iFi Zen DAC 3 Burr-Brown MultiBit DAC Review

[@piksinjo69]

It's missing a coaxial input again.

[@phetmoz]

Most musical USB DAC that money can buy? Ok please come down to earth my friend.

[@strongchallenger2269]

"in my system", he said! 😂On your system, what is your system? If you don't have Accuphase etc etc, you can ignore this usb DAC 🤭

[@beslemeto]

It is not about the price,but you already know that i guess...Synergy...

[@nickwilson2318]

Love this guy. So much more likeable than every other home reviewer

[@liamporter1137]

iFi products are pretty good. I bought their power supply socket and it improved the Zen Blue sound quality. However, I bought their AC purifier, there's no improvement in sound quality.

[@eddiebaby22]

Waiting to try one

[@maximo90019]

Exciting new product!! Thanks for sharing the news. I’ve enjoyed my IFI Zen 2 for years. Is it worth upgrading to the Zen 3 Burr Brown? If so, I need to reconsider my streamer upgrade path as well?

[@Ylojaketz]

Great question. I’m using Zen Dac 2 Signature and am very happy with it in my system. Should I upgrade is my question too!

[@Moebius-m2c]

I also use the signature two. Would this be better? The bass of the two is not very strong and does not sound very clear. I also have the Mojo 2 and it is clearer than the Ifi and the bass is more punchy. Sorry for my english.

[@humanitech]

Interesting review ....but curious if you might consider trying a tiny chord mojo2 headphone dac / amp/ preamp? As some have used it in a hifi setup and raved about it!

[@aussie8114]

It’s a shame you can’t get hold of the Accuphase DAC60 module from the dealer you bought the E4000 from to try and review. There’s not a single KZbin review on that DAC. I have about 70 hours on mine and it’s sounding very nice, I now prefer it over other DACs I’ve tried. It sounded flat at the beginning but as time goes by it’s opening up nicely. Using its coax input because I don’t know how to programme the USB input. It comes with a computer disc but I don’t understand that stuff.

[@johannmayer6164]

Hi Tharbamar, thanks so much for another great review on an affordable HiFi product for us people who don't want to spend thousends of Dollars/Euros to just enjoy HiFi music like other high-end enthusiasts do who have infinite money to spend. My question: Is this iFi Audio ZEN DAC 3 better than the built in DAC in EVERSOLO DMP-A8 which you have reviewed as well already. My chain is: streamer EVERSOLO DMP-A8, pre-amp Musical Paradise MP-701 MK3, amplifier FM300A clone, speakers Wharfedale Elysian 4. If it is better, could you explain what in detail you think is better than the one in EVERSOLO.

[@johannmayer6164]

In my above chain I have a vintage ARISTON CD player too with built in DAC chip Philips TDA1541. It has a good musical sound too and I am happy with it but do you think when using ZEN DAC 3 it could be even better?

[@OldkidLivegen]

I prefer my FiiO K11 R2R, thank you very much. I use it with a iFi power supply, though

[@Djk0t]

hi there Thank you again for the excellent reviews. Quick question what usbc to usb b and usbc to usbc cable would you recommend for connecting to DAC equivalent to Oyaide USB Cable Continental 5S. This is a usba cable and I use an apple adapter to convert to usbc. I would appreciate you input.

[@chengo51]

How it goes without the IFI added PSU ? What model is that PSU ?

[@chengo51]

Oh sorry I didn't look at the list underneath where everything is mentioned .

[@seanb3303]

I didn’t know delta sigma could be multibit. I thought multibit was chip based R2R such as Modi Multibit

[@thinkIndependent2024]

Clean Power Clean Source Burr Brown is in w of my Sound ris and 3d deep depth Images get produced I have that in the unit with BB Zen V3

[@chrishmeet]

Did you hear this Dac with the TS A20?

[@Liuk2412]

Hi Tharbamar, my system consists of Nad c356bee, Focal Chora 826, Teac ud 301, Wiim mini, mini fanless PC with Daphile. In your opinion, does this ifi DAC sound the same or more musical than my Teac? Thanks and greetings from Sicily

[@Tharbamar]

Oh I have not heard UD301 in my system to give you the answer, thanks

[@Liuk2412]

Thanks to you

[@mcjonner]

Do you think adding a dac to a new $1700 home theater receiver would make a noticeable worthwhile difference?

[@locomotive282]

It depends. The DACs in most receivers are usually as not as good as separate DACs in terms of overall sound quality. Using a separate DAC on a ht receiver is only valid if you are doing 2 channel listening with the receiver in “pure audio” or “direct mode” which bypass the internal DSP on the receiver. Once you place a receiver in multichannel mode an additional layer of A/D and D/A conversion occurs for the purposes of time delay, equalization, and level settings which would negate any of the sonic benefits of a separate DAC.

[@aussie8114]

If you are plugging in other devices to your AV receiver don’t use the cheap analog cables supplied. You will get a sound benefit by using better analog cables. I’ve done this test in the past and can easily hear a benefit. Everything Locomotive has said is correct.

[@mcjonner]

​@@locomotive282 I use it for 2 channel audio quite a bit. If use a separate dac, would that mean then it would negate Dirac? I wonder which would make the bigger difference. I've always kind of wanted to try separates, just hard to pull the trigger and thought this might be a halfway point

[@locomotive282]

@@mcjonner It will not negate Dirac room equalization per se but it is important to understand. that Dirac/Audessy/YPAO processing occurs within the digital domain. This requires that analog inputs be converted to digital, processed, then converted back to analog via your receiver’s internal DAC to then be output to your speakers. Traditional 2 channel audio setups seek to minimize the signal path from the source to the speakers. I’ve have done some personal experimentation with this set up and I found that when I fed a DAC into my receiver with DSP enabled I noticed no benefits or detriments. When I placed the receiver in pure direct mode which bypasses DSP making my receiver function as an integrated amplifier I noticed and appreciated the benefits of the external DAC. I should point out that I have given up on using my home theater set up to do any critical music listening. I have a separate system for just two channel audio. I have the Zen Dac 2 and for the price it produces truly reference quality audio.

[@unewb]

I have the Yamaha rx-a4a and the zen dac 2 sounds better to my ears. Better background and just warmer than the ESS dac in the Yamaha.

[@barsersan1387]

hallo een kleine hifi voor jbl 530 Wat is uw suggestie, zoals het smsl-model van de versterker?

[@maxcasci7432]

Hi, is there a DAC only version to be able to connect a CD player via coaxial cable?

[@shaknit]

Hi have you ever tested the Mogami W3103 12ga speaker wire. Thanks.

[@bmamree]

Thanks for sharing 👍

[@ronnyangell665]

Nice review as always! Would this work as preamp in a supersimple setup with an Aegir/2 with rca or balanced out if monoblocked? For speaker duty

[@Tharbamar]

Yes it will work as Pre DAC.

[@christiantessier1661]

As always great honest review.Greay synergie with bright speaker,nice Touch of warmth to thé sound.Nice to know we have great options on a budget

[@liamporter1137]

Expensive separate DAC had to watch out. Cheaper and smaller DAC is improving fast.

[@paulmunoz54]

Correct It’s just a matter of time

[@AdiMaco]

I have V2. It is not bad but nothing special.

[@gamingandmusic9217]

Happy 60th birthday Diana Krall

[@ceaget7252]

Tharbamar, it's clearly different and better than all those different Dacs you've reviewed. Effortless bass, wholesome, full-bodied voice, superb separation of voice and instruments. Have always felt digital sound to be too sibilant, too edgy. This is the best I've heard. Pity about the single input. Thank you for your review!

[@beslemeto]

It very much could be bettet than £3000 DAC!Sound is subjective and sometimes less is more!

[@calmuniverse6208]

Zen One Signature has the things you wish the Zen 3 had

[@beslemeto]

Dude will make this DAC sell like crazy now! 😁

[@billedifier8584]

I'd be willing to buy if it was made in a different country.

[@pfcompany885]

Multibit?😂 This is classical delta sigma

[@landosazo7506]

you may have a gold nugget in your system but the design is flawed without an optical and/or coax inputs on this Zen DAC...really IFI? living in prehistoric era with only a USB C connector?

[@callmevil]

Prehistoric? Hmm coax and optical inputs predates usb C by decades..

[@hermangaviria690]

​@callmevil no no I agree with them, yes you're correct in that rca is older, but only one type of input is tragic because uh, do they actually sell rca to usb c cables that actually just work and not a "let's see if it works" cuz what about streaming music from your phone? Might have a wiim and idk they can output that signal through their usb so it'd have to be some conversion from rca to usb and oh god does that sound like a pain

[@callmevil]

@ yea he used the term “prehistoric” tho.. he coulda used any other insult but that for his point.. Also the zen dac is not the only dac ifi makes.. its not their best and its not even their cheapest dac. Theres many other ifi dac with multi inputs. for the size of the pcb, where could ifi fit a proper input??? unless u want shitty implementations of those extra inputs. But then ifi will be critisized for having shitty inputs.. lol the zen dac is sized for a reason.. theres no space on that board for extras lol

[@D1N02]

​@@callmevilproblem is many devices don't have a usb output. Cd players, TV's streamers. I don't use usb for music in my systems (except portable and desktop)

[@unclefester2]

@@hermangaviria690 'USB on the go' from phone should work with this DAC - I have the V1 of this DAC and have used it with Samsung S21 5G no problem. 👍

[@balooo2863]

No comparision to other dacs in its price range nor how it stacks up to other dacs sub 1k Kinda useless review