iFi Audio Hip Dac

Features

• Enjoy mind-blowing music at your fingertips quickly and easily with the user-friendly, compact hip-dac
• Connect the hip-dac via USB between your smart device, laptop and corded headphones while out and about
• Hook it up to your PC or Mac at home or in the office
• The hip-dac delivers hi-res, ‘bit perfect’ PCM and DXD up to 384kHz and up to DSD256 DSD256 as well as MQA
• Make the most of your balanced headphones wherever you are with the hip-dac’s 4.4mm sockets
• Reap the benefits of balanced even with normal headphones as the 3.5mm single-ended socket uses our unique S-Balanced technology to cut crosstalk and distortion in half
• The analogue output stage of the hip-dac is a balanced (differential) design which means less interference and crosstalk
• Talior the sound of the hip-dac to your playback priorities with additional, exclusive iFi firmware
• Benefit from PowerMatch – switchable gain – to cater for headphone sensitivity
• Turn on XBass to add missing base to open backed headphones or IEMs

True Native

The DAC section of the hip-dac is based around a Burr-Brown DAC chip that iFi use extensively in their products, selected for its fluid, highly ‘musical’ sound quality and True Native architecture.

Hi-res Audio

Hi-res PCM and DXD audio data is supported at sampling rates up to 384kHz, alongside DSD from 2.8MHz to 12.4MHz (DSD64, 128 and 256). Either side of the rotary volume control reside a pair of LEDs that change colour to indicate the format and sampling rate of the digital audio being played.

Jitter-free

Extensive clock-locking eradicates jitter (digital distortion), using our GMT femto-precision clocking system to maintain the integrity of the digital signal until conversion to analogue. The hip-dac’s USB input handles audio data up to 32-bit/384kHz and supports the ‘SuperSpeed’ USB 3.0 standard, as well as USB 2.0 for backwards compatibility. It is asynchronous, meaning that the data rate is regulated solely by the hip-dac’s specialised audio clock circuitry for accurate, jitter-free data transfer from the source device.

Exclusive Hardware

The XMOS chip used in the hip-dac, which processes audio data received at the USB input, is programmed inhouse. Off-the-shelf firmware is not typically optimised for audiophile-grade sound, so iFi program their own bespoke firmware to enhance audio processing. The hip-dac can also to be tailored to your playback priorities by download and installing different versions of iFi exclusive firmware. Experiment with different digital filters including the GTO filter from iFi’s high-end Pro iDSD.

Balanced Circuitry

The hip-dac’s amp circuitry is of balanced (differential) design. Balanced audio circuits have long been championed by renowned high-end audio electronics engineer John Curl, now a technical consultant for iFi, given their ability to reduce noise within the signal path. John has worked closely with Thorsten Loesch, iFi’s chief engineer, and their in-house technical team to produce an analogue stage of exceptional quality for a device of this kind.

The circuitry incorporates a range of high-quality components, carefully selected for their performance in an audio context, including a custom iFi OV op-amp, TDK C0G class 1 ceramic capacitors, a precision low-noise power supply IC from Texas Instruments and a high-quality analogue volume pot.

The headphone amp has a nominal power rating of 400mW and is capable of delivering over 700mW from the balanced output depending on the impedance of the attached headphones. It can drive all manner of headphone/earphone types with ease.

Balanced Performance

The amp stage features switchable gain, which iFi call PowerMatch. This matches the level of drive to the load presented by the headphones, by adjusting input sensitivity and thereby signal strength. With high-sensitivity headphone types such as in-ear monitors, leave PowerMatch at its lower setting for ultra-low-noise performance. But if your headphones require more drive – most on/over-ear types, for example – press the PowerMatch button on the front panel to increase gain.

Two outputs are provided – a 3.5mm socket for headphones with a single-ended cable/connector and a Pentaconn 4.4mm output enabling headphones equipped with balanced connectivity to take full advantage of the hip-dac’s differential amp design.

In addition, the 3.5mm output benefits from our proprietary S-Balanced circuitry, cutting crosstalk and related distortion in half when used with regular, single-ended headphone connections – this is especially beneficial with high-sensitivity in-ear monitors

XBass

This optional ‘bass boost’ enhances low frequencies without muddying the midrange, and is particularly useful with earphones and open-back headphones that may lack deep bass. It operates entirely in the analogue domain rather than messing with the digital signal via DSP.

USB Ports

There are two USB ports – Type A for audio data and USB-C for charging. The Type A input features a ‘male’ connector, rather than a typical ‘female’ port. This provides greater mechanical integrity than USB/Micro USB ports. This is an advantage for iPhone and iPad users because it accepts Apple’s Lightning to USB Camera Adaptor directly without requiring an additional female-to-male USB adaptor. (The Camera Adapter is required to connect Apple iOS devices to third-party USB devices.)

Battery

The hip-dac’s 2200mAh battery lasts for around eight to 12 hours of playing time. This depends on volume level and how power-hungry the connected headphones are.

Specifications:

• Formats Supported: DSD256/128/64, Octa/Quad/Double/Single-Speed DSD, DXD(384/352.8kHz), PCM(384/352.8/192/176.4/96/88.2/48/44.1kHz), MQA
• Digital Inputs: USB 3.0 type ’A’ High-Speed Asynchronous USB 2.0, (32bit/384kHz)
• Headphone Outputs: Balanced 4.4mm, Single-Ended S-Balanced 3.5mm
• Power Output: 2.0V/400 mW @ 16 Ohm
• Battery: Lithium-polymer 2200mAh
• Power System: Charging via USB-C, BC V1.2 compliant up to 1000mA charging current
• Power (max): <2W idle, 4W max
• Dimensions (mm): 102 x 70 x 14 (L x W x H)
• Weight: 125g (0.28lbs)
• Warranty period: 12 months

About iFi Audio

iFi is a brand new line of electronics with trickle-down technology licensed from AMR and aimed primarily at the future, Computer Audio generation. All iFi products boast Class A analogue circuitry with no DSP and the signal stays ‘Bit Perfect’ throughout.

How a product looks and performs matters, but so does its impact on the environment. That’s why nearly every iFi product and its packaging are made from highly recyclable materials like aluminum, paper, recycled plastic and why we refuse to use harmful toxins in our components. iFi Audio do this to ensure that every product they release meets their environmental standards.