iFi Hip Dac 2

The redesigned portable high-res iFi Hip Dac 2 is a DAC/headphone amplifier for portable use. The Hip Dac 2 looks ultra cool in its new vibrant Sunset Orange. Not only has the super-slim aluminum housing of the hip-dac2 been updated, but the inside has also been improved.

The new 16-core XMOS chip, which processes data via USB, delivers double the clock speed and four times the memory. This improves overall performance and adds full MQA decoding to the capabilities of the hip-dac2. There is also an improved crystal clock that contributes to a purer, clearer sound.

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Dynamics and smooth refinement

The hip-dac2 replaces the inferior DAC (Digital-to-Analogue Converter) and amplifier circuits in smartphones, tablets, PCs, and Macs to greatly improve headphone sound.

Connect your playback device via USB, connect your favorite wired headphones or in-ear monitors, and the hip-dac2 delivers a sound full of bold dynamics and smooth refinement.

The Burr-Brown DAC chip, selected for its smooth, highly "musical" sound quality and True Native architecture, along with custom iFi circuits, allows the hip-dac2 to deliver excellent sound quality in virtually all digital audio formats, including bit-perfect PCM, native DSD, and MQA.

The improved GMT femto clock crystal eliminates jitter (digital distortion). This prevents jitter and maintains the integrity of the digital signal until conversion to analog. The result is significantly better sound quality.

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Balanced design

The amplifier circuit of the hip-dac2 is, like the original, a balanced (differential) design.

The circuit includes a range of high-quality components, carefully selected for their performance in an audio context, including a custom iFi OV op-amp, TDK C0G class 1 ceramic capacitors, a precision low-noise power IC from Texas Instruments, and a high-quality analog volume pot.

The amplifier stage can deliver 400 mW into a headphone load of 32 ohms, ensuring compatibility with a wide range of headphone and earphone types with sufficient power. Even high-impedance headphones are easy to drive thanks to an output voltage of 6.3 V to 600 ohms (from the balanced output).

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Connect!

There are two USB ports: Type A for audio data and USB-C for charging. The Type A port features a male connector to provide greater mechanical integrity than a USB/micro-USB port commonly found on other DAC/headphone amplifiers.

There are two outputs: a 3.5mm jack for headphones with a single-sided cable/connector and a balanced 4.4mm output that allows a headphone with balanced connectivity to fully benefit from the differential amplifier design of the hip-dac2.

Additionally, the 3.5mm output benefits from iFi's patented S-Balanced circuit, which halves crosstalk and related distortion when used with regular, single-ended headphone connections - this is especially beneficial with highly sensitive in-ear monitors.

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Switchable gain.

The amplifier stage has switchable gain, which we call PowerMatch. This adjusts the drive level to the headphone load by adjusting the input sensitivity and thus the signal strength. Use the lower setting with a high-sensitivity headphone. If your headphone needs more drive, use PowerMatch to increase the gain.

XBass is another user-selectable feature - an advanced form of 'bass boost' that enhances low frequencies without muddying the midrange, especially useful with earphones and open-back headphones that may not have deep bass. It operates entirely in the analog domain instead of messing with the digital signal via DSP.