Portable DAC and headphone amplifier, successor to the xDSD Gryphon
The iFi Audio iDSD GR 2 takes over from the xDSD Gryphon and has been redesigned from the ground up: new conversion chip, fully balanced circuit, colour touch display and lossless Bluetooth. In 141 x 75 x 19 mm and 268 g it brings together digital and analogue inputs, headphone and line outputs, and works in a pocket as well as at the heart of a system.
The 4,900 mAh lithium-polymer battery gives about 7 hours of use and charges in about three and a half hours via USB-C. The new hybrid power mode, when the unit is connected to an external supply, uses that first and draws on the battery only when more power is needed: it can stay plugged in for long periods without constant charge cycles.
Burr-Brown PCM1795 and Class A analogue stage
It is the first iFi DAC with the Burr-Brown PCM1795 chipset, with true 32-bit resolution, lower distortion and wider dynamic range. Being a current-output DAC, it leaves freedom in the design of the analogue stage, which here uses Class A op-amps and is balanced from end to end. PCM up to 768 kHz and DSD up to DSD512 are supported.
JVCKENWOOD's K2HD technology restores the harmonic content lost in digitisation; K2 mode offers a similar enhancement without upsampling. Stated signal-to-noise ratio and dynamic range are 115 dB(A) on all outputs.
Over 1,500 mW and upgraded iEMatch
The 4.4 mm balanced output delivers 1,513 mW RMS into 32 Ω (6.94 V) and 8.6 V into 600 Ω, 50% more than the xDSD Gryphon; the 3.5 mm S-Balanced output reaches 567 mW into 32 Ω. The headroom keeps bass under control and lets dynamics breathe even with the hardest headphones.
The iEMatch circuit, for sensitive earphones, has been upgraded with low-impedance MOSFETs. Output impedance stays within 0.4 Ω on the balanced output and 0.2 Ω on the S-Balanced one.
OLED touch display, Bluetooth 5.4 aptX Lossless and connections
The colour OLED display with capacitive touchscreen brings the main settings to the surface, with no nested menus; the iFi Nexis app adds advanced adjustments and over-the-air updates (USB-based functions are reserved for Android). Bluetooth 5.4 supports aptX Lossless, for CD-quality audio with no data loss, and LDAC up to 990 kbps, as well as aptX Adaptive, aptX, LHDC/HWA, AAC and SBC.
Inputs are USB-C, optical and coaxial S/PDIF, and two analogue ones: balanced 4.4 mm and 3.5 mm. USB-A to USB-C and USB-C to USB-C cables and a microfibre pouch are supplied.
