ifi ZEN DAC - Rear Panel Connections and Controls

bass response for the most accurate playback.
Tip: Open-back headphones and some IEMs usually sound better with TrueBass set high. Adjust to suit.
Analogue Volume control
The analogue volume control in ZEN DAC is superior to any digital volume control. It can be used to control the
headphone volume or the pre-amplifier volume (when set to ‘Variable’). If the output at the rear is set to ‘Fixed’ the
volume control is bypassed.
Audio Format LED (kHz)
The LED colour scheme indicates the audio format and sampling frequency received by ZEN DAC from the music
source.
LED Mode
Green PCM 44/48/88/96kHz
Yellow PCM 176/192/353/384kHz
Cyan DSD64/DSD128
Blue DSD256
Magenta MQA
Single-ended 6.3mm output
Connect single-ended 6.3mm headphones. With single-ended 3.5mm headphones, connect with a 3.5mm to 6.3mm
adapter.
Balanced 4.4mm analogue output
Connect balanced 4.4mm headphones.
Tip: As ZEN DAC is balanced, we recommend the 4.4mm output.
Balanced 4.4mm analogue output
This is an analogue output via 4.4mm > XLR or other balanced interconnects. You could use this for an active
speaker or an amplifier.
Tip: As ZEN DAC is balanced, this is the recommended output.
Variable/Fixed switch
When the rear UnBAL/BAL analogue outputs are used, this switch will determine whether or not ZEN DAC analogue
volume control is used.
RCA analogue output