iFi audio ZEN CAN

Ifi Zen Can or Can not?

The @iFi audio Zen can is the middle of the road headphone amplifier between the more affordable air range and signature. The amplifier is a straight up analog amplifier with all the inputs and outputs you might need in a modern, compact and powerful package. The amplifier offers RCA single ended and 4.4 balanced inputs, 6.5mm single ended and 4.4 balance outputs. It has 4 level of gains and a switch to move between inputs. There is also a button for the Xbass and 3D analog runnings which is basically a bass boost and a crossfeed respectively (later on that). I will not bother you with the specs and details since you can find all this information in Ifi’s website.




I used this amplifier as my desktop solution connected to a Chord Mojo 2 as the main DACs and using Roon to stream local files and music from Qobuz. All files were CD quality and above. To test the amplifier I used a wide range of headphones and IEMs such as the Sony IER-Z1R, the ultra low impedance Fiio FH5, Audeze MX-4, Audeze LCD-XC, Sennheiser HD800s and Sennheiser HD6xx.





In the modern age and for this price point, I find amplifiers to be very similar and what separate the good from the bad is power and overall performance in terms of distortion, noise etc. I really liked the volume knob and the quality of materials. This is a very well made amplifier with a very compact size to fit in every desk and situation. Considering the current price at £149 while on sale here in the UK, I would say that this is the European answer to Schiit Audio’s budget headphone amplifiers. I’ve owned a Magni+ for some time and currently it is at £135 which makes it a direct competitor. For me the Ifi Vs the Magni is like European Vs American cars. The American cars are powerful, loud but they lack a sense of sophistication and are made of very cheap materials. Thats what the Zen Can brings in comparison. Sophistication, flexibility and quality. In comparison the Magni feels cheap. Yes, both have power but the Zen Can offers another level of flexibility, connectivity options, power to spare with build quality that is miles ahead of the Magni.

I started listening with a bit of scepticism after reading some reviews regarding the measured performance of this amplifier and the stated inability to drive low impedance headphones. To be frank and straight that was not the case. In terms of power, either voltage or amps, the amplifier drove all my headphones and IEMs without any issue whatsoever. The gain switch did the trick every time and with high impedance headphones I used the 6db setting while with low impedance headphones and IEMs I opted for the 0db gain setting. It terms of noise floor there was noting. Just a clean and black background. It terms of power there was not an issue either by using the balanced or single ended output.





For comparisons I used the headphone amplifier from the Mojo 2, the RME ADI-2 Day FS and Shiit Magni+. In comparison the Zen Can is slightly warmer compared to the other amplifiers with euphonic nature. It has a clear and distinguishing difference with acoustic instruments like guitars and the way overtones and decay is projected. I don’t know which one is more neutral but what I can say is that the Zen Can sounded more like real music played in a room. I found also that the amplifier sounded slightly different when used with the single ended input vs the 4.4 balanced. When used with a balanced input the amplifier is at its best considering that this is a fully balanced design. The 4.4 input sounded cleaner and the simplest way is to describe it as brighter but not harsh or artificially boosted. It just like a vail has been lifted and the music comes across cleaner with greater instrument separation. Compare to the Magni, the Zen Can had more depth to the sound while the Magni was slightly wider. Especially between the two I don’t think it is a matter of sound quality but flexibility, features and connectivity. From that point of view I am afraid there is no comparison since the Zen Can is on another league.

What has t be mentioned here is the Xbass and 3D analog equalisation. The Xbass, like the 3D, is a fully analog implementation. The Xbass is a very nicely done bass shelf from 200hz all the way down to sub bass. I truly and honestly enjoyed this button with the HD800s and HD6xx. I call it the magic button and for me this is the defect boost for these two headphones. From the other hand the 3D is a crossfeed implementation which combines left and right channel. The result is a slightly more specious presentation where the imaging is not very well defined but you don’t get this natural instrument separation especially with albums badly mastered where left and right channel are separated to the extreme. Overall these are two very useful settings and if you own the 6XX or 800s that the Xbass will be your best friend.






So, at £149 right now on sale, you get a super powerful amplifier, with a lot of flexibility, great features in a small footprint with exceptional build quality. This is form me the best bang for the buck headphone amplifier I’ve used and by far the best value proposition in the budget entry class. To outdone this performance in amplification you will have to spend way more money with questionable return. To put the money where my mouth is I’ve asked Ifi to issue an invoice because this little amplifier is not going anywhere. From now this is my defect desktop amplifier for everyday use.

Thank you for Reading

AA

Equipment used

Headphones:
Meze 99 Classics
Sennheiser/Drop HD6XX (My Reference)
Sennheiser HD800S (Classical, Acoustic, Jazz)
Sennheiser HD25 (On the go, undistractable, great Isolation with punchy sound)
Grado SR80e (Used for calls, video conferences and podcasts)
Audeze LCD-MX4 (Dynamic, Powerful and Visceral sound. Pop, EDM, Electronica, Techno)
Audeze LCD-X (2020) (I am still figuring this out)
Audeze LCD-XC (2021) (My closed back reference)

IEMs:
Sony IER-Z1R (My Reference)
Fiio FH5 (it works with nice bass)
Blon BL-03 (it works)
TruthEar Zero (also works)


Music Used:

1. Melanie De Biasio - Your Freedom is the End of Me
2. Hans Zimmer - Mountains
3. Gillian Welch - The Way it Goes
4. Florence & The Machine - Ship to Wreck
5. Dire Straits - Water of Love
6. Antonio Vivaldi - Winter Concerto in F minor
7. Tchaikovsky - Swan Lake, Swan Theme
8. Biig Piig - Roses and Gold
9. Amber Rubarth - Hold On
10. Billie Eilish - Everything I wanted
11. Metallica - Enter Sandman
12. Led Zeppelin - Ramble on
13. Beyonce - Daddy Lessons
14. Kenny Burrell - Chitlins Con Carne
15. Dave Brubeck - Take Five
16. Air - Talisman
17. Bombino - Iyat Na Hay
18. GoGo Penguin - Totem
19. Hans Theessink - St. James Infirmary
20. Céu Acustic0 (Complete Album)

Source

Mac mini using Roon

The Zen can as well as Zen DAC come in a attractive box with most of the accessories you might need.
The build quality is exceptional, all metal construction and a very cool shape to mimic a Zen stone pile, inputs and outputs are plentiful and far more than anything else in its price range. Inside the box one finds a warranty card, a quick start guide, purple RCA cable, 5V wall power supply adapter and a slim line 6.3mm adapter.

The volume knob is perhaps the best one I've used so so far, very smooth and not cheap feeling. The usual lower volume imbalance on most Amps is so minimal it not noticeable. The four step gain is a welcome feature Xbass is well implemented and ads a tasteful amount of bass, details without over doing it. The 3D effect gives a little more openness to the sounds boost the mids and treble slightly as well, it should be noted that these are not filters but an analog circuit.


The sound in general is balanced/neutral with some warmth mostly its true to its source without adverse coloration.
Bass: presents itself well defined with good texture and control, the both Sub-Bass and Mid-Bass are respectively clean, nothing is emphasized until you hit that Xbass button.
Mids: are clear with a pleasant hint of warmth, nothing is added here just well done clean and detailed mids.
Treble: is neutral and has a good extension , more so with a balanced connection. Still its has good clean highs without harshness I found on some other amps.

The device has a enough power to bring life to the HD650 and Fostex T50RP without distortion or having to run max power, indeed it should run most headphones without an issue. IEMs are great but while the Zen has a low ground noise it is not recommended for very sensitive low power IEMs, I would recommend DD IEMs over the 12 Ohm rating and hybrid and BA IEMs 32 Ohms and up.

Conclusion: ifi has made some iconic audio products and the Zen Can is no exception.
Great build quality, sound and performance with a very usual design I personally like. It worked well everything from headphones to IEMs. The Zen Can and Dac offer a great performance to price ratio, together the work so well complimenting each other.

About me:
Music lover and earphone enthusiast, most of my previous reviews are in spanish.

Disclaimer: iFi graciously lent me the Zen Can in exchange of my opinion

Gear used: Sennheiser HD560s, Fostex T50RP, Hifi boy OSV3, Zen Can and Ifi´s own 4.4-4.4 cable

About iFi:
iFi audio is a company with headquarters in the UK that since 2012 has launched more than 30 high quality audio products with one aim in mind "to improve your music enjoyment." You can find more in https://ifi-audio.com/about-ifi/

Specifications:


Packaging and accessories:

This review was originally published on Audioreviews.org/my blog

“Can it power the Sennheiser HD650 to its full potential?”

This is the most common question I’ve been asked whenever there’s a talk about any good budget amp. Fortunately, nowadays there are numerous good offerings around the $100 mark that will power the HD650 and other such demanding cans with supreme authority. Yes, you can always try to get the last bit of performance out of these evergreen Sennheisers but diminishing returns quickly set in.

iFi Audio is a UK-based manufacturers focusing primarily on DAC and Amps in various form-factors. A few of their products have received critical acclaim, especially the iDSD Black Label and the Pro iCan/xCan flagship amp/DAC duo.

The iFi Zen Can is part of the recently released Zen stack and is meant to be paired with the iFi Zen DAC. Both the DAC and amp have practically the same chassis and looks rather retro when stacked. You can of course choose a DAC of your own preference and at times get even better performance (more on this below). Nonetheless, the iFi Zen Can aims to be the de-facto solution to powering high impedance full-size cans. Let’s see how well it fares against the stiff competition.

Note: the ratings given will be subjective to the price tier. Lawrence Lee of iFi was kind enough to send the iFi Zen Can as review loaner. Disclaimer.

Headphones/IEMs used: Sennheiser HD650, Final Sonorous III/E5000, Hifiman Ananda, Dunu Studio SA6
Price, while reviewed: 170 euros. Can be purchased from Amazon DE.

Build: The iFi Zen Can feels positively dense in hand with its sandblasted Aluminium finish (gray). There are four rubber feet at the bottom of the unit to ensure stability when put on the desk. The general shape is quite curious and deviates from the boring box-shaped DAC/Amps out there. It’s a bit of retro look and while I myself find it nice some have reported their displeasure at the asymmetric design. It looks better in person than in the photos so there’s that. The overall profile is rather compact and should fit even small desk setups.

The back of the unit (from the left) houses the 4.4mm balanced input, 3.5mm single-ended input, and RCA analog inputs. Then we find the balanced output (line-out) and finally the 5V DC power port.



The front of the iFi Zen Can has the headphone outputs (6.35mm unbalanced, 4.4mm balanced/pentaconn). From the left, we find the power button, the input selector (RCA, unbalanced 3.5mm, balanced 4.4mm), the gain control (0/+6/+12/+18dB), the volume wheel, and the XBass/3D mode selector (toggles between XBass on/3D on/both on/both off).



The volume wheel is very smooth and has beveled edges around it for easier grip. I wish it had a bit more tension but that’s a minor nitpick. My major gripe lies with the rattling buttons on the front panels themselves. They rattle every time you move around the unit and feels rather cheap/finicky when toggling them. The buttons themselves are aluminium (or so it appears) so this seems to be a curious design choice. If I had to change one thing about the Zen Can’s build — it would be these buttons. Other than that this rather budget amp has covered practically every input/output most users will ever need (barring XLR but I don’t expect that in such a budget device).
4.5/5

Accessories: The iFi Zen Can comes with a pair of RCA-cables to use as analog interconnect (rather short, may require upgrading), a 3.5-to-6.35mm adapter, and a power supply. In some regions you get the iPower bundled in the box whereas in others (e.g. Singapore from what I hear) you get a generic adapter. I will highly recommend getting a good quality power adapter (if you don’t get the iPower in the bundle) since the generic adapter is very prone to mains noise and EMI and will generate a lot of background hiss/whine.

The cost cutting becomes rather evident in the accessory set but I guess that’s expected at this price-point.
3.5/5

Tech Inside: Let’s get the specs out of the way first:


For more info, you can check the Zen Can product page.

The internals of the Zen Can is its most interesting aspect IMO. iFi has apparently trickled down the amplifier circuit from their flagship Pro iCan to the Zen Can, albeit in a smaller package (and with lower output power). Then again, 1.6Watts of output power (@ 32 ohms) from the single-ended out is no joke. The balanced circuit is a dual-mono configuration and when paired with the balanced out from a DAC you shall get a fully balanced configuration (unlike certain THX amps).

The amplifier operates in discrete class-A (no A/B switching here) and employs a FET input (high input impedance, low output impedance) to improve distortion/SNR figures. Frankly, the THD% at 0.007 is not class-leading by any means. However, amps are more than measurements (for me at least) and better measuring amps at times can sound lifeless and sterile. Just listen to one of them THX amps and you’ll know what I mean.

There’s enough voltage swing in the Zen Can to power amp picky headphones like the HD650 and the HD800. The former works well with >5V voltage swing and the Zen Can definitely exceeds that even in lower gain levels.

As for the rest of the features, we got two iFi signature “circuits” inside: the XBass and 3D circuits, both of which are analogue signal processing circuits. XBass adds a sizeable bass-boost throughout the entire bass-range (from upper-bass to sub-bass). Fortunately, it’s not a bass-shelf (where all bass frequencies are similarly boosted) rather a gradual rise from 300Hz downwards. The sub-bass regions get a major lift by ~7/8dB and can solve some of the bass issues in open-back headphones, esp the likes of HD650. It’s definitely not for everyone though and not every headphone will react the same. HD650 for example has high distortion in the sub-bass region and in some bass-heavy tracks you’ll hear the driver cranking under pressure. It’s always good to have the option though and in many times I found myself keeping the bass boost on.

The 3D effect is a bit more subtle yet noticeable. The stage seems to get wider and deeper while lower-treble gains more presence. I personally didn’t like this effect as it made the midrange thinner than I prefer. For gaming this might come in handy though and again — it’s better to have this option than not.

As an aside, the internal components all seem to be of high quality so long-term durability should be quite good.




Sound

The Zen Can has a warm-neutral sound overall. It’s pretty transparent to the source in fact and won’t color the music in any destructive manner. The treble is a bit less clinical than certain THX amps but that’s about it (can be a good thing if you don’t like treble glare). The gain levels up to +12dB is very usable. The +18dB gain can vastly increase grain and hiss so I tended to not use that mode and frankly +12dB gain is more than enough for my use-cases and powered all my headphones to deafening levels.

The staging isn’t as wide or deep as the THX amps or some higher-tier class-A designs but at this price range I don’t expect that either. Dynamics are mostly good with headphones but no so much with IEMs (more on this later). Overall resolution is what you’d expect — as good as the source itself (audibly transparent to the source). The biggest issue lies with the PSU for me as with the generic (non iPower) PSUs in some regions you will get audible hiss and a reduction in dynamic range/staging. Switching to iPower X ($100) will fix that but that investment takes it into another price category.

Qualms with PSU aside, for the price the Zen Can drives headphones as well as any other amps in this range. The 3D and XBass effects can be very fun to use and definitely adds to the overall package.
4.25/5

Pairings

I’ve found the Zen Can to pair the best with the HD650. In fact, I suspect the Zen Can was created specifically to match with the HD650/6XX/600 and the likes. The dynamics were spot-on, with the bass boost you could hear some decent sub-bass rumble and the stage depth was better than most amps in this range. If you plan to get the Sennheiser HD6XX or any other 6 series Sennheiser headphones, this is the amp to get for ~$200, period. Planars also fared well and for the likes of Sundara/Ananda this can be a great amp.

However, IEMs were a different story altogether. They got loud to dangerous levels but the overall presentation lacked dynamics and fell flat. In fact some IEMs like the Final E5000 (requires a good amp to shine) were muddy, bloated mess on the Zen Can despite being properly driven on paper. Same applied to some multi-BA IEMs. In general I don’t think the Zen Can is a good match for IEMs, then again the name itself has “Can” in it so there’s that.

Overall, for high impedance full-size cans the Zen Can is a great match. For IEMs — not so much. For IEMs though I’d not recommend such a behemoth for the most part and a simple DAC dongle will serve you well. For those who need best of both, however, this might fall short.
4/5

Select Comparisons

vs Topping L30 ($150): This particular amp used to be the darling amp of the budget conscious. Incredible measurement figures, vanishingly low THD, tons of drive and best of all — could power IEMs and full-size headphones just as well. Too bad that they started to explode. Well, not all of them, more like a few of them, but it’s more than enough to raise concerns and this potential hazard alone dismisses Topping as a competition. I put this here mostly to warn people and until Topping proves that they have put more than enough safety measures in their amp I won’t recommend Topping products to anyone.

vs JDS Atom amp ($100): The Atom amp is even more neutral and that could be a good or a bad thing. It doesn’t have as much raw power as the Zen Can but from my experience it drives IEMs better than the Zen Can and also has less issues with mains noise. It does lack balanced out so there’s that and the overall build is a step down from the Zen Can esp the volume pot. Still, a very good choice for most budget buyers and can be a good alternative to Zen Can albeit without the bass/3D effects and a more clinical presentation.

vs SMSL SP200 ($270): Ah, the magical THX amp circuit that makes everything sound awesome. Not really. The SP200 is one of the least dynamic and most anemic sounding amps that I’ve ever encountered in this range. This thing is practically lifeless and sounds very dis-engaging (if that’s the correct term). The XLR inputs and such are nice touches but the way it presents sound is not my cup of tea. If you like a very sterile presentation you may give this a shot but I’d recommend not being swept up by “THX *random three digit numbers*” marketing jargon and actually listen to them before making a decision. Needless to say — I prefer the Zen Can much more, even with IEMs.

vs iFi Neo iDSD ($700): David vs Goliath, or so they say. I will be blunt: I prefer the Zen Can’s output (for using with the HD650) more than the Neo iDSD’s headphone output (balanced). With IEMs I do prefer the Neo iDSD but the Zen Can pairs so well with the HD650 that even iFi’s far higher tier offering doesn’t sound as nice or engaging, IMHO. The XBass effect is also absent from the Neo iDSD which is a slight letdown. Nonetheless, Neo iDSD review is coming soon and while it generally trounces over the Zen Can with most headphones and IEMs, the HD650 is the one headphone that sounds better on the Zen Can than on the Neo iDSD.




Conclusion

The iFi Zen Can is the best amp under $200 for the Sennheiser HD6XX/650/600. That’s basically my takeaway after testing this amp for 2+ months. For similar high impedance dynamic drivers and low sensitivity planars — the Zen Can is is very capable indeed. IEMs and very sensitive headphones are where it falls somewhat short.

The design can be questionable and the power adapter situation is a bit strange (though most regions get the iPower X but still something you should discuss with the dealer beforehand). For 170 euros though, there really aren’t any deal-breaking issues here for the most part as long as you want to power full-size headphones. It ticks all the necessary boxes for driving power hungry cans, and then some.

These don’t explode and kill your headphones in the process and of course — sounds great with high impedance cans with ample headroom/drive. I recommend the Zen Can for such use cases, and highly recommend it if you own the classic Sennheisers and want an amp in a budget that can do justice to it.

Overall rating: 4.25/5
#Recommended (for powering high impedance headphones and planars)

In an effort to do the right thing I have made an attempt to recreate the ifi Audio Zen Can web page on my own desktop with my own Audio Technica ATH MSR7b headphones. You can see the proper image here https://ifi-audio.com/products/zen-can/ alongwith a whole lot of technical details regarding the Zen Can.

Let me say that actually this opening photo is not as self-serving or lazy as it might appear. The ATH MSR7b is an excellent headphone for the money and even up to £500 there are few things better. In this respect it suits the Zen Can very well musically but also financially as we will go on to discuss shortly.

The Zen Can sits in the budget end of ifi Audio products which are designed for table top use and so this is not a portable device. It is certainly transportable if you wanted to take one on say business journeys around the globe. It is the headphone amp only version of the highly regarded Zen Dac.

Please note that is it a more powerful headphone amp than that in the Zen Dac and as far as I can tell has been designed as a balanced amp in operation from the beginning to the end.

Here is what ifi Audio mention….

The ZEN CAN has trickle-down Class A discrete balanced circuitry from iFi audio’s US$1,699 flagship Pro iCAN. With 15.1v @300 Ohms on tap, it has serious power that will make even difficult-to-drive headphones thump to the beat.

• Class A discrete output buffer from the flagship Pro iCAN using Op-Amp (OV2637A)
• FET input avoids loading volume control – low distortion/noise
• SE inputs (1M Ohm) ensures loading of the source so always in Class A operation
• Output amplifier gain of four steps in +6dB perfect for headphone matching

It certainly deals with powering the ATH MSR7b and also my Sennheiser HD800S. Now in fairness I did not spend a lot of time using the HD800S because I felt that people by and large are not going to routinely use that headphone with a budget orientated amp. If you do then please know they work and work well but I am not sure it is an ideal combination.

The ATH MSR7b is one of the least expensive closed back headphones which are also balanced and come with 3.5mm SE or 4.4mm balanced cables. Consequently, I tried both and also with my 3.5mm Forza Audio cable.

Furthermore, and in order to lend some perspective, I did some head amp to head amp comparisons between the Zen Can and my Lindemann Limetree Headphone which is part of my home office system. The other part being a Lindemann Limetree Network which supplied streamed albums from Tidal and Qobuz along with some hi-res files from a usb drive plumbed into the LLN.

Albums included tracks from

Gregory Porter, Nat King Cole and I

Bob Marley, Exodus

The Zombies, Time of the Season

Donny Hathaway, Live

Yazoo, Reconnected

Sade, Diamond Life

Rickie Lee Jones, Pop Pop

The Pretenders, Pretenders

Mungos HiFi, More Fyah

Joan Armatrading, Joan Armatrading



I like a mostly neutral sound and am not troubled by a lack of subterranean bass. I want vocals to sound real and vocalists to have good imaging and space in the soundstage. The Zen Can delivered this and delivered it well. It also provided good treble detail without it being overdone or sibilant. The mid-range was pretty much right on the money for neutrality but retained the vocalist’s emotion. Bass was strong and tight and never flabby or loose.

The soundstage was good especially across the width with less clarity in depth.

Changing from SE to balanced did not make a significant change to my ear but maybe the Forza cables provided a better SE level so that the differential was reduced.

One of the great additions to the Zen Can and at this price level I’m not aware of another budget head amp with this option is the option of different gain settings to suit different IEMs or headphones. So, you should be able to tailor the amp to suit your headphone optimally.

There is also the option of Xbass and 3D settings which can be added singly or jointly. I have to confess here that I didn’t find the Xbass to add to the music and if anything made it sound slightly soggy. The 3D seemed to add a very specific treble boost and again sadly I found it to detract from the music. I am sure that some folks will like these options and that’s fine as the choice is there.

Some of you may be aware of a product called the Zen Can Signature 6XX. This available on Drop in the USA. It has an additional circuit that has an EQ curve specifically for the Sennheiser HD6XX headphone. As this is not yet available in the UK and also, I am a HD600/650 heretic I chose not to try this out and so I cannot say how Zen Can performs in comparison to the Signature 6XX.

What I can tell you is how it compares to the Lindemann Limetree Amplifier which is a product which already punches well above its weight.

The Lindemann is the better device to my ear, but by a very small margin and certainly not in line with the 3 times price differential. So, in that respect the Zen Can is a real winner and an excellent partner to the ATH MSR7b (well chosen by ifi Audio). It offers great sound quality for very little money and has the flexibility of balanced operation and Can be used (see what I did there!) with a wide range of headphones.