Manufacturer
iFi Audio Zen Blue V2 Wireless Bluetooth DAC
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 iFi Audio Zen Blue V2 Wireless Bluetooth DACiFi Audio Zen Blue V2 Wireless Bluetooth DAC 

iFi Audio Zen Blue V2 Wireless Bluetooth DAC

  (1 Review)
£199.00    
£165.83 Exc. VAT |  |

 

iFi Audio Zen Blue V2 Wireless Bluetooth DAC

The upgraded version of the multi-award-winning ZEN Blue Bluetooth DAC bi iFi Audio benefits from a new aerial, increasing coverage by up to 80%, and a new low-jitter clock increases performance by up to 20dB. This product can connect to up to 8 Bluetooth inputs, so is perfect for use at home.

iFi Audio's Blue wireless Bluetooth DAC wonderfully introduces the new ZEN series of products to the world. With support for major Bluetooth formats such as aptX HD and LDAC, the ZEN Blue offers a unique way to connect any Bluetooth device to your amplifiers and speakers for lossless wireless connection. The ZEN Blue can be connected to most systems on the market, either via an unbalanced analogue RCA connection, a digital RCA connection, Toslink optical or 4.4mm balanced to XLR balanced. With the ability to store 7 different Bluetooth devices, support for lossless Bluetooth formats and up to 96kHz frequency, the ZEN Blue is the perfect unit to add to your system and sit back enjoying your music.

All current and future Bluetooth® audio formats are supported. This includes Qualcomm’s aptX and aptX HD, LDAC and HWA, hi-res Bluetooth® codecs created by Sony and Huawei respectively, AAC, Apple’s favoured format and SBC, the standard Bluetooth® codec. This means every possible source device is covered, at the highest resolution Bluetooth® specification.

Have utter confidence in the sound quality of the ZEN Blue. It uses Bluetooth5.0®, the very latest version, and the newest Qualcomm 5100 chip to process all incoming Bluetooth® data. The ESS Sabre DAC chip is there to ensure an extremely smooth digital to analogue conversion. Banish standard ‘Bluetooth Blues’ with the iFi hi-res implementation.

Chill with the best of both worlds. Analogue is available via RCA to amps or active speakers or via the 4.4mm output to amps/speakers with a balanced input. Digital can be used via the optical and coaxial connections to connect to anything with a built-in DAC and corresponding digital input; your TV, an AV amp or an external DAC in your hi-fi set-up.

The analogue output stage is balanced, not normally seen in DACs at this price point. Balanced means less noise interference/crosstalk. The ZEN Blue has RCA and balanced outputs at HiFi standard level; 2V SE and 4V BAL and thus are compatible with both HiFi and Pro systems. All underpinned by high-quality circuit components such as C0G capacitors from TDK. All fed by a precision low-noise power supply from Texas Instruments to make this a rare entry-priced beastie.

Specification:

  • Power Source: DC 5V
  • Chipset: Qualcomm QCC 5100 Series
  • Input: Bluetooth 5.0 with AAC, aptX, aptX HD, LDAC*, HWA* Codec (* available via future update)
  • Output: Optical/Coaxial, Audio RCA L/R, 4.4 Balanced Lineout
  • Frequency Response: 20Hz - 20kHz <+0/-0.5dB (44.1kHz) // 1Hz - 44khz <+0/-3.0dB (>= 88.2kHz)
  • Output Voltage @ 0dBFS: 2.05V (+/-0.05V)
  • Dynamic Range: 109dB (A)
  • Signal/Noise ratio: 109dB (A) @ 0dBFS
  • THD & N @ 0dBFS: < 0.0015% 10k Load
  • Output Impedance: < 50Ω
  • Power Consumption: < 2.5W
  • Dimensions: 158 (l) x 100 (w) x 35 (h) mm
  • Weight: 476g (1.05 lbs)
  • Shipped with UK plugged power supply.
  • Warranty period: 12 months
Input USB3.0 B socket (USB2.0 compatible)
Format
44.1/48/88.2/96/176.4/192/384kHz PCM
2.8/3.1/5.6/6.2/11.2/12.4MHz DSD 353/384KHz DXD
DAC Bit-Perfect DSD & DXD DAC by Burr Brown
Line Section:
Output
Audio RCA (UnBAL) 2.1V fixed 1V / 3.3V max. (variable)
4.4mm Pentaconn (BAL) 4.2V fixed 2V / 6.2V max. (variable)
Zout <= 100 Ohm (UnBAL) <= 200 Ohm (BAL)
SNR < -116dB(A) @ 0dBFS (UnBAL/BAL)
DNR > 116dB(A) @ -60dBFS (UnBAL/BAL)
THD + N < 0.0015% @ 0dBFS (UnBAL/BAL)
Average Rating (1 Review):  
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Rating:  
Zen blue V2
23 December 2023  | 

I had a good chat with Martin regarding a streamer suitable for my old NAD3020I amp set up. I was going to go for the Zen Air at £99 but once I understood Lossie and Lossless (!) the obvious choice was the Zen blue V2. I was lucky enough to get a factory refurbished one for £40 less than full price and it arrived within 2 days. I am not that confident with technology so thought I couldn't set it up when I read something misleading in the literature which actually didn't apply to this particular product. A quick phone call to AS reassured me and I had it plugged in, paired and working in no time. Impressed myself but really it is just a very user friendly product!
Sound quality is good and we are all enjoying Spotify selections. I enabled a Jam session (I don't know how!) and others in the family could use their playlists to stream through my phone without needing to pair. Great! It can pair with up to 8 devices though.
Well worth buying if you like Spotify, Tidal, Apple music etc and have an analogue system as it hugely increases your library of sounds.

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