Introduction

The British audio brand iFi Audio is most known for its variety of DACs and headphone amplifiers at various price points. It has released quite a few products recently too, including portable Bluetooth DAC/amps such as the GO blu we saw before, in addition to more hefty and powerful portable sources such as the excellent micro iDSD Signature. Common to both, and indeed all of iFi's product lineup, is the use of analog signal processing and no software / app controls. The company would rather show off its engineering prowess with customization settings onboard the device itself. These include options such as XBass and XSpace that are neat to try and enhance the user experience for many, and another thing common between them is the use of Burr-Brown DACs that tend to play a slightly warmer sound signature—at least in the more mainstream lineup—compared to the likes of the ESS and AKM DACs used in sources coming out of China. All three iFi reviews on TechPowerUp thus far have been on portable sources and today we go all the way up to iFi's flagship desktop DAC/amp.


The iFi Pro iDSD Signature is not your everyday DAC/amp, and indeed calling it just that would be doing it a disservice. As with the FiiO R7 we recently checked out, this is also a network streamer in addition to offering legitimate professional use case I/O and functionality that makes it a great fit for a music recording and mixing studio just as much it would be at the top of an audiophile's dream source chain. Don't expect to see XBass here or even a warm-tilting sound, the Pro iDSD Signature is more about delivering to you the best possible audio quality in various formats. There's a quad-stack DAC inside in addition to both solid state transparency and vacuum tube synergy. This is an update to iFi's Pro iDSD DAC and, while there are headphones outputs anAd potentially enough power for most headphones, iFi released this in late 2021 alongside the Pro iCAN Signature for those who want a stack which does it all. While we do not have the latter here, there is already so much to cover with the Pro iDSD Signature that it took me a couple of months to fully appreciate everything. Thanks to iFi for loaning a review unit to TechPowerUp and we begin with a look at the product specifications in the table below.

Specifications

Packaging and Accessories: iFi iPower Elite

Keep in mind that this review sample of the iFi Pro iDSD Signature has been passed around from reviewer to reviewer, so the state and nature of this unboxing experience may slightly differ from the retail package. What does not change is that you will get a big, bulky parcel comprising of a large external cardboard sleeve over two separate boxes. On the front is the iFi logo in gold lettering—get used to this—and the same goes for the product name with its salient features mentioned before. There's a render of the device seen on the side and the expected Hi-Res Audio logo too. More features, specifications, and renders are seen on the back and sides before we realize it's time to get those two boxes out for a closer examination.


Ah, the smaller box is iFi's iPower Elite, an external power supply that sells for $299 by itself. A lot of high-end DACs and amplifiers go this route to separate any power-related noise and thermal concerns from the audio section in addition to having enough room to clean up said power input to the source itself. The product box is more subtle but follows the same design trend as before. We see right away that the iPower Elite comes in a few different operating voltage options and this particular version is rated for 15 V to no doubt match the input on the Pro iDSD Signature itself. Marketing features and product specs are on the back and sides again and I appreciate the different renders showing the product in various angles. Sliding out the inner cardboard box reveals a two-piece packaging here too with more iFi logos throughout. Remove the lid to find the iPower Elite snugly packed between thick foam and inside a foam wrap for added protection. The other accessories are separately placed on the side, including paperwork in the form of a warranty guide.


The white adapter seen above comes in a separate zip-lock bag and is meant to reverse the polarity of the output plug integrated on the iPower Elite cable. I am not sure what the other black ones are supposed to do since they are not mentioned in the product page either, and I did not use them in my testing. This UK version ships with a 1.5 m long AC mains cable that terminates in a 3-prong UK adapter.


The iFi iPower Elite measures in at 15 x 5.5 x 5 cm and weighs 550 g, outside of the cable anyway, so it is on the smaller side of average for external power supplies that are also marketed as much as this gets while costing more than some entire DAC and amp stacks. But don't let its size mislead you as, if anything, it is an excellent low-noise power supply which doesn't take up much room and can be easily concealed as needed. The top and sides are composed of a unibody aluminium chassis that is machined with fins to also act as a heatsink, with a cutout towards the top to host the iFi logo applique in gold to better match the Pro iDSD Signature design. A bronze-colored sheet metal frame wraps around the back and sides with product specs and certification info seen here along with confirmation of the unit being assembled in China to designs taken from iFi's parent company AMR Audio. A sleeved 1 m long cable juts out the side that uses oxygen-free high thermal conductivity (OFHC) copper conductor and terminates in the output plug headed to the Pro iDSD Signature, whereas the other side has the expected 3-prong receptacle for the AC mains cable.


After all testing was completed, I wanted to see what's inside the iPower Elite. Disassembly is simply enough with four screws on the side holding the frame in place but then there's more tape and shielding to where, given the nature of this product, I did not proceed further. We do get a teardown from iFi that goes over the various components used, including the low leakage transformer, power MOSFET, the 60 W high performance adaptive multi-mode controller, and much more. There's also ANC inside, although it's to do with cleaning up any electrical noise rather than ambient audio noise itself. Given this is not a review of the power supply, I'll link this tech briefing here for those interested and simply point out that it provides 15 V and 3.5 A (52.5 W max) to the Pro iDSD Signature with a noise floor of <1 µV.