iFiZEN 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)

This is a serious bit of kit for just under £150 (and with an iSilencer thrown in for free). I’ve bought a few bits of Ifi Audio kit over the past year and it’s really good gear - great sound and excellent build quality. There are 2 x outputs at the front: a 4.4mm balanced and a 6.25mm with inc 3.5mm to 6.25mm adaptor so you can plug in straight away. It’s easy to attach to an iMac via included USB cable and I played my high res Qobuz stream without any issues. The sound is very nice through active speakers (via RCA outs) and headphones alike with both not needing to be pushed anywhere near half volume before being too loud. The sound has a nice warmth to it.I upgraded from an Ifi Uno, which, to be fair, punches well above its weight. There seems to be more room and depth in the DAC v2 soundstage but it’s not many times better. One point to note where the Uno beats it is that the volume knob turned all the way anti-clockwise acts as an off switch. The v2 doesn’t do this. I’ve attached it via a USB hub with individual on/off switches so can turn it off that way.I may get the Zen Can at some point to give a bit more oomph but think a v2 will be on the horizon soon so will wait for now. I’ve heard that using the iPower shielded plug makes a difference too so may try that too.All in all a great product and the Sevenoaks price is unbeatable. I’ve bought a few things from them in store (Nottingham) and the prices are good but the customer service was excellent. My go to audio visual store. Glad to see them trading on Amazon.

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.

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.

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.