iFi audio iDSD Signature - The saga continues!

[whitedragem]

I’d give ‘em time; they do seem to under promise and over deliver (those magic firmware benefits are never ‘just for the present range’; and many times we see benefits land on the older kit in their lineup.

whenever I find one of these rare companies (that service beyond a warranty period) I stand by them. The notion that the firmwares are ‘mostly universal’ (by branch), makes it easier for them to get this stuff happening,
That seems a fairly small slip in time, yes?

preempting a responce (pick one)
a) I will ask them.. (inference being ‘to get back to us”)
b) value added stuff will happen when its done, and we are all happy when stuff comes out (not the actual words we would be told../not’verbatim’)

of course there is multiple paths here, regarding having work performed;
quickly
capably
cheaply

now: firmwares giving EXTRA features isn’t a given, and is given for free (to us)
so its definitely the last one, and whether we want rushed firmwares (quickly) or good firmwares (capable); I’d choose the later.
notice how we seldom get beta firmwares/we are not guinea pigs- I believe they do test these things thoroughly before rolling ‘em out publicly.
when working with firmwares I am always happy to wait. (prefer no errors!)

that would be pretty sweet feature to get; glad to hear support actually confirmed ‘they’re on it!’

 

[bigsausage]

I just got Micro iDSD signature. When I plug in the USB C charging cable, the LED glows blue for a few seconds and then it goes out. According to the manual, I was expecting the LED to blink when charging. Is my unit charging or have I got a faulty unit? PS I tried different USB C cables (including the one provided in the box) and different charging bricks. In all cases, the LED light glows blue and then it goes out...

 

[gto88]

Which led, charging led is small one by the charging usb port.

 

[Johnfg465vd]

I just got Micro iDSD signature. When I plug in the USB C charging cable, the LED glows blue for a few seconds and then it goes out. According to the manual, I was expecting the LED to blink when charging. Is my unit charging or have I got a faulty unit? PS I tried different USB C cables (including the one provided in the box) and different charging bricks. In all cases, the LED light glows blue and then it goes out...

It's not faulty. You can check charging status by looking at the small LED near the charging port. The front one only lights up for a few seconds.

 

[bigsausage]

Thanks so much, I was looking at the main LED at the front, the one near the USB C port is indeed flashing so it's charging

 

[Stevko]

same power on SE and 4.4.?

 

[Donmonte]

same power on SE and 4.4.?

Yes

 

[Sebastien Chiu]

Which led, charging led is small one by the charging usb port.

It's not faulty. You can check charging status by looking at the small LED near the charging port. The front one only lights up for a few seconds.

same power on SE and 4.4.?

Yes

All of these answers are correct! Thanks, all.

 

[Sebastien Chiu]

Talking about PS5, @Sebastien Chiu Any news to add the support to the old Signature who only limited to 5.3.
I already talked to support about it, they said on August, now we're on the end of September still no firmware.

I will follow up on this, internally, and get a proper update for you!

 

[Aquileolus]

Hi folks, recently starting to look for a portable dac and amp, and I found the iDSD micro signature retails for $749 usd now, however in some reviews they mentioned it was retails for $649 or $699… wondering if it was a price change this year? And is current version an updated version or just the price increased? Thanks

 

[gto88]

Hi folks, recently starting to look for a portable dac and amp, and I found the iDSD micro signature retails for $749 usd now, however in some reviews they mentioned it was retails for $649 or $699… wondering if it was a price change this year? And is current version an updated version or just the price increased? Thanks

It seems the latest one has been updated from original released.

 

[Knee Deep In Epoxy]

Question about IE Match. I understand it's for high sensitivity IEMs. However I'm using the Signature mostly for supposedly power hungry planars (Hifiman Arya, T60 Argon) via the 4.4mm pentaconn output. In theory, I'd expect to be able to use the signature on turbo mode with IE Match off and still have a decent range of volume control. However, I'm finding that on turbo mode I hardly have any range past the channel imbalance point before it gets too loud. On the other hand, the output powers of normal and eco mode seem far too low on paper, even though the volume can still get way higher than my listening level regardless of gain mode.

I.E match (high sensitivity) seems to allow more range on the volume control while on turbo mode, but it's also quicker to cause distortion. Ultra sensitivity distorts even quicker.

What am I doing wrong here? More importantly what should I be doing to power my headphones properly and have a decent volume control range?

 

[Knee Deep In Epoxy]

Question about IE Match. I understand it's for high sensitivity IEMs. However I'm using the Signature mostly for supposedly power hungry planars (Hifiman Arya, T60 Argon) via the 4.4mm pentaconn output. In theory, I'd expect to be able to use the signature on turbo mode with IE Match off and still have a decent range of volume control. However, I'm finding that on turbo mode I hardly have any range past the channel imbalance point before it gets too loud. On the other hand, the output powers of normal and eco mode seem far too low on paper, even though the volume can still get way higher than my listening level regardless of gain mode.

I.E match (high sensitivity) seems to allow more range on the volume control while on turbo mode, but it's also quicker to cause distortion. Ultra sensitivity distorts even quicker.

What am I doing wrong here? More importantly what should I be doing to power my headphones properly and have a decent volume control range?

TLDR - Should IE Match be used with headphones or is it designed exclusively for IEMs?

 

[Johnfg465vd]

TLDR - Should IE Match be used with headphones or is it designed exclusively for IEMs?

I'm not sure (hope iFi can chime in) but I think IEMatch is useful not just for IEM's but also for headphones that are very sensitive. Primary use case for IEMatch is if there is audible noise or if there is a lack of usable volume range.

Personally, I use my Sundara with IEMatch off and Normal mode and get to comfortable listening levels at around 12 or 1 O' Clock position. In turbo mode, volume range gets very limited at 10 or 11 O' Clock with no noticeable sound quality improvement. I tried using Turbo mode with IEMatch and noticed distortion after ~3 O' Clock position.

TL;DR Try IEMatch & Power combinations so you get desired volume level between 12 & 2 O' Clock position on volume pot.

I also noticed a slight change in frequency response when using IEMatch with some gear, but the change was not big enough to matter and also gave different results for different IEM's/Headphones.

 

[Knee Deep In Epoxy]

I'm not sure (hope iFi can chime in) but I think IEMatch is useful not just for IEM's but also for headphones that are very sensitive. Primary use case for IEMatch is if there is audible noise or if there is a lack of usable volume range.

Personally, I use my Sundara with IEMatch off and Normal mode and get to comfortable listening levels at around 12 or 1 O' Clock position. In turbo mode, volume range gets very limited at 10 or 11 O' Clock with no noticeable sound quality improvement. I tried using Turbo mode with IEMatch and noticed distortion after ~3 O' Clock position.

TL;DR Try IEMatch & Power combinations so you get desired volume level between 12 & 2 O' Clock position on volume pot.

I also noticed a slight change in frequency response when using IEMatch with some gear, but the change was not big enough to matter and also gave different results for different IEM's/Headphones.

Thanks. I've had similar experiences with IE match on and turbo mode. But in order to use turbo mode and get to 12 o'clock without going deaf IE match has to be on.

Can ifi please explain how IE match and the gain switch interact?

By using IE match with Turbo mode, is the maximum power output of Turbo mode still available to the headphones?

Or is using both at the same time just boosting the gain on one hand and then reducing it on the other (in which case it may be better to just use the headphones in normal mode instead of turbo)?

Thanks