While the AI fundraising machine keeps breaking its own records, some founders are building in the other direction. Mirror founder Brynn Putnam just raised money for Board, a startup focused on bringing people together through in-person games and social experiences. Cyberdeck creators are going viral crafting whimsical DIY computers that literally encourage users to touch grass. Unlike the AI-free browser crowd, this doesn’t just feel like backlash, […]
The threat is real. Unknown miscreants are exploiting a high-severity, zero-day bug in Cisco’s SD-WAN management software, and the networking giant hasn’t said when it will patch the flaw.
Cisco issued an advisory on Thursday for the Catalyst SD-WAN Manager vulnerability, tracked as CVE-2026-20245, and it sounds like attackers have been exploiting this security failure for at least the last week.
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It’s due to a validation error – the software fails to properly validate user-supplied input – and an authenticated, local attacker can exploit the flaw by uploading a specially crafted file to vulnerable systems. From there, they can escalate privileges and execute commands with root privileges.
The vulnerability affects all versions of the SD-WAN software, regardless of device configuration, and across all deployment types including on-premises, cloud-based, and FedRAMP-certified deployments.
Switchzilla says it became aware of attacks against this vulnerability in June.
“To exploit this vulnerability, an attacker must have netadmin privileges on an affected system,” the vendor said. “This would require valid credentials or exploitation of CVE-2026-20182 or CVE-2026-20127. Cisco is not aware of successful exploitation by other methods.”
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Both of these earlier SD-WAN security holes have also been hit by attackers in previous months.
The good news: an attacker needs valid credentials to abuse the new hole. The bad news: exposed credentials aren’t hard to find (or buy) online.
We don’t know the scope of exploitation or exactly when attackers began hitting this SD-WAN hole. Cisco declined to answer The Register’s questions, and instead sent us a statement via email.
“Cisco recommends customers upgrade to the fixed software released in May 2026 for CVE-2026-20182 as a protective measure,” a spokesperson said. “A patch for this vulnerability will be provided on a future date. Customers needing assistance should contact Cisco TAC.”
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This latest bug is the sixth SD-WAN vulnerability listed as under attack since the start of the year, and the second zero-day in two months.
The most recent is the one the Cisco spokesperson mentioned in an email to The Register.
In May, Switchzilla disclosed a max-severity make-me-admin bug (CVE-2026-20182) affecting Catalyst SD-WAN Controller and Manager, and warned that attackers had already found and exploited the hole before it issued a patch.
A month earlier, America’s lead cyber-defense agency said that three Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Manager bugs (CVE-2026-20128, CVE-2026-20133, and CVE-2026-20122) were under attack, and gave federal agencies just four days to patch the security holes.
Also in February, the networking vendor patched a max-severity improper authentication flaw (CVE-2026-20127) affecting the same SD-WAN software, prompting a Five Eyes countries’ joint intelligence alert urgently warning defenders to patch it – plus an old SD-WAN vulnerability (CVE-2022-20775) – or risk root takeover.
“Malicious cyber threat actors are targeting Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN used by organizations globally,” the UK’s lead cyber agency said at the time. “These actors are compromising SD-WANs to add a malicious rogue peer and then conduct a range of follow-on actions to achieve root access and maintain persistent access to the SD-WAN.”
And while this one isn’t listed as under active exploitation (yet), on Wednesday, Cisco warned about a proof-of-concept exploit for CVE-2026-20230, a critical bug in its Unified Communications Manager that also allows attackers to gain root privileges. ®
Players enjoying Bungie’s advertised free week of Marathon were offered what appeared to be the deluxe edition of the game for just $14, only to find out that what they really purchased was nothing but a cosmetics bundle. It’s yet another bump in the road for Bungie, which is betting the farm on Marathonas it winds down its only other active title, Destiny 2. To add insult to injury, the mistake does not appear to be Bungie’s fault.
The confusion appears to have been caused by the way Sony lists the different versions of the game in the PlayStation Store. When we look at the price for the Marathon Deluxe Edition, it shows as discounted to $41.99. That’s still a nice discount off the usual $60 price tag, but a far cry from $14. However, once the free trial version of Marathon being offered during the free week was added to a PlayStation library, we saw the price on the deluxe version update to be just $14. What’s actually happening? Well, when a player adds the free trial to their library, PlayStation Store treats it as owning the full game. The player is then shown the difference in price compared to the base edition as if they had paid full price for it, but paying that $14 difference only gives you the extra cosmetic content. It’s easy to see how this might cause widespread confusion.
This marks the second rough spot for the free week of Marathon, which initially helped the game surge to around 40,000 Steam players on June 2 before experiencing widespread server issues that forced Bungie to perform emergency maintenance. That this latest controversy is a PlayStation issue likely won’t matter to those still on the fence about trying out Marathon. The game has struggled to maintain popularity despite rave reviews, and the free week came alongside the launch of its second season in an attempt to bolster those numbers.
The company says most users don’t need to use the feature.
OpenAI
OpenAI has begun rolling out Lockdown Mode, an optional security setting designed to offer users advanced protection from prompt injection attacks. For the unfamiliar, prompt injection is a form of social engineering that is specific to conversational chatbots. As AI systems have become better at pulling information from the internet, people have begun hiding malicious instructions on webpages and other places to try and trick those systems.
OpenAI is billing Lockdown Mode as a sort of last line of defense against prompt injections, building on the robust protections that it says it already offers through ChatGPT, its models and backend systems. “Lockdown Mode is not intended for everyone,” OpenAI explains. “It is designed for people and organizations that handle sensitive data and want stricter protection from data exfiltration risks related to prompt injection.”
To that end, enabling Lockdown Mode limits some of the features OpenAI offers through ChatGPT and its other products. For instance, you can still use image generation and upload photos to ChatGPT, but it may not pull images from the internet or display any images inside of a response. The chatbot also cannot download files to analyze, though you can still manually upload documents if you want its insight. Other features, such as Deep Research and Agent Mode are disabled completely. “Lockdown Mode does not change memory, file uploads, the ability to share a conversation, or whether your conversations may be used to improve models,” OpenAI adds. “Many of these settings are separately configurable by workspace admins.”
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The company also notes Lockdown Mode won’t stop prompt injections from appearing in content ChatGPT processes. Instead, it’s designed to prevent an attacker from extracting sensitive data from your account by limiting network requests that someone could exploit. Lockdown Mode is available to all personal accounts, including those using ChatGPT through OpenAI’s free tier. To activate it, open ChatGPT’s settings menu and select Safety and security. Under Advanced security, tap Lockdown mode and flip on the toggle. You can temporarily disable the additional protection by selecting Manage from the status message that appears above the chat window and selecting Turn off for this chat.
Separately, OpenAI is rolling out an active session manager that allows users to see any devices or browsers that have been used to access their account. From there, the company offers the option to log out of individual or all sessions at once. Just note the latter can take up to 30 minutes to complete. “If you suspect unauthorized account activity, change your password if you use one, review your sign-in methods, and contact OpenAI Support,” the company adds.
Fake reviews are a real menace for online shoppers. If you have ever bought something online based on glowing reviews only to receive a disappointingly subpar product, you know what I mean. A new study published in the International Journal of Information and Communication Technology proposes an AI-powered system that can not only detect fake reviews, but also trace how they spread.
Why existing tools keep falling short
Most existing fake review detection systems focus on the text of a review. That approach worked for a while, but fake reviewers have gotten smarter. They now pair carefully written text with misleading images to make their reviews look authentic. Text-only tools struggle to catch this, and that’s a real problem for shoppers and honest sellers alike.
Structure of the fake review detection modelBing Duan / International Journal of Information and Communication Technology
The researchers addressed this by building a system that looks at multiple signals at once. It analyzes the review text using two different methods, a text convolutional neural network and pre-trained language models, to capture both surface-level and deeper meaning in the words. It also factors in reviewer behavior, since fake accounts tend to have default profile pictures and system-generated usernames, unlike real users who tend to personalize their accounts.
Can AI really catch a fake image too?
The short answer is yes. Review images are analyzed separately using a residual network, a type of deep learning tool commonly used for processing visuals. Once all these signals are gathered, the system fuses them together to make a final call on whether a review is genuine.
When a review is flagged as fake, a Transformer model kicks in to map its origin and track how far it spread through the network.
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Framework for tracing the spread of fake reviewsBing Duan / International Journal of Information and Communication Technology
Tests on a large dataset from JD.com showed that the system achieved a recognition accuracy of 94.2% and a tracing accuracy of 93.5%, outperforming all existing methods it was compared against. This kind of accuracy could eventually mean fewer misleading reviews and more trustworthy ratings to shop by.
Like anything else in your home, your TV can get downright filthy. Sitting in your living room, it will gather dust, get splashed with drinks (you’d be shocked at how far a liquid particle can travel from your coffee table), and more. It’s therefore important to clean your TV regularly as you notice grime building up on it. But your television is a delicate object designed to be looked at, not touched. In your attempts to clean a TV, it’s all too easy to end up damaging it.
That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t clean your TV. You absolutely should – removing dust and debris can help make your TV last longer than you thought possible. But it does mean you should take care to do so properly. There are a number of rookie mistakes that some TV owners only learn the hard way, so we’ve rounded up some of the most common here, where you can read about the consequences of these common errors instead of experiencing them firsthand. From corrosive chemicals to out-of-sight surfaces, here are five of the most common mistakes people make when cleaning a TV.
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Using an abrasive cloth damages your TV
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One of the easiest mistakes to make while cleaning your TV is using the wrong kind of cloth to wipe it down. The surface layer of most television displays is made from a delicate and thin polarizing layer that helps you to see what’s on screen. That makes it quite different from the display on your smartphone, which is most likely coated in a layer of hardened glass that is mostly safe to wipe down with your t-shirt. But unless you use a non-abrasive cloth on your TV, you are almost certain to damage it, causing scratches and wiping away the outer coating. Even seemingly soft products like paper towels and tissues have microscopic fibers that can scratch up the coating on your TV screen, and the same goes for standard cloth dish towels.
A specialized microfiber cloth is the only safe cleaning implement for your LCD or OLED TV. These cloths have very thin fibers that trap the dust and residue clinging to your TV’s display without taking part of the TV along with it. You should look for cloths which are essentially large versions of those used to clean eyeglasses, such as the Apple Polishing Cloth, or other cloths made specifically to clean flatscreen TVs.
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Using the wrong cleaning solution damages your TV
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Windex works for your windows, so why not for your TV, right? Stop right there, because using glass cleaner on your TV is a costly mistake. As mentioned above, the surface layer of your TV is a thin and delicate polymer, not a thick panel of glass. As such, products that leave your windows or mirrors shiny and polished can permanently damage your TV. The biggest culprits are alcohol, acetone, and ammonia. Those are powerful cleaning agents — far too powerful, in fact, for your TV set.
You can find specialized TV cleaner available for purchase at big box retailers, but although they’ll do the job, they can cost a decent amount more than you’d expect. Some recommend making your own TV cleaning solution using distilled water with a drop of mild dish soap mixed into it, while others claim distilled water alone is sufficient for the task. Others add a small amount of vinegar to the distilled water for particularly stubborn spots. If you do choose to buy a cleaning product, be sure to check that it does not contain alcohol, ammonia, or acetone.
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Pressing too hard while cleaning damages your TV
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Even if you’ve got a high-quality microfiber cloth and specialized TV cleaner, you might have a hard time getting some particular bit of residue off your TV. Maybe your kid spilled a root beer that splashed on the screen and dried. Whatever the case, when dealing with a stubborn bit of cleaning on your TV display, you might end up applying some elbow grease. Before you know it, you’ll have damaged the TV far more than that pesky bit of gunk on the screen ever could have.
Your TV’s display is made up of multiple thin layers.LCD and OLED panels have multiple thin layers of materials that conduct electricity, create colors, and make those colors visible to you with emitted light. When you press on the surface layer, you’re compacting the entire stack, and once one of the layers is damaged, the display won’t function properly. If you’re lucky, perhaps you’ll see some dead pixels or minor discoloration, but press too hard in the wrong place, and the entire display can malfunction.
Do your best to clean with friction, not pressure. If you’re dealing with a stubborn dirty patch on your TV display, try moving the cloth quickly but gently in a small circle without applying downward pressure on the TV display. Reapply specialized electronics or TV cleaner solution as needed. You may also wish to use compressed air or an electric duster (not a feather duster or wand) to remove the initial layer of dust before cleaning in order to reduce the risk of dust particles scratching the screen’s top layer as they’re dragged by the cleaning cloth.
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Ignoring the parts of the TV you can’t see leads to long-term damage
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One of the easiest mistakes to make while cleaning a television is to ignore everything other than the screen. After all, you might think, as long as you can see your movies and TV shows in crystal-clear quality, who cares that the backside of the unit is dusty? But that’s a crucial error, since many TVs have heat vents and ports to get rid of excess thermal energy. When dust or debris clogs those exhausts, it can cause performance issues with the TV, much like what can happen when you don’t clean the vents on a computer. Then there are the ports, such as your HDMI, coaxial, and USB ports. If those become dirty, you may begin to notice errors when you plug peripherals into them, and some devices may not work at all.
The longer you go without cleaning the entire TV, the more likely it becomes that these issues will occur. Aside from cleaning every so often, it can be a good idea to dust the TV using compressed air or an electric duster — not a dusting wand, feather duster, or anything else that will touch the display — before you clean, to ensure you’re able to clean more effectively. For some tips and tricks, check out our guide on how to clean behind your TV without moving it.
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Forgetting to clean your remote can damage it
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After you’ve cleaned your TV to perfection and settled in to watch a show, do you really want to reach for a grimy remote? Not only is the remote the part of the TV you touch most often, but it is likely left sitting on your couch or coffee table. That means it’s collecting oils and residue from every pair of hands that touch it, as well as being in the path of random spills and accidents. After too much schmutz builds up on a remote, the buttons can become stiff and hard to use. In severe cases, liquid or dirt can work its way into the casing and the sensitive electronic components inside, causing them to malfunction, or even to break entirely. How often should you clean your TV remote? We recommend doing so at least once a month.
The good news is that you don’t need to be as careful when cleaning your remote as you do when cleaning the TV itself. Simply remove the batteries and shake any debris loose, then dampen (but do not wet) a soft cloth with a mild, alcohol-based cleaning solution and clean as thoroughly as possible, paying special attention to hard-to-reach areas between buttons. If you’re having trouble getting into any crevices, you can use a Q-Tip-style cotton swab dipped in your cleaning solution to reach them. If you’re still having trouble reaching any visible grime, such as desiccated skin buildup trapped in the plastic seams, you can use a toothpick or toothbrush to loosen it up. Dry everything off and pop the batteries back in when you’re done.
Although the thought of installing a modern operating system like Windows 11 on something as archaic as a Core 2 Quad Q6600 Intel CPU may seem ridiculous, it being the flagship CPU of the time means that it still chews up low-end Celeron systems that are on the supported hardware list like the N4020. Hence [Omores] commencing on this latest adventure, with the snag being that the chosen mainboard features an AGP bus that Windows 11 no longer supports.
A GPU box from the related HD 4670 PCIe card, not the used HD 4650 AGP card with 1 GB of DDR2.
This system is intended to multi-boot a range of Windows OSes starting with Windows 98, while also playing nice with DOS and even Windows 11. In addition to the quad-core, 2.4 GHz Q6600 there’s also an amazing 3 GB of DDR1 RAM in the system.
The mainboard is the 2003-era Asrock 865PE, with the GPU being the highest-end GPU that still came in AGP flavor: the Radeon HD 4650 from 2009. Since the sole reason that Windows 11 doesn’t support AGP any more is due to the supporting files not being included with Windows 11, hence you can track it down on a Windows 10 1507 release install – such as the Intel AGP440.sys driver here – and install them with some file editing.
Since Windows 11 still supports the WDDM driver model from Windows Vista and 7 you can then install the Catalyst drivers from 2012 and be up and running. You only get 1 GB of VRAM for this card, but you probably don’t need much more on this level of hardware.
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One major stumbling block remains, however, as Windows 11 24H2 enforces SSE4.2 instructions which the CPU doesn’t support. Ergo 23H2 is the newest Windows 11 version that can run on this system, with only the Education and Enterprise still receiving security updates, making it a bit of a pyrrhic victory, especially as Windows 7 benchmarks a fair bit faster on the same hardware.
Russia intends to switch on a commercial version of its homegrown answer to Starlink next year, according to people familiar with the programme cited by Reuters, the latest milestone in a project that has been promising to arrive for most of a decade.
The constellation is called Rassvet, the operator is a private aerospace firm called Bureau 1440, and the ambition is deliberately narrower than the American network it is meant to rival.
The scale tells the story. SpaceX has put thousands of Starlink satellites into low Earth orbit. Bureau 1440 plans to reach commercial service in 2027 with a constellation in the high hundreds, with figures around 288 to 292 satellites cited for the first operational phase, and a longer-term target near 900 by the mid-2030s.
Moscow has, for years, described the goal as something conceptually like Starlink rather than a like-for-like match, and the numbers keep that promise honest.
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The hardware is further along than the rhetoric alone would suggest. In March the company launched 16 operational satellites, on 23 March, following a run of experimental craft in 2023 and 2024 under the Rassvet-1 and Rassvet-2 test programmes.
Bureau 1440 has described the satellites as carrying 5G non-terrestrial-network communications, laser inter-satellite links, an upgraded power system, and plasma thrusters, the standard kit for a modern broadband constellation.
Dmitry Bakanov, head of the Roscosmos space agency, told Reuters last September that several test vehicles already in orbit had been inspected and the production satellites modified accordingly.
Throughput targets have been published too. Bureau 1440 has advertised per-subscriber speeds ranging from 50 megabits to one gigabit per second, with planned coverage across more than 70 countries.
Those figures are claims rather than demonstrated performance, the distinction that separates a constellation on a slide from one carrying paying traffic, and only the commercial launch will test them.
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Money has been committed, on paper at least. The Russian government has earmarked 102.8 billion roubles, roughly $1.26bn, for Rassvet, and Bureau 1440 has said it will add some 329 billion roubles, around $4bn, of its own through 2030.
The company has put potential demand at 1.5 to two million subscribers inside Russia and as many as 12 million worldwide, with coverage planned across more than 70 countries.
The 2027 date deserves a footnote. An earlier target slipped amid reported production shortfalls, which is the kind of detail that tends to recur in constellation programmes everywhere, not only in Russia.
Building satellites is one problem; building them fast enough, in the numbers a useful network requires, is a different and harder one. The 16 operational craft now in orbit are a start on a figure that needs to clear 250 before paying customers can be served.
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There is a strategic reading that sits underneath the commercial one. A sovereign broadband network that does not depend on a foreign operator is attractive to any government that has watched Starlink become a factor in the war in Ukraine.
Whether Rassvet arrives on schedule, and at the throughput Bureau 1440 advertises, is the question 2027 will answer. The constellation, for now, is mostly a plan with a launch cadence attached.
The national project will capture a baseline that will be used to create a clearer image of how research is understood and utilised in Ireland.
Research Ireland has launched the Research in Ireland Barometer 2026, a new national project designed to build a richer, more inclusive understanding of how people across Ireland encounter, engage with, and experience research in their everyday lives.
The Barometer will focus on capturing lived experiences, primarily the stories, context and perspectives that often shape how people relate to research. Serving as a baseline for the coming years, the project will aim to create a clearer picture of how research is understood, trusted and encountered across different communities.
Commenting, the director of research for society at Research Ireland, Dr Ruth Freeman, said: “The Research in Ireland Barometer 2026 represents an important step in opening up conversations about research across society. It is also essential to shaping how we engage with society as a public body.
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“Rather than focusing solely on a simple, statistical survey, we are taking a community-engaged approach to understand how people experience research in their everyday lives, from the decisions they make to the information they encounter and trust.”
Freeman explained that the organisation is actively seeking information from people aged 16 and older, across Ireland – and particularly those who feel as though their experiences are not often captured in traditional surveys. Individuals have three months to contribute to the survey.
She said, “By listening to people’s lived experiences and meeting people where they are, we aim to build a richer, more inclusive understanding of research and ensure it remains connected to the needs and experiences of the public.”
In early March, Research Ireland also unveiled its inaugural strategy for development of the country’s research and innovation landscape over the next five years. The aim of the strategy is to fund 3,800 new PhDs, support 14 enhanced research centres and deliver 150 research awards in collaboration with Government departments.
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This week, we’re shaking things up a little, with Tom Nardi still in the host seat, and someone besides Al Williams in the other, namely Kristina Panos.
The perfect tile for integrated LEDs
In Hackaday news, we have a new Frikkin’ Lasers Challenge going on now, although we acknowledge that no one can actually enter their project into it at the moment. We hope to have that fixed in short order. Procrastinators, disregard.
You’ll have to wait another week for the triumphant return of What’s That Sound, but we do have an audio mailbag for you this week. Thanks, Dillon!
We look at loading SEGA games from a vinyl record, discuss a really cool project that puts live plane data on your ceiling, and debate the name ‘PopTuber’. We also discuss DIY routers, and stress over the future of electronic shelf labels.
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Check out the links below if you want to follow along, and as always, tell us what you think about this episode in the comments!
iFi Audio is bringing the Gryphon back with sharper teeth. The new iFi iDSD GR 2 arrives at High End Vienna 2026 as the next-generation successor to the xDSD Gryphon, a portable DAC/headphone amplifier that we have covered before and one that earned a loyal following for squeezing a lot of desktop-style flexibility into a travel-friendly chassis.
Priced at $529 USD, the iDSD GR 2 is not a minor refresh. iFi says the new model has been rebuilt around an all-new DAC architecture, upgraded fully balanced amplification, an OLED touchscreen interface, JVCKENWOOD’s K2HD Technology, and lossless Bluetooth connectivity.
That puts the GR 2 in the middle of a very competitive portable DAC/amp market where battery life, output power, codec support, usability, and actual headphone-driving ability matter more than anything. As always, the spec sheet looks promising. The listening will decide whether the Gryphon legend still breathes fire or just got a new badge.
iFi iDSD GR 2: New DAC, More Power, Better Wireless
The iFi iDSD GR 2 is more than a cosmetic update to the xDSD Gryphon. iFi has moved to a new PCM1795 DAC with a bespoke balanced circuit design, upgraded the fully balanced amplifier section, and increased output to 1,513mW RMS into 32 ohms — a claimed 50% jump over its predecessor.
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The control side gets a colour OLED touchscreen with capacitive controls, while wireless support moves to Bluetooth 5.4 with aptX Lossless and LDAC. Wired users are not being ignored either, with USB, S/PDIF, and line-level connectivity all included.
The GR 2 also adds JVCKENWOOD’s K2HD Technology, XBass+, XSpace, Hybrid Power Mode for better long-term battery health, and iFi Nexis app support for OTA updates and deeper control. There is a lot packed into this portable DAC/headphone amp, especially at a price point we expected to be higher based on early rumors surrounding the GR 2.
Bluetooth 5.4 With aptX Lossless and LDAC
The iFi iDSD GR 2 also updates the wireless side with Bluetooth 5.4, including support for aptX Lossless and LDAC.
That gives the GR 2 stronger wireless credentials than many portable DAC/amps, especially for users who want to connect from a phone, tablet, or laptop without giving up higher-quality codec support. aptX Lossless can deliver 16-bit/44.1kHz CD-quality playback under the right conditions, while LDAC offers bitrates up to 990kbps for compatible Android devices.
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There are still the usual Bluetooth caveats. Codec support depends on the source device, connection stability, and the listening environment. iPhone users will not get aptX Lossless or LDAC from iOS, so the GR 2’s wired USB input will still matter for Apple users who want higher-resolution playback.
New PCM1795 DAC Architecture
The biggest internal change inside the iFi iDSD GR 2 is the move to the Burr-Brown PCM1795 DAC, which iFi says is being used in one of its products for the first time.
That matters because this is not just a chip swap. The PCM1795 is a current-output DAC, which gives iFi more room to design its own I/V conversion and output stages around the chipset. In the GR 2, that includes a bespoke balanced circuit, Class A op-amps, and a signal path that is now fully balanced from the preamp section to the headphone stage.
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iFi also says it has removed unnecessary electronic switching from the circuit, which should help reduce distortion across the signal path. The goal is lower noise, cleaner conversion, and a more transparent presentation without abandoning the warmer tonal balance that many listeners associate with iFi’s portable DAC/amp designs.
We will dig further into how much of that shows up in actual listening, but on paper, this is one of the most meaningful engineering changes between the older xDSD Gryphon and the new iDSD GR 2.
OLED Touchscreen Control
The iFi iDSD GR 2 also adds a colour OLED touchscreen with capacitive controls, which should make the device easier to use without digging through layers of menus.
That matters on a portable DAC/headphone amp with this many features. Input selection, gain, filters, Bluetooth status, battery information, and sound processing modes all need to be easy to access, especially when the device is being used with a phone, laptop, tablet, or digital transport.
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The new interface gives the GR 2 a more modern control system than the older xDSD Gryphon, and it should make day-to-day adjustments faster and less frustrating.
Hybrid Power Mode for Battery Health
The iFi iDSD GR 2 introduces a new Hybrid Power Mode designed to manage how the unit draws power during longer listening sessions.
When connected to an external power supply, the GR 2 can prioritize external power instead of constantly running from the internal battery. If the amplifier section needs additional current, it can draw from the battery briefly, then return to external power once demand drops.
That should help reduce unnecessary battery cycling, which matters if the GR 2 spends a lot of time connected to a desk, laptop, or fixed audio system. Portable DAC/amps are still battery-dependent devices, and long-term battery health is not a small detail unless you enjoy turning expensive gear into a paperweight with balanced outputs.
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It is a practical feature, not a flashy one, but it could make the GR 2 more useful for listeners who move between portable and desktop setups.
More Power for Full-Sized Headphones
The iFi iDSD GR 2 also gets a meaningful power increase, with iFi claiming up to 1,513mW RMS into 32 ohms. That is said to be 50% more headphone drive than the original xDSD Gryphon.
That level of output should make the GR 2 a realistic option for many full-sized planar magnetic and dynamic headphones from the balanced output, not just sensitive IEMs and easy-to-drive portable models. It also gives users more headroom before the amplifier starts to feel strained.
There are still some important blanks to fill in. We are waiting to see how the GR 2 handles higher-impedance loads above 200 ohms, where voltage swing matters more than headline wattage into 32 ohms. And to be clear, this is not designed for electrostatic headphones, which require their own dedicated energizer or amplifier.
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On paper, the extra output is one of the GR 2’s more useful upgrades. More power only matters if it comes with control, low noise, and clean gain, but the numbers suggest iFi is aiming beyond the usual pocket-DAC crowd.
K2HD Processing and Digital Filters
The iFi iDSD GR 2 also includes JVCKENWOOD’s K2HD Technology, which is designed to process digital recordings by restoring some of the harmonic information that can be reduced during digital mastering, compression, or conversion.
That does not mean it magically turns every file into a master tape. The goal is more specific: to add a degree of harmonic reconstruction and tonal density to digital playback without forcing users into a fixed sound profile. iFi says the GR 2 also includes a lighter K2 mode, which offers a similar approach without upsampling.
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The GR 2 also provides four selectable digital filters, giving listeners some control over how the DAC handles timing, roll-off, and overall presentation. Some users will hear those differences more clearly than others, depending on the headphones, source material, and how allergic they are to menus.
The iFi iDSD GR 2 looks like a meaningful step beyond the older xDSD Gryphon, not just a cosmetic refresh. We know it uses a new Burr-Brown PCM1795 DAC, a fully balanced circuit design, upgraded amplification rated at up to 1,513mW RMS into 32 ohms, a larger color OLED touchscreen, Bluetooth 5.4 with aptX Lossless and LDAC, JVCKENWOOD K2HD processing, four digital filters, XBass+, XSpace, Hybrid Power Mode, and iFi Nexis app support. At $529 USD (£529 / €549 / $799 CAD), it also lands lower than early rumors suggested, which makes the feature set more interesting. Nevertheless, the hardware story is promising.
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