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iconian | Staff 23.9K Views
Dec 8, 2022 8:17 PM

iFi AUDIO xDSD Portable Bluetooth USB DAC & Headphones Amplifier

$179

$400

55% off
+ Free Shippingat Adorama
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Deal Details
Adorama has iFi AUDIO xDSD Portable Bluetooth USB DAC & Headphones Amplifier (XDSDTYPE-CVER1.4) for $179. Shipping is free.

Thanks to Deal Editor iconian for finding this deal.

Includes:
  • iFi AUDIO xDSD Bluetooth Portable USB DAC and Headphone Amplifier
  • 2.5mm to 2.5mm Cable
  • 3.5mm to 3.5mm Cable
  • Charging Cable
  • Pouch
Features:
  • You choose wireless via Bluetooth or wired via USB or SPDIFHi-res audio support is state-of-the-art with True Native playback
  • Battery life is up to 10 hours
  • Charging is via the separate USB charging cable included

Editor's Notes

  • About this deal:
    • This price is $220.99 lower (55% savings) than the list price of $399.99.
  • About this product:
    • iFi AUDIO 1 Year Limited Warranty
  • About this store:
    • Information about Adorama's return policy here.
  • Please read the Forum Thread for more deal discussion.

Original Post

Written by iconian | Staff
Community Notes
About the Poster
Deal Details
Community Notes
About the Poster
Adorama has iFi AUDIO xDSD Portable Bluetooth USB DAC & Headphones Amplifier (XDSDTYPE-CVER1.4) for $179. Shipping is free.

Thanks to Deal Editor iconian for finding this deal.

Includes:
  • iFi AUDIO xDSD Bluetooth Portable USB DAC and Headphone Amplifier
  • 2.5mm to 2.5mm Cable
  • 3.5mm to 3.5mm Cable
  • Charging Cable
  • Pouch
Features:
  • You choose wireless via Bluetooth or wired via USB or SPDIFHi-res audio support is state-of-the-art with True Native playback
  • Battery life is up to 10 hours
  • Charging is via the separate USB charging cable included

Editor's Notes

  • About this deal:
    • This price is $220.99 lower (55% savings) than the list price of $399.99.
  • About this product:
    • iFi AUDIO 1 Year Limited Warranty
  • About this store:
    • Information about Adorama's return policy here.
  • Please read the Forum Thread for more deal discussion.

Original Post

Written by iconian | Staff

Community Voting

Deal Score
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Deal History

Post Date Sold By Sale Price Activity
10/30/23Adorama$169
0
08/29/22Adorama$199
1
08/25/22Adorama$250
Popular
6

Top Comments

tg9413
494Comments
289Reputation
around 200 or below with bluetooth, fiio btr5 / btr7 , qudelix 5k, ifi go blu. the xDSD's bluetooth is pretty outdated. Might be okay as a wired amp / dac, but defiantly better and cheaper options out there for bluetooth use.
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etherealkev88
28Comments
14Reputation
That applies to more traditional wired DAC/Amps, but for portable bluetooth options, new IS better. Cheaper and better DAC chips continue to disrupt the market while better bluetooth tech (bluetooth 5 and above, with LDAC, LHDC and the latest AptX-Adaptive codec, and etc) have immensely closed to gap between wired and wireless compared to older tech.
Go to Comment
KRT09
1.1KComments
112Reputation
Most of those units have no battery and the ones that do have a much smaller battery. This has a 2200mAh battery with a decently powerful amp, the iFi Xbass features are a fun as well. You seem to be clueless as to what the intended use of a portable DAC / amp is and continue to spew nonsense.

I'm all for extra measurements but ASR has in many ways done a disservice to the audio community by convincing people that you should always follow SINAD and THD numbers. These numbers have been largely irrelevant for close to a decade because the tech has matured a lot and the vast majority of amps and DAC's will only distort at levels outside of human hearing or to levels that are severely ear damaging. That's not to say amps and DAC's can't sound different, but the number chasing game is mostly a pissing contest. Human ears are not measurement rigs.
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64 Comments

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Dec 9, 2022 3:17 PM
1.1K Comments
Joined Oct 2016
KRT09Dec 9, 2022 3:17 PM
1.1K Comments
Quote from LootPirate View quoted comment :
Sure there are many portable dacs with better price performance ratios

Hidizs S9 pro or S3 pro
Fiio KA3
IBasso Dc05
HiBy Fc4
Moondrop Dawn
Topping Dx1 if you don't need Bluetooth and won't run with this which you won't run with this ifi either
Shanling up5
Shanling UP4
Several Fiio products I am too lazy to mention.

Better yet, just look up portable DAC amps on audiosciencereview and you can make your own decisions.

Most of those units have no battery and the ones that do have a much smaller battery. This has a 2200mAh battery with a decently powerful amp, the iFi Xbass features are a fun as well. You seem to be clueless as to what the intended use of a portable DAC / amp is and continue to spew nonsense.

I'm all for extra measurements but ASR has in many ways done a disservice to the audio community by convincing people that you should always follow SINAD and THD numbers. These numbers have been largely irrelevant for close to a decade because the tech has matured a lot and the vast majority of amps and DAC's will only distort at levels outside of human hearing or to levels that are severely ear damaging. That's not to say amps and DAC's can't sound different, but the number chasing game is mostly a pissing contest. Human ears are not measurement rigs.
Dec 9, 2022 3:19 PM
102 Comments
Joined Apr 2019
LordDangoDec 9, 2022 3:19 PM
102 Comments
Quote from LootPirate View quoted comment :
Come on man, will you really take this on a jog ? Connecting your dap to this via cable and then this to headphones with another cable ?
Ok I agree the d50 needs dc power so not portable. But the point was sound quality. If you need portability and that's it, then almost any Bluetooth headphone will beat the d50. That doesn't mean headphone dacs are better than the ones built into d50. Are we just going to argue for internet points ? Fine you win this unit is the best DAC hands down.
Nobody asked you for the best wired sound quality because you are in a thread for a product designed specifically for BLUETOOTH use, not a desktop setup so how can you even compare? No shit a desktop setup has better value than a portable one 🤦 ♂️

You claim nobody carries portable amplifiers. Thats clearly a lie or you havent been in this hobby long enough. I remember the days when people would create stacks with their DAP and portable amplifiers and that was back in 2015. Im pretty sure people are still using their chord Mojos today. These use to be all through cables btw so how would bluetooth be even more difficult?
Dec 9, 2022 3:20 PM
146 Comments
Joined Nov 2019
LootPirateDec 9, 2022 3:20 PM
146 Comments
Quote from KRT09 View quoted comment :
Most of those units have no battery and the ones that do have a much smaller battery. This has a 2200mAh battery with a decently powerful amp, the iFi Xbass features are a fun as well. You seem to be clueless as to what the intended use of a portable DAC / amp is and continue to spew nonsense.

I'm all for extra measurements but ASR has in many ways done a disservice to the audio community by convincing people that you should always follow SINAD and THD numbers. These numbers have been largely irrelevant for close to a decade because the tech has matured a lot and the vast majority of amps and DAC's will only distort at levels outside of human hearing or to levels that are severely ear damaging. That's not to say amps and DAC's can't sound different, but the number chasing game is mostly a pissing contest. Human ears are not measurement rigs.
It's a DAC. Those are measurable. Without measurements everything is subjective. Like you pointed out my preference for a brand.
3
Dec 9, 2022 3:28 PM
509 Comments
Joined Jul 2014
C_WDec 9, 2022 3:28 PM
509 Comments
Quote from PreacherCruz View quoted comment :
Defiantly and definitely are vastly different words. Good info otherwise....
Why do people always make this mistake, never understood that
Dec 9, 2022 3:29 PM
1.1K Comments
Joined Oct 2016
KRT09Dec 9, 2022 3:29 PM
1.1K Comments
Quote from LootPirate View quoted comment :
It's a DAC. Those are measurable. Without measurements everything is subjective. Like you pointed out my preference for a brand.
Yes... audio is subjective. No one perceives sound the same, people like different tonalities, and no ears are alike (even having asymmetric ear canals is common so one ear may hear differently than the other). Like I said, If you bothered to read my last post, for most modern amp and DAC gear the distortion levels (most of what Amir measures) are irrelevant to human ears. If you love objective measurements I'd suggest checking out Super Best Audio Friends. They don't measure nearly as much gear but they take even more measurements than Amir and their final conclusions are based on "but does this sound good?" which is ultimately the point of all of this. If you base all your purchasing decisions on numbers by a measurement rig then Amir (ASR) is your guy.
Dec 9, 2022 3:33 PM
146 Comments
Joined Nov 2019
LootPirateDec 9, 2022 3:33 PM
146 Comments
Quote from LordDango View quoted comment :
Nobody asked you for the best wired sound quality because you are in a thread for a product designed specifically for BLUETOOTH use, not a desktop setup so how can you even compare? No shit a desktop setup has better value than a portable one 🤦 ♂️

You claim nobody carries portable amplifiers. Thats clearly a lie or you havent been in this hobby long enough. I remember the days when people would create stacks with their DAP and portable amplifiers and that was back in 2015. Im pretty sure people are still using their chord Mojos today. These use to be all through cables btw so how would bluetooth be even more difficult?
I own a mojo. Never considered that portable. What's your point ? This is more portable than a d50 ? Yes agreed. And any Bluetooth headphone is more portable than this. And if Bluetooth portability is the main concern, then plenty other dacs exist that are better than this with newer Bluetooth specs. As far as calling me newb, well sure. Have it your way.
Dec 9, 2022 3:35 PM
146 Comments
Joined Nov 2019
LootPirateDec 9, 2022 3:35 PM
146 Comments
Quote from KRT09 View quoted comment :
Yes... audio is subjective. No one perceives sound the same, people like different tonalities, and no ears are alike (even having asymmetric ear canals is common so one ear may hear differently than the other). Like I said, If you bothered to read my last post, for most modern amp and DAC gear the distortion levels (most of what Amir measures) are irrelevant to human ears. If you love objective measurements I'd suggest checking out Super Best Audio Friends. They don't measure nearly as much gear but they take even more measurements than Amir and their final conclusions are based on "but does this sound good?" which is ultimately the point of all of this. If you base all your purchasing decisions on numbers by a measurement rig then Amir (ASR) is your guy.
Are you saying dacs should have a sound signature ? So basically add some signature to the source music ? No not fond of Amir either. But are you really saying dacs should have a specific signature ?
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Dec 9, 2022 8:31 PM
4.9K Comments
Joined Jul 2003
jjmaiDec 9, 2022 8:31 PM
4.9K Comments
check if you've got email from paypal on $10.00 off a purchase of $100.00 at adorama
Dec 9, 2022 11:00 PM
495 Comments
Joined Nov 2016
kmogilinediDec 9, 2022 11:00 PM
495 Comments
Can this be compared to Chord Mojo?
Dec 9, 2022 11:57 PM
78 Comments
Joined Oct 2022
BrightBelieve888Dec 9, 2022 11:57 PM
78 Comments
Quote from kmogilinedi View quoted comment :
Can this be compared to Chord Mojo?
They are comparable but are in different tier & price band. I was cross shopping them in the past. Mojo doesn't support BT. I ended up buying Mojo 2 much later, but if this iFi was $179, that would have been an easy decision to just get it. Even now, it's a good secondary DAC for the occasionaly aptx or use it in a secondary location. I'd suggest checking the new ifi gryphon and go bar as well.
1
Dec 10, 2022 12:21 AM
78 Comments
Joined Oct 2022
BrightBelieve888Dec 10, 2022 12:21 AM
78 Comments
Quote from LootPirate View quoted comment :
I own a mojo. Never considered that portable. What's your point ? This is more portable than a d50 ? Yes agreed. And any Bluetooth headphone is more portable than this. And if Bluetooth portability is the main concern, then plenty other dacs exist that are better than this with newer Bluetooth specs. As far as calling me newb, well sure. Have it your way.
Chord considers Mojo portable but only with the supplied rubberband ;-) I know many people carry it around strapping it to another device. While at the same time, there are enough people using it as a desktop DAC for Chord to add the Desktop Mode to the Mojo 2. It's always good to see comparison for both desktop and mobile use. xDSD can definitely be used for either mobile or desktop or both.
1
Dec 10, 2022 12:55 AM
5 Comments
Joined Dec 2018
SkillfulBook674Dec 10, 2022 12:55 AM
5 Comments
Quote from LootPirate View quoted comment :
I have heard the G5 is really good sounding. It's rated highly at asr. What did you pay for the G5 ?
During recent sale It was $254, bought from ShenzenAudio so no tax and only took a week. I could barely hear a difference between my BTR5 and the BTR7 - the G5 sounded more like my Asgard 3 desktop amp hence my keeping it.
Last edited by SkillfulBook674 December 9, 2022 at 05:01 PM.
Dec 10, 2022 1:22 AM
238 Comments
Joined Dec 2007
wolfstar76Dec 10, 2022 1:22 AM
238 Comments
Is it a good ideal to buy this just as a desktop DAC, or just buy a dedicated DAC?
Dec 10, 2022 3:38 AM
401 Comments
Joined Sep 2006
woodpaqDec 10, 2022 3:38 AM
401 Comments
Quote from LootPirate View quoted comment :
A few dollars more and a topping d50 would beat this by no small margin
Man I was thinking please don't let him be comparing a Topping anything to a iFi portable. So disappointed it turned out to be a dud comment. Much less wasn't even portable. Geezzzz.
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Dec 10, 2022 3:52 AM
637 Comments
Joined Nov 2007
Zer0Zer0Dec 10, 2022 3:52 AM
637 Comments
Why would someone need this?

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