[justanut]

Been playing with GTO the entire day... something just didn't "feel" right... Not sure if it was just my imagination, but I was sure I would like it, didn't. After around 8hrs of fooling around with 7.0C, I've now switched to 7.0 and intend to stay on 7.0. YMMV.

 

[Bob Parish]

Been playing with GTO the entire day... something just didn't "feel" right... Not sure if it was just my imagination, but I was sure I would like it, didn't. After around 8hrs of fooling around with 7.0C, I've now switched to 7.0 and intend to stay on 7.0. YMMV.

Which one firmware version of the Diablo is DSD512 and PCM768?

 

[eizensky]

Been playing with GTO the entire day... something just didn't "feel" right... Not sure if it was just my imagination, but I was sure I would like it, didn't. After around 8hrs of fooling around with 7.0C, I've now switched to 7.0 and intend to stay on 7.0. YMMV.

For me GTO gives cleaner imaging and separation but makes the vocal holographic (?)

UPDATE:
After 5 more hours in the GTO, I think the description of GTO filter very much like in the pro idsd review I found at simple google search;
"GTO added some muscle and authority, and opened up orchestral textures slightly -- with the Bit-Perfect filters, they’d sounded a little closed-in. The English-horn passages now sounded more expressive, and the cellos had more rosiny bite if less woody body. Imaging was more precise -- everything was more locked in place."

I know the gap are wide with the Pro but looking on other Ifi product, none gave significant changes. for me with lcd X, the textures opened up more hence the added harshness on mid to high (sparkle of cymbals, dry aftertaste of powerful vocals, even the guitar)

 

[justanut]

For me GTO gives cleaner imaging and separation but makes the vocal holographic (?)

Maybe I'm having issues with the soundstage because I'm on the 800S and am very used to how it sounds out of the OG Diablo. I'll try again after letting my ears settle down with 7.0

 

[deanbone]

Been playing with GTO the entire day... something just didn't "feel" right... Not sure if it was just my imagination, but I was sure I would like it, didn't. After around 8hrs of fooling around with 7.0C, I've now switched to 7.0 and intend to stay on 7.0. YMMV.

for me with my rev 1 LCD2 it doesnt really make any difference, makes things maybe slightly harsher.

 

[utdeep]

Just received an iFi Diablo after owning a Signature earlier this year. First impressions:

• The red is beautiful. I thought that this was the ugliest amp of all time looking at the pics especially after the brilliant ifi Hip Dac. It looks so much better in person
• The packaging and accessories are amazing. Not sure what iFi purifier really does, so I don't care much about it. However, the case is brilliant. Reminds me of the old Headroom cases for their high-end amps 20 years ago. It also fits my iBasso DX300 perfectly. I think the Power Supply seems nice too.
• Based on earlier thoughts in this thread, it sounds like iFi has built in some battery safety for this device that the Signature was lacking so that it stays at 70% if using in Desktop mode - I think this is more useful than I thought and I appreciate it
• There is no USB-C to USB-A female adapter. That's the only oversight I see in the accessories they provide

Sound wise? I think it's amazing and a step up from the Signature for powering my LCD-3. I've had an interesting year with iFi products. The Hip Dac was a revelation for what it could do at $100 with its sound, USB-C, MQA, and its aesthetics. The Signature had USB-C, but didn't wow me over with any specific feature especially with the LCD-3.

I don't have the signature with me right now, but I am blown away by the Diablo with my LCD-3. I have a feeling that it won't leave my side for a long, long time.

 

[whitedragem]

I'm tempted to sell my AK25 for the diablo, the small screen size is bit too much of a hassle. I don't think I would mind too much having it cabled up to my phone, at least Tidal works quick and easily there with native app.

I have the OG solaris with 2.5mm balanced cable, I imagine an adapter to the 4.4mm would work ok? Guess I could also use my full size headphones which are all XLR , so would need to get an adapter for those too.

Do you think it would be a worthy upgrade? Would cost maybe double the value of my Ak25 however

Alright I skipped this on ‘first pass‘ due to not knowing what the AR25 was, then I assumed it might be An Astell and Kern SR25, at which point it made sense to me- that you have an exceptional DAP.

True for many people a Digital Audio Player is a dedicated music playback device, that should be the DAC and AMP combined, and that is essentially how we see them (a DAC and AMP + a multimedia playback device ‘all in one’); but they go so much further than that.

Being a dedicated MUSIC/AUDIO unit, the operating system right through to the clocking chips (teraton module in the SR25 I believe!?) is exceptional at the task they do.
Like Bobs post right after your question, where he disses’ ‘phones as transports’; the irony to me is that it is quite hard to make a PC a ‘really good audio transport’ (and I have been a technician for greater than 20 years, have a $600 power supply AND a $500 sound card.. )

A dedicated DAP actually can be a great transport (and is why I generally use them). My Questyle QP1R is the best transport for any sane cash I have ever owned, and its ’little brother’ (the QP1 that costs 1/3rd less when they launched) would do the same job..

When I nabbed an A&K (knockoff) player for my child (a ‘groovers japan’ DAP that features the A&K ’Teraton’ audio board/module) I couldn’t believe how obvious it made the jitter in the recordings I had ripped on MAC and PC platforms in the preceding months, using the Operating Systems’ generic RIP software.. -in fact it is plain to see that modern OSs’ do not want consumers making good digital rips, and prefer we buy music from online stores

Anyhow, apart from upselling the notion of use “JRIVER’ for ripping; a great DAP will make the Diablo sound massively better.
Bass will be tighter, imagining infinite, and cymbals etc just metallic and ‘crashier’.

The clock chip in your A&K sr25 is drool worthy stuff.
Try it, you might like it!

 

[theaudiologist1]

No offence but the red color is really ugly. Would love to see a blue verion or just a stock silver or black version.

 

[whitedragem]

I wasn’t a fan of the colour. (before I had seen it ‘live’)

When I saw it in the shop, my first comment, 0.3 seconds later was, “thats’ not so bad”, and then as they pulled it from the glass counter I thought - that is really (quite) nice.

Having brought it home (- being I buy ugly audio kit if it sounds good (function>form)), it took a moment to appreciate it was actually a beautiful piece of kit.
As a house we like our ‘earth tones’, and we do not buy a lot of ‘bright colours’... but the Diablo has a nice depth to the red that, like some paintings hanging on the wall of a gallery, just do not show their depth when captured as a ‘*.jpeg’.

As an example, I white balanced before this photo, and it is still WAY OFF, from how it looks UP CLOSE & PERSONAL.

In a darkened room where most of our music setups find themselves, it fits nicely and is ‘peaceful’ (not discordant) in the scene.
As something to take to a cafe or somewhere, it brings the joy of life and shows itself for what it does...
To confirm: I don’t buy bright colours and I really like this part. The rounded edges nullify any aggressiveness that the colour might bring (based on ‘web pics’), and in real life, it feels ‘feminine’ and soft, and ‘friendly’.

el Diablo is ‘my friend’.

 

[whitedragem]

Just grabbed another; using a nice manfrotto (tripod) and an ‘L’ piece of canon glass (Pro), with WHITE BALANCE done...

It JUST DOESN’T CAPTURE the actual unit.. I still reckon this is more orange in the shot than the nice deep red that the unit actually gives.
Based on internet photos - I hated the unit; in ACTUAL VIEW- it is a a really svelte piece of kit.
Again: I do not do ‘bright colours’ ,and love <i>earth tones</i>, and the Diablo really is something that I find ‘fits’ with my setups...

Apols for ‘full images’ (slow downloads) but JPEGGING is a large part of the Diablo being misrepresented to the world right now!

 

[pbui44]

This stuff is made in New York City!!!!!

That was before Pace Picante sauce was bought out by Campbell’s.

You want a really hot sauce, try this one, which is made of peppers that were specially bred to literally burn your *ss, according to Johnny Cash:

https://www.renfrofoods.com/products/carolina-reaper-salsa

 

[Ficcion2]

Aah nothing like some salsa and chips with a cold beer. (Room temp IPAs are fine too!)

The Diablo has been putting in hours via the Apple dongle or via the IPurifier3.

I think the purifier is overkill for a phone but I remember hearing a very pleasant difference when I used it with my Micro BL to my laptop.

Been pairing my Abyss Diana with the Diablo and it’s been super pleasant.
It actually powers them better than my Matrix back there.

I heard it’s practically multiloop THX type amp with the classic iFi burr brown DAC implementation.
That explains the cleaner, more analytical amp compared to the Micro BL which had a warmer amp as per its design.

It’s not as resolving as my Matrix of course but I really dig the Diablo.
Its still overpriced IMO since approaching the $1k should have done away with channel imbalance like the xSeries at the very least and it’s literally still a Micro BL in terms of its DAC

 

[squadgazzz]

@iFi audio Are you planning to release this device in a different color scheme? The color is great itself, but it looks horrible as a desktop solution.

 

[Bob Parish]

Like Bobs post right after your question, where he disses’ ‘phones as transports’; the irony to me is that it is quite hard to make a PC a ‘really good audio transport’ (and I have been a technician for greater than 20 years, have a $600 power supply AND a $500 sound card.. )

I know what I'm listening with my iPhone X + Onkyo HF Player, with a Lenovo Think Pad and an Apple MacBook Pro.
I don't listen music files direct from SSD or external HD, I use a 18TB modded Apple Time Capsule, a Uptone ETHERegen after the ATC and a ISORegen before the DAC.
With my configuration, I think I get a 8.0/10 from my Mac, a 6.0/10 from Lenovo (the Mac has a much more cleaner power supply) and only 4/10 from my iPhone that is only battery but there is no life in its sound, only veil...


P.S.: I have been a TI technician for greater than 40 years and the only extravagance I use is a $7,000 NBS Black Label III power cord for clean my AC power, this one has the biggest impact.

 

[theaudiologist1]

I wasn’t a fan of the colour. (before I had seen it ‘live’)

When I saw it in the shop, my first comment, 0.3 seconds later was, “thats’ not so bad”, and then as they pulled it from the glass counter I thought - that is really (quite) nice.

Having brought it home (- being I buy ugly audio kit if it sounds good (function>form)), it took a moment to appreciate it was actually a beautiful piece of kit.
As a house we like our ‘earth tones’, and we do not buy a lot of ‘bright colours’... but the Diablo has a nice depth to the red that, like some paintings hanging on the wall of a gallery, just do not show their depth when captured as a ‘*.jpeg’.

As an example, I white balanced before this photo, and it is still WAY OFF, from how it looks UP CLOSE & PERSONAL.

In a darkened room where most of our music setups find themselves, it fits nicely and is ‘peaceful’ (not discordant) in the scene.
As something to take to a cafe or somewhere, it brings the joy of life and shows itself for what it does...
To confirm: I don’t buy bright colours and I really like this part. The rounded edges nullify any aggressiveness that the colour might bring (based on ‘web pics’), and in real life, it feels ‘feminine’ and soft, and ‘friendly’.

el Diablo is ‘my friend’.

What material is it made out of? It looks platicky from pictures