Name: iFi AUDIO Micro-iCAN Headphone Amplifier, Special Edition
Brand: iFi AUDIO
SKU: IFIMICICANSE
Price: 299.00 USD
Availability: Discontinued
Rating: 3.33 (3 reviews)

iFi AUDIO Micro-iCAN Headphone Amplifier, Special Edition

iFi AUDIO Micro-iCAN

iFi AUDIO

iFi Micro-iCAN Headphone Amplifier, Special Edition

Adorama

Audio

Headphones & Earphones

Headphone Accessories

iFi AUDIO Headphone Accessories

iFi AUDIO Micro-iCAN 

25% Off: iFi AUDIO Micro-iCAN Headphone Amplifier, Special Edition Buy now & save $100. Accessory Type: Headphone Amplifiers

So I was a little apprehensive about this amp based on some of the negative reviews but so far I love it! I don't any channel imbalance to speak of and no background noise when it's on. I was also sure to register for the warranty on their website right away.

The amp, in general has a very "smooth" sound. It's not cold and harsh like my first gen Magni. It's not super warm, either. But I would say it's a little warm of neutral. Their "TubeState" tech does make it sound different. It has some of the same audio characteristics as my Bravo Audio Ocean but that amp can sound much more "tubey" depending on the tube.

This amp can really put out the power. It drives my 250 ohm Beyerdynamics without any gain no problem. In fact the only headphone I need to use the higher gain on is my T20-RP MKIII which are notoriously hard to drive. In fact, speaking of the T20, I was strongly considering selling them because they just didn't sound that great to me but the iCAN SE made me fall in love with my T20! They sound phenomenal with the amp.

It's also the best amp pairing I have found my HIFIMAN HE-400. It really opens up the sound and those headphones really benefit from the XBass switch (more on that later). It doesn't eliminate the sibilance that plagues the headphone but I wasn't expecting it to change that.

It also sounds good with my DT990 Pro. However, it doesn't pair very well at all with my DT770 Pro. It causes a strange upper-mid/treble spike that isn't present with any other amp I use with those headphones. This iCAN SE also doesn't pair very well with my very easy to drive M1060. It causes a strange upper-mid/treble spike similar to the DT770. In fact, my HE-400 sounded better than the M1060 on this amp which is not true for any other amp I have used. This spike might be resolved or lessened with some additional amp burn in (I only have about 10-20 hours on it right now).

Now, as for the XBass and 3D Audio switches, I LOVE the XBass switch. I'm a basshead so any time I can cleanly add quality bass, I will with most headphones. So I usually keep it on the low setting. I don't really notice a difference with the 3D switch. The only change I notice is a slight bump in the treble. It would probably be more effective on old mono recordings but I don't have any of those to try. It doesn't negatively effect the sound, as far as I can tell.

I wish this amp had a power switch or the volume knob was the power switch (like it is on the iDSD Black Label) but the way I got around that is I just bought some remote controlled power plugs so I just plugged it into that and I use the remote to turn it on and off.

As far as value goes this is a great amp. It's small, powerful, and has tons of features. I got it for two hundy on sale and I am very happy with the value it provides at that price.

To sum up. It works very well with some headphones but doesn't pair well with everything. It's a great amp for the money.

Great Little Amp!

product need register for warranty within 30 days and there is nothing in the manual indicate that.

dead within 3 month with lightly usage

Bought this to see what the hype was about. Turns out it didn't meet my needs so its a return, (I need a portable amp). I tried to talk myself into keeping it, its a very nice amp. My uses with this amp (the 2 weeks at home) were mostly off my LG V20 and PC. What I noticed immediately was the lively mids this amp produced. Bass was more punchier, a thing lacking off my Philips Fedelio X2 Headphones. All the hype about the bass and 3d switches are not hype at all..they are amazing tools to play with. If I had Senhieser headphones and/or HiFimans this would be a no brainer keep, as it is for me I'm personally eying the more costly portable option now as a replacement, the iDSD BL