iFi iDSD Diablo 2 Portable DAC Amplifier

iFi iDSD Diablo 2 Portable DAC Amplifier

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Diablo 2
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£1,299

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iFi iDSD Diablo 2 Portable DAC Amplifier

Features

  • Multiple operational modes of either pure DAC or DAC/headphone amp
  • Powered by battery or mains with iPower 2 power supply included
  • High-capacity lithium-ion battery provides long runtime despite extreme amp power
  • Supplied with Diablo 2 desktop stand and custom-made travel case
  • World’s first Lossless Bluetooth portable DAC/AMP
  • Compatible with xMEMS micro-speaker technology
  • Normal, Turbo, and Nitro: 3 gain modes
  • Optimised output for high-sensitivity headphones/IEMs
  • Balanced, symmetrical dual mono topologies

Specifications

Description

iDSD Diablo 2

Heavenly Sound. Devilish Power.

The Diablo 2, dressed in Devilish Red, succeeds the Diablo-X, boasting a slew of enhancements such as increased headphone output power, support for lossless Bluetooth codecs, xMEMS technology, iEMatch, a USB-C input, improved circuitry, and more.

As an audiophile, you likely use different systems for home and mobile setups. The Diablo 2 offers the best of both worlds with its powerful 5,180mW output and balanced dual-mono circuitry, making it the most powerful headphone amplifier of its size.

Diabolical Innovation. Shattering Boundaries.

The Diablo 2 is the world’s first portable DAC/Amp with Bluetooth 5.4, it supports aptX Lossless, the only Bluetooth codec for lossless CD-quality streaming without sacrificing audio quality.

The predecessor of Diablo 2 pioneered support for xMEMS solid-state micro-speaker technology, enhancing (IEM) and headphone performance with several unique benefits:

A 15µsec mechanical response, 150 times faster than typical drivers.

A 2° flat phase response for precise sound and precise +/- 1° phase matching for enhanced spatial sound accuracy.

A speaker diaphragm made of silicon, 95 times stiffer than plastic, reducing speaker break-up and delivering clearer mid-high frequencies.

Due to the high voltage requirements of xMEMS, iFi has partnered with them to integrate this technology into the new Diablo 2. It utilises the piezoelectric effect to create paper-thin solid-state speakers by converting electrical energy into mechanical energy, exciting an integrated silicon membrane to generate powerful acoustic sound waves for enhanced audio output.

“It’s got a NOS fogger system and a T4 Turbo, Dominic.”

Struggling with your power-hungry headphones? Press the NOS button, and our Diablo goes into beast mode. The Diablo 2 offers three power modes: Normal for IEMs, Turbo for mid-sensitivity headphones, and Nitro for demanding headphones, boasting a 19.2V maximum output.

A switch underneath activates iFi’s iEMatch technology. This feature is tailored for high-sensitivity headphones and earphones, greatly benefiting your in-ear monitors (IEMs). It removes background noise and increases the usable volume range.

The Diablo 2 accommodates a wide range of headphones, from IEMs to power-hungry over-ears. It features a 6.3mm single-ended headphone socket and a 4.4mm balanced output. Additionally, a 3.5mm to 6.35mm adapter is included for versatile connectivity.

Ruling all Bluetooth codec and music formats.

The Diablo 2 features the latest Bluetooth 5.4 technology, supporting the new aptX Lossless codec, which provides a maximum bitrate of 1,200kbps. In comparison, aptX Adaptive has a maximum bitrate of 420kbps, while LDAC offers a higher bitrate of 990kbps.

The Diablo 2 used Qualcomm’s new QCC518x Bluetooth audio chip, is qualified to Bluetooth 5.4, supported all* Bluetooth formats including: aptX Lossless, aptX Adaptive, aptX, LDAC, LHDC/HWA, AAC and SBC.

*As of 10 Nov 2023. Check your device for Bluetooth codec support.

Dual Core Burr Brown chipset provides Bit-Perfect DSD and PCM support at sample rates up to 768kHz, DSD512, and Full MQA decoding. Even as Spotify is moving towards Lossless, don’t get left behind.

Wings of Inferno.

The Diablo 2 comes with four wings that you can customise to position it horizontally, like a desktop DAC/amp, or vertically to save space.

Additionally, it features twenty-two rails for improved cooling performance, with eight of these rails being compatible with the Diablo wings, enabling desktop stand use.

Devil in the details.

When examining the Diablo 2’s front panel, you’ll find a new Volume Lock switch next to the volume control, preventing accidental adjustments during transport.

At the back panel’s left side, there’s a switch for mode selection and Bluetooth pairing. On the right side, two USB-C ports streamline cable management—one for audio and the other for charging.

Sound So Moving. Even the Devil May Cry.

Diablo 2 features PureWave, Servoless DirectDrive, OptimaLoop, and Advanced Jitter Reduction Technology, delivering exceptionally pure, detailed, and emotionally touching sound, these technologies elevate performance to unparalleled heights, even challenging desktop DAC/amps.

PureWave’s full balanced dual-mono circuitry elevates clarity by separating channels and reducing noise. DirectDrive removes the need for coupling capacitors, ensuring purer audio.

OptimaLoop employs tailored multiple feedback paths in amplifiers, refining gain control and reducing distortion. The enhanced GMT femto-precision clock with Smart storage cache minimises phase noise for cleaner sound.

Diablo 2 is the most formidable DAC/Amp on the planet. Your headphones should be scared.

Diablo’s Energy Sources

The Diablo 2 can be powered by battery or mains.

Battery power provides ultra-clean and stable DC current, avoiding mains electricity issues like dips, spikes, and noise inducing RFI/EMI pollution. However, there are sonic downsides due to low output voltage and inconsistent output impedance as batteries discharge.

The bundled iPower2 power supply features Active Noise Cancellation II, effectively cancelling out all incoming EMI and RFI noise and making it more than 10 times quieter than most audiophile power supplies.

To make less efficient headphones, like planar magnetics, sing, the voltage needs to be stepped up from 3.7V to +/- 15V. We use a step-up converter operating at 1.2MHz – a frequency far beyond audibility and easier to filter than a typical switch-mode supply, ensuring high linearity and ultra-low noise.

Sound So Moving. Even the Devil May Cry.

Diablo 2 features PureWave, Servoless DirectDrive, OptimaLoop, and Advanced Jitter Accessories for Diablo 2
Diablo 2 comes with a variety of accessories, all included with the product, so you won’t need to make separate purchases.

These accessories include the iPower 2 power supply (which is 10 times quieter than typical audiophile power supplies), a USB-C cable, a USB-C-to-A adapter, a TOSLINK optical adapter, a 3.5mm to 6.3mm headphone adapter, and an iTraveller carrying case.

XMOS

The XMOS 16-Core chip processes the audio data received via the USB* digital input.

This low-latency XMOS microcontroller has greatly enhanced processing power. Compared to the current generation of eight-core chips, this 16-core IC delivers double the clock speed (2000MIPS) and four times the memory (512KB), as well as the latest SuperSpeed USB standard.

GMT

Extensive jitter-eradication technologies are applied to the digital stage, including our GMT (Global Master Timing) femto-precision clock and intelligent memory buffer. This represents a total ‘out-of-the-box’ systematic digital solution that solves jitter once and for all.

.

Burr-Brown

The Burr-Brown True Native® chipset means file formats remain unchanged or ‘bit-perfect’. This means you are listening to music as the artist intended in the format in which it was recorded.

At iFi we use Burr Brown extensively in our products having selected it for its natural-sounding ‘musicality’ and True Native architecture. Our experience with this IC means we know how to make the most of it.

DirectDrive®

An important aspect of the circuit design is its direct-coupled nature (no coupling capacitor is present), achieved without a conventionally applied DC servo.

DirectDrive® equals a direct signal path which means less signal degradation. This direct signal path is unequalled in audio and is the reason why the sound is so ‘true’.

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MQA

MQA (Master Quality Authenticated) is supported through the USB with full decoding of MQA files up to 384kHz thanks to the processing power of the new 16-core XMOS chip.

Optima Loop

Negative feedback’ is used in amplifier circuits to compare the output signal with the input signal and correct errors, in order to control gain and reduce distortion. For sound quality, this is positive; BUT commonly applied, one-size-fits-all ‘global negative feedback’ can also highlight different problems at the same time as solving others – corruption of the error signal, phase shifts, group delay and so on can all have a negative impact on sound quality.

OP-Amp

As with many other iFi audio products, we’ve incorporated a custom OV Series operational-amplifier. This top-notch component contributes to the extremely low noise, low distortion (0.0001%) and wide bandwidth. .

PureWave

Balanced, differential analogue circuit design has long been championed for its ability to reduce noise and cross-talk within the signal path by fully separating the left and right channels. PureWave is a new, balanced, symmetrical dual-mono topology with short, direct signal paths. The name refers to the sonic purity it achieves thanks to exceptional linearity and infinitesimally low levels of noise and distortion. .

MOSFET

Switching between settings has been engineered to ensure sonic transparency with advanced trench technology MOSFET is used as a muting switch. This FET-based switching is handled by a micro-controller, which only ‘wakes up’ when the user changes a setting, thus eradicating any sonically deleterious interference. 

TDK 

TDK C0G (Class 1 ceramic) capacitors offer high stability and low losses for resonant circuit applications. Getting ever closer to the theoretical ideal of pure, frequency-constant capacitance, these capacitors reduce capacitor-induced distortion to vanishingly low levels. They are pricey but are a perfect addition to our products.

Vishay MELF

Vishay MELF resistors – complex, costly but superior. These metal electrode leadless face resistors have excellent accuracy, stability, reliability, and pulse load capability. They provide optimal power rating and pulse load capability. They show some of the lowest noise and distortion of any resistor available in the market, period. ..

Panasonic OS-CON

Panasonic OS-CON caps totaling 5,410uF give very-low Equivalent Series Resistance (ESR), excellent noise reduction capability and frequency response characteristics. In addition, OS-CONs have a long-life span and its ESR changes little even at low temperatures since the electrolyte is solid.

Texas Instruments

Texas Instruments low-noise ICs offer great unity-gain bandwidth, very low noise and distortion, high output drive capability, Common-mode and Power Supply Rejection Ratios of over 100 dB, wide maximum-output-swing bandwidths and high slew rates. .

muRata

muRata control-type, low-ESR high-Q multi-layer capacitors. The ‘ESR control’ aspect of the Murata is something special. Their noise suppression abilities are impressive.

Additional information

Colour

Black

Warranty

Backed with a 1-year iFi Audio warranty

Delivery Info

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Delivery Information

As a company our primary goal is to provide a seamless service that results in customer satisfaction. We aim to deliver within 3 working days. Unfortunately, there may be occasions where this time frame may not be met due to unforeseen circumstances; in this instance, we deliver product/s as soon as we can. All delivery charges are included within the prices quoted, unless otherwise specified.

All small items are usually delivered between 9am and 6pm, on a Monday to Friday, unless a Saturday delivery is requested. Follow My Parcel is an industry-changing innovation from DPD Local, which will give your customers unparalleled levels of information and peace of mind.Not only will your customers receive a one hour delivery timeslot, but they’ll now also be able to track the progress of their parcels on a map as our drivers make their way to the delivery addresses. Follow My Parcel will:

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