ifi-audio pro iCAN - any thoughts?

MSRP is $1699

Has gone on sale for $1200 a few times

That's 70% of MSRP, so pretty darned close to your criteria. Only $80 difference.

 

I get what you mean. Steely is a good way to put it. Interesting you consider the Mojo to be dark or warm, I had thought it to be mostly neutral, even though I did in fact purchase it because I thought it would be just a bit warm. Originally meant for it to soften up my HD700s, turned out to not be the case, as it seemed to simply drive them with more authority but didn't really change the sound signature.

Maybe my preferences are so out of the ordinary I'm not going to be able to get by on what others think, not sure. I do rather love a good soundstage and clarity, but I cannot stand any hint of artificial veneer that comes from overt brightness, "steely-ness", harshness or anything like that. I know it's possible to have life-like warmth, clarity, speed, stage & resolution, as I've heard it...it was an all-analogue two-channel setup in a boutique store. It was the best audio reproduction I've ever heard, but it was also worth considerably more than a decent house in some parts of the country. I suppose silly to chase that with headphones, but that's sort of been my goal.

I suppose another way to say what you've been saying is that nearly all the warmth in any chain you might prefer could easily come from the LCD4s alone, with the preference that every other component should be as close to neutral as possible? I guess what I'm still trying to figure out is which amp is most suited to the LCD4, as power is my largest concern right now. The DAC will be another decision, but that can be made in light of what amp I choose to use. But I need an amp currently more than I need a DAC, so that's why I'm starting there. In addition, even though the HD700s get very little play time, would be nice to have an amp that brings the best out of those as well.

 

I find it rolled off at the extremes, though I notice this more with IEMs, with the bottom end being lifted (at least as far down as it goes). I also find it lacks slam, and there are some treble issues. Compared to sources I consider neutral, it's definitely not that.

Beyond that ...

You asked what I thought ... I told you ... but it's not my money, nor my ears, and how I translate what you describe as your desired sound may be way off what you actually like. Having, or having had (since I no longer have a Mojo), that specific combination to play with it's just too dark, maybe even muddy, and I wouldn't even begin to describe it in the terms you now say you're aspiring to meet. I could only see doing it with the Pro iCAN in SS mode, even that might be a stretch, and even if not that to me is then overpriced for what it does.

Ragnarok, Pro iCAN, Moon 430HA, WA5-LE, Mjolnir 2, Jotunheim, Lyr 2, GSX Mk2 and host of others will all deliver more than enough power.

Really though, the only way to be sure is to try them - ideally with a variety of sources.

 

Thanks for all your input, really appreciate it. Didn't mean to drag this too far out of range, really was just looking for more of a comparison between Rag & iCan Pro, apologize for going too deep into the weeds with the additional gear questions.

 

This was a super helpful review and conversation. Appreciate the detail and time soent putting it all together.

 

I think the pro ican make sense if you have lots of different headphones and also need a totl preamp. with my Utopia, I like the tube + mode, with hd800 the xbass is mandatory and the tube + is really awesome. with my hd650, no need for xbass or tube mode.

also, the preamp in the pro ican is very good and im using it has a preamp to my shl5+ and I think its slightly better then my pass b1 pre amp. would love to know how the preamp in the pro ican compared to the schiit freya, but I think if it compares, the pro ican become quite a decent value since its a good headphone amp and preamp for speakers.

 

Finally caved and bought one, for the money it seemed like the best option. Also, given that I've wanted to see what R2R sounds like for a while now, I purchased a Modi Multibit as well to compliment it, some Wireworld interconnects and USB cable.

Since nothing ever comes easy, had a GPU driver issue with my old Mac Pro the last two days that prevented me from doing any listening right after it all got here. But will try to write something semi-valuable once I've had more time.

Modi Multibit has been on for about 3 days now, so it's all warmed up. For now, I can say that I'm very much liking what I'm hearing out of this chain with my LCD4s...exactly the tonality I'm looking for, Modi Multibit is doing an excellent job paired with it. No harshness, no hardness, no sheen, nothing....the night I got everything, I thought I heard a bit of that, but after some more warmup, I think it's fully settled in and all of that is gone.

I'm probably some sort of heretic, but the 3D XBass features actually can be fun to use with some tracks. For example, listening to a vinyl rip of Godspeed You! Black Emperor's Lift Your Skinny Fists and the 3D feature has added a bit to the soundstage without making anything in particular sound worse.

Haven't done a lot of listening in either of the tube modes yet, SS is already so nice. But I will definitely be doing that, especially with the HD700s...that could be a great pairing.

 

Thought I'd add this quickly -

I know *none* of you are stupid enough to own a pair of HD700s, but in case you do....the iCan/Modi Multibit combo has made mine sound far less HD700-y than I could possibly imagine. The ice pick treble is about as tamed as I imagine it could get, they have gained quite a bit of smoothness. This is with the stock 6.35 mm cable.

Obviously they don't have the same weight and smoothness that I get out of my LCD4s but they sure close the gap, about as good as these could sound I imagine. The soundstage is already fairly solid on the 700s, with this stack it isn't impacted at all, maybe even is a bit better vs. how they sounded with the Mojo, which may not surprise some of you.

 

Bought one of these today, after three auditions over the last year. Will post some more coherent thoughts tomorrow with a comparison against the Audio GD Master 9. So far though, impressions are very positive. Seems to have great clarity and do the tiny details very well. Having fun switching between the SS and tube modes. There seems to be more space around the instruments than with the Master 9, but I'm not really sure how to describe it.

 

Hey Guys,

When I was auditioning the Susvara yesterday, I was using the iFi Pro iCAN as the amp. This is the third time I have auditioned this amp, and it impressed me again. The shop had a slamming deal on an open box unit so I purchased it. I always thought that with the Pro iCAN it would be a case of jack of all trades, master of none, however, it appears this isn’t the case.

This amp is very feature rich. You can choose between SS, Tube, and Tube+ modes. There are the XBASS and 3D features, both of which are the best implementations of their kind I have heard from iFi. There are dual 3pin XLR outputs, a 4pin XLR output, two SE 1/4” outputs, a 3.5mm balanced output, and a 3.5mm SE output. Basically, you can connect most cables to this amp. Gain is selectable between 0,9,18db. The amp is pretty powerful at a peak output of 14,000mw but I’m not sure what its continuous output is. If I owned the HE6 I might want a bit more gain just incase and for headrooms sake, but apart from that this amp can pretty much run all headphones (minus electrostatic cans of course)

I own the iFi Micro iDSD BL as well, and this amp is similar in terms of features and sound. The Pro just seems to have more special sauce to it, and sounds better overall.

The comments below vs. the Master 9 were done in SS mode.

The Pro iCAN seems to be more what I’m looking for vs. The Master 9, and amp I already enjoy. The Pro has a little bit less bass presence though, which surprised me. The Master 9 sounds kind of congested and slow in comparison. The Pro has more clarity and better dynamics. The Pro also seems less “shouty” with vocals than the Master 9. All in all, I think I prefer the Pro.

Tube Mode: VS. SS mode, tube mode makes the soundstage seem more open, not wide, like there is more space around the instruments? Its hard to describe. Its not wet and gooey and mushy at all. Its very similar to SS mode, but takes a TINY bit of edge off the notes.

Tube+Mode: Takes everything you get with tube mode but is a bit rounder sounding. Has a bit more bass presence as well. I prefer tube mode to tube+ mode so far.

All in all, I’m really impressed with this amp. I was really getting kinda dissatisfied with the M9, its a real brute and powerhouse, but isn’t super refined sounding. This Pro iCAN has a bit more refinement, and better technicalities. Given the choice between the two, I reckon I would take the Pro iCAN.

 

Been enjoying my iCan Pro for about a year now. I swapped out the stock GE tubes with WE ones. I think the WE tubes is more resolving, the GE is too close to the SS imo. Currently using it as preamp as well for my First watt J2.

 

My impression of this little amp:
1. Very dark background and clean. I was not expecting this given the size of the unit, and the Swiss Army knife impression I initially had.
2. Soundstage is not big, similar to my Jotunheim. But way more depth and much more holographic. Instruments are very well isolated in the soundstage. Isolation and air around instrument is right up there with uber tube amps like my ECBA. This is one of the main strengths of this amp. Soundstage width to the left and right however is small, it could be restricting for some cans, fortunately not for the HD800, Susvara, HE1000 I tried. The deep and narrow nature of the soundstage makes the HD800 sound like a Utopia.
3. Synergy with the HD800 is pretty good. Tonality is right, the mid sound is dense and weighty, acoustic instruments like guitar and cello has nice body, weight and density. The mid is another strength of this amp. The high is subdued, more inline with HIFI of the old days, than that of the digital age. It makes the HD800 sound natural and musical.
4. My fav is Tube Mode, it's more relaxed than SS mode, less incisive, but more air and more natural.
5. Very transparent. Transparency is a criteria I use to judge high end components. Mid-fi components can sound detailed, dynamic, musical, but the best components simply disappear in the chain.
6. Fidelity is high. Detailed, but no detail monster like the HE9. Adequate.
7. Value for money. It's a YES to me. It simply produces high end sound: high fidelity, natural, transparent. Not one which sound big like the WA5 which wows when you put the headphones on, but it's a fine fine amp for music and one which will not leave me asking for more in technical aspects. I disagree with one user saying that it’s a jack of all trade and master of none. To my ears, it takes the transparency of the HE9, the separation of EC TOTL amp, the musicality of Schiit amps, the mids of WA5, and multiple by a factor of 0.90. Not the best in any category, but the whole package is good. The Jotunheim and LYR3 are no doubt better buy, given that they are 1/4 to 1/3 the price, but the iCan Pro is better in absolute terms. If you mainly use HD600/650 or 400i, the Schiit amps will serve you well, but if you have TOTL headphones, they deserve the iCan Pro or other Uber Amps.

 

I owned the Pro iCan for a while. Used with mostly the Metrum Onyx, ZMF Auteur, and HD650.

Short impressions.

I think it’s a very attractive looking amp with some neat features. Extremely clean sound and dead silent noise floor. Coming from the IHA-6 it was noticeably more quiet. Unfortunately I did not try the IEM output. I wish I had because I actually started to make use of the IEM output on the RME ADI-2 DAC recently.

I only found the bass boost option usable on the first setting. Nice sub bass boost that does not bleed into the mid bass. The other options were pretty ridiculous sounding at times.

The cross feed I also only found useful on the first setting. Beyond that there was a noticeable increase in brightness. Not really something I was looking for.

If you’d like to ruin the sound of virtually any headphone I would suggest maxing both the cross feed and bass boost.

The tube modes seemed to be basically a gimmick. I’m not saying there was no change. However, I felt the change was borderline placebo with the stock tubes. I understand that those with better ears may hear it differently.

All in all it’s a solid amp but a terrible value at list price. If you can get it around $1000 or less it’s worth a look assuming the features interest you. If the features don’t interest you I would look to the IHA-6 (less quiet but otherwise just as good) or Jotunheim instead. Perhaps the Gilmore Lite mk2 is also a good cheaper option. Haven’t tried it personally.

 

Has anyone here tried the iESL that hooks up to the iCAN Pro?

 

I don't know that I'd call the iCan "terrible value" at the price you can usually buy it at, maybe that's because I can hear a difference with the tubes, in fact "tube +" mode is extremely different, to my ears. I usually run mine in standard tube mode, as it seems to work best for what I like...although I do like the tiny bit of extra sharpness SS gives from time to time.

It is a dead silent amp, which is nice. And the power is awesome as well, I'm confident no more is needed for my LCD4s. I'm sure there's better out there, but for a lot more money as well. Bass boost can be mostly gimmicky, however on some tracks, you can successfully turn it up past the first level, just for fun. Some tracks, to be sure, it sounds terrible. I think it has a lot to do with how the track was mixed and mastered, same with the 3D adjustment. I generally stay away from that, although since I use it to pipe out audio for films & TV at times as well, and for games, it can be a nice adjustment to have. And, again, just for fun, sometimes it can be interesting to hear how a well-produced track sounds with it turned on.

Only thing I don't like about mine is the slightly noisy volume knob, once in a while I get some crackling when it's turned. Suppose that may be a warranty issue. Other than that, the thing has never put a foot wrong in the 13 months I've owned it, and my cans sound great out of it.

 

I could clearly hear the differences between all the 3 modes too. When I test a new component I always use my HD800, it’s the most sensitive pair of headphones towards the upstream components. In short, SS mode is more incisive and lively, Tube mode more relaxed and deeper, Tube+ Mode more bloom.

Like I said, value for money goes to Schiit Jotunheim/LYR3, Gustard H20 and several other amps. But I don’t think Ifi over charges for the ICan Pro. It’s clearly in a different league than both the Schiit amps. We can’t say it’s a bargain neither, as H20 which I consider in the same ballpark as the ICan Pro abeit pure SS, is half the price.

 

How have I missed this thread? Damn.

 

I wonder if there are enough stax guys here to create an iESL tour. The iCan + iESL seems an interesting pairing but impressions are few and far between.

(I'm just musing out loud; I wasn't actually a huge fan of the iCan when I reviewed it oh so many moons ago)

 

The Pro iDSD tour will start shortly, we'll wait and see how this turns out and we'll move from there.

That's perfectly fine. We appreciate any kind of feedback and the one we take on the chin with no tears involved.

 

And see, I respect you guys for taking that. I've reviewed other stuff before and have had some manufacturers insist on vetting the review before I posted it, or telling me that I needed to change certain phrases, or take "better" pictures, etc.