iFi ZEN Air CAN - High Resolution Headphone Amplifier for PC/Mac/Smartphone/Tablet/TV's/Streamers | 3.5mm Audio and RCA Outputs to Speakers | US

Amazing quality, clear sound and works with my strange audio setup.

I was in the market for a new dedicated headphone amp and didn’t want to spend an arm and a leg. The reviews for the Air CAN were mostly glowing, so I bit the bullet. I don’t expect much from an amplifier, Im just looking for amplification and solid reliability. First, like everyone else has been complaining about, a power supply should be included. I’m not talking about their $80 one, but a simple 5V power supply would suffice. At the very least it should be an option on their Amazon page. Thankfully, I had a 5V power supply lying around and am using that. As far as materials go, I don’t really have any complaints. From normal distances it looks pretty good. Step in a little closer and start touching it, and you’ll see where they cut costs. But for the price, I think it looks pretty sharp and inoffensive. The only reason I bought this was so I could listen to music late at night without disturbing anyone’s beauty sleep. The Air Can accomplishes this beautifully. The spec’s show that this little thing is more than capable of driving all types of high impedance cans, so it had no issue pumping power through my headphones. I really dig the XBass and XSpace features and use them all the time. XBass is my favorite and it adds a robust boost to the bass. I've tried them separately and think I prefer them together. I'm mostly enjoying the Air CAN and think most would be satisfied with its features annd ability to drive a variety of headphones.

Sounded good. I ended up returning it for an all in one DAC/amp that sounded just as good for only a couple of bucks more.

After having this a little while now I have to say that if you pair this with a headphone system that is light on the low end the bass to sub bass section, you will love it! As far as volume, don't believe the hype. It's OK, not the loudest thing out, but it is the cleanest. I know that this company has had manufacturing issues in the past but mine seem to work right out the box no leveling issues whatsoever. As a side note if you are using the 400 SE, the 1060 C or the sundaras the second gain level is all you need. Great product Flawless sound you won't be disappointed

I tried this alongside a TOPPING and Douk amp and this had a better sound, hands down. The TOPPING was "cleaner" but was way too clean and took out almost all bass response with no hope of adjustment. The Douk sounded decent but had distortion at high volumes and received interference from nearby devices. The iFi had amazing volume and it's best feature: the ability to select between bass or clear analog passthru. I have said to people for some time that every vinyl setup needs a selector switch to prioritize the soundstage or low-end bass and this provides it without the hassle of RCA splits and additional equipment. My only gripe: the tiny USB cable with a proprietary power connector. If you're going to pass power over USB-A, just go USB-C to USB-C or even USB-A to USB-A. That opens up a world of connectors and extensions. Instead, I'm left with this tiny cable I have to buy an old-school USB extender for that opens it up to distortion. Overall, great little product.

Two years of ownership and use and this little amp continues to surprise me with its ability to drive my iems and headphones. The three dongle dacs I had purchased between $50 to $80 dollars for my iems worked as expected and provided very good sound with the amp. As I transitioned to headphones I was also delighted that the external dacs I had worked without issues with this amplifier to provide a level of audio that exceeded my expectations considering its price (including a few dollars for a 5v power supply). It also worked properly with a power bank I had previously purchased. I have not had any audio issues driving my Sennheiser or Hifiman headphones with good clarity and sound to volumes that over time would damage your hearing. It has proven to be an excellent purchase at a reasonable price for my listening needs…

Excelent for the price. I paired it with a Raspberyy Pi with a hat DAC and sound is excellent. Tried it with Sennheiser HD58X and HD6XX, and with Hifiman He400. Plenty of volume for all of them without requiring to go past the midpoint in the volume knob. For the moment, I've used it mostly with the 58X and I feel a "clarity" that I didn't feel when paring them with a cheap Rockville Tubehead amp (not to say the rockville amp is bad, it's actually quite nice). Next couple of weeks I'll try it more extensively with the 6XX and the He400, but hoping to get good results too.

I don't know if there's something wrong with mine, but anything below about 150 Hz sounds SUPER distorted. It's literally the worst DAC or amp I've ever heard. I tried it with both an Audio Technica ATH-R70X and a Fostex TH909 and they both had very low, super distorted sounding bass. I tried it with all different settings and it was the same horrible quality with them all.

Una buena solucion para los tocadiscos que no tengan toma de auriculares

Erst mal vorweg: Das Wichtigste bei gutem Sound ist das Harmonieren der kompletten Klangkette, angefangen von der Quelle über DAC, Verstärker bis zum KH/LS. Der Zen Air Can war eines meiner ersten Geräte um mehr aus meinem KH heraus zu holen und hat es geschafft bis heute ein Teil meiner Soundkette zu bleiben. In 3 meiner Rezensionen (MF V90 DAC, Zen Dac/Can Signature, iPower X) kann nachgelesen werden wie ich zu diesem Setup gekommen bin. Ich habe festgestellt, dass der Air Can ein wenig empfindlich ist, was Eingangs- und Ausgangslautstärke angeht. Vor 9 Uhr stimmt die Balance nicht (wie schon andere bemerkt haben), nach 2 Uhr fängt er an merklich zu verzerren. Sind die Einstellungen erst mal gefunden (siehe unten), ist der Air Can absolut Mega. Ich beschreibe die Klangkulisse einfach mal als locker, leicht, luftig und entspannt. Es wirkt nie angestrengt, ist natürlich, sehr detailreich und nie zu spitz. Vielleicht werde ich irgendwann mal auf den Zen Can upgraden. Ich befürchte aber, ich brauche dann andere KH um den Unterschied genießen zu können. Mein Fazit: Wenn man die zwei Schwachpunkte des Air Can durch geschickte Einstellungen vermeidet, gibt es meines Erachtens nichts, was das Gerät in dieser Preisklasse auch nur annähernd gefährden kann. Meine Hardware: Asus Prime X570 Pro MB, KH Hifiman Deva Pro wired balanced, Ifi Zen Dac Signature, 2 x iFi iPower X Netzteil, Oelbach Verkabelung Musik: Spotify und PCM 24bit 48KHz Meine Einstellungen (Lautstärkeregelbereich am Can zwischen 10 Uhr und 1 Uhr): MB Lautstärke - 70%; Zen Dac Signature – fixed output; Zen Air Can - Gain 9dB, XBass on Zur Info: Bei anderen KH können die Einstellungen anders sein Wichtig: Die Hör-Lautstärke sollte am Can geändert werden und nicht am PC !!!! Der Regelbereich sieht nach nicht viel aus, reicht aber von Zimmerlautstärke, bis sch… ist das Laut

Parfait associé avec mon casque Focal! Entreprise très réactive pour répondre aux questions. Vendeur très sérieux je recommande vivement. Sophie

What can i say? With a single word its perfect. I was using Zen Dac V1 for drive my Sony Mdr 7506 headphone. But when i got Hifiman Sundara Zen Dac was not powerfull to drive them. Then i got a balanced cable to use 4.4 balanced output of the Zen Dac beause there is more power than the 6.5 output, sound was better but it was going to distortion on the high volume because Zen Dac only deliver 380 mW max. and not enough very well. Then i decided to get Zen Air Can as separeted headphone amp. Because its 3 times more powerful than then the Zen Dac’s balanced output. (Air Can: 1,2 watt at 32ohm) (Zen Dac: 380mW at 32ohm) Now i using Zen Dac as a dac and Air Can to drive my Sundara. As power supply i using Dc 5v 2,4 A phone charger (12watt). Its feed up very well. **(Please mind about current level, because first i tried with 5V 1A charger, but 5V 2,4 A charger better about sound and all) The result is amazing. There is more power, sound stage and details on the Sundara withtout distortion on high volume(xbass is off). XSpace is a nice filter which i like turn it on, it adds more air and stage to music without change sound character. Yes its a plastic body but build quality nice enough with metal volume knob and looks premium with dark grey and black colors. On this price point we can not get better than this. I would like to say thanks to ifi Audio engineers and all ifi Audio team. This was more than i expect. And this setup put a big smile to my face. And also thanks to Peter Tyson’s shop for fast delivery, the pack was on my hand next day.

I am extremely happy with my ifi Zen Air Can headphone amplifier together with my Austrian Audio Hi-X15 headphones purchased and plugged in my Marantz CD6007 CD player together with Chord interconnects giving me head-fi heaven.