While iFi is best known for their affordable DAC/Amp options, and portable gear like xDSD Gryphon and GO Blue, they’ve released a number of impressive flagship DACs and Amps over the years. Their latest flagship DAC/Amp/Streamer, iDSD Phantom, which follows up on a line of high-end DACs that each had some amazing features, but also some shortcomings that held them back from reaching the top of the pile. Can iDSD Phantom deliver a complete flagship experience?

Build and Design

iDSD Phantom is the second release in iFi’s Phantom lineup, and it matches the iCAN Phantom visually by looking kind of like two separate units welded together. On top there’s a silver section with a clear top and two knobs and a full color screen used for configuring features and displaying album artwork. On the bottom, it’s matte black with all of your headphones outputs on the front, and inputs on the back. There’s also a remote, and a USB-C port for connecting an external hard drive for use with the DLNA/UPnP feature.

For outputs, iDSD Phantom gives you:

• 3.5mm

• 4.4mm 4-Pin XLR

• Dual 6.3mm/3-pin XLR that provides for balanced output with a dual-connector or single-ended output with a standard 6.3mm cable.

• L/R XLR DAC/Preamp Output (rear)

• L/R RC DAC/Preamp Output (rear)

There are a variety of digital inputs as well:

• USB-B

• S/PDIF Digital Coax

• TOSLink/Optical

• AES

• BNC

• Ethernet

• WiFi

For controlling all of this, you use the two big shiny wheels on the front of the device. The left wheel controls your inputs, filters, and other configuration, while the right one is just for volume. There are also physical switches for controlling most of the same features that you can access with the wheel:

• Tube mode

• Gain

• DSD2048 Upsampling

• DAC Filter

• K2HD

• XSpace

• XBass

Using iDSD Phantom

If you’re looking for a straightforward, easy-to-use desktop DAC. This is not it. If you’re looking for something that’s going to cover a variety of both common and niche features (and sound great in the process) then you’re in the right place. iDSD Phantom works as a streamer, a DAC, and has just about every input and output option you could ask for – except for analog inputs, since this is a DAC.

Probably the most confusing part of this unit is the fact that most of the controls are redundant. The main way to access all the features of the device is through the configuration wheel, which opens the menu when you turn it, and selects items from the menu when you push it, but if you push it without turning it first, it mutes your output, so watch out for that. From within the configuration menu, you can select from all the available options:

• Settings

• Inputs

• K2 Technology

• Operation Modes

• Gains

• Remaster

• Filters

• iEMatch

• XBass

• XSpace

But from among those options, all of them except for Inputs, iEMatch, and Settings have a standalone button dedicated to controlling that option. Settings does provide some important deeper options though, including the Tube Hour Meter, Screen Brightness, Display Modes (for Streaming,) Playback Modes (also for Streaming,) Volume Sync, and external clock input.

It’s a lot.

Probably the biggest win here from a system and usability standpoint is the improvements iFi has made to their streaming software and capabilities. I’ve spent no small number of hours troubleshooting connection issues with iFi past streamers, and with the older flagship iDSD devices, you often had to use an external DLNA app to access streaming features. The new iFi Nexis app is a big improvement, and streaming via ethernet connection or WiFi was a breeze. I didn’t have any issues or hangups, and there was no need for troubleshooting. Airplay, Spotify Connect, and Qobuz Connect all worked perfectly and iDSD Phantom delivered a simple, convenient experience.

So with all these options and features, how does it actually sound?

Sound

iDSD Phantom has a broad sonic range, from a warm, smooth, musical sound, to impressively clean and crisp reference delivery. Features like DSD20248 Remaster and K2HD extract exceptional clarity, detail, and resolution from the original signal, providing exquisite separation and imaging characteristics on high resolution tracks, and elevating those characteristics beyond expectations on lesser recordings.

Solid State, Tube, and Tube+ mode give you a spectrum from a clean studio reference sound to a warm, lush relaxed one. Solid State is the cleanest, most detailed sound of the three, but it doesn’t come across as harsh or clinical, giving you a well-balanced presentation. The standard Tube mode adds more body and weight to the sound, while smoothing out the highs, ever so slightly, while Tube+ pushes the sound into a more decidedly warm, organic sound. The transition also narrows the stage to some degree, with Solid State offering the biggest sense of space, while Tube+ has the most tactile impact to the sound, but presents a more intimate soundstage.

I tried out iDSD Phantom with a range of headphones and IEMs from Campfire Andromeda 10 to HIFIMAN HE1000 Unveiled, and Phantom handled them all brilliantly – though the iEMatch feature was needed to fully eliminate the background noise on Campfire Andromeda 10. iDSD Phantom isn’t quite powerful enough for the top-end of hard to drive headphones, but the headphone output in general is a major improvement over previous flagship iDSD DACs, which lacked punch and dynamics with many over-ear headphones. 

Less efficient IEMs like the FATfreq Grand Maestro performed very well, and enjoyed a black background without the iEMatch features, while most moderate to low efficiency headphones get excellent performance with high gain mode. The XBass feature is particularly important with planar magnetic headphones as it adds a small gain boost in addition to the extra subbass support, giving an overall feeling of stronger dynamics and power.

Comparison: Burson Conductor Voyager

If you’re shopping for a desktop DAC/Amp combo, with a budget of about $5000, iFi iDSD Phantom and Burson Composer Voyager offer two different takes on this sort of desktop unit. iDSD Phantom offers a more modern, feature-heavy take on the design, while Conductor Voyager is more focused on pure power.

In terms of the basics of visual design, I prefer Burson’s simpler vintage style design to iDSD Phantom’s more unique look. While Conductor’s chassis has a better design, Phantom’s screen is significantly nicer and more functional, with features like album art, and an easier to navigate configuration system. Conductor also lacks a number of the digital input options, including the WiFi streaming capabilities of iDSD Phantom (though Conductor Voyager has analog input options, which iDSD Phantom lacks.)

Burson is more dedicated to users being able to open the device, swap out parts and make their own changes, while iFi has more limitations on that sort of thing, making the two devices mirror images in user experience: Burson provides a pathway for hardware upgrades with things like opamps, and their Silent Power Modules, but doesn’t provide much in the way of software configuration while iFi offers a large number of software configuration options without any real options for changes at the hardware level.

In terms of the final result of all those options, Conductor Voyager’s sound is highly aggressive and energetic, with a slightly wider soundstage. iDSD Phantom – even in solid state mode – is more natural and organic sounding. The Burson is also significantly more powerful, handling the hardest to drive headphones with ease, while iDSD Phantom comes up a little short on that end. For IEMs, Phantom has a blacker background, and the iEMatch feature improves the number of available options even further. Conductor’s lack of a 4.4mm output further limits its usefulness with IEMs. 

In essence, Burson Conductor Voyager is an old-school powerhouse. The setup is simple, with a generally minimalist design, while the sound is impressive, and the power output is best in class. In contrast iDSD Phantom uses more advanced digital processing and a vast array of features to offer a more advanced, modern design.

The Bottom Line

iDSD Phantom sits at the nexus of tubes, solid state, analog, and digital, and it’s the best flagship DAC that iFi has ever made. Where previous models had strong capabilities and plenty of features on tap, there were always limitations in the implementation. iDSD Phantom refines every aspect of iFi’s design, offering exquisite sound by utilizing a combination of the latest in advanced digital processing, with the same sort of vintage analog tech that the HiFi industry has been using for decades.