Founded in 2012 in Southport, United Kingdom, iFi Audio has established an impeccable reputation in the world of high-fidelity audio equipment, particularly with audio accessories and digital-to-analogue converters (DACs). iFi Audio specializes in designing and manufacturing products such as DACs, headphone amplifiers, and portable audio solutions. Over the years, the company has earned a reputation for blending elegant design with state-of-the-art engineering, appealing to both audiophiles and casual listeners seeking to elevate their music experience.
Just as swapping the cartridge on a turntable can dramatically shape the character and quality of vinyl playback, choosing an external DAC allows an audio enthusiast to transform their digital listening experience. By bypassing the basic DACs built into most computers or smartphones, an external dedicated DAC unlocks a clearer, more detailed, and dynamic soundscape. Much like a high-quality turntable cartridge can reveal nuances in records that might otherwise go unnoticed, with an external DAC, music is rendered with greater accuracy and richness, letting listeners appreciate every subtlety as the artist intended. Additionally, a dedicated DAC reduces unwanted noise and distortion, ensuring that the final sound is as pure and immersive as possible.
Miles Roberts is the Head of Global Sales for iFi Audio. With the recent announcement of iFi now being represented in Canada by Gemsen, we caught up with Miles over the holidays to learn more about iFi, why DACs are important and how the company stays relevant to both audiophiles and casual listeners alike.
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As the adoption of digital media becomes increasingly ubiquitous, how does iFi Audio position itself against established brands like Chord, FiiO or even AudioQuest?
While some of those brands may have been around longer than we have, when you consider the throughline from AMR’s inception in 2001 through to iFi audio in the present day, it’s clear that this definitely isn’t our first rodeo. For us, it’s not just about ‘time served’ in that regard – we constantly strive to incorporate everything we learn and carry it with us as we move forward.
Many of our products, from entry-level phono stages to flagship DAC/Amps, incorporate innovative features that benefit from, and build upon, trickle-down technology and design principles that we’ve been developing since those first days of AMR. We build on our successes and learn from our mistakes, and in either case we never forget a lesson we’ve learned. We feel this strong heritage is what places us at the forefront of this industry, and positions us to lead the charge for this industry’s future.
What trends in digital audio (e.g., hi-res streaming, portable DACs, USB-C adoption) are shaping your product roadmap? Is it all about audio (as in listening to music) or does the company also see growth with digital video streaming?
We try to avoid chasing trends too slavishly, but we do of course keep our finger on the pulse with regards to where the tech world is, and where it’s going. The key is to discern when a trend is a fad, or when it’s here to stay. To refer to your examples, USB-C is a high-level shift within the larger tech industry, and keeping ourselves in line with this shift ensures that our products, and the customers making use of them, don’t feel as though they’re falling behind – future-proofing our devices is an essential value proposition, and a way to show our customers that we respect their investment in us.
Portable products have been a big part of our longer-term roadmap, as we look for more ways to make Hi-Res audio accessible to both the budding audiophile and the more casual listener, and it’s very telling that some of our greatest successes in recent years have come from this space, such as the GO link, the UP Travel, and many more. In terms of the broader ‘A/V’ industry, we’ve made some steps into this space with conditioners like the HDMI iSilencer, and products with movie and gaming-specific features such as the uno and the ZEN CAN 3. We’re excited to see what the future may hold in that space, but for the meantime our focus is very much still on audio.
Perhaps we should go with the biggest question of all. Why use an external DAC in the first place?
We’re partial to a good automotive analogy here at iFi audio, and this question is often easily explained through that lens. We like to think of an external DAC as something of an ‘aftermarket part’ for your audio system. If you consider a standard production car, there’s a balance of price and performance, which in turn brings in compromise. Some people may well feel content to settle with what a manufacturer offers as standard, but others will want to extract even greater performance and will turn to premium aftermarket parts to make this happen. An audio system of any scale is not so different.
If you consider the DAC chip in a modern source device such as a phone or a computer, these have those same price/performance considerations applied, and we’re acutely aware that the DAC chip is one of the first places where manufacturers will look to cut costs in aid of an overall value proposition; audio is the least of their priorities and therefore they use cheap, generic solutions. An external DAC offers listeners a way to break themselves free from those compromises, and while the difference between an internal and external DAC have always been audible to us, the ever-increasing availability of Hi-Res audio only serves to widen that gap. For us, the difference that an external DAC can make to the listening experience has never been greater.
Are your products mostly designed for sophisticated listeners who actually know what to listen for? I have done product testing for retail clients, and they sometimes say they can’t hear much difference, other than volume. How do you tackle clients like that, and do they just need to be educated in the nuances of listening?
Listeners with an ear for some of those finer details will almost always be more receptive to the idea of an external DAC or other high quality audio equipment, but we don’t make products for one kind of person. We strive to make products that wear their quality on their sleeves so clearly and audibly, that being able to hear the difference is undeniable; however, a huge part of our focus is on helping music communicate more naturally and emotionally, by removing barriers between the listener and the music. When that happens, the experience becomes much more memorable — it’s something you feel, rather than something you have to analyse.
iFi arguably design some of the most beautiful looking products. I have had your products sitting on my desk simply as gorgeous objects to look at! Naturally, sound enhancements drive your product role out, but how does your industrial design philosophy guide iFi Audio’s DAC development? And does the product’s look and construction play a role in assisting iFi’s sound signature toward transparency, warmth, or versatility?
We pride ourselves on designing products that stand out visually and can serve as striking aesthetic features, whether at home or on the go. While technical and aesthetic considerations are usually developed independently, the materials and construction we choose do play a role in the sound. We often use solid and sometimes “exotic” materials — such as Japanese steel and copper — to provide damping and minimise internal resonance. These choices help support the transparency, warmth, and overall balance that define our sound signature.
Of course, the listening experience remains our North Star throughout development. Even when aesthetic choices intersect with technical considerations, we ensure that neither compromises the other. The goal is always a product that is both visually compelling and sonically exceptional.
How do you decide which features (MQA, DSD, Bluetooth codecs) are worth including in new releases? Are there upcoming technologies (e.g., AI-driven DSP, FPGA-based DACs) that iFi Audio is exploring and when do you know the time is right to tackle such upcoming technologies?
First and foremost, we strive to include the features that excite us as listeners. When we see the potential that a new emergent technology may offer, the innate desire to see that potential realised will drive us where we need to go. It’s this desire that positioned us as early adopters of technology such as MQA, xMEMS, and the new aptX Lossless Bluetooth codec; and drove us to break new ground in frontiers with boutique digital filtering and professional-grade DSD Remastering with our flagship DAC/Amps.
When it comes to the timing of adding these features to our products, we tend to know the time is right when we can see real, measurable differences that the technology can offer to the listener. We never add a feature or a technology just so we can have an attractive logo on the side of the box – if we’ve added something to one of our products, it’s because we’re supremely confident that it’s going to make the listening experience better, whether that’s through audio performance, convenience, compatibility – whatever we add, it has to matter to the customer, or it’s not going in.
What innovations are you most proud of in recent iFi Audio products, and how do you test and validate audio performance before bringing a product to market? My guess is that your chipsets and circuitry must always be five steps ahead of the internal DACs found in other audio gear to justify bypassing a built-in DAC for an iFi external DAC?
One innovation we’re particularly proud of is our collaboration with JVCKENWOOD to bring K2HD Technology into the modern streaming era. It was an 18-month development process, involving extensive listening sessions with legendary audio engineers at Victor Studios. JVCKENWOOD are understandably very selective about who they work with, so we’re proud to be the only company using this technology outside of their own products. For us, K2HD offers a genuinely different approach to improving the quality of modern digital audio rather than just changing its tonality.
When it comes to testing and validation, our engineers and product marketing teams spend a lot of time comparing designs against well-regarded benchmark DACs and analogue setups, sometimes including our own AMR reference gear and sometimes products in similar price brackets. Our focus is always on long-term listening; some designs sound impressive at first but become tiring over time, and that’s the opposite of what we’re aiming for. We include analogue setups in this process because we believe a well-set-up vinyl system remains the gold standard for long-term listening.
How much of your business is direct to consumer primarily from selling online?
We’re primarily a distributor-led business, with most sales going through our global network of dealers rather than directly to consumers online. We do operate our own webstores in a few regions, but they’re not the core of the business.
When choosing distributors, our main focus is their ability to provide excellent customer care. We want partners who can support our customers properly, answer their questions, and handle returns or issues smoothly. That way, we can ensure a consistent, high-quality experience for iFi listeners, no matter where they are. At the same time, it’s important to work with partners who genuinely understand and are excited by what we do. That way, we can ensure a consistent, high-quality experience for iFi listeners, no matter where they are.
Does customer feedback influence product updates or firmware revisions? Where do you engage with customers directly?
At risk of sounding a little trite or corporate, our customers are very much at the heart of everything we do. We are incredibly lucky to have one of the most enthusiastic and impassioned communities surrounding our products, and their love for what we do is the lifeblood that sustains us through thick and thin. To that end, we’re always listening closely to what that community wants – and doesn’t want – and set ourselves to the task of exceeding even their highest expectations of us.
As a deeply customer-focused company, we seek to engage with our customers directly wherever and whenever we can. Some of this can be seen through our engagement with out online communities, found both in classic online spaces such as community forums, Reddit and Facebook, alongside newer spaces such as Instagram and TikTok. The free and fast-paced nature of these spaces is great for receiving honest, open feedback – everyone wears their heart on their sleeve on social media, and we love to see it. We also invest time and effort into making ourselves a regular fixture at the various audio shows worldwide, as those face-to-face interactions are invaluable in making sure both sides get to see the human element of the other – we get to speak to the customers about their passions, their likes, their dislikes, and they get to meet the real people who make iFi Audio what it is. Finally, our after-sales support system is another point of pride — it’s staffed by real humans committed to helping customers, ensuring their investment in iFi products is honoured and supported at every stage.
While I am of course biased that audio publications and serious product reviews are still the most important in guiding sales!! But how has the emergence of TikTok, Instagram. consumer reviews on YouTube etc. impacted consumer awareness for iFi?
We can’t ignore how media consumption has changed, but serious product reviews still remain king for us, no matter the platform. Outside of publications, YouTube reviews have been transformative for us — several have even gone “viral,” helping raise awareness of iFi with a wider audience. Those buying into audio tend to research carefully beforehand, and YouTube remains an excellent platform for that.
However, short-form content has really taken off in the past few years, and we know the new generation of audio lovers are likely spending more time on TikTok and Instagram. With our product line becoming more varied, including more “mass-friendly” offerings, 2026 is shaping up to be the year in which we focus on getting more engagement from these platforms.
How do you envision iFi Audio’s role in the broader hi-fi ecosystem over the next five years? In other words where do you go from here?
Traditional hi-fi systems (separates) are really a specialised market, and modern systems are more mainstream. The US home size is down 13% in the past 10 years, and the UKs by 20% in the past 20 years. These statistics show that most people don’t have the space nor the budget to splurge boutique 2-channel systems, so a modern approach is essential if the goal is to capture wider attention.
Over the next five years, we’re in a unique position to cater to both markets. In terms of our approach to general products, we think the trick is to make solutions that bring a similar emotional experience to their analogue counterparts – that’s why we prioritise long-term listening during benchmarking. Digital audio shouldn’t just be convenience for convenience’s sake. Ease of use is equally important, so we’re focusing heavily on our Nexis app and device UI design
For our specialised products, we aim to do them properly, with genuinely no compromise. Competing in the boutique space means creating something truly unique, and we’re extremely eager to share more in due course, as these projects have been years in the making.
Portable Audio, headphones and DAC popularity is just next level in Asia compared to other markets. Is that true for iFi? And outside of Asia, where do you see growth and adoption. Where are the new market opportunities?
That’s true for us as well. We’re seeing strong adoption and growth of iFi across APAC — people there take audio seriously and really appreciate the care and attention we put into engineering our products. Outside of Asia, the US is a key focus for us. While it might sound like an obvious choice, we believe there’s still plenty of room to grow and introduce more listeners to iFi!
iFi Audio has changed Canadian distributors three times in under a decade (Motet, Erikson, Gemsen). What factors typically drive those decisions, and how do they impact your customers here? For Canadian audiophiles, distributor changes can sometimes cause confusion around availability and support. How does iFi Audio ensure continuity for its customers during these transitions?
As mentioned earlier, we choose distributors not just for reach, but for alignment — they need to offer great customer support and truly be excited by our products. Our sales team regularly review these partnerships to ensure they’re the right fit for both iFi and the markets they serve.
We’re aware that distributor changes can cause confusion for customers, and we do take steps to minimise any impact. Our “Where to Buy” page is always up to date, and we continue to support previous distributors with customer queries and returns to ensure continuity and a seamless experience.
iFi products are available in Canada through Gemsen. iFi also has a partnership with The Watershed Group who distribute the brand’s Elite Product range