iFi Zen DAC V2 | Desktop Digital Analog Converter with USB 3.0 B Input only/Outputs: 6.3mm Unbalanced / 4.4mm Balanced/RCA - MQA DECODER - Audio System Upgrade (Unit only)

This device delivers! The sound is something I had no idea that can be possible. Clean, accurate, detailed in all ranges, it brings everything to life... I have used Motu m2 (also an amazing device!) mostly for virtual instruments and MIDI input and output. Motu has super low latency and makes playing very precise. The headphone out port is good, just a bit underpowered for my k712 pro headphones. It does deliver detailed sound, almost analytical. What it somewhat misses is the low range, and the upper range is a bit too present. Nevertheless, I enjoyed using it for the last several years almost daily. But this thing... It is a completely different world, completely different sonic experience. After I managed to get it working properly in Foobar2000 by downloading it's official driver from the ifi website, as windows automatically installed it's own generic driver that incorrectly runs everything over PCM (the ring around the volume knob will illuminate in various colors showing which audio file type is being processed, ie. cyan for DSD, white for high resolution PCM) the sonic space came alive. The details in the strings, woodwinds, brass, subtle dynamic changes, even the full organ with chamades at Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris sounds like you are there... Saint Saëns Organ Symphony at Chartres Cathedral (DSD recording extracted with my old PS3 and played in foobar2000) gives so many details in the orchestra and the acoustics of the space that I had no idea were there when I listened it over Motu... Again, Motu is great, just for different things (and I continue to use it daily!). Even the 320kbps MP3 files sound so much better, more refined and detailed. Amazing device (pair it with good headphones)!

One of the best desktop DACs available in this price range, for sure. It processes the audio with neutral sound signature and outputs extremely high quality audio. The volume dial is absolute perfection. The color and finish are beautiful. Ease of use: you connect it to your source via USB-C and... start listening! Functionality: 4.4 balanced headphone/IEMs jack = my favorite output so - personally - that's all I need but you can connect powered speakers, as well. It will handle any of these devices beautifully. I used low impedance IEMs with it and I used power hungry HiFiman Ananda = everything performs at the top if its possible output. One more feature worth mentioning is the Xbass that ifi uses in a lot of their equipment. It does a truly wonderful job bringing the low end richness to headphones and IEMs that lack the low end frequency response. Overall, this is a fantastic device - well worth your money!

This is one secret I with I'd known about before. I've always used Fiio and Diablo's etc. Then I got these recommended. I thought "why do I need mid tier DAC"? Because this is amazingly good, that's why! I mean beyond $1000+ DAC's easily! I put on Pink Floyd DSOTM with Sennheiser HD600's and nearly fell over! Sound is truly incredible with clarity and depths I was not expecting! Then I hit the "Truebass" button expecting the usual muffed scrubbed highs and mids, but no. Truebass is actually amazingly good and adds without taking anything away! Punchy pure clean sounds that are so good I cannot believe it. Build quality is really sturdy with a really interesting shape. Brushed metal and a volume knob so smooth you'd expect in a Bentley. Has balanced and non balanced front and back, digital in and USB can be supported with a DC (not included) power brick. There is a led behind the volume knob that detects with the input is flac, mp3, MQA, MQA studio etc and will change colour so you can see instantly with your listening to, really nice touch. In fact, I would say try this Zen DAC V2 before you break your bank account. I'm the most fussy audiophile on the planet. For me to be this enthusiastic about any sound tech after 50 years of audio engineering means it's good, really really good! Remember, this doesn't come with a power brick. The Zen power bricks are very expensive! It will run, very well without one. Just the USB (check the type. It's not anything you probably have) will run just fine. Zen does supply the USB but it's very very short. Don't fall for the gold USB from Mars nonsense. Digital is 1's and 0's and just a regular cable is plenty. But add the power brick and it's got more oomph. All power is handled automatically, there is no on switch, if you add a power brick to the USB it's automatically dealt with. Just sit back and enjoy... It's amazing.

I've owned this DAC for over 6 months now and listened to it daily, so I'll get right into sound impressions. What I initially noticed was how tonally balanced this DAC sounds. Bass is slightly dark, like a wave of warmth washing over you, but retains a good amount of texture and rumble. Mids aren't recessed or forward, just right where they belong. They come off as slightly dry at times, but this can either be a good thing or a bad thing depending on the music. Highs are well controlled and nicely balanced - very detailed with nothing missing but there's a slight grain present. The V2 sounds open despite having a slightly hazy background. Textures and transients have snap and lots of detail. The soundstage is moderately wide with good depth - not the best but not the worst. There's even some slight saturation effect at signal peak levels, like how the distortion in a tube amp alters the sound. Overall these effects combine into a fun sounding DAC, a tastefully done wall of sound that keeps you engaged. The DAC begs to be turned up, but beware of listening fatigue. I have no issues with the build quality, everything feels great and works as it should. I don't use the bass or matching features, but they sound good for what they are. The power supply is the weakness on this DAC. Don't bother with the overpriced iFi iPower brick, pick up a $35 Meanwell power supply instead. What really helps this DAC is an LC power filtering stage in between the power supply brick and the DAC itself. You can build this yourself if you're so inclined and you'll be rewarded with snappier bass and a clearer, less grey background.

Two month update: After spending some time trying to get more volume out of this thing, I made some discoveries. THE TL;DR VERSION: Phone chargers and a USB to Barrel Jack cable probably won't work. Sorry, my bad. Still don't buy iFi's snake oil power supply. Get a regular old DC wall wart that's 5v, at least 2.5a and UL listed, with a 5.5mm/2.1mm OD/ID barrel jack. Is all this fuss still worth it for iFi's house sound? Yes. The Rambling Novel Version: First, after investing in a USB load tester, I discovered that every phone charger I own was only delivering an average of 180 miliamps through the USB -> Barrel Jack cable, quite far away from the 2.5 amps iFi's expensive power supply is rated for. So that there explains the lack of difference in volume between powered and USB, because it was getting the exact same amount of amps from the phone charger. Woops. That'll teach me. I have a feeling this has to do with USB spec as all 5 of the chargers I had, some dating back several years behaved the exact same way. Maybe if it were powered through USB C such a solution might have worked fine. THE IMPORTANT BIT IN THE MIDDLE: After buying a standard run of the mill UL listed 5v3a DC power adapter with the appropriate barrel size, there IS an increase in volume and it IS noticable. It's worth doing. For pretext, I am using a USB 3.0 extension cable with a built in switch, because I like turning things off when I'm not using them. From my observations, when the DAC is properly powered externally, a few things should happen. 1) The lights on the front panel should get brighter. The two white indicators, the colored knob, all of them. 2) Switching off the USB should turn off all lights and cause a thump in your headphones, although it will remain listed in Windows as an audio device (until a system restart/return from sleep), no audio will ever come unless the switch on the USB cable is turned back on. I've dissected this cable, and only the 5v power line is switched. So, when externally powered it's keeping just enough power for Windows to recognize it. Or maybe it's just another in a long line of Windows quirks. I can admit I have no clue. In any case, interesting. You shouldn't need a second inline barrel switch to turn this guy on or off. 3) When turned on after being turned off via the USB switch, the colored ring behind the knob should stay off until you actually start playing something. Lastly, discoveries made in regards to functionality, the "Fixed" position on the back is well and truly fixed. I was hoping to be able to toggle TrueBass on another amp. To do this, the switch must be on "Variable". If you are only using this as a DAC I think it's safe to just leave it on high gain with the knob at noon if you want to use TrueBass on other devices. Verbatim original and partially wrong review below. I hope you've enjoyed the crazy ramblings of a person who just wants to turn things off when not in use. -- This is a good dac with an interesting feature set, the variable/fixed output switch is something that every combo like this should have. The unit's premier feature, the bass boost, really is great, but highly headphone and song dependent. The volume knob is very smooth and satisfying to use. The unit is heavy and weighty, but to me the buttons feel cheap. They're wobbly/loose and just don't feel good to press the way the knob feels to turn. When unplugging the quarter inch out on the front, the PCB will flex slightly (you can also see the 4.4mm out move with it). It was enough to give me pause the first time I saw it happen, but I don't see it being an issue unless you're actively trying to break the unit. The included USB cable is comically short. I actually really like the included RCA's. It's flexible and the fitting is loose, compared to a lot of other RCAs that are overly tight for no reason. This does not come with a power supply, or a power switch. DO NOT BUY iFi's EXPENSIVE SNAKE OIL POWER SUPPLY. Their power supply for this is DC 5v, 2.5 amps. You probably already have a spare phone charger capable of powering this. The barrel size is "Type M", or, Outer Diameter: 5.5mm, Inner Diameter: 2.1mm. You can buy a USB to DC barrel cable from this very website if you want it externally powered. The only important part of doing this is ensuring your charger has 5v as a listed output. The amperage can be higher (most are going to be 5v 3a). A lower or higher amperage from 2.5 can not damage anything, but the device may not work properly if it's lower. If your charger has voltages higher than 5v listed in addition to 5v, it's also fine. The charger needs to be told to use these higher voltages from the phone it came with. If it isn't told to go higher than 5v by the phone, it stays at 5v. I experimented with blocking the power pins on a USB cable, because I wanted to use a barrel adapter switch to turn things off, but this needs some USB power to work, period. So if you want to be able to turn this DAC off, you'll need an inline USB switch as well. ALL OF THAT SAID, I don't think it's worth the hassle of externally powering. I did not notice any difference in volume or sound flipping back and forth between external and USB power.

I am honestly surprised at the quality of this dac/amp, as well as the features. I was not expecting to enjoy the power match and true bass features, because they are game changers. These features are so great to have and play around with. This EASILY replaces my SoundblasterX G6 (which I thought was great). This dac/amp is more powerful than the G6 as well. This powers my Sundaras no problem (which are a somewhat hard to drive set of cans), and get almost to the point of being uncomfortably loud at max volume WITHOUT the power match on. With the power match on, they become too loud at the 3pm location. Great quality materials and volume knob. Plus, it can push power to both the unbalanced and balanced ports at the same time, so dual listening is a hidden feature I didn't know of. Sound quality is great too, and I only use the USB connection to my PC. Only con that I personally accepted from other reviews is that you cannot control the volume via Windows. That's okay with me because I setup the dac/amp close to me on top of my desk to the left side for easy reach. Get this.... at the price I paid (which at the time was the increased price to $189) I felt was still an amazing deal. If anything changes or happens with it I'll update this review.

I'm going to get straight to the point… This is a high quality DAC. It has premium Burr Brown chips inside and a beautifully designed output circuit that most forget to pay attention to. It's not just the DAC chips inside that make a DAC sound good, it's the power supply and electrical circuity in the output stage that make all the difference and ifi Audio does this incredibly well. If you know about Burr Brown, you know that Burr Brown chips have been used for years for clarity and warmth by the leading Audio Interface manufacturers in Pro Audio (studios). It's a beautiful sound signature that makes every other chip sound analytical and cold. Burr Brown chips can be compared to AKM's high end chips--warm, a lot of impact, but very little distortion. My Adam Audio T8v monitors produce insanely powerful mids and bass with this DAC, but when I look at the 8" drivers on the monitors, they're barely moving. It's incredible how much power this DAC has and how effortless it drives studio monitors via the single-ended RCA outputs in the back. It's insane how much clarity it has, even at high volume. My monitors stay incredibly flat, all the way up to ear-bleeding volume levels...that's very unusual for a DAC at this price....unheard of actually. My volume knob is at 30% most of the time, and that's plenty loud. ZEN DAC v2 Headphone Section Output Power @ 32 Ohms - 280mW (Unbalanced) <—v2 is the Winner @ 50 Ohms - 380mW (Balanced 4.4mm) <—v2 is the Winner ZEN DAC v3 Headphone Section Output Power @ 32 Ohms - 210mW (Unbalanced) @ 32 Ohms - 300mW (Balanced 4.4mm) Yes, the ZEN DAC v3 has 32-bit, high KHz capabilities; however, I use the highest paid Tidal subscription for all my streaming and although the music is lossless audio, and the best streaming system today, Tidal does not have ANY master files above 24-bit 192KHz. Therefore, the ZEN DAC v3 would have no benefits/advantages above the ZEN DAC v2. VERY IMPORTANT… v2 - Truebass (Smooth, Deep, Sub-bass Enhancement) V3 - Xbass (Slam, Harder-hitting, Bass Enhancement) I prefer the Truebass for all of my music listening, which is Ambient Electronic, Deep House, and Progressive tunes. My setup: ZEN DAC v2, Truebass ON with Fiio FT1 Headphones and it absolutely blows my Fostex Modhouse Argon MK3 out of the water as far as clarity, bass, and fidelity…..and the Argon’s are known for ridiculous bass. So, this has been a very weird, and confusing revelation, but I’ve realized that pairing is the most important thing with sound, and a $180 headphone like the FT1, although highly recommended by everyone, completely obliterates my $1100 setup using the Argons. I’m using the THX 789 Headphone amp for my Argons and STILL, the Fiio FT1 takes the cake. Best sounding setup for all kinds of music (Fiio FT1 with ZEN DAC v2 or. V3) Either way, you will love this entry-level digital to analog converter. To hear a difference in sound quality, as far as higher quality, you’re going to have to make a significant jump in price, but this thing beats a lot of DACs on the market. This is the best purchase you can make. Thank me later.

Let’s start this off by saying I followed Zeos on this one and he’s very well informed in the audio community. I swiped this up immediately after watching his review. As soon as I touched the ifi Zen Dac I knew I was holding quality. I came from the Creative Z in direct mode and the E10k-TC, the latter, which I bought last year. The Zen Dac has much better soundstage and control on the highs. It is feature galore and if you are simply looking at features, then this is probably the best value for the money. However, if you’re like me and don’t care about MQA, DSD, or balanced, then this is not the best option. Get the Fiio K5 Pro, because it’s the better product in sound and build quality. I returned my Zen Dac, and here’s why. With USB power or USB power plus DC, I was unable to get this DAC to activate properly after my computer went to sleep and woke up. I troubleshot, downloaded the latest drivers & BIOS, and tried different ports. I disabled USB power suspension too. Nothing I could do could get the ifi Zen Dac v2 to work after I put my computer to sleep and woke it back up. This was 100% a deal breaker for me and I tried 3-4 different cables too. Nothing helped. I read that I could have purchased a powered USB strip and chained that way, but I didn’t go this route because I didn’t need the features enough. I exchanged this for the Fiio K5 pro and I’m extremely happy I did. Not only do the drivers work flawlessly (plug & play), but the Fiio K5 pro sounds significantly better. The amp is way better and the connections on the back are better too. The Fiio K5 Pro uses a standard USB B to A cable and not the USB 3.0 B to A. The K5 is more compatible. In terms of sound, the K5 blew me away because I had never had an amp or DAC this expensive. The soundstage is about the same as the ifi Zen Dac. The bass and treble are significantly smoother though. The highs are especially smoother on the K5 Pro. I recommend the K5 big time unless you need DSD/MQA and you don’t experience the USB issues I faced on my modern 3900x system. More gripes about the Zen Dac: It can’t power itself off. This makes the Zen Dac feel like an inferior & low-grade product. The volume knob is nice and the lighting is fantastic, but not being able to turn it off at all is amateur. I know if I was engineering this myself, then there’s no way I would have let that part fly. Shame on it for that. I said this before, but the amp is really not that great in the Zen Dac. It’s okay, but not really worth nearly $200. You could probably buy a better dedicated amp and an E10k-TC and get nearly if not better sound for the same price. Final Thoughts: The Zen Dac is a decent product and it’s doing some things better than every other amp/dac combo in its price range. However, it’s also doing some things very poorly from its competition. I don’t think that those that are super serious about DSD and MQA are really looking at this unless they’re setting up some sort of budget secondary system. All the features here don’t really make up for its shortcomings. The Fiio K5 Pro for example, cost about the same but offers so much more for the $. The amp even in the Soundblaster Z is way better than the amp in the Zen Dac. Even with balanced, this product doesn’t output that much power for a nearly $200 competitor. Not a fan of this product, but if there’s a V3 then ifi, if you’re listening, take my concerns into consideration. If there’s a V3 and it fixes these issues, then it will dwarf the competition.

I bought This Amp/dac for powering up my ATH-M50X which this headphone dose not need a powerful amp but this zen dac v2 was not a joke. it was soo good to be true and the balance output was in another level of sound quality which it was perfect for a balance neutral sound headphones. I even tried a more power hunger headphones like the dt 770 pro 250ohm and this amp/dac really surprised me, it drove it with ease. I really recommend for everyone that wants a powerful amp/dac and dose not want to put a fortune on it. 10/10 product no problem or issue with, Just a reminder to anyone wants to use it on a console update the firmware for the device to the latest update

背景をお伝えすると、iFi ZEN DAC 3は私のデスクトップオーディオチェーンにおいて、PCとその他の機器をつなぐ橋渡し役として機能しています。スピーカーリスニングの場合、PCからUSBでZEN DAC 3に接続し、3.5mmアナログ出力からアンプへと送られます。私のアンプにはRCA L/R入力がないため、3.5mm出力が自然な接続ポイントとなりました。アンプはELAC DBR62ブックシェルフスピーカーをドライブしています。個人的なリスニングには、ZEN DAC 3のヘッドフォン出力からShure SE530 IEMを直接駆動しています。このレビューは両方のユースケースを対象としています。 ------------------------ ZEN DAC 3を選んだ理由 PCからクリーンで信頼性の高いアナログ信号を取り出し、オンボードオーディオを完全にバイパスしながら、IEM用の優れたヘッドフォン出力も備えたデバイスが必要でした。ZEN DAC 3はその両方を問題なく果たしてくれます。オンボードオーディオからの改善は即座に感じられました。よりクリーンで明確、かつ静かなバックグラウンドにより、チェーン全体が干渉なくパフォーマンスを発揮できます。毎回のセッションで何も要求することなく動作し続け、そのような静かな信頼性は、それを提供しないハードウェアを所有するまで過小評価しがちなものです。 ------------------------ iFiを選んだ理由 ブランドの出自が私にとって重要でした。iFi Audioは純粋に英国独立系の企業であり、現在のオーディオアクセサリー市場においてこれは特筆すべき点です。市場の相当部分が近年中国系親会社に静かに買収されており、ソフトウェア依存性とライフサイクルの不確実性をもたらしています。私はセットアップ全体を通じてこれを意図的に避けてきました。iFiはそのカテゴリーの外に位置しており、ZEN DAC 3はそれを体現しています。 ------------------------ X-BASS — 予想以上に便利 これは大雑把なバス・ブーストだろうと思っていました。バランスを犠牲にしてインパクトを追求するような、強引なEQをイメージしていたのです。実際には、音楽をより豊かで完全に聴かせる自然な低域リフトとして機能し、人工的に処理された印象を与えません。キャビネットサイズとリスニング距離によって低域伸張が自然に制限されるニアフィールドデスクトップリスニングにおいて、X-BASSはそのギャップを有機的に埋めてくれます。中域を濁らせたり、全体的なプレゼンテーションを圧倒したりすることなく機能します。今では私のセットアップに欠かせない存在となっています。 ------------------------ PowerMatch — 見過ごされがちな実用的機能 PowerMatchはDACの出力電圧を高め、下流のアンプの入力感度により適切にマッチさせる機能です。実際に最も効果を感じたのは、音楽以外のソースとの違いでした。例えばYouTube動画は音楽よりも低いボリュームでマスタリングされていることが多く、十分に調整されたセットアップでも物足りなく感じることがあります。PowerMatchを有効にすることで、異なるソース間のボリュームレベルが格段に一貫したものになりました。スペック上は技術的に聞こえますが、日常使用において即座に体感できる違いをもたらします。 ------------------------ IEMパフォーマンス — 完全無音 SE530は感度が高く、要求の少ないIEMであり、ソースデバイスのバックグラウンドノイズやノイズフロアの問題をすぐに露わにします。ここではそれが全くありません。出力は完全に無音で、SE530がまさに本来の性能を発揮できるブラックバックグラウンドを実現しています。他のDAC・アンプの組み合わせでノイズ問題を経験したIEMユーザーには特筆すべき点です。 ------------------------ クロスプラットフォーム対応 — WindowsとLinux ZEN DAC 3は当初Windows 11で使用しており、ドライバーのインストールなしに即座に認識されました。その後Linux（CachyOS）に移行しましたが、こちらでも追加ドライバー不要でシームレスに認識されました。Linuxユーザーにとって特に、USBオーディオハードウェアでこのようなプラグアンドプレイの互換性は当然のものとは言えないため、実体験として確認できたことは安心材料となっています。 ------------------------ ビルドと使いやすさ コンパクトで堅牢、デスク上で存在感を主張しません。コンパニオンアプリ、ファームウェアアップデート、Wi-Fi接続も不要で、PCからUSBで電源を供給するだけで動作します。アナログボリュームノブは心地よい重さがあり、滑らかに回転します。毎日頻繁に触れるデバイスにおいて、これは小さいながらも重要な細部です。出力はDynamicモードで使用しており、Fixed出力スイッチやバランス入出力オプションは使用していないため、それらについてはコメントできません。必要なユーザーのために補足すると、ZEN DAC 3はDSD512およびPCM768kHzまでの幅広いフォーマットとサンプリングレートをサポートしています。私自身の使用は44.1〜48kHzに収まっていますが、必要とする方のためのヘッドルームは十分に確保されています。 ------------------------ 総評 ZEN DAC 3は目指すことを成し遂げ、それを見事にやり遂げます。X-BASSとPowerMatchは予想以上に実用的であることが証明され、IEMパフォーマンスは完全無音、クロスプラットフォーム互換性はシームレスです。専用アンプとスピーカーを中心にデスクトップオーディオセットアップを構築している方、または単体でDAC兼ヘッドフォン出力ソリューションをお探しの方には、自信を持ってお勧めできます。 こんな方におすすめ： PCベースのデスクトップオーディオセットアップ、ノイズフロアに敏感なIEMユーザー、プラグアンドプレイのUSBオーディオ互換性を求めるLinuxユーザー、オンボードオーディオから意味のあるアップグレードを求める方、長期的な使用とソフトウェア非依存を重視するチェーンを構築したい方。

Definitely improves sound from a computer, which is normally digital, when listening on an analogue hifi system or with headphones connected to the Zen Can v.3. The Zen Can will itself convert digital sound to analogue, but not as well as the separate Zen Dac.

DAC PC e Ampli cuffie di un livello tale che, con altri marchi il prezzo sarebbe ben sopra i 400 Euro. Accoppiamento con le Beyerdynamic DT990 Edition 32 Ohm, per i miei gusti, incredibilmente riuscita, e di questa accoppiata farò la recensione: Suono "musicale", divertente, ampio e ben definito senza essere mai secco e digitale, anzi la caratteristica sonora principale che si nota da subito è quel timbro analogico che non ti aspetti in questo tipo di applicazione. Il Soundstage è largo, abbastanza alto - non estremamente alto - visto il medio leggermente arretrato delle DT990 Ed., ma con questo DAC il medio delle Beyer diventa davvero giusto, corretto e godibile (mentre ad esempio collegate direttamente su PC, senza DAC, benchè il suono sia molto morbido e rilassante, il medio è un pelo troppo dietro, mentre il ZEN DAC V3 gli fornisce una grinta davvero game-changing). Gli alti sono luminosi, estesi, fini e divertenti, con quella giusta dose di energia che ravviva il palcoscenico. Bassi perfetti per le mie orecchie, potenti ma mai troppo invadenti, profondi a dovere, anche se dai 30hz in giù il livello di pressione sonora non è da terremoto, ma è la firma delle DT990 Ed., cmq certamente fantastici per la maggior parte del pubblico. L'energia dell'ampli cuffia del ZEN DAC V3 è eccellente per questa fascia di prodotto. Trovo la firma sonora di questo DAC perfetta per chi vuole divertirsi e necessita di energia a dovere per le proprie cuffie. Il livello generale del volume in uscita può essere aumentato con un pulsantino "Power Match" che accende un led sul frontale per alimentare correttamente cuffie ad alte impedenze. Per chi ha cuffie leggerine sui bassi inoltre, c'é anche un pulsante "xBass" (Bass Boost) con relativo LED che fa un lavoro eccellente, aumenta i bassi solo nell'ultima parte del registro e non sporca le altre frequenze, mantenendo il mediobasso quanto possibile identico e senza coprire medi e alti. Per le DT990 che hanno già degli ottimi bassi, in genere rende il sub-basso esagerato, ma con qualche traccia davvero leggera sul fondo fa un lavoro fantastico quando serve. Io alimento il Zen DAC V3 quasi sempre tramite cavo USB dal PC, come esce dalla casa (infatti arriva senza alimentatore esterno). Ero scettico su questa alimentazione, ma sono rimasto meravigliato dell'energia che riesce a tirare fuori in questa configurazione e di quanto sia silenzioso, con un fondo scuro, inimmaginabile - c'è da dire che qui si nota una ingegnerizzazione perfetta, bravi. Per prova, pensando migliorasse il suono, ho comprato un alimentatore esterno IFI-AUDIO iPOWER-X 5volt, che da solo costa la metà di questo DAC! (il ZEN DAC V3 ha anche un ingresso per alimentarsi dalla rete). Incredibilmente, per certi versi nel mio caso suona meglio alimentato con la sola uscita USB! , almeno per i miei gusti. Comunque si sente che l'alimentatore esterno dona più velocità, maggior mediobasso e sub-basso più veloce e dettagliato, ma toglie un pò di quella morbidezza avvolgente che normalmente senti con l'alimentazione USB sui registri inferiori. Tuttavia queste percezioni sono ovviamente associate alle Beyer DT990 Ed., che con l'alimentazione esterna, in alcune tracce possono risultare un pelino troppo veloci o anche un pò troppo "corrette", perdendo quel non so chè di morbido e lontanamente mellifluo che rende il suono più dolce con l'alimentazione USB. E' indubbio che la presenza del mediobasso più veloce e più incisivo aumenta la qualità con la musica classica o con registrazioni ad altissima risoluzione di musica strumentale. Per il Pop, Rock e musica elettronica preferisco l'alimentazione USB (sembra una bestemmia, lo so:). ATTENZIONE, se oltre ad ascoltarlo con le cuffie, volete utilizzate l'uscita line out per gestire ampli/casse esterni, l'alimentatore di rete aggiuntivo è un must, compratelo (qualsiasi marca, di una qualità decente, andrà bene - badate solo a comprarlo dotato di filtri anti-rumore), altrimenti rischiate di beccarvi una valanga di disturbi provenienti dal PC, i PC sono un disastro in questo senso. Tutto sommato non farà male anche un filtrino dell'alimentazione USB in cascata al cavo USB (dal DAC al PC), anche economico. Non andate a spendere chissà quali somme per questi accessori per sembrare esoterici, avete un dac da 229 Euro, non rendetelo un fallimento finanziario. A meno che non abbiate cuffie da oltre 600 euro o un Ampli/Diffusori da migliaia di Euro, un alimentatore 5V da 50-60 Euro e un filtro DC USB da 20-25 euro su Aliexpress, faranno il loro dovere. Provata anche l'uscita line out (si, ha anche quella), e il suono su Casse Attive da PC risulta pulito, energico e ben definito. Non dico oltre, non ci ho ancora collegato un ampli audiophile né diffusori di livello, quindi mi riservo di fare test più approfonditi e di rodare anche l'uscita line-out in futuro. Ma se ci pensate varrebbe già il doppio del suo prezzo solo come ampli cuffia, cosa si può volere di più. Quando utilizzate l'uscita Stereo Line-Out, Potete impostare il volume a Fixed (Guida l'applicazione) oppure Variabile (guida il volume fisico sul DAC), attenti quando impostate a Fixed, il DAC esce al massimo voltaggio e se il player sul vostro PC è al massimo volume all'apertura dell'applicazione o by default, potreste fare danni. Infine un cenno sulla qualità costruttiva, che è semplicemente Eccezionale: Case di metallo satinato con uno spessore raramente visto su questa facia di prezzo, neanche fatto di pareti appiccicate fra loro, bensì singolo stampo - curvilineo!, con design unico, poi già solo il peso e la solidità dell'oggetto da anche l'idea della qualità, pazzesca. Manopola del volume grande e comoda (per un mini-dac come questo), costruita con plastica di ottima qualità, potenziometro con meccanica perfetta, non si percepisce il minimo disallineamento, sensazione di turn up and down del volume con la giusta resistenza e fluidità, perfettamente trattenuta. Se non impostate il volume boost la corsa del potenziometro rispetto al livello in output è anche molto lunga, Mentre se inserite il Vol Boost la corsa è più veloce e vi consentirà di abbassare o alzare il volume più rapidamente, ed ovviamente avrete un livello più alto per cuffie a maggiore impedenza. Questo è un DAC che tra Bass Boost, Volume Boost, 2 tipi di alimentazione, due tipi di uscita cuffia, un livello di uscita molto potente e Driver Audio eccellente per Windows 11, ti consente di fare qualsiasi cosa, è come avere 3 DAC cuffia in uno, tutti di ottima qualità. Sono già possessore soddisfatto di DAC audiophile nella categoria dei +2.000 euro, ma ho provato vari DAC nella fascia di prezzo 180-300 Euro e questo mi ha letteralmente fatto cambiare idea sulle ultime evoluzioni del mercato hifi, come grazie ad alcuni brand si possa ottenere un valore altissimo anche senza spendere cifre assurde. E non sono un novello dell'audio, ma uno che da 35 anni sperimenta hi-fi, costruisce diffusori, modifica e fa tweak di elettroniche, informatico di lunga data, che ha a casa un impianto hi-fi dal costo 2 ordini di grandezza superiore al setup effettuato con lo Zen Dac, con 2 coppie diverse di diffusori autocostruiti e tanto per dire ascolta con un giradischi esoterico casse a dipolo gigantesche in una grande sala insonorizzata dedicata all'audio... Tuttavia, "De gustibus…" dicevano gli antichi romani, può sempre darsi che le vostre orecchie abbiano bisogno di un'altra timbrica o di un diverso equilibrio tonale. Ma per esperienza scommetterei che per 9 su 10 persone questo prodotto sarà una gran bella sorpresa. Il fatto è che combina una spiccata apertura del suono con un bel fondo scuro che ha contemporaneamente qualcosa di intimistico, un suono analogico ma un buon dettaglio, zero freddezza, registri finali in entrambe le direzioni dello spettro acustico riempiti fino all'ultimo hertz. E' anche vero che le mie Beyer DT990 Edition hanno degli Alti particolarmente vivaci, pertanto se proprio dovessi mettere in guardia qualcuno, potrei dire forse che con delle cuffie spente nei registri alti, vi potrebbe risultare un tantinello scuro su alcune tracce? maybe... forse per gli amanti della ultra-analiticità nei registri medio-bassi potrebbe risultare un tantino poco veloce? (allora vi direi metteteci l'alimentatore esterno ed avrete più speed) maybe.... forse dovreste orientarvi sul modello Zen DAC Signature? maybe... Ma sono finezze di cui gli audiofili erano soliti parlare mentre stavano per sganciare dai 5.000 euro in su per un singolo prodotto... Che dire di più, sapete spesso nelle recensioni troviamo chi si lamenta di aver ricevuto magari un esemplare difettoso e lo specifica chiaramente prima di recensirlo negativamente, è capitato anche a me; magari invece stavolta ho ricevuto io un esemplare uscito troppo bene per qualche strana ragione legata all'entropia del cosmo, chissà. A questo prezzo per i miei gusti, quantomeno come DAC cuffia, non ha rivali, e se pensate al Bonus dell'uscita line-out è fuori mercato. Compratelo durante il black friday, prima che aumenti di prezzo. --- 5 Stelle ---

Excelente opción para audífonos IEMs y Over ear, el powermatch hace la diferencia. Para audio hi-res, lo uso con Simgot EA500LM y Sennheiser HD 599, mejora muchísimo la calidad. Sonido y detalle, amo el Xbass +, le da poder y presencia a los bajos hasta en audífonos brillantes. Estéticamente lo prefiero sobre la versión normal, materiales y sensación metálica de calidad 10/10