iFi audio has announced a limited edition of their iconic hip-flask-shaped DAC/headphone amplifier, the hip-dac 3 Stealth, with Gramophone — which is a rather popular high-end retailer with 4 locations in Maryland.
After introducing the hip-dac line in 2019, it has become one of iFi’s most popular DACs, awarded for its portability, hi-res specs, design, sound quality and affordability.
The latest iteration, cloaked in a stealthy matte black finish with matching hardware, delivers upgrades and refinements making it the perfect companion for audio and tech enthusiasts who want to step up their audio during commutes, travel or everyday use with up to 12 hours of playtime.
The hip-dac 3 Stealth is now available exclusively through Gramophone, a family-owned company that provides the highest quality home and video equipment to their customers, for $199 USD.
Having lived and worked in the D.C. area for almost 8 years (including almost 3 years in Rockville), the local retailer is a known commodity and they do offer a decent range of headphones, DACs, and headphone amplifiers.
But why the exclusivity?
We suppose that most buyers will order these online through their website, but it would be great if one could try the new hip-dac 3 Stealth across the country at other retailers before ordering one.
Having spent endless hours on the Metro riding the Red Line from Shady Grove to GWU and Metro Center, this is definitely something I could have used with my Grado and Sennheiser headphones at the time.
So what’s different about this compared to the stock unit?
Hip-dac 3 Stealth Edition
The new Stealth Black colorway envelops revised components for quieter power supply operation, as well as the previously implemented ‘True Balanced’ circuit design, new capacitors for enhanced frequency response, and updated ‘GMT’ clock circuitry with a new oscillator to reduce phase noise.
All components work together to collectively minimize signal distortion more effectively than in any previous version, ultimately delivering a purer sound to headphones.
The hip-dac 3 Stealth maintains the features and improvements of its multi-award-winning predecessor, like the tried-and-true Burr-Brown chipset for its natural-sounding musicality and True Native architecture.
The design allows DSD and PCM audio date to remain ‘bit-perfect’ through separate pathways. Combined with custom iFi circuitry the hip-dac 3 Stealth delivers excellent sound quality across all digital audio formats supporting PCM (Pulse Code Modulation) up to 384kHz, DSD (Direct Stream Digital) up to 256 and full MQA decoding.
The compact device measures 102 x 70 x 14mm with a weight of 135g, delivering ten times more power than a laptop or smartphone and immersing the user into their favorite music without distracting noise or interference.
Through PowerMatch users can optimize the hip-dac 3 Stealth to match the headphone’s impedance and sensitivity for peak performance. With XBass, an analogue circuit designed to restore the lost bass response of open-back headphones, achieves a more accurate reproduction of the original music.
There is even an IEMatch Switch for sensitive IEMs that fine-tunes the output level, ensuring a perfect match with the amp. Like the hip-dac 3, the Stealth model is future-proofed with 2 USB-C ports. This simplifies cable management and allows one port for audio and the other for charging.
Also included is a 3.5mm S-Balanced output for minimized crosstalk and distortion, plus a 4.4mm Balanced output for balanced headphones further leveraging the devices’ differential circuit design.
The power output using the balanced connection is 400mW @ 32 ohms; 6.3V at 600 ohms, whilst the single ended connection offers 280mW @ 32 ohms; 3.2V at 600 ohms.
The Bottom Line
The new hip-dac 3 already sounds great and has more than enough power for the types of headphones (Meze 99 Classics and 109 Pro) that I use on a daily basis. It is built to last a very long time and it has proven to be very reliable.
The hip-dac 3 Stealth Edition sounds like an upgrade but until we can compare them with the same headphones and IEMs — impossible to say that it is superior at this point.
We do like the new finish and it’s hard to argue with the $199 price for such a quality piece of headphone gear. We will likely try it at CAF 2024 in November and report back.
Where to buy: $199 at Gramophone (hip-dac 3 Stealth)
Where to buy: $199 at Amazon (hip-dac 3)
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