[VandyMan]

I think it's a pretty cool concept. The idea is that an incorrectly set switch or dial could seriously damage very expensive headphones. The card has to be selected and inserted very intentionally before you power the amp on and can't be changed by accident when your uber expensive estats are plugged in and playing music.

I think I would forget to switch cards all the time. It only makes sense to me for people who only use electrostatic headphones with the same bias (all of their headphones use STAX Pro Bias, for example).

For me, this thing is too ugly to even consider. If it looked better and had a built-in DAC, making it truly all-in-one, I'd be more interested.

 

[Jimmyblues1959]

Wow that's an odd looking unit. I thought the last gen iCan was a nice looking unit, but this two tone non matching stack thing is ugly. Just my opinion.

I'm torn on iFi's approach to their flagship amps. They go for a do it all, jack of all trades, master of none approach, when i'd like to see them pick a specific topology and target, and maximize the unit for it. For example, if they want to dabble in tubes, then just make a straight up tube amp, either OTL or OTC, and try to make it the best tube amp possible. Or if they want to make an electrostatic amp, do so, and forget tube and regular headphone amplification. But make that electrostatic amp the best it can possibly be.

IMO when you design something to fill all roles, it has to make compromises that lessen it's performance. I loved the iCan Pro Signature, but returned it as it was not as good as other more dedicated products i already owned. I preferred the Phonitor for straight solid state amplification, and one of my OTC tube amps for tube flavor. The Signature was great, but not as good as those other two amps. I understand some people want a one amp solution, and iFi would be an awesome choice for them. But for me, i would love to see what they could do if they focused on a more narrow design and just maximized it.

just my opinion though, worthless as it may be.

Since art is subjective I'm more interested in seeing independent objective testing of performance as well as subjective listening from as many people as possible, in order to gather more insights into the Phantom. If performance turns out to be outstanding across many different types of headphones, then the Phantom may turn out to be well worth its price. Time will tell.

 

[VandyMan]

Nice to see so many comments about the new Phantom!

I can agree with most of the comments on "Looks" When I first saw this I thought much the same, but in all honesty, it has really grown on me. Here is a short commercial shoot for the unit, in which it looks "super sexy"



Cheers!!

You should post some pictures with the front panel on. I can't find any here or on your website. Maybe that looks better?

 

[Mr BubbaHyde]

You should post some pictures with the front panel on. I can't find any here or on your website. Maybe that looks better?

I couldn't find any, so I asked if we have any with the "Card Holder" attached to the front. So if I find any I will certainly post it up for you!

Cheers!!

 

[betula]

I keep looking at the picture. In my opinion what really makes it odd looking is that the bottom black part is much bigger than the aluminium top half. Perhaps the two coloured 'Rolls Royce' scheme could work if at least the two parts were the same width and depth. As it is now, just makes me feel that two very different devices were glued together. Perhaps it gives better visual vibes in person.

 

[Svperstar]

Can I use this to drive my Koss 95X electrostats with an adapter?

 

[The Schraeer]

Can I use this to drive my Koss 95X electrostats with an adapter?

To my knowledge 95X has 600V bias, so with Koss plug adapter- most definitely, as Phantom ships with 600V card.
You'll even get a better sound, as Stax Pro is 580V (Stax amps were only other option for Koss owners really).
Now you'll have exactly matching voltage to the maximum benefit of driver health and SQ.

 

[VandyMan]

Can I use this to drive my Koss 95X electrostats with an adapter?

Personally, I would spend the money on better electrostatic headphones and a less expensive amp, if I was a Koss owner.

 

[ufospls2]

@iFi audio could you maybe check in with your tech team about this question?

As the E-stat section of the Phantom is based on the iESL, has there been any changes to the cap after ballast resistors? Spritzer raised concerns about the iESL and the coating on the drivers of electrostatic drivers. Although I do feel he can be overly negative, I also don't want to plug my headphones in and damage the coating over time.

To quote him directly about the iESL.

"Now for the really bad news, see the first picture, the string of resistors in front of the 5 pin connectors? Those pretty much have to be the ballast resistors run in series to increase the voltage handling. They are also high value resistors but I can't quite make out the value of them. Now follow the trace on left and see the cap that is there? Yup it is 10nf/1kV so it sure looks like the ******** put a cap after the ballast resistor. Never, ever do that if you like the coating on the diaphragms...""

In another post he mentioned it wouldn't be a quick problem, but a problem over time for the coating on the diaphragms.

Has there been any changes to this area? Thanks for the help.

 

[JooLoo]

the appearance killed it for me sorry.

 

[Svperstar]

Personally, I would spend the money on better electrostatic headphones and a less expensive amp, if I was a Koss owner.

Its just one of my headphones. I have been thinking of getting an end game amp to go with my RME-ADI-2 DAC and this seems like it, even more so if I can use it instead of the Koss energizer.

 

[Miiksu]

the appearance killed it for me sorry.

You can't do it in the dark?

 

[JooLoo]

You can't do it in the dark?

Just shut my eyes and pretend like its a wider pro ican with an internal psu and external swapable tubes. * touches chassis with eyes closed* *cries bc it isnt*

 

[Dixter]

nothing a little can of silver spray paint can't fix...

 

[JooLoo]

nothing a little can of silver spray paint can't fix...

I looked into custom anodizing but it seemed like a rabbit hole and i gave up :/