ifi Zen CAN Review (Headphone Amp)

[BlackD007]

no need to worry. LCD-2C? With sensitivity of around 110dB/1V and 70ohm? Some people may think they are power-hungry because to go to maximum of around 135dB SPL they need over 4W. But who listens that loud? For 125dB (still destructive loud!) they need less than 0.5W. For 95dB they need less than 1mW

It's nice to hear that. I tried to compare Ifi xdsd gryphon(1w@32om) and Zen can with Lcd-2c amplifiers. And really hard to hear the difference. A blind test would definitely fail. I just heard a lot that these headphones require a powerful amplifier to open them.

 

[solderdude]

At 110dB/V (101dB/mW) you can drive LCD2-Closed pretty loud from a phone and only need 3V (0.3W in 32ohm) to drive them to impressively loud levels.
So... no... you do not require a powerful amp.
To open them you need a Philips head screwdriver.

 

[BlackD007]

To open them you need a screwdriver.

Good idea!

 

[pioterd]

the Zen CAN was not meant to be a super powerhouse. But at the intended retail price of 100 USD it would have been a market killer

Mr Loesch, and do you know anything about ZenAirCan? When looking into specs and at PCB it looks like original Can without balanced circuitry. But the maximum power rating is also lower, 1.2W vs 1.6W, lower maximum voltage etc. Could you please comment on this?

 

[niterida]

Up the point where it doesn't.



No, I mean drain any common mode noise (that 2-pin supplies cannot drain to earth) to earth.

Thor

Sorry for the off-topic post but I noticed you have an AV-298BT amp and was wondering if you would recommend them. I am looking at buying one to run 4 or 5 Tactile Transducers on my sim racing rig. Thanks

 

[odyo]

I'm not a subjectivist guy but casually switching cables (from 4.4mm bal to 6.3 single ended) i noticed a change in sound with my arya stealth. I wonder why this happened. Bal sound more spacious, precise and separated. Feels like more treble coming out the set the stage cues. SE sounds more claustrophobic and thick with a bit better texture and heft in lows. Then i remembered i did this change many months ago and i felt the same change. I don't think i have bias or anything. I don't really care. I'm just surprised because i use my headphones a lot and i'm used to how they sound.

They seem to have same power output at 33 ohm. I wonder if there is a change in crosstalk or class A bias or something like that between outputs.