micro iDSD BL

micro iDSD BL

micro iDSD Black Label

Revisit Utopia.

iFi audio micro iDSD Black Label
Remember your first gig?

Remember the beat kicking in, the feeling as the adrenaline hit and how everything, right there, right then felt like Utopia?

The micro iDSD Black Label takes you back to your very first time.

Supercharge your sound.

The micro iDSD Black Label is our flagship desktop digital to analogue converter (DAC) and comes with three power modes: Eco, Normal, and Turbo that inject a kick-ass supercharged edge into your tunes.

Say goodbye to flat, dull music.

ifi Audio Micro iDSD Black Label

Feel the power.

Our flagship DAC looks awesome at home, but it’s even cooler when you’re out and about.

And with up to twelve hours of battery life, you can show off your musical chops – with enough power left over to charge your mobile phone.

Now, you weren’t expecting that!

The tech spec.

The micro iDSD Black Label is loaded with the latest technology, including:

  • X-Bass+ To clean up and restore a rich, deep bass line
  • 3D+ To recreate live stage atmosphere

If you’ve been searching for the pinnacle of sound, you’ve found it.

Our 3D+ Holographic® dual-analogue matrices create a more immersive, deeper soundstage that puts the artist with you in the room, not just in your headphones.

XBass+® analogue bass correction system corrects headphone/speaker bass response to deliver a deep, tight and prodigious bass.


True Native® playback of all music formats from MP3 to DSD512, PCM768 and 2xDXD.


Hear music as the artist intended. The Burr-Brown True Native® chipset means file formats remain unchanged for the truest sound.


Power and style.

With output power at 4,000mW, the headphpone amplifier in this iFi powerhouse drives headphones with style and aplomb.

Plus with three power output modes, Eco, Normal and Turbo, power and gain can be dialed-in perfectly to suit ALL headphones.


Os-Cons, originally from Sanyo (now taken over by Panasonic), have been used in AMR components up to the revered CD-77 Reference Class CD Processor.

Despite costing ten times more than that of common electrolytic capacitors, the micro iDSD Black Label is one of the first products to cost less than US$1000 to feature them.


Top-notch operational amplifier. This is iFi/AMR quality at its best. The 'OV' ICs are streets ahead of mainstream commercial chips and use HCOFC copper lead-frames and 4N gold bond-wire.

Most commercial amplifiers use inexpensive aluminium bond-wire and low- grade/low-cost copper in lead frames.


Hi-Res on the go, go go!

Even with the hungry Hifi Man HE-6 or Sennheiser IE-800, enjoy your music for up to 12 hours.

Specifications

Item Description Remarks

Inputs/Outputs
Inputs (rear) USB 2.0 type A “OTG” Socket
(with iPurifier® technology built-in)		 Compatible with computers (Apple/Win/Linux), iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad and Android Devices, camera kit or USB-OTG cable required. (Full USB3.0 port compatible)
Intelligent SPDIF® Coaxial 3 Way combo SPDIF port (Coaxial In/Out; Optical In); Up to 192kHz PCM
SPDIF Optical
Outputs (rear) Audio RCA L+R
Intelligent SPDIF® Coaxial Up to 192kHz PCM
Output (right side) SmartPower® Socket Fast charge all portable devices. Compliant with USB Battery Charging Standard 1.2 – 5V @ 1.5A

Controls
Controls (front)
– HP Output Audio 6.3mm Headphone Jack
– Volume with Power On/Off switch Precision analogue volume control <2dB Tracking error
– 3.5mm Input Auto disable the digital section when this is in use
– X-Bass® On/Off
– 3D Holographic Sound® On/Off Auto-switching for Speakers® and Headphones® (two separate and distinct circuits)
Controls (left side)
– Power Mode Turbo, Normal, Eco Computer controlled power and gain scaling
– Polarity Normal/Inverted
– Filter 3 positions, 6 filters (see filter section below)
Controls (bottom)
– Line Direct/Preamplifier Preamplifier function Enable/Disable, 0/9dB gain selectable Fixed 2V or variable with up to 5V available
– iEMatch® Perfect-matching circuit for IEMs (eliminate hiss) Off / High Sensitivity Headphone / Ultra Sensitivity Headphone

DAC section
DAC Dual-core DSD, DXD, PCM DAC by Burr Brown 2-DAC Chip; 4-Channel; 8-Signals, custom interleaving for maximum SNR
Bit-Perfect DSD processing, Bit-Perfect PCM processing
Clock Ultra low jitter GMT computer controlled Femto Clock RMS jitter 12kHz – 1MHz < 280 Femtoseconds
Audio Formats DSD 512/256/128/64
24.6/22.6/12.4/11.2/6.2/5.6/3.1/2.8		 All native decoding, no internal hardware conversion
DXD 2x/1x
768/705.6/384/352.8kHz		 All native decoding, no internal hardware conversion
PCM 768/705.6/384/352.8/192/176.4/96/88.2/
48/44.1kHz		 All native decoding, no internal hardware conversion

Filters
– PCM Bit-Perfect Processing/Minimum Phase/Standard Digital filters selectable
– DSD Extreme/Extended/Standard Range Analogue filters selectable
– DXD Bit-Perfect Processing Fixed analogue filter

Specifications (DAC Section)
Dynamic Range (Line) >117db(A)
THD & N (0dBFS Line) <0.003%
Output Voltage (Line) >2V
Output Impedance (Zout) < 240Ω
Jitter (correlated) Below AP2 test set limit

Headphone Power Output
HP Amp Output Power (max) Power (continuous.)
– Turbo mode 10.0V/4,000 mW @ 16 Ohm >1560 mW @ 64 Ohm
> 166 mW @ 600 Ohm
– Normal mode 5.5V/1,900 mW @ 16 Ohm > 950 mW @ 32 Ohm
> 100 mW @ 300 Ohm
– Eco mode 2.0V/500 mW @ 8 Ohm > 250 mW @ 16 Ohm

Specifications (Headamp Section)
Dynamic Range (HP) >115dB(A) (Eco Mode, 2V Out)
THD &N (HP 500mW/16R) < 0.008%
Output Voltage (HP) >8V (Turbo Mode)
Output Impedance (Zout) <1Ω (iEMatch not engaged)
Maximum Output Power 4,000mW @ 16 Ohm Load when using sinewave testing the iDSD micro may engage protection circuits
Continuous Output Power 1,000mW @ 64 Ohm Load

Micro iDSD BL main accessories

  • 3.5mm rubber feet
  • USB A Female > B Female Cable
  • Caps for RCA sockets
  • iFi bag
  • USB3.0 A MALE > A FEMALE
  • Silicone bracelet
  • Label of battery charging
  • RCA cable
  • 6.35 > 3.5 adapter
  • 3.5 male > male cable
  • Optical Adapter
  • USB A Female > B Female Adapter
  • User manual
  • Warranty Card
  • STS card
Tech notes
User manuals

Reviews

IFI IDAC BLACK LABEL REVIEW

One of the many strengths of this remarkable unit is its headphone playback. It was several weeks of painful bone healing after John Pluta’s installation work that I was physically able to plug my AKG 701 headphones into the Black Label. When I did, the unit hypnotized me to the point where I almost couldn’t bear to take the phones off my head. There was this overwhelming feeling of air and space, plus a “headphone soundstage” much better than the ones yielded by my beloved Bauer processing on HP units past. Flipping the Xbass switch, specifically designed for headphone listening, rounded out the over-the-ears bliss with bass that wasn’t near-loudspeaker in excellence, but perfect for headphone listening. Even more of the same was true with
my beloved Etymotic ER-4S in-ear cans.

NJ AudioSociety

(Click name to read original review)
More reviews…
More reviews…

Must buy for a serious listener

Outstanding value for money, this box sounds thrice its price.

The sound signature is quite neutral and the soundstage average in size and natural/realistic.

Clarity is outstanding, high end studio level in my opinion.

Overpowers the HD600s with ease at medium power.

Plenty of juice for literally any headphone.

Amazon USer

(Click name to read original review)

Amazing Amp/Dac

I love this little Amp/Dac so much. I just got it yesterday and as soon as I hooked it up I was blown away. I’ve previously had the Schiit Fulla, Schiit Fulla 2, and the Schiit Modi 2/Magni 3. I always liked the Schiit products but hadn’t heard anything else and I decided to try something new and I’m blown away by how much better this iFi Nano is. It’s better at everything than all of my Schiit products. I’m not someone who leaves many reviews but this little thing is just so good. I’m excited to get a couple hundred hours through it to see if it gets even better.

Brett

(Click name to read original review)

micro iDSD BL – 5 Stars

Packed with excellence, power and versatility. Regardless of the hheadphones or monitors you prefer, you will not be disappointed.

jhwhitehon

(Click name to read original review)

Micro BL – portable headphone AMP, Preamp and DAC

iFi audio’s efforts have succeeded brilliantly. I’m often asked by headphone newcomers to recommend headphone amp/DACs that are not too expensive, but that also offer very serious high performance. Judging by the performance I observed from the BL, it perfectly fits that bill – and then some.

Chris Martens

(Click name to read original review)

The sound quality of the DAC is excellent

The amp sound great and will power even hard to drive headphones.

Robm321

(Click name to read original review)
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micro iDSD BL xDSD nano iDSD BL nano iDSD LE
Primary use Transportable Portable Portable Portable
Headphone Output 6.3mm 3.5mm 3.5mm 3.5mm
iEMatch Yes Yes / Auto Yes -
3D Matrix On / Off On / Off - -
XBass On / Off On / Off - -
Max. power 4,000mW @ 16 Ohm 500mW @ 16 Ohm 285mW @ 30 Ohm 150mW @ 30 Ohm
Output Impedance <1 Ohm (Direct) <1 Ohm (Direct) <1 Ohm (Direct) <1 Ohm (Direct)
<4 Ohm (iEmatch) <4 Ohm (iEmatch) <4 Ohm (iEmatch)
Battery playback 6-10 hours 6-8 hours 6-8 hours 6-8 hours
Inputs
Bluetooth (aptX / AAC) - Yes - -
USB Yes Yes Yes Yes
SPDIF In / Out In - -
Line Out RCA - 3.5mm -
DAC Burr-Brown (Dual) Burr-Brown Burr-Brown Burr-Brown
Formats PCM768 / DSD512 / 2xDXD PCM768 / DSD512 / 2xDXD PCM384 / DSD256 / DXD PCM384 / DSD128 / DXD
Filter switch Bit-Perfect / Min Phase / Standard Listen / Measure Listen / Measure -
MQA Yes Yes Yes Yes
Clock Low-jitter crystal clock Low-jitter crystal clock Low-jitter crystal clock Low-jitter crystal clock
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