[dannyvstheworld]

Love the new color!

Looking forward to some comparisons with xDSD, which I currently use on the go, but wish it could be smaller, and don’t mind losing the Bluetooth.

 

[Dixter]

It's almost as if people come onto a thread looking for anything to bitch about.

just an FYI - several years ago ifi came to Head-fi and asked for opinions and ideas on the original micro idsd , the silver original.... they made a big deal about how the design was coming along, even got some of the guys into testing the hardware before the final design release... they created a exclusive " ifi Club " and gave people a special ID Card and you were in the " ifi Club " ... special privileges and such... they really made you to want to buy the final product.... and nothing more came of the special ifi club. So if you don't give ifi or any other manufacturer feed back then I guess they will never know if there might be a better or different solution to a easy fix... so if bitching is what is needed to get everyone a better product then I'd say " Get to Bitchin "

 

[dmac6419]

Same as it ever was.

 

[cfranchi]

It would be really nice if manufacturers would propose portable dac/amp with Wifi capability (like Chord Poly) : portable dac / amp plugged into a phone are not really convenient.

 

[Dixter]

removed post as it was off topic...

 

[Gimmesomeaudio]

One of the best budget dac/amp available in 2021 prob

 

[MalinYamato]

I bought the Go Blu and I am curious about the differences between the Go Blu and hip dac2 wrt SQ. Do they use the same dac? What I don't like about the hip is the huge USB A port and that u have to use two cables, one for audio and another for power. For desk use, I think I better get a UP5 instead at the same price as a hip2.

 

[navii]

Have you heard of the new iFi GO blu? It was just released two weeks ago.

Why the hell would iFi cannibalize sales of another brand-new product by including the same functionality in the hip-dac 2? That's not how product lines and product marketing work.

I for one, prefer my product features not dictated by the marketing department.

 

[Drue]

Picked one up to use with my Verite Closed as my BTR5 doesn't give me a enough juice. I'm looking to see if I am satisfied with this before moving up to the signature/diablo range.

 

[Dixter]

if your phones are balanced and you decide to put more power to them then the diablo is the one as it is the only one that has balanced output.. the signature do not have balanced out....

 

[InvisibleInk]

if your phones are balanced and you decide to put more power to them then the diablo is the one as it is the only one that has balanced output.. the signature do not have balanced out....

Well, they have what they call "S-Balanced" and a 4.4mm Pentaconn jack.

 

[Sebastien Chiu]

Interesting.

Couple questions:

1. Does the hip-dac 2 resolve the channel imbalance on low volumes that was present on the OG hip-dac? (I think that was due to the potentiometer, if I recall correctly.)

2. Does the unit run off battery continuously, or will it bypass the battery to draw power from the USB-C power source? (OG hip-dac continuously used battery, even when plugged in to a power source via USB-C. I'm wanting to know if this functionality remains or has changed, in essence.)

3. Is there any issue with RF/EMI interference when using the hip-dac 2 stacked on the bottom (or top, I suppose!) of a smartphone or DAP transport?

Love the look of the case, though. I wonder if the OG hip-dac looks as smashing as the hip-dac 2 does all nestled in like that.

1. The same potentiometer is used. Please see our statement on channel imbalance here: https://ifi-audio.com/faqs/channel-imbalance/

2. This functionality remains and to my knowledge, has not been changed.

3. No, there is no RF/EMI interference.

It's almost as if people come onto a thread looking for anything to bitch about.

And that's why we stress ~ enjoy the music! That's why we are all here in the first place.

No offence, I liked the sound of the Hip DAC, but what's the point of releasing a "new model" if you don't fix the flaws of the 1st one?
The volume knob it's so light that any movement in your pocket can raise the volumen and blow your ears.
Also, the battery is below average and could use an improvement.
Hope Ifi can adress that for the Ifi Hip DAC 3, then I would buy it again.

I guess it take the concept of the zen dac & zen dac v2; with MQA Full decoder and and Slightly increased performance and dynamic.

Correct! Thanks for your suggestions.

Love the new color!

Looking forward to some comparisons with xDSD, which I currently use on the go, but wish it could be smaller, and don’t mind losing the Bluetooth.

Thanks!

If you need some sound opinions, on both, I would be happy to provide them.

It would be really nice if manufacturers would propose portable dac/amp with Wifi capability (like Chord Poly) : portable dac / amp plugged into a phone are not really convenient.

Thanks for the suggestion!

We never say never and always appreciate the feedback/ideas.

One of the best budget dac/amp available in 2021 prob

Thank you!

I for one, prefer my product features not dictated by the marketing department.

It's also important to keep in mind the marketing department is the one who takes your feedback, requests, and opinions back to R/D and chances are, you guys are the reasons why new products come out the way they do, at least coming from our perspective where we heavily value community.

 

[roycecooker]

Man, they're still doing that weird separate USB-A thing? You'd think a new version would've changed it to a single USB-C for data and power but I guess not. Very disappointing.

 

[Dixter]

Well, they have what they call "S-Balanced" and a 4.4mm Pentaconn jack.

@InvisibleInk Probably best if you go to the ifi site and read the manuals for both...

Signature -https://ifi-audio.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/micro-iDSD-Signature-User-Manual_1.0.pdf
Diablo - https://ifi-audio.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/iDSD-Diablo-manual_Ver1.4.0.pdf

Signature- they list the Signature output for both connectors as 4100mw @ 16ohm (no mention of balanced power)
Diablo - they list the Diablo Balanced output for the two output connectors as 4980mw - 4.4mm Balanced and 6.3mm Single Ended as 2417mw @32ohm

I am a little surprised they didn't put a fully balance circuit in the Signature, but that would have cut into their sales of the Diablo for people who want/need the power of the fully balanced amp stage.... note that the specs show the output for the Signature are 16 ohm load and the Diablo are 32ohm load.... huge difference on output from each...
The biggest drawback via the Diablo is that it is designed for Headphones and its not perfect for IEMs.... due to the amount of power out of the Diablo even with sensitive Headphones can be an issue as its best to adjust the volume knob from around 10 oclock to 2 oclock range to keep the volume pot wipers out of the mis balanced area when the volume knob is at say 7 oclock position... (super low volume level)
By ifi putting the fully balance amp circuits in the Diablo also allowed the design to have LO in balanced config and they even have a 4.4mm Pentaconn to 2xXLR connectors on the back for feeding other equipment...

Both are nice DAC/AMP but just wanted to mention if you have headphones with balanced cables and your headphones will scale properly with more power then the Diablo might be the better match for your headphones...

 

[InvisibleInk]

@InvisibleInk Probably best if you go to the ifi site and read the manuals for both...

Signature -https://ifi-audio.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/micro-iDSD-Signature-User-Manual_1.0.pdf
Diablo - https://ifi-audio.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/iDSD-Diablo-manual_Ver1.4.0.pdf

Signature- they list the Signature output for both connectors as 4100mw @ 16ohm (no mention of balanced power)
Diablo - they list the Diablo Balanced output for the two output connectors as 4980mw - 4.4mm Balanced and 6.3mm Single Ended as 2417mw @32ohm

I am a little surprised they didn't put a fully balance circuit in the Signature, but that would have cut into their sales of the Diablo for people who want/need the power of the fully balanced amp stage.... note that the specs show the output for the Signature are 16 ohm load and the Diablo are 32ohm load.... huge difference on output from each...
The biggest drawback via the Diablo is that it is designed for Headphones and its not perfect for IEMs.... due to the amount of power out of the Diablo even with sensitive Headphones can be an issue as its best to adjust the volume knob from around 10 oclock to 2 oclock range to keep the volume pot wipers out of the mis balanced area when the volume knob is at say 7 oclock position... (super low volume level)
By ifi putting the fully balance amp circuits in the Diablo also allowed the design to have LO in balanced config and they even have a 4.4mm Pentaconn to 2xXLR connectors on the back for feeding other equipment...

Both are nice DAC/AMP but just wanted to mention if you have headphones with balanced cables and your headphones will scale properly with more power then the Diablo might be the better match for your headphones...

https://ifi-audio.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/iFi-audio-xCAN-S_BAL-Tech-Note.pdf