[nosauce]

This topic has been addressed many times already in this very thread. You did read it, right?

I read through over a 100 posts and did some searches. I found some speculations. No I didn't read all 450 posts. Can you point me in the right direction?

This is why iFi needs to put out a new manual or make things clear on the webpage so customers don't have to sift through obscure forums to find the answer. They can save a lot of people a lot of time. Especially after spreading false information in a previous manual that review sites are propagating. There seems to be an iFi rep here that responds to this thread which is why I posted here. I'm trying to get basic information about a product that they made.

 

[iFi audio]

Does the Zen Dac sound exactly the same as the Hip Dac?

ZEN DAC was designed to be a desktop hip-dac.

Hip-Dac cannot run off of bus-supplied power via the data port, not in any way.

Yes, hip-dac was designed to run off its internal battery only.

2. Is this not advised for some reason alluded to earlier? If so, what is that reason??

On highly sensitive IEMs there may be mild background noise audible if hip-dac is charged and used at the same time. That's the only reason.

I've read in 2 different places that if you plug in the charging cable before turning on the device that it will preferentially draw power from the charging cable, and not the battery. This would be ideal when using it for long periods of time with your computer.

Our previous products (i.e. micro/nano iDSD BL) could be used like so, but not hip-dac designed to rely on its battery only.

 

[Otto Motor]

I finally got around to do it...still strugging with the equipment and the white balance was criticized. First step...I looked the term up .

 

[iFi audio]

I finally got around to do it...

Very cool, thanks a lot!

 

[Kal El]

Hi, I just received the Hip Dac this morning. Purchased new by IFI AUDIO UK on Amazon.it, and the first thing I noticed is a metallic noise when I move it or shake it, like something loose or detached. Is it normal? Can anyone who has it let me know?
Also, it doesn't work with usb-c on my laptop, there are high interferences. Is it normal?

Thanks

 

[Kal El]

Newbie here. I have just bought a hip dac, and it sounds great with Tidal and recognises MQA with the purple lights.

I also have Spotify Premium account, how do I get it to indicate anything other than "green" when playing Spotify / get Spotify to feed it higher res? I would have thought Spotify should be feeding it files at 320 - so should that be yellow?

I have streaming quality to "Very High". This is all from a MacBook Pro, as my CKK cord doesn't arrive until tomorrow.

Hi, how can you make it recognise MQA and get the purple lights? Mine has always green lights listening to Tidal Master tracks.....

 

[chickentender]

Hi, I just received the Hip Dac this morning. Purchased new by IFI AUDIO UK on Amazon.it, and the first thing I noticed is a metallic noise when I move it or shake it, like something loose or detached. Is it normal? Can anyone who has it let me know?
Also, it doesn't work with usb-c on my laptop, there are high interferences. Is it normal?

Thanks

This is normal. It's just the power-match and xbass buttons and the way they're attached - there isn't really any damping to the button action so they're slightly loose. Touch one and you'll see. It bothered me a little at first, but whatever. Battery life is my only other complaint, but I will say that the life of mine has actually improved in the past month with multiple charge cycles and I get around 5-6 hours (as opposed 4-ish initially).
Not sure about your usb-c issues. USB-C connectivity works on all my devices (Windows laptop, Macbook, and Android phone). Make sure your USB-C interface drivers are up-to-date.

 

[Kal El]

This is normal. It's just the power-match and xbass buttons and the way they're attached - there isn't really any damping to the button action so they're slightly loose. Touch one and you'll see. It bothered me a little at first, but whatever. Battery life is my only other complaint, but I will say that the life of mine has actually improved in the past month with multiple charge cycles and I get around 5-6 hours (as opposed 4-ish initially).
Not sure about your usb-c issues. USB-C connectivity works on all my devices (Windows laptop, Macbook, and Android phone). Make sure your USB-C interface drivers are up-to-date.

Thank you. What about the hiss with 4.4mm port? My iBasso IT01Ss hiss on background. While music is paused the hiss is clearly audible, but it doesn't seems to affect the music while listening.

 

[chickentender]

Thank you. What about the hiss with 4.4mm port? My iBasso IT01Ss hiss on background. While music is paused the hiss is clearly audible, but it doesn't seems to affect the music while listening.

Yes, I notice it slightly on my more sensitive IEMs, on others not so much if at all. With very sensitive IEMs the noise floor isn't low enough with the kind of power the balanced jack provides to be noise free. Make sure you don't have the gain switch turned on when using them with balanced, but honestly they'd be better off with the 3.5mm jack. Those iBassos are 109dB at 16ohms - that's quite sensitive and they certainly don't need the power being supplied by the HipDac's 4.4mm jack.

 

[Taz777]

Hi, how can you make it recognise MQA and get the purple lights? Mine has always green lights listening to Tidal Master tracks.....

Are you connecting your iFi hip dac to an iPhone?

 

[Kal El]

Are you connecting your iFi hip dac to an iPhone?

Nope. I'm connecting it to LG G8S and Sony NW-A105 but I can't see the purple light in both devices.

 

[Kal El]

Yes, I notice it slightly on my more sensitive IEMs, on others not so much if at all. With very sensitive IEMs the noise floor isn't low enough with the kind of power the balanced jack provides to be noise free. Make sure you don't have the gain switch turned on when using them with balanced, but honestly they'd be better off with the 3.5mm jack. Those iBassos are 109dB at 16ohms - that's quite sensitive and they certainly don't need the power being supplied by the HipDac's 4.4mm jack.

Yes, they are sensitive IEMs, but they come with balanced cable and I tried them with the 4.4mm port. Surely the single ended portbis better. I can drive them easily with my LG G8S although the sq seems to be better with the Hip Dac.

 

[Taz777]

Nope. I'm connecting it to LG G8S and Sony NW-A105 but I can't see the purple light in both devices.

The LG G8S already decodes MQA. What app are you using to play songs on that phone? It would need to be configured to 'pass through' MQA to the iFi hip dac. You'd also need to configure your phone not to use its own internal MQA-compatible DAC. I'm not sure you'd gain anything in terms of sound quality.

 

[Kal El]

The LG G8S already decodes MQA. What app are you using to play songs on that phone? It would need to be configured to 'pass through' MQA to the iFi hip dac. You'd also need to configure your phone not to use its own internal MQA-compatible DAC. I'm not sure you'd gain anything in terms of sound quality.

At this point I'm afraid that the hip dac works just as amp with my LG G8S, like it does with my Sony NW-A105....

 

[chickentender]

The LG G8S already decodes MQA. What app are you using to play songs on that phone? It would need to be configured to 'pass through' MQA to the iFi hip dac. You'd also need to configure your phone not to use its own internal MQA-compatible DAC. I'm not sure you'd gain anything in terms of sound quality.

Are you certain of this? The G8S does NOT have a the ESS Sabre Quad DAC (Meridian tuned in all flavors as far as I know). I own a G8 and avoided the "S" model specifically for that reason. Though I've no idea if the regular DAC supports MQA unfolds; I'd be surprised if it did.