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Whether something like the RME is worth six times more than the Zen Dac is a personal question that only you can answer to yourself. The iFi Audio Zen Stream network player needs to be powered from the mains via the included adapter. Once switched on, you can select the preferred operating mode using the rear potentiometer. It is set to All In One by default. We advise you to leave it at this position to take advantage of all the functions of the player. The other settings force the player to work only with certain technologies: Roon only, TIDAL only, NAA (Network Audio Adapter) only and DLNA only. The rear potentiometer lets you select the iFi Audio Zen Stream network player’s operating mode.
Compare the iFi with price rivals and it’s clearly up there with the best when it comes to sound quality. But it also offers a degree of versatility that those rivals don’t. If you’re looking for a well-built, budget desktop DAC, this iFi should be top of your list. While the Chord Hugo 2 is, like the Mojo 2, battery-powered, its price, performance and connectivity make it just as suitable for system environments as desktop ones. This is essentially the Mojo 2 on steroids, offering one of the most transparent and musical performers on the market. “There isn’t another DAC around at anywhere near this sort of price able to communicate so torrentially, so unambiguously or so effortlessly,” we concluded in our review of the multi-award winner. (That said, those with bigger budgets and sonic ambitions can go up a model to the Chord Hugo TT2.) With its dedicated output, the Zen DAC V2 provides your headphones with a dynamic, punchy sound. You can choose between balanced and unbalanced outputs, giving the chance for higher spec headphones with balanced inputs to really shine. However, upon feeding them an MQA signal, you’ll see the other difference. On the original version, you’ll see a Magenta indicator light on the front of the unit. Other than that, the two Zen DACs are basically the same. You get the same nice chassis, SE and Balanced connections, Truebass analog bass enhancement, and Power Match gain control.What the ZEN DAC v2 does very effectively is manage to sound a little more natural and unforced across everything you play on it. With the bombastic Mr Ed on the Mammoth WVH album, both ZEN DACs sound extremely good but the newer version manages to deliver the vocals with a little more richness and realism. The differences aren’t huge but the newer DAC consistently manages to sound smoother and more natural without becoming softer or more diffuse at the same time. This is still a product with fabulous bass extension and definition for the money being asked of it. The iFi Audio Zen DAC V2 is the perfect partner for the iFi Audio Zen Stream network player. They formed a perfect duo for a pure, transparent and lively sound, and were incredibly versatile as they managed to reproduce any style of music with efficiency and balance. Vocals were consistently natural and were reproduced with authority in the center of the scene. The reverberations were nicely sustained, in particular with the string instruments. The percussion instruments illuminated the soundstage and stood out with authority and power. The iFi Audio Zen DAC V2 ensures an optimal decoding of files streamed with the iFi Audio Zen Stream network player. iFi Audio Zen DAC V2: compared to… The last ten years have been a revolution in the world of high fidelity, thanks to the drop in prices due to outsourcing to China. However, even just a few years ago, components and features of this type would have been unimaginable at such a low price. After all, it is considered as one of the best products of this range ever produced. The components are very respectable and used intelligently. Also on an aesthetic level, the workmanship is surprisingly robust and the design is well-finished. HD 6XX (balanced): It's good, i like the bass boost function with it, you definitely want high gain for this one. Unbalanced is probably a step down (not tested). Does it sound better on the Ferrum? Yeah, but it's best on the Echo MK II tube amp anyway, so who cares.
This is my first experience with an external DAC. Basically coming from the days of records and cassettes, class A amplifiers with least THD and IMD, great damping factors, this journey with ifi Zen DAC V2 has been both interesting and exhaustive. My main testing headphone with the Zen Dac was the LCD-X, and I have to say they were driven decently. The LCD-X is advertised as easy to drive (20 ohm, 103db/1mw), but like all big planar headphones they like a bit of juice and current. The Zen Dac made them sound loud enough and quite enjoyable. SOLUTION: (Thank you, Connor at iFi) Go into system preferences on the Mac after plugging in the ZEN, find the “SOUND” option and select the iFi option instead of the internal MacBook speakers…………DONE. Therein lies my idiocy – never even occurred to me.iFi’s entry level Dac has been quite a hit, and after testing it myself I have to say it is well deserved. If you care about your music just a little more than most people do, you simply owe it to yourself to buy an iFi Zen as your first DAC. The experience you get is a dimension above any phone or computer audio.
Tonally, this is a well-judged unit, having just the right degree of smoothness at high frequencies to prevent low bit rate or thin-sounding music streams from getting annoying. We like the openness of the presentation and its generally even-handed nature. Channel Balance is absolutely superb via both single ended RCA and balanced Pentaconn outputs. Via headphone output, Left and Right channels have a slight imbalance of less that half a decibel across entire frequency range. In practice this should not be of any notable detriment.
iFi Zen DAC V2
I have my DAC feeding into a pair of active ADAM Audio TV5 studio monitors with pseudo ribbon tweeters (mono amplified on each speaker). The best duo since Bonnie met Clyde, incredibly dynamic with a great presence of depth. There is soul in those bookshelf speakers. Chord USB cable provides the highest DSD data output. Making the most of the top quality DAC, the other internal electronics offer the highest quality sound – just as you’d find in quality hi-fi. The balanced circuit layout uses top quality audio components, such as TDK (Class 1 ceramic) capacitors for high precision, low distortion sound quality. However, if you want, you can press the True Bass button on either Zen DAC, and they will add a little bit of extra warmth via a tasteful sub-bass boost. It’s nice if you feel your headphones are a little too flat. What makes a “good amp” can be different to many people. For me, the measure of an amp is how evenly the unit amplifies the source material, how cleanly it amplifies, and how well it maintains the original “integrity” of the dynamics, spacing, and separation within a soundscape. (Staging, or whatever term you wish to use.) The original and new Zen V2 DACs both seem to be competitive for their price points for all of the aforementioned characteristics. I wouldn’t call either Zen DAC exactly “reference”, but they aren’t that far off. I’m going to say that I hear a little added coloring, (Slightly on the warm side) but both offer high quality and I consider a “fun” sound. If you’re looking for an inexpensive yet sophisticated way to both upgrade the sound coming from your digital sources (laptops and phones) and make your headphones sing, the Zen DAC V2 should be your first stop. Read on for more details!
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