iFi Audio ZEN DAC Signature V2
USB DAC

Balanced. Blissfully quiet.

The ZEN DAC Signature V2 incorporates boutique parts and circuitry inspired by the £3,000 iFi Pro range.

It sports a fully-symmetrical, true differential balanced dual-mono signal stage with direct signal paths to ensure optimal signal purity.

The new low jitter crystal clock means >20dB better noise reduction. The ZEN DAC Signature V2 will remain quiet wherever it’s used.

Outstanding components including C0G capacitors from TDK, Panasonic OS-CON and ELNA Slimic II capacitors complete the design.

16 core means more…

MQA an award-winning British technology that delivers the sound of the original master recording.

Thanks to the processing power of the new 16 core XMOS chip, the ZEN DAC Signature V2 is now a full MQA decoder.

The ZEN DAC Signature V2 includes MQA technology, which enables you to play back MQA audio files and streams, delivering the sound of the original master recording. The LED glows green or blue to indicate that the unit is decoding and playing an MQA stream or file, and denotes provenance to ensure that the sound is identical to that of the source material. It glows blue to indicate it is playing an MQA Studio file, which has either been approved in the studio by the artist/producer or has been verified by the copyright owner.

Fixed or variable. You decide.

The outputs of the ZEN DAC Signature V2 can be switched between ‘variable’ and ‘fixed’.

Variable – use this setting if you wish the ZEN DAC Signature V2 to control the volume of powered speakers or its volume as a preamp.

Fixed – this option is for when you use it with downstream equipment with its own volume control. This will bypass the ZEN DAC Signature V2 as if there was a ‘straight wire’ from the digital source to the analogue amplifier.

The XMOS 16-Core chip processes the audio data received via the USB digital input.

This new low-latency XMOS microcontroller has greatly enhanced processing power. Compared to the current generation of eight-core chips, this new 16-core IC delivers double the clock speed (2000MIPS) and four times the memory (512KB), as well as the latest SuperSpeed USB standard.

iFi’s in-house digital development team has programmed the XMOS firmware to optimise sound quality and ensure a perfect partnership with the Burr-Brown DAC.

The Burr-Brown True Native® chipset means file formats remain unchanged or ‘bit-perfect’. This means you are listening to music as the artist intended in the format in which it was recorded.

iFi use Burr Brown extensively in products having selected it for its natural-sounding ‘musicality’ and True Native architecture. iFi's experience with this IC means they know how to make the most of it.

Hi-Res True Native® playback of all music formats from MP3 to DSD256, PCM384 and DXD384.

MQA (Master Quality Authenticated) is supported through the USB with full decoding of MQA files up to 384kHz thanks to the processing power of the new 16-core XMOS chip.

Check out how to set up your MQA decoder via Tidal, Roon and Audirvana here.

This means that the full ‘three unfold’ decoding process is performed internally, as opposed to only the final unfold in the manner of an MQA ‘renderer’.

Globally, MQA has become an important consideration for any comprehensively equipped DAC. It is available through for Tidal Masters, Audirvana and Roon.

Panasonic OS-CON caps totaling 5,410uF give very-low Equivalent Series Resistance (ESR), excellent noise reduction capability and frequency response characteristics. In addition, OS-CONs have a long-life span and its ESR changes little even at low temperatures since the electrolyte is solid.

They are not often found in products costing

Texas Instruments low-noise ICs offer great unity-gain bandwidth, very low noise and distortion, high output drive capability, Common-mode and Power Supply Rejection Ratios of over 100 dB, wide maximum-output-swing bandwidths and high slew rates.

A Tokyo Cosmos Electric Co. (TOCOS) multi-track potentiometer is used. This has close channel matching tolerance for optimal performance (always use above 11 o’ clock).

muRata control-type, low-ESR high-Q multi-layer capacitors. The ‘ESR control’ aspect of the Murata is something special. Their noise suppression abilities are impressive.

iFi use ELNA Japan Silmic II capacitors for the power supplies.

The primary constituent of the newly developed dielectric is silk fibre. This material was believed as unfathomable as an aluminium electrolytic capacitor. The new material beats silk fibre and mixes it with Manila hemp fibre to provide the dielectric to an aluminium electrolytic capacitor used for high-grade music. The result is second-to-none superior acoustic properties and excellent linearity.