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.
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.