Verdict
Small , adequately forge and with performance out of all dimension to both its request toll and its , erm , proportions , the iFi Uno is just the a la mode demonstration of the troupe ’s expertness at every price - detail .
Pros
Cons
Key Features
Introduction
And just when I thought that iFi had a DAC , a headphone amp , or a DAC / headphone amp combo at every price - gunpoint , here comes the Uno DAC / headphone amp .
It ’s the most affordable production of its type in the iFi tune - up , and it ’s design to democratise the troupe ’s established expertness where this sort of matter is concerned yet further .
Given the number of very well - regarded alternatives you’re able to buy for not much more than this , though , I ’m take a hop to ask : is this one of those faux economies we ’ve all heard so much about ?
Availability
In the United Kingdom you should expect to devote no more than £ 79 for the iFi Uno DAC / headphone amp . It ’s an even more care - grabbing $ 79 in the United States , and it goes for around AU$119 in Australia .
That ’s not much money . Then again , there ’s not much of the iFi Uno either . But this is by no means the only flyspeck USB DAC / phone amp you may buy – everyone fromAstell & KerntoTHX(and iFi itself , let ’s not blank out ) has a small , well - specified dog in this particular fight . What , then , is compelling about the Uno ?
Design
There ’s not a great deal of the iFi and it does n’t look or find in any mode luxurious – but there ’s utterly nothing awry with the means the iFi Uno is built or fetch up . The plastics used in its expression are perfectly decent , the physique quality is dead o.k. , and if the chassis flex a piddling when you squeeze it , well … do n’t squeeze it , then .
The dimensions are ideal for desktop economic consumption , and it ’s not too big to slip into a pouch either ( unless you prefer the skinniest of skinny tantrum ) . When it ’s on a airfoil ( as opposed to in a pocket ) , the little foot on the bottom of the cabinet are grippy – which is handy , because otherwise the Uno is plenty light enough to be tow around by the cable it ’s attach to .
And some actual pattern has chance here , which sets the Uno apart from the bulk of its nominative contender . The curvy , rugby nut shape is an iFi favorite , and here it take a shit the Uno look like a miniaturised translation of one of the company’sZen range – which I suppose it is , really .
Features
It ’s only diminished , sure , but the Uno DAC / headphone amp is determine more thoroughly than some larger and more expensive choice . If iFi has cut any nook , they ’re not obvious from the spec - sheet .
On the interior , the digital - to - analogue business is done by an ESS Sabre Hyperstream chipset – so there ’s some DAC credibility right there . It ’s capable of dealing with digital audio files of most types , up to 32 - bit/384kHz , DSD256 and DXD384 – and it ’s anMQA renderertoo . Good luck find a digital audio file the Uno is n’t well-fixed dealing with . To add to the sensation of overspecification , iFi has deployed TDK and muRata capacitors where required .
On the outside , the Uno manages to include all necessary controls , input and yield – somehow without chock up them so close together that things get awkward . On the fundament of the machine there ’s a USB - C socket , which is used both to power the Uno and for data point carry-over , and gold - plot stereophonic system RCA output for link to an amplifier , powered speaker , or what - have - you .
On the front , meanwhile , there ’s a big telephone dial in the centre of the facia – well , it ’s big by the standards of the Uno overall . This is your ability on / off switch as well as the volume control , and it sport a lighter around it that glows in one of five dissimilar colours to indicate the file type and size that ’s currently being address with .
To its right-hand there ’s a amber - plate 3.5 millimeter earpiece output signal – it sits out front of iFi ’s S - balanced circuitry that ’s design to minimise randomness and XT , and it ’s gold - plated in an effort to maximise conduction and cut the possibility of corrosion .
To the left there are a span of pocket-sized get-up-and-go / push buttons . One is labelled power match , and it cycles between two levels of gain to help when using headphones of dissent sensitivity – iFi likes to call this dynamic range enhancement .
The other is labelled EQ , and it cycle through digital filters that are optimise , according to iFi , for use when gaming , watch video content or hear to music . you may tell which one is engaged by the lightness behind one of three ( exceedingly indistinct ) symbolic representation on the top of the gimmick .
Sound Quality
give that the Uno is specified to cope with the big , most information - robust file sizes around , it seems only reasonable to give it some to administer with . With a connexion to an Apple MacBook Pro at one final stage and to a pair ofGrado SR325xat the other ( and with Colibri package loaded into the laptop to skirt Apple ’s antipathy to properly high - resolution audio depicted object ) , I ’m up and running .
A 24 - bit/96kHz FLAC file of Bad Guyby Billie Eilish lets the Uno excuse an tremendous lot about itself . It create a large , well - organised and well-off - to - follow soundstage , and locks each element of the transcription in its own little air pocket of space with real assurance – and it does so without any strand of the transcription sounding outback or estranged .
It allows the close - mic’d vocal music in the midrange plenty of elbow - room too and identifies even fine and/or transient details in the livery with confidence . There ’s intensity to Eilish ’s performance , but few theatrical performance – and that ’s just the way of life the iFi makes it sound .
At the bottom of the frequency range there ’s good lengthiness and plenty of detail regarding grain , as well as skillful control of attack and disintegration . This means the calendar method sounds naturalistic and there ’s proper momentum to the transcription , decent poke , and right substance . At the diametrical end , treble fathom sting and shine purposefully – but they have sufficient meaning to balance out the attack .
The Uno ’s key is pretty electroneutral , and it ’s very even - handed when it comes to frequency reply – the midrange get the spot , but the journey from the very bottom of the frequency range to the very top is jolly smooth and even - handed . Detail levels are eminent at every point , and the idea that you ’re missing out on some fleeting or transient vista of the transcription seems unlikely in the extreme point .
The only way to baby what is a profoundly enjoyable performance is to mind at either very low or very high book . listen very quietly reveals the iFi ’s unfitness to keep the output of the left over and right groove even – at first-rate - low-down volume the odd - duct production more - or - less disappears .
take heed at bulk level that menace your earreach , and the treble response becomes altogether too assertive – what was a latent threat of rigorousness and edginess becomes all too apparent . There ’s an easy remedy to both shortcomings , though : do n’t listen too loud ( which is good advice in any circumstance ) and do n’t take heed at horizontal surface that are just hearable in the first place .
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Should you buy it?
The iFi Uno can metamorphose the ropey old sound of your laptop computer
It does n’t alone turn a loss its composure at big stratum , but the Uno in spades gets uncomfortable
Final Thoughts
There ’s part of me that conceive iFi is just making life difficult for itself with the Uno . After all , it offers a big serving of the performance the company charges quite a lot more money for – and not only is the Uno brilliantly low-priced , it ’s light and compact at the same prison term . Unless you ’re an absolute fiend for volume , I ’m not quite sure why you require to spend any more money than this …
Trusted Score
How we test
We test every DAC we review soundly over an prolonged period of clip . We practice industry - received tests to compare features properly . We ’ll always separate you what we feel . We never , ever , accept money to refresh a intersection .
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FAQs
The iFi Uno comes with three EQ mode , so as well as listening to music with the DAC , there ’s also a movie and plot EQ mode .
