iFiZEN CAN Signature HFM - Balanced Desktop Headphone Amp and Preamp with 4.4mm Outputs [Compatible with HIFIMAN headphones]

I have been very happy with this DAC and have experienced none of the issues that others have reported after 4 months of daily use.

Ifi audios foray into amps for specific headphone brands , in this case the Hifi man range of planar headphones.Upon first listening to the Zen Can hfm its apparent that there is a more sturdier premium feel to this piece of kit. The buttons upon changing settings have a far more premium feel and dont rattle slightly. there is ample choice of inputs making this a versatile option. A particular favourite of mine with Ifi products is the xspace function which adds a cavern like soundstage to the sound. My first impression is a wonderfull opening of the soundstage with a highly infomative amount of detail. Seperation between instrumentation is fantastic and I feel that the actual depth of the soundscape greatly improves with the hfm effect. there is a particularly good dark effect in quiet passages which adds to realism. The zen can hfm does everything really well but I cant help feel that this product moves away from the Ifi sound presentation, that analogue authoratitive presentation . This is particularly eveident in the lower end which in my opinion lacks that visceral authority!!!!. Im not feeling the music as in the IDSD signature , which I enjoy over extended listening periods and is not fatiging over a long period. That aside in essence the zen can is a truer representa tion of a live experience, its just my preference. all in all a great piece of kit . Ifi dosnt indulge in badly made products but one should take stock of all the reviews in order to get an overall feel for the capabilities of the kit you are considering purchasing because each has its own characteristics , and you need to tailor your purcase to your tastes!! impressed !!!!!!!!!!!

Purchase at your risk !The sound colouration when using the analogue volume control switch is marked. The unit emits cracks and pops constantly when in bypass mode. It is also amplified more with strongly distorted vocals in comparison to the reproduction given when the volume control is enabled. Distorting the music to unlistenable quality. The sound, when using the volume control dial and not bypassed is acceptable at best if used at mid volume and using your active speaker for volume control.The speakers used are award winning Ruark on award winning column stands. The media is lossless or CD quality. The cables are audioquest high quality. Therefore, the weak, flawed part of the reproduction chain, was unquestionably the Zen signature.There are higher quality systems x 2 in the house that reproduce faithfully and I have been a performing musician for many years…. I know, to a fair degree, poor music reproduction when I hear it. And I heard it daily through the Zen signature on volume dial bypass setting. (Which is the one I wanted)Unusable, harsh, distorted, coloured, popping and crackling reproduction with a volume analogue switch that is quite simply a truly flawed design. Perhaps mine got through quality control and was “rogue”.Buyer beware !….. Truly awful musical reproduction on one setting acceptable at best on the other setting.An honest, unbiased, review from a very disappointed purchaser

I purchased a separate headphone amplifier for my Denon AH9200 headphones as this was my first real pair of audiophile headphones. i mainly listen to my Hi-Fi/AV setup but sometimes its nice to stick on headphones for that more intimate sound. Prior to purchasing the Sig V2 I was using a Zen Dac for processing from my Roon Core Server where my headphone listening takes place. I use Tidal as my main streaming service from this device as Roon integrates very well with it and makes use of the MQA function. Appreciate there are varying views on this but to my ears it does not bother me in the slightest and in some recordings i definitely hear a difference. Anyway with that functionality included with ifi products and considering that i purchased a dedicated amplifier i thought i would try this DAC as a dedicated unit. I consider this to be a definite upgrade from the Zen; definitely not night and day but there appears to be better resolution all round and a marked improvement on detail. I looked at other reviews and considered the SMSL gear but there was a ? on reliability etc and that put me off. I am happy with the purchase and will do the job for me. I need to stop buying hifi gear!!!

Good value and great sound.

Works a treat.

I've been through a lot of DACs including The phenomenal Benchmark DAC3. I'm not going to say this iFi is better than the Benchmark But it's different and it's much more forgiving. I have a lot of old blues recordings that suffer from poor production whether it's because they're live or just 100-year-old studios and the benchmark is so revealing that it brings out some of these flaws. The iFi signature 2 wow very detailed has a bit of a velvety approach that does much better with older recordings. I don't think this will beat the benchmark on a high-end Yes or R.E.M recording from a detailed perspective but it'll still sound great and it'll definitely run the blind Willie Johnson recordings from 1920 beautifully

This little unit has proven to be one of the best items I’ve bought in a while! I just cannot believe how great my music sounds now. The sub-woofer has awoken from its somnolent sleep and really is alive – I now have smooth pure room-shaking bass. Likewise the speakers sound crisp and clear – the veil is gone and I’m hearing things in the music I’ve never heard before.Most of my music is late ‘60’s early ‘70’s rock (Cream, Doors, Stones, etc). so I am quite familiar with it and hearing things I never noticed before is great. The Doors “Soft Parade” CD now playing.I am playing the iFi through my Pioneer SX-980 which has an analog power supply – not one of those switchers that can cause noise in the DC bus output.It evens make disco sound better.... :)Where I notice the real improvement is with Electronic music (Switched-On Bach, Kraftwerk, Devo, and yes, some disco). The high and low frequencies really shine.And if my 75 year old ears can hear such a great improvement just imagine how younger ears will respond!I did find that the documentation was a bit lacking, and apparently the color of the light in the knob is supposed to change depending on the format and bit rate of the music, but it never changes no matter what format and bit rate I use. Not a big deal – the unit sits on top of the Pioneer with the volume control bypassed.

overall I like this DAC, it is good enough for my desktop music. thre sound quality is kind of better than my Dragonfly Cobalt.

First of all, I have no experience with DAC. I do have a tidal subscription with hifi and been listening to music on my pc though hdmi. I use a denon receiver with a monolith x7 200 watt power channel amp and klipch RF7 iiis. I have been mainly using YouTube music but tidal is a big improvement. I connected the DAC signature with the USB it came with into the pc. What a difference. I can hear crisp highs. Lows are pretty much the same. I can hear things in MQA and high resolution that I never heard before. This thing works great. If you're new to DAC and don't want to spend 2k on a pontus, I recommend this completely.