[technobear]

Can any one confirm this will output PCM audio sound natively from my TV without compatibility issues using optical cable.

Yes. The 3D sound is very effective with TV and movies. Set your TV to output PCM stereo, not 5.1 surround or whatever.

And my plan is to use it as a DAC feeding my newly bought Lake People RS 02 HPA and TV as my source. Listening with HD 650

Or will it sound best with HD 650 directly connected to the iDSD BL? Making the RS 02 HPA less useful

That is for you to decide.

 

[BillsonChang007]

Is the DAC section on idsd BL and the original the same. I thought that I remembered the upgrades and changes were all to the action section but couldn't remember.

Chip wise, yes they are the same but iFi said they made some improvement on the lineout section that makes the BL better. I however, can't hear a massive difference when using both with external amp in terms of SQ

 

[bluenight]

Yes. The 3D sound is very effective with TV and movies. Set your TV to output PCM stereo, not 5.1 surround or whatever.

Great thanks for the info.

And i still can use the 3d and xbass when using it as a dac with rca to my RS 02 HPA?

 

[technobear]

Great thanks for the info.

And i still can use the 3d and xbass when using it as a dac with rca to my RS 02 HPA?

Only by engaging pre-amp mode - which will give you two volume controls - twice the fun!

 

[bluenight]

Only by engaging pre-amp mode - which will give you two volume controls - twice the fun!

Nice, i might find them usefull.

And engaging it pre amp will not add extra noise or distorsion? vs fixed out

 

[The Walrus]

Hi

Can you list if you are using another USB cable and what it is, if you are not using the blue one that comes with the iDSD.

Regards

Darren

A standard 3 mt USB extension cable between my PC and Micro.

 

[iFi audio]

Can any one confirm this will output pcm audio sound natively from my tv without compability issues using optical cable.

Any digital spdif/optical source set to PCM Audio output (not Dolby Digital/AC-3 etc.) should work with the spdif input of the iDSD micro.

Or will it sound best with hd 650 directly connected to the idsd bl?

In Turbo Mode the iDSD micro can output > 10V into high impedance headphones (like the HD-650) with most or all of the output in Class A.

This is more than enough output to create sound levels that will cause permanent hearing damage with HD650 Headphones.

Of course, subjective sound quality being, well subjective, some may prefer external headphone amplifiers over the one fitted in the iDSD micro.

Doing so however means the loss of the 3D Matrix for headphones, and unless the extra degradation from having two volume controls and additional preamplifier circuitry has no negative impact, also of X-Bass.

 

[Dobrescu George]

Any digital spdif/optical source set to PCM Audio output (not Dolby Digital/AC-3 etc.) should work with the spdif input of the iDSD micro.



In Turbo Mode the iDSD micro can output > 10V into high impedance headphones (like the HD-650) with most or all of the output in Class A.

This is more than enough output to create sound levels that will cause permanent hearing damage with HD650 Headphones.

Of course, subjective sound quality being, well subjective, some may prefer external headphone amplifiers over the one fitted in the iDSD micro.

Doing so however means the loss of the 3D Matrix for headphones, and unless the extra degradation from having two volume controls and additional preamplifier circuitry has no negative impact, also of X-Bass.

Maybe your Micro iCAN SE, I've seen a few people who go with it along their iDSD BL.

 

[TheoS53]

Gents, just wondering if I should be concerned. Was conducting some FR tests today and noticed that my BL is giving a strange response for some reason (graph attached).

I measured other amps etc, and they're giving a flat response, where as the BL is giving that response. Perhaps @iFi audio could be of some help

 

[TheoS53]

Ok, something weird is going on on the USB side of the BL. here are 2 graphs to compare, 1 being for the USB input, and the other for optical

 

[Topspin70]

Maybe your Micro iCAN SE, I've seen a few people who go with it along their iDSD BL.

I've been A/B-ing with and without the iCAN SE and while having it adds more texture and warmth to the sound, I am beginning to think that I like the BL better on its own as it sounds more neutral, smooth and even sweeter.

 

[bluenight]

Any digital spdif/optical source set to PCM Audio output (not Dolby Digital/AC-3 etc.) should work with the spdif input of the iDSD micro.

Out of the box new i tried it with optical from my tv for 20 minutes and unfortunately the sound could stop for one second and then continue and it kept doing so from time to time . It was when using chromecast. Dident heard it on the built in netflix on my tv. Never heard that with my previous dac.
Maybe it could have been because of low battery, but i had usb 3.0 charging it and then powered it on. Or maybe i hadent pushed the optical adapter all the way in.

Had it set to pcm bit perfect, thats the right choice right?

I am going to listen more really soon and see if it stays that way. Could be faulty? Maybe a FW uppgrade will help

Btw i really liked the sound from idsd to my amp more fullbodied then my previous cheap $20 dac, i thought my Lake people RS 02 amp was thin sounding before but no more

 

[bluenight]

After some more listening with fully charged battery it stil loses the sound for a second from time to time with optical from my tv. Most frequently with chromecast (about once every 30 seconds) and lesser frequently with PS3(about once every 5 min) both connected with hdmi to my tv and i havent heard it in the built in apps on my lg oled B6 tv . Had FW 5.2 and have uppgraded to 5.2B. And got it to work on my computer with out sound issues with usb at least.

To me it seems there are sources sending out pcm sound from the tv with different strength and the idsd seems sensitive to that, at least my unit.

Faulty unit ?
Someone else using this with optical from the tv with different sources connected to the tv and have no sound dropping issues at all know mather what source?

To bad because it sound great.

 

[iFi audio]

Ok, something weird is going on on the USB side of the BL. here are 2 graphs to compare, 1 being for the USB input, and the other for optical

There is absolutely no possibility for the iDSD micro to give different outputs (even jtter) beyond experimental variation *if* presented with the identical digital signals via USB or SPDIF/Optical.

So, your USB delivered signal is not identical with that delivered to optical input. Hence your test setup introduces some form of sample rate conversion or other manipulation when running via USB or different test signals are used.

For testing we recommend Audio Precision Equipment, such as we use in our in our lab. While it has limitations, it generally avoids a lot of mistaken results.

 

[TheoS53]

There is absolutely no possibility for the iDSD micro to give different outputs (even jtter) beyond experimental variation *if* presented with the identical digital signals via USB or SPDIF/Optical.

So, your USB delivered signal is not identical with that delivered to optical input. Hence your test setup introduces some form of sample rate conversion or other manipulation when running via USB or different test signals are used.

For testing we recommend Audio Precision Equipment, such as we use in our in our lab. While it has limitations, it generally avoids a lot of mistaken results.

I agree, so perhaps you can tell me where I'm going wrong (and I genuinely hope you will be able to do so). The file I used for all 3 test was this white noise wav https://www.dropbox.com/s/ju3sgtiubihftl5/White_PN_65536_48000_1_24000.wav?dl=0

You'll see that I made 2 posts regarding this matter. This first graph was with the wav file being played through the iDSD BL connected to my Hidizs AP60 as the source.
The second post showed the response of that exact same wav file being played through the iDSD via USB and Foobar2000 as the app from my desktop.
And the 3rd graph showed the response of that same wav file being played through the iDSD via optical from my desktop, and again Foobar2000 used as the app.

Does the fact that I'm getting the same strange response when using USB as the input to the iDSD BL from 2 DIFFERENT SOURCES not indicate that there is indeed an issue on the USB side for my device?