As I said, this DAC is a great bang for the buck, however, I’ve got two minor remarks regarding this product. I use DT 770 PRO, Fidelio X2HR, Grado SR80, and HD6xx with this and all sounded better with it than without! As well, if you have a pair of powered speakers and are looking for a higher resolution source, the Zen Blue has you covered.

What Hi-Fi? Awards 2021: Best DACs | What Hi-Fi?

If you connect your standard PC speakers to the iFi ZEN DAC, you first hear how bad they sound … so better leave it at the 3. I have to say that the choice of 5 stars for sound quality was premature by WHF, I purchased one of these DACs from a local retailer, and the service from the retailer cannot be faulted. Moreover, the advanced GMT (Global Master Timing) Femto-precision clock provides >20dB better performance. And lastly the construction and design the construction is great all metal and has a nice weight to it, and lastly the design it looks like it came out of the late 70s with a touch of today’s design and it makes it stand out just the right amount. It only took a few minutes to set up, and sounds amazing with Roon playing my ripped CDs and Hi Res music from Qobuz.Music is at the core of what we do; and it's our aim to help you rediscover your music and help you enjoy the riffs, basslines and solos that were always there, but never heard. iFi has omitted it to keep costs down – and because one won’t necessarily be necessary for everyone. Also I am pretty sure Arcam, Audiolab, Cambridge Audio, Meridian and a few other 'British Manufacturers', if there is such a thing?

Zen DAC (V2) - HiFi and Music Source ifi Zen DAC (V2) - HiFi and Music Source

This means that the full ‘three unfold’ decoding process is performed internally, as opposed to only the final unfold in the manner of an MQA ‘renderer’. The True Native Burr-Brown chip design keeps the DSD bit-perfect and allows you to enjoy your music in studio quality just as the artist intended. In fact, ‘pleasing and compromise free’ covers a lot of the bases in a final description of the ZEN DAC v2. This ultra-capable and super portable DAC/Amp can be paired with active speakers or an amp for listening to high-quality music at home or the office. My electrostatic headset “HIFIMAN HE400i” forms an ideal unit with the “iFi Zen DAC”; you must have heard both devices interact.My Sennheiser 660s sounds great with this on the balanced output and has more volume headroom than I’d ever need on the low gain setting. As luck would have it, the original ZEN DAC has remained here after it was tested and this meant that I was able to test the new model against it. I had been eyeing the ZEN DAC for a while but when I came to know that version 2 was coming out decided to wait.

iFi Zen DAC review | What Hi-Fi? iFi Zen DAC review | What Hi-Fi?

I bought mine from bartlettshifi london as they were on offer the short and sweet the ifi zen dac is just perfect for the money i did the the firmware update to the 5. The fact that the volume knob is backlit with different-colored LEDs that correspond to the audio file type? Play a Tidal Master of Billie Eilish’s Your Power between the two, and the new Zen DAC offers a wider window into a recording. My previous compact DAC often cut out, had a digital volume control with no readout, and was severely limited in how broad a stream it could handle. the 650 also benefits from the "3d"effect where the soundstage becomes a little deeper (great for live recordings).

What can I say HANDS DOWN down the best audio experience I have ever had and I have listened to ALOT of music systems and speakers setups in my life.