The Master of All Trades.
Every serious headphone collection eventually outgrows the limits of a single amplifier. One is purchased for IEMs, another for power-hungry planars, and a separate energiser for electrostatics. What begins as a pursuit of perfection too often ends in unnecessary complexity and expense.
The iCAN PHANTOM 1.5 was created to end that compromise. Conceived to be the definitive reference amplifier, it is one of the very few designs capable of driving virtually every headphone in existence– from the most delicate in-ear monitor to the most demanding electrostatic flagship.
This is what makes the iCAN PHANTOM 1.5 the natural endpoint for a headphone enthusiast. However your collection evolves, the PHANTOM welcomes it, whilst handing you the tools to tune its presentation precisely to your taste.
The Exact Bias for Every Headphone.
The iCAN PHANTOM 1.5 brings a new level of precision to electrostatic headphone amplification.
Its energiser is built around a fully interchangeable bias architecture, allowing the Custom output to be configured with the exact voltage required by your headphone. 500-640V bias options are delivered through individually calibrated SD cards, labelled with compatible headphone models - so selecting the correct bias is just a matter of choosing the appropriate card.
A dedicated 230V output brings even the most treasured vintage electrostatics under the PHANTOM’s command.
Key Features
The iCAN PHANTOM 1.5 is an extraordinarily powerful headphone amplifier, capable of delivering more than 15,000mW from its balanced outputs and more than 5,760mW from its single-ended outputs in a 16-ohm load. In terms of voltage, it can supply more than 27V into a 600-ohm load; when it comes to electrostatic headphones delivers up to 640V.
Three gain settings - 0dB, 12dB, 24dB – enable the amp to precisely match the connected headphones. Unity gain (0dB) is useful to ensure low noise with more sensitive headphones and IEMs, while the higher gain settings make the most of tougher headphone loads, delivering excellent dynamic headroom.
For dynamic and planar headphones and IEMs.
The iCAN PHANTOM 1.5 sports several unique features that set it apart from other headphone amps. One such facility is the incorporation of two input stages – one valve/tube-based, the other solid state – enabling the user to switch between the two in real time. These input stages are entirely separate, which means they can be kept short and direct for optimal purity rather than complicating the signal path (for example, by switching valves in and out of a single circuit).
The fully discrete Class A solid-state input stage uses J-FETs, while the all-valve Class A circuit features a hand-selected, computer-matched pair of General Electric 5670 tubes, a premium variant of the 6922 tube. This stage has two user-selectable modes – Tube and Tube+. The latter minimises overall loop-gain and thus negative feedback, giving a different trade-off between the tube’s natural harmonics and the transient performance.
Balanced circuit design has long been considered a righteous path to audio excellence in high-end amp design, but the term ‘balanced’ is used in different ways and does not always mean the same thing. The iCAN PHANTOM 1.5 takes balanced circuit design to the extreme – fully differential from input to output, minimising noise and crosstalk in the signal path for ultimate sonic purity.
Essentially, ‘fully differential’ circuit design – or True Differential Balanced, as we call it – means that each channel (left and right) is fully separated in the circuit design, and each of these channels has two separate signals of equal level but opposite polarity (positive and negative). This requires four separate amp circuits, two for the left channel and two for the right channel – much more costly and complex to implement than single-ended circuit designs, but the sonic dividends are hugely worthwhile.
The iCAN PHANTOM’s True Differential Balanced circuitry is coupled to a volume control with six decks – two decks for each channel (positive and negative) with the final two decks used for monitoring the volume control operation. The motorised volume control potentiometer is custom-made by ALPS in Japan and is of exceptional quality.
Choose Your Character.
At the heart of the PHANTOM are two fully balanced pre-amplification circuits, each offering a distinct interpretation of musical truth.
The discrete Class A solid-state delivers speed, control, and articulation, while the all-valve Class A stage - based around hand-matched NOS GE5670’s - boasts depth, warmth, and fluidity. For those who favour a more luxuriant presentation, Tube+ extends the valve character further, evoking the musicality associated with the finest golden-age Hi-Fi designs.
All three modes are instantly selectable at the flick of a switch, allowing the PHANTOM to adapt to the recording, the headphones, and your personal taste, rather than asking the recording to conform to a singular sonic character.
Music Without Restraint.
15,000mW peak and 9,000mW RMS of output awaits you in balanced mode, providing far more power than even the most demanding planar headphones are likely to require. Yet the numbers themselves are not the story - what matters more is the sense of effortless authority they create.
Whether reproducing the faintest breath between notes or the full force of an orchestral crescendo, the PHANTOM never gives the impression of working hard. It remains composed and controlled, with such vast reserves in hand that strain never enters the performance. The result is music that retains its scale and impact at any listening level.
To listen to the PHANTOM is to hear your headphones without limitation.
However You Wish to Hear It.
XBass Pro and XSpace Pro give you the freedom to further shape the character of your listening. XBass Pro lets you add precisely as much low-end weight a recording or headphone calls for, while XSpace Pro opens the presentation, recreating the natural soundstage of listening to speakers. Both are adjustable in real-time across three levels of intensity, for you to find the character that feels right in the moment.
For electrostatic headphones, the PHANTOM goes even deeper. Adjustable AC termination and impedance controls allow you to fine-tune the amplifier’s interaction with your headphones, from a softer, more relaxed response to a faster, more immediate presentation.
Engineering on Display.
What appears to be two stacked units is, in fact, a single dual-level design. Its substantial aluminium body provides the depth required to house the multi-layer circuitry, while creating the distinct two-tier form.
The lower tier accommodates cable connections front and back; the upper tier is where the PHANTOM comes to life, with tactile controls and a colour OLED display with the brand-new UI providing an immediate view of selected settings. A flush smoked-glass panel with a newly added anti-fingerprint coating crowns the design, offering an unobstructed view into the circuitry within.
The PHANTOM is as compelling to look at as it is to listen to.
At Your Command.
The iCAN PHANTOM 1.5 is the first product to feature iFi Nexis, a connected control platform that takes the amplifier beyond its physical controls. With the Nexis app, your smartphone becomes an extension of the PHANTOM, giving you access to features and functionality that sit beyond the fascia.
Control the PHANTOM from anywhere in the room, refine its settings without leaving your seat, and keep it evolving with over-the-air updates delivered directly to the amplifier.
Specifications
| GAIN | 0dB, 12dB and 24dB user-selectable |
| FREQUENCY RESPONSE | 0.5Hz to 500kHz (-3dB) |
| THD+N |
Solid state Balanced: ≤0.0015% Unbal: ≤0.007% Tube Balanced: ≤0.002% Unbal: ≤0.006% Tube+ Balanced: ≤0.012% Unbal: ≤0.2% |
| SNR |
Balanced >145dB(A) UnBAL >130dB(A) |
| OUTPUT POWER |
Balanced: >15,000mW (Max. @ 16Ω); >6,250mW (RMS @ 16Ω) Single-Ended: >5,760mW (Max. @ 16Ω); >4,500mW (RMS @ 16Ω) |
| OUTPUT VOLTAGE |
Balanced: >27.0V (@ 600Ω) Single-Ended: >14.0V (@ 600Ω) |
| ESL OUTPUT VOLTAGE |
Custom/Pro: 500–640V RMS Normal: 230V RMS |
|
Test conditions:
Gain = 0dB, 0.775V (0dBu) with 300 Ohm load unless stated otherwise SNR Balanced re 25V, SNR SE re 13V | |
iCAN Phantom and iCAN Phantom 1.5 Comparison
