The following is a summary translation – our kind Polish translation tried his utmost to keep to the spirit of the original review by the well-known and eccentric HiFi Philosophy (hope you do not mind our saying so!). So please bear with us – it sure makes for interesting reading! (for those who are easily offended, please do not read).
The iFi Tower mimics tube sound on every level, and on one of them is the iTube itself. This setup allows it to be fed directly from PC via USB interface, and ensure that the signal is one that to a degree, sounds even better than battery-based systems. It significantly improves the soundstage and throws in large doses of bass to all those who in their decrepitude complain. (In the test it worked best with the AKG K712.). From grounding the system to removing digital ringing, like thousands of dollars’ worth of enhancement products it does these and more. Yet its looks exude finesse and is uncommonly; perfectly-finished. But above all, it sounds really interesting, in a holographic and tube way. Not particularly prominent, but mixed with solid-state dynamics and pertness, yet allowing to be “felt.” Besides, and this is also very important, the iFi Tower works great with any headphones, all the way from in-ears to planars. Even the smallest ones don’t exude any hissing, and the latter will get lots of energy. And in every scenario, the iFi tower performs spectacularly well, at a high-end level. That’s the case even with the extremely nasty to drive K712, and that is in my opinion, a definitive mark of its excellence.
Thank you HiFi Philosophy!
