A portable tape player, fluffy & light headphones that could be blown apart by the force of a sneeze, and duffle bags full of tape cassettes! All assessible and doable. And, bonus, it was all about the music!
You guys are building a really special channel here- I look forward to every new episode and great to see you discussing entry level gear to get people started as well.
iFi Audio really has been smashing it in recent years and these look tremendous value for money. I'm pretty sure my first Walkman was the same one you had, David!
Great episode as usual guys. I've got the iFi Audio Zen One Signature and it sounds fantastic - and when you consider its reasonable price, it's absolutely incredible value for money (OK it's not £99 but it's nowhere near breaking-the-bank levels). To my ears it sounds better than equivalent components that cost several times the price. Brilliant company making hi-fi entirely accessible for everyone. And no I don't work for them! 😂
Tremendous episode! The challenge of making outperforming gears on a budget is clearly more difficult then crafting great, but very expensive hi-fi products. Ifi is the future of HI-FI...
I Power A by ifi the bottom end is astonishing .Couldn,t believe the difference a bit like going from a naff cartridge to a decent Koetsu in a Syrinx PU3 arm . Active studio monitors are well worth a crack as you only need the volume control on the Zen Dac2 to control the entire system . Am trying out a few different ones at the moment , I fancy Genelec or slumming it with Yamaha . Good channel by the way !!!
The same mate that bought the NVA pre-power amp you reviewed to go with his IMFs has them partnered with the IFI Zen Stream and Air Dac. Absolutely loves it. The DAC wasn’t necessarily better or worse sounding than the Beresford Caiman Gator we compared it with but it is £99… I used to plug an iPhone into said Beresford with the lead you describe however following an iOS update this no longer works although i guess this says more about the age of the Beresford Dac than general iOS - USB DAC compatibility
Some great well thought out entry level products that just work and encourage new folk into the whole idea music can sound better than they may of thought for the 2020's.
This spring (2024) I purchased the ifi Zen one signature 6XX amplifier and the Zen signature + dac and using the WiiM pro for streaming. My headphones are the Senheiser HD660S and this blows me away as fully balanced system, much better than my cans connected to my Cambridge CXA81.
I really appreciate that you applaud good entry level gear as well as loving the high end. The Bristol hifi show was great but disappointing to see relatively few young people with enough interest in the hobby to attend. It is lovely to see good products at a lower price that will allow more people access to the hobby. While Bluetooth is not wonderful, almost everyone uses a phone for music, so it is great to see accessible products that allow it to be heard at its best. Thanks for the review - I really enjoyed it.
OK I checked and at least over here it does not. I think that makes the Air Can a really bad deal. If you add the iPower supply that is included with the regular Zen Can, you are at almost the same price, but miss out on fully balanced, better parts, better casing/shielding, nicer design etc. That unit gets a thumbs down from me 👎
Sorry... Should have shown one. It's basically a usb socket with a lead into a male 5v plug. Shame it wasn't simply a USB c input They will work from the supply from a Powerbank though. Mike
A portable tape player, fluffy & light headphones that could be blown apart by the force of a sneeze, and duffle bags full of tape cassettes! All assessible and doable. And, bonus, it was all about the music!
You guys are building a really special channel here- I look forward to every new episode and great to see you discussing entry level gear to get people started as well.
iFi Audio really has been smashing it in recent years and these look tremendous value for money. I'm pretty sure my first Walkman was the same one you had, David!
Great episode as usual guys. I've got the iFi Audio Zen One Signature and it sounds fantastic - and when you consider its reasonable price, it's absolutely incredible value for money (OK it's not £99 but it's nowhere near breaking-the-bank levels). To my ears it sounds better than equivalent components that cost several times the price. Brilliant company making hi-fi entirely accessible for everyone. And no I don't work for them! 😂
Tremendous episode! The challenge of making outperforming gears on a budget is clearly more difficult then crafting great, but very expensive hi-fi products. Ifi is the future of HI-FI...
Buy with caution, because it can be the beginning of an expensive journey! 🙂
My ifi Zen Dac2 with power supply is bloody astonishing . Best purchase I ever made including my LP12 Ittok Asak from the early 80,s .
Which power supply do you use?
Mike
I Power A by ifi the bottom end is astonishing .Couldn,t believe the difference a bit like going from a naff cartridge to a decent Koetsu
in a Syrinx PU3 arm . Active studio monitors are well worth a crack as you only need the volume control on the Zen Dac2 to control the entire system . Am trying out a few different ones at the moment , I fancy
Genelec or slumming it with Yamaha . Good channel by the way !!!
The same mate that bought the NVA pre-power amp you reviewed to go with his IMFs has them partnered with the IFI Zen Stream and Air Dac. Absolutely loves it. The DAC wasn’t necessarily better or worse sounding than the Beresford Caiman Gator we compared it with but it is £99… I used to plug an iPhone into said Beresford with the lead you describe however following an iOS update this no longer works although i guess this says more about the age of the Beresford Dac than general iOS - USB DAC compatibility
Some great well thought out entry level products that just work and encourage new folk into the whole idea music can sound better than they may of thought for the 2020's.
Great stuff but so few views i feel i am part of an exclusive club
This spring (2024) I purchased the ifi Zen one signature 6XX amplifier and the Zen signature + dac and using the WiiM pro for streaming. My headphones are the Senheiser HD660S and this blows me away as fully balanced system, much better than my cans connected to my Cambridge CXA81.
I really appreciate that you applaud good entry level gear as well as loving the high end. The Bristol hifi show was great but disappointing to see relatively few young people with enough interest in the hobby to attend. It is lovely to see good products at a lower price that will allow more people access to the hobby. While Bluetooth is not wonderful, almost everyone uses a phone for music, so it is great to see accessible products that allow it to be heard at its best. Thanks for the review - I really enjoyed it.
Another informative and laugh out loud funny episode. Thanks.
♥
Try the preamp stages with active speakers chaps !
We need more Hifi riff
They look like hip flasks!
Haha... Didn't think of that! They do.
Re: 5v barrel power - it's so iFI can offer their own power supply upgrade 👍
Probably very true, but you would be better off spending on the Full bodied Zen range instead.
The 5V supply is an optional extra. 60 on its own.
Do these actually come with power supplies in the UK (also judging by the AV Forums review)?
OK I checked and at least over here it does not. I think that makes the Air Can a really bad deal. If you add the iPower supply that is included with the regular Zen Can, you are at almost the same price, but miss out on fully balanced, better parts, better casing/shielding, nicer design etc. That unit gets a thumbs down from me 👎
Sorry... Should have shown one.
It's basically a usb socket with a lead into a male 5v plug.
Shame it wasn't simply a USB c input
They will work from the supply from a Powerbank though.
Mike
Dave !
Best Hi-Fi Riff comment ever!
🤡