[iFi audio]

My first post! That's awesome, thanks iFi audio!

This latest firmware update inspired me to finally get the nano BL. It is supposed to be delivered tomorrow... can't believe they're making some poor soul deliver it on Easter, but I'm not complaining?!

Hi, welcome to Head-fi.org and sorry about your wallet!

Jokes aside, welcome and enjoy your nano BL once it arrives!

Easter delivery is a solid proof that wonders do happen once in a while

 

[iFi audio]

Easter ‘Bug Bounty’ Hunt.
Hunt 'em, wherever they are...



Introduction

Our just announced firmware v5.30 is MQA capable and in one fell swoop, elevates legacy iFi products* with MQA capability for even more sonic enjoyment.

The MQA integration was a little difficult. It involved:

1. Totally replacing the customised core code
2. Re-apply tuning/core loading and
3. Further fine tuning the firmware for even more precise allocated resource use in order to allow us to support MQA and 384kHz.

To bring all this to fruition required the combined efforts of the MQA and iFi software developers or a total of +1,000 programming hours to deliver firmware v5.30 (excluding testing on all iFi legacy units).

Notwithstanding, there may still be one or two software bugs we have not quashed – hence we would like to involve you, the customer – in the Easter Bug Hunt.

More details are to be found in this thread:

https://www.head-fi.org/threads/ifi-audio-easter-‘bug-bounty’-hunt.876057/

 

[bgoods1221]

Has anyone had any problems with the IEMatch on the nano BL outputting low volumes in the left ear? When I switch to direct, it works perfectly...

I've tried it with 2 different IEM's and a pair of headphones and had the same result each time.

 

[iFi audio]

Has anyone had any problems with the IEMatch on the nano BL outputting low volumes in the left ear? When I switch to direct, it works perfectly...

I've tried it with 2 different IEM's and a pair of headphones and had the same result each time.

We'd like to take a look into this. Please feel free to open a ticket here:

http://support.ifi-audio.com

 

[bgoods1221]

We'd like to take a look into this. Please feel free to open a ticket here:

http://support.ifi-audio.com

Will do.

 

[emptymt]

Hey everyone!

It's been a while since we kicked off the nano iDSD BL tour and the tour has officially come to an end, so we thought this would be a good time to give everyone a quick update!

First and foremost, a big thank you to everyone who showed interest in the tour and, of course, to the tour participants. It was awesome getting to read everyone's thoughts and feedback on the unit! We're certainly looking to continue using tours as a way of engaging with the community here and providing people with the opportunity to spend some quality time with the products we put forth. There's a lot of exciting stuff in the works so be sure to stay up to date with all the iFi happenings!



For those of you who are familiar with iFi tours, with the conclusion of a tour naturally comes the giveaway at the end of the tour! One lucky winner from each region of the tour will get to keep the nano BL tour unit for themselves, and one additional winner will receive a 1More Quad-Driver IEM courtesy of 1More!

We briefly mentioned at the beginning of the tour how winners are selected, but we think it's a good idea to reiterate it all again here. In order to keep things as unbiased and as fair as possible, the winners are selected at random. With that being said though, we do expect the quality of the review to be of a certain standard to keep it fair for everyone. We get it. You put in great effort to share your thoughts on a product, and then some random person who writes a quick, rough paragraph takes it home. Feels kinda bad...

With that being said, if you have any concerns or questions, feel free to reach out to us at any time!

Without further ado... the winners of the tour are:

Tour nano iDSD Black Label Unit:
@TimeSnow
@emptymt
@ahmadfaizadnan

1More Quad-Driver:
@Ksweene5

WINNERS: Please reach out to the iFi representative that was in charge of your leg of the tour to claim your prize!

Btw, I have received the unit! Thx for this Ifi! will take good care of it.

 

[ahmadfaizadnan]

Hey everyone!

It's been a while since we kicked off the nano iDSD BL tour and the tour has officially come to an end, so we thought this would be a good time to give everyone a quick update!

First and foremost, a big thank you to everyone who showed interest in the tour and, of course, to the tour participants. It was awesome getting to read everyone's thoughts and feedback on the unit! We're certainly looking to continue using tours as a way of engaging with the community here and providing people with the opportunity to spend some quality time with the products we put forth. There's a lot of exciting stuff in the works so be sure to stay up to date with all the iFi happenings!



For those of you who are familiar with iFi tours, with the conclusion of a tour naturally comes the giveaway at the end of the tour! One lucky winner from each region of the tour will get to keep the nano BL tour unit for themselves, and one additional winner will receive a 1More Quad-Driver IEM courtesy of 1More!

We briefly mentioned at the beginning of the tour how winners are selected, but we think it's a good idea to reiterate it all again here. In order to keep things as unbiased and as fair as possible, the winners are selected at random. With that being said though, we do expect the quality of the review to be of a certain standard to keep it fair for everyone. We get it. You put in great effort to share your thoughts on a product, and then some random person who writes a quick, rough paragraph takes it home. Feels kinda bad...

With that being said, if you have any concerns or questions, feel free to reach out to us at any time!

Without further ado... the winners of the tour are:

Tour nano iDSD Black Label Unit:
@TimeSnow
@emptymt
@ahmadfaizadnan

1More Quad-Driver:
@Ksweene5

WINNERS: Please reach out to the iFi representative that was in charge of your leg of the tour to claim your prize!

Just received mine too! Thanks again @iFi audio



Not sure if this can still be called portable setup

 

[iFi audio]

Just received mine too! Thanks again @iFi audio



Not sure if this can still be called portable setup

We believe it can be called that!

 

[KaiFi]

Does anyone know how to upgrade the firmware on a Mac?

I just get "Firmware Upgrade Failed" when I try it.

With the last update I had to do it through my PC because I got the same message. I can't seem to get it to work on Mac.

 

[iFi audio]

Does anyone know how to upgrade the firmware on a Mac?

I just get "Firmware Upgrade Failed" when I try it.

With the last update I had to do it through my PC because I got the same message. I can't seem to get it to work on Mac.

Please open a ticket here: http://support.ifi-audio.com

...and we'll help you out.

 

[iFi audio]

Also, at Axpona we showcased our Pro iDSD. Thanks to everyone who took time to listen to it.

 

[iFi audio]

Folks, you might wanna check out our official xDSD tour page. It just started and yes, there are prizes!

https://www.head-fi.org/threads/xdsd-tour-the-official-thread.877669/

 

[BunnyNamedCraig]

I wanted to listen between the Nano idsd Black label (Nano) and the Micro idsd Black Label (Micro). I was curious about the differences so I hooked up the HD800 to both. I know that the Nano is meant for easier to drive headphones and also IEMs, but I was curious to see how well the Nano could drive it. I also wanted to use the HD800 because I am familiar with its sound and its also an excellent tool to be able to differentiate gear. Anyhoo!


For the experiment I used an Apple Macbook running Tidal. Both the Nano and Micro were set to "exclusive mode" and "force volume" under Tidal settings. I tried to volume match the Micro to the Nano to the best of my ability. Since the Micro has an assortment of settings, I made sure to turn OFF bass boost, and also the 3D effect switch. I ran the Micro on normal power mode (thats how I usually runt the HD800 off it) and the "iEMatch" was set to OFF.

In regards to the Nano I plugged it into the "Direct" output. I find the "iEMatch" to be interesting and it seemed to allow me to have broader range of play on the knob. I felt like for comparison sake it would be better for me to just plug into "Direct" output.

-The first song I listened to was "YYZ" by Rush. The volume on the Nano was around 1:30 and on the Micro it is set at 11:45.

I felt like the instrument separation was better with the Micro, allowing more breathing room between the instruments. The width of sound stage sounded wider as well.

When I turned the Nano up to about 2 to "rock out" ha, The nano seemed a little harsher in the treble compared to similar volume on the Micro. I am suspecting this is a gain thing causing that to happen with the Nano?

-Next song I listened to was "Mirror in the Bathroom" by The English Beat. I feel like the mids seemed closer to me with the Micro and that the detail was easier to hear with the Micro at lower volumes.

NOW since I used a harder to drive can like the HD800 I wanted to hear what the differences would be like with something easier to drive. Next, I chose the Meze 99 Neo. I chose this can because I felt like its price would make the most sense matched up with the Nano, let alone it being real easy to drive.

It was immediately apparent to me that the Nano's sweet spot is for easier to drive cans and IEM's lol. The gap was totally bridged drive wise between the Nano and Micro...

I didn't hear the differences that I heard with the HD800, and felt like the Nano drove the Meze Neo 99 very well... I feel also that the synergy between the Nano and the Meze Neo are a great pairing.

In the end I feel like if you want the "one stop shop" the Micro (due to all of its settings) is capable of driving harder to drive cans giving them the power they need to fully shine, and also drive anything lower all the way to IEM's. If you want to get the Nano and drive something harder like the HD800 you can still do that. You just wont be getting everything out of it. Now, if you are into IEM's and easier to drive headphones then the Nano is totally enough.

After the evaluation I feel like iFi tried to make different units for different reasons (which makes sense).

Hope this helps someones decision process between the 2!
-Craig

 

[iFi audio]

I wanted to listen between the Nano idsd Black label (Nano) and the Micro idsd Black Label (Micro). I was curious about the differences so I hooked up the HD800 to both. I know that the Nano is meant for easier to drive headphones and also IEMs, but I was curious to see how well the Nano could drive it. I also wanted to use the HD800 because I am familiar with its sound and its also an excellent tool to be able to differentiate gear. Anyhoo!


For the experiment I used an Apple Macbook running Tidal. Both the Nano and Micro were set to "exclusive mode" and "force volume" under Tidal settings. I tried to volume match the Micro to the Nano to the best of my ability. Since the Micro has an assortment of settings, I made sure to turn OFF bass boost, and also the 3D effect switch. I ran the Micro on normal power mode (thats how I usually runt the HD800 off it) and the "iEMatch" was set to OFF.

In regards to the Nano I plugged it into the "Direct" output. I find the "iEMatch" to be interesting and it seemed to allow me to have broader range of play on the knob. I felt like for comparison sake it would be better for me to just plug into "Direct" output.

-The first song I listened to was "YYZ" by Rush. The volume on the Nano was around 1:30 and on the Micro it is set at 11:45.

I felt like the instrument separation was better with the Micro, allowing more breathing room between the instruments. The width of sound stage sounded wider as well.

When I turned the Nano up to about 2 to "rock out" ha, The nano seemed a little harsher in the treble compared to similar volume on the Micro. I am suspecting this is a gain thing causing that to happen with the Nano?

-Next song I listened to was "Mirror in the Bathroom" by The English Beat. I feel like the mids seemed closer to me with the Micro and that the detail was easier to hear with the Micro at lower volumes.

NOW since I used a harder to drive can like the HD800 I wanted to hear what the differences would be like with something easier to drive. Next, I chose the Meze 99 Neo. I chose this can because I felt like its price would make the most sense matched up with the Nano, let alone it being real easy to drive.

It was immediately apparent to me that the Nano's sweet spot is for easier to drive cans and IEM's lol. The gap was totally bridged drive wise between the Nano and Micro...

I didn't hear the differences that I heard with the HD800, and felt like the Nano drove the Meze Neo 99 very well... I feel also that the synergy between the Nano and the Meze Neo are a great pairing.

In the end I feel like if you want the "one stop shop" the Micro (due to all of its settings) is capable of driving harder to drive cans giving them the power they need to fully shine, and also drive anything lower all the way to IEM's. If you want to get the Nano and drive something harder like the HD800 you can still do that. You just wont be getting everything out of it. Now, if you are into IEM's and easier to drive headphones then the Nano is totally enough.

After the evaluation I feel like iFi tried to make different units for different reasons (which makes sense).

Hope this helps someones decision process between the 2!
-Craig

Thank you for this feedback.

And yes, nano and micro aren't alike in many ways. Their price points, functionalities, size and raw output power are different.

 

[HardstyleLoco96]

Hello just wondering if someone could recommend me a cable for the Idsd black label nano. I'll be using my HTC 10 which is type C. Unfortunately I don't have a cable, so need one before I purchase haha. And if possible. No more than $50 Aud.