iFi Digital Audio Products

[solarrdadd]

so, at my work office, i was looking to be able to play DSD digital downloaded music as well as the hi-rez audio that i had been playing. i was looking for a good DAC, for not a lot of money and one that didn't take up a lot of desk space.

at home, i use a Oppo 105 for my 2 channel critical music listening, but, it just wasn't something i could drop money on for my work office and it would take a lot of desk space, so, no go. i needed something that was good at what it did and didn't cost a fortune.

i was a Capital Audiofest earlier this year here in the greater Washington DC area (Maryland to be exact) and while i was there, i saw a company with product's i had seen online but didn't know too much about them; they were iFi.

pronounced 'eye-fi', the company had a nice line of DAC's and accessories for interfacing between the digital and the analog world. most of their products are designed to be portable and have specialty headphone jacks. they have made quite a nice name for themselves.

well, when the time came for me to think about what to replace my gear with in my office, i saw them being reviewed on audiostream.com and they gave them a really nice review. i remembered at the audiofest i got to listen to one of their products and i really liked it, almost purchased it on the spot but was worried, not knowing the brand. it was the iFi nano iDSD DAC.

NanoiDSDPic01.jpg

nano-iDSD-02.jpg

MicroiUSBPic02.jpg

MicroiUSBPic03.jpg

i finally stopped worrying and took the chance and purchased one, from a great guy at a great company too. i purchased my products from Essentialaudio.com from Brian Walsh. i do want to say that i'm so happy to have done business with Brian. he treated me with respect, he made me feel good about doing business with him by responding to my emails within a couple of short hours after sending them. he shipped my items to me 2 day shipping, NO CHARGE!

i purchased 2 items from Essential Audio, i purchased the iFi nano iDSD DAC & a companion product, the iFi micro iUSB Power. the iUSB Power was backordered, but Brian assured me that as soon as it was received by him, he would rush it out to me. he did just that, i received the iUSB Power a couple of days after receiving the iDSD DAC. it's a reminder that some vendors really do care about their customers. if i need more iFi products (or other things they carry) i'll be buying them from Brian at Essential Audio.

so, with that said, i have both iFi products in my office, connected to a small win 7 netbook (used just for streaming audio) that i have the JRiver software running to control and stream all of my audio out to the iFi products. here are some very quick facts about the two iFi products i chose to go with:

iFi nano iDSD DAC:

from the iFi site linked above:

"Its portable form belies its bleeding-edge technological design. With the latest breakthrough True Native® technology from AMR, the music format remains unchanged throughout. PCM (32bit/384kHz), DSD256 (11.2MHz) and DXD (384kHz) via Computer or iPhone/iPad/Android simply sounds stunning; opening up a whole new world of high-end audio quality to a whole new generation of users."

iFi micro iUSB Power:

from the iFi site linked above:

"The most important feature of any USB audio device (USB DAC, USB Amplifier and USB Speaker etc.) is the power supply. The USB system as well as audio, carries its own power. Perfectly adequate to power anything from USB memory sticks to tablet computers; it falls far short from being a suitable noise-free power supply for high-quality music reproduction.

To improve all USB audio devices out there, we wanted to develop not just a better power supply, but the best power supply for all audio devices. With the iUSB, quiet passages are whisper quiet. The climaxes are fiercer, and everything in between is richer, more vibrant and no longer grainy.

To create a USB power supply that is ultra-quiet is an engineering feat in its own right. We went several steps further. The Super Regulator technology encompasses; multi-stage and multi-order power purifying with filtering. We even commissioned a special, audio-grade USB power supply unit. The iUSB with an excellent voltage accuracy of 0.5% is even quieter than a 9V dry cell battery.

To put it into perspective, if the DC power supply voltage from the iUSBPower was taken as equivalent to the sound level of a large calibre gun fired right next to you (painfully loud, usually taken as around 140dB), the noise produced by the iUSBPower would be completely inaudible to the human ear."

i will leave all of the techno talk for you to read at the site linked for both products. for me, the ultimate proof was in the pudding. once i played that first song on the new setup in my office, i was sold. here is a shot of how it's setup in my office:

iFi gear in office.jpg

my work office gear list:

asus win 7 netbook
external 1.5tb HD
dlink wifi router with gigabit ethernet (setup secure just for ipad control of JRiver software on the netbook)
emotiva miniX amp, 2 channel 50w/8 ohms, 80w/ 4 ohms, all wpc continuous
Vintage Polk Audio Monitor 10 speakers
audioquest USB & speaker cables
A/B switch to go between the hi-rez audio or work computer audio
UPS to provide uninterrupted power to everything.

i have a wide variety of music on my system, everything from classic rock, big band, old world jazz, modern rock, R&B, classical music, i have everything. the DAC makes everything sound their best. i would like to speak for a quick second about the iUSB Power. it takes the music from the computer then seperates the audio and the power and then outputs the audio to the DAC and send out clean, smooth USB power to the DAC, this ensures the audio & power going to the DAC are the best possible. computer power is not good for digital audio and this device takes care of that.

the two components cost me $388.00 shipped, JRiver cost $49.00 downloaded, 1 audioquest USB Forest cable $35.00 (i already owned the other audioquest cables as well as everything else mentioned in my office gear list) so, i spent a total of $472.00 yep, under $500 bones and it sounds incredible! all controlled by my ipad3 via my offices' internal secured network that i setup.

when i'm at work, the good music helps me think and gets me through my day and get complicated projects done. i'm blessed to be able to have this kind of system in my office and listen to it without having to use headphones. i am able to have the same music i love and listen to at home, but, now, at work and it sounds good too.

i do want to say, i'm not necessarily pushing iFi or any other product, i'm just sharing my experience with the iFi products i purchased. i would like to open up the board to comments, personal experience good or bad with iFi products. i only ask for everyone to try to stay on topic and to please be civil to each other, no infighting as there is really no need for it.

the board is now open, thanks to everyone who post. i am hoping to hear from other iFi product owners about their experiences.

[callas01]

Ive been seeing ifi in music direct's catalogs for a while now and I have to say that they do look like pretty nice products. thanks for the write up, I like you're little setup.

[Josh]

Very cool. Have you had a chance to try out the headphone output? I'm now thinking I too will need an office system (though, not as nice as yours), using my iPhone as my source. I'm thinking I can dock my iPhone and plug the USB right into the DAC and the use the headphone jack to connect small speakers, but I'm wondering how much power the internal amplifier has.

[solarrdadd]

Originally Posted by Josh

Very cool. Have you had a chance to try out the headphone output? I'm now thinking I too will need an office system (though, not as nice as yours), using my iPhone as my source. I'm thinking I can dock my iPhone and plug the USB right into the DAC and the use the headphone jack to connect small speakers, but I'm wondering how much power the internal amplifier has.

i don't use headphones, well, almost never. i have a pair of beats on ear headphones, but i only use them for traveling or long trips by bus, train, plane, etc.; never any other time.

having said that, i did connect up the headphones and they worked perfectly. i will say that the sound very good, but, the headphones i have are not hard to drive at all, so, that's really not gonna help you as answer with the type of headphones you probably have. here are some stats on the DAC from the webpage:


Dynamic Range:
>104dB

THD &N (35mW)
< 0.005%

THD &N (Line)
< 0.005%

Output Power (16R):
> 130mW

Output Voltage:
>1.65V (>100Ω)

Output Impedance: (Zout):
<1Ω


i don't know if anything there tells you about the headphone power capability, but, there you go. check out the product site and there are reviews that will probably go indepth about the headphone side of the product.

[solarrdadd]

iFi contacted me after i emailed them about my happiness with their products i purchased to find out if they could post it on their website review page, i happily gave my consent, here is what they posted on the iFi webpage/reviews section.

and yeah, this website was given some love with a link back here!

[solarrdadd]

it will be going on 3 weeks in a couple of days and i just wanted to say that i'm still loving this product. it has worked without fail or incident thus far.

[Badas]

Originally Posted by solarrdadd

it will be going on 3 weeks in a couple of days and i just wanted to say that i'm still loving this product. it has worked without fail or incident thus far.

I like it when that happens. I must say I think electronic products have lifted their game in the last few years.

I use to get a lot of problems with gear. The big overhaul I did this year went off without a hitch. Not one product fault.

[solarrdadd]

Originally Posted by Badas

I like it when that happens. I must say I think electronic products have lifted their game in the last few years.

I use to get a lot of problems with gear. The big overhaul I did this year went off without a hitch. Not one product fault.

i agree 100% with this! thanks for your input buddy!

[solarrdadd]

as the title says, i just purchased my first DSD256 download. it's downloading now. i will have to wait until i get to work to listen to it. i don't have anything at home that will support it. that's kinda not true, either of my 105's will support it but, they must be played to it via the USB DAC and i don't have a computer connected directly to either one.

this will be the greatest test of the nano iDSD DAC as it's the absolute ceiling for the DAC's DSD capabilities (unless they firmware it up to 512 later and some 512 music is released! for both to be yes someday!)

the site says they will have more available later to include many if not all of their current DSD lineup. here is the title i downloaded, it's their first 256 release:

HansonAlbanyTroy129.jpg

here is the tech info on this selection:

Howard Hanson / An American Romantic
Part Number: HDDLTroy129
Title: Howard Hanson / An American Romantic
Artist(s): David Craighead / Rochester Chamber Orchestra
Brian Preston / Roberts Wesleyan College Chorale
Recording Info: Transfered from the original
2-track 15ips master tapes to DSD256
Producer: John Proffitt Engineer: John Proffitt
Released With The Cooperation and Permission of Albany Records


this is native DSD DIRECT, NO CONVERSIONS!

the site that offers this and other hi-rez direct from tape is High Definition Tape Transfers. they have a small but growing library and are a good source for hard to find music that's on tape.

the total zipped download size (it's broken into 4 parts) is 6.55gb

the total unzipped size for playing is (i've combined them into one file) 10.8gb that's a lot of information!
one of the tracks is 2.54gb that's larger than some DSD 64 or 192/24 digital download complete albums!


i'll give you guys a review next week when i get back to work and give this thing a listening. oh it's gonna sound so sweet on those big ol Vintage Polk Audio Monitor 10's in my office! can't wait and i'll be buying from this site again, no doubt!

[solarrdadd]

so, as i speak, this is the 3rd time i've listened to the DSD256 album i purchased.

it has been smooth as silk each time. the highs were like so much water vapor being released into an incredibly atomized state. the mids were a well timed sonic gelatinous mixture held together by string and percussion bone and the lows had heft and determined weight at times filling the seat with kettle drums and pipe organs

the sound signature throughout the 8 movements were well served by the volume capacity of DSD256. notes performed with intention as audible verb is served up with both verb and panache. it was food for my starving ears and they enjoyed it all too!

i am the only one on my floor for the entire week and i played this album like i could not with the floor occupied. i had the volume knob on my emotiva miniX amp turned up to 12 o'clock and my averge spl range was 45 to 72db's with peaks that hit 84db bringing some of the pieces into a mountain crashing crescendo.

here is a snapshot of JRiver info while running one of the movements in this classical masterpiece.

howard hanson.jpg

look at that streaming bitrate, no your reading it right, 22,579kbps

i can say that i'm very happy with my decision to test the ultra hi resolution in DSD digital downloads at DSD256. now, while there are only a couple of things, almost all in the classical realm, that are available at this level of resolution, i can see myself buying more of this. most of my DSD will stay in the 64 & 128 realm, but, those few specialized trinkets, well, those will be treats that i will indulge myself by dipping my feet yet again in the pool that is DSD256.

DSD256, UNCLE SOLARRDADD APPROVED!

[solarrdadd]

i would like to add to my above review of the DSD256 album i downloaded, in case you didn't know or you missed it, the album is that of classical music, a truly aquired taste; not for most.

i will also say that one of the other things i loved about this piece is that there were tiny instruments being played during some of these pieces that were given the slightest hint of their being there making you think and wonder, making you listen carefully for them when they were played as they were played ever so ever slightly. the other piece of this incredible treat was the sections that were vocal, the Roberts Wesleyan College Chorale directed by Brian Preston incredible, my soul it doth touch!

my office was filled with David Craighead and the Rochester Chamber Orchestra's classical masterpiece. i suspect that tomorrow, it will be filled yet again!

[Josh]

Originally Posted by solarrdadd

so, as i speak, this is the 3rd time i've listened to the DSD256 album i purchased.

it has been smooth as silk each time. the highs were like so much water vapor being released into an incredibly atomized state. the mids were a well timed sonic gelatinous mixture held together by string and percussion bone and the lows had heft and determined weight at times filling the seat with kettle drums and pipe organs

the sound signature throughout the 8 movements were well served by the volume capacity of DSD256. notes performed with intention as audible verb is served up with both verb and panache. it was food for my starving ears and they enjoyed it all too!

i am the only one on my floor for the entire week and i played this album like i could not with the floor occupied. i had the volume knob on my emotiva miniX amp turned up to 12 o'clock and my averge spl range was 45 to 72db's with peaks that hit 84db bringing some of the pieces into a mountain crashing crescendo.

here is a snapshot of JRiver info while running one of the movements in this classical masterpiece.

Attachment 104642

look at that streaming bitrate, no your reading it right, 22,579kbps

i can say that i'm very happy with my decision to test the ultra hi resolution in DSD digital downloads at DSD256. now, while there are only a couple of things, almost all in the classical realm, that are available at this level of resolution, i can see myself buying more of this. most of my DSD will stay in the 64 & 128 realm, but, those few specialized trinkets, well, those will be treats that i will indulge myself by dipping my feet yet again in the pool that is DSD256.

DSD256, UNCLE SOLARRDADD APPROVED!

Thanks for the excellent review, and that bit rate is truly epic! Any plans on expanding your DSD capabilities at home so you can enjoy the higher bitrate stuff on your home gear?

[solarrdadd]

Originally Posted by Josh

Thanks for the excellent review, and that bit rate is truly epic! Any plans on expanding your DSD capabilities at home so you can enjoy the higher bitrate stuff on your home gear?

it's tricky, becasue you know it will involve a PC and other stuff too. i'll probably hold off for a while doing that. i'll probably stick with the "normal" DSD rate of DSD64 this way i can continue to play it from either the HD connected to my 105 via USB-A or stream it off of my network.

as you know, the 105 can support DSD128, but only via it's USB-B DAC input. if they do a firmware upgrade so the DAC can support DSD256, then i'll get a tiny form factor pc (mac mini form factor) running Win7 and use that.

for right now, with the tiny library of DSD256 available, i have plenty of time for any changes in the home setup(s). DSD64 offers plenty. having said that, it was nice to see such incredible, unimaginable bitrate numbers like i got with DSD256. of course, having said that, at potentially 10+gb per album, that would suck up a lot of space with just a couple of albums!

[solarrdadd]

purchased more DSD music for my listening pleasure for home and work; no unemployed, outta work DAC's around here!

John Coltrane Quartet / Ballads / DSD64 Download
1.26gb

Duke Ellington Indigos / DSD64 Download
1.42gb

Bartok / MSPC / The Miraculous Mandarin / Solti LSO / DSD64 Download
1.80gb

Copland Music / Bernstein Conducting / DSD64 Download
1.82gb

Robert Schumann Symphony No. 3 'Rhenish' / Bernstein / NYP / DSD64 Download
1.32gb

Count Basie / Chairman of the Board / DSD64 Download
1.57gb

Oscar Peterson / Richard Rodgers Song Book / DSD64 Download
1.20gb

Desmond Blue / DSD64 Download
1.48gb

Mahler Symphony No 5 / Rafael Kubelik / BRSO / DSD256 Download
10.6gb

Klipsch KST1000 Selections DXD 24bit 352.8khz Download
1.05gb


all downloaded from High Definition Tape Transfers. they had a two day sale that ended at midnight last night for a whopping 25% off the entire purchase price, so, i couldn't resist getting in on that! saved $33 bucks on my purchase!

in case you all hadn't figured it out, ol Uncle Solarrdadd does love some Classical Music as well as Big Band Music! Don't even get me started with the Jazz, that's my goto stuff there!

all of these downloads have their original Liner Notes most of them are 3 or more pages long! with incredibly interesting and entertaining facts on them too. oh and no, your eyes are not mistaken that listing is for Klipsch. yep, Paul W. Klipsch's speaker maker, his company had a "Tape" division for recording stereo music for public consumption. on the download, there is even a recorded session of a television interview with Paul Klipsch which was also captured on tape from 6-21-1954. i'm still rubbing my eyes, yeah, i had no idea Klipsch did anything besides make speakers!

i'll be auditioning all of them (except the DSD256 which for now, i have to use my work iFi nano iDSD DAC to play it with) and i'll get back to you guys. i expect to have a great listening session tonight and over the course of the weekend!

DSD, DXD, FLAC are exploding round here this year. that's 1 of my few resolutions (see what i did there) this year, more hi-rez digital downloads and listening sessions. on a side note, another of my resolutions is to do more reading this year; i will start with all those Liner notes.

[BaerGriggs]

Are there really mobile applications that can play DSD music into this DAC? I wasn't aware they even existed but that's really cool if they do!

I'm still rocking a Fiio X5 for most of my listening and I still love it. It's not native DSD but converted PCM will do fine for me for the time being, at least until I buy an OPPO player sometime soon. I actually just did the Kramer and Sennheiser earpads modification to a pair of Koss KSC75 headphones, so I have a $15 set of headphones that rival my Sennheiser HD598s for portable music!

[solarrdadd]

Originally Posted by BaerGriggs

Are there really mobile applications that can play DSD music into this DAC? I wasn't aware they even existed but that's really cool if they do!

I'm still rocking a Fiio X5 for most of my listening and I still love it. It's not native DSD but converted PCM will do fine for me for the time being, at least until I buy an OPPO player sometime soon. I actually just did the Kramer and Sennheiser earpads modification to a pair of Koss KSC75 headphones, so I have a $15 set of headphones that rival my Sennheiser HD598s for portable music!

hey buddy, Happy New Year! that i'm aware of the app's only bypass the phones DAC and bitstream it out to an external DAC that can support it.

i thought the Fiio X5 could support native DSD without conversion to PCM?

[BaerGriggs]

Originally Posted by solarrdadd

hey buddy, Happy New Year! that i'm aware of the app's only bypass the phones DAC and bitstream it out to an external DAC that can support it.

i thought the Fiio X5 could support native DSD without conversion to PCM?

The Head-Fi thread on the Fiio X5 is the best source of info for the X5 in my opinion, here's a quote from the spokesperson for Fiio in that thread a few months ago:

not, the SOC is output IIS signal to PCM1792A, if you want to use native DSD supports, you have to switch all the digital I/O setup for PCM1792A. and yes, maybe the X5k will support native DSD.

I'll admit I'm still confused about the merits of native DSD over PCM conversion, but that quote is pretty clear that the X5 can't do it. But it still sounds fantastic to me, so until I get around to buying a DSD DAC for my desktop computer I'll probably stick with it.

[solarrdadd]

Originally Posted by BaerGriggs

Are there really mobile applications that can play DSD music into this DAC? I wasn't aware they even existed but that's really cool if they do!

I'm still rocking a Fiio X5 for most of my listening and I still love it. It's not native DSD but converted PCM will do fine for me for the time being, at least until I buy an OPPO player sometime soon. I actually just did the Kramer and Sennheiser earpads modification to a pair of Koss KSC75 headphones, so I have a $15 set of headphones that rival my Sennheiser HD598s for portable music!

onkyo has one for the iphone, but it simply bitstreams it to an external USB DAC and then there is the issue of all the space DSD files take up so, i'm not sure on a 16gb phone one would want DSD64 that takes up about 2+gb per album.

please confirm how your using the Fii0 X5, i.e., are you playing the music and sending it out via headphone or analog out or are you sending it out via digital coax or are you using it as a USB DAC?

hope things have been well for you buddy, good to see you here thanks for stopping by; don't be a stranger!

[BaerGriggs]

f

Originally Posted by solarrdadd

onkyo has one for the iphone, but it simply bitstreams it to an external USB DAC and then there is the issue of all the space DSD files take up so, i'm not sure on a 16gb phone one would want DSD64 that takes up about 2+gb per album.

please confirm how your using the Fii0 X5, i.e., are you playing the music and sending it out via headphone or analog out or are you sending it out via digital coax or are you using it as a USB DAC?

hope things have been well for you buddy, good to see you here thanks for stopping by; don't be a stranger!

I almost exclusively use it for headphone use. I have connected it to a 100W stereo receiver via the coaxial out a couple times and it sounded fantastic, but to be honest I'm not sure I've ever actually used the USB DAC portion. I need to get around to playing around with it a bit more over Christmas break, I've been in a tweaking and modifying kind of mood lately .

And a happy New Year to you too!

[solarrdadd]

Originally Posted by BaerGriggs

f

I almost exclusively use it for headphone use. I have connected it to a 100W stereo receiver via the coaxial out a couple times and it sounded fantastic, but to be honest I'm not sure I've ever actually used the USB DAC portion. I need to get around to playing around with it a bit more over Christmas break, I've been in a tweaking and modifying kind of mood lately .

And a happy New Year to you too!

DSD can't be streamed via digital coax. if you are connecting it to a receiver or external amp, you the analog out labeled "line out" with a cable that's 3/8 x RCA and connect that to your receiver's 2 channel analog input. you will then be listening to pure DSD native to DAC via analog. most likely, what your hearing is 88.2 or 176.4 PCM that's been converted from DSD.

i'm still thinking about getting a Fii0 X5 for my car. we shall talk about that later.