iFi’s ‘affordable’ third-generation Zen DAC has arrived – and it has a phono stage friend too
Regular readers need no further introduction to iFi, the digital-to-analog audio specialist responsible for the lovable iFi Uno and iFi xDSD Gryphon DACs, to name a few. But what you probably don’t know until now is that iFi today announced the arrival of two new products: the Zen DAC 3 and Zen Phono 3.
Not to be confused with the excellent iFi hip-dac 3 (which somehow even surpassed the inaugural iFi hip-dac and its subsequent successor), the Zen DAC 3 is the third iteration in the entry-level desktop Zen DAC series from Company.
iFi is aiming the Zen Dac 3 at gamers (and why not when gaming/audio collaborations are so popular right now – see the Final Fantasy 14 turntable?), both casual listeners and audiophiles for its bijou casework and less-than-flagship pricing. That said, this time there is a price increase of $70 or £70 over the previous model (which launched at $159 / £159 / AU$229).
What do you get for the money? This time it promises “ultra-res audio” (more on this later), a refreshed design and USB-C input for plug-and-play connectivity. The Zen DAC 3 features two 4.4mm balanced outputs – one dedicated to your choice of the best wired headphones and the other for all other hi-fi equipment – a design that iFi says “minimizes distortion, crosstalk and noise”.
And the hi-res chops or “ultra-res” chops that iFi mentions? PCM 768kHz up to DSD 512 and full MQA decoding are all on board, plus billed improvements such as improved DC offset and “surge protection” where the USB-C input is concerned, to keep your music playing well.
This is iFi, so the big favorites XBass+ and PowerMatch analogue processing modes are also present. While I have yet to test this latest model, I did test both older Zen DAC iterations and really liked them. That said, this is a fair price increase over the March 2021 Zen DAC 2, so it’ll be interesting to see where the money went – and whether this latest proposition still represents value.
The iFi Zen DAC 3 is available for purchase from today (April 16) at fi-audio.com and at select retailers with a suggested retail price of $229 / £229 / €229 / AU$229.
iFi’s double Zen Record Store Day offering
But that is not everything! To celebrate Record store day (which falls on Saturday, April 20. You already knew that) the Stockport UK-based company has introduced the Zen Phono 3. This Hi-Fi separate for your turntable is made, says iFi, “for vinyl lovers who demand nothing but the best”. To that end, the Zen Phono 3 includes an intelligent subsonic filter that aims to eliminate pitch changes from warped records (remember, super cheap players can actually damage your records), but without simply cutting out the bass.
To dig a little deeper into that filter, traditional solutions can sometimes fall short in eliminating both the rumbling side effect of warped vinyl And the juicy bass frequencies of your recording. However, according to its makers, Zen Phono 3’s intelligent subsonic filter can “selectively remove” imperfections while preserving the integrity of your music. Heady things.
The RIAA equalization circuit features an equivalent input noise of -151dBV (which for the sake of clarity is very low, also known as ‘quiet’), meaning it should deliver a great amount of fidelity and detail across the phono stage built into each cheap deck it partners with – some of which can be found in our best turntable guide.
You also get balanced and RCA line outputs on the back, an adjustable gain range and a power controller to further customize your system’s performance, plus two loading options for MM and MC-High (100 and 200pF capacitance) and three options for MC – Low and MC-V Low (100, 400 and 1kOhm) cartridges.
The iFi ZEN Phono 3 is for sale fi-audio.com and select retailers for $249 / £249 / €249 / AU$249 and while I haven’t heard it yet, on paper I really like it.