[iFi audio]

I am wondering about this too for my Andromeda S and Solaris. @iFi audio

We rate our headphone amplifiers as '16 ohm compatible' as with this load they achieve specified performance in terms of distortion and power.

All our headphone amplifiers are short circuit proof, meaning even a dead short will not damage them (but may trip protection circuitry).

The following interactions of load and amplifier are absolutely not unique to iFi products, but apply universally to ALL and ANY amplifiers on the market, speaker amplifiers as much as headphone amplifiers.

One consequence of using loads lower than specified minimum is that maximum output power is reduced below specification, as the amplifier will limit the output current.

Another is that for every halving of the load impedance distortion at low power levels is approximately tripled, with a given constant level. Modern amplifiers have a reasonably constant level of harmonic distortion nearly up to clipping, where the amplifier runs out of either current or voltage to drive the output.

So lowering load impedance below the specified minimum increases distortion, possibly significantly; if we'll go say from 16 ohms to 4 ohms, then distortion goes up appx. 9 times.



How such increase in distortion is interpreted and heard subjectively is a different subject. And if such increased distortion is audible but substantially below the distortion of the transducer/headphone is yet another.

A popular and fairly expensive IEM is officially listed by the manufacturer as 12.8 ohm @ 1kHz impedance and 112.8dB @ 1mW (normalised 132dB/1V).

The real measured impedance is around 4 ohms below 300Hz with 7.5 ohms at 1kHz and 21-24 ohms from 7khz to around 10kHz. The real measured SPL at 1V is 141.5dB.

Ignoring the sources of the discrepancies (which can be explained by different systems of rating rather than ill will and deception by the manufacturer as is commonly asserted in conspiracy theories), this IEM will be extremely challenging for ANY headphone amplifier and it will be hard to find a decent match.

First, the very high sensitivity will emphasize hiss/noise. Typical high quality headphone amplifiers can be made to have around 3uV output noise, or -110dB/1V and > 3V output. With the 141.5dB/1V sensitivity, such a noise levels means the noise itself is over 30dB in absolute level and clearly audible (and may even be intrusive) while the 3V output allow SPL of up to 150dB which is likely to damage ones hearing.



The second factor is that the low impedance will increase the distortion of the driving amplifier (iFi or our esteemed competitors) in the bass nearly tenfold while in the midrange it will be triple that specified for a 16 ohms load.

One option may be to manufacture a dedicated amplifier for such kind of IEMs, which should offer 0.3uV (-130dB/1V) output noise and a maximum of 0.3V output into 4 ohms at low distortion + low output impedance and has a maximum gain of appx. -10dB. As a 300 ohms resistor produced more noise than -130dB/1V making such an amplifier would require very extreme design to achieve the required specifications and may still require cooling with liquid nitrogen to achieve the required specification.

Instead at iFi we have specifically developed the iEMatch (integrated in some products and available standalone for others (and for those of our esteemed competitors) to address this problem and make such IEMs more compatible with typical headphone amplifiers. Using iEMatch (which retails for less than 5% of the cost of the IEM in question) we achieve two things.

The sensitivity of the IEM is reduced to 117.5dB/1V meaning noise levels of 3uV (-110dB/1V) now only produce a SPL of 7.5dB, at the very edge of audibility and maximum SPL is a still very unhealthy 127.5dB, which however is an order of magnitude less damaging to the human hearing than 151.5dB.

Secondly, the minimum impedance seen by the amplifier is increased to 15.8 ohms, is 15.9 ohms at 1kHz and 16 ohms at 7-10khz. This means that it will be easily driven within the specified performance by an amplifier rated for 16 ohms loads, while the load itself sees a source impedance of less than 1 ohm, comparable to a direct connection.

So it is not required to use iEMatch to avoid damage to the xCAN or to get sound when using ultra high sensitivity/ultra low impedance IEMs/headphones.

However, in the interest of hearing protection as well as pleasurable listening with music (lower noise, lower distortion) we STRONGLY recommend that IEMs and headphones of both very high sensitivity AND very low impedances are used with our iEMatch.

This dramatically improves compatibility of such IEMs with a wide range of amplifiers (not just ours!) and usually costs a small fraction of the cost of the IEM or headphone in question.

 

[kukkurovaca]

We rate our headphone amplifiers as '16 ohm compatible' as with this load they achieve specified performance in terms of distortion and power.

All our headphone amplifiers are short circuit proof, meaning even a dead short will not damage them (but may trip protection circuitry).

The following interactions of load and amplifier are absolutely not unique to iFi products, but apply universally to ALL and ANY amplifiers on the market, speaker amplifiers as much as headphone amplifiers.

One consequence of using loads lower than specified minimum is that maximum output power is reduced below specification, as the amplifier will limit the output current.

Another is that for every halving of the load impedance distortion at low power levels is approximately tripled, with a given constant level. Modern amplifiers have a reasonably constant level of harmonic distortion nearly up to clipping, where the amplifier runs out of either current or voltage to drive the output.

So lowering load impedance below the specified minimum increases distortion, possibly significantly; if we'll go say from 16 ohms to 4 ohms, then distortion goes up appx. 9 times.



How such increase in distortion is interpreted and heard subjectively is a different subject. And if such increased distortion is audible but substantially below the distortion of the transducer/headphone is yet another.

A popular and fairly expensive IEM is officially listed by the manufacturer as 12.8 ohm @ 1kHz impedance and 112.8dB @ 1mW (normalised 132dB/1V).

The real measured impedance is around 4 ohms below 300Hz with 7.5 ohms at 1kHz and 21-24 ohms from 7khz to around 10kHz. The real measured SPL at 1V is 141.5dB.

Ignoring the sources of the discrepancies (which can be explained by different systems of rating rather than ill will and deception by the manufacturer as is commonly asserted in conspiracy theories), this IEM will be extremely challenging for ANY headphone amplifier and it will be hard to find a decent match.

First, the very high sensitivity will emphasize hiss/noise. Typical high quality headphone amplifiers can be made to have around 3uV output noise, or -110dB/1V and > 3V output. With the 141.5dB/1V sensitivity, such a noise levels means the noise itself is over 30dB in absolute level and clearly audible (and may even be intrusive) while the 3V output allow SPL of up to 150dB which is likely to damage ones hearing.



The second factor is that the low impedance will increase the distortion of the driving amplifier (iFi or our esteemed competitors) in the bass nearly tenfold while in the midrange it will be triple that specified for a 16 ohms load.

One option may be to manufacture a dedicated amplifier for such kind of IEMs, which should offer 0.3uV (-130dB/1V) output noise and a maximum of 0.3V output into 4 ohms at low distortion + low output impedance and has a maximum gain of appx. -10dB. As a 300 ohms resistor produced more noise than -130dB/1V making such an amplifier would require very extreme design to achieve the required specifications and may still require cooling with liquid nitrogen to achieve the required specification.

Instead at iFi we have specifically developed the iEMatch (integrated in some products and available standalone for others (and for those of our esteemed competitors) to address this problem and make such IEMs more compatible with typical headphone amplifiers. Using iEMatch (which retails for less than 5% of the cost of the IEM in question) we achieve two things.

The sensitivity of the IEM is reduced to 117.5dB/1V meaning noise levels of 3uV (-110dB/1V) now only produce a SPL of 7.5dB, at the very edge of audibility and maximum SPL is a still very unhealthy 127.5dB, which however is an order of magnitude less damaging to the human hearing than 151.5dB.

Secondly, the minimum impedance seen by the amplifier is increased to 15.8 ohms, is 15.9 ohms at 1kHz and 16 ohms at 7-10khz. This means that it will be easily driven within the specified performance by an amplifier rated for 16 ohms loads, while the load itself sees a source impedance of less than 1 ohm, comparable to a direct connection.

So it is not required to use iEMatch to avoid damage to the xCAN or to get sound when using ultra high sensitivity/ultra low impedance IEMs/headphones.

However, in the interest of hearing protection as well as pleasurable listening with music (lower noise, lower distortion) we STRONGLY recommend that IEMs and headphones of both very high sensitivity AND very low impedances are used with our iEMatch.

This dramatically improves compatibility of such IEMs with a wide range of amplifiers (not just ours!) and usually costs a small fraction of the cost of the IEM or headphone in question.

Thanks for the detailed response. It would still be nice to have the actual output impedance spec for the amp. : )

I think the IEMatch would be a very appealing solution for many situations, if it weren't so fragile. It's particularly awkward/susceptible to strain in portable use.

 

[iFi audio]

Folks, this is what we do this weekend:



If you're around, please come and say hi!

 

[iFi audio]

No time for rest at iFi if we want to bring close to you the latest in high quality audio gear!

This weekend you’ll be able to see us at the HXOS audio show in Athens, Greece! So make sure to drop on by and listen to all the iFi audio gear on display.

 

[Mirimar]

Deleted.

 

[iFi audio]

Bump @iFi audio would love to know your thoughts on this as I am looking to get the xDSD or xCAN before Christmas. Thinking that the xDSD is a better option as I use IEMs mostly (FH5) and they pair very well with the iEMatch on the nano iDSD BL...

We love all our products and it's a tough choice. Both xCAN and xDSD can work wirelessly and that's something our other portable products (iONE aside) can't do. xCAN is a portable wireless amp with a nice DAC inside, whereas xDSD is a wireless DAC above all else with a nice headphone amp. Two similar products at first glance, but their key circuitries are weighted differently.

The best possible route would be to contact your local iFi representative and try one for yourself. If you don't like it, your supplier will fully reund you as our global return policy is generous.

But subjectively, if we wre in your shoes, we'd aim at xDSD

 

[iFi audio]

Yup, HXOS and Athens are awesome!

 

[CactoesGel]

I'm trying to decide what to spend my Christmas bonus on - xDSD or xCAN. I'm not going to play hi-res files. I'm only going to use Tidal/iPhone. Get xCAN?

 

[rafaelo]

Get xCAN?

yes!!!

 

[iFi audio]

Folks, below you'll find some feedback we got from visitors during the AVS show, enjoy!

 

[BadReligionPunk]

I seriously need xCAN in my life. Hopefully there is enough leftover from my year end bonus to buy one.

 

[iFi audio]

I seriously need xCAN in my life. Hopefully there is enough leftover from my year end bonus to buy one.

Hopefully you'll make it, we keep our fingers crossed

 

[iFi audio]

Folks...


Silence in Seattle

We all enjoy music, whether we’re at home, in the car or pounding the treadmill at the gym.

However, from time to time we all need time to enjoy some rest and relaxation. Whether that’s from music, television or, dare we say it, the better half.

So, whenever you need to unplug from the world around you, reach for the new iFi Ear Plug.



The Tech Spec

• Premium 100% pure memory foam
  
• Incredible 37dB noise reduction (62dB total noise reduction if used in conjunction with Noise-Cancellation headphones which offer 25dB noise reduction)

All iFi Ear Plugs come with a hard, clear plastic case with the option of purchasing an iPouch which stores both earplugs and your IEMs.

The Art of Noise

The following graph depicts the level of noise attenuated (reduced) in four situations:

i. Headphones Without ANC: 20dB reduction above 300kHz
ii. Headphones With ANC: 20dB attenuation from 40kHz to 1kHz
iii. iFi Ear Plugs: 30dB to 50dB reduction across the frequency range
iv. iFi Ear Plugs with Headphones with ANC: 40dB reduction up to 70dB reduction



It’s clear the iFi Ear Plugs alone are incredibly effective, and when coupled with NC headphones, they make an unbeatable team.

Crybaby

According to medical experts, a baby’s cry can reach up to 130dB. That’s only 10dB less than a jet engine on take-off!

It’s hardly a surprise then the sound of a crying baby can pierce your ears and sound so unpleasant.

We’ve all experienced extreme noise – and crying babies are a perfect example.



Picture this. You’re on a plane, you take off and – BHAM – a baby starts to cry because of the air pressure change in the cabin. Typically, this is anywhere up to 130dB (but this varies across the frequency range).

The graph below depicts the typical baby cry which from 300kHz to 8kHz surpasses 70dB – then charts the reduction in noise when an NC headphone and iFi Ear Plug are introduced.



With an NC headphone, this noise level is reduced by some 25dB to 40dB or so.

However, with the iFi Ear Plug and the NC headphones, the combined noise reduction brings the noise down to a barely perceptible 20dB - or even lower.



What about ambient cabin noise?

A primary objective of noise-cancellation headphones is to cancel out the ‘drumming’ of airplane ambient cabin noise of 60-80Hz. Premium ANC headphones reduce 25dB which brings this down to 30-50Hz. But if augmented with Earplugs, then the ambient noise is reduced to below 30dB which is better than a quiet room!



Now, that’s got to be music to anyone’s battered ears.

Full product info: https://ifi-audio.com/products/ifi-audio-ear-plugs/

 

[Dobrescu George]

Folks...


Silence in Seattle

We all enjoy music, whether we’re at home, in the car or pounding the treadmill at the gym.

However, from time to time we all need time to enjoy some rest and relaxation. Whether that’s from music, television or, dare we say it, the better half.

So, whenever you need to unplug from the world around you, reach for the new iFi Ear Plug.



The Tech Spec

• Premium 100% pure memory foam
  
• Incredible 37dB noise reduction (62dB total noise reduction if used in conjunction with Noise-Cancellation headphones which offer 25dB noise reduction)

All iFi Ear Plugs come with a hard, clear plastic case with the option of purchasing an iPouch which stores both earplugs and your IEMs.

The Art of Noise

The following graph depicts the level of noise attenuated (reduced) in four situations:

i. Headphones Without ANC: 20dB reduction above 300kHz
ii. Headphones With ANC: 20dB attenuation from 40kHz to 1kHz
iii. iFi Ear Plugs: 30dB to 50dB reduction across the frequency range
iv. iFi Ear Plugs with Headphones with ANC: 40dB reduction up to 70dB reduction



It’s clear the iFi Ear Plugs alone are incredibly effective, and when coupled with NC headphones, they make an unbeatable team.

Crybaby

According to medical experts, a baby’s cry can reach up to 130dB. That’s only 10dB less than a jet engine on take-off!

It’s hardly a surprise then the sound of a crying baby can pierce your ears and sound so unpleasant.

We’ve all experienced extreme noise – and crying babies are a perfect example.



Picture this. You’re on a plane, you take off and – BHAM – a baby starts to cry because of the air pressure change in the cabin. Typically, this is anywhere up to 130dB (but this varies across the frequency range).

The graph below depicts the typical baby cry which from 300kHz to 8kHz surpasses 70dB – then charts the reduction in noise when an NC headphone and iFi Ear Plug are introduced.



With an NC headphone, this noise level is reduced by some 25dB to 40dB or so.

However, with the iFi Ear Plug and the NC headphones, the combined noise reduction brings the noise down to a barely perceptible 20dB - or even lower.



Now, that’s got to be music to anyone’s battered ears.

Full product info: https://ifi-audio.com/products/ifi-audio-ear-plugs/

The ear plugs are now sold as standalone products?

If I am understanding this correctly, you're selling 8 pairs for 9 pounds, just saying, this is a better deal than the typical over-the-counter foam plugs you can find in Romania in most shops.

Here, you get about 3 pairs for about 10 pounds, but you don't get a carrying case with them, if you follow the second deal, so both are pretty good deals (assuming you find a moment you can purchase with free shipping from Amazon, or are purchasing a larger amount of items)

I tested the ones that came in with the iEMatch module, and they are high-quality, I'd say better (a bit softer, less harsh surface, smoother, better attenuation) than what you get in Romania over-the-counter.

[I do not use foam plugs much right now, but just today had a conversation with someone holding a crying baby, so I imagine that a pair could come in handy in a plane ride, should make sure I save the one from the iEMatch package for such an occasion ]

 

[Grimbles]

Mirroring the same post on the xDSD thread, my review unit arrived today! Those lovely folks at @iFi audio agreed to lend me a Micro iDSD BL so I could review. Given I'd already had a look at the xDSD (here) I also offered to have a look at the xCan... and to look at the xCan I asked if I could have an xDSD back... so, long story short, I have the full range in my stable and intend to do a detailed shoot out between the 4 (the Nano BL is my own, hence no box!). I'm going to try write up the shoot out over the weekend, before some more (non iFi) review units head my way.

And if you care, it's an Aussie shiraz. I like 'em big!