[iFi audio]

A big thank you to Simon Lucas of Trusted Reviews for his thoughts on the iCan Phantom!

The full Review is right HERE!

Enjoy!!

Cheers!!

 

[801evan]

Is the Phantom a true dual mono amp? And is the dual 3 pin xlr out on the front the same circuit and performance as the 4 pin xlr out? Thanks.

 

[BlueSkyHi]

are you serious? you only care the watts and not "how much" of that watts are by current and "how much" by voltage. Ok, I will drive my susvara with a tempotec dap, it has more than 200 mW!!!
Let's clip my eardrums!

Ohm's Law still applies. P (power) = I (current) x V (voltage)

 

[iFi audio]

Is the Phantom a true dual mono amp? And is the dual 3 pin xlr out on the front the same circuit and performance as the 4 pin xlr out? Thanks.

Thanks for this question, as I try and get an answer for you, I always recommend in-depth questions such as this be directed to our support techs as they have all the relevant documentation for correct advice.

https://support.ifi-audio.com/

Cheers!!

 

[iFi audio]

Is the Phantom a true dual mono amp? And is the dual 3 pin xlr out on the front the same circuit and performance as the 4 pin xlr out? Thanks.

I have confirmed these questions for you, and indeed it is!

With performance being uniform across the board.

Hope this helps...

Cheers!!

 

[eugene2]

A little personal experience not a review I had with two great amps on a Saturday afternoon. So good I was inspired https://www.head-fi.org/showcase/burson-audio-soloist-voyager.27033/reviews

 

[eugene2]

A little personal experience not a review I had with two great amps on a Saturday afternoon. So good I was inspired https://www.head-fi.org/showcase/burson-audio-soloist-voyager.27033/reviews

 

[iFi audio]

A little personal experience not a review I had with two great amps on a Saturday afternoon. So good I was inspired https://www.head-fi.org/showcase/burson-audio-soloist-voyager.27033/reviews

Thanks so much for this!

What a wonderfully well-written dive into the visual painting of an audio experience, I enjoyed it very much!

Cheers!!

 

[eugene2]

Thank you

 

[Feischmaker]

is there anyone who has made a comparison between Phanton, Vioelectric v380, Burson (soloist or voyager) and some speaker amplifiers (maybe amp-23R, abh2 benchmark, topping la90d) using only Hifiman Susvara?

I want to know if this phaton will amplify my susvara at the maximum level of dynamics, layering and bass CONTROL please. A review where only says "sounds very good" doesn't tell me nothing about susvara on phanton.

I am afraid about ifi specs after the problem with ifi diablo. I really want to know if those 15,000mW at 16 ohms are RMS or Peak (clipping). Susvara needs about 100mA over 5.5volts at 60 ohms to produce 110spl. A lot of amplifiers have to much current at high voltage but not at low voltage. I hope somebody could tell me..

Today I was able to spend some time with the Phantom with Susvara.

Luckily i also still have my note on Susvara paired with Soloist 3XGT, and Enleum 23R.

Violectric (v281) i tried, but not with Susvara. So I will not go there.

1. Soloist 3XGT (older version) with Susvara: Transient is very incisive. Good macrodynamics/slam. Stagesize width is above average. However the depth and vertical/height is just average.
Instrument separation is decent with accurate placement but the "instrument size" is slightly lacking for my taste.
The dealbreaker of this amp for me is actually the tonal synergy, i found the upper mid can be strident on portion my song library. This + Susvara is 6/10 for me.

2. Enleum Amp-23R: The wow factors of this amp is its effortlessness in driving Susvara. If you are looking for bass control (or pretty much control across frequency), this amp is for you. It also slams harder than 3XGT and Phantom (w/o Xbass)
Stage size is (width/depth/height) is above average. Instrument layering and placement accuracy is also very good.

The downside of this amp personally for me is in its tuning. This amp has crystal clear midrange, almost ethereal. Unfortunately, I usually like my Susvara to have more body in the midrange with slightly warmer and wetter presentation. 8.5/10


3. Ifi ICAN Phantom can properly drive Susvara even on low gain (but you need to set the volume around 90-95). The bass has decent slam and control. It has Xbass but I found myself not needing it.
While instrument separation and placement is very good (as good as the Enleum), stage size is just average. However this is where XSpace comes into play. I found that playing around with it and set it to 60 give spacious presentation that I like.
Tonally this amp has neutral midrange, which is okay for half of my library. For the other half I need to switch the tube mode.
I'll give this amp 8/10 - 8.5/10 for Susvara depend on the setting config.

 

[iFi audio]

Today I was able to spend some time with the Phantom with Susvara.

Luckily i also still have my note on Susvara paired with Soloist 3XGT, and Enleum 23R.

Violectric (v281) i tried, but not with Susvara. So I will not go there.

1. Soloist 3XGT (older version) with Susvara: Transient is very incisive. Good macrodynamics/slam. Stagesize width is above average. However the depth and vertical/height is just average.
Instrument separation is decent with accurate placement but the "instrument size" is slightly lacking for my taste.
The dealbreaker of this amp for me is actually the tonal synergy, i found the upper mid can be strident on portion my song library. This + Susvara is 6/10 for me.

2. Enleum Amp-23R: The wow factors of this amp is its effortlessness in driving Susvara. If you are looking for bass control (or pretty much control across frequency), this amp is for you. It also slams harder than 3XGT and Phantom (w/o Xbass)
Stage size is (width/depth/height) is above average. Instrument layering and placement accuracy is also very good.

The downside of this amp personally for me is in its tuning. This amp has crystal clear midrange, almost ethereal. Unfortunately, I usually like my Susvara to have more body in the midrange with slightly warmer and wetter presentation. 8.5/10


3. Ifi ICAN Phantom can properly drive Susvara even on low gain (but you need to set the volume around 90-95). The bass has decent slam and control. It has Xbass but I found myself not needing it.
While instrument separation and placement is very good (as good as the Enleum), stage size is just average. However this is where XSpace comes into play. I found that playing around with it and set it to 60 give spacious presentation that I like.
Tonally this amp has neutral midrange, which is okay for half of my library. For the other half I need to switch the tube mode.
I'll give this amp 8/10 - 8.5/10 for Susvara depend on the setting config.

Thank you for the detailed comparison, I'm sure it will benefit folks who are deciding what may or may not suit them personally!

Cheers!!

 

[Feischmaker]

Thank you for the detailed comparison, I'm sure it will benefit folks who are deciding what may or may not suit them personally!

Cheers!!

You are welcome.
Tbh, this product is really impressive if you are looking for a do it all in a box.
I tried the estat output as well with SR009, and (with both XBass and XSpace) prefer it more than using stax own amp

 

[MartussDer]

Today I was able to spend some time with the Phantom with Susvara.

Luckily i also still have my note on Susvara paired with Soloist 3XGT, and Enleum 23R.

Violectric (v281) i tried, but not with Susvara. So I will not go there.

1. Soloist 3XGT (older version) with Susvara: Transient is very incisive. Good macrodynamics/slam. Stagesize width is above average. However the depth and vertical/height is just average.
Instrument separation is decent with accurate placement but the "instrument size" is slightly lacking for my taste.
The dealbreaker of this amp for me is actually the tonal synergy, i found the upper mid can be strident on portion my song library. This + Susvara is 6/10 for me.

2. Enleum Amp-23R: The wow factors of this amp is its effortlessness in driving Susvara. If you are looking for bass control (or pretty much control across frequency), this amp is for you. It also slams harder than 3XGT and Phantom (w/o Xbass)
Stage size is (width/depth/height) is above average. Instrument layering and placement accuracy is also very good.

The downside of this amp personally for me is in its tuning. This amp has crystal clear midrange, almost ethereal. Unfortunately, I usually like my Susvara to have more body in the midrange with slightly warmer and wetter presentation. 8.5/10


3. Ifi ICAN Phantom can properly drive Susvara even on low gain (but you need to set the volume around 90-95). The bass has decent slam and control. It has Xbass but I found myself not needing it.
While instrument separation and placement is very good (as good as the Enleum), stage size is just average. However this is where XSpace comes into play. I found that playing around with it and set it to 60 give spacious presentation that I like.
Tonally this amp has neutral midrange, which is okay for half of my library. For the other half I need to switch the tube mode.
I'll give this amp 8/10 - 8.5/10 for Susvara depend on the setting config.

interesting, you are the first owner of ifi that can say that this ICAN drives very good susvara. All the people that I have asked about this and have compared the ICAN and have soloist, holo bliss kte, volot or ferrum or, have said me that this ifi versus other amps just sound: "ok" in susvara. And they also say that this just have normal soundstage.



Actually I have bought 3 days ago a burson soloist 3X GT for my susvara. After talked with too much people, i think it is better option in low price. Now I will buy another high end energizer for my stax sr009. I was looking for phatom to have all-in-one but your response was very late. Maybe, I could buy one, test it and if this doesnt sound good, send it back.



anyway, thank you for your response.
I will unsuscribe of this thread.

Best

 

[BTD1]

I have encountered a problem with the Phantom. My unit will no longer recognize that a bias card is inserted, so the unit will not output sound to the e-stats plugged in. I have contacted support, but I'm wondering if anyone else has had issues with their unit? I always wondered if having bias cards to be inserted in a slot is a good idea. I'm surprised at this as I don't use the Phantom that often.

 

[jamesjames]

You are welcome.
Tbh, this product is really impressive if you are looking for a do it all in a box.
I tried the estat output as well with SR009, and (with both XBass and XSpace) prefer it more than using stax own amp

I found the iESL in combination with a range of good high-voltage conventional amps to be the most satisfactory option out there for use with my SR-009S (including STAX and the usual run of 'boutique' drivers). So I'm not surprised to read that the Phantom also performs well.