ifi Zen Air can analogue headphone amplifier
Audio August 4, 2022
The Ifi Zen Air CAN is a perfect amplifier for those that prefer a good old fashioned wired connection for their headphones! It’s totally analogue with no digital input in sight which is perfect for its intent of course. It can host your PC, Mac, TV, tablet and Smartphone (as long as there is an analogue output option that is) allowing you to get the full benefit of the volume and clarity of sound this amp provides.
It doesn’t just pump what it wants into your ears though – you do have the ability to change the Gain (the ability of the amp to increase the size of the signal from the source) thereby adjusting for the sensitivity of your headphones using the three settings of 0, 9 and 18 Decibels: the higher the sensitivity, the lower the Gain you want. You also have the option of using 6.3mm or 4.4mm jacks with the former being the more common single-ended type of jack whilst the latter is provided so that you can gain the benefit of balanced headphones without having to have actual balanced headphones utilising their S-Balanced technology.
A couple of unique features that Ifi bring to this amp are XBass and XSpace. The XBass basically extends the bass response to suit different headphones while XSpace is a spatialiser, giving you the sound experience you may expect from a live venue for example. These are both tailored to suit analogue play, clearly coming in to their own here. All of the above, when added to the symmetrical circuit design (anything audio-related is kept as far from other components as possible, greatly reducing noise interference), allows for a remarkably good, crisp sound and at a very affordable price for what it is. RRP £99
- Gain adjustor to suit your headphones
- Both 6.3 and 4.4 mm ports
- XBass & XSpace
- Very good price for what you get