Hi-Res True Native® playback for all music formats from MP3 to DSD512, PCM768 and 2xDXD.
xDSD
Our portable DAC and headphone amplifier will improve the sound quality of your music.
Whether you are listening via headphones on the bus or via your system on the sofa, the award-winning xDSD makes your music sound better.
Wireless. Wired.
The xDSD is for people who love to listen — on the go or at home.
You choose wireless via Bluetooth® or wired via USB or SPDIF.
Apple or Android, DAP, games console or TV, just connect the xDSD and enjoy the ultimate audio experience.
Hi-Res. Future-proof.
The xDSD plays high-quality digital audio file formats up to DSD512. Listen to your favourite tracks as they were meant to be.
In love with Hi-Res streaming? Listen to Tidal HiFi and Spotify Premium with ease.
The xDSD is also MQA ready straight out of the box. Use with Tidal Masters on your computer or mobile.
Bluetooth freedom
The convenience of Bluetooth® means your headphones connect to the xDSD, leaving your phone or chosen device wire free. Pop the xDSD in your pocket and it’s business as usual but with much better sound.
The xDSD boasts both aptX™ and AAC™ Bluetooth® for CD-like quality. With standard Bluetooth®, the sound quality drops by 30%, not so with the iFi Bluetooth® implementation. Just a little iFi magic for you!
Superior sonics
With amazing amplification, driven by 500 mW of power, the xDSD handles almost any headphones and it easily partners up with active home speakers.
And, of course, we’ve included our exclusive optional ‘sonic fine-tuning extras’ to add further nuances to your listening.
xBass+® cleans and restores the bass to give you a richer, deeper sound and 3D+® opens up your music to bring a live-concert atmosphere into your living room.
Perfectly balanced
iFi’s exclusive S-Balanced technology means that you gain the advantages of a balanced connection even when using an unbalanced one.
On headphones this means lower distortion, less interference, and reduce crosstalk.
Smart. Stylish.
The battery lasts up to 10 hours and ‘smart’ tech ensures you enjoy optimum listening time adjusted according to your usage. The xDSD has a separate USB charging socket.
And finally, with its metallic chrome finish and elegant, ergonomic design, based upon the Japanese Zen garden, it puts the ‘x’ back into sexy.
Connect your phone or device wirelessly via aptX™ and AAC™ Bluetooth®. Whatever your device, we’ve got it covered. Read more on iFi’s take on Bluetooth® here.
We use the USB Type-A connector as it provides a more stable audio connection for better playback and because of the OTG cable for Android and CCK Lightning to USB cable for Apple. The 3.5mm coaxial/TOSLINK combo SPDIF input allows connection to older DAPs and CD players.
Battery life is up to 10 hours. Charging is via the separate USB charging cable included.
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.
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
| USB Input: | up to PCM768kHz & DSD512 (24.6/22.6MHz) |
| SPDIF Coaxial and Optical Input: | up to 192kHz/24Bit |
| Dynamic Range: | > 113dB (A) |
| Volume Control: | -101dB…0dB in 1dB steps |
| Output power: | > 2.82V/500 mW @ 16 Ohm > 3.7V/270mW @ 50 Ohm > 3.8V/48 mW @ 300 Ohm > 3.8V/24 mW @ 600 Ohm |
| Line out Level: | > 2.1V @ 0dBFS (& 0dB Volume) |
| THD &N (1V/16R): | < 0.005% |
| Output Impedance: | < 1 Ohm |
| Battery: | 3.8V/2200mAh |
| Dimensions: | 95 (l) x67 (w) x19 (h) mm |
| Weight: | 127g (0.28 Ibs) |
| Warranty period: | 12 months |
Reviews
If the Ifi XDSD was a larger..
If the Ifi xDSD was a larger… Do I really need to say anything else?
All the reviews I have read and watched say that the Chord Mojo sounds better than the XDSD. I would strongly disagree!… I bought the Chord Mojo when it came out and I paired it with my Shure 846, and it sounded very good but I wasn’t entirely happy with it so I sold it.
Now the Ifi XDSD, I’m 100% happy with this. I’m now paired this with my Campfire Atlas IEM’s and it they sound majestic!
If you’re considering buying this I would say don’t hesitate buy it!!!!
You will not be disappointed.
(Click name to read original review)
A brilliant DAC. Not cheap but it’s brilliant so well worth the money.
There is not a lot you can dislike about this.
(Click name to read original review)
Immediately impressive
I do not enthuse about many products but this is staggeringly impressive. The finish and weight of the product provide a feeling of real quality. In my case, it was bought for use with an Astell & Kern SR25 music player which has an impressive performance on its own. The A&K music player produced good volume but did not drive my headphones (A&K T5p 2nd Gen) quite as strongly as I wanted…….this device give me power in reserve.
The device is spectacular but I did need to read the instructions though only to learn how to switch the device on! After that it settled in all by itself and I could leave the instructions aside. It is a pleasure to just hold this device it is so beautifully fashioned and then it is a further delight to listen to. I use it in the comparative quiet of the lounge and in the noisier environment of my Mini where it lifts the music well above the level of intrusive engine noise.
The device is expensive but good value in my view as it not only enhances the use of the excellent A&K music player but lifts the spirit each time I use it and get lost in a world of crisp sound. This is a beautiful product which restores my faith in the capability of the UK to manufacture something which it is a real pleasure to own.
(Click name to read original review)
Review: iFi xDSD Portable Bluetooth DAC and Headphone Amplifier
“If you are looking for excellent sound quality, look no further.”
(Click name to read original review)
Impressive sound quality and very good bluetooth connectivity
A more detailed and instructive manual of possible usability scenarios would be appreciated.
(Click name to read original review)
Fabulous!
Incredible improvement in all my digital music.
(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.
DAP (Digital Audio Player)
A DAP is a device like an iPod or an MP3 player that stores and/or plays back music digitally.
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.
Spotify Premium
Spotify Premium allows you to listen better quality music. It’s all about bitrates. The bitrate is the amount of data processed over a certain amount of time. The higher the bitrate, the better the quality.
On normal Spotify you listen at 96kbps, the ‘standard’ bitrate on mobile or at 160kbps, ‘standard quality’ on desktop and ‘high quality’ on mobile.
With Spotify Premium, you get 320kbps which is ‘high quality’ on desktop and ‘extreme quality’ on mobile. Basically, more bitrates for your buck.
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.
AAC
AAC is one of the most commonly-supported Bluetooth codecs in the wireless headphone and speaker markets. It’s also the default audio compression codec used by Apple’s iTunes and YouTube and is supported across both iPhone and Android smartphones.
Balanced 'v' Unbalanced
Let’s talk headphone cables.
An unbalanced headphone cable has a left + and right + wire, for each respective side. The other, the third – wire is shared by both left & right channels. As this is shared, this gives rise to undesired coupling noise which is commonly referred to as ‘crosstalk.’
A balanced cable has the same left + and right +. But it has a separate left – and right -. With totally separate wiring ‘crosstalk’ is negligible.
Therefore, a balanced connection is the superior headphone wiring configuration.
