audio Hip-Dac 2 Gold Edition
Instructions
Contents
PowerMatch (on/off )
PowerMatch enables hip dac Gold to match headphones’ impedance and sensitivity in order to generate their highest operational efficiency.
Tip: For in-ear-monitors (earbuds) try PowerMatch off. For headphones try PowerMatch on, When on, the gain increases by 10dB.
XBass (on/off )
Many headphones lack the correct bass response. XBass is an analogue circuit designed to ‘add back’ the lost bass response for a more accurate reproduction of the original music.
Audio Format LED (kHz)
The LED colour scheme indicates the audio format and sampling frequency received by hip dac Gold from the music source.
| LED | Mode |
| Yellow | PCM 44.1/48kHz |
| White | PCM 88.2/96/176.4/192/352.8/384kHz |
| Cyan | DSD 64/128 |
| Red | DSD 256 |
| Green | MQA |
| Blue | MQA Studio |
| Magenta | Original Sample Rate* |
Warning: Installing GTO enabled firmware may result in the LED’s on this device no longer changing in accordance with the above table
ON/OFF and Analogue Volume Control
The analogue volume control in the hip dac Gold is audibly superior to any digital volume control.
Warning: Due to the high power of hip dac Gold, always start off at a low volume level so that there is no risk of damage to your headphones and your hearing. iFi audio is not responsible for any hearing or equipment damage from misuse.
Tip: The hip dac Gold will continue to run from battery power even if the USB cable is connected afterwards.
Tip: For connection to Apple devices, an Apple Lightning to USB Camera Adapter is required. For connection to Android devices, USB On-The-Go (OTG) cable and appropriate OS support are required.
For more information, please refer to www.ifi-audio.com
Balanced 4.4mm headphone output
Connect balanced 4.4mm headphones.
S-Balanced 3.5mm headphone output
Connect 3.5mm headphones.
USB3.0 ‘Type A’ data input port
For data transfer only. Connect your phone to the hip dac Gold with a Lightning to a USB Camera Adapter (Apple) or USB On-The-Go (OTG) cable (Android). When using other audio sources, please connect with a USB cable.
Tip: It is preferable to use a USB 3.0 over using a USB 2.0 port on the PC.
Note: For use with PC it is necessary to download drivers.
Tip: The hip dac Gold comes with a pre-installed firmware optimised for MQA. This version also handles up to PCM384/DSD256.
Tip: For all latest firmware updates please refer to our website here: www.ifiaudio.com/download-hub/
USB-C (5V) battery charge input
For charging only. It will take ~3 hours for a high-powered USB charger to fully charge hip dac Gold. Use the enclosed USB ‘Type A’ to ‘Type C’ cable, smart charger or a regular charger up to 6.3V.
LED for Battery Status
| LED | Status |
| White* | > 75% |
| Green* | > 25% |
| Red* | > 10% |
| Red (flashing) | ≤ 10% |
*Battery LED will flash when it is charging
Specifications
| Digital Input: | USB 3.0 type ‘A’ (USB2.0 compatible) |
| Formats supported: | DSD256 / 11.3MHz PCM 384kHz MQA Decoder |
| DAC: | Bit-Perfect DSD & DXD DAC by Burr Brown |
| Headphone Outputs: | |
| Balanced | 4.4mm |
| S-BAL | 3.5mm |
| Power Output: | |
| Balanced | 400mW @ 32Ω; 6.3V @ 600Ω |
| UnBAL | 280mW @ 32Ω; 3.2V @ 600Ω |
| Battery: | Lithium-polymer 2200mAh approx. 8 hours |
| Power System: | Charging via USB-C, BC V1.2 compliant up to 1000mA charging current and 6.3 volts |
| Power (max): | <2W idle, 4W max |
| Dimensions: | 102 x 70 x 14 mm (4.0″ x 2.8″ x 0.6″) |
| Net weight: | 135 g (0.30 lbs) |
| Limited Warranty: | 12 months* |
*12 months typical or as permitted/required by local reseller
**Specifications are subject to change without notice.
ifi-audio.com
Ver1.0