iFi audio Pro iDSD Signature: The Official Thread

[AMR / iFi audio]

The Pro iDSD Signature is our new flagship reference class DAC and then some! The Signature edition builds on the strengths of the original, multi-award winning Pro iDSD.

It continues to cater for those who love good music delivered at the highest quality.

Use the Pro iDSD Signature as a standalone unit, a DAC/preamp, a network streamer and a headphone amplifier.

A Signature step up​

The Signature takes the original Pro iDSD and pushes it even further towards perfection.

The Pro iDSD Signature has:

• a sonically darker background and a punchier bass
• upgraded power -supply components to lower the overall system noise by 300%
• precisely matched NOS GE5670s tubes
• added support for USB1.0 (PS4/PS5)
• a new aluminium remote control
• a top-of the range iPower Elite power supply included

Stacked. With tech.​

The Pro iDSD Signature uses a quad-stack DAC – 4 x DACs in an interleaved configuration – to deliver exceptional resolution.

The powerful XMOS XU216 X-Core 200 series chipset processes incoming digital data and enables the Pro iDSD Signature to provide state of the art audio support – from MP3, 32-bit/768kHz PCM, DSD512, 2xDXD and full MQA decoding.

E-tailoring​

The Pro iDSD Signature, like its predecessor, takes sonic tailoring to the extreme.

Listen to the your music to in solid-state, tube or tube+ modes, your choice, all at the flick of a switch.

Our Crysopeia FPGA Digital Engine strikes again as it enables the Pro iDSD Signature to offer several options when it comes to digital filtering. The GTO filter adds gravitas and a new dimension, and while the Bit Perfect, Bit Perfect+, Apodising and Transient Aligned filters give you even more choices to tweak the sound.

The discrete, fully balanced Class A amplifier stage offers adjustable gain

Your choice. The only choice.​

• Stream wirelessly from Tidal, Spotify, Napster, QQ Music and more
• Use Airplay to enjoy playback from your iPhone, iPad or Mac
• Go wired via an Ethernet connection to play from a router or NAS (Network Attached Storage)
• Use DLNA network audio playback with smartphones, tablets, Windows/Linux computers
• Connect to a hard disc drive (HDD)
• Pop in a USB memory stick or SDHC card

And with a variety of headphone outputs – Single-Ended 6.3mm, S-Balanced 3.5mm and Balanced 4.4mm – the only choice is your choice.

Power cleans. Absolute.​

The Pro iDSD Signature ships with our flagship iPower Elite.

Coupled with the re-crafted power supply board which offers up to 300x lower noise, the music is buttery smooth.

Within and without – we left no stone unturned in our quest for the cleanest, purest, power for the Pro iDSD Signature (same for Pro iCAN Signature too!)

 

[Wine Doctor]

Unfortunately, the new Pro iDSD Signature appears to not be Roon Ready or Roon Tested and, like its predecessor, can only connect to Roon via Apple Play with 44.1mhz/16 bit resolution. Too bad that a DAC that does so much ignores the needs of the many audiophiles who utilize Roon.

 

[Addicted to hifi]

The Pro iDSD Signature is our new flagship reference class DAC and then some! The Signature edition builds on the strengths of the original, multi-award winning Pro iDSD.

It continues to cater for those who love good music delivered at the highest quality.

Use the Pro iDSD Signature as a standalone unit, a DAC/preamp, a network streamer and a headphone amplifier.

A Signature step up​

The Signature takes the original Pro iDSD and pushes it even further towards perfection.

The Pro iDSD Signature has:

• a sonically darker background and a punchier bass
• upgraded power -supply components to lower the overall system noise by 300%
• precisely matched NOS GE5670s tubes
• added support for USB1.0 (PS4/PS5)
• a new aluminium remote control
• a top-of the range iPower Elite power supply included

View attachment 82582

Stacked. With tech.​

The Pro iDSD Signature uses a quad-stack DAC – 4 x DACs in an interleaved configuration – to deliver exceptional resolution.

The powerful XMOS XU216 X-Core 200 series chipset processes incoming digital data and enables the Pro iDSD Signature to provide state of the art audio support – from MP3, 32-bit/768kHz PCM, DSD512, 2xDXD and full MQA decoding.

E-tailoring​

The Pro iDSD Signature, like its predecessor, takes sonic tailoring to the extreme.

Listen to the your music to in solid-state, tube or tube+ modes, your choice, all at the flick of a switch.

Our Crysopeia FPGA Digital Engine strikes again as it enables the Pro iDSD Signature to offer several options when it comes to digital filtering. The GTO filter adds gravitas and a new dimension, and while the Bit Perfect, Bit Perfect+, Apodising and Transient Aligned filters give you even more choices to tweak the sound.

The discrete, fully balanced Class A amplifier stage offers adjustable gain

View attachment 82583

Your choice. The only choice.​

• Stream wirelessly from Tidal, Spotify, Napster, QQ Music and more
• Use Airplay to enjoy playback from your iPhone, iPad or Mac
• Go wired via an Ethernet connection to play from a router or NAS (Network Attached Storage)
• Use DLNA network audio playback with smartphones, tablets, Windows/Linux computers
• Connect to a hard disc drive (HDD)
• Pop in a USB memory stick or SDHC card

And with a variety of headphone outputs – Single-Ended 6.3mm, S-Balanced 3.5mm and Balanced 4.4mm – the only choice is your choice.

Power cleans. Absolute.​

The Pro iDSD Signature ships with our flagship iPower Elite.

Coupled with the re-crafted power supply board which offers up to 300x lower noise, the music is buttery smooth.

Within and without – we left no stone unturned in our quest for the cleanest, purest, power for the Pro iDSD Signature (same for Pro iCAN Signature too!)

Very nice indeed.

 

[AMR / iFi audio]

Unfortunately, the new Pro iDSD Signature appears to not be Roon Ready or Roon Tested and, like its predecessor, can only connect to Roon via Apple Play with 44.1mhz/16 bit resolution. Too bad that a DAC that does so much ignores the needs of the many audiophiles who utilize Roon.

There are a few methods to enjoy Roon on a product like the Pro iDSD Signature.

What is the iFi Bridge?


The iFi Bridge allows any UPnP / DLNA device (Universal Plug and Play / Digital Living Network Alliance) to become a playback option on Roon. For devices that are also MQA compatible such as the iDSD Pro, the iFi Bridge allows for MQA and Gapless over a network which was previously unachievable.


How does it work?


The application connects with UPnP / DLNA devices found on your network and acts as a bridge between the Roon application and your device. It disguises each device as a ‘Logitech Squeezebox device’ which is compatible with Roon allowing audio playback over network successfully.


Here is a little instructional video for you. Hope it helps.

 

[srkbear]

There are a few methods to enjoy Roon on a product like the Pro iDSD Signature.

What is the iFi Bridge?


The iFi Bridge allows any UPnP / DLNA device (Universal Plug and Play / Digital Living Network Alliance) to become a playback option on Roon. For devices that are also MQA compatible such as the iDSD Pro, the iFi Bridge allows for MQA and Gapless over a network which was previously unachievable.


How does it work?


The application connects with UPnP / DLNA devices found on your network and acts as a bridge between the Roon application and your device. It disguises each device as a ‘Logitech Squeezebox device’ which is compatible with Roon allowing audio playback over network successfully.


Here is a little instructional video for you. Hope it helps.

I’ve been debating buying a Pro iDSD/iCAN stack to upgrade my Zen Stream/DACv2/CAN system, and the Roon issue has been a hesitation point for me (in addition to the lack of tone controls on the DAC). Currently, I have the Zen Stream which is recognized by my Roon Server/Bridge under the “Roon” section—not Tested, not Ready, just “Roon”. It determines that it’s an iFi product, and shows an OS of Linux 4.4.167+.

I’m unable to resolve it to a specified iFi device like I can with the micro iDSD BL, but I can adjust all the usual parameters and it seems to work fine as an audio source, no different than other Roon Ready endpoints.

I’m not really sure what’s going on under the hood here. If this is an example of what you’re talking about with this UPnP/Logitech madness, then I’ll be perfectly at ease (that is, if the Pro iDSD behaves exactly like my Zen Stream does). But if what you’re referring to is some sort of “work-around” that doesn’t guarantee the full functionality of the Roon ecosystem, then I’m afraid I’ll need to pass.

Folks have been clamoring for iFi to update their product line Roon compatibility for ages—some of the six existing Roon Tested iFi devices are actually discontinued. Is there some complexity with the Pro iDSD’s network configuration that poses a complication with Roon, unlike the copious spectrum of network streamers from other brands that play with Roon just fine?

 

[AMR / iFi audio]

As for now, in terms of Pro line the roon-bridge is the only option available. Roon is a fantastic software and we are working on it.