>>I am brazilian and I speak portuguese, so forgive my english, I’ll use translator tools to help<<
INTRO:
Here we have for review the newest and most affordable desktop DAC/AMP from iFi Audio: the iFi UNO. The UNO has a different proposal from the other audiophile iFi products, the idea here is to provide an equipment that can serve the casual audience, who are looking for a more affordable and minimalist solution to listen to music, watch movies, or play games.
Remembering that now iFi Audio has an official store on AliExpress, so it was much easier for us to purchase the company’s products.
Previous reviews: ZEN Air DAC, GO link
Official price: $79 USD
Colors: Air Force Blue
iFi Audio store:
https://ifi-audio.com/products/uno/
https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_DDT7oBh
https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_DlATJx3
SPECIFICATIONS:
– DAC Chip: ESS ES9219MQ/Q
– Input: USB-C
– Front output: 3.5mm S-Bal
– Rear output: RCA stereo
– Power supply: USB-C 5V/0.5A
– Power consumption: No Signal ~0.8W Max Signal ~1.5W
– Supports: PCM up to 32-Bit/384kHz; Full Native DSD256; MQA
– LED: Magenta, Green, Yellow, Cyan, Blue
– OS compatible: Android, iOS, Windows, Apple Mac
– EQ presets: Game, Movie, Music
– Cable size: 120cm
– Material: polymer shell with aluminium front plate
– UNO’s size: 8.8 [W] x 2.6 [H] x 8.1 [D] cm
– UNO’s weight: 92g
– Packaging size: 11 [W] x 10.2 [L] x 4.3 [D] cm
– Total weight (packaging, DAC, cable, etc): 152g
Earphone section
– Output: ≥2.6V / 3.5V max. at 32Ω/300Ω
– Output Power: ≥211mW @ 32Ω; 39mW @ 300Ω
– THD+N: ≤0.02% (1.27V @ 16Ω)
– DNR: ≥122dB(A) @ 0dBFS
– SNR: ≥113dBA
– Output Impedance: <1Ω
– Channel separation: ≥80dB (1kHz/600Ω)
– Frequency response: 10-80kHz (-0.5dB)
Line section
– Output: 2V max.
– Output Impedance: <100Ω
– SNR: ≥119dBA
– DNR: ≥110dB @ 0dBFS
– THD+N: ≤0.03% @ 0dBFS
DEVICES USED:
– FiiO JD7
– Moondrop SSR
– FiiO KA5
– Moto Z3Play
– Dell Inspiron (W10)
PHYSICAL ASPECTS:
This is the third desktop DAC/AMP that I have reviewed, the second from iFi Audio. At this moment, the iFi UNO is the smallest desktop DAC/AMP that I have been able to review, the equipment is really very small, I would say that it is minuscule compared to other desktop amplifiers. The UNO fits in the palm of my hand. The product is also very light, as my friend Mateus Fleite would say: “it’s almost a dongle”.
Let’s talk about the construction of the UNO. It’s covered by a rigid plastic, and the front panel is covered by an aluminum plate. The volume knob (potentiometer) and the other two buttons on the panel are made of plastic. On the right side is the earphone output (3.5mm S-BAL). At the back of the DAC/AMP we have a stereo RCA output, and an USB-C input.
The materials used in the UNO are of very good quality, even though the product is in a more affordable price range, the quality was not neglected by iFi. The only observation I make is that the two buttons (EQ and Power Match) have a little slack, so they make that “loose thing” noise when you touch them.
One observation that I always address when reviewing a desktop DAC/AMP is whether it can remain stable when plugging and unplugging the earphone cable. In this case here with the UNO, something surprised me. It comes with a kind of material that sticks to the desk, I don’t know very well what it is but it’s not an adhesive, but it’s something similar to the fixation effect of an adhesive. To my surprise, the material stuck very well to my desk and the UNO didn’t move while I plugged and unplugged the IEMs. Great solution that iFi found to solve this detail. I really liked it, because this was one of the observations I made for iFi ZEN Air DAC and AUNE Flamingo.
The volume knob (potentiometer) serves to adjust the volume and to turn on and off the DAC/AMP. This I found to be a positive point in the UNO, because I missed this implementation in iFi ZEN Air DAC (it keeps On all the time). In UNO, just turn the volume knob and you hear a “click” and the LED lights up, indicating that the product is on. During volume adjustment, the potentiometer scrolling is smooth, that is, without “clicks”.
RGB LED. The iFi UNO has a RGB LED positioned at the bottom of the volume knob. For each different sampling rate the LED will change the color. The color scheme is as follows: Green (PCM 44.1/48/88.2/96kHz), Yellow (PCM 176.4/192/352.8/384kHz), Cyan (DSD 64/128), Blue (DSD 256), Magenta (MQA renderer V1). As everyone knows, I don’t use high resolution or MQA files, I only use FLAC 16bit/44.1/48kHz and some common streamings like Spotify, Deezer, YouTube, but I think that the more resources the equipment has, the better it will be because then it will meet people who use these larger files.
Equalizer (EQ). The iFi UNO has 3 sound equalization presets: Game, Movie, Music. ATTENTION: these 3 icons on the surface of the product are not buttons, they are just images for the LED to indicate which equalization preset the equipment is running on. It’s by the “EQ” button on front panel that we make the preset changes. I say this because at first I thought they were buttons. In truth here in UNO we have 4 presets if we count that there’s an option to not use any preset and then we have a fourth available sound which is the native sound of the equipment.
Power Match. Another well-known feature in the iFi Audio equipments: the Power Match. So, this feature is basically an extra gain to the sound. The feature can be activated by the “Power Match” button on the front panel of the UNO. The feature has a small white LED just below the button, so it’s possible to know when it is activated or not. I will write about the sound in the “sound aspects” section.
S-Balanced Connection (S-BAL). iFi has a proprietary technology called “S-Balanced” that makes the 3.5mm single ended output have the features of a balanced output, which implies less distortion and less crosstalk (channel invasion) in the sound. It’s a normal output, you can connect your 3.5mm (P2) earphones that will work (TRS or TRRS). The more technical explanation about iFi’s S-Balanced system can be found at this link.
Cable. The UNO comes with an USB-A <> USB-C cable. This time iFi got it right with the cable that comes with the product. I say this because in the iFi ZEN Air DAC I did a small criticism of the cable they put in the product. Fortunately, here in the UNO they changed for the better (in my opinion). The cable is 120cm long, which allows for good positioning of the UNO on the desk, with this size it’s possible to place the DAC/AMP on the left or right side of your computer without worrying about the availability of USB ports – in the last case just pass the cable behind the computer.
Heating test. I did a test to feel if the iFi UNO heats up the surface too much. The test was made during one hour of playback and the UNO with the Power Match on, the potentiometer at “twelve o’clock”, and Windows volume at 100%. I can say that after 1h, the product showed no signs of surface heating. I found this to be a very positive point, especially since I used it with “high gain” activated.
Firmware Update. These audio devices are always receiving new firmware updates, here with iFi UNO I saw that it already has 3 versions available – version V1.87, V1.89, V2.40. The unit I am reviewing was on V1.89 version and then I updated to the latest version (V2.40). Updating firmware is very simple, anyone can do it without worrying, just follow the tutorial that iFi provides. You can find the files to update firmware here at this link: https://ifi-audio.com/support/download-hub/
The iFi UNO was recognized immediately as soon as I connected it to my notebook (Plug&Play), meaning I didn’t need to install any drivers for it to be recognized (Windows10). If your computer needs to install any drivers, the file can be found at the same link mentioned in the paragraph above. I did all sound evaluation with the equipment connected to my notebook, but I tested the UNO quickly connected to my smartphone and it worked fine, just need to have an USBC <> USB-C OTG (on-the-go) cable [not included in product].
The UNO has the possibility of being used as a DAC/Pre-AMP for an amplifier or speakers due to its stereo analog RCA output on the back of the equipment. Unfortunately, I didn’t have a chance to test this feature because I don’t use speakers or amplifiers. Just as I didn’t test with headphones, that’s not within this website’s scope.
SOUND ASPECTS:
It must be remembered that this analysis is subjective, based on my experience with the product and also on the synergy with the other equipment I used here. I also already inform you that the more objectivist part of the hobby isn’t really my beach, so it may be that some information can be limited, I don’t have much knowledge about the technical side of this type of product.
iFi itself shows in the product presentation that the UNO is intended for the general public, people who don’t have much notion of what is inside in a device like this to make it produce sound, but that they do want to have a gain in quality in their music, movies or games. So, fortunately, the UNO has components like to other more sophisticated iFi products, and therefore, the result couldn’t be other than iFi presenting to us an excellent product here in terms of cost-benefit.
For me, the audio quality of the iFi UNO is great. According to iFi, the DAC chip used in the UNO is from ESS Technology company, model ES9219MQ/Q, exactly the same DAC chip used in the iFi GO link dongle that I reviewed recently. The iFi UNO is another DAC/AMP that has impeccable quality, I even dare to say that for my use – only IEMs – the iFi UNO manages to have a better price/performance than the iFi ZEN Air DAC, mainly due to the price, equipment size, and because iFi brought some of the improvements that I criticized in the ZEN Air DAC review.
As I said above, the sound that I was able to hear with the iFi UNO was great, the equipment delivers performance in transparency, definition, clarity and detail. I didn’t notice any distortion, coloration, noise floor (hiss) or strange sound during the time that I was testing this DAC/AMP.
Equalizer (EQ). Speaking about the sound of the EQ presets of the UNO, I already anticipate to you not getting too excited… Yes, the feature really makes a difference in sound for each selected mode, but I honestly thought that the modifications aren’t so expressive (in my opinion). The good thing is that since each person feels things differently, it may be that for someone these presets end up having a bigger difference.
Continuing, if the person wants a little more emphasis on bass, the Game mode is the best option, if they want a little more presence in mids/vocals, the Movie mode is the best option, and if they want a more “natural” mode without much change in sound, the Music mode is ideal. There is still sound without any EQ preset, which was my ideal option and which I couldn’t even distinguish between this mode (without EQ) and Music mode.
Power Match. As mentioned before, iFi’s Power Match is the same as a gain button and here in my tests I enjoyed this feature on UNO. The sound really has an increase in power and it is very noticeable when the Power Match is on or off. I even preferred to set it activated and lower it a little more on the volume knob (potentiometer). The sound grows and expands and you notice better dynamics in the bass. It’s a gain feature that will give an extra boost to your sound.
Amplification. The iFi UNO has 211mW at 32 Ohms which is already more than enough to push 99% of today’s IEMs. Here in this review I used two IEMs that don’t require much amplification – FiiO JD7 and Moondrop SSR – although SSR scales well when you plug it into a more powerful source. For me both IEMs showed great performance with this DAC/AMP. In terms of volume I always set it there at “twelve o’clock” and with Windows volume at Max (100% of volume scale) and I confess it was enough for my ears. So from where I set it until the end of volume it gets quite loud. It’s so loud that it’s kind of dangerous trying to listen closer to the final volume.
Comparative. I have been using the FiiO KA5 dongle in my reviews, so it’s my reference source at the moment to compare with another device. Please keep in mind that they are extremely different devices, but it’s just a comparison with the intention of enriching the text with as much information as possible. The configuration was like this: KA5 on high gain, 120 steps (max vol) and 50% on Windows; UNO was on high gain, “twelve o’clock” on the volume knob, and 100% on Windows. The result was that iFi UNO presented itself in a warmer way, with a little more smoothness in the sound, while KA5 presented a sound more focused on mids, with more detail, and I would say that the presentation was more “analytical”.
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