iFi AUDIO hip-dac 3 REVIEW

IFi Audio have made their hip-dac 3 to be a portable and yet capable DAC and amp. Oscar Stewart takes a listen to it at home and on the go for HiFi PiG.

iFi Audio has been covered quite a bit previously on HiFi PiG and here I’m going to focus on their hip-dac 3. Now in its 3rd iteration, the new hip-dac 3 promises to be an excellent portable DAC/Amp for your earphones and headphones. Featuring their XBass tech along with IEMatch and 2 Gain settings, it should be able to power earphones and headphones alike. Being battery-powered makes it a great step up from small dongles, into the world of more powerful yet portable DAC/Amps for headphones. 

BUILD QUALITY AND FEATURES OF THE HIP-DAC 3

The hip-dac 3 is, as the name suggests, about the size of a hip-flask and the outer casing is made of aluminium – made to withstand daily use in pockets. It’s slim and made to fit nicely into your pocket alongside your source. On one end you have USB inputs (one for charging, the other for data) and on the other end, you have the volume knob that also acts as a power switch. There are both 4.4mm balanced and 3.5mm single ended outputs and a Power Match gain switch and an XBass switch. On the bottom of the hip-dac 3 there is a switch that allows you to engage IEMatch on either the 3.5mm or 4.4mm output, lowering the gain for sensitive earphones and headphones. The volume control is purely analogue and the XBass/IEMatch/Power Match circuitry is also purely analogue – iFi like to keep things in the analogue domain as they believe it has less impact on the quality of sound compared to DSP. 

As usual, iFi has gone with a Burr-Brown DAC chip paired with an XMOS controller, offering bit-perfect full high-res support, DSD compatibility and even MQA decoding (I’m not sure how relevant this is now, but it’s still an added feature). The separate data and charging ports ensure low noise and the ability to charge and listen without any unwanted noise from the power circuitry.

Power output-wise it is quite impressive – up to 400mw @32Ohms and 6.3v into 600Ohms. This means the hip-dac 3 should be able to drive earphones and headphones alike, except for some harder-to-drive models. The internal battery is quoted to last up to 12 hours depending on volume and headphone power needs, I have found this figure to be quite accurate.

The overall build quality of the hip-dac 3 is excellent, it’s a well-finished product with good connectors and a smooth volume knob with a good level of resistance (this ensures you don’t accidentally change the volume whilst it’s in your pocket). The aluminium casing feels robust and iFi do sell a soft case for it should you wish to give it a bit more protection against scratches. 

SOUND QUALITY

I’ve been using the hip-dac 3 with my phone and earphones such as the Westone MACH80 and Custom Art FIBAE 3, along with using it at my desk with Grado SR80i’s, Fiio FT5’s and Beyerdynamic DT880 600Ohm headphones. 

Starting with portability, the hip-dac 3 is an excellent step up from more basic dongles and the battery power means this can drive a wider range of headphones whilst not robbing your phone of precious battery life. The slim design means it fits nicely in your pocket with your phone and it works a treat when out and about. When using it with sensitive IEM’s the IEMatch switch on the bottom really does come in handy, for example the MACH80 are very sensitive and I found the IEMatch function to work well in terms of finding a more comfortable listening level.

Connecting the hip-dac 3 to my Pixel 6a was simple and it did just work. Qobuz seamlessly passed high-res through and with the Westone MACH80 you do get an extremely high level of sound quality from a portable setup. iFi knows what they are doing with the Burr-Brown chipset and its house sound is always more on the natural side of neutral, rather than being overly clinical. This shines through on the hip-dac 3 with a natural and clean sound that isn’t too sharp or overly analytical. It digs deep in terms of detail, but there is always a hint of body that is pleasant without making it sound overly coloured. 

Take Spiritbox – Cellar Door, a crushingly heavy track from this female-fronted metalcore band and one that the hip-dac 3 and MACH80 combo had no trouble keeping up with. The low tuning of the guitars gives them a heaviness that is very well portrayed, whilst there is a lovely background melody that’s not lost behind the wall of sound. Vocals cut through with angst, and drums hit with authority. It’s a dense song, but one that is easily picked apart with this combo, without losing any cohesion. There’s a breakdown in the song that hits so hard and yet this setup keeps everything in check without taking anything away from the music.

I’ve been using the hip-dac 3 quite a lot with the Grado SR80i and this is a fantastic combo in my opinion with XBass coming in very handy. They retain that crisp and controlled sound that the SR80i are known for, but have a little extra oomph down low that really brings them alive. The XBass level is perhaps a little too much for some earphones, but with certain open-back headphones it works wonders. If you enjoy Grado’s, this is an excellent little DAC/Amp combo for them. Some find the Grado sound to be a little too forward and perhaps fatiguing, this little DAC/Amp opens up the sound of the SR80i and XBass adds a small helping of bass without affecting the rest of the frequency range. 

On that note, using it with the Fiio FT5, I had no issues in terms of power and volume, but the soundstage seemed to widen a little compared to some other setups I’ve been using them with. Passenger – All The Little Lights (Anniversary Edition) has been an album I’ve been listening to quite a bit recently. Feather on the Clyde is a highlight for me, his honest vocals come across with excellent detail, the layering between the male and female vocals is sublime and there is a warm and cosy sound from the hip-dac 3 + FT5 combo that is very relaxing. The music flows with an effortless quality, there’s a sense of warmth without masking the finer details.

Now on to something a little harder to drive in the shape of the Beyerdynamic DT880 600Ohm. This is a headphone that shines with a desktop amp that has plenty of voltage swing. Much to my surprise, the hip-dac 3 had no issues driving these headphones (I didn’t even need to up the gain when using the 4.4mm output) and they sound excellent too. The slightly more natural sound of the BB DAC chip is highlighted here, making these sound smooth and with good body. I even found the bass to be perfect without XBass engaged – this to me highlighted the fact that synergy is key across all audio systems. It also shows that the hip-dac 3 is incredibly versatile, it works brilliantly with IEM’s and portable headphones, yet will drive a lot of full-size models comfortably when using it at home. Lucy Rose – Work It Out through this combo has a wonderfully full sound that has great separation and natural tonality. There isn’t a hint of brightness here, the bass beat digs deep and the vocals have a natural and smooth presentation, the treble is crisp but never fatiguing. The soundstaging is excellent as is the stereo imaging, I am really impressed at how this small portable DAC/amp drives the DT880 600Ohm so well and with such a big sound. 

QUIBBLES

For home use, there isn’t a way to disable battery charging (I know this helps with noise reduction) but, provided you use it for mixed portable and home duties this shouldn’t be an issue. 

CONCLUSION

The hip-dac 3 from iFi is an incredibly versatile portable DAC/Amp that works equally well out and about as it does at home with full-size headphones. It is also one of those devices that makes you realise that you don’t always have to chase numbers, for £199 it really does cover a lot of bases and allows you to have excellent sound both on the go and at home. I am impressed at how effortless it sounds when running both easy-to-drive planars and high-impedance dynamics. IEMatch works wonders with sensitive IEM’s and XBass works well with the right headphones too.

It does have a slightly smooth sound which lowers the chances of listening fatigue and iFi has tuned the sound to be detailed without sounding soulless. It’s natural, yet brings out a lot of detail in the recording should you wish to listen. It won’t replace a proper desktop rig, but if you are on a budget this can straddle the line of both portable and home duties very well. It’s also perfect for those who travel a lot and want a high-quality listening rig when away from home.

AT A GLANCE

Build Quality And Features:

The aluminium chassis is sturdy yet attractive

All the ports feel great and the volume knob is analogue

Sound Quality:

Smooth and natural with impressive detail retrieval

Spacious and effortless

Value For Money:

£199 gets you a truly brilliant portable DAC/Amp that works well out and about as well as at home

We Loved:

Portability

Ability to drive a wide range of headphones

We Didn’t Love So Much:

No way to disable battery charging (although this does lower noise)

Elevator Pitch Review: If you want a portable DAC/Amp that’s a step up from dongles and doesn’t break the bank the hip-dac 3 is an excellent choice. It’s more than at home powering IEM’s out and about, yet also drives a huge variety of headphones for home/office listening too. It’s a versatile device that has great functionality and, sounds effortless and spacious with natural tonality. 

Price: £199

Oscar Stewart

SUPPLIED BY iFi

SUPPLIED SPECIFICATION

• Input: USB-C
• Formats Supported: DSD256 / PCM384kHz / Full MQA Decoder
• DAC: Burr Brown
• Headphone Outputs: 4.4mm, 3.5mm
• Power Output BAL 400mW @ 32Ω; 6.3V @ 600Ω / UnBAL 280mW @ 32Ω; 3.2V @ 600Ω
• SNR: BAL <109dB(A) @ 0dBFS / UnBAL <103dB(A) @ 0dBFS
• DNR: BAL <109dB(A) / UnBAL <103dB(A)
• THD + N: BAL <0.006X% (360mW/2.0V @ 600Ω) / UnBAL <0.01% (100mW/1.27V @ 16Ω)
• Frequency Response: 20Hz – 45kHz (-3dB)
• Power Consumption: <2W idle, 4W max
• Battery: Lithium-polymer 2,200mAh up to 12 hours
• Power System: Charging via USB-C, BC V1.2 compliant up to 1000mA charging current
• Dimensions: 102 x 70 x 14 mm (4.0″ x 2.8″ x 0.6″)
• Net weight: 135 g