[rickyleelee]

the pro ican auto shuts down the tube section when not in use. the leds below the tubes go off afaik. the support system is pretty good. what did the suport people? not many companies have good product support. you should try there and if you are not happy post here but trouble shot with them first to those in the know.

 

[technobear]

the pro ican auto shuts down the tube section when not in use. the leds below the tubes go off afaik. the support system is pretty good. what did the suport people? not many companies have good product support. you should try there and if you are not happy post here but trouble shot with them first to those in the know.

http://support.ifi-audio.com/

 

[iFi audio]

  My second Pro iCan arrived yesterday. There is a mix go good and bad news.
 
Good news:
- The new units doe not make noise on the right channel. It seems to work just fine sonically.
- The new unit does not exhibit the strong tendency of the first unit to go in overload even without input signal when moving the XBass and 3D buttons. (red led blinking)
 
Bad news:
- The 2 orange lens below the tubes are not lighting up (I do not really care about that). From a probability stand point this is not good for Quality Control at iFi...
 
The first unit SN is 328, the second unit SN is 358
 
More listening with the HE1000 balanced against the MicroZotl 2S showed that deep bass is narrower on the iCan but can be adjusted to larger at the +10Hz setup of the XBass. The Bass enhancement is still keeping the bass tight and under control. The adjustment is subtle. The transparency is a edge better on the MZTL when the iPro is in Tube+ mode, but that difference is very small. The soundstage is a bit wider on the MZTL even with the iPro in balanced. But nothing major and the 3D adjustment can come to the rescue of soundstage somewhat.
In Tube mode, transparency seems equivalent. You have to trade transparency and euphony between Tube and Tube+ mode. That will depend on what source you listen.
Static mode is very fast and clean, but I am more a tube listener, so this is not for the majority of what I listen. Tube mode is less dry but still very fast.
 
I will also use this amp for travel as it is so small and it will do just great. Pls note the MZTL is really exceptional, so getting close to this level is very good.
 
Next will be listening in balanced mode with the LCD4

 
There are many variables, but the gist is that we need to know more. Hence we ask you to use our STS system, which can be found here: http://support.ifi-audio.com
 
This is the fastest way to do reliable diagnostics remotely.

 

[kikouyou]

   
There are many variables, but the gist is that we need to know more. Hence we ask you to use our STS system, which can be found here: http://support.ifi-audio.com
 
This is the fastest way to do reliable diagnostics remotely.

 
Done, lets see what more this will tell us...
The only additional info requested was about me not about the unit...

 

[loplop]

   
Done, lets see what more this will tell us...
The only additional info requested was about me not about the unit...

I'm curious what you decide to do about it, if anything.  I currently feel loathe to get yet another (3rd!) unit just because my tube LED's aren't lighting up and I get a pop when switching xBass on and off--mine doesn't trigger protection, at least that I have noticed, and it sounds fine...
 
Now if I had a tube section not working as ed7090, I'd definitely return for another.  

 

[kikouyou]

 
I'm curious what you decide to do about it, if anything.  I currently feel loathe to get yet another (3rd!) unit just because my tube LED's aren't lighting up and I get a pop when switching xBass on and off--mine doesn't trigger protection, at least that I have noticed, and it sounds fine...
 
Now if I had a tube section not working as ed7090, I'd definitely return for another.  

I have no intent to return this unit that sounds good and operates Static, Tube, Tube+, XBass and 3D without any issues (no pop), and is less warm than my first unit. There are too many chances to get another bad unit instead of this one .
It seems that our units operate in the same way, which is not far from how they should be (Led issue aside)
If iFi acknowledges that the Leds are not powered, can explain what is going on and that this is not an issue, I am good with not retuning this unit.
If they offer a return to further investigate, they will have to send a new one to me so that I can triple check the new one is ok before returning the one I have.
A bit what I did with Adorama, but on my expense (I had to buy a second unit, wait to return the first unit so I could compare them and now wait for the refund on the first unit after shipping it).

 

[loplop]

 
I have no intent to return this unit that sounds good and operates Static, Tube, Tube+, XBass and 3D without any issues (no pop), and is less warm than my first unit. There are too many chances to get another bad unit instead of this one .
It seems that our units operate in the same way, which is not far from how they should be (Led issue aside)
If iFi acknowledges that the Leds are not powered, can explain what is going on and that this is not an issue, I am good with not retuning this unit.
If they offer a return to further investigate, they will have to send a new one to me so that I can triple check the new one is ok before returning the one I have.
A bit what I did with Adorama, but on my expense (I had to buy a second unit, wait to return the first unit so I could compare them and now wait for the refund on the first unit after shipping it).

Thank you, keep us posted! 

 

[kikouyou]

Latest developments. After repeating what I wrote within this forum but on the support platform from ifi and something like 6 back and forth communications, we are at a point where I stated what could be acceptable to me i.e. send me a new unit, I will test it against the one I have and decide if it is good enough. And ifi is ignoring this and proposing to pick up my unit, get it back to the factory to look at it and either repair it or send a new one at this point. This indeed does not work for me... as my current unit works just fine except the 2 fake lamp Leds within the box to show in a exaggerated way that the lamps are on... I would not take the risk to get again in an exchange loop because of any other issues stated above...  
I am still waiting for Adorama to refund the first unit I got and which I sent back a week ago or so....

 

[gr8soundz]

  Latest developments. After repeating what I wrote within this forum but on the support platform from ifi and something like 6 back and forth communications, we are at a point where I stated what could be acceptable to me i.e. send me a new unit, I will test it against the one I have and decide if it is good enough. And ifi is ignoring this and proposing to pick up my unit, get it back to the factory to look at it and either repair it or send a new one at this point. This indeed does not work for me... as my current unit works just fine except the 2 fake lamp Leds within the box to show in a exaggerated way that the lamps are on... I would not take the risk to get again in an exchange loop because of any other issues stated above...  
I am still waiting for Adorama to refund the first unit I got and which I sent back a week ago or so....

 
Sad to hear about those issues with multiple iCan Pros. Ifi makes unique stuff and has good software support but hardware support is another issue. I went through that back/forth with a much, much less expensive iPower of theirs.
 
I was still considering the iCan Pro until reading multiple head-fiers having problems with brand new units. The amp is far too expensive for that to be happening. Hopefully iFi officially addresses it and gets yours 100% working.
 

 

[kikouyou]

   
Sad to hear about those issues with multiple iCan Pros. Ifi makes unique stuff and has good software support but hardware support is another issue. I went through that back/forth with a much, much less expensive iPower of theirs.
 
I was still considering the iCan Pro until reading multiple head-fiers having problems with brand new units. The amp is far too expensive for that to be happening. Hopefully iFi officially addresses it and gets yours 100% working.
 

Despite that, when you get one that works, it is very cool

 

[technobear]

Latest developments. After repeating what I wrote within this forum but on the support platform from ifi and something like 6 back and forth communications, we are at a point where I stated what could be acceptable to me i.e. send me a new unit, I will test it against the one I have and decide if it is good enough.

I do not know of any manufacturer anywhere in all of my very long born days who has ever done this. There probably is one somewhere to prove me wrong but hey ho. It is not reasonable.

And ifi is ignoring this and proposing to pick up my unit, get it back to the factory to look at it and either repair it or send a new one at this point.

That is the way warranty service usually works. Perfectly reasonable.

Alternatively you can return it to your dealer for an exchange or refund.

Sorry but you are the one who is trying to reinvent the World here and it isn't going to work. Nor can you expect any sympathy for whinging about it on Head-Fi.

 

[jeffhawke]

I do not know of any manufacturer anywhere in all of my very long born days who has ever done this. There probably is one somewhere to prove me wrong but hey ho. It is not reasonable.
That is the way warranty service usually works. Perfectly reasonable.

Alternatively you can return it to your dealer for an exchange or refund.

Sorry but you are the one who is trying to reinvent the World here and it isn't going to work. Nor can you expect any sympathy for whinging about it on Head-Fi.

Totally agree. However, these frequent failures should be properly addressed by the iFi Audio quality control team, lest they lose potential customers (like me) who might turn to the Hugo TT instead for just about the same price (once you add a proper DAC like the much talked about future Pro iDAC).

 

[technobear]

I do not know of any manufacturer anywhere in all of my very long born days who has ever done this. There probably is one somewhere to prove me wrong but hey ho. It is not reasonable.

That is the way warranty service usually works. Perfectly reasonable.


Alternatively you can return it to your dealer for an exchange or refund.


Sorry but you are the one who is trying to reinvent the World here and it isn't going to work. Nor can you expect any sympathy for whinging about it on Head-Fi.

Totally agree. However, these frequent failures should be properly addressed by the iFi Audio quality control team, lest they lose potential customers (like me) who might turn to the Hugo TT instead for just about the same price (once you add a proper DAC like the much talked about future Pro iDAC).

They aren't frequent though are they?

It's just that endless whining on this forum makes it *look* like there are many. In fact they are just a handful out of thousands.

Compared to some manufacturers around these parts, that is platinum standard.

 

[jeffhawke]

They aren't frequent though are they?

It's just that endless whining on this forum makes it *look* like there are many. In fact they are just a handful out of thousands.

Compared to some manufacturers around these parts, that is platinum standard.

We have no way of knowing how frequent actual complaints are vs units sold, unless someone has access to iFi Audio's internal sales stats. I sure hope, for iFi Audio's sake, that they are selling "thousands" and therefore raking up millions, didn't read many complaints about Chord though ('xcept about pricing 

)

 

[loplop]

Hard to know how many have been sold in total. The serial numbers with reported problems seem very close together (328, 332, 345, 358, 417).

My #417 sounds fantastic, and unless it develops a sonic flaw, I'm going to live with the non-lighting tube LED's and XBass that thumps when you switch it on and off. I'm not confident enough in ifi support to deal with the back & forth and wasted time & effort at the moment, so I'll just enjoy the thing as is.

And it is a very enjoyable amplifier. A glutton for punishment, I'd like to add both the iDSD Pro and Energizer module someday.