Ifi Zen DAC V2 £159
The ‘if it ain’t broke…’ saying isn’t lost on us. But at the same time we realise that in a competitive industry such as hi-fi, making the best even better off your own back isn’t necessarily a bad idea. It’s what ifi has done with its budget home DAC and headphone amp offering, with the original, Award-winning, Zen DAC now making way for a ‘V2’ model.
The sequel uses the new-generation processing chip found in the higherranging Neo IDSD and IDSD Diablo DAC/ headphone amps, delivering double the clock speed and four times the memory of the chip inside the original.
As well as supporting PCM (up to 384khz) and DSD (up to DSD256) files, the Zen DAC V2 is also an MQA (Master Quality Authenticated) decoder this time. That means it brings full MQA decoding onboard, which should be music to the ears of Tidal Hifi subscribers who devour the service’s Mqa-encoded hi-res Masters.
We hailed the Zen DAC for offering a significant upgrade on a computer’s audio quality for not much money, and the Zen V2 achieves that to an even greater extent. Indeed, what’s most pleasing is that ifi hasn’t launched a pricier sequel that brings only subtle improvements.
The Zen DAC V2 is notably better. It is still open, smooth and nicely judged in its handling of frequencies, only this time dynamic expression and clarity is confidently taken to the next level, with the bass a little tighter and the presentation slightly more refined too. Zen DAC owners may not feel an urge to rush out and upgrade – the V2 is, despite pedalling performance forward, evolution over revolution – but for newcomers to this type of product, ifi is offering a significant upgrade over computer sound quality in an era where people need it most.
The Zen DAC V2 is another feather in the cap for ifi’s budget Zen series – and a worthy 2021 Best Buy Award winner.