iFi Audio
A distinctive British brand that redefines 'musical enjoyment,' diverging from measurement-supremacist approaches to pursue a unique 'iFi sound' through Burr-Brown DAC chips and analog circuitry. Diverse acoustic correction features like XBass+ and 3D+ serve as tools to enrich listening experiences. However, this philosophy conflicts with the objectivity and fidelity standards defined by our policy, resulting in extremely low cost-performance ratings. A choice for users who prioritize feeling over data.
Overview
iFi Audio was established in 2012 as a sister brand to the British high-end audio manufacturer AMR (Abbingdon Music Research). The company handles a wide range of products from portable compact DACs to desktop audio equipment, gaining support from audio enthusiasts worldwide particularly for their multi-functionality and distinctive sound tuning. While utilizing off-the-shelf chips, they focus on providing a uniquely iFi sound experience by combining proprietary firmware and analog circuit technologies such as “S-Balanced.”
Scientific Validity
\[\Large \text{0.5}\]iFi Audio’s product development, while based on engineering fundamentals, does not necessarily pursue objective fidelity as its primary goal. The company consistently adopts Burr-Brown DAC chips for being “musical” rather than measuring-optimal, and positions analog functions that actively alter sound quality—such as XBass+ (bass enhancement) and 3D+ (soundstage expansion)—as product attractions. While these are effective signal processing technologies, they philosophically conflict with our site’s policy of evaluating products based on accurate reproduction of original sound as the absolute standard. Due to the mixture of scientific approaches and subjective tuning, the rating is 0.5.
Technology Level
\[\Large \text{0.7}\]iFi possesses high technological development capabilities. While using off-the-shelf DAC chips, they design their own analog circuits and power supply sections, with their “S-Balanced” circuit being particularly innovative—aimed at achieving crosstalk reduction effects similar to balanced connections even with single-ended connections. Additionally, their in-house development of firmware including GTO (Gibbs Transient-Optimised) filters, allowing users to select sound quality tendencies, demonstrates advanced digital signal processing technology. While not at the level of developing DAC architectures themselves, their ability to sophisticatedly enhance existing technologies is highly commendable.
Cost-Performance
\[\Large \text{0.2}\]The cost-performance of iFi products must be evaluated as extremely low. For example, against the iFi zen DAC V2 (USD 187, THD+N 0.00017%), products like the Topping DX1 (USD 80, THD+N 0.00006%) offer equal or superior measurement performance at less than half the price. Similarly, against the iFi hip-dac 3 (USD 300, THD+N 0.003%), the SMSL SU-1 (USD 53, THD+N 0.00007%) provides overwhelmingly superior measurement performance at one-fifth the price. CP = 53 ÷ 300 = 0.18, and since iFi products’ value depends on multi-functionality and unique acoustic effects, they receive extremely low ratings in pure performance-to-price ratio.
Reliability & Support
\[\Large \text{0.6}\]iFi Audio is an established brand with a global sales network and maintains a basically reliable support system. However, multiple product reviews have pointed out several hardware quality control and design compromise issues, including volume knob looseness, poor connection terminal contact, and dependency on clean USB power sources to achieve optimal performance. While offering the security of a major brand, there is room for improvement in detailed build quality, resulting in a rating of 0.6.
Rationality of Design Philosophy
\[\Large \text{0.4}\]iFi’s design philosophy focuses on “making listening experiences more enjoyable and enriching,” which is highly rational for that purpose. Functions like XBass+ and 3D+ are effective tools for adjusting sound to match headphone characteristics and personal preferences. However, the “rationality” defined by our site’s policy specifically refers to the pursuit of engineering optimal solutions for “transmitting source information with minimal loss or alteration.” Design approaches that intentionally alter sound differ in direction from this definition, resulting in a low rating.
Advice
If you view audio not as a spec competition but as a tool for deepening pure musical enjoyment, iFi Audio can be a very attractive choice. Particularly for users who want to actively adjust sound according to their headphones and music preferences, functions like XBass+ and 3D+ become powerful assets.
Conversely, if you idealize reproducing source-recorded information as-is without coloration, this brand should be avoided. More affordable products with far superior measurement performance exist elsewhere. Choosing iFi products represents a clear statement of finding value in their distinctive sound philosophy and functionality.
(2025.7.6)