šŸ”· iFi ZEN CAN Headphone Amplifier

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.

Exact opposite of other reviews that say the Zen Can is excellent with high impedence and call,out the 6xx in particular hence the drop collab but canā€™t drive low Impedence due to not having enough current, got to love this hobby and the colorful reviewer folk. Maybe one day get together and agree roughly on opinions of things, hey Iā€™ll buy the beers. :joy::joy::joy:

Lol, thatā€™s ok. At this point Iā€™ve been on the opposite side of many reviewers - see my reviews of Topping amps, for example.

Iā€™m not sure such a thing would be good, TBH. The perception and enjoyment of music and sound is not as cut-and-dry as something like the shape of the Earth (itā€™s an oblate spheroid!). Itā€™s probably more useful that there is a diversity of opinion about gear, even though that diversity puts more work on the end user to do their homework and make good decisions - and sometimes admit they made a mistake by buying a certain piece.

Now that I can agree to! :beers: :slight_smile:

New IFI ZEN CAN inspired by ZEN DAC 2 Z review . 1) Suggestion for the Sundara headphones. Some often complain that there is not enough bass with these typical Planarā€™s. I think a more dynamic bass can be obtained using the third 12 db Gain setting on the ZEN CAN. Unlike using the increased BASS setting, the headphone response still sounds flat. 2) The ZEN CAN does not come with an IPOWER supply. I found that the ZEN caused RF interference with another headphone amp underneath. Disconnecting the power, it turns out the the interference came directly from the PS cord, and changed depending on its position related to the metal cased three prong plugged unit when trying to listen to this a powered JLH Chinese built headphone unit (Ā± 12 Volt PS with Toroid Transformer) with unbalanced RCA inputs. I replaced the factory supplied PS with a new IPOWER X 5 Volt Supply. 3) Based on Z review of Beyer Headphone pads, I purchased the Dekoni Audio Fenesrated Sheepskin Earpads for Select HiFiMan Headphones. Much cooler than the original Sundara pads from AXPONA purchase and they sound great and can be worn for several hours.4) Converted the Sundara to balanced cables from Amazon that are very reasonable and 10ā€™ long. NewFantasia HiFi Cable with 4.4MM Balanced Male to Dual 3.5mm Male Connector only Compatible with Hifiman Sundara, Arya, Ananda Headphones Compatible with Sony WM1A, NW-WM1Z 3m/10ft

does the TrueBass also boost through RCA? I assume thats how you connect Zen Dac to the amp.

Yes, it does, provided you have the output switch set to variable. It does nothing for the output when switched to fixed.

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As mentioned on the IFI website, the IFI ZEN CAN has been reviewed online,
not on his You Tube , by Golden Sound LTD on his website goldensound.audio where
he measures the effects of the Bass and Crossfeed circuits of the IFI ZEN CAN.

Correct, and itā€™s an excellent review, Golden hit the nail on the head and is incredibly accurate with his measurements to our in house ones.

I have kind of the oposite side of the spectrum question, has anyone tried this amp with very low impedance headphones?

Im interested in both the DCA aeon rts @12,5ohm and the cant be named ones @8ohm would there be problems with such low loads or should i look into selling the amp for a THX 789 or topping A30pro?

Lucky for me i bought the can before its price went up so i might be able to cut my loses if I sell it second hand.

I donā€™t think there are any canā€™t be named headphones in this forum, must be another forum you are thinking of. Feel free to name the canā€™t be named :laughing:. It could help others with offering proper synergy pairings and possibly give other suggestions for amps if needed

verum 1s are the 8ohm unit then

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Also welcome to HFGF! We are pretty laid back around here, so enjoy. Hopefully some folks will chime in and get you pointed in a good direction.

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some tests on ASR say its more suitable for headphones with 300 ohm.
1.2W at 32 ohm is not much. Not the best for Planar.
A30pro with ~5W( even at single ended because the amp is single ended internally) would be much better.

Of course you would lose the xBass feature and would have to build it yourself (Lowshelf +12Db comes down at 500Hz)

I power my zen DAC via the USB of a raspberry pi4.

I them as a Roon endpoint to drive a pair of DCA A2C on 4.4 balanced.

No complaints.

SQ is better if used with external power

Maybe.
Only ever used it via USB.
Previously from a Mac and now the Pi.

just realized that you have a super car with 4 cylinder engine in it. youā€™re using A2C like 10% of itā€™s potential. but if youā€™re happy with it then itā€™s all good :call_me_hand:

i own a zen can and verum one and love the combo it works great together

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