New iFi Zen DAC 3 is All That You Need? [Review]

[@TechReflex]

At 6:05, I meant to use the word 'affordable' instead of 'budget'. Everyone knows that it's not a 'budget' product like the Uno, but I think that it's also moving away from the 'affordable' category. Product is great though.

[@sauleomarova7730]

you should have included subtitles. Your accent if very difficult to deal with.

[@TechReflex]

​@@sauleomarova7730all of my videos including this one has subtitles, you just have to enable it.

[@arunr4415]

I am very glad to see this audio gear related video after long comback...

[@chinmayrasam]

4:55 definitely make that video

[@Pashyabhau]

Very informative video! Thanks!

[@sudipchatterjee]

Superb review! Thanks much! 🙌

[@TechReflex]

Welcome!

[@sauleomarova7730]

really? did you understand what the guy was saying?

[@darumaprb8500]

hy I buy a IFI Zen Dac 3 and have a sennheiser HD 650, connected to my Mac book pro , and the dac ,has a pour volume and have it to put the dac to the max to hear better ,and need more power ,what would I do ,buy a amp like shiit audio or other dac.

[@TechReflex]

@@darumaprb8500 no, this has an amp that will provide sufficient power to the 650.

[@fxeditors]

Yo nice, i watched your channel back in 2021 lol and also bought the g102 after watching your review in it thanks for it, also can you please recommend any over ear headphones with noise cancellation under 10k, I need them a lot but cant choose one 😭

[@Tame-e9c]

Bhai 32kbps ka sound cahoye to konsa dac accha hoga mera pass bus mobile hai

[@manojtayade4823]

Hi My CCA CXS got damaged Please recommend any upgrade to CCA CXS or alternative

[@TechReflex]

Haven't tested the latest stuff yet

[@a2raya87]

are the Zen Dac/can V3 worth the upgrade over the V2?

[@TechReflex]

Probably not.

[@samratgoswami564]

Would you recommend this over fiio k7? I wish to use it with sennheiser hd660s2. Kindly suggest any other dac if you recommend in this price range

[@TechReflex]

@@samratgoswami564 I haven't tested Fiio K7, that definitely has more features. I am not sure if the difference between these 2 DACs will be easily audible.

[@samratgoswami564]

@@TechReflex thanks for the quick reply. Love your videos

[@samratgoswami564]

@@TechReflex further can u tell me how a premium bluetooth headphone (say bose qc ultra, momentum 4 or sony 1000xm5) differs from a audiophile gear like sennheiser hd660s2 (paired with k7 or other decent dac)? Further will the difference be less noticeable if the bluetooth headphones are used in wired mode?

[@CristianGeorgeCristofir]

I have Zen Blue V2 and I have some popping in speakers. Can I sort this issue or should I return the produc and buy Zen Blue V3?

[@hariraong]

Keep it away from cables, mainly power input cables. Popping sound is due to interference. I had a similar issue with other DACs.

[@CristianGeorgeCristofir]

@@hariraong I've returned the product and bought Zen Blue V3. This is working fine, no issues

[@SoumyaSatpathy]

Your videso are great and informative as always. Not like our mass KZbinrs in India and are total crap. I'm using a Zen DAC v1 since 2020 and its working fine ever since so far.

[@KaSheee]

Totally agree, man!

[@GeraltOfRivia69]

Bhai why don't I hear any difference (apart from amplification), when I compare my Ifi zen dac, Aune T1s and my motherboard Audio, seems like I've been scammed tbh..Tried on my Hd599 and Akg k712pros

[@TechReflex]

So the two headphones you mentioned are neither that resolving, or power hungry. The Sennheiser is great in other areas though. There should still be an audible difference between motherboard audio and Zen DAC. You should also use Foobar and use Zen DAC in ASIO/WASAPI mode, because windows mixer kind of muddies things up. Just spend time with all sources, listen to complete track at once, and see if you were able to find audio on Zen DAC to be 'less compressed', smoother than motherboard audio. Try some planar magnetic headphones, or some resolving IEM, and you may be able to hear the difference better.

[@subashgandhi4724]

Hii...just love yur videos man..!! Your audio gears are indeed a lesson to learn. You are few to talk about audio stuffs here in India. Your audio related videos really needs some prior knowledge to watch..! I do own Senn IE200, AT-M50X, Philips SPH9500, Beardynamics 990 Pro, Kanto YU5 Passive Speakers and a Elgato Wave DX XLR Mic. I'm looking for an Audio Interface to drive these (1 HP or 1 Speakers) at a time. FPS Gaming is my priority (Apex Legends) where audio is important. FYI, i'm yet to buy Beardynamics 990 Pro - 80 or 200 Ohm (Need Suggstion as well). Also suggest me Audio Interface accordingly (80 vs 200 Ohm) for my use case scenerio. Kindly suggest atleast 3 Audio Interface as to suit my Gaming Aesthetic aswell. Infuture I'm also looking for some basic audio related video on choosing a DAC, Amplifiers, Pre-Amps, Unbalanced vs Balanced Speakers, RCA, XLR, COAXIAL, SPDIF, OPTICAL, TR vs TRS vs TRRS vs TRRRS, Toslink, 3.5mm vs 4.4mm vs 6.35mm jacks, Composite Cable vs Component Cable vs Coaxial, Banana Cable, MIDI, Audio Interfaces, AV Receivers, Active vs Passive Speakers, Tweeking EQs - Treble, Mid, Bass vs Base, adjusting Gains and many sources and its very very confusing..!!

[@TechReflex]

It's better to have a separate device as an audio interface for your mic, and another standalone DAC device. It's not easy to find audiophile level DACs in audio interfaces, and their amps are also pretty meh unless you go high end. The USB interfaces are also power limited as most entry level stuff is USB powered only (which has to manage audio input, output, hp out). Budget audio interfaces like Focusrite Scarlett are really great for audio input, and they're all that you should need for a long time (I am still using one). Then you could go for another DAC for the audio out like this DAC. Focusrite, Arturia, MOTU are my recommendations for interfaces, and you can watch Sanjay C's channel channel for a detailed comparison.

[@LyuboA]

no it's Not it doesn't even have basic features like output selections meaning all outputs are on all the time so you need to physically unplug you headphones or speakers to change what you want to listen to more over it has option for external power supply but No Power Button so if you use external powet supply the dac is On all the time vety stupid 3 freaking versions and iFi couldn't fix basic problems like these plus they didn't even fix the huge Noise Floor that you can hear with even 80ohm headphones on 0db gain so why would anyone buy this when you can get FiiO K7 BT it has all the basic features that Zen Dac 3 is missing plus Bluetooth Plus Optical and Coax input plus NO Noise Floor at all

[@guybrushtwood]

You’ve obviously never heard the xbass feature

[@darumaprb8500]

f you want to connect speaker buy av receiver jejejeje