iFi audio nano iDSD Black Label

Acknowledgment
I’d like to thank iFi for loaning me the Nano iDSD Black Label and a pre-production unit in return for my honest opinion. It was a lot of fun being one of the first folks to get their hands on a retail unit, though I wish I could have been at the launch event. I still haven’t tried Johnny Walker Black.

This review was originally posted on my blog, and I'm now sharing with the wonderful community on Head-Fi. You folks rock.

Introduction
Anyone who’s been following me for a while knows that I’ve reviewed two full sheds of iFi gear. I might be the person with the most iFi reviews, I’m not sure. This one makes six after the following: iFi Micro iDSD Black Label (Micro iDSD BL), iPurifier2.0, iDAC2, iCAN SE, Micro iUSB3.0. I’ve also spent some time with the original iDSD and the original iCAN. I’ve been offered a couple more reviews, and will probably do some, time allowing.

Up to now, the most ‘WOW!’ product I’ve heard from from iFi is the iDSD Micro BL. It was also the classiest and most decked out offering. It’s a desktop dynamo with a Swiss Army knife of audio features, but I have to emphasize that while it can be transported, it isn’t really what people think of as portable. For that, I’m now having a look at the brand spankin’ new iDSD Nano BL’s pocketable frame.



Usability: Form & Function
Unboxing




I’ve unboxed a lot of iFi gear over the years, but this is the first piece of gear from iFi to actually surprise me. Anyone who has been following iFi for any length of time or bought any of their Micro or Nano series DACs or amps has received the same box, with quite often the same components and compartments inside. It’s a roughly 10” x 3.5” x 3” oblong rectangle—a sort of less streamlined coffin-box. In the past, it hasn’t mattered whether you were buying a Nano or Micro series, the only thing different on the top level was how big the cut-away in the foam insert was. Below the presented DAC or amp would be some mix of the following accessories, a red 3.5mm aux cable, a short purple set of RCA interconnects, some adaptors (most likely), rubber stacking bands (for your DAP/phone), and a blue USB cable (sometimes USB3.0).

This time around we get a half-height box, which I very much like. The wasted space of previous Nano series boxes has been eschewed in favour of a more efficient DAC apartment. You’ve got your bed of foam on the left, and your closet box of white accessories on the right, all the cooking happens when the DAC gets out of bed. The box is still surrounded in a tight-fitting card sleeve, and still has the same silver iFi logo filigreed onto the top of the now slimmed down white heavy card box. Some things change, but others stay the same.






Aesthetics and Ergonomics
The major ergonomics critique of the iFi Micro series is that calling them portable is a bit of a joke. They are portable like your laptop and less convenient to carry, as there just aren’t any bags that really work for iFi’s unique signature shape. I loved the iFi Micro iDSD Black Label, but it was about as transportable and ergonomic as a pet brick. Don’t throw your Black Label, it’s so much better than Father Jack’s brick. It’s a shape that grows on you. Love who your Micro be, iFi.



That said, the Nano series is smaller, a little smaller than a minimum size deck of Magic the Gathering cards, with penny sleeves. Previous iterations of the iFi Nano series haven’t had any of the genetic make-up of the iDSD Micro Black Label in the looks and functionality department. Now that has changed. This isn’t your 2014 Nano iDSD. That version was silver, with big faceplates ridges on the front and back, whilst the new one has tapered edges to make it more pocket friendly. It doesn’t really feel like something you’d throw in your coat pocket due to the ergonomics. Those two RCA jacks sticking out the front and the coax coming off the back coupled with the aforementioned anodized aluminum ridges left lots of things to poke you from inside your jacket pocket.



From an ergonomics perspective the new Black Label is smoother, sleeker, with more attractive printing and a more durable frame. I say more durable for a different reason than one might think. It is made of the same aluminum, it has the same anodized finish (albeit in black), but it has some key differences. The iFi iDSD BL is rocking out with three 3.5mm jacks set flush and not directly by the volume knob. Making the 3.5mm jacks flush makes it so there isn’t anything to snag on, which is more pocket friendly. The placement of 3.5mm output right next to the volume knob didn’t just make the front of the original Nano iDSD a bit busy, it made it so turning the volume knob whilst listening to headphones would require navigating your headphone cable. An additional pocket friendly addition is switching from the USB B input of the original Nano iDSD to the USB A OTG input of the Micro iDSD series. The connection is very stable which reduces stress on the jack. All these smoothing factors add to reduced wear and friction on the case elements, and the more secure USB connection will minimise damage to the USB connection, meaning this is a daily driver that should hold up to a bit of rubbing, but I’d still not drop it or toss it around roughly.



Function
The original iFi Nano iDSD was full of firsts (DXD and DSD256, super lightweight, 10 hour pure battery running) and was the best-selling DAC in Japan for a while, but it was for a different use case. That iDSD was about being a pint-sized capable home DAC with a lightweight amplifier that only output 130 mW into 16Ω. It had a digital out, and full-size RCA outputs to hook up to your home amplifier—great features, but not pocket friendly. The iFi Nano iDSD BL has some serious upgrades under the sleeker casing. Much like the Micro iDSD BL, this Nano iDSD BL has iEMatch built in and iPurifier built in. Like the Nano iDSD (original) the Nano iDSD BL runs on battery for 10 hours and throws down some DSD256 and DXD, but it also has MQA in-built now too.

MQA
Now, I’m not sure about this MQA thing (ars technical article that is well worth a read). Some have said it’s a sneaky backhanded route to a new form of DRM (record companies have to license equipment, consumers pay for special equipment, streaming services get charged for royalties, etc…). Whatever I might think about the likelihood that MQA gives me better than just streaming 24/96 FLAC directly or listening to real master quality PCM (Archimago’s Musings), MQA certainly didn’t sound bad. That said, I was listening through the XI Audio Formula S and a pair of HiFiMAN Susvara headphones with the Nano iDSD BL as the DAC to start. I listened to 2L recordings DXD tracks in both DXD and in the MQA down-coded versions. I don’t know if I would be able to tell the difference. Both sounded bloody excellent, but those are excellent recordings. Chicken/egg dilemma. Did the tracks sound excellent because the format captured the quality of the recording, or would any lossless format of CD quality or above capture the quality of the recording? I don’t know. I also took an auditory stroll through Tidal’s ‘Masters’ library. Beyonce’s Lemonade album sounded awesome—why did Adele 25 win best album? That decision makes no damn sense as Lemonade is a triumph from start to finish (though some parts had some hardcore derivations, like the transparent Eurythmics inspiration on Don’t Hurt Yourself) and 25 is Adele singing three good songs plus some filler.

The difficult part of MQA listening is its hard to compare to actual redbook CD. I’ve always found that Tidal sounds a bit ‘enhanced.’ I’m convinced that there is DSP to make it sound a bit more vivid. Who’s to say this doesn’t also happen with MQA? Most of the albums that Tidal has MQA ‘Masters’ of, they also have standard ‘CD Quality’ versions. So I stepped right up and made a quick playlist of some stuff I’m familiar with:

1. Nick Drake – Thoughts of Mary Jane
2. Nick Drake – One of These Things First
3. Counting Crows – Anna Begins
4. Norah Jones – Shoot the Moon
5. Beyoncé – Don’t Hurt Yourself
6. Led Zeppelin – D’yer Mak’er
7. The Supremes – Where Did Our Love Go
8. Beck – Guess I’m Doing Fine

With Thoughts of Mary Jane the volume levels between the tracks aren’t the same. I have similar experiences on Counting Crows – Anna Begins. The Masters versions seem a little more restrained, but they also have a touch more depth to the sound, but this additional depth sounds like it is all in front of the stage. The stage sounds moved, not factually deeper. Turning down the volume on the HiFi version of Norah Jones – Shoot the Moon gives a good approximation of the Master. I am noting a bit more texture in the bass on the Shoot the Moon Master version. It sounds a bit fuller with rounder attack and decay. I think there may actually be differences, but that some of it is difficult to judge due to volume effects. I observe similar improvement in the kick drum on Beyoncé – Don’t Hurt Yourself. Well it’s either confirmation bias, or a trend, the bass on the Master version of D’yer Mak’er is more textured and rich. Transients in the cymbals also take on a bit more weight. Overall the sound is just a little weightier and more textured. On The Supremes – Where Did Our Love Go the Masters version is the louder version. Unfortunately two Where Did Our Love Go tracks sound so different, I’m pretty sure they aren’t from the same master. I can’t do a real comparison. This may end up being a problem for anything that has a remaster. Provenance is important, but it may be even more important on MQA albums as essentially they are having multiple operations done on the material. On Guess I’m Doing Fine slide guitar and bass sound a bit richer with fuller note edges without sounding fat. The bass sustains just a little bit longer.

So inconclusion (intentional), the results are inconclusive on MQA. With 2L songs off their test bench I couldn’t distinguish MQA from DXD Masters. On Tidal, MQA sounded generally a little quieter, but also sounded like the notes were a bit fuller and richer, especially in bass notes, which got some plus texture. I couldn’t discern any differences in sound stage. I didn’t do my tests blinded, but I also didn’t always know the order of tracks and was able to pick out the MQA track on a couple of occasions without having visual confirmation (D’yer Mak’er, Guess I’m Doing Fine), which could easily be random chance. Without repeated blind testing, the null hypothesis would be that I guess right 50% of the time. Two cherry-picked right guesses does not a strong observation make. How much do you trust my ears? How much do you trust your own? The next time I listened to D’yer Mak’er I guessed wrong. I also wasn’t consistent on Norah Jones – Shoot the Moon. I think I’d have to have perfect volume matching to have confidence in any comparisons over time.



One thing I can say for MQA, it doesn’t appear to make sound quality worse. Whether real or imagined, the sound seemed different, but it seemed generally better than the CD quality version on Tidal and not worse than the DXD when listening to 2L tracks (with a substantially smaller file size). I’ve done previous tests with DXD and lower bitrate formats and found that I generally preferred the DXD to everything else and couldn’t tell it apart from DSD128 and DSD256 on DSD mastered tracks. Generally, DXD is as close to the master as you can get. Top masters are in 32bit DXD (352kHz), commercial DXD just drops 8 bits on the word length.

iEMatch


To test out iEMatch I whipped out my most sensitive IEMs, the Noble Kaiser Encore. When no music is playing there is low level hiss out of both the Direct and the iEMatch outputs, but the iEMatch output is virtually silent. The hiss on the iEMatch is way way down. Hiss is inaudible on either of them when any music is playing, including silent portions of music. The iEMatch comes with a sound signature toll. Because it raises output impedance (from under 1Ω to under 4Ω), it does exactly what you would expect it to do, it pushes up the bass a bit. The effect isn’t bad, but it definitely colours the sound.

On the Micro iDSD I found that the main advantage of iEMatch was allowing greater use of the volume control with sensitive IEMs, and this is still the case here. On Direct, the Noble Kaiser Encore gets loud fast.

Driving Power
As previously highlighted, the Nano iDSD BL does just fine with sensitive IEMs, thank you very much. It also handled the RHA CL750 with aplomb. But what about the HD600, you say? What about those teasers on the twitterverse?

The stats say it should be able to pull it off. I’ve previously done the HD600 driven well from a 280 mW into 32Ω source. That measurement just happens to be right about where this Nano iDSD BL sits (285 mW into 30Ω), so theoretically, it should do it.

Is theory replicated in practice? Absolutely. Actually, I think it drives the HD600 better than it drives the RHA CL750. When comparing to the XI Audio Formula S (in balanced output) fed by the Nano iDSD BL driving the HD600 vs. the Nano iDSD BL in Direct drive mode, I get a little bit more depth on the Formula S, but the differences aren’t much. The iFi Nano iDSD BL gets out some serious performance. It will drive the HD600 to plenty of volume with plenty of dynamics.

For laughs, I hooked up the HiFiMAN HE1000 v2 for a little try. The Nano iDSD BL gives enough volume, but it lacks the dynamic punch of the XI Audio Formula S and can’t match the imaging. Unsurprisingly, the HE1000 v2 needs more juice to thrive. You can play the HE1000 v2, but it’s wasted on the iFi Nano iDSD BL. It was, surprisingly, not a laugher.

I also used the 3.5mm out to the XI Audio Formula S (review upcoming), and it provided a super clean output. The system is straight up transparent. I loved this combination with the HiFiMAN Susvara, and I also dug it with the Unique Melody ME1.



Audio quality
You know what is really strange? I really don’t have much to say about the sound quality of the iFi Nano iDSD BL independent of comparisons. It is transparent. It has excellent resolution. It doesn’t output a coloured sound. It has an accurate, well-defined, reasonably sized soundstage. I think the key here for the BL is actually how it compares to other DAC/Amps and DAPs. I’ve got a few of those on hand. DAC comparisons used the following signal chain, designed to get the best out of a DAP (you may not get as good using these on your rig):

Dell Inspiron 13 → Generic iFi USB3.0 cable → iFi Micro iUSB3.0 → LH Labs Lightspeed 2G split power and data usb cable → DAC/Amp (potentially with adaptor first)

I used a Lindy USB3.0 B to A adaptor instead of the iFi one included in the packaging (one more thing to send back to iFi in perfect condition). Since iFi doesn’t produce their adaptors and they don’t appear to be audiophile grade, it doesn’t really matter which adaptor I use, so long as it isn’t junk. I’ve used the Lindy for a long time. It does the job.

All comparisons were done using the Ultimate Ears Reference Remastered (for general timbre and DAC capabilities), the Sennheiser HD600 for driving power, and the Noble Kaiser Encore for hiss. Volume matching was performed using an SPL meter and a listening level of ~78.2 dB calibrated with white noise for comparisons using the UERR. I didn’t bother to volume match the Noble Kaiser Encore because the listening tests were for answering relatively simple yes/no question does it hiss during silence or during quiet music? For that question I just need to listen at a similar volume, not a precisely calibrated volume. For the HD600, my question was similarly simple to the Noble Kaiser Encore: can the player drive it? To know this, all I needed to do was check volume and listen for dynamics and spacialization. My listening level is 78.2dB, approximately, and I can usually get within 0.2-0.5dB by ear. I’ve had a goodly number of times where I set the volume on an IEM, measure it, and then discover that the SPL measurement is 78.2 dB with white noise. For all listening tests the Nano iDSD BL was on the ‘Measure’ filter.



I played the following tracks:

1. Cyndee Peters – House of the Rising Sun (fantastic track from Opus3 records, DSD128)
2. Hoff Ensemble – Blågutten (2L track with huge space, DXD, available for free)
3. Wager-Åstrand - Fasten Seat Belts (another Opus3 track, DSD128)
4. Pixies – Where is My Mind (24/88.2)
5. Why? – Sod in the Seed (16/44.1)

iFi Nano iDSD BL vs. LH Labs GO2A Infinity
From a features standpoint, the Nano iDSD BL has a number of advantages: it draws normal current off of a USB source (LH Labs Draws a bit extra), it has 10 hours of battery, and it has a true and excellent fixed line-out. The Nano iDSD doesn’t have a balanced output, but the balanced circuit inside it gives the same sonic benefits. The Nano iDSD BL is more matchable and doesn’t rely on external volume control.

UERR
The sense of space in both players is similar, with the GO2A Infinity having a slight advantage in height and width, but depth goes to the Nano. The GO2A Infinity has harder edges and more firm impact, but it can be sharp and unforgiving at times. The Nano iDSD BL is smoother and more forgiving, whilst the GO2A can be hard and sharp at times. The upper mids on the GO2A are sweeter, but can overheat at times. The iDSD doesn’t soar as much as the GO2A does on Where is My Mind, but it has more depth on Sod in the Seed and has an overall less exuberant sound. On Sod in the Seed, the high glockenspiel notes are a bit piercing on the GO2A, and more natural on the Nano iDSD BL. Treble is hiked up a bit, which is probably what creates some of the extra height in the GO2A sound, and more edgy impactful sound in the upper mids. The sound on the GO2A can become fatiguing with its exuberance, even if it is totally inspiring in a collection of moments. If the hard edges and exuberance irritate you even a little, the echo-chamber of your mind will get to you when the track playing back has what some would view as flaws. Some will find the exuberance inspiring and worthy of praise whilst others will be immediately turned off on the GO2A Infinity, the Nano iDSD BL doesn’t have these hard edges, it’s smooth. It is still detailed, but the treble isn’t enhanced, so no divisive screams.





Noble Kaiser Encore
Out of both the Direct and iEMatch outputs, the Noble Kaiser Encore sounds as special as it should. Hiss is effectively controlled on both outputs, but there is some minor hiss during silence on the Direct output. You may not even hear it. If the Kaiser Encore is hooked up to the iEMatch output, it gets a bass boost. Maybe you want a bit extra midbass, maybe you don’t. When using the Kaiser Encore on the GO2A Infinity, even at the lowest gain, it hisses like an Indiana Jones nightmare.



HD600
The HD600 is my stress test for portable players and the both of these players pass. The HD600 sounds full with all dynamics intact. Soundstage was not crushed and nothing sounded softened.

iFi Nano iDSD BL vs. Questyle QP2R
I know. This comparison is not really fair, right? The QP2R is more than 6x the price. As anyone who’s been around the block in audiophile-land more than once will tell you, the law of diminishing returns hits like crotch-punching circus dwarf. There are some features that the Nano iDSD BL has that the QP2R doesn’t: a fixed analog line-out, and iEMatch. Of course the QP2R also throws down some features that iFi doesn’t, mostly about being a DAP and not a portable DAC/Amp. They both rock 10 hour (tested) battery life and excellent sound.



UERR
The UERR has brilliant spatial presentation on both the Nano iDSD BL, it’s a friggin’ monitor after all. However, the QP2R has greater depth, width and height as well as better layering. The soundstage has an effortlessness to the separation of the instruments on the QP2R. It’s really friggin’ brilliant. Tonally, the Nano iDSD BL is a bit soft in the midrange, whilst the QP2R is more impactful and sharper. On Where is My Mind, there is more soar, more space, more layering. The QP2R is just superior with the UERR. Listening to other tracks

Noble Kaiser Encore
The QP2R has hiss with the Kaiser Encore, more so on the balanced out. The hiss is lower and less obtrusive than that found on the GO2A Infinity when on single-ended output, but it is noticeable. I tried messing with some adaptors like the 75Ω impedance adaptor from DUNU or the UE Buffer Jack. The UE Buffer Jack reduces hiss by adjusting damping factor in favour of the IEM. It doesn’t cause frequency response modification like an impedance adaptor, but it does lower the hiss level, whilst not eliminating it completely in this case. The 75Ω adaptor eliminated the hiss, but messed up both the bass and the treble, making the treble thin and the bass flabby. The Nano iDSD BL is superior with the Noble Kaiser Encore. It has been my experience that none of Questyle’s gear plays well with multi-BA, sensitive IEMs. I’ve tried using the QP2R, the CMA600i and the CMA800R Golden Reference amps, and all have problems with the Noble Kaiser Encore. Questyle gear likes headphones and IEMs that have some impedance.

HD600
The Questyle QP2R likes the 300Ω Sennheiser HD600 headphones. The Questyle QP2R, on paper, shouldn’t drive the Sennheiser HD600, but current mode amplification is magic, and it somehow manages to drive it with space to spare on the settings dialled into high gain and high bias settings with the balanced output. I had to turn it up to 99 out of 120 on volume, which means plenty of overhead was still there.

With regard to the sound characteristics of the two players, the QP2R has a clearer and more forward midrange with stronger edges. The iFi Nano iDSD BL has a smoother more soft feel, which makes it feel a little less resolute, but will have people really digging the ambiance once they settle in. Much like the Hidizs AP200 below, the Questyle QP2R has greater impact to it’s sound, but it never sounds like it is trying too hard or tipping the frequency response out of balance. The Questyle QP2R is delightful, and I prefer it’s sound to the iFi Nano iDSD BL. It is 6x the price, though, so on a value for money level the Nano iDSD Black Label wins easily.

iFi Nano iDSD BL vs. Shanling M2s
The iFi Nano iDSD BL and Shanling M2s might be considered direct comparators. Both do DSD256 and DXD. Both are small and capable. Both are useable with your phone (iFi via USB OTG, Shanling M2s via Bluetooth). Both can be used as external DACs with a computer. Both are under £200 with the iFi Nano iDSD Black Label coming in at £199 and the Shanling M2s dropping in at £189 (on Amazon.co.uk). The Shanling M2s has the best screen on any DAP I’ve been privileged enough to use. The Nano iDSD BL doesn’t have a screen, but does have iEMatch, a true fixed line-out and MQA.

UERR
The Shanling M2s has a softer midrange on the The Pixies – Where is My Mind and doesn’t soar with female vocals like the iFi Nano iDSD BL can in Where is My Mind. It lacks the amplitude. On Why? – Sod in the Seed the midrange is cleaner and clearer with better defined edges on Yoni Wolf’s slacker rap musings. Claps and woodblocks lack the impact and definition on the Shanling M2s. Bass on the Shanling M2s is a bit more present with a warmer overall sound. There is a bit of a gauziness to the Shanling M2s sound, a slight veiling. On the fast percussion of Fasten Seat Belts, the M2s just can’t keep up with the track in the way that the Nano iDSD Black Label does. The Black Label has excellent speed and precision. The Shanling M2s just sounds slower. Listening with the iFi Nano iDSD BL on Cyndee Peters – House of the Rising Sun, it’s like a morning mist has been pierced by the rising sun and forced to retreat back into the wooded hollows from whence it crept. The background is black and clear. Excellent. The Shanling M2s, whilst good doesn’t have the kind of clarity and resolution that the iFi Nano iDSD Black Label can muster.

Noble Kaiser Encore
There is a slight elevation in the bass on the Shanling M2s because of the output impedance. Some will like this ‘enhancement.’ The added bass is still nice, but this is not neutral playback. The Noble Kaiser Encore does not hiss on the M2s.



HD600
The Shanling M2s can play loud enough with the HD600 only if you max out the volume meter. This player will do in a pinch, but really shouldn’t be used for the HD600. Dynamics are crushed a bit and the soundstage gets a little smaller, but the overall sound is still good.

iFi Nano iDSD BL vs. Hidizs AP200
Interestingly both the Hidizs AP200 ($299 suggested for aluminum 32GB) and the iFi Nano iDSD BL ($199) have balanced amplification inside with a single ended output. The Hidizs is more expensive, but you do get yourself a full-on touch screen DAP with full Android, Play Store, and friggin’ killer sound. In practice the iDSD gets better battery life. I’ve been averaging around 7-8 hours on the Hidizs AP200.

UERR
On Where is My Mind, the Hidizs soars a little more and has a little more impact. It is a very punchy player without having the sharpened treble claws of the LH Labs GO2A Infinity. Image size and clarity are pretty similar between the Nano iDSD BL and the Hidizs.



If I had to give any edges, it would be that the Hidizs AP200 has a little bit more height and the iFi Nano iDSD BL has a little more width. Depth is even, as far as I can tell. Tonally the Hidizs AP200 is a little more bright. What listeners prefer will really come down to tonal preference. Overall presentation is a little more energetic on the AP200 than the iFi iDSD Nano Black Label. Again, whether you want a more relaxed sound like the iFi or a punchy stand up and get noticed sound like the Hidizs will come down to listening preference. Personally, I’d be happy to have both options. Sometimes you want more relaxing, sometimes you want energy. Are you feeling laconic today?

Noble Kaiser Encore
There is a very soft hiss with the Hidizs AP200 that becomes inaudible in most music. Listening to Cyndee Peters do House of the Rising Sun with the UERR there is no hiss on the track, it’s clean as a surgical theatre. When switching to the Kaiser Encore, there is hiss on the track but it is light and may actually be the IEMs being more sensitive to the noise of the tape. The Cyndee Peters recording is a tape transfer direct to DSD, so it is possible that the Kaiser Encore could be picking up non-musical information from the recording method. The impedance output of the Hidizs didn’t cause any perceptible bass elevation, which is a pro in my book. Performance compared to the Nano iDSD in Direct mode is pretty similar, with slightly more hiss on the AP200.

HD600
Much like the Shanling M2s, it takes everything the Hidizs AP200 has to get to a good volume level on the HD600 (97 of 100). In this case, I think it sounds a bit better than the M2s. The soundstage has significantly less width and depth than the Nano iDSD BL, and the Nano iDSD BL clearly outplays on clarity, separation and driving power. It also handles the speedy percussion of Fasten Seat Belts with outstanding resolution that the Hidizs AP200 does not match. The Hidizs AP200 gives good tone, generally, but the technical capabilities of the Nano iDSD BL are superior. At times the Hidizs struggles and distorts on some low bass notes, whereas the iFi Nano iDSD BL withstands the assault of low bass notes without distortion. The Hidizs does have a bit more focus and slam in the mids, which could be due to slightly elevated upper mids compared to the Nano iDSD BL. Punchy like the talented Mr. McGregor.



iFi Nano iDSD BL vs. Aune M1s
The Aune M1s is quite simply one of my favourite DAPs to work with. It doesn’t change the sound of any IEMs I play with it. It stays out of the way, maintaining the most consistently neutral presentation of any of the DAPs in my stable (more than a few). It’s a simple beast, and it doesn’t have a ton of power for output or a ton of features. It doesn’t have a fixed line-out. It will not play the HD600. It does have balanced output. It also doesn’t mess with the sound of the Noble Kaiser Encore at all. I’ve spent a lot of time previously talking about the Aune M1s, so you can check out it’s review.

UERR
Listening to House of the Rising Sun, there is more width to the stage on the Nano iDSD BL than on the Aune M1s. Both keep a nice tone, but the Nano iDSD BL has a bit sweeter treble when the bells and cymbals come in, with a bit fuller presentation.

Noble Kaiser Encore
The M1s is perfectly clear with the Noble Kaiser Encore. It is a beautiful pairing that lets the Encore shine. There is no hiss, and the bass isn’t elevated due to impedance mismatches.

HD600
Can’t do it. Sound is drained and feeble. Frequency response isn’t accurate either.

Specifications
General Specifications
Price: £199 ($199)
DAC: Burr Brown
Formats Supported: DSD64-DSD256, DXD384/352.8kHz, PCM 44.1-384, MQA 88.2/96/176.4/192kHz filters
Filters: Listen (transient optimised minimum phase filter), Measure (frequency response optimised filter)
Inputs: USB Type A “OTG” socket with built in iPurifier® technology
Battery Life: ~10 hours (tested)
Dimensions: 96 x 64 x 25.5mm
Weight: 139g (0.31 lbs)
Warranty: 12 months

Headphone Amplifier
Outputs: Dual Mono 2 x 285mW Direct Drive, coupling capacitor free circuit, 2 x 3.5mm outputs: 1 Direct and 1 iFi iEMatch integrated (for sensitive IEMs)
Max Output Level (<10% THD): >3.5V @ 600Ω load (Direct; 20mW into 600Ω), >2.9v @ 30Ω load (Direct; 285mW into 30Ω), >1.7V @ 15Ω load (Direct; 200mW into 15Ω)
Total Harmonic Distortion + Noise: < 0.005% @125mW/30R
Dynamic Range (DNR): >109db (A-weighted) @ 3V (Direct), >107db (A-weighted) @ 0.5V (iEMatch®)
Output Impedance: ≤ 1Ω (Direct), ≤ 4Ω (iEMatch)
Channel Separation: > 79dB @ 600Ω load (Direct), > 79dB @ 15Ω load (Direct)
Volume Control: Analog 2-track Potentiometer with power switch, < 2dB tracking error – 40dB…0dB attenuation

Line Output
Total Harmonic Distortion + Noise: < 0.004%
Dynamic Range (DNR): >109db (A-weighted)
Output Voltage: 2.15V (±0.05V)
Output Impedance: < 240Ω
Channel Separation: > 99dB @ 1kHz
Jitter (correlated): Below set test limit

Conclusions
If you are looking for an upgrade to your two channel living room setup from something more basic, and potentially from something considerably more advanced—as a straight-up DAC the iFi Nano iDSD Black Label was superior to my Questyle CMA600i in the same signal chain (playing into the XI Audio Formula S feeding HiFiMAN Susvara); or you are looking for something that drives a wide variety of headphones with no problem, or maybe you are staring into the abyss of format wars like the potential impending ascendancy of the newest format darling (MQA), then you may want to check out the iFi Nano iDSD BL. The Nano iDSD BL drives headphones from the Noble Kaiser Encore (very minimal hiss that disappears with music) all the way up to the Sennheiser HD600 without distortion through the Direct port. In the case of the Noble Kaiser Encore, I did notice a little tonal change on the iEMatch port, that change was pretty similar to what I experience when listening to the Kaiser Encore out of the Shanling M2s, both sound good with the Kaiser Encore.

If I had to cite any weaknesses, it would be that sometimes the midrange can sound a little meeker than I expect. Some will find this of benefit, and I find it to be a very minor detractor that varies in infinitesimally small effects with the changing of my mood. This softening of the midrange is specific to the headphone amplifier component as the line-out maintains firm tone through the midrange when feeding the XI Audio Formula S.

You’d be hard-pressed to find a DAC/Amp combo at £199 ($199) with more features and better sound. Just as the iFi Micro iDSD Black Label was unfair to it’s competitors, the Nano iDSD Black Label should make some DAPs in the £200 range nervous. It’s got better sound quality than the all of my under $200 DAP stable, and kicks out sound on par to significantly better than some more expensive DAPs that I have or have played with.

Quick Read Conclusion

A superb sounding compact DAC/Amp that really packs a punch. Less suitable for pockets than some DAC/Amps, it is still a portable winner for me. Sound quality is fantastic, slightly warmer than purely neutral, with one of the best soundstages I have (in my admittedly limited experience) heard. Most of all, at £200 it is epic value for money, making it very easy to recommend. In fact, I recommend it so highly, I put my own money where my big mouth is and bought one.

Introductions and General Bumf

I was originally part of the tour for the iFi Audio nano iDSD Black Label ("Nano BL") but have actually purchased one for myself. Read into that what you will. For clarity, I am in no way associated with iFi and have received no inducement (other than the chance to use a Nano BL for a week) to write my review. I would like to thank Karina and the team at iFi for allowing me to take part in my first tour.

Test Kit: I have tested the Nano BL with Shure SE215, SE425, Sennheiser HD600, Ultimate Ears UE900s and KEF M500 headphones/IEMs. Sources have been a Samsung Note 8 and Galaxy S8 (using both Hiby music and USB audio player pro), Dell E7270 running Windows 7 and 11" Macbook Air (2012 vintage). I also ran the line out through a Schiit Vali 2 to compare against the Modi 2.

Preparation: I have given the Nano BL a shade over 50 hours of burn-in (unsure if I believe in burn in, but figured this should help for people who do) and I did not start any critical listening without giving it at least an hour to warm up (I think warm up of DACs does help, and have read a couple of papers on this, but given this is a "mobile" DAC I don’t think real world use will involve having had this thing plugged in for 24 hours before listening).

Me as a listener: I am not a pro by any stretch of the imagination. I have always enjoyed my music, and my tastes are pretty broad. I go to live music ranging from rock and pop concerts to orchestra and opera. I would not describe myself as having a trained ear, but I am attentive and my ears are in pretty good nick for a 34 year old (my hearing cuts off around 17.5 kHz per my frequency generator).

My tastes: neutral to warm, but I do like good punchy bass and I love to hear decent instrument separation.

Test tracks: I've tried to keep it broad and I have cited my music sources below, so (where possible) people can download the tracks themselves.

1) Wiz Kalifah – On My Level (320k MP3, Google Store)

2) Norah Jones – Turn Me On (24/192 FLAC, Qobuz)

3) John Williams – Throne Room from Star Wars performed by Prague Philharmonic Orchestra (16/44.1 FLAC, Qobuz)

4) The Verve – The Drugs Don’t Work (16/44.1 self ripped FLAC)

5) Ed Sheeran – Castle on the Hill (320k MP3, Google Store)

6) Grieg – In the Hall of the Mountain King (from the Peer Gynt Suite) performed by the Zech National Symphony Orchestra (24/48, Musopen Kickstarter Project)

7) Otis Redding – Dock of the Bay (24/192, HD Tracks)

8) 30 Seconds to Mars – Stronger (Radio 1 Live Lounge Cover) (16/44.1, self-ripped FLAC)

9) Pearl Jam – Yellow Ledbetter (320k MP3, Google Store)

10) Rage Against the Machine – Wake Up (292k m4a, iTunes)

So, on to the main event. [/General Bumf]

Unboxing

There are plenty of videos on youtube and some pictures below, so I won't bore on about this. Suffice to say, a good experience which felt suitably special. In the box, you get the Nano BL, a tactile "crushed velvet" (suspect not actually velvet) carry bag for it, a couple of silicon bands for attaching it to a phone, some cables and adaptors, a few (very basic) booklets and a little bag of silica gel.

I've seen a few criticisms about the lack of an OTG cable and/or lack of a shorter cable. To be honest, I think iFi would struggle to win here – their user base is likely to be a mixture of iPhone (lightning) and android (usb-c or micro usb) so whatever they could include is not going to work for everyone (and at £200 I don’t think you can reasonably expect a full complement of cables). They're only a few quid after all, and I am sure iFi recognised that most of their target audience would either have one already, or could easily source one. I did not see this therefore as a massive omission.



Practicalities

From the tip of the volume nob, the Nano BL is (by my approx. measurements) 9.5cm long, at its peak it stands 2.5cm high and is 6.5 cm wide. iFi tell us this is a portable unit, and that is broadly true, but there's portable and there's portable. Bolted to the back of a phone, this is not (in my opinion) practically "pocket portable" unless you are wearing a coat/clothes with very large pockets. I don’t really like attaching to my phone using rubber rings, so I don’t do this. For me, portability relates predominantly to my train commutes and for this it is perfect as I can set it on my table with my phone and drop it in my bag when not in use. It's reasonably light, and does not get particularly warm during use so I don’t see any bar to using the Nano BL on the bounce, other than general size.

Battery life is claimed to be up to 10 hours by iFi on the packaging. My experience, with the volume at about 9 o'clock (off is c. 7 o'clock) I am seeing a shade over 7 hours. Also worth noting is that if the Nano BL runs out of battery life, you can continue to run it so long as the USB port can provide it with sufficient power. It won't charge the battery at the same time however. I think iFi have missed a trick here as being able to recharge on the fly whilst listening, would have been a great inclusion.

I want to take a minute to talk about the USB implementation too. I have to say this is brilliant – the USB port is USB A male, meaning if you are using an OTG cable from a phone or android device (I suspect most people reading this review would do this) it simply plugs straight in. One note of caution though, watch your OTG cable as the one in the pic below fits perfectly, but I have a chunkier plastic one I had to shave with a Stanley knife to achieve a fit.



I have seen a few comments on forums, complaining about non compatibility. Across my devices (listed above) I have had no problems with instant recognition of the Nano BL.

*EDIT* a few people have noted on forums that their bag has a hole in the bottom which they consider a fault. Have a look here from about post #415 https://www.head-fi.org/threads/ifi...-participants-page-26-post-386.864211/page-28 i think it is meant to be there, for poking cables through when you are out and about. See below.



Finally, I'm not going to list out all of the functions available, stats etc. – you can see them here on iFi's website https://ifi-audio.com/portfolio-view/nano-idsd-bl/, or discussed excellently in @glassmonkey 's frankly brilliant review (I especially like what he had to say about MQA) https://www.head-fi.org/showcase/ifi-audio-nano-idsd-black-label.22770/reviews#review-19505 .

The Sound

I have decided to split my review into the increasingly standard format of highs, mids, lows and soundstage. I am also going to focus a little on separation, as it is something I enjoy hearing.

Highs

I'm yet to experience sparkling or fatiguing treble and so whilst I have read a lot about it I can't say I have a reference point for it. Of the Nano BL I cannot say the highs are not disproportionately pronounced or notable to my ears. I enjoyed clearly hearing the triangle and cymbals in Throne Room, distinguishable through the entire orchestra. This is particularly notable on the SE425s which, along with the M500s, have probably seen the most use with the Nano BL. Similarly, the crashing waves and whistling through Dock of the Bay are right where you want them to be – present and clear but in no way overpowering.

Mids

From the headphones and tracks listed above, you can probably tell I'm a sucker for mids. And the Nano BL does not disappoint. Its performance of Yellow Ledbetter almost left a tear in my eye, the guitar absolutely consuming, ringing clear with the Nano BL faithfully re-creating the interplay of an increasingly complex fall off against each new note; a sound interplay which is often lost on lesser sources, particularly straight from my smart phones. Norah's Turn Me On is delivered with all that wonderful richness, the Nano BL evidently talented with this sort of track, I think assisted by the fact that its silences are really, really silent (subject to the below), no buzz or machine noise at all – just sweet, sweet silence! Even Rage's Wake Up is served up competently, each riff distinguishable amongst the constant noise of the track.

Lows

Here, the Nano BL again shows itself to be a class act. With the HD600s and M500s, the rumbling bassline in On My Level is suitably huge, creating that real sense of big bass I think can be hard to recreate without a chunky subwoofer. Where it really shows itself to be ahead of the pack though is how it covers the same song with the SE425s – these IEMs are definitely lighter (albeit usually tighter) with bass, but with the Nano BL pushing, that Wiz Kalifah bassline is still the leading sound to the song, with the rest of the track following. Each note is delivered with impact and more tremor than I've heard the SE425s deliver elsewhere. I wonder if iFi have enhanced the bass a little with this DAC? Not so much it's unpleasant, but with my setup it is noticeable.

Soundstage and Separation

So whilst the tonality and musicality are definitely sweet, something I really noticed with the Nano BL is its pronounced soundstage and instrument separation. This is the first time I have listened to music from an in-ear source and have felt anything like the sense of size you get when sat in front of an actual orchestra. I don’t particularly experience height of sound, but I definitely perceive width very clearly, especially on the orchestral pieces. I would also say separation is the most exceptional I have yet heard. In the verve's Drugs Don’t Work, both guitars are very clearly there, in no way blending as they often do, especially direct from phone outputs. Similarly in 30 Seconds to Mars' Stronger cover from Radio 1's Live Lounge, not only is there width, with each layer of the track sounding like it is physically placed somewhere else, but as the track layers up every drum tick, cymbal, guitar note and synth sound is clearly distinguishable, with the vocals holding everything together. I've posted previously how I've been really disappointed with Ed Sheeran's divide album on good earphones, but particularly my 425s. The complex track building has sounded very muffled and confused, with an overall effect of clashing. The Nano BL managed to hold it together here, with the layers distinguishable but coherent and complimentary without clashing.

A criticism (which is probably down to recordings rather than the device) is that the pronounced separation and width of soundstage can occasionally sound artificial. A couple of the Otis Redding tracks on the same album as Dock of the Bay end up with a sort of "half-half" effect where all the vocals are in the left ear and everything else in the right. This was distracting for me, and took away from the enjoyment of the track a little, but I only noticed it on a few, older tracks. Further, it can pick up the odd thing it isn’t meant to – the musopen kickstarter's high res files have a few noticeable turns of page, musicians shuffling etc. and you can hear each and every one in In the Hall of the Mountain King.

Comparisons v. Schiit Stack

As you'll see from the photos below, I had a bit of fun feeding the Nano BL's line out into my Vali 2 and listening to the Nano BL v. the Modi 2 Uber (and for the below, "Schiit Stack" means the Modi 2 Uber and Vali 2) to see if there was much difference just in the DACs. For the purposes of this test, I only used my HD600s. Now, let's be clear about this, the Schiit Stack reopened my music collection for me, delivering clarity and detail I had never heard before. It was a massive upgrade for me, and so, for a portable £200 unit, I am really pleased to say that, across the piece, I think these two are pretty close. The Nano BL is possibly a little tighter and more impactful with bass, and the Schiit Stack perhaps a little more "tingly" in the highs, but not much in it. Where there is a difference is in the width of soundstage, the Nano BL definitely wider, and with more pronounced separation. My preference depends on mood, and I can't honestly give a "better" opinion – not better, not worse, just different and equally enjoyable.



Other thoughts

iFi are making a lot of their "semi balanced" output. I started a thread here a while ago on unbalanced v balanced and know that it is an emotive issue for some and not a debate I am going to enter into (due to self-recognised ignorance on the topic). Technical implementation aside, and subject to the buzz point discussed below, silents are silent so for example, in In the Hall of the Mountain King, the almost silent start of the track, with very quiet plucking is not detracted form by any sort of buzz or hum. For clarity, I have not tested with a 3.5mm TRRS cable and so cannot comment on any difference between unbalanced v (sort of) balanced on this device.

If I plug my IEMs into the direct output and crank the volume up there is a hiss. However this would be a listening level that would probably burst my head, so not a real world problem. This is not noticeable at low level/with non-IEMs/from the IE Match port.

For all headphones I tested in both ports. The IE Match port doesn’t go loud enough to drive the HD600s at a pleasant listening volume for me, but the direct port definitely does. If I'm being very picky, I would say that the IE Match port sounds ever so slightly veiled compared to direct, particularly in the mids with guitars. But it's slight, barely noticeable, and wouldn’t stop me from using it for IEMs.

Measure/Listen switch – switched this a few times and couldn’t discern a difference. All testing was done on Listen.

Niggles and Solutions

Early on I was experiencing a mixed amount of battery drain on both my S8 and Note 8. Intermittently, the Nano BL seemed to suck a big chunk of juice out of the phone, and then the phone goes back to operating normally. I couldn’t explain this initially, but have now realised that if you turn it off and leave it plugged into the phone (certainly on the S8 and Note 8) it will pull power and recharge itself, rinsing your phone!

I also experienced a pronounced clicking and popping (not interference, just intermittent pops and clicks) for a while. I isolated this to one of the cables (in fact, the one I shaved down so it could fit the USB port), but I don’t get the same issue with this cable on other devices so perhaps a fit issue? In any event, it was the cable not the Nano BL but one to watch for.

Conclusion

All in all, the Nano BL delivers some of the best sound I have ever heard, standing shoulder to shoulder with my Schiit Stack. That it does this in a reasonably portable package is remarkable, but when it does that for £200 I find almost nothing to fault. This game is all about compromise and personal taste for me, as I will probably always be able to buy "better" than I have. The question I ask myself is, can I tell the difference, and if so, is it worth it? Hence, compromise. At this price point though, there is little or no compromise on sound and in fact I suspect a number of manufacturers making similarly priced and even more expensive devices are, correctly, a little worried. If the compromise for this product is that it is a little chunkier than would be absolutely ideal, it is one I am happy to live with – so much so, I have bought one with my own, hard earned dosh.

iFi iDSD Nano Black Label - Mighty Little One

iFi made the world a bit brighter when they designed and started selling their iDSD Micro BL, which we reviewed in the past, and now they are back at it again. iFi iDSD Nano Black Label is the refinement (Black Label) version of their highly acclaimed iFi iDSD Nano DAC/AMP, which made a many music enthusiasts on a budget happy back when it was released. We're going to look at what iDSD Nano BL brings to the mix!






Introduction

iFi is a large company, part of the Abbingdon Music Research Group (AMR), which by itself is one of UK's largest audio equipment designers and producers. iFi has been known for a good while for their very healthy ethics, excellent standards of work and extended customer support, providing service and friendly support even for products which have been long out of their warranties. iFi is also one of the companies which is quickest to answer fan / customer mail and questions and they are always managing tours for their products, and designing new awesome products, both standalone (like the one we are reviewing today), and add-on products which extend the fun of other products like iFi AC iPurifier, which we reviewed in the past https://audiophile-heaven.blogspot.ro/2018/02/ifi-ac-ipurifier-power-immaculate.html

It should be noted that I have absolutely no affiliation with iFi, I am not receiving any incentive for this review or to sweeten things out. This review is not sponsored nor has been paid for by iFi or anyone else. I'd like to thank iFi for providing the sample for the review. The sample was provided along with iFi's request for an honest and unbiased review. This review will be as objective as it is humanly possible, and it reflects my personal experience with iFi iDSD Nano Black Label. Every opinion expressed is mine and I stand by it, the purpose of this review is to help those interested in iDSD Nano BL find their next music companion.



About me

https://audiophile-heaven.blogspot.ro/p/about.html



Packaging

First things first, let's get the packaging out of the way:

























iFi's packaging has become a standard in this niche by now, with their beautiful white boxes of immaculate imagery, all wearing the banner of being environment friendly, and processed with organic ink. Those might not be important aspects to all customers, but it warms the heart to know that iFi is doing all their best to protect the world while providing a very interesting product.

The packaging includes iNano BL, along with a carrying bag, cables, rubber straps, a few exotic connectors, and iFi's warranty card. It seems that the device has almost everything it could require included in the package, minus an OTG cable, which we felt might have been welcome with iDSD Micro BL.

iFi's blue USB cable can connect to anything, from an OTG to a desktop computer, but you'll require that OTG adapter for a smartphone. iFi's cable is of a very high quality and it always served us well during our tests, providing a hassle-free and perfect connecting for our devices.

As for all the exotic extras iFi includes with their packaging, neither our workstation nor our high-end desktop isn't able to use those, so they are rather made for a very specific purpose, and while we think that only few users will be able to take full advantage of those, we are very happy that iFi includes them with their devices.

The carrying pouch should only be used while storing iNano BL as it won't provide much protection to it, and using it while iNano BL is in usage can also lead to overheating.



What to look in when purchasing a high-end DAC/AMP

https://audiophile-heaven.blogspot.ro/p/what-to-lookl.html



Technical Specifications





Build Quality/Aesthetics/UI/Firmware

Starting with the build quality, iNano BL is built like a tank. It doesn't have any edges that can be affected by other objects if it is kept in a pocket next to them, the volume wheel is much larger in diameter and much shorter in length when compared to iDSD BL Micro, thing which makes the volume wheel much much less prone to any kind of damage, and all buttons feel trust-worthy.















































The whole device is painted in a semi-glossy black color, and it has a very fine texture on it. The edges are less exposed when compared to iDSD BL Micro, making iNano BL easier to slide in and out of a pocket / bag, and making stacking much easier with a wider range of devices.

The design is more elegant and less industrial this time around, iFi making iDSD BL Nano a device that can easily fit with a wider range of environments and making sure that it won't look strange placed in any kind of other environment.

The rubber feet are also attached to the device from the factory now, thing which we liked quite a lot. It seems that iFi iDSD BL Micro also comes with its feet attached via factory in the latest releases, but we couldn't confirm this information with an official source.

The firmware of iDSD Nano BL is very hassle-free and it works without any drivers on Android devices. From all our Android devices tested, it worked just fine on every device, without any lag and without any issues. On Windows, one needs to install iFi's driver for Windows for the iNano BL to work. The drivers work very fine, do not require any kind of special settings, and you are able to just set and forget for those moments when you don't want to tinker with fine settings.

There are two filter settings, measure and listen. What they do, basically, measure applies absolutely no special smoothing or any kind of enhancer over the music, and plays it bit-perfect, while listen will apply some filters and some smoothing over the signals played to provide a more musical experience. In our experience, measure is better than listen for music that has a lot of sharp transient and a lot of textures in the instruments, while listen works better for music which relies a lot of very liquid and smooth instruments and vocals. The changes each filter adds to the music are rather small and one doesn't need to bother with them, but they do provide some fine tuning for those who want an either bit-perfect or a more musical experience.

There is an iEMatch button built-in to iNano BL, and it does what it should do, providing a little bit of attenuation where it is required. We never used it as almost all our IEMs were not too loud without it, although there is some hiss present with some IEMs when using them from the Direct port, so we recommend experimenting with those ports to find the perfect balance.

There is an option for Balanced cables, or rather, iFi has built in a balanced output in the 3.5mm jack, with a TRRS 3.5mm connection which also accepts SE cables. Basically, you can use any 3.5mm connector, or make a 3.5mm balanced connector. The theoretical advantage is that iNano BL should have all the advantages of a balanced setup, all while remaining Single ended when the user doesn't have any Balanced cables. As we didn't have any 3.5mm balanced cables (not exactly a standard), we couldn't test this feature in any way, but the amplification iFi built is indeed very good and it does amplify the signal in a balanced way, although it is questionable whether this is audible without the proper cables.



Sound Quality

All good and well, iFi always makes trusty devices, but now it is the time of judging its sound quality. This will be rather interesting because iNano BL is rather inexpensive 200$ current Amazon price mark, being less expensive than DH1000 which we reviewed quite recently, and much less expensive than FiiO Q5, which runs for about 350$.



The overall signature of iDSD Nano BL is really really similar to that of its bigger brother, iDSD Micro BL. In fact, they are so close, that just going from one to the other doesn't immediately reveal the differences, and one would require an extended period of time to spot the differences properly. Since this is a standalone review, we'll try to focus a bit on iNano BL's signature rather than just compare it to its bigger sibling for now.

iDSD Nano BL is a pretty neutral tuned DAC/AMP with an excellent depth to its sound, a very good vocal timbre and a rather neutral overall tuning. It has a bit of an added sparkle in the treble, but nothing too much, while the bass has a good depth, whilst keeping a good impact as well.



Bass



The bass of iDSD Nano BL is one heck of a deal. We're talking about a device costing 200$, and we can be amazed. The bass goes as low as one can imagine it would go, and it hits as deep as one can imagine it can hit. The fine refinement of percussion textures is rather amazing, and there is something about deep bass notes that never ceased to impress us during our tests. The impact is quite amazing as well, along with the rather interesting revealing abilities in finer bass textures and nuances. This being said, we're not sure if it quite reaches its bigger brother's level, but it still is an amazing experience.



Midrange



The midrange of iNano BL is once again quite excellent. It has a very good resolution and very good revealing abilities, a very natural and spot-on tonal timbre, and it has a great amount of detail and micro-detail. Due to some crazy good and quick timings, it is able to reveal fine textures in Mindless Self Indulgence music, all whilst keeping the vocals of Jill Tracy as musical and emotional as ever. Guitars have a very juicy presentation, with a very engaging overall feeling, while pianos have the right amount of emotion and depth to sound realistic. Everything is fairly well presented and feels spot-on, and once again, while not having quite exactly the performance of its bigger brother, it still is an amazing performance.



Treble



The treble experience of iNano BL is once again, quite amazing. The treble extends very well up to the highest registers audible to the human ear, while cymbal crashes last for the right amount of time. At times, it has a shorter decay than its bigger brother, sounding maybe a tad less extended in its soundstage, but it still has a good amount of air in its treble and between its instruments. Trumpets bear excellent impact and aren't made any romantic where they should be more brilliant rather than friendly, while the very fine touching of a cymbal during a cabaret is rendered perfectly romantic with a very sensitive touch.



Soundstage



Another interesting aspect of iDSD Nano BL is its soundstage. The soundstage size is on the larger side for the price range, but smaller than its bigger brother, iDSD Micro BL, where Micro BL feels more extended and things can be spread on a wider scale, with more depth, and where Nano gives more of a room impression in its soundstage. Even so, the instrument separation is golden for the price, and everything placed together, the whole soundstage / instrument separation and imaging are amazing.



ADSR/PRaT



The ADSR / PRaT are another part of iNano BL that amazed us, as it quickly reminds of its bigger brother, Micro BL. Given that Micro BL is one of the best DAC/AMPs we tested to date in its timing and (Attack Decay Sustain Release), iNano BL is also quite amazing. Setting the filter slider to measure will result in excellent timings all-around, with a natural decay that doesn't smear and isn't prolonged, and with a quick and tangible attack for every musical note. The overall feeling is that micro-textures and textures are revealed nicely, with a very good introspection in their finer nuances, whilst if you want a smoother and more laid-back presentation, you can always engage the listen filter, which will make the whole timing more fit with laid-back music, giving the whole device a more relaxed feeling.



Portable Usage

Interestingly enough, we still aren't quite that enthused about an external DAC/AMP, but we found iDSD Nano BL to be much more portable than its bigger brother (literally). iDSD Micro BL was larger than any smartphone on the market, being both longer, thicker and actually narrower, providing a rather bad fit for smartphones, but it was the perfect width and length to be stacked with a DAP (Digital Audio Player) as a transport.



iNano BL, on the other hand, is rather thin and small compared to iDSD BL Micro, as iNano BL really fits wherever you need it to fit. It is amazing to think what tech iFi was able to craft inside the small shell of iNano BL and how good they have been at optimizing every little bit of space inside it.

The cable thing, on the other hand, is interesting to say the least. You can find an OTG that would fit inside iNano BL's USB input in such a way that you can literally wear it using only one short OTG cable, so that is a huge plus for portability.

It doesn't suffer from any kind of interference from outside sources, but it doesn't sport any extra portability feature like Bluetooth either, iNano BL being at the sweet spot of being portable.



Comparisons

Most comparisons have been taken with Edifier S1000DB, Audeze LCD-MX4, Cleartune SV4, Dita Truth, Hifiman RE2000, Ultrasone Signature Studio, Hifiman RE800, Sennheiser ie800, and Dunu Falcon-C.





















iDSD Nano BL vs FiiO Q5 (AMP5) - We know that most of our readers seek this part the most, so let's get started with the most interesting comparison we can have. Since FiiO Q5 is priced between iDSD Nano BL and iDSD Micro BL, and since adding AMP5 increases Q5's price a bit, this is going to be the most interesting comparison to look at today. Starting with the device itself, iDSD Nano BL is a smaller overall device, with a smaller footprint, while Q5 with any of its amps looks much more like a typical DAP, and its body would probably stack better to a DAP. Stacking to a smartphone, or at least to our test smartphone, Xiaomi Mi Max 2, is the same issue with both, both are very narrow to stack to it perfectly, but the fact that FiiO Q5 is longer actually makes it stack better. The features within are many and useful on both, as FiiO Q5 comes with a 2.5mm balanced port ex-factory, where iDSD Nano BL comes with a 3.5mm Balanced port. Q5 has Bluetooth support, but it will not work with a typical OTG cable, requiring a microUSB to microUSB cable or a USB Type-C to micro-USB cable to work with a smartphone. Volume control is done via a wheel on both devices, and it works fine on both, the wheel has proper protection on both devices. FiiO Q5 looks a tad more stylish in the long run, but leaving a larger footprint, this is also to be expected. When it comes to their sound, the sonics are quite different, especially with Q5 having multiple AMP modules which provide different sonic experiences. With AM05, FiiO Q5 has a similar level of control over the bass, comes with a slightly larger soundstage in width and especially in depth, all while staying at a similar height as iDSD Bl Nano. The treble is similar between the two, along with the overall tonal balance, although iDSD BL Nano has a tad more sparkle in the treble. Q5 tends to be more dynamic where iNano BL tends to be more energetic and emotional, although Q5 is quite emotional as well. FiiO Q5 has a lot of driving power behind it, and it is considerably more able than iNano BL when it comes to heavy loads, but we didn't really turn the volume to max on iNano BL with many headphones, so most users purchasing iNano BL at a considerably lower price might own easier to drive headphones, and feel content with the results. The details are a tad higher on FiiO Q5, but the differences are rather hard to spot and require careful listening and revealing headphones / IEMs for proper analysis.

iDSD Nano BL vs iDSD Micro BL - This comparison will also be quite important, and starting with the obvious, iDSD Micro BL is the better device on every level possible, but it also is around 2.5 times as expensive. We reviewed iDSD Micro BL in the past, and we still hold it in very high regards, as being one of the best DAC/AMPs there are. https://audiophile-heaven.blogspot.ro/2017/05/ifi-idsd-bl-pinnacle-of-dac-and-amp.html On the other hand, iNano BL comes at a significantly more affordable price and a much more portable size. The first and very obvious difference is in raw power, iDSD Micro BL being probably the strongest portable DAC/AMP made to date, and still keeping that title among the devices we tested, while iNano BL is considerably lower powered. Even so, iNano BL has a lot of power for portables and for what we feel most people will combine it with headphones that will not require more power, having around 285mW for 30 OHM on Direct. The difference in sonics becomes more obvious upon more listening and upon using quick-switching, but iDSD BL Micro has a larger soundstage in every direction, painting what could be called a soundscape on its side, rather than just a soundstage. Micro BL also has much better control at louder volumes, and overall control over transients and transient response, and it feels more musical and smoother, doing everything quite effortlessly, with a strong emotional touch, where iNano BL seems more energetic, but not as effortless and not as detailed either. There are details that iDSD Micro BL is able to extract and present to the listener with much better definition than iNano BL. The PRaT and ADSR is better on iDSD Micro BL as well, fine textures being one step ahead in resolution and presentation, although without very specific music and without knowing what to search for, this can be rather hard to distinguish.



Value and Conclusion

When it comes to iFi, we're talking about a huge company, part of AMR, one of the largest audio companies in the world, so we know we are talking about a serious company with a lot of support and a very strong background. iDSD Nano BL is their product offered to those who can't afford their more expensive offerings. Regarding offering an amazing device at a very affordable price, they do it in style and with elegance. iDSD Nano BL is probably one of the device we can recommend the most at its price, and for a good reason. It sounds better than most DAPs that can be found at this price, and ultimately, it might even be hard to distinguish it from the mighty Micro BL, if not using very revealing headphones / IEMs or without proper listening.

We didn't have a chance to compare it to virtually every other DAC/AMP that is priced at 200$, but we are confident that one would have a hard time finding anything at a similar price that has the same sonic abilities, along with iFi's trusty support and warranty.

All in all, iDSD Nano BL is one heck of a device, having not only a good price but also an amazing sound to it, amazing hardware to back it up, and a lot of useful features like balanced output, iEMatch built-in, multiple filters, and many others. It will connect hassle-free to your source / transport, and it will provide a good amount of fun and enjoyment with music, being neutrally tuned, with a touch of emotion, being rather vivid and detailed, and having a good amount of dynamics in its sound. It is hard to recommend something as much as iDSD Nano BL from iFi for just 200$, and we're sure that owners can confirm the enjoyment they are experiencing with it.




Stay safe and remember to always have fun while listening to music!



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There is a very good reason why I took a photo of the Nano Black is sitting atop my existing ifi Audio “Stack” which consists of Micro iDSD; Micro iCAN SE; iUSB; Gemini cable; Mercury cable and iPurifier2.


The reason is that unexpectedly I spent a lot of time and effort comparing these and constituent parts thereof. Initially I had fully expected to get my trusty Meze 99s warmed up and a quick listen to the Stack and then compare the Nano Black and job done. But oh no that was not nearly sufficient……….


The Meze 99 is a good headphone and for a closed back has very good imaging properties. It also has a warm and generous bass with an ever so slightly laid back treble. But that wasn’t the problem. The problem was that I could not easily decide which was better through the Meze 99s the Stack or the Nano Black. The comparison was using some favourite album tracks on Tidal HiFi from my laptop.


The Meze 99s is one of my favourite travel headphones due to their sound quality, ease of drive and cost. Therefore I had expected they would be a good combination with the Nano Black.


So with my initial plan now thwarted I turned to my HD800s in order to get more resolution and neutrality and imaging so to be sure what the key differences were.


I started back with the same album tracks as before but this time comparing the Micro iDSD on its own to the Nano Black using Tidal HiFi from my iPhone and then a selection of Hi Res album tracks from the phone. All of this was via the HD800s.


The first thing is that the Micro iDSD has a more potent amplifier and so was able to drive the HD800s from a lower volume setting. The Nano Black does drive the HD800s but needs a bit more from the volume control so it took a bit of trial and error to get the volume levels matched (by ear as I don’t have a meter!).


Oh my goodness it was still very close. The Nano Black has a warmer/fuller bass as though it had one click of Xbass. In fact if you gave the Micro iDSD one click of Xbass the sound was astonishingly close, to the point where it made me wonder if this was a design feature???


The Nano Black does not quite deliver the image depth of the Micro iDSD, but in fairness other than those points you would not have thought one was twice the price of the other.


Then I joined the Micro iDSD back up with its chums in the Stack and tried again. Well this just doesn’t seem right but it’s still a close thing. The Stack is a bit better resolving, bit better depth, bit less warmth to the bass, bit more treble energy. That might seem a lot but it took a lot of the day to determine this and by a bit I mean 10-15% better.


And here’s the thing. When I just sat and listened to the Nano Black playing Hi Res tracks via HD800s I wasn’t thinking any of that I was just enjoying really good sound reproduction of really good music.


The ifi Stack I have is remarkably good for the money to the point where I listen to it more often than my main system simply because it is so easy to use and the sound quality is so high. Using it with Tidal is very easy and gives me an almost limitless supply of music.


What the Nano provides is a portable version of that Stack with nearly as good sound and all for £200. It is ridiculous!


You can read all the details and specs of the Nano Black here… https://ifi-audio.com/portfolio-view/nano-idsd-bl/


So there is no need for me to tell you what ifi Audio can tell you more comprehensively!


Meantime I’d like to mention a couple of the Nano Blacks features. The first is the amp as mentioned will drive high impedance headphones such as the HD800s and drive them properly. The one thing I don’t have is a 3.5mm TRRS plug so that I could have used the HD800s in balanced mode. This would be worth trying as I have heard the HD800s in balanced mode via an XLR plug and it improves them even further.


Likewise I didn’t try MQA or rather Tidal Master tracks as my Micro iDSD doesn’t unfold these and so it would not have been a fair comparison, and that’s why I used 24/192 and DSD files from my iPhone instead for the His Res comparison. I will probably try the Master file later on and once I download the new firmware.


In conclusion I must thank ifi Audio for the kind loan of the Nano Black. I think that it is as good a device as they have ever made and for the price I am truly dumfounded. I will certainly be purchasing one for myself when this loaner goes back as it offers the possibility of very nearly Hi End HiFi on the move. Indeed if you were listening to this while travelling or in a hotel on business of an evening then I think you would be highly impressed with the quality of sound this device brings to CD and Hi Res music.

<a href="https://www.hostingpics.net/viewer.php?id=409475IMG201712120959163.jpg"><img src="https://img15.hostingpics.net/thumbs/mini_409475IMG201712120959163.jpg" alt="Hébergement photos" /></a>
First,i want to say i have NOT been influenced in ANY way(should it be a discount coupon if i post a positive review or whatever you might imagine)by iFi Audio who sent me the DAC as a group test,this is the 1st time i EVER participate in this,i never thought i would ever have been chosen,just feel free to PM if you're skeptical(as i was myself before).I'm a human being,i either like or dislike a music/hi-fi gear,i'm no MUSIC surgeon so i won't go into FR analysis(as you find a lot in these pages)BECAUSE in the end i find them confusing(contadictions in terms,misuse of words or lack of clear and honest impressions).
At first listen i felt quite unimpressed but the Nano's charms slowly grow up on you to become utterly addictive in the end.The bass are well rounded just as i love them(nothing close to the dry bass of ,say,the Pioneer XDP30R),the mids glorious(slight tilt to it which makes the whole difference with an average sounding DAC),the highs are detailed without EVER being harsh(any harshness will come down to the HPs used or poorly recorded materials).This DAC simply outperforms well-established "killers" like the Mojo,or the Sony WM1A.When listening to the Sony i find myself missing the sheer sparkle and life of the Nano,making the Sony sounding dull.Instrument separation is better than of an old fav of mine,the IBasso DZero Mk2,which shares with the Nano an outstanding midrange.
Final word:i wish this DAC will meet the success it truly deserves as this is the cleanest sounding i have ever had,its value(regardless of price) is simply outstanding,even more so than the exceptionnal Dragonfly Red.

Have a lot of gear at work and at home? Worried if the iFi Nano iDSD Black can work with all your gear? Well here’s a post of the Nano Black and all the gear I connected it to.

1) Connectivity (digital and analog)

The Nano BL has built in USB 2.0 type A “OTG” Socket. This means if you wish to connect to either a Micro B OTG, USB C OTG, and or the Apple Camera Connecter you’ll need to purchase these perspective cables accordingly. The Nano BL has the needed cables for PC.

Figure 1

From left to right. USB C OTG, Micro B OTG, Apple Camera Connector, generic Apple Camera Connector, USB A Female to B Female Cable*, USB A Female to B Female Adapter*, and a USB 3.0 A Male to A Female cable*. * These are included with the Nano Black, the rest ARE NOT!

Figure 2

Figure 3


PC

USB A Female to B Female Cable, USB A Female to B Female Adapter*, and a USB 3.0 A Male to A Female and special guest the iFi Mercury 3.0.

Figure 4 Figure 5


iFi Nano Black and the Matrix Audio M-Stage HPA-2 Classic

Nano connected to a PC via the iFi Mercury 3.0

Figure 6

iFi Nano Black and the Matrix Audio M-Stage HPA-2 Classic


While not all of these are necessary, they can be used with whatever gear and or wires you may already own. While you can use the Nano directly connecting to the PC, it's best you download the drivers from iFi’s site. I personally recommend the Mercury 3.0 cables. Smooth sound!


Apple

USB C OTG, Apple Camera Connector, generic Apple Camera Connector, and USB 3.0 A Male to A Female.

Figure 7

The USB C OTG and or USB 3.0 A Male to A Female is needed for Macs and or Mac Books. The Apple Camera Connector is to be used for iPads, iPhones, and or iTouch/iPod OS 10 and above. The generic Apple Camera Connector can be used on ALL Apple products OS 9.3 and below. In case you’re wondering why you would do this, the iPods 5th generation and below have Wolfson sound chips. Best you go find one while you still can…

Figure 8 Mini Mac and the Nano Black Figure 9 Mini Mac audio via the Nano Black.

Figure 10
Mac Book and Nano Black

Figure 11

Mac Book Pro audio output control panel

Figure 12 and 13

6th Generation iPod/iTouch connected via Apple Camera Connector to the Nano Black

Figure 14

5th Generation iPod/iTouch connected via Apple camera connector to Nano Black

Figure 15

5th Generation iPod/iTouch connected via generic Apple camera connector to Nano Black



Pioneer XDP-300R


Needed the Micro B OTG on this. Not a problem.

Figure 16 and 17

Pioneer XDP-300R connected via Micro B OTG to the Nano Black



Shanling M2 & M3s


USB C OTG worked like a charm.

Figure 18 and 19

Shanling M3s and the Nano Black via the USB C OTG cable

Figure 20 and 21

Shanling M2 connected via USB C OTG to the Nano Black


Cayin i5

Figure 22 and 23


Cayin i5 connected via USB C OTG



Analog audio output


While the Nano has an audio output, there is no audio input so those of you looking to use it this way, cannot. As for the audio output it can't be used as a preamp, just as a DAC. The audio output is fixed, so your external gear will have handle the sound output.



3.5 to RCA outputs or a 3.5 male to 3.5 male cables are your friend if you wish to go this route.

Figure 24 & 25

Figure 26, 27, & 28

iF Nano Black and the Matrix Audio M-Stage HPA-2 Classic

With this in mind, there isn't ANYTHING I could not connect this amp to. Worked flawlessly with PC’s, Mac Books, Mini Macs, iTouch, (the included cables and or the Apple Camera Connecter) the Shanling M2 & M3s as well as the Cayin i5. (USB-C OTG) Pioneer XDP-300R (Micro B OTG)


So if you have any concerns about this Nano connecting with your gear, don’t worry.





Think of this, if you pardon the play on words, an OTG view of the Nano Black!



Figure 1

The included accessories and cables of the Nano.


Size and weight, hah! This thing is nice and compact. However it is a little bulky (thick). So those of you with large size DAPs, may need to check and see if this won’t be a problem for you. A decent sized bag or space in your backpack should suffice. So while not thin, its size isn’t that overwhelming. Also you will need to consider getting shorter and more compact OTG cables to use. Longer, unyielding ones can be problematic in tight spaces.

Figure 2 Figure 3

Side view comparisons of the

Little Bear B4, Oppo HA-2 SE, Chord Mojo, xDuoo XD-05 and the iFi Nano iDSD Black.


Figure 4 Figure 5

The Nano Black and a Little Bear B4


Figure 6 Figure 7

The Nano Black and an Oppo HA-2 SE


Figure 8 Figure 9

The Chord Mojo and the Nano Black



Figure 10 Figure 11

An xDuoo XD-5 and the Nano Black

The Nano comes with a carry bag, but it is not big enough to carry all the included cables or the OTG ones you may need for your particular gear.

When not being used or in transport I don’t like using just bags, I prefer a solid case. So behold a Lowepro carry case I found on sale in Hong Kong.



Figure 12 Figure 13

Hard case Storage space

So does everything that came with it fit? Yes it does!

So as you can tell, it isn’t that much thicker than both the B4 and the XD-5 and just a tad wider and thicker than the Mojo. So size shouldn't be an issue. Unless, of course, you love the HA-2’s thinner size.

So that concludes the connectivity and portability aspect of this 3 part review. Sound is forth coming. See you all soon!

This review is part of iFi Audio’s generous Nano BL Tour, where I am happy and proud to be selected as one of the reviewers for the European leg of the Tour. Therefore, a disclaimer is due here:

Disclaimer: the unit tested was a loaner from iFi, which means exactly this: I received it from iFi free of charge and returned it after the review. I have not been otherwise incentivized by iFi to write a positive review. And frankly – I didn’t need any additional incentives!

Disclaimer 2: the review contains a few very technical and detailed abstracts, that may be way too lengthy and detailed for a captivating reading, therefore, those abstracts will be titled as Geeky Tech Notes and will be hidden under spoilers, which you may or may not wish to open.

Background with iFi products

I have been for three years and I still am a happy owner of iFi’s original Nano iDSD (the fully-featured one, not LE!), that I’ve had enough time to put through its paces in both desktop and portable applications. I must confess I am absolutely in love with this little piece of genius engineering, although, as it is always the case with beloved partners, Nano iDSD wasn’t without its flaws. Needless to say I was eagerly awaiting for the opportunity to get my hands on the new Black Label incarnation of this tiny magic box to see what has changed and in what direction, apart from the obvious switch from “blonde” to “brunette” appearance. So inevitably, throughout this review I will be comparing the new BL to the original iDSD Nano.

Packaging and contents

The unit I reviewed was a brand-new, unopened retail unit (not a tour unit), therefore I can be confident that the packaging and contents are exactly what you’ll find on the shelves of retail stores/in boxes coming from online stores.



The packaging style is very similar to the original iDSD Nano that I own: you’re met by an outer sleeve with a colorful product picture and a wealth of both marketing and technical information. It even has a little special sticky black label (no pun intended… or is it? ) on the top of the box, showing off 4x Extra Power, Dual Mono Output and MQA Authenticated features. The sleeve off, you will find a typical iFi white tight-fit box (a bit “Apple-style”). Note the obvious difference between box dimensions of the original Nano and the BL: the latter is much slimmer, with roughly the same length and width.


Nano Black Label on the left, original Nano iDSD on the right

Great job by iFi on slimming down the box, given that the Nano BL has a lot of stuff included:



The most notable difference is the set of cables, which is logical given the change of physical USB connection on the BL compared to the original.



The BL comes with the total of 3 cables/adaptors:

- 1m/3ft long USB3.0 A Male to A Female cable. This one looks like the regular USB3.0 extension cable, and technically this is exactly what it is. It will be your main cable for charging the unit from any wall plug adapter/powerbank/computer port, as well as your USB DAC connection cable to connect the BL to a PC.
- A short (slightly less than 20cm/about 7in) USB2.0 A female to B Female cable. This will allow you to connect whatever existing USB A to B male cables you may already have in your desktop or portable setups.
- An even shorter single-piece solid A Female to B Female adaptor, which obviously has exactly the same purpose as the aforementioned 7 inch cable, but in a different form factor.

I will get back to this with a more in-depth analysis of connectivity options later in my review.

Unlike the original Nano iDSD, which included a regular, but decent, stereo RCA cable, the new BL bundles no analogue interconnects at all.

In addition to the set of cables and adapters, the BL also comes with a pair of rubber bands to “sandwich” it with a portable source – a smartphone or a DAP, however, the rectangular silicone spacer that came with the original Nano iDSD, is no longer included.

To finish with the packaging, I’ll mention the much discussed carrying pouch. Yes, it does have an opening at the bottom, and no, this is not a stitching defect, but a wise feature to run cables through.

I am personally not a big fan of soft-cloth carrying pouches, especially made of velour-esque materials. To say that this is a dust/debris magnet is a classical British understatement. Moreover, it offers only limited protection against scratches, but not more. Don’t get me wrong – this is perfectly fine, and very thoughtful on behalf of iFi to include the pouch free of charge, but I always want my beloved gadgets well protected. My original Nano iDSD has been kept in a small digital camera pouch that I got dirt-cheap in the local camera store, and, as you can see, after 3 years of heavy use it is still in a pristine condition.



Given that Black Label is black (what a surprise ), I’d strongly recommend getting something similar for your new toy, as the black coating may be even more prone to accidental bumps and scratches.

Exterior, connections and controls

I can’t agree more with Henry Ford who once said that “The car can be of any color, as long as this color is black”!
The Nano BL, with its high-grade matte-black finish and glossy black/orange markings is beautiful. Full stop! Front and rear plates are perfectly machined and beveled edges add to the overall impression of a quality product.



Don’t get me wrong – the original Nano iDSD made me have the same feelings of shimmering quality when I first got it in my hands, but there’s nothing I can do – BLACK is BLACK. I love it.

While it’s a pure question of personal taste, I was not overly happy with the overall change in the front and rear plate shapes. I really loved the complex multi-angled “raised eyebrows” shape of the original Nano and Micro series.



The new BL has a much simpler, more “boring” trapezoid face. I can see it being more comfortable in the portable set up, as it has less bumpy edges now, but to me it kind of lost that signature bold look of iFi Nano/Micro series. Other than this, the overall physical dimensions of the two units remain very close, with exactly the same chassis length and width. The BL has a slightly smaller overall length thanks to a very wise move by iFi of making the volume knob almost twice as short as the original Nano iDSD.



Bravo, iFi, you really nailed this one! While still offering perfectly sufficient grip for convenient volume control, the new BL does not have this unnecessarily protruding volume knob of the original Nano iDSD. Moreover, the new knob is also more visually informative, thanks to an orange mark against a black background – a step forward from barely visible silver mark on a silver knob of the original Nano iDSD.



However, both the original Nano iDSD and the new BL volume knobs could in my opinion do a much better job in portable use, if they were a little crown-shaped, as opposed to cylindrical.



This would allow much easier “blind operation” of the unit if in a pocket/pouch/bag, because with a little practice you’d be able to tell the dialed volume just by feeling the knob position relative to the unit body.

Geeky Technote on volume control
Adding more to the overall compactness of the unit, the new BL has no protruding RCA connector for SPDIF out on the back (although this one comes at a price of actually losing the functionality), and the filter switch is now a nicely recessed design.



Front controls and connectors

One of the headline features of the new BL is a totally reworked amplifier part, which now offers two 3.5mm connectors for your headphones, located in the left part of the front panel. The left one is marked as “iEMatch”, the right one as “Direct”.



While having two headphone outputs may sound better than one, I personally don’t think so. In a small portable package, where every millimeter and gram counts, having two basically identical headphone connectors with just some internal impedance-matching circuit that differ is a bit of a waste, in my view. I am not an audio engineer, but it seems to me iEMatch could well be a toggle switch feature, instead of a separate connector. The valuable space taken by the second connector could be then used to provide some more useful features, such as 2.5mm TRRS balanced connector (to complement 3.5mm TRRS connector which is already there). I don’t think a full-size ¼ inch (6.3mm) jack is that important in a device that is tailored for portable use, but even this would be a more useful feature than what we have now.

Between the pair of headphone output connectors on the left and the volume knob on the right now resides the main RGB LED which signals battery states, connection states and formats of tracks played. More on it later, but I wanted to highlight another perfect hit by iFi for moving the LED from the top of the original Nano iDSD to the front plate, where it really belongs. I loved how discreet and unobtrusive was the tiny LED on the original iDSD Nano, but its placement could feel awkward at times, especially if you try to stack several units in desktop use, or put your “sandwich” into a pocket/pouch/bag in portable use. In many normal usage scenarios you simply could not see or, at least, could not easily see the LED on the original Nano iDSD. This problem is simply inexistent in the new BL. Ideally, I’d personally prefer the old, smaller and less bright LED of the original Nano iDSD at the new Nano BL location, but this is probably asking too much.

Rear controls and connectors



The left corner of rear plate of the unit houses the 3.5mm stereo mini jack line out, which is a fixed-level 2v stereo output.

Geeky Technote on Line Out
Next to the line out is the tiny digital filters switch, which seems to be exactly the same filter switch as in the original Nano iDSD, but with different naming. It looks on paper that “Listen” on the BL is the old “Minimum Phase” on the original Nano iDSD, and “Measure” is “Standard”. To be frank with you, I have never been able to hear any difference beyond the autosuggestion between the two, neither on the original Nano, nor on the new BL, no matter what music I listened to with what headphones. If this sounds to you as a verdict that I am deaf or at least hearing-impaired, you might want to skip my listening impressions altogether

The right corner of the rear plate is occupied by the digital USB input, which represents another novelty introduced on the BL.



Unlike the original Nano iDSD, which had a traditional USB3.0 Type B Female (USB3.0 shaped, but USB 2.0 electronically, to be precise) connector for digital input, the new BL offers the recessed USB Type A Male connector. This smart move (as well as a few other feature differences that I will mention later) to me is a clear sign that iFi is shifting the positioning of the unit more towards the portable use rather than desktop use.

Electronically, this is still the USB2.0 asynchronous digital input, just like on the original Nano iDSD. However, the use of a recessed male connector now allows users to connect the BL to both Android and iOS devices with a lot less cable clutter.

iOS connections

As you all know, in order to get true digital USB audio out with current generation of iOS devices, you need to use Apple’s Lightning to USB camera adapter (and special software, and some luck – but more on this later).



This adapter has a USB Type A Female socket at the device end, where you’re normally supposed to plug the regular USB Type A Male end of the cable connecting your camera to import pictures. (Yes, Apple officially says that this connector is only for importing pictures from compatible digital cameras. He-he ) With most other USB DACs/Amps, this is exactly what you’ll have to do: plug the Type A Male end of your normal USB cable into this Apple adapter.



What you can do now, with iFi Magic (or shall I say clever thinking), is have this regular USB cable disappear! Instead, you simply plug the Type A Female end of your Apple adapter right into this rectangular hole with rounded corners, where it fits just perfectly.


Sorry for the fingerprints on the dirty iPad screen

Geeky Technote on Apple USB adapters and USB Audio Out
Side note. Apple Lightning to USB Camera Adapter is not just straightforward wires with different connectors: they do have some Apple’s proprietary digital circuitry inside, so the result is only guaranteed (sort of ) with original adapters.

Android connections

In order to connect a USB DAC to an Android device, you need to use the so-called USB OTG (or On-The-GO) cable. This cable is a lot simpler than the Apple adapter, and is in fact just straight wires with different connectors, but wires are soldered in a specific way so that the cable conforms to OTG specs.

Typically, an OTG cable will have a micro USB (or, with recent smartphones, USB Type C) connector at the phone end, and then a USB Type A Female socket on the other (device) end. And while technically very different, both Apple adapters and Android OTG cables share physically identical USB Type A Female connectors at the device end, meaning both of which can be plugged directly into the new BL, without any additional cables or adapters.


A typical Android USB OTG adapter (left) next to Apple Lightning to USB Camera Adapter (right)

This is where the new “recessed USB Typa A Male” connector of Nano BL really shines in its full glory: all you need to have is a standard USB OTG adapter (Micro USB or USB Type C at the phone end, depending on your device), which you can plug directly into Nano BL.



I can’t stress enough how much more convenient and compact this is, compared to, for example, the original Nano iDSD. This is the mess of cables you’d normally have to live with when using Nano iDSD in portable mode:



In order to make the portable package with Nano iDSD nicer and more compact, I ordered a wonderful custom-built copper litz Micro USB to USB Type B OTG cable, which worked perfectly, but required quite an additional investment.



With the Nano BL, this is not necessary. Of course, those of us who fancy aftermarket custom cables, could still bother ordering a custom-made higher-quality OTG cable with typical USB Type A Female connector, but the ability to use almost (and this is an important “almost”!) any commercially available USB OTG adapter is a huge plus.

However, a special note must be made here: while Apple’s original Lightning to USB Camera Adapters are all exactly the same in terms of physical dimensions, unfortunately, USB OTG cables are offered by hundreds of different manufacturers, and the size of the outer plastic shell of the female connector can vary quite significantly. Being more of an Android guy rather than Apple person, I have quite a selection of different OTG cables, and I was able to find both those that fit perfectly, those, that fit with a very tight squeeze, and those, that just won’t fit at all.


From left to right: perfect fit, barely fits, does not fit at all.

Therefore, if you plan to use the BL in an Android-based portable set up and you’re planning to use the USB OTG cable directly plugged into BL’s USB socket – take the BL with you when you shop for the OTG cable to try the fit, or be prepared to do some sanding off of the plastic shell. Do NOT force the connector into the socked – you risk to bend/damage the contacts. The connector must enter without any excessive force.


Note the striking size difference between the bundled USB cable Type A female connector and the worst-case Android USB OTG connector – it is well over 1.5 mm!

I wish iFi made this square opening just another half-millimeter larger in each direction – this would have solved a lot, if not all, of the physical compatibility issues with all sorts of cables and adapters.

As you may have noticed, gone is the SPDIF RCA output of the original Nano iDSD – yes, the new BL omits the Digital-to-Digital Converter (DDC) functionality altogether. Whether to lament it or not strongly depends on your intended use. If you happen to own and cherish one of those older-generation coaxial SPDIF-only DACs – then you’ll lose the ability to hook it to your PC via USB to SPDIF conversion offered by the original Nano iDSD. If not (my case) – this omission is nothing to regret about. Obviously, the DDC is a lot more “desktop” rather than “portable” feature: I can hardly imagine when you could need to have an SPDIF output in a truly portable scenario. Yet another sign of iFi clearly wanting the BL to be perceived as a portable solution in the first place.

This closes the section on external controls and connectors. All other sides of the unit are free of any connectors/controls etc. The “belly” has four pre-installed small silicone bumps which provide good grip for the unit sitting on the desk, and some protective clearance between BL and the phone/DAP, if used in a portable “sandwich” set up. Note that the original Nano iDSD also came with preinstalled silicone feet, but those were much larger and taller, making the entire portable “sandwich” noticeably thicker, than in case of Nano BL.

Since this is a loaner unit which I am supposed to return in impeccable condition, there will be no disassembly/teardown, sorry .

Test equipment and music



Sources

In desktop mode, the BL is fed by the digital signal from a dedicated music PC running Windows Server, via a NEC-based PCIe USB 3.0 card. I installed the most up-to-date USB Driver package from iFi, v.3.20.0. The playback software is Foobar2000 v1.3.17, packed with foo_out_asio v2.1.2, foo_dsd_processor v1.1.0 and foo_input_sacd v1.1.0.

In portable mode, the BL is connected to Sony Xperia Z5 Compact, non-rooted, and running latest stock FW. The playback software is the latest version of USB Audio Player Pro (UAPP)v.3.8.5 and/or Hiby Music v.3.0.0 International build 5481. I have also tested the iOS playback using an iPad Mini 4, running the latest iOS 11.2.2 and Onkyo HF Player (full license) for bit-perfect hi-res USB Audio output tests, although I do not primarily use iPad as a portable music source.

The Nano BL was tested with three different firmware binaries: the original 5.2 Limoncello, the 5.2A “DSD256 DoP” variation, as well as the 5.3C RC2 MQA-enabled. More on this later.

Headphones

Full size: AKG K501; AKG Q701; Audiotechnica ATH-A700; Audiotechnica ATH-ES10; Sony MDR-7506; Philips Fidelio X2

IEM: Etymotic ER4P Custom eartips + recable.

Compared to/paired with:

iFi Nano iDSD USB DAC/Amp
M2Tech HiFace USB DAC
Ray Samuels Audio RSA Predator USB DAC/Amp
Laconic HA-04AF Tube Headphone Amp
Genelec 6010 Near-field studio monitors

Test music

While I have listened to a large variety of music during burn-in, I will base my listening impressions for this review on a playlist of test songs that I try to use in whatever equipment listening tests, in order to have more comparable results.

Format compatibility and audible differences between formats (or absence thereof ) was tested using the excellent selection of hi-res samples offered by 2L – a Norwegian record label. The advantage is that I truly compare apples to apples: 2L offers the same track, packaged in a variety of different formats (FLACs ranging from Redbook to DXD, DSD from 64 to 256, and even MQA-encoded files) all coming from the same highest-quality studio master source. In my compatibility tests I used the Mozart Violin Concerto in D major KV 218, I. Allegro, performed by Marianne Thorsen & TrondheimSolistene and mastered in hot and fresh MQA remix of 2016.

Sound signature and sonic qualities were tested using a selection of my favorites tracks, mainly coming from big audio companies’ or record lables’ test/demonstration disks. The track list is below:



Basic operations

PC operation

BL is recognized by Windows-based PCs as a USB Audio device and appears under “Sound, video and game controllers” as “iFi (by AMR) HD+ USB Audio”.

I used the supplied USB3.0 Type A Female to Type A Male cable for connection to my PC. In fact, any USB Type A Female to Type A Male extender cable would work, no matter USB3.0 or USB2.0, because electronically the USB input on the Nano DL is USB2.0.
However, this is not the only cabling option. The Nano DL includes two adapters that allow you to use any USB2.0 Type B terminated cable to connect to your digital source. USB Type A to B cables are quite common among higher-end aftermarket USB cable manufacturers. The USB Type A end would usually go to the source – a PC, or a network player/streamer, and Type B would usually go to the DAC. This is not a rule nor a standard, so other variations also occur.

As I mentioned earlier, both included adapters do exactly the same thing and only differ in shape and length. In my opinion, including both of them is a bit of a redundancy. Moreover, unlike the original Nano iDSD, which had “USB3.0-shaped” Type B socket (with the cutout for the raised part of USB3.0 compliant cables), both included adapters would only physically accept “square” USB2.0 Type B cables. Technically, USB3.0 fully-wired cables would make absolutely no difference, as only the USB2.0 part of contacts will be used anyway. However, as USB3.0 is gradually replacing USB2.0 virtually everywhere, the physical compatibility of the original Nano iDSD with the new generation of cables is an added bonus.

With Firmware 5.2 Limoncello the unit is absolutely stable, and gets recognized by the system every time I connected it, both in “battery power mode” (where you have to first turn the unit on with the volume knob, and then connect the USB cable), and in “USB power mode” (where you plug the cable first and then turn the device power on with the volume knob).

Geeky Technote on power circuit
Using Foobar2000, I had absolutely no problem playing back all almost all declared file formats. The unit correctly accepted PCM signals ranging from your Redbook 16/44.1 all the way up to whopping DXD 24bit/352kHz files. As far as DSD is concerned, I was able to effortlessly playback DSD 64 (2.8MHz) and DSD 128 (5.6MHz).

DSD256 files could not be played back though Nano BL flashed with 5.2 Limoncello. The original Nano iDSD running the same 5.2 Limoncello firmware (and yes, this is exactly the same FW, the binary file is absolutely identical) could not play DSD256 neither. However, for the original Nano iDSD there’s 5.2A firmware variant officially listed on the web site, which unlocks DSD256 in DoP (DSD-Over-PCM), and allows to play back DSD256 files.

While 5.2A is not officially listed as compatible with Nano BL, after consultations with iFi technical specialists I tried flashing this binary to Nano BL, and it went totally fine. The unit was initialized by the driver now displaying 5.2A firmware, and DSD256 tracks played just fine, with the control panel correctly reporting DSD256 (DoP) output format and a whopping 705600kHz sampling rate.



While I strongly believe that the ability to play back DSD256 content in a normal, “consumer listening” environment, let alone portable set ups, is more of a demonstration of iFi’s excellent engineering rather than a practical necessity, credits given where due. iFi managed to cram an incredible amount of versatility and flexibility in such a tiny footprint (both in terms of physical dimensions and the price bracket). There’s certainly some magic going on inside those tiny boxes. Black magic in this case

I have also tried the newer Release Candidate firmware for the Nano BL – namely, 5.3C RC2. This firmware unleashes MQA decoding capabilities of the Nano BL, is said to lock PCM up-sampling to 8x, and changes the logic of LED color indication of the incoming signal format.

As far as MQA is concerned, unfortunately, I could not test this feature. TIDAL is not available in Russia, and I could not find any other way of testing MQA-encoded tracks on a PC source. So no magenta light has ever shown up on my Nano DL.

DSD playback in 5.3C RC2 is unchanged compared to 5.2 – full support of DSD64 and DSD128 tracks, the LED correctly turns cyan. DSD256 tracks cannot be played back again – you do need 5.2A to unlock DSD256 DoP mode.

With the PCM material the unit behaves quite differently compared to the stock 5.2 Firmware. The 5.3C RC2 is said to always show the white LED on PCM material because it is “upsampled 8x”. And indeed, instead of showing individual color coding for up to 96kHz (green) or 174/192kHz (yellow) or DXD (white), the Nano BL is now always white with PCM tracks. However, I could not perceive any audible difference between non-upsampled playback of PCM tracks and 8x upsampling.

I must note, however, that in terms of the overall stability the 5.3C RC2 is still what it is honestly called – a release candidate. I did have a couple of occurrences where Nano BL would not be recognized by the system at first connection attempt (no matter “Power then cable” or “Cable then power”), and required re-plugging it one or two times. Once recognized, the unit remain rock-solid in terms of stability. This only happened to me on the 5.3C RC2 firmware – I have never had any issues plugging/unplugging/re-plugging dozens of times with neither Nano BL, nor Nano iDSD, with officially released 5.2 and 5.2A firmware.

Android operation

Nano BL was tested with my Sony Xperia Z5 Compact, which supports USB OTG connection (this is a mandatory requirement to properly use outboard USB DAC on an Android device, bypassing any internal system audio processing).

The only caveat is the physical compatibility of the Nano BL’s square opening and the size of the outer shell of the Type A female connector on the OTG cable. I covered it in the “Packaging and contents” section of this review, just a reminder: not all USB OTG cables are created equal, so please try before you buy!

On my Xperia, in order to use the Nano BL (or any other external USB device), I needed to initialize it manually, by going to Settings -> Device Connection -> USB Connectivity, and tap the “Detect USB Device”.



Your mileage may vary, as I think it strongly depends on the USB OTG implementation and can differ from phone to phone and from Android version to another.

In portable set up, you will want to use Nano BL’s Battery Power Mode, so please make sure to turn the unit on with the volume knob first, and then connect your cables and perform whatever actions are necessary to initialize the device on your smartphone or tablet.

Nano BL demonstrated perfect compatibility with both USB Audio Player Pro (UAPP) and Hiby Music – the two leading Android apps capable of completely bypassing Android system sound mixer and output bit-perfect USB Audio to outboard DACs. I had absolutely no problem playing back the entire selection of my test tracks, including (with some quirks) DSD256 tracks.



Track format indication by the LED was accurate with all the files. Most of my testing was done using USB Audio Player Pro, with Bit Perfect set to “ON”, DSD Mode set to “Native”, and no USB Tweaks selected. I must once again acclaim iFi’s excellent format compatibility across any platform!

Geeky Technote on DSD256 playback on Android
iOS connection and operation

While I don’t normally use iOS devices as my digital music sources (I could’ve elaborated on this on 3-4 more pages, but I will not start this Holy War ), for the purposes of testing I used my iPad Mini 4 with Onkyo HF Player, connecting Nano BL directly by Apple Lightning to USB Camera Adapter.

A note to be made here: make sure to always use “Battery Power Mode” when connecting Nano BL to your iOS device, by turning the power on first, and the plugging the cable in. Otherwise you will most likely get the famous annoying Apple’s “The attached accessory uses too much power” error message, and your Nano BL will not be initialized.



Your mileage with more powerful Apple devices such as iPads Pro may vary, but to be on the safe side, I recommend sticking to the Battery Power Mode all the time. Even without the error message, this makes perfect sense, as you don’t really want Nano to draw power from your mobile device.

Connecting Nano BL in Battery Power mode is a breeze. Once initialized by the system, the unit becomes visible to Onkyo HF Player.
Nano BL demonstrated once again excellent format compatibility, playing back all my test PCM and DSD tracks. Note that, unlike UAPP or Hiby on Android, Onkyo HF Player only offers DSD-Over-PCM (or DoP) playback for DSD files (in addition to DSD-to-PCM conversion, which is a totally different thing). It may well be an iOS platform limitation, although being able to play hi-res or DSD content and output it to an external USB DAC form an iOS device is already a huge achievement by Onkyo!



The Nano BL LED indicator correctly reported all the signal formats, from green for PCM all the way up to blue for DSD256 DoP.
The only unpleasant experience of using Nano BL on iOS device is a sudden and very loud unpleasant “scratching” sound, quite often coming from the headphones the moment you close Onkyo HF Player after playing back a DSD file. This has nothing to do with Nano BL and must be something about the app or the iOS platform in general, as this happened to me with every USB DAC I tried on my iPad. It does not happen but make sure to switch the unit off before closing the Onkyo HF Player.

I did not test any other third-party music software on my iPad, since Onkyo HF Player is the only true bit-perfect USB Audio app that I know of, and I own a full-licenced version which allows you to load and play back hi-res content. Please note that for all your fancy hi-res PCM and/or DSD tracks, you’ll need to load them directly to Onkyo HF Player using iTunes’ application-specific file sharing. Onkyo HF Player can read your iTunes music library locally stored on your iPad, but the playback will be routed via iOS audio mixer.

The native Apple music app can play through Nano DL too, but of course, only those tracks that are in your iTunes library.

Listening impressions



This is the trickiest part of any review, but probably for most readers, the most important one. My problem with listening impressions has always been that I know this is always purely subjective, and as such maybe the least reliable part of any review. On the other hand, this is exactly what makes multiple reviewers’ tours the most useful form of product presentation – readers get a wide range of different opinions, and where such opinions converge would most likely be as close to objectivity as possible.

I will start with a few general comments about Nano iDSD Black Label, and then would add some finer details and impressions on various gear combinations and music tracks.

Unique sonic characteristics of different headphones driven by Nano BL remain very recognizable

This one is important. In other words, Nano iDSD Black Label does a good job of not adding too much of its own sonic character to different headphones it drives. Some reviewers would call it neutral sounding, and it may be a good term, although to me, it is neutral not in the sense of perfectly flat frequency response curve, but in the sense of not affecting much the overall tonal characteristics of given headphones.

What it means in practice, with Nano BL, for example, my Etymotics sounded pretty much what they are supposed to sound: a high-precision surgical scalpel, capable of dissecting music into its finest layers and pieces. And not a Thor hammer that slams base notes into your head like a very colored and punchy ES-10 by Audiotechnica.

Nano BL does not try to be nice sounding (by emphasizing lower end, or adding more sparkle to the treble), it tries to be sounding honestly. This may or may not what someone is looking for.

For example, the M2Tech HiFace DAC + RSA Predator combo are a totally different sounding set up, with much more coloration, much more involving sound. Great lower end punch; lush, rich and forward-sounding mids, and slightly recessed treble may sound more appealing, especially with some genres.

However, the price to pay for this emotional involvement is that there’s much less sonic character difference between different pairs of headphones, and all of a sudden your darker, more aggressive and impactful Fidelio X2 start sounding not that different from you normally airy, light and laid-back AKG K501.

Nano iDSD Black Label is a true powerhouse of a headphone amplifier

This one is obvious. The Black Label is a HUGE improvement over the original Nano iDSD in terms of headphone amplification.
It easily coped with anything I was able to throw at it, from sensitive Etymotic IEMs and ATH-EW9 clip-ons to much harder to drive AKG K501.


I hope this is the biggest thing ever plugged into Nano BL

Even without going to the extremes of the headphones range (no, I don’t own any planars, orthodynamics or old-school 600 Ohms studio monitoring cans), I can tell the power reserve of this tiny box is absolutely amazing!

This is probably the most notable difference with the original Nano iDSD. I have always thought (and I still do) that Nano iDSD is a much better DAC than the headphone amp, and in my personal set up it was mainly a desktop unit. Its headphone jack was its Achilles heel.
Certainly not the case with the new Nano BL! A combination of clever iEMatch technology, new fully analogue volume control and the S-Balanced topology make it a much more capable headphone amp than its predecessor.

If any criticism could be applied to headphone amplification of the Nano BL – this would go towards the iEMatch socket. It does sound slightly veiled, less transparent and detailed, than the Standard output, even at normalized volume levels. Whether it has to do with iEMatch additional circuitry in the signal path, or I simply don’t have uber-sensitive 16-ohms IEMs to really benefit from this technology – I am not sure. But here’s the fact: most of my listening was done via the Standard output.

I must admit I was not able to test the advantages of the “S-Balanced Technology” offered by iFi, simply because I could not get hold of any balanced-cabled headphones that would be terminated in a 3.5mm TRRS plug.

Geeky Technote on balanced headphone connections
Nano iDSD BL as a DAC kept all the good things of the original Nano iDSD

I compared Nano iDSD Black Label to the original Nano iDSD, as well as to M2Tech HiFace DAC, in DAC only mode, driving either an external headphones amp or my active monitors from the devices’ line outputs. My findings confirm that the DAC part of both generations of Nanos is almost, if not exactly, the same: the best DAC I have ever heard in sub-$500 class, hands down, especially with DSD material.



It has a very neutral, open sound signature, with a very cohesive overall sonic picture, very good level of detail, and excellent timber reproduction – very natural and delicate. With PCM material it retains most of its qualities, however, it does sound a little less refined and detailed. The differences are very subtle, and require very careful listening with very detailed and neutral headphones (I use my Etymotics for these purposes), but they are audible. This is perfectly in line with my earlier impressions from the original Nano iDSD, and I can only repeat that if you really want to get the best of your iFi Nano – go for DSD material.

I must say that overall the Burr-Brown platform iFi chose for its portable range is really great, and iFi certainly learned well how to make a good DAC on this chip. In my personal ranking, it beats all of the Sabre portable implementations I have heard in this price bracket, and is a very solid contender even against my preferred (albeit not yet owned) AKA4490-based portable platform, such as Shanling M3S. However, this comparison is not very accurate, as I did not have M3S at hand during the review, and had to rely on memorized sonic impressions of the latter.

One thing to note here. It is not a warm and bright sounding DAC, nor a dark, bass-hammering DAC. So if you prefer this type of sound signature – look elsewhere.

Individual sound impressions

With open full size cans (AKG K501/Q701, Philips Fidelio X2)

The Nano BL did a great job allowing K501 and Q701 unleash their strongest features: excellent airiness, fantastic detail and wide and precise soundstage. You could almost physically feel the intimate chamber space where TACET went on with tube only recording of Stuttgarter Kammerorchester performing Boccherini’s La Musica Notturna, while at the same time enjoy the spaciousness of a concert hall with the Concertgebouw Orchestra of Amsterdam, conducted by Anatole Fistoulari, made you plunge into the Swan Lake’s Act 2, Scene 10.

Timbre accuracy was also excellent, and I am not adding “for the price” this time. TACET’s tube-only recordings have, to my taste, the most-natural sounding string instruments I have ever heard, and Nano BL was able to convey them without any undue interference. This is something that, for example, none of the Sabre-based portable devices I auditioned was capable to do.

With Fidelio X2, Nano BL managed to drive them to their usual more punchy, heavier-weight and full-bodied sound. “You and your friend” by Dire Straits sounded as energetic and full of drive as you’d expect it to sound, and the same applies to the heart-touching acoustic guitar reefs and voice by Nils Lofgren in his “Keith Don’t Go’.

With closed-back cans (Sony MDR-7506/Audiotechnica ATH-A700/ES-10)

Those are the cans I’d normally use for recordings that benefit from a more intimate, in-your-ears sound signature, with a lot of presence. And Nano BL did not disappoint! John Campbell’s infernal voice sounded infernal enough to make you shiver listening to his Down in the Hole. And the incredible Melody Gardot would literally whisper into your ear her “So we meet again, my heartache”.

The lower end of the spectrum was punchy and accurate, if only just a tiny bit lighter-weight than, for instance, my desktop tube amp is capable of delivering into the same cans. This totally conforms with the term “neutral-sounding” that can be applied to Nano BL – as much as I enjoy the whopping bass response of my Laconic tube amp, its sound signature is anything but neutral .



At home, in my desktop system, I’d probably have more enjoyment of Alan Taylor’s “Dedicated to…” bass line, however, on the go Nano BL was more than persuasive with this piece.

With Etymotic ER4P Custom re-cabled IEMs

Nano BL had absolutely no problems driving Etymotics, and I did not even have to recourse to the iEMatch socket – they played just fine from the Standard output. No matter Standard or iEMatch, Nano BL demonstrated a totally black background, with no hum or hiss whatsoever, even with the volume knob turned all the way to max. Excellent job by iFi, and apparently "iPurifier technology built in" does its job.

Plugged into Nano, ER4P remained exactly what they are: an extremely accurate, sharp and sterile medical scalpel, which is capable of carving out the smallest details of the music texture. Etymotics and Nano BL turned out to be an excellent testing and evaluation combo, but…

This is probably the only case where in terms of the actual listening pleasure and enjoyment I might say I liked my M2Tech HiFace DAC/RSA Predator more than the Nano BL. The much livelier sonic character of M2Tech HiFace DAC, combined with RSA’s signature dark, laid-back and lower-end focused sound are simply more fun with Etys because they offset nicely the uber-flat, even and sterile sound signature of Etymotics. This in no ways mean something is wrong with Nano BL, it is just that ER4 are a very specific pair of IEMs, and not all DACs/Amps are a synergetic match.

Conclusions and final word

Bravo, iFi, you did it again!

You started this game with the original Nano iDSD – opened up the world of excellent sound in a portable package to a sub-$200 market. Then you took the original Nano iDSD, painted it in black, improved on every single aspect that needed improvement, added a few new features (some more practical than others , and still crammed the whole thing into the same $200 envelop.
The only question that I have is how do you guys do it. Black magic?

Is Nano BL ideal? For its price it certainly is. It’s small, incredibly versatile, packed with features and has a very pleasant, clear and neutral sonic character.

Is it for everyone? Well, in my view, it will definitely fit the bill with most users. However, a distinctly neutral sound may seem a bit uninspiring for someone who is addicted to colored sound. Others may note some lacking energy and emotion, especially with some headphones, but this is certainly not Nano BL’s fault.

Did I like it? I absolutely did, and this is not surprising: I like my original Nano iDSD a lot, and here comes the successor that is simply a better, improved version of it.

Oh, and now it is BLACK!

Disclaimer
Hi everyone, Before I start the review, I would like to thank Ifi for making this DAC/AMP.
This review is made by myself based on my observation and listening pleasure of The DAC/AMP on various gear that I have regardless of price points.

I have no affiliation to Ifi in any way and everything said here is based on my experience over a week.
The pricing in Australia is 299.95 AUD , so the review will be made using that as the value.

INTRODUCTION
I'm an Indonesian working as a Web Developer in Melbourne, Australia.
Other than programming/coding, listening to music is another one of my hobby.
When I start my headphone hobby, music listening has been a very rewarding experience for me and has helped me in many aspects of life other than music enjoyment, but, with the booming price of high end headphones/IEM, it has become a bit of a heavy hit on my wallet.

Starting from almost 4 years ago I've been really hooked by metal music, and nowadays my everyday music listening always incorporate metal tracks, I guess you can call me a Metal-head.

Other than that I also like Progressive Rock, Jazz, etc basically anything that is very technical and well made except classical, and no I don't really listen to modern music.

Metal music is my primary focus, so this review will appeal more for people who likes Metal music like me and less so for people who likes modern music like Trap music, pop music, ed sheeran, Taylor Swift, etc.

I don't actually listen to all kinds of music, lets say for example Classical, therefore it is important to understand that this review is based on my observation on the kinds of musics I like, and those are mainly:
- Metal (many kinds, mainly the extreme kind, like 80% off the time)
- Rock (mostly Porcupine Tree, Steven Wilson, Riverside(rock/metal), Radiohead or something like it)
- EDM (Mostly trance)
- Jazz (Norah Jones, Diana Krall and the likes)
- Folk (just start lately, but I've been listening to Fionn Regan and found it enjoyable)
- Indonesian Song (it's basically the Indonesian version of pop, guitar used is mostly acoustic guitar, sounds natural and relaxing however, mastering of the song is usually poor, this is good to test how good a headphone/Iem handle poorly recorded material)
- etc

Genre's that I don't listen to, not even one bit, unless forced like in shopping center.
- Rap
- Classical
- Bollywood stuff
- Modern pop

Gear Used
- Meze 99 Classic
- Focal Utopia
- Shozy Stardust
- Fiio X7 II
- Violectric HPA v281

Artist, Music that I used in the review:
- Porcupine Tree
- Be'lakor
- Opeth
- Shadow Gallery
- Cynic

PACKAGING
Simple white box, containing the unit and another white box inside containing USB cable and rubber bands for stacking, you will also find some documentation in there, simple and clean packaging.


ACCESSORIES
- Black carrying pouch
- USB adaptor (USB to USB-A)
- Blue USB cable for digital input
- 2 amp straps for "stacking"


Missing:
OTG cable at least for Android, using USB C (Apple one is using lightning and not usable for pc, so this one is ok to miss, but USB-C is now standard, include this please..)

I/O
- 3.5mm headphone out
- 3.5mm headphone IEMatch out
- 3.5mm Lineout
- USB In



Extra Features:
- IEMatch, according to Ifi site:
Use the iEMatch® when the headphones/in-ear monitor (IEM) is either too loud and/or there is excessive hiss from the music source. From Smartphones to airplane in-flight entertainment systems, powerful headphone amplifiers, the iEMatch® improves musical enjoyment by:
1. Background noise – significantly reduced
2. Dynamic range – more open, transparent
3. Volume control – increased usable range
- Filter for measuring and music listening (Don't really care bout this TBH, i didn't even try it)
- MQA
- DSD playback (Most of my tracks are PCM, so I didn't test this)

Battery Life
8 -10 hours depending on loads

Build Quality
Excellent! Metal chassis with textured finish that is screwed together nicely, with rubber feet at the bottom to prevent sliding, nice analog volume pot with very good resistance that doubles as on/off swith, led indicator lights, light unit but not overly so, it does not slides around too much.

Sound Quality
Sound Signature
Very slight V-shaped with boosted bass with tiny bloom, Mids is not forward and slightly laid back, very tiny emphasis and forward sounding upper-mid/lower treble for guitars with good body, upper treble like cymbals is slightly laid back and not too sparkly.

This is not a neutral type signature, but very enjoyable to listen to for a long time without fatigue, is not too distracting as the treble is not harsh and, perfect for work or when you just want to relax.

Bass
The Bass is not the tightest bass I've ever heard but it has good dynamic and attack, so it doesn't soft or cushion-y and is not boomy. Other than that there is a slight bloom on it so bass kicks sounds thicker and meaty.

Due to this the perceive speed on a very speedy beats like "blast-beats" drum kicks in metal music is not the fastest or most distinct I've ever heard, as the distinction between each hits is not apparent as compared other gears I've owned, but I've heard worse and despite this the speed is good.

Bass extension is quite good but I wouldn't say that this is the bass best assets, however you don't have to work hard to notice it, it is presented in a tasteful way that makes music enjoyable especially in tracks that is mastered with weaker bass.

Bass Guitar sounds sweet with tasteful thickness that does not overwhelm the music and just shines where it needs to be.

Mids
The Mids is not as forward as the bass, resulting in a slightly laid back presentation, It is smooth and has excellent macro detail but micro detail such as taking breadth, lip smack and raspiness is not very apparent, vocal decay is also decent with the voice fading away that can still be heard when other parts of the music takes over, especially at the start of the decay, however as the decay goes to the end it is covered by other sounds, so the separation has some weakness in this department.

The presentation is on the smoother sides, when hearing harsh vocals from extreme metal bands, it is not harsh at all, however the edge of the voice is there but could be better, as those bites also adds to the experience of the music, but too much exposure of these bites when not handled properly can be fatigueing.
The good thing here is that the Ifi is always smooth and I will happily lose out on some of those bites for a fatigue free experience.

Moving on to the guitars, the guitars are forward sounding, this is really good on a guitar solo, It will get your attention and you will feel good about it if you like guitars like I do. So the presentation is very enjoyable, at least for me, how about the technicalities? It is also good, but again not the best I've heard. The guitar sounds melodic and sweet, but it's losing alittle bit of that rawness that you usally associate with electrric guitars on metal music, the bites is missing a little bit, my point is it is there but I want more of it to be exposed, we want to hear all those details because we love it.

Treble
The treble is slightly boosted and forward on the lower treble but laid back on upper treble.

Guitars that has high notes still carry the same characteristics as I describe earlier, however when we move up to other percussion instruments like cymbal hits, it is laid back and sit in the background, it is not roll off in any way, it just that the other frequencies sounds more dominant so when the music gets busy, it is more difficult to hear this frequency, you will definitely need to concentrate.

Technicalities is decent, due to the sound signature, upper treble details and extension is difficult to notice, although it is there but I would say that the decay is difficult to appreciate is the other frequencies all sound louder and this decay got buried in it.

On Lower Treble/Upper mid, it has good body and it is smooth and sweet sounding with some bites of those distortion from the electric guitars shining through taking center stage, the details is appreciable with good body so that it does not sound thin.

Sound-stage
It has more width than depth and height, so it is more oval on the horizontal axis, left/right channel separation is good with instruments taking its own place without being congested.

The depth is decent, you can tell there is some difference on how the sound is coming to you depending on the position, vocals close and center, guitar forward sounding either from left or right, drums from the back either from left or right.

IEMatch
Does it work? I think it does, It is not easy to spot the difference since IEMatch will give less volume compared to it's normal output, The Meze 99 classic (32 ohm, which technically shouldn't be affected) plays fine from both out put, but I want to find out if Ifi's claim about IEMatch is true or not.

In order to test this, I switch back and forth using the same song, but the problem is when switching, I have to adjust the volume knob to get the same volume before I can start concentrating again to feel if there are any difference.

Both output are clean and performs well without any problems, but ever so slightly, I feel that the IEmatch output possibly due to lower noise floor, sounds more vivid and also seems more dynamic, although the difference is really hard to hear and could be placebo effect in my brain, but this is what I think I heard.

Comparisons
Fiio X7 II
The Fiio although still has slight bass emphasis, is much more balance signature wise, to be honest the X7 II sound signature is the type of sound signature that is ideal for my preference, I usually like neutral sound signature with slight bass emphasis, this is because it is easier to appreciate details across the frequency bands as all the frequencies more or less has the same emphasis. This makes X7 II easier to pair with a lot of other amps and headphones without over emphasizing anything when interacting with the sound signatures of other gears.

The Ifi seems to be designed as an all in one DAC/AMP solution, judging from the price points, I can see the market target of this product will probably not experiment too much on amp and headphone pairings, therefore there is less chance of bad synergy.

On this approach I think the Nano totally knock the implementation out of the park, it is not shy of going straight to the point with their sound signature to which they see fit for their audience.

The Fiio X7 II exposed details more and has better balance, but depending on your preference you may like the Ifi more, it is more musical especially for most people who likes some elevation on the bass with fun enjoyable sound signature with clean clear sound.
But the X7 II has the added benefits of a standalone unit, no need for stacking, this is a huge plus for me..
Hmmm, this makes me wonder if Ifi is interested in making DAPs in the future..??

I believe the X7 is more well match if compared to the micro iDSD Black Label, hopefully I will get a chance to compare those soon.

Power output/ Headphone pairing
It is quite strong for such a little unit, it powers my Meze 99 classic perfectly and the synergy is awesome, very enjoyable when working in the office.


The Utopia also sounds quite good on this and it plays music just fine, nothing sounds weird and just plays music well. The sound signature pairs well with the utopia, however it does not unleash the full potential of the headphone.


The shozy stardust also plays well on it, this is where the IEMatch comes to play, I have a good amount of volume pot wiggle room, it sounds nice and clean without any hiss and it's very enjoyable to listen too.


As DAC to V281
When used with my V281, along with my focal Utopia, it becomes apparent that the technicalities doesn't expose the details that I usually find in my usual v281 combo, it is also less natural sounding, however, the bass presentation combos well with my Utopia and adds some of those bottom end that some people want and the treble is pulled back a bit but not as laid back as when using the ifi by itself, I personally think that the Utopia is not bass light, but for those who think so, this can work, although I would suggest looking for higher end DACs if you are on this level to get all those details.

With that aside, all the details extracted by the DAC in Ifi Nano is presented beautifully, with superior layering (like on another level layering), I heard way more details easily that I have never noticed before as compared to using the Ifi alone, I have to say that the DAC although not the most technical in bringing Micro details, but it makes up for it with its presentation of macro detail and enjoyable tonality, at least in my set up.

This combined with The Focal Utopia which pretty much exposed everything without any harshness, gives great results that I wan't expecting from a DAC on this price range, well done Ifi!


Conclusions
The Ifi Nano iDSD BL is a good introduction for the iFi product, for the price I couldn't recommend this product more! It performs better than the price can suggest despite some weaknesses, very flexible power output and an enjoyable sound signature that is fatigue free.

It has excellent build quality and acceptable use case, with a good amount of accessories out of the box.
The only main negative for me is that OTG cable is not included, most people who buys this usually wants to use it with their mobile device.

The pricing is good too, and I think is quite affordable for many people.

For a lot of people the DAP acronym likely means nothing or very little. Those people are probably content to use their smartphones as a daily driver to fulfill the task of a music player. And why not? Today's modern smartphones generally have a large screen with excellent visibility, a responsive user interface plus there are a multitude of third party music apps and streaming services available. However phones don't usually deliver the best quality audio and it's for that reason things like the iFi Audio Nano iDSD Black Label exist. Landing at a price of $200 this little, portable DAC boasts an impressive feature set at a competitive price. Let's take a closer look.

Dislcaimer: This sample was provided for the purpose of an honest review. I am not affiliated with the company and all observations and opinions here are my own, based on my experience with the product. Check out the official page for more info and full specifications.

Packaging and accessories

Things start off with a fairly compact, white box enclosed in a cardboard sheath. The box is adorned with an image of the device on the front along with some text outlining key features. Over on the back is a more comprehensive list of features and specifications.

After opening the box you see the device nestled in a foam cutout. Under the foam are the accessories which include 2x silicone bands, 1x USB cable, a fabric carry pouch and a couple of adapters. Like some others, I am a little puzzled about the lack of any OTG or lightning cable considering one of the device's main selling points is being able to connect it to your smartphone. You do however have everything you need to connect to a computer out of the box.



Build quality and functionality

The iFi Audio Nano iDSD Black Label portable DAC is roughly the size of a deck of playing cards or for those familiar, a Chord Mojo. Therefore it's a good size for attaching to a smartphone (although a bit bulky for pockets) and very diminutive if situated on your desktop.

The brushed metal chassis looks and feels nice and durable. The top of the chassis is bare apart from the ifi branding. On the bottom side there are four small silicone feet to hold it in place on a surface and prevent scratching if strapped to a smartphone.



On the front end are (from left to right): 3.5mm iEMatch headphone jack, 3.5mm Direct headphone jack, LED indicator and Power switch/volume knob. The purpose of the iEMatch jack is for pairing with sensitive in ear monitors and I found it to work well, allowing for better volume control and with no audible hiss.

I do have one gripe with the volume knob and that is the low resistance that it has. Considering this is meant to be a portable device the volume knob is a little too easy to turn and it's near impossible to put into your pocket without moving it. This can result in either getting a deafening blast of music or having sound reduced to near nothing or even switching the device off accidentally. I feel that a recessed knob would have been more appropriate here, or at least one with greater resistance, although it does work well on the desktop.



At the back end are (from left to right): 3.5mm Line Out, Measure/Listen filter switch and the USB digital input. With the filter set to "Measure" the output signal is more neutral and uncolored, great for those recording frequency response or the analytical fans. In "Listen" mode the sound is a little fuller and more enjoyable to my ears. During my testing I left the filter on the "Listen" mode.



I had read that some people were not able to successfully connect the Nano BL to their smartphones. For me however, I plugged into my Samsung Galaxy Note 5 with the OTG cable (which I had to go out and purchase separately...) and it was good to go. It certainly was noticeably better than my phone's DAC and needless to say a much higher output power than provided by my phone as well.

Sound

Gear used for testing

• PC/MusicBee > USB to USB
• Samsung Galaxy Note 5 > OTG
• Beyerdynamic DT990 Pro (250 ohm)
• Meze 99 Classics
• Acoustic Research AR-H1
• Inearz Audio Fusion
• DUNU DK-3001

The Nano Black Label performs extremely well for a portable device. Although the soundstage is about average it does have great detail retrieval. Its sound is mostly transparent with good extension at both ends. The Nano Black Label converts your musical data and forwards it onto your listening medium and lets the latter paint its own image, which is just the way it should be IMO.



DT990 Pro
iFi claims that this little guy can drive almost any headphone. While it was able to do so with everything I tested with, I found on some tracks I was pushing the volume almost to maximum with the Beyerdynamic DT990. That's a 250 ohm headphone so I'm not entirely convinced that this DAC would be sufficient for something 300 ohm and upwards. Having said that though the DT990 Pro sounded to be performing at its best with good dynamic range and full-bodied bass.

AR-H1
With the Acoustic Research AR-H1 there's definitely more than enough grunt on tap to make these sing. Listening to Bach's Six Concertos by Trevor Pinnock and the European Brandenburg Ensemble was a treat with this pairing, the imaging and soundstage were very immersive and immensely enjoyable.

Meze 99 classics
iFi Audio's Nano BL wakes the bass dragon in these headphones. But it's not a bad thing. It's like you know that there's too much bass but you love it anyway and can't stop listening and tapping your feet. When you get that basshead urge and want your skull shaken the 99 Classics will happily oblige and the Nano is more than happy to provide the juice.

Inearz Audio Fusion
This is one of, if not the best pairing I've heard for the Fusion so far. Using the iEMatch jack on the Nano BL the Fusion's bass seems to tighten up, making it a little less boomy but maintaining its impressive impact. Separation is excellent with sounds coming from a deep, black space. There's not a hint of hiss or background noise and detail is really good. In fact I'm enjoying this combination so much right now I want to keep listening instead of moving on to the next earphone!

DUNU DK-3001
Still one of my all time favorite IEMs, the DUNU DK-3001 falls right into my personal preference when it comes to sound signatures. The 13mm dynamic driver provides a powerful, punchy bass while the balanced armatures deliver clear mids and crisp treble. The Nano Black Label portable DAC again presents the music with great separation, detail and tonality and lets the transducers work their magic.



Conclusion

iFi Audio has a very solid reputation among Head-Fiers and now that I've (belatedly) seen and heard what they can do I totally get it.

The Nano iDSD Black Label is a fantastic little unit. I love the aesthetic, the build quality, features and of course the sound. The only thing that doesn't sit well with me is the resistance of the volume knob, as I mentioned before. Everything apart from that makes this a very appealing device. With its reasonable price this is definitely something I can recommend for anyone looking for a portable DAC to pair with their phone or computer.

*This review was originally posted on my blog at Prime Audio. Hop on over to see more like this.

IFi Nano IDSD Black Label Review
- Expatinjapan



https://ifi-audio.com/portfolio-view/nano-idsd-bl/


iFi nano iDSD Black Label, Shanling M3S and Campfire Audio Cascade

Unboxing and build

As per usual iFi does an excellent job at design and construction of another of their products. Robust, functional and smexy.







Hot stuff!



Instructions and warranty card etc



Simply beautiful in its simplicity



The IEmatch port is suitable for sensitive BA earphones and the the direct for standard headphones, BA and DD earphones. Play around and see which you prefer.



Line out port , Measure filter which I found to be more reference
and Listen setting is a tad more natural and musical.
Digital input for iOS, Android and PC/Mac.



Cable accessories.

I would have liked to see a basic OTG cable included for android,
but with the variety of Android connectors it probably isn`t practical.

I was a bit confused by the adapter and the main black cable
and how I should utilize it. My fail. Its good for some some uses such as the iFi iPurifier, extra connection options etc



iFi nano iDSD BL main accessories
• iFi bag
• silicone bracelet
• USB A Female > B Female Adapter
• USB3.0 A MALE > A FEMALE
• USB A Female > B Female Cable
• user manual
• Warranty Card
• note card
• STS card



Connections

"Its working, its working!"



The iFi nano iDSD Black Label connects easily to your computer
for an enhanced listening experience.
I use VOX player application on my old Macbook pro.



When connected to my well used Campfire Audio Andromeda I often used the IEMatch port, but found the 1 ohm output of the direct port pleasing.



As can be seen from this screenshot of my ipod touch 6G using Flacplayer app by Dan Leehr the
iFi nano iDSD Black Label plays back the tracks natively with no downsampling.






The iFi nano iDSD Black Label connected via USC-C to
Shanling M3S, with Campfire Audio Cascade.



Due to a lack of the proper cable in my possession I did a little Frankenstein work around to test out the Opus#1S Dap with the iFi Nano iDSD Black Label. After some fiddling around I got it to work.
Pictured with Campfire Audio Orion.




Tech Specs





Features/Specifications:

General
Input(rear): USB2.0 type A “OTG” Socket (with iPurifier® technology built-in)
Output(rear)； 1 x Audio fixed line out L+R 3.5mm
Digital Filter: 2 positions, 2 filters
Outputs(front): 2 x Headphone Audio 3.5mm one direct and one with iFi iEMatch® integrated
DAC
DAC: DSD, DXD, PCM DAC by Burr Brown Bit-Perfect DSD processing, Bit-Perfect DXD processing
Clock: Low-jitter crystal clock
Audio Formats: DSD 256/128/64/12.4/11.2/6.2/5.6/3.1/2.8
DXD 384/352.8kHz
PCM 384/352.8/192/176.4/96/88.2/48/44.1kHz
MQA 88.2/96/176.4/192kHz filters
Filter–PCM: Listen(transient optimised minimum phase)
Measure(frequency response optmised)
–DSD: Listen(extended bandwidth transient optimised)
Measure (narrow bandwidth, low output band noise optimised)
–DXD: Fixed Bit-Perfect Processing
–MQA: Fixed MQA Filter

Headphone Amplifier
Amplifier: Dual Mono 2 x 285mW Direct Drive, coupling capacitor free circuit for highest fidelity
Volume Control: 3.5mm TRRS with Balanced compatible wiring
Dynamic Range(including DAC): > 109dB(A) @ 3v (Direct)
> 107dB(A) @ 0.5V (iEMatch®)
THD &N (@ 125mW/30R): < 0.005%
Max. Output (<10% THD): > 3.5V @ 600Ω Load (Direct) (20mW/600Ω)
> 2.9V @ 30Ω Load (Direct) (285mW/30Ω)
> 1.7V @ 15Ω Load (Direct) (200mW/15Ω)

Output Impedance :
< = 1Ω (Direct)
< = 4Ω (iEMatchsup>®)
Channel Separation:
> 79dB @ 600Ω Load (Direct)
> 79dB @ 15Ω Load (Direct) (1kHz, TRRS plug Balanced wiring)

Line Output
Dynamic Range(Line): > 109dB(A)
THD & N(0dBFS Line): < 0.004%
Output Voltage(Line): : 2.15V (+/-0.05V)
Output Impedance: < 240Ω
Channel Separation: > 99dB (@ 1kHz)
Jitter(correlated): Below test set limit
Dimensions: 96(l) x 64(w) x 25.5(h)mm
Weight: 139g (0.31 Ibs)
Warranty period: 12months





Sound

Theres not much to be said for those already familiar with iFi products as the iFi nano iDSD Black Label follows in the same tradition of the products that have come before it. The usual iFi signature of clarity, resolution and a general reference sound.

The iFi nano iDSD Black Label a transparent and linear dac/amp.
The sound stage is reasonably wide and instrument placement is accurate.
Overall resolution is great, and detailing and layering is satisfactory and pleasing.

A DAC should in my view not color the source, and hopefully the source is fairly neutral too. A slight variance from product to product cannot be avoided due to different DAC and Amp chips etc etc, but thankfully these days the differences are largely null. And the main points to focus on are how neutral, how accurate the machine is etc.

The iFi nano iDSD Black Label is effective in that it packs enough power to drive some large headphones to a decent enough listening level where they perform as they should, yet also at the other end support sensitive in ears.

I wont overdo or extensively extend this particular section. The iFi nano iDSD Black Label does what it advertises and does it well. Like other iFi products the build and customer service is excellent.
The sound as I have written above is fairly linear and reference orientated.
It has enough resolution and power to please.



Price

The asking price of the iFi nano iDSD Black Label is an affordable US$200.
The iFi nano iDSD Black Label is in summary mid fi at a low fi price.

Overall

Comparisons between the nano black label and the micro black label are to be expected. From memory whilst obviously the Micro has more bells and whistles and is more often than not described as an audio swiss army knife of sorts, the Nano is more a simplistic, slimmed down version.
The Micro does do everything slightly bigger, and the nano is not a slouch by any means is a slightly more subdued version of its larger sibling.

The Nano packs a decent amount of power and can drive most cans admirably with ease.
Pairing with an Android device can be tricky as there are so many various cables out there.
So choose your connector wisely.

Connecting to the ipod touch was easy and stress free.
As seen above I also was able to connect it to a variety of sources, though my list is not exhaustive nor extensive.
I had no issues with connecting to my Macbook pro either.
At one time just for sciences sake I went Macbook-usb-nano-line out- cable- home system.

The battery life is touted at ten hours, and whilst I never did a proper full discharge I only gave it a few charges whilst my testing went on.

Portable or transportable? Well this is a matter of taste. A while back this would have been seen as totally portable, but as devices get smaller and thinner this veers slightly in the direction of transportable, yet still very stackable.

I love the volume knob, it does the run the risk of a bump and suddenly increasing the volume due to its smoothness of rotation. But I never encountered such a problem.

Output Impedance : < = 1Ω (Direct) < = 4Ω (iEMatchsup>®)
This is matter of preference and also depends on how much hiss your sensitive IEMs exhibit, or dont.
Multi BA IEMs retain their designed signature best at 1 ohms, but If there is hiss then the iEMatch port is your best bet.

The Measure and Listen switches are mainly neutral/reference and natural/musical. I found them to be more noticeable with the Direct jack than the IEMatch jack.
How audiable the effects were varied from earphone to earphone.

The iFi nano iDSD Black Label play back a wide variety of audio formats so most users will be pleased. I myself I have only tested a few but perusing the various forums I read other users met with success and pleasure.

It is of a generally neutral signature that is favored by most manufacturers these days and generally demanded and expected by consumers which leave the ear/headphones alone to do their work and exhibit their particular sonic characteristics.

The iFi nano iDSD Black Label: mid fi at a low fi price.

Thank you to iFi for sending Head pie the iFi nano iDSD Black Label for review

iFi Nano iDSD Black Label

Greetings all, these are my impressions on the iFi nano iDSD Black Label. The unit comes courtesey of iFi as they are hosting a review tour of the nano idsd BL here on Head-fi. I have spent 7 days with the unit and I am shipping it out to the next person in line so they can review it. Before I begin I want to thank Lawrance and iFi for hosting these tours of their products and giving us a chance to try out their products in exchange for an honest review, can't beat that right!?


Package, accessories, built quality

The Nano comes in a small white box. Inside opening the package you will find some paperwork, the Nano itself and a small white box. Inside that box there is a USB cable for connecting the nano to your PC/Mac and it also doubles as charging cord. Also included are 2 other USB adapters, 2 silicone bands for stacking the Nano to your smartphone/ipod and a felt carrying bag to protect your Nano.

The Nano iDSD Black Label is as it's name indicates all black in color, made out of brushed metal and has an excellent finish. The unit itself is very small and light weight so it is ideal for taking along with you to use with your smartphone, tablet or laptop as long as your device is cable of being a USB host.



Features

The nano's front panel has two 3.5mm outputs, one of which is labeled iEMatch and the other is labeled direct. iEMatch is ideal for sensitive in ear monitors and headphones, I found it works very well giving you full use of range on the volume knob. Direct output is the regular higher gain output. And lastly the front also consists of the volume knob which is lovely to have for a device such as this as opposed to buttons or even worse only software volume controls as found on such DACs as the Audioquest Dragonfly and other similar types of Dac/amps in this price range.

The back of the unit has a dedicated line out for sending your signal from the Nano DAC to a different amp or powered monitors. A switch containing two listening filters and a digital input for connecting to your transport device or for charging the unit itself.




Sound

The nano BL to me sounds on the warm side of neutral. Very nicely done in my opinion, not overly done just right. At times the treble seems a bit laid back, not as upfront and the bass is slightly warm but makes it very engaging in my opinion.

As a matter of fact my whole time with the nano has been very enjoyable no complaints whatsover and the only short comings (nit picking really) are only audible when in direct comparison to something "better" that is in a higher price brackett. Even then it really depends on how resolving your headphone is and how critical you are listening to really tell a difference.

In direct comparisons with the Chord Mojo, the nano held it's own but ultimately fell short in overall resolution and sounded a tiny bit more dry. The Mojo also has a lower noise floor which helps notes come across more clearly. For this comparison I used a classic Grado Rs1 which is easy to drive and has a very intimate soundstage so Ymmv. Speaking of soundstage the Mojo is abit more holographic as the sounds had a bit more depth and were more sourrounding as opposed the nano which sounds a bit more 2 dimmensional in comparison. These are very subtle differences and not exactly night and day. I'd say for one third the price of the Mojo the Nano BL has nothing to be ashamed about, no Sir!

Direct comparisons were done by volume matching both units with and SPL Meter app on my phone and playing a pink noise file to the Rs1.

In conclusion, I'd say the iFi Nano iDsd is a definitive winner not only for it's price to performance but for it's overall engaging sound that is a joy to listen to!


Other notes:

No noticeable interferance when using with my Android phone. UAPP would occassionally crash and track would start looping.

I was unable to fully test battery life and charging cycle in my short audition period.

I wasn't really able to tell if the Nano was fully decoding MQA files since the led did not change colors while listening to Tidal Master tracks.

Unfortunately I was unable to try out the balanced output due to not having a proper adapter for my cans.

I received the iFi nano iDSD Black Label for reviewing as part of the EU tour
The coming review is my honest opinion about the device.

My Background
I am a mechanical engineering student who likes to listen to music a lot. In the last few years, i upgraded my gear on a students budget! My preferred music genre is Indie, Jazz, Hip-Hop and some classic Rock. I am more on the "warm" sound signature side.

Headphones

Packaging

Really nice presentation. It comes with a lovely pouch and all cables you will need for connecting to a PC/MAC. Really impressed.


Build Quality and Size

Really nice and heavy build quality. It is not too light not too heavy! The finishing is superb. I really like it and can not hope for more.
The nano BL is more on the bigger side of my DACs. See my pictures for comparison. It is about the size of a cigarette box.


Specs



The specs are the best one of all my DACs. Here is a list:


General
Input(rear): USB2.0 type A “OTG” Socket (with iPurifier® technology built-in)
Output(rear)； 1 x Audio fixed line out L+R 3.5mm
Digital Filter: 2 positions, 2 filters
Outputs(front): 2 x Headphone Audio 3.5mm one direct and one with iFi iEMatch® integrated
DAC
DAC: DSD, DXD, PCM DAC by Burr Brown Bit-Perfect DSD processing, Bit-Perfect DXD processing
Clock: Low-jitter crystal clock
Audio Formats: DSD 256/128/64/12.4/11.2/6.2/5.6/3.1/2.8
DXD 384/352.8kHz
PCM 384/352.8/192/176.4/96/88.2/48/44.1kHz
MQA 88.2/96/176.4/192kHz filters
Filter–PCM: Listen(transient optimized minimum phase)
Measure(frequency response optimised)
–DSD: Listen(extended bandwidth transient optimised)
Measure (narrow bandwidth, low output band noise optimized)
–DXD: Fixed Bit-Perfect Processing
–MQA: Fixed MQA Filter

Headphone Amplifier
Amplifier: Dual Mono 2 x 285mW Direct Drive, coupling capacitor free circuit for highest fidelity
Volume Control: 3.5mm TRRS with Balanced compatible wiring
Dynamic Range(including DAC): > 109dB(A) @ 3v (Direct)
> 107dB(A) @ 0.5V (iEMatch®)
THD &N (@ 125mW/30R): < 0.005%
Max. Output (<10% THD): > 3.5V @ 600Ω Load (Direct) (20mW/600Ω)
> 2.9V @ 30Ω Load (Direct) (285mW/30Ω)
> 1.7V @ 15Ω Load (Direct) (200mW/15Ω)

Output Impedance :
< = 1Ω (Direct)
< = 4Ω (iEMatchsup>®)
Channel Separation:
> 79dB @ 600Ω Load (Direct)
> 79dB @ 15Ω Load (Direct) (1kHz, TRRS plug Balanced wiring)

Line Output
Dynamic Range(Line): > 109dB(A)
THD & N(0dBFS Line): < 0.004%
Output Voltage(Line): : 2.15V (+/-0.05V)
Output Impedance: < 240Ω
Channel Separation: > 99dB (@ 1kHz)
Jitter(correlated): Below test set limit
Dimensions: 96(l) x 64(w) x 25.5(h)mm
Weight: 139g (0.31 Ibs)
Warranty period: 12months


As you can see it is powerful and can decode everything you are hoping for!
It too has a MQA license. (MQA is a heavily discussed file format)

Connectivity

The input and outputs are great. It has a male USB input. Perfect for connecting OTG Cables from Phones.
and three 3,5mm Outputs. One line, one 3,5mm unbalanced out and a 3,5mm iE Match out with a balanced option. I personally think the 3,5mm balanced is a bit weird because the cables are really hard to get. But I understand the decision. It´s a cool technology behind it. For more: http://mediaportal.ifi-audio.com/Digital/NanoBL/nDSD BL balanced circuit Tech Note (Nov xx) .pdf


Sound

The nano came to me in middle of writing my bachelor thesis. So I had hours and hours of listening sessions.
Overall I have to say WOW. What a nice little device! I really like the sound of it! The highs are not too harsh, the bass is not to muddy. It is really relaxing to hear with it! I never missed anything from my other DACs. So it is the perfect symbiosis of all my other devices. The power output is really nice. It can run my M1060 and HD650 without any Problems. All my IEM have no hissing.

Software\Firmware
The Firmware upgrade is really easy to do! Only download some files and it is ready to flash! After the firmware update, the MQA function of Tidal was working perfectly and the RGB LED as an indicator is really nice. It can also help if you want to know if your music source is working like it should be

When you are connecting the Nano to an Android 7.0 device it works flawlessly. I highly recommend the "USB Audio Player Pro" App. it has Tidal Integration as well!


Conclusion

Perfect little DAC for desktop and smartphone use. It is really portable. Has a nice volume knob (digital volume control like on the Geek Out and Dragonfly is not that great). it can drive all "normal" headphones. And the best one is the Price. At only 199 $ it is really a no-brainer because it is so versatile.

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.

I am posting this review due to being part of the iFi nano iDSD Black Label tour, all the thoughts shared in this review are my own and reflect my honest opinion about this product.


I am new to the head-fi world, I only started to appreciate the intricacies of the high resolution audio last year so don’t expected this to be a technical review It will be a review that will address the major features of the product from the consumer point of view specifying it’s usefulness or not



Packaging and accessories





The product Is well package in a white box enclosed in a cardboard sheath, the device rests in a cut out and in front of it is a little white box containing the included accessories (iFi bag to carry the device, 2 silicone bracelets, a USB A Female to B Female Adapter, a USB3.0 A Male to A Female cable and a USB A Female to USB B Female Cable). Although the box contains all the necessary cables to connect it to the computer it lacks a OTG Cable to able to connect It to your android or an equivalent solution for an Apple device, which in my opinion is a bit of a major flaw, since one of it’s bigger selling points is it’s portability and the possibility to connect it to your smartphone.

Build quality

The device features an all metal chassis that feels premium and should be pretty durable, in the bottom it was four silicone feet that prevent it from sliding or scratching your smartphone when it's attached via the included silicone bands






Features





On one side you have the in my opinion excellent volume knob and the two 3.5mm headphone output, one labeled IEMatch that works better with sensitive IEM's by providing better volume control and no audible hiss with my Shure SE846, basically it works as advertised, the other one is labeled direct and works as an ordinary headphone output. On the otherwise you have the only input, one of the few weak points of this unit, and a 3.5 mm line out if you want to connect it to a pair of powered speakers.

Sound

The nano BL performs extremely well for it's price and small size I can't give you any detailed comparisons with any other dac's since the only other one that I have tried is the Chord Hugo 2 which is in a league of it's own in terms off general detail retrieval and micro detail but the nano BL is no slouch either it has good detail retrieval and doesn't color the sound in any way, providing definitely better sound than your standard smartphone

When using my Shure SE846 I found it performed as good as my Onkyo DP-X1 DAP which is three times it's price however when paired to my Mr. Speakers AEON I found the Onkyo to have better detail retrieval and a more laid back sound which suits better my preferences.

Conclusion

The iFi Nano iDSD BL is the perfect portable DAC for it’s price range, it definitely offers a lot for the price and for the budget conscious audiophile I definitely think it’s one of the best solutions on the market right now. The only downside I can think off is the lack of inputs otherwise this a pretty good and well rounded product that extends iFi excellent line of products.

Firstly I would like to thank iFi Audio for loaning me this unit for review.

*disclaimer: This sample was provided on loan for the purpose of writing a review, no incentive was given to write a favourable review. All opinions expressed are my own subjective findings.

Gear Used:
HP Laptop > Nano iDSD Black Label > Kinera Earbuds, Custom Art FIBAE3, HiFiMan HE500, German Maestro GMP400 and others.



Tech Specs:
A comprehensive list can be found on the iFi website: https://ifi-audio.com/portfolio-view/nano-idsd-bl/
MSRP: £199

Packaging, Build Quality and Accessories:
The Nano iDSD Black Label comes in familiar packaging if you have bought from iFi before, a small white box with an outer sleeve detailing features and specs. Take off the sleeve and you are greeted with a two part box, take the top off and the Nano iDSD is held in place with a foam inlay, also you will see a white box which houses the accessories. I like the simplicity of iFi Audio packaging, pleasing to the eye, detailed and easy to open, with no added frills or luxuries.

The Nano iDSD BL is a very neat little device that feels like it was built to last the rigours of daily use. The housing is made of aluminium, the sockets are all tight and have no play in them, the volume knob that acts as the on/off switch is smooth and doesn’t stick out far. Overall it feels well put together and should last a long time, and survive some tumbles.

Accessory wise you get a small black velvet carry case, a small pigtail adaptor (USB to USB-A), a solid USB to USB-A adaptor, and a long USB cable for PC use. Also included are 2 amp straps, everything you need to get up and running on a PC or MAC. You will need additional cables for using it with an Android or iPhone.



Features:

The Nano iDSD BL is a DAC/Amp, it only has a USB input, and cannot be used with an analogue source, nor can it be used with a coaxial or optical source. This limits it somewhat, but then again to fit all that in a small chassis would bring compromises that could alter the performance. On the back you have the USB input, filter switch and a 3.5mm line-out. The filter switch has 2 positions, Measure and Listen, there is a very slight difference between the two; the listen position adds a little smoothness and warmth to the sound, the measure position gives you a more analytical sound.

On the front you have the volume knob that acts as the on/off switch, and two headphone outputs. The direct output which is for full-size headphones and the iEMatch output which is for sensitive IEM’s (the signal is attenuated a little amongst other things). The 3.5mm output is also TRRS compatible if you want to go balanced, but iFi say the way their system works brings benefits of balanced to single ended headphones too.

The Nano iDSD BL is plug and play with most devices, however it is recommended to install the official iFi drivers on a PC.

The Nano iDSD BL has an internal battery capable of giving up to 10hrs of listening time on a full charge. This makes it a great companion to those who have moved to phones without a headphone jack.



Sound:

The Nano iDSD BL is a great little device that packs a punch in a small package, its sound is much bigger than its size might suggest. It has a slight warmth and smoothness to the sound, being a great DAC/Amp to just sit back and enjoy the music with. Using it with IEM’s it brings an added level of control and separation to the sound, bringing out much better sound quality than your average smart phone or computer can deliver. It does a very fine job at handling slightly harder to drive loads like the HD6xx series from Sennheiser, or my German Maestro GMP400, bringing out very impressive dynamics and a slight fullness to the sound.

The Nano iDSD BL is not clinical, it won’t make you analyse your system, but it also doesn’t mask the finer details. The detail retrieval is superb, and as a standalone DAC it would do very well in any system. iFi have spent some time honing the sound of their newer devices, making them appeal to a wide audience with a detailed, yet rich and open sound that is sure to please a lot of people. There is no lack of air or sparkle up top, it is still a very well balanced sounding DAC/Amp, but as stated it is not clinical in its presentation.

It doesn’t try to jump out and say “Hey I’m influencing the sound by adding this” instead there is a subtle smoothness that takes away any fatigue. The Nano iDSD BL works really well with most of the easy to relatively hard to drive headphones out there. Performance with IEM’s should not be understated; the iEMatch works wonders allowing you to listen to sensitive IEM’s with no hiss, or the need for an attenuator.



Conclusion:
The iFi Nano iDSD BL is the perfect portable partner for any audiophile on a tight budget, for £200 it offers a lot for the price. It is an easy recommendation, the sound is smooth, natural and open, the build quality is excellent and there are no downsides apart from the lack of inputs. Use it out and about, then at home hook it up to your speaker system via the line-out. You won’t be disappointed by the Nano iDSD BL.

I really cannot fault it for the size and price; it seems that most equipment prices are going up, yet iFi are really out there trying to show you can have a lot of performance for a small price.

Now I wish iFi could bring out a sub-par product so it doesn’t look like I am being sponsored to write positive reviews for them. But I genuinely struggle to find fault with the Nano iDSD BL, along with quite a few of their other products.


Sound Perfection Rating: 9.5/10 (The sound and features make up for the lack of inputs).

Setup:
I currently use an iDAC (original) in my desktop configuration. Foobar2000 serves as the source on my laptop (Dell XPS15 [9550]). The signal path is:

laptop USB C -> Dell WD15 “docking station” -> USB 3.0 SS (A) cable to USB 2.0 B in iDAC.

For testing the nano iDSD BL, I used the same USB cable from the dock and added the female to female USB B to USB A adapter that came with the nano iDSD BL. The iFi USB audio driver was updated to version 3.2 prior to testing.

Downstream equipment included home and office desktop setups:
and two headphone/IEM pairs:

The iDAC RCA and nano iDSD BL line-out were used when testing the two desktop speaker configurations (DAC only). The headphone (iDAC) and IEM-match (nano iDSD BL) ports were used when testing the headphone and IEMs (DAC/AMP).

Please note that I did not have am means to connect my portable source (FiiO X5ii) to the nano iDSD BL. All tests used the desktop source noted above.

Operation:
As I am used to the iDAC which only operates on USB power, one of the hardest things for me to remember was to turn the nano iDSD BL off when not in use. Switching between the two was also a bit cumbersome as the iFi USB drivers, while bundled, are different for the iDAC and iDSD. Each switch required that Foobar2000’s output settings be reset. This would not be an issue in normal use.

When using the nano iDSD BL exclusively for several days in my office and home desktop configurations (1 & 2, above) I had to turn the unit on after the computer to keep from running on battery power. This meant that the iFi USB driver would not see the nano iDSD BL at boot time and reverted to my laptop speakers by default. If I was careful (and fast), I could turn the BL on during the boot process (i.e. as soon as the blue charging light came on) and avoid having to unplug and reconnect the unit. I suppose I could have waited for my laptop to boot entirely before connecting the iDSD, but I am too accustomed to plugging the iDAC in first. Old habits die hard.

During desktop use, there were often small clicks when system sounds were played through the speakers. This was never a problem with the iDAC.

Sound Quality:
With HD600 and ER4SR, the nano iDSD BL had cleaner treble and base and better instrument separation and staging than the iDAC. The HD600s and ER4SRs really opened up with the nano iDSD BL. To my ears, both units performed equally (and very) well in the Creek/Epos and JBL settings. I could hear no notable difference between nano iDSD BL and iDAC with these open speaker systems.

Overall:
I was very impressed with the nano iDSD BL when using headphones and IEMs, where there was a clear improvement in sound quality compared with the iDAC. Whether due to a lack of fidelity in my desktop systems, DAC only operation, or the fine job iFi did with the original iDAC, I could not discern a difference between the nano iDSD BL and iDAC with my two open speaker setups. On account of its battery and smaller size, the nano iDSD BL is clearly more portable than the “transportable” iDAC. It would make an excellent addition to a portable rig. For desktop use with open speakers (where battery operation is not important), the iDAC (and likely the iDAC2) might be a better choice in so far as convenience of operation is concerned. The advantage would clearly go to the nano iDSD BL in the “price department”.

Recordings used during the test:
I have very few DSD files in my library and use them only when testing portable gear. I can’t tell much difference between DSD and FLAC for well-recorded source material. The following CD up to studio master quality FLAC files (approximately 500 to 5500 kbps) were used during testing of the nano iDSD BL.

• Adam Harasiewicz: Chopin Nocturnes & Preludes
  
• Bonnie Raitt: Road Tested
  
• Calum Graham: Phoenix Rising
  
• Dirks und Wirtz: Kinski Spencer Gismonti
  
• Don Ross: PS15
  
• Giovanni Palombo: La melodia segreta, A Secret Melody
  
• Goran Sollscher: Eleven-String Baroque
  
• Hoff Ensemble: Quiet Winter Night
  
• Julian Webber: Elgar Cello Concerto - Saint-Saens Cello Concerto No.1
  
• Laurence Juber: Guitar Noir
  
• Los Angeles Spin
  
• Luca Stricagnoli: Luca Stricagnoli
  
• Mike Dawes: What Just Happened
  
• Nora Jones: Come Away with Me
  
• Oslo String Quartet: The Shubert Connection
  
• Vladimir Horowitz: Rachmaninov Piano Concerto #3
  
• Yo-Yo Ma: Bach Cello Suites Nos. 1, 5 & 6, Rachmaninov Prokofiev Cello Sonatas, Mendelssohn Piano Trios, Op. 49 & Op. 6

iFi Audio is at it again! This time their latest Black Label product the iDSD Nano brings MQA support into the portable realm. Overall I found it's sound to be spacious and black with a super light compact body and priced right at $199.



Build


The product's well built with minimal seams in the chassis and non-invasive screw placement. It features a unique USB Type A male connector housed seamlessly into the chassis. It's well built and light, the power switch is built into the volume knob and otherwise the only other moving part is the digital filter switch on the back.





The 3.5mm and USB connectors are solid with no wiggle or play. My only gripe is the volume knob wiggles just a little, and there's a noticeable jump about 2 dBs up halfway through it's rotation. Otherwise it works, I didn't have any issue with it slipping or self rotating while I had it stashed in my hoody.





The front side also features two different 3.5mm outputs, iEMatch and Direct. iEMatch is optimized for low impedance high sensitivity headphones and iems. Direct is suited for normal or more traditional impedance and sensitivity ratings. The only headphone I had that benefited iEMatch was my HD 25-1 ii and even then it was only marginally quieter. Otherwise I ran everything else through the direct port.





As always the iDSD Nano arrives within iFi Audio's gorgeous packing brimming with goodies. This time they included a little soft felt pouch, a USB 3.0 Type A Cable and a 3.0 Type A female to Type B female so that you can hook it up to an existing USB Cable you already have for another DAC. Pretty handy as I have quite a few USB B's I use for the various Dacs I have in home. There was also a little sheet of paper with some optional rubber feet that I did choose to install. No analog cables this time how ever, just digital.



Sound Quality


Part of me wants to believe there's a little black magic at work here, but alas I know it's only electrons flowing to an fro. That said, the iDSD Nano Black Label sounds amazing and is characterized by a wide spacious sound with an excellent black background. Part of it's blackness has to due with the dual outputs, there's a Direct and IEMatch port. Direct for normal sensitivity headphones and IEMatch for high sensitivity headphones and iems. You can also run 3.5mm Balanced into either and achieve an even quieter output.



I also liked how it's uniquely wide imaging also improved the quality of my owning lossy streaming listening. I typically shy away from streaming for reviews, but both Spotify and Napster set to 320kbs gained a subtle but noticeable more spacious presentation. This level of clarity I also enjoy from my Geek Out v2+ but the iDSD Nano Black Label presents this without emphasizing so much of what is lost like the Geek Out v2+ sometimes does. I do appreciate that iFi has voiced this product in such a way that it compliments the more closed in sound of lossy, especially at this price point!



Tonality of the amp did change depending on the filter selected, with the Listen filter engaged it had a warmer tonality with a nice focus on the transients that follow after each individual note, how ever the lows were a bit thicker, in contrast the Measure filter tightened up the presentation for the entire spectrum as a whole but didn't have as sharp of a focus on transients. For the most part I enjoyed the Listen filter the most, as it offered the most natural and resolved presentation. Measure was more often than not too dry and sometimes harsh, though about 1/10 of the headphones in my collection actually did sound better with the Measure filter! The HE 4XX being the most notable of them.





Hifiman's Massdrop collaboration the HE 4XX is it self a thicker sounding headphone with a nice focus on transient balance. Resolving equally well both micro detail and ambient noise. What I found is with listen, while the resolve was even better the sound as a whole lacked impact. Switching over to measure breathed life into the HE 4XXs presentation without tilting the balance of resolve too aggressively toward ambient noise. Meaning, while micro detail didn't pop out as much, macro detail or ambient noise also wasn't over emphasized.



All in all I felt with the Measure filter the HE 4XX was equipped for every and all genres of music! It's own thicker intimate signature pair'd well with the iDSD Nano Black Label's spacious imaging and the added edge of the Measure filter. Even better the iDSD Nano Black Label never presented me with too little head room I always had more than enough range on the volume knob.





With my Ypsilon G1 and many others, the listen filter was the best. This Grado style DIY headphone has a nice forwardness in the upper mids with good balance in the rest of the spectrum. The iDSD Nano Back Label kept that nice edge in the upper mids without softening the rest of the spectrum to much.



I found it kept a good texture in the bass while still adding a little needed body. The upper mid peak was also lessened a little by some added bloom and decay within the lower and central mid range. This fairly balanced dynamic sounded phenomenal with just the iDSD Nano Black Label! These two made for a super easy to carry around combo, as each is light weight and simply pleasurable to listen with.





Now power wise, I did find the iFi iDSD Nano Black Label to be lacking a little with my HD 800. While it had enough voltage to get loud, I found insufficient in providing the power needed to bring the HD 800 to life. That said, I did pair up the Line Out into my APPJ PA1502A SET Tube Amp.



I also took this time to compare the Line out of the iFi Audio iDSD Nano Black Label to that of my own Behringer UCA 202. With the APPJ 1502A the difference between the two was obvious, the iDSD Nano maintained better tactility with more texture in the lows. In comparison the UCA 202 had some ringing in the mid range in addition to a some what congested sound even with the HD 800! Switching back to the iDSD Nano Black Label I always appreciated how the sound opened up! The only real advantage the UCA 202 seem to have was how clearly it resolved breaths. Human breathing and breathing alone stood out just a bit better with the UCA 202 than it did on the iFi iDSD Nano Black Label, though this advantage is only obvious on tracks featuring a solo or duet where congestion is a non-issue. With larger Jazz ensembles or classical orchestra's the iDSD Nano Black label again reigned supreme.







I also took the time to see how the UCA 202 Line out into my Vali 1 would compare again'st the iDSD Nano Black label running as both an DAC/Amp. For these impressions I went back to my Ypsilon G1 headphone.



Once again, I found the UCA 202 and Vali 1 pairing to have some congestion, while both sources were quite cohesive with their respective amps. The UCA 202 still struggled with larger bands or scores. Ultimatley the iFi iDSD Nano Black label proved it had better balance, resolve and imaging overall.



Though, the Vali 1 and UCA 202 did present a uniquely sweet wonderfully stunning and beautiful mid range in comparison to the iDSD Nano Black Label. This benefit though didn't compensate for the systems overall inability to properly present space. I suppose if you find your self listening to only classical duets or solo's then you may be able to sustain your self with such a system for only around $100. Other wise if you enjoy a larger range of music then you'll get not only a better quality of sound overall but the benefit of portability with the iFi iDSD Nano Black Label!







Being a DAC/Amp combo only the iDSD Nano Black Label does require both a graphic interface and storage interface for playback. So I decided to see how it compared to some of the DAPs in my collection that it prices just above.



The first of which was my Hifiman HM601, each had their own strengths and weakness as far as resolve went. How ever the iDSD Nano Black Label had better tonal balance and imaging overall. In some cases the HM601 proved to have better micro dynamics and micro resolve. As I found transients and small gradual volume increases were resolved with phenomenal clarity from the hm601... assuming your using a pair of complimentary headphones. My Ypsilon G1 was too sensitive and picked up on the nosiness of the onboad amp in the HM 601. Though my ES 10 did better and took advantage of the HM601s amazing resolve, but my HE 4XX did not. For the most part my HE 4XX was too thick that any gained resolve was lost in the ocean of decay. So thicker headphones will suffer when pair'd with the HM 601, it's intimate sound stage also holds it back.



In contrast the iFi Audio iDSD Nano Black Label offers two distinct filters to widen it's "complimentary" range or scope. Using Listen for my Ypsilon G1 and ES 10 there was again better tonal balance overall and I enjoyed Measure with my HE 4XX. So there was never a problem of a "bad pairing" as each filter had a distinct enough difference to compliment almost every headphone I threw at it.



While resolve alone was not always as immersive, the combined performance of both resolve in relation to imaging was. More intimate pieces of music found an increase and clarity from the iDSD Nano Black Label, where as with the HM601 they were often too close sounding. Additionally both ambient noise and spacial cue's where clearer with the iDSD Nano Black Label over the HM 601.



So while the HM 601, when pair'd with the right headphone, resolved more transient information relating to the individual instruments themselvs. The iDSD Nano Black Label, with any headphone, presented more information relating to how that instrument was placed within the space it was recorded in. At times this lead to an almost... fuller more real to life sound, as the music as a whole had a more vivid envelope. It's easy to get lost into the individual instruments when listening with the HM601, but moving up to the iDSD Nano Black Label suddenly the entire band's presence in relation to one another is clearer. For example the decay of the double bass s in Mile's Davis So What adds a nice fullness that blends nicely with the falling edge and echo of the horns. The littlest of details like this is something I expect and usually look for in higher priced products so I was surprised to hear it while listening on the iDSD Nano Black Label.







Shanling's M2S still holds my recommendation as by far the best single all in one portable music solution, and for those of you who want a nice upgrade from it without spending as much and having to daisy chain a DAP to an Amp. The iFi iDSD Nano Black Label would be my recommendation, as it keeps to a small light weight and convenient form factor. This is even more true if your wanting to take advantage of Tidal's MQA Masters or other streaming services.



The two share a similar balance doing many things right and having few actual faults. What the iDSD Nano Black Label brings is an even more resolved sound with a more flexible tonality. The Listen filter really reminds me of how the M2S presentation with the Measure bringing me back to my time with the Cayin N3. Except the iFi iDSD Nano Black Label offers more power and resolve than both. So those of you who may not need blutooth support but want MQA and streaming support and intend to use your cellular phone/laptop top or desktop as a source will find a noticeable improvement in upgrading to the iDSD Nano Black Label.



Now in my video review I choose not to comment on the MQA Playback for the iFi iDSD Nano Black Label. This was because I do not have Tidal my self nor access to to it, how ever I had the chance to finally hear the iDSD Nano Black Label with an MQA Master!!!







For better or worse I waited until after I listened to the MQA Master to take my pic, the meet was a little busy so I didn't have prime time for arranging everything as I wanted. Non the less, I took the iFi iDSD Nano Black Label for a spin with some Megadeath! I choose their Rust In Peace album and took Tornado of Souls for a listen, I did so with my ZMF Eikon and the iCan Pro Amp set to Tube-output. An WOW I was yet again impressed with how clear and vivid the sound was. While the music was un-familiar to me the level of resolve I heard was not, in switching between the MQA Master and Non MQA Master there was indeed an increase to the spaciousness and blackness overall. While MQA Masters don't take the iFi iDSD Nano into the "next level" I felt it was enough of an improvement to maybe justify a Tidal Subscription... maybe.



The sheer convenience of both Tidal and the quality of it's MQA Masters really encapsulate what the iFi iDSD Nano is about! Quality and convenience packaged in a light weight easy to use form factor without compromise. So for those of you maybe looking for the ultimate in light weight listening, your Cell a Tidal Subscription and this little magic black box might be all you need! I won't say it's the most cost effective solution, but again it's by far one of the most liberating. What ever music you want, where ever you want it, without the fuss of managing a myriad of SD Cards or a library of offline files, you don't even have to hunt for the "perfect Master" either as again Tidal's taken that time to procure it for you! If Tidal continues to expand it's MQA Master library I may even buy into the madness... maybe.



Conclusion
iFi Audio have once again been the first to launch another amazing product in an emerging market. It's light weight small size and sheer functionality combined with MQA rendering really make it a highly competitive portable for today's growing market of streaming consumers. I even found it to subtlety help open up the often closed in sound of lossy from my own Spotify and Napster streaming services. All in all any one searching for a highly functional portable Dac-Amp to serve a collection of both super sensitive iems and moderately sensitive fullsize/portable headphones across a wide variety of both digital sources and playback rates will be hard pressed to find better option at this price point!

Wait. Don’t judge me by the title statement. I don’t want to make it controversial but that’s what I heard. Whether it holds or not, it’s really up to you to decide. The question is, where do I stand by this statement? I’ll let you guys know at the end. Let see if this small black box lives up to the hype.

Disclaimer
I used to own mojo but decided to sell the unit because I am not using it as much. I am focusing on dedicated desktop setup thus the reason for selling. While I am familiar with the sound signature, I don’t have the unit for direct comparison with iDSD Nano Black Label. I might throw in some impressions comparing the Mojo with Nano BL, but it will not do justice to how they really compare. But I did used iDSD Micro BL for direct comparison. Thus, I decided to give my two cents and my own insights on these DACs.


First and Foremost
I would like to give my thanks to Lawrence from iFi Audio that manage the west USA tour well; also, to iFi Audio in general as they gave us the opportunity to try the unit in our system/setup. I have talked to some of the iFi personnel in the past CanJam and they are easy to approach. The customer service also has never been better. They are helpful in Head-Fi and every other forum I bet.

My iFi background
I never had any iFi product on my own, but I do have several friends that own them, and it happened that two of them are my housemates. I get to listen to iDSD micro Black Label extensively while had a fair of listening time in the past with iDSD micro SE. My impression of the variations of iDSD micro is that the Black Label nail it in almost every section; a worthy upgrade I would say. I keep comparing the micro Black Label with Mojo but never come to a conclusion which one of them is better. In my opinion, Mojo performs better with HD800 and TH900 while micro BL shines with warm headphones like HD650. Well, in the end, it really comes to personal preferences. Now that iDSD Nano Black Label is released, I am really intrigued to see where it falls in iFi DAC/Amp line up. Although it might sound obvious that it’s going to be a better version of iDSD Nano, will it better the iDSD micro SE or BL? Or even Chord Mojo?



What’s in the box?
Out of the box, you’ll get the DAC, a well-thought carrying case, a USB B cable female to male adapter, USB A female to a USB B female adapter, a short USB A female to USB B male adapter, rubber band for stacking, manual and warranty card. Obviously, RCA cable is not provided by iFi this time since it doesn’t have RCA like its older brother.


Build and Appearance
As usual, it has the iFi logo at the top and descriptions at the bottom. iFi is known for their product’s versatility but iDSD Nano BL by far the simplest in terms of functionality. It has two headphone outputs, both 3.5mm but one of them has the IEMatch feature. With the IEMatch, it ensures ‘hiss-free’ out from sensitive IEM or headphones. At the back, there’s a toggle button for ‘listen’ or ‘measure’. The ‘listen’ feature uses a minimum phase filter while ‘measure’ uses the linear phase filter. Personally, if I decide to do mastering tracks or get involved sound production, I might not be going to get the iDSD Nano BL despite the ‘measure’ feature; but, it is good to have and works for those who travel and work in the sound production industry. It only has digital input and 3.5mm line out if you want to connect the iDSD Nano BL with a separate amp. Overall, it got a great build quality and pretty much similar to any other iFi products.



Features/ Specifications

Input(rear):

USB2.0 type A “OTG” Socket (with iPurifier® technology built-in)

Output(rear)；

1 x Audio fixed line out L+R 3.5mm

Digital Filter:

2 positions, 2 filters

Outputs(front):

2 x Headphone Audio 3.5mm one direct and one with iFi iEMatch® integrated

DAC

DAC:

DSD, DXD, PCM DAC by Burr Brown Bit-Perfect DSD processing, Bit-Perfect DXD processing

Clock:

Low-jitter crystal clock

Audio Formats:

DSD 256/128/64/12.4/11.2/6.2/5.6/3.1/2.8

DXD 384/352.8kHz

PCM 384/352.8/192/176.4/96/88.2/48/44.1kHz

MQA 88.2/96/176.4/192kHz filters

Filter–PCM:

Listen(transient optimised minimum phase)

Measure(frequency response optimized)

–DSD:

Listen(extended bandwidth transient optimised)

Measure (narrow bandwidth, low output band noise optimized)

–DXD:

Fixed Bit-Perfect Processing

–MQA:

Fixed MQA Filter

Headphone Amplifier

Amplifier:

Dual Mono 2 x 285mW Direct Drive, coupling capacitor free circuit for highest fidelity

Volume Control:

3.5mm TRRS with Balanced compatible wiring

Dynamic Range(including DAC):

> 109dB(A) @ 3v (Direct)

> 107dB(A) @ 0.5V (iEMatch®)

THD &N (@ 125mW/30R):

< 0.005%

Max. Output (<10% THD):

> 3.5V @ 600Ω Load (Direct) (20mW/600Ω)

> 2.9V @ 30Ω Load (Direct) (285mW/30Ω)

> 1.7V @ 15Ω Load (Direct) (200mW/15Ω)

Output Impedance :

< = 1Ω (Direct)

< = 4Ω (iEMatchsup>®)

Channel Separation:

> 79dB @ 600Ω Load (Direct)

> 79dB @ 15Ω Load (Direct) (1kHz, TRRS plug Balanced wiring)

Line Output

Dynamic Range(Line):

> 109dB(A)

THD & N(0dBFS Line):

< 0.004%

Output Voltage(Line): :

2.15V (+/-0.05V)

Output Impedance:

< 240Ω

Channel Separation:

> 99dB (@ 1kHz)

Jitter(correlated):

Below test set limit

Dimensions:

96(l) x 64(w) x 25.5(h)mm

Weight:

139g (0.31 Ibs)

Warranty period:

12months

Info from ifi-audio.com


Gear used


Source(s): Tidal Master, Foobar, Pioneer XDP-100r

Dac(s): iDSD Nano Black Label, iDSD Micro Black Label

Amp(s): ECP DSHA-0

Headphone(s): Takstar Pro 82, Sennheiser HD800 SDR and HD6XX (modded)

IEM(s): Westone 30 and KZ ZS6


Songs (mostly MQA)
Sam Smith – Too Good at Goodbyes (Master)

This song focusses mostly on male vocals and out from the iDSD Nano BL, the DAC is able to bring nuance and good tonal balance across the spectrum with Sam’s magical voice and the background singer. With iDSD Micro BL, the sound is another level. Sam’s voice seems to be more engaging and every instrument sounds lively and real.


Shawn Mendes -Stitches MTV Unplugged (Master)

A live concert could be an issue to some gear and iDSD Nano BL produce a more forward sound. It is lacking in separation when compare to iDSD Micro Label is noticeable with this song. I felt like I am sitting in the front row with Nano BL and 3 or 4 rows further with Micro BL. Other than mentioned, I had a tough time to distinguish between both DACs with this song. The one thing that I can point out is it sounds more real with Micro BL but if you’re not listening to them for 2-3 hours, you might think that both produce a very similar sound signature.


Queen – Another One Bites the Dust

I always use this song for review as every instrument and singer has its own mic thus produce a good separation on its own. Nano BL with MQA rendering provides a great layering and separation that rivals Micro BL. Although its older brother has more sense of space and a tad more microdetail, it is hard to differentiate them in this song. The drum kick has less impact with Nano BL but they have more similarities than differences in my opinion.



Headphone Pair (Vs iDSD Micro BL)


Modded Sennheiser HD6XX
How does it pair with HD6XX/650? This is no doubt one of the famous questions asked in multiple forums. I personally enjoy the vocal out of these in almost every song that I listen to. This amp pairs amazingly fine with a more forgiving headphone like HD6XX/650 as it could have sounded too revealing with headphones like HD800 and Takstar Pro 82. I still enjoy the HD800 with DSD and acoustical music with this amp but favor HD6XX pair for most other tracks. Like I mentioned before, I can’t get enough with the MQA feature. It opens up the sound and shows the capability of the headphone. While I don’t seem to agree when people said that HD6XX/650 is veil, but the MQA does add a more refined detail and perceived clarity out of the headphone. I could hear a better bass, more open soundstage and better nuance across the spectrum. The Nano BL produce rich sound engaging mids but Micro BL wins in dynamic and faster transient response. The Micro BL is one of the best transportable DAC/Amp for HD650/6XX under $1000 but Nano BL do come close and with that smaller size, I am not surprised if I pick Nano BL over Micro BL.


Modded Takstar Pro 82
My first impression right off the bat was lively and full of energy. This headphone could sound dull and lifeless with bad synergy. With Nano BL, it brings everything forward but natural. Takstar Pro 82 is known for its wide soundstage but sometimes I feel that the sound is too distant and not natural. With Nano BL, everything sounds right. Articulate bass, smooth sound across the spectrum, percussion and singer’s position seems right to my ears. Imaging is above average despite the forward presentation. Even though I enjoy the combo, I still think that iDSD micro BL is a better pair with this headphone. Tonal density is lacking, and it sounds a little dry in comparison to micro BL. I used to love vocals and mids with this headphone but less so with Nano BL in the chain. However, the upper midrange and treble with this combo never cease to amaze me; pleasant to listen to but never lose energy.


HD800 SDR + Sheepskin Pad
Personally, I am not a fan of HD800 and iDSD Micro BL combo. Don’t get me wrong, they do sound great, but I felt like HD800 has a better synergy with mojo. So, what about Nano BL? As you would expect from the similarities of the Black Label brothers, I still prefer mojo over Nano BL for HD800 as they are more enjoyable to my ears. In terms of power, it got more than enough to drive the HD800 to an ear-splitting level. Since HD800 has a huge soundstage, the Nano BL provides a good imaging and more neutral soundstage to the headphone. As if you were seating in the front row of a concert while Micro BL is a further row back. The bass is profound but not as punchy as Micro BL. The Micro BL bass has more texture and quantity, especially with the XBass feature. Although, Nano BL really stands out with instruments like trumpet and saxophone. I enjoy the tonality with orchestra and instrumental song even though it still lacking in overall instrument separation as compare to Micro BL. Vocal is balanced and good but lacks rhythm. I enjoy acoustic song and vocal but less so with group singing. Well, I did find that the Nano BL has a more pleasing treble extension but also less airy at the same time.

IEM Pair


Westone 30
The best portable combo that I had so far. Westone 30 has a similar tonality to HD650: forward sounding with great instrument separation, midrange has a great body with an amazing vocal presentation, impactful bass and laid back. I am positive that the IEM could benefit the iDSD NANO BL capability considering its performance with HD6XX and it certainly did. The first thing I noticed was the vocals on these were amazing! Sweet and intimate are the words to describe them. I keep playing any tracks that emphasis on vocals and GOSH! I love them. Period. My source with this combo is Pioneer XDP-100r and if you ask me if they are better than my desktop setup? I would say no but I really enjoy these when I step out of the door. It is kind of disappointing that Tidal mobile does not have MQA because it if it does, they are going to be an amazing combo. However, across the spectrum, I did find that it’s lacking in tonal density. It sounds a bit dry with some songs. At times, it felt a little congested and too forward. I tried the ‘measure’ filter for my other gears but not a fan of the sound. With Westone 30, it made it a slightly drier but more neutral at the same time. The bass in this IEM could be too much for some and with ‘measure’ filter, the bass is more controlled. Again, I still enjoy the ‘listen’ filter with this IEM for the most part. Overall, I really enjoy this fun combo, especially with EDM, pop, and rock.


KZ ZS6
KZ ZS6 is my another go to IEM with acoustic, orchestra and classic songs. I don’t have any preferences in genre, but I love to listen to any quality recording with great mastering. If I said that Westone 30 resembles HD650, KZ ZS6 reminds me of HD800. Large soundstage, shrilling treble, great clarity, clean bass but less impact. Despite the similar tonality, the quality is different and HD800 is superior by all means. The amp produced an accurate sounding combo and it did remove the unnecessary spike on the KZs which was I thought great because it did not do that much with HD800. Great imaging and has more body in the midrange and bass. KZs by far is my most sensitive IEM and it can pick up every single noise and distortion coming from the source. The IEMatch has the S-balanced feature that provides full balanced benefits and ‘hiss free’. The result is everything sounds clean with black background. I enjoy acoustic, orchestra and classical songs out of these but still lacking with some modern songs. As of how much I love the improvements it gave to KZ ZS6, I still think that Westone 30 is the better combo.


Overall

There are couple things that I like about this new DAC/Amp from iFi Audio and one of them is MQA rendering. In fact, I love it a lot. Everything seems clear and the clarity is something that I would not expect in the sub $200 portable amp. As a fan of balanced and neutral sounding amp, this will be my top choice if I am looking for the amp without breaking the bank. If you’re an IEM user, this amp is your best friend. The S-balance feature provides black background even with super sensitive IEMs. Of course, you can get a separate iFi IEMatch for the same purpose, but having it soldered inside the amp makes a lot of different; shield it from any external interferences. However, I prefer it to have a toggle button for the IEMatch feature like iDSD Micro BL instead of two 3.5mm outputs. A ¼ in output jack would be a good addition for versatility. I am positive that what iFi had in mind was to focus on IEM than full-size cans, but it would be amazing if ¼ in output jack could replace one of the 3.5mm jack and place the toggle button for the other 3.5mm jack to activate the IEMatch feature. I used the ‘listen’ filter most of the time and that’s how I enjoyed the most when listening to music. While it is a good feature to have, for leisure listener, it might not be utilized as much. I am a huge fan of iDSD Micro BL and thought that I am expecting too much on this amp to be a clone of its older brother. The bass in Micro BL is amazing and hope that Nano BL could do slightly better in the bass. It does have quantity but lacking in quality and texture.




With MQA rendering feature, it allows for great detail retrieval that rivals Micro BL and Chord Mojo. It is a top-notch selection DAC/Amp under $200. For those who are looking for a sub $200 portable amp, I would advise you to just pull the trigger. You will never regret it.

After participating in the iFi iDSD Micro BL tour earlier this year, iFi gave me another opportunity to test their new iDSD Nano BL this time. The UK based company sent me a brand new Nano BL for a week in exchange for my honest opinion. Thank you once again!



After I had tested the iDSD Micro BL and compared it to my Chord Mojo (which I own since its release), I was lucky enough to own a Micro BL for a longer period. Knowing these two great quality portable DAC/amps pretty well, I was very excited to see what iFi has to offer for £200 which is more or less half the price of the two aforementioned devices.

In my opinion, the Nano BL will definitely stir up the portable DAC/amp market in the £200 segment, I have no doubt about that.
I also prefer the Nano’s sound to some slightly higher priced competition (Oppo HA2SE), but to my experience the picture still changes around £400 pretty drastically. The Micro BL and Mojo still rule the portable DAC/amp scene with all rights, but if someone can’t afford to spend £400 on a digital to analogue converter, it is not easy to recommend anything else for £200 than the Nano BL.



Package, accessories, built quality

The Nano BL comes in a nice box, which is half the size of the Micro BL’s box, just like the device itself. We still receive a nice selection of accessories, however one potentially useful cable is missing and that is the USB-A female to USB micro B/USB C which you could use to connect the Nano BL to mobile phones or DAPs. As the Nano has a truly portable size (unlike its bigger brother the Micro BL), not including this cable is a poor choice in my opinion. We do have a USB 2.0 cable though and an adapter as well which I think most customers would happily exchange for a Micro B or C cable.



I mentioned this in my iDSD Micro BL review as well, so I am not going into details again but I am still not sure why iFi is using USB A female port on its portable DACs, when you can see USB B ports on all the similar devices.
The Nano BL otherwise has the same very good build quality like its bigger brother, the Nano is just much smaller and lighter. Mojo is still slightly smaller than the Nano BL and does not have a volume knob sticking out which can easily turn if it touches something in your bag for instance.



Even though the Nano BL has a truly portable size, there are sleeker and smaller competitors. The Nano BL however offers a better sound than any DAP or portable DAC I heard so far in the £200-250 price segment.

The iDSD Micro BL is amazingly versatile, and you pay for this versatility as well as for its great sound quality. In case of the Nano BL, sound purists get a better deal for their money as on the one hand it is less versatile but on the other hand it also means your money is going towards sound quality only. This is the priority for many of us.



Two burning questions

Before I go into details regarding the Nano BL’s sound quality, I would like to answer two questions that probably many of the readers have.

1, How much do I get for £200 from the iDSD Micro’s performance?
It would be pretty pointless to suggest a number what percentage of the Micro BL’s sound quality the Nano BL possesses. iFi are obviously not stupid to give you the same or even almost the same sound quality for less than half the price of the Micro BL. Although the Micro’s higher price is partly due to its versatility and exceptional output power, it still sounds much better than the Nano in every respect. However I also think that 60% of the people who don’t need the Micro’s versatility and power, will be just as happy with the Nano’s sound quality. It is exceptionally good for £200.



2, Does the Nano BL come close to Chord Mojo for only £200?
The short answer is no. In my opinion the Micro BL is somewhat on Mojo’s level, (even though they represent quite a different approach to sound), but I have to disappoint you, the Nano is not beating DACs for twice its price. It is good marketing to ask this question, but the answer is simply a short no. I have to add though, the Nano BL’s sound will satisfy many people who don’t hear the difference between a £200 and a £400 DAC.
My girlfriend who is not into portable audio but has quite musical ears sums up the difference: “The Nano sounds very good, but the Mojo makes me smile.”



Now, that we have got the two most important/exciting/disturbing questions out of the way, let’s see what the Nano BL has to offer sound-wise.

Sound

The Nano BL has much less power than its big brother the Micro BL, which is not really a surprise. The Micro is a powerhouse, I can’t imagine there is anything it couldn’t drive. The Nano on the other hand in my opinion won’t power the most hungry headphones (300Ω) on a satisfying level, although it has plenty of power for every portable and/or lower impedance headphones. With my 25Ω Nighthawks I usually turned the volume up to 50%.



The Nano’s sound signature is relaxing, warm and natural compared to its competition, with nice and satisfying bass, just what I prefer.
The sound overall is very satisfying, nothing really lacks. Good treble and bass extention, good soundstage, good separation, good space, very enjoyable in fact. The Nano’s sound only starts to fall short when we compare it directly to higher-end products like the Mojo or the Micro BL. For the price of two Nano BLs you can get a better music listening experience, but you only need that if your ears are able to appreciate the difference, and the double cost also doesn’t hurt your wallet too much.



I was able to listen to music with the Nano BL for hours, and I really enjoyed it’s warm, ear-friendly and powerful sound. It is not as detailed as the more expensive DACs mentioned in this review neither has the same level of resolution, but for half the money it is actually not very far from them. iFi’s smaller DAC is definitely more than half as good as the Micro or the Mojo, but as you go for higher and higher quality products in this hobby, you pay more and more for a 10-20% improvement.



The Nano BL is well balanced tonally throughout the frequencies, with a healthy bass response. Bass never lacks on the Nano, however a category higher you can hear a cleaner and better controlled bass. More expensive DACs like the Mojo sound more exciting and pleasing, more realistic and lifelike especially when it comes to acoustic instruments (strings, percussion) and vocal. Also the soundstage depth of the higher-end DACs is missing from the Nano, the picture is slightly more 2D than 3D.
The Nano BL is not as clean and clear as the more expensive competitors, it is like putting a good quality fullHD LCD screen next to a 4K oled screen. The full HD is absolutely satisfying, until you see (in our case hear) the better resolution.



In my Micro BL review I mentioned that iFi’s sound with the BL line reminds me to a good quality film theater sound system with its good bodied bass. Very entertaining and relaxing. On the other hand Chord’s DACs like the Mojo aim to sound as lifelike as possible. Both approach has a market in my opinion, it is good to have different choices. The Nano follows this ’entertaining Hi-Fi sound system’ kind of sound. iFi’s DACs still sound more natural and lifelike than many of their competitors, for instance I did not really like the OPPO HA2SE’s thinner and more artificial sound (especially in the treble region) even though it was very detailed (more detailed than the Nano).

Nano BL vs. Mojo

The most obvious difference when we compare the Nano BL to Mojo is the lack of dynamic punch and depth on the Nano. Mojo’s attack is much quicker, decay is shorter which results in a more accurate sound with additional clarity and air, leading to better imaging and better instrument separation. Background is also more black and we have more details and a more lifelike sound as the final product.
The fact we can compare the Nano BL to a significantly more expensive DAC is a big compliment itself to the Nano.



Conclusion

This little black box from iFi is extremely capable for £200. I like its ear-friendly and smooth sound, it is well-balanced tonally and offers a fantastic value for money. The full MQA compatibility can be an attractive feature for many buyers. iFi’s newest DAC/amp the iDSD Nano BL has everything to be the new king of its price category.

First of all I would like IFI for letting me in on this tour. I have never reviewed anything so here goes,

Build

The Nano looks like it will weigh a brick. In reality it doesn’t. it is surprisingly light. Weighs just as much as my phone. It is a bit thick, but its not massive. The unit looks beautiful in the stealth black finish . The lettering in the back is a bit hard to read since its also black. You have to hold the nano in a specific angle for the light to reflect just right to see what is written

iEMatch

wow this definitely changed the way some of the tracks sounded to me. It was mostly heard on my jhaudio 10x3. Plugging them into just the direct port gave the slightest hiss, but after plugging them to the iEMatch it was like day and night. The background was pin drop silent. It gave a real empty feeling when the tracks had silence in them

Filters

To be honest I tried a lot to hear the differences between the two filters. I was not able any difference, maybe it is just my ears. I left it on measure for the majority of the time after the initial switching around to hear the difference.


Test Tracks

Murder One – Metallica

hd6xx - warm, not as crunchy as I would like it. the amp has plenty of power to drive it. I was able to tell the different layers and separate them

jhaudio - warm, same as the hd6xx not as crunchy I would prefer. plenty of power to drive it. the iem match does make a difference. Was able to tell the different layers

AFO – it doesn’t like this song through the iDSD nano. It sounds cluttered and underpowered.

Nuforce – I had to run these on the direct port. It did sound much better than driving it with just my phone, but it was not a lot better than how it sounded with the hd6xx and JHaudio

Spanish Harlem - Rebecca Pidgeon

jhaudio - iemmatch made the silent backgrounds as Silent as I have ever heard. the female voice and the voilin sounds beautiful. Made me listen to this song on repeat atleast 5 times. it sounds very musical. can hear the instrument layers very clearly. from the bass line to the marracas. Beautifully matching. The imaging was very nice. I was able to pick out every instrument

hd6xx – not as musical as I liked it on the jhaudio 10x3. It is missing the coherence on these. The piano sounds too warm and kind of muffled. The background is pretty silent. The female voice comes out beautifully. Just a tad warm for my taste. The imaging was there. A bit cluttered


Wayfaring Stranger - New Appalachians

hd6xx – the female voice comes out beautifully again. The bass line also is very nicely presented. Kinda missing the umph, but that might be the headphone also. While the imaging was nice. I felt like a layer of music was missing when comparing to listening with the jhaudio 10x3. Other than the nano performs this song beautifully

jhaudio – pretty much everything was delivered perfectly to my ears. The Nano performs amazingly well with acoustic music.

Nuforce – the sound was too warm for me. It wasn’t muddy or bad. I would have liked a bit more treble and mid range. The bass was overwhelming

Comparison

Oneplus 5 vs iDSD nano – the nano definitely has a lot more power for headphones. It also sounds cleaner with better soundstage and imaging. It is definitely worth paying the $200 for this.

Shangling M3s vs iDSD nano – hands down prefer the nano. They both seem to have the same amount of power output. The nano might be a bit more powerful, but the nano sounds transparent and neutral compared to the M3s. The m3s is too warm for my taste. The nano has better soundstage than the m3s

NFB 11.28 vs iDSD nano – these two are not exactly in the same class. The NFB is a very powerful amp. The nfb is much more transparent and also sounds neutral. Maybe the tiniest bit of sparkle. The nano sounds a bit warm when you compare it to the nfb. While the nano has a good soundstage, the nfb beats in a very noticeable way.

Conclusion

While this is a portable amp/dac it does have the power to drive the hd6xx very well. It does not sound as open on some songs, but other than that this performs very well. Boy does it perform like a beast with my jhaudio 10x3. JUST WOW!! The two are a perfect match. With the nuforce x massdrop while it was better than just driving it with my phone I don’t see myself carrying the nano just to drive these. It is not the Nano’s fault. The iem is just not on the Nano’s level. It seems to bottleneck the dac/amp. I highly recommend this to anyone that wants powers their portable headphones and iems on the go. I might actually buy one myself.