Welcome to my review of the iFi ZEN Blue and ZEN Can. The iFi ZEN Blue retails for £129 and the ZEN Can for £169.

Key Features/Specs

ZEN Blue

– Power: DC 5V
– Input: Bluetooth 5.0TM with AAC, aptX, aptX HD, LDAC, HWA Codec
– Output: Optical/Coaxial, Audio RCA L/R, 4.4 Balanced Lineout
– Frequency Response: 20Hz – 20kHz <+0/-0.5dB (44.1kHz)1Hz – 44khz = 88.2kHz)
– Output Voltage @ 0dBFS: 2.05V (+/-0.05V)
– Dynamic Range: 109dB (A)
-Signal/Noise ratio: 109dB (A) @ 0dBFS
– THD & N @ 0dBFS: < 0.0015% 10k Load
– Dimensions: 158 (l) x 100 x 35 (h) mm
– Weight: 476g (1..05 lbs)

ZEN Can

– Inputs -4.4mm Pentacon BAL, RCA L/R Socket SE, 3.5mm Jack SE
– Balanced Output – 15.1V/385 mW (@ 600 Ohm), 11.0V/1890 mW (@ 64 Ohm)
– S-E Output – 7.6V/196 mW (@ 300 Ohm), 7.2V/1600 mW (@ 32 Ohm)
– Gain 0dB, 6dB, 12dB and 18dB
– Frequency Response – 20Hz – 20kHz (+0dB / -0.03dB)
– Input voltage – DC 5V/2.5A, AC 100 -240V, 50/60Hz
– Dimensions – 158 x 117 x 35 mm
– Net weight – 515g

The Review

So for this review, I used a number of headphones. These included the HiFiman Sundara and Ananda, Sony MDR-1AM2 in 4.4 balanced, Sennheiser HD599 and a selection of IEMs from Fiio and others. I also listenend to as many different genres as possible from jazz, blues, dance, rap, hip hop, classical, pop, rock, electronic and orchestral.

For starters, I really appreciated the 4 way gain switch for a more precise adjustment. The HiFiMan Planar Magnetic headphones benefited from a +6db gain. With IEMs the floor background noise was non existent on the IEMs that I used. The bass boost and 3D spatial options are nice options to have to as some of my headphones can sound too bass light.

However this combo is an incredible system, and as a consequence it powered every headphone I tried effortlessly. Apart from the sound, the design looks luxurious and would be at home in any room in the house. The freedom of using the ZEN Blue with portable devices like your smartphone, and in my case my Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra, meant I had LDAC quality music streaming to the ZEN Blue. The ZEN Can is full of dynamics and blew the cobwebs off some of the headphones I hadn’t used for a while. It also possessed good detail, wide sound staging. TBH the two components together make a cracking piece of kit.

Video Review

Conclusion

Freedom from wires with the iFi ZEN Blue with all the respective hi-res bluetooth codecs coupled with the iFi ZEN Can is a formidable combination and highly recommended. 9.8/10.

Useful Links

iFi Zen Can – more info and latest pricing on Amazon UK – Click HERE.
iFi ZEN Blue – more info and latest pricing on Amazon UK – Click HERE.