iFi audio iDSD Diablo - A portable reference done our way!

[iFi audio]

Well I got to make a trip to my dealer today and check out the 'claims' on Focal being driven by Diablo being 'unusable'.

Diablo on eco mode 6.3 with the Clear, there's imbalance from 10:30 and down. But man, if you need to listen at this level, go get a dongle and have fun listening at 60dB. My normal listening is 12:00 and max is 2 o'clock.

So since 4.4 would be louder, I figure the imbalance would be a bigger issue....but get what, zero imbalance to my surprise. And to think I just used Susvara stock cables. Normal listening is around 10:30-11:00. The sound is better, deeper, bigger Soundstage and more centered.

Another customer who I see occasionally at the store popped by and I have him give a listen, then I mentioned the claims the people here are making and we both had a good laugh. He was quite impressed with the focal clear on 4.4 with the Diablo that he has put his sights on this combo as his next purchase.

Thanks, that's very useful info and I trust that you had fun with the combo

 

[Lavamat]

Just got this dac/amp a few days ago. it's an amazing little thing!

I do have one question though:

I have tested several audio formats, compared to LED colour:

filename	type	sample rate	bit depth	LED colour (observed)	LED colour (iFi manual)
2L-45_stereo_01_DSF_2822k_1b.dsf	DSD 64	2.8 MHz	1	cyan	cyan
2L-45_stereo_01_DSF_5644k_1b.dsf	DSD 128	5.6 MHz	1	cyan	cyan
2L-45_stereo_01_DSF_11289k_1b.dsf	DSD 256	11.2 MHz	1	blue	red
3_Street-of-Dreams_512fs-2ch.dsf	DSD 512	22.5 MHz	1	red	red
2L-145_01_stereo_01.cd.flac	FLAC	44.1 kHz	16	green	yellow
2L-45_stereo_01_FLAC_88k_24b.flac	FLAC	88.2 kHz	24	green	white
2L-45_stereo_01_FLAC_176k_24b.flac	FLAC	176.4 kHz	24	yellow	white
2L-45_stereo_01_FLAC_352k_24b.flac	FLAC	352 kHz	24	yellow	white
2L-145_01_stereo.mqacd.mqa.flac	FLAC/MQA	44.1 kHz	16	yellow	green/blue*
2L-145_01_stereo.mqa.flac	FLAC/MQA	44.1 kHz	24	magenta	green/blue*
JGH_take-111_MQA-from-DSD128-derived-from-raw-DXD.mqa.flac	FLAC/MQA	44.1 kHz	24	yellow	green/blue*
JGH_take-111_MQA-from-raw-DSD128.mqa.flac	FLAC/MQA	44.1 kHz	24	yellow	green/blue*
JGH_take-111_MQA-from-raw-DXD.mqa.flac	FLAC/MQA	44.1 kHz	24	yellow	green/blue*
JGH_take-111_raw-DXD.wav	WAV	352 kHz	24	yellow	white

* blue for MQA 'studio'. god knows what that means in regards to an audio file.

The observed colours don't at all match those as described in the manual.

i'm running firmware v7.0 'cookies & cream'

Hi All,

Was this problem ever resolved? I have the same but couldn't find a solution here. In case it helps, I noticed what CH32 and I have observed is consistent with how the LED should work on the micro iDSD signature model, based on ifi's LED calculator page. I did not test DSD, but MQA and PCM are perfectly consistent with the micro iDSD signature. CH32 did not test FLAC 768kHz, but I am also getting white for that.

So most importantly, is this just a bug in how it shows the colors or, worse, might signals be converted wrong?

I am using firmware 7.4 and my diablo in Feb. 2021.

Thanks in advance for your help!

 

[CH23]

Hi All,

Was this problem ever resolved? I have the same but couldn't find a solution here. In case it helps, I noticed what CH32 and I have observed is consistent with how the LED should work on the micro iDSD signature model, based on ifi's LED calculator page. I did not test DSD, but MQA and PCM are perfectly consistent with the micro iDSD signature. CH32 did not test FLAC 768kHz, but I am also getting white for that.

So most importantly, is this just a bug in how it shows the colors or, worse, might signals be converted wrong?

I am using firmware 7.4 and my diablo in Feb. 2021.

Thanks in advance for your help!

I had my unit replaced with another one, I believe it was an issue with non-XMOS firmware, which can't be flashed via a USB connection (any firmware updates for the Diablo is flashed to the XMOS chip, not any other onboard chips if i understand it correctly)


Despite having such a short username, you still managed to misspell it, by the way

 

[Lavamat]

I had my unit replaced with another one, I believe it was an issue with non-XMOS firmware, which can't be flashed via a USB connection (any firmware updates for the Diablo is flashed to the XMOS chip, not any other onboard chips if i understand it correctly)


Despite having such a short username, you still managed to misspell it, by the way

Thank you for the quick reply!

So do we know for sure, if this problem affects anything else than the colors themselves? In particular, does it have any impact on the audio quality?

If it is really only the colors, it doesn't seem worth the hassle, as you can just get used to the different colors in no time. (And mine is anyhow now over a year old.)

 

[CH23]

Thank you for the quick reply!

So do we know for sure, if this problem affects anything else than the colors themselves? In particular, does it have any impact on the audio quality?

If it is really only the colors, it doesn't seem worth the hassle, as you can just get used to the different colors in no time. (And mine is anyhow now over a year old.)

it's just the colour, however: if you can't hear it, does it really matter?

 

[iFi audio]

I had my unit replaced with another one, I believe it was an issue with non-XMOS firmware, which can't be flashed via a USB connection

That is correct, we use a special tool for that and it connects to the motherboard directly.

 

[801evan]

That is correct, we use a special tool for that and it connects to the motherboard directly.

Is this a TTL method?

 

[iFi audio]

Is this a TTL method?

Something along those lines, but you need a fork.

 

[sS1RuXx]

Hello, I am selling my ifi diablo in case anyone is interested, I have it posted here and on reddit.

https://www.head-fi.org/classifieds/ifi-idsd-diablo.36569/

https://www.reddit.com/r/AVexchange/comments/yzsd66/wts_eues_h_ifi_idsd_diablo_w_paypal/

 

[Beolab]

That's correct. I'm having the same feel on the zen sig one vs diablo on my end. But since my chain is on the crazy end, I recognize the zen sig one is wanting on the upper end and soundstage and I recognize it would match noisier systems. I do however have a modded Diablo that not running on battery and battery is more rolled off and warm fuzzy compared to the mod..

Interesting, how did you preform the none battery mod on your Diablo, and what power supply are you using.

I thought you go pass the battery when you connect the included iPower PSU ?

 

[Beolab]

@iFi audio
@Sebastien Chiu
Then i am searching for the most transparent sound with great depth like a Chord Hugo 2, so what is the best filter / firmware recommendation for the highest resolution and timing?
(The standard filter that is included today is muddy and warm, and i do not like it)

3.
Also searching for a adapter with
4 pin XLR female - to 6,3mm or 3,5 mm phono adapter plug to buy or that someone can recommend?

4. Anyone who has dune a direct comparison with a iFi Diablo vs Mojo 2 on planar headphones like Abyss in this thread would be interesting

 

[BS5711]

@iFi audio
@Sebastien Chiu
Then i am searching for the most transparent sound with great depth like a Chord Hugo 2, so what is the best filter / firmware recommendation for the highest resolution and timing?
(The standard filter that is included today is muddy and warm, and i do not like it)

3.
Also searching for a adapter with
4 pin XLR female - to 6,3mm or 3,5 mm phono adapter plug to buy or that someone can recommend?

4. Anyone who has dune a direct comparison with a iFi Diablo vs Mojo 2 on planar headphones like Abyss in this thread would be interesting

The Zen Dac page in the download hub has the earlier 7.2 series firmware with different filters that you might wish to experiment with.

They are compatible with the Diablo and at one time were on the Diablo download page.

I tried the 7.2b Limoncello after reading somewhere that it was better on the Diablo but I didn't hear any difference .... your milage may of course vary.

 

[CH23]

The Zen Dac page in the download hub has the earlier 7.2 series firmware with different filters that you might wish to experiment with.

They are compatible with the Diablo and at one time were on the Diablo download page.

I tried the 7.2b Limoncello after reading somewhere that it was better on the Diablo but I didn't hear any difference .... your milage may of course vary.

as far as audio goes, there should not be a difference between 7.2, 7.3, and 7.4.¹ the difference that is there is between 7.xa, 7.xb, and 7.xc. Which of the 3 types is best is of course up to your ears or measurements.

¹ - there have been bugfixes that will improve performance on 7.4 over 7.2 and 7.3, as well as added support for higher bitrate DSD iirc.

 

[BS5711]

as far as audio goes, there should not be a difference between 7.2, 7.3, and 7.4.¹ the difference that is there is between 7.xa, 7.xb, and 7.xc. Which of the 3 types is best is of course up to your ears or measurements.

¹ - there have been bugfixes that will improve performance on 7.4 over 7.2 and 7.3, as well as added support for higher bitrate DSD iirc.

OK gotcha.

I understood by the way somebodies comments were worded some time back that there was some digital filtering difference with the 7.2b firmware versus any of the 7.4 options. Makes perfect sense that 7.2b is the same as 7.4b in terms of filtering.

So the options are:

Does that mean 7.4 is a different filter to 7.4b and the trade off if you want 7.4b is that you don't get MQA or is 7.4b just for the MQA haters that can't stand the thought of their gear being MQA compatible and the filter is the same ?

 

[iFi audio]

Does that mean 7.4 is a different filter to 7.4b and the trade off if you want 7.4b is that you don't get MQA or is 7.4b just for the MQA haters that can't stand the thought of their gear being MQA compatible and the filter is the same ?

Just to clarify, our firmware 7.4 and all its versions ('b' and 'c') are the same at their core. The only difference between them is in utilities. The FW 'c' allows for MQA playback and applies our GTO filter to all PCM data (...which naturally disables bitperfect playback), the FW 'b' has MQA disabled and it doesn't apply our GTO filter. Hope this helps, thanks!