iFi audio iDSD Diablo Impressions

I'm not sure whether this thread or this thread is the correct one to continue impressions, but here goes --

Here's how I justified the iFi Diablo in my head:

1. I really enjoy my DAC at home (Bifrost 2; liked it so much I re-bought it 4 times)
2. I'm hybrid WFH and spend roughly half my working time in the office and could use a transportable for office time
3. I have little-to-no interest in standalone headphone amps; my two primary transducers (Andromedas and Stellia-driver'd Radiance) play best in the 1-3 ohm output impedance range with high sensitivity which is sort of no-man's land for awesome midrange amps
   • 3a: I already have an IEMatch (mostly for the Andromedas)

The recent "easter egg" re: 4.4mm balanced input for use as a standalone amp was an unexpected boon for me re: point 3. At home, I can plug into the BF2. I can un-plug it and take it to the office as a portable all-in-one rather than bothering with another office rig. It looks like iFi consciously designed for the standalone DAC case across the Signature and Diablo, but I was always more interested in usage as a standalone headamp bit.

My time has been limited so far, but I have a few initial reactions (vis-a-vis the original iFi Micro BL):

1. Good: As standalone amps fed by the BF2, the character of the Diablo seems to be more-dynamic, less-warm, more spacious and perceptibly more resolving vs. the Micro BL [NB: Micro BL runs 3.5mm input single-ended vs the Diablo's balanced input)
   • Seems to generally mirror the comparative sound characteristics between the Signature* and Diablo as DAC/amps by @ufospls2, so I wonder how much of the Diablo's benefits are from the DAC implementation vs. the amp implementation
     • *I'm still not convinced the Signature is meaningfully better than the outgoing Micro BL besides the 4.4mm S-Balanced output, but whatever
2. Bad: iFi not only increased the price by $100, but also surreptitiously removed the iPurifier 3 ($129 RRP) and replaced it with the same cheapo USB-A to USB-B adapter supplied on the cheaper nano/micro models
   • I can potentially buy it if they rationalize the iPurifier 3's decrapification doesn't meaningfully improve the Diablo, but it strikes me as a cost-cutting measure and I just don't like that it was silently removed without a new Diablo SKU
     • Since the USB-B-USB-A iPurifier 3 isn't actually sold by itself, maybe it was just a proof-of-concept that was liquidated to the first batches of Diablos -- but I dunno
   • Also kind of a bummer trawling for used units as with iFi gear everyone says "all accessories included" and almost never shows pics of those accessories
3. Good-ish: Like @jexby, getting plenty of usable range in the volume pot starting at around 9:15 for the imbalance to go away
   • To my utmost surprise, Eco gain is usable with the Andromedas (very slightly louder than I'd listen to) although 1) the sub-1ohm OI is not ideal for FR and 2) my eardrums would be toast if I so much as grazed the volume pot, so IEMatch probably still a must here
4. Good: The red paint is indeed not as garish in-person
   • Bad: The paint is much softer than that of the Micro BL, and easily picks up micro-scratches and nicks

I'll play around with it a bit more (i.e. as an office AIO) but so far so good for my niche use-case.

 

Additional impressions (also as AIO DAC/amp):

1. Turbo mode is definitely more dynamic and lively in either amp or DAC/amp modes (aligned with @purr1n's assessment), but even out of BF2 in my case it was too much of a good thing (as I suspect might be the case for most macrodynamically-slammin' Focals)
   • Normal is more dynamic still vs. Eco; I can't see much of a use for the latter unless you can't get usable volume with the higher gain modes
2. Vis-a-vis iFi Micro BL using USB input from the same PC, the Diablo seems to "lose more" as a DAC/amp vs. just as an amp
   • Phrased another way: the Diablo is not as much of a bottleneck between the BF2 and Stellia drivers as the Micro BL was; the Diablo amplification expresses upstream/downstream gear scaling significantly better
   • Also agree with the assessment of ~modded Modi MB resolution when used as a DAC/amp; wish it was a little better but will definitely do for office usage where the additional resolution would be neither noticed nor appreciated
   • As a standalone amp, Diablo is definitely somewhere between the Vali 2+ and DIY-T2 (sorry, only HP amps I've owned and meaningfully evaluated in the last 4-5 years)
3. Still think flexibility to use as a DAC/amp, DAC or amp changes the Diablo value prop relative to the Micro Signature and could be advertised more overtly given the competency here.
   • You can add an external IEMatch to whatever's connected to the Diablo (with only the $$ inconvenience), and DSP can achieve similar end-effects as XBass and 3D+ (even on mobile).
     You can't add balanced or SE analogue input to the Micro Signature, so the Diablo's fewer buttons/switches are misleading for its relative versatility.
   • Diablo might be a pretty decent value at ~$650 (or less) used, as routinely available, if you can make use out of the flexibility

 

Awesome, thanks a lot!