[rafaelo]

Anyone know where I can get a balanced headphone cable for Hifiman or Monolith headphones? They have simple 2.5mm connectors

https://m.ebay.co.uk/itm/Sennheiser...31846ae1650add88ee7174affef4af8&ul_noapp=true

 

[Steve Buck]

I've settled on buying the xDSD as my new mobile dac, will do so in a few days and will report back my impressions!

The setting will be 50% mobile and 50% desktop use: I was thinking of buying a few accessories to better the sound while usb connected at home. My setting would be: macbook pro to xDSD to my amp.

With a budget of around 250 euros I was thinking of a IFI iUSB Power (used) plus a IFI iPurifier2 (or 3). This way I would take care of the power and the usb sides. Would those make a big difference? Would you suggest something else around that price?
That you very much in advance!

The xdsd ir really.. and i mean really really noisy when connected and charging ( or not charging)on any standard mains usb. Its pretty much unuseable due to mains noise.
Using a usb battery pack instead helps immensely and all hum dissapears, i would think that ifi's own filtered 5v usb purifier may be the answer. But that works only.if you are connected to a pc/laptop. I cant see any other solution if you connect to a dap or your phone.
If anyone can qoute on this issue i would be grateful.

Addendum. If there is no music signal going through the xdsd then all usb sources are noisy. Including battery usb.
However once a source is locked in, either usb/ optical or even bluetooth, then the noise dissapears for my hearing. It may still be there, but i cant hear it.
So in all fairness the original quote on noise isnt 100% accurate.
Id still like to find a filtered usb power supply to charge power the xdsd. Ifi's connections dont include a usb on their dc supply.

 

[rafaelo]

The xdsd ir really.. and i mean really really noisy when connected and charging ( or not charging)on any standard mains usb. Its pretty much unuseable due to mains noise.
Using a usb battery pack instead helps immensely and all hum dissapears, i would think that ifi's own filtered 5v usb purifier may be the answer. But that works only.if you are connected to a pc/laptop. I cant see any other solution if you connect to a dap or your phone.
If anyone can qoute on this issue i would be grateful.

Ifi ipower 5v connected to Usbridge and from there to xDSD no audible noise at all and sound quality seemed far better to me than with the xDSD battery in my one week of testing.

 

[Steve Buck]

Ifi ipower 5v connected to Usbridge and from there to xDSD no audible noise at all and sound quality seemed far better to me than with the xDSD battery in my one week of testing.

Not familiar with a usbridge.
What is it doing.. ?? And does it power the xdsd?

 

[rafaelo]

Not familiar with a usbridge.
What is it doing.. ?? And does it power the xdsd?

It is a network streamer. You do not need a Usbridge I just mentioned that because it was my set up for testing. But since it is powered by an ipower in my set up then xDSD was powered indirectly from ipower through Usbridge. It is also possible that Usbridge is acting also as an additional filter and cleaning the power even further but the main point is that I noticed further improvement from this setup rather than the battery alone.

According to my experience with my ione from using batteries Vs power supplies I find iPower as a very good source providing noticeable improvement. All these of course, provided the system is good enough to be able to expose such a difference.

But my understanding is that the issue here is not about incremental improvements but that with your power supply xDSD is noisy so you will experience massive improvement with a good power supply unless something else is the problem here.

 

[Bansaku]

The xdsd ir really.. and i mean really really noisy when connected and charging ( or not charging)on any standard mains usb. Its pretty much unuseable due to mains noise.

I had the xDSD on a busy PC USB bus with an extension cable and I heard silence. I plugged the xDSD into a wall wart charger while on the couch and yes, HUGE amounts of noise. In fact, before I purchased a " clean power" power strip any usb audio device would have noise coming through the power, regardless of PC or wall wart. Just a fact of USB life a.k.a. USB audio was an afterthought.

 

[rafaelo]

Ifi's connections dont include a usb on their dc supply

Apologies in advance

if I do not understand correctly your point but I just wanted to let you know that I used the following in order to be able to use ipower with ione.

 

[Hinomotocho]

For my balanced iem cable with 4.4mm jack I have a nice quality Musashi adapter for when I need to use a standard 3.5mm output, is anyone able to please point me in the direction of an adapter that would allow me to take advantage of the balanced of the xDSD? 3.5mm TRS > 4.4mm (?), I don't want to get it wrong and fry something.

 

[gr8soundz]

For my balanced iem cable with 4.4mm jack I have a nice quality Musashi adapter for when I need to use a standard 3.5mm output, is anyone able to please point me in the direction of an adapter that would allow me to take advantage of the balanced of the xDSD? 3.5mm TRS > 4.4mm (?), I don't want to get it wrong and fry something.

I assume you meant 4.4mm to 3.5mm TRRS for balanced connect to the xDSD.

Only ones I'm aware of are these (just different lengths I believe; 10cm vs 50cm):
https://www.amazon.com/Hi-end-Silver-Balanced-Adapter-Headphone/dp/B07FJNHMMT
https://www.amazon.com/hi-end-Copper-Female-Adapter-Headphone/dp/B07967K7ZK

I also had trouble finding obscure balanced adapters and have a few from the above Amazon seller with a couple more coming soon. Decent quality considering the price but, most importantly, they work (haven't tried those specific 4.4mm adapters though nor the xDSD yet).

 

[Hinomotocho]

I assume you meant 4.4mm to 3.5mm TRRS for balanced connect to the xDSD.

Only ones I'm aware of are these (just different lengths I believe; 10cm vs 50cm):
https://www.amazon.com/Hi-end-Silver-Balanced-Adapter-Headphone/dp/B07FJNHMMT
https://www.amazon.com/hi-end-Copper-Female-Adapter-Headphone/dp/B07967K7ZK

I also had trouble finding obscure balanced adapters and have a few from the above Amazon seller with a couple more coming soon. Decent quality considering the price but, most importantly, they work (haven't tried those specific 4.4mm adapters though nor the xDSD yet).

Thank you for that. I mostly use my ZX300 dap so have adopted 4.4mm which has a nice solid feel to it. I have been looking for dacs with a straightforward 4.4mm output but there aren't that many overall great options, even from Sony.
An adapter is not ideal but keeps the xDSD as a top option for me.

 

[ckhirnigs113]

@iFi audio, why can't you make a simple DAC with USB/Digital in and RCA out? No headphone amp, no Bluetooth, just a box with an in and out! Hell, throw a built in iPurifier3 and you'd have a killer DAC! Come on, Schiit does it!

Totally agree! I’d love to see an iFi product that is a standalone DAC in the “micro” form factor. I have an iCan SE just waiting to pair with it. If it integrated the tech of the iPurifier3.0/iUSB3.0 as well, that’d just be icing on the cake!

I’m not totally against Bluetooth, but in a desktop setup, I really don’t see the benefit. In a portable setting I can see the advantage though (hence the great little xDSD).

 

[iFi audio]

Totally agree! I’d love to see an iFi product that is a standalone DAC in the “micro” form factor. I have an iCan SE just waiting to pair with it. If it integrated the tech of the iPurifier3.0/iUSB3.0 as well, that’d just be icing on the cake!

I’m not totally against Bluetooth, but in a desktop setup, I really don’t see the benefit. In a portable setting I can see the advantage though (hence the great little xDSD).

Well, we have iDAC2, so...

 

[ckhirnigs113]

Well, we have iDAC2, so...

I’m fully aware of the iDAC2, haha. It just hurts my sensibilities to buy an dac/amp combo when I already have the iCan SE. I have a stand-alone amp, so I’d prefer a stand-alone dac to go with it. In my mind the amp section in the iDAC2 is preventing the DAC from being even better. Of course this may not be the case.

On a side note, I will say I was initially surprised when researching your product line to see you had a product called “iDAC” that had an amp in it.

I’d like to see a future product, dare I call it the “iDAC3”, that is a DAC with no amp section. Integrating tech from your iUSB iPurifier products would be an awesome addition too!

 

[iFi audio]

In my mind the amp section in the iDAC2 is preventing the DAC from being even better. Of course this may not be the case.

It isn't the case indeed. iDAC2 is a DAC above all else. It simply has a nice headphone out simply because we could do that. But with this functionality or without, it wouldn't become anything else (better or worse) as a DAC. Our point is that its headphone out doesn't prevent its d/a section at all and that's the correct way to look at this product.

 

[Bansaku]

It isn't the case indeed. iDAC2 is a DAC above all else. It simply has a nice headphone out simply because we could do that. But with this functionality or without, it wouldn't become anything else (better or worse) as a DAC. Our point is that its headphone out doesn't prevent its d/a section at all and that's the correct way to look at this product.

Absolutely true, no arguments there. Much like my old Audioengine D1 or TEAC UD-H01, DACs first and foremost that just happen to have a headphone amp for user convenience. However, I think I safely speak for us all who have gripes about the headphone amp in the iDAC2 when I say it drives our OCC to the brink! Not only is the headphone amp just sitting there not being used, in some cases ever, but the placement of the RCA (or USB, depending on your point of view) will mean our stacks will never have a flush (so to speak), sleek front. There will always be "something" sticking out like a cancer. This is why myself personally am looking at the iOne vs the iDAC2, even though the iDAC2 (according to you good folks) is a better performer. Although, I have seen some nice right angle RCA plugs on eBay that just might fix my psychosis (or is it a derangement?).