Hello AUDIOCIRCLE!!!! I haven't been around much lately due to life being so crazy. I miss the place, and also decided if I post something/anything I want it to be helpful and high quality for you all. Please let me know what you think or don't think or opinions etc.
So I've been playing around with this:
iDSD Nano
And I gotta say, for the money, hot damn!!!
Here’s the short and sweet:
pros:Superb sound quality.
more than enough gain for every headphone I used
robust bass.
great mids.
clean highs
decent battery life.
plug and play usability.
about as close to universal digital compatibility as you can get.
QUIET AS A CHURCH MOUSE.
Cons:Kludgey as hell to use in portable applications.
for iPhone and I’m sure other devices you will need adapters.
Solid State highs have some harshness on sibilant music.
not exactly a joy to carry around.
(note, if I refer to this unit as the iDSD rather than the iDSD nano consider it short hand and not a reference to the other iFi product by that name)
For the last few months I have had the great privilege of being able to trial some iFi gear lent to me by the guys at iFi and Tyler with Alclair Audio. Tyler was nice enough to ship me out a ton of stuff (which I will be doing a review on later) But far and away my favorite piece has been the iDSD. I really wanted to try a solution for headphones that would work for me in most applications such as listening on my computer or taking it with me and listening on my IEMs. Because of it’s decent compromise between functionality and portability the iDSD fits the bill pretty well. Here is my experience with this bad boy.
Functionality/options/useFirst lets talk about the functionality of the iDSD. The iDSD offers some very nice, but simple features that allow it to be very useful in a plethora of applications. The only adjustments you have on it are volume and digital filters which offer ‘normal’ and ‘Minimal phase’ A little bird (S Fowler) told me that means: "minimum phase = low noise filter / mimics a NON-OS Philips chip. Also non-inverting polarity. That’s it. Simple like I said." If that means anything at all to you kudos! If you're like me you ask questions like: " Wtf is a non-os potato chip? MMMMMmmmm potato chips" and promptly grab a bag of chips and get back to listening to music and toggling back and forth to see if you hear a difference, which honestly, sometimes I did and sometimes I didn't.
The unit has volume controlled audio outs for the front for use with analog desktop setups etc. Also up front your standard 3.5 mm headphone jack. On the back you have a standard coax digital output. And of course a USB in for hook up to pretty much any USB compatible device.
The iDSD is a rockstar when it comes to digital formats. One of the most confounding things in digital is the number of formats and bitrates etc etc etc. Every device I have used prior to the iDSD have always run aground somewhere with some file type or bit rate. The iDSD had literally zero issues playing anything and everything I threw at it from DSD to 24/96 and even odder file types. I’m sure theres something out there it can’t handle, but the point is it was never an issue and that is a first in my experience.
the iDSD does great with music on the go or at the office sitting at a desk. Desktop tasks the iDSD is God tier superb. Simple to setup, simple to use and instantly you have a great sounding and versatile headphone amp solution in a single box. I also used it for music on the go with my iPhone. And while this is what I used to the most for, it was far from ideal. As a matter of fact it was a kludgy mess in this application.
As with most jack-of-all-trade devices there is usually one task in which, while functional, is far from adept at. Mix that in with general pain in the ass issues I had getting it to work with iOS devices meant it was more trouble than it was worth 3 out of 10 times I tried to use it. That isn’t to say the iDSD was at fault, far from it, usually it was an issue with the damned adaptor required to use it with the phone or iOS freaking out when I’d plug it in, or my movement accidentally unplugging the cord.
In other words this is just not a great way to listen on the go. It requires way too much end user management and frustration not because of the device, but because I was a tangled mess of adapted wires and devices in different pockets. Would I recommend it as a solution solely for on the go? Hell no. Would I suggest it for someone who intends to use it for desktop and occasional on the go use? HELL YES!
Our Hero braves the maelstrom that is certain to happen because of this review... Or not.
How does it sound????All of what I wrote would not matter if this unit didn’t sound good. So whats the verdict? As I said in the short and sweet, This thing sounds really nice! There are hardly any warts in it’s performance and the ones that are there are far from damning. Lets get the negatives out of the way. It can and does sound sibilant on ‘hotter’ tracks. It isn’t as smooth sounding as a tubed setup in dealing with this. At higher volume levels the problem seemed to get worse which is usually the case with this sort issue. I used the digital filter in the minimum phase position and it certainly helps alleviate some of the issues presented by hot recordings but didn’t eliminate the problem and as stated before sometimes I couldn't quite tell what was actually changing if anything. In my opinion the overall dynamics and some musicality is lost with the filter on. So I generally just left it off and suffered the issues inherent in the recording.
Now on to the great things. First the most amazing aspect of the nano is it’s dead silent. I sat in my soundproofed room with very sensitive Ultimate Ear IEMs. I listened with my headphones unplugged and of course heard nothing. I plugged the iDSD in and turned it on with the volume turned up about 1/3 of the way and heard nothing. If I increased the volume to 1/2 from full and it starts to have a little bit of hiss. Mind you that is about as loud as I could stand to have the volume up on these. Then being able to hear a lot of noise took 3/4 to full which literally would damage my hearing if I listened at that volume so it’s irrelevant in my setup. Scary quiet, one of the quietest pieces of gear I have ever listened through.
Overall sound quality was so high I actually spent most of my time enjoying the hell out of my music. Getting lost in it’s brilliance. Not caring about audiophile thoughts or dissecting the nuance of what I was hearing. Just appreciating the music. As a matter of fact I don’t think I’m going to do that at all in this review (literally a first for me which should speak volumes). Yes I have heard better performers from way more expensive setups, but as an armchair headphone guy I have no interest in dropping crazy amounts of cash chasing that dragon, I’ve already captured a rather sizable one in my basement.
The iDSD brings up an interesting dilemma; I could spend $200 to get something that fits 80% of what I want to use it for or I could spend $5,000 and get something that, while having better sound quality, would only work for 30% of what I want it to do. Then spend another $1,000 for a kick ass portable setup to get me the rest of the way to about 90%. But then I would be a headphone guy, and I’m not. I want something I can rock out to while cleaning up around the house or just chilling out on the couch or working at the desk. The iDSD fits all of these task with varying degrees of success, but well enough to keep my ears happy and not needing to seek out something better.
Overall rating
Usability/portability 7/10
sound quality 8/10
value 10/10
I have not seen or am aware of another battery powered dac/amp combo that’s anywhere near as versatile or superb sounding as this one.
Used for this review
Gear/software:
iMac retina blah blah
Media Center 19
iPhone 6
Ultimate Ears TripleFi 10
Sennheiser HD 201 ($17 on amazon!!! Not great, but not terrible)
Music:
Bjork Biophilia, Vespertine
St Vincent -self titled-, Actor
David Bowie Blackstar,
Peter Gabriel Up, Us, Scratch your Back
Flaming Lips Yoshimi
Others
