Desktop DAC, headphone amplifier and preamplifier in a single unit
The iFi Audio NEO iDSD 3 brings the latest technologies of the iFi range together in one desktop unit: it is a high-resolution DAC, a very powerful headphone amplifier and a preamplifier for active speakers, with lossless Bluetooth. It can be placed horizontally or vertically, using the supplied stand, and can also be operated from the aluminium remote control.
The chassis measures 214 x 158 x 41 mm and weighs 916 g. Compared with the previous model the circuitry has been reworked at component level: new operational amplifiers for lower distortion, better polymer capacitors on the power supply and WIMA MKS2 capacitors for smoother high frequencies.
Amplification derived from the iDSD Diablo 2: up to 5,551 mW peak
The headphone stage is a variant of the one in the iDSD Diablo 2 and reaches at least 5,551 mW peak. In RMS terms the 4.4 mm balanced output delivers 2,532 mW into 64 Ω (12.7 V) and the 6.3 mm output 2,244 mW into 32 Ω (8.4 V), with an output impedance no higher than 1 Ω.
The PureWave circuit has a balanced, symmetrical dual-mono topology with short, direct signal paths. For the most sensitive earphones there is iEMatch, and iFi's analogue processing tools let listeners tailor headphone sound to their taste.
Burr-Brown DAC, K2HD and aptX Lossless Bluetooth
Conversion uses a stage built on a Burr-Brown chipset that handles PCM and DSD on separate paths, keeping the signal bit-perfect: PCM up to 768 kHz and DSD up to DSD512 (22.6 MHz) are supported. JVCKENWOOD's K2 and K2HD technologies rebuild the harmonics lost in digitisation and bring the sound closer to the original master.
Bluetooth 5.4 supports aptX Lossless, for CD-quality audio with no data loss, as well as aptX Adaptive, aptX, LDAC, LHDC/HWA, AAC and SBC. Stated signal-to-noise ratio is at least 120 dB(A) and THD+N stays within 0.0015%.
USB, S/PDIF and RCA inputs, fixed or variable XLR and RCA outputs
The digital inputs are USB-B 3.0, coaxial and optical S/PDIF, plus Bluetooth. The analogue input is now on RCA, more practical than the previous 4.4 mm: it accepts, for example, a turntable with line-level output. The line outputs are balanced XLR and single-ended RCA, at fixed level (4.4 V and 2.2 V) or variable to drive active speakers or a power amplifier directly.
The brightness of the front LED is adjustable. Supplied accessories are the iPower 2 power supply, an RCA cable, a USB 3.0 type A to type B cable, a 3.5 to 6.35 mm adapter, the remote control and the stand for vertical placement.
