[CADEng]

You can try to make friendship
https://www.finaltouchaudio.com/contact

PS If it is against rules please erase post

 

[marcus2704]

I currently have a Hugo 2, in the past I have demo'd the iDSD Pro and enjoyed it a good deal, but was not able to do a direct comparison with the Chord. Can anyone who is able to comment on this let me know how the iDSD compares to the Hugo 2 for sound quality?

 

[hsimsh10]

I currently have a Hugo 2, in the past I have demo'd the iDSD Pro and enjoyed it a good deal, but was not able to do a direct comparison with the Chord. Can anyone who is able to comment on this let me know how the iDSD compares to the Hugo 2 for sound quality?

I did not compare to Hugo but I compared to Qutest and found IDSD more detailed and clear with better soundstage and better sound quality.
Furthermore, IDsd can decode MQA which for me is a big advantage

 

[marcus2704]

So I now have a iDSD on its way to me, curious as to what the iFi Pro iCAN brings to the party as a future upgrade? Any feedback on this pairing would be appreciated.

 

[TooFrank]

So I now have a iDSD on its way to me, curious as to what the iFi Pro iCAN brings to the party as a future upgrade? Any feedback on this pairing would be appreciated.

FWIW: Have the iDSD - await the ICAN in a day or two, so I'll hear then

 

[chaz_flhr]

So I now have a iDSD on its way to me, curious as to what the iFi Pro iCAN brings to the party as a future upgrade? Any feedback on this pairing would be appreciated.

Power, flexibility and more sound Tailoring options.
Double Tube goodness if you fancy Tubes.

 

[FractalSound]

First, opening your iDSD Pro voids warranty.

Second, the tubes are NOS General Electric, some of the best available, we only consider the insanely expensive WE 396A and equally or even more expensive Bendix 6385 as superior.

Third, the tubes can only be replaced by 2C51/5670/6385/396A/CV2831, manufacturer choices are very limited (GE, WE, Tung Sol, Bendix).

Fourth, the tubes are in normal tube sockets, but the contacts are high tension and changing tubes can be a little tricky.

If knowing all this you still want to go ahead, please ask our support team (via our support system) for details how to open the iDSD Pro.

If I have both iDSD Pro and iCAN Pro, which one should I roll the tubes on?

 

[dcguy73]

If I have both iDSD Pro and iCAN Pro, which one should I roll the tubes on?

Ha ha! After all those warnings from iFi, you’re still game?

I think I got more benefit from rolling Bendix tubes into my iCan Pro than I did rolling WE 396A tubes into the iDSD Pro. In my opinion, the iDSD Pro benefits more from power upgrades than it does from tube upgrades.

 

[TooFrank]

Ha ha! After all those warnings from iFi, you’re still game?

I think I got more benefit from rolling Bendix tubes into my iCan Pro than I did rolling WE 396A tubes into the iDSD Pro. In my opinion, the iDSD Pro benefits more from power upgrades than it does from tube upgrades.

Me too, just got the ican; had the same thought: upgrading tubes on ican would be better than if applied to the idsd. However, can we use the same tubes in both ican and idsd?

 

[FractalSound]

Ha ha! After all those warnings from iFi, you’re still game?

I think I got more benefit from rolling Bendix tubes into my iCan Pro than I did rolling WE 396A tubes into the iDSD Pro. In my opinion, the iDSD Pro benefits more from power upgrades than it does from tube upgrades.

Me too, just got the ican; had the same thought: upgrading tubes on ican would be better than if applied to the idsd. However, can we use the same tubes in both ican and idsd?

Thanks guys! I guess if we are to use tube mode from both iDSD and iCAN pro we are really feeding a tuby preamp analog sound into a tuby amp, which is fine. The mixture of the two may produce some pleasant surprises (or nothing special). But I don't really know much about the amps to tell if using tube mode on both will actually cancel each other out... and that was the reason for my question.

 

[FractalSound]

Thanks guys! I guess if we are to use tube mode from both iDSD and iCAN pro we are really feeding a tuby preamp analog sound into a tuby amp, which is fine. The mixture of the two may produce some pleasant surprises (or nothing special). But I don't really know much about the amps to tell if using tube mode on both will actually cancel each other out... and that was the reason for my question.

BTW, I'm getting my iDSD and iCAN Signature next week. I should be able to try it out.

 

[TooFrank]

BTW, I'm getting my iDSD and iCAN Signature next week. I should be able to try it out.

Even if I have the non-signature version of both, I would very much appreciate to hear about your experiences ….

 

[Sebastien Chiu]

Me too, just got the ican; had the same thought: upgrading tubes on ican would be better than if applied to the idsd. However, can we use the same tubes in both ican and idsd?

Yes, you can use the same tubes in both - they are the same size!

 

[FractalSound]

Even if I have the non-signature version of both, I would very much appreciate to hear about your experiences ….

absolutely. I can compare the tube mode right away but may have to delay rolling tubes until I'm really comfortable with the stack for good.

I'm still trying to figure out what's the real delta between idsd pro and idsd signature. I read what's available online and it seems the only significant delta is

• upgraded power -supply components to lower the overall system noise by 300%

300% means lowering the noise floor by 4.8 dB which is respectable. My understanding is that part of the noise reduction is done with modified circuitry and more "audiophile" components and the other part is through the iPower Elite power supply which can also be purchased by any idsd pro owner for $300.

If the iPower Elite contribute to the bulk of that 4.8dB noise reduction for idsd signature, then maybe it makes more sense to just get a idsd pro plus a iPower Elite.

 

[TooFrank]

absolutely. I can compare the tube mode right away but may have to delay rolling tubes until I'm really comfortable with the stack for good.

I'm still trying to figure out what's the real delta between idsd pro and idsd signature. I read what's available online and it seems the only significant delta is

• upgraded power -supply components to lower the overall system noise by 300%

300% means lowering the noise floor by 4.8 dB which is respectable. My understanding is that part of the noise reduction is done with modified circuitry and more "audiophile" components and the other part is through the iPower Elite power supply which can also be purchased by any idsd pro owner for $300.

If the iPower Elite contribute to the bulk of that 4.8dB noise reduction for idsd signature, then maybe it makes more sense to just get a idsd pro plus a iPower Elite.

FWIW: I’ve had the iDSD for a while and didn’t really believe that I would need the ican (no signature) Got a very good offer though and received the Ivan last week. Until now I am very happy, it simply takes the sound up a level. However, I think that if you buy both at the same time, you may have to pay more attention to appreciate any difference….