AMR / iFi audio

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iDSD Diablo - iFi's new flagship portable DAC/headphone amp

Devilishly red: the Ferrari of iFi's portable devices


Sporting a similar size (166 x 72 x 25mm) to the other DAC/amps in iFi’s long-running, transportable Micro iDSD series such as the Signature, the Diablo features ultra high-quality circuit components and the ability to drive virtually any headphone. Source connections are made via the USB or S/PDIF inputs and the standard 6.3mm headphone socket, while the built-in battery makes it ideal for moving around the home as well as the travel bag.

micro-iDSD-DIABLO-03.jpg
The Diablo continues iFi’s traditional use of Brown Burr DACs in the digital stage, here with a dual-chip custom ‘interleaved’ configuration. This helps to lower the noise floor, improve channel separation and enhance the DAC’s ability to resolve fine musical detail and micro-dynamics.

The digital stage also incorporates a new 16-core low-latency XMOS microcontroller which delivers double the clock speed (2000MIPS) and four times the memory of previous controllers. Extensive jitter-eradication technologies are also applied to the digital stage, including an enhanced version of iFi’s GMT (Global Master Timing) femto-precision clock, featuring a new crystal oscillator.

micro-iDSD-DIABLO-04.jpg
Hi-Res audio support extends to PCM data up to 32-bit/768kHz, all levels of DSD up to DSD512, and single- and double-speed DXD, and iFi’s continued use of True Native design enables PCM and DSD to remain ‘bit-perfect’ in their native formats since they take separate pathways up to the analogue conversion.


MQA ( Master Quality Authenticated) is supported through the USB and S/PDIF inputs, with full decoding of MQA files up to 384kHz.

micro-iDSD-DIABLO-05.jpg
The iDSD Diablo benefits from further refinement of iFi’s fully balanced circuit design for its analogue circuitry and here the symmetrical dual-mono topologies have short signal paths in a circuit concept the company calls ‘PureWave’, referring to the sonic purity it achieves.


The implementation of three settings enables the Diablo to drive a range of headphones running from current-hungry models under the ‘Turbo’ setting to high-sensitivity in-ear monitors with the ‘Eco’ option, while ‘Normal’ handles all the headphones in between.


As well as a brace of high quality components bringing class leading qualities such as high stability and low distortion, iFi uses Servoless Direct Drive which removes any requirement for coupling capacitors. The company has also added a new feedback configuration called OptimaLoop which uses multiple, optimised feedback paths instead of one global loop to ensure improved error correction when comparing input and output signals.

iFi_Diablo_Image02_01.png
The efficient and effective delivery of power from the battery has been addressed with a step up convertor running at 1.2MHz to power less efficient headphones such as planar magnetic models. Meanwhile, high-bandwidth power supply circuitry is dedicated to each critical part of the iDSD Diablo’s design, so the headphone amp, DAC stage and USB input stage all have optimised filters and regulation to reduce harmonic distortion.

Connectivity on the Diablo includes front panel headphone sockets of both the 6.3mm single-ended and 4.4mm Pentaconn variety, while the rear has two digital audio inputs in the form of a male USB-A port and an S/PDIF socket that accepts both electrical and optical signals. The male USB option provides greater mechanical integrity than the USB/Micro USB ports and offers an advantage to users of iPhones and iPads with Lightning ports. A separate USB-C charging port is also provided, along with a fixed line-level 4.4mm Pentaconn balanced output to connect an external amp.

iFi_Diablo_Image01_03.png

In addition to the Diablo’s battery based power, iFi Audio’s latest DAC / headphone amp can be powered from the mains and so includes the iPower 5V AC/DC adapter in the package, along with a variety of connectors and cables including a 4.4mm Pentaconn to XLR balanced interconnect cable, a USB-C to USB-A audio cable and a USB-C charging cable and adaptor.


iFi Audio’s iDSD Diablo is available from selected retailers from Friday 15th January at an RRP of £899 with first production run devices also coming with the iFi iPurifier3.
 

Gregadd

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Does this mean I'll have to replace my avatar with the Diablo? lol. around $1200US. $200 more than the Sony PHA3.
 

AMR / iFi audio

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I am a satisfied owner of many Sony products. We also have a great relationship with Sony, but I must say that the fairly insignificant price difference between Diablo and PHA-3 does not fully reflect the specs disparity between these two guys. It is going to be too subjective to discuss the difference in SQ, but here comes the specs table.

iDSD DiabloSony PHA-3
Launch Year20212014
Core FunctionPurist. Dac/Amp. Prioritises sound quality above all else.Tuner. Dac/Amp do it all.
Music stream32-bit/768kHz32-bit/384kHz
DSD supportDSD 512 meaning over 22 MHz2.8 and 5.6 MHz DSD Support
MQAfull decoding of MQA files up to 384kHzMQA incompatible
Frequency10 Hz – 120 kHz10 Hz – 100 kHz
Output delivery12.6V/4980mW into 32 ohms and 19.2V/611mW into 600 ohms, while the single-ended output supplies 8.8V/2417mW into 32 ohms and 9.6V/153mW into 600 ohmscan supply a maximum of 320 mW at 32 ohms to each channel of the stereo pair
THD + NBalanced - 0.002%
S-E - 0.001%
0.01%

To name just a few.
We need to remember that they are over 6 years apart. Sony PHA-3 was a phenomenal product in 2014 and still is a great choice today, but it would struggle competing against Diablo.
 

Gregadd

WBF Founding Member
Apr 20, 2010
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"Better is the enemy of good" Maybe the dollar will do better against the pound.
 

Gregadd

WBF Founding Member
Apr 20, 2010
10,517
1,774
1,850
Metro DC
Voltaire was in the company of scholars. I am not sure we disagree on anything so far. But then again I have not heard the Diablo.
 

AMR / iFi audio

Industry Expert
Aug 21, 2019
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ifi-audio.com
Just a sentence I identify with attributed to the scholar you quoted before. Not necessarily describing our discussion, but it is a powerful quote anyway.
 

Gregadd

WBF Founding Member
Apr 20, 2010
10,517
1,774
1,850
Metro DC
 
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Gregadd

WBF Founding Member
Apr 20, 2010
10,517
1,774
1,850
Metro DC
So today the diablo arrived. Given that there is such a complete description above and on you tube I can focus primarily on sound quality.
When ordering over the internet the product is not the quality the pictures suggest. That is not the case here. I can imagine someone trying to get $899 for axle cables alone.
 
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AMR / iFi audio

Industry Expert
Aug 21, 2019
2,636
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260
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UK
ifi-audio.com
"Doing more listening throughout the week, I began to understand the Diablo’s audible strengths as a DAC/amp—it is incredibly detailed, incredibly fast, and has a get-up-and-go energy that makes instruments come alive" - @Audiophilia

Check out this must-read review on the iDSD Diablo

Read the full review here: https://bit.ly/3crNeXc
 

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