iFi audio ZEN DAC - EISA Award Winner 'Best Value DAC 2020-21!
Aug 6, 2020 at 5:02 PM Post #591 of 1,159
and CAN to DAC via 4.4mm

That 4.4mm socket on ZEN DAC's rear is an output.

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.

If the issue is only on your Mac and your PC works fine, I think it's down to that Mac, but can you please let us know about it here?

https://support.ifi-audio.com/kb/faq.php?id=841
 
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Aug 7, 2020 at 9:01 AM Post #595 of 1,159
Can the ZEN DAC, unbalanced out, effectively power a 600Ohm headphone, like the beyerdynamic DT880 or DT990 600 Ohm versions?
Only if you rewire the DT's to be Balanced, so they can use the Zen-Dac's more powerfull 4.4mm Balanced output. Otherwise you'll need both the ZenDac+ZenCan Amp together.
 
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Aug 10, 2020 at 10:38 PM Post #597 of 1,159
That 4.4mm socket on ZEN DAC's rear is an output.



If the issue is only on your Mac and your PC works fine, I think it's down to that Mac, but can you please let us know about it here?

https://support.ifi-audio.com/kb/faq.php?id=841

It's the Mac and the PC is fine, yeah. With the Mac, you have to plug the USB cable into the laptop first, then plug in the adapter. Do it the other way around and it won't work.

With the PC it makes no difference.

Are you sure it's caused by the 5v power supply? It might be a loose/faulty USB cable. Because this happens to me too sometimes, only that I'm on PC and am not using an external power supply. Sometimes the computer doesn't recognize that the Zen DAC is plugged into the USB. I have to wiggle and/or attach & detach the USB cable a couple of times to get the PC to recognize the Zen DAC. Still not sure what's going on. Other times it works a treat and gets recognized as soon as it's plugged in the first time. Rarely though.

I'm pretty sure it's the 5V PSU because I can reproduce the problem perfectly every time.

Plug in the DAC without the adapter --> computer recognizes it.
Plug in the DAC with the adapter --> computer doesn't recognize it --> remove adapter --> computer now recognizes it.

I'm using a USB-C to whatever's on the back of the DAC (USB 3.0 B?) cable. I don't have another cable to try right now, unfortunately.
 
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Aug 10, 2020 at 11:00 PM Post #598 of 1,159
Are you sure it's caused by the 5v power supply? It might be a loose/faulty USB cable. Because this happens to me too sometimes, only that I'm on PC and am not using an external power supply. Sometimes the computer doesn't recognize that the Zen DAC is plugged into the USB. I have to wiggle and/or attach & detach the USB cable a couple of times to get the PC to recognize the Zen DAC. Still not sure what's going on. Other times it works a treat and gets recognized as soon as it's plugged in the first time. Rarely though.

I've got a very similar set up to you and cannot reproduce the issue. However, are you using a Macbook with USB-C and adapters or an older model with regular USB?

I've had some weird things happen on various bits of kit with a USB-B to USB-C adapter. Especially a problem when I've used something that includes HDMI and power.
 
Aug 11, 2020 at 4:14 AM Post #599 of 1,159
best headphone on ZEN CAN is Sennheiser hd 660 s

There are many headphones that do well with ZEN CAN, including HD 600/650 etc. :sunglasses:

Can the ZEN DAC, unbalanced out, effectively power a 600Ohm headphone, like the beyerdynamic DT880 or DT990 600 Ohm versions?

You could use our headphone calculator: https://ifi-audio.com/home/headphone-calculator/

Sorry about the competitors, but zen dac and zen can are the best dacs/amps/preamps the human mind could conceive for mere mortals!

Thanks! We aimed at stuff for mortals indeed :)

It's the Mac and the PC is fine, yeah. With the Mac, you have to plug the USB cable into the laptop first, then plug in the adapter. Do it the other way around and it won't work.

With the PC it makes no difference.

You can always contact our tech staff here: https://support.ifi-audio.com

Perhaps they experienced your problem and are able to help. No harm in asking them :)
 
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