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Get the Best Audio Quality from Your Phone, Tablet, or Computer
Improve the quality of your everyday audio with the ZEN Air DAC from iFi Audio. The ZEN Air DAC outputs very hi-res quality audio. Imagine the difference in quality from a standard TV to an 4K Ultra HD TV — but in sound! This is the difference an external DAC can make to your music, especially when you are listening to hi-res audio sources.
The ZEN Air DAC lets you listen to MQA files right out of the box without the need for a computer. MQA is an award-winning audio technology that enables music fans to stream the original master recording into their home or car or on their mobile device. In the words of Gilbert OÂ’Sullivan, iconic Irish-born singer-songwriter, "The great thing about MQA is that it delivers the finesse that was there in the desk sound. ItÂ’s tremendous, it sounds really good."
Significant Firepower Under the Hood
The ZEN Air DAC has significant firepower for giving you the best possible performance from your musical sources. An 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, the new 16-core IC delivers double the clock speed (2000MIPS) and quadruples the memory (512KB), and it features the latest SuperSpeed USB standard.
iFi’s in-house digital development team has programmed the XMOS firmware to optimize 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 uses Burr Brown extensively in its products, having selected it for its natural-sounding ‘musicality’ and True Native architecture. iFi's experience with this IC means the company knows how to make the most of it.
Flexible Formats
The ZEN Air DAC supports different file formats, including PCM 32bit/384kHz, fully native DSD256 and MQA. In case you aren't sure of the differences, PCM or Pulse Code Modulation is the file format used in CD, DVD, Blu-ray and other digital audio applications. You might think of it as the next step up from MP3.
DSD or Direct Stream Digital is a very high-quality audio format, better than CD quality. The higher the sample rate number, the better the recording – as in DSD64, 128, 256, 512 and 1024. The term "fully native" means that the file hasn’t been altered in any way from the original recording.
MQA or Master Quality Authenticated is an award-winning audio technology that enables music fans to stream the original master recording into their home, car, or portable device. With the ZEN Air DAC you can listen to MQA straight out of the box. No need for a computer or another additional component. Simply connect to Tidal Masters and check the option to stream MQA.
Sonic Tailoring
The ZEN Air DAC sports a couple of unique sonic tweaks from iFi. PowerMatch adjusts the gain of the ZEN DAC Air so it functions at the right level for your headphones. Gain is just a unit of measurement that indicates how loud an audio source is and is measured in decibels (dB). XBass+ allows you to tailor the bass to suit your headphones and your personal taste. Both are designed to improve and personalize your listening experience.
Highest Quality Internal Components
Premium internal components contribute to the superior sound of the ZEN Air DAC. As with many other iFi audio products, it incorporates a custom OV Series operational-amplifier (op-amp). This top-notch component contributes to the extremely low noise, low distortion (0.0001%), and wide bandwidth.
Texas Instruments low-noise ICs offer great unity-gain bandwidth, very low noise and distortion, plus high output drive capability. They also provide common-mode and power supply rejection ratios of over 100 dB, wide maximum-output-swing bandwidths, and high slew rates.
TDK C0G (Class 1 ceramic) capacitors offer high stability and low losses for resonant circuit applications. Getting ever closer to the theoretical ideal of pure, frequency-constant capacitance, these capacitors reduce capacitor-induced distortion to vanishingly low levels. They are pricey, but are a valuable addition to iFi products.
