You invest in a portable DAC/amplifier because it has the ability to drive your headphones properly and deliver far superior sound quality to the solution inside of your source device. We can understand that level of thinking from the perspective of size/form but that is only part of the equation. However, 2018 is not 2022 and the market has changed a lot over the past four years the plethora of Dongle DACs from more than 2 dozen manufacturers at this point has been well received by the market and it would appear that consumers prefer the concept of using a smartphone and Dongle DAC to handle the DAC/amplifier side of the equation versus something like the xDSD. The xDSD offered roughly 6 hours of battery life and ample power to run just about any headphone For its day, it was a market leader and it still gives up very little to most of its recent counterparts in the market.
The device was the Swiss army knife of portable audio at the time with a long list of features and the ability to use it as a standalone headphone amplifier, DAC/amplifier, Bluetooth DAC/amplifier, and a desktop USB DAC in a package slightly larger than a deck of cards. The products have become more expensive over the years but the quality has gone up so you are getting a lot of innovation and durability for your money.Ī quick look through my own personal collection reveals the first generation iFi xDSD which I purchased not long after it was announced in 2018. If you have been part of the Head-Fi revolution over the past decade, you are likely very familiar with iFi and their products many of us have multiple generations of their products on our desks (or inside of them) and use their rather extensive selection of accessories with our smart phones, DAPs, headphone systems, and portable rigs. The iFi xDSD Gryphon, released late 2021, is a much more powerful and capable device than its smaller sibling and we took it for a long ride.ĪudioQuest has owned this category for years but their products have fallen behind IFi, CEntrance, Questyle, FiiO, Apogee, THX, Helm Audio, and a growing list of start-ups. We recently tested the iFi GO Bar Dongle DACand discovered that their first truly portable DAC/Headphone Amplifier is one of the best we have tried so far. IFi Audio is celebrating its 10th birthday in 2022 and the British manufacturer of award-winning and very popular desktop and portable audio solutions is firing on all cylinders at the moment.