iFi audio ZEN DAC Signature Reviews | Drop

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iFi audio ZEN DAC Signature

Audiophile

FULL DISCUSSION

Kevin5172

Jan 16, 2021

Verified Buyer

It upgraded my HD58X's

Since people aren't reviewing this DAC, I'm sharing my lightly-informed love for it. My first audiophile level music purchase was three months ago with an impulse buy of HD-58X's paired with Topping E30/Schiit Magni Heresy. I wanted a second DAC hoped this one would be a noticeable upgrade from the E30. I was expecting something subtle but I heard it immediately. The tones were significantly richer. I noticed it most with string instruments in the mid to lower tones but it was across the whole spectrum. Mostly it brought the 58Xs to another level. More sound in tone, power and detail. It has taken the harsh edges off of the distortion and high tones. I can hear clear cymbal strikes through distorted guitars and vocals. It's made lower level listening much more pleasurable. I don't know if it's worth $100 more than the regular Zen DAC but it's a satisfying upgrade from the E30. Plus, I'm a sucker for overbuilt power supplies. I chose this DAC because I wanted a balanced upgrade path and, as a Tidal subscriber, MQA awareness. My under $300 budget kept the list short. I hooked it up to my daily Win10 tower using a USB 2.0 port with the iFi supplied USB cable and external power supply. It worked right out of the box. There was some weirdness:

After an hour or so I noticed that it wasn't showing the MQA indicator and discovered that I needed to install the iFi Windows USB driver. It was no problem and the MQA indicator started to work.
The next morning when I powered up the computer it would only play MQA coded streams. I did the usual Windows driver reinstall, changing ports, etc, and after a couple of tries it started to work fine.
At one point during this it would only play non-MQA streams. For MQA it would stutter, scratch, pop and let tiny segments of music through.
The electronic change needed to engage the MQA rendering logic was like getting a manual transmission in reverse for a couple of days.
After three days or so of use the sound quality and the MQA rendering all started to smooth out.

I'm looking forward to many hours of improved sound from the 58X's.

Recommends this product? Yes

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raymets1

Jan 16, 2021

Kevin5172I also own the signiture IFI Zen Dac with the Can, with my HD6xx and Hifiman Sundaras, I was able to upgrade from thr Regular ZEN Dac Can Stack. I can say the the signature is a definite upgrade in sound quality. The music is slightly fuller and has a more resounding bass without using the 6xx button (bass button), which I believe is the best feature of the Can Amp. If you are able to get the Zen Can also I would the stack.

(Edited)

Jan 16, 2021