[Dgowland]

If your monitors have balanced inputs and a potentiometer or something to control volume/gain then you are good to go.
If you don't have balanced in then you can't use iT

The prospective monitors would have balanced inputs and their own gain control, I suppose the issue is that they would be independent of one another. Once set at the same gain isn't it possible to control the volume with the diablo? So long as my phone or laptop isn't set to max volume? https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01MRH2OFD/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_fabc_MD9YZ82GNA7P4E9DK29T

 

[Ichos]

I believe that you are good to go.
You are going to use the supplied 4.4mm cable to hook up to the speakers.
Then you will find the best attenuation position (the same to both speakers) and control the volume from your phone or PC.

 

[IamInevitable]

Hello all,
Has anyone got a chance to try these with the new clear Mg/Mg pro. If yes, it can great to get some answers for the following
1) The overall sound, whether its dead neutral, warm or neutral bright. The clear Mgs are a tad warmer compared to the original clear so will this combo change that or keep it the same?
2) The clear Mg sounds analytical and a bit warmer when paired with THX AAA 789. Will this dac/amp combo make it more musical sounding as I saw that the diablos tuning is quite different compared to the previous ifi products.
3) I heard that the old clear wasnt a good combo with extremely powerful amps (this isnt my opinion or experience, but what I have heard). If thats true, will that trend continue with the clear Mg

 

[Tanalasta]

Has anyone tried these with TOTL cans eg. Empyreum, Diana, LCD-4 or 4Z, utopia yet? As to whether a portable will drive these to satisfaction?

 

[whitedragem]

Has anyone hooked this thing up to active speakers yet? If so, is plugging straight into the speakers correct? Or should something like this always be routed through an amp, or preamp I guess? I want to get a pair of 4" monitors to have a simple "party" setup. Any help with this would be excellent as I'd like to avoid buying components I don't need.

It will work, either using the included balanced XLR cable (4.4mm to 2x 3pin XLR) from the front of the Diablo (where you use the diablo as volume, when the speaker are left ‘turned up to a comfortable point(your required max volume with the diablo set to its max non clipping level, as likely indicated in photos below)) or the Diablos’ rear output, which is a balanced ’line output to sources’, such as active speakers which have XLR inputs and are powered- indicated by the word ‘active’ in their label ‘active speakers’. In that situation you use the volume control on the active speakers as the Diablos volume control will not affect the rear (line level) output. Using the Diablo rear output is preferable, but will not work for many users, and hence another method might be required- using the front outputs.. most likely using the cable below.

The other method is to put a 3.5mm to 2x phono plug (RCA connectors), like the laptop cable to analogue sound cable /powered speakers that has typically been used for decades and is for sale in many many places... plugging that cable into the included 3.5mm to 6.3mm adaptor, and then plugging into active speakers RCA/Phono inputs will work as well.

(^^^^^the aforementioned 3.5mm to 2x phono plug cable^^^^^)


If the speakers need a preamp, the Diablo is ‘it’,.. if they want a line level and have their own volume control then you set the Diablo to give ‘line level’ output volume and then adjust volume via the Speakers volume control.

You can give line level output from the Diablo in several ways; using the rear output (requires balanced XLR connection), or using the front outputs, at which point you will need to provide line levels (as likely indicated in the photos below).

Sometimes you have to adjust the Diablo volume up or down in volume to find ‘less humm’ or noise.. but if this is the case; try first moving the cables around (ie away from power cables and wall warts etc) until the noise goes away.. - and of course make sure that the speakers are not set too high /or are the cause..

I gave a post a few pages back showing photos of the Diablo at the various ‘line output volumes’ in its’ different modes..
edit: further back than ‘a few pages’; post #806 (pg54)

Alrighty: a wee bit of testing - running Florence + the Machine “Howl”, its a well mastered album, and I’d guess it would peak correctly..
Fed into a preamp with an Analogue to Digital ‘clipping’ circuit (if I have to do bass management or run a surround program it will do an ADC)

These were the results....

What is interesting is that the balanced mode output between Normal and Turbo doesn’t scale to the Single Ended output.. (Normal output is similar/practically the same whether balanced or SE mode, which I think/‘if I am not mistaken’ correlates to battery draw). Please excuse white balance, I had gone full manual mode, and the white balance was configued so I am disappointed in my poor photography effort AND lack of iOS easy text markup. I couldn’t be bothered looking and the Pencil wasn’t handy..

This should keep people under a voltage output that might hurt their equipment. (any above these points showed occasional ADC clipping).. there may be a bit of headroom on ECO mode,.. I think it was a smidge higher that this..
Anyone wanting to feed the Diablo into their home hifi using the ‘front outputs’ (or into headphones with an internal amp): these should prove VERY USEFUL to keep you dynamic range maxed!!
Enjoy.

(please excuse the ‘thin blue line’ I should have ‘circled with texta’ the appropriate jacks (the jpegging removed much of the ‘arrow’ pointing to which jack was being indicated); but if you look keenly you will see an arrow indicating which jack and which mode to use, and the volume pott indicates roughly where ‘full LINE LEVEL’ output would be found in each config. This should give maximum dynamic range without overpowering the input circuit on the downstream audio kit)
edit: basically the ‘top row/first three’ photos are the SE output (6.3mm), and the ‘last two/bottom row’ shots are using the front ‘balanced’ output jack (4.4mm).
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Heres a similar situation (active speakers) using the regular ‘single ended’ headphone out into a Sunfire Subwoofer and then daisy chained onto a Bowers and Wilkins Zeppelin.

In this instance I could set the active sub and active speakers to volume levels that work with each other and then use the Digital Audio Player (DAP)to adjust the volume (with the Diablo set to max/line level output), or leave the DAP to line level output, and use the Diablo to adjust the volume.
If I was to turn the volume up on the Diablo above the ’line level’ photos in the linked post, I would expect distortion in the other kit, due to clipping..
Even with the 2700watt sub running at a low level, I could create distorted sound, easily, if I set the Diablo above ‘line level’ output (which is what the other devices EXPECT to receive)..

This is why using the rear of the Diablo, which IS set ot line level output, is ideal, but requires you buy speakers with XLR inputs. These speakers would be active, and be amplifying the sound, where as the Diablo would be using all of its power to give a nice dynamic ‘line level’ output.
True the Diablo IS an amplifier, and can power small sensitive speaker drivers VERY WELL (ie headphones).

It can be useful to have a strategy with your setup to stop others ‘potentially hurting the equipment’ (clipping distortion isn’t great to amplify)..
So some strategies might include:
A) Setting the Diablo to line level output, either using the rear (where the Diablo volume pot does NOTHING), or the front (setting to a level like the photos above indicate/where their is not sound distortion/clipping) and Hiding the Diablo/putting it out of reach; and tuning your powered speakers to the max volume level you would wish them to give. Then you can use the volume level on your phone/DAP/laptop etc to adjust sound.. this setup works logically as the place where people adjust the songs/tracks is also where the volume can be controlled from- note that this setup isn’t ideal as the dynamic range will be artificially compressed to whatever is output from the source.. The Diablo will have limited magic it can do in this scenario- although it will still make music notes sound realistic etc.. but no one needs to touch ANYTHING ELSE, and this will allow controlling/stopping potential damage situations from happening.
B) Setting the laptop/DAP/Phone to full volume output=>having the Diablo at ’line level’ output=> and adjusting the volume on the (active/powered) speakers... (this is more ideal)

I’d use both setups depending on whose party it is (how technical are the guests and how drunk is someones partner who has a penchant for ramping up ‘cotton eye joe’ to full volume might be).
Many paths to the summit.

I bought the Diablo as a DAC/preamp - the way you wish to use it - AND to drive super sensitive speakers. Some would say I don’t need the Diablos RAW power; but that RAW POWER driving clean line level output and giving exceptional headphone control makes it very ‘high end’ in terms of sound output.

Just know that you CAN drive even old computer speakers expecting a 3.5mm input (ie a 3.5mm to 3.5mm cable, using the Diablos adapter to turn one end to 6.3mm).. (I’d give a photo but this cable is in use on the above setup and is offsite to me presently)

I bet you could find an incredible ‘old school‘ set of computer speakers (with a big ass sub unit) for very little coin.
Sme sets are ‘very high end’ and mixing kit can achieve some great results.. (like my B&W /Sunfire combo shown above; although THAT was for testing purposes to see if I would be happy with the sound as a makeshift music setup)( I WAS ! ) It would be ‘beyond party level sound’ for many people... /adequate.

 

[Bob Parish]

Which one Burr-Brown chipset DAC the Diablo uses? BB1793 or BB1795?

 

[Burakk]

Has anyone tried these with TOTL cans eg. Empyreum, Diana, LCD-4 or 4Z, utopia yet? As to whether a portable will drive these to satisfaction?

Hi, for Empy and Stella it’s much more than enough. These are easy to drive cans. I’ve tried Diana V2 and Phi, I suppose one of the most powerfull Portable amp on the market which is a mass production unit for dianas . There are some amps from boutique companies like Romi but all of them amp only. I really like it’s dac success as well. If you have one of these cans, I’d definitely recommend it.

 

[iFi audio]

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

Thanks for letting us know about this. Can you please contact our support (https://support.ifi-audio.com) ? They'll sort this out for you.

I think iFi definitely owes you an apology and maybe some kind of "good will gesture" like a voucher/credit or discount on a new iFi purchase.

At the moment we're digesting recent content in this thread and either me or @Sebastien Chiu will shortly contact involved forum users. That's for sure

if iFi would sell user-replaceable batteries.

We do sell them even for long discontinued products.

Burr-Brown chipset DAC the Diablo uses? BB1793

That's the one.

------------------

And lastly, @whitedragem and @ianjturner big THANK YOU for raising all listed issues and your input. It didn't go unnoticed

 

[utdeep]

Big thank you to @iFi audio for taking time to process the feedback! When my Diablo works, it is easily the best amp/dac I have ever used.

 

[CH23]

Thanks for letting us know about this. Can you please contact our support (https://support.ifi-audio.com) ? They'll sort this out for you.

Thanks, i've created a ticket!

 

[floydfan33]

I am on 7.0 and playing Tidal through ROON I get yellow for MQA and Magenta for MQA Studio. Is this expected behaviour?

 

[Bob Parish]

https://gavinsgadgets.com/2021/03/18/ifi-idsd-diablo-review-insanely-powerful-portable-dac-amp/

 

[justanut]

https://gavinsgadgets.com/2021/03/18/ifi-idsd-diablo-review-insanely-powerful-portable-dac-amp/

Hmmm… I didn’t watch the video, just the write-up. Should have been explicit in explaining why a point was docked…?

 

[CH23]

I am on 7.0 and playing Tidal through ROON I get yellow for MQA and Magenta for MQA Studio. Is this expected behaviour?

I noticed the same behaviour: https://www.head-fi.org/threads/ifi...nce-done-our-way.951615/page-65#post-16249673

I have created a ticket on ifi's support site for this at their request.

 

[whitedragem]

Hmmm… I didn’t watch the video, just the write-up. Should have been explicit in explaining why a point was docked…?

Same (-didn’t watch the video); but maybe the ‘point missing’ is to create curiosity and get peeps to ‘watch the video’.

On that topic, I don’t feel that a point is necessarily docked.
I would be hard pressed to put out a ‘10’ review score on many items, even ones that I found fantastic ‘value for money’ and did everything their competition did (and more), and came with lots of extras etc.
As has been raised on this thread, the typical consensus for Diablo ‘lovers’ are the included adapters not quite being perfect for everyone (eg having the correct USB connectors rather than having to buy an extra OR potentially needed an IEMatch accessory).

As a pundit that HAD to buy an iFi cable just to do the basics that every other USB DAC has done for me, I am in that camp.

The question to me- what would I rate the unit (?), would definitely be a 9.5 (not a perfect 10)- and it would be the standard ‘leaves room for improvement’.

I do feel that review scores have to exist in their respective price brackets. Would a Diablo scoring a ‘10’ best a $30,000 DAC that scores an ‘8’ - of course not..
That logic continued -even if the Diablo scored an ‘8’; it still seriously flogs many ‘five star’ parts that sell for substantially less (and maybe even more, if ‘a few years ago’)...

Review scores are such a large ”can of worms”; that so much needs be said to qualify any respective given score.
If given on a webdomain that has a clear guide as to its’ scoring process, then understanding the perspective of the score given can be easier to interpret..
Its why places like Digital Foundry do not score games, but write a body of text that needs to be investigated for the audience to understand what the reviewer is sharing.

What is more important for reviewers to share, more than their scoring system, is things like ‘number of hours of use’ prior to reviewing.
With a new Diablo on my test bench today; the shrill vocals on a Tori Amos album are back- something that a couple of hundred hours had removed from my other Diablo.
So many reviewers score equipment almost straight out of the box, which would then really favour equipment that is ‘pre burnt in’.

When I bought some Hifiman Sundaras - they insisted that a clear 300 hours be put on them before ‘critical listening’. In that first three hundred hours the sound stage opened up so much that they were ’hardly the same set of headphones’ at the three hundred hour mark.
My Ultrasone Edition 5s NEEDED 1200 hours. (and not all of their ‘break in’ was for the better.. at the fifty hour mark they had improved, but between 100-300 hours they were horrible, than got substantially better. If I had been changing cables (that themselves need some breakin time (or have been used in the last two weeks), then reviewing would have been ‘even more complex’.

As long as reviewers are relatively consistent to their own scoring system, and have a clear breakdown of what it means, then we can learn something from ‘a number’.
I am guessing we might NEED to actually watch their review!(?)