[AlexCBSN]

Here you go brother

 

[Sebastien Chiu]

Here you go brother

Thanks for helping him out!

 

[Deleeh]

Hello,

I ordered the Ifi Hip Dac 2 for the road.
I had been thinking about Dap, Hip 2 and Gryphon for a long time.
In the end I thought the Gryphon was actually too expensive as long as Apple castrate their Bluetooth to SBC I didn’t see any added value in it.
I still prefer to use Apple devices in my private life.
Since I still have the Nuprime Dac dongle in use, I didn’t think the changeover would be too big.
Even if Bluetooth would have been nice.

I still have a few questions that have not yet been fully clarified.

Charging: 5 V was clear, can I charge it with the normal smartphone charger?

Imatch:
Certainly a matter of taste but what about the Aeon R/T? With or without Imatch?

Apple:
I found the cable included cool for the money.
Thanks Ifi.
Still a bit irritated by the connection but logical for a better hold in the socket.
Why not another direct to Lightning?
If I saw it right I can use the Apple charging cable as an extension if I want to be lazy when connecting it to the Ifi cable?

Cable:
Would better cables make a difference sonically on the Hip2 or can I leave it alone?

Burn in: Does the Hip 2 need a burn in?
If so, how long?

Firmware: I looked on the website and it is only released with the serial number, how can I tell which one is installed? Should I upgrade if I still have an older one?

I’ll be surprised what I can expect in terms of sound, I’ve never heard Mqa before.
I’m looking forward to the Xbass and the rest.
And how it will do the small Hip Dac 2.
I also found it cool that all Ifi devices have no problems with Apple in terms of connectivity, I wanted to praise that.
I’ve been looking for a long time to find something that is compatible with Android and Apple.

 

[iFi audio]

Charging: 5 V was clear, can I charge it with the normal smartphone charger?

You can as long as that charger outputs 5V.

Certainly a matter of taste but what about the Aeon R/T? With or without Imatch?

It's up to one's needs really. If you lack headroom (volume steps go too loud too quickly), then iEMatch should be engaged.

Would better cables make a difference sonically on the Hip2 or can I leave it alone?

Some folks say that cables matter and report their impact on performance, while others don't detect any changes. Trying a nice cable for yourself would be thus the best way to know for sure

Burn in: Does the Hip 2 need a burn in?

After about 100 hours or so you should be good, but the biggest changes occur early on, within first 20 hours or so.

Firmware: I looked on the website and it is only released with the serial number, how can I tell which one is installed? Should I upgrade if I still have an older one?

Please install our USB driver and within its app you should see what firmware version is currently installed on your iFi device. Thanks!

 

[TheRH]

Do I need to turn on the Hip DAC to charge it? Sorry if this is a silly question.

 

[Deleeh]

Do I need to turn on the Hip DAC to charge it? Sorry if this is a silly question.

Hello
Simply plug it in at the back and the small diode should start to light up.
It does not have to be switched on to charge it.

 

[TheRH]

Which LED do I need to look at, the one above the power plug or around the volume knob when charging?

 

[Deleeh]

Hello,
on the led from the USB C port.
Give the Hip a short time until it starts to light up.

 

[iFi audio]

Hello,
on the led from the USB C port.
Give the Hip a short time until it starts to light up.

Yup, all that is correct, thanks for mentioning that LED

 

[ljnew]

Comparing the hip dac 2 to the idsd signature, the main thing i notice is the dac 2 has more background noise. But the signature might have one of the lowest noise floors ive ever heard when compared to other high end daps.

Signature has less noise by a considerable margin than fiio m17 with my iems even with iematch off.

Hip dac 2 is still very impressive imho especially for only $199

 

[Deleeh]

Hello,
What do you mean by noise floor?

Mine is dead silent in that respect when I use it with the tablets.
I haven't used it on the PC yet.

For the money, you really can't go wrong with the Hip 2.
I agree that it is really impressive.
It was one of those purchases where I don't look back.
Has everything you need.
It's always a pleasure to enjoy music with it when you're on the road or just at home and don't feel like going to your desk.

 

[ljnew]

Hello,
What do you mean by noise floor?

Mine is dead silent in that respect when I use it with the tablets.
I haven't used it on the PC yet.

For the money, you really can't go wrong with the Hip 2.
I agree that it is really impressive.
It was one of those purchases where I don't look back.
Has everything you need.
It's always a pleasure to enjoy music with it when you're on the road or just at home and don't feel like going to your desk.

I'm specifically referring to in ear monitors not headphones. I don't listen to headphones.

On certain songs especially mp3 or YouTube music you can hear noise with certain iems like legend x.

On campfire audio iems like Solaris 2020 that noise would be louder.

Comparing to idsd signature, the signature is always dead silent black background with no noise.

You might not notice the difference if you've never heard the idsd signature to compare.

 

[alexeyi]

I'm specifically referring to in ear monitors not headphones. I don't listen to headphones.

On certain songs especially mp3 or YouTube music you can hear noise with certain iems like legend x.

On campfire audio iems like Solaris 2020 that noise would be louder.

Comparing to idsd signature, the signature is always dead silent black background with no noise.

You might not notice the difference if you've never heard the idsd signature to compare.

Are you using the PowerMatch off when listening to your iems?

 

[ljnew]

Are you using the PowerMatch off when listening to your iems?

On hip dac 2 it's usually on. On signature it's off

 

[alexeyi]

On hip dac 2 it's usually on. On signature it's off

On hip dac it is recommended that you turn it off while using iems. It is written also in the manual. You should try it maybe it will help a little.