Great news for audiophiles looking for a way to upgrade their headphones – Amazon has slashed the price of the well-regarded iFi Zen DAC 3, bringing it down to just £195.02 from its regular £229 price point.
While not quite matching its all-time low of £192.62 from January, this current discount still represents an excellent opportunity to upgrade your digital audio experience without breaking the bank.
As for why this is a good deal? Our Zen DAC 3 review found that the desktop DAC delivers a pleasingly smooth and refined presentation, with a spacious soundfield and good detail thrown in for good measure, earning solid praise for its performance-to-price ratio.
The third-generation model brings several meaningful upgrades too, including a shift from USB-Type B to the more modern USB-C, along with enhanced support for 32-bit/768kHz PCM, and DSD512 hi-res streams. It also maintains MQA decoding capability and houses a 16-core XMOS processor paired with a four-channel Burr-Brown DAC chip.
Specs aside, its compact footprint – smaller than a typical paperback – makes it an ideal desktop companion for elevating your computer audio experience too, regardless of whether or not you’re using headphones or pairing it with a conventional hi-fi system.
Despite its modest size, the Zen DAC 3 offers impressive connectivity as well. The front panel features 6.3mm and 4.4mm balanced headphone outputs, while the rear panel provides stereo RCA and balanced 4.4mm line outputs.
It also includes a switchable fixed/variable output for use with amplifiers or active speakers, making it significantly more versatile than similarly-priced competitors like the Audioquest Dragonfly Cobalt.
While it may not match the dynamic punch of some competitors, its refined presentation, solid build quality, and versatile connectivity make it worth serious consideration.
In short, If you're looking for an easy-going, undemanding sound signature that prioritises refinement over aggressive dynamics, then the Zen DAC 3 could be your perfect match – especially at this discounted price.
MORE:
Read the full iFi Zen DAC 3 review
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