[jamesjames]

I also like the look of this - very much. I've owned the iESL, and thought it one of the best e-stat drivers around. I thought the iCAN was an excellent conventional amp too. I would find this very tempting indeed, particularly if it opened up e-stats for me again by providing for the analogue crossfeed circuit to operate when driving e-stats. I no longer listen without crossfeed, and no longer consider amps which don't offer it. I found it too difficult to rig up systems to drive estats with crossfeed - although it could be done with the iESL - so left e-stats behind (with some regret). But have I read the above correctly to say crossfeed isn't available when driving e-stats?

 

[ThanatosVI]

With iFis special relationship to the color black, how come that half of the unit is black.

Personally I consider it a bad choice, because now it looks always out of place, no matter how the rest of ones gear looks.
Sure as an all in one device it's aimed at people that don't have anything yet, but even as standalone it looks weird.

 

[Reebonz]

Sure as an all in one device it's aimed at people that don't have anything yet, but even as standalone it looks weird.

The Phantom, I feel is more geared towards those who seem to have it all. You know, the folks with their planars, Staxs, dynamic driver headphones, IEMs, and a bunch of different DACs and amps cluttering up their desk, making it look all messy and untidy. They're the ones yearning for a change, seeking a more minimalist approach.

I like the design but unfortunately, it's just not for me. I'm still patiently waiting for iFi to come out with a top-of-the-line DAC/AMP combo unit

 

[tamleo]

The mindset and aesthetic standpoint of people at Ifi company are very free and creative I admit.
But with this price and complexity, this Phantom maybe is just for rich audiophiles

 

[alekc]

With that Frankenstein looks it better sound truly amazing. The design is yelling: we had two products in separate cases and we now put everything into single case just run out of the silver plates so we added a bit of black plastic on the bottom.

Honestly some DYI projects looks a lot better than this one.

While I love my Pro iCan and I am not willing to sell it I see no reason to buy this thing, especially at this price point, there are great competitors to consider especially if the difference between solid state, tube and tube+ mode are still so marginal.

 

[betula]

Ifi has elevated their versatility game once again. This amp can be great for people with headphone collections that include electrostats and want to save space/money when it comes to amplification. I am curious to hear if it sounds better than the iCan Signature.

I am still digesting the design though. First I thought on the first picture I can see the front and the back of the unit, before I found out all of it is the front.

 

[alekc]

I am still digesting the design though. First I thought on the first picture I can see the front and the back of the unit, before I found out all of it is the front.

@betula I had exactly the same feeling at first sight - now knowing I have been wrong I wish it would be the other way around.

I don't fully follow your argument regarding saving money/space when one has collection of headphones it already costed a "fortune" and took up a lot of space in one way or another but I also do not disagree with your point of view. However if Phantom is similar to previous Pro iCans: feature rich but master of none I really fail to see the reason to buy it.

 

[alxw0w]

Bias adjustment done by inserting an SD card, marketing at its finest

 

[betula]

I don't fully follow your argument regarding saving money/space when one has collection of headphones it already costed a "fortune" and took up a lot of space

I thought about this writing my comment above, but theoretically still can be people with 5-6 headphones who do not want 3-4 amplifiers for some reason.

 

[smallcaps]

Besides the aesthetics, I do find this appealing from a utility perspective. I like the idea of having a single amp that runs every headphone I could ever own. Of course the sound will be the true test.

The card thing seems gimmick-y tho. Wonder if there will be future cards released for people who grew up collecting Pokemon.

Gotta catch them all!?!

 

[DougD]

Reading in the product materials that this is intended to be a flagship amp is helpful, & makes me feel better.

Looking forward to reading people's impressions and reviews, and hopefully listening to one myself soonish.

* didn't see a link to a spec sheet, I'm sure that will be forthcoming - but seems to offer a huge amount of power for a headphone amp.
* network connected, but no ethernet connection that I see - didn't catch any indications whether it's wifi or bluetooth but if it's purely for command & control probably doesn't matter in terms of SQ
* 12-15v power input, no pictures or descriptions of the power supply/wall wart.

Lots to learn yet. It's all very exciting.

 

[Baten]

Bias adjustment done by inserting an SD card, marketing at its finest

Such an odd thing to do

 

[smallcaps]

Such an odd thing to do

I guess you could argue that it's a safety feature. Would prefer a toggle or rotary dial tho, but I guess if you switch it by accident while your electrostatic headphones are plugged in could potentially be lethal, with that much electricity strapped to your head. I can see losing one of those things and paying an arm and a leg to replace it.

 

[aokman]

I guess you could argue that it's a safety feature. Would prefer a toggle or rotary dial tho, but I guess if you switch it by accident while your electrostatic headphones are plugged in could potentially be lethal, with that much electricity strapped to your head. I can see losing one of those things and paying an arm and a leg to replace it.

Not lethal lol, worst that would happen is burn up your diaphragms but even that would be very hard to pull off I imagine as we’re only talking 60v over spec worst case… People have put way way more into STAX messing around experimenting… There’s basically no current behind a properly setup bias system also.

 

[alxw0w]

I guess you could argue that it's a safety feature. Would prefer a toggle or rotary dial tho, but I guess if you switch it by accident while your electrostatic headphones are plugged in could potentially be lethal, with that much electricity strapped to your head. I can see losing one of those things and paying an arm and a leg to replace it.

Card thing is there because of marketing not safety reasons.
There is no reason why you couldn't do bias change in menu settings with double confirmation/longer press of the button or some combination of the buttons so the accidentals missclicks are denied.

Now imagine, loosing one of the cards...