šŸ”· iFi ZEN CAN Headphone Amplifier

I believe the Zen DAC V2 actually comes with 7.2 installed. It does not use the GTO filter stock.

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Great review!

I have Sundara headphones and a Zen DAC. Is it worth it to add a Zen CAN to the stack for this headphone? I’ve heard good things about XBass over the TrueBass and the 3D sound functionality, but not sure if it’s worth the upgrade.

Also iFi seems to think that the IEMatch would also improve the sound by allowing me to turn the volume up higher (I don’t have any noise floor issues so that’s not a problem). Anyone have any input on that?

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Sundara is not particularly easy to drive, Zen CAN will help in my opinion. If you want Class A/B and big power though, go for Schiit Asgard 2

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Asgard 2 is pure class A single ended(not push pull). I have Asgard 2 and Zen Can. Zen Can is a bit brighter. DT880 600ohm I prefer with Asgard , but Monoprice M570 sounds better wjth Zen Can.
HD600 via 4.4mm balanced also good with Zen Can

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You won’t need an IEMatch with the Sundara :slight_smile: only with a sensitive set of IEMs like the Andromeda 2020.

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Since about two weeks I’m really thrilled by my new audio gear! :star_struck: :partying_face: The ZEN DAC v2 arrived first and already made such a big improvment to my former Soundblaster Z! :open_mouth: :smiley: I could hardly believe a dedicated amp could push my music listening experience even further. Just a few days later the Schiit Asgard 3 arrived here in Germany. Shipping took less than a week from order, much faster than stated on the Schiit website! :sunglasses: Total costs including shipping, duties and taxes were about 270€ which is very close to the price of the Lake People G103-S amp.

Since then, I’ve listened to music - familiar and new stuff - almost every night, feeling like a kid in a candy store! :rofl: As a newbie, I’m certainly not ā€œaudiophileā€ enough to express my sound impressions to this very nice community :hugs: in an applicable way, but compared to the ZEN DAC’s integrated amplifier the Asgard 3 makes a more relaxed impression in complex passages and reveals more details overall especially in good recordings. In fact, I am surprised to hear (more or less) blemishes in several older recordings I actually thought to know quite well. :grinning_face_with_smiling_eyes:

Thanks a lot again for all your help, :+1:t3: I promise this will be my last OT post in this nice ZEN CAN thread! :relieved:

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Thanks for the love Chripo, glad you are loving the Zen DAC v2!

Great minds…

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I was thinking of going the same way but still in two minds at the moment as I like the look of the K5 Pro simply because numerous people have said that the zen dac will not be any good for my DT990 250ohms and I was also looking to put my powered speakers on

Woot! Enjoy. That bass boost through the Asgard with some cans that can handle the bump is an experience everyone should have at some point :ok_hand:

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I think they also stack very nice. :smiley: :sunglasses:

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Great news! I’m glad you’re enjoying. You’ve assembled a pretty kickass system there!

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Yeah, I’m playing with that configuration and also stacking them perpendicularly…

FWIW I broke down and bought the Can and have the Asgard on backorder and I’ll compare them once it arrives… So far the Can paired with the Zen DAC sounds absolutely amazing.

Also I have the Zen DAC and Can connected through the balanced pentacon cable and I have a balanced headphone cable arriving tomorrow so I’ll be able to compare the balanced output to the SE output and will report if there’s any difference at all that I notice.

Super glad to hear. Look forward to hearing your impressions running balanced!

Can anyone tell me how the balanced output on the back behaves? Is it controlled by the volume knob or does it have a constant output volume? Does it mute when headphones are plugged in? Is there a balanced output when the amp is only connected by 3,5mm or RCA?

The reason im asking this is, because im wondering if i can use the balanced output in the back to pass through the signal to my active studio monitors.

The headphone out is definitely not muted when the balanced out is plugged in. I think it just broadcasts out on all outputs simultaneously all the time, which is consistent with how the Zen DAC behaves.