iFi Audio IFi

iFi has been a longtime favorite of mine. The original ZEN DAC pleasantly surprised me the first time I heard it, offering up quick, natural sound with plenty of amplification in a sleek package. When I heard they were releasing the ZEN DAC V2, I was ecstatic. The 'V2 takes all the good things from the old ZEN DAC — namely the DAC chip and headphone amp — and adds some extra high-performance goodies into the mix. The company opted to use a 16-bit XMOS microcontroller/processor for this iteration. That chip is responsible for handling the incoming USB audio data. The new low-latency chip boasts double the clock speed and four times the digital memory of the previous version's 8-core chip. On top of that, the processor has been carefully optimized by iFi's in-house digital development team to ensure it operates in harmony with the digital-to-analog converter chip. A new clock was added to the 'V2 as well. The new low-jitter GMT (Global Master Timing) clock and intelligent memory buffer serve to keep the dist...