[GerMan]

Hi everyone!
 
New to this forum. Read that ifi micro idsd sonically is said to be a bit on the bright side. Decided to give it a try anyway. First impression after three days is that it is really important not to pair it with the "wrong" headphone. 
 
My AKG K-702 seems not to be the right choice.
 
Being a very precise, detailed and open headphone the sound with micro idsd is too bright for me, sometimes near aching. Tried all filter positions, 3D cannot be used at all, as it sounds even brighter. 
 
What is more ifi micro idsd is said to drive any headphone. Maybe it is loud enough for all HF, but AKG 702 sounds a bit "underpowered", a bit limp, not dynamic. Switching to Audioquest Dragonfly and YES, power and pressure is back again.
 
Hearing flac files with pc, using JRiver MC and foobar2000 with WASAPI, all settings as recommended by ifi and JRiver, latest driver and firmware from ifi. 
 
Any suggestions? 

   
 
Thank you.
 
GerMan 

 

[oceandream1]

hw is it possible tht dragon fly has more power. ifi has power to drive anything under the sun. gon change amp setting. read the manual

 

[gr8soundz]

  Hi everyone!
 
New to this forum. Read that ifi micro idsd sonically is said to be a bit on the bright side. Decided to give it a try anyway. First impression after three days is that it is really important not to pair it with the "wrong" headphone. 
 
My AKG K-702 seems not to be the right choice.
 
Being a very precise, detailed and open headphone the sound with micro idsd is too bright for me, sometimes near aching. Tried all filter positions, 3D cannot be used at all, as it sounds even brighter. 
 
What is more ifi micro idsd is said to drive any headphone. Maybe it is loud enough for all HF, but AKG 702 sounds a bit "underpowered", a bit limp, not dynamic. Switching to Audioquest Dragonfly and YES, power and pressure is back again.
 
Hearing flac files with pc, using JRiver MC and foobar2000 with WASAPI, all settings as recommended by ifi and JRiver, latest driver and firmware from ifi. 
 
Any suggestions? 

   
 
Thank you.
 
GerMan 

 
Try using the filter/power switches on the side and maybe the IE match switch underneath. You may find a combination that works better for your headphones.
 
My HD598s also sounded a bit bright (and thin) with the Micro so I tried Turbo power with the IE Match on High and it made a difference.

 

[oceandream1]

would the turbo power fry the hd598 . i dont think they can stand that much power

 

[GerMan]

Of course I studied the manual, I'm a manual reader
 
Tried all combinations of filter/power switches. Turbo power not possible as I get to 8 o'clock at volume knob which is bad for channel balance.
 
@oceandream1: try out Dragonfly, you would be astonished of its pressure and dynamics. 

 

[gr8soundz]

  would the turbo power fry the hd598 . i dont think they can stand that much power

 
Not if you use IE Match at the same time. Keep the volume low, hit the switches, then connect the headphones.
 
Headphones should be safe as long as you don't turn the dial to max volume.

 

[oceandream1]

its technically not possible for dragon fly to offfer more power. i am not mathematical person. but basic amp power rating should tell u. unless i totally dont understand how amps work

 

[oceandream1]

Turbo mode

10.0V/4,000 mW @ 16 Ohm max

>1560 mW @ 64 Ohm continuous

 
sennheiser is rate for 500mw max power input is around 30 ohm impedence, even half the volume should be too much. correct me if i am wrong

 

[Aegruin]

  Hi everyone!
 
New to this forum. Read that ifi micro idsd sonically is said to be a bit on the bright side. Decided to give it a try anyway. First impression after three days is that it is really important not to pair it with the "wrong" headphone. 
 
My AKG K-702 seems not to be the right choice.
 
Being a very precise, detailed and open headphone the sound with micro idsd is too bright for me, sometimes near aching. Tried all filter positions, 3D cannot be used at all, as it sounds even brighter. 
 
What is more ifi micro idsd is said to drive any headphone. Maybe it is loud enough for all HF, but AKG 702 sounds a bit "underpowered", a bit limp, not dynamic. Switching to Audioquest Dragonfly and YES, power and pressure is back again.
 
Hearing flac files with pc, using JRiver MC and foobar2000 with WASAPI, all settings as recommended by ifi and JRiver, latest driver and firmware from ifi. 
 
Any suggestions? 

   
 
Thank you.
 
GerMan 

 
The opposite.
702 has a very curved impedance and phase graph. Curve increases in the high-mids and trebles. High-Mids makes the sound thinner and that can be misunderstood like it's "underpowered".
Increase on the Trebles makes a headphone more brighter.
At the end, that curve indicates 702 will be much more brighter and thinner with iDSD compared to something that can't drive 702.(like Audioquest)
 
To my understanding, you don't need something that can give more power, you need the opposite. More power will always make AKG702 sound like this.
 
If you like a darker and thick sounding headphone(it seems you would like it) I would recommend a HD650. And it would be a good pair with iDSD.

 

[PotatoWhisperer]

Does anybody know how the build quality of this unit is? Can I bet on this serving me well for several years without issues or are there common known issues that plague the product? 

 

[chillaxing]

  would the turbo power fry the hd598 . i dont think they can stand that much power

 
 
I use it on turbo with no filters with my Sony mdr 7550.
 
hasn't fried the 7550 yet and i've had the volume knob up to 11-12 o'clock.
 
But i'm also a eq head, so take that fwiw.
 
the 7550 are also rated at 500mw
 
 
Just know that 4000mw is peak power.  that means in order to get that ouput your gonna need the volume knob at max.

 

[gr8soundz]

 

Turbo mode

10.0V/4,000 mW @ 16 Ohm max

>1560 mW @ 64 Ohm continuous

 
sennheiser is rate for 500mw max power input is around 30 ohm impedence, even half the volume should be too much. correct me if i am wrong

 
Then don't try it. I have and was pleasantly surprised with the sound. No idea what the Micro's output power is with Turbo and IE Match both on.
 
If you're going to pair everything by numbers then you'll need to buy more power hungry headphones to pair with the Micro (just to avoid any chance of damaging them). Also be sure not to plug your max 500mW headphones into any desktop amps as pretty much all of them put out more than 1W. Should also set your Micro to Eco when using those same headphones as Normal (on paper) is too powerful for them.
 
Or you could get the regular iCan Micro to use as an external amp. It only outputs 400mW max so no change of damaging 500mW headphones but you may find yourself using the volume knob past 3:00 at times.

 

[oceandream1]

lol u seem quiet sarcastic in ur long passage. i was only trying to use logic to explain what i felt would work. i am no expert in this and nor do i have experience of using my headphones with more powerful. people with more technical knoweldge should know how this works in theory and how it relates to real world.  
 
my itnetion is not to start argument but find the truth of how this works and that is why i posted the numbers and how i could best possibly interpret them with me limited to no knowledge. no need to get offended. 

 

[CFGamescape]

   
 
I use it on turbo with no filters with my Sony mdr 7550.
 
hasn't fried the 7550 yet and i've had the volume knob up to 11-12 o'clock.

Wow. On Turbo, I can only increase the volume to about 10 o'clock with my Ether C. Even then, it gets quite fatiguing.

 

[chillaxing]

Wow. On Turbo, I can only increase the volume to about 10 o'clock with my Ether C. Even then, it gets quite fatiguing.

Just because I can get up there don't mean I stay up there

Op was worried about the power output destroying his set. I was giving him an example.

I usually stay around 9-10 o clock for listening levels. I went up that far to test the 7550.