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Signature Transportable DAC/Headphone Amp
Sporting a Space Blue finish and powered by a built-in rechargeable battery, the micro iDSD Signature from iFi Audio is a transportable DAC/headphone amp that’s ready for anything you want to hear – anytime.
Battery power means it’s ultra-clean with ultra-stable DC power and avoids the pitfalls of AC power from the wall, including spikes, sags, and noise-inducing RFI/EMI pollution. And with up to 12 hours playing time, depending on the headphones and performance mode engaged, you don't have to worry about running out of juice.
Based around two Burr-Brown DAC chips in a custom 'interleaved' configuration, the digital engine has four pairs of differential signals – two pairs per channel. This means you get a lower noise floor, improved channel separation, and finer musical detail with micro-dynamics.
The micro iDSD Signature handles up to PCM 768, DSD 512, 2xDXD and MQA. All this is done natively. Both PCM and DSD remain ‘bit-perfect’.
Precision Personified
Extensive jitter-eradication technologies are applied to the digital engine, including iFi’s GMT (Global Master Timing) femto-precision clock and the intelligent memory buffer. The micro iDSD Signature also comes with iFi’s GTO (Gibbs Transient Optimized) digital filter installed. And exclusive firmware available on the iFi Audio website means you can change digital filters as you wish.
Power to Drive Your Headphones Beautifully
With up to 4100mW of power the micro iDSD Signature can drive all manner of headphones with aplomb, from highly sensitive in-ear monitors to current hungry planar headphones.
The signal path has been refined to maximize sonic texture. High spec components featuring class-leading qualities such as low ESR (Equivalent Series Resistance), high stability and low distortion mean top-notch sound quality and maximum musical enjoyment.
Factor in the direct-coupled nature of the circuit – no coupling capacitor is present – and the micro iDSD Signature definitely runs rings around the competition.
Personalized Sound
One size no longer fits all when it comes to quality listening. The digital stage of the micro iDSD Signature features a variety of filter settings. Standard, Minimum Phase, and Bit-Perfect are for PCM files, while Standard Bandwidth, Extended Bandwidth, and Extreme Bandwidth let you tailor the sound of DSD files.
The amp stage also has three settings to adjust power and gain. In addition to Normal, you get Turbo to ramp up the level of drive for current-hungry headphones, Eco to dial down the power to suit high-sensitivity in-ear monitors and/or to extend battery life. Added to this are iFi iEMatch technology that adjusts output level and iFi XBass+ and 3D+ signature sonic tweaks.
Getting Connected
The micro iDSD Signature features two digital audio inputs – USB Type-A and an S/PDIF input that accepts both analog signals via a 3.5mm connector and optical signals via a supplied adapter. It also includes a pair of RCA analog outputs to connect to a pair of powered speakers or a power amp to act as a DAC.
There is a 1/4"" (6.3mm) output for headphones that have a standard single-ended connector (headphones with a 3.5mm jack can be connected using an adapter) and a 4.4mm Pentaconn output for headphones offering iFi's S-Balanced connection.
Both headphone outputs utilize iFi's ‘S-Balanced’ output circuitry. This delivers the sonic benefits of balanced connections with all headphone/earphone types – even those with single-ended connectors – cutting crosstalk and associated distortion in half.
Burr-Brown True Native® Chipset
The Burr-Brown True Native® chipset means file formats remain unchanged or ‘bit-perfect’. This means you are listening to music as the artist intended in the format in which it was recorded. iFi uses Burr Brown extensively in its products for its natural sounding musicality and True Native architecture.
Doubling the DAC chips results in 3dB lower noise floor and better channel separation. Together with power supply advancements and advanced channel interleaving, the noise floor has been halved. All of this equals stellar sonic performance.
Hi-res audio support is state-of-the-art with True Native playback. It handles PCM data to 32-bit/768kHz, DSD up to DSD512 and single and double speed DXD.
Thanks to the Burr-Brown DAC chip’s four-channel True Native design, PCM and DSD take separate pathways. This enables DSD, as well as PCM, to remain ‘bit-perfect’ in its native form right through to analog conversion. This is not the case with all DAC devices from other brands; even if DSD compatibility is stated, many such DACs convert DSD signals to PCM.
Flexible MQA Support
Want MQA support? You've got it with the micro iDSD Signature. Listen to Master Quality Authenticated audio straight out of the box. Connect to Tidal Masters and check the option to stream MQA.
Highest Quality Parts
Texas Instruments low-noise ICs offer great unity-gain bandwidth, very low noise and distortion, high output drive capability, Common-mode and Power Supply Rejection Ratios of over 100 dB, wide maximum-output-swing bandwidths and high slew rates.
Panasonic OS-CON caps totaling 5,410uF give very-low Equivalent Series Resistance (ESR), excellent noise reduction capability and frequency response characteristics. In addition, OS-CONs have a long-life span and its ESR changes little even at low temperatures since the electrolyte is solid. They are not often found in products costing under $1000.
