- HEAD FI BITPERFECT MAC OS X
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- HEAD FI BITPERFECT PORTABLE
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Even though Windows users still represent a big part of Headfonia readers, I choose to focus on OS X for now because it’s easier to do as I use Mac myself, but also because for most developers, OS X seems to be the platform of choice when it comes to high quality audio playback.
HEAD FI BITPERFECT MAC OS X
The iFi xDSD Gryphon will be available from mid-November with an RRP of £599 (opens in new tab) / AU$699 (roughly $815).Sometime in 2011 I began thinking about the possibility of doing a review on high quality audio players for the Mac OS X operating system. Users can choose between three bespoke digital filters when listening to digital sources via the on-screen menu: Bit-Perfect, Standard and GTO (Gibbs Transient Optimised), each boasting a fine-tuning effect on sound. XBass and XSpace profiles are familiar to users of other iFi DAC/amps, but like the xCAN before it, the xDSD Gryphon sports an expanded version called XBass II, offering three separate headphone EQ options: ‘Bass’ (which targets low frequencies), ‘Presence’ (which focuses on the upper midrange) and ‘Bass + Presence’ (which implements both together).Ī further switch on the base of the xDSD Gryphon engages IEMatch, another proprietary iFi circuit that attenuates the headphone output to better suit high-sensitivity headphones, removing potential background noise and increasing the usable volume range. Whether volume is adjusted using the xDSD Gryphon’s rotary control or on the source device, CyberSync ensures the change is performed purely by the Gryphon’s analogue control chip.
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It detects which operating system the DAC is connected to – iOS, Android, Windows, Mac OS or Linux – and instructs the source’s OS to bypass its software volume control. Uniquely, iFi’s CyberSync volume control promises perfect volume sync between the source and the DAC. The xDSD Gryphon features something called CyberSync, a redesign of the software-driven CyberDrive volume control featured in the original xDSD. It incorporates multiple feedback paths (instead of one global loop) where each path is optimised for a particular function and works synergistically with the others to deliver optimal overall performance. IFi has also developed a new configuration called OptimaLoop – a negative feedback system that the company claims is more accurate than the usual approach. In terms of oomph, the headphone amp stage boasts a continuous power output of more than 1000mW into a 32-ohm load available through the balanced headphone socket.
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The xDSD Gryphon is the smallest and most affordable device to feature iFi's PureWave analogue circuitry design, the firm's most advanced, symmetrical dual-mono circuit topologies normally found in its premium-level devices (including the flagship Diablo portable DAC/amp).
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Up to seven paired Bluetooth source devices can be stored in memory too. Other codecs covered include regular aptX and aptX Low Latency, AAC and SBC (the ‘plain vanilla’ Bluetooth codec).
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Making full use of Qualcomm’s latest four-core QCC5100 Bluetooth processing chip, every current high-definition Bluetooth audio format is supported, including aptX Adaptive and aptX HD, LDAC and HWA/LHDC. Here, the full ‘three unfold’ decoding process is performed internally, as opposed to only the final unfold in the manner of an MQA ‘renderer’.
MQA (the hi-res streaming technology that underpins Tidal’s Masters streams) is also supported through the USB and S/PDIF inputs, with full decoding of MQA files up to 384kHz. PCM and DSD take separate pathways, thus enabling data to remain ‘bit-perfect’ in their native forms right through to analogue conversion. The xDSD Gryphon handles PCM files to 32-bit/768kHz, all levels of DSD to DSD512, and single- and double-speed DXD. Hi-res audio support is certainly on offer, too. The xDSD Gryphon uses a low-latency, 16-core XMOS microcontroller promising enhanced processing power – indeed, the iFi team programmed the XMOS firmware itself.Įxtensive jitter-eradication technologies are also applied to the digital stage, including the latest generation of iFi’s GMT (Global Master Timing) femto-precision clock and intelligent memory buffer. The xDSD Gryphon’s digital engine is based around the Burr-Brown DAC chipset that iFi uses extensively, plus the XMOS chip to process the audio data received via the USB and S/PDIF digital inputs. Built into the top surface is an OLED display strip, showing information including input selection, volume level, battery level, digital audio format and sample rate and settings.
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