Ifi Retro Stereo 50 User Manual

RETRO

50

All-in-One Vacuum Tube Amplifier

S T ER EO 50
All-in-One Vacuum tube Amplifier

Features

•

High-quality wireless Bluetooth(aptX) with NFC for pairing. No tedious setup is required, the most

convenient wireless connection with excellent sound.

Pure vacuum tube 25W + 25W* amplifier. For lush, open and fluid sound reproduction.

•

•

Pure vacuum tube headphone Turbo® 7,000 mW output power; able to drive even the most difficult

of headphones.

Independent scientific research shows pure tube amplifiers reduce listener stress and improve the

•

sense of well-being when listening to music**.

Native Octa-DSD512(24MHz), PCM768kHz, 2xDXD, the most advanced digital audio formats

•

available are supported together with all other DSD, PCM and DXD formats available.

•

Minimum phase, minimum ringing digital filter is employed for PCM up to 192KHz. Pure analogue,
no-ringing filtering is used for DXD/2xDXD as well as DSD. This removes a key factor in listener
f a t i g u e a n d t h e p e r c e p t i o n o f d i g i t a l s o u n d a s " a g g r e s s i v e " c a u s e d b y t h e h i g h - f r e q u e n c y r i n g i n g
and distortion inherent to all standard digital filters and most digital playback systems.

High-resolution audio USB, Coaxial, Optical digital inputs. Instantly upgrade the sound quality

•

from any available digital music sources.

3D Holographic Sound Systems® for Headphones and Speakers. Delivers a wide open and spatially

•

correct sound stage for speakers and headphones, reduces listening stress from "in head
localisation" with headphones.

XBass® for the best bass and dynamically corrects the Bass response to match the human hearing.

•

Ultra-wide gain range MM/MC phono pre-amplifier, able to match all phono cartridges.

•

Precision studio-grade tone controls, accurate, repeatable adjustment with unparalleled

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t r a n s p a r e n c y .

Analogue volume control with remote control, retain all the low-level music information in

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high-resolution audio.

Measured using a music signal into the matching speaker at the onset of clipping

*

Ackerman, J; doctoral thesis; 2000; Frankfurt Hochschule für Musik und Darstellende Kunst

**

1

1

6

1

7

1

9

1

8

1

10

1

11

1

12

1

13114

1

15

1

16

Bass Treble

On

1.

P o w e r L E D

O N / O F F .

2.

P o w e r S w i t c h

1

1

1

2

45 seconds warm-up time.

TONE

INPUT VOLUME

3/Phono

2

Direct
Input

On

Off

INPUTPOWER

2

1

3

Bass

Coaxial/ Optic al

50

RETRO

Digital

Input

USB

Bluetooth

1

1

4

3D Holographic Sound System

10.

●●●

For narrow (<1.5m apart) speaker
placement.
For Normal Use (Recommended).
OFF

●

-

1

5

3. Analogue

Input-

3.5mm

Shared with INPUT 2 at rear.

4.

Headphone Output-

3.5mm(Normal)

For high sensitivity Headphones and
In-Ear-Monitors (IEMs).

5.

Headphone Output-

6.3mm(Turbo)

For normal sensitivity Headphones.

6.

Tone Control - Bass

See Phono Settings card
for additional Phono EQ details.

7.

Tone Control - Treble

See Phono Settings card
for additional Phono EQ details.

8.

Format Indicators

DXD,DSD,PCM. See LED Status
card for details.

9.

Direct Input

ON to bypass the Tone Controls.

XBass System

11.

●●●

Maximum Bass correction
(Recommended when the RETRO
LS3.5 is used with speaker stands).
Moderate Bass correction

●

(Recommended for RETRO LS3.5 under
normal setup).
OFF

-

Digital Audio Input Selector

12.

For USB, Coaxial/Optical, Bluetooth inputs.

Status Indicator

13.

See LED Status card for details.

Input Selector

14.

Digital Input
Input1
Input2
Input3/Phono

Remote Control Receiver

15.

Volume Control

16.

Also controlled by the remote control.

2

2829

RIGHT LEFT

SPEAKERS
4 - 1 6 O h m

17

18

PHONO

GROUND

Pairing

MC
Low

MC

High

MM

Line 3
(+6dB)

MC

Low

P H O N O

AUDIO INPUTS

MC High

MM / Line 3

COAXIAL

21

OPTICAL

L

R

D I G I T A L I N P U T S

19

20

Bluetooth Pairing Switch

17.

For pairing new Bluetooth devices.

Phono Ground

.

18

Connect the Ground wire from
the turntable.

L i n e 3 M o d e S e l e c t i o n

.

19

See Phono Settings card for details.

MC Low Input

.

20

For connecting an MC cartridge.

MC High/MM/Line 3

.

21

For connecting a High-Output MC cartridge,
MM cartridge or Line-Level equipment.

21

22

23

USB

24

RETRO

50

Technology licensed from

AMR-Audio, UK Assemb led in China

25

8X

2X

1X

Direct S trea m Di git al

DigitaleXtrem e Definition

Bass

®

768
705

4X
2X

384

1X

Pulse Code Modulation

352

®

F U S E 2 A

SLOW BLOW

26

Digital Audio Input

24.

AC IN 100-240V

S&E

27

Retro

ifi-audio.com

Coaxial/Optical (auto-switching).

USB Input

25.

MAC OSX (10.6 or later) has built-in
n a t i v e s u p p o r t f o r t h e R e t r o S t e r e o 5 0 D A C .

MS Windows (XP or later), please download
and install the driver software

b e f o r e
connecting the Retro Stereo 50 DAC to the
computer

Fuse

26.

(www.ifi-audio.com).

2A slow-blow fuse.

Mains Power Input

27.

100-240V AC.

Input 2

22.

Shared with front 3.5mm input.

Input 1

23.

Shared with the 3.5mm input.

Speaker Outputs

28.

Compatible with 4-16 Ohm Speakers.

Bluetooth Antenna

29.

Please set to an upright position for the
best reception.

3

System Connection Diagram

Smart Devices

Wireless Bluetooth

TONE

Bass Trebl e

On

Direct
Input

On

Off

INPUTPOWER

2

In-Ear-Monitors

INPUT VOLUME

3/Phono

2

1

Digital

Bass

Input

USB

Coaxial/Optical

Bluetooth

50

RETRO

Over-the-Ear

Headphones

A u d i o R C A c a b l e

T u r n t a b l e

RIGHT LEFT

SPEAKERS
4 -1 6 O h m

21

L

R

COAXIA L
OPTICAL

DIGITAL INPUTS

USB

Technology licensed from

AMR-Audio, UK As semble d in Chi na

AUDIO INPUTS

MC High

MC
Low

MM / Line 3

Pairin g

PHONO
GROUND

MC
Low

MC

High

MM

Line 3
(+6dB)

P H O N O

Digital Coaxial/Optical cable

Tuner,

Cassette Deck etc.

RETRO

50

Digital eXtrem e Defini ti o n

Bass

8X

768

2X

4X

705

1X

2X

384

1X

Direct Stream Digital

352

Pulse Code Mo dul a ti on

®

AC IN 100-240V

®

F U S E 2 A

S L O W B L O W

S&E

ifi-audio.com

Retro

U S B c a b l e

Blu-ray/DVD/CD Player,

Set-top-box,

Network Streamer

Loudspeakers

Computer

4

Computer

Connection method: USB cable

S t e p 1 :

DIGITAL INPUTS

COAXIAL
OPTICAL

USB

Connect the USB cable from the computer to the iFi RETRO Stereo 50's USB input.

S t e p 2 :

Digital

Input

USB

Coaxial/Optical

Bluetooth

INPUT

3/Phono

2

1

Select “ ” and “ ” from the “ ” selector.Digital Input USB INPUT

LED Status

The LED indicates the sampling rate of the incoming digital signal

Format Indicator

Direct

Input

Bass

Digital

Input

Status Indicator

USB

Coaxial/Optical

Bluetooth

Description

44/48kHz
88/96kHz

176/192kHz

352/384kHz

705/768kHz
DSD64( )2.8/3.1MHz
DSD128(5.6 )/6.2MHz
DSD256(11.2 )/12.4MHz
DSD512(22.6 )/24.6MHz
No music playing

Input

USB
Digital Audio

Status
Indicator

Green
Y e l l o w
Cyan

Magenta

White
Green
Y e l l o w
Magenta
White

None

On

Off

F o r m a t
Indicator

PCM
PCM

PCM

DXD

DXD
DSD
DSD
DSD
DSD

-

Tip:

•

The iFi Retro Stereo 50's DAC's design is based on the award winning iFi micro iDSD. It uses Minimum Phase

(44.1kHz-192kHz) and Bit-Perfect (352kHz or above) filter for the best sound.

•

For connection to Apple devices, the Apple USB Camera Adapter is required. For connection to Android
devices, an OTG cable and appropriate OS support are required. For more information, please refer to
www.ifi-audio.com.

•

MAC OSX (10.6 or later) has built-in native support for the iFi Retro.
MS Windows (XP or later), please download and install the driver software BEFORE connecting the iFi Retro
to the computer (www.ifi-audio.com).

For the best sound quality, always set the volume control on the computer and the playback software to 100%.

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