[Smoothstereo]

Bought the IFI iPower X recently for my Zen DAC V2 and I must say it really made a noticeable improvement. It's smoother without losing the details, a bit more weight to the bass notes, easier on the ears with less "digitalness" if that's a word. The sound just flows more natural and more silence between each instrument/tracks within a song.

It's not night and day different but still perceivable assuming one's system is revealing enough to showcase the differences.Will listen more for any additional changes.

 

[iFi audio]

Is it normal for the ZEN DAC power supply socket (rear DC 5V) to be a bit loose/moving ? There is no contact fault!
Should I be worried or is this minimal movement completely normal ?

That socket might move a little due to it being fixed to the main PCB but not the product's enclosure, but as long as it stays in place and the product works as intended it's all good. Hope this helps, thanks!

Bought the IFI iPower X recently for my Zen DAC V2 and I must say it really made a noticeable improvement. It's smoother without losing the details, a bit more weight to the bass notes, easier on the ears with less "digitalness" if that's a word. The sound just flows more natural and more silence between each instrument/tracks within a song.

Spot on, that's exactly what a cleaner power feed does for digital products. Less digital harshness, weightier and punchier bass plus cleaner background are the main upshots.

 

[hajosattila]

That socket might move a little due to it being fixed to the main PCB but not the product's enclosure, but as long as it stays in place and the product works as intended it's all good. Hope this helps, thanks!



Spot on, that's exactly what a cleaner power feed does for digital products. Less digital harshness, weightier and punchier bass plus cleaner background are the main upshots.

I am not worried. Thank you!

 

[iFi audio]

I am not worried. Thank you!

Sure thing, I'm glad that I could help, thanks!

 

[dropadred]

Do the rear outputs mute when headphones are connected (as opposed to keep outputting regardless of headphones being connected or not)?

Edit: I have also heard back from their support and rear outputs are always active. Hope this helps anyone wondering about a usability with connecting it to powered speakers, such as studio monitors.

 

[iFi audio]

I have also heard back from their support and rear outputs are always active. Hope this helps anyone wondering about a usability with connecting it to powered speakers, such as studio monitors.

That's correct, all ZEN DAC's outputs are active at the same time, thanks!

 

[hajosattila]

When playing WavPack, is it normal for the LED to light up white?

 

[iFi audio]

When playing WavPack, is it normal for the LED to light up white?

A white LED on ZEN DAC means that our GTO filter is engaged for all PCM data, which means that your ZEN DAC has a firmware with that filter installed. Hope this helps, thanks!

 

[Smoothstereo]

While on this topic of LED light on the Zen DAC V2, if I am playing a 44.1khz wav file via Android phone as source with USB Audio Player Pro app, I get a yellowish green light. If I upsample that same wav file to 352 khz via USB Audio Player Pro music player, the Zen DAC V2 LED light will turn white. Does this mean my Zen DAC V2 is not on the GTO filter?

 

[iFi audio]

While on this topic of LED light on the Zen DAC V2, if I am playing a 44.1khz wav file via Android phone as source with USB Audio Player Pro app, I get a yellowish green light. If I upsample that same wav file to 352 khz via USB Audio Player Pro music player, the Zen DAC V2 LED light will turn white. Does this mean my Zen DAC V2 is not on the GTO filter?

Yes, it would mean that your ZEN DAC V2's firmware doesn't have our GTO engaged. The way how that filter works is simple: all PCM data would engage a white LED color, so 44/48/88/96/176/192/352/384/705 and 768kHz.

In short, if you're seeing a LED color other than white during 44.1kHz playback, this means that the GTO isn't active.

Please take a look here at our LED calculator: https://ifi-audio.com/led-calculator/

Hope this helps, thanks!

 

[Smoothstereo]

Yes, it would mean that your ZEN DAC V2's firmware doesn't have our GTO engaged. The way how that filter works is simple: all PCM data would engage a white LED color, so 44/48/88/96/176/192/352/384/705 and 768kHz.

In short, if you're seeing a LED color other than white during 44.1kHz playback, this means that the GTO isn't active.

Please take a look here at our LED calculator: https://ifi-audio.com/led-calculator/

Hope this helps, thanks!

Thanks for confirming.

 

[iFi audio]

Thanks for confirming.

Sure, anytime!

 

[escalibur]

Here is my ZEN DAC V2 review in Finnish in case someone understand the language here.

 

[iFi audio]

Here is my ZEN DAC V2 review in Finnish in case someone understand the language here.

I don't, but I'll watch it anyway, thanks!

Just to ask, did you enjoy the product ?

 

[escalibur]

I don't, but I'll watch it anyway, thanks!

Just to ask, did you enjoy the product ?

I really did.

• Topic: 'Is this product underpriced? 179€ headphone amp review'
• This is probably one of the best audio products in terms of price/performance ratio at this moment
• The device is full of components made by known manufacturers
• Headphone amp is powerful enough even for 250ohm headphones even at low gain
• Sound is natural and clean. Maybe slightly a bright side

• • Bass is very solid
• • • TrueBass was a bit too much for me for music listening. This depends a lot of a headphones and listeners music tastes
      • I would prefer 2-3 boost steps to prevent bass from muddying the mid-range. ( Maybe this could be a new feature for future models? )
  • • TrueBass can bring movies and tv shows to another level in terms of movie theater immersion.
• Mids are natural and clean
• Highs are good but very top highs can be a bit distorted.
• ifi releases firmware updates on a constant basis. Thanks to this approach, you can use ZEN DAC with your PlayStation 4 or 5.
• Bass improves a lot at the balanced output but the highs stay pretty much the same.
• My recommentations:
  • Probably the best headphone amp for entry-level audiophiles with a very limited budget.
  • Saved money should rather be spent on better headphones instead.
  • The device is great for traveling listeners thanks to it's small size and low weight. It can fit even in a small bag.
    • You can power it with a USB cable connected from your laptop
    • Thanks to it's small size the device won't take much space from your desk neither
• Summary:
  • Very solid audio device which has an amazing build quality. I cannot think for a single product which has this quality, so many features and costs even nearly as low as ZEN DAC V2 does
  • This price / performance ratio is very very hard to beat
  • TrueBass can be very fun in certain situations
  • You can use the device to feed your active speakers or another amp