iFi Audio Micro iDSD Black Label (released on the 30th of November 2016)

[AMR/iFi audio]

So there we were, sipping the good stuff...

 

 

Right, since it's getting more about alcohol than 'other things', may we present to you...

 

micro iDSD Black Label

The Black-series. Refined.

 

[ATTACH=CONFIG]30558[/ATTACH]

 

Black Label

The original iDSD set a new benchmark for portable DAC/Headamps in the US$500 sector. Nothing came close to its sonics, flexibility and outright power. Nothing at least until the micro iDSD ‘Black Label.’

 

The evolution into the ‘Black Label’ covers these main areas:

 

 

1. Satin black chassis with ‘burnt orange’ silk print
   
2. Major parts changes to the very latest available
   
3. 3D Holographic+® and XBass+® new implementation are very easy to discern
   

 

Sonically, much smoother, more weight and with a full-bodied mid-range. The bass is deeper and cleaner. The Black Label is in every way, the ‘turbo charged’ version of the normally aspirated micro iDSD.

 

Perhaps ‘Double Black’ is a more apt description because it is different on the outside as well as the inside. The matt and gloss black anodising is set against the ‘burnt orange’ silk print. While keeping in essence the same design philosophy, we re-engineered the micro iDSD after taking into consideration suggestions and integrating the most advanced and newest components available.

 

 

Special Features

· DAC digital signal and digital power sections upgraded

· AMR Global Master Timing® femto-precision clock system upgraded for ‘super low’ phase-noise/jitter

· Analogue signal and power sections revised

· 3D+® performance-tuned / XBass+® performance-tuned

· Latest Output stabilisation network offers less distortion

 

Useful links:

 

Tach talk - part 1: here

 

Tech talk - part 2: here

 

Tech talk - part 3: here

 

Release info: here

[craighartley]

So there we were, sipping the good stuff...

 

[ATTACH=CONFIG]30540[/ATTACH]

 

Before anyone says anything, we'll clarify today! Stay tuned!

 

clarify or clariFi ?

[Audio_ELF]

Nothing beats the good 'ol Black Label"

Well nothing except Laphroig, Ardbeg, Tailsker ... you get the idea! :-)

[firedog]

Well nothing except Laphroig, Ardbeg, Tailsker ... you get the idea! :-)

 

Single malts have distintive tastes. Some I like a lot, others not so much. A well done blend like Black Label is not as distinctive a taste, but to me is a more enjoyable drink than many single malts. Don't get me wrong, there are some single malts I like a lot, but I don't thing they are better than a good blended whiskey by definition.

[Audio_ELF]

Single malts have distintive tastes. Some I like a lot, others not so much. A well done blend like Black Label is not as distinctive a taste, but to me is a more enjoyable drink than many single malts. Don't get me wrong, there are some single malts I like a lot, but I don't thing they are better than a good blended whiskey by definition.

Thats because you're a philistine :-)

 

(Meant in good humour of course as was my original comment ... but no, by definition a single malt isn't superior ... I just find them more interesting)

[semente]

Single malts have distintive tastes. Some I like a lot, others not so much. A well done blend like Black Label is not as distinctive a taste, but to me is a more enjoyable drink than many single malts. Don't get me wrong, there are some single malts I like a lot, but I don't thing they are better than a good blended whiskey by definition.

I don't drink whisky, nor beer for that matter, but I have the same opinion regarding single grape variety red wine.

 

R

[mansr]

Well nothing except Laphroig, Ardbeg, Tailsker ... you get the idea! :-)

I prefer them correctly spelled. :-)

[AMR/iFi audio]

Right, since it's getting more about alcohol than 'other things', may we present to you...

 

micro iDSD Black Label

The Black-series. Refined.

 

 

Black Label

The original iDSD set a new benchmark for portable DAC/Headamps in the US$500 sector. Nothing came close to its sonics, flexibility and outright power. Nothing at least until the micro iDSD ‘Black Label.’

 

The evolution into the ‘Black Label’ covers these main areas:

 

 

1. Satin black chassis with ‘burnt orange’ silk print
   
2. Major parts changes to the very latest available
   
3. 3D Holographic+® and XBass+® new implementation are very easy to discern
   

 

Sonically, much smoother, more weight and with a full-bodied mid-range. The bass is deeper and cleaner. The Black Label is in every way, the ‘turbo charged’ version of the normally aspirated micro iDSD.

 

Perhaps ‘Double Black’ is a more apt description because it is different on the outside as well as the inside. The matt and gloss black anodising is set against the ‘burnt orange’ silk print. While keeping in essence the same design philosophy, we re-engineered the micro iDSD after taking into consideration suggestions and integrating the most advanced and newest components available.

 

 

Special Features

· DAC digital signal and digital power sections upgraded

· AMR Global Master Timing® femto-precision clock system upgraded for ‘super low’ phase-noise/jitter

· Analogue signal and power sections revised

· 3D+® performance-tuned / XBass+® performance-tuned

· Latest Output stabilisation network offers less distortion

 

There's more, but not today. Stay tuned, we'll deliver!

[rafaelpernil]

Right, since it's getting more about alcohol than 'other things', may we present to you...

 

micro iDSD Black Label

The Black-series. Refined.

 

[ATTACH=CONFIG]30558[/ATTACH]

 

Black Label

The original iDSD set a new benchmark for portable DAC/Headamps in the US$500 sector. Nothing came close to its sonics, flexibility and outright power. Nothing at least until the micro iDSD ‘Black Label.’

 

The evolution into the ‘Black Label’ covers these main areas:

 

 

1. Satin black chassis with ‘burnt orange’ silk print
   
2. Major parts changes to the very latest available
   
3. 3D Holographic+® and XBass+® new implementation are very easy to discern
   

 

Sonically, much smoother, more weight and with a full-bodied mid-range. The bass is deeper and cleaner. The Black Label is in every way, the ‘turbo charged’ version of the normally aspirated micro iDSD.

 

Perhaps ‘Double Black’ is a more apt description because it is different on the outside as well as the inside. The matt and gloss black anodising is set against the ‘burnt orange’ silk print. While keeping in essence the same design philosophy, we re-engineered the micro iDSD after taking into consideration suggestions and integrating the most advanced and newest components available.

 

 

Special Features

· DAC digital signal and digital power sections upgraded

· AMR Global Master Timing® femto-precision clock system upgraded for ‘super low’ phase-noise/jitter

· Analogue signal and power sections revised

· 3D+® performance-tuned / XBass+® performance-tuned

· Latest Output stabilisation network offers less distortion

 

There's more, but not today. Stay tuned, we'll deliver!

 

WOW *jaw dropping*. Sincerely, I think your marketing department is making a great job. Different strategies for each product definitely catch people attention. I am eager to try it out to be honest. I wonder how much improvement it would make by its own over original micro iDSD+micro iUSB3.0 regarding its digital improvements. And how better is the improved analog section

[PorkChop]

If there was a trade-in plan from the original version, I would gladly take advantage of it.

[jhwalker]

So there we were, sipping the good stuff...

 

[ATTACH=CONFIG]30540[/ATTACH]

 

Before anyone says anything, we'll clarify today! Stay tuned!

 

Of course, I am immediately intrigued by anything named after me . . .

[jhwalker]

If there was a trade-in plan from the original version, I would gladly take advantage of it.

 

Yes - I have two of the originals, I'd gladly part with one or both for this bad boy.

[Miska]

Looks like I need to grow my collection...

[firedog]

will be interested to hear how much better this sounds than the predecessor.

[Lionelh2]

Interested to learn how much the quality of the analog output section has been improved.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Computer Audiophile

[YashN]

So there we were, sipping the good stuff...

[ATTACH=CONFIG]30540[/ATTACH]

My father had a few bottles in his collection. His favourite was Royal Salute.

 

I like Lagavulin and Laphroaig.

[YashN]

[ATTACH=CONFIG]30558[/ATTACH]

Nice new looks! Can we expect such a redesign across all the iFi line?

[AMR/iFi audio]

Nice new looks! Can we expect such a redesign across all the iFi line?

We can't confirm or deny anything at this time

But what we have is this:

Part 1. The Grand Tour

 

The Digital Engine:

 

• DAC Power supply upgraded with iFi custom ultra-low noise Operationsverstärker OV2028
  
• DAC reference voltage decoupling changed to Panasonic audio-grade ECPU film capacitors
  
• Digital power supplies upgraded with ultra-low impedance Panasonic OSCON capacitors
  
• GMT® Femto precision clock system power supply upgraded for super low phase-noise/jitter
  

 

 

The Analogue section:

 

• Analogue section upgraded with iFi custom low noise FET input Operationsverstärker OV2627
  
• Analogue power supplies upgraded with Ultra-low impedance Panasonic OSCON capacitors
  
• 3D+® performance-tuned
  
• XBass+® performance-tuned
  
• Re-designed Output Stabilisation network for less distortion
  

 

For 3D+® & XBass+® we adjusted based on wide ranging customer feedback after a period of field testing different adjustments.

 

3D+® is deeper and wider, and more spacious.

 

XBass+® is deeper and cleaner bass and is more audible.

 

 

[mansr]

• DAC Power supply upgraded with iFi custom ultra-low noise Operationsverstärker OV2028
  

 

Do opamps sound better in German?

 

• GMT® Femto precision clock system power supply upgraded for super low phase-noise/jitter
  

 

Does it work in non-GMT time zones?

[AMR/iFi audio]

Do opamps sound better in German?

We have more than a dash of German influence at the top. So can't be helped!

[YashN]

We have more than a dash of German influence at the top.

 

Tonmeister Thorsten!

[AMR/iFi audio]

Part 2. Exceptional parts quality

 

With the original iDSD micro, iFi already pushed parts quality to a very high level. Yet after long-term testing and with new parts now available to us that were not available at the time of the original production version of the iDSD micro, we were able to wring meaningful improvements in sound quality by substituting specific parts with higher grade (and more expensive) alternatives.

 

Specifically, with the upgrades applied we were able to produce a sound that is smoother sounding than the original, yet with increased level of detail and improved dynamics and slam. These are not ‘night and day’ differences but the difference is very discernible. To gain meaningful sonic improvements on a product like the iDSD micro was no small challenge.

 

Sanyo OSCONs. Os-Cons are go.

 

 

 

Os-Con's originally from Sanyo (now taken over by Panasonic) have been around for a good while. Among the larger value capacitors useful in power supplies, they hold a special place.

 

In a ground breaking series on capacitor performance published in the late Nineties and early Noughties in Wireless World, Cyril Bateman showed they persistently outperformed all alternatives at high frequencies and were second in low-distortion only to Elna Silmic types.

 

AMR CD-77 Digital Processor

 

At AMR starting from the CD-77 Compact Disk Processor, we have a long history of using Os-Con's.

 

 

 

After the Panasonic takeover, supply chains were changed and they became difficult to obtain. Testing alternatives offered by other manufacturers showed them to be dramatically inferior to the original Sanyo product and not much better then generic Electrolytic Capacitors.

 

Further, originally Os-Con's were not available in the values/voltages/sizes needed for the relative miniature equipment in the iFi range.

 

In recent times, the supply situation has improved and Panasonic has introduced a new range of ‘miniturised’ Os-Con's suited for iFi equipment. So despite their steep cost (around 10x that of common electrolytic capacitors) the micro iDSD Black Label is the first to start to feature them as an alternative where Elna Silmic capacitors cannot be accommodated; be it because of cost or size constraints, as they are physically much larger for the same capacitance and even more costly.

 

 

[lmitche]

Great to see IFI continue to invest in this great product. SQ with HQplayer upsampling to DSD512 powered by the LPS1 is amazing.

[AMR/iFi audio]

Great to see IFI continue to invest in this great product. SQ with HQplayer upsampling to DSD512 powered by the LPS1 is amazing.

 

Nice to 'hear' that

[AMR/iFi audio]

Part 3. Exceptional parts quality (cont’d)

 

iFi/AMR ‘OV’ series stands for ‘Operationsverstärker’ (German for Operational Amplifier). iFi/AMR’s ‘OV’ range IC's use HCOFC copper lead-frames and 4N Gold bond-wire which is streets ahead of mainstream commercial chips that use inexpensive aluminum bond-wire and low-grade and low-cost copper in the lead-frames.

 

 

It is seldom found because it requires custom packaging of chips from wafers and has a very high MOQ (30,000 pcs per part and purchase) to do. Therefore, the parts used in the micro iDSD BL are ‘above and beyond.’

 

Specifically the iFi OV2028 is a BJT input Dual OV with extremely low-noise, wide bandwidth and high slew rate.

 

The iFi OV2627 is an FET input Dual OV with low noise, extremely wide bandwidth and very high slew rate.

 

For further reading:

https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operationsverst%C3%A4rker

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operational_amplifier

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wire_bonding

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lead_frame