What is this?

The iGalvanic3.0 is a "Galvanically Isolated USB Signal Regenerator" At least that's what the box says...

What does that mean? Why would you want that? Who's this aimed at? Is it worth the money, or it is just another scam designed to separate audiophiles from their money?

Before I answer those questions, a bit about me:

I'm a musician, producer and composer. I am just finishing a masters in composition, and will be scoring a show on Netflix in the next few months. I have spent my entire life in studios, listing to speakers that cost more than your car. Sound is VERY important to me. However...

I'm not the sort of person that just accepts advertising spin as fact. Frankly, I'm usually someone that is more sceptical than the average audiophile. When I see £10,000 power strips, I assume they're designed for people with more money than sense. In fact my goto audiophile joke revolves around bags of magic rocks - yours for only $170 - that do nothing more than make some conmen a bit of cash.

So, when iFi asked if I'd like to review something else, after my iFi Nano iDSD review, I was pretty sure I'd screwed up when I asked to review the iGalvonic3.0.

I mean, c'mon, USB conditioning, Galvanic Isolation... sure the box even says it kills "gremlins"... surely this is some sort of non-audible money grab... right?





Wrong.

Although that wasn't immediately obvious.

When I first plugged it in - with my chord Mojo and my "Batman" HE-560s - I wasn't blown away. In fact I was absolutely certain it was a "magic box" that did a sum total of nothing. I had visions of having to tell Karina from ISI that I would have to send it back, because I couldn't "say something nice".

Then, I took it out of line, and went back to just the Mojo.

Hmm... Ok, maybe I could hear something...

But maybe not...

I went through probably 20 songs from a variety of artists (everything from Elliot Smith to Superorganism to DSD versions of Nordic Sound Reference disc) and... yeah, it's not placebo, I could EASILY pick out the iGalvanic - every single time - and it ALWAYS sounded better.

So, what does better mean?

Well, I also watched a bit of the Last Jedi and it was then that I REALLY was able to pinpoint what I was hearing.

First, everything is more defined. There's more space between sounds, and that in turn makes everything sound more real. Nothing is mushed together. That's an eye opener.

But more importantly bass is more defined and present, and high end - think the glass windows breaking on the casino planet in Last Jedi - is CRISP, without becoming strident or overwhelming.

In the systems I then tried it on (3) the top position seemed to sound the most open, but frankly THAT could've been ear fatigue and confirmation bias...

What was NOT confirmation bias was the distinct and only-positive change in sound.

Now let's be honest, ok? Who is this for?

Well, I would PERSONALLY say that this is a 5-10% boost in sound quality, something you leave in line, and never think about. It's just a final touch to your digital signal flow... It's neither wildly expensive or wildly cheap, but... if you want to get the ABSOLUTE best out of your system, you NEED to check this out.

Like the iDSD Nano, this is probably positioned really well in the market, and will probably be - and justifiably so - a big seller for them.

BUT!

This is not stop 1 in your search for amazing sound. This is stop 3-4.

Get your monitoring sorted, and your amp and DAC, and THEN buy this, because frankly, the better your system the more you'll get out of this.

I recently spent a few grand updating my work machine and so can't take the plunge on this today, or tomorrow, but as soon as I have a bit of spare cash, I'll be buying one. Maybe even 2.

Highly recommended.



Oh one last thing, I said I'd tell you how this worked... that was a bad choice on my part as I don't REALLY know how it works, and frankly I don't really care. It DOES work, that's the bottom line. It does the same thing on all my systems, and however it works is sort of beside the point IMO. Besides a quick google will turn up reviews with graphs and intense technical explanations... I could copy and paste them here for you, but I couldn't defend them, so what's the point?

Essentially though, it makes sure the USB signal your DAC is getting is as pure as possible. Which sounds mad, but the proof is in the pudding.

Disclaimers:

I was loaned the iGlavanic3.0 in exchange for a review. No one asked me to lie or suggested any talking points, nor did anyone from iFi review this before I posted it. I was given nothing in return for the review except the loan of the iGalvanic, which is packaged up and ready to - sadly - ship back to Karina and the rest of the lovely iFi folks. My opinion is that iFi makes extremely good gear for the price, no matter what price point you're looking at, and they are active on here and elsewhere online, making them an easy company to get support from. I have no issues recommending their gear to other audio pros.

This is my first audio gear review, but hopefully not my last.

Caveat: This is a review that I'd like to read - which means cutting out a lot of extraneous stuff and instead focusing on what matter to someone like me when trying to decide what gear to purchase. If you want that other stuff, there's ample reviews that contain it and they're all worth a look.

About me:

I'm a professional music, mix engineer and composer. I have a lot of expensive gear and a lot of cheap and cheerfully gear. I use the tools I need without going overboard and wasting money. At least that's my goal.

Disclaimer: I was part of the iFi tourbox for the Nano and was allowed to test it for a few weeks in exchange for my honest review.

The pitch

The iFi audio nano iDSD Black Label is a more compact, simplified and cheaper version of the non-nano Black Label. It uses well known and respected Burr-Brown convertors, and - like the similarly priced Dragonfly Red - allows users to access MQA files on Tidal, etc.

So, is it better than the Dragonfly Red?

When I was getting into headphones again, after years of just using them for work, I did what many do, I started googling.

What Google lead me to believe was that a decent set of open back headphones was going to be a lot nicer than my studio cans, but I'd probably need an amp to get the most out of them.

Not wanting to break the bank I bought a pair of HD 650s and a Dragonfly Red.

This - especially with Tidal/MQA - was a total eye opener.

At about the same time I signed up for Head-fi and started buying cheap then less cheap IEMs.

Trying to get that same level of happiness on the go as I had at home was... Frustrating. MQA isn't really a portable format, and IEMs don't sound like open-back headphones. However I eventually bought my LZ A4s, USB Audio Player Pro and - coupled with the DFR - was pretty happy.

But...

Then I bought my custom made Hifiman HE-560s (known on Head-fi as the Batman headphones) and a Chord Mojo.

Suddenly that DFR was not only underpowered, but it just didn't sound all that good, relative to the €500 Mojo.

So. Now the meat, the reason you might be reading this: where does the iFi Nano stand, compared to the DFR and... Dun, dun, dun... The Mojo?

Well, it's interesting and almost but not quite the outcome you'd expect.

VS the Mojo:

Can you save £300, skip the Mojo and buy this?

No. Well, maybe. Yes? It depends.

No, because comparing the two back to back playing FLAC files, or DSD, the Mojo is just better. If the Mojo is 100, the Nano is say about an 80/85.

But it's a little more complex than that.

The sound signatures ARE different, and not just by a little bit. The Nano is brighter, but not thinner. The bass is a bit looser and the soundstage is a bit wider, but it also sounds a little artificial.

That might actually be something people prefer. If it is, then at the price it's a crazy steal. So that's the maybe. Maybe it matches your gear, your taste and your budget perfectly, in a way the mojo can't.

As for the Yes... Yes it is better than the Mojo in one hugely significant way: MQA.

The Mojo is probably never going to playback MQA. That's just a sad fact. Which means you have to have another solution if you want to take advantage of all that Tidal has to offer. And guess what...

VS the Dragonfly Red:

The iFi kills the DFR is every single way except one: it's size. It's larger and more bulky. Oh I guess you have to charge it as well... So that's another thing... But c'mon, charging things is just part of life in 2018. Suck.It.Up.

Anyway and in conclusion:

If you have about £200 to spend on an DAC/Amp combo, and want MQA, there's no earthly reason to look anywhere else.

If you're looking for a first DAC/Amp to see if they actually do anything, look no further.

If you don't care about MQA, and have £500 to spend on the best sound quality, the Mojo is better. Assuming your gear matches it, which it probably does.

But for many thousands of people this will probably be the new king of sub-Mojo portable DAC/Amps. It certainly should be.

As for me, I'm selling my DFR and buying a Nano for MQA alone. It's 100% a steal compared to the DFR, and the only real choice in this price range.

Thanks:

Thanks to iFi for the loaner, thanks to Karina and the IFI UK team and thanks to Head-fi for making it all possible.