Hey, I just got the sundara and the volume is really low when connected to my pc and macbook m1 max. I later found out it needs a dac for actual power, so I was thinking of getting the v3 of this. But I read online that this isn't powerful enough and is not really a dac AND amp, their own site only lists it as a dac. Can you help?
Thanks for the Video. I’m looking at the zen DAC line up. Have you heard the Zen dac v2 signature? I wonder if the upgraded internal parts are worth the extra cheeder. Keep it up!
I have had this model for half a year. It's unique, I use it with the DT 770 Pro 250 Ohm and the Hifiman HE400se. As you said it is worth the money! Best purchase ever !!
Hey mate, i too have the dt 770 pro 250 ohm. Powering it thru macbook pro. Looking for an dac+amp combo. How is your experience with this dt 770+zen combo? My only concern is from what i read on papers, the zen has great dac but the amp power output is bit low. How does yours hold up? Is this device alone able to power up our 250 ohms to its fullest? There are other amps with more power in the similar price range. Is this enough or should i keep searching for more powerful amps?
@@Ray-bn7hr It is real what they say about it's power amp. For DT 770 250Ohm it is way to low, you have to crank the volume up almost to the 100%... For most listeners it could be enough, but as i can see for me and you it's way to low. You should try pair it up maybe with Zen Can? CAN/DAC Combo should do the trick...
@@piotrbard i would go with fiio k5 as it had enough power in atleast numbers. No other amp+dac in its price range has that kind of voltage supply. Correct me if i am wrong. And i am not interested in separate amp+dac combo. Its not practical for me. Thanks for the reply.
Thanks so much for your support. I do have a podcast its called HiFi Hour. Its abailable on all major podcast streaming service like Spotify, Apple and Google.
Thank you for great review. Bought it after viewing your review and really love it. May i ask, Should i buy ipower instead of 5 dolars cheap power supply. Does ifi ipower worth the price?
Thank you for checking out the review. The Ipower is a really nice power adapter, however depending on your budget is not absolutely necessary. I would however use one if your budget allows. Its what I use for my Raspberry Pi builds and it works great.
bro I have the dt 770 pros 250ohm with the Soundblaster g5 . and i want to upgrade to the zen dac v2 only . what do you think ? is it loud and crisp enough?
Hello! I just bought a Zen Dac V2 and it does not allow me to control the volume of Windows 10 (on the OS), I can only do it from the Dac wheel. Please could you tell me if this can be modified? I already installed all the software and firmware versions and I couldn't fix the problem. Maybe there is some software or firmware that can fix the problem. Thanks!
Hi. Have you found any way to solve this problem? I was considering buying an Ifi Zen Dac, but recently I found out about the problem of volume control via Windows and I wonder if there is any way to solve it.
@@Adrianstasiakiewicz Hello, there is no way to solve it, I couldn't find an answer about it anywhere. It seems that iFi cancels the Windows volume because they say that it generates distortions in the DAC, and then the volume and quality is "perfect" (for them), but for some users (me) it is really uncomfortable. By the way, the sound quality of the Zen Dac v2 is NOT as perfect as they say. It has a tendency towards low frequencies. IS NOT FLAT SOUND. If you are looking for something more "critical" or "flat" I recommend that you continue looking for another Dac.
Hello I would like to ask you if you have had the opportunity to compare them with the Topping E50 .... even if the latter costs more than the Zen 2 .... thank you very much
I have both. The E50 is probably the best pure DAC in it's price range and beyond. The Zen 2 is great, as well. It has a warm and smooth sound. The E50 is technically better and more "pure" (less colored), but the Zen 2 can be USB powered, and has headphone out. E50 has more input options. If going on sound, alone, E50. It depends on what features matter more to you. But yeah, the E50 is an incredible DAC for under $200.
Sorry for the late post. Do you think this is better than the Dragonfly Red? I'm using the Zen Stream paired with the Red to drive the Sennheiser HD600 in my desktop setup. SQ is very good but I wonder if this Dac-amp would be an upgrade for a very affordale price (let alone the fact that it looks good with the ZS). Thank you.
I just bought it but sadly having issues on my pc with it - the right side of headphone is louder than the left one. Regardless of the volume always a clear difference in loudness. On my Laptop its not like this somehow. Do you know how i may can fix this 😞
I cannot disagree with 99% of the reviews of this DAC. Coming from an Topping E30 to the IFI ZD V2 in my opinion the ifi is a better balanced dac. By balanced I don't mean actual balanced output I mean the sound. The sound is balanced right across the spectrum, no particular area is over emphasized and that's is very pleasing to my ears at least. The Topping E30 drew back the vocals a little imo which was the first thing I noticed without critically listening. Nevertheless the Topping E30 did do an excellent job on tightening up my Denon DM41 and when listening to Electro those beats and basslines were much more defined when I added the E30 to that system. Since then I have acquired the Cambridge Audio AXA35 and I did not like the E30 with that amp at all. The AXA35 is already a dynamically accurate amplifier and does not play on the looser side like the Denon did and do in general so with the E30 it made next to no improvements when using iTunes, APO EQ via the PC. The iFi Zen Dac v2 is a different kettle of fish, especially for the Cambridge Audio AXA35, it's a good match! Both the amp and Dac have a very similar sound which is a little odd as they both have different dac chips i.e the axa35 has a pair of NE3352s under the hood. Nevertheless they marry very well together and produce a very detailed smooth, precise and balanced sound. Anyone looking for bang for buck entry level HiFi that is a fairly big cut above the average then you wont go wrong with the Cambridge Audio AXA35 and iFi Zen Dac v2 combination at all, or the Denon DM41 with the Topping E30 for that matter. I never tried the iFi with the Denon DM41 as I no longer have the Denon system.
@@audioarkitekts ah, OK ! pity that they did not think of it like the 2 small leds of the bassbosst and powermatch, because in the dark it is difficult to see at what volume we are. But the sound delivered by this zen dac v2 is sublime with my pair of Dynaudio xeo 10 and my Sennheiser HD598 headphones, they took a good harmonic gain ! thanks again for your answer and your video ! have a nice day
Using the Zen Dac with Hifiman Sundara. Loving the combination, especially with the magical truebass button
I'm looking at running the same set up, does it get loud enough?
@@djsrulz101 definitely loud enough. Never passed the 12 o’clock position on the volume knob, when running them balanced and on high gain
Getting this exact combo now! Can't wait 👏🙌
Hey, I just got the sundara and the volume is really low when connected to my pc and macbook m1 max. I later found out it needs a dac for actual power, so I was thinking of getting the v3 of this. But I read online that this isn't powerful enough and is not really a dac AND amp, their own site only lists it as a dac. Can you help?
Thanks for the review!
I picked up the iFi Zen DAC V2 and a pair of Sennheiser HD 560S headphones. Great little system for under $400.
Really good! Looking forward to the ifi stream review and comparison!
We are too!
Excellent video man
Thanks for the Video. I’m looking at the zen DAC line up. Have you heard the Zen dac v2 signature? I wonder if the upgraded internal parts are worth the extra cheeder. Keep it up!
I did a review on the signature series check it out! 😀
Do you need the external power supply to get the best sound quality ?
great stuff
Thanks 🔥
I have had this model for half a year. It's unique, I use it with the DT 770 Pro 250 Ohm and the Hifiman HE400se. As you said it is worth the money! Best purchase ever !!
Thanks for the love!
It is an amazing machine
Hey mate, i too have the dt 770 pro 250 ohm. Powering it thru macbook pro. Looking for an dac+amp combo. How is your experience with this dt 770+zen combo? My only concern is from what i read on papers, the zen has great dac but the amp power output is bit low. How does yours hold up? Is this device alone able to power up our 250 ohms to its fullest? There are other amps with more power in the similar price range. Is this enough or should i keep searching for more powerful amps?
@@Ray-bn7hr It is real what they say about it's power amp. For DT 770 250Ohm it is way to low, you have to crank the volume up almost to the 100%... For most listeners it could be enough, but as i can see for me and you it's way to low. You should try pair it up maybe with Zen Can? CAN/DAC Combo should do the trick...
@@piotrbard i would go with fiio k5 as it had enough power in atleast numbers. No other amp+dac in its price range has that kind of voltage supply. Correct me if i am wrong. And i am not interested in separate amp+dac combo. Its not practical for me. Thanks for the reply.
E30 is too analytical for me, can Zen v2 be an alternative for looking for a fun soundig?
What is "analytical"?
It's slightly warm. I'd label it neutral but not boring.
Thanks for the info. I'm a new follower and wonder if you have a podcast?
Thanks so much for your support. I do have a podcast its called HiFi Hour. Its abailable on all major podcast streaming service like Spotify, Apple and Google.
Thank you for great review. Bought it after viewing your review and really love it. May i ask, Should i buy ipower instead of 5 dolars cheap power supply. Does ifi ipower worth the price?
Thank you for checking out the review. The Ipower is a really nice power adapter, however depending on your budget is not absolutely necessary. I would however use one if your budget allows. Its what I use for my Raspberry Pi builds and it works great.
@@audioarkitektsi just use for zen dac v2 only and 50$ kind of expensive for me. So, does ipower increase hugely ? Thank you
@@chonchonfamily6875 nope not a big difference
Thank you for your share. Save me a lot. Have a good day bro :3
Thank for video
When comparing only the dac function,
What is difference with zen dac v2 and zen dac signature v2?
Not sure, i havent reviewed the signature model yet
signature is specifically setup with a button for the HD6xx from Drop, that's it to my understanding.
bro I have the dt 770 pros 250ohm with the Soundblaster g5 . and i want to upgrade to the zen dac v2 only . what do you think ? is it loud and crisp enough?
I love it. It's bassy and really nice.
@@audioarkitekts sorry is it loud enough and crisp to you
thank you for your reply
Hello! I just bought a Zen Dac V2 and it does not allow me to control the volume of Windows 10 (on the OS), I can only do it from the Dac wheel. Please could you tell me if this can be modified? I already installed all the software and firmware versions and I couldn't fix the problem. Maybe there is some software or firmware that can fix the problem. Thanks!
Hi. Have you found any way to solve this problem? I was considering buying an Ifi Zen Dac, but recently I found out about the problem of volume control via Windows and I wonder if there is any way to solve it.
@@Adrianstasiakiewicz Hello, there is no way to solve it, I couldn't find an answer about it anywhere. It seems that iFi cancels the Windows volume because they say that it generates distortions in the DAC, and then the volume and quality is "perfect" (for them), but for some users (me) it is really uncomfortable. By the way, the sound quality of the Zen Dac v2 is NOT as perfect as they say. It has a tendency towards low frequencies. IS NOT FLAT SOUND. If you are looking for something more "critical" or "flat" I recommend that you continue looking for another Dac.
Hello I would like to ask you if you have had the opportunity to compare them with the Topping E50 .... even if the latter costs more than the Zen 2 .... thank you very much
I have both. The E50 is probably the best pure DAC in it's price range and beyond. The Zen 2 is great, as well. It has a warm and smooth sound. The E50 is technically better and more "pure" (less colored), but the Zen 2 can be USB powered, and has headphone out. E50 has more input options. If going on sound, alone, E50. It depends on what features matter more to you. But yeah, the E50 is an incredible DAC for under $200.
Sorry for the late post. Do you think this is better than the Dragonfly Red? I'm using the Zen Stream paired with the Red to drive the Sennheiser HD600 in my desktop setup. SQ is very good but I wonder if this Dac-amp would be an upgrade for a very affordale price (let alone the fact that it looks good with the ZS). Thank you.
I just bought it but sadly having issues on my pc with it - the right side of headphone is louder than the left one. Regardless of the volume always a clear difference in loudness. On my Laptop its not like this somehow.
Do you know how i may can fix this 😞
It does have that issue at really low volume. Have you increased he sound volume? I listen to 9 o'clock or 10 o'clock with no issue.
@@TiagrajI thanks! In the end an Software, Windows Update, Motherboard Update fixed it 😀
It's funny that people give you that look when you talk about a DAC yet they have one in their pocket. And in their car. In their TV. In their Echo...
They just dont get it sometimes lol
I cannot disagree with 99% of the reviews of this DAC. Coming from an Topping E30 to the IFI ZD V2 in my opinion the ifi is a better balanced dac. By balanced I don't mean actual balanced output I mean the sound. The sound is balanced right across the spectrum, no particular area is over emphasized and that's is very pleasing to my ears at least. The Topping E30 drew back the vocals a little imo which was the first thing I noticed without critically listening. Nevertheless the Topping E30 did do an excellent job on tightening up my Denon DM41 and when listening to Electro those beats and basslines were much more defined when I added the E30 to that system. Since then I have acquired the Cambridge Audio AXA35 and I did not like the E30 with that amp at all. The AXA35 is already a dynamically accurate amplifier and does not play on the looser side like the Denon did and do in general so with the E30 it made next to no improvements when using iTunes, APO EQ via the PC. The iFi Zen Dac v2 is a different kettle of fish, especially for the Cambridge Audio AXA35, it's a good match! Both the amp and Dac have a very similar sound which is a little odd as they both have different dac chips i.e the axa35 has a pair of NE3352s under the hood. Nevertheless they marry very well together and produce a very detailed smooth, precise and balanced sound. Anyone looking for bang for buck entry level HiFi that is a fairly big cut above the average then you wont go wrong with the Cambridge Audio AXA35 and iFi Zen Dac v2 combination at all, or the Denon DM41 with the Topping E30 for that matter. I never tried the iFi with the Denon DM41 as I no longer have the Denon system.
Hi ! can you tell me if the little point on the volume nob is a led and if yes, how we can put it on ? thks !
Its not led, just a dot for the volume
@@audioarkitekts ah, OK ! pity that they did not think of it like the 2 small leds of the bassbosst and powermatch, because in the dark it is difficult to see at what volume we are. But the sound delivered by this zen dac v2 is sublime with my pair of Dynaudio xeo 10 and my Sennheiser HD598 headphones, they took a good harmonic gain ! thanks again for your answer and your video ! have a nice day
this audio man uses Spotify...
He uses Qobuz for listening, Spotify for discovery. Old video 😉
this is confusing how to set up putting me off purchasing one
i use this with sundara. do i really need the zen can or signature to get the most of it? is there really any difference in using can/signature?