[Giangi]

Well, do you need sound isolation or not? Cause open tends to sound better/wider, closed is limited.

In general... isolation or not it's not a problem

 

[iFi audio]

I have the ifi ipower connected to the ZEN DAC... now if I buy the ZEN CAN that include another ifi ipower what could I do? Both DAC and CAN have to be used with ifi ipower, or if I join DAC and CAN only CAN could use the ifi ipower? Thanks

Each ZEN product requires its own 5V power, two ZENs can't be powered via one iPower.

Hi @iFi audio maybe a little off topic but I've been wondering, if i want a iFi DAC but also the bluetooth connectivity am I supposed to chain the Zen Blue to the Zen DAC? And if i wanted better amplification then that to the Zen Can?

@vonbonds was right: ZEN Blue and ZEN CAN would cover all your needs nicely.

 

[vonbonds]

let say, using same heavy cans and using same jack out put, how would you picture the VOL pot position on both DAC & CAN please?

Zen DAC with Power Match selected is the same as the Zen CAN with 0dB gain

 

[vonbonds]

There's going to be another sales window on Drop. Probably several weeks from now on give or take.

I forgot to comment that the Zen Signature still only has the USB input. Any plans to add COAX and optical to another unit in this family of products?

 

[iFi audio]

I forgot to comment that the Zen Signature still only has the USB input. Any plans to add COAX and optical to another unit in this family of products?

None that I'm aware of.

 

[vonbonds]

None that I'm aware of.

Tell your engineers to get on it then! Lol.

 

[Makiah S]

Big thanks to @iFi audio for shipping out a Zen Dac for my to listen to, my interest came in it came after learning of not just it's TI BurrBrown chipset but also how they've optimized it's implementation! I've always and still am a BIG fan of the TI PCM 17## & Burr Brown series of DACs and I can say the iFi Team have really perfected it's signature with them!

As far as how I listened... I ran USB out of my Galaxy Tab S4 with USB Audio Player Pro Bit Perfect into Zen Dac. Zen Dac it self was powered via the iFi iPower 5V and I used the 4.4mm output. For music I went through the Chesky The Ultimate Demonstration Disc in 16/44.1 lossless. I also thumbed around Tidal for a spell to make sure the MQA function worked and it did.

Rebecca Pidgeon's Spanish Harlem & Taylor Livingston's Grandma's Hands were the tracks that I paid close attention to.

Bass & Lower Frequencies
6.5mm out was noticeably soft and excessively round in the lows, there's a meaty kinda thud present with each snap in Grandma's Hands a real "meat on the bones" kinda quick transient. With the 6.5mm output it was hard to discern the quick but impactful feeling of that SNAP... the snap it self simply had added body but no real impact.

4.4mm BAL brought it back, just the slightest but discernible tactile sensation. As if there was some one snapping there fingers a few feet from me.

With Spanish Harlem the 6.5mm out gave me a lot of the reverb in the double bass, but again I was missing some of that slight tactile string/fret action. The gentle but discernible tactile force behind the instrument, very much I felt the leading edge of each pluck was too soft. Switching into the 4.4mm BAL brought it back,

Vocals & Mid-Range
With vocals I will admit I sometimes enjoyed the softness of the 6.5mm out tho there was a noticeable lack of depth to the staging, and again the 4.4mm BAL brought it back. Just a slight but discernible sense of depth to the sound presented within the capture'd space. The some what forward/shallow sound of the 6.5mm out did strip some of the real magic behind recordings that purposefully capture and utilize the room acoustics of the spaces there recorded in. Track #23 featuring the Westminster Choir performing Festival Te Deum is one such example.

The same can be said for the Presence Track, Ask me Now with McCoy Tyner & Joe Henderson, a lot of the faster tactile action that can be felt from the pressing of each of the valves is lost on the 6.5mm. But to my ears with the 4.4mm BAL that action's tactility becomes ever so slightly discernible.

Concluding Thoughts
Overall I felt the 4.4mm BAL out was a stronger performance with deeper staging and better transient or micro detail resolve. 6.5mm was a bit too soft and kind flat, not consistently engaging for my tastes.

Regarding the Line outs I did find feeding into something like the JDS Labs Atom was an improvement over the native Zen Dac 6.5mm out. However aside from having more power, I did not feel the Atom eclipsed Zen DACs 4.4mm BAL output. An for my listening needs on 4.4mm BAL I did not go much past 1:00

While I will admit the Zen Dac 4.4mm isn't quite as detailed or resolving as even the Modius XLR into my Loxjie P20 XLR OUT [w/Upgraded Tubes GE 5670W, Upgraded iFi 12V PSU] it's not too far behind. Tho I do feel Zen DAC 4.4mm BAL out was a step above Modi 3 & Atom as well as a step above feeding Zen DAC single ended line out into the Topping L30.

However the price as tested for me was $130+$50[iPower 5V]+$50[4.4mmCable] so a total of $220. An without getting too deep into Cable Talk I did find that there are a variety of HD 600/650 4.4mm Pentaconn cables available for around $50, for my review I did use the ZMF Atmos C re-terminated to HD 600 with an OCC Copper 4pin XLR to 4.4mm.

Still for $230 with Tidal Master Support, SE and BAL Line outs and a rather attractive and tidy form factor I'd say it's an excellent combo unit that compared well again'st similarly priced stacks in my office.

I would be curious to see how it stacks up again'st something like Modi 3 Magni 3 as well as do some listening with the Balanced Line Out via a 4.4mm to dual 3pin XLR so hopefully I can re-visit exactly that in the future

 

[Lalerfy]

Looks like this one is $18 now.
4.4mm Male to 4.4mm Male Balanced Audio Cable.
►AliExpress.com/item/4000933941566.html

 

[armdias]

Sorry if this is a basic question but I’m new to this firmware thing.

I want to try the firmware with the GPO filter.

If I change the original firmware, can I revert it back to the one that came from the factory?

if so, how? What’s the original factory version (there’s any place where I can check the firmware my Zen came with?) and where can I download the original firmware to revert everything to the original?

Bump...

 

[Bazaar]

https://ifi-audio.com/firmware/unified-firmware-for-various-products/

Orange Installation Instructions for the app to check your current firmware, update, etc.

 

[Lalerfy]

https://ifi-audio.com/firmware/unified-firmware-for-various-products/

Orange Installation Instructions for the app to check your current firmware, update, etc.

Bump...

You need to install this software to see what firmware you are running.
►https://iFi-Audio.com/firmware/iFi (by AMR) HD USB Audio Driver 3.20.exe
There are 3 different firmware's (5.2b) , (5.3) , (5.3c)
It ships with (5.3), and Yes, you can switch them back if you want.

 

[KaiFi]

I've noticed that the use of the 5V adapter seems to mess up the Zen DAC's functionality with my MacBook Pro. When the adapter is plugged into the DAC and I attempt to connect the DAC to my Mac, my Mac won't recognize it. The music plays through the onboard speakers. As soon as I pull the adapter out, the computer recognizes the DAC and the music comes through the DAC. At this point I can plug the adapter back in.

This does not happen when using with my PC.

 

[Giangi]

Each ZEN product requires its own 5V power, two ZENs can't be powered via one iPower.



@vonbonds was right: ZEN Blue and ZEN CAN would cover all your needs nicely.

A question... I have already ZEN DAC, but if I take both ZEN BLUE and ZEN CAN how could I join three togheter?

 

[EdgeOfSound]

A question... I have already ZEN DAC, but if I take both ZEN BLUE and ZEN CAN how could I join three togheter?

I was wondering about that because i wanted both bluetooth input as well as a wired input. My conclusion is that u can connect the Zen DAC and Zen Blue as different inputs to the CAN. For example use RCA to go from Zen Blue to CAN then pentaconn from Zen Blue to CAN. And then you can just need to switch inputs.

 

[Giangi]

I was wondering about that because i wanted both bluetooth input as well as a wired input. My conclusion is that u can connect the Zen DAC and Zen Blue as different inputs to the CAN. For example use RCA to go from Zen Blue to CAN then pentaconn from Zen Blue to CAN. And then you can just need to switch inputs.

I can't, because speakers are connected via RCA to ZEN DAC, so, in that way, I can't use bluetooth to speakers