MAGAZINE
With its dimensions of 166x72x25 mm, it resembles the DAC/amplifiers from iFi's long-standing, portable micro iDSD series. It has a built-in, fast-charging battery and comes with a new design and a fiery red finish.
iFi compares the Diablo to a high-performance sports car designed for uncompromising speed. As such, you won´t find some of the features of other iFi DACs/headphone amplifiers – such as sound customization options and Bluetooth connectivity – on this model. Instead, the Diablo is said to focus on pure sonic performance.
Music is received digitally by the Diablo via USB or S/PDIF, and it handles PCM data up to 32-bit/768 kHz, DSD up to DSD512, and single- and double-speed DXD and MQA. Two Burr-Brown DAC chips operate in a special "interleaved" configuration, which is supposed to lower noise floor and improve channel separation, among other benefits. The iDSD Diablo also uses a new XMOS microcontroller with lower latency and greatly improved processor performance, as well as an improved version of iFi's GMT (global master timing) femto-precision clock with a new crystal oscillator.
In the analog section of the iDSD Diablo, iFi relies on a further refined, balanced dual-mono topology with short, direct signal paths that they call 'PureWave'. Volume control is handled by a high-quality analog potentiometer. With up to 5000mW of power and three selectable gain levels of 'Eco', 'Normal' and 'Turbo', the Diablo is supposed to be able to drive all headphones from high-sensitivity in-ears to power-hungry magnetostatic systems.
To ensure optimal sound quality when the Diablo is plugged into a power outlet, iFi includes the iPower 5V AC/DC power supply with active noise cancellation, otherwise available separately for €49*. A balanced 4.4mm Pentaconn to XLR cable that can be used to connect the iDSD Diablo to an amplifier or active speakers is also included. In addition to various USB/jack cables and adapters, a travel case is another accessory. The first production run of the iDSD Diablo also includes iFi's iPurifier3 in the bundle – normally available for 129 Euros*. This adds up to a total accessory package worth around 300 Euros*.
iFi's iDSD Diablo is available since Friday, January 15* at an MSRP of around 1,000 Euros*.
*Availability, Prices and Offers for Germany.
