Verdict published

iFi audio iDSD GR 2

iFi audio · DACs and headphone amps · Second generation of iFi's Gryphon portable DAC/amp: the 2021 xDSD Gryphon replaced by the 2026 iDSD GR 2 (GR = Gryphon) · Variant: iDSD GR 2, standard version. The later iDSD GR 2 MT (Master Tuned, USD 699) is a different product and is not scored here. · Markets: US, GB, DE, FR, JP, AU, CA, DK, SE, NZ

iFi's Gryphon successor as six qualifying reviews from four editorial groups saw it: a big power and connectivity upgrade with a bright OLED touchscreen, held back by bulk, a paid-for case and an untested seven-hour battery claim.

By Adwilson Fernandes, for ReviewQuorum · Updated

91 /100
ReviewQuorum verdict · derived from the sources

Verdict

Reviewers agree the iDSD GR 2 is a clear step up from the xDSD Gryphon: TechRadar scores it 5/5 and calls it editor's-choice material, ON-mag gives it 5/5 and calls the experience 'tout simplement parfaite', and every group praises the 1,513mW balanced output, the Bluetooth 5.4 with aptX Lossless, and the touchscreen that fixed the Gryphon's worst flaw. The splits are narrower: What Hi-Fi gives 4/5 and prefers the cheaper Chord Mojo 2's dynamics, Lyd & Billede gives 5/6 and finds it bulkier than its predecessor, ON-mag calls it 'pas un monstre d'energie', and nobody published a timed battery test to support the seven-hour rating.

Quorum Score
91/100
Source Quorum
4 independent
3 publish a score
Quorum Confidence
Medium
Score range
83–100
Last updated
Research cut-off
Oct 9, 2026

Why medium confidence: 4 independent editorial groups. Score spread (standard deviation) of 7 points. Open alerts indicate the evidence may change soon. Only 3 of 4 independent groups publish a numeric score.

Where to buy
Amazon US · In stock
Check price at Amazon *

* Affiliate link: we may earn a commission. It does not affect our scores. Compare all 6 offers

Review Consensus · calculated by ReviewQuorum

What reviewers agree on

  • Sound quality · praised by 3 of 4 sources
    Which sources said this
    • Major HiFi — mixed: Major HiFi: 'The GR 2 is more distinctly relaxing, opting to forego significant force for an expanded low range', but on the Sennheiser HD 600 'I found the Mojo 2's [highs] to be more defined'.
    • ON-mag — positive: ON-mag: 'le son, evidemment tres equilibre'; the GR 2 'excelle par son sens du detail et l'ampleur de la scene sonore', 'particulierement vif mais pas agressif' (Qualite sonore 4,5/5).
    • Lyd & Bilde — positive: Lyd & Billede: the GR 2 'spiller fyldigere med mere pondus' with 'et storre lydbillede' and more precisely rendered detail; 'grundlaeggende neutral med en homogen og let varm klang'.
    • TechRadar — positive: TechRadar: 'articulate, layered, and balanced sound' with 'intricate instrument separation, punchy bass, phenomenal mid-range clarity, and expressive treble'; Sound quality score: 5/5.
  • Connectivity and inputs · praised by 4 of 4 sources
    Which sources said this
    • Major HiFi — positive: Major HiFi: 'Codec support is vast and powerful, causing minimal compromise if opting for Bluetooth over wired', and the GR 2 beats the Mojo 2 on connection variety.
    • ON-mag — positive: ON-mag: 'double entree USB-C (dont une pour l'alimentation)', balanced and single-ended in/out on 3.5mm and 4.4mm, both headphone outputs, mini-Toslink S/PDIF and aptX Lossless (Connectique 5/5).
    • Lyd & Bilde — positive: Lyd & Billede: two USB-C ports (audio and charging, usable at once), a combined 3.5mm optical/coaxial digital input, 3.5mm and 4.4mm balanced analogue in/out, and Bluetooth 5.4 with aptX Lossless.
    • TechRadar — positive: TechRadar: sources span 'Bluetooth (with higher-res aptX Lossless and LDAC support), USB-C, optical, coaxial, and line in', with 'dedicated 3.5mm and 4.4mm headphone ports and a USB-C charging slot'.
  • Value · praised by 3 of 4 sources
    Which sources said this
    • ON-mag — positive: ON-mag: 'l'un des modeles les plus complets de sa categorie' at 550 euros and 'Interet: 5/5', though it is 'assez imposant' for a portable device.
    • Lyd & Bilde — positive: Lyd & Billede: 'En oplagt anbefaling til hovedtelefonentusiasten, der har pengene' - 5/6 at DKK 4,399, despite being 'lidt stoerre og mere klodset end nogle af konkurrenterne'.
    • TechRadar — positive: TechRadar: 'cheaper than its predecessor at launch... impeccable value for money'; the FiiO BTR17 at around USD 219 'can't deliver the depth of the GR 2' (Value 5/5).
Review Consensus · calculated by ReviewQuorum

Common criticisms

No criticism was shared by enough independent sources to count as consensus.

Split Verdict · calculated by ReviewQuorum

Where reviewers disagree

  • Battery and portability · 1 positive, 1 negative, 2 mixed
    Which sources said this
    • Major HiFi — negative: Major HiFi: 'the GR 2 has less battery life, with seven hours playback to the Mojo 2's eight', although both can extend runtime from an external supply.
    • ON-mag — mixed: ON-mag: 'ne profitant pas d'une tres grande endurance (entre 5 et 8 h selon l'usage)' - the only reviewer to publish a range instead of repeating iFi's 7-hour rating.
    • Lyd & Bilde — positive: Lyd & Billede: the battery 'er blevet storre og dermed ogsaa spilletiden laengere', with iFi's 4,900mAh cell rated 'cirka 7 timers spilletid'; the unit weighs 268g.
    • TechRadar — mixed: TechRadar: 4,900mAh 'should be good for around 7 hours of use - though this will vary depending on volume and if you're using sound filters'; a full charge takes 'about 3.5 hours'.
  • Build and design · 2 positive, 1 negative, 1 mixed
    Which sources said this
    • Major HiFi — mixed: Major HiFi: 'the GR 2's frame feels significantly tougher than the Mojo 2' and 'reliably sturdy', but 'merely damaging the GR 2's screen could limit much more utility'.
    • ON-mag — positive: ON-mag: 'la construction et les petits details de finition... sont parfaitement maitrises' - part-metal chassis, non-slip surfaces and a well-sized control wheel (Construction 4,5/5).
    • Lyd & Bilde — negative: Lyd & Billede: the GR 2 'er vokset en del i laengden' against the Gryphon - 'ikke gjort den koennere, men foerst og fremmest gjort den mere besvaerlig at faa ned i forskellige lommer'.
    • TechRadar — positive: TechRadar: 'lightweight (at just 0.6 lbs / 268g)', 'a good standard of build' and the review sample 'never ran hot'; a case 'has to be purchased separately' (Design 4.5/5).
Consensus by attribute · calculated by ReviewQuorum

Attribute by attribute

Sound quality · decisive
95/100 · scored by 2
Power and drive · decisive
4 sources
Connectivity and inputs · decisive
100/100 · scored by 1
Features and modes
100/100 · scored by 2
Controls and interface
100/100 · scored by 2
Battery and portability
4 sources
Build and design
90/100 · scored by 2
Value · decisive
100/100 · scored by 2

Bars show how many independent sources were positive, mixed or negative. A number appears only when sources published a score for that attribute — we never invent one.

Buyer Signal · not part of the Quorum Score

What buyers report

Amazon (US): 4.5/5 average from 6 ratings · collected Oct 9, 2026
ASIN B0H333L7L9, iFi iDSD GR 2. Amazon prints 4.5/5 from 6 global ratings with a 77% / 0% / 23% / 0% / 0% split, '50+ bought in past month', rank #142 in Headphone Amps, a buy box at USD 520.00 against a USD 529.00 list, and 'Only 1 left in stock'.
The same page shows eight further new and used offers from USD 520.00 and a second seller (GRAMOPHONE) at USD 529.00 shipping from Amazon, so the listing is real stock rather than a placeholder; the USD 520.00 buy box undercuts the USD 529 list price.
Amazon (DE): 4.5/5 average from 5 ratings · collected Oct 9, 2026
German Amazon search for 'iFi iDSD GR 2' returns the standard GR 2 at EUR 549.00 with 4.5/5 from 5 ratings and 'Only 4 left in stock'. The GR 2 MT appears separately at EUR 729.00 and the case at EUR 49.00.
The German price (EUR 549.00) is 20 euros above the USD 529 US list price and matches the French and Italian list prices read elsewhere; stock is listed as only four units.
iFi audio official store (GB): 5/5 average from 14 ratings · collected Oct 9, 2026
iFi's own product page prints 'Based on 14 reviews' with 100% (14) at five stars and 0% in the four, three, two and one star buckets. The store payload prices the product at GBP 529 and marks the variant available:false.
The largest and least independent sample here: a 100% five-star block on the manufacturer's own store, whose page also reported available:false and rendered 'Contact Local Distributor', so it was out of stock while collecting reviews.
e-earphone (E☆イヤホン) (JP): 5/5 average from 1 ratings · collected Oct 9, 2026
Japanese retailer listing for iDSD GR2 (catalogue IFI-IDSD-GR2, barcode 4562314022490) at JPY 99,000 tax included, with 5.0/5 from 1 review and a live add-to-cart.
A sample of one, so the 5.0/5 carries no weight; the page's value here is the JPY 99,000 tax-inclusive price and the Japanese JAN 4562314022490.

Buyer comments frequently mention:

  • Six ratings is not a sample: 77% five-star against 23% three-star rests on a handful of buyers
  • Five ratings only, and the search page prints no star breakdown
  • Vendor-store reviews: buyers praise build, sound and the hybrid power mode, and none is below five stars
  • A single review, recorded only because it is the only Japanese rating found and for the JPY 99,000 price
Creator Signal · not part of the Quorum Score

What creators showed

An Accidental Audiophile · YouTube · Full review · 30:17 · Sep 2, 2026
Positive on power output: Dedicated 4.4mm balanced A/B against the Mojo 2 with Meze Empyrean II planars, all sound processing disabled on both devices. 3,680 views.
Mixed on sound quality: Compares detail retrieval, vocal texture, soundstage, bass definition and timbre against the Mojo 2 in a 30-minute test. 3,680 views.
An Accidental Audiophile · YouTube · Full review · 36:24 · Aug 31, 2026
Positive on sound quality: A 36-minute deep dive comparing the GR 2 with the Chord Mojo 2 across sensitive IEMs and power-hungry planars. 3,187 views at the cut-off.
Positive on usability interface: Praises the build quality and the sharp OLED touchscreen, and singles out XBass+, XSpace and K2HD as standout features. 3,187 views.
Dexter Audio · YouTube · Full review · 11:50 · Aug 12, 2026
Positive on sound quality: An 11-minute review framing the GR 2 as the return of the Gryphon line, with dealer links for Malaysia and Singapore. 4,778 views.
Tharbamar · YouTube · Full review · 21:15 · Aug 3, 2026
Product provided by the brand
Positive on value: Publishes its own rating of 8.2/10 with 8 for power, bass, battery and price, 9 for clarity and build, and names 'Combine Output Stage' as the only con. 7,203 views.
Bloom Audio · YouTube · Full review · 14:58 · Jul 10, 2026
Positive on value: Titled 'Cheaper AND Better!', the retailer's own comparison with the xDSD Gryphon and Questyle M18i Max in the companion written article. 10,050 views.
Moon Audio · YouTube · Full review · 14:25 · Jun 4, 2026
Positive on value: The most-watched GR 2 video found, published on announcement day and framed as 'the new portable DAC amp to beat in 2026'. 18,187 views.
Editorial recommendation · derived from the sources

Best for

  • Listeners who want one transportable box for desk and travel. ON-mag, TechRadar and Major HiFi all praise the input and output set - dual USB-C, optical/coaxial S/PDIF, balanced and single-ended line, two headphone sockets - and the mains-first hybrid power mode.
  • Owners of demanding wired headphones. TechRadar, Major HiFi and Lyd & Billede all report it driving the Sennheiser HD 800S, Dan Clark E3 and Abyss Diana TC well, at a claimed 50 percent more power than the xDSD Gryphon.
  • Wireless audiophiles. Major HiFi says Bluetooth 5.4 with aptX Lossless and LDAC causes minimal compromise against wired, and ON-mag and Lyd & Billede both call the wireless playback surprisingly close to a cable.
  • xDSD Gryphon owners who disliked the old interface. TechRadar, Major HiFi and ON-mag all name the capacitive OLED touchscreen as the single biggest fix over the 2021 original.
Editorial recommendation · derived from the sources

Skip it if

  • You want the best sound at the price rather than the best feature set. What Hi-Fi scores it 4/5 and says the GBP 395 Chord Mojo 2 is more dynamically expressive, a judgement Major HiFi and Bloom Audio share on tone.
  • You want a pocket device. TechRadar and ON-mag both call it bulky, Lyd & Billede says the GR 2 grew in length against the Gryphon, and the smaller alternatives reviewers name are the FiiO BTR17 at around USD 219 and the Questyle M18i Max.
  • You need a case or an all-in price. No case is in the box; the magnetic iDSD GR 2 Case is GBP 49 / USD 49 / EUR 49 / AUD 79 and What Hi-Fi, TechRadar and Major HiFi all list it as a missing extra.
  • You drive hard planar headphones at high volume. ON-mag says 'le GR 2 n'est pas un monstre d'energie' and had to raise the volume with a Hifiman HE600, and Major HiFi found the Mojo 2 had more power left over with an Abyss Diana TC Signature.
Important caveats.
  • The scored base is only three independent groups: Future plc at 90 (TechRadar 5/5 and What Hi-Fi 4/5), Lyd & Bilde at 83.3 (5/6) and ON-mag at 100 (5/5). Headfonics, named by the owner, returned HTTP 403 on Chrome, Googlebot and r.jina.ai, StereoNET and StereoLife were also unreadable, and Major HiFi prints no numeric score at all, so the Quorum Score rests on three groups rather than five or six.
  • The seven-hour battery is iFi's rating, not a measurement. Four reviewers restate 'around seven hours' from the same 4,900mAh cell, ON-mag is the only one to publish a range ('entre 5 et 8 h selon l'usage'), and no reviewer in the corpus published a timed runtime; Amazon's listing text also prints 4900mAh.
  • Headline power does not agree across sources. iFi's own spec table says 1,513mW RMS at 32 ohms balanced while the Amazon US and Amazon DE listing titles and testberichte.de offer copy print 2173mW, and ON-mag still found the amp short of a monster with a moderately sensitive planar headphone.
  • Whether the GR 2 is cheaper than the Gryphon depends entirely on which Gryphon price is used: TechRadar and Bloom Audio say it undercuts its predecessor at launch, ecoustics' comparison table prints the Gryphon at USD 499 against the GR 2 at USD 529, and iFi's own store lists the outgoing xDSD Gryphon Black at GBP 599 against the GR 2 at GBP 529.
  • A second variant arrived within four months. The iDSD GR 2 MT (Master Tuned, tuned with producer Steve Levine, ceramic PCB, upgraded I/V stage and extra PCM/DSD filters) launched at USD 699 / GBP 699 / EUR 729 on 2026-09-30, so every price and verdict in this analysis is variant-specific and must be re-checked against the MT.
  • Stock is uneven and the manufacturer's own store was the empty one on 2026-10-09: iFi's page rendered 'Contact Local Distributor' and its Shopify payload reported available:false for the GBP 529 variant, while Amazon US sold at USD 520.00 with 'Only 1 left in stock', Amazon DE at EUR 549 with 'Only 4 left in stock', e-earphone JP at JPY 99,000 and a German dealer at EUR 529.
  • Buyer Signal is thin: the four rating samples are 6 (Amazon US, 4.5/5), 5 (Amazon DE, 4.5/5), 14 (iFi's own store, 5.0/5, 100 percent five-star) and 1 (e-earphone JP, 5.0/5). The largest sample sits on the vendor's own store and the Amazon US distribution is 77 percent five-star against 23 percent three-star on six ratings, so no buyer-side average may be read as a verdict.
  • The interface that divides reviewers is real and specific: What Hi-Fi reports unlabelled ports and a counterintuitive volume dial, Lyd & Billede says source changes happen accidentally until screen and buttons are locked, and Major HiFi warns that damaging the touchscreen could limit most of the device's utility - while TechRadar and ON-mag both score the interface 5/5.
  • Every review counted here landed between 2026-06-05 and 2026-09-28, mostly inside the launch window, and iFi promises continued change through iFi Nexis over-the-air updates, so this is a launch-window snapshot rather than a settled consensus.
  • The case is a paid extra in every market read (GBP 49 at iFi, USD 49 on Amazon US, EUR 49 on Amazon DE, and 'around GBP 50 / USD 50 / AUD 79' in What Hi-Fi), and no protective case is included in the box.

Sources analyzed

PublicationTypePublishedOriginalNormalizedStatusReview
Lyd & Bilde
by Jonas Bryngelsson
 Full review Sep 28, 2026 No score — Republication — counted once Read ↗
Lyd & Bilde
by Jonas Bryngelsson
 Full review Sep 28, 2026 5/6 83/100 Counted Read ↗
TechRadar
by Harry Padoan
 Full review Aug 31, 2026 5/5 100/100 Counted · averaged within its group Read ↗
What Hi-Fi?
by Harry McKerrell
 Full review Aug 24, 2026 4/5 80/100 Counted · averaged within its group Read ↗
ON-mag
by Guillaume Fourcadier
 Full review Aug 15, 2026 5/5 100/100 Counted Read ↗
Major HiFi
by Ryan Gannon
 Full review Jul 7, 2026 No score — Counted · averaged within its group Read ↗
Major HiFi
by Alex Schiffer
 Full review Jul 2, 2026 No score — Counted · averaged within its group Read ↗
ecoustics
by Ian White
 News Jun 5, 2026 No score — News — context only Read ↗

Summaries are ours; read each original review for its full context. Normalized = the original score converted to 0–100.

How we reached this verdict

6 full professional reviews qualified, representing 4 independent editorial groups, published between Jul 2026 and Sep 2026. Each group counts once and weighs the same; when a group has several titles, their scores are averaged into one. Scores were converted linearly to a 0–100 scale, and the number rests on the 3 groups that publish one; reviews without a score inform the consensus but not the number. Buyer and creator signals are shown separately and are not averaged into the Quorum Score. Research cut-off: Oct 9, 2026. Methodology 1.1. Main limitation: only 3 of 4 independent groups publish a numeric score. Read the methodology.

Where to buy

We may earn a commission when you buy through links on this page. This does not affect our scores or editorial conclusions. How we make money.

US
Amazon
In stock · Marketplace seller · checked Oct 9, 2026
Check price at Amazon *
DE
Schüring High End
In stock · Marketplace seller · checked Oct 9, 2026
€529.00
Sale price
Check price at Schüring High End
Amazon
In stock · Marketplace seller · checked Oct 9, 2026
€549.00
Observed price
Check price at Amazon
GB
iFi audio official store
Out of stock · checked Oct 9, 2026
£529.00
List price
Check price at iFi audio official store
JP
e-earphone (E☆イヤホン)
In stock · Marketplace seller · checked Oct 9, 2026
JPY 99,000.00
Observed price
Check price at e-earphone (E☆イヤホン)
NZ
Addicted to Audio
In stock · Marketplace seller · checked Oct 9, 2026
NZD 1,099.00
Observed price
Check price at Addicted to Audio

* Affiliate link. Prices and stock change quickly; the date shows when we last checked.

Product facts · according to the manufacturer

Specifications

The iDSD GR 2 is iFi audio's 2026 successor to the 2021 xDSD Gryphon, announced at High End Vienna 2026 and on sale from 2026-07-06 at USD 529 / GBP 529 / EUR 549. It swaps the Gryphon's Burr-Brown DSD1793 for a current-output PCM1795, keeps the signal path fully balanced with Class A op-amps, and lifts output to 1,513mW RMS at 32 ohms balanced - iFi's claimed 50 percent more drive than the outgoing model. Wireless moves to Bluetooth 5.4 with aptX Lossless and LDAC; wired options cover dual USB-C (one dedicated to charging), combined optical/coaxial S/PDIF via mini-Toslink, 3.5mm and 4.4mm balanced line in/out and 3.5mm plus 4.4mm headphone sockets. The biggest interface change is a 2.3in capacitive colour OLED touchscreen that replaces the Gryphon's black-and-white display, backed by the iFi Nexis app with over-the-air updates on Android. Sound-shaping covers K2HD (plus a lighter K2), four digital filters, XBass and XSpace, and a hybrid power mode that runs from mains first and only draws on the 4,900mAh battery when demand rises. It measures 141 x 75 x 19mm, weighs 268g and ships without a case. A separate iDSD GR 2 MT, tuned with producer Steve Levine, launched later at USD 699 / GBP 699 / EUR 729.

Manufacturer specifications
TypePortable (transportable) DAC and headphone amplifier
DAC chipsetBurr-Brown PCM1795 current-output DAC - iFi's first product to use it
AmplificationFully balanced end to end, Class A op-amps, upgraded iEMatch MOSFETs, TPA6120 output chip
RMS output power6.94V / 1,513mW at 32 ohms balanced; 8.60V / 119mW at 600 ohms balanced; 4.26V / 567mW at 32 ohms single-ended; 4.27V / 30mW at 600 ohms single-ended
Output impedance0.4 ohms or less balanced; 0.2 ohms or less single-ended; 4.5 and 4.4 ohms with iEMatch
ResolutionPCM up to 768kHz, DSD512; SNR and DNR 115dBA; THD+N 0.006% at 16 ohms, 0.0005% at 0dBFS line
BluetoothBluetooth 5.4 with aptX Lossless, aptX Adaptive, aptX, LDAC, LHDC/HWA, AAC and SBC; aptX Lossless is 44.1kHz/16-bit CD quality and LDAC reaches 990kbps
Digital inputs1x USB-C for audio, 1x combined S/PDIF optical/coaxial (mini-Toslink), Bluetooth 5.4
Analogue inputs1x balanced 4.4mm line in, 1x single-ended 3.5mm line in (switchable as outputs)
Headphone outputs1x balanced 4.4mm, 1x S-Balanced 3.5mm
Display2.3in colour OLED with capacitive touchscreen; the xDSD Gryphon used a 2.08in black-and-white panel
Sound modesK2HD (JVCKENWOOD) plus a lighter K2 mode; four digital filters BP, GTO, MIN and STD; XBass and XSpace; high and low gain
PowerHybrid power mode prioritises mains and draws on the battery only when demand rises; dual USB-C (audio and charging usable together); 5V/>1.8A; about 3.5 hours to charge
BatteryLithium-Polymer 4,900mAh; iFi rates about 7 hours of playback
Dimensions141 x 75 x 19mm
Weight268g
AppiFi Nexis (full feature set and over-the-air updates on Android; a sparser Bluetooth-only version on iPhone)
Warranty12 months; 24 months in the EU
In the boxiDSD GR 2, Type A to Type C cable, Type C to Type C cable, microfibre protective bag, user manual - no case
Separately soldiDSD GR 2 Case at GBP 49 / USD 49 / EUR 49 / AUD 79; iDSD GR 2 MT variant at USD 699 / GBP 699 / EUR 729
Launch priceUSD 529; GBP 529; EUR 549-550; CAD 799; AUD 849; JPY 99,000; DKK 4,399; SEK 6,290; NZD 1,099

Manufacturer page ↗

Update history

  1. · Verdict published — Verdict published: 6 qualifying reviews from 4 independent groups.