[GenstrX]

I received yesterday Audeze CRBN and LCD-5 (Audeze Trade-Up program).
Both sound fantastic with my ICAN Phantom.

CRBN is my first electrostatic headphones.
I never even auditioned for electrostatic headphones before. I just always thought that it was unreasonable to have costly headphones and also buy a costly amplifier/energizer compatible only with it and a couple of other headphones on the market (probably even more expensive).
The versatility of Phantom allowed me to dare
I know that CRBN is not very typically sounding electrostatic headphones and so far I have nothing to compare, but I think they sound really great and very different from things I already tried before.

Phantom drives demanding Planars such as LCD-5 with ease.
And thanks to IEM Match whole my collection of IEMs is a good match for Phantom

So far I'm using as a DAC my Mojo 2 + Poly combo on RCA input and SP 3000 via 4.4 balanced cable to two XLRs.
SP 3000 seems to have a different Line Out voltage level than Mojo 2 because it sounds significantly louder.
On Mojo 2 I have a line out voltage level around 2V (both INDIGO volume indicators), but I can set it to 3V as well.

With Mojo 2 set to 2V line out Phantom can drive my CRBN, but the maximum volume is around the level I consider a good level for silent tracks (there is not that much room for adjustment, 100 out of 100 setting on a high gain).
With SP 3000 on a line in I have a similar volume level with 70/100 on a high gain with my CRBN.

I wonder what is the recommended line in voltage for iCAN Phantom.

 

[Mr BubbaHyde]

Thanks for your comments on the Phantom!

I will ask about the "Line In Voltage" internally for you and if I get a firm answer I will update you here.

Cheers!!

 

[Mr BubbaHyde]

I wonder what is the recommended line in voltage for iCAN Phantom.

Here is the answer I received for this question, I hope this is helpful to you...

iCAN Phantom sensitivity (Vrms):
0dB: SE 11V, Bal: 24V
9dB: SE 4.1V, Bal: 8.2V
18dB: SE 1.35V, Bal: 2.7V

Cheers!!

 

[GenstrX]

Thank You very much, @Mr BubbaHyde !
I think it is not related to the recommended line in voltage level, but it helped me to realize that I seem confused low and high gains

 

[Mr BubbaHyde]

Thank You very much, @Mr BubbaHyde !
I think it is not related to the recommended line in voltage level, but it helped me to realize that I seem confused low and high gains

You are quite welcome!

Cheers!!

 

[R2Y2]

If anybody has this new iCAN Phantom and a Susvara, can you tell me, is the Phantom able to power the Susvara fully or does it also still power cut like it does on the ifi Pro iCAN?

 

[GenstrX]

If anybody has this new iCAN Phantom and a Susvara, can you tell me, is the Phantom able to power the Susvara fully or does it also still power cut like it does on the ifi Pro iCAN?

I can tell You about my experience with LCD-5, which is not easy to drive at their 90 dB sensitivity: 60-70 out of 100 is enough for me on a LOW GAIN (!) although I usually listen to music quite loudly.
I never owned Susvara and I know that it is much less sensitive than LCD-5 (83 dB vs 90 dB), but it seems ICAN Phantom will be able to handle them quite well.
Although I understand the reason for Your concern - on paper, Phantom is not that much more powerful than PRO ICAN (15W vs 14W in a 16-ohm load).

 

[R2Y2]

I can tell You about my experience with LCD-5, which is not easy to drive at their 90 dB sensitivity: 60-70 out of 100 is enough for me on a LOW GAIN (!) although I usually listen to music quite loudly.
I never owned Susvara and I know that it is much less sensitive than LCD-5 (83 dB vs 90 dB), but it seems ICAN Phantom will be able to handle them quite well.
Although I understand the reason for Your concern - on paper, Phantom is not that much more powerful than PRO ICAN (15W vs 14W in a 16-ohm load).

Yeah, I still definitely need someone who also has a Susvara because it is still much harder to drive than the LCD-5. My concern you are correct about, the fact that it is only 1 watt more powerful. Now if the LCD-5 also would power cut on the ifi Pro iCAN then I would be very interested on how the Phantom handled the LCD-5.

 

[TooFrank]

I know you probably can't say ifi, but is there a planned iDSD to go along with the iCAN Phantom to have a matching stack. I currently own the Pro iDSD, iCAN and iESL and will be upgrading to the iCAN Phantom, but I would love a fully matching stack

Wow - that quite a collection. Have you changes tubes in either iCAN or Pro iDSD. I did some time ago, swap tubes on the pro iDSD. It works really great - I get the tube effect also when playing on other amps (e.g V222). Now I am considering also to buy new tubes for the iCAN. Just wondering how much that would add to the overall SQ and possibilities?

Edit: sorry wrong thread -

 

[Mr BubbaHyde]

Some accolades to share with you folks...

HiFi News' top OUTSTANDING product award goes to the iCAN Phantom!!!

It delivers a "truly flagship-worthy performance" To read the full review click below!

https://ifi-audio.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/HFN-Sept-iFi-Audio-iCAN-Phantom_Reprint-LOW.pdf

Cheers!!

 

[BTD1]

Some accolades to share with you folks...

HiFi News' top OUTSTANDING product award goes to the iCAN Phantom!!!

It delivers a "truly flagship-worthy performance" To read the full review click below!

https://ifi-audio.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/HFN-Sept-iFi-Audio-iCAN-Phantom_Reprint-LOW.pdf

Cheers!!

Unless I missed it, I didn’t see any mention of how well the e-stat section of the Phantom performs. Would the power available to estats be the same or similar to plugging the old ican into an iESL?

 

[Mr BubbaHyde]

Unless I missed it, I didn’t see any mention of how well the e-stat section of the Phantom performs. Would the power available to estats be the same or similar to plugging the old ican into an iESL?

My understanding of this is that it is an all-new design, and while it might be similar in some ways, it may be totally different in others, as I am not an Estat owner I will check for clarity on this for you.

I myself am waiting for some reviews from Estat folks to better understand it, and be able to answer this.

I will post up whatever info I get for you.

Cheers!!

 

[BTD1]

I received yesterday Audeze CRBN and LCD-5 (Audeze Trade-Up program).
Both sound fantastic with my ICAN Phantom.

CRBN is my first electrostatic headphones.
I never even auditioned for electrostatic headphones before. I just always thought that it was unreasonable to have costly headphones and also buy a costly amplifier/energizer compatible only with it and a couple of other headphones on the market (probably even more expensive).
The versatility of Phantom allowed me to dare
I know that CRBN is not very typically sounding electrostatic headphones and so far I have nothing to compare, but I think they sound really great and very different from things I already tried before.

Phantom drives demanding Planars such as LCD-5 with ease.
And thanks to IEM Match whole my collection of IEMs is a good match for Phantom

So far I'm using as a DAC my Mojo 2 + Poly combo on RCA input and SP 3000 via 4.4 balanced cable to two XLRs.
SP 3000 seems to have a different Line Out voltage level than Mojo 2 because it sounds significantly louder.
On Mojo 2 I have a line out voltage level around 2V (both INDIGO volume indicators), but I can set it to 3V as well.

With Mojo 2 set to 2V line out Phantom can drive my CRBN, but the maximum volume is around the level I consider a good level for silent tracks (there is not that much room for adjustment, 100 out of 100 setting on a high gain).
With SP 3000 on a line in I have a similar volume level with 70/100 on a high gain with my CRBN.

I wonder what is the recommended line in voltage for iCAN Phantom.

Have you downloaded and used the new ifi app for the Phantom? What's it like?

 

[Kiats]

My understanding of this is that it is an all-new design, and while it might be similar in some ways, it may be totally different in others, as I am not an Estat owner I will check for clarity on this for you.

I myself am waiting for some reviews from Estat folks to better understand it, and be able to answer this.

I will post up whatever info I get for you.

Cheers!!

I was going to get the Phantom from Jaben Singapore to take it out for a spin. So that Wilson also has some views on the use cases for the Phantom since I could conceivably use all the use cases it offers. However, the first set that came in was snapped up immediately.

So, when the next set comes in (assuming it is not again snapped up immediately), I will be able to give some views on the estat side of the Phantom.

 

[GenstrX]

Have you downloaded and used the new ifi app for the Phantom? What's it like?

@BTD1 , not yet, but I will try it tonight and report in this tread

I have been mostly using included remote control so far.
The remote control is quite good and covers most of the Phantom features: