is this available to purchase? looks like a good inexpensive mqa option for portable
Edit: https://bloomaudio.com/products/ifi-hip-dac-portable-dac-and-amp (even though itās not even on the ifi site 
)
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Are there any other portable Dac/amps $150 and below with balanced output and a volume knob instead of buttons other than this and the q1 mk2?
They are supposed to be under embargo until the 15th. I guess some venders started selling them early.
Itās all preorder on the 15th but I do know someone who just bought one and has it in their hands somehow
okay coolā¦ iām going to pick this upā¦ I guess thatās why your review comes out that day 
sorcery lol
@yops also how did you end up with one of these early lol? I didnāt think about it until now
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Correct, Zeos mentioned it too. So Iām assuming he has a review as well
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He does in fact lol
Does anyone know if the volume control is digital or analog?
Knowing iFi itās an analog volume pot lol
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They could have used something like in the xCAN or the xDSD. My micro iDSD BL was useless due to channel imabalance in the volume pot.
Thatās unfortunate, I havenāt had issues with my micro bl, but actually I am not a fan of the volume control on the xdsd or xcan
One of the few perks of living in the UK I suppose haha, it was literally available on Amazon prime the day before I posted my pic!
No special connections here sadly ;D
Really like it so far though, huge instant improvement on my q1mk2
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So should I get a hip dac and balanced cables (~$250) or get an Asgard 3 ($200) since I already have an Xd-05 for portable? I plan on getting an Asgard 3 regardless, itās just a question of getting it now or getting the hip dac now to try balanced and an Asgard 3 later (like 3-6 months later).
I mean, I would say the asgard 3 first since you already have the 05. You could upgrade the opamps in the 05 if you wanted to
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How much do you consider balanced to actually add? Iāve never tried it but Iāve always been sceptical for some reason.
So typically a good single ended can sound just as good as balanced, but it really depends. I think balanced makes the most difference for sensitive iems imo. If an amp has balanced, make sure to use it, but if it doesnāt, you donāt really need to worry about it
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A Hip DAC reviewer on Youtube observed that its balanced-out has an audible background hiss with the FiiO FH7 IEM. He surmised that they were too sensitive for the high current balanced output of the Hip.
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I recently learned that this happens with sensitive IEMs when they are connected to a dac/amp. Ifi sells product to prevent this, the EarBuddy and more expensive IEMatch, the latter also comes in a version that allows balanced output. Got the EarBuddy this week and Iām happily hiss-free now.
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