iFi can you make a DAC/AMP specifically designed for iems only?

@iFi audio

I love the sound of iFI's DAC/AMP's. Great tone, and great technical abilities. However, they all try to do everything and in doing so, all of iFi's DAC/AMP's are designed for use with full size headphones, often power hungry headphones. And ieMatch is not a solution for iems, it ruins the sound IMO, killing dynamics, and resolution.

iFI currently has these smaller dar/amps:

Nano BL
Hip DAC
XDSD Gryphon

These are all basically the same thing, but with different form factor and slightly different features. They're all designed to drive full size headphones. I don't understand this. The Nano BL is too big for pocket use, and should be the one designed for full size headphones. The HIP DAC is small enough to fit in a pocket and there should at least be a version of it that is designed for iems. No, not ieMatch, but very quiet background, and a couple very low gain settings. Made for iems only. This would sell really well, there's nothing else on the market like it.

iFI also has 3 transportable dac/amps

Micro BL
Micro Signature
Diablo

these are also designed for full size headphones. Which makes sense because of their size. But if you look at them, the Diablo is specifically designed for full size headphones including hard to drive headphones.

Why not have a small dar/amp that is specifically designed for iems similar to the Diablo's specific use case?

I'm having trouble finding a dap/amp solution for my Zen Pro iems. I don't really like DAP's because they are super expensive, I don't like the android versions of Tidal, the screens are not that responsive, and they often come with way outdated versions of Android despite costing a lot of money. Making their lifetime short before you have to buy a new one

Also, we already have smartphones, which are computers with screens that are way better developed than the ones in DAP's. So when you buy a DAP, you're re-buying that part of the DAP. It makes more sense to use an iPod or iPhone and just buy the dac/amp part.

There seems to be a huge hole in the market for a product like this and I don't understand why no one is taking adantage of it. A small Dac/amp that is quiet, and has a couple super low gain settings only for iems would sell very well. Esspecially with iFI's decent pricing at around 200-300$.

I made this thread so I could move my posts about this out of the Gryphon thread to somewhere else so I'm not messing up that thread, edit: they moved in the wrong order to the beginning of this thread, so I just put all the content into this post and got rid of them.

/rant

 

Isn’t there the ifi go blu?

 

not interested in Bluetooth and I don’t need it to be be that small.

 

That would be the original xDSD, now replaced by xDSD Gryphon. Thanks!

 

So the XDSD Gryphon has no hiss with sensitive iems without ieMatch? All the documentation makes it look the same as your other small DAC/AMPS - designed for full size headphones with ieMatch to tame hiss for sensitive iems.

But ieMatch sounds like crap (sorry), And you're still trying to make the Gryphon do literally everything. Bluetooth, usb, SPDIF, full sized headphones, iems with ieMatch, bass boost, 3D, the list goes on.

I would like a HIP DAC form factor DAC/AMP with none of that crap, just streamlined and designed for iems and usb C connection. Low noise, two low gain settings. SE and true balanced.

And I don't think I'm alone here. You make products that do everything, and they wind up having a ton of features that people don't use. Instead, make products for specific use cases so they are made for the customer's use case. You have 3 small DAC/AMPs, why not have them designed for different uses instead of being all the same in different shapes?

 

Honestly that seems counter to ifi’s philosophy, which is to provide as much use case as possible for each product within the constraints of the operating budget of each product.

 

On bias adjustment and volume control xDSD Gryphon is very similar to xDSD (digitally controlled analog resistor ladder inside a chip) and more compliant with sensitive loads than i.e. hip-dac or iDSD Diablo.

It's OK, but feedback about our iEMatch is hugely positive, so there's no reason for us to not use this tech.

Yes, because that's what we do and that's what most our customers like and enjoy

I hear you and perhaps one day we'll make a streamlined xDSD Gryphon at a lower cost.

I understand from where you're coming and you're not alone with your opinion, but what we've been doing thus far works for most our customers and us as well. As a manufacturer we want to possibly please and get to as many customers as we can. So far so good!

Thanks a lot for your feedback, every opinion such as yours counts and we listen to everyone.

 

Exactly

 

Hmm i don't hear any hissing using all of my IEMs with my Zen can signature . Though I prefer the sound of my iems paired with my Arcam Rhead, they are mild-hissing on the Rhead