The Devil in Detail

Devilishly brilliant

The iDSD Diablo, with its sleek new design and fiery red finish, sits proudly at the top of our portable/transportable DAC/amp lineup. It's built for purists - the true headphone enthusiasts who crave pure, unadulterated sonic performance.

Like a race car designed for speed, the iDSD Diablo sets aside sonic tailoring as well as Bluetooth connectivity to focus on pure sonic power. Get ready for an invigorating ride as you'll drive any headset on the planet.

Simply put, the iDSD Diablo is our best transportable amplifier ever designed to deliver reference-level sound.

'Bit-perfectly' crazy

We use two BURR-Brown DAC chips and the new 16-core XMOS chip to process data received via USB and S/PDIF digital inputs.

This means the diablo iDSD can handle up to PCM 768, DSD 512, 2xDXD. Both PCM and DSD remain "bit-perfect".

Positively pure

Distinctive, balanced analog circuit design reduces noise and cross talk within the signal path by fully separating the left and right channels.

iDSD Diablo benefits from further refinements to our balanced and symmetric double-single topologies with short, direct signal paths. Called PureWave.

Negative feedback is used in amplifier circuits to compare the output signal to the input signal and correct errors, iFi turns negatives into positives with OptimaLoop.

Devilishly dynamic

Capable of driving all types of headphones with ease, the iDSD Diablo delivers up to 5000mW of prodigious power, propulsive energy and immersive dynamics, along with a remarkable ability to resolve texture and fine detail.

With 3 configurations:

Turbo - boosts drive level for current-hungry headphones

Normal - for most headphones

Eco - decreases power to suit high sensitivity in-ear monitors

Power that does not corrupt.

iDSD Diablo's focus on pure, unadulterated performance means that a lot of attention has been applied to the power circuitry.

The battery provides ultra-clean and stable DC current, avoiding the problems of grid electricity - dips, spikes and noise-induced RFI/EMI pollution. But there are sonic disadvantages resulting from low output voltage and inconsistent output impedance such as battery discharge.

These issues are fully addressed by the iDSD Diablo design.

To make less efficient headphones like magnetic, the voltage needs to be stepped up from 3.7V to +/- 15V. We use an up-converter running at 1.2MHz - a frequency well beyond audibility that is easier to filter than a typical switch-mode supply, allowing for high linearity and ultra-low noise.

Formula 1, iFi style.

High-bandwidth power circuitry is dedicated to each critical part of the iDSD Diablo design, with independent linear regulation that provides excellent PSRR (Power Supply Rejection Ratio) performance.

The headphone amplifier stage eschews IC regulators in favor of Panasonic OS-CON capacitors, providing 2320uF between them.

The DAC section benefits from an ultra-low noise regulator with additional passive filtering, reducing harmonic distortion.

Even the USB input stage benefits from dedicated regulation and multi-stage filtering, and the microprocessor control circuit (often a local source of digital noise) also has separate regulation.

Walking with the Devil...

On the front of the unit, along with a standard 6.3mm single-power headphone jack, resides a 4.4mm Pentaconn headphone jack that offers a balanced connection.

On the back there are two digital audio inputs: USB-A and an S/PDIF socket that accepts electrical and optical signals, the first via a 3.5mm connector and the second via a supplied adapter.

The USB-A input features a 'male' connector rather than a typical 'female' port for greater mechanical integrity. A separate USB-C charging port is also provided, along with a 4.4mm pentaconn balanced output for connecting to an external amplifier.

Accessories galore

As befits a reference-level product, we've included a host of accessories in a luxurious travel case, the iTraveller.

As the iDSD Diablo can be powered from the mains as well as by its built-in battery, we have included our super silent and canceling iPower 5V AC/DC adapter to ensure great sound quality.

Also included is a pentaconn 4.4mm balanced to XLR interconnect cable for connecting the diablo iDSD to an amplifier and speakers (or a pair of active speakers) with balanced XLR inputs

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Other connectors provided include a high-quality USB-A audio cable, a USB-A-USB-C charging cable, and an adapter for connecting headphones with a 3.5mm jack to the 6.3mm single-line output

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Digital inputs	USB 3.0 type 'A' (USB2. 0 compatible) S-PDIF (3.5mm coaxial/optical)
Supported formats	DSD512/256/128/64 Octa/Quad/Double/Single-SpeedDSD DXD (768/705.6/384/352.8kHz) Dual/Single-Speed ​​DXD PCM (768/705.6/384/352.8/192/176.4/ 96/88.2/48/44.1 kHz) MQA (Decoder) Frequency Response
SNR	Balanced -120db S-E -114dB
Dynamic range	Balanced 120dB S-E 114dB
THD + N	Balanced 0.0002% S-E 0.001%
Maximum headphone output	Balanced>19.2V/611 mW (@ 600 Ohnn) >12.6V/4,980 mW (@ 32 Ohm) S-E >9.6V/153 mW (@ 600 Ohm) >8.8V/2,417 mW (@ 32 Ohm)
Fixed audio output	Balanced 4.4mm
Energy consumption	Turbo 12W Normal 5W Eco 2W
Battery	Lithium Polymer 4800mAh
Power system	Charging via USB-C (iFi iPower included) BC V1. 2 compliant up to 1900mA charging current
Dimensions	166 x 72 x 25 mm
Weight	330g