[Rowethren]

  When is the ifi iematch expected to be sold in Europe? Now only US

 
I have had one in the UK for almost a month now. Ordered it from Select Audio, not sure if they ship to the rest of Europe though.

 

[Jackpot77]

That's what we call "to the point description" ! Many thanks!

No worries. Thanks for picking me in the competition! The irony here is that any review I try and write always ends up being about 5000 words or more, but for some things, just a statement of fact will do. It works, it sounds good, it does exactly what it is supposed to.

 

[ForceMajeure]

Can someone enlighten me about this adapter. Does it affect the impedance chart of a ba based iem?
still not clear from reading the description of the product ...

 

[Sound Eq]

I have a question
 
so I have an expensive cable that is terminated with a 3.5 mm balanced plug
 
can I use the ifi iematch to use it with daps that only have a single ended output
 
and what setting shall I use on the ifi iematch

 

[gr8soundz]

I'm using mine single ended with a balanced cable. Just set the switch on the 3.5mm end of the iEMatch to SE before plugging into my Vali 1 amp. Completely gets rid of the hiss.
 
The switch on the other end has High and Ultra settings. I use High because Ultra makes the output too quiet. On Ultra I can max the volume and still barely hear anything; guess it's only for the most sensitive headphones/earphones.
 

 

[canali]

need some clarification, please.
 
unsure if i need this item.
sensitivity ratings confuse me
(and i am googling this topic to better understand it...)
https://www.google.ca/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8#q=understanding%20sensitivity%20on%20earphones%20and%20headphones
 
currently I'm using the FLC 8S

SPECIFICATIONS

1. Driver unit: 8.6 mm dynamic drivers+ dual balanced armature 
   
2. Rated Impedance: 11 Ohm 
   
3. Sensitivity: 93 dB/mW 
   
4. Frequency response: 20Hz - 20KHz
   

 
attached to dragonfly red or chord mojo then to ipod touch 6
...but i don't hear any hiss ...so i presume I'm ok.
 
also the micro iDSD already has this iematch (for home usage)...so i presume I'm ok there, too.
(just saw an earlier posting about 5 or so pages ago when a poster shows the micro iDSD and the iematch
???

 

[gr8soundz]

Correct. If you already can't hear any hiss with your iems and current sources, the iEMatch won't make much difference unless you have a hard time getting to around 50% volume. Most sources/amps have their best dynamics at that range so if you have to keep volume really low to avoid being too loud the iEMatch might help there. Otherwise, unless you upgrade to another source that hisses with your iems, the iEMatch could make a nice future upgrade.
 
The iDSD Micro has a lot a tech that iFi is now beginning to export to other specialized products. It has the original usb iPurifier tech built-in but also the iEMatch and the Spdif iPurifier is based off of the iDSD's internals.
 
I had an iDSD Micro for about 2 years and since it has so many adjustments for gain and iematch I can't think of any reason why you'd need to use it and a separate iematch together. Probably would have a negative effect doubling the iEMatch tech.
 

 

[canali]

  Correct. If you already can't hear any hiss with your iems and current sources, the iEMatch won't make much difference unless you have a hard time getting to around 50% volume. Most sources/amps have their best dynamics at that range so if you have to keep volume really low to avoid being too loud the iEMatch might help there. Otherwise, unless you upgrade to another source that hisses with your iems, the iEMatch could make a nice future upgrade.
 
The iDSD Micro has a lot a tech that iFi is now beginning to export to other specialized products. It has the original usb iPurifier tech built-in but also the iEMatch and the Spdif iPurifier is based off of the iDSD's internals.
 
I had an iDSD Micro for about 2 years and since it has so many adjustments for gain and iematch I can't think of any reason why you'd need to use it and a separate iematch together. Probably would have a negative effect doubling the iEMatch tech.
 

thanks for the imput.
 
btw it wasn't me who was inquiring about using both the iematch and micro idsd together....
i just mentioned it as i'd seen it in a pic in a post a few pages ago and it didn't make any sense to me.

 

[nmatheis]

need some clarification, please.

unsure if i need this item.
sensitivity ratings confuse me
(and i am googling this topic to better understand it...)
https://www.google.ca/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8#q=understanding%20sensitivity%20on%20earphones%20and%20headphones

currently I'm using the FLC 8S

[COLOR=000000]SPECIFICATIONS

[/color]

1. 
   [COLOR=000000]Driver unit: 8.6 mm dynamic drivers+ dual balanced armature 
   
   

1. 
   [COLOR=000000]Rated Impedance: 11 Ohm 
   
   
   [/color]
   
2. 
   [COLOR=000000]Sensitivity: 93 dB/mW 
   
   
   [/color]
   
3. 
   [COLOR=000000]Frequency response: 20Hz - 20KHz
   
   
   [/color]
   

[/color]

attached to dragonfly red or chord mojo then to ipod touch 6
...but i don't hear any hiss ...so i presume I'm ok.

also the micro iDSD already has this iematch (for home usage)...so i presume I'm ok there, too.
(just saw an earlier posting about 5 or so pages ago when a poster shows the micro iDSD and the iematch
???

You're OK,although I found IEMatch to increase dynamics even with a source that didn't hiss with my IEM (Lotoo PAW Gold).

 

[iFi audio]

   
iEMatch is definitely a perfect combo for LPG with sensitive IEMs.
 
Why would you use it over other choices?  With Ety impedance adapter, you only have a choice of a single value resistance which might or might not work with your pair of IEMs (keep in mind, with some mulit-BAs you can mess up FR by adding impedance adapter).  Then, you are only stuck with 3.5mm TRS SE connector, so if you have something like Hifiman or Plenue S or GeekOut DACs with balanced 3.5mm TRRS outputs - you can't use Ety.  iEMatch gives you flexibility of 3.5mm TRS or 3.5mm balanced TRRS and a switch between two impedance settings to fine tune to your IEMs.  On top of that, it has a very high quality aluminum connector housing and silver plated cable with nice strain relief.  And, it cost the same $50.
 
With DUNU impedance adapters, again, you are stuck with a single value, and both sides of the connector are combined making it stick out.   I prefer a split design of a 3.5mm male connector and female connector part where it becomes like a short extension to your headphones cable.
 
There is also a 3rd option, UE buffer jack which is quite cheap for $10, and has split design as well, but you are back to a single resistance value, no support for 3.5mm balanced, and just a basic rubber cable shielding and connectors.  If you want to save money, UE buffer jack is the way to go.  But if you want a lot more flexibility and higher quality, spend extra and get iEMatch.

Everything you wrote is factually correct, except impedance switch. While the drive impedance to the headphone varies slightly with the two settings, it is a variance between 1 ohm and 3 ohms. 
 
This is radically different from so-called impedance adapters, which simply add their rated resistance in series with the headphone. 
 
To get the same reduction in hiss and increase of usable dynamic range an 'impedance adapter' used with a 32 ohm nominal headphone as the iEMatch in high sensitivity would require a 100 ohms adapter and likely radically affect the frequency response of this headphone.
 
With iEMatch the headphone drive impedance is 3 ohms which means any change in frequency response is bound to minimal. 
 
If we we take the rule that minimum impedance >= 70% of rated impedance and maximum impedance up to 300% of rated impedance, the absolute maximum variation in frequency response with IEMatch would be +0.6dB/-0.3dB (barely audible, if at all), while the 'impedance adapter' of 100 ohms would produce +6.1dB/-2.5dB variation in frequency response (grossly audible).
 
So 'impedance adapters' and iEMatch work on very different principles and have very different effects. Therefore any experiences with "impedance adapters" have no relevance to iEMatch.
 
In other words, 1-3 ohms difference means the iEMatch has the impact of the centre of a Krispy Kreme on the frequency response. One would need bat-like hearing to tell the difference. We hope this sheds some light as the iEMatch is not run of the mill. As always, one should try first... 
 
 

 
...like this!

 

[Saoshyant]

...Apparently I never noticed I had won something.

 

[AR-Voice]

Has anyone tried this with the Acoustic Research AR-M2 DAP?

 

[Subhakar]

Has anyone found any improvements with Dunu DN-2000J using iEMatch connected to any source with >4ohm impedance?

 

[imfar]

Does this adapter reduce volume? I have a problem with FLC8s playing from SMSL M2 and Sony ZX1 - hiss. Unfortunately ZX1 isn't very powerful so I cannot afford loosing a lot of power. Is this a tool for me?

 

[iFi audio]

  Does this adapter reduce volume? I have a problem with FLC8s playing from SMSL M2 and Sony ZX1 - hiss. Unfortunately ZX1 isn't very powerful so I cannot afford loosing a lot of power. Is this a tool for me?

 
Yes, volume and hiss are both reduced. If ZX1 is maxed out?  It should be up quite high.
 
For tech assistance, feel free to open a ticket:
 
http://support.ifi-audio.com/