[ScubaDrunk]

If you look at @musik2021's shot above, that doesn't seem to be the case. I suggest it's app dependent, or iPhone settings dependent.

Yeah apologies for that post. I was still testing and posting at the same time. Please see amended post above.

 

[musik2021]

It's as if the device was locked to 44.1k for the first time out of the box as the first stream it received was the Bluetooth 44.1k stream and it couldn't do anything higher until the CCK was plugged into it

This is super strange. I can confirm that out of the box, I didn't have to do anything like this. I don't even own the Apple Camera Kit.
However, I did use it over USB first and then tried out Bluetooth after a couple of days. Maybe, there's something there to look into.

 

[iFi audio]

If you look at @musik2021's shot above, that doesn't seem to be the case. I suggest it's app dependent, or iPhone settings dependent.

In general, our products communicate via LEDs what they receive and as such weren't designed to alter incoming audio data in any way, with exceptions such as our GTO filter or DSD upsampling. Thanks!

 

[benjamind2012]

Just a quick question. I just emailed Dan Clarke Audio and asked them whether the iFi Gryphon would be more than sufficient to drive the Stealth. From their reply it seems to be more than adequate to get the full range of sound and dynamics/bass at reasonable listening levels.

I gather that for anyone listening at reasonably loud levels (80dB) it is perfect for a portable amp for the Stealth. I would hazard a guess that cranking it above 100dB it might start to run out of juice. But for normal levels it should be fine.

I was thinking seriously of springing for the micro Diablo or micro Signature but if the Gryphon can still offer the full bass/dynamics and resolution of the Stealth at reasonable levels whilst providing bluetooth then I might be happy with it.

Has ayone here used the Stealth with the Gryphon? Just wanted some input from others before making any final decisions.

 

[GridIroN]

I noticed this video hasn't been posted:



It is an interesting listen as the author tests MQA and finds it severely lacking. Interestingly enough, the author suggests IFI's GTO filter, present in the Gryphon suffers the same significant issues the Tidal's MQA format does as it was developed in partnership with...MQA!

 

[ScubaDrunk]

Just a quick question. I just emailed Dan Clarke Audio and asked them whether the iFi Gryphon would be more than sufficient to drive the Stealth. From their reply it seems to be more than adequate to get the full range of sound and dynamics/bass at reasonable listening levels.

I gather that for anyone listening at reasonably loud levels (80dB) it is perfect for a portable amp for the Stealth. I would hazard a guess that cranking it above 100dB it might start to run out of juice. But for normal levels it should be fine.

I was thinking seriously of springing for the micro Diablo or micro Signature but if the Gryphon can still offer the full bass/dynamics and resolution of the Stealth at reasonable levels whilst providing bluetooth then I might be happy with it.

Has ayone here used the Stealth with the Gryphon? Just wanted some input from others before making any final decisions.

So let me get this right, your going to drive a $4000 pair of top tier planar headphones with a $600 portable Amp?

I have nothing against the Gryphon or iFi (great company with great devices) but I would hazard a guess that this amp won't really do the Stealth any justice to get the full potential out of these cans.

My local Audiophile store that's one of the UK's leading portable specialists has said to me on a number of occasions, to get the best out of the DC Stealth, you really need top tier equipment to drive them.

 

[benjamind2012]

So let me get this right, your going to drive a $4000 pair of top tier planar headphones with a $600 portable Amp?

I have nothing against the Gryphon or iFi (great company with great devices) but I would hazard a guess that this amp won't really do the Stealth any justice to get the full potential out of these cans.

My local Audiophile store that's one of the UK's leading portable specialists has said to me on a number of occasions, to get the best out of the DC Stealth, you really need top tier equipment to drive them.

So again, I guess that removes the Gryphon from the list of options. What about the Signature or the Diablo? Would they be good enough?

 

[ScubaDrunk]

So again, I guess that removes the Gryphon from the list of options. What about the Signature or the Diablo? Would they be good enough?

Personally, I would go for something like the Fiio M17 or the iBasso DX300 Max DAP if you can get one. The Diablo is a good choice as well.

They should give you the power required to drive the stealth's

 

[benjamind2012]

Personally, I would go for something like the Fiio M17 or the iBasso DX300 Max DAP if you can get one. The Diablo is a good choice as well.

They should give you the power required to drive the stealth's

What I have trouble understanding is why then would a Dan Clark Audio representative say that you can drive them with the Gryphon? I am sure they have tried these headphones on a number of different Dac/Amps and whilst it is true that the Diablo might do a better job, does it mean that the Gryphon can't also do a great job albeit at lower than sound levels that are known to cause tinnitus and hearing loss?

Or is this something that has nothing to do with volume?

 

[ohrbegd]

Has anyone compared this to Chord Mojo 2? Need some input.

 

[gLer]

What I have trouble understanding is why then would a Dan Clark Audio representative say that you can drive them with the Gryphon? I am sure they have tried these headphones on a number of different Dac/Amps and whilst it is true that the Diablo might do a better job, does it mean that the Gryphon can't also do a great job albeit at lower than sound levels that are known to cause tinnitus and hearing loss?

Or is this something that has nothing to do with volume?

You can drive most headphones to satisfactory volume with anything, even a phone most of the time. But big, power-hungry headphones perform at their best with big, powerful amplifiers. There's no right or wrong here, but if you're going to invest money in a flagship headphone, unless you absolutely need portability, a desktop-grade amplifier will always be more suitable. It's just physics.

PS. That's one reason why, when I decided to buy a headphone after switching mostly to IEMs, I got a sensitive headphone (Sony MDR-Z1R) that can be driven properly from a powerful portable source like Gryphon. Other sensitive high-end headphones: Focal Clear/Utopia, Meze Empyrean/Elite.

 

[iFi audio]

Folks, our xDSD Gryphon XMOS firmware V1.43 is now available with release notes below (this is NOT Bluetooth firmware):

1) Added maximum Volume Limiter option (60%, 80%, 95%, OFF). Default is OFF with maximum volume set to 100%.

Go to Settings (hold down GEAR button for 3 seconds), turn VOLUME knob to Volume Limiter, press VOLUME button to select, then turn VOLUME knob to select a percentage. Press GEAR button to exit settings.

To use: turn VOLUME down to Mute (minimum volume), short press VOLUME button once to unmute.

• When Volume Limiter is set at 60%, the maximum volume is 66db. To use, set to Mute, volume jumps to 49db after a short press on the VOLUME button.
• When Volume Limiter is set at 80%, the maximum volume is 86db. To use, set to Mute, volume jumps to 64db after a short press on the VOLUME button.
• When Volume Limiter is set to 95%, the maximum volume is 100db. To use, set to Mute, volume jumps to 75db after a short press on the VOLUME button.
• When Volume Limiter is set to OFF, the maximum volume is 106db. To use, set to Mute, volume jumps to 79db after a short press on the VOLUME button.

2) Added volume synchronization option in Settings.

3) Added volume soft ramp option in Settings.

4) Added volume lock function. To lock/unlock volume control, short press VOLUME button and XSpace/XBass button simultaneously.
When volume control is locked, a small lock icon appears on the screen.

5) Fine tuned volume stepping. Volume level below 100: low gain. Volume level above Turbo 101+: high gain.

6) Updated volume LED light indicator: blue: 1 ~ 21, purple: 22 ~ 41, magenta: 42 ~ 61, green: 62 ~ 79, yellow: 80 ~ 97, red: 98 ~ 106

7) Optimized battery full charge voltage detection. Charging time is about 2.5 hours with a high-power charger.

8) Updated menu display.

9) Updated Screen Brightness Setting as follows:

• High: Screen is displayed in high brightness. If no key press after 10 minutes, display will be reduced to low brightness. Press any key to restore high brightness display.
• Low: Screen is always displayed in low brightness.
• Off: Screen is displayed in low brightness, if no key press after 10 seconds, screen will be turned off. Press any key to restore low brightness display.

Please feel free to try it out, thanks!

 

[gLer]

Folks, our xDSD Gryphon XMOS firmware V1.43 is now available with release notes below (this is NOT Bluetooth firmware):

1) Added maximum Volume Limiter option (60%, 80%, 95%, OFF). Default is OFF with maximum volume set to 100%.

Go to Settings (hold down GEAR button for 3 seconds), turn VOLUME knob to Volume Limiter, press VOLUME button to select, then turn VOLUME knob to select a percentage. Press GEAR button to exit settings.

To use: turn VOLUME down to Mute (minimum volume), short press VOLUME button once to unmute.

• When Volume Limiter is set at 60%, the maximum volume is 66db. To use, set to Mute, volume jumps to 49db after a short press on the VOLUME button.
• When Volume Limiter is set at 80%, the maximum volume is 86db. To use, set to Mute, volume jumps to 64db after a short press on the VOLUME button.
• When Volume Limiter is set to 95%, the maximum volume is 100db. To use, set to Mute, volume jumps to 75db after a short press on the VOLUME button.
• When Volume Limiter is set to OFF, the maximum volume is 106db. To use, set to Mute, volume jumps to 79db after a short press on the VOLUME button.

2) Added volume synchronization option in Settings.

3) Added volume soft ramp option in Settings.

4) Added volume lock function. To lock/unlock volume control, short press VOLUME button and XSpace/XBass button simultaneously.
When volume control is locked, a small lock icon appears on the screen.

5) Fine tuned volume stepping. Volume level below 100: low gain. Volume level above Turbo 101+: high gain.

6) Updated volume LED light indicator: blue: 1 ~ 21, purple: 22 ~ 41, magenta: 42 ~ 61, green: 62 ~ 79, yellow: 80 ~ 97, red: 98 ~ 106

7) Optimized battery full charge voltage detection. Charging time is about 2.5 hours with a high-power charger.

8) Updated menu display.

9) Updated Screen Brightness Setting as follows:

• High: Screen is displayed in high brightness. If no key press after 10 minutes, display will be reduced to low brightness. Press any key to restore high brightness display.
• Low: Screen is always displayed in low brightness.
• Off: Screen is displayed in low brightness, if no key press after 10 seconds, screen will be turned off. Press any key to restore low brightness display.

Please feel free to try it out, thanks!

Brilliant stuff! Volume issues now dead and buried.

Next up: Bluetooth. Guys, we need votes for iFi to add BT codec enable/disable option. If we get enough votes here, they'll add it.

Please can you like this post and reply with: @iFi audio please add a BT codec enable/disable option in firmware.

Thanks in advance!

 

[iFi audio]

Please can you like this post and reply with: @iFi audio please add a BT codec enable/disable option in firmware.

Although we can't promise anything specific, the more we hear about stuff you folks in here want, the more likely it is that we'll add it. Thanks!

 

[gLer]

Although we can't promise anything specific, the more we hear about stuff you folks in here want, the more likely it is that we'll add it. Thanks!

Right now I'll be happy with a basic enable/disable AptX Adaptive option. Sadly AptX Adaptive overrides LDAC in my LG phone (and a few other handsets) and prevents the use of LDAC with Gryphon and GO Blu.