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发表于 2018-9-28 14:41
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来自 广东省东莞市
Pros - Fun, excellent technicality and details, silent background, well-priced, well-built, clean clear sound, powerful, flexible, well implemented extra features, generous accessories.
Cons - The carrying pouch is a dust magnet, transportable and hard to use on the go because of the size and long shape, not pocket able. Features can be overwhelming when you get into it.
DISCLAIMER
Hi everyone, Before I start the review, I would like to thank Ifi for making this DAC/AMP.
This review is made by myself based on my observation and listening pleasure of The amp/dac on various gear that I have after about a bit over a month of ownership regardless of price points.
I have no affiliation to Ifi in any way and everything said here is based on my experience over a week.
The pricing in Australia is 799.95 AUD (About 620 USD, converted by Google, not official price), so the review will be made using that as the value.
This Review will also touch on the difference between the micro and the nano, and whether it is worth it to get the micro over the nano.
INTRODUCTION (If you read my other review, you can skip this)
I'm an Indonesian working as a Web Developer in Melbourne, Australia.
Other than programming/coding, listening to music is another one of my hobby.
When I start my headphone hobby, music listening has been a very rewarding experience for me and has helped me in many aspects of life other than music enjoyment, but, with the booming price of high end headphones/IEM, it has become a bit of a heavy hit on my wallet.
Starting from almost 4 years ago I've been really hooked by metal music, and nowadays my everyday music listening always incorporate metal tracks, I guess you can call me a Metal-head.
Other than that I also like Progressive Rock, Jazz, etc basically anything that is very technical and well made except classical, and no I don't really listen to modern music.
Metal music is my primary focus, so this review will appeal more for people who likes Metal music like me and less so for people who likes modern music like Trap music, pop music, ed sheeran, Taylor Swift, etc.
I don't actually listen to all kinds of music, lets say for example Classical, therefore it is important to understand that this review is based on my observation on the kinds of musics I like, and those are mainly:
- Metal (many kinds, mainly the extreme kind, like 80% off the time)
- Rock (mostly Porcupine Tree, Steven Wilson, Riverside(rock/metal), Radiohead or something like it)
- EDM (Mostly trance)
- Jazz (Norah Jones, Diana Krall and the likes)
- Folk (just start lately, but I've been listening to Fionn Regan and found it enjoyable)
- Indonesian Song (it's basically the Indonesian version of pop, guitar used is mostly acoustic guitar, sounds natural and relaxing however, mastering of the song is usually poor, this is good to test how good a headphone/Iem handle poorly recorded material)
- etc
Genre's that I don't listen to, not even one bit, unless forced like in shopping center.
- Rap
- Classical
- Bollywood stuff
- Modern pop
GEAR USED
- Meze 99 Classic
- Focal Utopia
- Shozy Stardust
- Fiio X7 II
- Violectric HPA v281
ARTIST/MUSIC USED IN THE REVIEW
- Porcupine Tree
- Be'lakor
- Opeth
- Shadow Gallery
- Cynic
- Lurker Of Chalice
- Amorphis
- Novembre
PACKAGING
Simple white box, containing the unit and 2 more white boxes inside containing USB cable and rubber bands for stacking, you will also find some documentation in there, simple and clean packaging.
A lot of accessories is packaged in the box, neatly and well organized.
ACCESSORIES
- USB adapter (USB to USB-A)
- Blue USB cable for digital input
- 3.5mm to 1/4 inch adapter
- RCA to RCA cable (Ifi Micro to your amp, unbalance in)
- 3.5mm to 3.5mm cable (for stacking your DAC to the AMP section of the Micro)
- Optical/Toslink adapter
- USB-A Female to USB-B Female short adapter
- Black carrying pouch case
- 2 black rubber amp straps for "stacking"
- Extra rubber feet (4, white in color)
- Rubber insert mat for stacking (It will stay in between your device so that it doesn't rub each other and causes scratches)
- Documentations and warranty
I/O
- 1/4 inch headphone out
- RCA unbalance out
- 3.5mm unbalance In
- USB digital In
- USB "smartpower" charging in
- SPDIF In/Out
PLAYBACK ABILITIES / SOUND ENHANCEMENT
- MQA
- DSD playback
- XBass
- 3D +
BATTERY LIFE
About 8 hours depending on loads
BUILD QUALITY
Excellent! Metal Chassis, with great Black Matte finish, screwed together nice and tight.
Switches are great and tactile, volume pot with good resistance, USB and headphone Jacks have a secure feel to them when you connect your devices.
SOUND QUALITY
SOUND SIGNATURE
It is quite neutral, with a little bit of boost and coloration in the bass department, so the bass has a lot of power and attack, however unlike the typical bass elevated signature, where the overall sound can have some lushness to it, this Micro is not like that at all, the amount of body is about straight in the middle of being thin and lush.
The mids is slightly recessed especially the vocal and upper mid and Treble are about right in line with each other with about the same amount of emphasis and straight down the middle in the body department, I feel that it has a slight rise in the upper mids but nothing too major, due to this personality, the Micro has the benefit of being clinical without sounding sterile, where the details pop but still musical.
BASS
The Bass is powerful but tight, the attack are strong, and this combine with very fast blast beat in metal music makes for an excellent combination. The distinction of each hits are apparent, you can almost feel the physicality of the play and it is very engaging. I really like the bass interpretation of the Micro, it has the speed, attack and tightness that enables you to hear notes as fast as this with very minimal effort.
The Bass is slightly boosted, I feel that it is a couple DB more than the mids and treble at any volume level, and this is without XBass, it is also slightly more forward to you, although not by much, so positioning is almost spot on for me.
Despite the slight boost, it has never intrudes the mids at all, I think the tuning of the bass is spot on, it combines very well with the mids and treble, and when all spectrum is playing together in the music, nothing takes over, you can everything that is going on and gives the music cohesiveness.
MIDS
The mids is very natural sounding with some slight clinical tilt to it, listening to violin work of Ne Oblivisacris is a very enjoyable experience, It almost feel a little thin sounding, but not really so, to put it simply, it is just about right to hear all the intricacies before sounding thin while staying smooth.
The mids is slightly more laid back as compared to the bass, but it is only slightly and does not sound recess at all, positioning is good, singer comes out about in the center stage, depending on the recording.
Vocals are natural and is slightly relaxed in presentation, a bit behind the guitar I would say, Amorphis use both clean and harsh vocals in their music, and on the clean vocals side, it sounds clean and smooth, and dare I say a little sweetness in it, slightly mellow and syrupy to portray the emotion.
When transitioning to the harsh vocals, it still remains smooth without harshness and the growl is powerful and guttural, portraying the rage and stronger more raw emotion in the music.
When two singers sing together, I can hear the distinction very clearly and they don't cover each other up which says a lot about the resolving ability the unit has.
When hearing string instruments, you can feel the string as it is being pluck by the player, there is a little "jolt" that can be heard and the sound transition naturally to the decay, the decay is quick but not abrupt, which means that the micro handles reverb very well.
Talking about the guitar, it has an excellent amount of bites, and combines well with the layered sounding distortion, that at times sounds big and grand enveloping the atmosphere.
The guitar tone is very natural both for electric and acoustic guitar, as a metal music fan, I'm a massive addict when it comes to electric guitar sound and I really enjoy the presentation that the Micro offers in this regard.
TREBLE
The treble is flat starting from the upper mid, which is a little behind the bass in emphasis, the rise start in the frequency where the guitar usually lives.
After passing this region, it goes flat, maybe very slightly more so it can get a little bit exciting.
This is quite similar as in the nano, but not as prominent and instead of dipping after the upper mid, the micro stays flat.
Guitar Solo shines when it needs to be, trebly guitar has some sweetness into it and sounds very melodic without sounding thin and sharp, a lot of Melodic death metal music can benefits from this.
Unlike the Nano, the treble is quite linear and is not tamed at the upper region, at least not as much to my ears. Cymbals and Hi-hats are heard clearly and is not in the background, it is not the sparkly type, so don't expect super sparkly treble here.
I think going for the approach that they did in the bass and mids, this is an excellent decision, as we want to keep the general sound clean and fatigue free, too much tizz and spark can reduce haziness to the sound.
If you are a treble addict, I feel that the 3D feature despite being marketed to increase soundstage actually did some trickery to the treble and makes the whole sound brighter, so you might want to try that.
SOUND STAGE / SEPARATION
Sound stage is about average for a unit at this price range, although this is a bit hard for me to test as all my headphone are not the best in sound stage, and I'm also not a big sound stage addict.
The amount of width, height and depth is very close, so this is the #D spherical type as opposed to the nano which I think is more oval in shape.
Regardless, Instrument separation is great, nothing overlap each other, they just do their own thing and play harmoniously.
EXTRA FEATURES:
We have a lot of these, just look at this switches everywhere:
IEMatch (Off, High Sensitivity, Ultra sensitivity)
I didn't play around with this much, I did try the High sensitivity and the off one, I feel some differences in the blackness of the background just like I did in the nano, I leave this on almost all the time.
When going from High to ultra, after volume matching by ears, I feel that there is no difference whatsoever, if there is any it would be too small for me to catch with my current gears as I'm not an IEM user.
XBass + (Off, On)
Does it work? Yes!, Does it work Well? also yes.
I think it mostly does the work on the sub-bass as I feel the kick and rumble of the music much more when I have this on.
I think this feature works very well, although I would like one more level between on and off as I feel that the strong can be a bit on the strong side when left on all the time.
I'm not a bass addict and mostly content with the bass I get from the off set up.
However the implementation of this feature is excellent, I heard nothing weird going on in the bass while having this on, no distortion, no boominess and no softness to it.
The attack still remain strong just with more weight and loudness to it.
This feature is also really useful for playing games and movies, when you turn it on the sound of explosion, gunshot just becomes more powerful and more exhilarating.
I think the XBass is the most useful feature out of all the features the unit has.
3D + (Off, On)
Does it work? Yes!, Does it work well? depends.
This is where it can be a little experimental, I found that they approach this by doing something to the treble, which makes the presentation sound more lively and has a bigger scope of view.
For comparisons sake, we will using a clock as our 360 degree point of view:
When listening to Lighbulb sun from Porcupine tree, the guitar sounds like it's coming from the left around 10.30 in direction, with the 3D on, it sounds like it's coming from 9.30 in direction, plus the treble becomes more lively and brighter. I found that in the lightbulb sun record, it works quite well.
However when I play some Opeth or other metal songs, maybe due to the guitar distortion having a lot of distortion already, the brightness and extra liveliness makes the guitar sounds artificial, as it now sounds too distorted, it loses the cohesiveness and just doesn't sound good at all to me, at least for Metal.
I mostly have this feature off due to my music preference being mostly metal in this review, but I think if you listen to a lot of rock music, you might want to try this.
Extra notes on XBass & 3D (+ some analysis for use case):
Turning this on will skew the tonal balance as you may already know, but the amount changes depending on your listening level.
For example if you are allow level listener, I feel that the amount of boost that the XBass adds to the bass is most likely a fixed number, let's say + 6db.
This means that it will always add 6db regardless of your volume, for example:
You listen to music at 60db, + XBass + 6 db, so the bass boost is 10% in decibel
You listen to music at 80db, + XBass + 6 db, so the bass boost is 7.5% in decibel (you get less boost in percentage compared to 60db volume listening level)
Bottom line is, you get more bass boost at low volume level, and don't forget that decibel is a logarithmic measurement, 1db increase means 10 times louder in sound.
Similar thing could apply to the 3D Natrix, although I think that they work in a different way.
This is actually quite common in other portable amplifier as well, as they usually add a fixed amount to increase the intended frequency, usually the bass.
*notes:
If some has a better understanding on this than me, feel free to enlighten me in the comments, this is just my observation, I could be wrong.
Power Mode (Turbo, Normal, Eco)
This sets how much power the unit use on default, lets say if you use IEMs you may need to go with eco mode, as the ifi documentation say:
"Tip: With a new pair of IEMs/Headphones, ALWAYS start
with the volume no higher than 9 o' clock and with the
Power Mode set to ‘Eco’"
I mostly use the unit in normal power mode.
Polarity (-, +)
I had no idea about this one, I assume it might have something to do with the dynamic transition, I had it on all the time.
Filter (Standard, Minimum Phase, Bit Perfect)
I had it in bit perfect phase all the time, as most of my music is PCM, according to iFi:
"Tip: For PCM we recommend ‘Bit-Perfect’ for listening and
‘Standard’ for measurements. For DSD, select
Extreme/Extended/Standard to find the one that sounds
best for listening and ‘Standard Range’ for
measurements."
Pre-amplifier output
I didn't use this at all, so no comments here.
COMPARISONS
Fiio X7 II
The Fiio X7 II is a good little unit, it is a DAP that I'm currently using on the go now as I grew tired of stacking.
The X7 II I feel has a more neutral sound signature, the mids is a little more forward than the BL, where it is slightly recessed.
However after using both units, I'm confident to say that the Ifi Micro beats the X7 II in power and dynamic, the bass has a stronger attack and treble more defined.
Other than that I also feel that they have a different sound stage, I feel the Micro is more spherical compared to the X7 II, cohesiveness is really close, both are cohesive all the way through the frequencies, where the sound just envelop around you.
The question is, is the BL strong enough to make me give up the X7 II?
the answer is no, the X7 II just have way more functionality for an all in one device, no stacking around with cable, can act as transport, and the sound is really closely match.
Chord Mojo
I used to own one, and back in the day the chord mojo and the ifi Micro has a fierce rivalry!
I have sold my chord mojo probably last year, so I can't do a direct comparison on it, however the iFi micro BL has a different sound signature and feel from the mojo, the mojo was warmish and more lush, details are there but due to it's sound signature, the mojo can sound less detailed compared to the BL, I personally like the BL better, the mojo wins hands down with portability though, the BL is transportable but too bulky too use while on the move.
The BL to me just sounds cleaner and details pop a little bit better, soundstage is slightly bigger and sounds more cohesive.
iFi Nano BL
The nano is more geared and focused on music enjoyment that is fatigue free.
Due to this the the treble is more subdued compared to the Micro, where it can gat a bit exciting at times.
Both are smooth at the top, however one has more emphasis is brighter than the other, if you are very sensitive to treble, you may want to test the Micro before buying the unit.
For long hours use, it might be safer to get the nano if you are unsure about the Micro's treble.
Details, clarity, cohesiveness and bass tightness is superior on the Micro, the bass attack, mids naturalness has some upgrades too but not significant.
POWER OUTPUT / HEADPHONE PAIRING
This unit is extremely flexible, I have no doubt that it is powerful enough to power through everything from IEM to full sized, except maybe the HE-6, which I don't have so I can't test this for sure.
Meze 99 Classic
My on the go set up. I'm still using the small pads on my meze 99 classic as I think the bigger pads has more bass.
Good strong dynamic, with clear mids and controlled treble, bass attack is strong and punchy with good speed, it synergize well with the BL.
Focal Utopia
My main gear at home, the BL powers it up perfectly, unlike the Nano BL where I can feel that my Utopia is not performing at its max, the Micro BL certainly brings out the potential of the headphone.
Cohesiveness and details are the strong point in this set up, you just hear everything in the music, from the guitar plucks, violin strokes, voice vibration, absolutely lots of information you can hear with this combo!
Shozy Stardust
Clear sweet unoffensive sound with controlled treble and excellent bass for a small earbud, for a super lazy set up this works pretty well.
I mostly use this to watch movies, play games etc.
AS DAC
When used with my V281, along with my focal Utopia, The BL did an excellent job, the Violectric HPA V281 just takes cohesiveness, separation and attack to the next level, my utopia sounds very dynamic and smooth.
More natural sounding mid that sounds vivid and personal.
Treble sounds more refined, and controlled, very enjoyable to listen to.
Sound signature is very similar to using the BL asa standalone, this leads me to believe that the amp section of the BL is quite transparent.
结论
Ifi.iDSD BL是一个优秀的单元，对我而言，这个产品的主要职责是便于携带，您可以离开您办公室的单元在工作，只是每天使用它，同时做一些生产力的工作。
音质的价格范围是优秀的，它有很多功能，有时可能过火，但你不需要使用它！
电池寿命很好，配件非常大方。
定价是好的，考虑到上面所有这些额外的因素和它的表现，我觉得它是有道理的。
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发表于 2018-9-28 14:27
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