This precise, analogue volume control is normally found on items at a much higher price point. Its transparent sonic nature delivers a smooth sound with no loss in music retrieval. It delivers the sonic goods.
The nano iDSD Black Label is a portable DAC and headphone amplifier. It will enhance your personal audio.
On your daily commute or even once you get to in the office, the nano BL will boost the sound quality of your music and supercharge to your day.
Stream, stream, stream…
The nano iDSD Black Label is for those who enjoy great music on-the go.
From your phone, amplify your Spotify, Apple Music or Tidal using an Apple CCK cable or OTG cable for Android.
At home or in the office, use the USB3.0 cable provided to connect to your PC.
Res’ing it up!
The nano iDSD Black Label plays Hi-Res audio up to DSD256
so you can enjoy your tunes in the original format just as the artists intended.
Getting into MQA? The nano BL is MQA ready. Use it with Tidal Masters on your computer or mobile.
The mighty nano
The nano iDSD Black Label is small but mighty with 10x more amplification power than an iPhone.
It can drive most headphones and has our iEMatch technology built-in, so it can work with In-Ear-Monitors (IEMs).
The in-built iFi iPurifier means it delivers clean, quality music with no buzz, no hiss and no fuss!
Brilliant balancing act
The iFi exclusive S-Balanced circuit provides all the benefits of balanced outputs such as low-noise and less distortion when used with headphones and IEMs fitted with balanced wiring.
For single-ended headphones, S-Balanced cuts crosstalk in half. The benefits are ‘clearly’ audible.
Listen. Measure.
Fancy getting technical? The nano BL has a Listen option (Minimum Phase Bezier Filter) and a Measure option (Linear Phase Transient-Aligned Filter) for those who like to try a variation to the playback.
We say just switch it on, plug in your device, and listen away.
There is no going wrong with 10 hours of battery life.
Zero Jitter® equals good audio. Is it essential to have a very precisely buffered digital signal before it goes to a DAC.
We pushed the envelope even further by doing this not only with the nano iDSD BL‘s USB input, but the rest of the digital interfaces as well.
This unit has up to 10 hours of non-stop playing time. Always make sure you switch it on first and then plug in your device.
The Burr-Brown True Native® chipset means file formats remain unchanged. Listen to music as the artist intended in the format in which it was recorded.
Hi-Res True Native® playback of all music formats from MP3 to DSD256, PCM384 and DXD384.
Listen to Master Quality Authenticated audio straight out of the box. Connect to Tidal Masters and check the option to stream MQA.
Our video tutorials on You Tube show you how.
iFi’s exclusive S-Balanced® circuit delivers maximum performance from single-ended and balanced headphones alike.
See our Tech Note to dig deeper.
Support
General |
|
| Input(rear): | USB2.0 type A ‘OTG’ Socket (with iPurifier® technology built-in) |
| Output(rear)； | 1 x audio fixed line out L+R 3.5mm |
| Digital Filter: | 2 positions. 2 filters |
| Outputs(front): | 2 x 3.5mm headphone audio outputs. ‘Direct’ and ‘iEMatch®’ |
DAC |
|
| DAC: | DSD, DXD, PCM DAC by Burr Brown Bit-Perfect DSD processing, Bit-Perfect DXD processing |
| Clock: | Low-jitter crystal clock |
| Audio Formats: | DSD 256/128/64/12.4/11.2/6.2/5.6/3.1/2.8 |
| DXD 384/352.8kHz | |
| PCM 384/352.8/192/176.4/96/88.2/48/44.1kHz | |
| MQA 88.2/96/176.4/192kHz filters | |
| Filter–PCM: | Listen (transient optimised minimum phase) |
| Measure (frequency response optmised) | |
| –DSD: | Listen (extended bandwidth transient optimised) |
| Measure (narrow bandwidth, low output band noise optimised) | |
| –DXD: | Fixed Bit-Perfect Processing |
| –MQA: | Fixed MQA Filter |
Headphone Amplifier |
|
| Amplifier: | Dual Mono 2 x 285mW Direct Drive, coupling capacitor free circuit for highest fidelity |
| Volume Control: | 3.5mm TRRS with Balanced compatible wiring |
| Dynamic Range(including DAC): | > 109dB(A) @ 3v (Direct) |
| > 107dB(A) @ 0.5V (iEMatch®) | |
| THD &N (@ 125mW/30R): | < 0.005% |
| Max. Output (<10% THD): | > 3.5V @ 600Ω Load (Direct) (20mW/600Ω) |
| > 2.9V @ 30Ω Load (Direct) (285mW/30Ω) | |
| > 1.7V @ 15Ω Load (Direct) (200mW/15Ω) | |
| Output Impedance : | < = 1Ω (Direct) |
| < = 4Ω (iEMatchsup>®) | |
| Channel Separation: | > 79dB @ 600Ω Load (Direct) |
| > 79dB @ 15Ω Load (Direct) (1kHz, TRRS plug Balanced wiring) | |
Line Output |
|
| Dynamic Range(Line): | > 109dB(A) |
| THD & N(0dBFS Line): | < 0.004% |
| Output Voltage(Line): : | 2.15V (+/-0.05V) |
| Output Impedance: | < 240Ω |
| Channel Separation: | > 99dB (@ 1kHz) |
| Jitter(correlated): | Below test set limit |
| Dimensions: | 96(l) x 64(w) x 25.5(h)mm |
| Weight: | 139g (0.31 Ibs) |
| Warranty period: | 12 months |
Tech notes:
nano iDSD BL Diagrams
Reviews
iFi audio nano iDSD Black Label under test
“The iFi Nano iDSD BL is a product that we recommend more than warmly by the editorial staff and even more if you are looking for a DAC / mobile headphone amplifier given its format, its autonomy, its weight and the excellent musical performances it offers. offers, especially in headphone output. It is also a pure happiness for its price in line output, even if one would have preferred an RCA output rather than jack, simple practical question.
(Click name to read original review)
Excelente.
No hay razon alguna para comprar otro tipo de dac a menos que pases de los $500 dolares o utilises un Nos Dac.There is no reason to buy any other type of dac unless you spend over $ 500 or use a Nos Dac.
(Click name to read original review)
iFi Nano iDSD Black Label – Unboxing All The Sound And None Of The Frills
(Click name to read original review)
Excellent DAC
Excellent product, which I use with an iPhone, i pad and computer. With quality headphones, of course. (Beyerdynamics, for example)
I recommend.
(Click name to read original review)
iFi -nano Black Label idsd a headphone dac/amp, OvervieW of another BUDGET-FI-BANDIT @199.00US ?
(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.
Apple CCK and Android OTG
So, why don’t we provide these two cables with our products?
The Apple CCK cable can only be purchased from Apple. We can’t make one ourselves as it has a special chip in the cable that we’d need to use for them to actually work with Apple hardware. Sadly, Apple has not released this chip to anyone.
We can and do make two versions of an Android OTG cable – Type C and micro.
DSD (Direct Stream Digital)
DSD is a very high-quality digital audio format that’s even better than CD quality. The higher the ‘DSD rate’ – DSD64, 128, 256, 512 and 1024 – the greater the amount of music information available, which means better sound quality.
Files can be remastered to higher file rates to improve sound quality. The pinnacle of this is DSD1024. Not many machines out there are capable of this feat.
MQA (Master Quality Authenticated)
MQA is an award-winning British technology that delivers the sound of the original master recording. The master MQA file is fully authenticated and is small enough to stream or download. More here.
Tidal Masters
Tidal is a subscription-based audio streaming platform, similar to Apple Music and Spotify, but with lossless-quality audio. Tidal Masters is the section with the highest-fidelity music streamed including some files in partnership with MQA.
Lossless-quality means that no music quality is lost in this format.
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.
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.
Analogue 'v' Digital Volume Control
For cost and convenience, modern DAC chips have a built-in digital volume control. The drawback is that a digital volume control works by ‘truncating’ the signal. Or ‘chopping Bits’ of resolution. For a 16-Bit music file at 50% volume level means the listener is actually listening to 14.5-Bits!
All iFi products bypass the digital volume control and use a separate analogue volume control which does not ‘lose Bits’ so a 16-Bit file stays unchanged which delivers maximum resolution.
Losing Bits of resolution (quality) is like having missing pixels on a computer or TV screen.
