MAGAZINE
Ifi Audio is a real expert for devices that have a lot to offer coming from small housings. Thus, the new Zen One Signature combines the D/A converter from the well-known Zen DAC V2 (read our review of the original Zen DAC here), which it expands by adding an S/PDIF interface (optical and coaxial) as well as the Bluetooth technology from the Zen Blue V2 to the USB 3.0 port. The result is a pure DAC, without integrated headphone amplifier or volume control, which is said to be suitable as a home audio hub for all digital devices: from smartphones and tablets to PCs and Macs, CD players and music servers to TVs and gaming consoles.
The ZEN One Signature comes in a blue anodized aluminum "Signature Series" enclosure, measuring just 158 x 100 x 35 millimeters and weighing 485 grams. Nevertheless, the ingredients are supposed to be high-quality. Thus, the manufacturer employs capacitors from muRata, Panasonic, ELNA and TDK and resistors from Vishay; as well as the new, powerful 16-core XMOS processor, a GMT femto-precision clock and the "True Native" chipset from Burr-Brown, which forms the heart of the DAC. This enables the user to process most relevant signals – namely PCM with up to 32 bits and 384 kHz, DSD including DSD256, as well as content encoded in lossy MQA; up to MQA at 384 kHz.
On the back of the ZEN One Signature, you'll find a USB port (USB 3.0 Type B), an optical and coaxial S/PDIF input, an antenna slot for the integrated Bluetooth 5.1 module, as well as the power jack for the included iPower 2 power supply. For analog output, the Zen One Signature offers a balanced 4.4 mm Pentaconn connector and unbalanced stereo RCA jacks. Audio signals received via USB can also be transmitted further via the coaxial S/PDIF interface. The signal processing of the output stage is balanced. iFi Audio places special emphasis on the components used here, such as special operational amplifiers from Texas Instruments.
In Germany, the Zen One Signature is available immediately and costs around €350.
