iFi ZEN DAC 3: in review

Compact desktop power

While we tend to focus on the headphones or earbuds that see regular use - in terms of what we review here - that is far from the only way to impact or improve the quality of sound that hits your ears. Another excellent way to improve things in your current setup is to use a DAC. Today, we’re giving you our thoughts on the iFi ZEN DAC 3.

What a DAC is

If you’re not familiar with audio hardware, it might be helpful for us to spend a moment to talk about what a DAC is. The definition is hiding in that acronym, which stands for digital-to-analog converter. In short, it takes those digital music signatures (whether in your own audio files, or in streaming), and converts it to the analog signals that most audio equipment - such as your headphones - are expecting.

What else the iFi ZEN DAC 3 offers up

Obviously, it’s doing that digital-to-audio conversion. How it does that is through sampling the input and figuring out what to send back out. In the case of the iFi ZEN DAC 3, it can sample at up to 768kHz, which is going to increase the accuracy of what it is sending out.

Past that, it can also act as an 390mW amplifier for your headphones (allowing you to truly pump up the jam). On the other hand, if you want to just use it as a DAC, you can flip a switch on the back to have it go from variable output to fixed.

Connecting it all together

Setting up the iFi ZEN DAC 3 is a pretty straight-forward affair. While you can use a stand-alone power brick (which can help eliminate interference noise), you can also just power it directly via USB-C. As an added bonus, that USB-C connection also sends the sound through. I’m all about ease of use, and found it work quite well both on a laptop and a tablet.

To output sound, you can use the RCA connections around back, or up front, you’ve got the option to plug in to the balanced 4.4mm jack (helpful if you’ve got headphones that support this signal), or use can use the 6.3mm single-ended output (aka, your standard headphone jack). It ships with a female to male adapter, so you can plug in your standard headphone cable into the single-ended jack.

Actually listening to stuff

I can’t speak for your setup, but in mine, this drastically increased the quality of music and other audio that hit my eardrums. For my testing, I plugged it into my work-from-home setup, and then got to work. In terms of audio recordings, the music sounded much better to my uncalibrated ears as opposed to just listening to stuff over bluetooth. Podcasts sounded more or less the same, but that’s the nature of spoken word.

Regardless of the type of recording, you’ve got a Bass Boost button that you can easily access (to turn it on or off), so you can fine tune things to what you need. Also, you’ve got a massive volume knob on the front of the DAC, and that was a key feature for me. Unless your keyboard has volume controls, it can be fiddly to adjust sound levels, whether it’s a change in tracks or even just someone speaking quietly on a call. With that volume knob there, front and center, its easy to adjust the volume to your needs on the fly.

I should note that, depending on the headphones you’re plugging you, you might lose your active noise cancellation. One pair I tried, as soon as the wired connection was made, the headphones powered down (another pair, however, kept working as normal). So, you may or may not be able to have ANC going. Secondly, the DAC is only for an output. So, if you’re relying on the mic in your headphones, you’ll need to setup a second mic, or rely on what is built into your laptop or monitor.

Wrapping things up

While the iFi ZEN DAC 3 is not anything I truly need in my day-to-day setup, I did rather enjoy my time with the device. I did notice better sound than I would have had otherwise, and it brought some amazing usability that allowed it to integrate easily into my routine and setup. If you’re looking to improve your at-home audio, we’d say that a DAC is worth investigating. When it comes to ease-of-use, for me, the ZEN DAC 3 couldn’t have made things simpler. If that sounds good to you, you’ll find it available for $229 directly from ifi-audio.com.

iFi ZEN DAC 3 Tech Specs

• DAC: Bit-Perfect DSD & DXD DAC by Burr Brown

• DIMENSIONS: 158 x 115 x 35mm (6.2” x 4.6” x 1.4”)

• DNR

  • Line Section: ≥ 113dBA @ 0dBFS
    Headphone Section: ≥ 109dBA @ 0dBFS (6.2V 4.4mm / 3.3V 6.35mm)

• FORMATS SUPPORTED

  • PCM (768/705.6/384/352.8/192/176.4/96/88.2/48/44.1kHz)

  • DSD (512/256/128/64)

  • DXD (768/705.6/384/352.8kHz)

  • MQA (Decoder)

• FREQUENCY RESPONSE: 5Hz – 90kHz (±3dB)

• GAME CONSOLE COMPATIBILITY: SONY PS5 and Nintendo Switch

• INPUT: USB Type-C

• LIMITED WARRANTY: 12 months

• MAXIMUM OUTPUT POWER

  • Headphone Section:

    • BAL 4.4mm: >70mW @ 600Ω; >300mW @ 32Ω

    • Single-Ended 6.35mm: >18mW @ 600Ω; >210mW @ 32Ω

• NET WEIGHT: 456g (1.0 lbs)

• OUTPUT IMPEDANCE

  • Line Section: Balanced 4.4mm ≤200Ω; Single-Ended RCA ≤100Ω

  • Headphone Section: ≤1Ω

• POWER CONSUMPTION: No Signal ~0.5W; Max Signal ~2.5W

• RMS OUTPUT POWER

  • Headphone Section:

    • BAL 4.4mm: >390mW @ 64Ω

    • Single-Ended 6.35mm: >18mW @ 600Ω; >210mW @ 32Ω

  • THD+N

    • Line Section:

      • BAL 4.4mm: <0.0015% @ 0dBFS

      • Single-Ended 6.35mm: <0.003% @ 0dBFS

    • Headphone Section:

      • BAL 4.4mm: <0.005% (2V @ 600 Ω)

      • Single-Ended 6.35mm: <0.013% (1.27V @ 32Ω)@ 32Ω

• POWER SUPPLY REQUIREMENTUSB-C or DC 5V/0.5A (centre +ve)