DAC / AmpOverreview

iFi xDSD Gryphon

Name: iFi xDSD Gryphon
Brand: iFi

The portable that did everything — and the arguments about power, hiss and that interface its successor was built to settle.

52 sourcesUpdated 2026-09-17

$599Typical US price

Score aggregates reviewer opinions across topics.

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The short version

What to know.

A battery-powered portable DAC/headphone amp with Bluetooth 5.1, USB, S/PDIF and analogue inputs, balanced 4.4 mm and 3.5 mm outputs, an OLED display and iFi's analogue XBass II, XSpace and iEMatch circuits, sold at $599 from late 2021 and superseded in 2026 by the iDSD GR 2. Sources broadly agree on the breadth of the feature set (no rival at the price does as much), a resolving, slightly warm-of-neutral voicing that measures cleanly if not spectacularly, and a premium aluminium build. They split on power — enough for HD 650 / Edition XS-class headphones from the balanced jack, short for insensitive planars and below the sheet on the 3.5 mm output — on background noise with very sensitive IEMs (and whether iEMatch is a fix or a pad), on ergonomics (a satisfying knob and helpful screen versus a colour-coded interface, a pop when engaging the tone circuits, and early firmware that could jump the volume to maximum), and on whether $599 is a bargain or a premium over cheaper iFi boxes that sound nearly as good.

About this product

The 2021 xDSD Gryphon in either finish (standard gunmetal or the later 'Gryphon Black'). Not the 2018 xDSD or the xCAN it replaced, and not the 2026 iDSD GR 2 that succeeds it.

iFi's xDSD Gryphon folded the company's two 'X' portables — the xDSD DAC/amp and the xCAN Bluetooth amp — into one ribbed aluminium flask: a Burr-Brown DAC and 16-core XMOS receiver, a Qualcomm Bluetooth 5.1 chip with every codec going, a balanced 'PureWave' amplifier rated at a full watt into 32 Ω, analogue XBass II and XSpace circuits, an iEMatch switch for sensitive in-ears, USB, S/PDIF and analogue inputs that let it stand in as a DAC, an amp or a preamp, and — new for iFi — an OLED readout. It launched in late 2021 at $599 and stayed there.

iFi called it the birth of a 'head-fi legend', and for four years it was the default answer to 'one portable that does everything.' It also shipped with firmware that could jump the volume to maximum, a pop when the tone circuits engage, and a 1 W rating that owners of hard planars kept testing. In 2026 iFi replaced it with the iDSD GR 2, whose launch copy — 50 % more power, a touchscreen, a battery-saving power mode — reads like a list of the Gryphon's contested points.

A good fit for

One box for phone, laptop and desk — Bluetooth on the sofa, USB at the desk, line-out into speakers or a tube amp
Sensitive IEMs and full-size dynamics from the same device, using iEMatch for the former and the 4.4 mm jack for the latter
Listeners who want analogue tone shaping (XBass II, presence, XSpace) instead of app EQ
Buyers who find one on clearance now that the GR 2 has arrived

Think twice if

You run low-sensitivity planars (HE6, Arya, Susvara-class) and expect the 1 W figure to mean desktop drive
Your IEMs are Andromeda / Solaris / SE846-sensitive and you won't tolerate a pad in the signal path
You want a clean, intuitive interface — the colour-coded LEDs and long-press menus annoy several reviewers
You need all-day battery: expect 6–8 hours and a slow charge
You can wait for or afford the iDSD GR 2, which adds 50 % more power, a touchscreen and a battery-saving power mode for $529

The reviewer consensus

Agreement &
disagreement.

4 / 7topics divide opinion

1 Strong agreement2 Mostly agree4 Divided opinions

Common ground5

The most complete feature set in a pocketable DAC/amp: Bluetooth 5.1 with every codec, USB, S/PDIF and analogue in and out, DAC/amp/preamp duty, iEMatch, an analogue bass boost with a presence option, selectable filters and an OLED readout — reviewers call it a Swiss Army knife almost without exception.
A resolving, slightly warm-of-neutral voicing that measures flat and clean, with the balanced 4.4 mm output the one to use — every review that compares the jacks prefers it.
A premium, scratch-resistant aluminium chassis that reviewers rate above its rivals; the pouch, the short cables and the missing case draw the complaints, not the body.
Battery life of roughly 6–8 hours (as little as 4.5 h with hungry planars) and a 2.5–6 h recharge, which reviewers consistently call merely average.
Bluetooth is convenient but audibly a step behind USB, and LDAC range is modest.

Points of contention4

Power: two-thirds of the weight says it drives HD 650 / DT 1990 / Edition XS-class headphones with headroom; a third — planar owners, the 3.5 mm jack and two home meters — says the output trails the sheet and runs short for Arya / HE6-class loads.
Noise: silent for most, but a well-argued camp hears hiss with Solaris / SE846-class IEMs and says iEMatch changes the sound and the output impedance rather than fixing the floor.
Ergonomics: a satisfying knob and helpful OLED versus a colour-code interface one reviewer calls a nightmare, a pop from the tone circuits that was never engineered out, and early volume-sync jumps that firmware later switched off.
Value: 'an affordable price' for what it does, or $599 for what a GO blu, a hip-dac or a dongle does nearly as well — a split the 2026 successor at $529 sharpens.

A closer listen.

7 topics · 4 divided

Left: criticalRight: positiveTighter lines: more agreement

Choose a topic

Power

Leans positiveDivided opinions

Reviewer sentiment26 supporting sources

CriticalNeutralPositive

Band: opinion spread · Dot: weighted average

Sources split. About two-thirds of the weight — including the one independent bench that loaded the amp — finds it drives HD 650, DT 1990 Pro, HD 660S, Edition XS and even Arya-class headphones with headroom from the 4.4 mm jack, and calls the single-ended output good enough for anything sensitive. The other third is planar owners (Sundara at high level, Arya Stealth, HE6SE, HE-6se V2), the 3.5 mm jack, and two home meters that read below the rated numbers; Major HiFi found itself in turbo mode with little headroom, and one Reddit owner calls the amp current-limited. The split tracks the headphone and the jack, not the unit.

Measured

Hi-Fi News' bench (3.5 mm output): 314 mW into 32 Ω, 520 mW into 8 Ω, 3.33 V / 18.5 mW into 600 Ω, output impedance 0.49–0.51 Ω — the single-ended jack meets its 320 mW rating. L7Audio Lab: 4.10 V RMS unloaded from the balanced output at 0 dBFS against 2.05 V single-ended, so the 4.4 mm jack swings twice the voltage and, into 32 Ω, around four times the power. A Head-Fi member's meter got 2.85 V into 33 Ω from the 3.5 mm jack (≈250 mW against the 320 mW rating) and notes iFi quotes the 1 W as peak, not RMS. iFi's sheet: 1,000 mW into 32 Ω and 74 mW into 600 Ω balanced, 320 mW into 32 Ω and 40 mW into 300 Ω single-ended, with a +6 dB 'turbo' gain engaging automatically above volume 100. iFi's 2026 successor claims 1,513 mW as '50 % more', which puts the Gryphon's balanced output at roughly a watt.

vs. listeners — The labs say the amp does what the sheet says into 32–600 Ω dynamics, so the 'underpowered' reports are not contradicted by the numbers so much as explained by them: every one names a low-sensitivity planar or the single-ended jack, and every 'drives everything' report is a dynamic or an efficient planar on the 4.4 mm output. The balanced jack's loaded power was never put on an analyser, so the watt itself rests on iFi's word and the unloaded voltage.

Where it splits

Enough — full-size dynamics and efficient planars run with headroom from the balanced output68%

“its extra current capability delivers an uplift into lower, tougher headphone loads at 314mW/32ohm and a full 520mW/8ohm”
Paul Miller · Hi-Fi News lab (3.5 mm output on test)

Short — insensitive planars run out, the 3.5 mm jack is weak, and the real output trails the sheet32%

“I would not recommend it for power-hungry planar magnetic headphones, or very high impedance dynamic driver headphones due to the relatively lower voltage swing.”
Kazi Mahbub Mutakabbir (kmmbd) · audioreviews.org

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Noise

Leans positiveDivided opinions

Reviewer sentiment18 supporting sources

CriticalNeutralPositive

Band: opinion spread · Dot: weighted average

Sources split. Just over half the weight hears a black background — Hi-Fi News measured 9 µV of residual noise and ran Final's B1 in-ears without a trace of hiss, several owners say they never needed iEMatch — and treats the switch as insurance for the pickiest sets. A well-argued minority says the balanced output's raw floor is higher than other portables', that Campfire Solaris/Andromeda- and Shure SE846-class IEMs hiss plainly without iEMatch, and that iEMatch is a pad that changes tone and output impedance rather than a fix. Both camps are describing the same floor through different earphones.

Measured

L7Audio Lab: signal-to-noise at 50 mV output of 78.7 dB with iEMatch off (≈5.8 µV of noise) and 90.4 dB with it on (≈1.5 µV). Hi-Fi News: residual noise −101 dBV (9 µV), S/N 101.5 dB re 1 V into 32 Ω, output impedance 0.5 Ω. iFi specifies under 1 Ω; the one owner who measured with iEMatch engaged reports it rising to nearly 10 Ω, which is why multi-BA in-ears can change tone with the switch on. The Head-Fi thread sweep found 24 members discussing hiss, nearly all naming Solaris/Andromeda- or SE846-class IEMs.

vs. listeners — A 6–9 µV floor is inaudible on headphones and most IEMs and plainly audible on 115 dB/mW-and-up sets, so the numbers support both camps at once. The genuine disagreement is about the cure: whether iEMatch's attenuation and higher output impedance are a free fix or a cost.

Where it splits

Quiet — a dark background with headphones and most IEMs, and iEMatch silences the rest55%

“Noise is low too with a residual of just –101dBV (9µV) and a S/N ratio of 101.5dB (re. 1V/32ohm), ensuring the xDSD Gryphon is both quiet with high sensitivity ear buds and lusty with low impedance cans.”
Paul Miller · Hi-Fi News lab

Noisy with very sensitive IEMs — and iEMatch is a tone-changing pad, not a fix45%

“Without IEmatch the Gryphon hissed quite loud. 3.5mm is serviceable, though not ideal. The output impedance changes up to almost 10Ohm with IEmatch enabled which is important to keep in mind.”
Voxata · Head-Fi review (self-purchased; Campfire Solaris)

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Transparency

PositiveMostly agree

Reviewer sentiment25 supporting sources

CriticalNeutralPositive

Band: opinion spread · Dot: weighted average

Mostly agreed: a resolving, slightly warm-of-neutral presentation — 'warm-neutral' is the phrase most reviews reach for — with a quick, controlled bass, natural mids and a treble described as lean and crystalline by some and creamy or relatively muted by others; Hi-Fi News calls the sound superb, Headphonesty the finest it had heard from a portable. Several reviewers note it is less warm than iFi's ZEN and hip-dac lines and prefer USB to Bluetooth, which loses body. The measurement crowd is the dissent: an 84 dB SINAD is unremarkable for the money and, as L7 puts it, exactly what the spec sheet promised.

“Even the violin finale 'Summer 3', which the DAC resolved so finely you get the impression the violin strings are ready to snap, stayed away from jarring brightness.”
Jamie Biesemans · Hi-Fi News

“It sounds warm and musical with a full-bodied approach. It’s well balanced, resolving and crystal clear with great background blackness.”
Berkhan · Headfonia

“the high end is relatively muted on the xDSD Gryphon. I guess that’s the iFi signature, and it works for me, although if you’re used to a lot of sparkly top end you may find this DAC/amp a little on the soft side”
Simon Tompson · Headphonesty

“虽然测量值一般，却早已在Spec中标出”
L7Audio Lab (measurements; 'the measurements are middling, but that was already stated in the spec')

“It's ugly, but not to a degree where I'd consider exchanging it for something else in search of higher playback fidelity.”
staticV3 · Audio Science Review forum (on the L7 measurements)

Measured

L7Audio Lab (APx555, 0 dBFS, unloaded): THD+N 0.0059 % / 0.0072 % (SINAD ≈ 84.6 / 82.8 dB) on both the balanced and single-ended outputs, dynamic range ≈108 dB (≈111 dB A-weighted) — which the lab notes is exactly what iFi's sheet promises (<0.007 % balanced, <0.015 % single-ended). Hi-Fi News: DAC distortion 0.00045 % at −20 dBFS, jitter under 10 ps, amplifier distortion 0.004–0.006 % into 600 Ω rising to 0.008–0.015 % into 32 Ω, response +0 / −0.2 dB to 20 kHz. XSpace measures as a 500 Hz–3 kHz midrange lift plus a level-dependent cross-channel injection, not a true crossfeed; XBass II is a sub-bass shelf with an odd +4.3 dB bump at 1.2 kHz in line-out mode.

vs. listeners — An 84 dB SINAD sits 20–30 dB behind the desktop DACs the measurement crowd recommends at this price, yet no listening review hears a problem and the ASR members who cite the L7 graphs call it ugly but not worth swapping for. The warmth the listeners describe is a house-sound tilt the flat response neither confirms nor rules out.

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Features

PositiveStrong agreement

Reviewer sentiment19 supporting sources

CriticalNeutralPositive

Band: opinion spread · Dot: weighted average

The strongest point of agreement: reviewers call it a Swiss Army knife almost without exception — Bluetooth 5.1 with every codec, USB, S/PDIF and analogue inputs, line/preamp outputs, standalone DAC or amp duty, MQA, three filters, iEMatch, XBass II with a presence option, XSpace, a bright OLED and separate charge and data ports. The caveats are consistent too: 6–8 hours of battery (as low as 4.5 h with hungry planars) and a slow 2.5–6 h charge, Bluetooth that is convenient but audibly behind USB, modest LDAC range, a pouch where a case should be, and XSpace turning out to be a midrange lift rather than a crossfeed.

“You would have to get a few separate components to obtain similar flexibility.”
Louis · Headfonics

“Despite its intended purpose, XSpace is not a crossfeed function that mixes the right and left channels, but rather a pure mid-frequency boost, most prominent between 500–3000 Hz.”
Sword of Damocles · Headphone Corner (kuulokenurkka.com)

“The sound loses body, fullness and layering. Overall the BT sound is somewhat dirtier and more digital versus the very natural performance of the USB mode.”
Berkhan · Headfonia (on LDAC Bluetooth)

“Recharging takes about 5 hours on a typical phone charger, which is extremely high.”
Kazi Mahbub Mutakabbir (kmmbd) · audioreviews.org

Measured

Inputs: USB-C (PCM 768 kHz, DSD512, DXD, MQA), S/PDIF coax/optical (192 kHz), Bluetooth 5.1 (LDAC, aptX Adaptive/HD/LL, LHDC/HWA, AAC, SBC; 96 kHz), 4.4 mm balanced and 3.5 mm analogue. Outputs: 4.4 mm and 3.5 mm S-Balanced headphone, the same rear jacks as variable line-outs. Battery 3,600 mAh (two cells), rated 8 h; reviewers logged 6–9 h with IEMs, 6 h with headphones, 4.5 h with a Sundara on balanced, 2.5 h with a Sundara at high volume; charge 2.5 h on a strong charger, 5–6 h on a phone charger, 12 h rated worst case. Hi-Fi News found four filters (Std, Min, GTO, Bit-Perfect) where the manual lists three, and measured XBass II as a +4.3 dB lift at 1.2 kHz in line-out mode.

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Ergonomics

Leans positiveDivided opinions

Reviewer sentiment24 supporting sources

CriticalNeutralPositive

Band: opinion spread · Dot: weighted average

Sources split, and the weight tilts slightly negative. One camp — Headfonia, Hi-Fi News, HiFi Oasis, Headphone Corner and most owners — finds the clicking knob satisfying, the OLED genuinely useful and the operation logical. The other finds the colour-coded LEDs and long-press menus a memory game (TechRadar scored design 3.5/5 and called the interface a nightmare), dislikes the endless digital dial and its very fine steps, and reports two hazards: a pop when XBass/XSpace engage that iFi reduced but never removed, and the early CyberSync volume sync that could jump the level to maximum — fixed by a firmware off-switch in 2022, but the reason one owner returned his and another still wouldn't pocket it.

Measured

A sweep of all 279 pages of the Head-Fi launch thread (2,748 posts) found 27 members reporting the volume jumping to maximum (Nov 2021–2022, mostly on Mac, Windows and Tidal), 13 reporting the XBass/XSpace pop and 9 reporting wobbly or rattling buttons. iFi's community manager acknowledged both the volume issue and the pop in the thread; firmware 1.45 (spring 2022) added a menu option to disable volume sync, 1.53 (June 2022) made 'off' the default, and the pop was reduced to a click. Amazon's 2024–25 reviews still include one 'volume went up to 100 %' report. The 2026 successor replaces the button-and-colour-code navigation with a colour touchscreen.

vs. listeners — The two camps are partly describing different firmware: every long-form review written on early units flags the volume sync, while owners on 1.53 or later rarely mention it. The pop and the interface itself are hardware and were never changed.

Where it splits

Logical and tactile — the knob, buttons and OLED make it the easiest iFi portable to live with47%

“The centrally placed volume button is more user-friendly than that of the original xDSD, as are the controls – it's a lot less fiddly to switch inputs or engage iFi Audio's XBass II and XSpace functions, for example.”
Jamie Biesemans · Hi-Fi News

A colour-code interface, a pop from the tone circuits and volume-sync scares that made owners wary53%

“knowing I could accidentally adjust the volume on my android device while it is in my pocket is a constant worry.”
Voxata · Head-Fi review (self-purchased)

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Build

PositiveMostly agree

Reviewer sentiment20 supporting sources

CriticalNeutralPositive

Band: opinion spread · Dot: weighted average

Broad agreement on a premium, sandblasted-aluminium chassis that reviewers rate above its rivals and that one long-term reviewer found more scratch-resistant than expected; the complaints go to the accessories — a velvet pouch where a $599 device should have a case, and short cables. A smaller ledger of hardware issues keeps it short of unanimous: loose or rattling front buttons (traced to under-torqued panel screws, and an RMA in one case), 4.4 mm sockets that grip some plugs poorly, a two-cell battery that can over-discharge in storage, a few dead-on-arrival or died-early units on Amazon, and one 2026 owner whose unit lost Bluetooth and USB.

“The xDSD casework now has a matt finish, so it's no longer a fingerprint fest, and build quality is excellent.”
Jamie Biesemans · Hi-Fi News

“To be honest, it feels more robust and tough than the xDSD and xCAN.”
Berkhan · Headfonia

“After using the Gryphon regularly for quite a while now, I can say it’s proven more durable than I initially expected.”
HiFi-Dawson · HiFi Oasis (2025)

“Some buttons feel loose”
Ichos · ICHOS Reviews (cons list)

“I was listening to my Gryphon last night and there was a huge popping sound, scared the crap out of me! Now I'm getting a ton of noise coming through the 3.5 and 4.4mm jacks making the unit unlistenable.”
Zabens · Head-Fi Gryphon thread (Nov 2022)

Measured

Amazon's per-topic tallies: 30 positive / 5 negative on quality, 4 / 6 on reliability (dead-on-arrival, died after a month), 6 / 6 on battery; the star histogram is 71 / 14 / 3 / 4 / 8 %. The Head-Fi thread's hardware ledger: rattling front buttons cured by a quarter-turn on the front-panel screws, 4.4 mm sockets with a loose grip on some plugs, a battery that reads empty after weeks in storage (iFi says it will service batteries in or out of warranty), one unit that died with a pop and noise on both jacks, one 2026 unit that stopped connecting. Hi-Fi News' reviewer carried it in a bag for months without marks. 215 g, 123 × 75 × 19 mm.

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The hardware

Specifications.

Checked 2026-09-22

Design

Form factor: Portable
DAC: Burr-Brown · Multibit
PCM: 768 kHz / 32-bit
DSD: DSD512
MQA: Yes
Amplifier: Solid-state

Output

Output power: Single-ended: 320 mW @ 32 Ω · 40 mW @ 300 ΩBalanced: 1,000 mW @ 32 Ω · 74 mW @ 600 Ω
Output impedance: < 1 Ω SE · < 1 Ω bal.

Connection

Digital inputs: USB-C, Coaxial, Optical, Bluetooth
Analog inputs: 4.4 mm, 3.5 mm
Headphone outputs: 4.4 mm, 3.5 mm
Line outputs: 4.4 mm, 3.5 mmvariable (preamp)
Preamp output: Yes
Bluetooth: Bluetooth 5.1aptX, aptX HD, aptX Adaptive, LDAC, LHDC, AAC, SBC
Power: Battery, USB bus power

Physical

Weight: 215 g
Dimensions: 123 × 75 × 19 mm

Manufacturer-published figures, not measurements · from ifi-audio.com, downloads.ifi-audio.com.

Follow the evidence

Sources 52

Read with context

Limitations & method.

As of 2026-09-17

What to keep in mind 6

A read of where the reviews land as of September 2026 — nearly five years after launch, with the successor iDSD GR 2 now shipping and Gryphon stock thinning, so prices and availability will keep moving.
Most of the long-form reviews were written on iFi loan units in 2022 with early firmware; the volume-sync and pop behaviour they describe was changed by later updates, so check a unit's firmware version before judging it.
Whether you hear hiss depends on your in-ears' sensitivity and on whether you use iEMatch; with headphones it is silent.
Retail star ratings skew positive, since they mostly come from people who chose to buy it — and a dealer's own 4.8 from nineteen reviews is not strong evidence either way.
The lab figures come from two independent benches (one in the UK, one in China) plus a hobbyist's meter; the balanced output's loaded power was never put on an analyser, so the 1 W figure rests on iFi's spec and the unloaded voltage.
'Warm' and 'neutral' here describe a small tilt; how much you notice it depends on your headphones and on what you compare it with.

Where to buy Product & retailer links

iFi xDSD Gryphon Amazon

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