Article: My Quest for a New DAC, Part 4 - iFi Pro iDSD (and friends)

[austinpop]

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[firedog]

Great review, all the combinations and comparisons are really helpful for people looking for a DAC.

[anroj]

That was a very thorough review and well thought out approach to evaluating the iFi Pro iDSD. I will definitely put it on my audition list.

[ted_b]

Great review!  As someone who has dabbled in dac reviews myself, I am in awe of your ability to keep the process of trying all these variables to something that is very easy to follow.  Furthermore, your innate skill to differentiate and communicate based on hearing (as opposed to measuring) musical aspects (tonality, speed, depth, etc etc) is quite a talent.  These comparisons are fun to read!    Thanks.

Ted

[austinpop]

1 minute ago, ted_b said:

Great review!  As someone who has dabbled in dac reviews myself, I am in awe of your ability to keep the process of trying all these variables to something that is very easy to follow.  Furthermore, your innate skill to differentiate and communicate based on hearing (as opposed to measuring) musical aspects (tonality, speed, depth, etc etc) is quite a talent.  These comparisons are fun to read!    Thanks.

Ted

 

Thank you Ted!

 

Despite being a complete techie, I find the only way to keep track of all the listening sessions - and there are weeks of them! - is with an old fashioned pen and notebook.

 

As for the flow, I am glad you appreciated it. I got into writing these articles because I would find reviews in conventional publications to be frustratingly vague in answering the kinds of questions I'm exploring.

[sdolezalek]

Terrific review, thank you for the care in putting together an articulate, easy to read and very comprehensive review.  In reading it, I couldn't help but wonder whether AMR (the iFi parent company) was likely to produce its own iFi iDSD Pro counterpart by adding in the power supply and clock upgrades and perhaps eliminating at least some of the tube/solid state type choices to focus solely on highest quality sound.  Of course, that's likely to come out at a price-point more like your Ayre QX-5 Twenty (and without the ability to upgrade to even better power supplies/clocks).  I guess this takes the notion of "separates" to a whole new level. 

[Superdad]

Dear Rajiv:

 

On behalf of myself and John Swenson, I wish to thank you for again including UpTone Audio's unique JS-2 choke-filtered, dual-rail, 5-7 amp linear power supply as a companion piece in your highly informative ongoing survey of DACs.

 

The only further piece of information that I would like to convey is that the JS-2 ($925 with 1 custom 1.5m Oyaide/Belden heavy-gauge, shielded star-quad DC cabe; $75 more for a second cable) is always readily available--in continuous production of about 25 units per month. (I pinch myself when reflecting that its been over 4 years and close to 700 units!)

 

We do sell out most every month, so although there is no AddToCart button on the JS-2's web page, a simple e-mail to us via the contact form will be replied to promptly with a guaranteed ship date (typically 1-2 weeks) and a reasonable freight quote for international FedEx or domestic Priority Mail delivery.

 

Again, we are glad that you have so enjoyed partnering the JS-2 with such fine DACs.  It always delights us—and our clients—when the JS-2 is used to power a quality audio component such as a DAC or DDC (as opposed to various computers, NAS, etc.—which it does fine for as well).

 

With kind regards,

--Alex Crespi

[jtwrace]

This is all done with headphones? 

[Cortes]

well, putting together the pieces... looks like the hifi world needs a R2R with DC and WC input ?

[AMR/iFi audio]

Fabulous review @austinpop, we thoroughly enjoyed it and soon will provide some additional nfo about the product.

 

[Ralf11]

3 hours ago, firedog said:

Great review, all the combinations and comparisons are really helpful for people looking for a DAC.

 

I agree - these comparisons are exactly what the audio community needs (and rarely gets from the paid press).  My only issue is lack of blind testing.

[Account Closed]

This review reminds me of the reviews of years past in the various print magazines. Those reviews were, like this one, very detailed and gave enough data points to really begin a decision tree process. So much of what passes as reviews these days are really not much more than listening impressions or worse yet thinly veiled marketing pieces.

 

Very much a pleasure to read. Keep up the good work.

 

Thanks

[Raimund Heubel]

I fully agree, this is a really well written review and proper DAC comparison test which is greatly missed these days in any public media dealing with our hobby. What impresses me most is the logic in each of the steps you, ‘austinpop‘, are undertaking to achieve your goal of the highest sound quality in a DAC at an affordable, i.e. value for money, price point.

 

Best Regards,

Raimund

[austinpop]

2 hours ago, jtwrace said:

This is all done with headphones? 

 

Mostly, although I also do some listening on a speaker system. Details in the article...

[jtwrace]

26 minutes ago, austinpop said:

 

Mostly, although I also do some listening on a speaker system. Details in the article...

 

I didn't see anything listed below in the article.  

 

Quote

Associated Equipment

 

Here is a diagram of how the Pro iDSD integrated into my system:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Music Server:                 Innuos Zenith Mk II SE
Headphone Amplifier:   Cavalli Liquid Gold
Headphones:                  Sennheiser HD800 (Super DuPont Mod), Audioquest Nighthawk
USB Regenerator:          SOtM tX-USBultra
Ethernet Switch:            The Linear Solution OCXO switch 
Reference Clock:           Mutec Ref 10 10MHz clock driving the tX-USBultra
Power supplies:             Utpone LPS-1.2 for switch, Paul Hynes SR-4 for tX-USBultra
Power Details:               Dedicated 30A 6 AWG AC circuit, PS Audio P5 PerfectWave Regenerator
Power Cables:               PS Audio AC-12 (wall to P5), Pangea AC-9SE MkII (Cavalli Amp), Cardas Golden Cross (Zenith SE),  

                                         Pangea AC-14XL (Mutec Ref-10), Pangea AC-14SE MkII to all PSUs, Cardas Clear to all DACs under test
USB cables:                   Phasure Lush USB
AES/EBU cables:          Cardas Clear
Clock cables:                 Habst 5N Cryo Pure Silver
Ethernet cables:            SOtM dCBL-Cat7 (switch to SE), TLS cable (switch to QX-8)
DC cables:                     Audio Sensibility Signature Silver (LPS-1.2), Paul Hynes DC3FSXLR fine silver (SR-4)
Interconnects:              Cardas Clear XLR balanced (DAC to Amp)
Headphone cables:      Cardas Clear balanced and SE cables for HD800

 

Acknowledgments

 

Many thanks to Cardas Audio for providing a loom of Cardas Clear cables to allow identical cables to be used for all the DACs under test!

 

[asdf1000]

1 minute ago, jtwrace said:

 

I didn't see anything listed below in the article.  

 

 

 

[Ralf11]

Right - not just 'speakers' but Maggies* (not to mention another fav of mine, ARC)

 

 

 

 

* just don't let Wendell know he put subs on them...

[austinpop]

@limniscate Eric's system sounds stunningly good. Between the Maggie 3.7's, the AR and Hegel electronics, the highly-optimized digital chain, and proper room treatments - with an absence of WAF constraints  - produces an incredible experience. 

 

In fact, one of the rooms at RMAF had Maggie 3.7s, and we were appalled at how bad they sounded compared to Eric's home.

 

Anyway, suffice it to say that this system was perfectly able to evaluate DAC differences.

[austinpop]

3 hours ago, Ralf11 said:

My only issue is lack of blind testing.

 

The listening sessions were a combination of sighted and single blind, but I didn't want to belabor the point. For all practical purposes, just consider these sighted.

[Ralf11]

Thx - either way, far better than contemporary reviews by "professionals"

[Deyorew]

Something I was hoping you would touch on is the DSD through the Schitt. I know the ifi pro iDSD's strengths are its native DSD for DSD content. How did the sound of this DSD content (either native or upscaled DSD) compare to the Schitt conversion of DSD to PCM?

 

My personal library consists of 1000's of DSD (DSF) files and very little hi res PCM. So I am always interested in hearing modern analysis on native DSD playback vs DSD to PCM conversion on non native DSD DAC's.

 

I was expecting to see the ifi and schitt were very close on PCM, but on DSD files, the native DSD player had an edge. 

[JDoyle]

Would love to hear your review of a Benchmark DAC3 along with the Benchmark AHB2 amp for your next article... 

Yes I own this setup, it’s IMHO, it’s a great bang for buck combo 

 

JD

[One and a half]

If only the iDSD pro was an Ethernet Roon Ready device.

[austinpop]

23 minutes ago, Deyorew said:

Something I was hoping you would touch on is the DSD through the Schitt. I know the ifi pro iDSD's strengths are its native DSD for DSD content. How did the sound of this DSD content (either native or upscaled DSD) compare to the Schitt conversion of DSD to PCM?

 

My personal library consists of 1000's of DSD (DSF) files and very little hi res PCM. So I am always interested in hearing modern analysis on native DSD playback vs DSD to PCM conversion on non native DSD DAC's.

 

I was expecting to see the ifi and schitt were very close on PCM, but on DSD files, the native DSD player had an edge. 

 

I too have hundreds of albums in DSD, ripped from SACD. My take on DSD support is different.

 

If a manufacturer chooses to limit their device's capability to exclude my requirements, then that device is not for me. It may be great value and sound great, but there are far too many great alternatives to worry about it. I'm philosophically opposed to doing DSD-PCM conversions just to suit a manufacturers whim.

 

But that's me.

[Deyorew]

I am opposed as well which takes products like Schitt out of my selection. I was curious if the the time you spent with both audibly confirmed the "disadvantage" of not supporting DSD natively.

 

Occasionally products come along that defy this type of logic and folks preach...don't look at the stats, use your ears, etc.

 

In my mind (not ears) seeing PCM converted to DSD (like the DirectStream) seems mathematically uncompromising compared with DSD to PCM conversion.