🔷 iFi ZEN CAN Headphone Amplifier

[Shiivu]

Same here living in the UK. Tho the IFI price was quite good and SMSL so they much have pretty decent distribution to here. If you cant find anything else im sure you will be happy with them

[AWackO]

iFi is fair here too, SMSL on the other hand is almost 50% more expensive, also has to be imported so even more hassle. We’ll see, maybe i’ll get some more recommendations, maybe i just go for the amp first . Thanks for the help lads.

[AWackO]

Btw if I go for the Zen DAC should i power it through usb or get a separate psu?

[Marzipan]

getting the PSU is beneficial, especially if you’re going to used the balanced output.

[AWackO]

I’m gonna be honest i still don’t understand what are the differences between balanced and unbalanced, and is it much better to use balanced output?

[Marzipan]

the short answer is yes, it’s much better to have balanced output.

the long answer…sometimes / maybe.

read this:

Is Balanced Better? Pros & Cons of Balanced vs. Single-Ended

To Balance or Not to Balance? That is the question. Whether ‘tis nobler to buy a balanced amp or DAC or an unbalanced (or single-ended, aka SE, the two terms are interchangeable) amp or DAC is the focus of this post. There have been lots of questions around this forum about whether a balanced amp or DAC is better than a SE amp or DAC. Should you explore balanced? Is balanced better? It’s understandably confusing. After all, in the English language, ‘balance’ is often used in the context of desc…

a well executed single ended output found in the higher priced amps will be as good as balanced output in a lower priced amp. the se in the lower priced amp usually suffers as they usually take shortcuts to create it.

by higher priced amp, I don’t mean units that are $1000. there are some really good one’s at the $200 price point, like the Schiit Asgard 3.

balanced output provides more power which is what a well done singled ended output will also provide.

the hangup is that headphones with attached cables are usually se and cannot be used on a balanced output. doing so will likely ruin your amp due to the different wiring structure. headphones with detachable cables can usually have a a balanced cable connected and headphones with attached cables can usually be modified to be detachable, in which case, you can likely use a balanced cable as well. that’s why you will find the 2.5mm, 4.44mm pentacon and XLR / mini-XLR are almost always balanced while the 3.5mm and 6.5mm connectors are always se.

[ragecandy]

Can this be used with the e30? or do I need a balanced dac?

[WaveTheory]

Yes. It has 2 SE inputs.

[ragecandy]

ahh thanks!, and I can still used the more powerful(I think) balanced out?

[WaveTheory]

Yes. Should be fine.

[Blackrao]

So I got the Zen CAN to pair with the Zen Dac to run the GL2000, which had “recommended at least 2 watts of power” Honestly, i’ve been testing plugging straight into Zen Dac, and than plugging straight into Zen Can and trying my best to volume match, seriously don’t really hear much of a difference that I couldn’t attribute to placebo lol…

Zen Dac can easily power the GL2000 in low gain, what is the point of the Zen CAN? I definitely don’t hear “scaling” or the benefits people talk about getting a more powerful amplifier. Any thoughts?

[WaveTheory]

I have a few thoughts, with disclaimer I have not heard the GL2000:

1. how much time have you listened with GL2000 On each amp? I’d listen to each exclusively for a couple days at least and then start quick switching.

2. The GL2K is not particularly hard to drive. It’s rated at 60 ohms and 99db/mw sensitivity. Also, it’s a planar which means its impedance will be more or less constant over the entire frequency range. Where the Zen amps struggle is mostly in the low end with dynamic driver headphones where impedance can get quite high. Planars don’t attack their weaknesses in power delivery quite like dynamics do.

3. the recommended amp power spec is likely more of a power handling spec, you put more than 2W through there you probably pop the driver.

Even after long exclusive listening situations you may not notice much of a difference. If each amp can drive the headphone comfortably you’re talking about 2 products from the same model line from the same company. The designs are going to be quite similar. The point of the CAN is to bring that Zen sound to headphones the Zen Dac’s internal amp doesn’t have the power to drive. In my review above I pointed out the CAN doesn’t do a great job with high impedance dynamics, but it does fairly well for planars and low impedance dynamics.

[Blackrao]

1. I been listening Zen Can for like 5 days, Admittedly Zen Dac not too long
2. Yeah I know its easy to drive and agree with the planar impedance. Because of that, the main question was, does a more powerful AMP actually make the GL2000 sound better? Right now I don’t hear it.
3. They recommend at least two watts which is hilarious. Well Zen can output 1890mw @ 64 ohm, so def enough to meet that spec

Thanks for your reply! I’ll continue listening, I actually do think I hear the Zen Can presents less bass than Zen Dac volume matched but will continue listening.

[WaveTheory]

@Blackrao

Because of that, the main question was, does a more powerful AMP actually make the GL2000 sound better?

For a given driver, more power should mean greater ability to control that driver. That is not always true in practice. Electrical circuits are complex and being able to deliver 1 watt of power at 1KHz does not mean being able to deliver the same amount of power at 100Hz. But, when more power is actually delivered to a driver, then the sound should be ‘tighter’ or ‘quicker’ or ‘more controlled’ because the amplifier has the ability to accelerate the driver more quickly. Some listeners don’t always like the super quick sound that can create, some do, and yet more think it depends on the type of music.

@Blackrao

Well Zen can output 1890mw @ 64 ohm, so def enough to meet that spec

Well, 1890mW is 1.89 Watts, so that’s pretty close.

[Serge_X]

I have Zen Stack. I’ve compared ZenDac’s headphone output and Zen Can. I hear clearly that Zen Dac’s built in headphone amp lacks in resolution. Zen Dac as a dac via Zen Can sounds lot more resolving. I used HD600 4.4mm DT 880 600ohm, M570. All of them benefit from Zen Can.

[Blackrao]

Thats good to hear. I think my Zen Can could be faulty, it did make some weird static glitchy noise 3 different instances when I first got it and hooked it up. The more I compare them, the more the Zen Dac clearly sounds better than Zen Can to me lol. Definitely going to return mine now

[Fett_Injured_Hero]

That’s definitely not the case with mine. Return yours and grab a replacement.

Do you guys have a preference between using balanced or the included purple cables?

I was thinking of grabbing iFi’s 4.4 to 4.4 but don’t know where to buy it stateside:4.4mm to 4.4mm Cable by iFi audio | An audiophile grade interconnect for your balanced components.

Anyone have any links?

[Blackrao]

I ordered this one below for 20 bucks. $100 cable is kinda insane considering…the amp costs $150 lol

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08279BFXS/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[CNV]

Can confirm that this cable is wonderful. It’s the only interconnect I use between the Zen Stack and it works amazing using either the standard or balance outputs on the ZenDAC

[Fett_Injured_Hero]

Appreciate the link to a cheaper option.