iFi ZEN One Signature - All-in-One Media Hub - Bluetooth 5.1, Optical, USB, RCA. Full MQA High Res Audio DAC.

Product Information

Of course, the Zen One Signature does have a major advantage over the DAC built into the Rotel—namely, its support for virtually every digital format under the sun. The fact that it supports DSD completely gave me an opportunity to compare the ALAC and DSF versions of David Chesky’s new Graffiti Jazz album (The Audiophile Society AS5), specifically the speaker mixes. (The album comes with separate headphone and speaker mixes, and is available in formats ranging from DSD to PCM from 24/48 up to 24/192.) I’m not certain if some specification numbers might change or if the iFi Audio ZEN One Signature will receive additional features or codecs since at the time of this review there were no firmware updates available. 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.

Once again, while there shouldn’t be much to say about a DAC, I find myself rambling on and making the review much longer than a review of some headphones! built-in Bluetooth 5.1supported codecs: aptX®, aptX HD, aptX Adaptive, aptX LL, LDAC, LHDC/HWA, AAC and SBC The award-winning MQA is a British technology that delivers the sound of the master recording. You can enjoy decoded master-level audio since the Zen One Signature DAC has this feature. Complex and Costly but Outstanding Vishay MELF Resistors

The big difference that the One Signature has over the other ZEN components is that it offers multiple inputs. As well as the USB input, the One Signature now offers an optical and coaxial input that are selected on an either/or basis. The coax input can also be switched to function as an output too. Then, the One Signature also adds much of the functionality of the ZEN Blue v2 in a fully specified Bluetooth input that supports the same selection of extended formats as the Blue. Effectively, the One combines two more affordable ZEN devices and gives you an extra input into the bargain. Our product arrived in a simple-looking cardboard box featuring an image of it in front. You will also see its name and the company branding on display. One small issue with all original Zen DACs was that when they switched formats from MQA to FLAC or DSD, they emitted a low-level “pfft” noise. From user-group complaints, I have to assume that iFi is aware of this issue and may have a solution, though it has not made any changes in the Signature to eliminate this behavior. The Zen DAC Signature still makes the same soft “pfft” noise after every format change, just before the music begins. Will iFi come up with a firmware fix? Time will tell. Furthermore, as part of iFi’s “Signature” tier of components, this DAC receives several internal upgrades over the “standard” ZEN components, like upgraded capacitors for greater linearity, and upgraded resistors for low noise, amongst other things. Belonging to the group AMR (Abbingdon Music Research Group), which is one of the largest audio equipment manufacturers in the UK, iFi Audio is a manufacturer of several DACs and amplifiers, as well as other accessories for computer & home audio.

The Zen One Signature DAC can take digital signals from your Mac, PC, TV, Smartphone, or gaming console. It decodes the signal into a line-level analogue stereo signal, allowing other devices to amplify it into music. This product also works this way with gaming/video audio. The iFi Audio ZEN One Signature DAC uses a Qualcomm QCC5100 for the Bluetooth section which is claimed to have a superior Bluetooth engine that caters to audiophiles. The QCC5100 transmits over a 5.1 radio and is capable of 24BIT audio and is also capable of high definition BT codecs. For wireless music, the ZEN One Signature features Hi-Res compatible Bluetooth. For the best sound quality, there’s support for the highest quality Bluetooth formats. These include LDAC, HWA (Hi-Res Wireless Audio) by LHDC, Qualcomm’s aptX, aptX HD, aptX Adaptive and aptX LL. If you haven’t experienced Bluetooth audio for some time, you might be surprised as to just how much the sound quality has improved over the past few years. 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.Actually, all the formats mentioned above are hardware rendered by the ZEN One Signature which is preferred over software rendering and iFi Audio knows how to take advantage of all the power within the XMOS system as they do time and time again.