The Zen series is UK-based iFi's entry level desktop line of headphone amps, DACs, and streamers, and the 3rd generation of their headphone amp and DAC have just been released in 2024. These both retail for $229 USD each, and can be found at a variety of online retailers across the globe.
The Zen Can and Zen DAC 3 were both sent to me on loan by iFi USA directly for review.
Both of these two products have seen many changes through the years. I originally bought and owned the original Zen DAC and Zen Amp for a period of time and found that they were a really solid entry level setup that was small and had plenty of features for all use-cases. I even recommended them to my friends an co-workers who bought them as well, so there is some familiarity with these products.
The 3rd generation version comes in a much sleeker and tamer dark grayish-blue color, which I really do like over the cobalt blue and silver of the past. Instead of the silver faceplate and trim of the 1st gen and the dark blue of the 2nd gen, iFi went with a brushed nickel/gold look with a fake leather inlay that I actually think looks quite decent. I know this look will get some polarizing opinions though.
The Zen DAC includes the popular XBass button on the front, and a 1/4 inch stereo jack and a 4.4mm balanced jack on the front, and comes with USB-C input and RCA stereo and 4.4mm balanced output on the rear. There is also an optional 5V DC power input on the back, but the power brick is not included. This is because you can sufficiently power it through the USB-C port from the source device such as a desktop computer or laptop. There is also a variable or fixed line-out switch for use with powered speakers or connecting to an amp.
The Zen Can headphone amplifier has a similar look on the front but with more buttons. It also includes the power button, volume knob, and 1/4inch and 4.4mm output jacks as well as the XBass option, but they've also included the XSpace, gaming, movie, and MEMs modes in the multi-functional button on the far right. There is also a button to choose between 3 inputs and a gain button that will toggle through the four gain levels.
The rear inputs of the Can have options for 4.4mm balanced in, 3.5mm stereo in, and RCA stereo inputs. The Can also includes a 4.4mm output as well, surprisingly. The unit is powered by a 5V DC power input and brick, which is included.
Sound Impressions
For sound impressions, I'll first go over the Zen DAC 3 and its qualities with its own headphone output and RCA variable output to my desktop speakers, and then go over how the system sounds when you throw in the Zen CAN 3 and use its headphone outputs and feature set.
For most of my listening, I used the ZMF Bokeh closed-back headphones, the Sony MDR-MV1 open-back headphones, and the Subtonic Storm IEMs. The Bokeh and MV1 are what I would consider warm headphones, and the Storm is quiet balanced and neutral, with a subbass lift.
Zen DAC 3rd Generation
The DAC itself is fairly neutral and linear sounding. Like most iFi products, you can not change filters or other settings, so you are left with whatever the firmware provides. This is a good or bad thing, depending how much tweaking you like to do. It does not sound sterile though, and that's a good thing. I always do tend to find that iFi is neutral with a hint of brightness, and that exemplifies clarity, and this remains the same here.
The xBass feature is quite nice to counter-act that slight brightness, but adding a bass lift that is both tasteful and sometimes quite handy with neutral and bright headphones. I like using it with my neutral gear and it works the same from the DAC to their Amp, and across the rest of iFi's lineup.
The headphone output is quite adequate for most gear. With both the Bokeh and MV1 headphones, I had PLENTY of power to get it loud. I actually barely use much of the volume knob's rotation to get it to listening volumes. With my harder to drive planars, I do find the overall sound lacking body and find that the included headphone amp insufficient to drive though.
Zen Can 3rd Generation.
But that's where the Zen Can comes in. The 3rd gen Can has a lot of juice for my planars, whether that is the Hifiman Susvara or the ZMF Caldera Closed. I will say that the pairing isn't my favorite because I do find the general stack setup to sound a tad neutral and lacking a little bit of dynamics that I really want with these two headphones along with a warmer amp setup.
The Can however opens up the sound quality quite a bit. Compared to just the Zen DAC, it's more balanced sounding, less harsh around the edges, and opens up the staging effects, especially with the xSpace mode enabled, which is a cross-feed psychoacoustic effect that makes things sound larger than they really are, with the caveat of decreased bass levels. Of course, you can enable the xBass at the same time to get those back, but it does come across as sounding a bit weird.
There are 4 gain settings, but I found that they are all set too high for real use, and you end up getting much less volume control than probably desirable. With my Hifiman Susvara, one of the hardest normal headphones to power, I only need the dial to be at 12 to 1 o'clock to get seriously loud on the LOWEST gain. When I swap to the +18dB highest gain setting, I'm barely touch the knob and it is loud. What's the point of this again?
With my much more sensitive Unique Melody MEST CIEM, on the lowest gain setting, I barely tap it and it's already loud. The problem here is that this gives VERY little control on the volume for a lot of IEMs and sensitive headphones, and when you're at the "barely touching the volume knob" levels, the possibility of channel mismatch increases. This is a real problem, and the same one I had with the iFi Diablo series DAC/Amps, where they advertise a lot of power, but the usability is seriously restricted because of it for no real reason. Why not just set the gain levels to BELOW 0dB like every other amplifier manufacturer does? This not only allows more range for all products, but reduces distortion, which I find quite audible at the highest gains on my Susvara.
There is also a little bit of amp noise, but its much less than previous iFi products that I've used.
Now with that little rant aside, I do like what it gives in terms of options and features. The use of the xBass and XSpace combined makes a very enjoyable combination paired with my Sony MDR-MV1 headphones. This opens up the soundstage just a smidge more, but without compromising the bass response. In rock tracks, this is a nice gimmick to help with instrument separation and imaging.
Since I don't do a lot of gaming these days, I did not try the gaming mode in actual games. With it enabled for music, it makes everything extremely tinny though. The movie mode seems to reduce the bass response for some reason, and I'm assuming its to improve voice clarity. And finally, I don't own any of the very rare MEMs driver headphones/IEMs, so I did not test this feature.
Final Thoughts
iFi has brought together a new generation of entry level DAC and Amps in their Zen lineup and with a slight uptick in price. That said, there's a lot of features and inputs and outputs for multiple devices that should make gadget lovers happy.
I found the neutral-bright sound signature to be very consistent with the more recent iFi products that accentuate clarity and the added xBass feature to provide a more balanced sound signature.
My same nitpicks of over-exemplifying the power is still here, as it is with most all the iFi products I've tested. In some cases, this is kind of nice, but generally, its way to exaggerated and unnecessary to increase gain so much. It leaves a lot of higher sensitive products to lay waste.
But that said, you don't need the Zen Can 3 then. The Zen DAC 3 on its own is a more than adequate single all-in-one product for the majority of headphones out there. The Can adds some more DSP features and tricks, and a more mature sound.
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