[knorris908]

Well, my experiment with the Pro-Ject Pre Box RS Digital failed badly. Running balanced XLR outs to my SPL Auditor headphone amp, set to unity gain, I not only had to crank the Pre Box to 10, but I also had to go beyond unity gain on my amp. Not so with my DM+.

So, I really hope the ifi stuff does better, since the iDSD, the iUSB Power, the iCAN and the iTube come in tomorrow.

The thing that concerns me now is the iDSD micro having enough power to run unbalanced to my Auditor. I've run unbalanced to my Auditor before, out of my little Aune T1 DAC and it just wouldn't push it. Any thoughts?

I wonder if the iDSD's preamp will help. Or, if I run the iTube inline, with the 6db boost if that will drive well. I would rather have the option, though, to run SS if I want to, or on tubes if the mood strikes me.

Any thoughts of using the iCAN as a preamp, inline, or will that serve only to reamp/distort the picture?

Also, I might have asked before, but does anyone know if RCA cables that come with these boxes are EMI shielded?

I have a hard time imagining the iFi iDSD Micro having difficulty powering much of anything... It puts out over 900mW continuous power at 32 Ohm, and over 1500 peak at 16 Ohm.
I can't answer about the sales being EMI shielded though. Sorry about that.

 

[BillsonChang007]

I have a hard time imagining the iFi iDSD Micro having difficulty powering much of anything... It puts out over 900mW continuous power at 32 Ohm, and over 1500 peak at 16 Ohm.
I can't answer about the sales being EMI shielded though. Sorry about that.

I have no EMI issue with my iPhone running 3G next to my iFi so far but I am more of a plug and play person 

 

[Triodemode]

   
This answer is SPECIFIC to my Sennheiser HD-650s.  For all our other headphones/earplugs there is little to no difference between the iFi Micro and ASGARD 2 beyond the ASGARD 2 can get them louder, but BOTH make our other headphones louder than we could ever listen to them.
I've described it before in other posts, I LOVE the iFi Micro as DAC with my ASGARD 2.  If I compared just using the iFi Micro as a DAC with the ASGARD 2 vs Just using the iFi Micro alone, I'd say that the iFi Micro is REALLY good, getting it up to around 90% of what I get out of the ASGARD 2, but there is just a little more definition, wider soundstage, and just a little more "weight" to music when my headphones are powered by the ASGARD 2. 

Thank you Ken for explaining how that last 10% of the iDSD micro DAC section's sound is realized when listening through your Asgard 2 amp.  I agree that about 90% of the DAC's quality is heard directly from iDSD built in headphone section however, IMO that last bit is only conveyed when a good class A amp such as your Asgard is connected to the line out jacks - and is the same experience I have when listening through my equipment.

 

[technobear]

Well, my experiment with the Pro-Ject Pre Box RS Digital failed badly. Running balanced XLR outs to my SPL Auditor headphone amp, set to unity gain, I not only had to crank the Pre Box to 10, but I also had to go beyond unity gain on my amp. Not so with my DM+.

So, I really hope the ifi stuff does better, since the iDSD, the iUSB Power, the iCAN and the iTube come in tomorrow.

The thing that concerns me now is the iDSD micro having enough power to run unbalanced to my Auditor. I've run unbalanced to my Auditor before, out of my little Aune T1 DAC and it just wouldn't push it. Any thoughts?

I wonder if the iDSD's preamp will help. Or, if I run the iTube inline, with the 6db boost if that will drive well. I would rather have the option, though, to run SS if I want to, or on tubes if the mood strikes me.

Any thoughts of using the iCAN as a preamp, inline, or will that serve only to reamp/distort the picture?

Also, I might have asked before, but does anyone know if RCA cables that come with these boxes are EMI shielded?

The SPL Auditor has plenty of gain and will reach full output with much less than 2V input.

The Aune T1 outputs 2V.

The micro iDSD outputs 2V in Eco mode, more in other modes.

You're doing something wrong here. Have you tried turning it up?

...

You could add 6dB with the iTUBE but the Auditor does not need it.

...

The RCA cables supplied by iFi Audio are screened.

 

[iFi audio]

  A quick question from a newbie.

Can I use the iFi micro idsd as a  DAC when me source is a computer and the output is going to my headphone tube amplifier through a coaxial cable?
 
Thanks in advance for the input!

 
Hi,
 
Short answer
Yes. Via Direct/Pre-mp and through the RCA outputs. Respectable copper ICs are included.
 
Long answer
Open a support ticket and we'll send you the instruction manual. Way too much to info.
 
Cheers.

 

[iFi audio]

I meant connect the iPhone thru CCK for playing and charging at same time using same CCK. There are portables that can do this. Looks like they produce hiss though, unlike micro iDSD which doesn't. Hence my guess that the SQ might be degraded.

Way back when I was using FiiO portable amps for my car, I bought a FiiO connector that you can connect to the iPhone (30-pin) and have USB mini for charging and 3.5mm out for the audio signal. When I charge and play at same time, there's a noticeable hiss/noise as well.

 
Hi,
 
Technically speaking:
 
1. CCK puts Phone into host mode = cannot charge.
 
2. To charge and play need to use iPhone's iDevice Accessory mode, limited to 48kHz/16Bit.
 
Separately, Android has in principle a Charge & Play mode called ACA dock, but it is not widely supported and we have not implemented this on iDSD micro at this time.
 
So charge and play on iOS is not possible.
 
Hope this clarifies.

 

[iFi audio]

Well, my experiment with the Pro-Ject Pre Box RS Digital failed badly. Running balanced XLR outs to my SPL Auditor headphone amp, set to unity gain, I not only had to crank the Pre Box to 10, but I also had to go beyond unity gain on my amp. Not so with my DM+.

So, I really hope the ifi stuff does better, since the iDSD, the iUSB Power, the iCAN and the iTube come in tomorrow.

The thing that concerns me now is the iDSD micro having enough power to run unbalanced to my Auditor. I've run unbalanced to my Auditor before, out of my little Aune T1 DAC and it just wouldn't push it. Any thoughts?

I wonder if the iDSD's preamp will help. Or, if I run the iTube inline, with the 6db boost if that will drive well. I would rather have the option, though, to run SS if I want to, or on tubes if the mood strikes me.

Any thoughts of using the iCAN as a preamp, inline, or will that serve only to reamp/distort the picture?

Also, I might have asked before, but does anyone know if RCA cables that come with these boxes are EMI shielded?

 
 
Hi,
 
The line out on the iDSD is 2.1V at 0dBFS and can drive 600 Ohm. If the Preamp is switched in the output can be up to 5.5V.
 
Warning, in preamp mode the RCA out's have 3D sound for speakers enabled if 3D sound is selected, NOT 3D sound for Headphones.
 
In many ways 3D for speakers and Headphones are polar opposites in terms of processing and do not work well if misused. So depending on the setting, you may end up with 3D Headphones for Speakers and vice versa. Just wanted to flag this.
 
Of course the iTUIBE is adjustable 3D for Speakers only.
 
More options than Subway...

 

[natra084]

I just ordered nano iDSD I just hope it sounds as good as everybody is saying that it sounds.

 

[EVOLVIST]

The SPL Auditor has plenty of gain and will reach full output with much less than 2V input.

The Aune T1 outputs 2V.

The micro iDSD outputs 2V in Eco mode, more in other modes.

You're doing something wrong here. Have you tried turning it up?

...

You could add 6dB with the iTUBE but the Auditor does not need it.

...

The RCA cables supplied by iFi Audio are screened.

 
Thanks for the reply. You know, I totally forgot to add that the Auditor does not have RCA ins, so I ran my Aune T1 to the amp with RCA to XLR cables. Do you think that could have anything to do with not getting enough juice to my cans? I really had to crank the Auditor up, and running RCA disabled the gain and volume controls on my Aune T1, so it just wasn't getting there.
 
You know, in a perfect world I would be willing to take the Auditor out of the loop if the ifi products gave me the desired results, since I ordered the iCAN along with it. I'll just have to experiment, though. But if running RCA to XLR cuts the signal, then that's no good. Then again, using the RCA outs with the Aune T1 was simply the DAC and a tube buffer, so it's not like I should have expected great results.

 

[knorris908]

I just ordered nano iDSD I just hope it sounds as good as everybody is saying that it sounds.

Just to be on the safe side, I've been referring to the iDSD MICRO, not the NANO.... The Nano seems to be highly-regarded as well, but the performance levels will not match what I've been describing... If that was your intent, or if my posts weren't being considered, then I'm pretty sure that you will be happy with what you are getting.

(I only write this because I had mistakenly put an iDSD Nano in my Amazon.com shopping cart instead of the MICRO once, but realized that I had made a mistake.)

Ken N.

 

[knorris908]

Duplicate post

 

[ieffsmale]

Hello,
Can someone from iFi tell me if the iClub CRM is still in business?
I started a ticket there (#855092) dealing with a volume control issue that I was having.
We went back and forth a couple of times, and iFi's last response on 08/07/2014 asked about the other components in my system. I provided that information on 08/15/2014, and haven't heard anything since. No reply to my follow-up inquiry on 11/07/2014 either.
Thanks,
Jeff

 

[natra084]

Just to be on the safe side, I've been referring to the iDSD MICRO, not the NANO.... The Nano seems to be highly-regarded as well, but the performance levels will not match what I've been describing... If that was your intent, or if my posts weren't being considered, then I'm pretty sure that you will be happy with what you are getting.

(I only write this because I had mistakenly put an iDSD Nano in my Amazon.com shopping cart instead of the MICRO once, but realized that I had made a mistake.)

Ken N.

I know but I bought nano and I'm just going to use as a dac I bought  GUSTARD H10 amp.at the same price As I micro would cost me I think this amplifier is much powerful then a micro.

 

[knorris908]

  I know but I bought nano and I'm just going to use as a dac I bought  GUSTARD H10 amp.at the same price As I micro would cost me I think this amplifier is much powerful then a micro.

Cool.  Just so long as you are okay with the Nano being single DAC vs the dual Mono-DAC performance of the MICRO, and that the Nano tops-out at QuadDSD 256 vs OctaDSD 512 in the MICRO in terms of future-proofing.
 
I'd love to hear how you feel the iFi Nano pairs with your GUSTARD!
 
Ken N.

 

[natra084]

Cool.  Just so long as you are okay with the Nano being single DAC vs the dual Mono-DAC performance of the MICRO, and that the Nano tops-out at QuadDSD 256 vs OctaDSD 512 in the MICRO in terms of future-proofing.

I'd love to hear how you feel the iFi Nano pairs with your GUSTARD!

Ken N.

I have real difficulty hearing and the difference between dac so I just thought get this one is very good price and has a lot of features and it'amp to.I just can't hear the difference between Dac but I can hear the difference change amplifiers or headphones and those two things makes the biggest difference.