“Pros: Reference clean sound, unbelievable I/O flexibility, unique and rewarding 3D holographic system, luscious tube mode.”
“As I am sure many of you are already acutely aware of, we’re big fans of iFi Audio….iFi is very open and honest about all of their products. In fact, iFi is one of the few companies I know of that even freely shares high-resolution pictures of every circuit board they fabricate…one of the defect leaders in low to mid tier marketplace…I think given all the features the Pro has, the most important one bar none is that it is a fully balanced design. What that means in a nutshell is that from end-to-end this amplifier has two discrete channels..both the left and right channels go through discrete circuit sections. That also means double the parts since each chain has to go through their own input and output stages during amplification while keeping both channels matched. To that end, iFi, has designed their own special potentiometer that is built custom by ALPS Japan exclusively for the Pro….a mark of a truly balanced design…with the Pro, iFi, gives you a choice, with the ability to in real-time switch back and forth between the valve and solid-state input stages…With the Pro, both the solid-state and tube-side are completely separated from each other and once switched over, the signal path continues to maintain the shortest route to the output stage through each. Nice!…Speaking of power, the Pro’s output is insane. You have three gain stages…the Pro offers an insane level of I/O flexibility…The general fit and finish of the Pro just screams “pro” too, from the golden ratio variable thickness chassis to its nylon based quad damped isolation base mount….I think $1700 is actually quite a fair price given its sheer sonic performance and flexibility. And it certainly sounds better than all of its cheaper siblings by a win margin…all these recordings sounded significantly more open and dynamic…it is such a joy to listen to and use. That’s why I have no qualms giving out highest honour even with its lofty price tag. The new Pro iCAN is definitely all go…”
Thank you Trogdor for your excellent review.
