iFi Audio xDSD Gryphon

The ifi Audio xDSD Gryphon is the latest portable Headphone Amp and DAC with a true taste of High End performance at a fraction of the price. iFi pride themselves on producing sensible priced products with superb performance. The new Gryphon is an ambitious product capable of being the pnly portable Headphone Amp/DAC you will ever need. 

• Separate Bluetooth + DAC + amp stages: each optimised for maximum performance
• Digital sources via USB, S/PDIF or Bluetooth
• Analogue sources via 4.4mm or 3.5mm inputs

On USB:

• PCM (768/705.6/384/352.8/192/176.4/96/88.2/48/44.1 kHz)
• DSD (512/256/128/64)
• DXD (768/705.6/384/352.8kHz)
• MQA (Decoder)

On S/PDIF

• PCM (192/176.4/96/88.2/48/44.1 kHz)
• DoP

Portable DAC/amps tend to be compromised because they focus on a great digital OR a great analogue section. But not both. The xDSD Gryphon is different. Just like its mythical namesake, it is two beasts in one.

From the Ultra-Res digital stage using the Burr-Brown MultiBit at the core to the PureWave analogue power section pumping out 1,000mW and other things in-between, it takes serious headphones to tame the Gryphon.

Using the latest QCC 5100 series Bluetooth v5.1 as the starting point, for wireless connectivity, the xDSD Gryphon is at the bleeding-edge when it comes to the latest formats:

• aptX Adaptive and aptX HD
• LDAC and HWA/LHDC
• regular aptX and aptX Low Latency
• AAC
• SBC (plain vanilla Bluetooth)

Not only this but the above is on the iFi digital platform where each section is distinct. So QC5100 for reception > Global Master Clock for jitter > Burr-Brown for DAC conversion. More effort but that’s why our wireless gives wired a run for its money.

In terms of wired connectivity, the xDSD Gryphon handles all the formats using a hybrid Burr-Brown DAC chipset which is the same as used in our £3,000 flagship, the Pro iDSD Signature.

Rest assured that all the following latest formats are catered for but most importantly, are pushed to their zenith.

The xDSD Gryphon uses our PureWave amplification circuitry. It has 1,000mW at 32 Ohms. With a whopping max 6.7v output, bring on the high impedance headphones because the Gryphon will not break a sweat driving them.

This is plenty to drive all manner of headphones. The 4.4mm Pentaconn is the best for balanced playback. The 3.5mm S-Balanced will max SE headphones. And your premium high-sensitivity IEMs have not been forgotten either – iEMatch will cut out the hiss.

XSpace adds back the cavernous sound stage of recordings.

XBass II reinstates the missing bass from open-backed headphones or for recordings that you hanker for bass slam. Under XBass II you can select ‘Bass’ and/or ‘Presence’ so that the upper midrange frequencies are correctly added back into your favourite recording.

iEMatch – is our proprietary tech which reduces the annoying hiss from high-sensitivity headphones without losing any dynamic range.

With digital sources, users can choose between three bespoke digital filters via the on-screen menu: Bit-Perfect, Standard and GTO (Gibbs Transient Optimised), each having a fine-tuning effect on sound.