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I’ve been crying lately reviewing DACand I must say that my time with the Zen DAC 3 has been fun. It’s a beautiful machine that looks great on a desk, with audio to match.
You get a lot for $229, and my only complaint is that I would like to see the XSpace analog mode included for IEMs and headphones whose soundstage is a bit lacking.
iFi Zen DAC 3: Price and availability
The iFi Zen DAC 3 is currently available directly from ifi-audio.com or Amazon for $229. It hasn’t gone on sale since it was on Amazon, so if you’re in the market and check this out, there’s no better time to buy it.
For what you get, the price is pretty solid as competing devices don’t have the same amount of features at this price. If you want more, you’ll have to pay more, generally speaking.
iFi Zen DAC 3: Build and Tuning
Constructed from aluminum, the Zen DAC 3 has a solid heft when you pick it up. All the buttons provide reassuring feedback, the volume knob is smooth and beautifully machined, and the ports are tight and feel well-made. There are plenty of little details to appreciate on the Zen DAC 3, from the various textures of the brushed or dimpled metal surfaces to the Sunlit Bronze accents, buttons and knobs, and the RCA input dust covers on the back of the device.
Many design elements were well considered and it shows.
There are rubber feet on the bottom of the device, another nice detail that will save the finish on the bottom. It’s smart because those feet provide extra grip on the bottom when connecting or disconnecting cables. Plus, the unit is so lightweight that those rubber feet will keep the DAC from moving around on your desk due to cable movement if you’re fidgeting while listening to your tunes.
Lastly, when we talk about “building”, the inputs/outputs are placed intuitively. There are I/O on the back of the Zen DAC 3, but it makes sense to have outputs there because they connect to external devices larger than a pair of headphones.
iFi Zen DAC 3: Features
The Zen DAC 3 has two headphone jacks on the front. A 4.4mm balanced input outputting 390mW into 64 ohms and a 6.3mm input outputting 210mW into 32 ohms. Inside the box, you’ll get a 3.5mm to 6.3mm adapter, as there’s no input for one of the most common types of audio interfaces. Also on the front are the Power Match and XBass Plus buttons. Power Match provides a gain boost for power-hungry headphones, while XBass is iFi’s signature analogue bass booster.
That beautiful analog volume control on the front also doubles as an audio format LED that lights up in seven different colors to indicate the audio format and sample rate being received from the audio source.
The back of the unit is where you’ll find the USB-C input with surge protection, a 5V DC input, another 4.4mm balanced output (2V-6.2V max variable, 4.2 fixed), and RCA outputs (1V-3.3V max variable, 2.1V fixed). The output impedance of these is 200 ohms and 100 ohms, respectively. The RCA and 4.4mm outputs allow you to connect this DAC/Amp as a preamp to another amplifier or active speakers. Since you have these I/O options, it was also smart for iFi to add a fixed or variable output gain switch on the back of the unit.
All of these outputs and their features are powered by a bit-perfect Burr Brown DSD and DXD DAC, supporting PCM up to 768 kHz, DSD up to DSD 512, and full MQA decoding.
iFi Zen DAC 3: Sound Quality
The sound quality places the iFi GO blu and GO bar Kensei among my favorite DACs, both of which use Cirrus Logic chipsets, but the Zen DAC 3 uses a Burr Brown DAC whose sound quality differs from the first two. The word that best describes the Burr Brown chip is “smooth.” Its tuning is not as “transparent” as the Kensei, but it makes the listening experience with the Zen DAC 3 fun and engaging.
One of my regular test tracks, “Moanin’,” has some horn sections that can be quite harsh, but the Zen DAC 3 makes those sections easy to listen to as its smooth top end mitigates the strident brass explosions.
If you want a softer curve break in your lower frequencies, the XBass Plus analog mode restores growl to the bass and sub-bass. But this is not a cloudy, compressed digital filter. The bass boost is firm and controlled. Turning this on makes listening to bass-heavy tracks quite enjoyable, especially if you use flatter headphones like a pair of Planar Magnetics. Without XBass Plus active and using more balanced or flat headphones or IEMs, tracks like Skrillex’s “Mumbai Power,” with its deep bass and sub-bass, lose a bit of punch.
Despite being smooth, you still get great stereo imaging, with a wonderful feel for the instruments and where they overlap in the sound image. And those images will always feel nice and full thanks to the Power Match function, which increases the gain and provided enough output for my Sennheiser HD660S2 and HiFiMan HE-4XX that, depending on the track, I never had to turn that analog volume up above 50% to 75% of its maximum. For my IEMs, with Power Match disabled, I only need to turn the volume down to 25% of its maximum output to get nice, full audio.
The Zen DAC 3 is a great all-around DAC that can be plugged into your laptop or desktop for a warm, smooth sound that doesn’t compromise midrange vocals or allow harsher sounds in the higher frequencies to become grating. I would definitely classify it as “fun and entertaining” as far as DACs and active listening go. It’s great for listening to music at a desk or watching movies.
iFi Zen DAC 3: Competition
There are some alternatives to the Zen DAC 3, but there are trade-offs. Many use different USB standards, making mobile phone connectivity difficult. For example, the Fiio K7 and Topping DX3 Pro Plus are great options, but they use USB-B connections. The good thing is that you will get optical and coaxial connectivity. The DX3 Pro Plus even has a built-in display.
Then there’s the Schiit Magni, which offers a USB-C connection. Look at the internal DAC option, which will set you back $189 and give you many of the features of the Zen DAC 3. The downside to this is the headphone cable connectivity options. On the front, you only have a single-ended ¼” jack, also known as 6.35mm. There’s no 3.5mm balanced jack available, so you’ll have to use an adapter. It’s worth checking out.
iFi Zen DAC 3: Should you buy it?
You should buy the Zen DAC 3 if…
- Want a capable laptop/mobile phone/desktop DAC
- You want a DAC that can power headphones or active speakers
- You want quality without spending a lot of money
You shouldn’t buy the Zen DAC 3 if…
- You want Bluetooth connectivity
- You want coaxial/optical audio connectivity
For a semi-mobile DAC that produces smooth sound and has great connectivity options, the Zen DAC 3 is well worth its price! You get a beautiful piece of hardware, a set of smart features, and plenty of power to drive almost any pair of headphones or IEMs you plug in. XBass Plus makes the DAC something even bassists can get into!
The beauty of the Zen line is that iFi just released a couple of new versions that, between them, should cover the needs of almost anyone looking for a semi-mobile desktop DAC.
Smooth desktop sounds!
iFi’s Zen DAC line has been a hit with consumers and this third-generation iteration should be too. Solid I/O options, along with entertaining desktop sound, at a fair price, make this a great choice for enjoying high-resolution audio on the desktop.
