iFi iDSD Diablo

“Portable wise you would have to spend way over a grand to obtain better sound and to be honest I almost feel the urge to ditch my full-sized combo for the Diablo because it’s that good and besides it will only take up a fraction of the space on my desktop that my current rig does.”

“I started my journey with my trusty Audeze EL 8 to see if they could be properly driven with the Diablo. Firing up Jacky Terrasson’s “Rat Race” I was struck with the accuracy of the drum beat and the pace and rhythm throughout the piece. The close mic set was faithfully rendered, and when the tempo picked up the Diablo did not disappoint, keeping instruments separated and coherent. There was a bit less resonance coming from the bass, but the bass snap of the strings more than made up for it. The piano sounded great with life and emotion, and made me yearn for live music.”

“What you get is a pretty awesome package. What I mean by this is that for a component of this size and price you receive a stylish device that can be easily transportable, and can be used by a variety of headphones. This ability to move about freely is one of the advantages of headphone listening, and I can see this unit being used as a perfect mobile office solution, dorm room listening station, or travel companion when you just need to be away from the crowd… and I would recommend you give this little devil a shot.”

Read the full review here…

“I was astonished at how clean the power was, as the background sounded extraordinarily black for a portable unit. This made it very easy to hear the character of the recording space when present in the recording.”

“It also did a good job at separating the elements, presenting the percussion instrument dead in the center of my head stage to the rear, then surrounding it with horns to the front left and right. I loved how the iDSD Diablo could blend the various melodies while keeping the instruments in their own little bubbles.”

“If you need a top-notch portable DAC/Amp combo that can drive your power-hungry flagship cans while on the go, the Diablo may be just what you need.”