The iFi iCAN Phantom is a flagship headphone amplifier. As iFi acknowledges, the design is partially inspired by the legendary Rolls Royce Phantom model. The device features a smoky glass panel on the top, allowing for a view of the glowing output cascade tubes and the beautifully arranged components on the circuit board.
Features:
- Hi-End level headphone amplifier + preamplifier
- XBass+ function enhances low frequencies, providing headphones with more depth and volume
- Updated circuitry includes even more high-class audiophile components
- Upgraded power schemes to eliminate additional noise and distortion
- Supports most audio formats, including DSD and MQA, allowing for high-resolution music enjoyment.
iFi developed the Phantom to unleash the full potential of various headphones, from sensitive IEMs to large planar headphones, dynamic headphones, and electrostatic devices from nearly all manufacturers.
The device is housed in a "two-story" enclosure, with the top floor featuring controls and an OLED display, while the bottom floor contains the headphone outputs - seven in total. A dedicated toggle switch allows for selecting between tube or class A solid-state amplification. The special Tube+ option "emphasizes the influence of tubes on sound." The device uses General Electric 5670 tubes with a claimed operating lifespan of around 10,000 hours. It can also serve as a preamplifier.
The circuit employs a balanced differential topology with a "dual mono" configuration. The balanced outputs provide a power output of up to 15W, while the unbalanced outputs provide up to 5.76W (in both cases at 16 ohms). The amplifier offers gain settings (0dB, 9dB, and 18dB), IEMatch processing (for reducing background noise with high-sensitivity IEMs), XBass (an analog bass-enhancement system), and an analog processor called XSpace, which expands the soundstage.
The package includes six cards that allow for adjusting the bias current to better match the amplifier with the headphones being used, including electrostatic models.
The iCAN Phantom is the first model from the brand to utilize the proprietary Nexus module, which enables device control via a full-featured mobile app and provides status monitoring.
Package Contents:
- Amplifier
- iFi iPower Elite power supply
- 2RCA - 2RCA audio cable
- Power cable
- Documentation.