[emilsoft]

S-balanced being pSeudo-balanced

It stands for "Sexy and Balanced"

 

[Baten]

ASS-balanced

 

[Shroune]

Did any of you guys using the USB male of the ifi products have it wear out on you?

 

[Charlie Norwood]

I have active speakers that take coax digital in, I also have a turntable alongside my computer: it would have been great to have this device be able to cover all those things so I can keep it neat (don't want a stack).. the original idsd micro black can do that, but I wish for bit more sound quality.

I feel ifi has shot themselves in the foot a bit with the high pricing here. If you want portability and excellent sound quality - look at the Fiio m11 Pro or Sony ZX507 (the sony if you don't need dac mode), if you want desktop close to totl performance in a small package check the RME ADI 2 for a couple hundred more (also a swiss army knife do it all).
If you want a nice little portable dac/headamp the ifi nano idsd for far less will give you that (also has s balanced etc) - unless you have very hard to drive headphones.
Now I haven't heard the signature, if the sound quality is truly mind blowing then I will eat my words.. but judging by the similarities with the previous micro, I'm not so convinced I will hear this jump.

Im sure your speakers also take RCA input as well as digital and that would be the better solution if you’re using the dac from the idsd...

however since the black label and the signature use the same dac and amp, just get the micro black label as the signature is going to sound the same... the signature is really just a sidegrade to the micro black label.

(Side note: not sure why you’re suggesting devices to me here? I’m not asking, but thanks!)

Did any of you guys using the USB male of the ifi products have it wear out on you?

nope

 

[Charlie Norwood]

In the Manual you call it Balanced. Do you mean S-Balanced?
Just to clarify - all of your products are S-Balanced, right?
Why don't you call it like this in Manuals just to be more consistent in definitions?



P.S. Does that mean that I cannot get a full balanced circuit in case I connect any of your s-balanced DACs (Zen DAC via 4.4 mm output as an example) to a desktop fully balanced amplifier (Violectric HPA181/280)? The ground will not be separated, right? Thanks.

zen dac is fully balanced and has a 4.4 line out. This thread is about the new idsd signature which has a 4.4 headphone jack but isn’t fully balanced.

 

[emilsoft]

Im sure your speakers also take RCA input as well as digital and that would be the better solution if you’re using the dac from the idsd...

however since the black label and the signature use the same dac and amp, just get the micro black label as the signature is going to sound the same... the signature is really just a sidegrade to the micro black label.

(Side note: not sure why you’re suggesting devices to me here? I’m not asking, but thanks!)



nope

My speakers take XLR, but they also convert the signal to digital this way, so it's much better to feed them digital signal directly do bypass this stage.

I thought the signature is supposed to be better sounding than the idsd black, if it's just a side grade then I will indeed be very dissapointed.. I am an ifi fan and have a lot of their gear - I know what they can do, and theyd better not be getting lazy and giving us more expensive blue coloured special edition side grades.

 

[Charlie Norwood]

My speakers take XLR, but they also convert the signal to digital this way, so it's much better to feed them digital signal directly do bypass this stage.

I thought the signature is supposed to be better sounding than the idsd black, if it's just a side grade then I will indeed be very dissapointed.. I am an ifi fan and have a lot of their gear - I know what they can do, and theyd better not be getting lazy and giving us more expensive blue coloured special edition side grades.

Ah, got it. Yeah I don't know, I wouldn't be too harsh on ifi for this. I think that the Signature is more aimed at new ifi customers and not necessarily current ones looking for an upgrade. That being said, as a Micro Black Label owner, the two current features you would be missing in the Signature, are two things that I never use the micro for (digital out or analog in) - and they added to the Signature the two features that I'm missing most from the Micro (4.4 hp output, and usb-c play&charge). Hard to make all your customers happy! And from what ifi has said, it sounds like they couldn't keep all the I/O and use the same form factor. We also know that the diablo is in the works, and quite frankly, the Micro Black Label still competes with brand new dac/amps and no one should feel bad about buying one now - which is why I'm probably going to pay the cost of something like a brand new topping A50s to get it repaired.

 

[DBaldock9]

I became active on Head-Fi after the original iDSD was on the market - but I remember reading, either in a review or a thread on the forums - that the iDSD was designed as a project, with a lot of input from Head-Fi users.
.
Were any of you involved with that original discussion?

 

[qsk78]

Were any of you involved with that original discussion?

Well, they do listen...I personally was asking for an upgrade with a dedicated charging port and balanced circuity...it works

 

[iFi audio]

I know what they can do, and theyd better not be getting lazy and giving us more expensive blue coloured special edition side grades.

I wouldn't call micro iDSD Signature a side grade. It features several improvements over the BL that make it easier to use and more fit for current times

Were any of you involved with that original discussion?

None other than our internal staff was involved, but there was no need to reach outside. Our micro iDSD BL provided us with substnatial feedback that in fact led to micro iDSD Signature. Plus, one crowd design project is more than enough to know that this approach also has its downsides

 

[ES_EF]

looking forward to buying this, seems like an improvement over xdsd

also would love to see an iFi Amp/Dac at $1000 - $1400 "Solid State iDsd Jr"

with IEMs and 4.4 use taking off the last couple of years, there really arent that many truly clean / noise free dac/amps for that purpose

 

[ES_EF]

also good to see ifi range filling out quite nicely, love to see an pro ican refresh (improved pre-amp functionality) and maybe a balanced itube

 

[iFi audio]

also good to see ifi range filling out quite nicely, love to see an pro ican refresh (improved pre-amp functionality) and maybe a balanced itube

Who knows, perhaps in the future we'll have more to say about such products

looking forward to buying this, seems like an improvement over xdsd

Yes, micro iDSD Signature is what we'd consider as a step above xDSD, but without wireless functionality.

 

[tonehk]

@iFi audio
will the micro iDSD BL be discontinued? or will both BL and signature be available in the lineup?

 

[Baten]

@iFi audio
will the micro iDSD BL be discontinued? or will both BL and signature be available in the lineup?

It'll be discontinued in favor of the signature.