Join us in Valhalla! HeadAmp x iFi Audio iDSD Valkyrie Review Tour - Q&A + Tour Schedule

[Makiah S]

Are you ready to DINE in Valhalla? HeadAmp, in partnership with @iFi audio , is proud to announce a community review tour for the all-new iDSD Valkryie Flagship DAC/Amp! This will truly be a feast for the ears of those willing to rise to the occasion!

We're looking for 5 passionate audiophiles with a deep love for music to hear and live with iDSD Valkryie in their homes for a week! Afterward, we'll have you compose your thoughts into a review, written or video, and share your experience with the community. For those who ultimately want to keep & own the iFi Audio iDSD Valkryie, we will have a purchase option available directly through our website at HeadAmp.com. The details of which will be shared once the tour has completed!

Ideally, experienced community members with an established history of review tour participation are preferred. Each member will have no more than five business days with the iDSD Valkyrie, and while there is no cost to participate, we ask that you cover shipping to the next participant after your time is up. Sign-ups will run from today until Sunday the 18th, be sure to leave a comment below and send a private message over to @HeadAmpTeam . Additionally, please feel free to leave any questions below and we'll get back to you as soon as possible.

 

[iFi audio]

We are thrilled to be a part of this and to get The Valkyrie out on a tour!

A Big Thanks to @HeadAmpTeam and @Makiah S for working together with us to make this happen!!

Cheers!!

 

[Mr BubbaHyde]

A chance meeting in a SOCAL lounge and here we are!

Valkyrie on Tour, what a glorious idea! Thanks @Makiah S for making this a reality!

 

[Infoseeker]

Hello, I am interested in doing a review. Will PM. <3

 

[CenzoTheEnzo]

Hey! I would like to participate in this tour since I loved the idsd Neo 2 and gryphon. Unfortunately, I do not have any written review experience, but this will sure motivate me to dive head first into this portion of the hobby!

Message sent!

 

[Mr BubbaHyde]

Hey! I would like to participate in this tour since I loved the idsd Neo 2 and gryphon. Unfortunately, I do not have any written review experience, but this will sure motivate me to dive head first into this portion of the hobby!

Message sent!

Hey you never know right? Everybody started somewhere.

Good luck!

Cheers!!

 

[VeeAndBobby]

Sure, I would like to try the Valkyrie and write a review! Am also sending PM to Headamp.

 

[BarefootDyl]

Definitely feel like there are not enough perspectives on this unit. I personally will be keeping out since I don't have the ears for hardware yet, but will be keeping an eye on this thread!

 

[chesebert]

Definitely feel like there are not enough perspectives on this unit. I personally will be keeping out since I don't have the ears for hardware yet, but will be keeping an eye on this thread!

Which perspective do you want to see? I can give you all the negatives as I am sure others will provide their glowing reviews.

 

[Blindranger]

@Makiah S I’d be delighted to review the Valkyrie. I recently had a brief audition experience and was thoroughly impressed by the sound. For context, I’m also actively participating in the Watercooler Headphone Tour, so I’ll share my ongoing experiences on that thread as well.

 

[BarefootDyl]

Which perspective do you want to see? I can give you all the negatives as I am sure others will provide their glowing reviews.

I already have talked about a significant enough negative to keep me from buying the unit in my axpona impressions. But if you got an honest take then hell yea brœther

 

[chesebert]

I already have talked about a significant enough negative to keep me from buying the unit in my axpona impressions. But if you got an honest take then hell yea brœther

Posted all my gripes in the official thread

https://www.head-fi.org/threads/ifi-audio-presents-idsd-valkyrie.976288/post-18687411

 

[slothbury]

Couple someone please post the difference between the sound signature of the Gryphon vs the iDSD Signature One. I'd like to know if this is a portable version of that setup.

 

[Makiah S]

Which perspective do you want to see? I can give you all the negatives as I am sure others will provide their glowing reviews.

Definitely appreciate the honest inquiry, and we’d love your participation.

I believe the iFi team has passed the prototyping and development phase, so purely negative feedback may not be as helpful, given that the production cycle has already started. Still, identifying problematic features and functions early ultimately helps this product have a better life cycle in the long run, so we welcome that feedback.

However, a purely contrarian perspective doesn’t benefit everybody at this stage, so providing candid feedback based on what you did and didn’t like would serve the community better. Both now and in the future.

Ultimately, our goal with this tour at HeadAmp is to allow our customer base (existing and future) to hear a product that we’re really excited about. At the same time, given that we’ve been a part of this fantastic community for 20 years, we definitely want to share all the feedback we get with everybody here! So that as a community, we can be better informed and ultimately own, operate, and enjoy better hi-fi systems!

At the end of the day, our aim is to help everyone we work with and beside enjoy music like never before.

 

[chesebert]

Definitely appreciate the honest inquiry, and we’d love your participation.

I believe the iFi team has passed the prototyping and development phase, so purely negative feedback may not be as helpful, given that the production cycle has already started. Still, identifying problematic features and functions early ultimately helps this product have a better life cycle in the long run, so we welcome that feedback.

However, a purely contrarian perspective doesn’t benefit everybody at this stage, so providing candid feedback based on what you did and didn’t like would serve the community better. Both now and in the future.

Ultimately, our goal with this tour at HeadAmp is to allow our customer base (existing and future) to hear a product that we’re really excited about. At the same time, given that we’ve been a part of this fantastic community for 20 years, we definitely want to share all the feedback we get with everybody here! So that as a community, we can be better informed and ultimately own, operate, and enjoy better hi-fi systems!

At the end of the day, our aim is to help everyone we work with and beside enjoy music like never before.

It wasn’t all bad—I mentioned in that linked thread that there were a couple of filter settings that really elevated the DAC’s performance. @BarefootDyl wanted to hear my negative thoughts along with his, and I’m sure others will share their positive experiences. As for development, I’m not sure if there was anything that could’ve been improved considering the unit’s size, space, and power limits. The battery life is impressive, but I usually have access to an outlet, and the unit isn’t exactly portable. So, having great battery life doesn’t really matter, IMO. I suppose if you want an AIO for whatever reason and you started with no desktop unit you can certainly do a lot worse than Valkyrie for the price.

Also, you don’t want me to review this, do you? It’s going to be up against Emm Labs and PBD DACs on the source side, and GS-1 (mk2 modules), CFA3, and ECBA on the amp side. I’m not really into portable audio, but I think Valkyrie is more transportable than portable.