Love the XCAN. This looks like an improvement. I like that it has a dedicated line out and just that it can actually be hardwired. I just wish it was a bit cheaper $600 seems steep.
it has essentially every feature under the sun and you can customize it however you want which is nice. I find the part where you can charge and play music at same time with one cable very nice, but for purist they can choose to use two different ports if they want. Also they have bit perfect mode for purist but they also give you options of different filters. I could go on and on about the features but i probably would of been like a 30 min video lol
Thank you for the great review. I think the spdif, the balanced 4.4 and the 3.5 on the black side of the unit are all inputs and not outputs. I know this because I was wanting this unit as both a headphone amp and also to use as a standalone dac for my stereo. I ended up going with the Diablo because it has a 4.4 output for connecting to an external amplifier.
When I connect my Dan Clark Aeons 3.5mm into the 4.4 Balanced into the ifi Gryphon, nomatter what I am always getting some thin distortion sound. I've tried IE Match and I still get it. Please help, Thanks.
Did you see something like a battery saver on the Gryphon? I read the device would have something like that so you can use it as a desktop device without damaging the battery.
You should be able to with the newest firmware. I have the Gryphon and use it often in battery saver mode. In the Gryphon menu it’s under “usb dual port charge”.
Just subscribed and liked, that is by far the clearest review of this unit I have seen, thank you. Regarding playback quality, I am running a Zen Dac Signature into a standard Zen Can as one configuration of my desktop stack, is this a step back, forward or maybe sideways. Lately I am finding I am having very little time to sit at my desk and use my stack but often can catch an hr early or late in my living room to listen to some music, this would be ideal but for the price I can get a Jottenhiem 2 or Singzer SA-1 amp and a chunk of change towards a DAC, or by something like a xduoo xd-10 all in one unit, but this I could also take when I travel with work etc.
I have heard the original Zen Dac v1 and this is definitely way better than that. If you are looking for something more portable, I do think the Gryphon makes a lot of sense and the best thing is you can use it as a desktop device as well with connecting one cable and because it has a digital volume control interfaces well with PCs too.
@ryanhostudio Do you find that more powerful amps run your He6se v2 substantially better than your ifi Gryphon? Im looking at getting the He6se v2 but I dont have any other amps but the Gryphon. Would this be an issue?
has it got channel imbalance at low volume like hip2 ? ( hard to power iems at low volume). does the xbass goes up to 500hz like the hip2 ? (too boomy on iems) thanks
Hi Ryan, thanks for the very informative video! I am currently using Oppo's PM-3 and PM-2, and was wondering, since they're on on the slightly warmer side of neutral with a slight roll off in the high end, which DAC amp would better compliment those cans between the Gryphon and the iDSD Signature? Or would you pair an entirely different DAC with those headphones?
Hi,can i use this or hip dac 2 to my TRI i3 iems its planar,dynamic and BA trybrid 15 ohm 103 db mW, do this two amp is to powerful for this iem ,thank you.
@@ryanhostudio Yes, the Walkman 2 with its internal DAC and amp sounds fantastic. Since a lot of my music is on the Walkman, I was thinking of trying the Gryphon or the Mojo II as an external DAC, while using the Walkman with its internal DAC disabled, as a music player. It would be interesting to compare Sony's sonic science with that of other makers.
Hi Ryan.Happy new year 2022 . Thank you for this detailed review. Really appreciate it.. I am planning to buy gryphon will be pairing mostly IEMs and sundara . But after checking your reviews I am bit confused to go with gryphon or ifi signature. Gryphon is more portable with Bluetooth so I am leaning towards that.. How much sound quality difference is there between signature and gryphon ? Or can you suggest any good alternatives? Thanks in advance
Happy New Year! The difference between sound quality of ifi signature and gryphon is small. The Gryphon has more features and smaller and portable so I would pick Gryphon for features alone.
@@ryanhostudio thank you so much 🙂 .. So gryphon will be good option better than ifi signature. Can you compare gryphon with DAPs you have? Sound quality wise..
Look we all know that wireless will need be truly lossless but if we get reduce that lossyness with a wireless DAC amplifier since the stupid volume limit is what's stopping these wireless headphones from sounding decent even with LDAC the volume on my Sony's is pushing to like 80db yet I like t listen t rock and roll music at higher pop music I turn Down to 95db so bairly enough power in the phone amplifier to get a good listening experience but more power is welcome for a digital device at home listening yea a nice warm tube amplifier is great but for outdoors I just want more punch in my music even if it's 1% lossy than 100% it's better than nothing wired will always be zero lossless but he if a dac gets us closer to that zero mark 1% and 0 percent may be more difficult for audiophiles to find out but we do know there is a difference having it wired so that 1% is due to it not Being wired but getting close to it than what Bluetooth can do is great and a more natural sound stage aswel
Great review, thank you.
Just what I was looking for.
you welcome
Love the XCAN. This looks like an improvement. I like that it has a dedicated line out and just that it can actually be hardwired. I just wish it was a bit cheaper $600 seems steep.
it has essentially every feature under the sun and you can customize it however you want which is nice. I find the part where you can charge and play music at same time with one cable very nice, but for purist they can choose to use two different ports if they want. Also they have bit perfect mode for purist but they also give you options of different filters.
I could go on and on about the features but i probably would of been like a 30 min video lol
Thank you for the great review. I think the spdif, the balanced 4.4 and the 3.5 on the black side of the unit are all inputs and not outputs. I know this because I was wanting this unit as both a headphone amp and also to use as a standalone dac for my stereo. I ended up going with the Diablo because it has a 4.4 output for connecting to an external amplifier.
This ist wrong. Spidif ist Input only. 4.4 and 3.5 can serve as Inputs and as Outputs (If USB is Input).
@@simonschuetz6297 I mean, you can, but I dont think they are meant to be because they are awfully quiet. They are just on the same line.
When I connect my Dan Clark Aeons 3.5mm into the 4.4 Balanced into the ifi Gryphon, nomatter what I am always getting some thin distortion sound. I've tried IE Match and I still get it. Please help, Thanks.
if your plugging in your headphones balanced you shouldn’t be getting distortion sound strange, maybe try low gain?
Is there a better portable DSC/Amp to pair with my Dan Clark Aeon Closed headphones? Thanks
if your looking for a portable dac/amp with as much features as the grphyon i don’t think so, for sound than there’s the ifi diablo or ifi go bar
Hello...
Thanks for the review.
Do you think the Gryphon would make a good match with the Hifiman Edition XS on balanced output?
I do and it also has the xbass button too if your into that
Did you see something like a battery saver on the Gryphon? I read the device would have something like that so you can use it as a desktop device without damaging the battery.
i did not, i showed every option and menu in my video, unless they updated the firmware after my review
You should be able to with the newest firmware. I have the Gryphon and use it often in battery saver mode. In the Gryphon menu it’s under “usb dual port charge”.
Just subscribed and liked, that is by far the clearest review of this unit I have seen, thank you. Regarding playback quality, I am running a Zen Dac Signature into a standard Zen Can as one configuration of my desktop stack, is this a step back, forward or maybe sideways. Lately I am finding I am having very little time to sit at my desk and use my stack but often can catch an hr early or late in my living room to listen to some music, this would be ideal but for the price I can get a Jottenhiem 2 or Singzer SA-1 amp and a chunk of change towards a DAC, or by something like a xduoo xd-10 all in one unit, but this I could also take when I travel with work etc.
I have heard the original Zen Dac v1 and this is definitely way better than that. If you are looking for something more portable, I do think the Gryphon makes a lot of sense and the best thing is you can use it as a desktop device as well with connecting one cable and because it has a digital volume control interfaces well with PCs too.
@ryanhostudio Do you find that more powerful amps run your He6se v2 substantially better than your ifi Gryphon? Im looking at getting the He6se v2 but I dont have any other amps but the Gryphon. Would this be an issue?
@@ipodguy123g i don’t think power is an issue but something like the ifi diablo does sound better just better quality amp
@@ryanhostudioOh, ok thank you. Diablo 1 or 2?
i think power isn’t the issue the gryphon has enough power but something like diablo has better quality and will sound better
has it got channel imbalance at low volume like hip2 ? ( hard to power iems at low volume). does the xbass goes up to 500hz like the hip2 ? (too boomy on iems) thanks
it doesnt have the channel imbalance because digital dial but the xbass is still a decent boost
How can I run my DT1990’s balanced on the 4.4? Is there an adaptor?
you have to get a balanced cable i believe they use 3 pin mini xlr to 4.4 pentacon
Hi Ryan, thanks for the very informative video! I am currently using Oppo's PM-3 and PM-2, and was wondering, since they're on on the slightly warmer side of neutral with a slight roll off in the high end, which DAC amp would better compliment those cans between the Gryphon and the iDSD Signature? Or would you pair an entirely different DAC with those headphones?
i think the gryphon is more neutral than idsd signature so I would go with that.
@@ryanhostudio Is the idsd more heavy on the low end?
Hi,can i use this or hip dac 2 to my TRI i3 iems its planar,dynamic and BA trybrid 15 ohm 103 db mW, do this two amp is to powerful for this iem ,thank you.
yes this dac is more than powerful enough and has IE match, which makes it perfect for IEMs
Will this work for my focal Bathys?
Is this a good external DAC choice for the Sony Walkman 2 WM1AM2 ?
i think it’s intended purpose was to be paired with a cellphone, I bet plugging into Sony Walkman 2 already sounds really good
@@ryanhostudio Yes, the Walkman 2 with its internal DAC and amp sounds fantastic. Since a lot of my music is on the Walkman, I was thinking of trying the Gryphon or the Mojo II as an external DAC, while using the Walkman with its internal DAC disabled, as a music player. It would be interesting to compare Sony's sonic science with that of other makers.
Hey, does gryphon sound 3x better than BTR5 2021?
haven’t heard btr5 but 3x sounds too much lol
@@ryanhostudio it's 200$ like ifi go blu. Let me know if you heard that.
3X? how about 10X ?
Hello, will it works fne with hifiman arya?
yeah it has more than enough power
Thoughts on this vs mojo 2?
havent tried mojo 2
Thank you.
welcome
Hi Ryan.Happy new year 2022 . Thank you for this detailed review. Really appreciate it.. I am planning to buy gryphon will be pairing mostly IEMs and sundara . But after checking your reviews I am bit confused to go with gryphon or ifi signature. Gryphon is more portable with Bluetooth so I am leaning towards that.. How much sound quality difference is there between signature and gryphon ? Or can you suggest any good alternatives? Thanks in advance
Happy New Year! The difference between sound quality of ifi signature and gryphon is small. The Gryphon has more features and smaller and portable so I would pick Gryphon for features alone.
@@ryanhostudio thank you so much 🙂 .. So gryphon will be good option better than ifi signature. Can you compare gryphon with DAPs you have? Sound quality wise..
@@bhanu314 sorry I dont own any DAPs
Hey super nice review. Would it be good with hd800s ? I’m seriously considering that match
yeah it has more than enough power for hd800s and the bass boost would be nice
Which one is better xduoo 05 bal or ifi gryphon
i haven’t heard the xduuo 05 balanced before sorry
Ifi signature
Look we all know that wireless will need be truly lossless but if we get reduce that lossyness with a wireless DAC amplifier since the stupid volume limit is what's stopping these wireless headphones from sounding decent even with LDAC the volume on my Sony's is pushing to like 80db yet I like t listen t rock and roll music at higher pop music I turn Down to 95db so bairly enough power in the phone amplifier to get a good listening experience but more power is welcome for a digital device at home listening yea a nice warm tube amplifier is great but for outdoors I just want more punch in my music even if it's 1% lossy than 100% it's better than nothing wired will always be zero lossless but he if a dac gets us closer to that zero mark 1% and 0 percent may be more difficult for audiophiles to find out but we do know there is a difference having it wired so that 1% is due to it not Being wired but getting close to it than what Bluetooth can do is great and a more natural sound stage aswel