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The components that make up the ZEN One Signature’s circuitry reads like a who’s who of the industry’s finest. Panasonic OS-CON and ELNA Silmic II capacitors and Vishay MELF resistors are just a few of the many top quality components that go into the ZEN One Signature. More usually found in products two or three times the price, they go to make the ZEN One Signature a class-leader at its price. While I used the Quintet a lot, I also used the KPH40, the Hifiman HE1000se, the Sennheiser IE600, the Hifiman Svanar and the Hifiman Edition XS, all of which are headphones/IEMs that are easily driven and, in most cases, reflective of sources (at least in my brain). As the ZEN One Signature is designated part of iFi Audio’s ZEN line of DACs and Headphone amps, one would expect it to have the same exceptional level of build quality, and you would be correct. The Zen One Signature DAC uses the new Qualcomm QCC5100 Bluetooth processing IC with proprietary circuits. As a result, this DAC can create an audibly superior Bluetooth engine. Its aptX Adaptive and aptX HD codecs support up to 48kHz, while LHDC and LDAC reach 96kHz. Again, I did not test the SPDIF port and only used the optical port but since most times both SPDIF and Optical ports are tied together I assume it should be able to reach the same 192k bit rate. Formats
A fully-differential balanced architecture, with the balanced output being sent out via a unique single 4.4mm “Pentaconn” connection. One last thing to note is that the output of the Z1S, from the unbalanced RCA’s, is over 3V, which is quite a bit more than the usual approx 2V output of an unbalanced connection. This can actually cause clipping on the input of certain amplifiers, depending on the design of their preamp stage. As there is no volume control on the Z1S, you would need to drop down the source to avoid this if it is your case.
Introduction - What Is the ZEN One Signature?
But here’s the thing: I then plugged in the included power supply and resumed my listening—and I couldn’t hear a bit of difference. So I unplugged the power supply and moved my USB cable from my PC to a cheap powered USB hub plugged into the wall, and I still couldn’t hear any meaningful difference. However obviously and once again, the volume knob was omitted so bear in mind also that both outputs are fixed and therefore volume must be controlled at the amplifier. Forget the bitrate. Forget the resolution. There’s literally zero you could complain about when it comes to this DAC’s handling of this song via this service. It was rich. It was detailed. It was appropriately dynamic. Imaging specificity was laudable, the soundstage was three-dimensional, and transient response was just spot-freaking-on as far as my ears could hear.
The Zen One Signature DAC can take digital signals from your Mac, PC, TV, Smartphone, or gaming console. It decodes the signal into a line-level analogue stereo signal, allowing other devices to amplify it into music. This product also works this way with gaming/video audio. The next-generation HD Bluetooth technology in the ZEN One Signature ensures the best sound from every source. High-resolution D/A conversion is possible via iFi’s tried and true Burr-Brown DAC chip setup with a four-channel True Native design. This, in theory, lets PCM and DSD signals take separate pathways, so they stay bit-perfect before conversion. Another essential part of our ifi Zen One Signature DAC Review is the specifications. In this section, we will provide details to help determine if you should consider this product. The new Signature model combines the DAC stage of the ZEN DAC V2 and the Bluetooth stage of the ZEN Blue V2. On top of that, iFi improved the elements of the audio circuitry to improve the sound, just as the previous Signature releases.Balanced and RCA single-ended analogue outputs – connect to an integrated amp, preamp, headphone amp or active speakers Three inputs are plenty enough for me. You could run your headphone amp off the balanced side while running a speaker amplifier off the RCA. Then you could connect a PC through the USB-C port, a Television using its optical out plus a Bluetooth signal from a phone or tablet. The ZEN One Signature covers most digital formats out there. It also does so at a hardware level since there’s so much processing power within the XMOS 16 core and Burr-Brown combo. With inputs for Bluetooth, USB and optical/coaxial, the iFi ZEN One Signature is the only DAC (Digital to Analogue Convertor) you need. Taking the ZEN DAC Signature as its basis and adding high quality Bluetooth connectivity, the ZEN One Signature truly has all bases covered. I compared the Signatures’ BT output to the output of the 6000A Play’s internal BT receiver, and I found the iFi connection to be superior in every way, providing a more nuanced and transparent presentation.
Aside from a power button and an input selector button, there aren’t any controls to worry about, as the Zen One Signature is purely a digital-to-analog converter, with no amplification, no volume control, no EQ, no anything else of that sort—all of which means you’d think there’d be nothing to talk about in terms of setup. But this is me we’re talking about, so of course it wasn’t that simple. Belonging to the group AMR (Abbingdon Music Research Group), which is one of the largest audio equipment manufacturers in the UK, iFi Audio is a manufacturer of several DACs and amplifiers, as well as other accessories for computer & home audio.
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What makes the ZEN One Signature DAC stand out from other digital devices with a similar compact footprint are three main boasting points: Zen One Signature’s hi-res audio credentials encompass 32-bit/384kHz PCM over USB (192kHz over S/PDIF), all levels of DSD to DSD256, and single- and double-speed DXD. Thanks to that Burr-Brown DAC chip’s four-channel True Native design, PCM and DSD take separate pathways – this enables DSD, as well as PCM, to remain ‘bit-perfect’ in their native form right through to analogue conversion. iFi Audio says that this is for two reasons. The first is their ‘innate musicality’ (and whatever your take on a statement of that nature, there is an argument that some of my favourite devices use this silicone). The second is that the models of DAC they use have ‘dual native’ architecture which handles PCM and DSD separately rather than either converting straight to PCM or using the same architecture for both streams. Having selected this, iFi goes about doing what it has done with all the other products we’ve seen. The DAC is not the whole story, merely part of it. The circuit that the One Signature employs is a collection of carefully chosen components that ensure, over the circuit as a whole. We tested having a distance of over 40 feet between the audio source and the DAC. Its signal was stable enough to transmit music without skips, and the audio quality was good. ifi Zen One Signature DAC Review Summary
I have to say; I was quite impressed by the One Signature’s wireless performance. Through this amply resolving system, I didn’t feel like I was missing a lot of detail, nor did I want for a lot of depth or separation. The compatible codec list is long. AptX, aptX HD, aptX Adaptive, aptX LL, LDAC, LHDC/HWA, AAC, and SBC are all compatible and playable on the ZEN One. So I highly doubt you’ll run into issues here. Our product arrived in a simple-looking cardboard box featuring an image of it in front. You will also see its name and the company branding on display. The Zen series is known for its balanced circuitry, and the Zen One Signature DAC continues this legacy. It has an ideal circuit design with Signature-grade circuit components to deliver unparalleled sonic purity with minimal distortion.At the front are buttons for powering up/down and switching between the USB, S/PDIF and Bluetooth inputs, alongside colour-changing LEDs to indicate the incoming audio format and sample rate. A further button switches the LEDs on and off, as well as activating the Bluetooth pairing mode. MQA (the format used by Tidal for the Masters files found in its HiFi Plus tier) is also supported, with full decoding up to 384kHz, meaning that the complete ‘three unfold’ decoding process is performed internally, as opposed to just the final unfold in the manner of an MQA ‘renderer’.
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