ifi hip dac review (DAC & Headphone Amp)

[Appoli13]

Forgot to tag Amir re: offer to test the updated version
@amirm

 

[mediocrebutarrogant]

Well for what it’s worth I did get the hip dac2 , compared to topping l30 ,e50 single ended , running the sundara balanced on hip dac2 is ok for the application, ie it can drive the sundara to ear deafening levels. It’s quite nice for the money , but of course audible distortion is there in some tracks , so not as pristine as l30 but it will do for making the Sundaras portable around the house that is.You can say hip dac is like red label Johnny walker at best compared to glefiddich 12 for L30

 

[mediocrebutarrogant]

Hip dac is just not good for those that say you can’t tell the difference in a double blind ab test I can tell it from the hisssss

 

[paudio]

Got a hip dac for $40. Im expecting to hear the noise floor on IEMs (Apple Dongle works fine though) but havent heard it on Austrian Audio Hi-X60 and Sen HD424. Sounds pretty good actually and like the Xbass for movies, games and electronic. Will try it on Aeon Noire when they arrive. Interesting anyway. I think I prefer my Qudelix though. If I got something this big it would be desktop only, have bluetooth and balanced out for my studio monitors.

With lsrge efficient cans I have heard any hiss or channel imbalance yet.

 

[MisterOZ]

I noticed there is not only a "hip-dac" and "hip-dac 2", but also a "hip-dac+" on the market. In the same blue housing as hip-dac1, and I was surprised that my own hip-dac is also a hip-dac+. I opened it and again a big surprise: It's the same board inside as in hip-dac2, same circuit, same chips (compared to the fotos of hip-dac2 you'll find on the internet). Does anyone know something about this? Did iFi just had a few blue housings left and fit them with the new board of hip-dac2?

 

[paudio]

I noticed there is not only a "hip-dac" and "hip-dac 2", but also a "hip-dac+" on the market. In the same blue housing as hip-dac1, and I was surprised that my own hip-dac is also a hip-dac+. I opened it and again a big surprise: It's the same board inside as in hip-dac2, same circuit, same chips (compared to the fotos of hip-dac2 you'll find on the internet). Does anyone know something about this? Did iFi just had a few blue housings left and fit them with the new board of hip-dac2?

Usually the printed circuit board has a name and a revision. What does yours say? I haven't opened my normal hip dac.

Edit: Doesn't sound like much of a difference between versions really. A crystal change, a chip change and possibly a small circuit change. Could be exactly the same layout with just pin compatible chip upgrades.

 

[MisterOZ]

No revision on the board, just a sticker.

Hip DAC 1:

https://ifi-audio.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/hip-dac-board-1-copy.jpg

Hip DAC 2

My Hip DAC „plus“:

 

[WilsonLaidlaw]

I bought an iFi Hi-Res Zen Bluetooth audio device last year, as the older Appleplay devices via the Airport Express had stopped working, being no longer compatible with the latest operating systems. I am not at all impressed. Needs to be switched on for at least 15 minutes before the horrendous distortion starts to calm down. It seems very easily overloaded, especially with speech. I think I am going to bin it and buy another Bluetooth audio device. This is so I can feed wireless/bluetooth from my M1 MacBook Air to the small audio system in my bedroom/study (Boothroyd Stuart Meridan 551 integrated amp to a pair of Infinity Kappa 200 speakers and a JBL 550 sub woofer). Any suggestions folks for a better Bluetooth audio receiver.

Wilson

 

[paudio]

I bought an iFi Hi-Res Zen Bluetooth audio device last year, as the older Appleplay devices via the Airport Express had stopped working, being no longer compatible with the latest operating systems. I am not at all impressed. Needs to be switched on for at least 15 minutes before the horrendous distortion starts to calm down. It seems very easily overloaded, especially with speech. I think I am going to bin it and buy another Bluetooth audio device. This is so I can feed wireless/bluetooth from my M1 MacBook Air to the small audio system in my bedroom/study (Boothroyd Stuart Meridan 551 integrated amp to a pair of Infinity Kappa 200 speakers and a JBL 550 sub woofer). Any suggestions folks for a better Bluetooth audio receiver.

Wilson

Sounds defective or something? Ifi won't replace it?

 

[WilsonLaidlaw]

iFi did not even reply to my complaint about the sound quality. I have bought an ex-demo Audioengine B1, in the hope that it is an improvement.

Wilson

 

[AudioSceptic]

iFi did not even reply to my complaint about the sound quality. I have bought an ex-demo Audioengine B1, in the hope that it is an improvement.

Wilson

It's a shame that it's hard to find Raspberry Pis for sensible money at the moment, or I'd recommend one, plus a Hi-Fi Berry DAC and basic case. Install Volumio and you have a streamer with DAC that will play from network storage or with AirPlay from your Mac. Much better than BlueTooth.

A 551 in a small bedroom system? Overkill much? ;-)

 

[WilsonLaidlaw]

It's a shame that it's hard to find Raspberry Pis for sensible money at the moment, or I'd recommend one, plus a Hi-Fi Berry DAC and basic case. Install Volumio and you have a streamer with DAC that will play from network storage or with AirPlay from your Mac. Much better than BlueTooth.

A 551 in a small bedroom system? Overkill much? ;-)

It is a very large bedroom! The house was built in 1970-72 by the then chief architect of France as his own retirement house and has a very large open plan Salon (maximum dimensions 40 feet x 25 feet but irregularly shaped with curved walls) with a circular sunken centre lined with couch and facing a large horizontal window wood burner and as I said a very large master bedroom. The other two bedrooms are quite small. The house is built right on the edge of a 1000 foot high escarpment, so has wonderful views over the valley below from its 15 foot wide, floor to ceiling picture window. My kids describe it as being in early Stavro Blofeld style and have threatened to buy me a white fluffy cat to stroke.
The Infinity Kappa speakers are only 82dB/watt, so need quite a lot of driving, hence the Meridian. In the main room I have Acoustic Transducer Company SCM 40 Mk.2 speakers driven by a Krell Evolution 2250 power amplifier (250 WPC Class A) and a 15" digitally controlled Monitor Audio Gold sub.

 

[amanieux]

When it comes to the hip-dac2 here is what we improved:

We upgraded crystal clock which contributes to purer, crisper sound. It eradicates jitter, using iFi’s GMT femto precision clocking system. This maintains the integrity of the digital signal until conversion to analogue and enhances sound quality.

Thanks to the XMOS 16 core tech, the hip-dac2 is now an MQA full Decoder rather than a Renderer only.

We have redesigned the custom iFi OV op-amp.

It is also dressed in a new vibrant Sunset Orange.

does the redesigned OV op-amp in hip 2 measures better on Sinad vs the hip 1 that measured quite poorly at 70bd in this review ? the fact that you give SNR on the xdsd-gryphon official ifi product page but not on hip2 product page is not a good sign