iFi ZEN DAC V2 - Desktop Digital Analog Converter With USB 3.0 B Input only/Outputs: 6.3mm Unbalanced / 4.4mm Balanced/RCA - MQA DECODER - Audio System Upgrade (Unit Only)

I have given this little beauty 6 months on my desk before committing to a review. I chose this version instead of the Zen Blu V2 as I wanted to have a front facing headphone output to use my balanced 4.4mm IEMs at night. This tiny desktop DAC Amp is powered by my PC (using a 4-way Anker USB hub) as I wanted to see whether I would regret not buying the separate power supply. I don't regret it, it works really well, although I am sure someone will tell me that there might be a marginal improvement in sound quality if I do. I have the RCA outputs connected to my RuarkAudio MR1 Mk2 speakers and they have an output to a small Rel (Quake) subwoofer. Initial thoughts were 'wow'! I predominantly listen to BBC sounds and Amazon music but I do watch a few movies and stare at a lot of YT vids, and this system is absolutely perfect for it. Clarity is exceptional, the volume knob is perfect for reach and it feels great too, and the added bass-boost comes in great when I want to annoy the village. Oh, it's loud enough alright. I haven't had anything other than MQA codec passing through it so the light has always been green. I'm in my 50's, and the difference between some codecs is too subtle for my ears to detect despite having been a musician for many many years. I find the sound amazing. There are 3 'less than perfect' aspects to describe: Firstly, I sometimes leave my PC on, and after it switches back on after sleeping it reverts to PC speaker system. As I have the desktop 4-way USB hub it is not a problem as it just requires pulling out and reinserting but some commenters have found this a bit annoying. Secondly, there is no 'power' switch. If my PC stays in sleep mode it remains on, but if I hibernate the PC it does turn off. Again, not a deal breaker, and I prefer to have it turn off when I shut down as it would stay on if it had its own power supply. Finally, if you are listening with headphones, the output to speakers from the rear is still live and so I have to remember to turn my Ruarks off. It does mention this somewhere in the blurb, but I hadn't noticed until my wife told me to turn it down at 1am!! A weird setup, but it isn't a dedicated headphone amp and I can live with it. Regardless of these issues I'm more than happy with my setup. There was some annoying background noise coming from my sub initially but this has been resolved with the iFi iSilencer+ USB-A plugging directly into the USB hub. I wasn't sure it would work but it actually did. This system looks gorgeous, feels sublime, and sounds utterly brilliant. I can't think of anything that can do the job better for this price. I'm not being sponsored, these are my own words and not AI generated cos I wouldn't know how to! Will I get more iFi desktop stuff? I think that will probably happen in the future, I just don't know what, when, why, and how to tell the wife! Go on ... treat yourself, you know you want to. EDIT: Jan 2026 It is still sublime. We've moved house, I got a clever under-counter bracket thing to hold it, I've changed PC, but it is still amazing.

I am old school and still much prefer the sound of vinyl when played through a good HiFi system. However I store a lot of my music on my PC nowadays, it's so much more convenient. Therefore I wanted a midpriced DAC to playback my collection through my HiFi system. After doing my research and finding a lot of quality DACs are out of my price range, I ended up considering either the Topping or Ifi Zen V2. In the end I brought the Zen V2. I was persuaded by it's excellent reviews and also a heavily discounted price. The sound is warm, closer to my taste than the harsh bright digital CD sound reproduction. The clarity and open sound stage are far better than I expected, and it copes just as well with heavy rock as it does with classical music. My music files on the PC are mainly FLAC files so the information is there I just needed a DAC that can process it. The ZEN V2 does that job brilliantly. I do have some MP3 files and they playback fine but there is an obvious drop in quality, clarity isn't top end by any means, but that's what I'd I expect from MP3 files. All in all it's a cracking unit, a worthy addition to any Mid Range HiFi system and one I'd highly recommend at the current price of £200, let alone the heavily discounted price I got it for. Definitely 5 Stars, it doesn't just meet my expectations, it exceeds them, it's a joy to listen to. One last point, do use decent interconnect cables, you will notice the difference in the sound quality.

The iFi ZEN DAC V2 is a fantastic desktop DAC/amp, especially for the price. I use it with my Beyerdynamic DT 770 Pro headphones, and it powers them with no problem. it handles high-impedance studio headphones really well. The audio quality is excellent, clean and detailed. The bass boost feature is a nice touch it adds bass without muddying the sound. Overall, it’s a great piece of gear for anyone looking to upgrade their desktop audio setup.

Tidy looking, fairly small and easy to find space for, makes my Beyer Dynamics sound much better than my onboard sound (ASUS TUF motherboard). Am sure there's more swanky units but at this price point, I doubt you'll find anything much better, I certainly couldn't. The difference between source qualities became much more apparent, over both the onboard sound and another £80 baby DAC I'd tested before I settled on this item. I use BD 880 and Amiron Home cans, also tested Sennheiser HD560 and 660 with good results. I find headphone and DAC choice is very much down to the individual... but I'd recommend this DAC to anyone with reasonably good over the ear cans, who doesn't want to break into audiophile territory/money.

I enjoy listening to and watching music videos on my PC, often from sources such as YouTube. Whilst the quality of these can vary I find that the audio/visual experience is preferable to audio alone. Also there are some great recordings of live concerts etc out there. Previously I had my PC linked to an integrated amplifier and thence to wired speakers, and to wireless Bluetooth headphones. The Bluetooth link being handled by a transmitter plugged into the headphone socket of the amp. Both the transmitter and headphones use APTX low-latency to avoid any lip sync issues. Having read about DACs it made sense to me that an external one could well improve the quality of the signal I was getting. So I now have the Zen DAC V2 plugged into my PC using the USB cable, and then plugged into my amp using the RCA cables. The quality of the sound has improved all round. It is clearer, better defined and the sound stage feels larger. I tried plugging my Bluetooth transmitter directly into the Zen, but this didn't appear to improve the sound over that using it directly with my amp, and the range of volume was not quite as good. Overall I am very pleased with the quality of sound I am getting via the ZEN, which incidentally is built like the proverbial battleship.

I've been using the Zen DAC V2 pretty much constantly since I got it earlier this year. Lovely sound quality, an AMAZINGLY tactile volume knob, brilliant Truebass button and (in my opinion) a gorgeous bit of kit to look at (I'm a sucker for that brushed steel look). I listen to all sorts of genres of music through over ear and in ear monitors and it drives everything I throw at it. Paired with a Qobuz subscription, my mobile and desktop listening experience has been enhanced immeasurably. It's also a great DAC for gaming, I always find on-board audio a touch quiet and this is solved by the crystal clear and powerful audio that pumps out of this little thing which also drives my powered speakers. One of my best ever purchases, highly recommended.

Well what can I say? Amazing.... I am a desktop gamer that is also a slight audiophile that needs crystal clear audio and boy.. oh boy... I just can't believe this.... This product is just too cheap for what it has to offer in my opinion... I own Beyerdynamic DT990 pros - AKG K712-Pros and the Hifiman Sundara headphones and I just can't praise this beast enough! Now I have come from a number of products much more focused on gamers such as the Creative Sound Blaster Z - Creative BlasterX G1 and G6 DAC/AMPs and a FIIO E07K DAC + FIIO E10K AMP. Schiit Magni 3 AMP + Schiit Modi 3 DAC. IFI Zen DAC V2 is the absolute new champ. Amazing performance and outstandingly sexy build quality that no other product comes close too.. all the added features such as the pentagon balanced output that makes the Hifiman Sundaras SIGN if you buy the balanced cable for it! Seriously... Don't bother with anything else... this even has the famous BURR BROWN DAC in this beast! At this price??? woah... thank you so much IFI.... well done :) fan for life right here! I can't wait for V3!

I am using the Zen for my PC running headphones but also for HiFi input. This is the first stand alone DAC I have ever owned so the only comparison is not using an separate DAC. I was looking for a DAC with 3 things, USB input, RCA output and 6mm output (as my old hifi amp doesn't have one) and the Zen delivers all 3. Since getting a DAC I have noticed the noise level on my HiFi using the RCA connection seems lower, in addition the sound is much clearer and less muddy. Using headphones it sounds great, the true bass feature can give tracks a bit of a kick and sounds great on my Grado sr80's. Setting up the Zen on Windows 10 was very easy, it was simply a case of plugging it in! Additional drivers can be downloaded from the IFI website and I believe these are required for MQA, DSD etc. (though I don't use any of that stuff). I think the price point of the product is fair when compared to other DACs currently on the market.

I bought This Amp/dac for powering up my ATH-M50X which this headphone dose not need a powerful amp but this zen dac v2 was not a joke. it was soo good to be true and the balance output was in another level of sound quality which it was perfect for a balance neutral sound headphones. I even tried a more power hunger headphones like the dt 770 pro 250ohm and this amp/dac really surprised me, it drove it with ease. I really recommend for everyone that wants a powerful amp/dac and dose not want to put a fortune on it. 10/10 product no problem or issue with, Just a reminder to anyone wants to use it on a console update the firmware for the device to the latest update

This is one secret I with I'd known about before. I've always used Fiio and Diablo's etc. Then I got these recommended. I thought "why do I need mid tier DAC"? Because this is amazingly good, that's why! I mean beyond $1000+ DAC's easily! I put on Pink Floyd DSOTM with Sennheiser HD600's and nearly fell over! Sound is truly incredible with clarity and depths I was not expecting! Then I hit the "Truebass" button expecting the usual muffed scrubbed highs and mids, but no. Truebass is actually amazingly good and adds without taking anything away! Punchy pure clean sounds that are so good I cannot believe it. Build quality is really sturdy with a really interesting shape. Brushed metal and a volume knob so smooth you'd expect in a Bentley. Has balanced and non balanced front and back, digital in and USB can be supported with a DC (not included) power brick. There is a led behind the volume knob that detects with the input is flac, mp3, MQA, MQA studio etc and will change colour so you can see instantly with your listening to, really nice touch. In fact, I would say try this Zen DAC V2 before you break your bank account. I'm the most fussy audiophile on the planet. For me to be this enthusiastic about any sound tech after 50 years of audio engineering means it's good, really really good! Remember, this doesn't come with a power brick. The Zen power bricks are very expensive! It will run, very well without one. Just the USB (check the type. It's not anything you probably have) will run just fine. Zen does supply the USB but it's very very short. Don't fall for the gold USB from Mars nonsense. Digital is 1's and 0's and just a regular cable is plenty. But add the power brick and it's got more oomph. All power is handled automatically, there is no on switch, if you add a power brick to the USB it's automatically dealt with. Just sit back and enjoy... It's amazing.

Sonido limpio y claro. Un gran aparato a precio asequible.

Fantastic DAC, brought great sound to both of my headphone monitors. Recommended

I would definitely recommend the Zen DAC V2! I am no audiophile to do measurements and so. I can compare it only to my FiiO m9. No matter if I go SE or balanced on both, the sound I hear from the m9 is a bit warmer and easy on the ears. I have tried a GTO firmware on the Zen DAC 2 too. It might also be that it is stronger for my headphones (ATH MSR7b). And I don't mean that Zen 2 is somehow bad, no way! iFi has done an impressive job implementing this DAC! Having that amount of output variants just kills! Also, I don't understand how this bass boost works, but it just does! You can not only hear, but feel it. I have been doubting should it be iFi or FiiO Q3, which also sounds really good, but paying the same amount of money for a bass boost which is terrifically bad I mean it just pollutes the sound I didn't want to do that.