iFi Audio iCAN Phantom

Reviews like this one tend to follow a formula. They offer some context, rundown the product specs, and follow up with an impression of said performance. The iFi Audio iCAN Phantom, though, is going to be a problem. I could fill the whole review with a list of its components and specs.

I mean, look at that photograph. The iCAN Phantom looks like two pieces of equipment crashed into each other, right? And where features and functions are concerned, the iCAN Phantom is the equivalent of two pieces of equipment minimum.

Reimagine that

This is an analogue headphone amplifier. It’s a reimagining of the original Pro iCAN headphone amplifier. It also incorporates technology from the company’s Pro iESL (a standalone electrostatic headphone energiser). So, it’s capable of dealing with (inevitably power-hungry) electrostatic headphones as well as IEMs of every sensitivity, regular dynamic driver designs, and planar magnetic models. By way of an encore, it can also function as a preamp with a power amp (or powered speakers). 

The bottom portion of this weirdly proportioned product is matte black and finned to assist with heat dissipation. At the front, it deals with inputs and outputs. It has separate ‘electrostatic’ and ‘standard’ outputs. 

The ‘electrostatic’ section features two five-pin outputs—one is at ‘normal’ bias, and the other is customisable. The bias voltage of electrostatic headphones can vary quite a bit. So, iFi supplies a selection of bias voltage data cards (that look like SD cards). These cover 500V, 540V, 580V, 620V, and 640V voltage electrostatics. A magnetic cover that attaches to the main body of the Phantom houses the cards. 

The ‘standard’ outputs, meanwhile, consist of a couple of 6.3mm unbalanced outputs (one positive phase, the other inverted phase), a 3.5mm unbalanced output (featuring iFi’s ‘S-Balanced’ technology that’s claimed to reduce distortion by 50 per cent), left and right 3-pin balanced XLRs, a 4-pin balanced XLR and a 4.4mm balanced output. 

Inputs and outputs

The iFi Audio iCAN Phantom’s analogue inputs are on the rear. It has three pairs of stereo RCAs and a pair of balanced XLRs. It also keeps its pair of balanced XLR and stereo RCA preamp outputs.

On the lip where the black bottom section meets the silver top section, there are a few control buttons that deal with ‘bias voltage’, offer different impedances, switch ‘IEM matching’ on or off, and scroll through the various stages of iFi’s beloved ‘XSpace’ and ‘XBass’ algorithms. 

On the front of the Phantom’s upper tier, there are two large knobs. One looks after power and input selection, and the other handles volume. Between is a big, bright display and a couple of small switches. One takes care of gain (0dB, 9dB and 18dB), and the other switches between valve modes. 

Valve modes

Oh yes, valve modes. The iFi Audio iCAN Phantom has two input stages. One is valve-based, and the other is solid-state. The user has three options and can switch between them on the fly. Each option – according to iFi – has a distinct sonic character. According to the company, solid state is all about “pace and immediacy”. If that sounds a bit hectic, ‘tube’ mode focuses more on “fluidity and a free-breathing dynamic quality”, while ‘tube+’ is the most traditionally valve-y and will deliver a “spellbinding romantic warmth”. I think we can all agree this sounds pretty enticing.

The valves are GE5670s and are good for around 10,000 hours. They’re visible, along with some other components, through the Phantom’s smoked glass top panel. This panel can be removed when replacing valves. 

Significant

The entire thing measures a significant 185 × 256 × 120mm (H×W×D), weighs a healthy 4.2kg, and sits on four ‘doubled-damped anti-vibration feet’. If you crave the sort of rack presence that’s half ‘purpose’ and half ‘oddball’, you’ll have to go a long way to beat the iFi iCAN Phantom. 

The iFi Audio iCAN Phantom is controlled from the fascia or its remote control handset. This has big buttons and multiple colours. In its way, it’s just as odd a device as the Phantom itself. There’s also the option of the iFi ‘Nexis’ control app that’s free for iOS and Android. The iCAN Phantom is the first iFi product to incorporate the Nexis nodule, and its current functions extend beyond being a ‘super remote control’*. It displays diagnostic information, monitors the Phantom’s condition, and is the gateway to firmware updates. The company intends to expand the app’s functionality for multiple iFi devices.

*(My experience was of an app that located the iCAN Phantom via Bluetooth and then spent a lot of time ‘initialising’ without ever quite getting around to it. These are the nursery slopes for the Nexis app, though, so hopefully, it will prove its worth in the future.)

Speedboat, not pedalo

A Naim Uniti Star music streamer/amplifier using QED cables connected to the iCAN Phantom. The Naim connected to a Cambridge Audio Alva TT v2 via a Chord Huei phono stage. Various headphones (HiFiMAN electrostatics, Sennheiser IEMs and FiiO planar magnetics) were hooked to the appropriate outputs. These all used product-appropriate settings and left ‘XBass’ and ‘XSpace’ well alone. And it takes next to no time to establish that, at the very least, the iCAN Phantom compares to the integrated headphone amplification of the Naim in much the same way a speedboat compares to a pedalo.

No matter if it’s playing the smooth and soothing sounds of Vieux Farka Touré et Khruangbin’s Ali [Dead Oceans], the punishing electronic attack of Clark’s eponymous 2014 album [Warp] or the heretical (at the time) jazz fusion of In a Silent Way by Miles Davis [Columbia], the Phantom is always an absorbing, revealing, vaultingly dynamic and forensically insightful listen. It’s possible to fiddle around the edges of its performance. There are differences between the three input stage settings. However, nothing as profound as iFi suggests. But at its core, the sound of the iFi is consistent. If you take headphone listening as seriously as the cost of the Phantom insists you must, is a good thing. 

So focused

The Phantom’s sound might appear slightly undemonstrative at the very first listen. Then you notice its tonal reproduction is focused, controlled and unswervingly accurate. It delivers recordings with assurance and positivity that makes them sound utterly natural. 

The iFi is uncolored across the frequency range. However, it’s also alive with detail regarding tone and texture. An antique recording like What a Little Moonlight Can Do by Billie Holiday [Clef/Verve] sounds nuanced and confident.

Dynamic headroom is stratospheric, rhythmic expression is wholly assured, the soundstage it can create is wide, deep and unarguable in its layout. Detail retrieval is fanatical, and the Phantom manages to contextualise even the most transient occurrences in a recording with complete confidence. 

Not showy

If needed, the Phantom can hit with iron-fisted authority. However, its prodigious low-frequency presence is never showy. It’s held in reserve for those moments when a recording requires it. Then, the iFi deploys that power without impacting the rest of the frequency range. And it does it with no drop-off in resolution. 

This mad-looking device makes headphones sound instinctively correct. No headphones are too tricky for it to drive with total authority. Also, no recording is so truculent that an order can’t be imposed on it. The iFi iCAN Phantom is an absolute masterclass of headphone amplification.

Technical specifications

• Type: Fully balanced, solid state/valve headphone amplifier/preamplifier
• Inputs: Three stereo pairs (via RCA), one stereo balanced (via dual 3-pin XLR jacks)
• Outputs: Two five-pin electrostatic outputs (one at normal voltage bias, one customisable ), two 6.3mm unbalanced outputs (one positive phase, one inverted phase), one 3.5mm unbalanced output, stereo balanced 3-pin XLR outputs, one 4-pin balanced XLR output, one 4.4mm balanced output, stereo single-ended preamp output (via RCA), one stereo balanced output (via dual 3-pin XLR)
• Frequency response: 0.5Hz–500kHz (-3dB)
• THD & N: Solid state – < 0.0015% (balanced);
  < 0.007% (unbalanced); Tube – < 0.002% (balanced);
  < 0.006% (unbalanced); Tube+ – < 0.012% (balanced);
  < 0.2% (unbalanced)
• Dimensions (H×W×D): 185 × 256 × 120mm
• Weight: 4.2kg
• Price: £3,749/$3,749

Manufacturer

iFi Audio

www.ifi-audio.com

UK distributor

KS Distribution

www.ksdistribution.co.uk

+44(0)1903 768919

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