iFi audio iDSD Signature - The saga continues!

[531412]

Interesting. I was not aware of this. You mean it will not turn on while charging or that it will not turn on if completely empty? Or that it will not charge while you are running it? Not exactly clear.

I mean personally for me it wont be a problem if it is not bypassing the battery, the issue is if it cannot change and run at the same time. Sort of like a laptop does.

That would indeed be a bummer. I also intend to use is 70% of the time on the desk.

PS: I have contacted that German retailer that you mentioned via email and Facebook, but they have not replied. Maybe my just luck in disguise.
Actually my CEIM will only be ready in 4 weeks. So I don't even know why I am rushing this. Guess it is just impatience. I get like that a lot.

It will not charge via the common USB input. Just for data transfer. It seems that you have to connect a 2nd cable via the USB-C port (on the side where the BL was able to act as powerbank ... the powerbank functionality is not in place anymore and this feauture was replaced to charge the Signature there).

Sorry, but this is just bad!

 

[pompecukor]

ahh, yes that I knew. It has a secondary USB so that you can charge it without killing your phone battery.
Is that your problem, that you need a second USB to power it?

I don't need power bank feature. You said you cannot use as desktop, that is wrong then. I expected to power is video USB and use the main to connect to computer.

Or how did you mean that it would destroy desktop use?

 

[531412]

Maybe I explained it in a wrong way.

You need to do the following:

- Connect the Signature via USB on the back of the device to your PC/Mac (e.g. with the blue USB cable which is in the box)
- Connect the Signature via USB-C on the side of the device with a 5V charger

I mean, it works somehow ... but it is just ugly, specially because the BL and the silver iDSD did it much much better! They killed a feature (powerbank) and added the need for a 2nd cable to use it as desktop amp. 2 downsides without any benefit. I do not get it ...

 

[pompecukor]

But I just mentioned the benefit. I never owned one, but that is exactly how I expected it to work.
I don't want it to discharge my phone while listening to music.

When on desk, I would just connect any USB to the side (if I want to charge it).
When mobile again, I can decide to charge it or just use it with the phone (none depleting the other). So the benefit is that non will discharge the other and I can still charge it while listening to music. I mean think about it, if you were at the airport. The iDSD last max 8 hour, your typicall phone with continouse music will last 24 hours (unless you are staring at the screen all the time). So you can plug the iDSD to charge is without interrupting you listening while on the road.

I think it is just the case of one mans poison. I am happy with the design.

 

[aspirina750]

Found the same battery issue, mine died suddenly while conencted to the USB C port of my laptop. I just ordered a cable with a L USB-C connector that I will plug to a regular USB Charger... it's really a mess as it adds too many cables to my setup.

 

[531412]

But I just mentioned the benefit. I never owned one, but that is exactly how I expected it to work.
I don't want it to discharge my phone while listening to music.

Not really.
The BL has 2 options for the mobile use:
1) If you turn on the BL and connect it to a mobile device afterwards, it will use the internal battery of the BL.
2) Connect the BL with the mobile device first and turn it on afterwards. In this case, the BL will discharge your phone quite fast, but this option is useful if the internal battery of the BL is empty and you just want to hear few more tracks.

It is obvious that option 1) is the most common one.

But for the Signature, it seems that just option 1 is possible, which is ok for mobile use I would say.

My concern is more the "new" desktop use case. With the BL, I just need one cable to connect it to my PC and hear the music AND charge the internal battery. With the Signature, I have to plug in the "normal" USB cable to hear the music + connect the Signature to a 5V charger to keep the device "alive" with a 2nd cable ... Which is, specially compared to the BL, just ugly.
I would understand the decision if the device is primarily designed for mobile use.. But as far as I remember, ifi said that they see this device more as a desktop DAC/Amp with just the possible to use it mobile if needed. Which make sense, because it is a bit to big for a user friendly mobile use in my opinion.

 

[pompecukor]

I see. Yes it does seem like a step back from what you explained. As I never owned one of these I was not aware of that feature.
What I am surprised about is why a PC USB (min 500mA out put) is not able to sustain it to charge. That is what the other guy claims that is his laptop was not able to manage it. That is ridiculous. If it is so, then it is a definite disappointment needing a charger as a must.
Extra point deducted from IFI for not even including one on the package. But what can you expect from a company that would call a regular product "Limited" when in fact it is a full replacement of a current version.

 

[531412]

Yes, the sound is better compared to the BL ... but on the other hand, you have more disadvantages than I initially thought.


Just a short pro and con comparism:

- No powerbank functionality
- No 3,5mm analog input
- 2nd cable is needed to charge it
- No pre amp switch (Direct / Preamplification)
- No polarity switch (+ / -)
- More expensive than the BL
- If it is empty, no mobile use possible

+ 4,4 balanced output
+ better overall sound
+ better Xbass implementation

Hmm ... I mean, most of the cons are not that important ... but in total there are a lot of disadvantages compared to the BL.

 

[aspirina750]

The BL on turbo and hard to drive cans didn't have enough power thru a standard USB connector, at least I remember @iFi audio saying so. USB-C should be able to charge and play at the same time so I really hate the fact that they didn't make use of that as USB-C is on almost any new device,

 

[531412]

The BL on turbo and hard to drive cans didn't have enough power thru a standard USB connector, at least I remember @iFi audio saying so. USB-C should be able to charge and play at the same time so I really hate the fact that they didn't make use of that as USB-C is on almost any new device,

Hm ... the BL has 4W and the Signature has 4,1W. Does this 100mW really make the difference? I am not so sure ...

But I agree with you regarding the USB-C use ... A good use of the possibilties of USB-C could solve some of the concerns I have atm.

 

[aspirina750]

Hm ... the BL has 4W and the Signature has 4,1W. Does this 100mW really make the difference? I am not so sure ...

But I agree with you regarding the USB-C use ... A good use of the possibilties of USB-C could solve some of the concerns I have atm.

I think the issue was that the BL demanded more power than the port could supply so it defaulted to using USB plus battery power on some cases and that affected the cleanliness of the sound, at least that's what I understood. In that case I suppose that going battery only for the highest quality would make some kind of sense. I still don't like it, I prefer more options.

Have you guys noticed the weight difference? I wonder where did they save that much.

I'd say that for the price it might not be a worthwhile upgrade for BL users if you don't need the 4.4, even if you need the 4.4 then get a Zen CAN and call it a day. For new users then yes, it's a totally worthwhile device.

 

[531412]

Have you guys noticed the weight difference? I wonder where did they save that much.

Hmm .. 310g vs 295g ... do you really feel this? If I have both devices in my hands, the weight feels more less equal.

But as I said, they sacrifice a lot of features, maybe that is the reason

I'd say that for the price it might not be a worthwhile upgrade for BL users if you don't need the 4.4, even if you need the 4.4 then get a Zen CAN and call it a day. For new users then yes, it's a totally worthwhile device.

Basically I really like the idea of an audiophile swiss pocket knife I bought my BL used and it looks not that good anymore. And to be honest, I just wanted a new one And I saw the balanced output and internal improvements as enough to just buy it without any reviews because in general, the ifi products are really well engineered.
And to be honest, I am just a bit pissed atm that there are more and more disadvantages at the beginning (or I was just not aware of) But I hope I will just get used to it.

 

[aspirina750]

Hmm .. 310g vs 295g ... do you really feel this? If I have both devices in my hands, the weight feels more less equal.

But as I said, they sacrifice a lot of features, maybe that is the reason



Basically I really like the idea of an audiophile swiss pocket knife I bought my BL used and it just looks that good anymore. And to be honest, I just wanted a new one And I saw the balanced output and internal improvements as enough to just buy it without any reviews because in general, the ifi products are really well engineered.
And to be honest, I am just a bit pissed atm that there are more and more disadvantages at the beginning (or I was just not aware of) But I hope I will just get used to it.

lol, this is weird, after reading your post I decided to weight mine, the Signature is 7g lighter but for some reason it feels way lighter... I might be going crazy...

 

[iFi audio]

Will it be on Amazon in the USA?

Yes.

I hope it will not chance in the upcomming days/weeks, but it feels that the Signature is a good upgrade to the BL. Not much, more fine tuning then huge inovations,

Fine tuning was the goal as the platform as a whole is pretty much maxed out.

Is it not possible to "bypass" the battery on the iDSD Signature?

Not possible. The product was designed to have internal battery constantly engaged, however it can be charged and used at the same time.

the issue is if it cannot change and run at the same time.

You can charge and use micro iDSD Signature at the same time, but it has to charge more than connected cans require, otherwise a battery will get depleted at some point.

In my current situation, I am not able to hear music because it needs to be charged first.

Can you elaborate what do you mean by the need to charge prior to use? As in, you can't turn on a product if its battery is dead? Did I get this right?

EDIT:

Most likely that's what you meant about the fact that micro idSD Signature needs two USB cables now to charge & play versus one cable in the BL:

Sorry, but this is just bad!

A separate USB port for charging only was what most people wanted and that's why micro iDSD Signature has it now. To many owners of the original BL one port for charge & play plus desktop and portable modes created problems.

 

[DBaldock9]

Hi
I understand that if I want to use my ibasso only as a player I have to connect it to the ifi micro signature by spdif, right?
Another way would be by line output from the ibasso dx220 to the rca inputs. This way the ibasso would act as a pre amp but I think it would sound worse that way, right?
Cheers

The Micro iDSD Signature only has digital inputs - there are no longer any analog inputs, like the previous versions had.