iFi audio iDSD Diablo Impressions

I’m not defending the price. But pricing also has a lot to do with the cost of R&D and manufacture (the total cost of making the item) and the total number of units sold. Sure, iFI is popular in audiophile circles but that doesn’t necessarily translate into high sales in general.

the biggest reason TOTL amps and DACS cost several thousand is because of how few units are sold. Take the amount spent on R&D plus manufacturing costs. Add the profit you need to make for it to be sustainable or worthwhile and then divide by the number of units that will be sold. This simple math is what makes TOTL amps and some DACs so expensive. They sell very few of them.

 

I find the Ifi house sound not a great match with the JVCs as it bloats the bass a bit much. The Fiio M11 Pro is a good combination; highlights the tight/speedy JVC bass but doesn't bloat it, it mellows down the mids around 4khz (AKM velvet actually helps here) and improves the high frequencies (the fiio is a touch forward here so it complements the slightly subdued fdx1 treble).

Unless the Diablo has a drastic signature change to the ifi black series then it's worth a try

 

Any comparisons vs ifi nano black, RME ADI2 or ifi iDac 2? The price is high so I wonder how competitive it is sound quality wise nowadays.. perhaps ifi can chime in if they think iDac 2 is superior SQ wise (DAC line out specifically)

 

how bout if you want a portable package that enables you to take your high end hard to drives HP's with you?...sounds like an important market segment to me

 

personally I always thought a mercedes shouldnt cost more than 20K...

 

I wonder if the micro BL will drop in price... been wanting one

 

Well, we have one thing in common. I have an asshole. You are an asshole. There’s that.

 

It will be discontinued and its official price won't go down, but our distributors might do their own promos

 

Diablo....

from normal



To WTF



In 5.6 seconds!

seriously though I’m still amazed that a $900 transportable dac/amp won’t work with sensitive iem’s. It would be cool to use with orthos outside in the garden or at a park or something but $900 is a lot for such a narrow use. It means I’d need a DAP for iem’s as well. So the total starts approaching 1.5-2k for a portable rig.

 

I agree, I think they lost the plot a little with the diablo - it's portable but I can't use it with IEMs (Andromeda), it offers desktop quality sound but is more expensive than competing products and doesn't offer full desktop features (like variable line out), it doesn't offer the swiss army knife features of OG IDSD black, I will never use my hard to drive headphones on the move - don't need the battery. I appreciate the effort was made to improve the sound quality, but for the price it has too much competition - there are many other small AIOs (without battery) that can look nice on a minimal desk setup and offer excellent and possibly better sound quality.

At the moment I found a Chord Qutest discounted for similar price as the Diablo, if the ifi SQ is comparable then I will eat my words but I have no way of demoing.

 

Specifically for iEMs we have our X range.

 

@iFi audio dont get me wrong I like your Nano BL and micro BL and think the removal of 3D and bass boost is nice to see.

but the color is hideous and without an ultra low gain or IeMatch setting for sensitive iem’s it’s essentially a not very portable portable amp for not very portable headphones. For $900. That’s pretty damn niche. I would use it with orthos out in the garden like I said. And I’d love that. If I had tons of cash to throw around. Maybe I’ll wind up wanting to do that enough and ignore the color and eat my words... and maybe you’ll release a Diablo BL.

 

Thanks!

Although I understand that red won't float everyone's boat, quite a few people like it. Plus, we couldn't use black

Although iDSD Diablo might look like a niche transportable DAC/amp, it was made because there was a demand for such a product

At some point we might, but first we'd have to find a way how to significantly improve iDSD Diablo and have it similarly sized, which isn't easy.

 

@iFi audio i love your participation in this forum! Makes me want to throw money at you guys! So I guess that means you’re doing a good job personally. Though the ads that are way off their target audience are funny here.

 

The Diablo I heard while bicycling up Teton Pass was yellow. Just sayin...

Lambos and Diablos work better in colors that aren't stereotypically sports car red. Lambo yellow or Lambo green or Lambo orange or even white works better for a Diablo than red. I have also heard a black Lambo Gallardo drive by me in Seattle and was not so impressed. Maybe because it was in suburban traffic instead of powering up a mountain pass.

 

Thank you, that's much appreciated and we'll gladly take your money

 

my point was simply to say there is a market for things and if people are willing to pay the price then that is the going rate...we all want things we buy to be cheaper....as for your nasty comments...so be it

 

check your sbaf inbox. I sent you an apology.

edit: it was sent weeks ago. Here it is for your convenience:


may have mistaken your meaning in the IFi diablo thread. If so, then I apologize for my harsh reply.

Grattle, Jan 19, 2021