iFi iPurifier 3 Review
Okay. So I'm admitting up-front that out of the 2 weeks that I've been running this piece of kit through its paces, I was getting a little nervous at first... Not that I was going to have to write a bad review, since it's me, and I HATE to waste my precious little leisure time on audio that doesn't make me smile. I'll say what I don't like in a second. But because for the first 2 days, I wasn't ACTIVELY listening. I was just looking for what I thought I should hear differently. "More grain", Crisper highs", "Less bass"... Got nothing. I was scratching my head for a while, then I tried something. I was listening to my computer:
- (Dell 5675 Ryzen 7)
- Running JRiver Media Center 24, (UPDATE YOUR iFi iDSD DRIVERS WITH THE ONES PROVIDED BY iFi, not the Windows 10 default iFi drivers, OR YOU MAY GET DISAPPOINTING SOUND/WEIRD AUDIO CLICKS & SOUND DROPS.)
- Through both USB 2.0 & 3.0 ports alternately
- Into my iFi Micro iDSD
- Listened to: Sennheiser HD800s, HD650s, Etymotic ER4-XR, & BeyerDynamics T1 ver 2.
After multiple A/B sessions with the iPurifier 3 in the chain and without, I was really thinking that I wasn't actually hearing anything that I would be able to describe. Then it hit me! I swapped-out my iDSD for my old FIIO e17 DAC/AMP. (Yes, it's old. But it still holds a charge amazingly!)
Then I noticed 3 things without the iPurifier 3:
- SO much less power! (I had forgotten since I only use the Micro iDSD, iDSD BL, or iCAN when traveling.)
- Harsher Highs (Not detail, just "edge" to female voices and instrumental high notes.)
- Comparatively hollow sound.
There it was! And while I would like to say I was right, I wasn't. But there was finally enough of a difference that what I wasn't looking for was smacking me in the face...
So if I go off of what the iPurifier 3 is SUPPOSED to do:
- Active Noise Cancellation2® (ANC2) actively cancels all incoming noise.
- Check! "Inky black" backgrounds and better instrument separation/isolation when added.
- Reclock2/Regenerate2/Rebalance2 - cleaner, clearer music.
- Check! While some "life" seemed injected into music, I don't think I would recognize "Jitter" if it rose up and bit me, so I'm not going to comment on that. But I do accept that reclocking can show results now.
What I didn't expect was though the iPurifier 3 certainly didn't make my FIIO any louder, or much bigger, (Though it did make soundstages seem a bit wider for some reason on the HD650s and T1, but not that I noticed on the HD800s.) the iPurifier 3 DID make the sound feel a little "fuller". Almost like it envelops you just a tiny bit more with each headphone.
So, now that I knew what I was looking for, back to the Micro iDSD
Same things! But not by nearly as great a degree. And certainly not the things I was expecting originally. I guess I was thinking that the iPurifier was going to "whittle" edges off of sounds to make them "sharper", and consequently harsher. But it actually doesn't at all. If I was pushed, I guess I would say that it makes the sound more "ordered". Instruments and voices don't seem to bleed or smear into each other as much. Which is weird because I never noticed it before. But now, I can't NOT hear it. (Sorry Lawrance, you're NOT getting this one back!)
So I guess that I should close up with a quick "what you get with it", and and then conclude.
I requested the "USB-A Female" variation, so I also tried the unit with my Samsung Note 8. It works a treat, no doubt, but certainly isn't what I would call "convenient" for how I travel as the iPurifier 3 is almost half as long as the phone, and twice as thick. So I'm going to stick with using it between my PC and DAC. But that doesn't mean that it wouldn't work nicely once you get to where you're going, like a hotel room or visiting friends/family. With that said, it does come including (1) travel length 6-inch USB Type "C" and (1) 6-inch USB "Micro" cable for connection between the device and iPurifier as well as 4 adhesive backed gel dots/feet to prevent the metal housing from scratching whatever you place the unit against/on.
Included 6-inch USB Type "C" cable
Included 6-inch USB "Micro" cable
The iPurifier 3 unit doesn't require a separate power source, so simply plug it up, and you're done. No settings, configuration, or extra wires. Just connect it, and forget it.
So it probably is self-evident by now, but to cover all the bases...
"Would I buy it?" Yes. The iPurifier 3 is one of the easiest ways to subtly-enhance audio that I've ever seen. Just plug it up and rock the night away. No fiddling or tweaking needed.
Music
DSD
- Boston - Foreplay / Long Time
- Roger Waters - What God Wants, Pt. I
- Mozart - Violin Concerto in D major (Allegro)
- Santana - Black Magic Woman/Gypsy Queen
FLAC
- Fleetwood Mac - The Chain
- Simon & Garfunkel - The Boxer
- Rush - Red Barchetta
- Mauгice Ravel — Sonatа for Violin and Piano No.1 (1897)
MP3
- Planet P - Why Me?
- YAZ - Only You
- Mauгice Ravel — Sonatа for Violin and Piano No.1 (1897)
Many thanks to Lawrance and all the awesome people at iFi for sending the iPurifier 3 for me to test drive. (Despite my earlier comment, I do have to give it back, unfortunately, so now I have to go out and buy one as I can't "unhear" the difference now that I know that it is there.)