iFi ZEN DAC discussion + impression
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Richard Wray
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Indeed ... considering I just bought the DAC very recently..
The outward difference appears to be full MQA decode.... will ifi be offering a trade in of some kind?
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Maverick255
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I feel same. 3 months ago i bought ifi zen dac.
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I think Zen Dac is compatible with more firmware compared to Zen Dac V2 (only MQA firmwares)... so there is that. Not everyone wants GTO and MQA shoved down their throat.
Richard Wray
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Where are you getting that from?
Apart from the link I posted I couldn't find any helpful info.
Also, I think many people will buy this for MQA. Not sure I get the 'shoved down the throat' comment.
Looks like ifi is going that way. I have been doing my research to see if I could figure out root cause and possible resolution of the “clicking” that occurs on change of bitrate. Evidence gathered indicates that all negative outcomes (including the clicking) is a result of whatever happened in the move from 5.x to 7.x which is almost certainly guided by business decisions based on what’s selling and what’s marketable - thus “shoving it down throats”
My two cents - if I knew ifi was going this way in two months, I would have waited. ifi is well within their rights to release product any time they see fit. I get it. It’s also fair to say that they are at the initial curve of letting people know that they are making a new product and that they should wait to buy the V2. That said, May is a week away. That’s not lead time in consumer land. Nvidia, Apple, Samsung (as examples) are much better at providing this visibility.
My two cents - if I knew ifi was going this way in two months, I would have waited. ifi is well within their rights to release product any time they see fit. I get it. It’s also fair to say that they are at the initial curve of letting people know that they are making a new product and that they should wait to buy the V2. That said, May is a week away. That’s not lead time in consumer land. Nvidia, Apple, Samsung (as examples) are much better at providing this visibility.
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Richard Wray
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I agree. Loving the Zen DAC / CAN combo I have but this feels like a rapid hardware update. A trade in would be great!
I wonder how this V2 compares to the Signature versions? I nearly sold my current set up to but them. Glad I didn't now.
I wonder how this V2 compares to the Signature versions? I nearly sold my current set up to but them. Glad I didn't now.
All reviews (see this as an example: Stu is awesome) I have seen indicate that the difference is in the labelling of the xbass button as the 6xx button on the Zen CAN.... pure marketing ploy aimed at leveraging the halo effect of the 6xx popularity. It does the same thing. Outside of looking more bada$$ (black is way nicer to look at imho) the products are substantially the same.
One very important note is that they have NOT provided a 7.x firmware version for the signature DAC. I suspect that it’s because ifi knows there are issues with the 7.x firmware that are not present in the 5.x version, and is concerned about presenting problems into the harder to justify/more expensive signature edition of the product. It’s supposed to be “premium.” Better to work out the bugs on the plebes like me who pay less.
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The new product Firmware (7.0) is the same as (5.3) and (7.0c) is the same as (5.3c)GTO filter.
But what's missing is the ability to roll back to the pre MQA firmware(5.2)Limoncello which has a more natural sound.
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Yep. I guess it's no big deal for many, but I rock the pre-gto firmware on my iFi devices, so firmware 5.2. Not everyone is 100% convinced of MQA_GTO, so I thought it was nice we could at least choose to flash whatever firmware we wanted, in the past..The new product Firmware (7.0) is the same as (5.3) and (7.0c) is the same as (5.3c)GTO filter.
But what's missing is the ability to roll back to the pre MQA firmware(5.2)Limoncello which has a more natural sound.
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Yes, that’s what the pictures say. That is in no way informative as to what is going on under the hood. Respectfully, only the team at ifi knows. We don’t, and as stated - this is my speculation relative to the offline data I have gathered, and some additional correlations. ifi will legitimize changes and speak in their interests, I get that as well. I have gathered data offline to draw parallels because no data is forthcoming as to when we will have a fix.The new product Firmware (7.0) is the same as (5.3) and (7.0c) is the same as (5.3c)GTO filter.
But what's missing is the ability to roll back to the pre MQA firmware(5.2)Limoncello which has a more natural sound.
As is typical in manufacturing, we are seeing a trend at introducing new capabilities as opposed to repairing old problems (see v2 ... NEW! AWESOME!) Left to my own devices with no fixed timeline on resolution, research is needed.
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Looks like the Xmos XU208 chip iFi used in V1 is no longer available for sale - so they're forced to use the newer XU216 chip instead.
That's good data - would you happen to know when manufacturers were told that they would NOT be able to receive the XU208 chip? As well, do you have a source link?
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