British manufacturer iFi Audio has unveiled its new flagship, the iFi Audio iDSD Phantom. A true testament to the brand’s expertise, this exceptional model combines a DAC, network player and headphone amplifier in an electronic device with unprecedented power. With the iDSD Phantom, the manufacturer aims to offer the most advanced listening experience ever designed. What are the features of this flagship product that enable it to deliver on such a promise?
A first in the hi-fi world
The new iFi Audio iDSD Phantom DAC and streamer follows on from the iFi Audio Pro iDSD DAC, which it enhances with the design of the iFi Audio iCAN Phantom headphone amplifier and cutting-edge technologies to deliver even greater performance. It all starts with a new streaming ecosystem that now supports Qobuz Connect, Tidal Connect, Spotify Connect and AirPlay 2, as well as full Roon Ready compatibility. This new network platform enables native playback of PCM streams up to 768kHz and DSD512. As with its predecessor, users retain total freedom in digital signal management. In Normal mode, DSD streams are transmitted directly to the converters, without alteration, while PCM signals pass through a selection of digital filters chosen by the user, enabling them to adapt the restitution to suit their listening preferences.
However, it’s in Remastered mode that the Phantom really takes the lead over the Pro iDSD. The Chrysopoeia FPGA processor, already present on previous generations, benefits from greater power and precision. It is capable of upsampling all PCM and DSD signals to DSD512, DSD1024 and even the new DSD2048, a level of processing never seen before. At this stage, the signal reaches almost 90 million samples per second, a frequency designed to optimize the temporal continuity and finesse of musical micro-details.
Digital-to-analog conversion is based on an architecture with four Burr-Brown DSD1793 DACs operating in parallel, a configuration that iFi claims is a modern nod to the famous Philips TDA1541A, a legendary DAC reference appreciated for its musicality. This choice enhances the linearity of the analog signal while lowering background noise. Alongside this processing, K2HD technologies developed with JVC’s exclusive access are present to enrich and restore the harmonic spectrum of compressed recordings, offering a richer, more expressive sound, even on moderate-quality sources.
Uncompromising amplification
While the iDSD Phantom impresses with its digital section, it confirms iFi’s ambitions in the field of headphone amplification. The British brand has designed a triple output stage with tubes or transistors. The latter exploits a transistor stage operating in class A, favoring rapid impulse response, extremely low distortion and a highly accurate reproduction. This mode is clearly aimed at lovers of maximum transparency and neutrality.
In Tube mode, the amplification uses a double General Electric 5670 triode, mounted in a gain stage, providing a more organic texture and increased harmonic richness, without sacrificing bandwidth or overall dynamics. iFi goes one step further with the Tube+ mode, exclusive to its high-end electronics. In this configuration, negative feedback is deliberately reduced, allowing the tube’s natural characteristics to express themselves more fully. The result is greater harmonic density, fullness and smoothness, with a deeper soundstage and more full-bodied timbres.
Volume control is entirely analog, including for DSD streams, avoiding any loss of resolution due to digital attenuation. Combined with a large power supply and ultra-low-noise components, this design enables the iDSD Phantom to be remarkably quiet. Its power can reach up to 4,676mW into 64 ohms, ensuring that even the most demanding headphones are efficiently powered. To this end, the iDSD Phantom DAC features headphone outputs in the most popular formats: 3.5mm jack, balanced 4.4mm jack, 4-pin XLR, double 3-pin XLR and 6.3mm positive and reverse phase.
Note from the expert On the iDSD Phantom, the 6.35mm headphone output benefits from an unusual implementation: it exploits both signal phases (positive and inverted) from the internal symmetrical architecture, even if the connection remains asymmetrical from the wiring point of view. In practice, each channel uses a dedicated phase, which allows for better utilization of the balanced amplification topology while maintaining universal compatibility with the standard jack. This approach offers several audible advantages: better channel separation, reduced noise levels and more stable dynamics, particularly at high volume or with demanding headphones. Without achieving the full benefits of a truly balanced headphone output (4.4mm or XLR), this technical choice enables the 6.35mm output to offer superior performance to that of a conventional unbalanced implementation.
The pinnacle of X-Series technology
The iFi iDSD Phantom network player and headphone amplifier also offers an extremely comprehensive range of audio processing tools for fine-tuning playback according to the listener’s preferences or the characteristics of a given set of headphones. At the heart of these options are the XBass Pro and XSpace Pro analog filters, which correct the limitations often encountered in headphones. XBass Pro acts as an equalizer, with three frequency steps (10Hz, 20Hz and 40Hz) to enhance the impact of the bass without overloading the midrange. An invaluable asset for open-back headphones or models that are lacking on the midrange. The XSpace Pro, meanwhile, provides a fuller soundstage. It offers settings at 30°, 60° or 90°, broadening the perception of depth and width, similar to the experience of listening through speakers. These analog filters are integrated with a set of digital DSPs to fine-tune temporal and spectral response according to listening preferences or recording type.
A comprehensive set of connectors
The iFi Audio iDSD Phantom streamer offers a particularly rich connectivity to meet almost any usage scenario. Digital inputs include a high-speed USB-B port for connecting a computer, as well as S/PDIF coaxial, optical and AES/EBU inputs for connecting CD players, streamers or professional sources. As for outputs, the Phantom features analog RCA and XLR outputs, configurable in fixed or variable mode, enabling it to function both as a pure DAC and as a preamplifier for a power amplifier or active speakers. On the front panel, several headphone outputs are available, including balanced 4.4mm Pentaconn and 4-pin XLR connectors, making full use of the amplifier’s balanced architecture, as well as 6.35mm jack and 3.5mm jack outputs. The iFi Audio iDSD Phantom promises to be as much at home in a high-end home hi-fi installation as in a dedicated headphone setup.
The iDSD Phantom is one of iFi Audio’s most ambitious products to date. Bringing together a modern network streamer, the first DAC with DSD2048 oversampling, and industry-leading headphone amplification, the Phantom embodies a resolutely high-end approach to the all-in-one device. More than just a successor to the Pro iDSD, it represents its culmination, with a technological maturity and versatility rarely achieved in this segment. Its release is scheduled for the first quarter of 2026 at a price of €4,499. This is a coherent price positioning in relation to its performance, and immediately places it among the most serious references in the high-end DAC-streamer-headphone amplifier market.
