iFi audio ZEN Air CAN

Zen Air Can Review: The Good

• Clean, clean power, with no EMI noise or hum when 5V USB cable used with a phone charger/power bank. No more bulky power bricks!
• Zero static or crackle when turning volume knob
• The cheapest way to get a 4.4 headphone out, even if it is not truly balanced like the OG Zen Can
• Lowest cost headphone amp, even against Chinese competition like the Topping DX1 or SMSL SH-6.
• Easy to stack, and stays out of the way in your PC setup
• USD $95 price, Zen Air Dac and Zen Air Can stack: USD $200. Closest competition in the FiiO K7 is USD $241.
• Pair with Zen Dac v1, USB cable, USB 5V cable, USB female into USB C male adaptor, power bank and you have a mobile desktop level setup for testing headphones (this full setup runs off USB and a power bank, but the Zen Air DAC uses a power brick. For this setup to work you need a Zen DAC v1 or v2)
• Budget price, non-budget sound
• Pairs beautifully with HD600, R70x and Moondrop Kato, in case you own any of these items. Xbass+ in particular works wonders for immersion in movies or video games with the HD600, and not all the time with music.

Zen Air Can: The Bad

• Bluetooth is going to cost you another USD $80 in the Zen Air Blue which is fine, but now the stack has gone from burger to building. Takes up too much space. FiiO K7 has bluetooth in a more space friendly package.
• Plastic build can crack
• Too little space on the volume knob for IEMs
• You have to remember to use the power on button every time you turn on/off your PC
• The shortest USB cable into 5V power supply known to man. No one's mains outlet is that high on their desk. This cable length won't even reach to your PC tower if it's on the floor.
• 2 RCA in, 1 3.5mm in. No optical. Limits AIO possibilities like adding connection to speakers. ​

Closing Thoughts:
I have been familiar with the Zen Dac V1, OG Zen Can, FiiO K5 for years now, and the K7 more recently.

I am retiring the OG Zen Can for the Zen Air Can for a rather strange reason. USB power out. I am wholeheartedly recommending the Zen Air Can for being a convenient, low cost headphone option with certain features that punch over it's weight.

The Zen Air Can is affordable, portable, powerful and has features useful for new audiophiles. It also has a slight warm tilt in sound.
XBass+ and to a lesser extent XSpace, are great features to help tinker with the sound profile for newbies who only have 1 or 2 headphones
The full on Zen stack is also the cheapest stack option that isn't a Chinese product, which will not be easily covered by warranty.
Zen Dac v1 can be easily found online secondhand for even lower price than the Zen Air Can, for immense value when pairing with the Zen Air Can.
Separating the amp and DAC gives room for adding modular pieces like bluetooth, or in my case, a Schitt Lokius.
4.4 balanced connector remains the easiest, lightest connector for a premium headphone. You can commit to 4.4 connector, and then bring your headphone for testing with new gear easily. XLR balanced is a bit heavy and unweidly, sometimes being heavy enough to move your stack around the table.
Zen Air Dac, Zen Dac v1/v2 are USB bus powered, while Zen Air Can is USB 5V powered through a power bank, phone USB charger or USB port. Making it easy to bring to and fro from work, for new gear auditions or if you are the child of divorced parents and move around a lot.


The Zen Stack remains the cheapest possible way to get 4.4 audio out, even if the Zen Air Can is not "true" balance out (uses single ended RCA from Zen Dac v1 into Zen Air Can and then 4.4 audio out).

Ifi has a winning entry level slew of products here, that I will happily recommend over even the cheapest, well built stuff from China like the Topping DX1, SMSL SU-6 / SH-6 stack or FiiO K5.

Yes the SMSL stack has bluetooth and optical. But it costs substantially more for no 4.4mm balanced out. Similarly, for the K5. The cheapest options for 4.4 true balanced out is the Zen Dac v1 > Zen Can or FiiO K7 or any balanced DAC into the Topping A30 Pro.

You can of course end up with a Frankenstein mash of Chinese products with different sizes and 2 or 3 heavy power bricks.

As someone who doesn't have all the space in the world for an audio setup, and even less budget than I have space, I'm immensely happy with this setup. I am still wishing on ifi to include a longer USB cable for ALL their products. The short blue cable with the DACs makes sense with a laptop but definitely not a larger sized PC that sits on the ground. I have to use a USB extender to have everything sit on my desk. But at work, this makes things far more cumbersome than it has to be as I have to bring my own extender, diminishing the overall portability of the Zen sandwich.

I am also humbly requesting that ifi consider making a tone control in the Zen series form factor to rival the Schitt Lokius, Loki Mini or JDS Subjective 3. Not because any of those products are bad, but because the Zen sandwich is still my favorite form factor of any audio product.

This is an easy recommendation from me, and I especially recommend it to students and minimalists. This is an affordable, reliable setup that helps you get rid of a lot of power brick clutter while remaining small yet powerful. You also get options for RCA speaker out into something like the Edifier R1700 through the Zen DAC, even if you have to rather annoyingly, change the RCA connectors from your DAC into the speakers.

But the end result is you get full on bookshelf speakers for movies in a living room or large bedroom through a convenient DAC with a buttery smooth volume knob, a headphone amp that is also easy to connect through RCA AND a pitch black background with no static or hum for a few hundred bucks. Reliable value, without worrying about warranty or having a similarly priced Topping product suddenly not working for no rhyme or reason.

Introduction:

I'm going to make this review short and to the point. Thanks, @Rowan94 for including me in the USA ZEN Air Tour.

Build:

Much like the iFi ZEN Air Blue and ZEN Air DAC, the housing is made of a sturdy dark grey and lightweight plastic housing. The imprints of the ZEN DAC are like a tightly woven net. The old-school style housing for the ZEN series makes the Air USB DAC visually pleasing. It's carried on from their older ZEN devices, and consistency is critical for stacking these devices, and iFi found an excellent footing for simplicity and stackability.





Specifications:

Power supply requirement: DC 5V/2.5A (centre +ve)

Max Output: >6.7V/75 mW(@ 600Ω) >6.5V/660 mW(@ 64Ω) >6.2V/1200 mW(@ 32Ω)

THD & N: 0.005% (@ 100 mW/1.27V 16Ω)

SNR: >114dBA (@ 6.7V)
Max.

Input: RCA/3.5mm3.8V RMS/1.92V RMS

Gain: 0dB, 9dB, 18dB

Frequency Response: 10Hz -100kHz (-3dB)

Power Consumption: No Signal ~5W/Max Signal ~13W

Dimensions: 158 x 117 x 35 mm
6.2" x 4.6" x 1.4"

Net weight: 352g
0.78 lbs

Accessories: 5V USB Power Cable and Digital USB Cable.

Source: My Custom Gaming PC (Used Spotify and Tidal (Hi-Fi).

Headphones used: Ultrasone Signature Studio and Penon Audio Volt

Sound: Pleasant and plays it safe with X-Bass off. For the best result, turn X-Bass on for neutral headphones like the Ultrasone Signature Studio. I paired it with the Penon Audio Volt (X-Bass Off), and the results were interesting. The soundstage was a bit more open than listening to them with my Fiio M11 Plus LTD.

As for the bass, it's not like what the M11 Plus LTD dishes out, but it does remind me of the ZEN Signature Series. I'm talking about the tight bass notes and smooth sound. The ZEN Air CAN pairs well with many headphones but pairs best with headphones that make use of its DSP functions.

The mids take a back seat, in comparison to the Zen Signature CAN. Instead of forward mids, the mids are more relaxed with a medium presence. The tone isn't dark either, so this sound signature has great compatibility with other headphones.

Finally, there's the treble, and much like the mids, it's reserved but it's not stuffy or cramped. It's a bit mellow. Especially with the Penon Audio Volt.

Now with X-Bass on, the Signature Studio becomes warmer and more expressive throughout the entire frequency. The bass gives stronger vibes, the mids are slightly sweeter, and the treble is more flavorful. The bass tilt with X-Bass on is like climbing a small hill on top of a slightly larger hill (From Treble to Bass). This is probably why X-Bass favors the Signature Studio so much.

Oh. BTW, the ZEN Can is compatible with the ZEN Air DAC, and X-Bass can be enabled on both devices at the same time. Double X-Bass is not advised for IEMs. It's recommended for power-hungry headphones only. This can be remedied by enabling X-Space, which gives more headroom for double X-Bass.


Pros:

• Smooth and clean sound
• Sound plays it safe by pairing well with different sound signatures
• Classic Old-school style housing
• X-Bass isn't steep (At least not enabled on its own)
• X-Space is useful for pairing with the ZEN Air DAC

Cons:

• Lack of RCA cables
• The 5V USB cable is too short

Introduction: I reviewed the ZEN Air CAN over a two-week period during a USA loaner tour of the ZEN Air series products. Many thanks to @Rowan94 for including me in the tour.



Product: The ZEN Air CAN is a high-power headphone amplifier that sells for $99 USD. Headphones are connected via either the 6.3mm single-end output or the 4.4mm "S-Balanced" output on the front of the unit. The rear of the unit has: a 3.5mm "S-Balanced" input, two single-ended RCA inputs, and a DC 5V power input. The front panel has an input selector, gain selector (0 db, 9 db, 18 db), and a button to enable XBass+ (bass boost) and/or XSpace (spatilizer). Max output is as follows: >6.7V/75 mW (@ 600Ω), >6.5V/660 mW (@ 64Ω), >6.2V/1200 mW (@ 32Ω).

Accessories: One cable is included with the ZEN Air CAN: a (26") black USB-A DC 5V power cable. The cable could stand to be a bit longer. I used the supplied cable with a USB wall adapter to provide power to the unit.

Build: The unit design is similar to the non-Air ZEN line, but the housing is a very sturdy high-grade thermoplastic polymer as opposed to metal. While the unit doesn't feel substantial in the hands, it still feels solid and easily stayed in place on my desk. All of the connectors held the cables securely. The volume control knob feels nice and moves smoothly and precisely.

Functionality:

I utilized the single-ended 6.3mm output and the two RCA inputs for my listening evaluation sessions. In the first RCA input I connected the ZEN Air DAC (which I also reviewed as part of the tour), and in the second RCA input I connected the ZEN Air Phono (which I also reviewed as part of the tour). Setup was quick and painless. If you are going to be using multiple ZEN Air components in a stack (as I was in my evaluation), I would recommend using: a USB power wall adapter, a USB hub, and if necessary a USB extension cable.

I really enjoyed using both of the analog (not DSP!) sound enhancers: XBass+ and XSpace. I found the XBass+ to be more subtle and acceptable than when it was enabled on the ZEN Air DAC. The XSpace also had a subtle, yet noticeable, impact on soundstage, opening up the sound field just the right amount.

The three gain settings allowed me to easily adjust output to match my different headphones' needs. I had no issue powering any of my headphones, including my hungry Audeze LCD-4.

The gain options and sound enhancers (XBass+, XSpaces) made it easy to quickly dial in the needed volume level and sound tweaks to customize the sound output for each headphone and track.

Sound: I listened to many tracks across a wide variety music genres. The sound produced by the ZEN Air CAN was high-quality, detailed, clear and clean -- free from of any noise or distortion. The delivery was smooth and dynamic, making for an enjoyable listening experience for hours on end.

Conclusion: The ZEN Air CAN is an excellent value-for-money, feature-rich, and versatile single-ended headphone amplifier. Despite the lower price point, ifi Audio's usual level of quality is delivered without making too many sacrifices. There is more than enough power to drive any of my headphones, and the multiple gain options and sound enhancers make dialing in the volume and sound preferences a quick and easy task. The ZEN Air CAN was my favorite of the ZEN Air units I evaluated. It offers so much for such little money. I highly recommend considering the ZEN Air CAN for an affordable desktop singled-ended solution. You won't be disappointed.