[Ichos]

Thanks.

 

[revand]

With Google Translate you can read now my very detailed Hungarian iFi ZEN DAC review.

I tried the ZEN DAC using with the short USB cable out from the box compared with a Wireworld Ultraviolet 7 and an Audioquest Carbon USB cable and the iFi iPower PS.
I compared the ZEN DAC with my home headphone listening system (Bluesound Node2 + Feliks Echo tube amp), Audioquest Dragonfly Cobalt and Ibasso DC01 portable DAC/headphone amps.

Being an audio blogger, reviewing many devices I can confidently say that the sound quality of the ZEN DAC using it with Ultraviolet USB cable and iPower PS is on a very high level (somewhere between Fiio M11 and M11 Pro!) both with headphones and speakers, and close to my Bluesound Node 2! Don't be fooled by it's low price it is not an entry level device, much better than that!
Trying the GTO filter is coming soon...

 

[franka]

With Google Translate you can read now my very detailed Hungarian iFi ZEN DAC review.

I tried the ZEN DAC using with the short USB cable out from the box compared with a Wireworld Ultraviolet 7 and an Audioquest Carbon USB cable and the iFi iPower PS.
I compared the ZEN DAC with my home headphone listening system (Bluesound Node2 + Feliks Echo tube amp), Audioquest Dragonfly Cobalt and Ibasso DC01 portable DAC/headphone amps.

Being an audio blogger, reviewing many devices I can confidently say that the sound quality of the ZEN DAC using it with Ultraviolet USB cable and iPower PS is on a very high level (somewhere between Fiio M11 and M11 Pro!) both with headphones and speakers, and close to my Bluesound Node 2! Don't be fooled by it's low price it is not an entry level device, much better than that!
Trying the GTO filter is coming soon...

how is the gto filter activated? I have Zen dac and it seems incredible ...

 

[iFi audio]

Being an audio blogger, reviewing many devices I can confidently say that the sound quality of the ZEN DAC using it with Ultraviolet USB cable and iPower PS is on a very high level (somewhere between Fiio M11 and M11 Pro!) both with headphones and speakers, and close to my Bluesound Node 2! Don't be fooled by it's low price it is not an entry level device, much better than that!

That's a lovely article, thank you! And geez, it's LONG! How much time it took you to test and write all this?

 

[iFi audio]

how is the gto filter activated

You need to use a firmware which enables the GTO. Please see here: https://ifi-audio.com/downloads/

 

[iFi audio]

Folks, just a friendly reminder that our hip-dac tour registration is still open. We're closing the list on the 1st of March!

https://www.head-fi.org/threads/ifi-audio-hip-dac-the-tour.925996/

 

[revand]

That's a lovely article, thank you! And geez, it's LONG! How much time it took you to test and write all this?

Thank you
It took me 2,5 weeks to test and write this article.
Today I made the 5.3c firmware update and I am very satisfied!
I am going to write a short article on my blog about my findings with the GTO filter both with headphones and IEM.
So far it is clear for me that with the GTO filter the sound is more subtle, I can enjoy a bigger soundstage, better separation, more natural timber and more natural human voices. The iFi ZEN DAC is a little marvel for me, congratulations for your developer team!
Just a small hint: I tried the ZEN DAC with both my Meze 99 Classics and the new Audeze LCD-1 planar magnetic headphones and found that with the Meze the ZEN DAC sounds much better, much more musical!

 

[revand]

how is the gto filter activated? I have Zen dac and it seems incredible ...

Everything is well written here. It took me 2 minutes to activate the new firmware and it is working fine.
The key is that you should download the iFi driver first.

 

[twheshka]

Its not at all surprising that the Zen DAC doesnt measure all that well. Its using a hybrid multibit/delta sigma chipset so its never going to measure as well as one of the higher end Sabre/AKM delta-sigma chips. It actually measures very similarly to the other IFI dacs in the dac section, not surprising as they are all very similar designs.

Disappointing that the power output is less than spec, although that could be a issue with the USB port used for testing it. I think Amir is going to test it again with a power adapter so we might see a improvement over the USB only results. Subjectively I think its slightly louder with the power adapter plugged in so maybe it gives out more power.

I have now got my HE4xx to try with it and its plenty loud even using the Harmon Curve EQ which is a large EQ. Running it balanced I didnt need to go much past 12 o clock on high gain. Might be getting a little distortion at that level but its not anything too bothersome. Wouldnt recommend using anything that needs more power than it though as based on Amirs result its going to get unpleasant! I havent tried to go any louder than that as I like my hearing and prefer to listen no louder than 85db

I am having a very annoying issue with a noise popping up sometimes when I boot my PC. Randomly there will this really annoying buzz in the background of any sounds I play. It only goes away when I restart my pc. It only starts when I first turn on the PC, if it is working fine it stays working fine. I didnt have this problem for the first week I had it so not sure what is happening.

There have been a barrage of windows updates the past week so may be related to that. Not sure if its a problem with the driver for the ZEN or if its my PC USB drivers giving me issues. Wouldnt be the first time Microsoft broke my audio with updates and probablly wont be the last

I also experience the same noise popping up occasionally when I boot my iMac. Like you, it goes away when I reboot. If the noise is present, then it starts right when I turn on the iMac. The noise does not start mid-session. For me it happens about once a week. Since we both have a similar experience, I'm not sure you can relate it to windows updates.

 

[Currawong]

Here's my video review of the Zen DAC.

 

[TheoS53]

 

[Zachik]

Just a bit longer!

Any update on the Drop version, especially how it differs from the Zen DAC?

 

[40760]

I've gotten my ZEN DAC for about a week and must say it really fits my desk use purpose, and have replaced my aging Chord Mojo.

However, I feel the dark gray anodizing can be better as there are some small specks on the cover that are unpainted.

 

[Cat Music]

I've gotten my ZEN DAC for about a week and must say it really fits my desk use purpose, and have replaced my aging Chord Mojo.

However, I feel the dark gray anodizing can be better as there are some small specks on the cover that are unpainted.

You mean it sounds better than your Mojo?

 

[40760]

You mean it sounds better than your Mojo?

Absolutely not. The Mojo is still technically better sounding to my ears, but the ZEN DAC is warmer and the "TrueBass" fixes some of my earphones that require that additional low end boost.

It is the closest to a Mojo kind of device without a battery for daily desktop use. If Chord actually makes something like this for the price of the Mojo, I'll buy it.