ifi Stereo 50 User Manual

RETRO

50

All-in-One Vacuum Tube Amplifier

S T ER E O 5 0
All-in-One Vacuum tube Amplifier

Features

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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
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
high-resolution audio.

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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

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3. Analogue

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8.

9.

P o w e r L E D

P o w e r S w i t c h

Input-

Headphone Output-

Headphone Output-

Tone Control - Bass

Tone Control - Treble

O N / O F F .

45 seconds warm-up time.

Shared with INPUT 2 at rear.

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

For normal sensitivity Headphones.

See Phono Settings card
for additional Phono EQ details.

See Phono Settings card
for additional Phono EQ details.

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

ON to bypass the Tone Controls.

3.5mm

3.5mm(Normal)

6.3mm(Turbo)

Format Indicators

Direct Input

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

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

For USB, Coaxial/Optical, Bluetooth inputs.

See LED Status card for details.

Digital Input
Input1
Input2
Input3/Phono

Also controlled by the remote control.

3D Holographic Sound System

XBass System

Digital Audio Input Selector

Status Indicator

Input Selector

Remote Control Receiver

Volume Control

-

-

10.

11.

12.

13.

14.

15.

16.

●●●

●

●●●

●

Off

On

USB

Coaxial/ Optic al

Bluetooth

50

RETRO

Direct

Bass

Input

Digital

Bass Treble

TONE

3/Phono

INPUT VOLUME

1

2

2

INPUTPOWER

Input

On

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1

1

2

1

3

1

4

1

5

1

6

1

7

1

8

1

9

1

11

1

13114

1

10

1

12

1

15

1

16

For pairing new Bluetooth devices.

Connect the Ground wire from
the turntable.

See Phono Settings card for details.

For connecting an MC cartridge.

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

Shared with front 3.5mm input.

Shared with the 3.5mm input.

Input 2

Input 1

Bluetooth Pairing Switch

Phono Ground

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

MC Low Input

MC High/MM/Line 3

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19

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21

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23.

Coaxial/Optical (auto-switching).

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 .

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

2A slow-blow fuse.

100-240V AC.

Compatible with 4-16 Ohm Speakers.

Please set to an upright position for the
best reception.

Digital Audio Input

USB Input

Fuse

Mains Power Input

Speaker Outputs

Bluetooth Antenna

24.

25.

26.

27.

28.

29.

MAC OSX (10.6 or later) has built-in

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

(www.ifi-audio.com).

Technology licensed from

AMR-Audio, UK Assembled in China

SPEAKERS
4 - 1 6 O h m

RIGHT LEFT

S&E

ifi-audio.com

Retro

Bass

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®

AC IN 100-240V

F U S E 2 A

SLOW BLOW

PHONO

GROUND

AUDIO INPUTS

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

USB

COAXIAL
OPTICAL

21

Line 3
(+6dB)

MM

MC

High

Direct Str ea m Di git al

8X
4X
2X
1X

DigitaleXtreme Definition

2X

1X

RETRO

50

Pairing

MC

Low

MC High

MM / Line 3

MC
Low

P H O N O

768

384
352

705

Pulse Code Modulation

L

R

17

18

19

20

22

24

25

21

23

26

27

2829

In-Ear-Monitors

Over-the-Ear

Headphones

Off

On

USB

Coaxial/Optical

Bluetooth

50

RETRO

Direct

Bass

Input

Digital

Bass Trebl e

TONE

3/Phono

INPUT VOLUME

1

2

2

INPUTPOWER

Input

On

Smart Devices

Wireless Bluetooth

System Connection Diagram

Technology licensed from

AMR-Audio, UK Assem bled in Chi na

SPEAKERS
4 -1 6 O h m

RIGHT L EFT

S&E

ifi-audio.com

Retro

Bass

®

®

AC IN 100-240V

F U S E 2 A

S L O W B L O W

PHONO
GROUND

AUDIO INPUTS

DIGITAL INPUTS

USB

COAXIA L
OPTICAL

21

Line 3
(+6dB)

MM

MC

High

Direct Stream Digital

8X
4X
2X
1X

Digital eXtremeD ef i ni ti o n

2X

1X

RETRO

50

Pairin g

MC
Low

MC High

MM / Line 3

MC
Low

P H O N O

768

384
352

705

Pulse Code Mod ul at ion

L

R

Loudspeakers

Digital Coaxial/Optical cable

U S B c a b l e

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

T u r n t a b l e

Tuner,

Cassette Deck etc.

Computer

Blu-ray/DVD/CD Player,

Set-top-box,

Network Streamer

Input

Digital Audio

USB

Y e l l o w

Green

Cyan

White

Magenta

Green
Y e l l o w
Magenta
White

No music playing

PCM

PCM

PCM

DXD

DXD

DSD
DSD
DSD
DSD

-

88/96kHz

44/48kHz

176/192kHz

705/768kHz

352/384kHz

DSD64( )2.8/3.1MHz
DSD128(5.6 )/6.2MHz
DSD256(11.2 )/12.4MHz
DSD512(22.6 )/24.6MHz

None

Status
Indicator

F o r m a t
Indicator

Description

DIGITAL INPUTS

USB

COAXIAL
OPTICAL

Computer

Connection method: USB cable

S t e p 1 :

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

S t e p 2 :

USB

Coaxial/Optical

Bluetooth

Input

Digital

3/Phono

INPUT

1

2

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

Format Indicator

Status Indicator

Off

On

USB

Coaxial/Optical

Bluetooth

Direct

Bass

Input

Digital

Input

LED Status

The LED indicates the sampling rate of the incoming digital signal

Tip:

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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%.