[JMR77]

I know reviewers waxed lyrically about how much better. I see little evidence of actual changes that would have a positive impact on perceived sound quality.



First, "Elite" is basically 90%+ the same guts as the "Plus" in a fancy case. Save your pennies.

Second, I discussed the "Pro" power supplies and why they are fairly insensitive to external power extensively on a forum where audio friends are super best.

I don't think posting a link here would be cricket, PM me for a link if google proves elusive.

Thor

Thanks a lot!! also from my wallet, and managed to find your feedback on the other forum.

 

[BlueSkyHi]

What would have sealed the deal for me would have been an output to connect directly to the implant that was recently installed in the back of my head that bypasses all of the biological material, i.e., tympanic membranes, malleus, incus, stapes, etc., that have begun to fail over my life here on this plane of existence. Maybe in the next revision level.

I do love iFi and, for now, my Pro iCAN Signature will have to suffice.

 

[aokman]

In regards to the transformers for electrostat use. I’m curious how linear they are in your testing at louder volumes due to their relatively small size to fit in there? At 20hz for example, even much larger Lundahl transformers saturate at 270Vrms in my testing. The smaller STAX SRD transformers are a lot worse…

Great to hear more about the design, especially the bias design…

 

[Thorsten Loesch]

In regards to the transformers for electrostat use. I’m curious how linear they are in your testing at louder volumes due to their relatively small size to fit in there?

This was all done quite a while back, the core engineering probably goes back 8 Years and it was a comparably easy and straightforward design, so it doesn't stick well in my memory.

The transformer design followed "best practice" meaning the specification would have been < 1% THD @ nominal output (would be 600V) and 50Hz. This means at 25Hz maximum output for 1% THD would be around 300V. I'm pretty sure we validated this and it at least got close. But I cannot remember.

I found some files covering production testing, these showed appx -80dB H3 @ 1kHz and -60dB @ 50Hz for nominal test condition output levels (200V/400V I think, I lack the specifications for the custom adapters I designed for testing).

As music normally does not contain high levels at very low frequencies, the value of having very high level handing at very low frequencies is not a very useful design goal.

And finally, core size is not directly related to LF signal level handling at high impedances. In transformers designed for tube power amplifiers driving speakers large amounts of power must be transferred at low frequencies, necessitating large cores.

But the handling in terms of voltage is not related to core size, you can get mains transformers that handle 230V AC and are low power (say 1VA) and are tiny and mains transformers that are high high power (say 2kVA) and are huge, yet they will both handle 230V on the input.

The actual material used in the transformer also plays a role. The ones for the iESL use a mix of high grade steel (for level handling at high levels) and high nickel permalloy (for low distortion at low levels). I assume the transformers stayed unchanged when the iESL and iCAN pro were merged.

At 20hz for example, even much larger Lundahl transformers saturate at 270Vrms in my testing.

Are they designed for ES Headphones? You don't state the model.

The smaller STAX SRD transformers are a lot worse…

The Stax Transformer boxes all hark back to the 70's, where the fidelity standards were more relaxed.

Thor

 

[Azzazzi]

Check out the review on Bloom
https://bloomaudio.com/blogs/articles/extreme-versatility-ifi-ican-phantom-review

 

[Mr BubbaHyde]

Check out the review on Bloom
https://bloomaudio.com/blogs/articles/extreme-versatility-ifi-ican-phantom-review

Thanks for posting this here, very good read!

Cheers!!

 

[movinIron]

Nexis is available:
https://apps.apple.com/de/app/ifi-nexis/id6450503655

 

[BTD1]

Nexis is available:
https://apps.apple.com/de/app/ifi-nexis/id6450503655

Very basic. Nothing different from the physical remote except some info on tube life. I expected more.

 

[movinIron]

By the way:
What is the Neo iDSD2?
And who is Karl Z.?

 

[Mr BubbaHyde]

By the way:
What is the Neo iDSD2?
And who is Karl Z.?

We do have an NEO iDSD, perhaps some news on this in time?

Cheers!!

 

[babarrun]

I'm not Mr.Bubba Hyde, but given that this is in essence the iCAN Pro & iESL Pro in one box (and without the flexibility of the iESL to use alternative amplifiers), just read a review of iCAN Pro for anything non-ESL and iCAN Pro + iESL Pro for anything ESL.

Thor

do you mean the ican pro or ican pro signature?
the pro ican is 5 years old

 

[Thorsten Loesch]

do you mean the ican pro or ican pro signature?
the pro ican is 5 years old

You mean you think that there is any more than cosmetic differences between the two? Interesting.

PCB of the original

Signature Version:

They are actually the same exact PCB.

Just some passive were changed for the signature version.

As the designer of the original I find the changes well between immaterial and dubious/questionable.

Thor

 

[firedog1024]

Very basic. Nothing different from the physical remote except some info on tube life. I expected more.

Took forever to get the Nexis app to connect to my Phantom, kept getting "Failed to initialize data" did the usual dance of restarting the app and device and switching on/off airplane mode and eventually got it to connect. I agree the app is kind of lame in that it is just a remote. The remote app does not even allow you to change settings in the device menu. I can bring up the menu but cannot move around in it.

One plus is that there was a firmware update available to 1.46, no idea what was fixed/changed with this update but I went ahead and installed it. No changes to the menu or display that I can see and no change to the sound that I can detect. That they can do firmware updates via the app is enough for me to be satisfied I'm not a big fan of remotes on my phone I prefer old skool remotes or just using the device directly.

 

[Azzazzi]

Been 2 updates to the Nexis app already - apart from the firmware update, connectivity (via the app) seems to have improved. Can even turn the Phantom on/off via the app.

 

[Azzazzi]

Thanks for posting this here, very good read!

Cheers!!

The video review is out as well

As well as the final version of the manual on the official website
https://ifi-audio.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/iCAN-Phantom-User-Manual_Ver0.034_ok.pdf