[Taz777]

Yes indeed, the balanced circuit and tougher loads will deplete the battery faster. Out of curiosity, can you please let me know what kind of headphones or IEMs do you use?

I was using my full-sized Sennheiser HD 600 S over-ears for the 4.4mm balanced testing. However, I didn't like the sound from the headphones so I have returned the headphones. However, with my single-ended RHA T20 IEMs, the sound from the iFi hip dac is very good.

 

[Taz777]

Can it charge and play at the same time?

It seems as if you can!

The USB-C port on the hip dac is the charging port. I plugged a USB-C cable with USB power source into that, and the OTG cable into the USB male port (which is the data port), connected the OTG cable to my LG V30+ and played some songs in UAPP. The songs played and the tiny charging LED on the back next to the USB-C charging port was flashing green (the colour is based on the current battery charge level so may vary in your case).

However, the cabling is a mess when you do this. You need a USB-C cable with a USB power source to charge the hip dac, then you have the OTG cable to connect to your phone/music source, so it just looks unwieldy and really wouldn't be very portable. I guess if you had a power bank that wasn't too big you could get away with a semi-portable solution, but it's messy (purely in my opinion, of course).

I hope that helps,

 

[iFi audio]

It seems as if you can!

It's possible indeed, however it's advised to not charge and listen at the same time.

 

[iFi audio]

Also folks, are you aware that we have our own blog with lots of cool stuff in there? Please check it out for yourself here:

https://ifi-audio.com/blog/

 

[bedlam inside]

I currently have an xDSD for portable listening, although I've currently got it hooked up in the 'new and necessary' home office for speed and ease. Love it and the BT. Considering a hip-dac though - just for fun. What differences will I notice, if any?

 

[iFi audio]

I currently have an xDSD for portable listening, although I've currently got it hooked up in the 'new and necessary' home office for speed and ease. Love it and the BT. Considering a hip-dac though - just for fun. What differences will I notice, if any?

hip-dac isn't wireless, but as a portable product for your smartphone it's fun alright

xDSD is a notch higher than hip-dac on sound quality as it should given the price difference between them. But as an affordable DAC/amp combo, hip-dac is worth trying it out!

If you have any questions, I'm around!

 

[iFi audio]

Let's make a small detour from the usual hardware stuff to one of our crew, Aimée. She was kind enough to answer several questions, so here goes!

What's your role at iFi?

I'm the company's Marketing Assistant, which means that I share my time between regular office work and iFi audio's social media

What's your favourite iFi device and why?

My favourite iFi product is the xDSD. It was my first-ever DAC/Amp, and I've never let go. I love it because it's portable, so I can clean, cook, work and travel while listening through my headphones!

What type of music do you listen to?

My music preference definitely depends on my mood and it ranges from folk, alternative rock, reggae rock and indie pop, to pretty much any 70's & 80's music, jazz, and western classical (when I'm in the 'focus mode').

What are your favourite headphones/IEMs?

To be honest, I don't think I've found my 'favourite' headphones yet...there's too many to choose from! I'll try whatever is available at our UK office and there's a lot of stuff in there. HifiMan and Meze just to name two brands. I like Susvaras A LOT but rarely can use them! While I may not have found 'the one' just yet, I'll give a try to whatever lands near my desk.

 

[listasfede]

Mine is running 5.3 (MQA enabled, no GTO) from factory.
I've been wondering if I should try the GTO fw. Anyway, I haven't even burned it in yet. Just curious as to your sonic impressions, if anyone has been there yet.

Hey folks,
Has anyone had a chance to try different firmware versions, with and without GTO filter? I'm still wondering if I should upgrade my hipdac firmware to the latest which includes GTO filter. Does it make a noticeable difference? In that case, can you describe what the perception of this difference is? I'd appreciate a non-iFi reply, since obviously they're all about updating to the latest, which not always means the best.
Stay home, stay safe, listen to a lot of music and chill for the time!

 

[Taz777]

Hey folks,
Has anyone had a chance to try different firmware versions, with and without GTO filter? I'm still wondering if I should upgrade my hipdac firmware to the latest which includes GTO filter. Does it make a noticeable difference? In that case, can you describe what the perception of this difference is? I'd appreciate a non-iFi reply, since obviously they're all about updating to the latest, which not always means the best.
Stay home, stay safe, listen to a lot of music and chill for the time!

I put 5.3c on mine and did not notice an appreciable difference. I don't really listen to any MQA tracks as there's hardly any on TIDAL for my genre of music, so it's all CD-quality (TIDAL HiFi) for me. I've just a pair of beyerdynamic Xelento IEMs so might take a listen with those to see if 5.3c sounds better. The issue I have is that my LG V30+ already does MQA, making the hip dac fairly redundant to use on that, and there are issues with MQA decoding on some tracks when I use my iPhone with the hip dac!

But, there's always hope if I use my latest IEMs as they are of better quality than my regular ones.

 

[iFi audio]

obviously they're all about updating to the lates

If I may, we're all about providing our customers with options. When it comes down to firmware, the latest doesn't have to mean the greatest. It's more about functionality one would like to have

 

[listasfede]

We've been chatting to MQA and it looks like this is a Tidal issue that occurs when MQA tracks are played via an iPhone. MQA have been doing testing and it is not just happening with iFi products. Hopefully it will be fixed soon, we will keep checking

I've been having the same issue with TIDAL Mac Desktop app since last week. Whenever I play a MASTERS track, LED light doesn't change colors; it´s still playing standard 16/44 with a green light.
If I switch to Audirvana, log into TIDAL from within and play the exact same file, light changes to magenta, as it's supposed to.

What's wrong with TIDAL apps?

 

[iFi audio]

What's wrong with TIDAL apps?

If I may, I'd suggest asking TIDAL directly about this.

 

[listasfede]

If I may, I'd suggest asking TIDAL directly about this.

Thanks for your reply, but I was not asking YOU or making you responsible of the fact.
Maybe someone in this forum reads and knows something about it.

 

[Taz777]

I've been having the same issue with TIDAL Mac Desktop app since last week. Whenever I play a MASTERS track, LED light doesn't change colors; it´s still playing standard 16/44 with a green light.
If I switch to Audirvana, log into TIDAL from within and play the exact same file, light changes to magenta, as it's supposed to.

What's wrong with TIDAL apps?

Can you give me some example TIDAL Masters tracks that are not decoding properly? I've been working with iFi on an issue with TIDAL on iPhone not decoding some Masters tracks properly via the hip dac. I tested the problem playlist on my iMac (TIDAL desktop app) and the decoding was correct for me. This was a good couple of months ago.

Maybe there was an update to the desktop app recently that has broken things?

 

[iFi audio]

Thanks for your reply, but I was not asking YOU or making you responsible of the fact.

I know. My suggestion's goal was to help you. All good!