good sources.

Hi, can it easily drive 300 ohm impedance headphones?

Hello,

Yes, it can drive 300Ohm imp. headphones, but you might want to go balanced for this. You can also use the SE, but balanced will just feel better with higher impedance because of the specification.

Thanks guys! Correct!

 

[TS0711]

I find the USB-A socket to be a brilliant feature for ease of use and durability,

That's funny, I was an early adopter of the original hip dac, and the USB-A was loose from the start. I couldn't use as a mobile device so it went into a draw and remains there today, unloved and unused. Darn USB-A... Not to mention only their cable fits the opening

 

[kemba1291]

Hope you enjoy it! The Arias are great and scale well with good sources.

Thank you, i really am enjoying them!

One thing though, when fully charged, wll the white LED light stop blinking and become stagnant, or will the led just turn off altogether?
Because I tried to charge it after about 45 mins of usage, and the led light blinks white for a couple of seconds and then shuts off.

 

[yaps66]

Thank you, i really am enjoying them!

One thing though, when fully charged, wll the white LED light stop blinking and become stagnant, or will the led just turn off altogether?
Because I tried to charge it after about 45 mins of usage, and the led light blinks white for a couple of seconds and then shuts off.

For me it shuts off.

 

[Manuelia]

Using my Hip Dac 2 with Aeon RT. While using it in powermatch mode i've noticed clipping at high volumes. Maybe the Aeon RT's are a little bit too hard to drive for the Hip Dac 2. Do you think with a balanced cable it would enable enough power to drive the Aeon RT's properly?

 

[alexeyi]

Using my Hip Dac 2 with Aeon RT. While using it in powermatch mode i've noticed clipping at high volumes. Maybe the Aeon RT's are a little bit too hard to drive for the Hip Dac 2. Do you think with a balanced cable it would enable enough power to drive the Aeon RT's properly?

Hello, there is a calculator on ifi website where you can introduce your headphone and the ifi device you use to see the matching. You should try it. From what I can see and from some other topics where people used this headphone with the original hip dac, there should be no issues in driving those cans. And yes, balanced will always be better from the performance point of view.

https://ifi-audio.com/home/headphone-calculator/

 

[Sebastien Chiu]

Using my Hip Dac 2 with Aeon RT. While using it in powermatch mode i've noticed clipping at high volumes. Maybe the Aeon RT's are a little bit too hard to drive for the Hip Dac 2. Do you think with a balanced cable it would enable enough power to drive the Aeon RT's properly?

Hello, there is a calculator on ifi website where you can introduce your headphone and the ifi device you use to see the matching. You should try it. From what I can see and from some other topics where people used this headphone with the original hip dac, there should be no issues in driving those cans. And yes, balanced will always be better from the performance point of view.

https://ifi-audio.com/home/headphone-calculator/

Thanks, @alexeyi!

Our headphone calculator is your best friend when it comes to questions like these.

 

[Dobrescu George]

In 2022, you know you want to start improving yourself, doing all of the things you never did before, and have tons of fun! Seems like iFi audio tries to do the same with their hip-dac2, the upgrade to their original hip-dac series.

This time the color of choice is brown, but this Dac / AMP has quite a few aces up its sleeve, with a 4.4mm Balanced Output, good ergonomics, good driving power, and excellent value. I'm happy with it now, and you'll see it mentioned and recommended a bit more on Audiophile-Heaven

You can read more about the way it pairs with different IEMs and Headphones, and how it compares to other DAC/AMPs in today's full written review on the Autumn-colored DAC/AMp

https://www.audiophile-heaven.com/2022/01/ifi-audio-hip-dac2-late-autumn-colors.html

 

[OldRoadToad]

Lose the MQA and I will consider one for my son. Other wise....No freakin' way. Too bad It looks cool and appears to be of the of highest quality. I refuse to pay for what is essentially vapor. Thank you.

ORT

 

[Dobrescu George]

Lose the MQA and I will consider one for my son. Other wise....No freakin' way. Too bad It looks cool and appears to be of the of highest quality. I refuse to pay for what is essentially vapor. Thank you.

ORT

I ain't gonna lie, companies probs want me to push MQA, but I saw this kind of reaction a lot on FB, a lot of folks dislike MQA, so I hope that everyone who makes audio products is reading those and weighting the public reaction.

Since I mainly listen to flac files ripped from CDs, and most of my music is not even remotely available in MQA, I need to search for something to test MQA with as far as music goes, for the sake of reviewing