[Review&QnA] 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)
Industrial & Scientific > Industrial Electrical > Semiconductor Products > Signal Components > Signal Converters
[Review&QnA] 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)
About this item
- ✅ UPGRADE YOUR SYSTEM - With this state-of-the-art compact Digital Analogue Converter for home audio, office, or desktop use, you will hear a difference and clarity in your audio system whether you use speakers or headphones
- ✅ EASY CONNECTIVITY - Connect via USB3.0 (USB2.0 compatible) input from your USB source such as a computer or Digital Audio Player (DAP). Output to headphones, active speakers, or amplifier with 6.3mm Unbalanced / 4.4mm Balanced / RCA connections
- ✅ HIGH RESOLUTION AUDIO - Hear familiar songs in a whole new light with rich detail and warm natural tones created by the Burr Brown True Native digital to analogue converter which can process any hi-res audio format up to PCM 384kHz/24 bit, DSD256, DXD 384kHz, and decodes MQA all without additional conversion so you can listen exactly as the artist intended.
- ✅ TECH PACKED - With technology like: Variable analogue volume control, PowerMatch adjustment for iEMs/On & Over Ears, and TrueBass to add bass to iEMs and a new and improve low jitter clock with >20dB improved performance, you can listen to your music with smoother, cleaner, playback.
- ✅ NOTE ✅ - Due to the analogue volume control used there may be a slight channel imbalance under 9 o'clock on the volume dial. This is not a fault with the product. We advise to listen to your music between 11 & 1 o'clock for the best sound quality.
Reviews
★★★★★
Verified Purchase
Speaking to non audiophile's that just want something good...
I won't speak to hobbyist audiophiles like myself because we all know all about the zen dac.
So, speaking to those who want to upgrade their audio and not worry about it, the zen dac is stellar. I have pieces of equipment that can do many things better, from a measurement level, only heard through extremely high end headphones with the best files. But, for the price I am blown away.
Beyond the performance, I love the volume knob. Analog and wonderful. Yes, you'll get some channel imbalance at the absolute lowest volumes, but that's too be expected.
Windows 10 plays Uber nice with this gem.
If you need power, like big power, you can add an ifi can or if you want cheap tubes an xduoo mt-602.
But wow.
Again, I have better dacs and amps, but they are thousands of dollars together and don't necessarily have the same cohesion.
This is tuned beautifully. What a joy to behold.
If I wasn't a sick audiophile who's life was devoted to sound, I could see this being a one and done headphone solution for many years.
Its remarkable for the money.
★★★★★
Verified Purchase
A Triumph
let me get some bona fides out of the way...
i'm old and when digital audio first arrived my job was to (sell) explain it to my co-workers at the manufacturer so they would know how to explain it to the folks at brick and mortar (when they existed and were the only method of shopping).
i had a lot of work for a long time.
i owned the very first DAC and still own reference level equipment in my living room.
but DACs are funny beasts. it takes a LOT of money (usually), like 2 times or near enough to improve audibly over a good entry level DAC, which doesn't mean it's worth enough to buy.
i have been using an ultra light DAC (Sabaj Da 3) for about two years. it has a great sound but a bit underwhelming amp section so i use an Aune B 1s (class A) headphone amp. the Aune is a rockstar in it's own right. i'll still be using the Da 3 with my laptop when i'm on the road.
when i went to buy the iFi Zen v2 the main reason was it has MQA decoding.
so when i plugged it in (USB 3 A-B 1 foot cable incl) with the optional (necessary) iPower AC filter wallwart, My Jaw Dropped.
then it dropped again when i realized this was kicking the butts off of $300-600 DACs and staring the under-a-grand market in the face (along with the 4x as expensive Chord).
i immediately queued up a playlist that i keep with notoriously difficult recordings. this is the DAC acid test without lsd.
the first track took a brilliant (but unlistenable on 1-3rd gen CD players) that is sibilant AND bright from Pre Fab Sprout "Appetite" (from "Steve McQueen"/"Two Wheels Good"). you would never know this was a technically difficult song.
the next took me to a great, but muddy and dirty "La Grange" from ZZ Top. wow, i could hear things that lesser DACs leave out.
the classic Michael Hedges "Aerial Boundaries" has the finest details in his percussive guitar style coming out.
a really hard record on DACs is Hayden and Hummel Trumpet Concertos, Alison Balsom soloist
a trumpet really throws out room cues so you get an excellent idea of the studio space and air. but trumpets can be fatiguing or harsh on lesser gear.
switching gears i went to the classic Nina Simone "Feeling Free" which was recorded live with a full orchestra and piano in one take. listening was just bringing me back beyond time and space to being a seven year old kid trying to be Gene Kelly.
IMHO, there Is Not A Better Audio Buy At This Price In Any Category, let alone DACs.
★★★★★
Verified Purchase
Amazing dac/amp combo for the price.
This is a pretty special dac/amp for the price. the TL;DR for me is, in terms of sound quality, this blows away a lot of competitors in the same price bracket. However, it is not for everyone. Gamers will lament the lack of mic support that comes with other dac/amps. This is understandable, and there are other products out there that will suit your needs a bit better (OR, buy a standalone mic and plug it into your motherboard directly and drive the headphones with this unit).
The headphones that this dac/amp drive for me are the Philips Fidelio X2HR and the Sennheiser 6xx. The iFi drives both of these headphones effortlessly.
I put the iFi Zen dac/amp v2 up against my Schiit Hel dac/amp (this unit DOES have support for a mic for gamers) and the FiiO e10k dac/amp to see which unit would come out the winner in terms of pure sound quality. The Schiit Hel is priced around $200 and the FiiO can be bought for around $70-80, which puts the iFi right inbetween the two. I did not experience any of the issues other reviews have noted on Amazon, specifically mentioning one headphone being noticeably louder than the other.
The iFi blows both of these units out of the water in terms of sound quality for me, in my subjective opinion. The True Bass button is pure bliss. The lows in the bass are much cleaner and more pronounced compared to the other two units i compared the iFi to. The FiiO does have the equivalent of the iFi's 'True Bass' button, but for me, the bass lacks on the low-end on that unit. The Schiit Hel does not have any bass feature/switch like the FiiO and the iFi, so the bass, for me, is lacking a bit on this unit.
Some may find the included USB power cable to be too short, so if you decide you want your iFi a bit further than say 6-8 inches from your desktop tower, you're out of luck. There are replacement cables available to purchase on Amazon, but the length of the power cord didn't bother me. And while the iFi comes with a 'Balanced' option to plug your headphones into, it does not come with the adapter, so you may need to purchase that adapter separately if you wish to plug your headphones into the balanced option.
In conclusion, i would not hesitate recommending this to folks that have a pair of decent headphones that are seeking an upgrade over their built-in motherboard dac. The sound quality is amazing for the price, and aesthetically speaking, it adds a bit of something to my desk space. The drawbacks are the optional items you may need to purchase, like a balanced adapter for your headphones, or a longer power cable for some that may want to seat their iFi a bit further away from their desktop.
★★★★★
Verified Purchase
Great dac/amp for desks. Bass boost is awesome.
Great DAC/Amp unit for your desktop. Doesn't have as much power as some dedicated amps, but its plenty for almost any set of headphones. Personally, I'd rather have a single unit on my desk than stacking a dedicated amp and dedicated DAC together, and this unit is great for that. My Sennheiser 660s sounds great with this on the balanced output and has more volume headroom than I'd ever need on the low gain setting. Base boost is fantastic, it really pumps up the base without harming the mids or highs at all.
My only negative is that the included USB cable is only 18 inches. Depending on your setup you will probably have to buy a longer cable separately.
★★★★★
Verified Purchase
Budget Audiophile Nirvana!
I can't say this is a giant killer or beats the best $500 DAC I have owned, but this is world class at this price since my $1650 unit is down. See the YouTube reviews if you want indepth reviews, but here I go: Replaced the included printer cable with a German import. This cleared up a little of the congestion in complicated passages & the lack of precise focus in the highs, also providing more space between instruments & soundstage of the recordings. Having two 4.4mm output connections is stupid; as I would like to have one in a 2.5mm balanced & 2)XLR's is my only gripes. Budget bliss in a box! I will not sell this after my other is fixed & would buy the Schiit Bifrost 2 Multibit DAC for $599 if I wanted pay & beat this. The bass boost is so nice to use for 85% of the rock and pop music I play, but the multibit has XLRs & richer sound! This clearly upgrades the sound of my computer's or phone's built-in DAC & portable in size.
★★★★★
Verified Purchase
Prepare yourself for an aural encounter of the 4th kind
THX this, rebel that... yet he only recommends these for under $300, and they cost about half that... I got this for my laptop, and now want the Zen Can for my desktop because this is sooooo nice. Couple it with the Sivga SV021's, or the Grado SR60X's (why by the 80's when the cheaper ones sound better) or the Hifiman HE-pick-one (I have several), close your eyes, after your find what you want to listen to, and prepare yourself to repeat the same song several times as this amp brings out things you didn't know existed, and the next thing you know you are listening to eastern European rock and marveling at the mustang guitar sound, then to something south of the equator, none of which I understand, but am now a fan of because of this amp.
Z is a jerk, just saying
★★★★★
Verified Purchase
Awesome little DAC!
The iFi Zen DAC V2 was the perfect solution for streaming Apple's new Lossless and High Resolution Lossless content on Apple Music. I connected a 2021 iPad Pro to the USB input of the ifi Zen DAC plugged the DAC into an NAD integrated amplifier's analog inputs and was instantly streaming high resolution lossless goodness.
It sounds superb! It's a step up from and I my long-in-the-tooth Logitech Squeezebox Touch which streamed from an NAS, better than the NAD integrated amplifiers DAC module and an improvement over an HRT MusicStreamer II (the latter of the two were limited to 24bit 96kHz). The iFi Zen DAC V2 has no such limitation. The highest resolution I've ran through it are FLAC files from my NAS (and Apple Music) at 24bit 192kHz which it handles without any problem at all. It has a low noise floor, below what my electronics can reveal anyway. Dynamic range is what you'd expect from hi-res lossless sources. This DAC seems to disappear, meaning it doesn't color or add noise/distortion to the music in any way- just as a good DAC should.
I haven't compared it to any other recent competitive offerings and I don't expect I will, I'm completely satisfied with the iFi DAC V2. I'll probably grab another one for a 2nd system, for the price why not?
★★★★★
Verified Purchase
Wow... Expectations are blown
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.
★★★★★
Verified Purchase
The quality and value is incredible!
I absolutely love this dac/amp combo! You just cannot beat the value this unit provides. I use this exclusively as a dedicated headphone dac/amp unit. You get many features that are not common to units in this price points. The inclusion of the balanced headphone output is just one of them. It is so well worth picking up a nice balanced cable if your current headphones can support it (not all of them can). I also love the "truebass" function this unit provides. I cannot more highly recommend this item. On a side note, I have not run into any imbalance issues some others have reported. This can happen when the volume knob is turned down at a low level. This is more related to an analog signal rather than the actual unit itself. The company even mentions this in their literature. Keep this in mind if you are planning on using this unit for highly sensitive iem's (which don't need much to drive them) rather than full size over the ear headphones. With all of that being said, this is a wonderful product that will make most people very, very happy.
★★★★★
Verified Purchase
Stop googling reviews and BUY IT ALREADY!!
I dare you to find a better unit for under $200. Think of all the audiophile buzz words you've heard and they all apply. Here's my equipment: the Zen Dac V2 being fed the audio signal from my Mac Mini M1. I have the RCA jacks connected to Adam A5X (powered) studio monitors. The monitors use the neutral settings and the volume is straight up at 0db. I also use IEMs -- I have the Empire Bravado MKIIs (via unbalanced 1/4 inch jack using a 3.5 mm to 1/4 inch adapter -- 4.4 balanced kit for my IEMs is on the way).
I use Tidal for my streaming service (and sorry but I think the MQA stuff sounds awesome). I also have a DSD256 library and an Apple Music subscription. I'm powering the Zen Dac with only the USB connection and it is PLENTY (for MY setup).
Any genre, any service, any resolution-- all sound sublime. Read any of the 5 star reviews here if you want to approximate my experience with this amazing unit. I hooked it up literally an hour ago and I've never written a review on anything in my life.
PS.. iFi provides a USB 3.0 type B cable as well as RCA cables. I've read reviews warning that the USB cable is short so I purchased a longer one on Amazon. Glad I did. Just make sure that you get the USB 3.0 version (it's taller than that which you would use with a typical audio interface or keyboard etc.). I also had a really nice set of stereo RCA cables that I'm using as well.
Question & Answer
Question :
unit only? what does it mean?
Answer :
Hi
Thanks for your question.
This means that you will only get the ZEN DAC V2, we have included this as occasionally we sell bundles with products and we wanted to make it clear that this was only the ZEN DAC V2 on its own.
I hope this makes sense.
Thanks
iFi audio
Question :
Hi. will this work well with the ifi zen can?
Answer :
Hi,
Thanks for your question.
The ZEN CAN is a perfect pairing for the ZEN DAC, you can connect them together VIA a 4.4mm to 4.4mm interconnect cable or the included RCA cables.
I hope this helps.
Thanks
iFi audio
Question :
Does this have anything that can be used as a mic input(trrs, 3.5m cable to xlr)?
Answer :
The only input on this device is digital; it's a DAC (Digital to Analog Converter). All the connectors (Jack, or RCA) are Balanced and Unbalanced outputs)
Question :
Where the product is shipped from
Answer :
If you see the Prime label on the listing then it ships from Amazon's warehouses which are located all over the country.
Question :
Because it doesn’t come with a power supply, will it clip when hooked up to my IPad? I think it’s ridiculous that it wouldn’t come with a power supply
Answer :
I run it of my IPad the USB powers the unit. No power supply is needed.
Question :
I can’t play apple hi-res on high gain? does anybody have the same problem? is there a solution? or do i have to replace my zen dac 2?
Answer :
Go to iFi's website and click on "support" in the upper right corner. You can open a ticket and ask them to trouble shoot the Zen Dac 2 for you.
Question :
When i set the output to "fixed", why I am still able to use the volume knob to control volume for headphone output?
Answer :
Fixed/Variable applies to the outputs (line or 4.4mm balanced) on the back, not to the internal headphone amplifier. So, if you're passing the signal to the iFi Can, for example, you want to send it fixed, so that you can use the Can's volume control.
Question :
Wich was the upgrade vs V1?
Answer :
As the others have stated, better MQA decoding, but it also has a bit more power, and it's been a bit more stable for me, but not by much. And that's not to say this is stable at all, but the v1 just gave me a lot of problems.
Question :
Can you use this with a mobile phone using s usb c adapter?
Answer :
Hi,
Thanks for your question.
Yes you can but you will need an external DC power supply to power it as the phone will not have enough power.
We sell a product called the iPower which is a 5v power supply.
I hope this helps.
Thanks
iFi audio
Question :
can I set the volume knob at a fixed position and then ride the volume on the software UI for playback control, like winamp or on youtube videos?
Answer :
Yes you can. But keep in mind, that when you turn down the volume digitally before it gets to the dac/amp you are effectively reducing the bit depth of the audio. In other words you are removing "range" of volume, whereas lowering the volume on the amp does not do this.
Does this matter? Not usually, but just keep it in mind. I'd try to keep thy computer volume in the upper ranges and do small adjustments. If you want to listen quite low then turn the dac down a bit rather than letting the pc volume be very low.
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