You may know iFi Audio better as digital audio specialists offering a variety of DACs in a variety of form factors and very affordable prices (Zen DAC V2, Go Link, Uno and snazzy DAC 2 are just a few examples).
But it now has a brand new high-end offering that we saw at the High End Munich show this week. Head to the company’s booth and you’ll find a quirky but distinctive box, the iFi iCan Phantom.
The iCan Phantom hasn’t been officially released yet, but I got a thorough review of this crazy box of head-fi goodies from an iFi rep, as well as a quick listen.
What is the iFi iCan Phantom? It is a pure analog headphone amplifier, replacing the current flagship (Pro iCan signature), with a brand new look and some pretty smart design decisions, including a new way to provide the correct bias voltage to match your electrostatic headphones.
This headphone amplifier is a fully differential balanced circuit design, offers “ultra low noise performance” and a great power boost, and will work with virtually any pair of headphones you can think of, from your super-high-sensitivity IEMs to very hard-to-drive electrostatic headphones, and everything in between , claims iFi.
The number of headphone jacks is generous: on one side of the plinth you’ll find the dedicated electrostatic connectors, 4-pin balanced, 3-pin balanced, 4.4 balanced and good old 3.5mm. On the other side are a pair of balanced XLR and a handful of RCA inputs. And it comes with a remote control.
The visual design has completely changed. Gone is the rather vintage, fussy styling of the old Pro iCan Signature; what looks like a box stacked on top of another is actually a single unit. It’s kind of like a two-moe cake made by two very different personalities. This signature “two-tone dual layer” styling and its name are loosely inspired by Rolls Royce’s legendary Phantom car, I’m told by the iFi rep, and I must admit the design certainly stands out, even if it may be not so to everyone’s taste.
A rather nice round OLED display is flanked by two rotary knobs (one for input selection, the other for volume) on the sleek upper metal section, which sits above the (less elegant) all-black plinth containing all connections.
And you can see through the smoked glass top at the valves and circuitry inside (this is more obvious in person; trade show floor lighting is penalizing for reflective surfaces). Like the outgoing Pro iCan Signature it replaces, the iCan Phantom has two input stages. One is a solid stage, the other is a valve. The two are completely separate, but iFi offers the option to switch between the two if you want to match the sound to your mood, your sonic taste or even the music you’re listening to, iFi said.
By far the most unique aspect of the Phantom is the way it “provides the voltage electrostatics need to perform at their best”. You cannot use a conventional headphone amplifier with electrostatic headphones because the voltages required to drive them are much higher than normal. So you need a separate energiser to power them, with the right voltage for your specific model.
What iFi does is offer the different bias voltage settings to match specific electrostatics, in the form of what appear to be color-coded SD cards.
Why the cards? In the former Pro series, the iFi representative said, there was a small control knob that allowed you to adjust the voltage to your electrostatic headphones. The problem was that doing that wrong could damage your (undoubtedly very expensive) electrostatic headphones.
So in the Phantom, iFi tries to solve this problem with these handy little cards that are easy to swap and use. Not only is the voltage printed on the card, it even lists the name of the compatible electrostatic headphone brands (e.g. HiFi Man, Stax or Sennheiser) for that particular setting (see image above).
So you can just choose the voltage card that’s right for your particular pair of headphones, pop it into the dedicated ‘bias’ slot in the electrostatic terminals section, and boom – you’ve got the right bias without worrying about your headphones literally breaks. tree.
It’s a smart, fun and interactive (not to mention safe) solution that we’ve never seen before. iFi has a knack for offering niche and quirky solutions for its customers to suit their listening experience, but this is an ingenious way of making something rather technically appealing to everyone.
I had a quick listen to the Phantom with HiFi Man electrostatic cans plugged in, but a noisy show floor makes it impossible to pass judgment other than it making a sound. We would need to get a sample for testing before commenting on audio performance.
How much does all this design and technology cost? The iCan phantom hasn’t officially launched yet, so there’s no firm pricing, but I’m told it will be available in the summer (most likely June), and is expected to cost around £3700/$3700. That’s a higher price tag than we’ve come to expect from iFi and is a good thousand or two steps up from the older iCan Pro Signature. iFi is clearly pushing its ambitions higher to satisfy the high-end headphone crowd, and it’ll be interesting to see if this Phantom can live up to those expectations. We will provide you with more information and concrete pricing once iFi officially launches the new iCan Phantom.
MORE:
Read all the latest news and highlights from High End Munich 2023
What is a headphone amplifier and why should you buy one?
Read our review of the Stax SR-L700 Mk2 / SRM-700T electrostatic headphones