My view on the IFI iPowerX. That text its translation from Polish language make in Google translate tool, so if you read, remember this. Writing all of this in English could be too time costly thing for me. Some things may sound strange for you. If you like it, tell me, i was writed today review of the IFI iPufifier3 USB and i can post this review here too.
If funds allow me, I like to try new things. And so, as I heard that the Chord Qutest's power supply makes some difference, I decided to try a relatively inexpensive power supply that has good reviews on the Internet. As for the differences in powering the Qutest with different power supplies, opinions are divided. Some people hear others not, there are opinions that it is insensitive to power, others say that there is a colossal difference. It probably depends on the system and the organ of hearing. Some of the opinions are probably, as usual, marketing. The choice fell on the IFI iPower x. As it is recommended about 150 hours of work, I let him play in this system. Maybe I will describe each new thing separately here, I will start with this power supply, as its influence on the sound is unclear.
You can read opinions that it improves a lot with weaker devices with a poorly implemented power section. I don't know how Chord implements its power sections from the inside, but it doesn't look too complicated and the power supply that comes with it is a simple Chinese 5 volt to 0.4 amp switch. It looks trite and weighs trivially but it does its job. The Qutest from the descriptions on it sins with grainy sound, too harsh and too little weighting of the sound. I wasn't able to test it because I didn't have another power supply.
Everything comes in a small white box like the rest of the IFI stuff. Inside, a fancy-looking power supply that makes a nice impression live, in white and gray, with a 1.8 m cable. in the set, adapters from the DC connector to microUSB and mniUSB, a set of adapters for smaller DC plugs where there are sockets other than 3.5mm DC. The last adapter is for devices with reversed polarity. For me, it was only useful to switch to microUSB because Qutest has such an input. IFI boasts that the technology here is Active Noise Cancellation Version 2 and that this technology is used in aviation. I had already dealt with this technology when using their USB filter and the impact was positive. How it's working? The description is on the net, just enter it. For me, it's enough that something works if I hear it in my ear. Then it usually stays. Apart from this technology, it looks like a normal power supply, quite efficient for its size, as much as 3 A, which means that it will move not only converters but also amplifiers and a fairly wide range of various devices. After plugging into the socket, the top of the power supply lights up white and shines quite strongly, so you have to remember that even if the source or amp will have their switches, the power supply will still be fired and give this quite strong light. You have to turn off the power strip then, or have it hidden under the desk, or simply have a listening room in a different place from where you sleep. I don't have that luxury, although I could. However, I prefer to keep everything at home because cables, headphone pads, etc. are not cat-proof. And my cat likes to start a war in the house sometimes and everything can turn to rubble then. Ok, does it work, that is, what after connecting.
As I said, the effect of the power supply seems unclear to me. Going through the comments on Amazon I read that one guy with Qutest didn't hear any difference. The other says he heard a very positive one. On the HeadFi forum, enthusiasts, as always, say that they can hear. I unpacked and plugged in. At first glance of the ear, what I thought was that you can listen louder without tiring your ears as much as before. Only then did I break it down into these rather small differences. It seems to me that the main difference that does the job here is a quieter background, so it confirms to me that noise suction is not a myth in the case of ANC technology. This is confirmed by the third IFI device with this technology. One has been described here, the next is yet to come. And those I think give the most on the computer. But not about that. Here, there is no point in dividing the hair into parts and fractions, so a general description of these changes without breaking down the details will suffice. This listening louder with less fatigue comes from the fact that some of the distortion and such tiny noises are actually taken from the sound, but it is not immediately heard as something obvious. It's more of something in the background that disturbs and sometimes you want to turn it up louder because we can't hear the information from the background clearly enough and there is a problem - it gets too loud, too tiring, maybe a bit screechy and the sound is somehow uninteresting and unclean. So that's what this power supply does, it gives a better background and drains the torch sound from this digital grit giving more fluidity and clarity. I haven't noticed any more bass power or any quantitative changes in the frequency response. Apparently, some people felt such changes. I only heard a little more depth in the bass, which gives the music a better foundation. Maybe it's more audible on the speakers, but I have no way to check. The midrange gained the most, it has better cohesion and again I have a better insight into the depth, this time quite visibly because some sounds from the background have been moved away and we get the impression of better space. I also perceived it as a change of timbre and the sound became a bit cooler, which made it more realistic. The treble is better stitched together with the midrange, and hence the impression of a more real sound, a more interesting presentation of music in general. With this power supply, the Qutest also shows its speed and ability to finish sounds with surgical precision even more than usual. The articulation of individual sounds, especially with the Final headphones, surprised me, which gave a rather interesting perception of the midrange. It's as if more information has been added, but decibels have not been added anywhere, as cheaper, compromised equipment likes to do. The effect blends in over time and won't be noticeable separately, more like a part of the whole, but keep in mind after initial listening that it's there and does an excellent job in the background of finishing and polishing the sound. The point is that the improvement in this area in showing music is audible. It is noticeable when listening critically. With such a typical background listening, not necessarily.
Overall, I found the IFI power supply to be quite a nice device, offering relatively little in my system. Relatively. Overall a slightly clearer, smoother, more realistic sound that's made clearer by the clearer background. Thanks to this, there is only slightly more information that is in the deeper layers of the music, so with an already good track, the difference is harder to detect as the overall quality of the track components increases. All this on the basis of the fact that, above all, the sound is a little less expansive for the ears and does not lose anything from detail and musicality. Whether buying it is worth the price, I don't know because it will be a private matter for everyone. Two factors will come into play, the wealth of the wallet and how much it has contributed to its track. For me, I will only say that it affected my ear more than, say, changing the filter in Qutest, and more or less the same as connecting headphones with a better cable, only slightly pushed these changes in a different direction. Cables basically do something a bit different. With the Pioneers Master it was a bit more audible because they like to hide information from the very bottom of the music somewhere, with the Finals D8000 rather a little less. Due to their construction, planars themselves are less sensitive to distortion and can be thrashed loudly.
Generally, I have that if I get something positive, it is rather always the ringleader of these changes that stays with me, so this "relative" power supply also stayed.
Test Platform:
Computer,
JRiver and YouTube
Chord Anni and Qutest,
Final Audio D8000 and Pioneer SE Master 1
IFI iPurfier3 USB and iSilencer3 USB,
EarStream Sunset RCA and USB Extreme
