[DBronx]

Quote: Originally Posted by DBronx 

a. I'm not sure what firmware my Micro is at - I have not flashed it to the 5.0x version yet. How can I tell my revision.




Run the firmware updater:

C:\Program Files\iFi\USB_HD_Audio_Driver\iFiHDUSBAudio_dfuapp.exe

This will report the current firmware.
 
Quote: Originally Posted by DBronx 

b When listening to a DSD album via USB Player Pro, I'm hearing a slight tick at the start of each track, is this a known issue and can I expect the 5.0x firmware to resolve it?



 
 
Wonderful... Thanks so much!

 

[greenpsycho]

Might seem from out of left field, but I was curious if anyone knew the stocking situation with the idsd micro?  Everywhere I look seems out of stock, which makes me think either a) this is really popular and flying off the shelves OR b) another version/iteration is coming out soon. Anyone have any guesses?

 

[Franatic]

That could be another clue in this contest:
http://www.head-fi.org/t/779504/ifi-launch-competition-guess-the-upcoming-new-product-new-staff-member-and-clue-5-page-7/120#post_11899301
 
I am waiting for the idsd pro. Nothing else they come out with interests me at this point.

 

[HotIce]

Does the iDSD support 24bit?
At least on Linux, I am able to drive it only at 16bit and 32bit.
Pretty happy with it so far.

 

[Franatic]

Does the iDSD support 24bit?
At least on Linux, I am able to drive it only at 16bit and 32bit.
Pretty happy with it so far.

Yes, it supports 24 bit output. I have my Jplay settings at 'force 24 bit'. Works great.
 
The dac portion of the idsd is fantastic. I use it as my desktop dac w/ line output.

 

[gixxerwimp]

 

 

Or better still, as we are talking about the micro iDSD, just use the blue USB3.0 cable in the micro DSD box as USB3.0 is spec'd better than USB2.0 anyway.

Cheers.

The outer rubber sheath on my blue USB 3.0 cable became detached from the strain relief at one end, and therefore probably isn't going to last that long. I can't comment on the electrical properties of that cable, but mechanically it's not that great.

 
@iFi audio sent me a replacement for the cable described above. It looks like the design of this cable allows the outer rubber sheath to rotate "freely" inside the strain relief at the female end. My original cable can almost rotate 180 degrees now at the female end, and I haven't ever twisted it very hard. The replacment cable can rotate a few degrees if twisted gently. I can't tell how the outer sheath is attached inside the female connector, but IMO it would be longer lasting if it were solidly welded to the strain relief as it is on the male connector end.
 

 
There's no gap at the male end because the sheath is solidly welded to the strain relief as on every other USB cable I've seen. There's a gap at the female end because the sheath is not welded to the strain relief and I suspect could be twisted free from whatever is holding it inside the connector.

No matter how hard I twist the $2 cable I bought locally, I cannot detach the sheath from the strain relief. Notwithstanding the electrical characteristics, this cheap cable still gives me more mechanical confidence than the blue iFi USB 3.0 cable.
 
Edit: They also sent me a spare 1/4"-1/8" adapter, mini-TOSLINK adapter, 3.5mm-3.5mm cable for analog out, and spare rubber feet, as well as one of their cloth bags with my cable, which was a nice touch!

 

[knorris908]

@iFi audio
sent me a replacement for the cable described above. It looks like the design of this cable allows the outer rubber sheath to rotate "freely" inside the strain relief at the female end. My original cable can almost rotate 180 degrees now at the female end, and I haven't ever twisted it very hard. The replacment cable can rotate a few degrees if twisted gently. I can't tell how the outer sheath is attached inside the female connector, but IMO it would be longer lasting if it were solidly welded to the strain relief as it is on the male connector end.





There's no gap at the male end because the sheath is solidly welded to the strain relief as on every other USB cable I've seen. There's a gap at the female end because the sheath is not welded to the strain relief and I suspect could be twisted free from whatever is holding it inside the connector.




No matter how hard I twist the $2 cable I bought locally, I cannot detach the sheath from the strain relief. Notwithstanding the electrical characteristics, this cheap cable still gives me more mechanical confidence than the blue iFi USB 3.0 cable.


Edit: They also sent me a spare 1/4"-1/8" adapter, mini-TOSLINK adapter, 3.5mm-3.5mm cable for analog out, and spare rubber feet, as well as one of their cloth bags with my cable, which was a nice touch!

Sorry that you had that kind of problem with your cable. Not disagreeing, (Not sure how one COULD.) but just to offer an additional account, my iDSD is about a year old now, and I drag mine along with me through airport terminals and hotels on a fairly regular basis with no cable failures to date, and it gets unwound, rewound, and stuffed in my laptop bag constantly! . I have a shorter blue USB 3.0 extension cable as a backup, but I haven't had to use it for anything other than a "quick release" for my D800 and D700 cameras when they are tethered in the studio to reduce to wear and tear on my PC's USB 3.0 ports.

Then again, I've had my "cheapie" little VMODA Bass Freqs for almost 10 years now and they are still going strong after even more coast to coast in-flight abuse!

Ken N.

 

[gixxerwimp]

Sorry that you had that kind of problem with your cable. Not disagreeing, (Not sure how one COULD.) but just to offer an additional account, my iDSD is about a year old now, and I drag mine along with me through airport terminals and hotels on a fairly regular basis with no cable failures to date, and it gets unwound, rewound, and stuffed in my laptop bag constantly!

. I have a shorter blue USB 3.0 extension cable as a backup, but I haven't had to use it for anything other than a "quick release" for my D800 and D700 cameras when they are tethered in the studio to reduce to wear and tear on my PC's USB 3.0 ports.

Then again, I've had my "cheapie" little VMODA Bass Freqs for almost 10 years now and they are still going strong after even more coast to coast in-flight abuse!

Ken N.

 
Thanks for sharing your experience with your iDSD and cable. Mine never failed electronically (though the one I received with my iDAC2 was DOA). Just the sketchy mechanical nature makes me feel like I have to be really careful with it. @audiotweaker experienced the same thing:
http://www.head-fi.org/t/728236/ifi-idsd-micro-dsd512-pcm768-dac-and-headphone-amp-impressions-reviews-and-comments/4365#post_11845772
 
Just out of curiosity, how much does your cable freely rotate at the female connector end? Maybe the sheath isn't firmly attached, but everything else inside is.

 

[knorris908]

Thanks for sharing your experience with your iDSD and cable. Mine never failed electronically (though the one I received with my iDAC2 was DOA). Just the sketchy mechanical nature makes me feel like I have to be really careful with it. @audiotweaker
experienced the same thing:
http://www.head-fi.org/t/728236/ifi-idsd-micro-dsd512-pcm768-dac-and-headphone-amp-impressions-reviews-and-comments/4365#post_11845772

Just out of curiosity, how much does your cable freely rotate at the female connector end? Maybe the sheath isn't firmly attached, but everything else inside is.

Sure thing! I just grabbed mine from my laptop bag. Clockwise only about a 5 degree rotation. Counter-clockwise, mine rotates about 50-60 degrees. (This is connector oriented AWAY from me, looking at the gap between the boot and cable jacket.)

 

[knorris908]

On the left, the female end of the iFi provided USB 3.0 cable. On the right, my generic USB 3.0 extension cable. Almost identical aside from the female end metal receptical being exposed where the iFi cable female side is fully-jacketed, but the boot is bonded to the cable coating on both ends. Trade-off for what you prefer I guess... I prefer that the iFi cable isn't exposed on the female end, but now that you've pointed this out, I may just use a thin coating of rubber cement at the boot edges to be safe and limit the rotation since this is my favorite USB 3.0 extension cable, and I don't want to have anything happen to it.

 

[rickyleelee]

Can iFi confirm if this is normal? I have it on my cable too. Is it a splity or is a separate mold?

 

[citraian]

I think this was covered before but I can't find it at the moment. Does somebody else notice a big channel imbalance at lower volumes like 9 or 10 oclock?

 

[iancraig10]

It's common with most amps using an analogue volume pot. Lower the gain of the Micro so that you are using the volume further up, nearer to 12 o clock or even 2 o clock.

 

[obsidyen]

I think this was covered before but I can't find it at the moment. Does somebody else notice a big channel imbalance at lower volumes like 9 or 10 oclock?

Yes... 3 o'clock is the sweet spot but I agree it's somewhat annoying.

 

[iFi audio]

Can iFi confirm if this is normal? I have it on my cable too. Is it a splity or is a separate mold?

 
 
Hi,
 
Some havealso asked. This shows two separate moulds as all the blue USB3.0 cables have been formed like this.
 
So nope, the cable is absolutely fine and should carry USB signals like nobody's business!

 
Thanks.