Just bought one for the Fiio K11 R2R and can also tell you the Power X is quite a big upgrade. I compared the ‘specially built power supply’ that comes with the Fiio and the iFi Power X considerably improved on it, no joke! I totally agree in regard to having a good clean power supply. It will improve the sound quality.
Hey guys, i have a question if you dont mind. Is it possible to use this product on an integrated amplifier that has a c14 input for the power cable instead of the 5.5mm input that this power cable uses? Thanks.
Hi Gavin and thanks for showing us this & your thoughts, you know its just occurred to me that when people spend big on Audio Gear, they are probably almost NEVER informed by the staff at the Hi-Fi or Music Shop about the importance of a Clean Power Supply… its incredible! Probably the salespeople don’t even know themselves about this, otherwise they might pass on that info to the customer more often! I’ve just bought iFi’s iDefender USB Filter (that needs a separate power supply in my use case) and even just using a Regular Apple iPhone Charger to supply it, I can already hear the difference from my Studio Audio Interface from Arturia! The Trebles are Less Harsh and the sound-stage seems to have opened up a little more. However I am keen to try this particular PSU that you’ve reviewed with the filter I’ve just bought. I already use a filtered 6 Socket Extension too so I hope that is having an effect!
Do you know what the advantage of having the iFi Audio iPower is ? I'm particularly thinking of the iFi iPower MK2, which is probably similar to the one you describe here (apart from the accessories). What would be the benefit for me to power my Zen CAN with this power adapter, I mean if I compare with the basic power adapter that was included with the purchase of the Zen CAN ? I don't really hear any background noise in my DT 900 ProX headphones, or maybe it's just normal background noise like that found in an empty space with no noise around ? I should point out that I use the Zen CAN exclusively with my headphones, not in external speakers. Is there another advantage that the iFi Audio iPower offers.
Hi Gavin, this is a lovely video, very informative. I am thinking of getting a Wiim Pro Plus Streamer, will this make a difference in SQ output? It's going to go through my Marantz Cinema 70s. What is your honest take on this setup? Best Regards
I'm not looking to improve sound or anything, but rather to rid my zen dac V2 of white noise and crackling. Any guarantees something like this would solve that?
Is there a difference in sound quality over the cheaper $70 one? Not sure if its worth getting the more expensive one. I have the Zen Dac V2. Is a power supply crucial when using balanced headphones?
Its more about the quality of your electricity and by how much it needs sorting out. The more expensive version does make a difference by about 10-15%.
Do you think it would be a better idea to use a DAC/Amp with an iPad Pro or do you think using that DAC/Amp with a MacBook Pro would offer better sound quality?.
Hi Gavin, I have bought the ifi Zen blue and after a disastrous start (signal dropouts) I'm really enjoying its improved sound and stability over my Yamaha wxc-50 via bluetooth, which cost a lot more. Do you think I would get further sound improvements investing in an ifi ipower X with the Zen blue?
@@GavinsGadgets a Marantz mcr603. At the moment I'm just using optical as interconnect is arriving today. Already noticing significant sound improvement over my Yamaha. So I'm not even using the internal DAC of the zen blue. Mind you, I think the DAC in my Marantz is quite good. I tried analogue out of the Yamaha but didn't like the sound as much as optical.
The iPowerX does make a difference. I didn't think the Marantz had its own DAC? If you used the Zen Blue with an iPowerX, don't use DAC from the Marantz (if it has one), RCA plugs should work ok as well...
Unless this is put on a scope seeing proof is impossible. Does a ups improve sound? A unit like this is an improvement but not in the class with other transformer capacitor units. The noise floor is reduced and sounds are less masked or fogged by a noise component in the sound. Humans hear through it with the mind sorting out haze. With a ups your ears a able to tell the difference.
Not sure what connection issues you are having. Loss of power. Loss of wifi. ? The zen stream comes with a decent power supply so you should use it as it has the correct amount of volts etc.
@@GavinsGadgets there was some problems with the power supplies in the begining. i purchased a 12v. iPower separately with mine. still had problems with the unit powering down. some people have tested their iPowers and discovered fluctuations in the voltage. others have upgraded to the 15v. iPower. still debatable to what works best. others claim no issues with a 15v LPS. i was having both loss of connection and power down issues. trying to get either a replacement of refund from TREO
@@GavinsGadgets will i am not the first one. i researched the forums and their are many in the same boat. it has been mentioned that this product was rushed to market. i am not saying that it's a bad product just need a little more time in development. i got mine 2 months ago and this is my second unit. but when it works it sounds great.
I have huge problem with noise... I can hear noises in my speakers like tiny buzzing for about half an second. From laptop no problem from ifi zen stream noisy and annoying. Through cable. I can't figure out how to connect wirelessly
Where is the evidence that this does anything? Show me a benchmark comparing USB or phone charger outlet power VS iPower, iPower2, iPower X, iPower Elite, so I can determine which is worth getting.
Thanks for the feedback. I’ve used it and based my video on my results. Thanks for asking. As to the difference between the other items, I would suggest dropping ifi audio an email.
@@goodsound4756 I have the ipower mk2 out of curiosity. I also have the ifi usb purifier too. So while the difference is not earth and sky, you do notice the lower noise floor and increased detail. I use the ifi zen dac v2 with it.
Because you can still plug a battery powered device in, and that will now work from the AC power. Obviously for devices that only work off the battery, yeah not much help.
Just bought one for the Fiio K11 R2R and can also tell you the Power X is quite a big upgrade. I compared the ‘specially built power supply’ that comes with the Fiio and the iFi Power X considerably improved on it, no joke!
I totally agree in regard to having a good clean power supply. It will improve the sound quality.
Thanks for covering this little guy too, Gavin! Appreciate the time you put into the review.
My pleasure!
Hey guys, i have a question if you dont mind. Is it possible to use this product on an integrated amplifier that has a c14 input for the power cable instead of the 5.5mm input that this power cable uses? Thanks.
Hello this better that ifi Ipower2?
Yes it is on a number of areas.
@@GavinsGadgets this Ipowerx works for the ifi zen phono?
Hi Gavin and thanks for showing us this & your thoughts, you know its just occurred to me that when people spend big on Audio Gear, they are probably almost NEVER informed by the staff at the Hi-Fi or Music Shop about the importance of a Clean Power Supply… its incredible! Probably the salespeople don’t even know themselves about this, otherwise they might pass on that info to the customer more often!
I’ve just bought iFi’s iDefender USB Filter (that needs a separate power supply in my use case) and even just using a Regular Apple iPhone Charger to supply it, I can already hear the difference from my Studio Audio Interface from Arturia! The Trebles are Less Harsh and the sound-stage seems to have opened up a little more. However I am keen to try this particular PSU that you’ve reviewed with the filter I’ve just bought. I already use a filtered 6 Socket Extension too so I hope that is having an effect!
👍👍👍
Do you know what the advantage of having the iFi Audio iPower is ? I'm particularly thinking of the iFi iPower MK2, which is probably similar to the one you describe here (apart from the accessories). What would be the benefit for me to power my Zen CAN with this power adapter, I mean if I compare with the basic power adapter that was included with the purchase of the Zen CAN ? I don't really hear any background noise in my DT 900 ProX headphones, or maybe it's just normal background noise like that found in an empty space with no noise around ? I should point out that I use the Zen CAN exclusively with my headphones, not in external speakers. Is there another advantage that the iFi Audio iPower offers.
Does it draws more power to Zen Dac vs the chep USB port ?
Hi Gavin, this is a lovely video, very informative. I am thinking of getting a Wiim Pro Plus Streamer, will this make a difference in SQ output? It's going to go through my Marantz Cinema 70s. What is your honest take on this setup? Best Regards
Hi! Thank you for the review. I'm new to iFi iPowerx, just want to know the correct type to use in my Fiio dap, is it 5V, 12V or 24V? Thanks
I'm not familiar with that DAP. Best see what Fiio say in the instructions or email ifi audio support.
does it improve sound quality ?
No
I'm not looking to improve sound or anything, but rather to rid my zen dac V2 of white noise and crackling. Any guarantees something like this would solve that?
Never had that with mine so something is causing that
Is there a difference in sound quality over the cheaper $70 one? Not sure if its worth getting the more expensive one. I have the Zen Dac V2. Is a power supply crucial when using balanced headphones?
Its more about the quality of your electricity and by how much it needs sorting out. The more expensive version does make a difference by about 10-15%.
Do you think it would be a better idea to use a DAC/Amp with an iPad Pro or do you think using that DAC/Amp with a MacBook Pro would offer better sound quality?.
You could use the same DAC amp with both. The MacBook Pro might work better with the DAC amp
Hi Gavin, I have bought the ifi Zen blue and after a disastrous start (signal dropouts) I'm really enjoying its improved sound and stability over my Yamaha wxc-50 via bluetooth, which cost a lot more. Do you think I would get further sound improvements investing in an ifi ipower X with the Zen blue?
What are you connecting the zen blue into ?
@@GavinsGadgets a Marantz mcr603. At the moment I'm just using optical as interconnect is arriving today. Already noticing significant sound improvement over my Yamaha. So I'm not even using the internal DAC of the zen blue. Mind you, I think the DAC in my Marantz is quite good. I tried analogue out of the Yamaha but didn't like the sound as much as optical.
The iPowerX does make a difference. I didn't think the Marantz had its own DAC? If you used the Zen Blue with an iPowerX, don't use DAC from the Marantz (if it has one), RCA plugs should work ok as well...
Is it worth adding an iPower X to my router? And if so - would this be better than adding an iFi iPurifier2 to the existing power supply?
Good question. I think that one is best asked directly to iFi audio to see what they say
no. is useless for a router. don't waste your money...
Unless this is put on a scope seeing proof is impossible. Does a ups improve sound? A unit like this is an improvement but not in the class with other transformer capacitor units. The noise floor is reduced and sounds are less masked or fogged by a noise component in the sound. Humans hear through it with the mind sorting out haze. With a ups your ears a able to tell the difference.
i am using an IFI iPower connected to my Zen Stream and have been having connection issues with it. would this help?
Not sure what connection issues you are having. Loss of power. Loss of wifi. ? The zen stream comes with a decent power supply so you should use it as it has the correct amount of volts etc.
@@GavinsGadgets there was some problems with the power supplies in the begining. i purchased a 12v. iPower separately with mine. still had problems with the unit powering down. some people have tested their iPowers and discovered fluctuations in the voltage. others have upgraded to the 15v. iPower. still debatable to what works best. others claim no issues with a 15v LPS. i was having both loss of connection and power down issues. trying to get either a replacement of refund from TREO
Not heard of anyone having issues.
@@GavinsGadgets will i am not the first one. i researched the forums and their are many in the same boat. it has been mentioned that this product was rushed to market. i am not saying that it's a bad product just need a little more time in development. i got mine 2 months ago and this is my second unit. but when it works it sounds great.
I have huge problem with noise... I can hear noises in my speakers like tiny buzzing for about half an second.
From laptop no problem from ifi zen stream noisy and annoying.
Through cable.
I can't figure out how to connect wirelessly
How long is the cable?
Drop.ifi audio an email and they should be able to confirm this for you
Thanks for sharing 👍
Where is the evidence that this does anything? Show me a benchmark comparing USB or phone charger outlet power VS iPower, iPower2, iPower X, iPower Elite, so I can determine which is worth getting.
Thanks for the feedback. I’ve used it and based my video on my results. Thanks for asking. As to the difference between the other items, I would suggest dropping ifi audio an email.
@@GavinsGadgets - I actually asked Ifi Audio but didn’t get an answer. And if I did it would have been marketing biased.
@@goodsound4756 I have the ipower mk2 out of curiosity. I also have the ifi usb purifier too. So while the difference is not earth and sky, you do notice the lower noise floor and increased detail. I use the ifi zen dac v2 with it.
@@goodsound4756 Because they can't prove it makes a difference
Not so at all.
dont mobile devices run off the internal battery, while trickle charging at the same time, i dont see the point of this for battery powered devices
Because you can still plug a battery powered device in, and that will now work from the AC power. Obviously for devices that only work off the battery, yeah not much help.