Texas Instruments low-noise ICs offer great unity-gain bandwidth, very low noise and distortion, high output drive capability, Common-mode and Power Supply Rejection Ratios of over 100 dB, wide maximum-output-swing bandwidths and high slew rates.
micro iDSD Black Label
micro iDSD Black Label
The micro iDSD Black Label is our top-rated desktop DAC and headphone amplifier. The sound of your music just got even better.
Whether listening at home with your speakers or at work with your headphones, connect the micro iDSD Black Label to your computer and instantly hear the quality of your music be taken to the next level.
Warmer. Smoother.
Is the music from your headphones or speakers uninteresting or flat? Then the micro iDSD Black Label is for you.
It adds warmth, depth and smoothness to your favourites tunes. Put simply, your music will sound better than it ever has.
World superpower
The micro iDSD Black Label is the world’s most powerful, battery-powered DAC and headphone amplifier, capable of unrivalled native playback in DSD, PCM and DXD file formats. Now with added MQA! And Roon tested!
And we added our optional ‘sonic enhancements’ to add that little bit extra to your listening…
XBass+® cleans and restores the bass to give you a richer, deeper sound and 3D+® opens up your music to create a live-concert atmosphere.
Sense and sensitivity
The headphone amplifier is a force to be reckoned with.
With 4,000mW, the micro iDSD Black Label can drive from the most sensitive IEMs up to the most power hungry headphones out there.
It comes with 3 power output settings so that it can be adjusted to work with any ear buds or headphones.
She’s once, twice…
The micro iDSD Black Label has a battery life of up to 12 hours, and should your phone need a boost, the micro BL can charge it from 0% to 100% through the USB charging port on the side — not once, but twice!
And finally, we should mention the sleek black and orange design. She’s funky, fun and a flattering addition to any music lover’s system.
Doubling the DAC chips results in 3dB lower noise floor and better channel separation. Together with power supply advancements and advanced channel interleaving, the noise floor has been halved.
All of this equals stellar sonic performance.
With output power up to 4,100mW, this headphone amplifier drives all headphones with ease. It has 3 power modes – Eco, Normal and Turbo. Power and gain can be dialled-in perfectly to suit ALL headphones.
Panasonic OS-CON caps totaling 5,410uF give very-low Equivalent Series Resistance (ESR), excellent noise reduction capability and frequency response characteristics. In addition, OS-CONs have a long-life span and its ESR changes little even at low temperatures since the electrolyte is solid.
They are not often found in products costing <US$1000.
Hi-res audio support is state-of-the-art with True Native® playback. It handles PCM data to 32-bit/768kHz, DSD up to DSD512 and single and double speed DXD.
Thanks to the Burr-Brown DAC chip’s four-channel True Native design, PCM and DSD take separate pathways – this enables DSD, as well as PCM, to remain ‘bit-perfect’ in its native form right through to analogue conversion. This is not the case with all DAC devices from other brands – even if DSD compatibility is stated, many such DACs convert DSD signals to PCM.
As with many other iFi audio products, we’ve incorporated a custom OV Series operational-amplifier. This top-notch component contributes to the extremely low noise, low distortion (0.0001%) and wide bandwidth.
The Burr-Brown True Native® chipset means file formats remain unchanged or ‘bit-perfect’. This means you are listening to music as the artist intended in the format in which it was recorded.
At iFi we use Burr Brown extensively in our products having selected it for its natural-sounding ‘musicality’ and True Native architecture. Our experience with this IC means we know how to make the most of it.
Listen to Master Quality Authenticated audio straight out of the box. Connect to Tidal Masters and check the option to stream MQA.
MQA is an award-winning audio technology that enables music fans to stream the original master recording into their home, car or on their mobile. In the words of Gilbert O’Sullivan, iconic Irish-born singer-songwriter, “The great thing about MQA is that it delivers the finesse that was there in the desk sound. It’s tremendous, it sounds really good.”
Our video tutorials on You Tube show you how.
Enjoy high quality sound for up to 12 hours, even if you are using headphones requiring a lot of power such as the HifiMan HE-6 or as little as the Sennhesier IE-800.
Support
| 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 micro iDSD BL 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
Reviews
iFi iDSD Micro Black Label
“A big, portable device with so many options. Can it be that good? Sure it can… If you’re looking for a source that lets your headphones perform with their own style, you should check this one.”
(Click name to read original review)
This is it
I had to return a different iFi product since it stopped working in a week, but I tried giving iFi another go. You will not regret this product; the design is great, and the sound is top notch. Drives my headphones and IEMs perfectly.
(Click name to read original review)
Absolutely Brilliant
I am running this with Baerdynamic DT770 Pros, and just about everything I use this combo for is excellent. As someone stated before, the bass boost, and 3D sound are track specific. At this price point, I am not disappointed at all. It runs perfectly with my laptop, as well as my Note 10+, so I am happy all around. If you have the spare change laying around, and want something that isn’t all hype, this is the way to go. Naturally, I think my next purchase will be the DT1770, or something in that realm.
(Click name to read original review)
Buy it will be the best investment of your life
I have it already two years and my life of audio totally changed them use with Sennheiser HD650 and now with focal ELEAR, I wanted to replace them with fiio M11 and HIBY R6 but they did not achieve the same quality.. buy it will be the best investment of your life
(Click name to read original review)
AUDIOPHILE AMP/DAC FOR GAMING? ifi Micro iDSD Black Label, A Gamers Perspective!
(Click name to read original review)
It is a great dac/amplifier and then some
I can’t really explain in detail but this is definitely an audiophiles dac. It got more buttons than I care to mess with, but at the same, it’s simple to hook up and listen to music with. The only thing I mess with is the volume, x-bass and 3-D buttons. I just use headphones when I use this dac. Also depending what headphones I use I’ll mess with the Power mode and that’s it.
The dac performs great on my laptop when hooked up. Now depending on what headphones you use, you will have to adjust the volume button and probably the power mode, other than that you should have no problems with this dac.
This came with a manual, just follow it and it will answer all your questions as it did mine b/c there are more options you can use, this thing is a workhorse and it should meet all your needs.
(Click name to read original review)
Compare
| micro iDSD BL | xDSD | nano iDSD BL | |
 |  |  |
|
| Primary use | Transportable | Portable | Portable |
| Headphone Output | 6.3mm | 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 |
| Output Impedance | <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 |
| Inputs | |||
| Bluetooth (aptX / AAC) | - | Yes | - |
| USB | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| SPDIF | In / Out | In | - |
| Line Out | RCA | - | 3.5mm |
| DAC | Burr-Brown (Dual) | Burr-Brown | Burr-Brown |
| Formats | PCM768 / DSD512 / 2xDXD | PCM768 / DSD512 / 2xDXD | PCM384 / DSD256 / DXD |
| Filter switch | Bit-Perfect / Min Phase / Standard | Listen / Measure | Listen / Measure |
| MQA | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Clock | Low-jitter crystal clock | Low-jitter crystal clock | Low-jitter crystal clock |
DAC (Digital-to-Analogue Converter)
DACs convert digital information, stored or streamed by computers, into music we can hear through speakers or headphones.
Every device that’s a source of digital sound has a built-in DAC (TVs, games consoles, CD players, phones, portable music players etc). Dedicated external DACs sound much better than standard DACs used in digital devices such as phones.
Native playback
Native playback simply means that the file format has not been changed.
You wanted to listen in PCM, you’ll still be listening in PCM. The DAC does not change the format of the original file.
File formats
MP3 – this is the most popular format, every device in the world can use it.
DSD – Direct Stream Digital is a very high-quality audio format, better than CD quality. The higher the number (sample rate), the better the recording – DSD64, 128, 256, 512 and 1024.
PCM – Pulse Code Modulation is the most common format for CDs and DVDs.
DXD – Digital eXtreme Definition is a very high-quality PCM format. It was developed to edit hi-res (high quality) recordings recorded in DSD.
IEMs
IEMs stands for In-Ear Monitors.
These fit inside your ear. You’ve been using them for years. You just called them something else.
You will also see these referred to as earphones, ear buds and CIEMs. CIEMs are Custom In-Ear Monitors – IEMs made specifically to fit your ear shape.
Gain
Gain is the amount of increase in audio signal strength. Gain is often expressed in decibels (dB).
