Integrated Amplifiers

Swooping down into iFi Audio’s ever-expanding line-up, the £1699 iDSD Valkyrie stakes its claim as the new flagship portable. The brand typically excels at offering oodles of functionality at very reasonable prices, although the £3749 iCAN Phantom desktop headphone amp [HFN Sep ’23] shows it also has form when it comes to high-end head-fi. Nevertheless, and despite boasting a lot of familiar iFi Audio features and technologies, the iDSD Valkyrie is a very different beast – not least because it boasts a gargantuan 20,000mAh battery for extended mobile use.

The name, of course, references the Nordic warrior maidens that brought slain combatants to Valhalla, boldly suggesting this DAC/amp will transport you to listening heaven. The quad DAC architecture and powerful amplification stage, plus extensive connectivity (including Bluetooth, analogue inputs and balanced outputs) might just get you there.

Pressing issues

The slab-like iDSD Valkyrie looks very striking with its gold-coloured, low-profile metal chassis. Previous iDSD models, such as the red metallic iDSD Diablo 2 [HFN Feb ’24] or the sleek iDSD Gryphon [HFN Aug ’22], paved the way for the design of this DAC/amp, and the beautiful casework reflects its not inconsequential price tag.

Typical of iFi Audio, few buttons are visible, although by differentiating between short and long presses more functionality is unlocked. The large button on the right of the front panel, for example, is used for selecting inputs. Hold it longer though, and you engage the K2HD filter, developed with JVCKENWOOD. Similarly, tapping the adjacent button cycles through six digital filters [see PM's Lab Report] while pressing it longer selects DSD upsampling. It’s an effective control scheme once you get to grips with it, although the hunt for the handy IEMatch function when using sensitive in-ears might take a bit longer (hint: it’s located on the bottom).

Above: Colour display [top] reveals input/output, volume setting, sample rate, audio mode, digital filter, K2 processing mode and more. The balanced 4.4mm and single-ended 3.5mm headphone outs [left] are boosted in ‘Turbo’ and ‘Nitro’ modes

In the broad groove of the Valkyrie’s top surface, there’s what appears to be a large, black info screen – however, the section of this that is actually used is more like the size of a postage stamp. That said, it’s sufficient for the information a DAC needs to display, and is perfectly legible.

You might wonder what the waterdrop icon stands for – this indicates the amp is operating at a ‘Normal’ gain level. If you select the two higher gain modes to drive challenging headphones, you’ll see a campfire icon or a lightning bolt – Turbo and Nitro modes, respectively [see boxout]. Apt choices, as the unit does indeed get a bit toasty when driven hard.

Box clever

Being generous with accessories is another iFi Audio tradition, but the Valkyrie goes for gold with its gorgeous wooden presentation case, complete with Nordic-themed carving. This feels rather luxurious, even considering the price point, and it’s not just for show. Within the wooden box is a high-quality soft carrying case, which holds an array of cables. Handy, as the iFi Audio unit fulfils a lot of different scenarios, working with various digital sources but also usable as a preamplifier in addition to the obvious headphone amplifier role.

Above: The source of the Valkyrie’s power – four 5000mAh Li-polymer batteries in place with iFi’s ‘Nexis’ Wi-Fi/app control module [centre] and Qualcomm’s flagship QCC518x chipset for ‘aptX Lossless’ BT processing [lower right]

Whatever the set-up, the requisite cabling is included, as is an iPowerX power supply which plugs into a USB-C input. When travelling or lounging in the garden, the built-in battery frees you from a power outlet for a claimed 18 hours – although this will depend on the headphones and volume level selected.

Bits ’n’ Bluetooth

iFi Audio has a long-term relationship with so-called multibit DACs, going all the way back to the Philips TDA1541A. The iDSD Valkyrie features four ‘Advanced Segment’ DACs, from Burr-Brown, in what it describes as a ‘hybrid’ multibit configuration, with the analogue output stage separated on a dedicated board.

There’s a lot of technology in this compact unit, and it’s quite remarkable how much the designers managed to pack in. This includes Bluetooth, letting you use the Valkyrie wirelessly – at least for the source connection. iFi Audio is often in the vanguard when it comes to rolling out new Bluetooth codecs, and that’s the case here too. The Valkyrie is one of the first DAC/amps to support aptX Lossless, which aims to deliver CD-quality lossless audio over Bluetooth.

As good as gold
Hooking up the iDSD Valkyrie to my iMac and connecting an Austrian Audio ‘The Composer’ headphone via the balanced 4.4mm Pentaconn output, I first opted for typical at-the-desk listening. Out of the box, the amp had a pleasant, slightly warm tuning that sounded smooth and cohesive, as well as a purposeful, potent delivery – it built up an intense wall of thumping bass with the likes of Massive Attack’s ‘Mezzanine’ [Mezzanine; Circa WBRCD4].

iFi Audio’s analogue – not digital – XBass II and XPresence functions permit effective tweaking of the overall sound character, if you want to take this route. XBass II rendered Massive Attack’s ‘Angel’ with a more resounding low end, for example, and it was beneficial with some brightly mastered 1980s pop tunes.

The Valkyrie turned out to be an excellent match for the rather analytical The Composer. At the same time, it doesn’t invest too heavily in midrange warmth, making it equally suitable for ‘darker’ headphones such as the HD 650 from Sennheiser or Sony’s somewhat bass-heavy MDR-Z1R. In fact, its sound was both consistent and reliable when combined with a wide range of cans, from an ‘easy driver’ like the Meze POET [see boxout] to a trickier Beyerdynamic DT 1990.

When switching iFi Audio’s amp on, it slowly raises the volume to the last-used level. If you have swapped out a difficult-to-drive headphone for a more sensitive pair of cans or in-ears, this gives you the opportunity to adjust the volume knob before it reaches ear-splitting levels. Ideally the Valkyrie would also do this when you change devices without switching off the unit, but kudos to iFi Audio for including a safety feature sadly lacking on a lot of headphone amplifiers.

Poetic performance

Driving Meze’s POET, the Valkyrie accentuated the smoothness of Marvin Gaye’s seminal ‘What’s Going On’, from the album of the same name [Tamla; 192kHz/24-bit], and delivered the track’s layers of background chatter at just the right level to underscore the main vocals.

Above: The Valkyrie includes 3.5mm and balanced (4.4mm) sockets that act as both line ins and outs in DAC/preamp mode, alongside another 3.5mm socket plus RCAs as line outs. S/PDIF (optical and coaxial) is accommodated via a third 3.5mm socket [left] while two USB-C ports serve digital audio in and battery charging, respectively

After experimentation, I stuck to listening with DSD upsampling engaged. iFi Audio describes this function as ‘professional-grade remastering’, which rather overvalues its impact, but it does deliver some audible improvements. With Gaye’s album it didn’t really matter if the PCM audio was uplifted to DSD512 or DSD1024, but both sounded that bit more velvety and lush than the native stream. Part of the attraction of a feature-rich DAC like the iDSD Valkyrie is that you can effortlessly play around with upsampling and filters, and just let your ears decide what sounds best.

Putting the device to use as a DAC/preamplifier in a main audio system, I connected it to Primare’s compact I15 integrated [HFN Oct ’18], giving this analogue-only amp a ‘digital’ upgrade. Playing the London Philharmonic Orchestra/Andrew Gourlay Parsifal Suite [Orchid Classics; 96kHz/24-bit], the airy presentation of the rather ominous ‘Transformation Music’ was impressive, with ringing bells resounding naturally off into the distance. The quality of the Valkyrie’s DAC stage, its crisp detail and immersive, large-scale presentation, pulled me into the track.

Cutting the cable

I’ve been intrigued by the potential of aptX Lossless since the codec was announced two years ago, but since then the uptake has been slow and support spotty. There are devices out there that claim compatibility, but still lack the requisite firmware update. Using the Valkyrie with a Creative BT-W6 dongle plugged into a MacBook Air let me confirm it lives up to the promise of the new codec.

Playing ‘Birds/While We Wait’ from Dominique Fils-Aimé’s Live At The Montreal International Jazz Festival [Ensoul download; CD res.], there was no reason to fault this wireless input. The live, spatial character of the track was all there, placing the backing voices to the rear and sending Fils-Aimé’s main vocal deep into the acoustic.

Cutting the cord didn’t lead to a compromised sound, with none of the typical shortcomings associated with lossy Bluetooth – tinny guitars, artificially edged cymbals – rearing their heads. Reaching Valhalla, apparently, no longer requires you to first grapple with a cable.

Hi-Fi News Verdict

iFi Audio’s iDSD Valkyrie offers everything – and then some – for high-quality listening with just about any headphone just about anywhere. A rich sound together with the tuneability offered by its ‘XBass II’ and ‘XPresence’ modes and upsampling options makes it spectacularly versatile – a boon to headphone collectors who like to swap their cans or in-ears as the mood takes them. And all this achieved with not a little style!

Sound Quality: 88%