[grizzlybeast]

@grizzlybeast I think a lot of us would love to see you back in the game. Your reviews are missed! I was all set to get the iFi Pro stack but I got tired of waiting on the Pro iDSD. So I sold the energizer and the Pro iCan. I did hear the Pro iDSD and thought it was awesome. It's not as detailed or insightful as Chord's offerings but it's a little bit more musical and warmer sounding. I think it works better with the Pro iCan than on its own. I didn't feel the amp section was as transparent and the Pro iCan's. The 3XR is a much better all in one unit in my opinion.

thank you!
what about the DAC section?

and I am sorry but what is not as insightful the IDSD or the Burson?

and the Burson is not as clean sounding as the Pro ICan?

 

[Womaz]

Ok so this arrives tomorrow hopefully so I want to be ready to get it all up and running.. It is on a 30 day trial but I am not expecting that to be a problem , however the dealer says it is recommended to give it 100 hours before it sounds its best. Is this reasonable?
I have read the manual and it says something about downloading USB drivers. I assume if I am just using it with my Roon Nucleus or IPhone XR , then i wont need to do this?

Initially this is to be used with the Nucleus but for ease of use I may set it up initially with my IPhone as I have all the necessary cables to do that. Will there be much difference in audio quality between the Nucleus and the IPhone if I am just streaming Tidal?

Bloody worried about this USB cable not working too I have another USB C cable but its 2m long so its kind of messy.
Any guidance appreciated as always.

 

[Slim1970]

thank you!
what about the DAC section?

and I am sorry but what is not as insightful the IDSD or the Burson?

and the Burson is not as clean sounding as the Pro ICan?

The DAC section on the iDSD is using four Burr Brown PCM1793 DAC chips in conjunction with FPGA processing that performs the upsampling and remastering. The Burson is using dual Sabre ESS9038Q2M DAC chips one for each channel. As you know, Chord makes their own proprietary FPGA tech for their DACs. I was saying the DAC section on the iDSD is not as insightful as the DAC section on my Hugo 2. The DAC section on the 3XR is very good and is well implemented and intergrated. But when compared to just the DAC section on my Hugo 2, it to falls short on a technical front.

Comparing the amp section of the 3XR to the Pro iCan. I will say the Pro iCan is a little more transparent, but lacks soul in it's musical delivery. It does a good job of sounding like the DAC you have connected to it. With the iDSD connected to Pro iCan, things improved quite a bit. The amp section on the 3XR is just as detailed and clear but sounds more musical, fuller, and more natural. But that's taking the 3XR unit as a whole. Using the Hugo 2 as the DAC, with a special singled ended to balanced cable, up the performance level of the 3XR even more. So I still preferred the amp section of 3XR over the Pro iCan.

The Pro iCan was a little to analytical and dry sounding with my Susvara's. But worked well with Audeze and darker sounding headphones. The 3XR pairs well with just about any headphone I've connected to it.

 

[Womaz]

Well my unit arrived today , the excitement in this time of lockdown was something else
First issue a non UK plug supplied so had to snaffle the one off my PS4 to get it turned on.
Also I stared at the white USB cable with a dread in my heart .......dramatic?? Yeah I guess so
Well as warned on here it does not work so I cant get it up and running. A big let down.
On the plus side it looks a damn fine piece of kit

 

[Womaz]

OK any of you guys notice a little flicker of the small icon on the display panel next to the PCM 44khz ? Is this a concern?

 

[Slim1970]

Well my unit arrived today , the excitement in this time of lockdown was something else
First issue a non UK plug supplied so had to snaffle the one off my PS4 to get it turned on.
Also I stared at the white USB cable with a dread in my heart .......dramatic?? Yeah I guess so
Well as warned on here it does not work so I cant get it up and running. A big let down.
On the plus side it looks a damn fine piece of kit

Cool, once you'll had some time with it let us what you think. I upgraded the op-amps in mine to the Sparkos Labs SS3602's. They came yesterday. I'm giving the 3XR a listen now with them installed.

 

[Womaz]

Cool, once you'll had some time with it let us what you think. I upgraded the op-amps in mine to the Sparkos Labs SS3602's. They came yesterday. I'm giving the 3XR a listen now with them installed.

My initial impressions are very very good . I like to give it a week though . My only issue is the little flicker that I mentioned in above message . I am sure its nothing to worry about .....apart from my affecting my OCDs

 

[Slim1970]

My initial impressions are very very good . I like to give it a week though . My only issue is the little flicker that I mentioned in above message . I am sure its nothing to worry about .....apart from my affecting my OCDs

I'm not seeing a flicker on my end. It could be that your incoming power is not stable or consistent. You could be experiencing some voltage fluctuations. Just a guess....

 

[armani006]

just my 2 cent..
Huge 7.5W power, enough for small speakers, but without LDAC and MQA it's not modern nowadays..

 

[Slim1970]

just my 2 cent..
Huge 7.5W power, enough for small speakers, but without LDAC and MQA it's not modern nowadays..

Got point, but I don't use either of those features. Never the less, it would be nice to have those options. I wonder if the 3XR is capable of the being upgraded to add those features with a software update?

 

[armani006]

LDAC - may be, just add one PCB and write drivers, but MQA - I doubt.. license and chip... not in this model..

 

[Womaz]

I'm not seeing a flicker on my end. It could be that your incoming power is not stable or consistent. You could be experiencing some voltage fluctuations. Just a guess....

If It was this then it would be constantly flickering I would imagine. When it is using ROON to stream a radio station there is no flicker and also when it is idle there is no flicker. I will see if it stops or I may contact Burson direct

 

[Slim1970]

If It was this then it would be constantly flickering I would imagine. When it is using ROON to stream a radio station there is no flicker and also when it is idle there is no flicker. I will see if it stops or I may contact Burson direct

Okay, I hope you can figure it out. At the same time, I can feel your disappointment. It's a fantastic unit.

 

[Womaz]

Okay, I hope you can figure it out. At the same time, I can feel your disappointment. It's a fantastic unit.

Oh I am not disappointed ....I am very excited
If the flicker persists I will contact Burson

 

[armani006]

I do believe you, it sounds probably gorgeous !