🔷 iFi ZEN CAN Headphone Amplifier

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.

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

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.

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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

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?

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

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

Appreciate the link to a cheaper option.

Hmm my Monoprice M560’s really shine with it. My 58X’s didn’t really notice it from an SMSL M3. Both the KPH30i’s and Coolermaster’s appreciate it as well.

Anyone tried T50’s or MKIII Foxtex?

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The only place I can find that states the crosstalk on the Zen Can is Drop (for the Signature) where it is quoted at -50db. Testing my unit with RMAA I got -59.6db (single ended). That really isn’t great. You would expect -80db at least even on a cheap modern desktop amp. Which the Zen Can isn’t.

Although I can’t test the balanced out I can just plug in one of side of my HD650s (balanced) and send audio to the unplugged side. Doing so the test tone was clearly audible on the left channel when I was only sending it to the unplugged right. Having crosstalk that noticeable on balanced out is very weird. Frankly to the point I think it might be deliberate? Hardwired Crossfeed perhaps? The 3D was off.

Also nothing I have tried has been able to kill the hiss at max gain with 32ohm and under headphones. Obviously you would never push an easy to drive pair of cans to that kind of volume but still it’s disappointing.

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Look this file crosstalk is -90 db

Hmm. Well it’s not on mine. Can anyone else test this?

Edit: Well I have created a support ticked with ifi to see if this is normal or if I have a faulty unit. We will see what they say.

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I tested it and don’t have this on mine. Let us know what they said.

They reply I got said it wasn’t a fault. It was caused by the 3D circuit. I’ve asked for clarification on whether that applies when the 3D is off. No response yet. I should point out this is my second Zen Can. When I discovered the crosstalk in the first one I sent it back to amazon and had it swapped for a new one. Sometimes I honestly wonder if they just sent me back the one I returned.

Edit: Never mind. I said here that they had closed the ticket but it was just a 404 error.

They got back to me. Yep, it’s not a fault. The crosstalk is an intended part of the amps design.

Thanks for the info, that’s good to know!

Has anyone had any lucking killing the noise on the Zen Can? I am pretty much convinced it’s caused by a floating ground. Had anyone tried the ifi groundhog?

it is simple: take 3.5mm cable and put in 3.5mm input on the back of the Zen Can. The other end of this cable goes to any 3.5mm output on the motherboard. In my case I used 3.5mm rear output)wich is not in use) of my Asus DLX dound card. So no more noise.

I’ve encountered a new problem. I started player Hunt Showdown and the crosstalk/crossfeed is messing up the binaural audio. It’s still positional but its sounds REALLY weird.

Can you provide a further description of the noise you’re experiencing?

Are you positive it’s being caused by the Zen CAN and not your source?