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While writing our ifi Zen One Signature DAC Review, we noticed how the product felt rigid. Everything felt durable and solid, from the silicone stoppers to the outputs. Deliveries outside of the EU are not subject to 20% VAT and so the 20% tax on items is automatically deducted when you login or register. However obviously and once again, the volume knob was omitted so bear in mind also that both outputs are fixed and therefore volume must be controlled at the amplifier. The ability to decode multiple hi-res digital formats, including DSD up to DSD256; PCM up to 384kHz; and a complete “unfolding” of MQA up to 384kHz. The iFi ZEN One Signature DAC sports the same 158x35x100mm aluminium enclosure as the rest of the ZEN range, finished in Deep Space Blue – the colour iFi uses to differentiate its Signature-level models – rather than the grey finish of the regular ZEN Series devices. This is complemented by dark grey front and rear panels (silver-coloured on the standard versions) and blue controls.
At the front are buttons for powering up/down and switching between the USB, S/PDIF and Bluetooth inputs, alongside colour-changing LEDs to indicate the incoming audio format and sample rate. A further button switches the LEDs on and off, as well as activating the Bluetooth pairing mode. The ZEN One Signature DAC is just that - a DAC (or, d igital to a nalogue c onverter, in case you’re wondering). Unlike some of the other similarly-shaped teardrop products in iFi Audio’s range of “ZEN” products, there’s no headphone amplifier or volume control in this one - it’s a DAC in the purest sense, and iFi Audio thinks it may well be the only one you need. The ZEN One Signature DAC is designed to take digital signals from a source like your Mac/PC, smartphone, TV or gaming console, and decode them into a line-level analogue stereo signal so that your other devices can amplify it into the stuff that your brain recognises as “music”. Oh, and it’ll also happily do the same thing when it comes to video/gaming audio as well. Aside from that, it has an optical and SPDIF input which is selectable via the front panel selector. As for Bluetooth, the ZEN One Signature DAC has three digital connectors available.
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The Zen One Signature DAC uses the new Qualcomm QCC5100 Bluetooth processing IC with proprietary circuits. As a result, this DAC can create an audibly superior Bluetooth engine. Its aptX Adaptive and aptX HD codecs support up to 48kHz, while LHDC and LDAC reach 96kHz. All in all, the build and aesthetics of the device are typical iFi and I have absolutely no issue with that. The Zen One Signature (which I am going to refer to as the Z1S for brevity) is a pure DAC, in other words there is no headphone amplifier in this device, nor is there a volume control, which follows the general aesthetics and build of the Zen line. The compatible codec list is long. AptX, aptX HD, aptX Adaptive, aptX LL, LDAC, LHDC/HWA, AAC, and SBC are all compatible and playable on the ZEN One. So I highly doubt you’ll run into issues here. One last thing to note is that the output of the Z1S, from the unbalanced RCA’s, is over 3V, which is quite a bit more than the usual approx 2V output of an unbalanced connection. This can actually cause clipping on the input of certain amplifiers, depending on the design of their preamp stage. As there is no volume control on the Z1S, you would need to drop down the source to avoid this if it is your case.
Forget the bitrate. Forget the resolution. There’s literally zero you could complain about when it comes to this DAC’s handling of this song via this service. It was rich. It was detailed. It was appropriately dynamic. Imaging specificity was laudable, the soundstage was three-dimensional, and transient response was just spot-freaking-on as far as my ears could hear. I mentioned Bluetooth there, because for my first few days with the Zen One Signature, I relied on it primarily as a reference against which to compare a number of standalone Bluetooth receivers for that aforementioned Wirecutter roundup. I also spent a good bit of time comparing its Bluetooth decoding to that of the Rotel A12MII. Another thing to note is that I cannot say for certain if both optical and SPDIF inputs work simultaneously since the input selector can only select one digital-in source and I didn’t try either so the 4 inputs become 3 since the front selector has only three positions anyways. But overall the connection possibilities are ample enough for most desktop scenarios.ifi Audio ZEN One Signature retains the classic looks and shape of Zen Blue. However, its new colour scheme makes the DAC look more professional and premium.
Other amplifiers that I liked with these IEMs/headphones and fed by the Z1S were the Asgard 3 and the iFi Gryphon, both of which seemed to synergise well with the Z1S. However, I did find that things like the 789 or the L30 came across sounding a little digital and harsher. I know that this is to be expected due to the way these amplifiers are by nature (which is why I like using the 789 for tests) but I still found them a little more “digital” sounding than I would have expected (if that makes any sense), based on the natural warmth that the Z1S seems to portray. Zen One Signature’s hi-res audio credentials encompass 32-bit/384kHz PCM over USB (192kHz over S/PDIF), all levels of DSD to DSD256, and single- and double-speed DXD. Thanks to that Burr-Brown DAC chip’s four-channel True Native design, PCM and DSD take separate pathways – this enables DSD, as well as PCM, to remain ‘bit-perfect’ in their native form right through to analogue conversion. Aside from a power button and an input selector button, there aren’t any controls to worry about, as the Zen One Signature is purely a digital-to-analog converter, with no amplification, no volume control, no EQ, no anything else of that sort—all of which means you’d think there’d be nothing to talk about in terms of setup. But this is me we’re talking about, so of course it wasn’t that simple.From the press release: “…every element of its circuitry is designed for pure performance. Key surface-mounted components have been upgraded to high-end devices, including Panasonic OS-CON and Elna Silmic II capacitors, and the design has been refined to ensure short, direct signal paths.” What makes the ZEN One Signature DAC stand out from other digital devices with a similar compact footprint are three main boasting points:
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