[HungryPanda]

The iDSD BL has a bass boost switch............

 

[iFi audio]

The iDSD BL has a bass boost switch............

It does indeed

 

[kingk6673]

So is the low end better on the Magni 3 compared to the iDSD Black Label? I'm a basshead

I wanted to have the Magni 3 on when I answered and I can say that the low end is tighter, more control, better detail and separation. As compared to the ICANSE, which has better base than that iDSD BL, I think that the Magni 3 base is much better and will tell you why it is my personal preference. The ICANSE tended to sound muddier when there were complex sounds / lots of instruments as mentioned in a number of reviews. Not so with the Magni 3. The minus is that you cannot add extra base, but I find you do not need any. The base is solid on the Magni 3!

The best part is you have the REALLY good iDSD Micro BL DAC line out which makes the Magni 3 sound awesome. Great synergy!

Now for some tunes with BASS! - MQA off Tidal streaming. Tried to pick a mix of songs to give feel, not necessarily my song mix but wanted to give a few different generes.

Sam Smith (Songs NO PEACE / PRAY) - base hits with good impact and is clear. Sub base is REALLY good
Bebe Rexha (Songs KNEES / I GOT YOU / SAD) - base is nice and clear with good presence and layering
Lorde (Song GLORY AND GOLD) - base is solid and has presence!
Rihanna (Songs WORK / NEEDED ME Radio Edit) - complex base line really tight, goes deep with nice sub base. Plenty of slam for me!
Lincoln Park (Song PAPERCUT) - Pretty complex base that can often sound muddy depending on amplifier I have used in past. With Magni 3 is really tight and clear. Has decent impact.
Beck (Song GIRL) - Base is nicely layered and detailed. Subbase is nice and clear.
One Republic (Songs OH MY MY / FINGERTIPS) - WOW! the base goes low and is very clear and all the sounds have great separation. Lot of base complexity on FINGERTIPS that hear as a more blended sound with ICANSE that are resolved and separate on Magni 3.

Final thoughts: You will get more bass slam with the ICANSE and iDSD Micro BL from headphone out if you use full base boost. Granted, it is not as clear as the Magni 3 and not as detailed. The Magni 3 has pretty decent base slam but you cannot vary the amount of bass. I personally like a good bit of bass and I have not found the Magni 3 lacking for me in this area. I think the amplifier really does hit the "sweet spot" for me sound wise. Now where I think the Magni 3 kills it is with in the bass department is in the details / clarity / layering / separation and sub-base. Ultimately, it really depends on what your cup of tea is since both amplifiers have their strengths. As for me, I think I will stick with some of the Norse legends and my Magni 3

 

[EJ102]

I wanted to have the Magni 3 on when I answered and I can say that the low end is tighter, more control, better detail and separation. As compared to the ICANSE, which has better base than that iDSD BL, I think that the Magni 3 base is much better and will tell you why it is my personal preference. The ICANSE tended to sound muddier when there were complex sounds / lots of instruments as mentioned in a number of reviews. Not so with the Magni 3. The minus is that you cannot add extra base, but I find you do not need any. The base is solid on the Magni 3!

The best part is you have the REALLY good iDSD Micro BL DAC line out which makes the Magni 3 sound awesome. Great synergy!

Now for some tunes with BASS! - MQA off Tidal streaming. Tried to pick a mix of songs to give feel, not necessarily my song mix but wanted to give a few different generes.

Sam Smith (Songs NO PEACE / PRAY) - base hits with good impact and is clear. Sub base is REALLY good
Bebe Rexha (Songs KNEES / I GOT YOU / SAD) - base is nice and clear with good presence and layering
Lorde (Song GLORY AND GOLD) - base is solid and has presence!
Rihanna (Songs WORK / NEEDED ME Radio Edit) - complex base line really tight, goes deep with nice sub base. Plenty of slam for me!
Lincoln Park (Song PAPERCUT) - Pretty complex base that can often sound muddy depending on amplifier I have used in past. With Magni 3 is really tight and clear. Has decent impact.
Beck (Song GIRL) - Base is nicely layered and detailed. Subbase is nice and clear.
One Republic (Songs OH MY MY / FINGERTIPS) - WOW! the base goes low and is very clear and all the sounds have great separation. Lot of base complexity on FINGERTIPS that hear as a more blended sound with ICANSE that are resolved and separate on Magni 3.

Final thoughts: You will get more bass slam with the ICANSE and iDSD Micro BL from headphone out if you use full base boost. Granted, it is not as clear as the Magni 3 and not as detailed. The Magni 3 has pretty decent base slam but you cannot vary the amount of bass. I personally like a good bit of bass and I have not found the Magni 3 lacking for me in this area. I think the amplifier really does hit the "sweet spot" for me sound wise. Now where I think the Magni 3 kills it is with in the bass department is in the details / clarity / layering / separation and sub-base. Ultimately, it really depends on what your cup of tea is since both amplifiers have their strengths. As for me, I think I will stick with some of the Norse legends and my Magni 3

This was great, thank you!

 

[fattymacgeek]

Hi guys, I ran into a problem with my iDSD Micro BL that's freaking me out.

I've been using it for about a month without any problems with my custom IEM until today when I decided to try several other ear/headphones (IEMs and over-ears). Normally I have it set to ECO and high sensitivity. However, today when I tried to used the Normal or Turbo mode and turn up the volume beyond a certain level ... suddenly the sound (coming from my PC via USB input) turns into a high-pitched whining noise that refused to go away. I had to unplug the unit and power off. If I return it back to ECO mode, everything appears OK but the problem returns whenever I repeat the above steps (switching to normal or turbo and increasing volume). I tried switching USB ports on my computer, and then I tried OTG from my phone but the problem still appears and repeatable.

Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

 

[technobear]

Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Re-charge the battery.

 

[iFi audio]

I wanted to have the Magni 3 on when I answered and I can say that the low end is tighter, more control, better detail and separation. As compared to the ICANSE, which has better base than that iDSD BL, I think that the Magni 3 base is much better and will tell you why it is my personal preference. The ICANSE tended to sound muddier when there were complex sounds / lots of instruments as mentioned in a number of reviews. Not so with the Magni 3. The minus is that you cannot add extra base, but I find you do not need any. The base is solid on the Magni 3!

The best part is you have the REALLY good iDSD Micro BL DAC line out which makes the Magni 3 sound awesome. Great synergy!

Now for some tunes with BASS! - MQA off Tidal streaming. Tried to pick a mix of songs to give feel, not necessarily my song mix but wanted to give a few different generes.

Sam Smith (Songs NO PEACE / PRAY) - base hits with good impact and is clear. Sub base is REALLY good
Bebe Rexha (Songs KNEES / I GOT YOU / SAD) - base is nice and clear with good presence and layering
Lorde (Song GLORY AND GOLD) - base is solid and has presence!
Rihanna (Songs WORK / NEEDED ME Radio Edit) - complex base line really tight, goes deep with nice sub base. Plenty of slam for me!
Lincoln Park (Song PAPERCUT) - Pretty complex base that can often sound muddy depending on amplifier I have used in past. With Magni 3 is really tight and clear. Has decent impact.
Beck (Song GIRL) - Base is nicely layered and detailed. Subbase is nice and clear.
One Republic (Songs OH MY MY / FINGERTIPS) - WOW! the base goes low and is very clear and all the sounds have great separation. Lot of base complexity on FINGERTIPS that hear as a more blended sound with ICANSE that are resolved and separate on Magni 3.

Final thoughts: You will get more bass slam with the ICANSE and iDSD Micro BL from headphone out if you use full base boost. Granted, it is not as clear as the Magni 3 and not as detailed. The Magni 3 has pretty decent base slam but you cannot vary the amount of bass. I personally like a good bit of bass and I have not found the Magni 3 lacking for me in this area. I think the amplifier really does hit the "sweet spot" for me sound wise. Now where I think the Magni 3 kills it is with in the bass department is in the details / clarity / layering / separation and sub-base. Ultimately, it really depends on what your cup of tea is since both amplifiers have their strengths. As for me, I think I will stick with some of the Norse legends and my Magni 3

Nice feedback, thanks!

 

[fattymacgeek]

Re-charge the battery.

Yes the battery definitely seems to be the problem. Plugging it to a wall charger (unit off) will turn on the blue LED for a short while and then it disappears. If I unplug it and turn the unit on, nothing lights up. Using a wall charger and operating the unit as purely an amp, everything is OK in Eco, Normal, and Turbo mode.

I have tried to follow the guidelines for jump starting the battery several times now but each time the blue LED turns on and then disappears. I repeat this every 30 minutes or so. Is there anyway to know if the battery is still slowly being charged up (for example. increase in length of time that the blue LED remains on before disappearing) or if my battery is a complete goner? Right now I'm just wishing and praying ...

 

[technobear]

Yes the battery definitely seems to be the problem. Plugging it to a wall charger (unit off) will turn on the blue LED for a short while and then it disappears. If I unplug it and turn the unit on, nothing lights up. Using a wall charger and operating the unit as purely an amp, everything is OK in Eco, Normal, and Turbo mode.

I have tried to follow the guidelines for jump starting the battery several times now but each time the blue LED turns on and then disappears. I repeat this every 30 minutes or so. Is there anyway to know if the battery is still slowly being charged up (for example. increase in length of time that the blue LED remains on before disappearing) or if my battery is a complete goner? Right now I'm just wishing and praying ...

I don't know what your charger is but maybe it's not very good. Can you try a different one?

 

[HungryPanda]

Mine will not charge from my anker charger but does from my amazon basics usb3 hub

 

[fattymacgeek]

Mine will not charge from my anker charger but does from my amazon basics usb3 hub

I don't know what your charger is but maybe it's not very good. Can you try a different one?

Thanks guys, really appreciate the suggestions. I've tried using 5 chargers from different brands (all rated 10W, 5V/2A) ... same behavior (blue LED comes on for a while and then off). The same goes for the powered usb3.0 hub I have. I'll give it a few more tries ... and if nothing changes I guess I'll have to submit a support ticket.

 

[iFi audio]

Thanks guys, really appreciate the suggestions. I've tried using 5 chargers from different brands (all rated 10W, 5V/2A) ... same behavior (blue LED comes on for a while and then off). The same goes for the powered usb3.0 hub I have. I'll give it a few more tries ... and if nothing changes I guess I'll have to submit a support ticket.

By all means please use our support ASAP and we'll do our best to sort you out.

 

[talan7]

Has anyone gotten the black label to work with Tidal on Xperia XZ1 with Oreo? I can’t get it to work.

 

[iFi audio]

Folks...

CanJam London 2018!


...and two of our staff - Sarah and Hannah - will be there! The girls will be located with iFi audio hardware at the Electromod's booth! Please do visit the girls, they don't bite!

And to all able to visit the event, enjoy!

 

[xLoud]

I am considering iDSD Black Label, did anyone compare idsd BL to NFB 11.28? Does idsd BL has multibit DAC chip?