[GiullianSN]

Thanks for your input folks! We'll pass it on internally and have a think how to improve readability related to various firmwares.

Thanks guys, I did like @CH23 table proposal. Just add that summary to every release level on the main page

 

[iFi audio]

Thanks guys, I did like @CH23 table proposal. Just add that summary to every release level on the main page

We'll see what can be done

 

[whitedragem]

@whitedragem has some valid points, but the way they go about it is not helping their cause. writing in a clear way will make it better understandable and more enjoyable for others to read. iFi has no obligation to be on these forums, nor to read anything.

As to your questions, the LED issue is with one of the chips outside of the XMOS chip, and can't be flashed via USB, so that's why the unit needs to be shipped back to iFi HQ.

That you were given the wrong spdif cable, as I said before, is not due to iFi's but due FiiO's divergent choice of pinout.

I see that with version 7.2, it should have playstation compatibility via USB.

With that out of the way, on to the firmware/info issues:

@Sebastien Chiu I work in a software company. There is no company that releases a new version of software, unless there are changes/fixes. the changelog with the 7.0(a/b/c) and 7.2(a/b/c) is incomplete and incorrect. this adds to the confusion. I understand that between a/b/c the device will do different filtering, but between 7.0 and 7.2 there has to be something different. Better clarification of the fixes/changes between these versions, as well as clarification what the difference is between a/b/c, would really improve the ifi firmware page.

an example: the PDFs in the firmware zip files:



no mention of the playstation compatibility update, which is shown on the firmware page itself. release date is not clear (7.2B pdf says 13th may 2016, site says 9th may 2021).



Something like below would help people in choosing the firmware that's right for them:

Functionality	Firmware A	Firmware B	Firmware C
MQA	full unfolding	full unfolding	full unfolding
DSD	up to DSD256	up to DSD512	up to DSD256
PCM	up to 384kHz	up to 768kHz	up to 384kHz
filter	standard	standard	GTO (USB PCM only)
LED status	yes	yes	limited due to GTO

You Legend!!

With this information at my disposal I set off to do a firmware upgrade.

I have performed hundreds of firmware updates since the early nineties when I started my first PC business.
Firmware updating is in the present day and age a fairly easy and straightforward process.

Unless you are updating an iFi Diablo....

Webpage lists 7.x variants per usual. (I have been checking this page regularly, for months now..)
Hmm need to hack the tool to get past the wall.....

Two ways to do so were, again, supplied by CH23;

the first and easiest was this link... (and is the firmware I actually used)

the mac thingie seems to be a mac os limitation, not the diablo, as the internet says the same thing about basically any and all software and hardware connected to macs.

As for the firmware: https://ifi-audio.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/iFi-7.2b-firmware-DSD512.zip
Basically all iFi devices use 1 of 2 different XMOS chips, meaning the firmware is build for either the XMOS xu216, or the xu208.

Where can I find a DSD512 testfile? I'm interested to see how my linux machine handles them.

But info regarding which products that may be relevant to check the links for was provided by this post.. (I read a few more, magically also provided by CH23, that confirmed the two different controller chips in most iFi devices and that the controller chip is what defines what driver branch we are likely eligible to use)

Just for you, and many others, I have compiled a list of the current available iFi devices and which firmwares they use, based on serial numbers:

device name	serial number	XMOS chip	firmware version
Aurora	4100000001	XU208	5.x
Hip-DAC	5401000001	XU208	5.x
	5404000001	XU216	7.x
Diablo	2013000001	XU216	7.x
Micro iDAC2	2022000001	XU208	5.x
Micro iDSD	2011000001	XU208	5.x
Micro iDSD Black Label	2012000001	XU208	5.x
Micro iDSD Signature	2014000001	XU208	5.x
	2014001021 and up	XU216	7.x
Nano iDSD	1011000001	XU208	5.x
Nano iDSD Black Label	1013000001	XU208	5.x
Nano iDSD LE	1012000001	XU208	5.x
Nano iOne	1021000001	XU208	5.x
Retro Stereo 50	XXXXXXXXXX	XU208	5.x
xDSD	1501000001	XU208	5.x
ZEN DAC	5301000001	XU208	5.x
	5304000001	XU208	5.x
ZEN DAC Signature	5502000001	XU208	5.x
ZEN DAC V2	5307000001	XU216	7.x

Looking at https://ifi-audio.com/download-hub/ it seems that the Hip-DAC section has the most complete list of firmwares for both chipsets. This means you can find v7.2 there. You can just copy the above serial number and it'll show you the goods.

As I said before, I can not guarantee any v7.x firmware will work with the Diablo, since there might be internal differences in the way the XMOS chip interacts with the different devices PCBs.

So with a little hesitancy I flashed a firmware from a device that wasn’t mine..
(My initial grievance with iFi support (an oxymoronic notion) was due to recommending an iFi Diablo purchase to another head-fi’er, who bricked their unit BY FLASHING another iFi parts firmware, and support couldn’t supply a Diablo firmware to get them back up and running. (that user jumped ship after a long but patient wait)

Anyhow, the process was made needlessly more difficult due to iFi having an atrocious firmware page that isn’t maintained for all devices. The Diablo being present lineup and upper tier by pricing should have had some love, but, as it seems people on this thread think I am anti iFi I feel I really should rise to the challenge....

Firmware process done; I can now hook up to the Diablo without jumping through multiple boxes and using cheap cables.
As someone who has raved about the audio benefits of the filter, and argues vehemently about digital transport difficulties, being able to use a nice Kimber USB cable straight into the filter/Diablo is a use scenario I have been wanting to test..

Voila!!

Working.

Fired up Tsushima, and the soundfield was well beyond what I had before, and the sound noticably improved.

Pro:
+working firmware that delivers better than out of box state.
Cons:
-being seen as a prick for asking for it, politely.
-having bought a lot of kit in the months SINCE THIS FIRMWARE CAME OUT, to try and sort out the console headphone usage.. -Would have been nice if my FREQUENT CHECKS of the firmware pages had shown this...
-having iFi reps tell me that it is unrealistic to ask for this (when it already exists)
-having a thread focus on me when I was just politely trying to get another users’ question raised to focal point it was due...
-having a difficult firmware process for an unsupported product that can be ‘bypassed’ (caveat emptor) was the only way forward...

The cons that reveal my time lost, my costs elsewhere due to lack of available information, and the social frackup that reps pushed actually had me in the process of listing my Diablo for sale.
During the brief window of deciding to get rid of iFi from my life, and starting a second hand listing to sell it off cheap (with expensive balanced MMCX cables and multiple iFi adapters), CH23 writes up the definitive take on the situation.

I feel as if CH23 is an engineer with the company. Certainly someone who knows their stuff.

Thanks..
CH23 explained something to me I have been wondering about for yonks- and that is to do with the LED light issues.. (and whether firmware was causing the issue as people who flashed firmwares started to have a problem, naturally suggesting that a firmware MIGHT be able to fix what it had wronged.

Anyone who misinterprets me as ‘anti iFi’;
iFis back office support IS a joke. (and rude)
I have a lot of love for the team and the products, but like most people who are sick, and at their threshold for BS, being turned on as if I AM the problem isn’t the way forward.
I wasn’t trying to come up with pointiful lists of a range of iFis issues.
My second post was made so as to give the thread some latitude (and get out of the gutter), and talk about hopes and dreams (aspirations), which was where I talked about the playstation support.
Whether I have been served poorly by iFi reps (who promise but then don’t seem to deliver).. isn’t an issue, until I become a scapegoat.

You muppets; I have generally shown nothing but love!
I with held a review during your critical launch window due to having had a really unfortunate run that would of HAD to be included in my review process.
I have nearly bitten my tongue off so as not to say a harsh word.

Now, if I have a bad day, and write it up.. I am a nobody and nobody cares...
but if a rep from a company is having a busy couple of days and ‘drops the ball’ with the end users’....


the firmware has been out for months!
fix your webpage and support structure!

none of my posts above were angry.
I have made two less than praising posts in the entire thread,. one I removed, and the other just listed that I had had a failed part with issues similar to what another user was experiencing.
If my recent posts are long and therefore tiring, thats fine, I don’t demand anyone read them, but insinuating I AM THE PROBLEM......
iFi really lost me today-
Seb implying that I am angry at your team and holding a grudge may have just become a self fullfilling prophecy.
I’m tired, sick, and ‘out of here’.

 

[CH23]

I feel as if CH23 is an engineer with the company. Certainly someone who knows their stuff.

I'm happy it was solved. I am a technical support engineer by trade and by hobby, just not for iFi

 

[iFi audio]

I'm happy it was solved. I am a technical support engineer by trade and by hobby, just not for iFi

Now it makes sense why I enjoy your company here so much

 

[Soundizer]

Thanks, we do what we can

I might be purchasing iFi Diablo, but just worried about receiving one with led lights not correctly working.

if I don’t update firmware will led lights work correctly or are there faulty units in the field?
Do you still include iFi Purifier = i am UK based?

 

[iFi audio]

Do you still include iFi Purifier = i am UK based?

Those were added for the first batch of the product, which is now gone I believe.

if I don’t update firmware will led lights work correctly or are there faulty units in the field?

Here's how all LEDs on iDSD Diablo work: https://ifi-audio.com/led-calculator/

... and there shouldn't be any problems.

 

[Ichos]

Wrong thread.
Deleted.

 

[Soundizer]

Those were added for the first batch of the product, which is now gone I believe.



Here's how all LEDs on iDSD Diablo work: https://ifi-audio.com/led-calculator/

... and there shouldn't be any problems.

Thank you. I listened to Diablo with my new Focal Clear at a dealer. Was absolutely a match made in heaven. Incredible synergy. Perfect partner for Clear MG.

 

[Soundizer]

Can someone please help me find a matching red or white USB cable to replace the blue one included in Diablo. One that is made or tested for audio.

i am in the UK.

 

[GiullianSN]

Can someone please help me find a matching red or white USB cable to replace the blue one included in Diablo. One that is made or tested for audio.

i am in the UK.

that's another old complain...the blue cable...why?

I would like to know a well...maybe Aliexpress has black ones?

 

[Soundizer]

that's another old complain...the blue cable...why?

I would like to know a well...maybe Aliexpress has black ones?

I am not complaining, but it is a preference and I don’t mind paying for it.

 

[CH23]

that's another old complain...the blue cable...why?

I would like to know a well...maybe Aliexpress has black ones?

Can someone please help me find a matching red or white USB cable to replace the blue one included in Diablo. One that is made or tested for audio.

i am in the UK.

Blue is the colour of USB 3.0, so that's why it's that colour

technically any usb extension cord would work, especially over a short distance. ugreen makes a nice black one that should fit.

Since the entire world seems to be going for quantity over quality, a good cable is hard to find. (if you want to have a laugh, I suggest you read the official USB specsheet, then have a look at all your cables and usb devices. )

companies I would recommend for usb cables: lindy, ugreen, anker, belkin.

 

[Soundizer]

Blue is the colour of USB 3.0, so that's why it's that colour

technically any usb extension cord would work, especially over a short distance. ugreen makes a nice black one that should fit.

Since the entire world seems to be going for quantity over quality, a good cable is hard to find. (if you want to have a laugh, I suggest you read the official USB specsheet, then have a look at all your cables and usb devices. )

companies I would recommend for usb cables: lindy, ugreen, anker, belkin.

Thank you. I will check out the colours. Just need to identify the correct cable type - i think it is female abd male usb A cable. Could easily end up ordering the wrong type by mistake. Did this in the past.

Ideally Apple could atleast have a longer Camera Kit Adapter. Then I will not require a usb cable.

 

[GiullianSN]

Blue is the colour of USB 3.0, so that's why it's that colour

technically any usb extension cord would work, especially over a short distance. ugreen makes a nice black one that should fit.

Since the entire world seems to be going for quantity over quality, a good cable is hard to find. (if you want to have a laugh, I suggest you read the official USB specsheet, then have a look at all your cables and usb devices. )

companies I would recommend for usb cables: lindy, ugreen, anker, belkin.

Yeah… I heard about the USB3.0 standard being blue, at least for a quick visual identification. I have a couple other black USB3.0 from Ugreen (not the extension like ifi’s).
As you said, it’s more of a volume point. It can be made other colours if the company wants, but not costly ideal.

ps.: My “why” was on a “ranting” intention, not really asking for a reason. I heard some people complaining about that cable color before, including youtubers. I expressed myself in a wrong way, sorry.

PS.: just ignore my last comment… it was supposed to be ironic.