[rdsreference]

Hi Guys thanks for the feedback as this info came from the official distributor I had no reason to doubt him. I wonder if there is a DSD DAC and headphone amp that is compatible with the X5. I will be sending back the i dsd tomorrow reluctantly..

 

[ClieOS]

Hi Guys thanks for the feedback as this info came from the official distributor I had no reason to doubt him. I wonder if there is a DSD DAC and headphone amp that is compatible with the X5. I will be sending back the i dsd tomorrow reluctantly..

 
X5 doesn't output DSD signal (only SPDIF in PCM), so there is no point of getting a DSD DAC for it. Unfortunately not all distributor are actually very well informed about the things they sold, so don't always take their word for it. Besides, there isn't that many DAC that actually be noticeably better than the internal DAC of X5 (*in fact, the DAC inside nano iDSD and the one in X5 are from the same series with almost identical performance, except the one in iDSD can decode DSD natively), and the internal headphone amp section of X5 has enough output power to put most portable amp to shame. So there is very little reason for you to get an amp or DAC for X5.

 

[DomieMic65]

Back on the ican... Does anybody hear a buzz while touching the 3D knob when the device is charging??
I do....

Στάλθηκε από το Galaxy Nexus μου χρησιμοποιώντας Tapatalk

 

[WCDchee]

Yes there is such a problem

 

[2gumby2]

I've been considering the iFi Micro iCan. Does anyone know if it ould have any advantages over the Nano?

 

[ClieOS]

  I've been considering the iFi Micro iCan. Does anyone know if it ould have any advantages over the Nano?

 
Micro iCAN has higher output power and cleaner, tighter overall sound. The only real downside is that it isn't portable.

 

[DomieMic65]

Yes there is such a problem

Any solution???

 

[potatoe94]

Micro iCAN has higher output power and cleaner, tighter overall sound. The only real downside is that it isn't portable.

The improvement is not worth the extra money . Stick with the iCan Nano if you already have it , it has such a long battery life that almost no other portable amps comes as close . And the wire cluster will make you think twice .

 

[ClieOS]

The improvement is not worth the extra money . Stick with the iCan Nano if you already have it , it has such a long battery life that almost no other portable amps comes as close . And the wire cluster will make you think twice .

 
I do have both - and unless portability is a must, I will always choose micro iCAN over nano iCAN. Since it is going to be a desktop setup, I don't think wire cluster should be a problem. Same goes for battery life. The only real consideration here should be SQ, and the improvement is well worth the money IMO.

 

[DomieMic65]

Back on the ican... Does anybody hear a buzz while touching the 3D knob when the device is charging??
I do....

Στάλθηκε από το Galaxy Nexus μου χρησιμοποιώντας Tapatalk

Yes there is such a problem

After experimenting I found that the buzz happens only when the amp is charging while the laptop runs on battery (I use both idsd and ican) . If the laptop is charging too there is no buzz. This is the same in different places not only in my house!

 

[DomieMic65]

Does anybody know how much power the ican outputs in 300 and 600Ohms?
 
Anyone auditioned it with the HD600 and/or the DT880 600Ohm??

 

[DomieMic65]

Does anybody know how much power the ican outputs in 300 and 600Ohms?
 
Anyone auditioned it with the HD600 and/or the DT880 600Ohm??

Am I asking too much from the little thing???

 

[potatoe94]

HD 600 definitely no problem . i've heard of people listening to higher ohms headphones with the iCAN Nano on high gain for anything higher in impedance.

 

[Zayer]

Hi. I'm back with more impressions on the Nano iCAN.
Honestly, since my last post, I have not been using it in a while because I just couldn't get it to sound right on my recently acquired Sennheiser HD 600.
I am still using the Audioengine D1 as my PC DAC and on its own, it is able to drive the HD 600 very loudly. I did try maxing out the gain on the D1 and it was too ppiercing to listen to. So moderate levels are fine.
Back to the Nano iCAN. Initially, I set the gain switches to maximum since it is assumed that the HD 600, having a high impedance, would benefit from the extra gain the switches would provide.
However, the sound that I got when plugging it to the D1 was more laid back and details were more obscured. Even with both the bass boost and 3D switches on, it still did not sound right.
Thus I retired the Nano iCAN for a long time but today, I was inspired to do it differently.
I set the switches on the Nano iCAN back to the lowest gain, turned the volume knob to full and used the D1's own volume knob as the control instead.
*Previously I had the D1's volume at around 50 percent, Nano iCAN switches set to maximum gain, and adjusted the volume control on the Nano iCAN itself*
And now... with the bass boost switched on, my HD 600 sounds freaking awesome!
It used to sound quite cold and thin in the bass department when only paired with the D1.
Now with this latest tweak, the headphones sound much more lusher, more fuller sounding and overall very pleasant ear candy listening experience. Not as harsh as before.
I did try turning on the 3D switch too and though it did increase the level of detail, I found it too bright for my taste.
Now this is what I call Hi-Fi.

 

[flagered]

Hi, I've had my nano ican for a week now, and I'm really pleased with it.
I am not an audiophile, but will gladly leave my impressions for info.
I've used no portable amps before, but think it compares well to older static amps I've had.

Purchased mainly to add to iphone / ipad to improve volume & width.
I'm using with the gain on low +6db, and 3d efx on pretty much constant. (Great feature)
The sound is fairly neutral, and I prefer it without using the bass boost, not nessecary for my hd25-1-11s or beyer 770 pro-80 ohms. (The 770's are already bass heavy, and the amp suits these very well)
I've been mostly listening to EDM, but some indie, classic, metal & film score.

Battery life is superb, portability is good.
Improvement on iPhone 5s is substantial, with ample volume possible easily.
The overall soundstage is much broader, allowing for greater definition of each range. (Less muddy)
Ipad is similarly improved, with more volume possible again. (This amp is not lacking with with 80 ohm cans)
Very little hiss evident on either phones I've used, and overall experience has been pleasureable.