iFi iDSD Phantom – Flagship DAC and Streamer with Tube and Solid-State Outputs

iFi company has released the iDSD Phantom – a digital-to-analog converter that also features a built-in network streamer and a headphone amplifier. The new model implements DSD Remastering up to DSD2048, as well as the well-known K2HD technology for professional sound processing. It also offers expanded sound customization options via XBass Pro and XSpace Pro modes and a set of digital filters.

The integrated network streamer inside the iFi iDSD Phantom can play digital content up to 768 kHz (PCM) and DSD512, while supporting Qobuz Connect, Spotify Connect, Tidal Connect, and other streaming services. With a peak output power of 7.747 W in pure Class A, the unit is compatible with a wide range of headphones. Its Quad DAC architecture combines four Burr-Brown chips to provide better linearity at low volume levels.

Signal purity is maintained thanks to galvanic isolation on the Ethernet, S/PDIF, and AES/EBU inputs, separating the DAC from connected sources and preventing electrical noise from affecting the sound. iFi uses its proprietary Chrysopoeia remastering processor based on an FPGA to deliver studio-grade DSD2048 conversion at home. In DSD2048 mode, the 1-bit stream is sampled at roughly 90 million times per second.

Thanks to two output stages – solid-state and tube – you get three different listening modes. This is the same concept used in the iFi Pro iDSD, but further refined for higher power and lower distortion, resulting in a more dynamic sound.

After selecting the circuit topology, restoring harmonics using K2HD, and applying analog correction, a range of digital filters comes into play. These include Bit-Perfect and Bit-Perfect+, GTO (upsampling to 352.8/384 kHz with minimal filtering), Transient Aligned (balanced filtering with reduced high-frequency noise), and Apodising (similar to GTO, but with a softer effect). The iFi iDSD Phantom DAC/streamer/headphone amplifier is already available for purchase, priced at 4,499 USD.