iFi Zen DAC V3
Refined to Perfection.
The acclaimed ZEN DAC series has garnered numerous awards, including being named WHAT Hi-Fi?’s Best DAC under £200 for four consecutive years.
The ZEN DAC 3 continues its legendary status by doubling its high-resolution support up to 768kHz, DSD512, and MQA decoding capabilities.
The USB-C connectivity streamlines cable management and provides USB input overvoltage protection, safeguarding it against potential harm. Moreover, a significant reduction in DC offset minimises audio clicks when adjusting settings. These improvements propel the ZEN DAC 3 to new heights of audio excellence.
Bur Brown Chips
The Burr-Brown True Native® chipset means file formats remain unchanged or ‘bit-perfect’. This means you are listening to music as the artist intended in the format in which it was recorded.
At iFi we use Burr Brown extensively in our products having selected it for its natural-sounding ‘musicality’ and True Native architecture. Our experience with this IC means we know how to make the most of it.
Connectivity
ZEN DAC 3 offers a single USB-C input to output via single-ended RCA sockets, single-ended 6.4mm (for headphones) 4.4mm balanced (for headphones) and 4.4mm balanced for ‘all other hi-fi equipment’. The RCA outputs can be switched from line-level to a variable output mode to drive powered speakers
Headphone Amp
The headphone amplifier section of the ZEN DAC 3 has iFi’s take on switchable gain, which it calls PowerMatch. From the press release: “This matches the level of drive to the load presented by the headphones, by adjusting input sensitivity and thereby signal strength. With high-sensitivity headphone types such as in-ear monitors, leave PowerMatch at its lower setting for ultra-low-noise performance. But if your headphones require more drive – most on/over-ear types, for example – press the PowerMatch button on the front panel to increase gain.”
Xbass shows up for those who need a bit more weight in the bottom end of their headphones but this isn’t done in DSP — it’s executed in the analogue domain.
Reviews
"I find the ZEN V3 to simply be an exceptional player of music, and at this price range I can only think of products with similar fidelity that DO NOT have a built-in headphone amp of any kind, no to mention one that might have one as high quality as this! Well done iFi"
Specifications
- DAC: Bit-Perfect DSD & DXD DAC by Burr Brown
- Bit Rate Capability: 32 bit/768 kHz
- USB-C Input: ✅ Yes
- HDMI ARC Input: ❌ No
- Headphone Amp: ✅ Yes
- Balanced 4.4 Headphone Amp: ✅ Yes
- Variable Audio Out: ✅ Yes
- Extra Inputs: ❌ No
- Game console Compatible SONY PS5 and Nintendo Switch ✅ Yes
Detailed Specifications
Line Output Section
- Output Power
- Balanced 4.4mm 2V / 6.2V max. (variable); 4.2V fixed
- Single-Ended RCA 1V / 3.3V max. (variable); 2.1V fixed
- Output Impedance Balanced 4.4mm ≤200Ω; Single-Ended RCA ≤100Ω
- SNR ≥ 113dBA @ 0dBFS
- DNR ≥ 113dBA @ 0dBFS
- THD+N Balanced 4.4mm <0.0015% @ 0dBFS; Single-Ended RCA <0.003% @ 0dBFS
- Headphone Output Section
- Max.^ Output Power
- Balanced 4.4mm >70mW @ 600Ω; >300mW @ 32Ω
- Single-Ended 6.35mm >18mW @ 600Ω; >210mW @ 32Ω
- RMS Output Power
- Balanced 4.4mm >390mW @ 64Ω
- Single-Ended >210mW @ 32Ω
- Output impedance ≤1Ω
- SNR ≥ 109dBA @ 0dBFS (6.2V 4.4mm / 3.3V 6.35mm)
- DNR ≥ 109dBA @ 0dBFS (6.2V 4.4mm / 3.3V 6.35mm)
- THD+N Balanced 4.4mm <0.005% (2V @ 600 Ω); Single-Ended 6.35mm <0.013% (1.27V @ 32Ω)
General
Frequency Response 5Hz – 90kHz (±3dB)
Power supply requirement USB-C or DC 5V/0.5A (centre +ve)
Power consumption No Signal ~0.5W; Max Signal ~2.5W
Dimensions 158 x 115 x 35mm (6.2” x 4.6” x 1.4”)
Net weight 456g (1.0 lbs)
Limited Warranty 12 months
