Review: ifi audio PRO iCAN

Design and build quality

The new object of desire - iFi Audio PRO iCAN.

The new object of desire – iFi Audio PRO iCAN.

   ifi has been already mentioned so many times that it would be a waste of time to go all over it again saying that it’s from London and specializes in audiophile mini stuff. However, the latter is important as it brings a change. Not a radical change – like in the case of the previous, original company, when Abbington Music Research, producing enormous blocks, decided to start a sub-company, ifi, focusing on portable devices that gain on popularity – but still a noticeable, quite prominent change. Because so far ifi stood for “micro” and “nano”, something very little, almost hardly noticeable. These devices fit into a pocket and were battery powered. Now the stuff from PRO series is also not big, but if you want to fit it in a pocket, you have to wear cargo pants. You need both hands to carry it and the device is well visible on a desk, and the first thing that catches the eye is the abundance of slots and knobs.

The front panel is packed with so many things, you cannot put a finger without touching any button, knob or slot. If you want to stroke iCAN with love, you can rub the top. But remain careful, as on the right, at the back there is a magic tube eye and ventilation grille to cool down the tubes hidden under the eye. AMR has decided that tubes are a must have. And it was a good decision, at least when it comes to traditional equipment. Admittedly, it is possible to use a transistor or a digital amplifier, which is best visible in the amp from Avantgarde or monoblocks from Accuphase. But such solutions have to be highly advanced, whereas more traditional equipment, not for tens or hundreds thousands, preferably should have tubes. It is like grease in a bearing, making everything work better and the music sound cleaner. Add a tube to a signal path and all improves, and improvement is the key. For your interest, AMR is referring to some German research claiming that the presence of tubes increases the feeling of happiness and causes a drop in suicide rates, but I have already mentioned that so lets not delve into it again. However, the fact is quite significant, pointing in the favor of lamps. But here they are used in a combined way, as expected of ifi. The packed front panel includes a small slider with three icons describing three states. The state on the left means no lamps, in the middle – partly with lamps, on the right – with lamps turned on to the full. The latter also reduces the unwanted feedback to the minimum, further enhancing the whole show. You will get a detailed comparison of the three states soon, now about the remaining items on the front panel.

Pro iCAN - 2Pro iCAN - 3Pro iCAN - 4Pro iCAN - 5

 

 

 

 

First on the top left side is a small “ifi” symbol – highlighted, with “Pro” lettering below. Further below, on the bottom, there’s a small on/off button, which turns the device on and lights up the symbol. You can see the device is on not by the highlighted symbol, but by glowing tubes under the magic eye. These are, as I’ve mentioned, on the right, towards the back, with some ventilation grills on the top and at the side. At the center of the grille you can read “NOS General Electric 5690” written around the glass eye, letting you know what tubes are underneath.

At both ends of the front panel, there are two large knobs. The left one is for selecting the source, whereas the right one is a potentiometer – offering significant resistance, adjustable also with the remote. Next to each knob there’s a smaller one, creating a nice symmetry. The small knob on the left is XBass regulator with four positions, the one on the right is 3D, also with four positions. Between the two there are three slots, likewise placed in a witty manner. The two side ones are for 6.3 mm jack, with build in balanced 3-pin slots. This peculiar solution is popular in the USA, that’s why it is present here. In the middle there is a single 4-pin slot, dedicated for the more and more popular cables. It’s worth mentioning that Sennheiser and Beyerdynamic have recently introduced their flagship models, improving the previous versions. And one of the greatest improvements is the 4-pin at the end of balanced cable for balanced sound. So it fill perfectly fit in the slot and the companies were probably acting in collusion. But that’s not all, there are two slots below: one balanced and one ordinary 3.5 jack. So we have a full house, with everything smartly designed and with great power supply. A dream come true for every headphone enthusiast – nothing left but to plug in. The overall balance is topped off with one more thing. To the left there’s this tube slider, and at the opposite side there is a slider for gain selection (0, +9, +14 dB).

Pro iCAN - 6Pro iCAN - 7Pro iCAN - 10Pro iCAN - 11

 

 

 

 

Everything put together creates a nice and functional composition – symmetric, neat, in metallic gray, with narrow indentation at the bottom to break the line.

The perfect harmony of the front panel is supplemented by functional back with two XLR and three RCA inputs, with a pair of outputs of each type – those familiar with the subject know this means the amp can be used either as a preamplifier or buffer. There’s also power input. The power source is external, rather big, with a white light that glows too strong. In the future there will be a separate power unit in the form of a stand-alone device, but nothing much is known about it, so lets forget about it for now. Of course there will also be a dedicated DAC, but also shrouded in mystery, so for now lets simply enjoy the amp.

And there’s a lot to enjoy as there is also ESL-link connector for plugging in a special energizer module. So it will be a second (after the German Audiovalve Luminare) headphone amplifier that will be suitable for any headphones: planar, electrostatic, AMT, dynamic. Also fully compatible when it comes to power: it will be good with the power-consuming over-the -ear headphones as well as the low-energy in-ear headphones.

This small, metal box has to take over the soul headphone audiophiles any latitude.

This small, metal box has to take over the souls of headphone audiophiles at any latitude.

We still have to discuss the technologies used and estimate the price. With maximal amplification in balanced mode, ifi PRO iCAN can deliver 14 W per canal to the output, which is exceptionally high – sufficient even for the once most demanding AKG K1000 headphones and the now most demanding Abyss 1266. For the unbalanced outputs the value reaches 4.8 W, so also very high. The amplification can be on pure transistor level, using solely J-FET and MOS-FET transistors. But you can also use tube input, using two NOS General Electric 5690 tubes. The latter can also be used in two modes – with maximum feedback reduction or without it.

The preamp is based on super fast bipolar transistors, whereas the output stage, depending on power demand, automatically switches between A and AB class.

The technical parameters are astounding. ifi PRO iCAN’s frequency response is 0.5 – 5 000 000 Hz (+-3 dB) at signal to noise ratio 142 dB, whereas THD for transistor mode is below 0.004%, for tube it is below 0.005% and for tube+ it is below 0.01%. At the same time, the manufacturer emphasizes that the last mode is characterized by sounds very typical of tubes, so tube enthusiasts should use it primarily.

The whole is not set on feet, but on a huge pillow. As far as usage is concerned, it’s worth mentioning that the remote controls only volume and the amp has line out for speakers with a dedicated processor setting for extending the space. In addition, the on indicator has four colors, where white means transistor mode, amber tube mode, red indicates wait mode after switching and when it flashes it means a malfunction. A final note: when using unbalanced headphones, it is better to plug them in the right slot, although it is possible to use two pairs at a time with no consequences.

It is also the opening for the top brand series Fi called PRO.

It is also the opening for ifi top series called PRO.

Now about the price. It will probably amount to 8200 PLN, although it is not for sure yet. Is it high, low or about right? On the one hand, it is high, because it is a considerable amount and money don’t grow on trees. On the other hand, it seems about right because it is adequate to the performance and sound quality. Yet some may say it is a low price, especially in comparison to the best headphone amplifiers ever – now these prices are really high. In general, it is safe to say that in the current times, especially taking into consideration the last increase in headphone prices, the price of ifi PRO iCAN is not overestimated. But still, a lower price would be most welcome.

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4 komentarzy w “Review: ifi audio PRO iCAN

  1. Tadeusz pisze:

    A w polish version też będzie ? 🙂

    1. PIotr Ryka pisze:

      W polskiej już jest od jakiegoś czasu 🙂

      http://hifiphilosophy.com/recenzja-ifi-pro-ican/

  2. Tadeusz pisze:

    Dzięki ,chyba muszę częściej wchodzić na tę stronę bo nie ogarniam wszystkiego 🙂

    1. PIotr Ryka pisze:

      Zapraszamy. Drzwi zawsze stoją otworem…

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