Ifi Micro IDSD Black Label

Discussion in 'Headphone Amplifiers and Combo (DAC/Amp) Units' started by Cellist88, Dec 6, 2016.

  1. loplop

    loplop Acquaintance

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    Haven't heard either the mojo or the old Micro iDSD (Silver), sorry. I do have an iDAC2 and iDSD Nano LE now, but no iDSD Silver.

    Just so I'm clear: you are suggesting you attach the iDSD BL in USB-powered mode (volume knob switched off), set the computer to play out to the iDSD BL, and use coax out of the iDSD BL into a different DAC, which then would be used to pass on to your amp... Correct?
     
  2. Torq

    Torq MOT: Headphone.com

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    I find it sounds its best in "Normal" power mode. I'm not sure I'd go as far as saying it's "harsh" in "Turbo" mode, but perhaps a bit "edgy". Which might be a different way of saying the same thing!

    Unfortunately using the BL at "Normal" power exacerbates the channel-balance issue with the volume pot, which is really my only remaining gripe with the thing. With IEMs (which I've really only used it with for testing) I have to stick to "Eco" mode and engage iE-Match to have it play quiet enough to be tolerable but still get past the balance problem.

    The splashiness was apparent regardless of the filter I was using, and was only present when using the unit as a combined DAC/amp. However, this seems to have gone away now (the unit probably has another 100 hours on it at this point, none of which were with me listening to it so it's not a brain-burn-in effect). I still wouldn't call it "polite", but I wouldn't call it "splashy" any more either. And I'd say it's more "exciting" than "refined". Again, those comments are based on using it as an all-in-one unit. I'll be more specific in my write-up comparing a bunch of portable DAC/amps.

    Other than a burning temptation to replace the volume pot (this is literally the worst channel balance at low-volume that I've ever encountered), it's not a bad unit at all.
     
  3. TjH

    TjH New

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    A bit of an elementary question, but it seems you've heard both BL and Silver, would you say BL is worth the what is now $150ish more?
     
  4. Torq

    Torq MOT: Headphone.com

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    I've only heard the Black Label version, so I can't really answer your question ... sorry!
     
  5. rainer.skill

    rainer.skill New

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    I heard both bot my hearing is too lowskilled to distinguish the subtile differences and answer your question. Just one thing I found (correct me if i am wrong): the Xbass feature of the BL is much stronger then on the silver, in case if someone is using it.
     
  6. eastboundofnowhere

    eastboundofnowhere Facebook Friend

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    Random thoughts on this thing as it grows on me:
    So far I have experimented with different applications like dec only, preamp dec, but really I have been too busy to really nail much down so just random observations. With TH X100 my settings are bit perfect, medium setting on iem match, medium power setting…very good. With andromeda no hiss and again very good, but if I don't use iem match to drop the db there is channel imbalance, still very enjoyable. With Massdrop AKGs I enable the bass switch and it brings out the sub bass very nicely…this is probably the only piece of equipment I really like them with. It drives hd650 well enough but honestly I have only ever used them with desktop amps and it doesn't hold up as well in that regard at all. There was "splashiness" for a while but that is either gone or I read the literature on it and stopped using the standard filter setting. I don't like the 3d enhancer with anything.

    At this point I like it, don't love it but with most purchases lately I either like it or don't with nothing to the extremes. Honestly, wouldn't take much to make me sell everything except my turntables, hd650 and andromeda…foster squeezes in because it is closed.
     
  7. eastboundofnowhere

    eastboundofnowhere Facebook Friend

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    By the way for whatever reason the iFi literature states the standard filter is for measurements only, doesn't make much sense but explains why I didn't like it.
     
  8. TjH

    TjH New

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    You use IEM match with TH-x00? wow. do you use it with eco mode as well?
    I generally went with the Ifi's advice of "12 and 3" or whatever.

    The use of words like "standard" and "normal" is what concerns me. e.g. with the volume thing, does this mean that "normal" is the normal state of the circuit and "eco" is using some -dB circuitry? (as opposed to eco being the normal and everything else using a boost).
     
  9. eastboundofnowhere

    eastboundofnowhere Facebook Friend

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    For the Foxtex iem match medium setting and medium setting in power mode. I flipped it by accident moving it so the dog could sit on the ottoman and realized I liked it. I know it's weird but there are so many settings that change the sound on this thing you never know. Honestly, I would not have thought to try it this way.
     
  10. Torq

    Torq MOT: Headphone.com

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    A teaser for Thursday this week ... not that it's specific to the iFi Micro iDSD Black Label ... but until I'm ready to create an appropriate proper thread, this'll do ...

    Teaser.jpg

    Left-to-right, and top-to-bottom we have:
    • iFi Micro iDSD Black Label
    • Astell 'n' Kern AK120
    • 160Gb iPod Classic (Last Gen)
    • iPhone 7 (256 GB ... in a vain attempt to keep enough music with me)
    • Chord Mojo
    • LH Labs Geek Out V2+ Infinity (plastic-fantastic)
    • Meridian Explorer 2
    • AudioQuest DragonFly Red
    • Apple $9 Lightning DAC/amp/3.5mm Headphone adapter
    • iFi Audio iEMatch (necessary to make some things work "worth a shit" with the IEMs in question)
    • Shure SE846.
    I suspect this won't end well! ;)
     
  11. gixxerwimp

    gixxerwimp Professional tricycle rider

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    This is also my understanding from what I've read. iFi just says it's "different/improved" but won't give any specifics (as is their SOP). There's a measurement of the effect of XBass on the original silver version here, also published here. Many complained that they couldn't hear any difference with it on or off, which is understandable since it only has a significant effect in the sub-bass range. So I think iFi cranked up the boost on the Black. They should really have put in multiple settings like on their iCAN. For me, the sub-bass boost on the silver is just right for when I need a bit more extension with my HD650Ms.

    The is exactly how I use it with my HD650Ms: power on Normal, iEMatch on High. This allows me to get to a reasonable range on the volume pot. With power on Eco I can turn iEMatch off, but it seems to lose a bit of punch.

    From the bits of useful info scattered throughout the micro iDSD thread on HF, it would seem that Eco/Normal/Turbo are more than just gain settings and that they are different "circuit states" for different usage scenarios. Eco uses the least battery power and Turbo will eat through the battery much more quickly. You're supposed to choose the setting that suits you, whether for power requirements or battery life. If you ask iFi, they'll just tell you to play around and use the setting you think sounds the best.

    I'm rarely able to get to between "12 and 3" on the pot unless I'm on Eco and Ultra (which doesn't sound very good), or the source has very low levels like quiet passages in classical music (which I rarely listen to). I wouldn't be too concerned about trying to get the pot to a particular range as I haven't really heard a difference other than channel imbalance, and I think the guys at iFi must have damaged hearing to be cranking it up so far.

    For you? Or for the gears? :p
     
  12. TjH

    TjH New

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    Wow, uhh with my th-x00 i use Eco and around 1 to 2'o clock. I CAN do normal but with normal i can rarely turn it up past 12, so I jsut used that to decide "eco" is what it should be at.

    Also I didn't know you could/should change IEmatch past off with volume on anything other than eco (the literature says eco+iematch or non eco).
     
  13. gixxerwimp

    gixxerwimp Professional tricycle rider

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    If you're referring to this diagram, in the HF thread they said IIRC that it's a starting point. But you can use any setting you think sounds good, though they don't recommend Turbo + iEMatch set to Ultra.

    I did as you did, starting with Eco and iEMatch off for a reasonable volume setting. Then I tried Normal and it sounded more punchy, but was often too loud to get past the channel imbalance. So I set iEMatch to High and it sounds best to me there. Ultra seems to make everything sound rather dampened.

    *Sorry for the huge image, but that's how big it is on their site.
    [​IMG]
     
  14. TjH

    TjH New

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    Wow that's a nice set of gear you have there :punk:. I'm not sure what happens on thursday but, how would you compare the idsd BL to the chord mojo, if i recall they're similarly priced and I've heard way too many good things about the mojo.
     
  15. Kattefjaes

    Kattefjaes Mostly Harmless

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    ..on that note, I'm not impressed with the price differential between 200GB and 256GB microSD cards right now. Obviously, I have slightly too much to fit on a formatted 200GiB (~186GB or so) card in the pile of stuff that I want to carry. Sod's law!
     
  16. TjH

    TjH New

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    Did i just read "256 GB iphone"?? Also, yea me neither, but I'm hoping it will go down or rather that price differential will move UP the GB scale. I'm not quite sure how that works, but I assume at some point in the past 64GB used to be the really expensive thing.

    Also, why 200? I always wondered how that's even a thing, it's the odd one out, all others are powers of 2.
     
  17. Torq

    Torq MOT: Headphone.com

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    Yep, it's annoying for sure!

    I have a similar problem. My paired-down travel library, as it stands, won't let me cleanly put one of the file-subsets on a single card. The 256 GB cards helped a bit, but I'm back in the same position again.

    I really don't understand why the high-end DAPs don't come with options for at least a full TB of internal storage. The sort of flash memory required isn't anything like the price of that used in SSDs, and even if it came a premium, it'd be peanuts compared to the overall price of some of these units!

    Yep, that's been an option since the iPhone 7 came out.

    Purely because they couldn't figure out how to fit 256 GB into that form-factor until recently. Not sure how they're going to pull off the next iteration (neither are they!).
     
  18. Torq

    Torq MOT: Headphone.com

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    Thursday is when I'm shooting to post my all-up comparison of the units in that picture (well, most of them).

    When I first posted in this thread I was intending on a smaller comparison, which I planned to do a while back. Then I wound up picking up the Meridian Explorer 2 to play around with MQA, so I added that to the mix. And before I'd finished writing that up I got the chance to snag a GOV2+ Infinity, which is the most obviously missing unit from my original line-up, and since I have that now I want to listen to it properly, do the comparisons there as well, and just do the one all-up write up.

    So, assuming nothing gets in the way, I should be able to make the additions/do the listening by Thursday (probably late in the day). And that post will, of course, compare the iFi Micro iDSD BL with the Mojo (and everything else).
     
  19. Torq

    Torq MOT: Headphone.com

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    Probably both!
     
  20. TjH

    TjH New

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    and my wallet too, I think.
     

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