I have this hip dac 2 with me, and I am using it since almost 3 years now. And it's such a wonderful device, what to say! I use it daily for at least 4-5 hours, sometimes even more and not less than that, still it's performing superbly by God's grace. It's 4.4 mm port is able to drive almost every kind of power hungry headphones. And it drives them very sufficiently and beautifully with just the right amount of bass. Headphone reaches to it's full potential after using this DAC. After such a long usage of this product, the only concern I can honestly admit regarding this is that it's battery life is average. Once charged, it's battery can run up to 4 hours without any problem depending on the usage.... So, I think IFI can improve on that department. Otherwise it's such a great DAC. Make no mistake about it. I will be using ot for so many years to come.....
Awesome review. I think of all the reviewers you were the only one to compare it with phone and laptop outputs which is appropriate as that will be the baseline for most people. I also love that you compare it with the zen dac 2. Nice job!
@@AndysTechTone I recently just bought the Focal Clear, which is arriving tomorrow. It's my first "high end" headphone, previously coming from Master Dynamic MW60 and RHA T20 iem. I'm looking to get the most out of the Clear, with a budget of around $200. Do you think the zen dac v2 or the hip dac v2 would be better sound wise? I see the benefits of having the hip dac for its portability, but I also see the benefit of having the zen dac to use as an external dac for speakers down the line. The other option I'm looking at is the Topping DX3 Pro+. Thanks for your input!
@@tanachip if you want a bit more relaxed and laid back sound then tou should opt for the zen dac 2. Also the Truebass feature feels more subtle and natural on the zen. If you want portability and a bit more of a kick with Xbass then the hip dac 2 is the better choice
@@AndysTechTone Thanks! In the video, you mentioned a separate app to stream to the dac. I will be using the iPad Air (4th gen) to connect to the dac by usb c. Can I simply stream off of Amazon Music HD app or do I need another integration app? If so, what do you recommend. Again, thanks for responding and informative video.
Just got mine and loving it! Its price to performance ratio is truly off the roof, you're certainly getting more than your money's worth. I bought it primarily for its compact size as my iDSD Signature was too big and cumbersome to be used outdoors. I use it for my IEMs whereas I use the Signature for my full size cans. I actually preferred the HipDac2 to the iDSD Signature in driving my IEMs as the latter is too overwhelming in power output and XBass performance.
Thank you for your video. I’m actually searching for the best portable headphone amplifier I can find as I just bought a pair of Focal Celestee. ( like you !) thank you again
I bought this DAC to get better audio quality on my mobile. Truthfully trying it with Flac files and high-end headphones, I perceived a very good detail in the mids, neglecting the high and low frequencies. I am talking about backward frequencies on the sub bass and on the 3/4 Khz with a quality result a little lacking as regards the cymbals of the drums or the bass drum.
It's a shame they wouldn't let you keep it but it speaks volumes that you want to purchase it yourself. I may have to keep this one in mind myself. 🤔 It would be awesome to see some wired IEM reviews from you in the future as you always do such an outstanding job on everything you review. Thanks for another great one! 👍
Ordered one today, so I’m waiiting for delivery. I’m watching this because I am a little bit worried if I regret paying 200€ for it. I’m currently using the cheap apple lightning dongle with high end shure iems, thanks for the comparisons to builtin headphone jacks, I can now be less worried 😅
Hi Andy, you mentioned getting in to IEMs. I recently started the journey from TWS to IEMs. Some of these wired units are in a completely different league. The sound clarity and sound stage can be truly amazing. Really hope in 2022 you can get your hands on some. Thanks as always. Tony
Hey! nice video, so I am also a rescent owner of the celestee, and I love the sound of it on my pc's dac (realtek audio I cant find anymore info) it sounds very natural and balanced thru the whole range,with a nice sense of separation and soundstage, not congested at all, with a nice textured and dynamic bass presentation that made the whole presentation very even in timbre, always doing the "right choices" for instruments placement in space. But i wanted to take it outside so I bought myself a dongle RU7 cayin. What a disapointment... the celestee (even in high gain on 4.4 balanced) sounded very congested, mids and highs were sibilent and the bass presence was dramaticaly lacking, also untextured and flat. Imaging and soundstage was honestly bad, and I can remember hearing the trombone playing the melody in the back of the band when the instruments suposed to be accompanying were placed forward. in two words A DISASTRE. I was wondering if you felt some sense of sibilence with celestee on other devices and if you felt it at all with the hip dac 2, I am guessing from all the reviews that presentation is overall warm but I would be glad to specialy hear from you since you heard it with the same headphones. Anyway thanks and keep it up!
Thank you for the review. I might be getting one of this soon. Being in the hobby for more than a year now, ifi has been always a brand that gets mentioned and i would like to try their products. Maybe this one is for me. 😊 Nice review and video setup and b-rolls btw.
Got one as a gift, is it possible to cable-connect ( using cable adapters and such) my way thru to my dap - pioneer xdp300? it only has 3.5mm & 2.5mm input output,. will it be possible? 😫😫
I’m deciding in terms of this one the dragonfly Cobalt,& the Moon drop Moon Glow 2 TI,..you have a comparative sentiment in relation to the other two? Is this my best choice in 2023? Thanks
Can you (or anyone) help? I'm a little confused... I just bought a pair of Sundara headphones and a Hip Dac is on the way. I have subscribed to Amazon Music Unlimited. Will I not be able to listen to their Ultra HD music unless I use extra software? (like USB Audio Pro) as you mention at 7:40. My phone is a Poco F3
@@bencherian I think it sounds superb, although I don't have experience of anything similar to compare it to. Have a read of the r/headphones Subreddit to get more qualified opinions
I am going to get this dac with probably the beyerdynamic dt990 pro. Which version of dt990 do you recommend? The 250Ohm or the 600? Is the amplifier in the ifi good enough to power the 600Ohm load? Unless of course you recommend another headphone. Budget is around 500
@@look8234 no, what I say is that some changes were made to the power supply and maybe some other parts too but I don't know how it affects the sound as I never tested it
If I use apple lossless with the Iphone set up using the lighting port to USB A, it won't downgrade the quality? I've only used BT with a btr5 & Android for Ldac. Since this is wired, I want to make sure because I have an Iphone now. Great review
I store and listen to my my music on a portable MP3 player. The Acoustic Rabbit Hole asks, is the iFi-Headphone Amp functional as an analog amplifier for my portable MP3 player. Meaning analog-in, then boosted as it is then played through my headphones. I hope I didn:t waste money in buying something too fancy for this purpose.
Dear Andy! I like all your videos, I just want to ask you that do you have a possibility to review the new Sony LinkBuds. I am interested in you opinion about it. Thanks!
Ohh I’m on it! I’ve pre-ordered them on Amazon but the buds are only officially released today in the UK/EU so it’ll take some time for me to do a proper review
I don’t have a vast experience with portable dacs yet but the hip dac sounds like a very good choice. Maybe have a look at the THX Onyx or something from the Audioquest Dragonfly series
Hi love the review. I have a sony wh1000x m2 that i would like to use apple music on my android. Is this worth getting? Would i get a noticeable difference? Please advise
If you’d like to use the XM2 wired with the DAC I don’t think it’s worth it. Using traditional, more premium quality wired headphones would make a noticeable difference though
Hi - Im new to this and need some advice - would this dac make any difference on my mp3 music files? Thanks and hope i dont sound too much like a noob lol
ese IFI HIP DAC 2 tiene un sonido horrible me hace doler la cabeza, despues de escuchar musica pm3 4 horas me crea una especie de fatiga auditiva y luego un dolor de cabeza, el dolor de cabeza aparecio desde que escuche musica en HIP DAC 2 IFI
Decent product but most definitely not worth it, bought their hip dac 2 and six months later their usb cable started to malfunction and here the kicker..their 'technical support" is non existent, about 7 emails later directly through their website (only way to reach their "support") still getting some robot named jesse to no conclusion, its just a usb cable! Just ship the dam thing! You have my address! Jesus crocks!
Subbed and liked!! I just ordered a pair of HD800s headphones and my only use it for gaming, counterstrike, which is a first person shooter. What amp or amp/DAC combo do you recommend that is strong enough to power these and allow me to get most out of headphones for my particular use. Please help. Thank you. I don’t know if I need separate DAC or one that has both amp and dac. I want something that is easy to use since I am not tech savvy and don’t have patience to mess with electronics too much. Would the one you reviewed be enough to power the hd800s?
I have this hip dac 2 with me, and I am using it since almost 3 years now. And it's such a wonderful device, what to say! I use it daily for at least 4-5 hours, sometimes even more and not less than that, still it's performing superbly by God's grace. It's 4.4 mm port is able to drive almost every kind of power hungry headphones. And it drives them very sufficiently and beautifully with just the right amount of bass. Headphone reaches to it's full potential after using this DAC. After such a long usage of this product, the only concern I can honestly admit regarding this is that it's battery life is average. Once charged, it's battery can run up to 4 hours without any problem depending on the usage.... So, I think IFI can improve on that department. Otherwise it's such a great DAC. Make no mistake about it. I will be using ot for so many years to come.....
Awesome review. I think of all the reviewers you were the only one to compare it with phone and laptop outputs which is appropriate as that will be the baseline for most people. I also love that you compare it with the zen dac 2. Nice job!
Thanks man 👍 I was just trying to get the complete picture that’s all
@@AndysTechTone I recently just bought the Focal Clear, which is arriving tomorrow. It's my first "high end" headphone, previously coming from Master Dynamic MW60 and RHA T20 iem. I'm looking to get the most out of the Clear, with a budget of around $200. Do you think the zen dac v2 or the hip dac v2 would be better sound wise? I see the benefits of having the hip dac for its portability, but I also see the benefit of having the zen dac to use as an external dac for speakers down the line. The other option I'm looking at is the Topping DX3 Pro+. Thanks for your input!
@@tanachip if you want a bit more relaxed and laid back sound then tou should opt for the zen dac 2. Also the Truebass feature feels more subtle and natural on the zen. If you want portability and a bit more of a kick with Xbass then the hip dac 2 is the better choice
@@AndysTechTone Thanks! In the video, you mentioned a separate app to stream to the dac. I will be using the iPad Air (4th gen) to connect to the dac by usb c. Can I simply stream off of Amazon Music HD app or do I need another integration app? If so, what do you recommend. Again, thanks for responding and informative video.
@@tanachip the separate app applies to android only, on ios you should be fine
Just got mine and loving it! Its price to performance ratio is truly off the roof, you're certainly getting more than your money's worth. I bought it primarily for its compact size as my iDSD Signature was too big and cumbersome to be used outdoors. I use it for my IEMs whereas I use the Signature for my full size cans. I actually preferred the HipDac2 to the iDSD Signature in driving my IEMs as the latter is too overwhelming in power output and XBass performance.
This is a handsome little beast indeed 😎 glad to hear you like yours too 👍
Thank you for your video. I’m actually searching for the best portable headphone amplifier I can find as I just bought a pair of Focal Celestee. ( like you !) thank you again
The hip dac 2 and the Celestee are a good match in my opinion. Not that I tried too many other options though…
Your dedication is why I keep coming back to your reviews
And I appreciate it 👍
I bought this DAC to get better audio quality on my mobile. Truthfully trying it with Flac files and high-end headphones, I perceived a very good detail in the mids, neglecting the high and low frequencies. I am talking about backward frequencies on the sub bass and on the 3/4 Khz with a quality result a little lacking as regards the cymbals of the drums or the bass drum.
It's a shame they wouldn't let you keep it but it speaks volumes that you want to purchase it yourself. I may have to keep this one in mind myself. 🤔 It would be awesome to see some wired IEM reviews from you in the future as you always do such an outstanding job on everything you review. Thanks for another great one! 👍
I’m trying to bring in more audio gear for testing including IEMs in the future. We’ll see where it takes us 😎
Ordered one today, so I’m waiiting for delivery. I’m watching this because I am a little bit worried if I regret paying 200€ for it. I’m currently using the cheap apple lightning dongle with high end shure iems, thanks for the comparisons to builtin headphone jacks, I can now be less worried 😅
No worries, your IEMs will be happy and so will you 😎
@@AndysTechTone Wow, you were right, this is night and day difference compared to the cheap apple dongle
Nice and clear review brother. Good work
man youtube is hard... such a good quality video, only this many subscribers, I feel for you man! hope it works out in the end!
I hope so too, thanks man 👍
Hi Andy, you mentioned getting in to IEMs. I recently started the journey from TWS to IEMs. Some of these wired units are in a completely different league. The sound clarity and sound stage can be truly amazing. Really hope in 2022 you can get your hands on some. Thanks as always. Tony
Thanks Tony, I hope I can test out a few IEMs too 👍
Thanks for the great review! I will be getting this.
Thanks for watching hope you'll like the DAC too 😊
Great review, thanks 👍
Glad you think so, thanks for watching 😊
very thorough review
A comparation with the Zen Dac its a helpful comparation, thank you
Excellent review!
Glad you think so, thanks for watching 👍
Good and detailed review, better than most.
Hey! nice video, so I am also a rescent owner of the celestee, and I love the sound of it on my pc's dac (realtek audio I cant find anymore info) it sounds very natural and balanced thru the whole range,with a nice sense of separation and soundstage, not congested at all, with a nice textured and dynamic bass presentation that made the whole presentation very even in timbre, always doing the "right choices" for instruments placement in space. But i wanted to take it outside so I bought myself a dongle RU7 cayin. What a disapointment... the celestee (even in high gain on 4.4 balanced) sounded very congested, mids and highs were sibilent and the bass presence was dramaticaly lacking, also untextured and flat. Imaging and soundstage was honestly bad, and I can remember hearing the trombone playing the melody in the back of the band when the instruments suposed to be accompanying were placed forward. in two words A DISASTRE. I was wondering if you felt some sense of sibilence with celestee on other devices and if you felt it at all with the hip dac 2, I am guessing from all the reviews that presentation is overall warm but I would be glad to specialy hear from you since you heard it with the same headphones. Anyway thanks and keep it up!
Thank you for the review. I might be getting one of this soon. Being in the hobby for more than a year now, ifi has been always a brand that gets mentioned and i would like to try their products. Maybe this one is for me. 😊 Nice review and video setup and b-rolls btw.
Thanks man. You cannot really go wrong with any ifi product
Awesome review. LOVE THE ACCENT!(no homo)
How does the Hip Dac 2 compare to the Chord Mojo 2?
Not even close.
My Sennheiser HD600s are way to quiet with my Android. So I just bought this
Same trying this with my ios
EXCELLENT VIDEO.
Glad you liked it, thanks for watching 😊
Question, when connected to the pc/laptop does it draw power from it or does it still need the internal battery charged?
can u use both output at the same time?
Great Review!!
Thanks 😊
Does it power Sundara enough?
you sound very hungarian
edit: I’ve just realized you are
Yep, I am 🇭🇺 😊
Excellent review. What was the Android app you mentioned? Many thanks.
Got one as a gift, is it possible to cable-connect ( using cable adapters and such) my way thru to my dap - pioneer xdp300? it only has 3.5mm & 2.5mm input output,. will it be possible? 😫😫
I’m deciding in terms of this one the dragonfly Cobalt,& the Moon drop Moon Glow 2 TI,..you have a comparative sentiment in relation to the other two? Is this my best choice in 2023? Thanks
Unfortunately I haven’t tested all these yet…
Can you (or anyone) help? I'm a little confused... I just bought a pair of Sundara headphones and a Hip Dac is on the way. I have subscribed to Amazon Music Unlimited. Will I not be able to listen to their Ultra HD music unless I use extra software? (like USB Audio Pro) as you mention at 7:40. My phone is a Poco F3
Not sure if Amazon Music can output a bit perfect stream through USB on Android
@@AndysTechTone ok, thanks anyway
Hi how's Hip DAC pairing with Sundara?
@@bencherian I think it sounds superb, although I don't have experience of anything similar to compare it to. Have a read of the r/headphones Subreddit to get more qualified opinions
Thank you.
No worries, thanks for watching! 🙂
I am going to get this dac with probably the beyerdynamic dt990 pro. Which version of dt990 do you recommend? The 250Ohm or the 600? Is the amplifier in the ifi good enough to power the 600Ohm load?
Unless of course you recommend another headphone. Budget is around 500
It can handle 600ohms but you might be better off with something less power hungry so you can have some headroom
@@AndysTechTone Thank you for the reply, much appreciated.
Good review! can I ask you what’s the difference between orange Hip-dac2 and Hip-dac2 Gold Edition?? is there any upgrade?
There were some tweaks but I don't how much of an improvement you can truly get
@@AndysTechTone so you mean they are pretty much the same? only that the color is different, right?
@@look8234 no, what I say is that some changes were made to the power supply and maybe some other parts too but I don't know how it affects the sound as I never tested it
@@AndysTechTone thank you very much.
If I use apple lossless with the Iphone set up using the lighting port to USB A, it won't downgrade the quality? I've only used BT with a btr5 & Android for Ldac. Since this is wired, I want to make sure because I have an Iphone now. Great review
Iphone puts out a bit perfect stream through usb so you should be fine
I store and listen to my my music on a portable MP3 player. The Acoustic Rabbit Hole asks, is the iFi-Headphone Amp functional as an analog amplifier for my portable MP3 player. Meaning analog-in, then boosted as it is then played through my headphones. I hope I didn:t waste money in buying something too fancy for this purpose.
My hip dac won't charge but make a constant beeping noice. Have any clue of what's broken, and if it's fixable? Can't find anything about this issue!
I haven’t a clue. You should contact their customer service
I meant the Moon drop Moon River 2 TI.
Why can't I use USB-C to lightning cable (charging cable) on iPhone?
Because there is a male USB-A connector on the DAC for that so you need an adapter
Dear Andy! I like all your videos, I just want to ask you that do you have a possibility to review the new Sony LinkBuds. I am interested in you opinion about it. Thanks!
Ohh I’m on it! I’ve pre-ordered them on Amazon but the buds are only officially released today in the UK/EU so it’ll take some time for me to do a proper review
Andy I have an s22 ultra on the way and looking for a dac to power my iem . What would you recommend under 200 bucks
I don’t have a vast experience with portable dacs yet but the hip dac sounds like a very good choice. Maybe have a look at the THX Onyx or something from the Audioquest Dragonfly series
Hi love the review. I have a sony wh1000x m2 that i would like to use apple music on my android. Is this worth getting? Would i get a noticeable difference? Please advise
If you’d like to use the XM2 wired with the DAC I don’t think it’s worth it. Using traditional, more premium quality wired headphones would make a noticeable difference though
@@AndysTechTone thanks so much for the advice Andy ❤️
Hi - Im new to this and need some advice - would this dac make any difference on my mp3 music files? Thanks and hope i dont sound too much like a noob lol
It really depends on the quality (bitrate etc) of those files and the rest of your system
it looks like one of these liquor cans the gentemen carry inside blazer.
And it can be just as much fun as having a flask on you 😉
Hi Andy! Thank you for your review! I beg your pardon, what is your origin?)
I’m from Hungary
@@AndysTechTone thank you for satisfying my curiosity) Nice channel, subscribed!
No worries
Can it be connected to a speaker like a soundbar jbl 5.1?
ese IFI HIP DAC 2 tiene un sonido horrible me hace doler la cabeza, despues de escuchar musica pm3 4 horas me crea una especie de fatiga auditiva y luego un dolor de cabeza, el dolor de cabeza aparecio desde que escuche musica en HIP DAC 2 IFI
Don’t they just literally increase the volume? I don’t see how an amp can change the source information
It’s not just an amp but a DAC as well
@@AndysTechTone thanks! I’m new to this stuff, just seeing mixed information out there but I’ll try it out!
Honestly it is pretty ridiculous it does not support a standard male USB connection to the phone, or include the iPhone adapter. Know your market.
Decent product but most definitely not worth it, bought their hip dac 2 and six months later their usb cable started to malfunction and here the kicker..their 'technical support" is non existent, about 7 emails later directly through their website (only way to reach their "support") still getting some robot named jesse to no conclusion, its just a usb cable! Just ship the dam thing! You have my address! Jesus crocks!
Half the size of a phone....and much smaller than a laptop or an iPad. Kind of redundant, no?
If you want an upgrade in sound quality it’s not redundant at all
annoying little dac, without enough power to use normal hifi cans
Subbed and liked!!
I just ordered a pair of HD800s headphones and my only use it for gaming, counterstrike, which is a first person shooter. What amp or amp/DAC combo do you recommend that is strong enough to power these and allow me to get most out of headphones for my particular use. Please help. Thank you. I don’t know if I need separate DAC or one that has both amp and dac. I want something that is easy to use since I am not tech savvy and don’t have patience to mess with electronics too much.
Would the one you reviewed be enough to power the hd800s?