[hamachan]

About your questions, I think you can give xDSD a try!

Being one of the most interesting portables in terms of price/performance, and having great sound with both USB power and self-power, you really don't have to worry so much about the power thingy. iFi has good implementation.

The sound is much much better with a proper DAC/AMP than with a smartphone or a laptop, it is so easy to tell those apart that I did a fun experiment with my friends, and every single one was able to tell apart my PC\s on-board from the xDSD using both a large number of headphones, or even using those to power my speaker system

Do not make Evgeni confuse. As ifi recommends, I also believe he should have iDAC2 for desktop solution. xDSD is very good product for mobile (I own it) but iDAC2 is more suitable for desktop purpose (I also own it as home audio setup).

 

[4Real]

About your questions, I think you can give xDSD a try!

Being one of the most interesting portables in terms of price/performance, and having great sound with both USB power and self-power, you really don't have to worry so much about the power thingy. iFi has good implementation.

The sound is much much better with a proper DAC/AMP than with a smartphone or a laptop, it is so easy to tell those apart that I did a fun experiment with my friends, and every single one was able to tell apart my PC\s on-board from the xDSD using both a large number of headphones, or even using those to power my speaker system

I don't disagree with your statement, but did you test your friends using a MacBook Pro? I would put their audio quality above other manufacturers.

 

[ckhirnigs113]

@iFi audio, Are there any plans to release a DAC only unit with Bluetooth capabilities in the "Micro" form factor. I already have an iCan SE, and I'm looking for a DAC to pair with it. I don't need the headphone amp in the iDAC2, so that seems like overkill. The iOne is in the "Nano" form factor but otherwise looks like a good option though I've read that you put the iDAC2 ahead of it in DAC performance. I just want to inquire about the likelihood of a future "Micro iOne" type product. Thanks!

 

[Evgeni]

I don't disagree with your statement, but did you test your friends using a MacBook Pro? I would put their audio quality above other manufacturers.

Yes, exactly. That’s why I am looking for more opinions. The quality out of my Mac is so good I kind of doubt it would be improved (considerably). For instance, I’ve compared my HD650-s both straight out of my home Mac versus the Apogee Groove and there’s no audible difference at least to my ears. It’s only the Groove can drive them a bit louder which is why I keep it for playing a software VST piano that is quiet but other than that both have the same excellent quality. However some people think since the Groove is USB powered it can’t really shine hence I still need to look for an external DSC/amp with external power and hence my original question here.

I’m getting the feeling it’s not external DAC-s that are bad but rather Mac audio is of the highest quality and there might not be any real difference with external one. But I’ve had a few non-Apple laptops in the past and they were appalling in regards to audio.

 

[4Real]

At the end of the day your never know until you try for yourself, with Amazon making returns so easy it's not that hard to do.

 

[Dobrescu George]

Do not make Evgeni confuse. As ifi recommends, I also believe he should have iDAC2 for desktop solution. xDSD is very good product for mobile (I own it) but iDAC2 is more suitable for desktop purpose (I also own it as home audio setup).

Of course, iDAC2 is better for desktop only usage, I tend to think that if one likes what they have on desktop, they may want to one day take it portable, situation in which xDSD does make a nice choice in versatility.

I don't disagree with your statement, but did you test your friends using a MacBook Pro? I would put their audio quality above other manufacturers.

Yes, tested MacBook Pro as well from a friend. Yes, the sonic performance was somewhat around that of my old Clevo P775DM3-G, a laptop with an actually great on-board audio. I could use it with ~300USD Headphones and not look for improving the source as most ~300 USD Headphones or less would be advantaged more by upgrading the Headphones rather than upgrading the source.

The main areas where you can find differences: Laptop's audio lacks control and power, dynamics and lacks the vividness of a proper DAC/AMP solution. Also, at very loud volumes, PC and laptop solutions will distort much easier than a proper DAC/AMP.

Of course, one could be really happy with a laptop's audio performance if they listened really quiet, or with less expensive headphones, then, I generally recommend upgrading the headphones first.

 

[4Real]

Of course, iDAC2 is better for desktop only usage, I tend to think that if one likes what they have on desktop, they may want to one day take it portable, situation in which xDSD does make a nice choice in versatility.



Yes, tested MacBook Pro as well from a friend. Yes, the sonic performance was somewhat around that of my old Clevo P775DM3-G, a laptop with an actually great on-board audio. I could use it with ~300USD Headphones and not look for improving the source as most ~300 USD Headphones or less would be advantaged more by upgrading the Headphones rather than upgrading the source.

The main areas where you can find differences: Laptop's audio lacks control and power, dynamics and lacks the vividness of a proper DAC/AMP solution. Also, at very loud volumes, PC and laptop solutions will distort much easier than a proper DAC/AMP.

Of course, one could be really happy with a laptop's audio performance if they listened really quiet, or with less expensive headphones, then, I generally recommend upgrading the headphones first.

Are if only I could be happy with a laptops audio performance, my wallet would certainly be happier.

Nice blog btw.

 

[iFi audio]

Thanks for the detailed answer! Seems like the iDAC2 might be good for my purpose indeed. I have a question though. For a brief period I owned a custom made headphone amp with embedded DAC for my HD650 at home. However when listening Apple Music stream it would sometimes cut the audio between the songs due to silence detection linked to a muting relay and as a result the beginning of next track would be cut out for a brief moment due to unmuting taking time. That was unacceptable and I sold it. I asked Schiit about their Jotunheim and they confirmed it would do the same. Which is why I use Apogee Groove with my HD650 at home and it works perfectly. How about iDAC2?

BTW, if anyone have had the chance to compare Apogee Groove and iDAC2, which one would you prefer? Both are USB powered.

Please shoot us a question here: https://support.ifi-audio.com

Thanks!

 

[iFi audio]

@iFi audio, Are there any plans to release a DAC only unit with Bluetooth capabilities in the "Micro" form factor. I already have an iCan SE, and I'm looking for a DAC to pair with it. I don't need the headphone amp in the iDAC2, so that seems like overkill. The iOne is in the "Nano" form factor but otherwise looks like a good option though I've read that you put the iDAC2 ahead of it in DAC performance. I just want to inquire about likelihood of a future "Micro iOne" type product. Thanks!

We're always up to something, but for now we have nothing to announce.

 

[ckhirnigs113]

We're always up to something, but for now we have nothing to announce.

So if you had to rate your existing products on DAC performance alone, what would that list look like? I want to complete my desktop system with the iCan SE, but I'm also toying with the idea of getting one of your portable solutions (Nano iDSD BL or xDSD) to work double duty as DAC at home and DAC/amp in portable situations. I'm just not sure how much better the iOne, iDAC2 or even iDAC are compared to your portable products when used strictly as DAC at home plugged into my iCan SE. Please shed some light on the subject!

 

[iFi audio]

So if you had to rate your existing products on DAC performance alone, what would that list look like? I want to complete my desktop system with the iCan SE, but I'm also toying with the idea of getting one of your portable solutions (Nano iDSD BL or xDSD) to work double duty as DAC at home and DAC/amp in portable situations. I'm just not sure how much better the iOne, iDAC2 or even iDAC are compared to your portable products when used strictly as DAC at home plugged into my iCan SE. Please shed some light on the subject!

Well, sound quality wise two things are certain: Pro iDSD is above everything else and micro iDAC2 is the second, that's how we see these two. Then to many people micro iDSD BL is third, xDSD fourth, nano iDSD BL fifth and iONE somewhere in-between these three.

 

[ckhirnigs113]

Well, sound quality wise two things are certain: Pro iDSD is above everything else and micro iDAC2 is the second, that's how we see these two. Then to many people micro iDSD BL is third, xDSD fourth, nano iDSD BL fifth and iONE somewhere in-between these three.

Thanks for the info! Now to make a decision. Hmmm...

 

[Dobrescu George]

Are if only I could be happy with a laptops audio performance, my wallet would certainly be happier.

Nice blog btw.

Thank you

Yes, I discovered that as well, and sometimes I invested large amounts of money in DAC/AMPs because of that, simply put, after I knew how much better a DAC/AMP was, I couldn't really live with the onboard audio of my lappy or smartphone quite as well

 

[ebjarrell]

Hi to the folks at iFi and everyone here. I have the original iDAC and the sound is soooooo good with my Shure SRH 1540s and Momentum IIs. I know that I can't upgrade this to decode MQA so my question is this. Is there enough sound quality upgrade for me to buy the iDAC 2 or xDSD?

FYI, I use the Onkyo DP-X1 for portable sound and the iDAC with my laptop at home. So, I don't really NEED a portable DAC, unless the xDSD can drastically improve the sound of the Onkyo.

 

[hamachan]

Hi to the folks at iFi and everyone here. I have the original iDAC and the sound is soooooo good with my Shure SRH 1540s and Momentum IIs. I know that I can't upgrade this to decode MQA so my question is this. Is there enough sound quality upgrade for me to buy the iDAC 2 or xDSD?

FYI, I use the Onkyo DP-X1 for portable sound and the iDAC with my laptop at home. So, I don't really NEED a portable DAC, unless the xDSD can drastically improve the sound of the Onkyo.

For purely desktop purpose, micro iDAC2 or pro iDSD is the upgrade path. Since I had no experience about original iDAC, I cannot tell how the SQ improves. You may find some ideas in iDAC2 thread below;
https://www.head-fi.org/threads/idac2-calling-5-head-fiers-a-litte-surprise-page-37.754820/
https://www.head-fi.org/threads/ifi-audio-micro-idac2.773308/
pro iDSD (end-game solution),
https://www.head-fi.org/threads/ifi-audio-pro-idsd-discussion-thread.702376/