[pekingduck]

How does the amp section fare against TOTL portable amps such as the Vorzuge Pure II, Portaphile 627 etc (in terms of SQ not power) ?

 

[iFi audio]

Does anyone uses the ifi with an iPhone? I listened to spotify for like an hour. Suddenly my iPhone is down to 50% battery

What?!?!

Does the iPhone charge the ifi? Maybe it drains all the power and transfers it to the ifi....
Any advice?

Hi,
 
Please confirm:
 
1) Switched on iDSD "before" connection. So that it runs from the battery and not from USB (otherwise it will drain your iPhone battery like there is no tomorrow).
 
Cheers.

 

[Memorexx168]

Oh. Ok. Sucks.
So I can't just leave them two connected in my bag?
I have to disconnect every time I don t want to listen anymore and connect if I want to listen?
That's kinda....lame....

Well I guess I have to live with that. Didn't know that you can drain power via the cck.
Thanks for the quick reply. So basically I could charge my ifi with my iPhone. Haha

 

[BillsonChang007]

Basically, if you want the device to use its own built in battery instead of your smartphone's battery, switch on the micro iDSD before connecting it

 

[Memorexx168]

Basically, if you want the device to use its own built in battery instead of your smartphone's battery, switch on the micro iDSD before connecting it

Yea will do it from now on. But disconnecting it every time I'm not listening to it anymore is kinda well. Not. User friendly.
Don't you think?

But other than that the idsd is amazeballs

 

[maricius]

How does the amp section fare against TOTL portable amps such as the Vorzuge Pure II, Portaphile 627 etc (in terms of SQ not power) ?

The amp section of the iDSD is very transparent, forward, detailed, textured, but lean and due to the forward nature, sometimes bright. It isn't the most spacious amplifier. My Duet is more spacious and laidback. I'd say imaging is better but that would only because of more room. The iDSD amp section for me is very textured with an etched quality. It could be said to be grainy but it's smooth when the recording is smooth. The magic really is in the synergy with the iDSD's extremy musical and spacious DAC section.

I wouldn't buy the iDSD for the amp section alone unless I happened need to need a lean and clear sounding amplifier to compliment an overly covered headphone.

 

[technobear]

Basically, if you want the device to use its own built in battery instead of your smartphone's battery, switch on the micro iDSD before connecting it

Yea will do it from now on. But disconnecting it every time I'm not listening to it anymore is kinda well. Not. User friendly.
Don't you think?

But other than that the idsd is amazeballs

You only need to disconnect it when you want to charge it. Otherwise just leave it connected and leave it turned on. It goes to sleep when no music has played for a few minutes so the battery is conserved. There is no need to keep switching off or disconnecting.

 

[Memorexx168]

You only need to disconnect it when you want to charge it. Otherwise just leave it connected and leave it turned on. It goes to sleep when no music has played for a few minutes so the battery is conserved. There is no need to keep switching off or disconnecting.

oy....ok.
Will do that from now on.
Thanks!!!

 

[rickyleelee]

   
Registration of the Octa-unit is through the normal product registration page right?
After that then just wait for invitation right?
 
Is there any indication of the unit number from the serial number?
My Micro iDSD serial number is microD20711
Tx!

 
I hope you get in buddy - I have been chatting to Laura probably because I'm out in Asia. It seems the whole concierge panel are really nice people as I have also dealt with Owen.

 

[semeniub]

I've been listening to the micro iDSD feeding a micro iCAN lately and that has been really good. I then switched over to using the micro iDSD to feed a tube amp with NOS Mullards tubes.
 
Wow!
 
If you have the micro IDSD, you owe it to yourself to try it connected to a really good headamp. The versatility of this thing continues to impress, so the buzz definitely hasn't worm off after 1 month+ of ownership.

 

[Wfojas]

 
I've been listening to the micro iDSD feeding a micro iCAN lately and that has been really good. I then switched over to using the micro iDSD to feed a tube amp with NOS Mullards tubes.
 
Wow!
 
If you have the micro IDSD, you owe it to yourself to try it connected to a really good headamp. The versatility of this thing continues to impress, so the buzz definitely hasn't worm off after 1 month+ of ownership.

Good to hear that it responds to a better amp. Must try to get around to hearing them with tubes.
 
I used my iDSD feeding a Brsyston BHA-1 to Senn HD800, and find that the synergy between the Dac portion of the iDSD works really well with the Amp portion of it. It may just be that the dryness of the BHA-1 doesnt't work with the iDSD. The BHA-1 is even worst with the GeekOut 720, which is pretty good on its own, as well.
 
And with Jazz piano tiro music (Bill Evans Trio - You Must Remember Spring) the iDSD combo gets  a little tizzy on the upper registers, but works really well on its own (iDSD Dac/Amp). 
I wonder what the ideal headphone for rock music would be for the iDSD, though, as the LCD-X i used with it gets a little too slow *(Yes - SACD rip of Roundabout'). It may just be too revealing of the music, which was pretty saturated to begin with.

 

[KmanChu]

 
I've been listening to the micro iDSD feeding a micro iCAN lately and that has been really good. I then switched over to using the micro iDSD to feed a tube amp with NOS Mullards tubes.
 
Wow!
 
If you have the micro IDSD, you owe it to yourself to try it connected to a really good headamp. The versatility of this thing continues to impress, so the buzz definitely hasn't worm off after 1 month+ of ownership.

I agree it scales well. I'm using hybrid tube amp, and I am actually using late 50s Amprex and Mullards. The DAC of the micro iDSD is definitely stronger than the amp section, and it scales very well. It doesn't have the dimensionality or resolution of some of the more expensive DACs I have used, but it has its own sound and personality. It's very good!

 

[asintado08]

The find the iDSD micro to be better than the other two combos in technicalities but I'm unsure of synergy with the HD650. In terms of power, Micro iDSD > Duet > Theorem.

 

 
I have yet to see another 'portable' headphone amp with the drive capability and versatility of a micro iDSD.  My HD650 plays beautifully using the micro iDSD in ECO mode.  The 650 can be a bit dark sounding on some source material, and I find using the 3D option gives a nice subtle high frequency boost with these files.

Thanks for this information. 

 

[estreeter]

I like my iDSD nano and briefly contemplated getting the iRack+iTube to complete an end-to-end iFi rig but sadly my Marantz dealer got hold of me with his $$%@! 'promo price is only for this month !' spiel - I know it's BS but it's my own stupid fault for walking through those doors with money in my pocket. Great gear for the price. 

 

[semeniub]

 
I agree it scales well. I'm using hybrid tube amp, and I am actually using late 50s Amprex and Mullards. The DAC of the micro iDSD is definitely stronger than the amp section, and it scales very well. It doesn't have the dimensionality or resolution of some of the more expensive DACs I have used, but it has its own sound and personality. It's very good!

And since the cost of it doesn't break the bank, I find that I'm more inclined to adjust the sound in my setups and not worry about it - like rolling tubes, swapping around cables, playing with USB solutions, DSD upsampling in the computer, etc. Perfect for the "tweaker" mentality.