I just picked up the Hip Dac to power my mobile setup. Should be here in a couple days. Looking forward to trying it out and seeing what it can do! I’ll have to report back here with my impressions after I’ve spent some time with it.
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My new portable companion came in today and I’m really enjoying it so far. Smoothes out the Elegia just enough compared to the Dragonfly, and that bass boost switch is my new secret sauce when I want that little extra low end oomph for certain genres. This little guy complements the Elegia beautifully in my opinion and makes it one versatile beast. I’m calling this pairing “The Allied Forces of Europe”
The Hip Dac also fits nicely inside the Elegia carrying case, making for a pretty sweet portable kit.
Overall my initial impression is that I’m very impressed and I think this has really good synergy with the Elegia. The Burr Brown chip presents a smooth, warm sound that complements the Elegias phenomenal technical abilities, and the Xbass feature is the icing on the cake when you want to feel the bass that the Elegia is capable of delivering. I’ll have to check back later with more long term impressions but I have to say I think iFi did a wonderful job with this little blue gem.
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That’s awesome! I’m glad you’re enjoying it, it’s a sharp looking dac/amp. 
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A very aesthetically pleasing setup. Great portable rig.
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I own a Focal Elegia and a Dragonfly Cobalt. I really consider selling the cobalt and buying a Hip-Dac. Mostly listening via iPhone/Tidal or MacBook/Roon/Audirvana.
Any help for my decision? 
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I haven’t heard the Cobalt but I have owned the Red and I did some A/B listening when my Hip Dac came in. I found the Dragonfly to have a very crisp, clear sound paired with the Elegia. But I love some punchy, rumbling bass and the Elegia felt just a tad light with the Dragonfly on some tracks (I listen to a lot of rock and electronic music that benefits from an authoritative bass response). I found myself turning the volume up to try and get that impactful bass feeling and then the high notes would be a little too much for me.
The Hip Dac on the other hand, smoothed out those highs a little bit. Maybe at the expense of a little bit if clarity and exactness, but with the Elegia already being an exceptionally clear sounding headphone I felt like this was a fair compromise. It gives the Elegia a touch more warmth that makes it a more relaxing listen for the type of music I enjoy.
Then there is Xbass. In my opinion it is very tastefully done and most of the time I feel like it brings some added body and weight to the sound without making it feel boomy or bloated. Sometimes I use it with certain tracks, and with some bass-light headphones I tend to leave it on all the time. The Elegia is not bass light, it straddles the line for me so I tend to turn it off and on depending on whether the music calls for it. My KSC75 on the other hand always has the Xbass engaged, (and it sound awesome with that extra low end boost). For my IEMs I keep it off most of the time. I have the Shozy 1.1 and the BLON BL-03 and those both have some hefty bass all on their own, so Xbass usually feels like overkill on those two.
If you’re coming from something on the level of the Cobalt you might consider the Hip Dac’s big brother, the XDSD. I have my eye on it as my next portable source. I have not heard it but from what I’ve read it has a more refined and detailed sound than the Hip Dac and it still keeps the Xbass feature while adding other functionality like bluetooth connectivity.
I’m curious to hear what you decide. Please report back when you do!
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I have both a Cobalt and an xDSD. I’m not getting rid of either soon. The xDSD has a true line out, which is important for me. The Cobalt has a form factor that is important. For MQA, the Cobalt is bulletproof. The xDSD is solid, but not quite as reliable. I sometimes get a dropout, or it fails to enter MQA mode when it should. Not often enough to be a problem, and a restart usually fixes it. Sound quality is certainly better, and there is no comparison if you are using it to drive an amp.
The XBass and the 3D modes of the xDSD are quite helpful, as they live in the analog domain post MQA.
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Sounds like I’m going down the right path then if I’m looking at the xDSD as my next mobile source. Most people I’ve read or talked to give it high marks.
Sharing my meager setup. Love the hipDAC! I have it attached to my HD58x and Elex (latter not shown). I use my phone for grooves on the move. To make the hipDAC more portable vs transportable, I asked the good folks of Oregon-based Hand and Hide (www.handandhide.com) to craft a custom dual phone case. You’ll need an OTG cable that’s 6-inches+ – pics attached show that the normal 3-4" OTG cable is too short and the dual case won’t open fully. Owner and genius Jeff Amrhein is a good dude and will take care of anyone who may need a case for this bad boy. Rock on!
*EDIT: I can only post one pic at a time, sorry for the upcoming spam
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That’s an awesome setup!
I love the custom case, it looks like it works really well.
Very cool.
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Thank you! I’m super happy with it. It’s 100% more convenient than carrying separate phone + hipDAC in one hand. The custom case cost no more than the advertised price of $139 for a dual phone case on Hand and Hide’s website. Worth it and more!
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Great portable setup. The hipDAC seems to be becoming a firm favourite with lots of folk.
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Would the Hifiman Ananda and the Grado RS 2e (both of which I plan to get in the relatively near future) work well with the IFi Audio hip-dac Dac/headphone amplifier? If not, can you recommend one or more other budget portable amp/Dacs that would.Thanks.
Speaking strictly on HipDAC vs the price-comparable, also-portable NANO iDSD Black Label, HipDAC better drives full sized cans – I have the HD58x and Elex. A few other reviewers noted the same thing. In short, balanced output + Powermatch (gain) on the HipDAC is more than sufficient to drive most cans. Sonically, the hipDAC has a warm and smooth tilt. I’ve never tried the two phones you mentioned so I’m not sure how they pair sonically with the HipDAC.
I just got my hip dac. It really is a great little thing IMO. I have tried it with my KSC75 and VC. It powers both fine, the power match function really kicks up the volume on both headphones. I tend to keep the xbass active on the KSC75, but on the VC it is too much. I was worried that it would sound too warm, but that has not been the case. SQ wise I can’t fault it. I really like the smooth, controlled sound of the hip dac.
I can’t get over how cool this amp is. The color is eye catching, the material quality is very good, it feels great in the hand, the volume knob is smooth to turn and big enough to be easy to use.
I have yet to see how long the battery lasts. But so far I have been positively surprised by this unit. I was choosing between this amp and the Xduoo xd-05 plus, but that amp seems to be very picky about what cables work with it, so I went with the ifi instead. I have not had any reason to regret my choice so far. I think this one is a keeper.
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Easily a keeper! Xbass is so addicting to me. I can’t get more than 6hrs with both Powermatch and Xbass on, but that’s usually more than enough for my use case. Glad to hear it can drive the ZMFs easily (my next headphone purchase)!
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