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Front view of iFi Audio ZEN CAN Balanced Headphone Amp with control knobs and headphone jacks on silver panel
  • Front view of iFi Audio ZEN CAN Balanced Headphone Amp with control knobs and headphone jacks on silver panel
  • Rear view of iFi Audio ZEN CAN Balanced Headphone Amp showing input and output ports on white background
  • Top view of the iFi Audio ZEN CAN Balanced Headphone Amp with volume knob and input jacks visible on white background
  • Power adapter, purple dual RCA cable, and gold-tipped 3.5mm to 6.3mm adapter for iFi Audio ZEN CAN Balanced Headphone Amp
iFi Audio ZEN CAN Balanced Headphone Amp

iFi Audio ZEN CAN Balanced Headphone Amp

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Fully-balanced discrete class a amp with up to 1,600mW of power. A super-charged headphone amplifier, basically nitro for your headphones!

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Balanced to thrill

The ZEN CAN has trickle-down Class A discrete balanced circuitry from iFi audio’s US$1,699 flagship Pro iCAN. With 15.1v @300 Ohms on tap, it has serious power that will make even difficult-to-drive headphones thump to the beat.

  • Class A discrete output buffer from the flagship Pro iCAN using Op-Amp (OV2637A)
  • FET input avoids loading volume control – low distortion/noise
  • SE inputs (1M Ohm) ensures loading of the source so always in Class A operation
  • Output amplifier gain of four steps in +6dB perfect for headphone matching

Puts you at the venue. Not other way round.

Audio recordings are made for speakers and when played back on headphones, the sound is always driving you nuts by being only in your head.

iFi Audio’s 3D special sound circuit solves this:

  • Stereo image that is truly out of your head, in front with height, width & depth
  • No added colouration or loss of resolution
  • All analogue circuitry (i.e. without costly and complex digital signal manipulation)

Ace of XBass

Behind XBass is our active EQ circuit which meets a common gripe with headphones head-on, a lack of bass. Open-back headphones in particular, let all frequencies (especially those precious bass frequencies that the drivers generate so little of) leak freely out of the back instead of trapping and redirecting them back to your ears. XBass equalization is a much more elegant solution to bass correction than seen elsewhere. It consists of active and passive components and its frequency response curve corrects their low-end response problems with precision.

What's Included

• iFi Zen CAN

• Standard Power Supply Input

• RCA Stereo Interconnects

• 3.5mm to 1/4" Single Ended Adapter

• User Manual

• 12 month factory warranty

Input / Output

• 4.4mm Pentaconn Balanced Output

• 4.4mm Pentaconn Balanced Input

• Single Ended 3.5mm Input

• Single Ended RCA Stereo Input Pair

• 4.4mm Pentaconn Balanced Headphone Out

• 1/4" Single Ended Headphone Out

The Specs

• Selectable Gain Stage: 0dB(Default) 6dB/12dB/18dB

• SNR: 120dB(A) Balanced / 118dB(A) Single-Ended

• Total Harmonic Distortion (THD, Balanced/Single-Ended): .0007%(4V out, 600 Ohm, 1kHz))/ 0.006%(@100 mW/1.27V 16 Ohm)

• Max Output Power Balanced: >15.1V/385 mW (@ 600 Ohm) / >11.0V/1890 mW (@ 64 Ohm)

• Max Output Power Single Ended: >7.6V/196 mW (@ 300 Ohm) / >7.2V/1600 mW (@ 32 Ohm)

• Output Impedance BAL/SE: <2 Ohms/<1 Ohms

• Frequency Response: 20Hz - 20kHz (+0dB / -0.03dB)

• Power Consumption: 5W idle / 13W max

• Dimensions 6.3(W)" x 4.6(L)" x 1.4(H)"

• Weight 1.14 lbs

The iFi Audio ZEN Air CAN Headphone Amp by iFi Audio features a red circuit board with various electronic components, including a green rotary knob, and is designed for audio processing with Class A circuitry and balanced headphone output.

iFi Audio Zen CAN Manual

A wooden desk with a desktop computer, a glass of lemon water, two stacked iFi Audio ZEN CAN Balanced Headphone Amps by iFi Audio, black headphones, a white wireless keyboard, and a trackpad.

Overall rating: 4.9583335 / 5 from 24 reviews.

AI Generated Review Summary

The iFi Audio ZEN CAN Balanced Headphone Amp offers great sound and amazing sound quality, making it a top choice for audiophiles. Its powerful performance and high-quality output ensure an immersive listening experience.

Summary topics

  • Sound Quality: 22%
  • Overall Quality: 9%

Review topics: [].

Review highlights

  • "Great Amazing sound quality" — Abdelhalim S.
  • "The sound quality is amazing, and has a good variety of settings on the front which are useful." — Jacob S.
  • "I paired this also with the ifi 4.4mm balanced cable and now getting the best possible sound from both units." — Ryan L.

Reviews

Good little amp

"Works as expected!"

— Nathan M. (5/5)

Great Experience

"Amp is excellent. Fun to use. Head Amp shipped promptly."

— Sheryl K. (5/5)

Excellent amp for the money.

"Excellent amp for the money. Matches well with my Hifiman Edition XS. Can drive difficult headphones. Excellent value."

— Vinod V. (5/5)

Amp with bass boost

"This amp has a bass boost which is hard to find in other amps. The bass boost adds just the right amount of bass and the sound is very pleasing. Received the amp very quickly. Will buy from HeadAmp again."

— amimul s. (5/5)

Good Value

"Solidly built and has a precise yet warm sound character."

— Bruce A. (5/5)

A revelation with both old and new headphones

"I originally bought the IFI Zen Air Can Headphones. I generally liked the sound quite well, but didn’t feel I was getting enough out of them. Headamp Allowed me to trade it back in for A credit toward the next headphone amp up in the IFI line which is the IFI Balanced Can headphone amp. Because my SMSL DAC has both RCA and balanced XLR OUTPUTS, I wanted to give the balanced output technology try. After picking up the necessary cables for both the DAC and my existing Monolith 1060 C and new Sennheiser HD 58X jubilee headphones, I listened to many favorite recordings to try the amp out. I expected an improvement in the sound, but was very surprised by how great an improvement there was with both my headphones. There was simply more music, tonality, dynamic range, and Accuracy than I had experienced before. The IFI balanced can headphone Amplifier is a ridiculously inexpensive piece of audio kit given the sound it delivers. It made my headphones sound much better than previously, and I am never going back to unbalanced headphones in the future. I am extremely happy with this purchase."

— David K. (5/5)

Good for recording set-ups too

"I am using this headphone amp in my mini recording studio. The headphone output on my IO wasn't powerful enough for my 250 ohm beyerdynamic. Quality seems good. The Low end boost sounds like a shelf boost and is not too overwhelming. I can't really tell the difference with the 3D sound turned on. I won't be using either feature anyways. It comes with a very short RCA cable. Price is right and the packaging was good. No complaints."

— Brian (5/5)

Great price, nice little amp

"Fast shipping, great price, very happy with the Zen Can."

— Matt G. (5/5)

Great Amazing sound quality

"Great price , Well made, Amazing sound , multiple inputs and output But the only issue with that device is the 4.4mm Pentaconn Balanced Input I experienced some difficulties to use it with compatible cables"

— Abdelhalim S. (4/5)

Amazing Amp for Price even better paired with the Zen DAC V2

"I paired this CAN with my Zen DAC V2 and it literally brought my Sennheiser HD650 to life. I paired this also with the ifi 4.4mm balanced cable and now getting the best possible sound from both units. Clarity and sound improved exponentially. I highly recommend both units being used together for best possible outcome. This was a game changer to me. I use this product with my HD650 set to 1 o clock on the dial using the 4.4mm balanced cable for both my Zen units and my headset also. db gain set to 6db-12db depending on song. I couldn't ask for more. Best setup for the money without breaking the bank."

— Ryan L. (5/5)

Q&A

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