iFi ZEN CAN Balanced Desktop Headphone Amp and Preamp with 4.4mm Outputs (UK PIN)

In early July I got the iFi Zen DAC v2 along with Beyerdynamic DT-770 (250 ohm) headphones as my first headphone kit to begin to get back into serious music appreciation. While the Zen DAC could drive the headphones, you could tell that it was taxing the integrated amplifier circuit a bit to push them to moderate volume levels. The sounds was good, but it just didn't seem to reach the potential, and I hoped adding the iFi Zen CAN would be the solution, and I wasn't wrong. I received the Zen CAN early in August, along with an upgraded iFi 5v power supply and 4.4mm balanced interconnect cable to make sure I got the most out of it. Once it was set up, I tried the 4 different gain options, and while the 12db setting worked fine, I set it to 18db where the volume knob sits between 9:00 and 10:00 for "normal" listening levels. It has plenty of headroom at this setting and that's what one of the things I prefer in audio gear, headroom. As for the sound difference between the integrated amp in the DAC vs. the CAN, I wouldn't say it's night and day. There is a significant difference, especially with more power hungry headphones, and I could tell that the extra power opened up the sound to reach the potential on the DT-770s. To me, the CAN sounds just a bit on the "warm" side, which for the DT-770s is perfect since they tend to be "bright" and analytical. I can't really speak to the detail or sound stage since I don't (yet) have anything to compare and contrast, but I can say that the listening experience is very enjoyable. For me and my (first) setup, the iFi Zen Can is the perfect complement with the iFi Zen DAC v2 and the DT-770 headphones.

After about a month of use, the ZEN CAN performance is exceed my expectation. Slightly bass boost and roll of high and still very details, a typical iFi sound signature. TLDR: very pleasant/enjoyment listening time. There are plenty of power to drive the most headphone on the market. The gain goes up by every 6db with 4 gain levels goes from 0 to 18. Most of my headphones have Impedance of 30 - 250 Ohm with Sound pressure level of 95 ~ 120 dB and can get plenty loud at only at +6db gain. The CAN also does not distorted my IEMS. Buttery smooth volume knob combined the entire case made out of metals do scream quality, except the rattling button make it feel cheap. Speaking of which my other complain about this button is that I have to press it in hard and hold it for half of a second for the CAN to turn on, not sure if this is a feature? The manufacture claim to use tech from higher end flagship product line which have some class A parts, this causing the unit to run very warm after a minutes or two and stay at high temperature until the power is off. There is no auto on/off and power saving mode that I know of. This will become a routine to manually turn the ZEN CAN on and off every time it needed.

Great little amp for planar headphones. Using it with the Zen DAC as a stack to power my DCA Aeons and couldn't be happier with the results. The design is sturdy, compact and clean, perfect for a desk setup. Using it on the second lowest gain seeing turning the knob to 12 o'clock is VERY loud, louder than comfortable listening levels for me anyway. The bass boost is subtle, but adds just enough to not be distracting. 3D is interesting, makes the soundstage more pronounced in the center image, things seem further in front and in the back of that makes sense. Honestly, I just keep both turned on unless I'm gaming. A great product for a good price.

Ifi states that it's normal for the ifi zen can to get warm/hot when it use. So I am not too worried. The amp is strong and the many gain switches help with different ohm powered headphones. The xbass and 3D bass switches also help with my closed back headphones and even my open back ones. Give some music a better sound and different sound. Old songs that lack bass or loudness I put the gain level one notch higher and for modern songs I lower the gain switch. This helps old music sound more modern. I have my ifi zen can paired with my ifi zen dac 2. I love it. Huge upgrade in sound, very fun amp. The only con is the fact the amp gets warm to fast.

I don't know what XBass/3D does, I just know it does fun things to music and headphones. And then when you turn them off, you have an amp that is as transparent and neutral as it needs to be. Lots of gain increments are useful (just be wary of the knob position as you must go up to go down). I would definitely use this set up with TrueBass + Xbass + 3D whatever it's called to convert people wearing muddy garbage bass boosted headphones. This is what those people actually want, but have never heard. Why iFi insists on knee-capping their products performance so they can upsell snake oil power supplies is both a mystery and not a mystery at all to me. Just. Don't. Buy. Them. DONT BUY THE POWER SUPPLIES! iFi have a great sound, and the Zen Dac and Can have a cool retro look, but the Zen Dac includes NO power supply at all, and the Can includes a 2.4 amp one? Digging into a manual/"low-down" I found on iFi's website, I found this interesting bit of information. "It’s worth knowing that the ZEN CAN appreciates more than 2.5A, and can handle up to 4A peaks." So...why not include a 5v4a power supply? Why is your **$70** "SilentPower" adapter only 2.5A? I bought a UL listed 5v4a power supply for 14 dollars on this site. It works great. Just do that. With good power provided this should drive anything loud enough to damage your hearing. If you have to ask if it has enough power, it does.

My unit was shipped with an unbranded 5v/2.4a power adapter when the launch edition is supposed to ship with the iFI iPower 5v/2.5a power adapter. Thankfully, Amazon was able to credit me a partial refund so I could buy the real one that was supposed to come with it originally. However, I was only able to use this credit on items that are shipped AND sold by Amazon and the power adapter wasn't. I was fine with this because I was able to use that credit on something else that I wanted. At first, my Zen CAN sounded very comparable to my Zen DAC so I didn't think the power adapter made much of a difference. I then had the suspicion that the generic adapter wasn't powering the amp fully after getting a pair of DT 880 600Ω headphones. After finally deciding to get the iFI iPower adapter, this was definitely the case. There is a substantial difference in sound quality between the power adapters. It is very noticeable on all my headphones, but most noticeable on my DT880s. They are now getting the clean and full power that they should have been getting. There was also noticeable noise whenever cycling between the XBass and 3D settings that is now far less noticeable with the iFI adapter. I wanted to make a PSA that somehow this happened and that if this happened to anyone else they should 100% get the iFI iPower 5v/2.5a power supply it was originally supposed to come with if they were credited a partial refund. It was from a reputable seller who had a very positive feedback rating with a high number of ratings, more positive than iFI's store rating in fact. That being said, I would get it directly from iFI or their official store on Amazon (if they have it in stock) to avoid this potential issue. Otherwise, this amp is a fantastic choice at this price-point and is a worthy upgrade and addition to the Zen DAC.

I needed a dedicated headphone amp as I purchased a pair of high ohm Beyers and my audio interface was not giving me enough volume. So after much research, I discovered this unit. At first I was skeptical as it is a ChiFi and there were some people complaining about faulty units with noise issues so I thought I could give it a try and if anything I can send it back if something is wrong. I must say that I am happy with my unit. I bought it directly from ifi (fulfilled by amazon) and it arrived in perfect condition. It has 4 gain stages, perfect for handling anything, especially my high ohm Beyers, it has balanced output if you like that and a great analog circuit for adding bass or expanding the stereo image or both at the same time, I hardly use this feature but it may be an advantage for some people. At $ 149 it is not a cheap product, however it is considered an entry level amp that I think everyone can like. Please note this is not a DAC, it is just a headphone amp, so you need a proper audio input (RCA, 3.5mm or 4.4mm balanced).

I have to say that I think I prefer the sound of my headphones plugged into the Zen DAC V2 (which in my case includes the iFi Mercury USB cable connected to my well built PC, and the DAC is connected to the CAN via balanced cable). The sound through the DAC seems more "pure", and the TruBass feature is far more effective than through the CAN. Sound through the CAN seems more airy and thin at times. Take all of this with the thought that I'm evaluating with 2 sets of sub-$100 headphones. Nicer 'phones could absolutely make a difference in the evaluation. When I receive my HD-6XXs, I'll attempt to amend this review, as necessary. I still rated it 5 stars overall, as the build quality is very nice, and the features & controls are Very well thought out, IMHO. Regards, Sparks