Portable Headphones Amplifiers

Devilishly brilliant The iDSD Diablo, with its sleek new design and fiery red finish, sits proudly at the top of our range of portable/transportable DAC/amps. It is built for purists – the true headphone enthusiasts who crave pure, unadulterated sonic performance. Just like a racing car designed for uncompromising speed, the iDSD Diablo sets aside sonic tailoring as well as Bluetooth connectivity to focus on pure sonic power. Prepare for a riveting ride as it will drive any headphone on the planet with aplomb. Put simply, the iDSD Diablo is our best ever transportable amplifier designed to deliver reference level sound. ‘Bit-perfectly’ wicked We use two Burr-Brown DAC chips and the new 16-core XMOS chip to process the data received via the USB and S/PDIF digital inputs. This means the iDSD Diablo can handle up to PCM 768, DSD 512, 2xDXD. Both PCM and DSD remain ‘bit-perfect’. It also provides full MQA decoding! Check out our MQA set-up tutorial (using the highly acclaimed NEO) for Tidal, Roon and Audirvana Positively pure Balanced, differential analogue circuit design reduces noise and cross-talk within the signal path by fully separating the left and right channels. The iDSD Diablo benefits from further refinements to our balanced, symmetrical dual-mono topologies with short, direct signal paths. We call this PureWave. Negative feedback is used in amplifier circuits to compare the output signal with the input signal and correct errors. BUT there are drawbacks. iFi turns the negatives into positives with OptimaLoop. Read more on these technologies below. Diabolically dynamic Able to drive all manner of headphones with ease, the iDSD Diablo delivers up to 5000mW of prodigious power, propulsive energy and engaging dynamics, coupled with a remarkable ability to resolve fine texture and detail. With 3 settings, you can adjust power and gain to suit your daily driver or track day supercar! Turbo – ramps up the level of drive for current-hungry headphones Normal – for most over or on ear headphones Eco – dials down the power to suit high-sensitivity in-ear monitors The iDSD Diablo’s focus on pure, unadulterated performance, means much attention has been applied to the power supply circuity. Battery power provides ultra-clean and stable DC current avoiding the issues of mains electricity – dips, spikes and noise-inducing RFI/EMI pollution. BUT there are sonic downsides resulting from low output voltage and inconsistent output impedance as batteries discharge. These issues are fully tackled by the iDSD Diablo’s design. In order to make less efficient headphones, like planar magnetics, sing, the voltage needs to be stepped up from 3.7V to +/- 15V.  We use a step-up converter running at 1.2MHz – a frequency far beyond audibility that is easier to filter than a typical switch-mode supply, enabling high linearity and ultra-low noise. Formula 1, iFi style. High-bandwidth power supply circuity is dedicated to each critical part of the iDSD Diablo’s design, with independent linear regulation delivering excellent PSRR (Power Supply Rejection Ratio) performance. The headphone amp stage eschews IC regulators in favour of Panasonic OS-CON capacitors, delivering 2320uF between them. The DAC section benefits from an ultra-low-noise regulator with additional passive filtering, reducing high order harmonic distortion and, in turn, jitter. Even the USB input stage benefits from dedicated regulation and multi-stage filtering, and the microprocessor control circuitry (often a local source of digital noise) has separate regulation, too. Hooking up with the Devil… At the front of the unit, alongside a standard 6.3mm single-ended headphone socket, resides a 4.4mm Pentaconn output for headphones offering balanced connection. At the back are two digital audio inputs: USB-A and a S/PDIF socket that accepts both electrical and optical signals, the former via a 3.5mm connector and the latter via a supplied adapter. The USB-A input features a ‘male’ connector, rather than a typical ‘female’ port for greater mechanical integrity.  A separate USB-C charging port is also provided, along with a 4.4mm Pentaconn balanced output to connect to an external amp. Accessories galore As befits a reference-level product, we’ve included a whole host of accessories in a luxurious travel case, the iTraveller. As the iDSD Diablo may be powered from the mains, as well as by its built-in battery, we’ve included our super silent, noise-cancelling iPower 5V AC/DC adapter to ensure optimal sound quality. Also included is a 4.4mm Pentaconn to XLR balanced interconnect cable to connect the iDSD Diablo to an amp and speakers (or a pair of active speakers) with balanced XLR inputs. Other supplied connectors include a high-quality USB-A audio cable, a USB-A to USB-C charging cable and an adapter to connect headphones with a 3.5mm jack to the 6.3mm single-ended output.

Apogee Groove is the best portable USB DAC and headphone amp for listening to music on your Mac or PC. Groove takes the same high quality audio technology found in the world’s most prestigious recording studios and delivers it to your laptop. Connect Groove to your computer’s USB port and your headphones or powered speakers to Groove’s audio output. It’s that easy. Groove’s output provides ample power at any impedance and Apogee’s Constant Current Drive technology makes your headphones sound their best. You’ll be amazed by the difference in sound quality – the precise stereo image, punchy bass and stunningly clear high-hats.For 30 years Apogee has been an innovator and industry leader in digital audio recording. From rock to classical, hip-hop to country, and reggae to jazz, the world’s most successful artists, producers and audio engineers rely on Apogee gear to capture GRAMMY winning recordings. Now, for the first time, Apogee Groove takes this same recording studio technology and makes it available in a simple take-anywhere device dedicated to delivering the ultimate listening experience.Specifications:USB 2.0 connection to Mac and PCUp to 24 bit / 192kHz audioESS Sabre DACEnhances your iTunes, Pandora, Spotify, Tidal or other music listening experienceConstant Current Drive™ provides smooth frequency response with any headphonesQuad Sum DAC™, 4 DACs per channel for highest dynamic range and lowest distortionAsynchronous clockingMulti-color LEDs for status and level indicationPowered by USBTop panel buttons for adjusting volume levelCompact and portable (95mm L x 30mm W x 16mm H)Premium aluminum build qualityBuilt in the USA

Highest quality stereo analog audio up to 384kHz/32bit available on your PC, Mac, Linux computer, iPad or Android tablet. 2.0Vrms line output level, 112dB THD+N. Very low jitter oscillators, asynchronous 2.0 Audio Class USB. Also drives most medium- or high-impedance headphones. Highest value-for-money.Compact size (2x1.4x8.8cm) with hi-end performance hiFace DAC has been conceived to make hi-end equipment performance at hand to budget-conscious audiophiles, without any compromise. One hiFace DAC and a laptop, Mac Mini or even an iPad make for a hi-end music file source at the cost of a middle range digital interconnect.The hiFace DAC includes all necessary features to be the perfect DAC for all kind of hi-fi systems: asynchronous data transfer mode on USB 2.0, compliancy to USB 2.0 Audio Class (no drivers needed for MacOS, IOS, Linux and Android), very low phase noise oscillators and last-generation conversion IC capable of 384kHz and 23 bits.Windows users will enjoy it in Direct Sound, Kernel Streaming, WASAPI and ASIO (depending on the OS version), while Mac users will be able to take advantage from Integer mode and Direct mode. While the hiFace DAC output is purposely designed to give its best with amplifiers’ and preamplifiers’ line level inputs, it may also be used to drive medium- and high-impedance headphones: try it with iPhone’s in-ear headphones.Specifications:Connections: Input 1 x USB A type maleOutput 1 x 3.5mm stereo jack socket
I/OStandard: Input USB 2.0 Audio Format, Output stereo analogSampling Frequency 44.1kHz, 48kHz, 88.2kHz, 96kHz, 176.4khZ, 192kHz, 352.8kHz, 384kHz
Resolution 16 up to 32 bitOutput voltage: 2.0Vrms @10kOhmsFrequency response: 5-22kHz (fs=44.1kHz) - 5-150kHz (fs=384kHz)THD+N: 112dB (@ 1kHz, A-weighted)Dimensions:8.8(d) x 1.4(h) x 2(w)
Power Supply:5V DC from USB bus
Temperature: 0°C to 70°C
Weight: 20gr approx.