u/Fan_of_Sayanee

"And the results will shock you!1!1!!"

I like the look and sound of the IFI DACs, and ended up with owning three different models. To compare the soundquality as easily as possible, i connected all three to my Yamaha A-S 301 Amp, and a Sennheiser HD560S Headphone. This way i could just change the inputs with the remote control and compare the sound quality on the fly. All three DACs were set to about the same volume.

To play the music, I connected two Motorola smartphones, and one Lenovo Tablet, and used the USB Audio Player Pro app to play the same songs simultaniously on all three devices. The Amp has the Pure Direct (routes sound through the shortest, most direct path to bypass all digital processing) function turned on, to avoid sound colorisation by the Amp.

Soundwise, i didn't notice any dífference. I tested various pop, rock, metal and classical score songs and i couldn't tell which model is which in any case. I tested with and without the XBass function, and i have the feeling the IFI Air DAC has a slightly stronger bass, but the difference can't be more than 1 decibel, if at all.

All three models have an XBass button for a bass boost, a PowerMatch button for hard to drive headphones, an 6,35 audio connector and two cinch connectors on the back for Amps and such. The sizes are also the same.

Now to the differences.

The Zen Air is the cheapest at 99 Euros (i paid 79 Euro for a b-stock model), it has a light grey plastic case, a connector for an external power supply and a Burr Brown chip. Its rather barebone but gets the job done. The light grey model seems to be discontinued and the current Zen Air model has the same colors as the Zen Air 2 in the photo (left). The USB connector on the backside is USB B.

The Zen Air 2 costs 139 Euro, has a 4,4 mm balanced audio connector, and as the only model ouf the three, a Cirrus Logic chip, a dedicated on/off button and has no connector for an external power supply. The USB connector backside is USB C.

The Zen 3 costs 249 Euro (i paid 229 Euro two years ago) has a nice looking metal case (It reminds me a bit of 60s US car dash boards), two 4,4 mm balanced audio connectors (one at the back and front), a switch for fixed and variable sound level on the back, a Burr Brown chip, and a connector for an external power supply. USB connector backside is USB C. A photo is added in the comments.

The RMS output power:

Zen Air:

>230mW @ 32Ω ; >36mW @ 300Ω (6.3mm)

Zen Air 2:

≥5.57V/484mW @ 64Ω (4.4mm)
≥3.02V/286mW @ 32Ω (6.3mm)

Zen 3:

4.4mm: >390mW @ 64Ω
6.35mm**:** >18mW @ 600Ω; >210mW @ 32Ω

All three models have their pros and cons, none of them had technical problems, except sometimes a song was only audible half a second in, but the USB Audio Player Pro app has a function to avoid that. I once owned a Topping E30 II DAC and that thing was far worse in that regard.

The Zen AIr lacks the 4,4 mm connector, and the on/off button, but its the cheapest and sounds about the same as the other models.

The Zen Air 2 has the 4,4 mm Pentaconn audio connector, and even an on/off button, which is very nice, but it has no connector for external power, and therefore relies on the device its connected to for power consumption. It also has the highest RMS output power.

The Zen 3 looks the nicest IMO, has two 4,4 mm Pentaconn connectors, an external power connector but no on/off button and is also the most expensive by far..

Songs i used for testing, 16 bit or 24 bit FLAC files:

Called by the Neon Light - Ai Higuchi (Pop)

Like a zombie - Dance for Philosophy (Pop)

Black Diamond - Hagane (power metal)

Kagome - Hagane (power metal)

Into the unknown - New Arcades (synthwave)

If only you could see - - New Arcades (synthwave)

Into the trap - John Williams Return of the Jedi soundtrack (classical score)

How the west was won and where it got us -. R.E.M. (rock)

Imitation of Life - R.E.M. (rock)

Official websites for each model:

Zen Air:

https://ifi-audio.com/products/zen-air-dac?srsltid=AfmBOooUhQhyu9IxZ8EYvzeAEF4oQ1K3yHdNu_p8qJFSThTHpRL1WDPX

Zen Air 2

https://ifi-audio.com/products/zen-air-dac-2

Zen 3

https://ifi-audio.com/products/zen-dac-3

https://x.com/i/status/2050722424598257795

Wer musste schon mal einer Bestellung hinterherrennen? Bei mir war das zweimal so. Einmal in den 90ern, musste ich ungefähr sechs Wochen lang einem Computerspiel hinterher laufen dass ich damals noch per Post bestellt hatte. Ich bekam das Geld irgendwann zurück...

Das zweite Mal war 2012 eine SSD Festplatte die nach sechs Wochen den Geist aufgab, und von mir zurückgeschickt wurde. Alternate hat damals wochenlang nicht reagiert, und ich musste dann ungelogen eine schriftliche Eidesstattliche Erklärung abgeben dass ich diese Festplatte tatsächlich zurückgeschickt hatte, obwohl das Paket laut Sendungsverfolgung bei Alternate von einem gewissen "Thomas" angenommen wurde.