Tech Lowdown

ManualsBrandsifi Audio ManualsAudioNeo iDSD Desktop DAC & Headphone Amplifier

April&2018&

Pro&iDSD&–&The &Front

Tech%Notes%

PRO%IDSD%–%THE%EASYGOING%PERSPECTIVE%

THE%REAR%

INTRODUCTION%

Recently&we&posted&two&documents&showing&you&Pro&iDSD’s&front&panel&and&describing&what&

the&various& kn o bs&and&switches&do.&In&this&document&we’ve&turned&our&attention&to&the&DAC’s&

rear&panel.&&

ANALOG%OUTPUT%STAGE%

Pro&iDSD&is&a&fully-balanced&machine&and&as&such& has&both&XLR&and&RCA&outputs&–&one&pair&of&

each.& You& can& find& them& on& the& right& side& of& the& panel& with& a& selector& switch& nearby& to&

determine&the&operation&mode.&&

Summary of content (6 pages)

PAGE 1
April 2018 Pro iDSD – The Front Tech Notes PRO IDSD – THE EASYGOING PERSPECTIVE THE REAR INTRODUCTION Recently we posted two documents showing you Pro iDSD’s front panel and describing what the various knobs and switches do. In this document we’ve turned our attention to the DAC’s rear panel. ANALOG OUTPUT STAGE Pro iDSD is a fully-balanced machine and as such has both XLR and RCA outputs – one pair of each.
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You can set the signal output to diﬀerent levels for home (HiFi fixed or variable) or studio (Pro fixed or variable) use. Industry standard signal output levels apply: • Balanced output: 4.6V (+15.5dBu - HiFi) or 10V (+22dBu - Pro) • Single-ended output: 2.3V (HiFi) or 5V (Pro) If variable mode is selected, then the output volume can be adjusted via the volume knob on the front panel. DIGITAL INPUTS Pro iDSD offers a host of digital inputs, some of which are making their debut in iFi’s product range.
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April 2018 Pro iDSD – The Front Tech Notes 3. USB 'Type B’ DAC input This USB3.0 input is backwards-compatible with the USB2.0 standard and galvanicallyisolated. It is meant to be used with PCs, laptops and music servers. 4. S/PDIF Coaxial/Toslink combo digital input If you are the happy owner of let’s say a high-end CD transport, this combo S/PDIF input is there just waiting for you to use it. 5. Micro SDHC card slot Yes! Now you don’t even have to have a laptop or a PC to use Pro iDSD.
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8. BNC digital input Let’s say that you own a high-end transport, but its BNC output is audibly better than everything else. Luckily Pro iDSD has got you covered as it has a BNC input. What’s more it’s multifunctional. Read on for further details… CLOCK SYSTEM You might have noticed that Pro iDSD’s rear panel is equipped with not one but two BNC connectors and a small selector in-between. Let’s explain why. The BNC connector on the left is multifunctional.
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April 2018 Pro iDSD – The Front Tech Notes There are two reasons why we’ve implemented this unique functionality in the Pro iDSD: • • • All digital equipment in many recording studios is oftentimes synchronized with one standalone master clock device. We’re confident that Pro iDSD can be used in such an environment but in order to do so, it has to have the option to be connected to a separate master clocking deck.
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This means that one external PSU can handle both Pro iDSD and Pro iCAN. You can even throw Pro iESL to the mix (connected via the HDMI interface found on the latter) and have three iFi Pro range decks operational via only one external PSU. The input to the right of DC-Loop Out is a regular 15V/4A DC power input. • Tip: Any 9v to 18v DC power source with a minimum of 60VA rating can be used with the Pro iDSD (including vehicular, RV and boat-based 12V DC power).