[dcime]

I’m sorry, they appear to both be the same USA price at $129.

 

[Fawzay]

funny thing is that i dont find the zen dac available in the ifi's official website but only zen blue dac tho

 

[lambdastorm]

I agree. Didn’t know you could power the ZEN DAC by USB. Not the Blue, the DAC. I also agree that they become paperweights after a while but that’s with any entry level DAC. IFI wants to bring in a larger audience with entry level though specced well with BB DAC. I may buy the ZEN DAC as a knokaround portable DAC I can take with me everywhere.

Yeah, these might become toy after a while but ifi certainly knows how to capture its audience. 4.4mm hp out and dac out? That's really unheard of at the price.

At the end of the day 1/4'' performance is what matters but these novelty factors take a while to wear out, much like schiit's continuity topology on their 3rd gen products. You might not need it, but knowing that its there certainly tip the balance in its favour, especially at this price point.

 

[lambdastorm]

funny thing is that i dont find the zen dac available in the ifi's official website but only zen blue dac tho

They have an iPowerX coming and its absent from their site as well.

 

[dcime]

funny thing is that i dont find the zen dac available in the ifi's official website but only zen blue dac tho

You can just message iFI to clarify the purchase options. I live on the a East Coast and it is available from a iFI certified audio store in NYC by mail order at $129 with free shipping too.
Audio46.com

 

[dcime]

They have an iPowerX coming and its absent from their site as well.

They have a lot of various add ons. I’m just not too sure how well they actually perform. ISilencer and such. But that’s a whole separate forum! You are right about the cutting edge components in the ZEN BLUE and ZEN DAC. The ZEN DAC uses a Burr Brown DAC and lots of other quality improvements for a low price. That lower price is unusual from IFI. Think about it. This is the first time I ever saw anything iFI was well below $200! $129 makes it affordable for almost everyone, including me to add to my “collection “.

 

[Baten]

They have an iPowerX coming and its absent from their site as well.

What will the iPowerX be?

 

[qsk78]

So, they sell a DAC which you can not use until you buy a third party power supply...this is so weird!

Any comment from ifi audio side?

 

[dcime]

So, they sell a DAC which you can not use until you buy a third party power supply...this is so weird!

Any comment from ifi audio side?

I agree wholeheartedly! Why would you not charge $5-$10 more and include the darn power supply?!

 

[qsk78]

On the other hand they say "optional" power supply to get maximum performance, so I hope it still can get some power from the usb port like some their other products (micro idsd bl). Need ifi audio guys to clarify.

 

[Trunksleo]

So what about the Sound quality of this dac? Its full decoder? its like the audioquest dragonfly red or better?

 

[lambdastorm]

On the other hand they say "optional" power supply to get maximum performance, so I hope it still can get some power from the usb port like some their other products (micro idsd bl). Need ifi audio guys to clarify.

It does get power from the USB port. USB 3.0 standard means it can draw 4.5W instead of a meager 2.5W in USB 2.0.

 

[TooPoorForHiFi]

@iFi audio

HELP, I can't set the Zen DAC to 24Bit, Its all 32Bit w/ no option to Select 24Bit!


Oh in case anyones wondering you can run the Zen DAC off of a Phone with a USB 3 Type B to USB C Cable

 

[dcime]

@iFi audio

HELP, I can't set the Zen DAC to 24Bit, Its all 32Bit w/ no option to Select 24Bit!


Oh in case anyones wondering you can run the Zen DAC off of a Phone with a USB 3 Type B to USB C Cable

So 5v ps not really necessary?

 

[dcime]

What’s your overall impression of the Zen DAC please?