DAC Audio Converter iFi Audio Zen Air DAC

Overview

Awarded a multitude of prizes since their launch in 2019, the ZEN DAC and its V2 successor deliver performance that rivals DAC/headphone amplifiers at more than twice its price. The ZEN Air DAC redraws the blueprint, offering sound quality that competes with the original ZEN DAC but at an even lower suggested retail price.

Like the ZEN DAC, the ZEN Air DAC includes a high-quality headphone amp capable of driving all manner of headphones and in-ear monitors. It can also be used as a DAC/preamp to feed an amp and speakers, or a pair of active speakers, via stereo RCA outputs. It connects to PCs, Macs, smart devices and so on via USB, elevating the sound quality of digital sources to a higher plane.

Technology highlights

The core DAC technology is the same as the original ZEN, using a Burr-Brown chip that iFi favors for its natural ‘musicality’ and True Native architecture, coupled with custom technology including bespoke XMOS firmware and digital filtering, as well as iFi’s GMT clock system to tackle jitter. Hi-res PCM is supported to 32-bit/384kHz, alongside DXD and DSD64, 128 and 256.

Thanks to the Burr-Brown chip’s True Native design, PCM and DSD take separate pathways – this enables both PCM and DSD to remain ‘bit-perfect’ in their native form. MQA is also supported (MQA rendering, like the original ZEN DAC, rather than full MQA decoding as performed by the ZEN DAC V2).

While simplified compared to the ZEN DAC V2’s fully balanced topology, the ZEN Air DAC’s analogue stage remains of exceptional quality for the price, with symmetrical channel layout and audiophile-grade circuit components, including a custom op-amp offering ultra-low-noise performance, and low-impedance power supply rails featuring Taiyo Yuden and Murata low-ESR inductors.