Just got mine and it drives my Beyerdynamic DT1990 Pro just fine. Very pleased with the volume and sound. Plus I was able to get it on sale on Amazon which made the choice super easy and a must buy for me.
I just got mine last week. Drives my Sennheiser HD 800 S really well in balanced mode, and the Xbass+ feature perfectly fills out the sub bass regions, especially for music. Fantastic for gaming as well ❤❤❤
Still rocking my v1 since pre-pandemic days. The cable is too damn short but it's been old reliable for almost 4 full years. Super portable and drives a HD600/MDRZ7 well.
I understand the criterion of an easy plug & play, affordable and quality dac/amp. For my part, I work with the iFi Audio Zen AIR dac / iFi Zen CAN (amp) duo. The Zen CAN (which I connect by RCA to the Zen AIR dac) adds greater clarity than the Zen Dac alone, its sound seems slightly less compressed I find. The multiple gain settings of Zen CAN, and the one increasing the bass, are more subtle (less radical) than those of the Zen DAC. But I have never tried the version 3 of the Zen DAC you are talking about. I use my Beyerdynamic DT-990 Pro 250 ohm headphone mainly (after many tests with Mezze, Sennheiser, or other Beyerdynamic models). Mainly with my MacBook Air M2. Note that the headphone outputs of MacBook AIR since M2 and M3 (so since 2022) are all compatible with high impedance headphones (I can confirm this myself) and the sound of these internal DACs of MacBooks is already extremely good and well defined, without even needing external headphone amps. Furthermore, if we compare these affordable transistor amps with those that work with tubes, or even better if we compare them with those like the Massdrop Cavalli Tube HYBRID CTH (released about 5 years ago) which offer the advantages of both the tube and the transistors, what would be the difference ? The tube, they say, is said to create more sound warmth with tube or hybrid amps (= tube + transistors). Coming back to the iFi Audio Zen DAC 3, there is also a lot of talk about the JDS Labs Atom DAC and Amp stack in its brand new version 2 which, it is often said, has the advantage of authenticity because it does not add anything to filter or embellish the audio source (as Fi Audio does) and has almost no distortion even at high volume. what do you think ?
@@paulwoaert I've also heard many positive things said about the Atoms. Haven't heard them myself just yet. And yes, ifi definitely has its own house sound.
I had the DT 900 ProX for several days and I went back to the DT 990 Pro. The 900 proX has a tight sound, less spacious, drier with less resonance or perspective. Less foreground presence. I found it too hard, I found its sound field too narrow. Same thing for the bass. And it is extremely tight on the head, which is not the case with the DT 990 Pro. I also tried the 770 Pro but it is a closed headphone. The 770 Pro is excellent for movies with a lot of HD effects, for cinema in general. But the sound is too "processed", less natural with more punch but less clarity or transparency in the voices, less airy than the Dt 990 Pro. And the 770 is also, like the 900 proX, too tight after a few minutes on the head, therefore creating of exhaustion.
Thinking about ordering the zen dac v3 to pair with my Sundaras with a balanced cable. Do you think ill need the CAN stack to properly drive my planars? or should balanced mode on this be enough?
@mynamejot8623 i haven't heard the CAN myself yet, so it's hard to say, but I'd expect a few noticeable improvements that add some fun and nuance to the stack.
Hi I have the Sennheiser hd660s2, I’ve just recieved this dac and wondered is it recommended for low gain or high gain with my headset, and also the balance port or the other, thanks in advanced, 🎉
High gain most likely, unless you hear any distortions in the sound. High gain = headphones/speakers while low gain = iem/sensitive stuff Balanced output is always going to be better than SE, so long as you have a cable and hwadphones that support it
These are starting to get interesting. I'm probably looking at it the wrong way but is it possible for something like this or the portable versions you've shown previously to work with a car stereo?
Ah, that's an excellent question. I've never tried that myself. It should be noted though that wearing headphones while driving is very unadvisable, I think you may even get fined for it.
I have the previous version of it, but I want to switch to another model that allows me to switch between headphones and active speakers. Is there a model that doesn't necessarily have to be iFi, but I would like the same quality? I was pleasantly surprised when I switched from the Fostex HP-A4 to the Zen DAC 2 with my Sennheiser HD 560S.
@Hugo-ou4ce I've used a number of IEMs on them without any complaints. I don't know the Super Mix 4, so it's possible it is a lot more sensitive than what I have on hand, but it can definitely handle subtle power needs.
@@mxracing2759 Try both and see what fits for flavor. Low gain will give you an edge in dynamics, but if you're not getting the amplification you want then go high gain.
@a2raya772 it's an improvement, but hard to say if it would be worth it if you already have the V2. If you don't already have the V2, I would personally jump for the 3.
I don't think you can chain them, and even if you could I don't think I'd reccomend it, but what you can do if use the Scarlet strictly as a microphone interface and then the ZenDac for your monitoring headphones.
Just got mine and it drives my Beyerdynamic DT1990 Pro just fine. Very pleased with the volume and sound. Plus I was able to get it on sale on Amazon which made the choice super easy and a must buy for me.
I just got mine last week. Drives my Sennheiser HD 800 S really well in balanced mode, and the Xbass+ feature perfectly fills out the sub bass regions, especially for music. Fantastic for gaming as well ❤❤❤
Just the dac? I’m also thinking of getting just the dac, would be nice to get the amp too but I’ll probably go a different route, or skip zen entirely
Still rocking my v1 since pre-pandemic days. The cable is too damn short but it's been old reliable for almost 4 full years. Super portable and drives a HD600/MDRZ7 well.
Love this guy! Great review 🔥🤝
Thank you for the review, Master!🎉
Great review!Thank you!
I understand the criterion of an easy plug & play, affordable and quality dac/amp.
For my part, I work with the iFi Audio Zen AIR dac / iFi Zen CAN (amp) duo. The Zen CAN (which I connect by RCA to the Zen AIR dac) adds greater clarity than the Zen Dac alone, its sound seems slightly less compressed I find. The multiple gain settings of Zen CAN, and the one increasing the bass, are more subtle (less radical) than those of the Zen DAC. But I have never tried the version 3 of the Zen DAC you are talking about.
I use my Beyerdynamic DT-990 Pro 250 ohm headphone mainly (after many tests with Mezze, Sennheiser, or other Beyerdynamic models). Mainly with my MacBook Air M2. Note that the headphone outputs of MacBook AIR since M2 and M3 (so since 2022) are all compatible with high impedance headphones (I can confirm this myself) and the sound of these internal DACs of MacBooks is already extremely good and well defined, without even needing external headphone amps.
Furthermore, if we compare these affordable transistor amps with those that work with tubes, or even better if we compare them with those like the Massdrop Cavalli Tube HYBRID CTH (released about 5 years ago) which offer the advantages of both the tube and the transistors, what would be the difference ? The tube, they say, is said to create more sound warmth with tube or hybrid amps (= tube + transistors).
Coming back to the iFi Audio Zen DAC 3, there is also a lot of talk about the JDS Labs Atom DAC and Amp stack in its brand new version 2 which, it is often said, has the advantage of authenticity because it does not add anything to filter or embellish the audio source (as Fi Audio does) and has almost no distortion even at high volume. what do you think ?
@@paulwoaert I've also heard many positive things said about the Atoms. Haven't heard them myself just yet. And yes, ifi definitely has its own house sound.
I got mine today, pairing it with the beyerdynamic dt 900 pro x. 😁
@@ezrahsenseii nice!
I had the DT 900 ProX for several days and I went back to the DT 990 Pro. The 900 proX has a tight sound, less spacious, drier with less resonance or perspective. Less foreground presence. I found it too hard, I found its sound field too narrow. Same thing for the bass. And it is extremely tight on the head, which is not the case with the DT 990 Pro. I also tried the 770 Pro but it is a closed headphone. The 770 Pro is excellent for movies with a lot of HD effects, for cinema in general. But the sound is too "processed", less natural with more punch but less clarity or transparency in the voices, less airy than the Dt 990 Pro. And the 770 is also, like the 900 proX, too tight after a few minutes on the head, therefore creating of exhaustion.
Thinking about ordering the zen dac v3 to pair with my Sundaras with a balanced cable. Do you think ill need the CAN stack to properly drive my planars? or should balanced mode on this be enough?
@@mynamejot8623 balanced will be more than enough. You're good. 👍
@@MasterMarslander appreciate it, how much do you think I have to gain from investing in the CAN later down the road?
@mynamejot8623 i haven't heard the CAN myself yet, so it's hard to say, but I'd expect a few noticeable improvements that add some fun and nuance to the stack.
@@MasterMarslander tysm for your replies
Hi I have the Sennheiser hd660s2, I’ve just recieved this dac and wondered is it recommended for low gain or high gain with my headset, and also the balance port or the other, thanks in advanced, 🎉
High gain most likely, unless you hear any distortions in the sound. High gain = headphones/speakers while low gain = iem/sensitive stuff
Balanced output is always going to be better than SE, so long as you have a cable and hwadphones that support it
@ thankyou for your reply, I actually sent this back and got the Fiio k7, the sound quality is much better, cheers
i have sound blaster g6 and ill buy hd660s2 it worth to upgrade to this dac? for better high bass?
You'd get a very solid performance improvement across the board, more power, and definitely more bass with that Xbass button.
These are starting to get interesting. I'm probably looking at it the wrong way but is it possible for something like this or the portable versions you've shown previously to work with a car stereo?
Ah, that's an excellent question. I've never tried that myself. It should be noted though that wearing headphones while driving is very unadvisable, I think you may even get fined for it.
@@MasterMarslander oh, yeah. I meant over the car stereo not headphones lol.
If i use this with IEM for gaming do i need an AMP? or its better to get an dac/amp
The Zen DAC 3 has more than enough power to drive any IEM. You wont need a standalone amp.
So how is it compared ton GC7 or G8 or X4 for gaming ?
I have the previous version of it, but I want to switch to another model that allows me to switch between headphones and active speakers.
Is there a model that doesn't necessarily have to be iFi, but I would like the same quality? I was pleasantly surprised when I switched from the Fostex HP-A4 to the Zen DAC 2 with my Sennheiser HD 560S.
I'm actually currently exploring some alternatives, so you might want to keep an eye out for that video if you're interested.
Great review! Quick questiong what is the output impedance?
@@Hugo-ou4ce Balanced 4.4mm ≤200Ω; Single-Ended RCA ≤100Ω
@@MasterMarslander I bought the IEM super mix 4 and they need an output impedance of less than 1 ohms, but I’m not sure what _< 100 ohms mean.
@Hugo-ou4ce I've used a number of IEMs on them without any complaints. I don't know the Super Mix 4, so it's possible it is a lot more sensitive than what I have on hand, but it can definitely handle subtle power needs.
Will this work well with the Sennheiser hd660s2 for gaming on pc ? Thanks 🎉
@mxracing2759 yes, all HD600 series sound fantastic on it.
@@MasterMarslander hi would you recommend low or high gain with the hd660s2, thanks 🙏
@@mxracing2759 Try both and see what fits for flavor. Low gain will give you an edge in dynamics, but if you're not getting the amplification you want then go high gain.
is it worth upgrading over the Zen dac v2?
@a2raya772 it's an improvement, but hard to say if it would be worth it if you already have the V2. If you don't already have the V2, I would personally jump for the 3.
@@MasterMarslander I might just wait and get the Zen Can 3 only and pair it with zen dac 2
is it possible to use a scarlet 2i2 with this as in hook them up together
I don't think you can chain them, and even if you could I don't think I'd reccomend it, but what you can do if use the Scarlet strictly as a microphone interface and then the ZenDac for your monitoring headphones.
I have a similar setup - a UniversalAudio interface for my microphones and then my variety of dac/amps for all my headphone monitoring.
@@MasterMarslander thanks for the the help I’m abit of a newbie ☺️
@@Lukabuka123 I'm here for ya! We all start somewhere!
Kettner Creative has a video on how to connect a 2i2 to a headphone amp.