iFi xCAN Portable Headphone Amp
$299.00
What We Dig
- Excellent Build Quality
- Great Sound Quality
- Excellent power for a portable amp
What To Think About
- No Apt-X HD
Powerful Portable Audiophile Amp with Excellent Wireless Sound
Judging from my research and general discussion about the xCAN, it seems like people are really confused about what it actually is. I guess part of the confusion is the existence of the xDSD, a portable headphone amp/DAC that is more along the lines of what people have come to expect from iFi Audio.
I mean the xCAN and xDSD look so dang similar. They both have the same wavy metal exterior with the black cap on the end, which actually looks pretty stylish. I would have no problem pulling either one of them out at a coffee shop and plugging in my favorite cans. But they are different. To sum it up succinctly, the xDSD is a primarily a portable DAC, while the xCAN is primarily a portable headphone amp. So the xCAN has only analog inputs, to enhance the signal from digital audio player, for example, that already has a nice DAC in it, and the xDSD has only digital inputs to bring in signals from a DAP or laptop’s digital output, pass it over to the DAC chip and then on to the headphone amp.
The funny thing is, the xCAN does have an ESS Sabre DAC in it, but the 16bit ESS DAC chip in this amp only processes the wireless signal coming in via Bluetooth when the Apt-X and AAC codecs are used. This makes sense since Apt-X and AAC both give you the equivalent of 16 bit CD-Quality sound via the wireless connection. The ESS chip is there to take the CD-quality digital signal from the Bluetooth chip and change it over to a CD-Quality analog signal for your headphone output. So I hope that clears that up, (or maybe I confused you more…) now let’s get on to the xCAN review.
Build/Features:
As I have come to expect from iFi, the xCAN’s fit and finish is top notch. The amp’s external shell is made mostly of a shiny magnesium-aluminium, with a small rear portion made of black hard plastic. It’s solid, yet lightweight, and as mentioned before, it has a wavy exterior that actually makes it easier to hold. The only bugaboo with the finish is that it really collects a lot of fingerprints. So if this is something that drives you crazy, you will probably want to keep a microfiber cloth nearby.
Everything is put together to exacting standards, no loose parts or sharp edges, all the buttons also slide back and forth very smoothly, as does the volume knob. On the bottom are four small rubber feet which keep it solidly in place on a table or desk. I can always appreciate when such care is taken in assembling a product.
As far as ergonomics are concerned, the xCAN is pretty easy to operate for the most part. On one end is the volume knob, which also functions as the power button, as well as the button to switch between analog and Bluetooth output modes. It also has a multicolored light in the middle that indicates different things at different times, such as the power state, the output mode, and the volume level by changing colors as the volume level increases. For example, Green indicates the volume range between 55 and 72 percent of volume, if you increase the volume past 72 percent the volume knob light turns yellow until you get up to 90 percent of volume.
As you can see, the volume knob has a lot of functions, and that is probably the one issue with functionality, since it may take you a while to get the hang of all the different operations. For me, the main problem was trying to switch between analog and bluetooth modes. In order to do this, you have to start from an off position, then hold the volume knob down long enough to turn it on, then hold it down just a little longer just enough to switch the mode. But if you let up off the button for a second, you may end up turning the thing off again, then you have to start all over. But in the general scheme of things, this is a small issue since you probably won’t switch modes that often.
The rest of the operations are pretty straight forward, with a small button to the right of volume for Bluetooth pairing, XBass II and 3D+ selection (more on those later), then a slider switch for the 3 modes of XBass II on the back side. (again more on that later…) Along with the buttons and switches, you have two headphone out jacks on the front, (one 3.5mm single ended, one 2.5mm balanced) and two input jacks on the rear (also one 3.5mm single ended, one 2.5mm balanced). Also on the rear is a USB-C charge port that charges the xCAN in about an hour with a fast charge adapter, which is sold separately. The big 2000mAh battery is rated to last 6-8 hours and from my experience that sounds about right.
Regarding accessories, the xCAN comes with the usual complement of cables needed for operation, one 3.5 mm to 3.5 mm cable, one 2.5mm to 2.5mm balanced cable, and USB-C to USB-A cable for charging. It also comes with a velvet drawstring bag for storage, instruction manual, and warranty card.
So this wouldn’t be an iFi product if it wasn’t chock full of features, and as usual, they are implemented well. Let’s start with the power rating, which is probably the main draw for this product. It has ratings of a 1000mw max output balanced, and 380 mW single ended, both at 32 ohms, which is not too shabby for a portable amp this size. iFi recommends headphones between 16 and 600 ohms impedance, and while I didn’t have any 600-ohm headphones on hand, it drove my 150-ohm Massdrop 58X Jubilee to uncomfortable levels at about 60 percent of volume.
As I mentioned before, there are both balanced and single-ended inputs and outputs, so it will match up with your high-end DAP, and give them that extra power you need for those big power hungry headphones. This is also good for increasing the power of signals coming from portable DAC/AMPs like the xDSD, so you can actually pair these two together and make a powerful mini stack.
Also as mentioned earlier, the amp has a high-quality Bluetooth receiver section, which was probably my favorite feature. I really like the ability to play my 58X Jubilee or Focal Elear wireless, all while feeling I was hearing my cans at their full potential. You don’t know how liberating this is until you try it.
I promised more detail on the xBass II and 3D+ analogue signal processing, so here goes. Like a lot of audiophiles, I usually forego any kind of signal processing when listening to music because most of the time it sounds artificial to me, and for the most part I didn’t use it in my sound tests here. But I did want to do my due diligence, so I did listen to some music in both modes with mixed impressions.
Starting with the 3D+ mode, which is supposed to give you the impression of a live performance, I found it was tastefully done, and didn’t sound like an echo chamber as most of these surround effects usually do. It’s pretty cool, and it actually sounded the best with live recordings, enhancing the spatial cues already present in the music. I would say this is a winner if you like that sort of thing.
Xbass II was a mixed bag for me. It has three settings, Bass, Presence, and Bass + Presence. Bass is pretty self-explanatory meaning when you use that version of xBass II, it bumps up the low end slightly. The Presence setting refers to the Bass Presence or low midrange part of the audio spectrum, and this is boosted slightly when you select that option. Then the Bass + Presence does both. I’m not a fan of bass boost since I usually listen to warm headphones, so the bass boost usually throws off the overall balance for me. So I wasn’t crazy about the Bass or + Presence modes, but again the boost of the lows was tastefully done and not really overblown so for someone that likes just a little extra bass, this is not a bad feature.
However, I must say I did enjoy the Presence setting since I found it added just a little bit of clarity to the low string instruments and bass overall. That was pretty nice, and I did use this from time to time when listening to music.
Sound:
Since one can argue that the main selling point of this amp is output power, granted along with the balanced in/out and Bluetooth, none of these actually matter unless the thing actually sounds good. And this is probably the easiest thing to write about it because it simply does. The sound is clean and easy with some of the best dynamics I’ve heard from such a small device.
I did the majority of my testing using the Massdrop/Sennheiser HD58X Jubilee, and while these headphones are known to be very easy to drive, I find they really come into focus when you put some real power to them. The xCAN was just what the doctor ordered. All my analog testing was done using the SE in/outs since I didn’t have a 2.5mm balanced headphone cable on hand. I also turned off the 3D+ and xBASS II. I started off with the HiBy R3 as the source, playing MQA and FLAC files through the SE input connected with the included single ended cable.
Listening to the 24/96 FLAC of “Temptation” from Freddy Cole’s “My Mood Is You” I was really pleased with the fast, natural presentation, punctuated with the deep, controlled bass. The xCAN really powered the 58X through the swirling arrangement, and nicely conveyed the interplay between Freddy and the band.
I also played the 24/88 FLAC of “Doing It Right” from Daft Punk’s “Random Access Memories”, vocals were clear, and the deep bass from the track was again rendered with great control and depth.
I then played the same tracks with Apt-X Bluetooth from my HP Envy Laptop using J River Media Center, and probably the best thing I could say about this was I didn’t really miss anything when I switched to the wireless connection. I can’t really say it was an apple to apple comparison since the signal chains were so different, but what I can say is that I didn’t experience any less enjoyment when using Bluetooth.
As a matter of fact, I probably enjoyed using it more since I didn’t have to fuss with wires. It was so easy to set my laptop on the desk, turn on the xCAN (provided it was already in wireless mode) and quickly connect to my laptop, where I could play Spotify or Tidal, and listen to my music on any one of my full-sized cans with excellent quality. I have to say this is a testament to the excellent Bluetooth circuitry in the amp.
That being said, I would’ve loved to see Apt-X HD here for 24-bit wireless connection. I think it would’ve turned a home run product into a grand slam product. Hopefully, they will come out with a “Black Label” type version of this product with that functionality at some point in the future, it would be amazing. At any rate, this is not a dealbreaker since they implemented the Apt-X so well. It really sounds that good.
Conclusion:
Once again iFi has a winner of a device that offers great build quality, great sound, and a lot of versatility. If you are looking for a lot of power in a small package, especially with balanced in/out then definitely check out the xCAN. The excellent sounding Bluetooth functionality is icing on the cake, but some people once they hear it, may buy it just for the wireless capability.
I’m an audio writer who started as a young audio salesman/consumer electronics professional back in the late 90s. That’s where I discovered the magic of 2-Channel sound. My thirst for great sound has led me on a delightful music quest that continues today.
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