Headphones

The iCAN Phantom is analogue through-and-through – a purist headphone amplifier with tube and solid-state line options but no built-in DAC stage or network functionality. Nevertheless there's still an app available – or soon available – to drive iFi Audio's brand-new Wi-Fi 'Nexis' module, which is incorporated into the iCAN Phantom, and set also to feature in 'several new mid- and top-tier DAC/amplifiers' later in 2023. The so-called Nexis app, available for Android and iOS, looks, from its initial mission statement, to be an alternative to the iCAN Phantom's physical remote. You can use it to change volume and inputs, and engage extra functions, such as XBass and XSpace. We're told that more will come, including access to settings not accessible via the remote or front panel – although during our testing it was not yet clear what these extra options would be (nor would iFi Audio release any screenshots of the interface). Furthermore, the app promises to provide diagnostic information about the iCAN Phantom, including the condition and the projected lifespan of its input stage tubes. The brand also says the app will be used as a centralised way to update the firmware on the Phantom and other Nexis-enabled devices – a process that with most current iFi Audio products demands recourse to a PC or Mac.