[Alcophone]

Folks, it's that time of a year, you know... eggs and all that jazz. Hence please allow us to leave our critter here:



... aaaaand that's it! Right? RIGHT?!?

Well, nope.

We have something very special to share with you tomorrow. Very, very special.

Stay tuned!

iFi pico iDSD, now in every 42nd Kinder surprise egg?

 

[iFi audio]

Extra Ordinary MQA Easter Egg

Introduction

With Easter just around the corner, iFi audio has delivered an eagerly anticipated upgrade option as a very special Easter gift.

iFi first introduced MQA into its product mix with the nano iDSD Black Label in November 2017. Since then, iFi customers across the globe have been asking when this option would be available in other iFi products. The good news is that the latest improvements to the nano Black Label firmware version 5.30, ‘Cookies & Cream’, does just that.

Mqa for all

This latest firmware flavour not only adds the latest scoop to the nano iDSD Black Label sundae but it also dishes out MQA (Master Quality Authenticated) audio to the full range* of iFi audio products going back to 2013!

This ‘legacy’ update means that you can now download the MQA upgrade (PC and Mac) straight from the Support section of iFi’s website at no extra cost.

Mqa optimised

Firmware version 5.30 will optimise your device for MQA and can handle up to DSD256 and PCM384. Enjoy the MQA magic like never before.



And Finally…

None of the above would have been possible without the MQA software engineers who worked tirelessly alongside the iFi software team to make this unique opportunity happen. Thank you.

Go to https://ifi-audio.com/audio_blog/mqa-firmware/ to enjoy your upgrade.

This firmware provides MQA rendering as this is the ideal solution for portable products and those with power considerations. This means the workload is shared between the host (the computer) and the client (the DAC). The listener will still enjoy full MQA experience.

For more information on MQA, go to http://www.mqa.co.uk/customer/how-it-works

Legacy

*The only exception is the original iDAC.

 

[cocolinho]

This latest firmware flavour not only adds the latest scoop to the nano iDSD Black Label sundae but it also dishes out MQA (Master Quality Authenticated) audio to the full range* of iFi audio products going back to 2013!

Bravo! you care about your customers!

 

[seanwee]

*The only exception is the original iDAC.

This is so sad

 

[Yethal]

@iFi audio
I downloaded and installed the MQA update (using your own tool)
I downloaded some MQA test files from 2L
I set up my Foobar to output to iDSD BL over WASAPI event
Still the LED is green instead of magenta.

What am I doing wrong?

 

[technobear]

@iFi audio
I downloaded and installed the MQA update (using your own tool)
I downloaded some MQA test files from 2L
I set up my Foobar to output to iDSD BL over WASAPI event
Still the LED is green instead of magenta.

What am I doing wrong?

For starters, you're using WASAPI.

http://www.meridian-audio.info/public/foobar_for_mqa[4999].pdf

 

[Yethal]

For starters, you're using WASAPI.

http://www.meridian-audio.info/public/foobar_for_mqa[4999].pdf

no difference over ASIO

 

[Alcophone]

@iFi audio
I downloaded and installed the MQA update (using your own tool)
I downloaded some MQA test files from 2L
I set up my Foobar to output to iDSD BL over WASAPI event
Still the LED is green instead of magenta.

What am I doing wrong?

After installing the firmware update to my nano iDSD, I started Tidal and it recognized an MQA-capable DAC (never seen that before), asking me whether I want to use it as the output device. I said yes. Interestingly, that didn't turn on all the flags (exclusive mode, fixed volume, and more importantly, MQA pass-through). So I set all those flags, played some non-master music: green LED. Played some MQA titles: green LED.
It's possible that that doesn't change - raw MQA is encoded as 44.1 kHz PCM, and maybe the LED only responds to the incoming format, not what it unfolds. Would be cool to get a clearer indicator of MQA being detected.
On Monday, I'll check what my Yggy gets from the nano iDSD's Coax out. I have a hunch it's gonna be 44.1 kHz, too (i.e. pre-unfolding).

 

[Alcophone]

Okay, some corrections. I realized my Yamaha receiver also has a coax in, and the ability to tell me what input format it is receiving (it just doesn't do 88 and 176 kHz, at least over HDMI).
On the firmware page, it says "Full MQA (Magenta LED).", so just getting the green LED indeed seems like a bug. Also, MQA is 48 kHz PCM, not 44.1 kHz PCM as I previously stated.
Sadly, firmware 5.30 disables the coax out completely for me. Only when I flashed 5.2 back did my receiver play music via coax. With pass-through MQA enabled in Tidal, I get 48 kHz audio (somehow, my receiver doesn't show the bitrate). Without that (and after changing Tidal's output device back and forth), I get 96 kHz audio for titles with the M (for Master), and 44.1 kHz for titles without the M - as expected.

I would understand if the coax out got disabled when playing MQA, though I'd prefer to have the raw input (folded MQA) put out over coax, or better yet the unfolded MQA (though licensing may prevent that). I definitely think coax out should still work with non-MQA input.

So, two bugs for me with the nano iDSD on 5.30:

• LED green, even with MQA [Edit: disabling MQA pass-through fixes this, counter-intuitively]
• Coax output is gone

 

[Alcophone]

An Instagram post by Darko Audio provided a clue: "The @iFi audio micro iDSD Black Label now does #MQA *rendering*, still requiring the upstream device to execute the first unfold in playback software e.g. Tidal or Audirvana+."
So then I actually read iFi's post and watched the video with instructions for setting up Tidal, and you have to leave MQA pass-through OFF. Then the LED indeed gets bright pink.

To replicate that in foobar2000, you'd need a plugin that does the first unfold for you, and then the DAC would do the rest. I didn't find one.

Alternatively you could probably pre-process your files with some command line tool to do the first unfold, but then the file size increases, etc.

I don't want MQA, but it's the best the streaming world has to offer, it seems, that's the only reason I care at all. I certainly won't buy MQA encoded files when I can get straight PCM instead.

 

[TheoS53]

Wohoo.. Just got these 2 in for review :-D

 

[howdy]

Wohoo.. Just got these 2 in for review :-D

Could you take some pics of the xDSD next to fimiliar sized objects, please. Also, some quick sound impressions compared with the Nano and Micro Black Label. No hurry, just really excited for the xDSD!

 

[TheoS53]

Could you take some pics of the xDSD next to fimiliar sized objects, please. Also, some quick sound impressions compared with the Nano and Micro Black Label. No hurry, just really excited for the xDSD!

Unfortunately I don't have the Nano BL to compare the size (or sound), but my guess is that the xDSD has roughly the same footprint as the Nano, but it's definitely thinner than the Nano.

I'll say this, whilst I love, looooooooove the colour iFi have chosen for the xDSD, I can't stand the finish. It's ridiculously glossy, and shows fingerprints incredibly easily. If they kept the exact same colour but gave it a metallic matte finish that would've looked sexy as hell.

Regarding sound, haven't had a chance to listen to it yet, so will post my initial impressions as soon as I've had a few minutes' worth of listening

Pics: X1 2nd Gen, iPhone 6 Plus

 

[howdy]

Unfortunately I don't have the Nano BL to compare the size (or sound), but my guess is that the xDSD has roughly the same footprint as the Nano, but it's definitely thinner than the Nano.

I'll say this, whilst I love, looooooooove the colour iFi have chosen for the xDSD, I can't stand the finish. It's ridiculously glossy, and shows fingerprints incredibly easily. If they kept the exact same colour but gave it a metallic matte finish that would've looked sexy as hell.

Regarding sound, haven't had a chance to listen to it yet, so will post my initial impressions as soon as I've had a few minutes' worth of listening

Thanks for the pics!!
I think there is a black one as well. I have the nano and micro on loan right now and would compare sound sigs to those or just the micro in this case .

 

[jeffhawke]

Unfortunately I don't have the Nano BL to compare the size (or sound), but my guess is that the xDSD has roughly the same footprint as the Nano, but it's definitely thinner than the Nano.

I'll say this, whilst I love, looooooooove the colour iFi have chosen for the xDSD, I can't stand the finish. It's ridiculously glossy, and shows fingerprints incredibly easily. If they kept the exact same colour but gave it a metallic matte finish that would've looked sexy as hell.

Regarding sound, haven't had a chance to listen to it yet, so will post my initial impressions as soon as I've had a few minutes' worth of listening

Pics: X1 2nd Gen, iPhone 6 Plus

I sure envy you this time Theo lol! From the pix I found online there will be different colours and finishes, thankfully.