INTRODUCTION

    I hate to admit it, but it seems that I was more into audio while I was growing up compared to today. Especially in regard to portable audio I remember getting one of the first SONY Walkman cassette players followed by one of the first Philips Activ CD Discman models (ACT7582, still have it somewhere) and of course later on not one but two of the next generation SONY MiniDisc players (MZ-R501 and MZ-RH10, the former still works). Back then I was so much into portable music players that I also got one of the latest SONY Discmans ever made when I visited Japan back in 2006 (D-NE830 which unfortunately fell down the stairs and broke shortly after). Yes, back then most of us didn't really pay much attention to what headphones/earphones we were using (usually just used what was in the bundle) but I personally spend quite a bit on portable music players. The latest iDSD Diablo 2 by iFi audio might not be one such music player but rather a high-end portable DAC and headphone amplifier but in my eyes it's even more impressive.

    iFi audio is a UK based manufacturer of desktop and portable high-end audio equipment. Innovative high-end audio should be available to everyone, everywhere, so iFi uses the latest technology, materials and consumer feedback to provide an audiophile quality listening experience at an affordable price. You listen to music, we listen to you.

    As its name clearly states the brand new iDSD Diablo 2 by iFi audio is the successor to their highly successful Diablo-X portable DAC and headphone amplifier and well, this means it needs to surpass an already great model. So, under the aluminum hood of the Diablo 2 we find a 16-core XMOS processor, dual-core Treu Native Burr-Brown DAC chipset, Qualcomm QCC518x Bluetooth v5.4 audio chip, 4800mAh lithium-polymer rechargeable battery pack, custom OV series operational amplifiers, Texas Instruments low-noise ICs, Panasonic OS-CON ESR capacitors (5410uF), Vishay MELF resistors and numerous capacitors (C0G Class 1 Ceramic by TDK and multi-layer ESR ones by Murata). Thanks to the dual-core Burr Brown DAC the iDSD Diablo 2 supports full MQA, DXD or Bit-Perfect DSD decoding up to 768kHz (DSD512 also supported) and as for the Qualcomm QCC518x Bluetooth v5.4 audio chip this gives the Diablo 2 support for aptX Lossless (1200kbps), aptX Adaptive (420kbps), aptX (352kbps), LDAC (990kbps), LHDC/HWA (900kbps), AAC (264kbps) and SBC (345Kbps) audio codecs. It also comes ready with numerous connectors such as a 6.3mm single-ended headphone jack, 4.4mm balanced output, 4.4mm balanced input/output, 3.5mm S/PDIF/coaxial port and 2 USB-C ports (charging/data). Needless to say, iFi audio has packed the iDSD Diablo 2 with numerous technologies including PureWave (elevates clarity by separating channels and reducing noise), OptimaLoop (refines gain control and reduces distortion), Servoless DirectDrive (produces purer audio), xMEMS (enhanced performance for compatible IEMs and headphones), NOS mode (maximum output of 19.2V / 5,180mW) and iEMatch (eliminates background noise and increases usable volume range). Last but not least iFi audio ships the iDSD Diablo 2 with quite a few goodies including 4 wings which you can use to position it either horizontally or vertically (desktop use) and an iPower 2 power supply which utilizes Active Noise Cancellation II technology to deliver ultra-clean power.