[guerph]

How did you get it at that price? The link says $549

Try this. Just worked for me
https://slickdeals.net/f/10293720-i...dac-and-headphone-amplifier-380-free-shipping

 

[harpo1]

Try this. Just worked for me
https://slickdeals.net/f/10293720-i...dac-and-headphone-amplifier-380-free-shipping

You can't use a referral link to another site. Here's a good link the Head-Fi allows.
www.adorama.com/ifmicridsdbl.html?sdtid=10293720&emailprice=t

 

[guerph]

You can't use a referral link to another site. Here's a good link the Head-Fi allows.
www.adorama.com/ifmicridsdbl.html?sdtid=10293720&emailprice=t

I didn't realize that. Thanks.

 

[Raccoonwrangler]

I didn't realize that. Thanks.

Thank You both! I just bought one. I have owned the original IDSD Micro for several years now. Love it. I am going to pair this black edition with my Samsung Galaxy Book for a truly portable rig. I had been using a IDAC2 with a Gemini Cable and a IUSB3.0 that I robed from my Oculus gaming computer, not real portable rig. Is there a significant difference in sound from the original IDSD Micro to the new Black edition? What do you all think of the new IFI IGalvonic3.0?

 

[MLGrado]

Me again.


I would like to quickly point out that, since my study is on-going, my layman ways of understanding and absorbing these things is also ongoing.

As far as DSD or 1 bit audio, the little iFi iDSD Micro Black Label addendum I penned as it pertains to multi-bit DSD and conversion via ESS chipsets and DAC's ----if written today would probably be worded a bit differently, and be a little clearer this time around. But, the end result/opinion is the same. ESS and others...Too much DSP, too much filtering, too many conversions and reconversions on a format that only needs ONE low pass filter at the output stage.


As far as ESS is concerned, what they REALLY do with DSD, no one but those guys know. The 'for inside guys only' datasheet and info chart shares little more than squat. But what we DO know from some golden nuggets* shared by some of their team, ESS feels that filtering DSD digitally, digital volume control, ASRC, and another trip down their Hyperstream Delta Sigma Converter and analog filter output stage leads to a better sounding DSD in the end vs the 'old' way subscribed to by Burr Brown and a few others.


NOW, the COOL thing is there is ONE chip maker whose patents are readily available for perusal that tells us what is going on in their '1-bit domain, non-decimation, no PCM intermediary' technology. CIRRUS. LINK BELOW..

https://www.google.com/patents/US6784816


LOTS of INTERESTING stuff. I imagine ESS does MANY similar things. Actually, when the Cirrus paper speaks of IIR filter implementation versus FIR, I thought of ESS immediately.


Again, I am just a layman here. Musician is my trade. But I CAN in those patent explanations follow a significant chunk of what is going on with their DSD processing. One of their methods actually reminds me of Sony's DSD-Wide, which takes the 1-bit DSD stream, FIR filter's the 1 bit stream, (I forget how many delays and taps) and noise shapes down the resultant multibit samples to an 8-bit 2.8 mhz bitstream. Of course, the impulse/time response itself may be no better (or maybe worse) than just decimating to 352khz DXD ala Pyramix. HMMMMM.... but I digress...


LOTS of GREAT info in that google link about the modern state of DSD processing. (seems quite a bit ahead of the old Sony 8 bit DSD-Wide that many a DSD lover listens to on a regular basis... ahem.. ahem... I digress, I digress yet again)


The bottom line, many of these chip/DAC makers feel that implementing a 'good enough' analog filter for a DSD bitstream is too difficult to do. The end result if done that way is just simply a conversion filter that ends up sending down too much ultrasonic noise that compromises the downstream equipment. Or if you design that filter with aggressive cut and rolloff to compensate, you totally screw up the DSD advantage a different way. Damned if you do, damned if you don't.


So these chipsets result to various DSP's, doing everything possible to avoid conversion to low sample rate PCM, surely for marketing reasons but surely also their shared belief that the time resolution of DSD should be maintained as much as possible therefore the filters should be better than regular PCM decimation filters. And they believe that their noise removal via internal DSP, upsampling, filtering, re-modulation in multi-bit delta sigma, combined with their 'better' more easily implemented analog output stages makes for better DSD playback than those DAC's that simply ue ONE ANALOG FILTER at the converter output.....

ala iFi and their Burr Brown chip.



To ME, in spite of any inferiority that allows for more ultrasonic noise downstream, I just have to believe the simple approach of a short moving average FIR filter applied directly to the previously untouched 1-bit bitstream will sound better.

My own non-scientific anecdotal listening evidence says the same as well.

In spite of that right now I am listening to all my digital files, which includes a couple TERRABYTES of DSD, on a very very nice sounding ESS chipset DAC. And yes, all that DSP processed DSD sounds very very very good.

BUT... I am holding out for the iFi iDSD Pro, which I expect to BLOW OUT OF THE PROVERBIAL WATER these DSP based DSD comers. '

iFi, PLEASE say it is coming our way soon! I am practically begging you to take my money in exchange for one


back to happy listin'



*( one of those Golden Nuggets corrected my previous ideas about where the ESS volume control was in regard to DSD. It, like PCM, is at the very beginning, right after the USB I2S. Check out the linked paper about Cirrus DSD processing, which is what I am fairly convinced is how ESS does it that early in the signal chain. With DSD being just a two number signal, 1 and -1, a constant scaling multiplier is applied)

 

[EJ102]

I received my new iDSD Black label on sale from Adorama Camera a couple of days ago, and really enjoy the sound and power. It looks like ifi has added the orange indicator to the volume knob now. A couple criticisms I have with my unit is the Polarity switch, and especially the power mode switch which look like a couple of used erasers from the back of a pencil. they work fine, however the Power mode switch does wiggle a little bit. I apologize for the mediocre pictures.

 

[WilliamLeonhart]

That's also a question I'd love to know the answer to.

Thank You both! I just bought one. I have owned the original IDSD Micro for several years now. Love it. I am going to pair this black edition with my Samsung Galaxy Book for a truly portable rig. I had been using a IDAC2 with a Gemini Cable and a IUSB3.0 that I robed from my Oculus gaming computer, not real portable rig. Is there a significant difference in sound from the original IDSD Micro to the new Black edition? What do you all think of the new IFI IGalvonic3.0?

 

[TheoS53]

Thank You both! I just bought one. I have owned the original IDSD Micro for several years now. Love it. I am going to pair this black edition with my Samsung Galaxy Book for a truly portable rig. I had been using a IDAC2 with a Gemini Cable and a IUSB3.0 that I robed from my Oculus gaming computer, not real portable rig. Is there a significant difference in sound from the original IDSD Micro to the new Black edition? What do you all think of the new IFI IGalvonic3.0?

That's also a question I'd love to know the answer to.

Noticeable, but not huge (as is often the case in this hobby). When volume matched, the BL just sounds a little more clearer and refined. If you can find the original iDSD at a significantly lower price than the BL, I'd say go for the original. But, if it's worth anything, I was able to try out the Hugo 2 at an audio meet about a week ago, and compared it to my BL....I honestly would not buy the Chord. Considering what it costs, it didn't sound like a major improvement to me. Granted, the meet up was at a Starbucks (hardly an ideal setting), and I didn't spend more than a few minutes with it. But the point is, for the money, the BL is indeed very, VERY good

 

[Dobrescu George]

Noticeable, but not huge (as is often the case in this hobby). When volume matched, the BL just sounds a little more clearer and refined. If you can find the original iDSD at a significantly lower price than the BL, I'd say go for the original. But, if it's worth anything, I was able to try out the Hugo 2 at an audio meet about a week ago, and compared it to my BL....I honestly would not buy the Chord. Considering what it costs, it didn't sound like a major improvement to me. Granted, the meet up was at a Starbucks (hardly an ideal setting), and I didn't spend more than a few minutes with it. But the point is, for the money, the BL is indeed very, VERY good

I keep saying this, iDSD BL is surely something I'd consider End-Game for many people. I heard that iCan can make things even better if added to iDSD BL, but my schedule has been too full in the recent days to get to hear one. Maybe soon...

 

[WilliamLeonhart]

Noticeable, but not huge (as is often the case in this hobby). When volume matched, the BL just sounds a little more clearer and refined. If you can find the original iDSD at a significantly lower price than the BL, I'd say go for the original. But, if it's worth anything, I was able to try out the Hugo 2 at an audio meet about a week ago, and compared it to my BL....I honestly would not buy the Chord. Considering what it costs, it didn't sound like a major improvement to me. Granted, the meet up was at a Starbucks (hardly an ideal setting), and I didn't spend more than a few minutes with it. But the point is, for the money, the BL is indeed very, VERY good

Thank you. Having owned both the iDsd micro and the Hugo I really don't understand why I should spend 4 times the money. I sold both of them, the Hugo because I couldn't justify the cost and all the hassle that come with it battery, but the iDSD because I was keen to explore more in the $500 price range. Should my wife allows it, I'd buy another iDsd for mobile uses

 

[CD44hi]

In reading a few pages back I noticed that some are having issues with playback cutting out from an Iphone to the iDSD, I was wondering if a solution for this issue has been found, since I am experiencing the same issue. It doesn't matter which app is sending the music out to the iDSD, i.e. Onkyo, Spotify, Amazon music, they sound cuts off about 1-2 mins of playing. The file keeps progressing on the iPhone, but no sound out of the iDSD. The unit plays fine from PC/Foobar
I have firmware 5.2B, confirmed, that in theory is optimized for phones as source. I also get the "too much draw" error at random when connecting the iphone/iDSD. Connection is via Apple camera adapter kit.
Cheers

 

[TheoS53]

In reading a few pages back I noticed that some are having issues with playback cutting out from an Iphone to the iDSD, I was wondering if a solution for this issue has been found, since I am experiencing the same issue. It doesn't matter which app is sending the music out to the iDSD, i.e. Onkyo, Spotify, Amazon music, they sound cuts off about 1-2 mins of playing. The file keeps progressing on the iPhone, but no sound out of the iDSD. The unit plays fine from PC/Foobar
I have firmware 5.2B, confirmed, that in theory is optimized for phones as source. I also get the "too much draw" error at random when connecting the iphone/iDSD. Connection is via Apple camera adapter kit.
Cheers

Have you made sure to turn the iDSD on BEFORE connecting it to the phone?

 

[CD44hi]

Have you made sure to turn the iDSD on BEFORE connecting it to the phone?

yeah, indeed. Maybe the firmware update didn't take 100% or it corrupted..... I'll download 5.2B again and do a second install. Thanks.

 

[dpwolfordMD]

I received my new iDSD Black label on sale from Adorama Camera a couple of days ago, and really enjoy the sound and power. It looks like ifi has added the orange indicator to the volume knob now. A couple criticisms I have with my unit is the Polarity switch, and especially the power mode switch which look like a couple of used erasers from the back of a pencil. they work fine, however the Power mode switch does wiggle a little bit. I apologize for the mediocre pictures.

Wow love the orange indicator on the knob, great touch, wish mine had it! Oh well the subtle black indicator of the old volume knob is an understated stealthy look ....

my button covers have managed to fall off once or twice but this was usually during travel in my laptop bag, i just keep an eye on them and push them in every time just to ensure none are getting loose

 

[Yethal]

I received my new iDSD Black label on sale from Adorama Camera a couple of days ago, and really enjoy the sound and power. It looks like ifi has added the orange indicator to the volume knob now. A couple criticisms I have with my unit is the Polarity switch, and especially the power mode switch which look like a couple of used erasers from the back of a pencil. they work fine, however the Power mode switch does wiggle a little bit. I apologize for the mediocre pictures.

They fixed the volume knob indicator? Man, now I want to sell my iDSD and buy a new one just for that orange line.