Packed with excellence, power and versatility. Regardless of the hheadphones or monitors you prefer, you will not be disappointed.
micro iDSD Black Label
Revisit Utopia.
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.
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, deeper 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 louder, deeper soundstage that puts the artist with you in the room, not just in your headphones.
And the XBass+® analogue bass correction system corrects headphone/speaker bass response to deliver a deeper tighter, rich and more 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, it is able to have the power and gain 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 6 -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
Reviews
More reviews…
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.
(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.
(Click name to read original review)
Micro BL – converter with additives!
A generous set of accessories can be found in the luxuriously decorated package. The BL sets a very high bar, leaving connoisseurs the opportunity to enjoy the process, experiment and the subtle nuances of taste.
(Click name to read original review)
Micro iDSD Black Label is more than a DAC
The BL can also form the basis in a stationary location in a traditional audio setup where USB often plays a role. It can also be used in a living room setup that has the potential to give your music quality.
(Click name to read original review)
It is packed with a lot of features in a small case!
What is Stereo Mecmuasi talking about?
The Micro BL of course!
It achieves impressive work in this price class. Micro BL is a very successful device.
(Click name to read original review)
Compare
| micro iDSD BL | xDSD | nano iDSD BL | nano iDSD LE | |
 |
 |
 |
 |
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| 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 |
