iFi Zen Dac & Zen Can amp power question

Equipment / Electronics / Gear / Accessories DACs
1

Hi,

A beginner audio enthusiast here who has bought the Zen Dac V2 and Zen Can amp as a decent desktop combo. I’ve noticed however that the Zen Dac doesn’t come with any power plug and is powered through the USB port included with it whereas the Zen Can amp does come with a power plug presumably because it is designed to give more power to headphones.

My question is, do you think the DAC needs a separate power if I am plugging my headphones into the amp Zen Can or would it just be recommended if I was using the Zen Dac as an amp and Dac (it has an amp built in I believe).

Thank you for any help

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welcome to HFG!

Is your Zen DAC just the DAC or the combo DAC / Amp? it’s a bit confusing as there is a combo Zen DAC (it was the first of the Zen range) and then in the last year or so, ifi has released a v2 of the combo unit, then an only DAC and only Amp and then a Signature DAC and Signature Amp. :stuck_out_tongue:

so, if you have the v2 combo unit, the USB power is enough to drive it as just a DAC, and if it’s just the DAC, not combo, USB power is fine too. the separate Amp requires more power, just like you thought. however, if you have the combo unit, having the iPower adapter would likely help, but it’s not a night / day difference…it would be nuanced in little ways in how the DAC responds to slightly cleaner power, etc. at the same time, getting the iPower adapter removes all doubt that your DAC isn’t the weak point in your chain if something funky is going on. it also adds to the resale value come time you want to sell and upgarde to someting better.

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Thanks very much for your help and reply :+1:. I’ve got the V2 Dac combo and the Zen Can but I plan to use the combo as just the DAC and then the CAN as the amp to drive the headphones as I thought that would be best. But the DAC is only powered by USB and then CAN has a plug. So you think used as a DAC it should be fine powered through USB? How much is the ipower adapter?

Thanks again!

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I have the ZenDAC V1 and the ZenCAN. I use the ZenDAC only as a DAC without a power supply. A few days ago I listened to the ZenDAC and plugged in the power supply of the ZenCAN into the ZenDAC and compared it to USB powered only. No audible difference. But there are enough people who hear a difference. It’s the same with the Firmware. I hear no difference between the three different Firmware versions for the ZenDAC, others do.

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