It’s a DAC and so much more. It will take your music, movies and gaming to new heights.
Our flagship Pro iDSD is for those who like music in all its flavours, especially high spec.
It’s a standalone unit, a streamer and a DAC/amp.
And with the option to listen in solid-state, tube or tube+, there’s something for everyone.
The Pro iDSD plays all files from MP3 up to hi-res DSD and MQA.
For the first time, it brings Studio Grade DSD1024 to a wider audience – a rare feat. You are well and truly future-proofed.
All controlled from the palm of your hand via an app.
As with most iFi gear, we added filters to add flavour to your listening.
Check out the GTO filter. Just like the American muscle car, it adds gravitas and a new dimension to your driving…sorry, listening.
We’ve also given you Bit Perfect, Bit Perfect+, Apodising, and Transient Aligned.
Curious mind? User Manual, page 16.
Choose a wireless connection to stream your favourite tunes from Tidal, Spotify, Napster – the list is endless.
Take it up a notch by using a wired Ethernet connection to play from a router or NAS (Network Attached Storage).
Or relax with AirPlay to enjoy playback from your iPhone, iPad or Mac.
Use USB Type A to connect a hard disk drive or a memory stick or Type B to connect a laptop or server.
Or slot in a micro SDHC card with music files for instant playback.
Enjoy soulful tunes from your CD transport and enhance your gaming or movie experience as you connect via the coaxial/digital input.
Sound has never sounded so good.
Finally, we’ve given you a choice of headphone sockets and outputs to cover all tastes. Big ones, little ones, balanced ones…
The Pro iDSD now currently comes in two ‘balanced’ versions – with 4.4mm or 2.5mm balanced headphone sockets. You choose which version you need.
So, whatever your mood, however you connect or listen, the Pro iDSD has an option for you.
The Pro iDSD has a ‘quad stack’ of Bit-Perfect DSD and DXD DACs by Burr-Brown. The ‘interleaved’ configuration means up to 8 pairs of differential signals can be used and mixed, equal to 4 pairs of signals per channel.
Full lowdown? User Manual, page 13.
The Pro iDSD employs the new XMOS XU216 X-Core 200 Series 16-Core processor. All-digital processing is Bit-Perfect unless particular digital filters are explicitly selected.
Explore the XMOS here.
Upsampling to DSD1024 has previously only been available to a select few. The Pro iDSD makes it available to a wider audience. The DSD1024 remastering is handled by the Crysopeia® FPGA and this is where we believe the FPGA excels.
Discover more on page 15 of the User Manual.
Data is sent to the Memory Buffer from all inputs. Here it is de-jittered to eliminate any transmission of source jitter to the DAC output. The data from the Memory Buffer is further re-clocked by the low-jitter Global Master Timing® clock, which also drives the X-Core 200 and FPGA.
With LINKPLAY™ WiFi/network playback, built-in Spotify and Tidal, and wide protocol support for 32-Bit/192kHz and DSD64, the Pro iDSD can be also used without a computer to stream audio directly.
Galvanic isolation is the ‘holy grail’ of computer audio.
All inputs are galvanically-isolated (including USB). The USB input section has its own separate power management system with multiple regulators and filtering operating from the galvanically-isolated voltage generated to power this section.
Unlike other amplifiers that have the same circuit and just switch in/out the tube section, the Pro iDSD is the very first of its kind to have two individual input circuits – one tube (General Electric 5670 tubes!) and one solid-state. This results in the ‘best sonics of both worlds’.
Read more. Page 7.
The amplifier audio circuit is fully discrete, fully-balanced with either tube or J-FET input switchable, bipolar second stage and MOSFET-buffered bipoa
We’ve given the Pro iDSD an extra Tube+ setting. This reduces overall loop-gain and negative feedback to the minimum and presents a different sonic perspective between the tube’s natural harmonics and transient performance.
Sound it out in the User Manual, page 7.
lar Class A Power stage.
The amplifier audio circuit is fully discrete, fully-balanced with either tube or J-FET input switchable, bipolar second stage and MOSFET-buffered bipolar Class A Power stage.
The Pro iDSD is packed full of premium components – a Japan Alps rotary volume potentiometer, audio-grade ELNA Silmic capacitors and a bank of Elna Dynacaps ‘super capacitors’.
Discover how these benefit the Pro’s unique design here.
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.
| Sample rates: | PCM up to 768kHz DSD up to 49.152MHz (DSD 1024) DXD and double-speed DXD (2xDXD) |
| Inputs: | USB (required for DSD, DXD and sample rates above 192KHz) AES3 (XLR – single link) S/PDIF (coaxial/optical combo) BNC multifunction (S/PDIF in or sync input) |
| Outputs: | Balanced XLR at 4.6V (+15.5dBu – HiFi) or 10V (+22dBu – Pro) Single-Ended RCA at 2.3V (HiFi) or 5V (Pro) Headphones 6.3mm & SE 3.5mm Jack at 0.55V/2.1V/5V Headphones BAL 2.5mm/4.4mm Jack at 1.13V/4.6V/10V Headphones out 1,500mW RMS X 2 @ 64 ohm, 4,000mW max. 2 X @ 16 Ohm |
| Headphone Output Impedance: | Single-Ended (S-BAL): < 1 Ω Balanced: < 2 Ω |
| Volume control: | Balanced (6-gang) Alps potentiometer, motorised with IR remote control XLR/RCA outputs can be selected as fixed level or adjusted 6.3mm headphone jack is always adjusted |
| Other Functions: | Various digital and analogue filters can be selected for DSD and PCM up to 384KHz |
| PCM Filters: | Bitperfect 44.1 – 192kHz, always used for 352.8 – 768kHz Bitperfect + 44.1 – 96kHz Gibbs Transient Optimised 44.1 – 384kHz Apodising 44.1 – 384kHz Transient Aligned 44.1 – 384kHz |
| DSD filters: | fixed 3rd order analogue filter @ 80kHz with correction for DSD’s -6dB gain |
| Gain (headphone section): | user-selectable: 0dB, 9dB and 18dB |
| Dynamic range: | 119dBA (solid-state, PCM, -60dBFS) |
| Output power | Pro iDSD 4.4mm socket. (16 Ω, balanced/single-ended): >4200mW /1>1,575mW
Pro iDSD 2.5mm socket. (16 Ω, balanced/single-ended): >4000mW /1>1,500mW |
| Output voltage | (600Ω, balanced/single-ended): >11.2V / >5.6V |
| Input voltage (Pro iDSD): | DC 9V/6.7A – 18V/3.35A |
| Input voltage (iPower+): | AC 85 – 265V, 50/60Hz |
| Power consumption: | < 22W idle, 50W max. |
| Dimensions: | 213 (l) x 220 (w) x 63 (h) mm |
| Weight: | 1980g (4.37 Ibs) |
Watch the full review here…
ifi is a brand that we have come to know a little at a time and has brought us into the world of Hi-Fi with dedication and passion at every opportunity. We are therefore very happy to be able to review their flagship digital analog converter (DAC) , the ifi Pro iDSD today .
Defining it only as a DAC, however, would be extremely reductive, in fact in a single object, ifi has put together a series of really important functions and features.
Read more…
“The Pro iDSD is not *just* a DAC, but a capable all in one DAC/Headphone amp/Streaming solution. Similar to the Pro iCAN, it offers solid state, tube, and tube+ modes, as well as a fully balanced architecture. I was honestly worried that with all these features, the Pro iDSD may not have managed to sound great as well, but, for the most part, it absolutely does.”
“The iFi Pro iDSD is an extraordinary unit. It covers digital signals that are verging on inconceivable”
Read more:
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.
A solid-state amplifier uses electronics such as diodes and transistors to amplify the music signal. A tube amp uses valves/vacuum tubes to do the same job.
There is a noticeable sound difference between the two methods. Some feel that tube amps create a warmer, more musical tone. Some companies choose to build ‘hybrid’ models that combine the two methods.
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.
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.
Network-attached storage (NAS) is dedicated file storage that enables multiple users and client devices to retrieve data from centralized disk capacity.
Users on a local area network (LAN) access the shared storage via a standard Ethernet connection. NAS devices typically do not have a keyboard or display and are configured and managed with an app.
Apple AirPlay is found on all Apple devices. It lets you share videos, photos, music, and more from Apple devices to your Apple TV, favourite speakers, and some smart TVs.
A CD transport concentrates on reading the information held on a compact disc without expending effort in turning that digital signal into an analogue output, unlike a CD player. All you need to do is add an external DAC.
Galvanic isolation is a design technique that separates electrical circuits to eliminate stray currents that contain noise. Signals can pass between galvanically isolated circuits, but stray currents, such as differences in ground potential or currents induced by AC power, do not pass. This means little or no noise interference to the audio signal from stray currents.
