ifi ZEN DAC 3 Review - Is it Still the Best DAC under 200

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@whathifi has given this DAC it's "Best Under £200" award for four years in a row. Will that streak continue?

As a reminder, I make NOTHING from any of these links:

#highendaudio #headphoneson #dac #desktopaudio #homeaudio #audiophile
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Fits my use case perfectly, USB DAC with 4.4mm balanced and volume independent RCA outputs for speakers. Will be upgrading my v1 this year.

AegisHyperon
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I have a similar situation where I need to change between speakers and headphones, and you are the first one that gave me the knowledge that all the outputs are in use at the same time. Thanks!

Hobynist
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The first gen Zen Dac was my very first Dac/amp, and it opened the door for my audiophile journey.

PKAPE
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Have the ZEN DAC V2 in use with integrated amp. Added Ifi IPowerX 5V and the Ifi 4.4 to XLR cable output and use ZEN STREAM as my source with IPowerX 15V. No distortion issues at all with volume control knob use when in variable mode. Sound is as clean as the volume selector is smooth. 2 years of ownership. Want Zen DAC 3 but waiting for the zen Stream to upgrade to DSD 512 first to take full advantage of DAC 3’s DSD 512 capability.

williamcrawford
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Greetings from Toronto 🍷
I’ve got 3 DAC’s sitting around here..
All at differing price points …but, the only IFI products I have are power supplies and an IFI Go Blue..for IEM’s .
Their stuff is good and “unique.”

carminedesanto
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I havent found many opinions on this device, thank you for your honest review, some details about the xbass I didnt know

GersonHM
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I have a few DACs and in the end The Geshelli J2 seems to be the best value. If I am going just based on price, I will take the SU 1

middleearthltd
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Getting mine today! ❤ I had the V2 with Hifiman Arya Stealth; now I have a pair of Sennheiser HD 800 S that I already find to sound absolutely amazing, especially for gaming. The Xbass+ feature will be a great match for music listening.

samuelviden
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I got sennheiser HD 600 and need a headphone amp/dac for my PC. I listen to music and play games. Do you recommend this one or something else for a similar price point?

peterf
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I had the V2. Loved it with my Sennheiser 560s'. Had to be returned after a while because it kept cutting out. Starting to get annoyed with the relatively poor sound from my motherboard. All I need is a simple setup to enjoy CDs, FLAC, videos etc. Think the ZEN does that well. Is V3 worth the upgrade? Many thanks for the video.

bravestarr
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I own a ZEN DAC V2 and I am happy with it. I use it with a pair of AKG K273 Pro

AdiMaco
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would love to see you do the Hip-DAC !

dewittfiala
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Did I make the right choice when I got the Atom 2 stack over the Ifi zen 3 stack?

chrisasmith
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I own zen dac v2 paired with the zen can amp.
The trubass of zed dac v2 sucks, but combined with xbass of zen can, it's amazing.
Currently I am thinking selling the ifi zen dac v2 + ifi zen can, and buy zen dac v3.
Do you think it could be a good idea?
I am mostly using hd650.
Using ifi zen dac v2 without ifi zen can amp, I am pretty fine with the volume, so it shouldn't be a problem for me if having zen dac v3 without zen can amp.

psathas
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Would you think that the V3 is a big advantage to the V2? I wanna use headphones (AT MSR/b ) and PC boxes because i dont wanna use an Soundcard. I guess i have to use an adapter from 6.3 to 3.5? Everybody talks about an separat power supply but i dont need it, do i? thanks for reply and thanks for the review.

thrashmaster
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Can i make my music sound better with a seperated dac? My current system: "Windows 11 PC USB" -> "SMSL AO300" -> "Wharfedale speakers" + "SVS SB-1000 PRO".

tessie
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I have never heard distortion in the zen Air Dac, and never also in the iFi Zen Can, even by raising the volume enormously. Maybe this distortion be noticeable by connecting the Zen Dac to speakers, but in headphones I have never felt any distortion. My headphone is Beyerdynamic DT-990 Pro 250 ohms.

paulwoaert
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Have you tested this Zen Dac 3 by pairing it with the iFi Zen CAN? The Zen CAN (which is an amp and not a dac) offers interesting graduated power levels, more nuanced I find than the Zen Dac. The xBass is also more nuanced on the Zen Can than the Zen DAC (but I have not tried the new Zen Dac 3).

paulwoaert
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What rating does Diane Bish get? Is it even possible to cook so well, are there adequate drinks?

iamamadman
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The banding during the product showcase is from incorrect lighting. A proper key light would do it. I have an elgato one, but you could save a few bucks going with most any other brand. I use the mini with it and controlling from one thing is ideal for my use case. Just a word of advice

chriscondict