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A Pocket-Size DAC/Amp With Serious Hi-Fi Ambitions

iFi Audio calls their new iDSD GR 2 “the most versatile true-portable DAC/amplifier we’ve ever made”. Sometimes a product gets a bit of an upgrade: a new finish, a few features. Other times, a product gets a total overhaul. iFi Audio’s new portable DAC/amplifier, iDSD GR 2, replaces the popular xDSD Gryphon, and is a much better product Let’s see if the GR 2 might be right for you.  First, let’s look at why xDSD Gryphon has been so popular:  

It won the coveted EISA Best Product Award for best mobile DAC in 2022 AND 2023, plus many other awards. Gryphon is priced well @ $599; not entry level, but much less than some top-of-the-line portable DAC/Amps. It's powerful, offering 1,000 mW of power @ 32 ohms, yet easily portable, at just about one-half pound. 

For less money than Gryphon, at $529 retail, iDSD GR 2 offers 50% more power, up to 1,500 milliwatts RMS @ 32 ohms, vs the 1,000 milliwatts in Gryphon via the 4.4 mm balanced connection. That provides more headroom for dynamic passages, especially heavy bass passages. Also, GR 2 can power even hard to drive, less efficient headphones, like many of our planar models.

Second, you get a smoother, more analog sound from a better DAC chip set. Burr-Brown’s PCM1795 current-output chip set offers true 32-bit resolution, for less distortion and better dynamic range. It sounds a tad less “digital” than the original Gryphon.

You also get a custom, re-designed amplifier stage with class A op-amps. The whole circuit is fully balanced from end to end, input to output. It’s more musical; you get lower distortion and a quieter background for your music.

How do these benefits translate when you play music? We used Audeze’s LCD-2, a fine, planar magnetic headphone, and our trusty Sony WH 1000 XM3. With LCD-2, the Eagles tune “I Can’t Tell You Why” from The Long Run sounded warm and rich. There was plenty of very natural–sounding bass. Glenn Frey’s slow, note-bending guitar solo sounded terrific, with lots of space and separation among the instruments.  

On “Hey Jealousy” from Gin Blossoms, a harder rock song, the music sounded just great.  Crunchy guitars and pounding drums, yes, but with a clean, soaring vocal above it. This song benefited from the X-bass feature that emphasizes the bass sounds. 

On Pink Floyd’s Wish You Were Here, the dynamics were very evident as it moved from slow acoustic tones and solo vocal to the heavier sound of the whole band. We heard a quiet noise floor too, because of the spare arrangement at the start of the song. 

A note about two features carried over from Gryphon: X-Bass, which punches up the bottom end, and X-Space, for a greater sense of separation. Listeners will be using a huge range of headphones: some with strong bass, others not so much; some with excellent clarity on the high end, others lacking that, and so on. X-bass and X-space help you easily customize your sound, without needing to dive deep into a more complex EQ mode.

Now, back to the up-grades vs the original Gryphon: iDSD GR 2 has an upgraded hybrid battery power supply. Even with 50% more output power, you still get 7 hours of battery time from a 3½ hour charging time. If you plug in to an external power supply such as your laptop, GR 2 prioritizes that power over the battery, extending battery life. The GR 2 is in some ways a portable DAC / amplifier with desktop-level performance – quite impressive.  

iFi also improved your wireless performance by adding aptX Lossless Bluetooth audio, which wasn’t included in Gryphon, along with Bluetooth version 5.4, versus the older version 5.1 in Gryphon. You’ll get 16-bit, 44k, CD-quality sound, wirelessly.

The GR 2 is even easier to use. They’ve added a 2.3-inch color OLED touchscreen. That makes it faster and easier for you to configure your options and filters to suit your tastes. This simplifies the deep menu dives that Gryphon often required - a more fun product, a better user experience versus Gryphon.

iFi also added their JVC/Kenwood K2 HD information processing, not offered in Gryphon, for a more natural-sounding, more analog-type listening experience. K2 HD both reconstructs ultra-high frequency signals above 22k, and up-samples 16-bit signals to 24-bit signals. You can switch from K2 HD mode to K2 only mode, so you get a bit less of this sonic effect, minus up-sampling.  

If you’re considering a DAC/headphone amp for better sound, and you’re not sure about whether to get a desktop model or a portable, we urge you to investigate iFi Audio’s iDSD GR2. It’s both — a remarkable product for just over $500. The GR 2 has more power, sounds better, and is easier and more enjoyable to use than the original. Yet it costs less money. Good job, iFi!  For more information, go to Gramophone.com, and to purchase yours, visit skybygramophone.com. Thank you much for spending time with us today — we’ll see you soon.